Friday, December 30, 2005

Who roasts chestnuts, anyway?

"You mean you've never heard of Joy to the World? Or Hark the Herald Angels Sing? How do you not know these Christmas songs?"

Zachary and Katie screaming carolsMy childhood piano teacher asked me these questions, looking at me like I was insane. As a 7-year old child of an immigrant family, I was confused, unsure of whether I should be annoyed that my parents never taught me these songs, or whether I should be annoyed that this teacher was so presumptuous. Was it really so important that I know these songs? How good are they anyway?

Looking back on it, she should have known better; she was Chinese herself! I only knew Christmas songs like Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Upon the Rooftop, the ones they teach the kids to sing in school. And I knew Silent Night from my Buddhist mother, who liked to sing it to me at bedtime.

Eventually I enjoyed playing some of these songs, but I faltered at the recital and eventually quit playing piano. Somehow my heart wasn't in it. I think I was annoyed with people presuming to know what I should know, like, or do.

Why couldn't I have learned some Beatles songs? I would have liked that. I suppose every kid goes through this. I bet someday if I have kids and try to teach them Beatles songs, they'll ask me why they can't learn Christmas songs or some cover of Mmm-Bop by a horrible new teen-age popstar.

I grew to like a lot of Christmas songs. In fact, I even own several Christmas music albums. They're usually so jovial, spirited, and nostalgic. They make me feel festive and nostalgic for memories I never had, like walking down a meadow to make a snowman that looks like Parson Brown and roasting chestnuts by an open fire. (What was a Parson, anyway?)

Speaking of which, did people really roast chestnuts for Christmas? I don't know anyone who does this. I ate roasted chestnuts growing up, because sometimes you can find chestnut stands outside Asian supermarkets; I think chestnut stands are popular street snacks in Taiwan.

Ironically I learned recently from NPR that many of these traditional American Christmas songs were written by Jewish people! (Do tbe Jews roast chestnuts?) They wrote such catchy X'mas songs, I wonder why they didn't write more catchy Jewish songs other than Hava Nagila (which was my choice of ringtone until my phone broke) or The Dreidel Song. Maybe they preferred to kvetch than to sing.

***

Recently I watched the movie, You've Got Mail, which features one of those warm and fuzzy Christmas scenes with the family surrounding the piano, singing some bizarre Christmas song that I had never heard of. Kiyong was also watching the film with me.

"Does your family do that? I don't know anybody who really does Christmas like that, but they always show scenes like this in the movies," he said. I figured there probably were good ol' multigenerational Christian-American families who really did sing together by the piano like the movies, but I didn't know these people personally.

There are people in my family who do play the piano, and my Aunt Susan even used to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when she went to college in Utah! And most of my midwestern relatives are devout Christians. Yet we never sang Christmas carols when we got together.

But this Christmas, the new generation would have none of that. This Christmas, as I sat in my cousins' basement play room, watching others play video games, the little kids, Zachary and Katie, decided lead us into song, which went something like this:

Zachary and Katie leading singingZachary: Hey everybody! Let's sing Christmas songs!
Everyone: ...
Katie (whispering): Louder!
Zachary: Hey! EveryBODEE! Listen to ME!
Everyone:...
Zach and Katie leading X'mas CarolsZachary: HEY! Listen to me!
Everyone:...
Katie (whispering): Say "Attention please!"
Zachary: Attention! Every! BODY! Attention, PLEASE! We're going to sing a Christmas song!
Katie & Zachary: Ruuuuuudolph, the Red-nosed reindeeee... ee..r..
Everyone:...
Zachary: Nobody's singing.
Me: Zachary, count to 3, so we know when to start.
Zachary: ONE... twoooooooooo... THREEEEEEEEEE...
Katie & Zachary: Rudolph, the Red-nosed reindeeeeer! HAD A VERY SHINY NOSE!!!
Zachary: Nobody's SINGING!
Katie: Count again!
Zachary (screaming): ONE! TWOOOOOO! THREEEEEEE!
Katie & Zachary (screaming): Rudolph! the Red-NOSED REIN! DEER! HAD A VERY SHINY NOSE!!!

Finally some of us grown-ups joined in the song, mostly to quell the screaming, until the kids kept getting stuck on the lyric about Rudolph not joining in reindeer games, at which they kept starting over, and over, and over again, and finally their short attention spans allowed them to switch to a new activity.

Sadly for the kids, Rudolph didn't go over so well with everyone, but I had a better plan for a new holiday tradition: Karaoke Revolution Party.

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Girlish Indulgences

Guilty pleasure of the week:

I like that "Stickwitu" song by the Pussycat Dolls.

I don't like that the title intentionally breaks grammatical and spelling rules just to be cool, because it isn't that cool of a name, in fact, it's really stupid-sounding, but I like the melody. It's very schmaltzy and sweet, but I may actually have to buy this song on iTunes.

I even get annoyed by the lead singer's voice in the song, "Dontcha." And the song just sounds dopey. But somehow she sounds nicer in "Stickwitu." I've always wanted to see the Pussycat Dolls show though. The whole retro-burlesque sassiness seems like a lot of fun, very much in the vein of Chicago the musical. And I love that whole 1940s pin-up girl look.

***

Speaking of which, the current issue of Vanity Fair features a gorgeous Naomi Watts posed as a retro pin-up girl. She's starring in the ultimate monkey movie, King Kong, plus there's an article about purse designer, Lulu Guinness, so of course I picked up the issue. The Lulu article was really fascinating; she has lived in various countries, studyied scenic design, attended culinary school, modelled, acted, sang in a band, and then finally became an entrepeneur of fashionably adorable purses.

Now a couple of her purses are even part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's permanent collection. And later in life, after having a couple kids, she discovered she had bipolar disorder! It's great to read about someone who has tried so many things and eventually found her success, even with some personal struggle.

Lulu Guinness Picnic PurseSo of course after reading this, I decided that I must have a Lulu Guinness bag. I have always wanted one, but usually the ones I wanted were $700. Call me cheap, but that is more than I've paid for anything outside of a car or computer.

But after some searching on the Internet, I found some Lulu bags on sale on Yahoo! Shopping! I chose a very typical embroidered beach storefront purse, a picnic-themed purse (because I have matching red picnic-print shoes), and a makeup bag (to replace my stolen makeup bag). I think this is as good a remedy as DayQuil for my cold.

Happy New Year to me!

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005

'Tis the Season to be Shopping

Really, every season is the season for shopping. I find it less stressful to shop for X'mas gifts year-round. And while I'm at it, I also shop for myself year-round. So I try to ease off of buying for myself during the holidays, but sometimes it's hard (see previous entry on Coach shoes and bag). I like to think I am helping the economy.

Knowing my inclination toward cute and stylish items, my sister-in-law, Cat, took me to some great little boutigues in Bucktown.

Habit is a designer's collective, where there are unique clothes and accessories made by various local designers. I spotted a playful leather bag, featuring bright orange patches and green leather leaves that even extended to the interior. It was very cute, but it was around $300, and I had reached my limit on high-end designer bags this year when I bought my ocelot Coach bag. They also have some lovely jewelry made from recycled items, including a set of rings made from old typewriter buttons.

She also took me to Public i, where she picked up some goodies for Ted, including a pair of British cufflinks and retro-whimsical luggage tags. They have men's and women's clothes and accessories and stylish gifts. Their sales staff is very friendly --almost a little too chatty and giddy, but nice anyway. They claimed to get a lot orders from San Francisco. I picked up photo-coasters --one set for me, one for my stash of gifts for others.

My favorite of the boutiques in Bucktown is Penelope. I noticed it attracted a lot of hipster Japanese girls, cooing "Kawaiiii" at various items in the store. There are colorful silkscreen shirts for men and women. I think my cousins Bill and Sam might like it too. There are brightly colored wallets with cute animals stiched on. They even had funny little stuffed germs. Instead of a stuffed animal puppy or cat, you could get a little cuddly e-coli, common cold, or salmonella with a happy face on it for your loved one. Cat picked up a mid-sized handbag for herself. I held remarkable restraint and left without a purchase, but I am sure if I lived here, a good chunk of my paycheck would be spent at this store.

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Season's Eatings!

Not only 'tis the season to be jolly, but 'tis the season for good eatin'! And who better to know about eating than us yellow folk.

How Asians do X'masBeing Chinese-American, my relatives have always added a lot of Asian influence to the holiday meal, including things like my Aunt Eleanor's Taiwanese seafood-chicken soup, Aunt Susan's famous egg rolls (sold in Indiana supermarkets, which put cousin Bill through college), my brother Ted's potstickers (including handmade dough wrappers), and takeout sushi platters. But this year the family decided to try some new food options.

Cousin Sylvia surprised us by ordering up the smallest Turducken she could find, which was still something like 9 lbs. A turducken can only be so small, because you need the turkey to big enough to hold layers of stuffing between duck and chicken Turducken slicesbreasts. It came all pre-stuffed. I think generally we liked it, but taste-wise it wasn't that special. We had cut up slices of it and threw it all on a platter, so then it was hard to tell which meats were what bird, except for the duck, which is darker. I think the duck was more tender than the other bird layers. It didn't come with gravy though; you have to supply that yourself.

Ted decided to make Pakistani chicken curry and naan instead of potstickers. And since Cousin Bill brought his vegetarian fiancée, Jenn, Aunt Susan altered her usual meat-filled eggrolls to vegetarian and also brought fried shrimp meatballs and a restaurant-cooked fish (with fish that Uncle Ed caught). All were very tasty.

Ted's Pakistani Chicken Curry and NaanIn addition to this tasty holiday feast, Jenn's mom brought some rocky road and peppermint-fudgy cakey squares, Aunt Rosemary brought her usual almond-sliver-chocolate cookies from Tag's bakery, and Ted brought his yummy homemade apple pie (with homemade crust). Aunt Rosemary also made a yummy salad with blueberries, mangoes, and spinach.

I didn't cook anything, but I bought some unusual edibles I picked up at London's Fortnum and Mason department store to give away as little stocking stuffer gifts. Instead of the boring old tea, I got Thai-curry-seasoned crickets and giant hornet honey (complete with a whole hornet inside the honey jar) to Ted. I gave Sam bbq-flavored and cheddar-flavored dried worms. I gave Bill chocolate-covered giant ants. I don't think they were as appreciated as I had hoped, but I hope they at least found them amusing. Maybe they can just keep it on their coffee tables as conversation pieces and see if a fearless guest might want to try them.

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Thursday, December 22, 2005

We miss you, Shari

A coworker tragically and shockingly died today in a freak car accident. Her name was Shari Sakahara and she was only 24. She was just standing at a bus stop when it happened. And her life was suddenly taken away, just like that. On a normal day on her way to work. It could have been you or me.

I got to know her briefly before she got transferred to our L.A. office. She started at our office as a design intern, and I recall her presentation as being the most fun and memorable of all the intern presentations.

She was very down-to-earth and had a lot of promising talent. She enjoyed sewing and designing handmade crafts. I remember her sweatshirt with letters spelling "helvetica" sewn across it. I admired her creativity, relaxed demeanor, and ambition. She even sold her handmade creations at the Giant Robot store.

I was looking forward to getting to know her better, not just as a coworker, but as a creative inspiration and a friend. Though I knew her briefly, I could tell she was a special person. I can only imagine how horribly upsetting this is for those who knew her longer. I hope her family can find hope and healing during this terribly saddening loss.

Remember to appreciate and make the best of what you have and the people around you. You never know how long life will be, but you can always try to live each day with values and strive for what makes you happy. I think Shari did that with her short life, making life more interesting and beautiful for others.

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Monday, December 19, 2005

I like my meat and gifts to be square

Last weekend I drove to L.A. to visit friends.

On the drive down, I stopped at a McDonald's to get a quick lunch, only to be reminded of why I had avoided eating there for so many years:
Me: I'd like a fish filet sandwich to go.
Cashier: Excuse me?
Me: I'd like a fish filet sandwich to go.
Cashier: Is that all?
Me: Yes.
Cashier: Would you like that to go?
Me: Uh, yes.
The cashier handed me a reciept and frantically said, "I'll get you another one."

What? But then I noticed that half the reciept was printed all squished because the reciept printer had jammed. But I could still read my order, so it was unnecessary. By the time they gave me the replacement reciept that I didn't want to begin with, I had already picked up my food!

I got on the road and started to eat my meal. As I drove along, I started to notice that the fish tasted a little different. Maybe a little more rubbery. And the batter -- seemed maybe saltier? or had a different sort of seasoning. Well, I hadn't eaten at McDonald's in a few years, so maybe they changed the recipe?

The fish patty is supposed to be square, with a very even yellowy fried batter, but this one was a little browner, with peppery specks. Then I realized they had mistakenly placed a fried chicken patty in my fish filet sandwich! It was in a fish filet box with tartar sauce and cheese!

I mean, I guess it still tasted good w/ tartar sauce, and I didn't want to lose time getting to L.A., so I wasn't going to turn around the car to complain... but what if I was one of those people who didn't eat poultry?

* * *

When I got to L.A., I caught up with my L.A. homeys at Kiyong's annual white elephant gift exchange. I was happy to end up with a box full of cute stuff by "Cram Cream." There were goofy gifts, like a Napoleon Dynamite doll, but overall I don't think there was too much crap. But the best crap gift was the calendar of Monthly Doos. It was a genius white elephant gift, courtesy of Jino.

The next day I had brunch at Cafe 50s, where I was entertained by free magic tricks (they have a magician perform for free at your table on weekends). I have generally enjoyed their burgers and shakes, but don't order their super dry turkey sausage patty.

Then I went to Angie's house for a sample sale by her new label, Square. I picked up some some very charming cards and scarves. Angie nearly lured me into staying in L.A. for a few more days, with plans of tricycling, shopping and eating! I was Pinocchio and Angie was the guy who lures kids to Candyland, where they end up growing donkey ears and ass tails. It sounded so fun, but sadly, I had to decline her offer.

L.A. was fairly warm, compared to NorCal! I heard there were even tornado warnings in SF last weekend! How crazy is that??

Ahh I miss West L.A. Now I have to brace myself for the Chicago cold this weekend!!

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Friday, December 16, 2005

If I were a Jew Girl...

Nahnahnahnahnahnahnah nahnahnahnahnahnahnahhhhh,
if i had all the money in the world, i would be a happy girrrrrrl!


--Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" (as opposed to the Hall and Oates' "Rich Girl," which is also an excellent, catchy song.)


I'm not Jewish, but if I were, this is what I would ask Hannukkuh Harry (remember him from SNL?) for:Phew, it is late! I will go rest now, with visions of matzo balls and kreplach dancing in my head.

BTW, I just heard on the news that Yahoo! just hired The Apprentice's Rebecca! I wonder what she'll be doing. Well anyway I bet Yahoo's a better fit for her than that kooky Trump business.

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Thursday, December 15, 2005

Catching up on the holiday rush

Before I begin, I'd just like to say that Randal is a selfish dick for not encouraging Trump to hire Rebecca too. Now we will return to our regularly cheerful broadcast.

I have been meaning to blog for the last few weeks, but I have been far too busy! Here are some highlights (and lowlights):

  • Flying Virgin Atlantic to visit Tracey in London for a week-long Thanksgiving trip (and chilly shopping bonanza)

  • Nearly getting stranded twice by the London bus system

  • Getting both swindled and hit on at the same time by an Ebay seller (for a cell phone that was to replace my stolen one.)

  • Scoring gorgeous ocelot-print Coach shoes with swarovski crystals on sale at Bloomies

  • Getting a last-minute visit from Texan cousins, James and Sue (who is preggers w/ a girl!)

  • Staying up late, dancing in a lacy Trina Turk dress at the Yahoo! Year-End Party, to the grooves of Earth, Wind and Fire and totally rad cover band, Notorious

  • Scoring an awesome Coach bag on Ebay, to match my ocelot Coach shoes

  • Dodging and killing more mosquitoes

  • Learning to cook Korean food and singing to the super-fun, new Karaoke Revolution Party game

  • Scarfing down the yummy ginger tofu egg bowl with tea at Samovar

  • Visiting Joy and her hubby Peter in their lovely home and buying her fabulous handmade jewelry

  • Peering at Chuck Close self-portraits at SFMoMA

  • Giggling at the original film, "Heaven Can Wait" (starring a very young Don Ameche and Gene Tierney) at the Stanford Theater

  • Throwing a Gingerbread House/Cupcake-decorating party at work

  • Browsing apartments in San Francisco

  • Observing yet another a Yahoo party (that I was not invited to) in which people were ice-skating in a faux-ice rink right on our basketball court, while more people roasted marshmallows by fire pits nearby, and others played beach volleyball next to them. And there were polar bear sculptures and a band.

Also recently on my mind:

Pop Ink platesI love these cute plates by Pop Ink. I also love Origo plateware. If only these designers could do their work on Corelle! Maybe someday when I get married, they'll be available and I an put them on a wedding registry. Hmm. Must find a boyfriend...

On that note, why do some guys in their mid-thirties sometimes look way old? They're not much older than me, but they look too old. Men, get off your machismo bullsh** and use some freaking moisturizer!!! Use sunscreen! If you're gonna worry about hair loss, watch the wrinkles too! Watch an episode of Queer Eye for the love of GOD!!! And don't do drugs. Especially Meth, which makes you look ragged (according to Law & Order or CSI or one of those disturbing yet educational investigative cop shows.)

I'm enjoying the new season of Project Runway. But I'm waiting for them to get rid of Andrae. He is really annoyingly whiny and weak. If you're gonna be femmy, at least be fun-femmy like Austin or Jay from last season, instead of an embarrassing crybaby trainwreck! Andrae can't even deal with honest feedback. I loved the winning dress by Nick on the Barbie challenge --very flirty and cute.

Speaking of fabulous doll fashion, I just found this wonderful Blythe collector/stylist on flickr.

Okay somehow this blog entry has deteriorated into the voice of a ranting gay man. Which may be why I want to get this book.

Who else is excited about Showtime possibly picking up Arrested Development?

Well I better get some rest now so I can have the energy to get my ass to L.A. this weekend. And hopefully sometime I'll get to blog more about my trip to England.

In the meantime, get in the spirit of giving, and donate a goat (or lamb, or duck) to save hunger.

I shall leave you with the hypnotizing effect of "cute overload", Bush speak-singing about peace, and the Best Christmas Light Display Ever.

Happy Holidays!

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Thursday, December 01, 2005

Woman vs. the Mosquito

I am up at 4am, because I was being tormented by a mosquito all night.

I'm not sure when I started to notice it, being half in and out of sleep. When I turned on the light to look for the mosquito, I'd spot it for a second, and then it would fly away, not to mention that my reflexes are slow when I wake up, and I am nearly blind w/o glasses, and I was too tired to go looking for it.

Then I woke up later, to notice that I have a couple bites on my arms! I huddled under the blankets, only to make myself get too hot, nearly suffocating myself.

So then I turned on the light, w/ glasses on, half asleep, waiting for the mosquito to come back so I can kill the damn thing.

I fell back asleep in contorted positions, then woke up later with neck pain. Then I gave up and went back to sleep normally.

Later I was startled awake by the sound of buzzing over my head. Fed up, I got out of bed, determined to kill it. I sat in the livingroom waiting for the mosquito that was trying to EAT ME ALIVE.

Finally it came buzzing by, and I whacked it with my hand... onto my pajamas.

I went to the restroom to wash my hands, and I look in the mirror to realize that the mosquito has bit me on the EYELID. I look like somebody just punched me. I can't even put ointment on it, because it's on my EYE.

So not only do I have bloody bug schmutz on my pajamas, but I have a swollen eye, and a night of deprived sleep. Who knew a little bug could wreak such havoc. I hope I haven't contracted any diseases from this fu*ker, and I hope the swelling subsides by the time I dress up for this Saturday's company holiday party. :|

I'm just glad I'm still on vacation, instead of having to go to work sleep-deprived, with a swollen eye.

I need a new apartment.

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