New Year's Eve, Sleeping Early

New thing today, our plans for New Years Eve are to sleep early. Yup. It sounds glorious and I highly look forward to it. Yes it's a little lame balls, but we have something early and exciting to attend tomorrow, which I will be blogging about (hint, starts with an "R" and end with "ose parade"). That should be thrilling, miserable and worth blogging about.

And as the last post for 2013, I say, goodbye. It's been swell I suppose. Some bad things in retrospective, but I think I've grown, grown spiritually and shed some weight and bad stuff as well.

We're BBQing hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner and I am ridiculously excited for that as well. So this is the first time, new thing, we've ever "celebrated" the new year this way. We won't be staying up late to watch the ball drop. No forced attempt at merriment or social occasions, just sincere joy in doing things we love, and spending time together. We'll go to bed in 2013 and wake up in 2014.

May you have a Merry New Years Eve, and may 2014 bring lots of love, laughter, luck and l… (fill in blank) into your life.

Cheers! :)

Moby Dick Comic

New thing today, finished the Moby-Dick comic, based on the tale by Herman Melville. I've tried many ways to read through the original book. I've tried reading it… ya? I've also listened to it, which I enjoyed, but just didn't have the time to set aside, and have a handy dandy cd player to listen to the 28 CDs or whatever it is to listen to the whole thing. Then I saw this at a $5 bookstore, and said, hey why not? Spoilers ahead - there she blows!

Overall it was an ok story. I think some of the imagery and themes were interesting, but the creepiest thing was probably the end, where they found their missing sailor, tangled and wrapped in harpoon ropes, tied around Moby Dick! Pretty great drawing of it too in the comic. There is the forging of the great harpoon, with the blood of natives! Ahab strangles himself while launching his harpoon, he gets caught in the rope and goes down with the harpoon and Moby Dick. It's not quite clear if Moby Dick lives or dies, but he takes down the Pequod - the ship.  Anyway, I will give it away, but everyone dies, except Ishmael. Moby Dick pretty much wrecks everything and despite warnings, Ahab continues his insane quest to kill the whale, and his crew and him are consumed by the chase. 

If you can't stand to read the classic, this is actually a somewhat descent substitute. I might pick up a few more of these. It's not super lazy either! I could have just read the wikipedia article, but decided to try to get through a version. 

Knight and Day (2010)

New thing today, watched Knight and Day (2010). Cheeseball! But I sort of loved it. It didn't do well in the theaters, but I was interested in seeing it and we borrowed it from the library. It's more of a romantic comedy, then an action movie. I think they sold it more as an action movie, so it was not taken well. I think Cruise was not popular when it came out either.

It's a little bit Mr. & Mrs. Smith, except maybe when they first met or were dating. Anyway it's a ridiculous romantic spy action movie. It's pretty awesome ridiculous. If you come in knowing it's super cheese, you may enjoy it. It's just a ton of action around a romance, and yes, romatic comedy with a TON of action. Non stop all go action type, so I enjoyed it. Not sure if I'd own it or watch it again, but it was enjoyable while we watched it :) It was cute! I keep thinking though, maybe I'd own or watch it again :) lol.

Weight Watchers 10%

New thing today, reached my 10% weight loss goal at Weight Watchers! Totally unexpected. This was after a week where I gained weight. Anyway decided to strictly get back on track, eat healthier and really get back to tracking, and finally reached a major goal! Was very proud of myself!

I got a cute keychain with a star, a key and the number 10. Love it and I love even better that I earned it. I'm in a much better place physically and mentally with food. Even though I'm still a little obsessed with food, it's no longer as central or my "reward". I'm even trying to blog more about non food related items (just recently).

There is no cure, but a constant maintenance and upkeep, keeping healthy and slim. I'm fitting easily into more clothes, and people treat me different. I'm more confident, kinder to myself and wholistic about food and nutrition.

Anyway, the Weight Watchers program is good for me and has worked for me so far. I won't push it on anyone, but I'm glad it's worked and will keep up with it as much as possible :)

Next goal - lifetime status and achievement. And keeping a healthy lifestyle :)

The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick

New thing today, finished The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick. I've been reading a collection of his short stories, and overall I really love his stuff. There's a lot of good action and sci-fi with it, and he makes characters and stories very suspenseful, intriguing and interesting. The Variable Man was a much longer short story, about a man named Thomas Cole, who is unexpectedly brought into the future and is in the middle of war preparations. He is a fixer, good at fixing things, and is intuitive with machines, and so is able to affect the story and future machines and devices with a sort of genius savant clarity. I won't give it away, but it kept me interested and was a nice unexpected ending. That's another thing I like about his stories. They can surprise me which I love. This one was very good and I highly recommend reading his stuff! 

Why Do We Sleep?

New thing today, listened to a TED Podcast on "Why Do We Sleep" by Russell Foster. It was fascinating. Just one of those podcasts that sort of enlightens you and makes you feel all super smart. It also talks about how important sleep is and the effects of sleep deprivation, which I think applies to me. Listen for yourself and hope it helps you get a good night's rest :)

Oh Christmas Tree

New thing today, got our Christmas tree up. Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas in a Cemetery

New thing today, Christmas Eve, drove through a cemetery. Wasn't feeling morbid, just that there's one nearby and on a lunch break, decided to drive through just to see it. Usually they're very green and serene and relaxing, so just a little lunch detour before heading back to work. Anyway, I found it very sweet. I saw people decorating the graves for Christmas. I also saw an old man sitting on a chair next to a grave, obviously spending time. Appreciate your loved ones and in the spirit of Christmas, remember to cherish people! Here are a few shots. 

Costco Vietnamese Spring Rolls

New thing today, tried the Costco Vietnamese Spring Rolls. They're ready made and I was wondering Costco snacking on samples and looking for an easy lunch. Since the food at the fast food area isn't so health friendly, I was delighted to find these available. They've got shrimp, greens, rice noodles/wrapper, and shredded carrots inside. Very yummy, comes with peanut and sweet & spicy sauce. Filling too! Descent and good, and I will be getting these again!

Umami - Truffle Season - Truffled Ahi Tartare Salad

New thing today, tried the Truffled Ahi Tartare Salad from Umami It's "Truffle Season" Menu. OMG I am such a fan. Anyway watching the weight, so wanted to pick one of the healthier menu items so tried the Ahi Salad. Wow very very good. Always great food and service at Umami. Anyway it comes with arugula on top, ahi sashimi grade tartare at the bottom, and on the side mushrooms and sweet relish onions. Great stuff. The texture was a little soft and mushy for me and it would have been nice to have other textures like some crunch, but otherwise very very very yum :) I must go back and save some points and try some other stuff on their Truffle Season menu!

On a side note, I love the truffle season shirts the waiters wear at Umami! Support, go and enjoy :) 

Gordon Ramsay's The London West Hollywood - Lunch

New thing today, went to Gordon Ramsay's The London West Hollywood for lunch on Saturday. Took the family out for Christmas and their lunch menu looked interesting. Sounds like it's seasonal, so they may or may not have the same items when you go, but here's what I thought. 

Overall the hotel is SWANKY! Very posh, very modern, sophisticated, elegant and cool. It wasn't busy for lunch, but we did have a celebrity siting, someone from the TV show LOST was there :) So it was really neat. That might be a first, seeing THAT celebrity at the restaurant.

Anyway, the ambiance was great, service was a little lack luster - I assume from the holidays or we didn't look important enough to wait on appropriately. I asked for a window seat and they said they were booked up with reservations for tables by the window (even though I made reservations in advance, and the entire time the restaurant was mostly empty). Anyway all through our lunch, we saw maybe 3 tables empty by the windows where we could have been seated, but we didn't get to, so that was poor on their part.

Brocoli Soup - with cheddar croutons. Winner winner! This was an amazing soup! Flavorful! A little salty at the end, but the croutons were amazing. They softened up over time and it was a very good soup - everyone enjoyed it. 

Steak Tartare and French Fries. I've always wanted to try steak tartare and this was a first! It had good flavor and the texture of the french fries (more like potato strings) was a good mix for the dish. I thought it was a lot of tartare though for the appetizer, but it was good. I expected the dish to taste a lot more like cooked steak or ribeye, but instead had the texture and flavor more of sashimi. 

Chicken Shnitzel. Disappointed! Very oily and a bit dry inside. Also I like mustard but there was a lot of mustard with every bite as it was plated on the mustard mix, and it was just too much. I probably should have sent it back, but ugh, I hated this and no one else at the table seemed to like it either. 

Miso Marinated Black Cod with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. This was amazing! The fish was cooked perfectly and the rest of the dish was so good. This was the best entree at the table!

Ramen Noodles with Pork Belly, Egg & Swiss Chard. This was good. It was a soup you had to mix the egg into. Overall quite tasty and if you're in the mood for ramen noodles is descent. I thought it was a little bland, but it was still pretty good. 

Black Angus Burger. This was just alright. A burger, perhaps above average, but not amazing either?

English Sticky Toffee Pudding - Game Changer! This was by far the best dish we had. It was insanely good. I'm not even a dessert fan and I was in love with this dish. Would gladly go back just for coffee and this.

So in the end, the food had a range from amazing (pudding, cod and soup) to disappointing (chicken shnitzel & burger), but I did get to try a new dish - steak tartare which was good. Service was below par, and if I'm paying this much money for the restaurant, I'd hope it would be better. I've had better burgers and service at other restaurants for a lot less money. There was a celebrity siting so that was sorta of neat, and the ambiance was very very cool. I would go back and try other things, the other people I went with, don't know if they liked it that much to ever go back. The service was a definite *ugh to the whole thing. Oh well. 

Zapp's Cheddar and Smoked Bacon Chips

New thing today, tried Zapp's cheddar & smoked bacon flavored potato chips. Sounds amazing, but tasted super strong and I wasn't really a fan. Way too much smoked flavor and although I love bacon, just was not digging these chips. Oh well?

Buffalo Bleu Kettle Chips

New thing today, tried Kettle Buffalo Bleu potato chips (photo from another blog). I've been into blue cheese lately, or I might just be a fan. Anyway saw these on a shelf and decided to try it. They don't fast so blue cheesy as more like just BBQ chips. They're good, but didn't have as much blue cheese flavor as I would have liked. If you like buffalo wings with bleu cheese, these might appeal to you, but honestly I think they just taste like BBQ chips with some tang. But - try them for yourself? :) They're good and I would get them again.

Orange Truck

New thing today, saw the COOLEST orange truck ever. It's just cool. Here are the photos I could get. 

Full House Seafood

New thing today, ate at Full House Seafood in Chinatown LA - DELICIOUS! It looks a little sketchy and run down from the front, but it has delicious quality food inside. Everything was delicious and cheap, and there were good healthy options. Just try anything, and bring more people so you can try lots of different things - family style. Can't wait to go again :) New favorite place in Chinatown.

Green beans - possibly best dish that meal :) Very flavorful and green healthy!

Scallops with Mushrooms - really flavorful and just yum.

Shrimp Fried Rice - husband's favorite and it was really good.

Noodles with calamari, shrimp, vegetables and possibly other things. Really good as well! I wish I knew what this is called - I think they're pan fried noodles.

Ramsay - The London Reservations and Hell's Kitchen season 5

New thing today, made reservations for Gordon Ramsay's The London West Hollywood restaurant, and started Hell's Kitchen season 5 (Thanks Hulu!). It's a Ramsay themed evening. We're planning to go to The London for Christmas with the family, as a gift and fun thing to do for Christmas. I've also been on a chef show kick/resurgence, so putting on Hell's Kitchen and enjoying a relaxing evening at home. Funny thing, but all the work stress and drama, makes me love being home all so much more. Hearing Ramsay yell at people, being badgering and belligerent, helps me appreciate what I have. Just staying positive and enjoying an 80 degree weather day in December :) Must appreciate the little things.

Harry Potter 8 disc DVD set

New thing today, got and watched the Harry Potter 8 disc DVD set from Best Buy. Great deal for $45 and with just the movies in a neat compact little package. It's the basic Harry Potter movies and it's a very affordable and nice set. Love it!

Delicious Fall Salad

New thing today, made the most delicious salad ever. It has dried cranberries, cut up pears and apples, candied almonds and walnuts mixed into a spring mix of greens. Also I've been into Blue Cheese dressing lately, so that went with this awesome - but you can put any dressing and it would probably turn out yum too. I call it the Delicious Fall Salad :)

Poinsettia

New thing today, got a poinsettia from our real estate agent. So not so new, but new this year, this time, every year she drops off a poinsettia plant for us. It's really nice and cool, and shows she thinks of us, cares and remembers us. 

So also today's realization, is that, when the world (work) kicks you around and makes you feel smaller than small, there are people out there who love you, just the way you are, who understand and who care. Anyway today I was reminded of that, and the love of my friends and family is very much appreciated, especially these days that have been a lot rough on me. 

So, this is a dedication to them :) Today, I get by with a little help from my friends :) Thanks!

Even though it's Friday the 13th, it's good to be home where the heart is.

Review

New thing today, most miserable work review I've ever had. Nuff said. Ugh.

Applied to a Cemetery

New thing today, applied to work at a cemetery. Since my career prospects may be dead, per previous post. *Sigh.

Linked In is Retarded

New thing today, I'm mad at LinkedIn. So, I have a job, but it's not ideal, so I job hunt and update my profile. Anyway I've had a post on my profile for awhile now about a volunteer gig I've been working for awhile, but since I updated it, it looks like I got a new job, so LinkedIn posted it, and sent emails, and basically announced I had a new job, when I don't. Guess what, end of year, reviews are coming up, and they're reorganizing at my current job, so I wonder if they'll fire me now because they think I have a new job, when it's actually just a volunteer gig I've been doing since January of 2013? So annoyed, paranoid and upset, that LinkedIn is basically endangering employment at my current job, because it posted something I never wanted posted? WTF? *sigh, nothing to do. A few people have asked me about it already so it's out, damage done, but it's annoying as fuck. But alas, I have to keep LinkedIn, or do I?

Warm Bodies (2013)

New thing today, watched Warm Bodies. The previews looked cute, but I didn't know if I actually wanted to sit down and watch the whole thing. Turned out entertaining and cute. The beginning hooked me. It had a very comedic sarcastic beginning that was fun to watch. Then it got into the whole Zombie love story, very much Romeo and Juliet type. That was a little boring, and seemed different from the beginning tone of the movie. The whole thing is fun though, and they take a very Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland influence with the sarcasm and satire on it. 

Overall it was cute, but not great, just ok. First part is the best, and then you can sorta pay attention the rest of the movie, but you don't have to. It's a romantic comedy with zombies.

That was unexpected

New thing today, was truly truly shocked at something a friend told me. No details, but basically, I found out something completely unexpected about someone I know.

It goes along with something I was thinking about today. How much of our life is ours, and how much of it is a product of something people tell us it should be. I've been pretty unhappy and depressed about job stuff, but not for the reasons people may think. The reduced pay and change of title isn't nearly as demoralizing, as the lowered expectations people have of me, or the loss of faith I have in myself.

How much of my unhappiness is a product of expectations others have of me, or of expectations I have from myself? What is true self realization stuff, and how much of it is what society/others have ingrained in me to believe, that I should be? Lately I've been thinking about what is real and what really makes me happy, vs what I'm supposed to like or do or want. The Zen habit of unlearning I suppose, and finding truth and essence of life.

Like - I should make this much money. I should have this at this age. I should be at this point in my life at this time. I should be happy or unhappy with this or that.

Anyway, maybe this goes along with a goofy thing I saw on TED Talks (new thing), about perception and the illusion of reality or value being more important than reality or value (Rory Sutherland - Life lessons from an Ad Man - very interesting and entertaining), or that I'm reading a ton of science fiction? Anyway. Sorry for... no, not sorry. "Say what you want to say" right Sara Bareilles? I've been loving that song lately and I just watched that video for the first time (new thing) and I'm pretty sure it was filmed at CSUN library and the Northridge mall - HOLLA! I'm going to practice being brave, and thinking and saying things that are on my mind, instead of necessarily saying and thinking the things I think I'm suppose to say and think.

Anyway, not sorry for the existential rant (also not sure if that's the right word but whatever).

So ya. I'm in one of those moods, and this is one of those posts. Maybe there may be more, or not, but ya, new thing.

Portos Breakfast - Guacamole Croissant and Chorizo Cuban

New thing today, tried new Portos breakfast sandwiches.

First was a guacamole, cheese and egg croissant. It's healthier, gooey and soft goodness. Not a lot of different textures going on, but good flavor. 

I also tried the chorizo egg and cheese sandwich on a cuban roll. Also good, and I liked the flavor of this much better. 

Good stuff :) The only thing I might say is I wish they had salty chips instead of banana chips. Would make a nicer accompaniment, but alas, it's still good Portos stuff.

The Tents (2012)

New thing today, watched The Tents, a documentary on New York Fashion Week and the Bryant Park tents. I was surprised how good this was. I thought it might be sort of fluffy or uninteresting, but they took interviews and snippets from interesting people, and told the history of New York Fashion Week in an informative and entertaining way. They had anecdotes from different designers, fashion journalists, fashion folk and organizers, and you got a glimpse of what it used to be, what it is now and what it evolving into. I love the history and evolution of the industry, and the way it used to be a sneak peak for insiders only, to a popular huge mass influential event. I used to event plan, so it was interesting to see some behind the scenes stuff that they pull off during the week with all the planning and stuff that goes on. 

If you watch Project Runway, or like fashion, you may really enjoy this documentary. Even for non-fashion type people, it's just interesting. Surprisingly substantial and sucks you in. I thought maybe I'd get bored or distracted, but I enjoyed it until the end :)  

Blockbuster Stores Closing

New thing today, Blockbuster store signs closing. These have been out awhile, but just a sign of the times. I'm fine with it. Wasn't heartbroken like I was when Borders went out of business, but ya, goodbye Blockbuster. Oh well - won't really miss you. Never liked your service, your locations or your selections much. Always just "eh" experience. 

Wallet Returned

New thing today, a coworker got his lost wallet back from a total stranger, with all money and items there, nothing missing. It was a really nice story. I guess coworker lost his wallet at a Farmer's Market. The "finder" was a Dad who wanted to teach his kids about responsibility, so he tracked down the coworker's parents through an address in the wallet, and was able to call coworker and find a way to exchange the wallet. Finder left the wallet somewhere hidden outside their house, so coworker could come by and pick it up. Coworker left a gift card for the finder, but never met the person.

Just a really nice heartwarming story, these days :)

Love Who You Are Bags

New thing today, bought these great "Love Who You Are" bags. This is an important message! Got this at a boutique sale at our local church. I ended up keeping the big one, and giving another to a friend. Lovely :) And remember, love who you are :) 

Portos Gourmet Coffee

New thing today, tried Portos Bakery Gourmet coffee. It is delicious! I will be getting it again. Best cup of coffee I've had in awhile.

Alice Teacup

New thing today, used and made tea from my new Alice in Wonderland teacup! Saw it at Disneyland and thought it was super cute. Husband noticed and got it for me for no reason as a surprise! What a guy :) so today I made tea with it! My sister got me the Alice in Wonderland Mad Alice tea leaves mix awhile back, and I opened it and made tea. Yeay family! Thanks Ohana!