«.·°·. Friday, January 30, 2004 .·°·.»
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R.I.P. Didi Ah Yo (54)
For those from Hawaii (and those who know whom I'm referring to), I read some bad news today. Didi Ah Yo of Creative Holidays died today from 3+ years of battling Leukemia. I'm sure gonna miss her old commercials ("Didi Ah Yo and away we go!") regardless of how corny it seemed at that time. Over the years she's become an icon synonymous with cheap travel deals, particularly to Las Vegas, from Honolulu. Wishing her family the very best.
***posted by Mouji on 1/30/2004 01:53:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, January 29, 2004 .·°·.»
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Aside from work-related issues, I really don't have much to write about yet I feel compelled to put something down in my so-called journal. The randomness ensues:
- my freakin' comment system is down again if you haven't noticed
- I have a sh*tload of DVD's piling up that I need to catch up on (speaking of which, I should cancel my membership to Columbia House DVD Club since I fulfilled my membership quota)
- I'm into dry-aging beef...got me two thick-cut sirloin steaks dryin' out as we speak
- I hate winters in San Francisco...'nuff said
- My turtles are getting too damned fat
- I'm currently making approximately 35% more than what I was making in public accounting
- I've successfully summoned back from the dead an orchid plant people were telling me to throw away
- ......I could keep going, but I'm sure you'd rather me stop
***posted by Mouji on 1/29/2004 05:00:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Tuesday, January 27, 2004 .·°·.»
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Whale Rider
So I see that the Oscar Nominations are already out, and there's one delightful surprise on the list. Nods for best actress went to Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider for her portrayal of a young Maori heir to a chieftain that's stubbornly steadfast to old traditions where women play no part in village politics. I remember watching the video on DVD and was just mezmerized by her subtle yet engaging performance. Hope she wins. although she's up against some really tough competition like Charlize Theron in Monster, which I haven't seen yet but am impressed cuz she really "white-trashed" herself for that movie.
Before I forget, thanks to those who left a kind word in the guestbook! Soooo awesome of you!
***posted by Mouji on 1/27/2004 09:49:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Saturday, January 24, 2004 .·°·.»
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We celebrated our anniversary yesterday. It started out with me sending flowers to her work. I called in the order, and the lady told me about these cool lookin' Ecuadorian roses called "Red Intuition". Not knowing exactly how it would look, I thought it would be even more thoughtful than your standard dozen red long stems. You can see for yourself the cool patterns of different reds streaking through the petals. Scored major freakin' brownie points, peeps!
"Where you taking me?"
"Isn't there one on Irving St.?"
"OOOoooooo! We be havin' crab!!! I can't wait!!! Is it done yet???"
I got inspired to take my baby to PPQ after reading that Sarah's been there twice in like a month or two, so I figured it had to be the sh*ts. It most definitely exceeded my expectations! The fresh shrimp rolls weren't "pre-made" (like most other cheap Vietnamese pho joints"), and the shrimp was plump and juicy. The Roasted Crab, in my humble opinion, was better than Crustaceans/Thanh Long. Soooo much meat AND the sauce didn't coagulate back into a stick o' butter when it cooled down. Garlic noodles were rather light but packed a freakin' garlicky punch! The clams in spicy black bean sauce were also flavorful, fresh, and cooked to perfection - cooked a notch above raw.
So glad she loved every dish! Aaaaah...*breathes sigh of relief*
***posted by Mouji on 1/24/2004 11:18:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, January 22, 2004 .·°·.»
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GUNG HAY FAHT CHOY! SUN NIEN FAI LOK! CHURNG MENG FU GWAI! CHUT YUP PING ON!
Ok...so technically they aren't "monkeys", per se, but rather primates. You watch too much Animal Planet...
So last night we went to the new Whole Foods on the corner of Harrison and 4th St., and I started playin' around with the dead fish that was on display (snapper I believe) when I, in my best grumpy-old-man voice, said to the fish and its big eyes, "What 'er you lookin' at?!!" That got a good chuckle from everyone around me, so I proceeded to make a classy exit stage left. Upon leaving the seafood section (with much applause and adulation), this female fishmonger behind the refrigerated display decides to offer a poor quip of her own...what a killjoy...the moment was over...why can't people let sleeping dogs lie? Bad timing, m'dear, bad timing...
After a year plus of walking into my stale-smellin' apartment, I decided to get me one of them Glade scented-oil plugins with the built-in mini-fan to blow. What scent you ask? Hawaiian Breeze, naturally! Omigawd! Can I just say that the tiny widdle fan makes ALL the difference in the world? We've spent at least $50 replacing those Bath & Body Works plugins cuz we thought it broke everytime. *pounds head* stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...Anyhoo, for some reason the scent reminds me of the times I used to walk through the International Marketplace in Waikiki with the aroma of sculpted scented candles (y'know...the ones those Korean kiosk owners desperately try convincing you that you need one?) spicing the air. Now we join the ranks of "good-smelling" apartments on our floor. We were barely a notch above the apartment down the hall that seems to fry fish all day long. Weeeee!
Y'know, I've been putting off bringing back online the Turtle Cam. Byron and Sedgewick have more than doubled their size since the last time you folx saw them. So much so that the suction cup ramp is starting to fail. Before you call the ASPCA to complain about a code-violation, we're planning on getting a 30 gallon tank set-up for the critters, although hiding a 30 gallon tank is like playing hide-and-seek on an open prairie.
Enjoy the festivities if you can!
***posted by Mouji on 1/22/2004 09:34:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, January 19, 2004 .·°·.»
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Since I have more time now than I did in the past, thought I'd put together an audience-worthy weekend update replete with pictures.
Started out the day with a lunch at Tony Roma's which opened recently at Embarcadero Two
Decided to go down to the Great Mall of the Bay Area to see if there were anything that interested us. One thing that really piqued our curiosity were these oversized bean bags from Love Sac that were filled with memory foam. We're definitely thinking of getting a 5ft bag as a gift to my g/f's brother in Hawaii.
Hey ladies...ever wonder what a "urinal" looks like? Sorry 'bout the quality of the pic, but I had to snap one off real quick before anyone else walked in.
Had ourselves a deelish dinner at Marnee Thai. Did you know that the boisterous, chubby lady (y'know, the wife of the head chef? Let's call her "Marnee") is actually a psychic? My Thai co-worker told me this, and was confirmed when I wanted hot tea, which I never usually get, and she just sprung it on me! Whoah! Anyhoo, got us some Spicy Angel Wings (our absolute fav!), Chicken Praram (sauteed chicken and spinach covered in a mild, pungent curry-peanut sauce), and their world-famous Pad Thai. They opened up another restaurant on 9th Ave. & Irving if you want that posh atmosphere...I wonder if they took over what was once the House *shrug*.
My g/f had the weekend off and wanted to take a bit of an escape from citylife, so we decided to head on downt to Monterey for the day taking the scenic route on Highway 1.
On the way down there, we happened to zoom by Ono Hawaiian Restaurant. Too bad we already ate lunch, cuz that woulda been PERFECT!
After about a 3-hour drive, we finally made it to downtown Monterey and walked along their Fisherman's Wharf. My g/f couldn't resist staring at the Capuchin monkey.
It was finally time for our "Sweetheart Special" couples-massage at The Spa on the Plaza. I've only had 3 other massages before, but I'd have to say that this massage was one of the better ones next to the one we got at Cabo San Lucas, although the amenities aren't as posh as the Claremont in Berkeley.
Not knowing which restaurant on the pier was a ripoff, we decided to check out the Old Fisherman's Grotto since they appeared to have healthy portions. We weren't at all disappointed aside from the fact that they got my g/f's order wrong...but for the better since she got a whole gigantic lobster tail instead of half of an anemic lobster. I got the Captain's Platter which came with a jumbo prawn, 3 large scallops, salmon filet, mahi mahi steak, and half a tail of the aforementioned anemic lobster tail. The sh*tty pics don't do the dishes justice. Spoiled fuggers, aren't we?
And that takes us to today where my g/f barely got up for work this morning only to find out that she forgot the store keys and made me drive back and forth to deliver them to her. What an AMAZING boyfriend I am!
***posted by Mouji on 1/19/2004 09:22:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Wednesday, January 14, 2004 .·°·.»
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I knew it would be inevitable, but I never thought it would happen so damned quickly! Just when I thought I was hip and cool with my 50 DVD+R and 25 DVD+RW 4.7GB discs, someone has to throw a wrench into my "enlightenment". It looks like Verbatim came out with an 8.5GB DVD+R disc format! With the new disc format, I don't have to spend time deleting bonus materials, Spanish and French Dolby Digital sound files, director's commentaries, compressing video files, etc. to fit a movie on a 4.7GB disc! I estimate that I have at least a year before the 8.5GB discs become cheaper and more mainstream. Ah, the price you pay to keep youself in the game...
Anyhoo, I'm happy to report that my long hours at work this month have started to subside. I was burning out quick, especially after my 20 hour day on Monday. At least the Controller was impressed with our hardwork. I hope his happiness will translate into a generous bonus *crosses fingers*.
***posted by Mouji on 1/14/2004 10:52:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, January 12, 2004 .·°·.»
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Tita's Hale Aina
3870 17th St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 626-2477
"The King Kamehameha" plate - Kalua Pork w/ cabbage, Kal Bi, Chicken Adobo, seared Ono, Lomi Lomi Salmon ($14.95)
"Da Combo" plate w/ Kal Bi and Chicken Adobo ($11.95)
*Not Shown* - 3 pieces of fresh Malasadas ($4?)
Speaking of food, I recently got one of them Atkins-friendly wraps from Subway Sandwiches...it's more like an Atkins-friendly eggroll! And for $4??? What a f*ckin' ripoff!!!
***posted by Mouji on 1/12/2004 06:34:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, January 08, 2004 .·°·.»
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9:57pm...still at work...f*ck I'm tired...
***posted by Mouji on 1/08/2004 09:57:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Tuesday, January 06, 2004 .·°·.»
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Just a coupla brief comments today:
- My condolences to Josh and his family clan on their recent loss. I hope the succeeding generations have learned a lot from her and will pass on the knowledge and love to future generations to come.
- Poor Matt has the chicken pox. It's a very good age for the kid to get it, but not so good for his Dad who has yet to have his baby-like skin marred with long-lasting scars (don't you scratch!). Good luck, dudes!
***posted by Mouji on 1/06/2004 12:53:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, January 05, 2004 .·°·.»
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Oh man did the Holiday Season fly by this year. This marks the first year that I actually worked every conceivable day between Christmas and New Years...ugh! Man I feel fuggin' burnt out already despite the fact that it was the quietest it's ever been in the office since I started. And what made matters worse was that it was a really stormy winter, which I would guess is typical of the Bay Area this time of year...wouldn't care to know since I doubt I'd repeat this masochistic behavior again next year.
At least I have March to look forward to *yay*!
AND a big HAPPY BERFDAY to Nelson! May your year be filled with sleepless nights and milk-vomit on your shirts! Hahahaha!
***posted by Mouji on 1/05/2004 09:57:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, January 01, 2004 .·°·.»
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***posted by Mouji on 1/01/2004 11:58:00 PM*** ::
Alyssa (Hapachan) ¤ Brian (Yambiguity) ¤ Gabby (Pinao) ¤ Josh ¤ Madame Six ¤ Peggy (PegPower) ¤ Phong ¤ Rob (Toisan) ¤ Sarah (ChameleonSpell) ¤ Winnie (Aiyah)
This site has been visited
times cuz peeps just can't get enough of me!