Monthly Archives: February 2007
The quest for Autumn, and why I’m now a Vanity Fair fan
First of all, a big thank you goes out to Janet Clark, who after my going through 3 month old mail I discovered purchased for me a vanity fair subscription for xmas. Thanks! I'm in love.Especially after this article that I saw on the web:
Autumn and the Plot Against Me
02.23.07 7:47am(4 comments)
NoMi
Valentines day was incredible. Even though we booked our reservation through Open Table, I asked for a window seat (and said please) and we got one! Tom and I were seated with a view of the watertower, the lake and the rest of the city - it was truly incredible, especially at night with everything aglow. After we were seated, they brought us our souvenir menus, inscribed with our names, and we chose our courses and cocktails. Tom got a Laphroaig 15yr. and I got a cucumber / rosemary infused vodka martini that was just out of this world. Here's the menu:1st Course
Chef's Selection of Sushi and Sashimi, Champagne Andre Clouet Rose' Brut N. V.
2nd Course - Tom
Crispy Prawns, Traditional Kassoundi, Lobster Reduction, Aged Balsamic, Riesling Kabinett, Carl Schmitt Wagner, Mosel 2005
2nd Course - Kristy
Chilled Maine Lobster Salad, Citrus, Shaved Fennel, Spicy Beurreck, Banyuls Vinaigrette Vouvray, Domain S. A> Huet, Loire Valley 2004
3rd Course - Tom
Slow Cooked Bass, Smoked Shellfish, Organic Spinach, Citrus Jus
August Kesseler, Pinot Noir, Rheingau Germany 2003
3rd Course - Kristy
Prime Beef Tenderloin, Sauce Perigord, Pommes Fondant
Chateau Pichon-Longueville au Baron, Pauillac 1999
Dessert
Chocolate Lovers Share Plate - double heart chocolate mousse cake with raspberry filling, guatemalan hot chocolate with spicey marshmallow, Dark Chocolate Orange ice cream, chocolate tarts
Ramos Pinto 20 year Tawny
Everything was exquisite and the Sashimi was the best we've had this side of the Pacific. Everything was perfectly paired and the serving sizes were just right. And holy crap there was a lot of chocolate. To finish off the evening, Tom and I ordered some Johnny Walker Blue, which went really well with the additional chocolates they brought out with the check. They even sent us home with a little box of chocolates. Yes, there was a lot of chocolate, but everything was really amazing, so it's hard to pick a favorite.
March 11 marks my 2 year anniversary in Chicago (and also the date Tom and I are getting our engagement photos taken in the loop) so I'm thinkin we might do another big dinner then too. We'll see.
02.22.07 7:16am(3 comments)
39 questions…
39 Questions you've never been asked before...Where do you hang your towel to dry after showering?:
Lately, on the hook in my locker at the Y
What kind of mouse pad do you have?:
At home: Frank LLoyd Wright
At Work: Vintage fashion ad
Do you brush your hair with a comb or a brush?:
Both
In your opinion, who do you think is the hottest celebrity?:
Ryan Phillipe
You have a project due tomorrow, do you use tape or glue?:
Rubber cement
Chicken or pork?:
Chicken
By the time you get to school, is it still dark?:
Depends on the time of year. Since I go to school after work, it's dark during the winter and light the rest of the year
If you had a choice to be a unicorn or mermaid which would it be?:
Could I be a ninja instead?
What color is your underwear?:
Purple
What time does the sun usually set?:
lately it's about 6pm
What/who do you think of last before you go to sleep?
I usually cuddle up with the puppies and think of how sweet they are. Then I wonder when Tom will come to bed after playing guitar hero and if he will steal all of my covers during the course of an evening.
AC or fan?:
There are about 2 weeks in the year when I prefer AC, the rest of the time, I'll take a fan
Do you wear braces?:
I did - good lord, I had the david letterman front tooth gap.
Can you do a hand stand?:
Can you bite me?
If you were the opposite sex, how would you style your hair?:
A pompadour
What level English are you in?:
Working on a masters in Information Systems, not a lot of English required
Jessica Simpson or Alba?:
Alba - in Sin City
Which subject is worse, English or Math?:
Im pretty good in both.
What's one thing you really want to do this very moment?:
Stay home from work.
What movie are you embarrassed to admit you've watched?
I broke down and saw "The Passion" to see what the hubbub was all about. I know it was about jesus n' all but damn was it a suck-ass movie.
CD player or iPOD?:
Ipod, 3 of them.
Would you rather spin upside down going 30 miles or drop 400 ft. into water:
Can I do both? At the same time?
Whats your favorite shape?:
Your mom.
What do you have planned for the weekend?:
Tom and I are goint to run some wedding errands and then go to Mitsuwa for lunch and to buy Shabu Shabu equipment and fixins
Have you ever gone ice skating?:
Once.
If you were put in a room with nothing except for a pencil and paper, what would you do?:
Fold origami out of the paper and then if I were still there, unfold the origami and write a note to be let out of the room and slip it under the door.
Is it always easy finding your remote every time you want to watch TV?:
Usually, unless Tom puts it ON TOP OF THE TV!?!?! (who the fuck does that?)
How was your day?:
Just started.
Do you grow your nails, bite or cut them?:
I don't intentionally grow them, but I take my vitamins and thus they're in pretty good shape.
Describe your handwriting:
a combo of cursive and print
Do you consider yourself a stalker?:
I google stalk prospective candidates, but other than that, not really.
Do you bruise easily?
Not really
There's nothing on TV except Barney and Japanese news...what do you do?:
Wait! You get Japanese news?!?! I want Japanese news!
Do you know more than 3 myspace codes?:
Back when I learned it we called it HTML!!!! For fucks sake! Don't worry, I won't go on my myspace rant.
You've got an essay due and can either can type or write in pen, which will it be?:
uh, type
Do you wear jeans to relax at home?:
If I'm already wearing them, but no I don't put on jeans to relax.
Describe yourself using three words:
witty, creative, SMRT
Do you use deodorant?:
strong enough for a man, but made for a woman
Do you like ice in your drink?:
No, hurts my teeth
02.22.07 6:55am(1 comment)
Happy Vday!
As it turns out, my valentine's day isn't off to a great start. I try to do what I can with limited resources, mostly limited time, but I always manage to stumble into a hornets nest. No good deed goes unpunished.However, tonight, Tom and I are continuing our tradition of a valentine's day culinary masterpieces. We couldn't get in at Charlie Trotter's or Alinea (but it's probably best not to go to either place on a holiday). We've got reservations at the place where we celebrated our last anniversary, NoMi. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll be able to sit beneath the Chihuly chandelieres and gaze out over the lake. Well, if we can see the lake that is.
02.14.07 12:04pm(2 comments)
*drool*
Do you ever have so many dull and draining meetings, interviews, and or numbers-type work that you have a hard time even speaking?I have a headache.
02.13.07 5:00pm(2 comments)
An artist in need…
I've got a big ole bleedin' heart, so naturally when stories about starving artists who are not starving but instead need money for lung operations come along, well, you know how I am.I don't really know this guy, but I understand him to be quite the fixture in the Chicago creative scene and I've come across his work tangentially over the time that I've lived here. Don't ask me why I'm so willing to help some unknown dude out, but I'll try to blurt out a reason. It's people like this guy that make a community out of a large city and really put the heart in Chicago. And I gotta say, I have a profound respect for people who are able to go whole hog into art because there's no way I could do something like that.
Anyway, here's what my eloquent friend Mouse says. So yeah, listen to her:
My good pal Phineas X. Jones is a stellar painter, photographer, web designer, and groovy guy. Unfortunately, he was recently laid up for several weeks with pneumonia, which didn't heal properly, and now he needs surgery (soon!) to fix a fluid-filled lung. And, like many self-employed creative folks, he has no health insurance.So he's selling off tons of his weird and gorgeous work -- collages, paintings, drawings, and photos -- at www.nocommercialpotential.net. Buy some art, hire him to design your website, or just chip in a few bucks to the lung fund if you have some scratch to spare (free karma points!).
02.12.07 7:49pm(2 comments)
I thank you for your support.
I started writing this as a comment, but it got a little long and is better suited as a post.Thanks you guys for the encouragement! It feels really good to be able to lean a little bit on my social network when things aren't going too well. I love you guys - thank you so much.
I'm goint to take the weekend off from exercising and start fresh on Monday. I've made an appointment with my YMCA fit coach so that I can ask him some questions and learn the lower body circuit to even out my workout. A new kickoff usually helps when I'm feeling discouraged.
Taking a look at your comments, I came to a very important realization. I'm not fat because I don't know about food, nutrition and proper eating habits. Hell, I've been learning about that stuff since I was six years old - I could be a damn nutritionist if I wanted to be. I mean come on, how many 8 year olds go on weight watchers (at least 19 years ago and before the onslaught of the obesity crisis). I remember weekly liver and exchanges (not fun) and my education hasn't stopped from that point. I spend a lot of time learning about how I should eat. I know all the things you all have recommended and have even put some of them into practice at the beginning of this adventure. I understand that this is a common misconception that many skinny people or people who have never been severely obese have. And granted, there are a lot of people who eat crap and thus are overweight. Do not mistake me for one of those people.
I'm not fat because I don't know how to eat, I'm fat because I have an emotional problem with food.
Now, I've gone to a few therapists about this, but of course being on an HMO doesn't really get you far in the realm of mental health. This year I switched to the PPO and hope to find someone new. Northwestern has a highly ranked wellness institute where they focus on issues like mine. I've even thought about joining up with overeaters anonymous, but they want you to believe in god and that sort of freaks me out. I really think that my biggest obstacle in solving this problem is to get over my severe aversion to dealing with the problems that are at the base of my emotional eating issue. 27 years of ignoring certain issues is hard to get over.
I know it's going to be a long row to plow, but there's so much more I need to deal with here than diet and exercise. Most of you know me from when I lost weight (and how I lost weight) and now that I've gained it back (which I was told would never happen) I understand what I need to do to get it off and keep it off for good. It's going to suck, but it'll be better for me in the long run, mentally and physically.
Wish me luck.
02.10.07 9:44am(4 comments)
Work-IT, one month
So I've been working out 4-5 days a week for about 5 weeks now, and I haven't lost any weight. I must admit that I'm feeling incredibly discouraged and my motivation is at an all time low. Granted, there have been some positive effects - I can definitely tell my cardio vascular health is much better. So that's somethin, at least. Unfortunately, my ass is still huge and that's exactly what I'm fighting against.I've done pretty much all the stuff that I'm supposed to do. My eating habits have changed a lot and I've replaced bad snacks with fruit and vegetables (the higher fruit intake can also be attributed to the awesome fruitbowl I got from my help desk guy for xmas - I mean the thing is so damn cool I'm inspired to eat fruit). I'm drinking more water. I'm trying to eat less junk food and more organic food. So why the hell am I not losing weight?! At this point, even if that whole 'you're making muscle' myth were true, you'd think I'd be OK for muscle by now.
I need some encouragement here, people. Help me find the strength to continue with work-it. My be-stickered calendar will only take me so far.
02.09.07 7:08am(6 comments)
You’ll never believe what I just saw on broadcast television.
OMGWTFBBQ!!1!1!!11one!1!1eleven!! It was like a blast to Internet past!Tom and I don't have cable, so when we do watch actual TV, we're stuck to what will come through on the bunny ears. Living in a major metrop olitan area like Chicago with a bunch of different ethnic enclaves provides us, free of charge, a lot of multicultural programming. There are are around 5 channels in Spanish and a collection of other channels that vary between Korean, Chinese, Polish and Indo-Pak programming. I've mentioned before my affinity for the Korean show "Wedded Bliss," but I have to say that my all time favorite ethnic programming are the the two different Indo-Pak shows that show Baliwood clips. Desi Jams and ASC-tv both offer a great selection of bhangra favorites of yesterday and today, but it's ASC-tv that has an hour of all request Baliwood every Saturday and Sunday morning.
Today, I had just come home from the gym (50 min. on the elyptical!), Tom and I were eating lunch and watching ASC-tv. The last request from Kumar Patel, saying "This one is for my baby" was none other than...
ON MY TV! ON BROADCAST TELEVISION! HOLY CRAP!
02.03.07 12:19pm(7 comments)

