29 November 2008

black friday milonga.

dutch(?) masquerade mask at an old fort outside of kaohsiung, taiwan.

i avoided black friday shopping this year - thank goodness. instead i had a low-key day, and went to a milonga at night. it was the first i'd been to in quite awhile so i was quite rusty, but i had fun. perhaps i should start taking classes again, especially now that my ankle is finally back to its old self.

27 November 2008

thanksgiving dinners' menus and photos.

pre-thanksgiving dinner with dan. arugula gnocci made from scratch. yumy!

home-made arugula gnocci, raw.


home-made arugula gnocci, with a butter sauce.


thanksgiving dinner at mike's, with mum, dad, mike and zai. i would have to say it was quite a success.

thanksgiving dinner for five.


tomato salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and basil.


scallops with spinach and herb butter.


mussels spaghetti in basil lemon wine juice.


bacon, anchovie, sage and garlic stuffed potatoes.


baked lamb shanks with rosemary, herb butter, veggies and white wine.


fresh fruit tart, from wholefoods.

a little non-traditionalism.


ah, today will be my first thanksgiving in california in a few years. and the first one that i'm cooking all by my big-girl-self.. this should be interesting, and hopefully not disastrous. i did not grow up on traditional thanksgiving fare, and my mom's not a big fan of turkey, or stuffing, or cranberry sauce, or mashed potatoes, but i've planned out a good meal i think - i will post the full menu and photos afterwards.

23 November 2008

super bark, super bark!


two celebrity spottings this weekend!! johah hill at mozza pizzeria, and james cromwell at hollywood & highland, where they were holding some CNNHEROES event.

we went and watched disney's bolt in 3D on saturday night. i was pleasantly surprised by the story, the visuals as well as the stereo; it's the best disney movie since lilo&stitch i think and i liked it much better than pixar's wall-e. it's a bummer that it came out the same weekend as something as silly as twilight. however, we saw it at the el capitan theatre in hollywood, which was cool when we first walked in since they had a live organ player playing classic disney tunes. then they showed the previews, and as we're waiting for the movie to start, a live disney musical with mickey, minnie, goofy, etc etc started on stage and went for a good half hour. i mean, wtf. but other than that, it was a good experience.

19 November 2008

get funky.

strictly funk, spring 2008.

funk had their fall show this past weekend.

16 November 2008

puppies and lofts.

fishballs and meatballs at a taichung, taiwan street market.

it's silly, but we've been looking at prices and maintenance information on puppies and lofts.

i just made a very yummy dinner out of jamie olivers cook with jamie book: asparagus, mint and lemon risotto. it came out quite tasty, especially since it's the first risotto i've ever made from scratch.

the fires throughout southern california have left the air constantly smelling like smoke - which sends me back to my webb days. it feels too hot for mid november, but then again, i've been in philadelphia this time of year for the past 4 years, so my memory could just be bad.

15 November 2008

puppies part 2.

so if i get a shiba inu puppy (that's the type of puppy in the live video feed of my last post), i've decided to name him shabu shabu. a name so nice you say it twice. and yes, i just quoted madagascar 2. ahh, i really want a puppy. *sigh*

puppies - live!



found this via matt's blog, i'm addicted - i want one!

13 November 2008

unpleasantries.

santa anita race track, arcadia.

i've had an ongoing headache now for 4 days. it's not constant; more like shooting pains anywhere from every 3 minutes, to every hour or so. it is quite unpleasant.

on a happier note, new google video chat is pretty freaking sweet.

hear me roar.

from the palace of fine arts, presidio, san francisco.

yesssss, upgraded to leopard! finally. though, if we get a big enough bonus at work this year, i might still buy myself a new macbook (read: go watch madagascar2 if you haven't so i can get myself a new toy!).

caramel apple spice is back at starbucks! it's literally just caramel sauce and hot apple juice, but it's just so damn good.

12 November 2008

an arcadian shoutout.

ah, the little town of arcadia, california (aka arcASIA). home of the los angeles county arboretum, santa anita racetrack and a pretty decent mall. my family moved there when i was three, and i'll be honest in saying that i'm not a huge fan of the place. however, some people think differently.

They're known for horse racing, birds and nature, but Arcadia has another claim to fame as one of the BusinessWeek's Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2009. Based on a variety of factors from school performance to diversity and air quality, considered cities had to have at least 50,000 residents and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000. "Wouldn't exactly say Arcadia is 'affordable'--much of the homes start at $1 million. The high schools students' cars rivals their teachers," an LAist tipster wrote in an e-mail. "But hey--there are peacocks!" Diamond Bar and Monterey Park follow the San Gabriel Valley city as runners up.

Link
HA.

11 November 2008

i love this one.

motion blur.


uhm, i kind of want the new macbook. and the iphone. but i would settle for an upgrade to leopard and an ipod touch.

i'm currently giggling. (=

10 November 2008

perks of the job.

the past week has been pretty insane, or at least interesting, at work. wednesday we got the art of madagascar : escape 2 africa books, and the directors were there to sign them. on wednesday, jeffrey katzenberg had a cross-site company toast where he boasted the movie's ukraine and russia numbers, talked about the dvd release of kung fu panda, and updated us on the status of shrek the musical.


mad2 day @ dreamworks.

friday was mad2 day! there were african drummers and dancers on campus, as well as people in penguin and alex the lion costumes.
view the photoset here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157608822154341/


john stevenson (director), melissa cobb (producer), jeffrey katzenberg, jack black, angelina jolie, jack black.
SotFF premiere and KFP dvd release event, hollywood.

secrets of the furious five (a kung fu panda supplementary short) had a red carpet event at the chinese theatre in hollywood on sunday morning. they closed down hollywood blvd between highland and orange, and had people in panda suits, chinese dragon dancers and gymnasts for entertainment. and best of all, dustin hoffman, angelina jolie and jack black showed up. i shook jack black's hand and managed to get quite close to angelina (no, brad and the kiddies were not there).
view the photset here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferjpan/sets/72157608818798688/

onto less exciting news. discovered a great seafood market (courtesy of my brother): santa monica seafood co. went there this weekend to buy mussels to test part of my planned thanksgiving dinner. also, dinnered at nook tonight - their burger is quite delicious.

03 November 2008

quick thoughts.

mar vista hockey.

woke up at 4am today to take my parents to the airport. it was a long day.

also, it feels like fall. at least for now.

02 November 2008