ARDIRI

2012--Finally!

At long last, the year 2011 has finally ended!  Watch as I bow down, prostrate my self upon the ground, and thank all the gods! 

Last year was a doozie: the end of a long relationship that truly should have ended at least a couple of years earlier, my re-entry into the dating scene for real, a quick lesson in salary negotiations, my first Bikram Challenge completed*,  a quick weekend jaunt to Hawaii, and a re-realization that the world is damn awesome! (*OK, so I didn't fully complete the challenge, but I did do 27 classes in 30 days while working full-time; I think that is more than pretty good!) 

Now for the resolutions:

1) Complete my Master's thesis. I have no more excuses left and I have no one but myself holding me back.  I must see this as a series of papers and not some big monster lurking under the proverbial bed.  

2) Continue my Bikram practice.  It makes me happy and healthy.  Ideally, I would like to do 4 days a week, but 3 will suffice.  However, I need to be conscious of how my angry little right knee is feeling and back off when necessary.

3) Keep up with the blog. I know that there is a novel,  a non-fiction book, or a series of restaurant reviews hidden somewhere in me and writers only get better by actually writing.  Of course, writing the thesis will help, but I've got to have some fun writing to do as well.

4) Spend more time with my girlfriends. Friends rock and should be prioritized. We all have busy lives, but I know I can make room for them.

5) Start being crafty again.  I used to do a lot of creative things--sewing, knitting, glueing shit from magazines to anything that stood still for more than 5 seconds (decoupaging).  What happened that stopped me?  A lot and really very little.  This year I'd like to return to being a crafty chica and also dip my big toe into "urban art" (but legally, of course).

Alright, I think that is enough for today.  There may be more resolutions to come...

Happy New Year to All!  Hello 2012, you are looking fantastic already!

Cleaving

We were once upon a time two disparate individuals inhabiting  the same intellectual space and time.  Then somehow, somewhere, sometime, you noticed me and were inclined to transfer into my orbital path.  We then slowly began the process of colliding, melding, and growing together until the atmosphere (the outside conditions, the expectations, especially those imposed by others) and our inner realities created too much friction.  We cleft apart in every single sense of the dictionary definition.  And now I am learning  that, just like a diamond must be sharply and decisively cleft to expose its most beautiful facets, I too must be broken  apart, split along my true seam to reveal that hidden self of beauty and wisdom.

In love and life, small things can make you feel so happy...

Like coming home to an empty egg carton labeled for my favorite empty-egg-carton use:  walking on it barefooted!  Such a cheap, easy foot massage can be had just from walking on the carton.

Or finding that your love-dove has bought a heart-shaped potato just for you!

The love-dove can be so sweet!

Tasting the Bay Area Slice by Slice!

(The pic above has nothing to do with tasting pizza, except for the fact that we found it "as is" on the walk to the pizza place.  A little weathered and worn-out, but too cute!)

John and I are taking a "Pizza Odyssey" through the Top 6 Pizza Joints in the Bay Area as deemed by Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle Restaurant Critic. 

Saturday evening we went to Pauline's Pizzeria  in the Mission and had what may have been the best pesto sauce on Earth in the form of their Pesto Pizza.  Pauline's uses ingredients from their own gardens and the quality of their produce shone brilliantly in their special salad for that evening which was full of cucumbers and fresh herbs.  The Pesto clearly was fresh from the garden and Pauline's is so confident in their pesto recipe that they'll allow no substitutions and no additions!  I have to say that this is a case where the chef is right--the Pesto is perfect just as it is!  It may not look so pretty, but it most certainly tastes divine:

For dessert, we had the much-raved about Butterscotch pudding with a side of vanilla ice cream reluctantly suggested by our waiter.  We found the pudding much too salty.  I think we would have been happier with the homemade vanilla and orange bergamot ice cream sundae.

Nevertheless, I was very pleased with their house brand of wine, Pauline's Pizza Red 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was spicy and smooth at the same time.  Delish!

And here are the other five pizzerias we will be visiting:

Gialina

Gioia

Pizzaiolo

Pizzeria Picco

Rosso

Friday Night at the Bubble Lounge, San Francisco

Bubblelisciousness at the The Bubble Lounge!  Or rather Muscat-liscious!

Salud!

Just a quick preview of our (mostly) sunny day in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.

More Knitting

I am working on John's very-belated birthday present--a Noro Striped Scarf (a la Brooklyn Tweed):
 
For whatever reason (and one that I am not complaining about!) this Noro Silk Garden is super soft compared to most Silk Garden I have worked with--de-lovely!  (Noro Silk Garden Colorways 267 and 269 on size 7 needles).

Halloween!

To celebrate my favorite holiday--Halloween--John and I went to a party held by one of UCSF's pharmacy clubs/groups held Saturday night at the club Suite One8One.

Unfortunately, walking from our parked car to the actual club was itself a bit spooky as we had to walk through the Tenderloin (a notoriously not so nice neighborhood) to get to the club.  Upon arrival our arrival at the club's doors, we determined that we'd be taking a taxi to return the four+ blocks to our car when we left.  (Not a good neighborhood, nope!  Not at all!)

Nevertheless, we had a good time dancing and acting silly with all:

(L to R: Trevor, Me, John, Gina)

The costume on the left is dedicated to my friend B.,  "Look god, no chin straps!"

And finally, I was the "Angel of Death" to accompany John's "Devil":

Although, I do have to say that I like Tonia's guess that I was a fallen angel!

Happy Halloween to all!  Mine will certainly be good as I have the week off from work (Yay for private school schedules!).

Just a teeny Halloween Peek!

Here's a quick peek of John and I from last night's Halloween party:

You can easily see what John is for Halloween, but can you guess what I am?  More details tomorrow!

White-Coated!

(Left to right: John's mom, Myung; me, John, John's brother, Jeffrey; John's dad, John)

Friday night was John's White Coat Ceremony at UCSF and it actually was a rather nice event.  Usually with ceremonial events, one can expect boring speakers who fail to grasp the fact that public speaking is, in essence, a type of entertainment.  However, this event had some rather competent speakers who made the event quite enjoyable--especially the "senior" pharmacy student, Troy Drysdale, whose speech emphasized the importance of  balance in one's life.  (Boy, oh boy, could I certainly use to take that advice when I find myself toiling away on work-related tasks till 11 pm on weekday nights!)  The Dean of the Pharmacy School, Mary Anne Koda-Kimble is as cute as a button, yet a powerhouse of a speaker (and, I imagine, a powerhouse in all she does).

We switched the celebratory dinner from Eos to Zazie as Eos' is a " small-plate" type of restaurant and we wanted to ensure that each person had their own entree, rather than sharing tiny, artistically-presented, delicious servings fit for one person.  Nevertheless, we all ended sharing most of our food at Zazie's (except for me, in that I didn't partake of the mammals).  We were all set to have dessert (which Zazie rocks), but had to leave in quite a rush for John and I to get to the San Francisco International Airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles.

Yes, LA!  Anaheim specifically for the NCPA Conference that John is attending. 

From my experience thus far with this area of LA, otherwise known as home of Disneyland, I've decided to call it Scheisterland!  Hello, could I asked to be ripped off just a bit more by car/taxi drivers?  I took a chaufeured car (which the hotel recommend, hmmm?!) to a nearby shopping area and was to be charged $10--agreed on up front--when I arrived and went to pay with a $20, the driver claimed he had no change but a dollar bill.  R-i-i-i-i-ght.  Sure, I am going to tip you 100%.  He then instructed me to ask a nearby taxi for change, which, of course, the taxi driver refused flat out.  I turned to the chauffeur, pulled out the small bills I had in my purse and told him that there was absolutely no way I was going to give him double the rate,  then I stuffed the bills (4 or 5 dollars) in his hands, he shrugged  a mopish OK, and I left.  Honestly, if you are providing a driving service--taxi or car--you should have change for a twenty, especially when you know ahead of time where you are taking someone.  I,absolutely do not feel bad for how much I paid the driver; he should of had change.  Unfortunately, we've encountered a few experiences like this since we've been here.  Ugh.

We went to a nice party that the conference put on last night--complete with free good wine, mojitos (my fave mixed drink), and loads of food.  There was a live band that played and an entertaining hypnotist.  Here is a quite unfocused picture of us (and one that makes me realize that a reddish background only makes me look more pink!):

Today I am fighting between studying for my class and going to a museum.  I am not much interested in going to Disneyland itself as it is pretty pricey and I don't think it can live up to how much I loved it as a kid!  I do believe John and I will be going to Downtown Disney to meet up with one of his UCSC friend's, Roy, for an early dinner.  Then it'll be back aboard a plane and homeward bound.