r|psa: '80s folks ... breakfast yourself!

the 40th anniversary of Cal's PAA Alums is in a week (march 7). more info over here.

meanwhile, '80s peeps who want to meet up before & after can do so. so far, we have:

• saturday, march 7 drinks @~3:30 pm at henry's (more info here)
  

• sunday, march 8 brunch @ noon at montclair bistro - PLEASE RSVP either way on the Evite, and let many others know.
  (al b. - the host - would like to build up the alum mailing list, a list which will NOT be given to others, not even me. we ALL trust al b.)

and NOW saturday, march 7 breakfast @ 10:30 am at ... well, you figure out where joel & i have as the #1 choice.

• VOTE ... please vote (for whatever), simply so we know that the poll works (because we may use this feature in the future for something else)

(by the way ... we have reservations for 10 (ten) at the #1 option, however, we have listed other places throughout the bay area that, perhaps, others may want to meet up for future breakfasts and fun.)

yup! we are meeting at 10:15 am (for the 10:30 am RESERVATIONS) at Café Cacao

" ... an original dining destination located at the factory of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker in Berkeley, California. Café Cacao offers delicious savory dishes as well as irresistible chocolate desserts, pastries, and special blends of coffee. We are open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, weekend brunch, and private dining is available upon request."

we kindly ask the following of you ...

• RSVP ... please RSVP by friday, 6:00 pm to me or joel via facebook, email, blog post comment, text or cell phone
  
• CASH ... for convenience and to avoid the closing moment after breakfast - unless you want to foot the bill for the rest of us, please bring cash. we estimate that you SHOULD consume ~ $20.00 worth of food & drink + tip, and maybe a l'il more if you choose to forgo whatever diet you ascribe
  
• PHOTOS OF THE SCOUTING EVENT ... feel free to check them out over here.
  
• PEET'S COFFEE ... yes! you know who you are and you loves you your peet's. for non-peet's coffee drinkers, well, you'll have to deal with it.
• CAMERA with CHARGED BATTERIES & SPACE (megs) ... it's an awful thing to forget your camera (or camera phone) or not have enough juice or space to take pictures, so this is a reminder - be prepared.
  

if you do not RSVP,
we cannot guarantee you a seat
at the big people's table
(i.e., the table of those who did RSVP)
NUDGE-NUDGE

r|psa: '80s prebuzz before "the buzz" (aka SCREECH at henry's)

if you are interested in catching up with some folks before the 40th anniversary of PAA event, please head over to Henry's beforehand.

some '80s folks are drinking up ... i mean ... are meeting up before the 40th Anniversary PAA Alum buzz at the IHouse ... 5:00-10:00 pm. there is nothing "formal" planned for this ... just place and a time to gather.

WHEN: saturday, march 7 ~ 3:30 pm
('cuz y'all know y'all be showin' up at 4:00 pm-ish)

WHERE: henry's at 2600 durant, corner of durant & bowditch (yelp info)

WHO: '80s PAA Alumni and friends/family

reconnect after 15+ years ... we are hoping '80s peeps will take this chance to reconnect and take a little edge off of the screeching that may (will) happen at the IHouse. screech at henry's. for some, it has been 15-25+ years?! can you believe it?!

come young & old ... this is not a "closed" gathering - you do **not** have to be from the '80s, and you do **not** have to be attending the anniversary. we are, however, hoping to get a decent showing of '80s peeps. bring a smile, a good attitude, and a camera 'cuz you'll be seeing folks you haven't seen for 15-20+ years!

MORE INFO? ... send me a msg of facebook, comment on this blog post, or email me.

RSVP ... is **not** necessary HOWEVER would be appreciated. would be neat to get the buzz out about who can join for drinks?

be well,
shirlsd
class of '86
co-social/cultural chair ('86) with bonji

r|psa: it goes like this ...

... yup! like a hand puppet.

... i didn't check, though.

(i took doc's word.)

hmmm? this reminds me of ...

don't forget to visit doc annual! ha!

tc5: finale-ish results ...

SPOILER ALERT ... so don't read or look on if you do NOT want to know who is going to be featured in food & wine, blah-blah.

tc5 peeps ... well, NO ONE chose the TCW (top chef winner) so scores remain absolutely the same as last week. and as mentioned in the reminder post, there are 3 categories to be heralded -

• highest score, overall
• highest score in the "back of the pack"
• fan favorite winner

we are in a holding pattern ... awaiting whether fabio, carla, or ariane (for the purposes of tc5 peeps in top chefrivolity) have been chosen as fan fave. the fan fave has NOT been announced. so here is where we are with overall points WITHOUT considering fan fave.
what does this mean? ... for the 3 categories -

• highest score, overall ... if carla is NOT fan fave, we have a tie (19.0) between harold's girl and raviolo. however, if carla is fan fave, jolli-E wins at 21.5.
  
• highest score in the "back of the pack"... there is a tie between ha gow and carnito! at 11.0 points.
  
• fan favorite winner ... fabio, carla, and ariane are the possibilities. so really, it's either a tie between the fabio's faved (harold's girl, halo-halo, piragua, raviolo, tbd buzz, dean iguana), a tie between the carla's faved (pho queen, jolli-E), or a tie between the ariane's faved (ha gow, carnito!). OR - it's not fabio, carla or ariane, so there!
  

quote from the finale (stefan choosing marcel):
marcel is ''a great chef.
he's a bit of a twat. but who's not?"

well, for now, we can let jolli-E know ... jolli-E will either lose by 0.50 point or win by 2.5 points.

it's coming down to the fan fave
for the overall top score!
it's all about hootie-hoo!

tc5: epi14 - finale & reminder to ...

... stick with your picks for fan favorite and/or top chef winner OR make a switch 'cuz ya got some gut instinct saying you'd at least move up in points.

video previews ... over here (thanks to the minx!)

point system ... there are 3 categories to be heralded -

• highest score, overall
• highest score in the "back of the pack"
• fan favorite winner

should you stay or should you go ... that is, go pick SOME OTHER CHEFTESTANT? if you do, here is how the point system will treat you -

• FAN FAVORITE (FF)
  if you want to change, MINUS 2.0 points
  
  
• TOP CHEF WINNER (TCW) -
  if you want to change, MINUS 1.5 points
  
  
• FF wins = PLUS 3.0 points
• TCW wins = PLUS 4.0 points
  

and for all your hard work ... as if it's not enough to have the diversion from your (normal) daily life -

• highest score overall... a prize less than USD$5.00 + incl. tax (Calif) - and not including postage and handling
  (just to be clear for the virtual player tied for 2nd place!)
  • EVERYONE ELSE = lower scoring peeps (aka losers) chip in at least $0.50 (that is, 2 quarters)
  
  
• highest score in the "back of the pack" (from dean iguana to ha gow (6.0 to 11.0 scores)) ... a recycled / repurposed prize of something from other people(s), including the front of the pack
  
  
• fan favorite winner ... other tc5 peeps pay homage to you (or to all you all who chose FF) and utter "fah-fah" everytime we see you. (fah-fah)
  and maybe some sort of dessert stuff goes your way.
  also, maybe we also shall refer to you in royalty-type terms (or not).

GOOD LUCK!
and DON'T WHINE!
>p, b!

r|break: (re)posting from two years ago

(original post over here)

i recently have thought about how much i am grateful for my friend, deb, who introduced me to the poetry of mary oliver. perhaps it's the variety of emotions stirred when i read and reflect on her writing. or rather, it's the reflective mood for which i've been intensely experiencing (more so than normally) that has drawn me to read her poetry. below is most of the post from a couple of years ago.

another m.oliver poem... the journey

... to go along w/my other post on her other poem ...

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

--- Mary Oliver

[breathe deeply]

'80s-ish PAA Alums ... REPRESENT!

when Cultural Night was known as
... Cultural Night

'80s UCB PAA peeps?! ... got the buzz for the 40th anniversary (aka reunion) of PAA alums + friends/family?

event starts @ 5:00 PM at the IHouse.

RECONNECTING ... some '80s folks are traveling from as far as Spain and as close as Emeryville ... so a few of us are pulling "before and after" meet-ups.

currently in the mix with at least an Evite (and mentions on facebook) to be sent out soon. a blog post or two will be posted as plans continue to evolve and firm up.

• saturday - before event ...
  '80s prebuzz before all the buzz
  
  • saturday drinks
  • WHERE ... henry's at 2600 durant (over here)
  • WHEN ... 3:30 pm
    ('cuz y'all know y'all be showin' up at 4:00 pm)
    
    
• saturday - after event ...
  (... TAG LINE???)
  
  • night cap after event (and more excuses to take pictures!)
  • WHERE ... TBD
    
    • ideas so far:
      
      • near IHouse somewhere
        
      • skates (at berkeley marina)
      • doubletree hotel (at berkeley marina)
      • your ideas???
        
        
• sunday - day after event ...
  despidida for old and new friends
  
  • brunch for more yip-yapping, bon voyage, hugs & kisses, mimosas, and hangover cures
  • WHERE ... montclair bistro
    6118 medau place, oakland (over here)
  • WHEN ... 12:00 noon
    
  • here's the Evite (don't forget to invite friends!)
  • RSVP on Evite by Thursday, March 5
    

and some past, pseudo-impromptu '80s meet ups

• 80s-ish reunion in 2007 at e&o trading in SF
• 80s-ish reunion in 2007 after SF and at blowfish in the soutbay/SJ
  
• picnic in 2007 summer at heather farms in walnut creek
• last minute '08 holiday lunch at zebulon in SF
• 80s-ish reunion in 2004 at thirsty bear in SF
  

shirlsd
class of '86
co-social/cultural chair (85?) with bonji

for jengyee's parents ... no telling when i would have sat down ...

... i had the honor of being part of the memorial service for my friend jengyee. the service was this afternoon. as part of that event, in addition to volunteering to bring boxes of kleenex, pens, an artist's clipboard, name tags (oops! forgot those), and a microphone stand, i offered to share some thoughts.

originally planned to be in the "first part" of the memorial service, i had started drafting a bit of a eulogy that i'd hoped would express (and impress) the sense of my friendship with jengyee - mentor/mentee turned girlfriend buddies. ultimately, it made a bit more sense to be part of the "second part" of the memorial service where there was an open mic for those attending to share their memories of jengyee with each other.

the one special memory shared between me and jengyee is the genesis of her book, hello real world. and for this, i chose to share with others at the memorial.

"no telling when i would have sat down ..."

thank you for this opportunity to share with you the slice of life i experienced with jengyee. my name is shirlsd. jengyee and i met through the Student Alumni Mentorship Program (SAMP) at U.C. Berkeley. as an alumna, i wittingly knew that, when jengyee chose me, i would have a captive audience for my college and career experience musings. although our college majors differed - she in IEOR and me in ChemE, we expressed a similar passion about environmental issues. after several random talks about environmental-related careers, roommates, places to hang out in berkeley, and dance places in san francisco (which was scary to find out that the same places still existed after 20 years!), our mentor-mentee talks quickly evolved into heartfelt conversations about enjoying life and making a difference in the world. it was during one conversation that jengyee became my mentor - she inspired me to develop a more formal and thoughtful summer internship program for my consulting practice.

the slice of life i feel honored to share with you is about my experience with the evolution of “hello real world” – jengyee’s book. after spending a little time talking with mr. liang last night, i decided to share something a little different than what i had originally planned to share, with the hopes that this slice brings to life one of the many facets of jengyee.

the following is the sentiment she wrote in this very book …

“shirlsd, wow! what a journey!! thanks for being the impetus behind this book. no telling when i would have sat down to document my experiences without your initial suggestion and continued support. may this book bring you many amazing internship moments. jengyee liang. 2.28.06.”

a little bit about my journey with jengyee – regarding her book, amazing internship moments. and my personal transformation from the words ... “no telling when i would have sat down … ”.

being able to put my finger specifically on the moment
12-27-2004. 3:38 pm
this is the date and time when jengyee started writing about her internship experiences. she and i were talking on the phone over her christmas holiday break to catch-up on life – school, business, interns, social life, music, boys, family – the normal stuff. by this time, our cal student-mentor tenure had already ended, and yet we chose to stay in touch. and in fact, i don't know if it was a choice so much as it just was what it felt it needed to be.

she was expressing some frustration over hoping to have a productive internship experience. long story short, i encouraged her to simply journal. write thoughts down – good, bad, happy, sad, indifferent, doodle – whatever just seemed to automatically flow … then call me or send something over in a couple days or so. in fact, i did the same thing – as a business owner who wanted to make sure that any internship experience i offered would be at least somewhat fulfilling as jengyee would hope to have for any students' experiences. me? i came up with 1 page. jengyee - more than 5 pages, single-spaced. little did we know that what started as a cathartic moment between two girlfriends ultimately would result in her book, “hello real world”.

jengyee and i continued to exchange ideas. and while doing so, jengyee asked if one of my interns, margaret, would read the beginnings of jengyee’s internship guide, which is how it originally was starting out – not quite a book, yet.

fast forward nearly 10 months later
september of 2005
margaret shared with jengyee her perspectives and comments. and as i’m sure you all know, jengyee was very thankful and took to heart and mind much of what margaret offered. and as with margaret’s input, jengyee continued seeking input not only from margaret but also from other friends, mentors, and colleagues. (just as was mentioned earlier by jesse about his friend, tom). suffice to say, jengyee not only continued to refine her writing, she decided she would see about formally publishing a book.

3 months later
December 2005
jengyee asked me to write the foreword. i’ll refrain from reading it here for now and will simply say that i was simply honored to do so.

finally, for one of my "no telling when i would have sat down ..." moments
the next month
january 2006
i started a blog - at the encouragement of jengyee … chronicling the experience of one of my interns - affectionately known as "reality: intern". in fact, it was an intern whom jesse introduced to me.

i’ll stop at this point – so you know that the matter of fact manner of which i’m describing my friendship with jengyee clearly was more than tasks, dates, times, telephone calls, e-mails, etc. my friendship, and i’m sure as with your friendship and memories of her, have been about sharing life’s moments and evolving from even the simplest of statements -

“no telling when i would have sat down … ” moments.

it is this sentiment that i often carry and share when faced with life's occasional curve balls and many competing interests.

then i remember and remind myself - take the opportunity to occasionally sit down a bit, take deep breaths ... and do so especially with the encouragement of a friend -

“no telling when i would have sat down … ”

thank you for letting me share this sentiment with you, again, and with that, i'm sure we all look forward to others' memories of jengyee. and thank you to mr. liang and mrs. liang for letting us have this opportunity.

if you have chosen to read through this whole post, thank you very much for doing so. it means very much to me.

r|break: a brief fiber break ...

... very brief.

no video clips.
no music clips.
no nostalgika.

simply put ...

> peace, bitch!

three words ...

flour tortilla chips

after happy hour yesterday, gagdetman, piragua and self unchose fonda - because we then chose juan's place (which has much more food offerings than listed). i kinda remember what tipped the scale.
(flour tortilla chips)
some 25-ish years ago, (flour tortilla chips) juan's was where we co-eds got our mexfood & beer fix. (flour tortilla chips) juan's was where (flour tortilla chips) our vegetarian friend (flour tortilla chips) did not have a variety of meal options (can we all say "lard"?). (flour tortilla chips) and apparently juan's was and still is the place to get ... flour tortilla chips.

piragua is spot on ...
them flour tortilla chips? - a drug!

hmmm ... published?

well, jengyee's memorial service is coming up this weekend, and the obituary i pulled together with information from friends and family has been published a few places ... thanks to the amazing tenacity of igor to distribute it!

• berkeley daily planet
• berkeley student cooperative

will update list as published elsewhere. now i'm working on the memorial service talk. (sigh)

tc5: epi13 results

SPOILER ALERT!!! ... frakkin' bravoTV! you screwed up the conventional point system we have at tcfrivolity. fine. we'll be flexible enough. (heading into epi13, tc5 peeps' scores over here)

OH WAIT!!! ... GAIL IS BACK! YIPPEE!!! (never mind. we're o.k. and will acquiesce to whatever twists and gimmicks you throw our way.)

without going into details ... here are the results:

QF: jeff (yes! you yelled it correctly. jeff!)
W: carla
L1: jeff (it was an all (QF & W) or nothing for jeff)
L2: fabio

yes, a twist - you read correctly ... the man that owns (and has worn) a wonder woman and a cat woman costume shall NOT be part of the blessed three. at least we have a "FINAL 3" to work with for tcfrivolity.

Arrivaderci Fabio
Tonight is the end of "Team Europe." Fabio says his farewells.
(5 min of fabio talking it up)

fabio's bio (from bravoTV)
"... Additionally, Fabio also works as William Shatner's private chef."

oops! - you were saying "jeff?" ... no details here. you'll need to watch epi13 or take a ride along with the upcoming epi13-bhg-ing.

(update ... did some math wrong so dean iguana inched a little & phở queen, who is in a foreign country somewhere)

scoring system revised ... for this episode 13, given the little twist and gimmick -

• 1.0 point = ANYONE who had jeff in their initial final 3, just 'cuz he won the QF among the last three who had packed their crap and went
  
• 1.0 point = W or L
  
• 3.0 points = W and L
  
• zero, zippo, zilch = 1 Final Chef standing
  
• 1.0 points = 2 of your Final Chefs standing
  
• 4.0 points = 3 of your Final Chefs standing
  

new ranking for tc5 peeps ... and we have a new leader! (previous score in parens)

• jolli-E (16.5) = 20.5 (congrats!)
• raviolo (18.0) = 19.0 (still tied! - but now for 2nd)
• harold's girl (18.0) = 19.0 (still tied! - but now for 2nd)
  
• halo-halo (16.5) = 18.5 (oh, so close for 2nd but not close enough)
  
• tbd buzz (14.5) = 15.5 (a bold double-down on stefan but to no avail)
• ha gow (9.0) = 11.0 (still leading the back half of the pack)
• carnito! (9.0) = 11.0 (still leading the back half of the pack)
• piragua (7.5 π)= 8.5 π (a l'il lost momentum but quite the trooper)
• phở queen (7.0) = 10.0 (without even casting a vote, an advance! - and then phở queen got her votes in AND got yet another point!)
• dean iguana (5.0)= 6.0π (dean iguana holding down the fort and pulling up the rear ... is that how the phrase goes?)

that's it for now.
enjoy and feel free to cross-check the math.

NEXT TASK ...
scoring system for next epi14, the finale?!

r|break: one letter choo-choo

another fbook cross-over from nanette ...

Rules: It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag 10 people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real. . .nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Have Fun!!

1. what is your name: shirlsd
2. a four letter word: sure
3. a boy's name: sam
4. a girl's name: sara
5. an occupation: salesperson
6. a color: sienna
7. something you wear: smile
8. a food: scone
9. something found in the bathroom: sponge
10. a place: sofa (where i nap!)
11. a reason for being late: sleep
12. something you shout: save
13. a movie title: superbad
14. something you drink: sake (hot preferred)
15. a musical group: stylistics (love that old school)
16. an animal: seal
17. a street name: sunset
18. a type of car: sedan
19. a song title: swingset chain (by loquat)
20. a verb: sing

your turn?

r|break: someone counted the ways ...

... thanks to ddust for channeling ellie grace as part of a comment to this morn's post, thus allowing me an excuse to post this little clip. (hee-hee)

i love you more than ...
little britain & little britain USA
(well ... kinda sorta)
oh yeah
>peace, bitch

r|break: let me count the ways ...

i love you more than ...

. all the bags in my closet . that tasty cookie at caffe trieste .
. the smell of the ocean . a cup of espresso forte or garuda .
. i did yesterday . you love yourself .
. reading david's recaps of fave (and not so fave) reality tv shows .
. a scoop of chocolate therapy . cheese .
. the color of the sun setting and rising .
. how much i love how you smell .
. writing . people think i love penguins .
. our stupidicus and moronicus frivolity . i miss san diego .
. staring at the ceiling . fried pickles .
. harold and his purple crayon .
. sweet potato fries (baked of course, ha!) .
. sound of your loving sigh . blogging . ha cherng .
. your love for jumble words . your love for gardening .
... blank ...

paa alums: brunch anyone? (TESTING)

TESTING - TESTING - TESTING ... this is only a test of the polling function for selecting the saturday, march 7, breakfast/brunch place for the 11:00 AM tummy-filling, hangover-curing (perhaps for some), and chit-chatting-yip-yap event before the 40th anniversary/reunion.

this will be the section that i include links about the options, link to the menu & a little chat-up about each of the options (e.g., location, parking, price, ambiance, yelp stars, etc.)

• eccolo
• emery grille
• courtyard grill
  
• great american grill
• westside bakery cafe
• cafe cacao
• other (your suggestion)
  

then on to the poll

what say?
(JUST TESTING FOR NOW!)

r|break: this eve i've procrastinated ...

...with these cards, which i got a couple of weeks ago after deciding to get a reading done. yup. a reading. a spiritual reading, nonetheless. (see #3 in this list of 25 blah-blah things)

figured i'd learn something different in the woo-woo world (which is an affectionate term from many years ago - nearly 14 years ago). did my first reading ever. asked my question, and my 1st card was the solar plexus chakra card. anyway ... back to not procrastinating.

r|break: (re)posting gimme a cigarette (or two) ...

... 'cuz piragua (of tcfrivolity's come from behind - over here!) is headed out to see elephant seals get it on today.

this immediately reminded me of a post i did last year about isabella rossellini and, well, you know whatever it is, it's fabu-eh rossellini?! ... (repost)

(original post over here;
VISIT original post to see COMMENTS for fun times)

green porno
by isabella rossellini

. earthworm . dragonfly . bee . firefly .
. snail . spider . fly . praying mantis .

(smile) just what i needed ...

... this weekend.

thanks harold's girl (aka jenm) for the sweet reminder of our wonderful friendship.

just saying "thanks much!" ~ hugs & smooches to ya, jenm

tc5: epi13 reminder + epi12 bhging

top chefrivolity peeps ... here are the results of epi12's tcfrivolity over here & your reminder to pick your QF, W, and L for epi13 below ...
(although be on the lookout and let me know if bravoTV chooses some other nutty thing where the QF, W, L doesn't make any scoring sense ... hopefully not)

videos for epi13 ... check them out - in new orleans and stakes are high in new orleans

another version of scores below ... if the whole number relation is your visual queue for whether you should be cheering or cursing your position in this tcfrivolity thing.
now let's go epi12 bhg-ing ... with the boys-girls-three-times (bgbgbg-bhg-ing) ...

• david dust's the skank must go ... and a few treats throughout his post about chef wylie dufresne ... STRANGER DANGER!, van of lost children, come sit on my lap, game room at chuck e. cheese, MolesterVan, molesty dufresne,
  
• amuse-biatch's a scarlet letter from amuse-biatch ... is rather quite the good read- and a perspective that actually may be shared by a few in the tcfrivolity mix. (thanks for sharing!) and in addition, a few other photoessay follow-ons about leah, padma, and fabio.
  
• cliffieland's the last supper (or, padma and her apostles of cookery) ... once again with witty-themed-nicknames and these epi12's theme - saints - along with wylie-isms and an entertaining stefanism
  
  • Chef Stefan ("St. Stefan, Patron Saint of Albino Fry-Cooks")
  • Chef Fabio ("St. Fabio, Patron Saint of Grandmamas and Alka-Seltzer Pitchmen")
  • Chef Hosea ("St. Hosea, Patron Saint of Cuckolders and Amish Buggy Salesmen")
  • Chef Leah ("St. Leah, Patron Saint of Dull Surprise")
  • Chef Carla ("St. Carla, Patron Saint of Dy-No-Mite!")
  • wylie-isms ... hair model, (something about chest hairs), truckstop stylee, ... of the Trailer-Park 'Do, carny-hair,
  • stefanism ...CzechFinnCaliforniPrussiaAustria-HungaryLandOfOz, Stefan
• blogging top chef's sunday roast ... is a spot-on fun recap (and i liked the pissing contest portion)
  
• eric3000's da top chefi code ... classic, entertaining eric dialogue. (loved the parens at the end ...
  
  • (I would like to thank IMDB for information on the Da Vinci Code because I hated that stupid movie and don't actually remember anything about it.)
• minx's captions for epi12 are awesome! a wonderful closing for this bhg event.

now pick your tc5 epi13 peeps!
and good luck.

r|break: sunday morn fiber break for those moments when ...

... your gal pal (thanks reg!) hugs you across the miles, throws a few tunes your way, and ends a sentence with

"... he'd still be your bitch!"

and then proceeds with

"Get your ipod out and play some "Irreplaceable" or "If I were a boy" by that popular billionaire sistah. As a pino, I prefer Jasmine Trias "Excuses" as my cigarette smoking drive off song..."

so here go the links to the clips for each - in case you needed visuals (and audio) nudges about these tunes ... irreplaceable, if i were a boy, and excuses. and in the spirit of the brethren, here's jt's clip

thanks gal pal!

(yup, done.)

tc5: epi12 - results

simply put ...
here are the scores to date for top chefrivolity
(last week's over here)

points to date ... for comparison, last week's scores in parens and given that those who selected (dean iguana was shedding some skin and didn't make it to the keyboard) all chose leah as their "L" chef, most everyone got that extra point for epi13 to be skankless.

• raviolo (14.0) = 18.0
  
• harold's girl (14.0) = 18.0 (still tied!)
  
• jolli-E (12.5) = 16.5 (remains 2nd to the tied 1st place tc5 peeps)
• halo-halo (9.0) = 16.5 (crazy catch-up with an additional 7.5 points; feel free to check the math)
  
• tbd buzz (10.5) = 14.5 (slipped back into 3rd place, yet still bold with the epi12 picks of double-down-stefan)
• ha gow (8.0) = 9.0 (leading the back half of the pack)
• carnito! (8.0) = 9.0 (leading the back half of the pack)
• piragua (4.0)= 7.5 π (an UBER impressive come from behind by picking the W/L combo!)
• phở queen (6.0) = 7.0 (oops)
• dean iguana = 5.0 (dean iguana was shedding some skin and didn't make it to the keyboard)

deconstructing ... some observations about scores to date and the front & back half of the pack of tc5 peeps.

• tied for first (18.0) - raviolo & harold's girl have the same final picks (fabio, hosea, stefan) and fan favorite (fabio). whoever inches ahead will be all about the next episode - presuming their picks differ
• tied for second (16.5) - jolli-E & halo-halo do NOT have the exact same final picks. they share stefan & carla; jolli-E adds hosea while halo-halo rounds out with fabio. likewise, fan favorite differs with jolli-E cheering on jamie and halo-halo choosing fabio.
• chance to pass? (14.5) - tbd buzz has the same picks remaining as those in first, so there may be some inching toward second but it's likely inching
• back o' pack leaders (9.0) - ha gow & carnito! have the same remaining final picks (carla, stefan) and same fan favorite (cougar ariane). like those in the lead of the pack, whoever inches ahead will be all about the next episode - presuming their picks differ
• remaining 3 (7.5 π, 7.0, 5.0) - it's a toss-up. it's all about the final pick and next epi choices.

bhg later tonight.
at least i've got a rainy 3-day weekend
to rely on some "extra" time to hunker down.

r|break: postponed fiber break so relive the week

... in blog posts. i gots nothing (yet) so here:

• drewlissimo on the environment & energy reminds me of the value of the environment
• one of them meme's - this time the 25 random things ... (and i WILL find a nano-molecule-whatever of asian in that johnny depp!)
• one of those about last year posts, this time reminded about valentine '08
• i had anxiety poop wednesday (and didn't go to work), so i posted stuff for the pay it forward thursday - about boy angst (done!), humor break from the onion (ha!), and the valentine-fake-holiday sighting of the ears (which actually was from thursday when i did go to work!)
  
• i miss her ... writing my friend's obituary

fiber break later.

i miss my friend ...

... and am looking forward to her memorial service on sunday, feb 22nd. (more info/details here)

over the past week, i've had many thoughts, issues, and life's stuff swirling around my head. what started this past weekend rolled into the weekdays - still (re)organizing, (re)connecting, and (re)grouping. i (want to) believe that yesterday i had what a friend calls anxiety poop (and in fact, i did not go to work yesterday). whatever ailed me has lessened greatly but does linger just a smidge.

(picture by joelpk - over here)

as part life's stuff, i volunteered to write ~up to 1,000 words about my friend, jengyee - words that may be used for her obituary. (thanks so much to her father and her friend/former roomie for providing quite a bit of the information.) here is a little about my friend ...

Jengyee Liang, UC Berkeley Alumna and Author

Jengyee Liang, UC Berkeley alumna, passed away on November 10, 2008 near her hometown of Huntington Beach, California. The daughter of Mr. Tom Y. Liang and Mrs. Jan C. Liang, Jengyee was born in Fountain Valley, California on February 18, 1983 and grew up in Huntington Beach with her parents and her two older brothers, Albert J. Liang and Ben J. Liang. Family and close friends surrounded her when she passed after her three-year struggle with lupus.

During the 25 years that Jengyee was with us, her accomplishments and her actions have touched many lives. Growing up in southern California, she attended Montessori Greenhouse, Mesa View Middle School and Marina High. After graduating from Marina High, she attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She graduated with honors in 2005.

While at Cal, many came to know Jengyee as energetic and purposeful. When asked about her numerous campus activities, Jengyee explained, "If you are an officer, it forces you to become involved." Therefore, to know Jengyee is to know that she was involved. And if not an officer, she also was known to volunteer for various events that supported personal growth and development. Often, she inspired and motivated others to do so, similarly. Numerous are the organizations of which she actively participated, the awards that recognized her talents and character, and the activities that she enjoyed pursuing.

Jengyee served as an ASUC senator, elected to the 20-member Senate from a pool of more than 100 candidates. Throughout her college years, she served as president of or held active positions in several clubs and organizations, which included the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Golden Key Honor Society, Society of Women Engineers, and Prytanean Women's Society. Her campus achievements included receiving the highest honors by national and international offices for three societies for which she served as president and securing additional funds for the Engineers’ Joint Council amidst campus-wide budget cuts. In her senior year, she joined the University Students Cooperative Association (USCA) and took residence at Hoyt Hall.

Jengyee’s recognition and awards included being the only North American recipient in her senior year for the Institute of Industrial Engineers Student Award of Excellence, being a Bechtel Scholar as a result of receiving the Bechtel Engineering Scholarship for the most outstanding sophomore or junior in engineering, and receiving an Alpha Pi Mu (Industrial Engineering Honor Society) National Award of Excellence among many other awards during her last two years at Cal.

Throughout her student life, Jengyee also actively sought out opportunities to participate in various competitions. In her Junior year, she was a finalist for E-business Case Competition, sponsored by Cisco Systems and Deloitte Consulting. During her last year at Cal, she represented the university in Denmark at an international competition, sponsored by the Copenhagen Business School.

Many of her summers at Cal were spent as an intern for several Fortune 100 companies – UPS, Merck, and SBC. From her experience, at the age of 23 she authored “Hello Real World: A Student's Approach to Great Internships, Co-ops, and Entry-Level Positions, 2006.” Acknowledged by students, career counselors, human resources professionals, hiring managers and peers, Jengyee continued to share her experience not only one-on-one with peers but also through publications, blogging, speaking engagements, and talk radio.

After graduating from Cal, Jengyee relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, to take a position with Proctor & Gamble. Her time in Ohio was short-lived. She was diagnosed with lupus. She returned to Huntington Beach, California, to be with family, seek treatment and continue to further engage in efforts supporting the personal and professional development of college students and recent college graduates.

Beyond Jengyee’s college activities and accomplishments, her family and friends remember her cheerful optimism, kindness, charm, generosity and distinctive laughter, among many other things. She enjoyed writing, swimming, hiking, traveling, community service, board games, reading, music, and dancing, watching Oprah's shows and Luyu's Shows (China's Oprah-counterpart).

Family and friends are welcome to celebrate Jengyee’s life during a memorial service that will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2009 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm, at the Clark Kerr Garden Room located at 2601 Warring Street in Berkeley, California. Immediately following the memorial service, family and friends are invited to celebrate Jengyee’s birthday at a dinner at Long Life Vegi House located in Berkeley at 2129 University Avenue. Please send an email to michelle.s.davis@gmail.com so that we can make arrangements for your attendance.

A memorial fund, Jengyee for a Better World Fund (www.jengyeeforever.org), has been established for those who also may choose to remember and honor her efforts to better the world. The Fund has three major goals - fight diseases and improve health care systems, preserve our planet, and develop people. It is through her experience of the complexities of the health care and health insurance system, the limited research for treating lupus, an understanding of the benefit of a supportive community and a love of the environment that this fund hopes to serve others with a shared purpose.

Whether through the memorial service, memorial fund, or other means to honor and acknowledge Jengyee’s life, the Liang family extends their appreciation and warmth to all who have allowed Jengyee an opportunity to share a part of their life and to all who have touched their daughter’s life.

In loving memory of Jengyee Liang, 1983-2008