bounce

I'm feeling like a nomad these days.  I'm tired, but I still can't seem to sit still.

I travel for work and pleasure.

Sometimes I'm required to travel for work, and sometimes I finagle myself a trip.  I just took a look at my expense reports folder, and in 10 months, I have traveled 12 times.

Now for pleasure: Park City, Thailand, Bali, Milwaukee, (almost Scottsdale with a last minute re-routing to CA), Chicago (twice), and for this weekend, I just booked 2 tickets last night - 1 to Portland, Oregon and the other to Montreal/Quebec.  Because we can't decide which one we'd rather go to.

I am a bouncy ball.

It's funny - in a world where digital rules, and people are doing global business by phone, a good number of my friends still travel regularly.  A lot of it is for significant others.  I know a surprising number of people who have long distance relationships (eg, requiring air travel) with their spouses.  It used to be opposite.  I spose those are advancements on both ends.  Don't travel when you don't want to (work); travel when you want to expand your personal possibilities.

harry potter

Universal Studios - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  Everything was spot on, from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley to Ollivanders to butterbeer.  I haven't been to a theme park in I can't remember how many years, so this was a nice treat for me.  Our hotel key got us into the park an hour early and also served as a fast pass, so we breezed through all the big rides in 3 hours.  Not to mention that crowds are also apparently low in October.

Hogwarts 

3 UBER fans.  I was trying to sneak pictures of them all day.  They came prepared in their Hogwarts robes, and went around taking pictures of themselves, "SIGHTSEEING."  Love it! 

weekend bookends

I went to the ballet a week ago with P and Mother in Law at the Lincoln Center.  We saw Swan Lake, and it was unbelievably beautiful, powerful, and moving.  I got a few shots of the David H. Koch theater from my BB.  

Then this past weekend I went to visit N, my old roommate from grad school who just moved into an apartment in downtown Milwaukee.  Our time was filled with ridiculous food.

 Giant, grilled pretzels

Bloody Mary topped with hamburger wrapped in bacon with melted cheese on top, olives, pickle, lime, lemon.  It tasted like BBQ sauce and bacon.

 Hamburger with peanut butter

 Hamburger with portabella mushroom stuffed with cheese and fried

 Hamburger topped with bratwurst, cheese curds, and beer soaked sauerkraut (daily special)

People in Milwaukee *really* love beer, and *really* KNOW beer.  This was the old PBR factory, which was situated right next to an old school.  Note the German architecture.  I always knew that Milwaukee liked their beer, but I had no idea how much and why.  Now I know!

A few more pics from the art museum designed by Santiago Calatrava.  I have a tendency to bring bad weather with me wherever I go.  Milwaukee was beautiful right before I arrived, rained and stormed when I got there, and then cleared up again when I left.  Anyway, as such, I didn't get to see the museum in all its glory.  It has wings that can be moved up and down, but I guess they only raise the wings when the wind isn't so threatening.  These are my inside shots, and toward the bottom is one that I pulled from the interwebz.

anniversaries

September 10

Anniversary of me - my birthday!  We took the ferry to Governors Island and rode tandem bikes, and then had a delicious meal at Morimoto. Drooooool.  Homemade tofu made right in front of our very eyes.  And there's nothing better than that toro tartare that looks like a painter's palette.

September 10/11 (the actual date is kind of vague since we met the night of Sept 10)
P and my SEVEN year anniversary.  Woah.  The number is starting to sound scary though it doesn't feel that long.  At least we're married now so we can start back from there - happy 4.5 month anniversary!  Yay!  We still sound young!

Out of curiosity, I looked up the traditional wedding anniversary gifts by year:
1. paper
2. cotton
3. leather
4. books/fruit/flowers
5. wood
6. sugar/iron
7. wool/copper
8. bronze/pottery
9. pottery/willow
10. tin/aluminum
11. steel
12. silk/linen
13. lace
14. ivory
15. crystal
20. china
25. silver
30. pearls (nowadays, diamonds)
35. coral
40. ruby
50. gold
60. diamond
70. platinum
75. diamond

I've only listed the traditional gifts here, but if you look at a modern day list, there are gifts for every SINGLE year.  Did you also see how diamonds jumped up in years?  It now only takes 30 years to get a diamond whereas it took twice that in the old days.  The marriage industry is JUST LIKE the wedding industry! Hmph!

By the way, if you make it to 100 years, you get a 10 carat diamond (modern gift). Haha... so ridiculous.  Have... to... make... it... to... 132 years old!  And so does HUSBAND!  LOL

the demon herb

My hate for cilantro runs true and deep. I enountered it for the first time when eating Vietnamese pho. I was maybe a mere 12 years old. So young, so innocent. I remember how the restaurant looked, how excited I was because my parents had been hyping up how good pho was, how I was further enticed by Vietnamese food with the delicious coffee dripping onto sweetened condensed milk and the fresh, soft spring rolls as appetizers.

Happy go lucky little kid I was until I had 1 spoonful of soup that had been "seasoned" by the innocent looking cilantro floating on top. I only needed one taste to be whipped back into the harsh reality that is the DEMON HERB. It seared into my taste buds like hydrochloric acid into my clothes in chemistry lab. I didn't even know it at the time that it was the DEMON HERB. I thought it was the soup, and I had decided that pho was the worst dish in the world, and how could anyone with any sense eat it for enjoyment??? What was wrong with my parents???

I've known other people to have a similar revulsion to cilantro, and it is always steee-RONG. Others describe it as a soapy taste. For me, it's more like a combination of chemicals (like those that you find in chem lab) and barf. Yes, barf. I don't want to eat barf.

Through the years, I've learned to deal with cilantro-ridden foods. The most difficult is salsa, but I carefully and patiently pick every bit of cilantro out before eating my burrito. The stems are the worst and the hardest to get out since they're often chopped pretty small. It might take me and extra 20 minutes to eat, but it's worth it. And don't worry, I now like pho but clearly order it without cilantro. CLEARLY.

For other wonderful stories from cilantro haters, visit: ihatecilantro.com. If you'll notice, it is always an extreme reaction to cilantro. Some gems:

"I hate you PLU code 4889!" - grocery store cashier

"It smelled like chemicals and hot dog mixed together"

"I started looking around for a dead rodent, and soon realized that it was coming from the cilantro plants. I picked a leaf, held it to my nose, and nearly threw up in my garden."

I've been told that it's a genetic thing; Sister has it too, "it" being cilantrophobia. My cousin recently sent me an article about it.

Here's an excerpt:

Flavor chemists have found that cilantro aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are modified fragments of fat molecules called aldehydes. The same or similar aldehydes are also found in soaps and lotions and the bug family of insects.

Soaps are made by fragmenting fat molecules with strongly alkaline lye or its equivalent, and aldehydes are a byproduct of this process, as they are when oxygen in the air attacks the fats and oils in cosmetics. And many bugs make strong-smelling, aldehyde-rich body fluids to attract or repel other creatures.

The author of the article also mentioned how he used to be a cilantrophobe, but kept encountering it in happy settings, and so rewired his brain to eventually enjoy said DEMON HERB! The article also cites a study that says if you crush the leaves, the enzymes from the leaves will break down the aldeydes. It says the cilantro pesto is pretty mild.

It's encouraging to know that I can work on my cilantrophobia, but honestly, I'm not willing to put the work in. The torture is not worth it to me, so I will continue to take an extra 20 minutes to pick out cilantro from my salsa.

never an excuse

I've experienced a few things in NYC that I would likely have never experienced elsewhere.

1. Got hit by a car as a pedestrian

2. Got sexually harassed on the subway

#1 is old news.

#2 happened last week. I didn't really think that this would ever happen to me as I couldn't really figure out how someone could get away with it. Tokyo's subway system has specific train cars dedicated for women, so that they can ride without fear of being groped. I thought, that's nice, but how is it so necessary? How are men getting away with it?

Well, let me tell you how. Coincidentally and logically, it happened to be a horrible day for the subway. It was raining, hot, and humid outside, and the subway station was even worse. The trains were running WAY behind, so much so that I missed 3 trains because there were too many people trying to get on. One can typically get on the first or 2nd train that comes by. I was getting more annoyed by the minute as I melted away in that subway station. Finally, I got on a train, but everyone was packed like sardines, and I was pushed up against the railing of one of the benches. There was more pushing and shoving as people tried to squeeze in, but still, this is all normal.

The doors closed and the train took off. I felt this slow push from my left side, which I thought might have been some reshuffling. I looked over, and the guy next to me was this short, old, Asian man with glasses. I thought, huh, how could it be. He was so innocuous looking. The ride continued, and these pushes became even stronger and more consistent, I could feel him on my leg, and I really knew by then that it wasn't train movement or people shuffling around. I've ridden in plenty of crowded subway cars by now to know. I thought, is this really happening? I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was really building the case against himself as the pressing continued, despite the elbow I put up to fend him off. Unfortunately, with him being short and having a gut, my elbow was too high on him to force him off.

The train came to it's first stop, and the pressing happened AGAIN. OKAY, THAT'S IT. THERE IS NO WAY THAT THIS IS TRAIN MOVEMENT, AND THERE IS NO WAY THIS GUY IS GETTING AWAY WITH THIS. So I loudly told him to BACK OFF, and everybody in the train looked over. I wanted to say so much more, but I was saving it so that I could get off the train after I delivered my rant. The guy DID back off, and when we made the next stop, he got off. He got off early - I could tell it was a last minute decision because people in back of him made the move to get off first, and then he followed them. NOOOOO!!!!!!!! I wanted to tell him he was a dirty little bastard and that he should be ashamed of himself and then I wanted to report him! But he shimmied himself out of that train car and I was stuck in the back!

I was so angry that I let him press himself up against me for one stop, and that I didn't get to put him in his place. HE GOT AWAY WITH IT. At least he was somewhat outed on the train, but he deserved so much worse. I was most angry that HE GOT AWAY WITH IT. Why? Because I didn't trust my instinct. I knew what was going on, but perverse people like that take advantage of regular strangers who have good faith in other people.

Women of New York City, please please TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!!!

I took my anger out on the punching bags at the gym.

The next morning, I read an article in the the high quality, free, AM New York newspaper (note the sarcasm here) about this serial groper going around the upper east side. The article started with saying that sexual harassment on the subways was sort of like a hazing rite for women. Really? I was rather upset by this, since again, I thought WHY DO MEN THINK THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT? And this article almost made it seem like an everyday, trivial occurrence.

I tried to find some stats. A Nov 15, 2009 report stated that there were 587 complaints and 412 arrests of sexual harassment that year, a 4% increase since the previous year. That's slightly over 1.5 complaints a day, and it's bound to be higher if you include unreported cases like mine. Let's call it 3 cases of sexual harassment a day.

What does that mean exactly? Let's equate it to petty theft. 3 cases of petty theft per day. According to the MTA, the average weekday ridership is 5.2 million people, or 20,000 people per weekday day. 3 cases per 20,000 people doesn't seem to be very much when you equate sexual harassment to something like petty theft. I would not call it a common occurrence, nor is it in any way acceptable, and definitely should not be called a hazing rite!

In my mind sexual harassment is so much worse than petty theft because theft occurs because people are in need. Sexual harassment occurs because people are perverted and somehow think they can forcibly get off on you without you having a say in it. It is an invasion of a person's being, and there doesn't even have to be physical contact for that to happen.

By now, I've pretty much rambled myself into oblivion, but what I really want to do is have this be a PSA announcement.

A crowded subway is never an excuse for sexual misconduct!

Trust your instincts! You know when you're being taken advantage of!

scallion pancake

I learned how to make this from watching my dad, so there is no formal recipe here. Like any pastry, the dough can change with the humidity and temperature, so it's best to go by feel.

Flour

Water

Vegetable oil

Kosher salt

Green onions

1. flour + water --> 1.5 C flour is good to make 2 pancakes. Add enough water so that the dough holds together, and then let it rest for about 10 minutes. Place a damp paper towel over it.
2. Roll out the dough into a circle and until thin.
3. Pour enough oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers so that a thin layer of oil covers almost the entire surface. Do not coat the edges.
4. Sprinkle salt over the oil.
5. Do the same with the green onions - distribute it over the dough except for the edges. I used 1.5 large green onion per pancake. Homegrown green onions from E's garden for the guys pictured above! For store-bought green onions, 2-3 would do it.
6. Roll it up and pinch the seams, both the ones along the roll and at the end.
7. Roll it up the other direction with the long seams on the roll facing inward, and then pinch the last seam so that the pancake holds together.
8. Roll it out with a rolling pin so that it's about double the size.
9. Pan fry so that it's golden brown on both sides.
10. Drain on a paper towel and then serve hot!

welcome back, curls

It has been about 10 years since my first perm, and since I grew my hair out for the wedding, I decided to take advantage of the length and get a digital perm!

The hair stylist said that I should blow dry my hair after I wash it so that it's 90% dry, and then for the remaining 10%, I should twirl my hair and blow dry until completely dry. This is difficult in the NY summer. I wind up hot and sweaty, and 1 side ends up looking different from the other. So I tried twirling my wet hair into pigtails and letting it air dry, which seemed to work pretty well. The result is what you see in the above photos.

throwback remix

Just fell in love with this song that I heard while watching SYTYCD Season 8.

Dinner Party

Friends K & E threw a scrumptious dinner party a couple of weeks ago, and P and I were privileged to be invited to enjoy it! It was a four course meal, complete with wine pairings. YEAH. It was the most delicious dinner party that I've ever been to. I keep dreaming about the swordfish that K made - it just about tasted like my favorite yet endangered fish, Chilean Sea Bass. And for those of you who know me, yes, K set aside some sliced avocado to spare me the avocado aioli with DREADED CILANTRO (it *looked* lovely though).

Wonderful company, a beautifully designed menu, and homemade pickles as party favors completed the whole package.

Thank you, K & E!

the ability to make your own ice cream is dangerous

Ice cream #1 was a vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate covered almonds. We made a gallon. It was really beyond capacity of our KitchenAid ice cream maker, but we didn't know that and were too excited.

Other ice creams that we have made since ice cream #1:

Peanut butter with peanut butter cups

Mint chip (with mint from P's garden, but apparently that was spearmint, and mint chip ice cream is with peppermint)

Butter pecan

Nutella, marshmallows, chocolate chips

I might gain 10lbs by the end of the summer if this keeps up.

programs

DIY Programs

Brads from Paper Source

Paper Bag #10 Note cards from Paper Source

Chartreuse matchbooks from Paper Source

Design and construction by Loberg

cookie favors

There really wasn't much of a question as to what we were going to have as wedding favors. Levain bakery (aka, home of the bestest cookies ever) has been a staple since moving to Manhattan, and to mix it up, we threw in Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost(R) cookie. Loberg painstakingly constructed the tags and hand-wrote the labels.

DIY Packaging and Display

Tags + eyelets from Paper Source

Twine from Michael's

Embossing stamp from Paper Source

White Uni-ball Signo Broad pen

Hat boxes from Michael's

Chartreuse ribbon and tissue paper from Paper Source

Wood frames from Michael's

Courier printed font

Thanks for the pics B! It's amazing how much goes on without you getting a chance to see and appreciate it.

first "shot" at photography, meh meh

This is us leaving the Frankfurt airport on our Thai Airways flight.

Notice in the background that there is something spewing from the volcano.

Kids watching their family members perform at an Indonesian dance performance. They don't go anywhere without their trusty dog!

Mosquito nets - functional and beautiful! I would like a hat with an attached head-to-toe mosquito net for individual protection.