SD Fooding

Let me explain this picture. I was cranky from extraORDINARY Desserts, and I was tired so on the way back to the hotel room the worker opens the door for me. Except for some reason I kept walking and walked straight into the glass. Ouch! I usually get tunnel vision when I'm upset or cranky. Anyways I was hurt/embarrassed but Jer was highly amused. The next morning he made me reenact it so he could take a picture.
Okay, so for part 3 of his bday, we went to SD. Basically to eat. Oh and we went to Balboa Park and the Carlsbad Flower Fields. But mostly we ate.

Seared ahi tuna

Swordfish? I don't remember

Fries were good!
I would definitely recommend this place! Check their hours before you go though...sometimes they open later than posted.
Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill
3667 India St
San Diego, CA 92103
619.497.0914

We also ate at Saffron Chicken. It was okay.
For dinner we had Japanese. After Joshua Tree I swore I wouldn't eat another kebab for a year...but oh well. Things I do to appease the bday boy. :)

L to R, each row: Shu mai (sour for some reason), chicken hearts (yummy!), panko oyster (ewwww, after eating this I think I prefer raw oysters)
Bacon wrapped asparagus (tasty!), chicken meatball (I like!), shittake mushrooms with bonito flakes (ewww, but Jer liked it)
Pork shiso (apparently popular but I thought it tasted okay), the cooks/grillers, finished!

I would come back here, but not for a long time. I still don't crave grilled foods. Korean bbq doesn't count. :P
Yakitori Yakyudori
3739 6th Ave
(between Evans Pl & Pennsylvania Ave)
San Diego, CA 92103
619.692.4189

For dessert we went to Extraordinary Desserts. There is nothing extraordinary about this place! In fact I hate this place and I should have listened to Jer when he said it wasn't that good. But I wanted to see for myself. First, I don't mind the that the line is long, but it's not well executed. You stand in line forever, but then you get like 30 seconds to decide what you want b/c the register is BEFORE the cakes. What? Poor design! And the area around the cakes and register is hella crowded. Okay so we order. Then I went to pee. Turns out the restroom is back in the alley area next to the kitchen where the dishes were being washed, NEXT TO the trashcans. So I had to stand in a line...smelling the lovely trash while listening to the banging of dishes and water. I have no problem with this if the food has a C rating and dirt cheap (like Chinese places). But uh...the owner charges 10 bucks for a slice of cake and this is how she treats her customers? Okay, so the bathroom is really dirty too, but whatever. I go pee. Then I come back to our table and proceed to eat. Disappointment from first bite! This is not tiramisu. Way too sweet, way too dense, way too much chocolate. Don't call it tiramisu if you don't use mascarpone cheese, espresso, or ladyfingers! Ugh!! Okay this was over 2 weeks ago but I'm still mad. Whatever.

"tiramisu" (NOT)
I am not going to go back here ever again.

Okay, so next day we had brunch at the Broken Yolk Cafe. It was okay.
Later we finally went to Brodard. It was yummy!

Their spring rolls with the special sauce. Wandering Chopsticks talks about their spring rolls here.

La Jolla.

Fun wknd!

Chung Kiwa Restaurant

Ahh how did it become the end of April already! This month has flown by.

For Jer's bday part 1 and 2, I made him a special dinner- fresh italian sausage with truffle pesto and radiatore shaped pasta. For dessert I made him tiramisu!

Homeboy is one lucky dude b/c I woke up at 6:30am, drove to Coffee Bean for a "red eye" (to dip the ladyfingers in), and then to Sorrentos on Sepulveda, picked up all the ingredients, came back, and made the tiramisu in 1.5 hours of so, including clean up. It actually took me longer b/c the mascarpone cheese was FROZEN. IN THE ROCK SOLID TUB. So I had to carefully defrost that, i.e. nuke it in the microwave, and then proceeded on. Then I hightailed it to work, went to a couple of meetings and took care of biz, and then hightailed it back to my place and then to his place. Halfway there I realized that I forgot the tiramisu at my place, so I had to drive back. It took me longer to drive 405N halfway than it did to drive 405S the whole way! Whew! But all in all the tiramisu turned out well. Well maybe a little soggy. But whatever. Happy birthday!!!

Okay, then the next day I planned a semi surprise dinner with all his friends. They got to vote: Shakeys or Chung Kiwa Korean BBQ Restaurant (on Wandering Chopsticks' recommendation). The vote was actually kind of close believe it or not. It seemed like all the norcal ppl wanted Shakeys and So Cal ppl wanted Korean. Anywayssss, he knew we were having dinner with friends, he didn't know where. But then my big mouth gave it away the night before. "Oh yeah Hyobin's coming too. It's her peoples food!" "We're eating Korean BBQ!" "Oh shit."

The group

The food

Chung Kiwa Korean BBQ Restaurant
3545 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323.737.0809

I would definitely recommend this place! The meat is yummy, the dduk bo ssam is freaking delicious and the panchan was tasty. In fact, we're going here on Friday again for bridal party dinner, haha.

Little Random Things

I was sitting in class today, feeling miserable about school and work. Jer told me that the stress is small peanuts and not worth it. Then I started thinking about little random things/thoughts that make me happy and how I shouldn't let other big things stress me out so much.

The tops of ginormous muffins. It's so fun to peel off!
Candy, esp these. I have a fondness for anything gummy like Black Forest Bears and Coke Bottles and these hi-chew like candies have bits of gummy in them!
Magazines in the mail. I subscribe to Allure, Lucky, Ready Made, Nylon and Professional Photographer, and Jer gets Domino and ESPN magazine so I look forward to all those every month.
Shooting in RAW. The Nikon software is amazing.
The food court at Marukai Pacific Market. Jer's goal is to try every stall there! I always get the citrus french toast and egg salad sandwich from MamMoth Bakery to supplement whatever bento/udon/ramen that he ends up with.
Scrabble. We have so much fun talking smack when we play.
Spooning. Except it's too hot now, haha.
Trying out new recipes like crepes and miso soup from scratch!
The thought of being Susan's MOH this wknd! Lots of work, but it's going to be worth it!
The thought of graduating in 1 year and 7 weeks.
The thought of planning trips like to Zion, Greece, Alaska, Seattle/Vancouver, etc etc. Sadly, no photokina for another 2 years but that's okay, I'd much rather have the D300.
The thought of owning our home someday and me being able to decorate to my heart's content! Besides photography, designing is something else I'd want to do when I have more free time. I love this site! For sure I will combine both!
The thought of evil twin sister going to grad sch here this fall! You don't sit next to someone for 2 years and not miss the smell of kimchi. Hehe. :P
The thoughts of what I'm going to cook/bake/experiment next. For dinner tomorrow, I'm contemplating mapo tofu with fatty pork, yum! Usually I put ground beef or pork. Mmm and maybe a watercress salad.

Okay, time to get my rest in before another long work/school day. Somehow, I don't think I'll feel as crappy, knowing that the little random things really do make a difference in my day. =)

OMG OMG OMG

8am

OMG we have a D300!!

Update to come. No lens yet, Jer just bought the body only.

AHHHHHH WE HAVE A D300!!!

Seriously, I'm the luckiest girl on this planet. Thanks bf!!!

*edit* 3:02pm

We have a lens now! 17-55mm F/2.8 DX.

Must sell XTi ASAP.

*edit* 4:30pm

Tamron lens sold!

Body, anyone?

*edit* 8:45pm

Body sold!

Jer bought and sold everything so efficiently in one day. He is so getting laid in the very near future.

Spring Break

Jer and I must be immune to each other's germs, and we definitely run the gamut when it comes to the disease spectrum. We seem to catch what the other doesn't have. For the first part of my spring break, I caught a stomach bug during our Joshua Tree trip that lasted until a couple days after we got back, and for the second half of my spring break his sore throat got progressively worse until we finally went to Kaiser to get some penicillin b/c he had white pus on his tonsils. (GROSS! I wouldn't kiss him, and he got sad, haha.) Then, to add insult to injury, he got pink eye yesterday! Pink eye is pretty nasty, he was oozing green eye boogers. We had to make late night trek to urgent care for some antibiotic eye drops. Poor guy feels like crap. I've been doing the best I can to make him feel as comfortable as possible, and to let the meds do the rest. Sometimes I feel like some TLC isn't enough though, esp when he gets caught up in these coughing fits and I feel so helpless! This weekend was pretty tough, but I think he's finally on the road to recovery. I am seriously surprised I didn't catch pink eye b/c isn't that really contagious?

Aside from all the sickness-ish, it was actually a quite relaxing and productive break. I woke up naturally every morning, packed Jer's breakfast/lunch while he would get ready for work, went for a run, and then proceeded to do my tasks for the day, which included finishing up my taxes, organizing and post processing over 700+ pictures, visiting former AADAP folks at their "new" digs (I stopped working about a month before they moved offices), etc. It was so nice to welcome him home from work every evening with a yummy meal. Also since I would wake up naturally at 7, by 10pm I was really tired so we'd be in bed by 11, which meant my skin was super happy. I notice such a difference in my skin when I sleep by 11 as opposed to 1am. Anyhoo, we also cooked/baked up a storm! I made vanilla cupcakes, green tea yogurt cake, chicken pot pie (I made my own crust from scratch! (thanks for linking me to the recipe, Susan!) I love our new kitchen toy- a Kitchen Aid mixer given to us by Jer's cousin Jeff who is a cook at Firefly Bistro), mapo tofu, chicken/corn jook, bacon wrapped scallops, and a Japanese meal I threw together on a whim based on random stuff I found at Marukai Pacific Market.

Oden (from a pkg), soba noodles with seaweed, tofu, and a light shoyu to drizzle, and steamed flounder.

I also went to Jer's softball playoff game.

Here he is running from 3rd to home. I think he scored on his first at-bat. His team ended up winning with 2 outs during the bottom of the 7th! (Softball leagues play until the 7th inning or until one full hour, which ever comes first). Exciting game!

We also went to Hermosa Beach so he could practice beach vball with his partner from work. Love of playing vball is definitely not something we share. I am not immune to the pain caused by the stupid ball smacking my forearms repeatedly, but apparently his skin is too thick or he has no nerves in that area, haha. Still, I have no complaints about watching it though. The AVP tour is hitting the South Bay sometime this summer I think.

I also watched way too much TV. ABC Family was on my daily rotation. I watched way too many episodes of Full House, Sister, Sister, Gilmore Girls, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and What I Like About You. I also watched a bunch of March Madness games...man that Xavier/West Virginia game was crazy! And finally, I got addicted to Coffee Prince! I'm on episode 6 now. It's a really cute series with some good looking people. That website makes it so convenient to watch.

I'm glad I got to veg out this past week b/c this coming month is super busy! I'm in DC for work for 4 days, SD for a mini bday wknd getaway, SF/Berk for bach party/bridal shower, plus his sister/BIL/cute nephews are in town and a trip to d-land is in order.

Oh yeah, and school/work is starting up again tomorrow. April came too fast.

Joshua Tree

We went to Joshua Tree this past weekend...it was so nice to get away from the city: no phone, internet, tv, traffic etc. Just us and nature. And a gorgeous inky black star filled sky.

The trees aren't that pretty but they make nice silhouettes.

Playing around with the white balance.

We pimped out our tent with two layers of carpet, and a layer of super soft sleeping bag. We shared my sleeping bag as a blanket...except it was so cold apparently I kept stealing it, haha.

We ate sooo well. Kebabs, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, sausages, etc etc. I do not want to eat another kebab for at least 6 months. We packed 40 kebabs (sirloin and shrimp with bell pepper, pineapple, mushroom, and onion) and ate 20 the first night. The second night I caught some kind of stomach bug so I could barely eat. Jer tried to eat the rest by himself but he couldn't, so we gave some to our camping neighbors (a dad and 2 daughters from SF).

Looks like the sunrise, but it's actually the sunset.

We went on this 6 mile hike to Warren's Peak...except we made wrong turns at least 3 times which made it like 7 miles! Jer is trying to decide which way to go, haha.
It was pretty tiring, we were debating turning around a couple times. Luckily it wasn't very hot even though we were in the desert...there was a nice breeze throughout the whole hike.

The very top! It was worth it...right Jer?

The second night the moon came up pretty late so we got some night pictures! Check out the small dipper.

It was fun...but I don't know if I'd come back. There are so many other places to hike and camp in the world, so not enough time to revisit! Surprisingly I didn't feel too grossed out about not showering or washing my face properly for 2 days. The bathrooms at j-tree were the CLEANEST we both had ever seen. We also got a good campsite, not too close to people or bathrooms/water (where there's lots of foot traffic). If you ever camp there, pick site 79!

Quick Getaway

Jer fell in love with this camera. He wants a Mark III...but by the time we can afford it it'll be a Mark 10, haha.

Went to Kathleen and Minh's wedding in Palo Alto (his HS friends)

It was a fun wedding! We took all these pose-y prom shots but they are on someone else's camera.

We also went around Logan HS...they had all these murals up. His HS is huge!! His friends were telling me stories about how he was such a nerd back then. I still think he's a nerd now.

He also took me to Cal. I really like the campus! I love the area around it too.

Huge lecture hall!

We also made spring rolls for his dad's bday lunch potluck. His nephews helped out every step of the way...from washing the herbs to dunking the wrappers in water, and even wrapping the rolls themselves.

His family's really nice. Jer and I slept in the room that he and his brother used to share (man, it was hard sleeping on a twin when you're used to sleeping on a queen or a full), and the first morning he was still sleeping so I went downstairs and ended up having breakfast with just his parents. It seemed natural and I wasn't nervous at all! Also, his nephews are so cute! Can't wait to go to D-land with them next month. Jer was counting the number of times I've been up north, I think it's only about 7 times. Looks like it's gonna be more from here on out. :) I really like it up there...if I didn't have a zillion family members down in so cal, I wouldn't mind settling up there.

It was so nice to get away for a weekend! Even though I was in the midst of papers and finals I gave myself a mental and physical timeout and allowed myself to enjoy every moment of that weekend. As you can see, school is not my priority. :P My mental health and well being is!

Mission 261

Even though I had a paper due at midnight, there was no way I'd say no to meeting up with my Hawai'i/Cerritos/NYC (and soon to be Mich?!) gal Susan. We decided to go for dim sum at one of my favorite restaurants, Mission 261 (where the other Susan is gonna have her reception!).

Black bean spareribs...tender and on a bed of taro.

Fried turnip cake...tasty!! Best I've ever had.

Imperial Dumplings- sticky and a bit sweet/savory at the same time.

Mushroom abalone dumplings- SUPER TASTY

It was soooooooooo good. MY FAVORITE

Shrimp and cilantro dumplings. I liked the wrapper.

Noodle shrimp...yummy but portions too small =(

Siu mai...yummy!

Susan's favorite- the bao...so fluffy and good!

Chicken feet...spicier..and also good.

Crystal steamed buns dessert...each had a different filling- mung bean...egg....etc

Green tea sago jello. Really good and refreshing!

This is a fancy place. The tea cup has it's own holder!

Mission 261
261 S. Mission Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-588-1666

We went on a weekday, so 20% off our bill! With tax/tip it was $34 total and we had leftovers!

Musical March

Earlier this month we went to see Linkin Park at Staples. They are awesome live!!

Chester has so much energy!

It was Jer's first real concert. He had loads of fun singing along with Mike and Chester. Our favorite song is "Bleed It Out!"

*note* Linkin Park is extra special to us. When he picked me up for our first date, "In Between " was playing in his truck. I really liked his parking spot (he parked right in front of my place), so I decided to hop out and move my car to his spot. When I got in my car and turned it on...the exact same song was playing in my car. Such a coincidence, but I took it as a sign. =)

During finals week, Thu and I went to see Rachael Yamagata at Hotel Cafe.

She is also great live! Her voice is gorgeous. She sang some new songs from her upcoming album, as well as some of my favorites- Worn Me Down, The Reason Why, and Be Be Your Love. Thanks for inviting me out, Thu! We were lucky we got tix when we did, it was sold out soon after. Oh, and Mandy Moore was there too! Rachael is opening for her...so she probably came out to support her. Mandy Moore is soooo pretty in person. Tall too! Btw, I'm digging her new album, Wild Hope.

I think I prefer smaller, intimate venues to larger arenas. Although I think it very much depends on the performer. It was fun rocking out to LP at Staples, but also fun to just chill at Hotel Cafe.

Bedtime Conversation

She said: "Non profit salary sucks!"
He said: "Well babe, someday my money is going to be your money."
She said: "Awwww. Are my loans going to be your loans?"
He said: "We'll talk about that later."

Hahahhahaa.

Well, all humor set aside, I heard from my friend that UC fees could go up 7%-30% in the 2008-2009 academic year. 30%, I know! How ridiculous. I certainly am not getting a 7%-30% raise at work...so that means more loans to make up the difference. I'm planning to pay off my loans interest free by 6 months after graduation, but Jer says that I can enroll in JC and stay a student indefinitely. I'll take random classes like swimming and sewing so I can keep deferring my loans, ha! Luckily I don't have any extraneous monthly bills such as undergrad loans (paid off already!) car payments (paid in full when purchased), credit card debt (since I always pay in full) or a mortgage, so my primary concern after I graduate is to find a job that will allow me to slowly but surely pay off my loans, contribute to my Roth, save up for a future house (houses on the Westside are so pricey but we love the neighborhood) and travels, etc. Oh and food. Very important. I may be poor, but I will never be hungry. :P