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Archive for December, 2008

december 19-20, 2008

i ended up at bubble lounge twice this weekend.  with all the bars and lounges in sf, you’d think that would be rather repetitive and boring… but it wasn’t.  i was sitting at home friday night as part of my attempt to go through the month of december spending as little on alcohol as possible (as the funds set aside for these glorious nights have been donated to a charity).  chris’ “let’s go to bubble” was convincing enough for me, and i headed out for some fun.

we rendevouzed outside of bubble in the surprisingly long line with a few friends.  having had a light and early dinner, in combination with bubble’s strong and large drinks, the rest of the night became pretty much a blur fairly quickly.  but it was a fun blur indeed :)

(we had fun outside of this church of scientology)

the next morning aaron, will, and i found ourselves in a unexpected adventure for 해장 food in castro.  i believe will’s exact words were, “there are a ton of places near here!”  

(we walked…)

(crossed some railroads)

(followed some inhabitants of castro)

(passed some castro bars)

about 30 mins later, we found ourselves in a small mexican restaurant serving breakfast burritos.  

the burritos were good, but they definitely weren’t hot, or spicy, or greasy… major components of the best 해장 food.  

after waiting for aaron to pick up coffee at spike’s coffees & teas (a very sf coffee shop may i add), aaron left for the airport and will and i got ready for youngeun’s birthday dinner.  if you’ve never been to franchino in north beach, it’s a must go.  i’d explain more, but i’ve already done that on yelp (and hah! my review is first on the list! does that even mean anything…?!)

our first attempt for post dinner drinks was a fail as rosewood was having a private party (poo to you rosewood as i recall you had the backrooms closed off for a private party last time i was there too).  this led us back at bubble lounge, minus the lines.  despite being there two days in a row, they had a very different feel to it.  the previous night was a lot of dancing downstairs (or at least what i call dancing…), tonight was more sipping on drinks and talking upstairs at the lounge.  my attempt at spending as little as possible on alcohol this month has been a fail… maybe i can push it into next months budget…

december 22, 2008

i completed my 3 day series with the chiropractor yesterday.  i’ve felt back discomfort since college, mostly if not all of it due to my bad posture.  i was recently delighted to hear that chiropractic care was included in my insurance plan, and with the remaining flex spending account it would be essentially free.  so no, i’m not a big cry baby nor am i rich… i just wanted to use my flex plan before it runs out dec 31st.  

after seeing rave reviews on yelp, i made an appointment to visit dr. luck at rincon chiropractics in soma.  i feel like the realigning that he did was just so- so, but the massages were heavenly.  without insurance, the realignment would definitely not be worth the $55 or $75 that they charge, but the massage is worth every penny.  

dr. luck changed his initial recommendations and asked me to come back next week (which i didn’t appreciate and found somewhat skeptic considering i was considered to be in excellent condition), i refused saying i was out of my flex spending for the year.  is my back all better?  not really… but i suppose i should just fix my posture.

december 14, 2008

sf has been very cold lately.  i know it’s winter and it’s supposed to be cold, but i think it’s been an abnormally cold winter in sf this year.  i actually don’t mind it because it is giving me a sense of different seasons, and it helps to bring the christmas/new years mood.  i wouldn’t mind some snow, but i’m not going to complain.  

after church and dinner with the grx crew at china first, i came home and was getting ready for work tomorrow… when!.. it started hailing.  yep, hail, as in ice balls falling from the sky.  surprisingly, i was somewhat relieved to see it.  i feel like i got to experience all sorts of weather in michigan, the rain, the snow, the hail and everything in between.  california has definitely lacked in this category… for better or for worse.  seeing hail brought back memories of michigan and the awesomness of nature.

(i enjoyed the hail storm, evident by my giggle)

december 13, 2008

i had the opportunity to revisit the food bank today with the AAUM (alumni association of the university of michigan).  the event was held in conjunction with penn state and ohio state, and i met a lot of really cool people from all three schools.  the food bank is really an awesome place to volunteer because the work is simple, efficient, and not too straining on your body.  the staff is always super nice and very knowledgeable of the facility.  it’s also always very encouraging to see the staff so excited and energetic about their work.  

i have no sympathy for the homeless that beg on the streets for money.  they live in one of the richest areas of the world with plenty of programs to get them back on their feet.  if you think about the children dying in africa from a lack of clean water… it kind of gives you my perspective of the homeless in san francisco.  i do however, support programs such as the food bank that help the poor and the elderly trying to get by.  that is also why i support habitat for humanity;  this program doesn’t just throw money or housing at anybody, it helps low income families that are actually working and showing effort to improve their lives.  

now that i got that off my chest, the three schools got together after the event and held a joint happy hour nearby.  this was another great opportunity to meet more people and make small talk about a whole range of issues.  if you haven’t volunteered at the food bank, i highly recommend it. 

(the food bank is located in potrero hill, the actual location is down the hill… but the view of downtown from just a few blocks up is spectacular!)

(the fridge… sf food bank is one of the few food banks with a fridge.  food banks are liable for any goods they distribute, so if there is a change the food is spoiled, it is thrown away)

(all three schools working together!  we made grocery boxes that will later be passed out to the poor throughout the city this week)

(i always seem to get the box duty.  but box duty is fun, so no complaints here)

december 12, 2008

we had our office holiday party today.  due to the economic conditions, we had a rather small party in our office.  although the party wasn’t glamorous by any means, it was a great opportunity to get to know others better.  the party was only supposed to run for an hour, but many of us ended up staying for several hours talking about things other than work.  i also learned that champagne is expensive… and that it will give you a buzz.  although the economy is expected to fair worse in 2009 than better, let’s hope for a quick recovery not necessarily for a better party, but for my job :)

december 11, 2008

our office building had a nice surprise for us today, serving cookies and apple cider during lunch.  it definitely helped setting the holiday season spirit at work.  

the cookie was bland… the fudge was super sweet, and the apple cider was way too strong.  but it was pretty, and that’s all i really cared about.  

later that night the men of my small group got together to, well, watch bolt… and it was awesome!  bolt in 3D, gotta do it.  blot had all the features that madagascar 2 lacked… drama! comedy! suspense! element of surprise (somewhat)!  and most importantly, creativity!  plus, the 3D was very cool.

(the awesome 3D glasses!)

(we’re so cool)

(this was not to look cool, but to show that my lack of a nose bridge made this a better fit.  the 3D does not work this way though…)

(i may never watch a 2D animation movie again)

december 8, 2008

i took my last final before the CFP exam in march today… woohoo!

i also ate dinner with grannet after the exam.  i felt like japanese, so… we ate japanese.  on the menu was a particular roll called the ‘lion king roll’.  it was a baked roll, with salmon and stuff… it reminded both me and grannet of james… so here it is james, your roll.

december 7, 2008

phil decided to cook dinner in honor of my awesomeness… true story, you can ask him yourself.  after cramming for my final all afternoon, i went over to phil’s new apartment to enjoy his (and grannet’s) cooking.  the food was delicious!  

(phil and grannet hard at work)

(grannet at work, cutting the bread for bruschetta)

(punch- made with phil’s mom’s secret recipe)

(yum!)

 

(phil’s philo)

(the pasta)

what was supposed to be an hour or two of dinner and hanging out turned out to be almost 4 hours of sharing stories and laughing.  you know it’s good times when everybody laughs like this:

thanks for an awesome night phil and grannet! and you’re welcome for my awesomness.

november 27-29, 2008

i’ve spent thanksgiving away from my family before, but this was the first time i spent it with just friends (i spent previous thanksgivings away from my family with friend’s families); i felt all grown up!  a friend graciously set up a potluck thanksgiving dinner at her place, and i was assigned to make mashed potatoes.  after some flag football at grxsf’s turkey bowl in the morning, i got to work.  i bought the ingredients at safeway, including some utensils that was required, pealed the potatoes, boiled them and mashed them.  i learned a couple lessons making mashed potatoes that day…

1) 15 potatoes are a lot of potatoes… even for a group of 10 people.  though they may look smaller when you mash them, they’re still the same size…

2) never, ever, ever…. throw the peals down the drain; it will get stuck.  the garbage disposal will not help.  a drain declogger will not help.  if you live in my apt, it will not only clog your drain, but it will clog your neighbor’s drain (apparently our drains are connected) and they will call the maintenance office.

moving on… the dinner was fantastic.  the hosts made warm apple cider, wine, and plenty of food.

(texas’ rice piaf, delicious)

(grace’s green bean casserole, delicious)

(corn bread, delicious)

(phil’s potato dish, broccoli thing… and my mashed potatoes)

there was a lot more food, but we’ll move on to friday.

although friday was the biggest shopping day with the best deals of the year, aka black friday, i didn’t go shopping.  i have no money… but i don’t need anything either, so it worked out great.  i slept in, started watching part of ‘the lord of the rings 1′, fell in and out of sleep,  rolled around the couch some more… then decided to walk downtown to vast in the festivities.  i walked down to westfield mall to visit phil.  we walked around town enjoying the holiday festivities, when i noticed a mass of people in union square.  naturally… i wanted to join in on whatever was going on, and dragged phil with me to the center of the park.  we then realized there was nothing going on… but i noticed that nobody was leaving either, so i decided to stand with the crowd and see what happens.

it turned out we had joined in on the union square tree lighting ceremony.  woohoo!

(i believe we waited about an hour to watch this happen… looking back, it was all worth it cuz we really had nothing else to do)

as phil and i were leaving the park, we overheard people saying on top of a ledge estimating the number or people present to be in the tens of thousands.  upon hearing this, phil and i concluded that the guy was an idiot, considering the small area of the park could no way hold that large amount of people.  i decided to get on a ledge and check it out for myself to find:

(the ‘idiot’ might have not have been so far off afterall…)

on saturday, some friends gathered to go ice skating at union square.  unfortunately, it was too crowded and we settled for just dinner and some hanging out.  for the most part the day was normal… except i saw a 밤 stand!  very reminiscent of the street food in korea during winter seasons… sigh~

and this is how i spent my 2008  thanksgiving, my first in san francisco :)

november 22, 2008

i finally watched madagascar 2 today and i didn’t have to watch it alone or borrow (…steal)  somebody’s kid to do it either!   i must say, however, it was rather disappointing.  it definitely failed to meet my expectations in terms of creativity, comedy and drama (ok, maybe not so much drama, but these movies are supposed to be ALL creativity!!).  the whole movie just felt very empty… but then again maybe it felt empty not because of a lack of a storyline, but because my baby cousins weren’t there :( .  sad, i know.  save your $10, don’t watch madagascar 2 in theatres…

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