Eye Heart Dunkin Donuts

My NY based co-worker Nancy sent this to me, as going to Dunkin Donuts reminded her of me. It is my new workout T-shirt. As that explains why I work out...because I love donuts.

Sweat, Sweaty Singapore

Holy moly it is humid out there! Temperatures in Singapore were in the upper 80's with 90% humidity. That's right, my afro puff was not only in effect, I was shiny sweaty the entire time I was there.

What is that you say? It is not a urinal on the floor...but a squat down toilet. Since one was available, I decided to give it a try. When in Rome....

Foodwise - nothing interesting happened there for me. I was looking for something distinctly Singaporean, but everything was fusion. This place is apparently the meeting place for all things asian. I have never seen the entire asian spectrum from yellow to brown crammed into a single place like that before. Quite the eastern melting pot.

I did eat dragon fruit though, and am enamored with it. I am now on the hunt to find it in here in the states. It was interesting to learn that it is a form of cactus fruit.

Aerial view of the city

look at how big Golden Gate Park looks from up here! And check out Twin Peaks and all it's crazy windy roads. The rest of San Francisco just looks like a bunch of rectangular legos....

Home sweet home...there you see the Bay Bridge and SOMA

What is this?

how did they do this? crazy apple found in a fruit stand in a Stuttgart shopping mall.

Hallo Willkommen in Deutschland

Pictures of Stuttgart Germany. Our meeting that morning got cancelled due to illness of our meeting person so instead we just trekked around the town.

Almost Creepy

The TV in my hotel room was on when i walked into it in Munich, which I thought was wierd...what was wierder was that it had my name on it...isn't technology grand?

Dinner at Charlie Trotter's

Going to Boston

that means i will be eating donuts.

New Digs

This is the view from my new office :) I guess this eco-friendly business ain't so bad after all.

Happy Birthday Chester

His highness participating in his favorite activity, playing with cameras. Saturday afternoon Chester held a birthday party BBQ at a picnic site within Tilden Park. Post BBQ a smaller group of us headed over to Chester's pad for drinks and games. A game called "What the Fuck" was kind of interesting...the premise is similar to a "would you rather a) or b)?" line of questioning.

Dinner at Les Amis

Friday night we went out to Les Amis for our weekly "date night." What happens is that I cook almost every day of the week and during the weekend Forrest takes me out to a really nice dinner that someone else cooks. It is a schedule that is really working out very well :)

Located two doors down from Rubicon, this little french restaurant is cozy but not small on taste. We both had the tasting menu, but got different options where a course was presented with options. Can I please say SUPER YUMMO?

On the menu...

• Amuse Bouche - Truffle Scrambled Eggs
  
• Cauliflower Soup with creme fraiche and caviar
• Beet Salad with Goat Cheese parfait and citrus sauce thingy
  
• Seared foie gras with loganberry OR a Sushi style Tuna (kind of like carpaccio but with thicker slices)
• phantom course - we can't remember
  
• Veal medallion or Cod
• Dessert - Chocolate Mousse thing OR assorted sorbet
  

Weekend in Sacramento

Last weekend we packed up all the Kangs, Forrest and myself into my mom's car and drove up to Sacramento to spend the weekend with Forrest's family. His parents were hosting a dinner and open house for their friends in celebration of our and Ann's weddings. It was nice meeting everyone and spending time with the fam - but holy moly was it tiring....we were pretty much exhausted from all the talking after two days.

F*@K, SH#T

Last week I was on the road again...off to Phoenix and Houston for a series of seminars around our company's products. I don't have to go, but I like to go because it gets me out there talking to the people and it helps to reset my assumptions. Also, it is really one of the only opportunities to get outta the office so it's tends to be a nice change in scenery.

I traveled quite a bit at my previous company as well so sometimes I miss being on the plane....

that is until, my wallet was stolen in Houston - EEEK

I'm not sure if it I lost it or it was stolen because there are two potential instances in which it disappeared and I'm not sure which one because I can't clearly account for the time in between. The last time I had my wallet in my hands was around 2:30pm to buy some soup for lunch. Then later, after our seminar was over...I went to grab my bag and noticed it was missing...when I found it, it was around the corner from the registration desk (where it was originally residing) and now missing one wallet - containing all my credit cards and identification and cash.

Effectively I was stuck in Houston.

I have received TONS of "advice" on what other people do to avoid these scenarios. I will admit, I don't care to hear about it because I realized those precautions were what I needed to start doing - also, telling me what I "should" have done, doesn't make my shit re-appear, three states to the right.

Anyhoo - after many phone calls back and forth to Forrest, we finally got everything squared away - my passport arrived with a wad of cash via FedEx the next morning and I was headed home.

Once at the airport, I learned that my flight was delayed two hours....once I finally boarded, I took a two hour nap to learn that we were still grounded....once we were on the runway, we learned we had engine trouble....once we were airborne, we had a medical emergency....but ironically enough, my plane was chock full of doctors and medial assistants on their way to San Francisco for a conference.

My new favorite place

So a new place opened up across the street from our house, next door to the former Fremont Bar. I went to check it out on Saturday thinking it would just be a new nail place....but on no, I was so mistaken - it is a spa with yoga studio! I have mad love for spa services and with only four lanes of traffic separating me from Cocoon Urban Day Spa, Forrest may need to move us into a different neighborhood where such things aren't so close.....this is dangerous people, just dangerous....

Football part deux

Sunday we headed off to the Niners vs. Ravens game with the in laws. This weekend's tailgate was the polar opposite of the previous tailgate. First of all, there were about 38 fewer people and none of us has to man a grill for a sweat shop like shift. We arrived at a leisurely pace to the stadium, hung out around the car and had a nice lunch. Once inside the stadium, however, Forrest and I both started to lose our general faith in humanity. When did the fans get so retarded? I can understand what happened last week, because we sat in the cheap seats, but even in the lower reserve? Is there no safe place?

Steve and Susan's wedding

Saturday we drove up to the Jack London Historic Park in Glen Ellen to attend Steve and Susan's wedding. They had their ceremony on the grounds of the Beauty Ranch. The house that Jack London built with his wife, but never got to live in. The story goes that there was a fire that burned down the original structure (the ceremony was within the walls of the ruins) and he died before the new structure was complete and his wife never lived in it after his passing. Sad story...but a picturesque beautiful place.

obligatory couple pic. I was hoping this would be a good candidate for our first ever family Christmas card, but Forrest chose to veto it.

Steve's dad got ordained online and performed the wedding ceremony. It was cute because he seemed to get a little choked up here and there.

Kangate 2007!!

That's right bitches, that's beer pong. We know how to do this. Every year, my brother Sam and I would pick a football game to go to, to get there early and tailgate for. This year...it wasn't quite the "Kang-gate" anymore as I turned into the Junod/Kang Tailgate plus 40 some odd people. That's right - 40 people.

In years past, it was something like 4-10 people so I'm not sure what happened here but suddenly, I found myself buying $1,000 worth of food/drinks and rotating ice in and out of 4 coolers that were holding food in our apartment.

The Niners didn't win but I'm not surprised there...hopefully next year the Packers or Colts will be back in town for some real ass kickin :)

Not a bad view from our nose bleed seats, but you get an interesting mix of people. Behind us we ended up with some SUPER drunk Seahawks fans that then proceeded to pee on Venus. Apparently the toilet challenged young man couldn't help himself and proceeded to get arrested while still holding his penis in his hand.

Lunch at SO

Located on the outskirts of SF, closer to the beach than urbanites is SO. It's a noodle place sitting on 20-somethingith street and Irving in the Outer Sunset. Take a qualude if you plan on driving and parking in that neighborhood. I almost implode with frustration every time I'm out there.

The noodles are good...fast, filling, yummy and cheap! I'm a big fan of the black bean noodle...hell yes! But they have some great appetizers too. Molly and I got the dry fried string beans which had ginger slivers in them.... I usually get the SO Wings which are like dry fried drummets that are just a tad bit spicy.

Read the review in SFGate.com

Girls Weekend

Molly was here last weekend and given the absence of ethnic foods in Napa, we went on a 2 day "binge tour" of SF, hitting up all the asian food spots...it's so awesome that the time we spend together is focused around eating and relaxing.

Here's what our itinerary looked like:
- Grab lunch at So in the Sunset
- Grocery shop for crazy asian groceries in the Sunset
- Shopping in Union Square
- Dinner at Sebo in Hayes Valley
- Drinks at Sugar
- Drinks at Nova
- Breakfast at Chez Junod
- Mani/Pedi's at Polished Lounge
- Lunch at Brother's BBQ in Inner Richmond
- Naps at Chez Junod

hell yes! all we need now is to have someone actually spoon feed us :)

Annual Seafood Fest

Every September, Ella Fuller, the matriarch of the Fuller clan would host a September seafood fest. This was born of the fact that Sarah's g-ma (Ella), her mom (Donna) and her were all born in the month of September and are all Virgos. A few years back when I was living at their G-ma's house on Deer Creek Road, we revived this tradition together with a crazy seafood feast.

It's been a few years since we've had one...but now that Donna's mystery house reconstruction is complete...we celebrated her return to her house with a seafood dinner. Many things have changed since the last time but one this remains, there was a TON of food.

Battle Wounds

So I recently fell off my road bike while cycling through the aquatic park. It was a slow mph fall, as I was trying to avoid a parked cyclist and a jogger...weaving through traffic while clipped into the pedals is not a good idea. For a few days, I couldn't even roll over without screaming in pain. The other day, I grazed the turnstile at the Bart station and I almost passed out. It hurts that bad....oy! For the first few days, it hurt every time I sat down, because my skin would stretch...so gross.

p.s. the worst part is, that bruise picture is from a week AFTER I fell. This one is gonna be a doozey.

Giro di SF

Spent the day down at Levi's plaza checking out the races...Todd and Brad were cycling today. THEN - we had everyone over for cocktail hour...which basically turned into "stuff your face with as many appetizers as possible at our house." No one leaves hungry from our house.

Usually there are crashes at bike races, when cycling in such close conditions, crashes are par for the course. Just following a crash, we heard of another "incident." Apparently a spectator had a heart attack while watching the race, just steps away from the crash - it must have been all the spandex whizzing by.

Two Wongs really can make it white

Who remembers the shirts from Abercrombie a few years ago that caught a lot of heat for their slogan "Two Wongs can make it white" speaking of Chinese laundries. I had never actually heard of a stereotype of Chinese laundries so this all just seemed like clever rhyming to me. But lo and behold, in Berkeley, I see this. I think that's "Bing Wong Wash......" And Chester uses that place for his laundry...AND there are actual Chinese people working there.

Maybe I'm missing something, but was there a time in history when these laundries were all run by Chinese folks? I mean I get the Korean dry cleaner and the Vietnamese nail lady...I just haven't run across this stereotype before.

Looking for a new place to live

We're getting booted. Our landlord is selling our unit so he can buy a big time place in eyesore...I mean Rincon Tower. So with a October move date, Forrest and I are now frantically scouring MLS and Craigslist to see if we can find something attractive to buy....or rent.

I hate this unsettling feeling of not knowing where we're gonna live in less than 2 months. And prices in the city are hard to swallow, but I am NOT ready to move outta here just yet...I mean, heck, I just got here.

Live Chickens for sale

Last week I had to pop by City Hall to get certified copies of our marriage license in order to officially change my name. When walking from the bart station to city hall, I noticed the farmer's market that they hold in the plaza on Wednesday mornings. I decided to get a closer look when I got back.

I had no idea this was possible in urban dwellings, but yes...that is a truck full of cages of live chickens. You can buy then and I am assuming slaughter them at home somewhere? I happened upon this because out of all the stands, this truck had this long ass line of chinese people and a sprinkling of other ethnic groups.

I still really want to know where they are killing these birds...and, is it sanitary to do that sort of thing in such dense communities? I'm all for growing, harvesting / slaughtering your own food...shoot, Forrest's family grew up on farms. But you have LOTS of open space for that kind of thing....not shared walls with your neighbors and no back yards.

Side Note: you will also notice they are selling chicken balut 4 for $1.00..

Harassing Encounter

This evening I drove over to Sushi Groove South on my way home to grab a bite to eat. I couldn't remember if it was closer to 10th or 11th st so I ended up parking on 9th street. Then I had to make the block and half journey down to the restaurant.

It's about 630 pm so there's a fair number of cars idling on the road in traffic...Mind you, I am neither dressed provocatively nor was I trolling the cars asking folks "hey baby, do you need a date." If you must know, I was wearing a knee length black skirt with heels and a long sleeved pink sweater - very conservative, if not old school business boring.

However, a middle aged portly fellow decides to yell out of the window of his car that "you can't fucking see your face" or something to that effect about my sunglasses. As if my sole life intention was to have him look at my face and await his comments.

Instantly, I shot back "Hey cocksucker, why don't you shut the fuck up!"

Never would have guessed that a truck driver was dressed like a librarian.

More IPO Madness

To get the people at the Palo Alto headquarters all jazzed up about the IPO, they held an IPO breakfast party in the cafeteria of our new campus. We currently have about 3,000 employees and about 1,000 of them showed up by about 530 AM for the 600 am party. There was a live video feed of the executive staff at the NYSE ringing the opening bell, hot breakfast, espresso drinks and champagne were served to the employees. I've never been at a company that has gone public before...this I must say was a really great experience. There was so much anticipation and excitement in the air and collectively everyone was feeling the same feeling of mutual accomplishment that what they do every day is making a difference.

Going IPO

That's a picture of our executive staff ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning 8/14




So there's this guy at work, Hans, who is a total crack up. He's Mr. SUPER high energy all the time. Very fun, but sometimes draining. He has thing with rubber chickens - it's a thing from MDA summer camp that he does to entertain the kids. But being a long time VMwarian, there are now rubber chickens at loads of company functions too - and it's even made it's way to Wall Street, for opening day.

Que Es?

This plant was a part of the centerpieces at the Coadys' wedding and I was so fascinated with it, that I sadly hijacked one of the fruits for analysis at home. I haven't figured out what it is, but it smelled like a green bell pepper when I cracked it open... any suggestions?

The Coadys Wedding Celebration