Clear as Day

I <3 my new contacts.

Why? I can see soooo much more clearly. It's not that my eyes got worse, but it's 'cause I've put my old contacts through so much abuse that they're warped and scratched. Examples:
1) Most recently popped out on a club dance floor. I almost didn't look for them, but when I did, they were on the floor. of a club. on the dance floor where there's spillage and who knows where some of these feet have been.
2) Accidentally dropped them when I was backpacking. on rock and dirt.
3) Multiple times on my bathroom floor.

Yeah. Oh well. New ones = awesome. :)

Bushi-Tei
Dine About Town San Francisco was going on since last week and I went with some friends to Bushi-Tei in Japantown. I gotta say, my first impression was: Oh my goodness the service is impeccable. Why? Japanese service is unrivaled in the world. We had a large party and the owner stood by the door, hailed taxis for the restaurant patrons, took pictures for us and even separated our umbellas so we could get them out easily. The wait staff was softspoken, yet knowledgable and very patient with us. We had scallops, halibut and white chocolate mousse. The scallops were very good, the individual parts of the halibut dish were very good, but I would question them together and the white chocolate mousse was amazing. I would have liked a more intimate table. Our party sat on two sides of a table and four feet separated us, but it's ok, we still had good conversation and a good time.

This is me getting integrated into the 408 area or Cupertino (more affectionately called "CPT") much to the disapproval of Winnie and Debbie. :)

Highlights

Las Vegas was definitely SO FUN.

Of course it's so intense I'd limit trips to Vegas once every year or two, or three....

but so fun.

Here's why:
stuck a dollar into the slot machine... AND WON 5 BUCKS!
Seeing O, the show I've wanted to see in Vegas since the Bellagio opened.
Bellagio Buffet
Tryst and gettin' low
Two words: water show :)
Taking fun pictures
Seeing celebrities (Andy Garcia and some R&B dude who performed at Tryst for someone's birthday)
Staying at a 5-star hotel
Swimming in a 5-star pool (and getting to use my new tankini that i got for 50% off :D)

and

Midday Break

I just took an hour to wander around randomly on the internet (namely facebook, travel websites and deal websites) for no particular reason. I'm starting to wonder maybe I should use my leisure time for something more productive than wandering.

Which brings me to productivity...
sometimes it's hit or miss with me. I can be studying with people. some days are ULTRA productive, some days are NOT productive at all. I can be studying by myself. Some days are ULTRA productive, some days are NOT productive at all.

But the idea of something coming is motivation to be more productive than baseline.

So along that thought, I'm totally looking forward to Vegas.

2 Restaurants, 2 Coasts

Petit Robert Bistro


I went here with my sister when I was in Boston. Friends on the East Coast, if you live in Boston or travel to Boston regularly, this is a restaurant you should try. Voted Best Affordable French of Boston and I totally agree. My sister and I both had the Onion Soup and we shared a chicken crepe. The onion soup was SOOO GOOOOOD. For those of you who know, I have these cyclical dairy cravings and oh my goodness, that cheese totally hit the spot. Also, the chicken crepe was so full of flavor, but it wasn't all fat. It was peppers and herbs that made it taste amazing. We also saw other peoples desserts and there was this one chocolate dessert that was basically a chocolate model of the Eiffel Tower. Pretty awesome.

Yum. :)

Home
Christina and I went to this restaurant because their special that day was Chicken Pot Pie. Yeah. If you know RozStina well enough, you'll know that we <3 chicken pot pie. And this was no exception. No fillers, lots of chicken. There's also a prix fixe menue from 5-6pm every day where they serve a 3-course special with a glass of wine for $12. Unfortunately we missed that, but we did catch happy hour (5-7pm every day) and caught their half-off cocktails. Of course, yours truly was being clumsy and stupid and I knocked down my glass and FREAKING BROKE IT! ::sigh:: But the service was so nice. Nice enough to clean up the mess I had made and provided me with a new "homegirl" (yes, the cocktail is called a "homegirl") even though I had a few sips of the original. But all in all, home was sort of like home, but not really. It was a mish-mash or the living-room fire, nice comfortable couch pillows mixed with upbeat bar music and metal tables and chairs. Interesting mix, but turns out to be a fun dinner.

Thunderclap, YEAH!!

i realize that I have a lot of irrational, perfectionist, ocd tendencies:
1) I'm always afraid that I smell. So I guess I have to constantly surround myself with good smelling things/people.
2) I can't mix food. Or else the pure taste of each dish will be contaminated with the taste of another.
3) when i'm making an outline or a chart to study off of, i'm so ocd about formatting. everything has to be centered where it's centered, the right size, the right thickness of the chart lines.
4) settlers board. ('nuff said)
5) my room is symmetrical. if there's asymmetry, it really bothers me.

ok i think 5 is enough. just imagine if i were a germaphobe. it's game over, dude.

While I was in Boston, I asked God to reveal to me areas that weren't pleasing to him and this past week, He showed me. In a big way.

I'm the type of person who'd make new year's resolutions, which is why I asked God for that. What I got back wasn't an idea for a new year's resolution, but a deep seeded struggle that'll take a lifetime (almost) to work out.

CONTENTMENT

I feel like I've dealt with this issue ad nauseum but, apparently God isn't finished with me yet. I've been reminded multiple times this week that God does give and takes away. None of this is without permission and blessing and none should be taken for granted. I was reading... the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I shall not want. In David's 23rd Psalm, he addresses contentment straight on. But how he describes this not wanting is not what he DOESN'T have, but what he DOES have. Being led beside still waters, green pastures and having a restored soul. That was something that I soaked up like blistex to chapped lips on a cold day. The soothing salve of the Bible, once again has smoothed out my ruffled frustration and a familiar passage has taught me something new.

Those are the best. :)