Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Life and Times of Chairman Miaow
I knew I was world famous, but I didn't know I had an unauthorized biography... yep this picture is from my revolutionary days, when I was still idealistic, and read my little red book religiously... but alas, I've been bitten by the Capitalist bug... Money, Money, Meow, Meow :-P
A little present from R, awww, so cute! They should've put a kids' warning and a Cat warning on it though... it looks so real, every time I see it, I wanna eat it! Mouth getting watery, tongue sticks out like a puppy, droooollll..... Thanks R for the gifts!
A little present from R, awww, so cute! They should've put a kids' warning and a Cat warning on it though... it looks so real, every time I see it, I wanna eat it! Mouth getting watery, tongue sticks out like a puppy, droooollll..... Thanks R for the gifts!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Vietnamese Food = Yumminess
I LOVE Vietnamese food. It's fresh, healthy, herby, tasty... as I write, my mouth is getting watery, and my tongue is sticking out like a puppy, droooool... want some Vietnamese food NOW! But alas, I shall always have these pictures as sweet memories...
I insisted that we go to "lunch" at 10am, and fortunately we found a place that was open. So for like an hour, we were the only patrons...I love mom and pop restaurants, so much tastier than the fancy schmancy ones...look at the lovely vinyl table clothes!
Vermicelli Salad with Spring Rolls and Vegies -- the bestest Vietnamese spring rolls I've ever had, crispy, flavorful, mmmmm....
Tamarind Fish Soup -- Look at the spongy looking thingy in the foreground, it's a special type of Vietnamese vegetable. The texture is the same as it looks, spongy.
Pho Close-Up, looks like they sprinkled some ground white pepper on top.
Group Portrait -- mmmm, the food is mine, all mine, muahahaha... yeah, I am a greedy eater :-P
I insisted that we go to "lunch" at 10am, and fortunately we found a place that was open. So for like an hour, we were the only patrons...I love mom and pop restaurants, so much tastier than the fancy schmancy ones...look at the lovely vinyl table clothes!
Vermicelli Salad with Spring Rolls and Vegies -- the bestest Vietnamese spring rolls I've ever had, crispy, flavorful, mmmmm....
Tamarind Fish Soup -- Look at the spongy looking thingy in the foreground, it's a special type of Vietnamese vegetable. The texture is the same as it looks, spongy.
Pho Close-Up, looks like they sprinkled some ground white pepper on top.
Group Portrait -- mmmm, the food is mine, all mine, muahahaha... yeah, I am a greedy eater :-P
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Chinese People do not Eat Cats!
This poem was forwarded to me. I've heard several people joke about this and I am dumbfounded as to how this stereotype got started. I've lived in China and have traveled extensively through that country and I have never ever seen or heard anyone eating cats! Obviously, I am still alive and have not been eaten yet! These stereotypes are so annoying.
Cat's In The Kettle
Did you ever think when you eat Chinese
It ain't pork or chicken but a fat Siamese?
Yet the food tastes great so you don't complain
But that's not chicken in your chicken chow mien
Seems to me I ordered sweet and sour pork
But Garfield's on my fork
He's purrin' here on my fork
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
The place that I eat every day at noon
They can feed you cat and you'll never know
Once they wrap it up in dough boys
They fry it real crisp in dough.
Chow Lin asked if I wanted more
As he was dialin' up his buddy at the old pet store
I said 'Not today, I lost my appetite'
There's two cats in my belly and they want to fight.
I was suckin on a roll-aid and a tums or two
When I swear I heard it mew boy
And that is when I knew
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
I think I gotta stop eating there at noon
They say that it's beef or fish or pork
But it's purrin there on my fork
There's a hair ball on my fork
Cat's In The Kettle
Did you ever think when you eat Chinese
It ain't pork or chicken but a fat Siamese?
Yet the food tastes great so you don't complain
But that's not chicken in your chicken chow mien
Seems to me I ordered sweet and sour pork
But Garfield's on my fork
He's purrin' here on my fork
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
The place that I eat every day at noon
They can feed you cat and you'll never know
Once they wrap it up in dough boys
They fry it real crisp in dough.
Chow Lin asked if I wanted more
As he was dialin' up his buddy at the old pet store
I said 'Not today, I lost my appetite'
There's two cats in my belly and they want to fight.
I was suckin on a roll-aid and a tums or two
When I swear I heard it mew boy
And that is when I knew
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
I think I gotta stop eating there at noon
They say that it's beef or fish or pork
But it's purrin there on my fork
There's a hair ball on my fork
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Life
It's been a somewhat surreal two days. Lots of turmoils: work, outside of work... just received an email from a friend on the birth of his baby boy. Yeah, life goes on...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Happy Thoughts :-)
Today has been a scary day... to lift up my spirits, I found this happy song on Youtube.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Mid-Autumn Festival (or 中秋節) is a Chinese holiday that falls on the 15th day of the 9th lunar month of the Chinese Calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. It is usually around mid to late September in the Gregorian calendar and this year it is September 14, today! It is roughly the Chinese equivalent of Thanksgiving.
(uncredited image found on the web)
So you may ask, what is this fairy and this bunny doing here. Ok, here is the Chinese mythology behind Mid-Autumn Festival. A long long time ago, a fairy named Chang-er was naughty and ate a longevity pill that she was not supposed to eat, and became so light that she floated to the moon. I am not sure exactly how the bunny got there, but apparently the bunny was supposed to make a pill that would help deflate Chang-er so she could float back to earth. But alas, even today the bunny is still hard at work on the antidote. Legend has it, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, you can see Chang-er and Bunny on the moon... so keep your eyes open wide to look out for these two tonight!
(uncredited image found on the web)So you may ask, what is this fairy and this bunny doing here. Ok, here is the Chinese mythology behind Mid-Autumn Festival. A long long time ago, a fairy named Chang-er was naughty and ate a longevity pill that she was not supposed to eat, and became so light that she floated to the moon. I am not sure exactly how the bunny got there, but apparently the bunny was supposed to make a pill that would help deflate Chang-er so she could float back to earth. But alas, even today the bunny is still hard at work on the antidote. Legend has it, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, you can see Chang-er and Bunny on the moon... so keep your eyes open wide to look out for these two tonight!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Mmmmm, yummy foot...
Is this a Bao? Me think not. Being half northern Chinese, I am practically from Baoland. My mother makes Baos all the time, and they certainly do not look like this. Real Baos look like dumplings on steroids... yep, Baos are just big dumplings.
So where does yummy foot come from... well, I said whatever I just said while waiting for my order at Take a Bao in Century City Mall right next to a dude who was handing out people's orders as they become ready. So I trashed their lack of authenticity for like five minutes. Then the dude explained to me that the reason they couldn't make it authentic was because they didn't think these would be receptive by a western food audience. And then he proceeded to tell me that he was the owner of the place. Oooopsie! So to atone for my foot in mouth disease, since they were super busy, I volunteered to help the owner call out people's names when their orders were ready. He would say, Debbie, and if Debbie doesn't show up, I would screech -- Deebbiiiiiie! I hope he appreciated that :-P
So where does yummy foot come from... well, I said whatever I just said while waiting for my order at Take a Bao in Century City Mall right next to a dude who was handing out people's orders as they become ready. So I trashed their lack of authenticity for like five minutes. Then the dude explained to me that the reason they couldn't make it authentic was because they didn't think these would be receptive by a western food audience. And then he proceeded to tell me that he was the owner of the place. Oooopsie! So to atone for my foot in mouth disease, since they were super busy, I volunteered to help the owner call out people's names when their orders were ready. He would say, Debbie, and if Debbie doesn't show up, I would screech -- Deebbiiiiiie! I hope he appreciated that :-P
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Munchkin Football
Tough loss today. We were leading going into the last inning... and they were a pretty obnoxious team, didn't like them too much... oh well, there is always the next game, but we are on the verge of not making the playoffs, boohoo. On the bright side, while practicing before the game, these little munchkin footballers were practicing next to us, they were so cute.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Celebrity Chef!
I had dinner at Spago and Chef Wolfgang cooked this lamb dish just for me! Just kidding, this dish is the creation of your very own Celebrity Chef Cat... Mmmmm...lamb and cumin are a match made in heaven!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I lob you all...
Alright alright, I may be a little too tough on the TSA officers, so as a compromise, I offer this big red heart, I lob you...wink wink, blink blink....
Heart courtesy of Jon Phillips
Heart courtesy of Jon Phillips
Ni Hao from the TSA
I was going through security at San Francisco airport this past weekend to board my flight back to LA. As part of the screening process, we have to hand over our boarding pass and a form of ID. I handed over my driver's license.
Like many Chinese Americans, I have Cat (my English name) as my first name and Meow Meow (my Chinese name) as my middle name. The TSA personnel saw my driver's license, didn't bother to call me Cat, rather he read out loud my Chinese name and my surname, and then said -- Ni Hao (Chinese for hello), Shieh Shieh (Chinese for thank you).
I was a bit taken aback. First, San Francisco has one of the largest Chinese American population in the US. Many Chinese Americans are fourth, fifth generation, and yet this TSA officer's first instinct is to treat me as a non-English speaking foreigner. I had similar experiences at LAX. After I go through border control, some immigration/customs officers would say Ni Hao to me. I mean, LA also has one of the largest Chinese-American communities.
At this day and age, it's really hard to tell who is Chinese American and who is a Chinese visitor. So I think the better thing for thse TSA officers is to just say hello and welcome, instead of making an American feel like she is an outsider!
Update: I did not chastise the TSA officer. I politely said hello back. I've never chastised any of the officers who said Ni Hao to me. I usually say hello back and move on. I know they are just trying to be nice. But seriously, after encountering this so many times now (including once in the hallway of a major law firm), I needed to vent my frustration a little bit... Meow, peace out!
Like many Chinese Americans, I have Cat (my English name) as my first name and Meow Meow (my Chinese name) as my middle name. The TSA personnel saw my driver's license, didn't bother to call me Cat, rather he read out loud my Chinese name and my surname, and then said -- Ni Hao (Chinese for hello), Shieh Shieh (Chinese for thank you).
I was a bit taken aback. First, San Francisco has one of the largest Chinese American population in the US. Many Chinese Americans are fourth, fifth generation, and yet this TSA officer's first instinct is to treat me as a non-English speaking foreigner. I had similar experiences at LAX. After I go through border control, some immigration/customs officers would say Ni Hao to me. I mean, LA also has one of the largest Chinese-American communities.
At this day and age, it's really hard to tell who is Chinese American and who is a Chinese visitor. So I think the better thing for thse TSA officers is to just say hello and welcome, instead of making an American feel like she is an outsider!
Update: I did not chastise the TSA officer. I politely said hello back. I've never chastised any of the officers who said Ni Hao to me. I usually say hello back and move on. I know they are just trying to be nice. But seriously, after encountering this so many times now (including once in the hallway of a major law firm), I needed to vent my frustration a little bit... Meow, peace out!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Application for the VP of the US
Dear John,
I had an eureka moment last night -- I am way more qualified than Sarah Palin to be the VP of the United States of America. Since she hasn’t been officially nominated, I hereby submit my application for your kind consideration. Well, here are just a few reasons why I should be your running mate, wink wink:
1. I am also a woman, and a cute one at that, hehe.
2. My education has prepared me to be the VP of the US. I have a BA in Political Science and a JD in law. Gov. Palin, on the other hand, has a BA in journalism which the last I checked does not teach the fundamentals of governance in America.
3. I have a ton of foreign diplomatic experience. As noted in my previous entry, I met with the Queen of England on a recent trip there, and as evidenced by this blog, I’ve travelled world over, Asia, Europe, Central America. The only trip abroad Gov. Palin has taken is a trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaskan troops. And apparently Gov. Palin’s husband had the mistaken notion that Alaska is a separate country from the US, tsk tsk, they need to seriously brush upon their world geography!
4. I don’t have any skeletons in the closet, no trooper-gate, bridge-to-no-where gate, moose-gate, the only blemish on my record is a red light camera traffic citation *blush*. Oh well, nobody is perfect. On a brighter note, I had a big smile on the red light camera pic and I even made a peace sign!
5. Yeah, some may say that Gov. Palin has after all been governor for two years, and I have never held office. But according to Mrs. McCain’s Experience by Proximity Test, I am really way more experienced than Gov. Palin. You see, Mrs. McCain argued that since Alaska is close to Russia, Gov. Palin is therefore experienced in the foreign relations arena. Following that logic, I lived within a few miles of Washington DC for many many years, and worked right next to the White House for two years! I therefore must have a ton of government experience!
In conclusion, I am the perfect candidate for VP! Oh yeah, there might be one minor glitch, I was not born in the US so hence barred by the Constitution to be VP. But eh, we didn’t have problem falsifying evidence of WMD, a fake birth certificate should be a piece of cake for us!
XOXO,
Cat
I had an eureka moment last night -- I am way more qualified than Sarah Palin to be the VP of the United States of America. Since she hasn’t been officially nominated, I hereby submit my application for your kind consideration. Well, here are just a few reasons why I should be your running mate, wink wink:
1. I am also a woman, and a cute one at that, hehe.
2. My education has prepared me to be the VP of the US. I have a BA in Political Science and a JD in law. Gov. Palin, on the other hand, has a BA in journalism which the last I checked does not teach the fundamentals of governance in America.
3. I have a ton of foreign diplomatic experience. As noted in my previous entry, I met with the Queen of England on a recent trip there, and as evidenced by this blog, I’ve travelled world over, Asia, Europe, Central America. The only trip abroad Gov. Palin has taken is a trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaskan troops. And apparently Gov. Palin’s husband had the mistaken notion that Alaska is a separate country from the US, tsk tsk, they need to seriously brush upon their world geography!
4. I don’t have any skeletons in the closet, no trooper-gate, bridge-to-no-where gate, moose-gate, the only blemish on my record is a red light camera traffic citation *blush*. Oh well, nobody is perfect. On a brighter note, I had a big smile on the red light camera pic and I even made a peace sign!
5. Yeah, some may say that Gov. Palin has after all been governor for two years, and I have never held office. But according to Mrs. McCain’s Experience by Proximity Test, I am really way more experienced than Gov. Palin. You see, Mrs. McCain argued that since Alaska is close to Russia, Gov. Palin is therefore experienced in the foreign relations arena. Following that logic, I lived within a few miles of Washington DC for many many years, and worked right next to the White House for two years! I therefore must have a ton of government experience!
In conclusion, I am the perfect candidate for VP! Oh yeah, there might be one minor glitch, I was not born in the US so hence barred by the Constitution to be VP. But eh, we didn’t have problem falsifying evidence of WMD, a fake birth certificate should be a piece of cake for us!
XOXO,
Cat
Monday, September 1, 2008
Weekend Getaway
Took a last minute trip to SF this weekend, thanks P and J for hosting me, and sorry BF, you had to sleep in the hallway... boohoo.
A street car named Cat...
Beautiful Sausalito...
We bumped into a llama like thingy, wearing a Bob Marley hat, hmmm, and it was munching out of a pouch like thingy, with grass like thingy inside... hmm..very suspicious...
A street car named Cat...
Beautiful Sausalito...
We bumped into a llama like thingy, wearing a Bob Marley hat, hmmm, and it was munching out of a pouch like thingy, with grass like thingy inside... hmm..very suspicious...
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