Howdy folks. I apologize for my lack of posting. As I have previously mentioned, work has been busy and it just hasn't gotten any less busy over the past few weeks. Lots to do and not much time to do it all. Le sigh. I have just a few pics to share with you from the not too distant past so check 'em out.
A couple weeks ago, I had to use up some ingredients and decided to make Kalua pig, egg & broccoli fried rice. I used the "Watanabe family recipe" with a few of my own tweaks to take advantage of what I had to use up. Thanks Carey, it turned out pretty darn good.
Prior to this past weekend, I had never seen hail in the Bay Area (though I had in Pasadena several years ago). I woke up on Saturday morning to discover little piles of hail all around my house. I'd estimate the size of the hail between 1/8-3/16". Crazy weather!
Despite the wild weather, a bunch of workmates and I all went out to the Mitchell Katz Winery in Pleasonton to enjoy a release party. Pretty good fun and, even though I didn't drink my money's worth, I certainly ate enough mini corned beef sandwiches to make up for that. L->R: Jessica, Howie, Dave, Julie, Me, Todd, Erin and Intern (Joe).
Quite a stressful month March has been. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as it just keeps getting busier and busier from here on out. Thankfully, I have a return trip to Central America and Deryck's graduation to look forward to in the near future!!! Cheerio!
I quite like that title. Anyways, I drove on down to LA to say goodbye to Darren before he left LA to return home (i.e. 808) to live and work. It seemed like only yesterday (well, more like 8+ years ago) that the two of us first showed up in LA to start Uni. Now, both of us have left the City of Angels. Onward to bigger, better things. I hope to have some pics to share from Darren's farewell party when Priscilla sends a few my way (please!). Until then, take a look at these other pics from that very same weekend.
I lived in LA for over five years, including one in Pasadena, and I never once set foot in the Norton Simon Museum. Definitely shame on me. A lovely collection of artwork in a cool gallery just a few blocks away from Old Town. I snapped this pic in the Modern/Contemporary gallery after reflecting on how fitting a day I chose to visit. You'll notice the polished bronze sculpture at the center of the room below the round skylight. Those of you privy to fine art might even recognize it as Brancusi's Bird in Space. After seeing the sculpture and noting the artist's name, I recalled having seen his work earlier that morning while surfing the web. The day I visited the Norton Simon coincided with the 135th anniversary of Brancusi's birth and Google marked the day by changing their "doodle" to a Brancusi theme. Ah, life's happy coincidences.
A shame about the weather. Due to the rain and generally depressing cloud cover, the sculpture garden remained closed.
Pop art! Proudly displayed in the lobby, Claes Oldenburg's Giant Soft Ketchup Bottle with Ketchup certainly catches your attention as you enter the museum.
A granite sculpture, Buddha Shakyamuni, sitting serenely in the Asian Art gallery in the lower level of the Norton Simon.
The entrance to the Norton Simon on an atypically overcast Southern California afternoon. To the right of the frame, you can see a casting of Rodin's Les Bourgeois de Calais (better known in english as The Burghers of Calais).
A quick trip overall down there to visit the folks in So Cal (Deryck included). I had a good time, despite the wet driving conditions. Not sure if I'll get down any time in the next few months but I know I'll definitely be back in May...
Me, Aunty Karen, Gung Gung & Po Po in front of Christchurch Cathedral circa 2008.
As you've all probably heard, Christchurch got rocked by an earthquake that caused a great deal of damage and loss of life. NZ has declared a 'State of Emergency' and there have been some predictions that this could be NZ's worst natural disaster in history. I'm hoping for the best and that the wonderful people of Christchurch, the Greater Canterbury area and all of NZ can pull together to make it through this immense tragedy. If you can, please chip in a bit of dosh (i.e. $) to help out the cause/s.
NZ Red Cross
Salvation Army NZ (Reference 'New Zealand Quake Appeal')
Rotary NZ World Community Service (Click the Earthquake Paypal Donation Link)
Some of the sites might be affected by the high internet traffic so please be persistent. Aroha.
P.S. I'm a firm believer that humour helps in extremely trying situations and I felt like the following video does just that.
The weather has returned to more normal-for-winter mode, including wind and rain this week, so activities have been limited accordingly. I had a Southern California related few days last week, as the title alludes, and I have a few pictures of them to share.
It started with a trip to Anaheim for the Medical Design & Manufacturing trade show at the Convention center. A massive affair with thousands of booths and tens of thousands (at least) industry folk running around. I'm regretting not taking any photos at the show but I went with my boss and we actually had a very busy day full of discussions with potential (and a few current) vendors. I figured it'd be best if I kept things professional while wandering the Convention center. With that said, we walked to Downtown Disney for lunch and ate at the ESPN Zone (where we watched the France v. Brazil friendly).
Ah, Downtown Disney on a clear, beautiful day. The strong-ish wind kept it from being a perfect day, but we still enjoyed things.
See. A Disney banner. I really did make the trip down there.
Darren and Priscilla came up over the weekend (hence the So Cal Visitors). We had a lovely dinner at Tamarine (in Palo Alto) where I enjoyed this Clay Pot Cod dish. Pretty yum, though not filling in the least. I'm glad we got some appetizers and a few sides too.
Priscilla, Christine, Me, Darren & Brandon at Fraiche in PA, where we enjoyed some great conversation and tasty yoghurt-y dessert.
The next day, a group of us hit Fu Lam Mum in Mt. View for dim sum (thankfully we went early enough to avoid the mid-day rush). After that, we walked to Verde to get a couple of bubble drinks for those who wanted them. Pictured above: Darren, Brandon, Me, Tony, Priscilla, Melissa, Elise & Christine.
Thanks for coming up to visit, Darren & Priscilla. It had been far too long since either of you blessed us with your presence (Aug 2009 and Oct 2007, respectively). We've got a long weekend coming up so let us hope that the weather allows for some fun times.
恭喜發財！
Onward to a new year (on the lunar calendar). I have a mini backlog of photos from last month that I'd like to share with you all so let's get to it.
Hiked up Sweeney Ridge in the San Bruno area. The view depicted above shows SFO as seen from the trail.
And looking towards the Pacific Ocean from Sweeney Ridge on a gorgeous afternoon.
A pic of my homemade minestrone. Some of the ingredients include vegetable stock, cannellini beans, edamame, spinach, roma tomatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, fresh basil. seashell pasta & a bit of quinoa. A very hearty, healthy and delicious soup for sure!
Another of my recent kitchen creations: spinach, mushroom, shallot quiche. I even made the crust from scratch. Pretty good, though it took a bit more effort than I originally anticipated.
During one of the lovely weather days that blessed California a couple weeks ago, I made it out to Half Moon Bay. I'm bloody glad I did since I've never been at the beach there on a warmer, or clearer, day (this includes trips to HMB in the middle of summer). Amazing.
Foot in sea foam (2011).
Mari & I enjoying the fine weather out at Oceanview Park in HMB (yeah, you couldn't see the ocean from there).
Now the lovely weather has passed and the "chill" of winter has returned to Cali. Onward to February. Happy year of the Rabbit everyone!
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