thanksgiving 2008...

was one of many firsts.

--first thanksgiving i didn't spend with my family
--first thanksgiving that was non-traditional
--first thanksgiving i went to the DOORBUSTER/EARLY BIRD BLACK FRIDAY craziness
--first thanksgiving where ALL ingredients i used to cook with were ORGANIC. i took pictures below with my horrid camera phone--but at least you get to see my mad culinary genius skills at work!

it was pretty nice. i, of course, missed seeing all my family--especially all my nieces and nephews--but thanksgiving didn't turn out so lonely even without my large family! i had a couple of other nyc'ers come over for my first ever "non-traditional/continental european thanksgiving meal. and i rather think it was a huge success! while the original recipe for the oxtail was readily available--like usual, i deviated hugely--and i'm pretty proud to say--you wouldn't have recognized it from the original AT ALL. and the salad was my own creation down to the vinaigrette!

the night's menu (all made from scratch by me except for the dessert):

--apple/pear walnut salad with romaine lettuce and a black truffle oil vinaigrette (included some very nice cippolini red onions, campari tomatoes and meyer lemons).

--whole wheat peasant bread to dip

--queue de beouf bourgninone (included a vintage 2006 vicien cabernet sauvignon reserve from catamarca, argentina, 4 kinds of onions, herbs and spices, pancetta, proscuitto di parma, and black truffle oil with oxtail)

--tiramisu


--2006 Brooklyn Oenology "Motley Cru" red wine, Cricket pomegranate rasberry green tea soda, GUS dry cranberry-lime soda.

i'm pretty proud--the pictures definitely do NOT do the taste justice. i am pretty damn proud to say--it tasted--INCREDIBLE. the oxtail just melted in your mouth...the salad was crisp in many levels and the flavors all complimented one another. not to mention--i fit in all the major food groups here!

that said--my other first was waking up at 3am and driving out to long island to best buy for a new laptop. just yesterday evening--my old computer decided that it didn't want to type anymore. as i was planning on getting myself a new one in january anyhow--i decided to go for it a couple of months earlier than planned because well--i need my comp for work! anyhow, i came back from a horribly long day with the LAST $399.99 cheapo laptop. i'm pretty proud of myself! i went to 3 different best buys before i settled on the last one because the line was shorter--but not by much!

on a crazy note. the best buy i was at--was across the street from the wal-mart in long island--where the clerk was trampled to death. i saw the police and ambulance screaming in/by firsthand. what is wrong with people--i mean...really? you are going to break down the freakin doors and trample people to death to get into wal-mart? god. here's the article link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27955316

my vaca thus far...

has been splendid!

i have been waking up late. sleeping late. going out and exploring different parts of the city and just having a very nice relaxing time. and yes, i am still doing work here and there, but it's been so nice to just laze around and do NOTHING.

as with all vacations--it does include spending more money than i am wont to do--but it's been done in the name of "vacation"--so, it's all good! at least i am not having to pay for lodging, right?

monday was shabu and the documentary.

tuesday was spanish tapas at a place called euzkida and bars. euzkida was very cozy and the food was pretty good actually. the service--left a little to be desired. when you got ahold of them--they were great--but they just weren't great about coming over. then again there was like 1 or 2 guys waiting. and they seemed more about trying to get you in and out than having you linger--which had a lot to do with the long line of people waiting. i made reservations ahead for us--so we were lucky.

wednesday (today) was shabu again as well as dropping joy off at jfk.

thursday is either me and the city and the famed macy's thanksgiving day parade or me at mae's place. i'm not sure what i am planning quite yet. i'm just not sure. i'll take it as it comes. the idea of spending it alone is, strange enough, a little more than intriguing and enticing. i'm not sure why since i am use to spending it with TONS of family.

friday i plan on shopping for a few things i need and using the tons of coupons and some gift cards that have come my way. then i shall relax the rest of the weekend before i head out to the hamptons for 3 days come monday.

i'm very content with my life right now. things are just swimming along.

on another note--i think i am going to take up the guitar. i am going to search for legitimate lessons. i'm very excited about this. it's about time i brought playing music--back into my life. it's been awhile. and i was rather good. why not?

nerakhoon: the betrayal

is a story about a lao family's struggles during the secret war in laos (during the vietnam war which should really be called the indochinese wars) and their lives in america following their escape from laos.

that's the brief synopsis.

it's a story that i think any first or second generation immigrant can relate to. moreso those that escaped from wartorn countries. even moreso--if you are lao yourself.

which i happen to be.

there were a lot of scenes i recognized as part of my own experiences growing up. the same lectures. the same fears. the same pains. the same sacrifices. it's a shame that the sacrifice was not painted into the film more. the theme (though the focus was obviously about the family) seemed somewhat scattered--as if the director couldn't decide what to focus on about the family--granted there are obviously many things to focus on but i feel like that might have lent the film a bit more cohesion. less choppy and more fluid.

also, i'm not so self-absorbed as to think that my family suffered more than anyother lao family--but i know that there are things we sacrificed and that were sacrificed for us, that were not shown on that film that might have made it more poignant--had THEIR family's struggles been vividly shown by words and images. i could be mucking up my point here, but it's hard to be precise about what bothered me. actually, maybe it was the poor translation. my lao is pretty mediocre by some standards--but i could have done a better job. so that says enough i think. if you speak lao though, you need not read the poorly translated subtitles--and thankfully, my grasp is well beyond having to read the subtitles though i did anyways for comparison purposes. when some were crying--i was chuckling. and yes, i am somewhat lacking in the compassion department--but, for once, it was because of bad translation and not just a strange acceptance of some realities.

anyhow, i wish that the various sacrifices were at least elaborated upon enough that...even someone like me could be more than cursorily invested. the difference is how i ended up viewing it. instead of being "a lao person watching the struggles that my people and my own family faced," i was "that critic watching a documentary on lao people--and just happened to be lao as well." i would have liked to have been engaged to that level. to actually feel, rather than think. to think, "that hits home," rather than "eh. that's what my family went through--but worse. that's what we all went through." if it had broken through to that level--then i would have known that not even the cloak of the scholar i so often don--was ample protection against the stark truths spoken and vivid images shown that assaulted me throughout.

in the end--it is the first documentary (that i know of) about the lao person/family. not about the cambodians. not the vietnamese. not the thai. but..THE LAO. and it is most definitely a different perspective. we remain the most bombed country ever--that in itself--is not a fact most people know or care to know. and because of all of that--this film is worth seeing. you might not come away with any indepth knowledge about the country, its people, its customs or its evolution. but you will at least have gleaned a day in the life of an immigrant family fleeing a wartorn country to arrive to a new country with high hopes, not speaking the language or understanding the customs and having to carve their own fortunes and futures.

and yes. some of you might think--we as humans do that everyday. and yes. you would be correct. but most of you do it knowing the language and in the country your parents grew up in and were raised in for some generations. you do it with a different skin color and a different standard of expectation given and received. you do it with a very heavy advantage.

it's a nice humbling piece in and of itself. i am not silly enough to proclaim that we were the poorest (monetarily) family i ever knew or that my life was harder than anyone else's growing up or anything akin to that. but i will say--that when people talk to me about being poor or how they would be happy with no electricity as long as they had love or anything from the one spectrum to the other. i can't help but think--you've never really known suffering the way i've seen it and experienced it. don't be ungrateful. be happy with what you've got. and be happy with what you were given. you don't know shit. yeah, i can be dry and sarcastic. but there has never been a time where i didn't appreciate the life i've had and the life i live now. and maybe i can be that way because THAT is a part of my heritage. because THAT is the legacy handed down to me by circumstances beyond my control. because THAT--is the responsibility that has been thrust upon me by my parents and my history. i have never forgotten the stories told to me by my parents. and i won't (barring alzheimer's). as a child it was a heavy burden. as an adult, i like to think that i have gone beyond acceptance and have come to truly cherish the experiences i had. there is an appreciation that i have now--that could never have been the case if i was raised anyother way. that, to me, is the consequence of the amalgamation of everything i've ever been through.

it's why i get angry when i see people forsake their heritage. yes. every "colored" person i know has gone through phases of self-hate and all that comes along with not being white in a society where being white is elite. but at some point, you should grow out of it. at some point. you should realize certain truths.

there is no choice you have to make. you can straddle both worlds successfully.

that said, below is the link to the website and the very minimal list of screenings. if you're into documentaries or films over 99% of people will never see or hear of or if you are just curious as to how i might have experienced life-- i urge you to check it out.

the website: http://nerakhoon.com/index.htm

theatrical screenings:

IFC Center, New York, NY	NOVEMBER 21, 2008
Brooklyn Heights Cinema, Brooklyn, NY	NOVEMBER 28, 2008
Starz Film Center, Denver, CO	JANUARY 9, 2009
Music Hall, Los Angeles, CA	JANUARY 16, 2009
Angelika Film Center, Dallas, TX	FEBRUARY 20, 2009
Lumiere/Opera Plaza, San Francisco, CA	FEBRUARY 27, 2009
Shattuck, Berkeley, CA	FEBRUARY 27, 2009
Grand Illusion Cinema, Seattle, WA	MARCH 13, 2009
Landmark Theatre, Minneapolis, MN	MARCH 20, 2009
Angelika Film Center, Houston, TX	MARCH 27, 2009
CCA Cinematheque, Santa Fe, NM	APRIL 3, 2009
Gateway, Columbus, OH	APRIL 10, 2009

car cursed

i'm afraid to make a certain statement on so many levels. so instead i'll list the following concerns--and aided with my title above--hope you get the gist.

1. what if it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy?
2. what if it isn't the aforementioned--and really fate?
3. most of all. to combine the fear further--what if it's just plain true. there's just been so many incidents with vehicles in general.

i must have been even more tired than i thought when i got home from dirty jersey because. clod that i am. i left the interior lights on. yes. most of you should know what that means! nothing good. so today, i woke up, on the first day of my vacation and couldn't get my car to start. i was actually going to run to my biggest account real quick and do a little work. i think i'll put it off until tomorrow however because i am just not in the mood anymore. i might change my mind in a few hours. who knows. i do have to see them sometime this week though--while i am on a technical vacation.

and i have to make a ton of calls. i suppose i may as well do this now while i wait for aaa to come jump my car.

on another note. i have had diarrhea for 2 days now. i wonder if it's some bug. i feel fine otherwise...

and i watched the ama's last night--mostly because all they do now is perform. i remember back in the day--they did maybe 4 performances and mostly read awards. i suppose in the ongoing war for ratings--it's best to have performances--cause--well--it worked on me, right?

tonight--i am going to watch a documentary called nerakhoon: the betrayal. it's about a lao family that escapes war-torn laos to nyc. should be interesting. my next blog will undoubtedly be about that. i hope it is a good assessment.

awkward...

i am still in jersey. i thought i'd finish by today--but, good and kind soul that i am--i stayed on an extra day to go to one of newb's store with him friday morning. sometimes. i just don't know what to do with all my goodness. ha.

i want shabu shabu. joy.

more on my weeklong sojourn probably tomorrow. for now, suffice it to say--ehhh. it hasn't been so bad. just--really long and i can't wait to get home to my lovely bed that only i have ever slept in. wow. that sounds bad in some ways. but i was only thinking that in the context of hotel beds...you just can't count how many people havvve slept in them. but oh god. nevermind. i'll stop it at that. dinner with the newb was nice. relaxing. we get along--which is always good. but a night out with me is never without its mishaps. neil likes to call it the "saysomphorn syndrome."

what it really amounts to is me shrugging off major embarrassment.

the scene: we get back and he came up to my room to get some emergen-c (he isn't feeling well) and to watch some tv for a little bit and just hang. we get to my floor--and guess who forgot what room number she was in? yes. that sad person would be me.

so i am going up and down the hall inserting my card in various doors and none of them are working. we end up going back downstairs to the front desk and i get to ask the girl that checked me in, "hi! i sort of forgot which room i was in."

so yeah. that's me.

newb got a nice laugh out of it though he did try very hard not to. which of course makes it all the worse! i believe his words were "i've never met anyone who has forgotten their room number." the sad part is, he said the first part twice in one evening--in the space of 30 minutes apart. the first was "i've never met anyone who did that." lovely. but i feel like i've gotten pretty good at being blithe and cool in these situations. then again, considering the fact that these sorts of things happen to me often...i've had to learn how to deal. so it's not exactly an accomplishment. oh well. so what if i come out looking awkward?

shabu shabu

so addicted. so very very addicted. and it is such an expensive habit. i really should go buy a pot myself. joy--we must go get one soon. i am going to meet up with said person for dinner tonight for it--AGAIN.

if one wonders where my money is going? it's to shabu shabu restaurants!

and yet...i'm so excited...

next week--off to dirty jersey all week until my vacation starts!

ikea

so after i finished work today--i headed off to ikea-land. it is pretty close to my place actually. just a few minutes drive.

i needed to purchase a tv stand with some storage space that was still very compact and i thought i'd find it there...

instead, i came home with a new clothes rack (the portis)--which was good--because i needed a new one badly. the cheapy canvas one i bought for $60 bucks off target.com broke. and i just got it like--2 months ago. i purchased this one for only $39.99 and (knock on wood) i think it is going to last a lifetime. it is very strong/heavy metal. i have high hopes.

i love heroes...though this one was a tad graphic with the whole hot black guy being decapitated bit...why is it that they always kill off the future painters? first isaac (the hot hispanic guy) and now usutu. i guess they like reusing the whole "how ironic" bit.

anyhow, i need to contact the appropriate people because i really do think i'm going to head down to dc for thanksgiving--at least for a couple days.

accomplishments...(a post a long time coming)

so many accomplishments that have occurred that i have been lax in posting--but in my defense--it's just been an extremely busy time!

1. BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT-ELECT. i know. very late in coming--but better late than never right?

2. BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT-ELECT. there. now if i mention it twice it won't matter that i was late with this incredibly wonderful news.

3. i survived the boston veggie food fest intact. but very barely. people are CRAZY. they need a way larger venue. crowded bodies moving at glacial paces is NOT my thing. halloween was rad. i would have loved more time to do my makeup but--well--maybe it looked sufficiently scary. not to mention i had to improvise with whatever i had--because i refused (more like forgot and didn't have time) to purchase the needed items. on my way back from boston--while i was waiting in the train station in back bay--there were pigeons in the building. i thought it was rather crazy random.

introducing 3 tom's and a housemate: caribou barbie, leprechaun, ghost, and skunk.


4. i cleaned up the ENTIRE apartment this weekend. i swiffered and mopped the entire apartment, rearranged my room (my office is now in the livingroom instead of my bedroom), i did laundry, cleaned the bathroom--i even scrubbed the grout in the shower. that's how insane i got.

5. i finished figuring out all the major paperwork/math for the accounts that showed up for expo. that--was a huge process. and i'm glad that at 12am last night (or rather this morning) i finished the task.

6. i purchased my gps. i'm in love. i really think that i could follow it wherever it led me.

7. i signed up for an ez-pass account--which is a very long time coming! for those west coasters--there are tolls EVERYWHERE in the east coast. EVERYWHERE. an ez-pass is a tag that gets scanned at the tolls so that you don't have to have cash whenever you drive somewhere. i figured it was high time now that i have "dirty jersey." i just hope it comes before next week--that's when i first head out to jersey.

8. election night was INCREDIBLE. i'm glad i took the day after off--even though, creature of habit that i am--i still woke up at 8am and couldn't get back to sleep. although i do notice that if i drink the night before--i wake up early.

9. i think there are alot more accomplishments to be posted--but i can't remember all of them at this point. i just know that i have been very busy--and i feel like i have accomplished ALOT.

accomplishments to come:

1. i need to purchase an ac charger for my gps. i just have the car charger one that came with it. i didn't think about the whole "when it leaves the car" part.

2. a small tv stand/storage of some sort of furniture. since i removed my desk from my room and made the livingroom my office--i need something to put my tv on. plus then i can put some other things away that are still in boxes.

3. a nail driller machine gun thing. you know--it screws nails in things for you. that thing. i realized that trying to pound in nails into the walls with a wooden pestle just isn't working as well as it use to. you can take the ethnic lao out of laos--but you can't take the lao out of them? i bungled that. oh well.

4. purchase a winter coat from patagonia. i purchased a peacoat already--but winter in nyc gets much colder than that can handle--so at some point soon--i figure in the weeks to come--i better get with it.

that's it folks. BARACK OBAMA!!!!