Weekend Meme: 7-layer Meme

We all like to think that we're complicated with lots of layers like an onion, but only the few lucky ones get to blossom at Chili's.

Lifted this from Chris at My 2 Cents who lifted this from Judd at Sunaday Stealing. Sunday Stealing is a website where all the post are memes stolen from other sites. It only has 20 some memes now, but it's promising. lol.

Here it is:

LAYER 1: Tell us your…

* Name: Paul or YvesPaul, depending on how close we are.
* Birthday (month, day): July 23rd, same as Eriq La Salle, Omar Epps, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Radcliffe and Monica Lewinsky
* Birthplace: Hong Kong
* Current location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
* Eye color: Dark Brown, arguable black.
* Hair color: Black
* Height: 5'11.5" (arguable)
* Righty or lefty: I'm always right. :)
* Zodiac sign: Cancer/Leo


LAYER 2: What’s…

* Your heritage: Chinese, there might be a tad of Vietnamese.
* The shoes you wore today: My brown leather flip-flops and my brown leather casual sneakers.
* Your weakness: Brown leather (duh), chocolate, tall guys, hairy chests.
* Your fears: Snakes, anything that shapes like a snake and lying idly on the street. (I jumped over a moving multi-colored scarf, plastic tubes, barks and branches alike), loneliness, poverty.
* Your perfect pizza: Ok, don't judge me... I like sausage, mushroom, pineapple and onions on mine. (Ooh, that sounded somewhat sexual)
* Goals you’d like to achieve: Own a house and get a husband (Very white picket fence, I know)
* Your first waking thoughts: Do I really have to wake up? What time is it?
* Your best physical feature: My legs? I have pretty good skin too.
* Your most missed memory: Missed memory? How would I remember?

LAYER 3: Do you…

* Smoke: Tried it, didn't stick.
* Cuss: Sometimes, well, I guess I'm a bit loose in this area. I don't get offended by curse words, so I didn't think it would offend anyone either.
* Sing: Oh yes, I'm from Hong Kong and karaoke is a must.
* Do you think you’ve been in love: Yes, and I know it. (Clap, clap)
* Did you go to college: Yes, but don't judge me.
* Liked high school: Oh yes, best time of my life, not much studying though.
* Want to get/stay married: If I'm lucky enough to find a guy. :)
* Believe in yourself: Not really that much, that has been my problem for quite some time.
* Think you’re attractive: I'm starting to like myself a lot more after the rhinoplasti and my abs implant.
* Think you’re a health freak: Not at all, if I am I would have gone to the gym after paying for my membership. haha.
* Get along with your parent(s): Parents? What's that?
* Like thunderstorms: Oh yes, I love! I get excited by thunderstorms. It's the Dr. Frankenstein in me.
* Play an instrument: Yes, many. (Oh... did you mean music instruments?)

LAYER 4: In the past month have you…

* Drank alcohol: Yes, at a party 2~3 weeks ago.
* Smoked: Nope. Not cigarettes.
* Done a drug: Errrh, nope. Not that I can remember... (Wha?!)
* Made out: Yes, a lot. Only for medical purpose though, it enhance your immune system. (I've heard)
* Gone on a date: I believe I have. (How do you define date?)
* Gone to the mall: Yes, passed by the one in the city.
* Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Oreos are not my favorite. It might be very un-American of me, the only time I like Oreos is when they are crushed up in Cookies 'n' Cream. (If you ask about Lu's Pims then maybe...)
* Eaten sushi: I remember if I've eaten sushi within the month, I've had a lot of Onigiris, do they count?
* Been on stage: Nope, I've given up that career path ever since high school.
* Been dumped: Not attached for the moment, but my dates are not calling, so...
* Gone skating: No, I can't skate. I tried when I was a kindergartener in Paris, I just can't. (No balance, no coordination)
* Gone skinny dipping: Not in the past month, are you kidding? I'll get hypothermia.
* Stolen Anything: Not the past month, no. Ask again. ;)

LAYER 5: Have you ever…

* Played a game that required removal of clothing: Does sex count?
* Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: I think so, trashed is when you start puking, right?
* Been caught “doing something”: A lot of close calls, but there's no evidence to prove anything.
* Been called a tease: Yes, is that bad?
* Gotten beaten up: In elementary school I'm constantly in fights.
* Shoplifted: Yes. Often. A little bit of a klepto here.

LAYER 6:

* Age you did get/hope to be married: Since I'm already 33, how about 35?
* Numbers and names of children (either you have or want): I think 3 or less would be nice, I could imagine myself adopting and adopting until I have 20~30 kids, but I have a hard time naming kids since my last name is so foreign and nothing sounds good with it. Hopefully my mate will have a nicer sounding last name.
* Describe your dream mate: Wow, Let's see. An attractive cub, manly, handsome, with a hairy chest, tall, easy going, laid-back, reliable, understanding, considerate and has a stable job. Is that too much to ask?
* How do you want to die: Fall from a tall building? I'd like to feel like I flew. Overdose would not be so bad either. Are there any other pleasurable ways to die?
* What did you want to be when you grow up: A few different things, I thought I could cure cancer, or be a cop or a singer/actor. None of them worked, haha.
* What country would you most like to visit: Greece.

LAYER 7: Now tell…

* Name a drug you’ve taken illegally: Mary Jane, didn't do anything for me but that's as illegal as I get.
* Name a person you could trust with my life: With your life? You mean my life? I would say my aunt Agnes, but let's hope I don't need to have other people decide for me.
* Name a favorite CD that you own: There are a few history making album or some that really made some impact on me, but there's none burn as bright as Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.
* Number of piercings: Zip.
* Number of tattoos: None. But if you count the ones you got from chewing gums....
* Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Newspaper? What century are you from?
* Name a past experience that you regret: A boyfriend or two, but what past is past. (If I can only believe that myself)

Alright, have a nice weekend!

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7 Requests For Santa

Dear Santa,

Since I've been such a good boy this year, I thought I'd write to you and give you my list. I don't think I've lived in any house that has got a chimney, so I figured you owe me quite a bit.

So here it is:

1. I want a new leather chair! My old one is tearing up and styrofoams are sticking out of it. I like brown leather but since I have a black leather foot rest, I wouldn't mind either way. A high-back office ones on wheels would do.







2. I bought a new leather wallet with a zipper on the side, but the leather got torn within a week. Can I get another one?








3. My bookcase is bent and broken from the weight of the books I have. I'm quite ambivalent about it being crooked, but my ocassional guests might think otherwise. I've heard your elves are quite crafty, so what say you?








4. My vacuum is not working properly either, maybe it's getting old. It's not bending anymore and it doesn't suck as good (which sucks!!!) I've seen enough Dyson commerical to crave one, can you throw in a small dust vacuum as well? I hate dusting and wiping, at least a vacuum or two will ease my pain.






5. Speaking of broken stuff, my iPod is also breaking down. I can only hear from one side and those Mac "Geniuses" can't do anything to help other than offer me a 10% discount if I return the hardware to them. The discount can't even be used for iPod Touch. Santa, can I get an iPod Touch?


6. How about a job? I think a lot of things above can be solved. Do you need an extra pair of hands at the elf factory? Or someone to feed the reindeers?





7. At last, maybe I'll ask you for my very own man. A sane, attractive one with a hairy chest and a good job and good sexual chemistry? Is that too much to ask? Can you deliver him all tied up Shibari style?




Hope you will could grant me these wishes, I'll have the milk and cookies waiting for you.

Sincerely, Paul.

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Mike Huckabee and Jon Stewart on Gay Marriage

Jon Stewart is my god, and I was so impressed by his gay marriage discussion with Mike Huckabee that I've stayed up until 1am to watch it again.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

It's mind boggling that an otherwise reasonable person like Mike Huckabee can get influenced by religion and refuse to see reason. It's also completely ironic for him to promote his book called "Do The Right Thing" during this interview. This interview raised a lot of great points, and I'm impressed by Jon Stewart for understanding all these points and being able to represent the folks who supports gay marriage and debate. I would like to see somebody who is an actual homosexual and being able to defend gay marriage as eloquently as he does, but actually maybe having Jon Stewart to be the voice would be better. It just feels good to watch someone tearing down the bullshit.

To drag it out:

1. If a marriage is a stabilizer for society, why wouldn't you want society to be more stable by giving gays the right to marry?

2. Marriage has been redefined and redefined. Polygamy was acceptable, and back not far from now interracial marriage was even not legal.

3. Anti-gay individuals still believe that being gay is a choice while they themselves haven't chose to be straight (Maybe some of them do but constant regret their choice?)

4. Most anti-gay individuals have very limited exposures to gay people.

5. Religions is more of a lifestyle choice than being gay and as a choice, there are more protections for religion.

6. Anti-gay people are afraid to be forced into a same-sex marriage.

7. Mike Huckabee wants to clarify that just because a person is against gay marriage, it doesn't mean that the person is a homophobe or filled with hate or animosity and anger, but obviously, they are.

8. Marriage between a man and a woman is THE perfect environment for kids to grow up in, just look at the Federlines.

9. To give the word Marriage ultimate power and to redefine it will crumble society as a whole is bullshit. If that's the case, people who hover around Merriam-Webster more than the bible.

Although I have to say I admire Mike Huckabee being able to keep his cool and stay on the topic for the whole 7 minutes.

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Music Invasion: TLC's "Creep"

Woke up yesterday morning with the urge of hearing this song again, I don't know why until I reburned the CD into my iPod and walking down Broadway in Manhattan listening to this classic.

Three might just be a magical number; trinity, the power of three, love triangles, sharp, at odds, tough as diamonds. I have let myself get completely infatuated with someone again and that person is taken, but as far as I can tell I'm not the one who should be singing this song.

Things like that could never last although I secretly hope this guy and his boyfriend is open to a third, but with my luck I'd probably be the one who'd end up with a bathtub full of blazing sneakers. I remember when CrazySexyCool first came out Chili was saying that a lot of people has mistaken LeftEye to be the crazy one, herself as the Sexy one and T-Boz as the cool one while in fact LeftEye is the cool one, T-Boz is the sexy one and she is actually the crazy one. I can never justify myself as being sexy, so if TLC holds any symbolic value to me I'd probably die in a car crash in Honduras. The remaining two will audition for a new third that never amounts to anything. Meh, I always thought T-Boz should have gone solo anyway.



Creep

Yes it's me again
And I'm back, Ooh!
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah

The 22nd of loneliness
And we've been through so many things
I love my man with all honesty
But I know he's cheatin' on me
I look him in his eyes
But all he tells me is lies to keep me near
I'll never leave him down
Though I might mess around
It's only coz I need some affection

Chorus:
Oh, so I creep, yeah...
Just keep it on the down low
Said nobody is supposed to know
So I creep, yeah...
Coz he doesn't know what I do
And no attention goes to show
Oh so I creep

The 23rd of loneliness
And we don't talk like we used to do
Now it seems pretty strange
But I'm not buggin' coz I still feel the same (yeah yeah)
I'll keep giving loving til the day he pushes me away
Never go astray
If he knew the things I did
He couldn't handle it
And I choose to keep him protected

Chorus x2

I think about us baby all the time
But you know that I'm gonna need some attention
Yeah, yeah, can you dig it?
Love you forever baby soul & mind
And you gotta know if
You don't give it I'ma get mine

Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah (So I creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah (So I creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Chorus:
So I creep, yeah...
Just keep it on the down low
Said nobody is supposed 2 know
So I creep, yeah...
Coz he doesn't know what I do
And no attention goes to show
Oh so I creep
(I creep around because I need some attention
Don't mess around with my affection) x2

(Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah) x3

Chorus:
So I creep, yeah...
Just keep it on the down low
Said nobody is supposed to know
So I creep, yeah...
Coz he doesn't know what I do
And no attention goes to show
Oh so I creep

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SimCity 4

I think by making fun of the Animal Crossing commercials brought me back memory of an extremely well done simulation game - SimCity. I actually didn't get a chance to play SimCity, but I've gotten my hands on SimCity 2000 which was actually published around 1993 and fell in love of being able to create my own town and build little roads and railways.



To recapture that memory, I bought a copy of SimCity 4 expanded edition and found out the game had changed since then and gotten a lot more realistic and complicated. There's a lot of different factor for this game, you're the mayor and you're given a large sum of money in the beginning and you have to start by building some energy source (i.e. a coal power plant or nuclear power plant), some water pumps and lay down some tubes for the sewage system. And then you can create some roads and then start creating some residential zones, some commercial zones and some industrial zones. As time passes, people will start building buildings, and you need to building an education and a health system. Problem like fire, pollution, crime and traffic will change, and you need to make sure everything goes right and continue to expand. At the same time everything has a maintenance and monthly cost associated with it and you want your budget to balance or even earn money from taxation and deals with other cities.

I suck at being the major, I like to build things too much too soon. I always want the perfect city with beaches, a full educational system and a hospital, which emulates my regular spending pattern. In order to be successful, a player needs to start small and be patient. Thank god, technology is so popular that there are developers out there that would create some plugins and mods to bypass all that. Some user created a tree that would generate money. (Yes, a money tree) My money tree created 8 trillion Simoleons in a month, enough for me to buy anything I want... woohoo! There are also futuristic energy sources that would actually purify air at the same time. Some users get artsy and create sites like the World Trade Center or the Tokyo Tower for us to put them anywhere we want. My favorite is from an user from Amsterdam that recreated tons of buildings in his city so that players like me can create an European town. There are impressive Gothic cathedrals, opera house and the Anne Frank house.



Although after you get that much money, the game sorta loses its purpose. Then, you can utilize the game's ulterior functions to create disasters like fire, earthquake, tornado, aliens or monsters. Some people will build tons of nuclear plants and then create a fire and watch the whole city blow into oblivion. Haha. It's like Tamagotchi from years ago after you get bored bringing up your chick, you'll find different ways to kill it and see all the bad endings.

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Remembering Tonton Albert

In the summer of 1980, I was in Paris. After 18 months of France, my father said my French was not good enough and opted for me to join my uncle to spend the summer in their country house in Southwest of France so I can be in an environment that solely speak French. Sure, being separated with my mom was horrible, but I didn't have a choice and I'll get to play with my uncle's son which is someone around my age and that's rare for me up to that point in life.

Both of my grandmas were friends and both lived in Vietnam back in the 40s. During the First Indochina War which led to the independence of Vietnam from France, my grandma on my father side had to fled Vietnam because her husband was in the French Army. She had unfortunately lost her son during the war and my other grandma (Grandma Nancy) helped her to the task. (It's very Madame Butterfly, I know) Her son, as later found out, had met his early grave during the war and since a slot was already panned out for a young child to fly to France, Grandma Nancy found a young distant cousin who lost his parents and travel to France for a better life. This person got adopted and later became my father. Some relatives would argue that since my father had such a humble childhood, I should give him a break for his deadbeat ways but that's another story for another time.



So my younger uncle (Tonton Albert) was nothing like my father, heck, they are not related in any ways. Since he's mixed and the rule holds generally true to other mixed people, he's rather good looking. I've had some wonderful memory with him because he had been more present than my father. He's the one who taught me how to pee by myself and the one who told me that the blue porcelain marionette hanging at the shop had a tear in her eye because she can't touch the moon.

The trip to the country was wonderful, I met my older cousin and my aunt for the first time and we went to the beach a lot. After a stormy night, we also went out with bucket in our hands to catch snails. They ended up being baked in the oven with butter and herbs and I've had my first escargot. I also had artichoke for the first time and fell in love with sucking on the leaves. Chocolate with different animals printed on the bar that we and my cousin have to make the animal sounds as well eat them, he always give me the weak animals of course. Funny how I remember that place with the foods. I also remember they subscribed to a little children's architecture magazine, where they can cut and glue the pages into a working watermill and I remember playing Yahtzee, but I was only 5 so I bet I'm just happy shaking the dices around.



After the trip, my mom commented that the clothes in all my pictures are my cousin's old clothes and my clothes bought for the trip ended up on my cousin, but what do I care, I've had too much fun. I've lost complete touch with them after returning to Hong Kong at the age of 10. I wonder how they are now, how my aunt and my cousin is doing. Or how foreign they look like now. I wonder if they remember who I am and that I visited their country home. I think by the end of that trip, I couldn't stop speaking French.

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Weekend Meme: Another Flickr Meme

Stolen from Erik at Gambrinous with Griffonage is this week's meme. All you have to do this week is go to the 6th page of your Flickr album and select the 6th picture and if you don't have a Flickr album, just go to a random user's. The meme is not incredibly clever, but we all love pictures!

Here's mine:



This is the Sushi Kaiseki served in Matsushima restaurant right next to Mitsuwa Market in Edgewater, New Jersey right next to the Hudson River, the restaurant has a magnificent view of Manhattan and the food is excellent too.

From the top, you can see a bowl of Miso Soup, in the little blue dish we have a piece of Salmon Teriyaki with a wakame salad, next to it is some Shrimp and vegetable tempura, in the little white bowl with the red emblem, we have some stewed root vegetables and fish balls. Underneath we have a tekkamaki with 6 different piece of sushi and at last on the bottom right corner, we have a tuna sashimi, all pretty high quality.

I'm going to NYC today, maybe I'll get to cross the river and have some good Japanese food again. Anyhow I have to hunt down this Japanese pasta sauce that makes your pasta taste like brie. (Drool) The last few times I went to Mitsuwa, they don't have it, but for food, I'm always hopeful. If I find it, I'm gonna buy me a box!

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Reaction To Proposition 8 - The Musical

It's a belated post for the star-studded Prop 8 - The Musical:

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I wasn't gonna post it, because as well-intended and spectacularly casted it is, I can't help but wonder who's gonna watch it other than the people who are already pro-gay marriage. Apparently I'm wrong.

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is demanding an apology from Jack Black and other stars for defaming the bible and Christ. It's true that along with condemning the gays, there are also passages in the bible that condemn adulterers, talking back to elders and shellfish and for people to focus on gays are curiously absurd. We don't see adulterers being stoned to death and I can see worst crime than loving another person of the same gender.

Although I'm reminded even in the musical they mentioned that accepting gay marriage would stimulate the economy, bigots generate more revenues by hating. There are always people willing to donate money to ban gay marriage, and yet we don't have a clue where the money has gone to. Same with the supporters of gay marriage, there's no accountability on either camp, just like the money that goes to Iraq or the money used to bail out Wall Street. So, either gay marriage went through or not the economy will benefit. Of course, I want bigotry to end and if the other camp pays attention to little music numbers like this, I say go ahead.

Um... I'm having shrimp tonight, so am I going to hell? Oh and Happy 40th Birthday to Margaret Cho. Apparently My good friend Billy and her were born on the same day!

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Surfing The Tide

There were too much up and downs in my personal life recently that left me kinda lost. I've been seeing a guy from Ohio, nice guy, musically-inclined. He produced an album for himself, and occasionally will burn me a CD with music that we both like. I think he's kinda sweet. He told me that he opened a coffee shop with a friend somewhere in Ohio, and that's why he moved there but his family is in Philly, so every now and then he comes back and we'd hang out for a few days. But honestly, I don't know much about him, and I don't think I'll opt for a long term relationship. For Thanksgiving week, we were supposed to hang out and go see Twilight, but he lost his phone and haven't called like he promise he would. Oh, well.



Some old haunts have been behind my back as well, Medic Guy's still setting up time with me to hang out but not showing up at the last minute. That's the nature of Medic Guy and I've made my peace with it. It doesn't get me upset anymore, so it's no big deal. Another guy that really tries to pursue me before bumped into me during the prop 8 rally and I think he's pursuing me again, we have been on a date and we'll do it again this upcoming weekend. I decided that I need to feel it out first.

Some crazy guy online has been pestering me for sex and got very angry when I rejected him for creeping me out, then he started name calling and said he'd seen me out before and knows where I live. I guess someone has a hard time with rejection.



After months of not talking online, CuteCub sent me a text and we started talking again. Too bad he has a boyfriend, because I really like the guy but then this is another Oh Well situation. Nothing I can do about it, I'm just glad to be in his company again. Even Macho from years ago, came back into the spotlight and talking to me.

I don't know why people decide to show up or disappear, there's no rhyme or reason for it. The Chinese would have you believe that everything is fate, but I think it might have something to do with the season and the holidays. Maybe it brings people closer.

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When I Grow Up...

Ripped from Fail Blog's post is today's classic children's drawing, although I have to suspect whether this is actually done by a child. Failblog explained that Mommy actually works at Home Depot and was depicted here selling a snow shovel, but of course our dirty minds lead us somewhere else, the bend at Mommy's hips or her styled hair doesn't help much either. Hope this doesn't traumatize the kid too much when he/she realize what her drawing means to other people.

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Male Vanity (NSFW)

Lately I've seen some new product online designed for men that's innovative but some are disturbing in one way or another. No, vanity is not sexist.

GoateeSaver



Take this GoateeSaver for example, I think it's a great tool for guys who keeps a goatee. Guys with goatees can be sexy and with my experience in keeping my beard, I can understand a tool like that would be kinda useful but I wonder how flexible it is to fit different face type. Not to mention that it makes the wearer look like one of those Star Wars soldiers during its use, I'm sure I'd be chuckling if I'm using it. It's a good thing that you'd only be using it in your personal time.


Men-bras



It's totally a WTF moment for this one. Seriously, WTF? I wasn't aware that men needed support for their boobs, I mean even for those who have flabby, fat chests. But then I heard they are all sold out after a week, and I friend explained to me that while it can provide extra security and confidence for regular men, most of the buyers are cross-dressers and that made perfect sense. I'd think that cross-dressers would prefer the lacier ones, while the men who wanted security and confidence would prefer something look more like a wife beater.


Spanx For Men



Via Joe.My.God, this undergarment seems to have a lot more use then the men-bra. At least this one gives use a six-pack, or in this case a fake-pack, but then only skinny guys can put this on. For a chubby guy, the fat still has to go somewhere. I've never wore a girdle before, and I'd imagine it would be extremely uncomfortable and I do have a little bit of a claustophobe in me. I'm sure it won't be fun. Lyposuction would be a lot more reliable, but then it also reminded me of an episode of Queer as Folks where one of them went home with someone with a fake butt:


The Package Booster



It gives you an extra padding on your butt and an extra padding up front. I think it's the equivalent of a water bra or a wonder bra for girls. But honestly, you eventually would have to take it off so what's exactly the point? I don't really get it. It's okay to be disappointed after you get naked?


Smile Trainer



Not entirely male oriented but I'll need one of these. I wonder if they work. Put a plastic behind your lips to make it contour to fit an American standard smile. But then I probably need an Ugly Betty style brace work and some bleaching before I can smile genuinely and carefree.


Wooldom




Found this over at Dit21, I didn't get the purpose or the slogan at all. I didn't know it was an issue that guys' penis are freezing as much that a small sweater needs to be made to help. If anything, it's the balls that need covering as in I'm freezing my balls off and honestly wool is not a good material to protect our privates, some people will get rash from wool and that's not the best area to get a rash. I suspect that some factory made over-sized gloves that no one is buying and they are cutting off the fingers and selling them as these Wooldom to cut their losses.

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Travelogue: Reading Terminal Market

It's actually not much of a travelogue since Reading Terminal Market (aka the Amish Market or simply the Farmer's Market) is in my city, but maybe it'll serve a purpose for other people who's planning to visit Philly. It is not until Thanksgiving had come and gone that I remembered how much I like the Market.

Outdoor markets has started in Philly along (surprise) Market Street in the late 17th Century and started to move indoors due to the nearby complaining residents and the Reading Terminal Market established in 1892. Conveniently located one block from City Hall, the market has approximately 80 different vendors which includes baked goods, meats, poultry, seafood, produce, flowers, ethnic foods, cookware and a few restaurants.

There are a lot of neat stores in this joint, over the years a few ethnic clothing, decorations and jewelry stores gave way to the more profitable and popular prepared food stores but it is still a superb place to go and walk around. If you live in the city, there's no better place to shop for groceries than this compound. Freshest produce, fish and poultry guaranteed and at a lower price too.

I never knew there's a different in the taste of chicken until I went to Godshall's, it taste so much better using fresh chicken than buying it from a regular supermarket. And they are really busy that they have a ticket numbering system and you'd be expecting to wait for 30-45 minutes around Thanksgiving. Both father and son (?) in the picture is quite handsome, especially the son. Totally my type, but I don't know how I feel about coming home to a guy that smells like raw chicken. Besides, I think he's married anyhow.

For produce there are no place better than the Iovine Brother's, fresh and cheap. You can pretty much find any kinds of produce there, just for apples they have like 10 different kinds. I got two heavy bags of produce for just 20-some dollars which would cost double from a regular supermarket. For a guy who loves to cook, that's heaven.

Well, for the visitors who are not planning on getting groceries. There are a few things that you might still like. How about flowers from Market Blooms? The owner used to have a bookstore in the center of the gayborhood called Afterwords, but I guess his real passion is actually flowers and probably a lot more profitable as well.

For eating, my favorite is a place called Shanghai Gourmet. They're not from Shanghai and it's not quite gourmet, but they do amazing American Chinese food. My favorite dish (for shame) is Shrimp in Lobster Sauce. 5 huge shrimps, butterflied and deveined in creamy lobster sauce over rice. Yum!

Right next door is a juice bar called 4 Seasons, you can order pretty much any juice you want. You can mix and match a few as well, my favorite is a banana, pineapple and kiwi. All the fruits are naturally ripened and taste sweet. In summer, they would have watermelon juice which is what we had back in Hong Kong, all the flavor without the chewing. For the health nuts, they also sell wheatgrass shots full of antioxidant although I can't imagine them tasting good.

For dessert, head to Bassett's for ice cream or to The Famous 4th Street Cookies for some fresh baked. Termini's Bakery have great pastries and amongst them the gold start goes to a chocolate covered half banana on a crescent cookie, it would be truly perfect if they could put the whole thing on a stick. Following the revival of cupcakes a few years back, there's a new store there called the Flying Monkey selling cupcakes in all different flavors. My favorite one is a chocolate cupcake with espresso icing, there's also a chocolate covered espresso bean on top. It's a bit pricey and the staff not exactly friendly, but it's good. (I won't cry Racism! on everyone but I seem to notice people could get a bit hostile until they hear me speaking English eloquently.)



And for the paradox of all time, check out these chocolate-covered onions. I understand it's a gag gift like the rat-shaped chocolate or the ones that imitate various body parts or the clever chocolate screw with the words "The Diet" on top of it, but it seems to be an inedible waste on perfectly good chocolate and perfectly good onions.

The market is opening 8:00am through 6:00pm, Mondays to Saturdays and 9:00am through 4:00pm on Sundays. Some of the stores closes earlier and the Amish are only there Wednesdays through Saturdays so pay attention if you want to check out the cute Amish boys.

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Weekend Meme: Sometimes I Meme

Again from Chris at My 2 Cents, I'm starting to feel guilty to take so much from someone. But his one looks too much fun to pass up, so here:

Sometimes I just need: a pat in the back.

Sometimes I want: to pig out and eat everything I want without gaining a pound.

Sometimes I like to: took a long bath in warm water.

Sometimes all it takes: is a compliment to grease the wheel/make me like you.

Sometimes I picture: justice done in my head.

Sometimes I wish: people would have more common courtesy.

Sometimes I find: I over estimate people's intelligence.

Sometimes I take: in people surrounding me and then realize that I am actually happy.

Sometimes I look: at a person and I can already tell whether I like him/her.

Sometimes I hate: long conversations.

Sometimes it’s nice: to just be alone and quiet.

Sometimes it hurts: to recognize that there are things that I can never have, life that I can never lead.

Sometimes it makes me happy: to go to new places and to meet new people.

Sometimes it’s sad: when people get so uncomfortbale with new concepts and things that they start discriminating people different than themselves.

Sometimes I listen:, most of the time I don't. Haha.

Sometimes I sleep: with someone else, but I prefer sleeping alone.

Sometimes I like to watch: joggers, hot!

Sometimes I feel: blue but I'm ok with it, it's better than not feeling anything at all.

Sometimes I rant: and rant as if that would change anything.

Sometimes I never: realized that me not being white is a factor living here in the USA.

Sometimes I really: want to be taken care of, but my pride is SO in the way.


Britney Moment: Sometimes I Run, Sometimes I Hide...

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Viral Video: Kasha's Kreamy Surprise

Saturday should be renamed stealing from Chris day, but this time it's not a Meme. It's a viral video clip from Kasha Davis, a drag queen, teaching us how to make a cocktail. Great writing and made me laugh with almost every single line coming out of her mouth. I hope it makes you laugh too.



Have a great weekend!

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Music Invasion: Duffy's "Stepping Stone"

Happy Black Friday, y'all!

The dinner last night went pretty well, The turkey came out perfect, all 5 vegetables in the platter are nicely done each with its own flavor, I think I can qualify it as a success. The best thing though is the Tiramisu, after experimenting with one last week, I tweaked the recipe and everybody loved it. Hooray for moi. The only thing is that I don't think Asian people like cranberry sauce much.

Still feeling too tired and lazy to do a long post so here, I don't know why I'm humming this diddie these days, it's not like I have a man around to do me wrong. Surprisingly I couldn't find any good deal out there this year, but I hope you all enjoyed some shopping.



Stepping Stone

I remember, way back, way back when
I said I never wanna see your face again
Cause you were loving, yes you loving somebody else
And I knew, oh yes I knew I could control myself
And now they bring you back into my life again
And so I put on a face just like your friends
But I think you know, oh yes you know what's going on
Cause the feelings of me, oh yes of me are burning strong

But I will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
I'm standing upright on my own

You used to call me up from time to time
And it would be so hard for me not to cross the line
The words of love lay on my lips just like a curse
And I knew, oh yes I knew it would only make it worse
And now you have the nerve to play along
Just like the maestro beats in his song
You get your kicks, you get your kicks from playing me
And the less you give, the more I want so foolishly

But I will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
I'm standing upright on my own

No I will never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
I'm standing upright on my own

Never be your stepping stone
Take it all or leave me alone
I will never be your stepping stone
I'm standing upright on my own

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Happy Gobble Gobble, Gurrr...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

I've never really understood Thanksgiving, we never celebrated it in Hong Kong, the reputation of cowboys and indians precedes turkey day, but it's fun to have something to celebrate nonetheless. I'm off to get Thanksgiving dinner on the way for me and my friends. Thank god I've got some things ready last night, including a new and improved Tiramisu with shaved chocolate on top. Only slept for 4 hours.

Let's see...

This year even though I don't have a job right now and little money, I still have my good health to thank for, and friends new and old, a roof over my head and free time to do whatever I want. Oh and Obama is our next president, yeah!

So what are you thankful for? Do share.

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Beef & Kimchee

When I came out and met my first boyfriend (the psychotic one), I got absorbed into his group of friends; DC & JEW, Beef & Kimchee, Filipino guy Sal, Ex-Marine guy, and one or two other Asian guys that come occasionally. I have a strong affinity with DC and since we have become good friends despite his unavailability when his boyfriend JEW is in town, but due to the nature of JEW's job he travels to Europe and Asia often.

Beef and Kimchee have a whole different mindset, they live in NYC and by definition, they have a tendency to think that they are better then anyone else. Beef is in his early 50s now, white, a successful real estate agent who lived large on commissions in the past economic boom, you can see his picture in New York Times as one of the advertised agent. Kimchee is, of course, Korean, in his mid 40s, an interior designer and painter. They have a decent loft in the lower east side and enjoy cooking and holding parties fro friends every weekend.

Whenever there's a big holiday, like Thanksgiving, X'mas or for labor day weekend, they come down to Bucks county where DC & JEW's mini-mansion is and we'll have a big cookout. Beef and Kimchee love to cook, and so do JEW & I, They'll planned the gourmet menu, cook, while DC and I will prep and learn from them. Ex-Marine guy never minded washing and cleaning, it's usually a great time. The thing that irked me is Beef and Kimchee's portrait of class. It's fine that they like to brag about going to Paris every now and then (I've lived there for 7 years) or go to antique shop, but the unnecessary that everyone else have to follow in a casual friendly setting is awkward. (If I'm expected to serve your soup bowl from your left hand side and remove it from your right then a expect a tip at the end of the meal.) After seeing the Memoirs of a Geisha together one X'mas, I was criticized by Beef for being snobbish to find the pedophilia undertone of it disturbing, it's actually amusing for the biggest snob I know to find me snobbish... lol



After a few drinks bottles of wine, which is often, the attitude can be felt more unfiltered. Since everyone there is a decade or two older than me, I was given the role of the pretty young thing. Kimchee had uninhibitedly chastised me for dating my exboyfriend even in front of him at the time in which I asked him why is that any of his business, he replied "I don't want you to leave him later and break his heart." But now I think about it it might have been for my benefit as well. I didn't have a good report with Kimchee, mainly because I see him as obnoxious, fake, annoying, and a puppet imitating Beef with no personality of his own. Shameful, but I took pleasure hearing that he has burned his face from opening an oven at another friend's party. (I'm horrible, I know.)

Last week, I caught up with DC during Dim Sum and I found out that after yet another night of drunkeness, Beef couldn't wake Kimchee up the next morning. He took Kimchee to the hospital and they found blood in his brain. Kimchee had become a serious alcoholic throughout the years and he could have cracked his head without knowing. He is relatively ok now, but he needs rehab become his eyes can't focus anymore and DC said his sparkly personality is gone and he looks much older and skinnier than before. Being not that close to them, I have no clue on where his rehab is located, so I can't send them anything to show my support.

DC told me that after years of observation, Beef and Kimchee are not such bad people as we've originally find them as. Deep down inside they need friends and validation, the attention to details and their pursue of class is just their hobby much like tennis is for DC and video games for me. Since DC have seen them a lot more often than I had, I'll take his words for it. Anyhow, even DC seems doubtful, I wish Kimchee godspeed in his recovery. After all, they did provided me with some of the most memorable holiday meals.

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Happy Birthday, Charlaine Harris!

Sorry for missing a few post. Saturday I was at a surprise farewell party for my friend DN who beat me to the punch and he's moving back to California today, one time when we were hanging out he said he was thinking about moving to Seattle and when he had decided he might ask me to go with him and I guess I took it a bit too seriously. I think moving to California is like marriage, I keep hoping it's gonna be my turn soon.

Other than being with my Mahjong buddies and getting really nervous with the upcoming Thanksgiving meal plan. I've been busy reading the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mystery Boxset, just finished the whole set yesterday but the series doesn't end there and the writer takes a whole year to write one installment. Even worse, from the writer's website she has no idea how many more installments she will be writing to finish it off. And I thought waiting five months for a new comic book was excruciating, I'm starting to regret ever reading it at the first place, especially when I found out that Ms. Harris is turning 58 today and she looks like she could have diabetes. (Sorry, but I would hate to not know how the story ends. I need closure!!!)

Just when I've finished reading the boxset, I've gone on Amazon to buy the next chapter with hardcover it's only $7 more and I don't have the patience to wait. Sunday was also the season finale for HBO's True Blood, having known the plot there wasn't a whole lot of surprises. There a slight difference between the TV series and the book version, but they each have their own merits. I've never read a romance novel in my life and part of the books read emotional and erotic at times and at part, the logic is not stable enough as a detective mystery should be. The TV series in itself cannot be as detailed as the books, it feels like the story is too compacted and Alan Ball exaggerated the analogy of vampires to gays just a bit too much. Also, it's hard to find demigods to play a 6'4" blonde, muscled viking vampire and other chiseled muscle studs in Ms. Harris' fantasy of a book.

(Spoiler) I think the series is progressing through the plots from the books but the tone between them are quite different. Maybe we will get to see Sookie travel around the States a little bit. And I think killing off a well defined and flamboyant character such as Lafayette will disappoint a lot of people. I'm eager to find out what will happen to all of them but I can't imagine waiting a whole year.

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Weekend Meme: Holiday Food Meme

Since I'm very involved with my planning for the coming Thanksgiving dinner, I thought this meme from Ur-Spo at Spo-Reflections would be very appropriate. So name a food that you associate with each holiday and if you can provide a little story to it.

What foods do you associate with each holiday?

1. New Year’s
Champagne and caviar. Not everyone likes caviar and good caviar is hard to find and expensive but it's an indulgence thing for me. Actually I can't remember the last time I've had it, it had to be almost 7 years now. And although I don't know how to appreciate alcohol, I like the bubbly. The sweeter ones like Martini & Rossi's Asti Spumante.


I'm sure it's pretty low in the rank but suits me fine.

2. Valentine’s Day
Russell Stover's heart-shaped chocolate. I love chocolate but I loathe those. Way too sweet, and you know it's not what good chocolate would taste like, but they are all over the place during Valentine's. Just a disclaimer here, if I ever get these for a boy, it's ground for breakup!

3. Easter/Passover/vernal equinox
A huge glazed ham, deviled eggs and chocolate eggs. Ham, love. I still don't know how I feel about those spiraled ham yet. Convenient, yes, but ham itself is easy to cut already and I like my meat thick. I like eggs in general and deviled eggs work. On chocolate eggs though, hate Cadbury's creme eggs... too sweet again. Love Kinder eggs though, grew up with them love the little surprise toys inside especially if they have to be assembled. I even love the capsule, you can make it pop and shoot it across the hall.


Kinder. God invented them.

4. Independence Day/Canada Day
Hot Dogs, Burgers, Nothing special there. Anyone solved the 10 buns/8 dogs issue yet? Oh how about corn? sweet, pleasant and versatile. Love it as a cold salad or a cold or warm chowder.

5. Hallow’en.
Chocolate again, of course. Despite my previous cheer for corn, I hate candy corns. Yuck!

6. Thanksgiving/harvest festival
Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and green bean casserole. Turkey is a given, and you rarely have stuffing without having turkey. Not a big fan of pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie but they sell them around thanksgiving to raise funds for the food delivery service for HIV/AIDS patients here in Philly. Now, green bean casserole is an enigma to me, I think they had a commercial years ago for French's fried onion or Campbell's cream of mushroom soup saying that they'd be great for making green beans casserole which is a Thanksgiving staple. I've never had it before and always wondered how it would taste. Oh, I love Starbucks' Grandma's Turkey Dinner sandwich, which has a bit of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce in whole grain bread. They're seasonal, I will definitely look for them now. maybe instead of making dinner next week I'll just buy a box of these. It'd be so much easier.

7. Christmas/Chanukkah/winter solstice
Yule Log, Egg Nog and Spiced Apple Cider. Can't say I like egg nog or apple cider. Of course, years ago when I was in San Francisco I saw Starbucks has a Caramel Apple Cider with whipped cream and that changed my point of view. Hmm, why do I all the sudden like starbucks so much, I used to loathe them, I guess anything is better with caramel and whipped cream. Yule Log, however, is just wonderful. Love the chocolate mousse covered wood bark and the meringue snow man and mushrooms. All the little decorations and powdered sugars can make a grown man cry.


A well-made yule log is a work of art.

8. Birthdays
Cake and Noodle Soup. Love cake, gotta have one for your birthday even if it's a tiny cup cake with a candle on it. The Chinese believe in good omens, and no omen is better than having long strands of noodles on your birthday symbolizes a long life. My grandma will make me instant noodles on my birthday for breakfast. I imagine all the chow meins and lo meins would do too, even spaghettis, just don't use zitis or orzos.

9. Marriages
I have yet to be in a western wedding, so for weddings it's shark-fin soups and abalone for me. Don't like abalone, it's like chewing leather. I think people just eat it for the novelty of it, I rather have a steak any day. Now shark-fin soup, I like. Since shark fin is so rare in the old days, they put the best of everything in the soup and a very specific taste is developed. I think most restaurant uses synthetic shark fins these days, but it still taste the same. Although I have to say, given the bad reputation of Chinese products, I hope they are not using plastic as a substitute.


Shark fin soup, best with a dash of vinegar.

10. Funerals/wakes
I have not been to enough funerals to get a sense of the food but when I was growing up we got to visit our ancestors or graves every now and then and we always brought fruit and put them in the shape of a pyramid. They are usually apples or oranges. That and roast pork or a whole chicken.

This post is making me hungry... Have a great weekend!

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