BBQ Kettle Bakes from Trader Joe's. Catherine recommended them to me, and I was skeptical at first, because I generally don't like Kettle chips. They're too thick and hard, and the potato flavor is overwhelming.
But I just got a bag today, and I have to say, the Kettle Bakes are totally different--light, thin, and crispy. They taste just like regular potato chips except without the greasiness. And they're healthier than pita chips! I'm a convert. ...I should be getting commission from them. ;)
Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Saturday, December 16, 2006
cuckoo's nest
Just saw Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest last night--a solo performance by Kristina Wong analyzing mental illness in Asian women in the U.S. I liked it; it was entertaining at times, poignant at others. It seemed more about raising questions than necessarily providing answers, which didn't make it any less needed. It made me think of all sorts of little and not-so-little traumas I've seen and known in my life and in those of people close to me. I think of how resilient we are, yet at the same time how we aren't so impervious to pain as we sometimes like to think.
It also made me think twice about my own prejudices against Asian women. I do start with some basic assumptions about folks when I meet them, and I guess they're not always good. I think part of it stems from a sort of resentful longing I had at different points in my life since I never seemed to fit in with other Asians. In high school, there was a big Asian clique, that my cousins belonged to, but that I was never really able to relate to. At Stanford, the same thing happened, though a lot of that was because it was full of Asian christians, who I really did not relate with. My set of friends was always much more...multi-cultural, let's say. I patted myself on the back, saying I had much more personality, more spice than these seemingly tame people who looked like me, but certainly didn't seem to think like me. Yet I have to admit that on some level, I always felt that longing, that desire to be a part of that tight-knit family.
So it was pretty ironic when I started a relationship with an Asian American Catholic woman. Hah. I even had misgivings in the beginning, knowing that I hadn't been able to find common ground with my so-called "Asian sisters" before. But lo and behold, not all people are the same. ;) I think my relationship with Catherine, and things like this Kristina Wong performance, are sort of evolving my ongoing relationship with this issue to one of more peace. Heck, after the performance, I went out to a late dinner with a group of activist Asian American friends, and I think I was more able to let my guard down and be chill with them.
Hopefully this post makes some sense, and you don't now think I'm just totally racist against my own people. This really has been a really old internal conflict for me. Catherine can attest to it. ;p
It also made me think twice about my own prejudices against Asian women. I do start with some basic assumptions about folks when I meet them, and I guess they're not always good. I think part of it stems from a sort of resentful longing I had at different points in my life since I never seemed to fit in with other Asians. In high school, there was a big Asian clique, that my cousins belonged to, but that I was never really able to relate to. At Stanford, the same thing happened, though a lot of that was because it was full of Asian christians, who I really did not relate with. My set of friends was always much more...multi-cultural, let's say. I patted myself on the back, saying I had much more personality, more spice than these seemingly tame people who looked like me, but certainly didn't seem to think like me. Yet I have to admit that on some level, I always felt that longing, that desire to be a part of that tight-knit family.
So it was pretty ironic when I started a relationship with an Asian American Catholic woman. Hah. I even had misgivings in the beginning, knowing that I hadn't been able to find common ground with my so-called "Asian sisters" before. But lo and behold, not all people are the same. ;) I think my relationship with Catherine, and things like this Kristina Wong performance, are sort of evolving my ongoing relationship with this issue to one of more peace. Heck, after the performance, I went out to a late dinner with a group of activist Asian American friends, and I think I was more able to let my guard down and be chill with them.
Hopefully this post makes some sense, and you don't now think I'm just totally racist against my own people. This really has been a really old internal conflict for me. Catherine can attest to it. ;p
Monday, December 04, 2006
i need a break!
wow, i've been so busy lately. i'll go in reverse order; might as well keep the blog format. ;)
first performance of the year with PME was last night; it went really well! the audience really responded to the music. of course, it meant trekking up to Berkeley several times in the last week; that was craziness. thank god for the BART, but it needs to extend down to the south bay for folks like me! and thank god for Forum podcasts.
went to yoshi's on saturday night (another trek up to Oak-town), for 2 friends' joint birthday. it's a jazz club with a very nightclubby feel, and ever since i was in college, i kept hearing people rave about this place. after finally experiencing it firsthand, i give it 2 thumbs up. very chill, very cool (though physically very warm).
thanksgiving was a very good time as well. i made green beans with pancetta, wild mushroom soup with chestnuts and roasted fennel, and the apple tart i made last year (yum, puff pastry!). yes, they're all Food Network creations--what do you expect? my tv hardly ever leaves that channel. then on black friday i scored a pair of Arden B. black pants marked down from $90 to $11. of course, i payed the price by waiting in line there after this group of 3 obnoxious women who kept hogging the cashier. one would start paying, and the other two would go grab more clothes and bring them back to buy. i'm sure they were at that register for a good hour at least. towards the end, when my mom and i were finally near the front of the line, one of them had the nerve to try to take up a second register while they were still being helped at the first. so cindy had to break out that 'oh-NO-you-don't' side that only my closest friends have had occasion to see. although that woman gave me the stinkest eye i've ever seen, thankfully the cashier sided with reason and told her she'd have to get to the back of the line to start another transaction. yea, BACK OF THE LINE, sister! did i have bottled up aggression at that point? um, that would be yes.
catherine and i had a joint birthday party out in the park the weekend before thanksgiving; lots of friends came, and a good number actually gave us presents, which was a pleasant surprise! and here i thought the days of presents were over. maybe it's just a college thing not to give presents, when the only things that matter are sleep, food, studying, (booze, for most,) and conserving one's cash. anyway, it was a great time. we played capture the flag, in which i DOMINATED!! well, for one point at least.
ah, yes, and the weekend before that i sang 'ave maria' at catherine's sister's wedding. a big stylistic jump for me; definitely a far cry from my R&B, soul, motown past. i'm still rather new to the whole classical style of music, despite being in PME for a few months now, so i went out and rented a slew of books on classical singing style, after discovering the huge 6-story MLK library in san jose (looks like it's the main library in use by san jose state students). isn't that awesome? a university-level library open to the public! i was in heaven. anyway, so i got a bunch of books by herbert-caesari, who is supposed to be the last proponent of the 'old italian school' of voice. despite his exceedingly pedantic, didactic, and in general very extreme tone, there was plenty of useful information that i wish i'd known a long time ago. i'm considering quitting drum lessons and taking up voice....more on that later.
i think that just about takes me as far back as my memory will currently allow for. and i gotta get to work. long story short, i've been in a whirlwind of activity for the past month at least, tornado really, and while it's been fun, it's also been very exhausting and i'm starting to look at how not to be constantly overcommitted. story of my life...just get me through the holiday season!
first performance of the year with PME was last night; it went really well! the audience really responded to the music. of course, it meant trekking up to Berkeley several times in the last week; that was craziness. thank god for the BART, but it needs to extend down to the south bay for folks like me! and thank god for Forum podcasts.
went to yoshi's on saturday night (another trek up to Oak-town), for 2 friends' joint birthday. it's a jazz club with a very nightclubby feel, and ever since i was in college, i kept hearing people rave about this place. after finally experiencing it firsthand, i give it 2 thumbs up. very chill, very cool (though physically very warm).
thanksgiving was a very good time as well. i made green beans with pancetta, wild mushroom soup with chestnuts and roasted fennel, and the apple tart i made last year (yum, puff pastry!). yes, they're all Food Network creations--what do you expect? my tv hardly ever leaves that channel. then on black friday i scored a pair of Arden B. black pants marked down from $90 to $11. of course, i payed the price by waiting in line there after this group of 3 obnoxious women who kept hogging the cashier. one would start paying, and the other two would go grab more clothes and bring them back to buy. i'm sure they were at that register for a good hour at least. towards the end, when my mom and i were finally near the front of the line, one of them had the nerve to try to take up a second register while they were still being helped at the first. so cindy had to break out that 'oh-NO-you-don't' side that only my closest friends have had occasion to see. although that woman gave me the stinkest eye i've ever seen, thankfully the cashier sided with reason and told her she'd have to get to the back of the line to start another transaction. yea, BACK OF THE LINE, sister! did i have bottled up aggression at that point? um, that would be yes.
catherine and i had a joint birthday party out in the park the weekend before thanksgiving; lots of friends came, and a good number actually gave us presents, which was a pleasant surprise! and here i thought the days of presents were over. maybe it's just a college thing not to give presents, when the only things that matter are sleep, food, studying, (booze, for most,) and conserving one's cash. anyway, it was a great time. we played capture the flag, in which i DOMINATED!! well, for one point at least.
ah, yes, and the weekend before that i sang 'ave maria' at catherine's sister's wedding. a big stylistic jump for me; definitely a far cry from my R&B, soul, motown past. i'm still rather new to the whole classical style of music, despite being in PME for a few months now, so i went out and rented a slew of books on classical singing style, after discovering the huge 6-story MLK library in san jose (looks like it's the main library in use by san jose state students). isn't that awesome? a university-level library open to the public! i was in heaven. anyway, so i got a bunch of books by herbert-caesari, who is supposed to be the last proponent of the 'old italian school' of voice. despite his exceedingly pedantic, didactic, and in general very extreme tone, there was plenty of useful information that i wish i'd known a long time ago. i'm considering quitting drum lessons and taking up voice....more on that later.
i think that just about takes me as far back as my memory will currently allow for. and i gotta get to work. long story short, i've been in a whirlwind of activity for the past month at least, tornado really, and while it's been fun, it's also been very exhausting and i'm starting to look at how not to be constantly overcommitted. story of my life...just get me through the holiday season!
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