KAT'S "29...IS SO FINE" B-Day KARAOKE BONANZA!
This weekend proved to be an eventful weekend with lots of crazy, fun and b-day for big sis Daj. We filled it with tons of surprises, a sis flown in by a friend, surprise dance moves for her of "Beat It" and insanity. Here we are at THE MINT in San Francisco - as we serenade Kat with a MJ Tribute of "BEAT IT". Little bro Bee was lead vocals - Lib and I were back-up dancers. Kat comes up as a surprise guest to dance at the end.
Watch it all here!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
7 months later....a new blog entry....
It's been 7 months and a new entry is long overdue. What will have me blogging more and exercising the raging commentary of my mind? An upgrade in technology - I've given my "desktop" computer from 2002 a semi-retirement farewell and purchased a fabulous laptop for dirt cheap!!! Shameless plug goes out to Circuit City as they always have fab out-of-this-world deals! In fact, I ordered my lappie online, picked it up and my neighborhood CC, and I got a FREE MINI-FOTO ALBUM!!! I could careless about the photo album - it'll make it's way into the trash shortly.
In the 7 months that have passed - I've hit the 1 year Anniversary with my work Ajilon, went to Hawaii for the first time, gone to LA at least twice to see all my friends I rarely see and eat all the great food my heart misses, traveled to the Midwest (Kentucky and Ohio where I witnessed my first "Beer Cave" in a convenience store and survived), had more good food, had more great times with the girls and lived more of life while seeing it flash by in an instant. 27 is around the corner - and I clearly don't want it coming any closer.
Summer concludes in less than a month and inside - I'm kind of freaking out. Mindless commentary from me includes: The Bay Area has barely had a heatwave and we're going to have to start busting out the herringbone, tweed, wool, merino, cashmere, velvet, corduroy in a hot second. I'm still moonlighting at J.CREW on some nights and weekends since I can't cut myself off of the crazy discount. And I think we're going to move home home....believe it or not.
You know what, I'm working my way into this blogging thing and I'm ready for a break. I promise to write again soon for any of you readers out there dying to hear my mental vomit. =)
It's been 7 months and a new entry is long overdue. What will have me blogging more and exercising the raging commentary of my mind? An upgrade in technology - I've given my "desktop" computer from 2002 a semi-retirement farewell and purchased a fabulous laptop for dirt cheap!!! Shameless plug goes out to Circuit City as they always have fab out-of-this-world deals! In fact, I ordered my lappie online, picked it up and my neighborhood CC, and I got a FREE MINI-FOTO ALBUM!!! I could careless about the photo album - it'll make it's way into the trash shortly.
In the 7 months that have passed - I've hit the 1 year Anniversary with my work Ajilon, went to Hawaii for the first time, gone to LA at least twice to see all my friends I rarely see and eat all the great food my heart misses, traveled to the Midwest (Kentucky and Ohio where I witnessed my first "Beer Cave" in a convenience store and survived), had more good food, had more great times with the girls and lived more of life while seeing it flash by in an instant. 27 is around the corner - and I clearly don't want it coming any closer.
Summer concludes in less than a month and inside - I'm kind of freaking out. Mindless commentary from me includes: The Bay Area has barely had a heatwave and we're going to have to start busting out the herringbone, tweed, wool, merino, cashmere, velvet, corduroy in a hot second. I'm still moonlighting at J.CREW on some nights and weekends since I can't cut myself off of the crazy discount. And I think we're going to move home home....believe it or not.
You know what, I'm working my way into this blogging thing and I'm ready for a break. I promise to write again soon for any of you readers out there dying to hear my mental vomit. =)
Saturday, January 05, 2008
LOVE + BASKETBALL: The Chen Family's Favorite Sport
While in Taipei in October, the older cousins Joseph and Blackie, took the youngin's (Jonathan, Bee, Alan) out to play streetball. Vicky, Azra, Uncle Tom and doggie Chief came to watch and take pictures! See them all in action! [Click once too see slideshow, click twice to see pictures enlarged one-by-one] Some food pictures as well - because that's what's we love as well.
While in Taipei in October, the older cousins Joseph and Blackie, took the youngin's (Jonathan, Bee, Alan) out to play streetball. Vicky, Azra, Uncle Tom and doggie Chief came to watch and take pictures! See them all in action! [Click once too see slideshow, click twice to see pictures enlarged one-by-one] Some food pictures as well - because that's what's we love as well.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
2007: Out with the Old...In with the New!
2007 is quickly coming to a close - about 48 hours and counting. New Year's has always been a bit bittersweet. Sure it's great if you like crowds, cold weather while wearing a dress, 3-4 inch heels and no jacket, too much wind, drunken strangers, tons of bubbly, long drink lines, etc. But I, alas, do not enjoy those extras of New Year. If history recalls itself, I usually hang with my BFF Mell every New Year's since we both don't like crowds, make dinner, enjoy not being outside in the old with crowds, and then I fall asleep on the couch around 11:47pm subconsciously and wake up at 12:06am after the AULD LANG SYNE hyme/song/athem has played continuously. Hanging out with my BFF is not at all the bittersweet part but instead, it's the NYE *dun-dun-duuuun!* jingle that says, "What have you done this year?!" Often if gives us HIGHLIGHTED time to reflect on everything we said we were going to do, improve, change....but didn't. Granted, the "glass is half-full side" of life will always remind you to remember "all the good" that did occur. But for the bigger changes you've been meaning to do, improve, etc. they are still evident on 12/31, the last day of the year, that they are still in the INCOMPLETE bin of life.
On every 12/31, we say, "I'm going to start going to the gym more!", "I'm going to read more books!", "I'm going to volunteer more!", etc. etc. but clearly we haven't been making enough effort. So screw the once a year New Year's! Let's make everyday New Year's so the reminder of what we've accomplished and what we've yet to accomplish, is evident year-round! Let's just get off our butts and wake up and smell the coffee. Today, is the beginning of the new year.
2007 is quickly coming to a close - about 48 hours and counting. New Year's has always been a bit bittersweet. Sure it's great if you like crowds, cold weather while wearing a dress, 3-4 inch heels and no jacket, too much wind, drunken strangers, tons of bubbly, long drink lines, etc. But I, alas, do not enjoy those extras of New Year. If history recalls itself, I usually hang with my BFF Mell every New Year's since we both don't like crowds, make dinner, enjoy not being outside in the old with crowds, and then I fall asleep on the couch around 11:47pm subconsciously and wake up at 12:06am after the AULD LANG SYNE hyme/song/athem has played continuously. Hanging out with my BFF is not at all the bittersweet part but instead, it's the NYE *dun-dun-duuuun!* jingle that says, "What have you done this year?!" Often if gives us HIGHLIGHTED time to reflect on everything we said we were going to do, improve, change....but didn't. Granted, the "glass is half-full side" of life will always remind you to remember "all the good" that did occur. But for the bigger changes you've been meaning to do, improve, etc. they are still evident on 12/31, the last day of the year, that they are still in the INCOMPLETE bin of life.
On every 12/31, we say, "I'm going to start going to the gym more!", "I'm going to read more books!", "I'm going to volunteer more!", etc. etc. but clearly we haven't been making enough effort. So screw the once a year New Year's! Let's make everyday New Year's so the reminder of what we've accomplished and what we've yet to accomplish, is evident year-round! Let's just get off our butts and wake up and smell the coffee. Today, is the beginning of the new year.
WEIIIIII!
Sister Wei was back in the bay for a hot second for Xmas and Xmas means the Chensies hang with the Montano's! Below are some pics of us and the sisters of Montano's and Hazel's new 6-month old MILES ROCCO - a whole lotta sugar in that 6-monther! Baby's don't get much more dapper and cuter than Miles so meet Miles here--- he's Miles of Smiles! Xmas with the Montano's also means many PECAN TASSIES consumed. Yummers.
CHENS + MONTANOS = A Decade of Sisterly Friendship!
Sister Wei was back in the bay for a hot second for Xmas and Xmas means the Chensies hang with the Montano's! Below are some pics of us and the sisters of Montano's and Hazel's new 6-month old MILES ROCCO - a whole lotta sugar in that 6-monther! Baby's don't get much more dapper and cuter than Miles so meet Miles here--- he's Miles of Smiles! Xmas with the Montano's also means many PECAN TASSIES consumed. Yummers.
CHENS + MONTANOS = A Decade of Sisterly Friendship!
PICTURES GALORE!
To sum up the last couple of months, here are a slewwww of pictures for you to catch up with on my wonderful life. Highlights include me entering age 26 with a Surprise B-day Dinner at SPRUCE in SF (Thanks to Daj/Lib/Mell for the DL orchestration of the dinner - so sly that Sydney Bristow would get a run for her money!) and a visit from sister Wei from LA. Hopefully you can enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed being in the moments!
Highlights from SPRUCE (11/25/2007)
Attendees: Kat, Liberty, Mell+Oggie =Meoggie, and Cassie. And Me of course.
The Plot: Kat dragging me out for dessert at some place in the city that I've never heard of. We park, walk in, and Kat completely disregards the hostess and tells her that "we're just looking for our party." I'm thinking that Kat is just being Chinese and is just scoping the place out before we commit to getting a table so I'm slightly embarassed when the hostess taps my arm to tell me that she can help us find our people. I brush her off because I'm embarassed that she's hounding us down when we don't even have people to look for. I continue to follow Kat and then BOOOM! I see a table full of Asian people + 1 Croatian in a restaurant full of Non-Asians! It's my family and friends! Bring out the bubbly as this b-day was bombbb!
Perks: Party SWAG (Stuff We All Get) - Kat got all of us sugar cookies from The Cakery on Burlingame Ave. and Sephora Gift Cards.... Wheeee!
Memorable Moments: Lib, Kat and me reenacting our childhood Folk Dance of "Ali-san li Gu-Niang"(Ali-San Princess) in the Spruce dining room. Oggie and Mell doing High School Prom poses for the camera, you'll see below.
Shout Outs T0: Daj for organizing without me knowing anything, Lib and Cassie for making me feel crappy all week and trying semi-unsuccessfully to make me think no one cared for me on my b-day by pretending she was in LA for the weekend, Mell and Oggie for conspiring with Kat and for keeping the cat in the bag.
Conclusion: Best Birthday Ever - sorry Bee and Wei weren't there.
To sum up the last couple of months, here are a slewwww of pictures for you to catch up with on my wonderful life. Highlights include me entering age 26 with a Surprise B-day Dinner at SPRUCE in SF (Thanks to Daj/Lib/Mell for the DL orchestration of the dinner - so sly that Sydney Bristow would get a run for her money!) and a visit from sister Wei from LA. Hopefully you can enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed being in the moments!
Highlights from SPRUCE (11/25/2007)
Attendees: Kat, Liberty, Mell+Oggie =Meoggie, and Cassie. And Me of course.
The Plot: Kat dragging me out for dessert at some place in the city that I've never heard of. We park, walk in, and Kat completely disregards the hostess and tells her that "we're just looking for our party." I'm thinking that Kat is just being Chinese and is just scoping the place out before we commit to getting a table so I'm slightly embarassed when the hostess taps my arm to tell me that she can help us find our people. I brush her off because I'm embarassed that she's hounding us down when we don't even have people to look for. I continue to follow Kat and then BOOOM! I see a table full of Asian people + 1 Croatian in a restaurant full of Non-Asians! It's my family and friends! Bring out the bubbly as this b-day was bombbb!
Perks: Party SWAG (Stuff We All Get) - Kat got all of us sugar cookies from The Cakery on Burlingame Ave. and Sephora Gift Cards.... Wheeee!
Memorable Moments: Lib, Kat and me reenacting our childhood Folk Dance of "Ali-san li Gu-Niang"(Ali-San Princess) in the Spruce dining room. Oggie and Mell doing High School Prom poses for the camera, you'll see below.
Shout Outs T0: Daj for organizing without me knowing anything, Lib and Cassie for making me feel crappy all week and trying semi-unsuccessfully to make me think no one cared for me on my b-day by pretending she was in LA for the weekend, Mell and Oggie for conspiring with Kat and for keeping the cat in the bag.
Conclusion: Best Birthday Ever - sorry Bee and Wei weren't there.
Friday, November 23, 2007
CHEN FAMILY: ONE LOVE.
I'll write more about my trip to Taipei eventually, but here's one of the most important pics of my life that was taken towards the end of my 1-week trip to Taipei for my grandpa's funeral. Above is our Chen Family, 30+ strong, at the end of our dinner one evening in Taipei during the trip. This is our tribe!
Thanksgiving 2007 a la Restaurant Michael Mina = NO ONE HAS TO DO DISHES!
With my parents away for Turkey Day and the lil sis still in LA cooking up an ambitious meal with cousin Alb [ambitious = roast duck, braised short ribs, turkey meatballs, grilled polenta with gorgonzola, cornbread stuffing, brusselsprouts with balsamic and bacon, savory sweet potatoes, pumpkin bread pudding, and more] , only Kat and Bee were around along with cousin Lib. With only 4 of us here and after careful consideration of our options, we decided to ditch cooking an elaborate meal ourselves and have someone else whip it up, make the mess, and take care of everything Thanksgiving 2007 while we take backseat. With the only responsibility to show up and eat, we made rezzies at Restaurant Michael Mina in San Francisco at the Westin-St. Francis Hotel. After doing a pre-tasting two days before at MM (Lucky, gals, I know!) we were ready for T-day. Our Thanksgiving Dinner was a 3-course tasting menu with our combined samples of white truffle risotto, a trio of autumn soups, foie gras 3-ways, nantucket bay scallops seared and ceviche'd, turkey 3-ways, premium beef 3-ways, lobster pot pie, and desserts of squash trio, chocolate - smore, chocolate ice cream, chestnut bread pudding AND FINALLY, 18 bon-bon's between the 4 of us. Following our dessert, we all went around and shared what we are thankful of this season on video as Liberty provided us with a long-winded 2-minute momento of her moment of thanks - we loved it! hehe.
After our incredible dinner last night at MM, we just might have begun a new tradition where we don't have to do the dirrrrty dishes at the end of Thanksgiving night. Below are some of the fab pictures from our evening.
With my parents away for Turkey Day and the lil sis still in LA cooking up an ambitious meal with cousin Alb [ambitious = roast duck, braised short ribs, turkey meatballs, grilled polenta with gorgonzola, cornbread stuffing, brusselsprouts with balsamic and bacon, savory sweet potatoes, pumpkin bread pudding, and more] , only Kat and Bee were around along with cousin Lib. With only 4 of us here and after careful consideration of our options, we decided to ditch cooking an elaborate meal ourselves and have someone else whip it up, make the mess, and take care of everything Thanksgiving 2007 while we take backseat. With the only responsibility to show up and eat, we made rezzies at Restaurant Michael Mina in San Francisco at the Westin-St. Francis Hotel. After doing a pre-tasting two days before at MM (Lucky, gals, I know!) we were ready for T-day. Our Thanksgiving Dinner was a 3-course tasting menu with our combined samples of white truffle risotto, a trio of autumn soups, foie gras 3-ways, nantucket bay scallops seared and ceviche'd, turkey 3-ways, premium beef 3-ways, lobster pot pie, and desserts of squash trio, chocolate - smore, chocolate ice cream, chestnut bread pudding AND FINALLY, 18 bon-bon's between the 4 of us. Following our dessert, we all went around and shared what we are thankful of this season on video as Liberty provided us with a long-winded 2-minute momento of her moment of thanks - we loved it! hehe.
After our incredible dinner last night at MM, we just might have begun a new tradition where we don't have to do the dirrrrty dishes at the end of Thanksgiving night. Below are some of the fab pictures from our evening.
Thanksgiving 2007: pre-dinner drink at Chez Studio Vic's. Nothing like a ice cold glass of Hangar One Buddha's Hand with Soda. Bee, Lib, Me, Daj aka Kat. 
Dinner at Michael Mina's - Turkey 3-ways: Breast -Stuffing with Sausage and Cranberry, Leg Roulade - mashed potatoes, haricot vert, Confit - yam puree, brussel sprouts.
The X-mas decorations are up in the lobby of the Westin-St. Francis. The siblings with the Teddy Bear we snatched from under the tree.
Cat-fight over the Teddy Bear. Jess, Lib, Kat = WIN, Teddy Bear = T.K.O.!
Out at Union Square in SF with many people wandering around on a perfect Thanksgiving evening.
Recapturing X-mas 1997, Lib and Bee reenact their James Bond adventures of "Tomorrow Never Dies"
The Ladies of Thanksgiving......
At Union Square in front of the X-mas Tree - in Height Order
Dinner at Michael Mina's - Turkey 3-ways: Breast -Stuffing with Sausage and Cranberry, Leg Roulade - mashed potatoes, haricot vert, Confit - yam puree, brussel sprouts.
The X-mas decorations are up in the lobby of the Westin-St. Francis. The siblings with the Teddy Bear we snatched from under the tree.
Cat-fight over the Teddy Bear. Jess, Lib, Kat = WIN, Teddy Bear = T.K.O.!
Out at Union Square in SF with many people wandering around on a perfect Thanksgiving evening.
Recapturing X-mas 1997, Lib and Bee reenact their James Bond adventures of "Tomorrow Never Dies"DJ Rob Chen on the 1's and the 2's teaching a Mixin' Clinic @ Chez Daly City to Daj and me. Clinic involved mixing the EP's of Beyonce's Crazy in Love into Chaka Demus's Murder She Wrote.
Wannabe-DJ Jazzy Jess trying very hard to mix the 2 songs together. Beginner's Luck It Was Not. =( But so much fun! I'll keep practicing. Thanks for the clinic, Bee!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
I haven't posted in a while but I am in mourning as IHOP has decided to stop serving Country Griddle Cakes. =*(** Instead, they have replaced them with the Corn Cakes. I don't know if you are sad like me, but I do ask for a moment of silence today. For all those Country Griddle Cakes that will never be. You will all be remembered.
Read this article here:
http://www.chainleader.com/archives/2006/12/toque-ihop.asp
Read this article here:
http://www.chainleader.com/archives/2006/12/toque-ihop.asp
Sunday, September 17, 2006
JOHN LEGEND... YOU SEXY.
*******John Legend. What a talented hot man.
Ladies and gentlemen.....
SUMMER of YES has come and gone and now arrives...
FALL OF FUN (FoF).....and after that, WINTER of WHEEE(WoW)! Let's kick it off!
Brought my friend cassie to John Legend's small venue pre-promo tour
show in SF Sat nite @ The Independent. *Shout out to Childhood BFF
Sandy for hooking me up with tickets to this super-small-venue
concert.* Was only able to catch the last song "So High" since I had
to close shop @ the crew. Boo. Anyways, he was amazing, sexy, hot,
soooo talented, and what an amazing band and backup...wanted to share
a small story with yall with what happened to Cassie and me after the
show...
After gettin Popeye's buttery biscuits from across the street, Cassie and I
get back in our car and drive to TBD next watering hole. Driving by
the club, The Independent, where the show was at, we see the guitarist
(he's black, kinda Eric Benet-ish but without the sexaholism, prolly,
jury's still out), another black dude, and a black sista. We pull up
and scream out the window," Yall were amazing on the guitar! We only
go to see one song but you were amazing, etc." We ask where they're
going and they say back to the hotel Le Meridian. We say, "Hop in,
we'll take you" We pop the trunk, they fill it, get in, and I still
have 1 popeye biscuit in hand ...all glazed and beautiful, ready to be anihalatedd and of course, I offer it to my brothas from another mother.... they eat it
up... we tell them about the only 24-hour Mickey D's in SF and they're totally
down, we haul ass over there... 2 Filet-o-Fish meals later, we're
driving back to Le Meredian..we're talkin food of course, nyc,
brooklyn - cuz that's where they're from, and what else they're up to
that evening, they said maybe the after-party in Oakland because John
Legend's younger bro is performing..
We get to the hotel and as they're getting out they ask, "You aren't
just gonna drop n bounce are you?" We go: "We aren't groupies or
anything" They go: "Cmon up, we're in room 909, take down our numbers"
We swap numbers and tell them we gotta find some parking first and
that we'll hollar.
Cassie and I go park, scream and high five in the car. Pop a squat to
peee curbside cuz I seriously HAD TO GO, and then we go head upstairs.
The room ends up being Sharief the guitarist's... he's the only one
there, DUN DUN DUN..anyways.. we ask where the other peeps are and he
said most went to the after party........we sit, have heinie's,
there's some green stuff*i passed, obviously*, we're all just hanging
out.. and sharief has JL's DVD recording from the NYC Bowery
Ballroom.. so we get to see the recap of the concert we missed...
Moving on... later Greg *he mixes JL's songs* comes on in and sits
pretty next to me on the bed... we all hang out and yap, then greg
decides to get cuddly with me and my neck....anyways.. keyboardist
roomie comes back to the hotel room and we all chil for a while
longer, then cassie and I excuse ourselves and bounce....we say our
goodbyes and the "call us next time yall are in town"
toodles..and....SCENE.
Okay.. anyways, last nite was all really random, but this totally made
up for us catching only 1song.....WE GOT TO HANG OUT WITH JL'S HOMIES!
http://www.johnlegend.com
Album out 10/24
The talented bandmates of John Legend....
Cassie's man:
http://www.myspace.com/shariefinburgundy
http://www.myspace.com/sharief07
My Man: no links yet, working out it.. =)
Roomie:
http://www.myspace.com/djindustrialaverage
*******John Legend. What a talented hot man.
Ladies and gentlemen.....
SUMMER of YES has come and gone and now arrives...
FALL OF FUN (FoF).....and after that, WINTER of WHEEE(WoW)! Let's kick it off!
Brought my friend cassie to John Legend's small venue pre-promo tour
show in SF Sat nite @ The Independent. *Shout out to Childhood BFF
Sandy for hooking me up with tickets to this super-small-venue
concert.* Was only able to catch the last song "So High" since I had
to close shop @ the crew. Boo. Anyways, he was amazing, sexy, hot,
soooo talented, and what an amazing band and backup...wanted to share
a small story with yall with what happened to Cassie and me after the
show...
After gettin Popeye's buttery biscuits from across the street, Cassie and I
get back in our car and drive to TBD next watering hole. Driving by
the club, The Independent, where the show was at, we see the guitarist
(he's black, kinda Eric Benet-ish but without the sexaholism, prolly,
jury's still out), another black dude, and a black sista. We pull up
and scream out the window," Yall were amazing on the guitar! We only
go to see one song but you were amazing, etc." We ask where they're
going and they say back to the hotel Le Meridian. We say, "Hop in,
we'll take you" We pop the trunk, they fill it, get in, and I still
have 1 popeye biscuit in hand ...all glazed and beautiful, ready to be anihalatedd and of course, I offer it to my brothas from another mother.... they eat it
up... we tell them about the only 24-hour Mickey D's in SF and they're totally
down, we haul ass over there... 2 Filet-o-Fish meals later, we're
driving back to Le Meredian..we're talkin food of course, nyc,
brooklyn - cuz that's where they're from, and what else they're up to
that evening, they said maybe the after-party in Oakland because John
Legend's younger bro is performing..
We get to the hotel and as they're getting out they ask, "You aren't
just gonna drop n bounce are you?" We go: "We aren't groupies or
anything" They go: "Cmon up, we're in room 909, take down our numbers"
We swap numbers and tell them we gotta find some parking first and
that we'll hollar.
Cassie and I go park, scream and high five in the car. Pop a squat to
peee curbside cuz I seriously HAD TO GO, and then we go head upstairs.
The room ends up being Sharief the guitarist's... he's the only one
there, DUN DUN DUN..anyways.. we ask where the other peeps are and he
said most went to the after party........we sit, have heinie's,
there's some green stuff*i passed, obviously*, we're all just hanging
out.. and sharief has JL's DVD recording from the NYC Bowery
Ballroom.. so we get to see the recap of the concert we missed...
Moving on... later Greg *he mixes JL's songs* comes on in and sits
pretty next to me on the bed... we all hang out and yap, then greg
decides to get cuddly with me and my neck....anyways.. keyboardist
roomie comes back to the hotel room and we all chil for a while
longer, then cassie and I excuse ourselves and bounce....we say our
goodbyes and the "call us next time yall are in town"
toodles..and....SCENE.
Okay.. anyways, last nite was all really random, but this totally made
up for us catching only 1song.....WE GOT TO HANG OUT WITH JL'S HOMIES!
http://www.johnlegend.com
Album out 10/24
The talented bandmates of John Legend....
Cassie's man:
http://www.myspace.com/shariefinburgundy
http://www.myspace.com/sharief07
My Man: no links yet, working out it.. =)
Roomie:
http://www.myspace.com/djindustrialaverage
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