This topic comes up when Jer and I have random conversations- how people treat their volunteerism of their own time as have-tos.
For example, blogging. Unless you do it for a living (dooce, pioneer woman) and you make your sole income off revenue from the site, why should you apologize to readers for not blogging? You don't owe the public anything. Why should there be expectations that you must blog x amt? Sometimes I feel this way though. In my mind there are tons of topics that I'd like to talk about, but I never get around to it. It becomes part of my real to-do list...but why should it be real? I blog b/c I want to, not because I feel obligated to my readers out there that I have to. So, I shouldn't feel like I have to blog, and if I don't, I shouldn't feel guilty for not doing so. But I like to blog so I'll keep doing it...albeit sporadically and un-apologetically. Am I making any sense? Probably not. But my stupid internal alarm clock woke me up way too early on a Sunday morning. *Yawn*
Another example- meetup.com. I joined a cooking/eating group, but I've yet to go to events b/c I've been busy, or the RSVPs fill up before I'm able to commit. So I have never met any of the organizers, and while I'm sure they are nice people, anal much?
(verbatim from email)
RSVP: Please do not RSVP “yes” unless you are certain you can attend. A few members of our group seem to RSVP “yes” or “maybe” for just about every event, but I/we have yet to meet them because they invariably pull out for one reason or another closer to the event date. In fact, their withdrawal has become predictable. Please use common sense and common courtesy. If you are unsure whether you can commit to the event, do not RSVP. But if you definitely can commit, please specify what chocolate dish you plan to bring.
WHAT TO BRING: Please bring enough food for ALL participants. That means if there are 8 participants, you should bring enough food for all 8 people. In other words, a skimpy dish that serves only 1-2 people will not suffice. Since we cannot possibly eat all the fabulous chocolate desserts in one sitting, participants should also bring containers (e.g., Tupperware); this way, participants have ready containers to store and take home various chocolate desserts.
GUESTS: Participant guests are usually not permitted for two reasons: 1) lack of space; and 2) the problem with free-riders, who are people who consume services or products (in this case, they consume food and drinks) without contributing anything in return.
No Shows and Last-Minute Cancellations: A Three-Strikes Policy:
With these meet-up events--and it is not exclusive to the South Bay + Long Beach Cooking Meet-Up--there is a curious tendency for people to pull out of events without considering how their non-participation, non-action, and non-communication affect others. Pulling out of an event at the last minute or failing to give the event organizer timely notice of non-participation is most ungracious. The event organizers spend a great deal of time and effort into organizing the events, and some may travel quite a distance to organize events. Please be courteous to all the event organizers and to your fellow meetup participants.
In order to minimize the no-shows and last-minute cancellations, I will keep track of the no-shows and who pulled out of the event at the last minute. For THIS event, last minute means 5 days or less. This is because all participants need an accurate head count in order to be able to assess the amount of ingredients they need to purchase for their potluck dish. An "X" will be denoted next to a member who completely flaked or who withdrew from the event within the 5-day timeframe. An X signifies a "strike" (not a smooch), and upon the third strike, the member promptly will be removed from the group.
(the email is much longer but I only c&p-ed the whiny parts)
The thing is, being an organizer in meetup is voluntary. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to do it. If you don't like the way people act, don't do it. If you have to come from soooooo far to organize an event and it's such a burden to you, don't do it. If it's such hard work and effort that you feel like people aren't appreciating it, don't do it. Organize things with your own friends. But don't go all Nazi on strangers- makes me feel like I don't want to participate in events with a bunch of uptight people. Instead of sending out a verbal berating of how to not be a flake, or the punishment for being a flake, they should just take Jer's suggestion: request a security deposit for events. When people show up, give them their money back. If they no-show, use the money to offset the cost of the event. But maybe I should give it a try before I knock it. The tone of the email just gives me a really bad vibe though. Or maybe b/c it's way too early on a Sunday morning and I'm grumpy b/c I can't sleep in.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Love at First Slurp- JTYH Restaurant
What does JTYH stand for? No one knows. But if the owners are going to stick with the acronym-that-doesn't-make-sense theme, how about L@FS, or Love at First Slurp? For now, I remember it by "Just the Young Hos, courtesy of Louise at LA Food Blogging.
Celery appetizer. Crunchy, flavorful. What a great way to get my daily doses of veggies.
The dumplings are plump and juicy. They sell a bag of 50 frozen ones for about $15. I would have bought some but our freezer is completely full to capacity. I need a second fridge.
The star of the restaurant- Niu Rou Mian (beef noodle). This is the real deal- knife shaved noodles, flavorful broth and beef so tender it melts in your mouth. I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done. Oh wait, I did.
JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 442-8999
And yes, Jonathon Gold has eaten here.
Celery appetizer. Crunchy, flavorful. What a great way to get my daily doses of veggies.
The dumplings are plump and juicy. They sell a bag of 50 frozen ones for about $15. I would have bought some but our freezer is completely full to capacity. I need a second fridge.
The star of the restaurant- Niu Rou Mian (beef noodle). This is the real deal- knife shaved noodles, flavorful broth and beef so tender it melts in your mouth. I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done. Oh wait, I did.
JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 442-8999
And yes, Jonathon Gold has eaten here.
Ord Noodle
It's places like Ord Noodle in Thai Town that makes me wish it didn't take me 4 freeways to get there. Granted, I'm only on the 405 for about a minute before I transition to 105. But sympathize with me for a moment.
It's a good sign when the majority of patrons are Thai. Natalee Thai, your customers are white. Take note.
Quite possibly one of the most memorable first bites I've ever had. Succulent yet crispy pork accompanied by fragrant basil and perfectly fried green beans.
The broth had a deep richness to it and the portion included plenty of duck. Now that's how you serve a duck noodle soup.
Ord Noodle
5401 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 468-9302
I want go to back already. Like last week.
It's a good sign when the majority of patrons are Thai. Natalee Thai, your customers are white. Take note.
Quite possibly one of the most memorable first bites I've ever had. Succulent yet crispy pork accompanied by fragrant basil and perfectly fried green beans.
The broth had a deep richness to it and the portion included plenty of duck. Now that's how you serve a duck noodle soup.
Ord Noodle
5401 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 468-9302
I want go to back already. Like last week.
Throw/Sink/Hug Pillows
Our sofa has been in need of pillows- specifically, or unspecifically, the kind that can be thrown around, sunk into, or hugged to the chest when in need of comfort or during a scary movie. And the kind that accompanies a nap on the couch.
Pillows, IKEA for $2.99 ea. Fabric, $2/lb at Michael Levine loft (across the street from the actual Michael Levine store)
Fabric with lines in the design makes hemming so much easier
Just a peek through
I pretty much freehanded this. I roughly measured how big the pillow was, allowed a couple inches for the puffiness and then hemmed the shorter edges. I folded over edges and sewed the sides.
I had less pink fabric than blue fabric, so the overlap is not as deep as I would have liked.
You can tell what a difference it was here. I also made a boo-boo on the blue one and put the longer flap on the outside. But I was too lazy to rip off my seams, and they're just pillows. No one will notice except for me.
I deliberately made it easy to take the pillows out so we could wash the cases every once in a while. I forgot to preshrink the fabric so we may have to air dry them.
They have made TV watching more coma-inducing than ever.
Pillows, IKEA for $2.99 ea. Fabric, $2/lb at Michael Levine loft (across the street from the actual Michael Levine store)
Fabric with lines in the design makes hemming so much easier
Just a peek through
I pretty much freehanded this. I roughly measured how big the pillow was, allowed a couple inches for the puffiness and then hemmed the shorter edges. I folded over edges and sewed the sides.
I had less pink fabric than blue fabric, so the overlap is not as deep as I would have liked.
You can tell what a difference it was here. I also made a boo-boo on the blue one and put the longer flap on the outside. But I was too lazy to rip off my seams, and they're just pillows. No one will notice except for me.
I deliberately made it easy to take the pillows out so we could wash the cases every once in a while. I forgot to preshrink the fabric so we may have to air dry them.
They have made TV watching more coma-inducing than ever.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Wedding Catering Part 1
Memories of weddings past have always conjured up images of good, hearty Chinese food. I've been to dozens of weddings and nearly all of them have at a Chinese restaurant. That's all I've really ever known, and I knew that that's what I wanted. But I also wanted an outdoor reception- dragons on red velvet walls didn't quite do it for me. Although as kids I do have great memories of hanging out with my cousins at the fish and lobster tank during the boring parts of the wedding. Anyways...
When we first started planning this shindig, we had no idea if Chinese food could be served outdoors. I mean, how is a real Chinese chef supposed to operate away from his 100,000+ btu stove and his woks??
So we set out to google every single combination of the terms "catered" "chinese" "10 course meal" "wedding" "chowhound" etc in every search engine of Google, theknot, weddingbee, project wedding, etc, and we came up with a few hits.
1. Furiwa
2. Grace Catering
3. Pearl Catering
Furiwa didn't have an updated website, but quite a few people had reviewed about it here, here, here, and here.
I thought that Grace Catering was funny in that they are also known as Hotel Banquet and Dragon Catering. There is another domain that he bought but I forgot the name. The reviews were not as extensive, but I did find some stuff here and here.
Finally I didn't find much on Pearl Catering. Their menu was in Chinese but all my friends and I seemed to have forgotten how to read despite years, nay, decades, of Chinese school.
Even though most of the reviews indicated that it would be possible to cater a 10 course chinese meal off site, Jerry and I knew that we had to at least taste the food in order to be sure. Luckily, I found out about a tasting that Hotel Banquet was holding. And off we went.
We were kinda taken aback by this store front.
It was a busy tasting! All you need to reserve a seat for the tasting is to send in a refundable check for 100 bucks. At the tasting, he promptly gave us back the check. The bride and groom are free, and each additional person is $40.
Jerry thought it was good...I thought it was just okay. But maybe b/c this is one of my favorite dishes and I have higher expectations.
I liked it! Jerry had a minor complaint...but I forgot what it was. Oh yeah, too much cilantro. Well, I love cilantro. Haha.
Exceeded our expectations for fried food.
Very good and acceptable. I would have liked just a touch more mayo.
Way too garlicky, but then again I'm not a garlic person (do you see those whole cloves?!). The beef was very tender though!
Tasty! Real abalone!
FAIL. This dish was just made of fail. I have never ever seen cherry tomatoes at a chinese restaurant. I dunno what went wrong here.
Nicely seasoned and great presentation.
Fine with me. Jerry is the fried rice expert so he thought it was good enough.
It's nicer than the sliced oranges, but I didn't really care either way.
Nothing special (it's not included anyway)
We were the only couple who took notes. We like to be prepared :)
Afterwards we were sooooooo full. Like, tummy hurts full. But it was a really good experience to have. We both agreed that while some dishes needed help, for the most part we couldn't go wrong with Grace Catering if that was our only option for off site Chinese catering. But before we made any decisions, we still had another catering consultation to attend. Stay tuned for the next post!
When we first started planning this shindig, we had no idea if Chinese food could be served outdoors. I mean, how is a real Chinese chef supposed to operate away from his 100,000+ btu stove and his woks??
So we set out to google every single combination of the terms "catered" "chinese" "10 course meal" "wedding" "chowhound" etc in every search engine of Google, theknot, weddingbee, project wedding, etc, and we came up with a few hits.
1. Furiwa
2. Grace Catering
3. Pearl Catering
Furiwa didn't have an updated website, but quite a few people had reviewed about it here, here, here, and here.
I thought that Grace Catering was funny in that they are also known as Hotel Banquet and Dragon Catering. There is another domain that he bought but I forgot the name. The reviews were not as extensive, but I did find some stuff here and here.
Finally I didn't find much on Pearl Catering. Their menu was in Chinese but all my friends and I seemed to have forgotten how to read despite years, nay, decades, of Chinese school.
Even though most of the reviews indicated that it would be possible to cater a 10 course chinese meal off site, Jerry and I knew that we had to at least taste the food in order to be sure. Luckily, I found out about a tasting that Hotel Banquet was holding. And off we went.
We were kinda taken aback by this store front.
It was a busy tasting! All you need to reserve a seat for the tasting is to send in a refundable check for 100 bucks. At the tasting, he promptly gave us back the check. The bride and groom are free, and each additional person is $40.
Jerry thought it was good...I thought it was just okay. But maybe b/c this is one of my favorite dishes and I have higher expectations.
I liked it! Jerry had a minor complaint...but I forgot what it was. Oh yeah, too much cilantro. Well, I love cilantro. Haha.
Exceeded our expectations for fried food.
Very good and acceptable. I would have liked just a touch more mayo.
Way too garlicky, but then again I'm not a garlic person (do you see those whole cloves?!). The beef was very tender though!
Tasty! Real abalone!
FAIL. This dish was just made of fail. I have never ever seen cherry tomatoes at a chinese restaurant. I dunno what went wrong here.
Nicely seasoned and great presentation.
Fine with me. Jerry is the fried rice expert so he thought it was good enough.
It's nicer than the sliced oranges, but I didn't really care either way.
Nothing special (it's not included anyway)
We were the only couple who took notes. We like to be prepared :)
Afterwards we were sooooooo full. Like, tummy hurts full. But it was a really good experience to have. We both agreed that while some dishes needed help, for the most part we couldn't go wrong with Grace Catering if that was our only option for off site Chinese catering. But before we made any decisions, we still had another catering consultation to attend. Stay tuned for the next post!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Free Friday
I took today off to run some errands. It was my first free Friday since April and while I didn't get to relax, I got a huge sense of accomplishment.
Our original plan was:
1. Wait for cable guy to come
2. Do house deed stuff for my mom in Norwalk
3. Visit Clarke Estate to get some ideas
4. Sign our catering contract in GG
5. Ring stuff in Irvine
6. Meet with potential photog in SD
We only managed 4 out of 6, so now:
1. We have DVR (renter took the tivo with him)
2. I have 50% interest in my mom's house (it's weird that I own half a house now). I am well versed on how to transfer and record a deed. More on that next time.
3. My ring fits me so much better- I had it resized from 4.75 to 5. We also had this one wonky diamond in my halo setting fixed.
4. We put down a deposit on a photographer. But not the one in SD...more on that to come later. Yes, I know we drove 2 hours each way to meet with someone for 45 min, only to not hire them.
On Sunday we'll be checking out Clarke Estate and then signing our catering contract, and on Monday I'll be putting a deposit on the hair and make up team...so that should be it vendor wise!
...Until it's time to find an officiant and videographer (if we go that route).
I am going to snuggle in bed with some magazines now. Manhattan Beach 10k tomorrow.
Our original plan was:
1. Wait for cable guy to come
2. Do house deed stuff for my mom in Norwalk
3. Visit Clarke Estate to get some ideas
4. Sign our catering contract in GG
5. Ring stuff in Irvine
6. Meet with potential photog in SD
We only managed 4 out of 6, so now:
1. We have DVR (renter took the tivo with him)
2. I have 50% interest in my mom's house (it's weird that I own half a house now). I am well versed on how to transfer and record a deed. More on that next time.
3. My ring fits me so much better- I had it resized from 4.75 to 5. We also had this one wonky diamond in my halo setting fixed.
4. We put down a deposit on a photographer. But not the one in SD...more on that to come later. Yes, I know we drove 2 hours each way to meet with someone for 45 min, only to not hire them.
On Sunday we'll be checking out Clarke Estate and then signing our catering contract, and on Monday I'll be putting a deposit on the hair and make up team...so that should be it vendor wise!
...Until it's time to find an officiant and videographer (if we go that route).
I am going to snuggle in bed with some magazines now. Manhattan Beach 10k tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Parking
It was an ordinary workday today, but what made it out of the ordinary was that I finally got assigned to a new parking lot! Cedars-Sinai is ever-expanding, but unfortunately the parking spaces don't increase at the same rate. Because I actually work a mile away off site, many employees such as myself have to still park on campus and get shuttled to our various bldgs. The shuttles are not always consistent so many times I find myself waiting 20 minutes for a shuttle and another another 10-15 min for the ride. On top of that, I still have to walk to my car since the shuttle doesn't drop me off at my particular lot. So it kinda sucks b/c in order to get to work on time, I leave while everyone is still sleeping, and I'm the last to come home. Our soon to be former roommate manages to go to the gym after work AND still comes home before me. But I sucked it up b/c I was glad to have a job. At all.
My supervisor found out that some employees park at this other lot that is much closer to the office, it's about a 5 min walk so she got me on the waiting list. How come she didn't get me on the waiting list for my bldg? It's a 2 year wait. Yeahhhh. (My supervisor and coworkers got parking b/c they have seniority...having worked there 2 dozen years btwn the 3 of them)
So anyways I love this lot so much more than my old lot! 1. There's only 3 levels as opposed to 8 so no more driving around and around and around and around looking for a dumb spot 2. There's waaaay less cars coming in and out so I don't have to worry about getting hit (the old lot ppl turned corners w/o even bothered to look) 3. There are no compact spots- each spot is HUGE!!! In my old lot, even stupid Minis and Bugs still managed to park over the lines, so for every 5 spots, only about 4 cars actually fit. 4. No speed bumps! In my old lot I'd go through at least 3 speed bumps for every level higher that I had to find parking 5. The lot is actually on my way to the office, so I'm not backtracking. Before, I had to drive a mile north past my bldg and then I'd have to shuttle it a mile backwards. Now, I reach my lot first, I walk a quarter mile or so, and I'm at my office. Easy peasy!! 6. This lot is closer to Fairfax/Crescent Heights where the traffic is soooo much better. La Cienega and Robertson gets so congested and La Cienega esp has the worst road maint. Today from closing down my comp to entering my garage, it took 40 minutes! Only 40 minutes! Usually it takes me at least an hour. I know people out there have crappier commutes so I'm not complaining that mine is the worst. I also know that many ppl have terrible parking situations. Neither are really enviable contests to win. Anyways this is a lot of rambling about a parking spot.
I know it's just a parking spot, but every little thing makes a difference!
My supervisor found out that some employees park at this other lot that is much closer to the office, it's about a 5 min walk so she got me on the waiting list. How come she didn't get me on the waiting list for my bldg? It's a 2 year wait. Yeahhhh. (My supervisor and coworkers got parking b/c they have seniority...having worked there 2 dozen years btwn the 3 of them)
So anyways I love this lot so much more than my old lot! 1. There's only 3 levels as opposed to 8 so no more driving around and around and around and around looking for a dumb spot 2. There's waaaay less cars coming in and out so I don't have to worry about getting hit (the old lot ppl turned corners w/o even bothered to look) 3. There are no compact spots- each spot is HUGE!!! In my old lot, even stupid Minis and Bugs still managed to park over the lines, so for every 5 spots, only about 4 cars actually fit. 4. No speed bumps! In my old lot I'd go through at least 3 speed bumps for every level higher that I had to find parking 5. The lot is actually on my way to the office, so I'm not backtracking. Before, I had to drive a mile north past my bldg and then I'd have to shuttle it a mile backwards. Now, I reach my lot first, I walk a quarter mile or so, and I'm at my office. Easy peasy!! 6. This lot is closer to Fairfax/Crescent Heights where the traffic is soooo much better. La Cienega and Robertson gets so congested and La Cienega esp has the worst road maint. Today from closing down my comp to entering my garage, it took 40 minutes! Only 40 minutes! Usually it takes me at least an hour. I know people out there have crappier commutes so I'm not complaining that mine is the worst. I also know that many ppl have terrible parking situations. Neither are really enviable contests to win. Anyways this is a lot of rambling about a parking spot.
I know it's just a parking spot, but every little thing makes a difference!
Monday, September 21, 2009
My First Time
So I saw Star Wars for the first time ever. About time, I know!
It was very good, now I know why everyone goes bat crazy over it. I will be watching 5 and 6...eventually. And maybe 1, 2, and 3 even though everyone says they suck.
And someday, I will get around to watching the series of LOTR, the Matrix, Rocky, Star Trek, etc.
...or let's not get too ambitious.
What are must see movie series in your book?
It was very good, now I know why everyone goes bat crazy over it. I will be watching 5 and 6...eventually. And maybe 1, 2, and 3 even though everyone says they suck.
And someday, I will get around to watching the series of LOTR, the Matrix, Rocky, Star Trek, etc.
...or let's not get too ambitious.
What are must see movie series in your book?
Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
First Wedding Setback
I guess there is never smooth sailing when organizing this kind of shindig.
Today we had our first wrinkle in our plans.
I had been browsing wedding photography blogs long before I ever met Jerry. I knew what shooting styles I liked. So by the time we got engaged, I was pretty well versed in what I wanted. Over this past summer, I found a photographer that I loved and more importantly, that Jerry loved as well. We decided to go with her, and so we stopped looking.
Bad idea.
Because we had committed to the "idea" of that photographer, we decided that a verbal understanding was enough. Our photographer didn't want to meet with us until we had booked our site, and we couldn't do so until 9/1 (more on that later). In the meantime, she would let us know if someone else wanted her for 9/18. Once we had the date set in place, we set an appt to meet with her. All this time, her calendar was clear for 9/18 (she was booked for 9/25 ,which is why we specifically booked for 9/18). Then I get this email today saying that one of her clients changed their wedding date from 9/11 to 9/18. Because they had placed a deposit, the couple had priority over us. Business is business.
I'm more annoyed b/c I just wasted nearly 2 months of not looking for another photog. Nowadays the best budget ones book more than 13 months in advance, so seeing that we're about 12 months and 4 days away, the pool to choose from had gotten a lot smaller. It's not really the end of the world, but I would have preferred to have locked down the photo vendor sooner than later and focused my time and energy on something else. Now we'll have to put our other DIY plans on the back burner for a while.
I am positive that we will find somebody else that matches our photography aesthetic. And I know that when we get our proofs back from that future wedding photographer, we'll look at each other and say, "it totally worked out for the best." This isn't something to go bridezilla over (although Jerry is REALLY pissed off right now) since wedding photogs are a dime a dozen, but for now, I'm going to be a little bit sad b/c I'll have to find another "the one". I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason, so back to the drawing board it is.
What wedding setbacks did you encounter? How would you have felt in my situation?
Today we had our first wrinkle in our plans.
I had been browsing wedding photography blogs long before I ever met Jerry. I knew what shooting styles I liked. So by the time we got engaged, I was pretty well versed in what I wanted. Over this past summer, I found a photographer that I loved and more importantly, that Jerry loved as well. We decided to go with her, and so we stopped looking.
Bad idea.
Because we had committed to the "idea" of that photographer, we decided that a verbal understanding was enough. Our photographer didn't want to meet with us until we had booked our site, and we couldn't do so until 9/1 (more on that later). In the meantime, she would let us know if someone else wanted her for 9/18. Once we had the date set in place, we set an appt to meet with her. All this time, her calendar was clear for 9/18 (she was booked for 9/25 ,which is why we specifically booked for 9/18). Then I get this email today saying that one of her clients changed their wedding date from 9/11 to 9/18. Because they had placed a deposit, the couple had priority over us. Business is business.
I'm more annoyed b/c I just wasted nearly 2 months of not looking for another photog. Nowadays the best budget ones book more than 13 months in advance, so seeing that we're about 12 months and 4 days away, the pool to choose from had gotten a lot smaller. It's not really the end of the world, but I would have preferred to have locked down the photo vendor sooner than later and focused my time and energy on something else. Now we'll have to put our other DIY plans on the back burner for a while.
I am positive that we will find somebody else that matches our photography aesthetic. And I know that when we get our proofs back from that future wedding photographer, we'll look at each other and say, "it totally worked out for the best." This isn't something to go bridezilla over (although Jerry is REALLY pissed off right now) since wedding photogs are a dime a dozen, but for now, I'm going to be a little bit sad b/c I'll have to find another "the one". I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason, so back to the drawing board it is.
What wedding setbacks did you encounter? How would you have felt in my situation?
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