"hello, lover"

i'm right there with you, carrie (as in carrie bradshaw of sex and the city).  only i'm not cooing about some ridiculous pair of shoes in the window.  oh no, i'm gushing about the ridiculously perfect wallet shrek got me for christmas. 

i must've been an exceptionally good girl(friend) this year!  

dear santa

i'm

 usually so practical when it comes to my christmas wish list.  however, i'm completely infatuated with this wallet.  (the purple and ivory, in particular!)

i know it sounds silly, but i've

 been in search of the perfect wallet for the past 2 years.  i'm at a point in my life where i view my purchases as investments and am willing to be patient until i find exactly what i'm looking for.  also, quality over quantity!  at present i use a man's leather wallet. shrek purchased it for me at nordstrom last year to go 

with/in my little louis vuitton clutch. (seen below.  don't use the long shoulder strap, tho.)

 

 'though it matches the bag perfectly and fits in all of my other bags

 (some are particularly small), it isn't particularly practical for me to carry around to use on its own. it also doesn't have a coin pocket, which i find annoying. the only thing i really like about it is that the leather is excellent  and it keeps me organized with 12 cc slots.  

...too bad i already submitted my christmas list and shopping is complete!  will just have to be extra good until my birthday, now :)

you know you're getting old when...

instead of counting down the days until christmas, you count down the days until vacation.

just today to go and then i'm off for a week!  yippieeee!

just wish i had some snow to frolic in...

wii amatuer

yup, that would be moi.

whilst jetsetter is away, err, jetsetting for christmas, she loaned me and shrek her wii + wii fit.  

1.  i didn't realize i had the wii balance board backwards until, like, after 10 sessions of falling off the tightrope and missing every single soccer ball. 

2.  my arm is super sore even two days after playing wii tennis!

wow, really?

shrek and i were in costco last night when we walked by the book section and overheard a man telling his two kids who looked about 5 and 7: "quit reading those books and go pick out some toys.  i'm not paying good money for books!"

!!!

i caved.

remember how i was saying weight loss is easier this season since no one has money to send gifts/sweets?  

well, we got some today and i totally devoured 2 giant sugar cookies.  i've been bouncing off the walls for the past half-hour!  

tis the season for pho

i'm fairly certain the people at my favorite pho place think i only own one outfit.

despite the economy and my recent commentary on how much i try to cut back on eating out, i still manage to eat pho at least once a week.  i attribute this craving to the weather which is particularly cool and pho really heats me up.  some time between my steaming hot bowl being placed in front of me and going to pay i lose at least one layer (in addition to like a pound of snot -- it totally clears me up!  ...sorry for that tidbit but it's just one more benefit of pho -- i like to think it's why i haven't been sick yet!)  

coincidentally, when it's this cold i like to bundle up in this particularly cozy sweatshirt/jacket i ordered from victoriassecret.com forever ago.  i always pair it with a pair of jeans and my uggs.  yes, the same furry boots i used to make fun of back before i realized how insanely cozy they keep my feet despite their ugg-ly (heh) appearance.  i've really put them to use this winter because of the temp and lack of rainfall.  

so to the point... it's like 54 degrees today, i've got my outfit on (it's casual friday) and i'm craving pho for dinner!  

$4 dinner for two

i think another reason for my weight loss is the economy.  i'm a lot more conscious of how often or not i go out to eat now and what/how much is purchased at the grocery store.  also, instead of eating until i'm full i eat until i'm comfortable and tell myself that i can eat any leftovers for lunch the next day.  finally, we don't keep as much wine/alcohol in stock, because -- though some would beg to differ -- it's not a necessity!

i actually went out to dinner last tuesday with some girlfriends who are a bit older (36-40) and judging by their designer handbags (gucci, louis vuitton), jewels and clothing and jet-setting lives are just a little (har har) more financially secure than i am at this point in my life, just 2.5 years out of college.  anyways, we met at roux on santana row at 7 pm for drinks (i think i mentioned on a tuesday night) and then progressed to dinner around 830.  i'd been to roux before with them so knew to expect some pricey drinks and entrees.  therefore, i made the conscious decision to eat a little something before meeting up with them and to splurge on a $12 drink.  i also don't like going to bed on a full stomach and dinner didn't end until the last bite was taken after 10 p.m, so even though i was teased a bit for not ordering an entree (actually, some of them praised my will-power), i was happy with my decision when i could roll straight into bed that night sans the feeling of a lead ball in my stomach.

oh, which brings me to the title of my blog: shrek and i usually find we eat out for about $22 total, but last night i picked up a thin crust frozen pizza and the two of us ate for $4.  niiiiice.

i'm here! really

okay, my last post certainly wasn't as long ago as some of you led me to believe.  but, yes, i admit i'm pushing a month without posting.  my apologies, but i've been swamped at work.  our company downsized about 25% a month ago which led to my new position as "office manager" and taking over the office duties of 4 of the people who left.  now, instead of running around town as a personal assistant i'm tied to my desk and sedentary for 9 hours straight. (i often just take my lunch at my desk.)  

before the change i relished coming home and unwinding by putting my feet up, surfing the internet and vegging out.  now with this new desk position the last thing i want to do is look at a computer or even watch tv.  really. this means i'm also out of the loop at the water cooler now.  everyone was buzzing about the moroccan chrismas episode on the office last night and i had to gracefully bow out of the conversation because i didn't want them to spoil the episode for me since i usually catch up on shows over the weekend whilst waiting for my laundry to complete.  

however, a surprising twist came with this transition: it's GREAT MOTIVATION to work out in the morning.  when my alarm clock goes off now, all i have to do is think about sitting at my desk for 9 hours straight and i'm up!  i'm actually back in my size 27s and they are LOOSE!  i think last year at this time my 28s were snug :X  partially due to all the companies we do business with sending us sweets.  with the shitty economy we got a lot of e-cards this year, which my hips certainly don't mind!

 

car woes

my poor little honda has been conking out on me.  as i slow down to a stop at a sign or light to turn, all the lights on the dash go crazy, i lose power steering and my gas pedal won't let me push down on it.  in the past week i've become a pro at flipping on my emergency blinkers and idling over to the side of the road to turn off and on the in a matter of seconds. (although, it seems like a lot longer with cars behind me!)  called around to some honda shops and garages and explained my problem.  most agreed it must be the alternator.  i took it into kragen for a free alternator test and low and behold, it was indeed the alternator!  was mighty proud of myself for accurately describing the problem over the phone since i am not a car person.  purchased a new one with a lifetime warranty for $292 (ouch!) and assisted shrek as he installed it the next day.  am really liking having such a handy boyfriend around :)

car woes don't stop there, unfortunately.  shifting's been a bit rough and i realized i was way overdue (about 9,000 miles!) for a major service.  saved about $150 by taking it to a generic automotive garage (found with excellent yelp reviews) instead of the honda dealership.  still paid a pretty penny, tho, but what's that saying?  something about an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?  yeah, the kicker is after all that my car conked out on me AGAIN on my way home from work!  what's the deal?!  

yes please

i was telling my mom today over the phone that shrek and i completed our christmas shopping this weekend(!) and she mentioned she had yet to receive mindy's annual christmas wish list.  man, that makes me look so spoiled.

...but just to prove you wrong: mom always gives me a hard time when she receives it just because it's annoyingly practical.  in college i asked for target and safeway gift cards.  last year i asked for an eye exam and contacts (this is before i had vision coverage and my contacts run $500 for a year's supply  :X ) or just to pay for my plane ticket home to see them.  shrek got me right away: for valentine's day he gave me mace and a year's supply of my favorite candy bar :P

this year i'd like/need a new pair of running shoes.  after my brush with compartment syndrome in h.s., i found the only shoes that really work for me are these:

women's mizuno wave rider 11, size 9.  not necessarily in that color, but it works, too.

finally.

mom's coming to visit me for christmas!  

she hasn't been to see me since i moved into my 2-bedroom apt. nor has she seen where i've been working for over a year.  it's about time, lady!  :D

strike a pose

was messing around with the apps on my mac today and found photo booth.  shrek and i got some belly-aching laughs outta it.  check it out:

heaven in a half pint

last night shrek and i discovered ben and jerry's s'mores ice cream.  check it out: rich chocolate ice cream, chocolate chunks, marshmallow and graham cracker swirl (yes, graham cracker SWIRL--who knew?!).  and now that little half pint is GONE and already replaced with a new one in the freezer. :D 

mmmm

a lighter look at the presidential election

as shrek and i watched the election results last tuesday, i shared one of my past presidential election memories with him -- how when i was in eighth grade my classmates and i had the option to return to school later that evening to watch the election results roll in as we colored each state red or blue depending on which way it voted.  i finished my story with,  "yeah, i think it was '98 and clinton won." 

an odd look crossed over shrek's face and he said, "'98?!  i graduated from high school in '97.  i was in college and you were coloring in eighth grade?!"

haha

well, it turns out that my memory was a little off: i was actually in seventh grade and it was '96, so shrek was still in h.s. -- even though he could still vote.  phew!  doesn't sound half as bad for reason :P

  

what you don't know can hurt you...!

especially when it comes to food.  i just discovered the caloric and fat content of my beloved noah's spinach and bacon breakfast panini.  seriously, there are weeks that i devour one a day as a snack because i'm so ferociously hungry around 9 a.m. and i want something hearty.  these things are great but i think i'm going to have to limit it to once a month now.  my pocketbook will appreciate it, too.

check it out: 770 calories + 49 grams of fat!?  :(  

on the plus side, i managed to make it to the gym sunday-friday!!  (and look, here i am the morning before daylight savings which i was so looking forward to, and up at 5!)  that and cutting out those bfast sandwiches must be the reason my coworker asked if i'd been losing weight :)

mailed it in last week!

new laptop!

...and it glows!  :D 

after weeks of research (seriously, this was the 4th weekend in a row i'd visited best buy and the apple store specifically to look at laptops) i finally made a purchase--and i love it!  as you can see, it's not the new macbook which i was lusting after.  instead, i "settled" for the "old" 15.4" macbook pro.  experts aka sales promised me that as long as i wasn't a gamer (i'm not) or did serious design imaging (i don't), i wouldn't notice a difference.  

this is such a dramatic upgrade from my just 4 year old fujitsu, it's amaaaazing!  right now i have safari, iphoto, itunes and ical all running as i transfer all of my music and photos files over while update my calendars with alerts and it's not lagging at all.  i never could've done this with my old comp!  

i think i made a smart move, too, by getting my new laptop financed through best buy instead of buying it from an apple store.  best buy has a no interest for 18 months, same as cash card that i put the total on.  that means instead of just paying it off in like, 2 payments + interest, i can leave money in my savings account to earn interest (and not have to starve myself in order to pay for it--ha!) while making monthly payments of about $100 interest free.  quite reasonable!  

i also got a good 3-year warranty that includes any accidents and parts (i guess batteries for this baby run $250!?) so the warranty practically pays for itself when i--and i will--go in to pick up a second battery in a year.  

thank you, shrek, for being so patient and understanding today as i play with my new toy.  :)

bartending 101

had an impromptu get-together with some girlfriends in "support" of jetsetter's graduation from bartending classes. in preparation for her first gig that friday, she wanted to perfect her drinks--on us--that wednesday. may have made for a long thursday, but, hey, the length you go to for friends! ;) p.s. she's making watermelon mojitos!

where the wild things are

shrek and i went to a costume party last night and got to unveil our costumes. see below for party pics (thanks, maykazine, shrek, and others who contributed to documenting the evening.)  :) haha, check out my friends' "cockblock" and "max from where the wild things are" costumes!

2 thumbs down

doesn't this burger look promising? i'd heard such good things about this new burger place, the counter, on santana row that i urged shrek to try it out with me. (it didn't take too much urging.) unfortunately it was really disappointing and there are too many genuinely good restaurants around here to go back there.

above all, their service stinks. you'd think with the economy as shitty as it is and people not eating out as much, you'd have your best servers on point. not so here. not only are they slow as molasses, but shrek and i watched as our appetizer was served to a couple at a nearby table right after they were seated and still had their menus open. the couple was annoyingly passive and didn't say anything like, "we didn't order this," so we watched them examine our appetizer and let it sit and get cold as we tried to flag someone down. when the mistake was finally acknowledged, our server simply picked the appetizer up and brought it over to our table. i, i think rightfully, didn't want something that was cold and had been possibly picked at, so i sent it back. our burgers also went to that same couple. this time they looked at the plates a little more closely (they'd just ordered) and motioned that it wasn't theirs. once shrek and i finally got our food, i found it really bland, especially for all of the good ingredients on it. shrek and red robin make waaay better burgers for a fraction of the price. which brings me to my second gripe:

this place is way overpriced. 2 burgers ($10 each) + 1 fry trio ($6) + 1 beer = $32. they also brought us someone else's bill. and if had been less than what we ordered, i would've just paid it. but it wasn't, so i, once again, flagged our server down and alerted her to the mix-up. not once did she apologize--just said she'd get our bill. come to think of it, she also never brought the condiments that she offered to serve with our plates, which is annoying. finally, i also overheard another server say to ours that his table left a note on his receipt complaining about his service and mixing their food up, too. man, get it together!!

2 THUMBS DOWN for THE COUNTER on santana row.

this is nuts!

did mother nature forget it's almost NOVEMBER?!

so genius!

how many times have you been at a bar and not had a place to set your purse?

at first i resist placing it on the sticky counter and try to balance it on my lap. but after a few swirls it either ends up, much to my dismay the next morning, on the sticky bar counter top and sometimes, even, on the floor :X BUT NO MORE! oh, and i definitely don't go out with purses this huge. i was just testing it's strength and stability :D

recent finds: mail goggles

yeah, yeah, yeah i know: i'm a little behind on this one seeing as google posted this way back on the 6th and it's already got like 100 links to it!

i haven't had the opportunity to test it out and i really don't actually recall ever wanting to email whilst drunk--just call and text and drink more--but i do find the concept amusing. apparently during the wee hours of the weekend, google's mail goggles will kick in by displaying a similar screen like the one above if you try to send an email. i guess if you're sober enough to solve those problems in 43 seconds or under, you're sober enough to send that email!

my lust list

really only features one item:

the new macbook.





















*drool*

"is there anything he doesn't do?"

last week i overheard shrek getting some major props from our ceo, r, for a job well done running our warehouse. (okay, i didn't just overhear. i may have been filing some paperwork in r's and c's office and they were actually talking to each other over my head.) r specifically praised shrek's attention to detail, planning, and keeping the warehouse clean and organized.

c's response? was directed towards me (and to kinda tease r): "shrek cooks, shrek cleans...is there anything he doesn't do?!" :D

i gleefully told her about the mask shrek was making for me this weekend. check it out!

tips for snoozing with a snorer

i'll begin with a funny story:

shrek's got some super cute nieces, ages 4 and 7. the little one in particular is of an age where it's good and necessary to continually remind her of her pleases and thank yous.

one night after spending the afternoon with his nieces, i poked shrek in the back and asked him to roll over because his snoring was keeping me awake. (it isn't quite so ferocious when he sleeps on his side.)

"PLEASE!" he loudly reminded me, before rolling over.

haha, he didn't even remember saying that the next morning!

anyways, aside from having your snoring partner roll on his or her side, invest in these:

you know what they say about those who assume...

warning: a bit of a rant.

yesterday i found myself explaining, once again, why i am here to a virtual stranger.

while i am proud of my background and how i came to be who, what, and where i am today, i want to share it on my own terms. i don't appreciate nosy questions about it when i know it's prompted solely by my looks. in other words, i feel that in many cases it wouldn't even be asked if i was white--and it's not a good feeling. (but on the flip side, i don't mind when someone asian asks me...does this make me racist and/or prejudice? :( )

yesterday i was hosting two visitors to our office. my ethnicity had absolutely nothing to do with why they were there and i highly doubt the woman (yup, she was white) would've asked shrek, or any other hires for that matter, where their parents "settled from." yet, after asking if i grew up here and commenting on my not having "an accent," she asked me where my parents "settled from." and when she didn't like my answer which was only the honest truth (chicago and iowa), she asked where their parents "settled from."


uhh, well, france, switzerland and ireland.

while a part of me took glee in her obvious confusion and flusteration (like that one?), an even greater part was just annoyed and uncomfortable and i finally caved, handing her the missing piece of the puzzle on a silver platter: "i'm adopted."

it's sticky, dealing with ignorance, because some people are just outright assholes (like ricardo, the drunk who kept asking me who my first president was even after i kept answering, "george washington"). however, many are like this woman: simply curious and trying to make polite conversation (but agitating me). it also doesn't help that i'm a genuinely nice person, so i don't push back as hard as i usually wish i had looking back on the situation.

it's also sticky because i wasn't born in the u.s., so when people ask me point blank where i was born (mostly just wanting to figure out if i'm chinese, japanese, korean, etc.), i actually claim one of those countries as my birthplace. but that's it. shrek and i joke that he's more asian than i am after having grown up down here. (he loves sticky rice, can properly use chopsticks, and just introduced me to pho -- a favorite dish of his -- a month ago). i, on the other hand, am apparently more italian than shrek after my upbringing (lots o' spaghetti!) and studying abroad twice in italy -- and shrek's mom is a santorelli! (i also don't like rice but love spaghetti, have come up with my own "unique" way of using chopsticks and had culture shock when i moved here after being raised in rural washington state for 18 years.)

still, people should not automatically assume i wasn't born here just because of the way i look. i have plenty of friends who look like me (i.e. asian) and were born here. and i have plenty of friends who are white who weren't born here and aren't even u.s. citizens!

i want to go

shrek skyped me mid-day with this terrific find, a masquerade ball halloween party in the city!


Alist Halloween
Masquerade Ball 2008

Co-Hosted by Tony Presents, Sebastien Ent, CrawlSF, and more

San Francisco's Halloween
Mega Event!
LARGEST IN THE CITY

This hallow's eve, beginning at sundown - the mysterious realm of the unknown will come out for a night filled with many treats. Where ghosts and goblins from centuries past party it up with the many superheroes of today- you'll see the fearless dark nights kickin' it with the ominous jokers of the world, the ever-so-attentive nurses and not-so-innocent schoolgirls drinkin’ it up with the steadfast sailors and the 'kool-aid' cowboys, and you may even see a loud lion or a testy tiger gettin’ busy on the dance floor with those hot little kittens…

all in all, whether you dream of genies, french maids, or mini-me’s, just make sure that you make it on out for our “funnest and craziest” party of the year - the Alist & friends Halloween Masquerade Ball!

Costume contest taking place at midnight - prizes for best girl, guy, and group costumes

When:
Friday October 31st
9pm til 2am

Where:
The Westin St. Francis Hotel
335 Powell Street - Union Square - SF

Features:

2 Levels

9 Different Areas

6 Rooms of entertainment and music

Premium Hosted Bar all night long

30 Bars to choose from

Drinks included in ticket price

VIP Section and Bottle Service

Visuals, Props and Decor

Dancers and Performers

Costume Competition

Costumes are Recommended

DJ's and Music Types

David Carvalho and dj ZAQ (hip hop & Mashups)

Vahid, Dirtyhertz, Pheeko Dubfunk, G-Stav (House)

Andrew B, Just Right (Hip Hop & Mashup)

Big Bad Bruce (70's, 80's, 90's)

Blutex, Dr T, DJ Tasse (International)

Eddy Santana, Jeff Morena, Nick G, D:Russo aka Echo (House)

And Many More...

TICKETS

General Admission

Access to all 9 general areas/rooms on both the main and 2nd levels

Access to all entertainment/djs on both floors

All your beverages for the evening

Tickets are only $70

Click Here for Tickets

VIP Admission

Access to all 9 general areas/rooms on both the main and 2nd levels

Access to all entertainment/djs on both floors

All your beverages for the evening

Express Entry

Complimentary coat check at VIP will call

Access to VIP Area

Tickets are only $120

Click Here for Tickets

No tickets will be mailed. You may pick up your tix at the will call booth on the night of the event

21+ w/ID, 25+ preferred

Costumes HIGHLY recommended

Sorry, NO REFUNDS. Please plan accordingly prior to purchasing.