Snippet 46

Taylor:
[having chat window issues]
Maybe i will close and reopen.

(5 seconds later)

Taylor:
Hi.

V:
Back?

Taylor:
I am back are you back?

V:
I've been here all along.

Taylor:
Very existential of you.

By Yours Truly 7

Grilled portobellos and deep-fried garlic in sweet soy with ground ginger

What i learned yesterday:

The portobello is known as the champignon de Paris in France. I was so certain "champignon" meant "champion". But no, it means, simply, "fungus".

The portobello is a giant Crimini and Crimini mushrooms are sold as Baby Bellas. Everything is relative, indeed.

Quote 94

When i wake up
i hate the way reality sets in

There's gotta be a way
that's better than
just getting by

- "Seven Days of Lonely", I Nine

Brim

My toilet is begging to be cleaned.

"If you're reeeally lucky," i tell my toilet. "Maybe tomorrow."

Quote 93

Am I to be made of stone? To be touched by nothing?

- Elizabeth


*Disclaimer: I may be paraphrasing

As Told To JD 5

There is "fun" in "profundity"! : )

Snippet 45

JD:
And tomorrow i'll wonder why i have the dictionary on my island.* The island i live on.

V:
I like that you have an island for now, and i hate that i'll never get to see it.


*He was looking up "acquiesce" after i'd said it

Wash 2

I miss having a pair of jeans to stick my hand down. While a man is still in them, i mean.

They don't have to be blue, and neither do I.


Photo courtesy of Ruehl No. 925

No Caption Necessary 3

Snippet 44

JD:
Have you ever put your head on the pillow, and your head starts spinning?

V:
Actually, when i put my head down, it's the room that starts spinning.

By Yours Truly 6

Grilled scallops with Italian flair, inspired by Pasta Pomodoro

Nook

Burn, baby, burn!

Inspired by breakfast @ Nibs, El Cerrito, California, and JD's kielbasa recipe

No Caption Necessary... Almost 8

I don't share the sentiment on chocolate per se, but i do relate.

Vintage

A case of buying the bottle for the label:

No matter it cost $17.99. I simply had to have it. And the name is cool!

It'd better not taste worse than the $4.99 bottle i got at Trader Joe's:


Which, incidentally, i also bought for the label : ) Oh, and the name is cool.

Logic 2

I eat
so i can have enough energy
to grocery-shop after work
so i can cook
so i can eat.

And You May Quote Me 23

Revisiting does not exorcize.

Epidermis, Near Enemy of Love

One night a couple of weeks ago, the care label on my sleep shirt started to irritate me. Where my skin came in contact with the tag started to itch. The kind of itch that keeps you from restful sleep. The next day I saw in the mirror that the itchy area had turned an angry pink. I decided i was allergic to the fabric, and changed shirts.

By then a dry, rough patch had formed on my back. Lotion would soothe it. But it wasn't going away.

Angry pink turned into the shade of a withered, fallen leaf. Soon, the affected area expanded, with tiny bumps around the parameter. Itch was intermittent. It ran deep, bordering on pain, giving me goose bumps.

Earlier this week, when my cousin JY complained about adult acne and how it's affecting her social life, i revealed my recent condition.

JY, who's been plaqued with a plethora of skin issues since infancy, almost sounded joyous when she diagnosed me, "Sounds like eczema to me!" (As much as one can tell joy on electronic paper anyway.)

My heart sank. JY has been battling with eczema for at least a couple of years. If anybody knows eczema, it's JY.

It must be eczema. After all, JY and i share the same mitochrondria. I came to this conclusion before i even knew the disorder was atopic. And there is no cure. I understand eczema is no cause for urgent research funding.

The sense of doom was so perturbing that i still haven't replied to JY.

Last night, when i shared the news with JD, he joshed, "Are you sure it's not psoriasis?"

Aging really is a downhill tumble. I've had a flawless back all my life!

"I could wear a backless dress any day," I told JD. "Except when it's chilly."

Interception

I am not a morning person. I'm a night owl by nature.

But i choose to start my work day early so i stand a chance of having enough motivation to run an errand or two at the end of the day if need be.

There is this customer, Sook*, who comes in our store almost every single day. He's one of those who are desperate for attention.

Most days, by the time i come into work, the coffee is gone.

I am not happy to come to a near-empty pot and have to make some fresh myself. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the brewing process. For the ritualism and aroma and time away from my dreary desk and all. But when i have just arrived, all i want is to pour that first mug of perk-me-up, and retreat in my office, my back to the staff on the floor and all the patrons, thinking in my head, "Don't look at me!"

And Sook would time and again approach and comment, "Ahh... Fresh coffee, huh?" Or simply making an observation, "Ahh... No more coffee, huh?"

Sook is such a regular that, on occassion, he'd make a fresh pot himself. And when i make the innocent mistake of not peeking through the blinds before making the coffee pilgrimage, he'll be gesturing, presenting the drip, uttering, "Made fresh, just for you!"

One time he actually digressed from coffee and mentioned a football game... in Hawaii, no less. I'd clocked in two minutes earlier, and all i wanted was my freaking coffee without harassment. Mug in hand, i turned to him and stated stoically, "I don't give a lick about sports."

This morning, again i was crouching to fetch a pouch of Columbian from the cupboard under the coffeemaker. I do so limbly and bounce like a tigress. Every time i do that i think, "What a waste with all this agility i'm not having sex!"

So, as i had my knees bent, Sook came up from behind me and, again, seemingly compelled, remarked, "Oh! Making coffee!"

I almost had to bite my lip in order not to turn around, straight-faced, to inform him:

Yes, Sook. That's what we do here. When coffee is out, we make more. That's the general idea. Get used to it!


*Not his real name

All In a Day's Work 11

This is not a bad recall reason, either. : )

Audacity

The paw-on-boob design deserves an award!

Happy St. Patty's!

They expect you to pay for the three-leafed variety?

By Yours Truly 5

Inspired by the Haleakala Lava Flow Prawns at Paradise Beach Grille, Capitola, California.

How I Feel At Times 2

Sure, I Read the Paper 2

I don't know about you, but the shark fin kabob and goat liver burger make my stomach growl as i visualize and salivate whilst reveling in the phantom aroma that infuses the room...


Source: San Jose Mercury News

Sure, I Read the Paper

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Culinarily Inquisitive 2

IMO = In My Opinion?

Culinarily Inquisitive

As opposed to, umm, cactus al dente?

Breakfast On the Go

Thank God for Ziploc's Twist 'n Loc series with Leak Resistant Seal!

Reasons To Keep Breathin'... 2

Sugar Butter Flour has opened a new location at The Pruneyard in Campbell. They have the most amazing collection of confections:

What a clever name, by the way, huh? The simplest sometimes is the most impactful. Certainly beats, say, Yeast Or Other Leavening Agent.

Courtesy of SBF:

Mocha Loca 2

Replace crème liqueur in Phoebe's recipe with raspberry syrup, and you've got yourself an after-dark raspberry mocha*, the clubbin' version of one of my staples @ Bux.

The ruby tint is rockin'!!


*Hold the moo jooz

My Brother Coins "Diarrhea Explosiva"

This afternoon, mid-action, i was certain i was on a roll when I decided on a courtesy flush lest the acrid odor build up and overwhelm the unfortunate sucka that was next to grace this single stall at work.

Whoosh!!!... Then abruptly, the unrest ceased. Not a remnant sensation whatsoever.

I then concluded: the sound of a toilet flushed is psychological signal to the brain: It's all over, buddy!

It's mental Pepto.

The Single Who Didn't Mingle

Derek II adores hearing about my weekends. Before and after. He loves that i make plans and stick to them.

"You're just like, 'I'm gonna do this, then i'm gonna do this...'" He commented last week. "'I think that's so cool!"

"Well, can't sit home weekend after weekend," i replied. "Just cuz you have no friends."

Derek's disappointment is evident, though, when i claim time and again to be disinterested in getting dates. If nothing else, he expects accounts of steamy IM sessions with strangers. Webcam engaged.

Today he asked how my evening was. I told him i did notice a couple of contact attempts online.

"But i was like, eh, i'm busy, i'm watching AI," i told Derek. "This can wait."

"Maybe tonight, huh?" Suggested an enthused Derek. "This could develop into something hot!"

"Eh!" I shrugged. "We'll see. I just told you that cuz i know that's what you like to hear. I mean, to be all done with dating is boring. Who wants to hear that?"

"I wanna live vicariously through you, V.," confessed Derek. "You singles can decide one Friday, 'Hey, I'm gonna be a slut tonight. I'm gonna go out, and get laid.' I can't do that!"

"Apparently," i laughed. "I can't, either."

Part of My Three-Course Lunch

Kinugoshi tofu* and golden mushrooms in Goma-Dare Tsuyu, a Japanese sesame-based sauce


*Soft, silk-filtered tofu made with nigari

By Yours Truly 4

"Island"* Soyaki Beef

*Translation: contains pineapple juice

Deep Thoughts (Not By Jack Handey) 15

This couple creeps me out. Not only their faces, but their heads look fused.

Reasons To Keep Breathin'...*

Courtesy of Yoshi's


*A Cast Away reference

Quote 92

Oh I'm not gonna go into an hour-long... I've made my point, Ryan. Understand it.

- Simon Cowell

All In a Day's Work 10

This afternoon Derek II needed Kato's help to bring in a box of files from storage.

"It's gonna be the 'paids' from last year," instructed Derek. "And I need the letter 'D'."

Moments later a flustered Kato reappeared. "There's no 'D'," he announced.

"But you found the other letters?" Asked Derek.

"I saw one that's, like, K to M," replied Kato.

"They're all like that - in groups," Derek informed him. "So you'll have one that's A through whatever - "

"So..." Interrupted a rash, perplexed Kato. "Which one is it?"

At which point i had to intervene by saying, "Whichever range 'D' falls in!"

"That would've been my guess," chimed in a sarcastic Louis.

Kato still seemed stumped.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Asked a compassionate, patient Derek, who then escorted the kid out.

Looking over to Louis who was shaking his head and smirking, i said, "Wow... You can't make this stuff up! I'm gonna blog about this tonight!"

Unscientific

This morning i came to the realization that i suffer from sleep apnea.

"No wonder i don't feel rested most days," i told Denisse.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Asked Denisse. "Don't they have to run special tests for that diagnosis?"

I replied, "Because i literally wake up from not breathing, and i hear the snore."

Wash

Ruehl No. 925

How I Feel At Times

Quote 91

Never let a fool kiss you, and never let a kiss fool you.

- Anonymous

All In a Day's Work 9

Denisse, a physical therapist, works at a rehab facility mostly for the elderly recuperating from injury. Every now and then they admit someone who is demented and/or belligerent. Some are grumpy and whiny; others quiet and brooding. It's quite a spectrum.

This evening Denisse recounts an experience that I would like to retell verbatim:

"So one of my 'pleasantly confused' ladies at my work who cries a lot... Well, i went up front and saw her coming towards me and she had a tear trickling down halfway down her face that was kind of dry... so i go to her... 'Have u been crying?' And her response to me was: 'Yes, i have. And it suits my mood.'"

That is the cutest story, ever! Especially to someone who is very subject to depression herself.

Alimentary Commentary

I love these pretzel chips. (Caraway seeds rule!!!) Go perfectly with TJ's Hot & Sweet Mustard. Each bite is like a tiny orgasm.

But why must they be so masquerade??

Mocha Loca

Ingredients of Phoebe's "secret" concoction. Add love to taste, of course.

Oh, and feel free to switch out the cheap stuff with Bailey's and Kahlúa.

Stripped 2

Don't you love it when a service station displays an empty liquid soap dispenser and places a bottle of dishwashing liquid on the bathroom sink for your laving pleasure?

Picnic For One

Not a bad view to lunch with, huh?

Day of My Favorite Color

Yellow lunch bag


Yellow shirt


Yellow straw


Yellow flower fields


Yellow skin

I was a happy yellow person today.

璧

Half Chinese-Malaysian, half Maori, all beautiful. Such an expressive face! To go with an ethereal voice that reaches inside you and grabs you by the soul...

Dawn 2

I mistake for hunger...

the sensation of my gastric lining being dissolved by ibuprofen.

What Blues?

(As seen in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Via magazine.)