The Heidi Report

Verbatim: I Guess I'm Doing Something Right

2012-01-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

This year's makeup trend is smudgy and imperfect. Apparently I'm so ahead of the curve that I didn't even know I was doing it. I wore full make-up (brows, eyeliner and cheeks) yesterday because I felt like it. I took a shower at night and most of it washed off but I was too lazy to wipe off the rest of it. I went to volunteering this morning and one of the other girls in the kitchen took one look at me.

Her: I love your smokey eye makeup!

Me: Oh, um...it's yesterday's leftover makeup.

So here is my makeup tip for this season: just sleep in your makeup.

Need a New Blender

2012-01-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

Remember the Magic Bullet I bought last year? The one where I got called a "chink" on the street after purchasing it? Looks like the Magic Bullet picked up some bad mojo over it since it's on its last legs. The little tabs on the cup melted off into the base and are stuck there.

iDan and I are now debating whether to buy another one, get one of those professional blenders or get a professional immersion blender. I'm leaning towards a professional blender like the "Will It Blend?" one.

Verbatim: Office Fight Club

2012-01-10T19:09:00.001-05:00

My current nemesis is the lawyer on the other side of a file. He's a crazy person and I think he needs medication. I finally met him the other day and told iDan about it.

iDan: So what's he like in real life?

Me: He's pale and looks soft. I could beat him in a fight.

I still think the lawyer is a crazy person but I can handle it knowing that he looks like Dilbert.

Verbatim: Scenes from a Marriage

2012-01-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

Was changing with iDan in the room.

iDan: Hey, are you okay? You're pretty bloated.

Me: Did you just call me fat?!?

I want a divorce.

New Year

2012-01-01T11:49:00.000-05:00

2012. This year means I'll officially be a "30-something". I can't handle this.

So...

2011-12-27T01:15:00.001-05:00

Apropos to this article, iDan's parents gave me a Chinese scroll calendar. I also got a Hello Kitty blanket from Sparkles but I love me my Hello Kitty shit.

Video Gaming

2011-12-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

I spent Boxing Day by playing iDan's Batman: Arkham Asylum on the Xbox 360. Even though it's on the "easy" setting, I've already resorted to using a walkthrough.

Food: Holiday Baking

2011-12-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

TK's Chocolate Chip Cookies

TK's Lemon Tart with Pine Nut Crust

Baked the cookies for my and iDan's respective offices. Lemon tart is for Christmas Day dinner. Also made a batch of TK's vanilla ice cream but had to remake the base since I heated it up too quickly and the mixture split. I ended up with scrambled eggs that tasted like a Chinese egg tart. Delicious but not ice cream.

Food: Potato Pancakes

2011-12-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

Remember the potato pancakes from Norma's? iDan and I made them last week and they turned out excellent. The only drawback is peeling and grating the potatoes. We ended up sitting down on the couch and grating in front of the tv.

Shopping: Giant Hair Clips

2011-12-10T00:58:00.002-05:00

Bought a pair of giant Adia Kibur hair clips. They don't grip hair very well but they're cute and whimsical. Buy for $15 through Shopbop.

Creepy Barbies

2011-12-04T22:39:00.002-05:00

There's a giant Barbie display in the Times Square mall in Causeway Bay. Filled with endless displays of creepy Barbies in couture. Gaze upon them as their eyes steal your soul. Except the Ken doll. He can't steal your soul because you're too busy giggling at his Justin Beiber hair.

Food: Amber

2011-12-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Dan and I took J and Nicole out to lunch at Amber as a wedding gift. Nicole is a foodie like me so it was mostly for us. Amber is a two Michelin star French restaurant in Central. I believe one of the chefs trained with Joel Robuchon.

Menus

Baguette and olive focaccia

Amuse bouche of tomato salsa and tomato gelee

Amuse bouche of foie gras lollipops with raspberry glaze

Dan's starter: squash puree with foam

J and my starter: crab

Nicole's starter: foie gras

My main: Wagyu beef. So fatty. I felt sick three hours later because my body couldn't handle all that saturated fat in one go

iDan's main: barley risotto

J's main: sea bass

Nicole's main: chicken with foie gras on top

Braised short ribs that came with my Wagyu beef

Chocolate coconut popsicles

My dessert: lemon tart

iDan and J's dessert: chocolate tort

Nicole's dessert: deconstructed mille feuille

Tea set

Misgardines!

Season's Greetings from the Jongs

2011-12-04T22:10:00.003-05:00

So it turns out my new surname is Jong. Chinese tradition dictates that I take my husband's name and Jong is the phonetic equivalent of the first syllable of Dan's non-Chinese surname. Dan and Heidi Jong. It's pretty weird. But I got red pockets with the Jong character on it so it'll be funny when we give those out.

Verbatim: Scenes from a Marriage

2011-11-27T23:42:00.001-05:00

Currently in Hong Kong for J's wedding. Bought some Japanese fruit chews candy at a nearby 7-Elevan.

iDan: I'm so glad I'm in Hong Kong with you.

Me: [stuffing my face with candy and not listening] God, this is the closest I can get to Bonkers.

iDan: WTF?!

Withdrawal

2011-11-16T20:30:00.000-05:00

I miss my dress. I want to wear it again.

Reindeer in the Mall

2011-11-16T19:16:00.000-05:00

Giant two-storey reindeer

One-storey reindeer

Food: Smiling Boar Roulade is Smiling

2011-11-13T10:48:00.001-05:00

Went to Earth last night for Krystle's belated birthday dinner. I ordered corn fritters for my appie, then the above choucroute as my main, and a ground cherry doughnut for dessert.

The corn fritters were a'ight. Little fried dumplings with whole pieces of corn inside. A nice carb dish but nothing to write home about.

The choucroute plate was protein intensive as the waiter had warned. I couldn't distinguish between the meats and didn't know whether I was eating boar, rabbit, or venison. But Michaela's Mike knew his meats and identified them for me. I was glad for the sauerkraut since it was a nice acid to cut through the fattiness.

The doughnut was a disappointment. I thought they'd be fried to order so that I'd have a fresh and hot doughnut. Just the opposite, I think the pastry chef made it in the morning so I was just eating a stale $8 doughnut.

Food: Meringue Mushroom

2011-11-11T20:00:00.001-05:00

Date night with iDan. Went to Boston Pizza and then La Bamboche.

Feel So Gross

2011-11-05T21:30:00.000-04:00

Ate too much discounted Halloween candy. Why do I do this to myself every year? Whyyyy?

Arts and Crafts

2011-10-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

Steph made me a Hello Kitty red (gold?) pocket! The double happiness character and Hello Kitty's face are made up of beads.

A Dandi Wedding

2011-10-15T22:45:00.000-04:00

Heaven

2011-10-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Bouchon Bakery inside the Venetian. Wedding photos to come later.

Married My Dream Boy

2011-10-12T00:30:00.003-04:00

Woot!

Big Day

2011-10-09T10:43:00.000-04:00

Getting married in eight hours. Weird. With all the time I've been spending with my family, so far it feels more like a Vegas family vacation than a wedding.

So This Happened

2011-10-02T21:04:00.000-04:00

I called the guy behind me a "cocksucker" at the grocery store.

iDan and I went to the grocery store to buy a few groceries. When we buy groceries we pay for our own. We have different palettes, we cook our own meals, it just works for us, go with it. Our cart had a total of sixteen items but we each had eight. The express lane was the shortest. Do you see where this is going? I bought my groceries first and the guy behind iDan started mouthing off.

Him: This is the express lane you know.
iDan: We're buying them separately.
Him: If you're going to be a dick, at least admit it.
Me: What did you just call him?!
Him: You heard me.
Me: Listen, I do not appreciate that. We have two separate transactions.
Him: [into his phone] It's just some bitch and some dick at the grocery store.
Me: Tell your friend that you're a cocksucker!

At the this point, all the people around us are staring to get uncomfortable and don't know where to look.

Him: [into his phone] Apparently I'm a cocksucker now.
Me: Yeah, you are. Have a great day.
Him: Whatever.
Me: Listen, are we going to have a further problem here?!

Then iDan pulled me away to finish paying for my groceries so that we could finish up. The guy said something else but I closed my eyes and counted to ten so that I wouldn't throw my yogurt at him.

I think this is called first world problems.

One More Week

2011-10-02T20:55:00.001-04:00

My last weekend as a legally single person!

Food: Grand Plateau

2011-09-29T21:37:00.002-04:00

iDan and I added a Grand Plateau to each of the tables for the wedding reception. This will be in lieu of a salad or soup. Every Asian at the wedding will go nuts at the sight of this. Each Grand Plateau comes with:

1 lobster;

16 oysters;

8 shrimps;

8 clams;

10 mussels; and

seasonal crab.

source

Countdown

2011-09-24T23:40:00.001-04:00

Holy shit. Two more weeks!

Food: Bouchons and Chocolate Ice Cream

2011-09-11T18:19:00.006-04:00

Last night iDan and I made TK's chocolate bouchons and chocolate ice cream. The impetus was twofold. We went to IKEA to buy the EXPEDIT bookcase to place behind the couch since we wanted to get rid of the coffee table but still wanted a place to put drinks and the remote control. We chose the EXPEDIT as opposed to a foyer table since it can also house law textbooks and other whatnot. I came across a DRÖMMAR muffin tin as we left and threw it into my cart since it looks like it can multi-task as a muffin tin, bouchon tin and popover tin.

The other impetus was Top Chef Just Desserts. I watched season one last week and now I'm watching season two that's currently on the air. It's amazing. I like it better than the original Top Chef since desserts captivate me. Apropos, TCJD has given me a new obsession: head judge Johnny Iuzzuni. He's amazing. His hair is amazing. He's the executive pastry chef at Jean Georges and had I known in February that I was eating his dessert quartet, I would've sprinted to the kitchen, flung the doors open and screeched "I love you, Johnny!"

Anyway, we bought ingredients for the bouchons and ice cream after dinner and got to work. After my last attempt with a TK ice cream recipe, I bought table cream (18% m.f.) instead of whipping cream (35% m.f.). Much better. Whipping cream has way too much milk fat and as it spins in the ice cream maker it actually forms a little bit of butter. Table cream still gives a velvety texture but it doesn't feel like eating a little pat of butter.

The bouchons also turned out excellent. They're dense and fudgy and the chocolate chunks end up becoming wonderful little pockets of pure chocolate. The kosher salt is another excellent addition since the granules are large. Every other bite has a nice hit of salt that keeps your mouth awake.

Cava: Tapas

2011-09-10T16:08:00.001-04:00

Caramel chipotle popcorn

Seafood paella

Eggplant

Tuna

Mussels

Cauliflower

Bone marrow with toast

Sweetbreads

Corn tamal

Cava restaurant. The best thing was the caramel chipotle popcorn. Next door to Cava is its sister ice cream parlour and chocolate store, XocoCava.

Marben: American Tapas

2011-09-10T15:54:00.000-04:00

Cold broccoli soup

Ceviche

Gnocchi

Ice cream cookie sandwich

Marben Restaurant. The restaurant looks underwhelming but it's fun and cute eating.

Carnie Food

2011-09-05T11:06:00.001-04:00

Krispy-Kreme donut burger

Deep-fried fudge

It tasted like a donut filled with frosting

Funnel cake (Krys' picture)

Shellac Nails at Week Three

2011-09-04T12:18:00.000-04:00

Date Night at Scaramouche

2011-09-04T12:15:00.009-04:00

Oysters

Caprese salad

Steak tartare

Mushroom and "roughly chopped" pasta sheets

Coconut cream pie

Verbatim: Cat-astrophe

2011-09-01T21:35:00.001-04:00

WarcraftBen and his wife, Sam, got a new cat so that their current cat, Pixel, would have company. They picked up the new cat today and iDan texted me this afternoon. ("BAM" is their conflated couple name)

iDan: BAM's new cat tried to rape Pixel. They took the cat back.

Verbatim: Priorities

2011-08-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

The assistant that sits next to me was squabbling with an I.T. Systems guy last week. My department has to use a new system soon and it's in testing right now, which the assistant should be doing but she's been busy with her regular duties.

I.T.: Look, I just want to have a good vacation. I leave tomorrow.

More Counting

2011-08-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

I'm getting married in six weeks! Holy crap!

The Mo Report

2011-08-24T20:17:00.000-04:00

I bought Curious George and Sesame Street bandaids for Mo and gave them to him last week. He was pretty excited and asked me to put a couple on him and I happily obliged since he's my little homeslice. He went off to play and ran around the couch. He suddenly paused from running to look at his dad and said "I bumped my elbow, I need another bandaid." We all laughed at his fake-out but it's good to see that his behavioural development is right on schedule.

Verbatim: iDan's Contribution to the Wedding

2011-08-23T19:46:00.002-04:00

iDan: Why don't we just use a label maker for the place cards?

Adventures in Buffalo

2011-08-21T21:08:00.004-04:00

What's on a Garbage Plate?

Macaroni salad, home fries, cheese hamburger, cream sauce and chili.

iDan and I took a daytrip to Buffalo, NY on Friday to visit Mo and his family. iDan and I arrived in Buffalo early so we mall-ratted at Walden Galleria and iDan ended up finding a suit for the wedding. He bought a dark charcoal three-piece Hugo Boss suit that was $200 cheaper than the Toronto store. I'm quite jealous that he can wear his wedding suit again after the wedding. I have to settle for wearing my dress at home while watching tv.

After shopping, we met up a bubble tea cafe for a quick lunch and then headed over to the Erie County Fair. This was Mo's first time at a fair and he had a great time on the rides. Some of the food stalls were selling deep-fried oreos and I was tempted to try one. But I held off because my dress fits to a T and there is NO ROOM for weight gain. After the wedding is a different story. I'm only eating foods that are deep-fried.

Fall Adventures

2011-08-16T21:16:00.001-04:00

Krystle and I signed up for cooking classes in the fall. Our adventure will take place Tuesday evenings at George Brown's Continuing Education which offers courses in hospitality and culinary arts. We enrolled in Culinary Arts I which will hopefully teach us basic knife skills and cooking techniques. If all goes well, I want to sign up for the class dedicated exclusively to knife skills next semester.

Each student has to bring her own set of knives so I might borrow iDan's mom's chef knife and paring knife for part of the semester. My current kitchen knives are a shitty IKEA set that I purchased for $9.99. iDan and WarcraftBen gifted their mom an excellent set of ~~Wusthof knives~~ Shun knives as a wedding present three years ago (iDan and I bought them while on our second date!) and I know she doesn't use them. iDan and I suspect that we may receive a similar set as a wedding gift from his aunts so I don't want to buy new knives right away.

Shellac Nails

2011-08-14T21:54:00.001-04:00

I'm trying out the latest advancement in nail technology: shellac nails. They're supposed to last fourteen days without chipping or fading. I'm going to test them out by washing dishes without gloves. If they work, I'll get them again for the wedding.

More Bruises

2011-08-14T19:56:00.002-04:00

At least I know where this one came from. I banged my wrist against the treadmill arm.

Food: Cantaloupe Sorbet

2011-08-14T19:54:00.000-04:00

iDan's away for the week so I'm left to to my own devices. First order of business, I made his side of the bed. Second order of business, cantaloupe sorbet! I used another TK recipe. Pictures to come later.

Anticipation

2011-08-11T22:46:00.002-04:00

Getting married in less than two months!

Food: Strawberry Sorbet

2011-08-07T19:42:00.000-04:00

iDan and I have three of TK's cookbooks: Ad Hoc at Home, Bouchon and French Laundry. This sorbet comes out of the Bouchon book (the mint chocolate chip ice cream came from Ad Hoc). It came together very easily since there are only three ingredients that don't require any cooking.

Apropos of the mint chocolate chip ice cream, this is how it came out.

Picture of New Couch

2011-08-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

It's pretty damn comfortable.

Date Night

2011-07-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

iDan and I made TK's chocolate chip cookies tonight. The recipe calls for a mix of 55% and 70% chocolate so you can really taste the bittersweetness of the chocolate. I'm not overly fond of dark chocolate myself so I'll try using a mix of 55% and milk chocolate next time. But this is an excellent recipe. They have a quality that makes you want to keep reaching for another cookie. TK never fails to deliver.

New Toy: Ice Cream Maker

2011-07-27T21:50:00.001-04:00

The Bay has a renovation sale going on and Kitchenaid gear is discounted at 20% off. iDan and I have had our eyes on the ice cream maker attachment for a while so we took the plunge yesterday. I bought the attachment at lunch and bought ingredients after work for TK's mint chocolate chip ice cream. The ice cream maker requires 15 hours of freezer time and the ice cream base requires overnight refrigeration. I put the ice cream maker in the freezer and got to work on the base. TK is hardcore. The recipe instructs you to steep mint leaves in the cream mixture instead of just adding peppermint extract.

We churned the ice cream tonight and within twenty minutes we had mint chocolate chip soft-serve. The recipe is decadent. So much so that you can only eat a little bit at a time. I wouldn't be able to eat a waffle cone of this stuff. In terms of taste, the steeped mint is sweet and minty but doesn't give your mouth a mentholated feeling like commercial ice creams do. I found myself missing that feeling while eating this ice cream. Anyway, next time I'll use only homo milk to see if that will cut the richness. (note: I tried emailing the Girls from my work email about my ice cream making adventures using the term "homo milk" and I got a pop-up warning that my email contained offensive language.)

New Couch on the Way

2011-07-24T18:56:00.000-04:00

iDan and I have been looking for a new couch for a while. Our entire condo is furnished with Ikea and I'm trying to gradually replace pieces. I'm tired of my home looking like a dorm room. iDan's friends from articling threw us a surprise party last night since none of them can make it to Vegas (actually, we did most of the surprising since we arrived early and ended up greeting everyone). Camille hosted the party at her condo and I noticed her very plush couch. She directed us to Structube. iDan and I checked it out this morning and bought the Bellagio model. Delivery this Saturday!

source

More Bruises

2011-07-21T20:16:00.001-04:00

These are bruises from last week's softball game. I tend to hold the bat quite high up the grip because I feel like that gives me more control and power. But I also have the bad habit of flicking my wrists after I swing. Flicking causes the butt of the bat to slam into my wrist and thus the bruises.

Review: Septoplasty

2011-07-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

It's been approximately two months since I had the septoplasty. Long story short: I'm glad I did it, I can finally breathe out of my nostrils.

My nose is still a little swollen. My nose doc says that it'll take almost a full year before the swelling goes down completely but most of the swelling will have gone done by my wedding. But that's a small to price to pay for the advantage I gained. When I wake up in the morning, I can breathe easy out of my nose. Before, my nostrils would be plugged and I'd have to mightily blow in order to clear them. I stopped doing the saline rinse since I don't have any more crusts. But we'll have to see at the next follow-up appointment if I'm completely booger-free.

Chanel

2011-07-09T21:49:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to post a picture of the Chanel I purchased in June. It was a gift to myself after getting the new job with Umbrella Corporation. Jumbo sized, black caviar leather with silver hardware.

Woot!

2011-07-09T10:16:00.001-04:00

Getting married in exactly three months! Despite being a destination wedding in Vegas, we have a surprisingly high number of guests: 80. But maybe it shouldn't be that surprising. All of our friends straight-up told us that our wedding is ancillary to their Vegas vacation. The very first person to RSVP, even before the parents, was Young Tim. After getting called to the bar, he quit the profession and became a professional poker player.

Autotune for Photographers

2011-06-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

Fish and chips

Oysters

Crab-filled spring rolls

I downloaded the Hipstamatic app for my iPhone and I'm really impressed with what it can churn out. Replacing talent with technology for only $1.99. The photos above are from tonight's dinner at Rodney's by Bay. iDan and I celebrated our three-year anniversary. iDan doesn't like raw food so the entire platter of oysters was for myself. Nothing says love like slurping down a dozen oysters in quick succession in front of a vegetarian.

Featherhead

2011-06-25T16:03:00.000-04:00

Apparently feathers are in this year. I had a haircut this morning and my stylist had feather extensions in her hair. I decided to be a follower as well and got a set put into my hair. She placed the feathers near the bottom so I can easily hide it for work.

Um...

2011-06-25T15:52:00.000-04:00

I had a massage this afternoon. I hope my masseuse was gay. He was massaging too high on my thigh/buttocks for a heterosexual guy for me to be comfortable with.

Exhaustion

2011-06-17T22:44:00.001-04:00

Hula has taken over my life. Five days of practice in a row. Tomorrow is the recital but we have dress rehearsal all day. Tonight I got my hair corn-rowed so that I'll have tight waves for the recital.

Fourth Day

2011-06-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

I spilt my coffee on my boss' desk. Fuuuuuuuuccccccccckkkkkkkkk. Thankfully he's a really easy going guy so he doesn't think I'm a fuck up, I hope.

Also, further to this post, I'm in a cubicle and the office uses Windows XP.

First Day

2011-06-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

First day on the job. Boss had to go to Montreal for meetings and won't be back until Wednesday. He gave me textbooks on surety law to read.

Message for Sparkles

2011-06-03T14:51:00.000-04:00

Your dad plans on meeting you on June 30th. Take him out for a nice steak dinner.

De-Boogered

2011-06-03T09:07:00.001-04:00

I had a follow-up with my nose doctor yesterday. My incisions are healing nicely but he said I had huge crusts at the back of my nostrils despite my using a saline rinse three times a day. He shone his light and stuck his tweezers up my nostrils. He pulled out a medium-sized crust out of the right nostril. Then he went after my left nostril. His tweezers went so deep that I thought he was picking at my brain. Then he pinched something and yanked it out. Out came THE biggest booger EVER. It was like the scene in Total Recall where the Arnold Schwarzenegger character had the probe pulled out of his nostril.

My doctor said it was a solid mass and that the mucus had formed a "cast". If Mo had been there with me, he would've given me a thumbs-up.

Back on My Feet

2011-06-02T09:55:00.000-04:00

I was flat-on-my-back sick for nine days. I picked up the virus that was going around and developed a mild case of yeast on my tongue. Yeah, it was pretty gross. Apparently the anti-biotics that I took after the surgery killed enough good bacteria in my body to allow yeast to start growing on my tongue. My tongue grew a white cheesey layer. It wasn't a good scene. My family doctor gave me some fungicide to deal with it. Yeah, I was drinking fungicide for a week.

Nose Update: Part 3

2011-05-20T16:22:00.001-04:00

External and internal splints are off! The external splint came off easily. The doc dissolved the stickiness of the medical tape with a solution and peeled the whole thing off in one go. The internal splints required a little more finesse.

First he snipped the suture that were holding the right and left splints in place. Then he stuck his tweezers inside the left nostril to take out that splint. He wiggled the splint a little because of "crusting" (read extreme boogers). Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a black guitar pick fly out of the nostril. I nearly screamed "holy shit" because I didn't expect something that size to come out of my nostril. It was like a six year old watching a magician pull a quarter out of his nose. This entire time I had thought the internal splints were long and narrow little straws and was expecting such. Wrong. They're bendy plastic discs which I assume the docs folded into cones and shoved up the nostril. The doc showed me the crusting (again, read extreme boogers) on the splint and the third grader in me beamed proudly.

He repeated the procedure on the right nostril which had just as much crusting. Then the doc cleaned up my nose and explained that my nose will still be swollen for another two weeks.

I'm now breathing easy out of the left nostril. Right nostril is still useless because it's still swollen. Will report back in a few weeks.

Nose Update Again

2011-05-20T10:12:00.000-04:00

Doctor's appointment this afternoon to remove external and internal splints. I'll be back at work on Tuesday after the long weekend. But only for four days because my last day at Mothra is the Friday. Ha!

After the splints come out I'll comment on whether I think this entire procedure was worthwhile. But I will say for now that the one thing that caught me by surprise is my low energy-levels and lack of endurance during my convalescence. My doctors cautioned me against working out but I thought that was because they don't want me to accidentally bump my nose. But I can't work out because I physically cannot. I get winded after climbing a set of stairs. I'm not sure if it's my body's reaction to general anesthesia, the surgery or the anti-viral meds.

Nose Update

2011-05-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

The nose doctor removed the stitches yesterday. The procedure wasn't too painful. It was like a laser hair removal treatment i.e. it stung a little.

I've been spending most of my convalescence by watching Criminal Minds. But today the girls and I are planning a last-minute wedding for Steph's little sister for this weekend. No, she's not pregnant. She's in love! I'm researching off-the-rack white/cream dresses online.

Anxiety

2011-05-16T18:48:00.003-04:00

Is it strange that the biggest worry I have with my new job is what OS I'll have to use? Mothra switched over to Windows 7 last year and it's by far a better product than XP. I know it's a small detail but if I'm in front of a computer for 12 hours of the day, I don't want a computer that has less power than my iPhone.

I also wonder if I'll have a cubicle or an office. Why didn't I think to ask these questions during the interviews?

Nose update: I've switched over to Buckley's for my bronchitis-like cough. By far the most effective product.

Recovery Update

2011-05-14T11:05:00.002-04:00

Just got off the phone with my nose doctor who called to check up on me. Apparently I have splints inside my nose. I thought I just had big blood clots that hadn't washed out yet. Stitches will come out on Tuesday. External and internal splints to come out later on this week.

In terms of pain, I'm surprised that it's manageable. My nose is sore, like I just had laser hair removal. But it's nowhere near the pain of getting a tattoo. That was far, far worst. I haven't even touched my Tylenol 3s yet. I'm trying to avoid them since they do a number on my stomach and I get very loopy.

Update: My throat is in the most pain. It's like a bad case of ~~strep throat~~ bronchitis. I've been taking Chinese herbal syrup to sooth it. I might break out the numbing spray soon.

Verbatim: Senioritis for the Win

2011-05-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

Besides my septo surgery this week, this week was very eventful for me. I accepted a job offer with Umbrella Corporation as Claims Counsel/Analyst. Mothra was sold a few months ago and the future is uncertain. My boss advised that most likely the new owners would clean house and suggested that I start looking. In fact, he was the one who gave me the posting for Umbrella Corporation.

At any rate, I've started advising outside counsel and consultants that my last day with Mothra will be on the 27th.

Counsel: I'll start emailing status updates to both you and your boss, in case you dont care anymore.

Me: Haha, I'm not saying that.

Counsel: I wouldn't blame you if you did.

Recovery

2011-05-14T08:29:00.001-04:00

I had my septo surgery yesterday and I think everything is going well so far.

Friday

9:30am - Checked into the clinic. Changed into a gown and answered a few more medical history questions.
10:00am - Walked over the operating room and hopped onto the bed. The anesthesiologist took three times to get the IV into my arm. Apparently my veins kept collapsing. Not fun. He started pumping me full of anesthesia and I don't remember passing out.
2:30pm - I became aware of someone saying to me "Heidi, it's all over now, it went great." I slowly woke up to find myself in the recovery room. My throat hurts a lot because of the tube they inserted during surgery.

I'm still very groggy but I remember dreaming during the surgery. I think it was about the tv show Criminal Minds since I've been watching the reruns lately.

3:00pm - iDan came to pick me. The nurse helped me get dressed. I was still a little groggy so I don't think I could've dressed myself. The nurse put my shirt over my head and put my pants on for me. iDan got the car while she wheelchaired me out. I tried to avoid the curious stares of bystanders.
3:30pm - Got home and iDan helped me change and put me to bed. Was still very groggy and couldn't be bothered to shower
Spent the rest of the day sleeping, watching tv, and changing the wound dressing.

Today

I woke up this morning and decided to finally shower. It was a little difficult because my nose has a cast but I managed to do it.
My throat is still very sore and the only thing I want to eat or drink are ice-cold smoothies. I have stitches in my nose and I'm afraid they'll rip if I move my mouth to chew food.

I have a follow-up appointment next week for the doctor to remove the stitches. Hopefully I will look less like Frankenstein.

Review: Eno-Teca Sociale

2011-05-08T21:03:00.002-04:00

iDan and I had dinner with friends on Friday night at Eno-Teca Sociale. Sociale is the wine-bar sister restaurant of Pizzeria Libretto and serves typical antipasti, secondi and pasta fare.

Sociale only takes reservations for half the tables and the other half are first-come-first-serve. I couldn't make a reservation so I volunteered to go early and get a table. I arrived at 5:30 and waited at the bar. I ordered a glass of prosecco and a small cheese plate. The cheeses were excellent. I recommend the robiola which is soft and delicate.

The staff accommodated me and let me wait at the bar until the table was ready. iDan arrived at 6:30 and we caught up on our day over the bread. The bread came with an overly bitter olive oil but the bread itself was delicious. Crusty exterior, soft and savoury interior. Our friends came and we ordered dinner and caught up. I ordered the carbonara and it was very salty. I'm not sure if it was because of too much salt or the pancetta. For dessert we had the chocolate budino which was a decadent chocolate pudding with flakes of sea salt. The salt cut into the richness nicely.

My thoughts? It was good but it wasn't mind-blowing. My favourite dishes were the bread and the budino. But while the dishes were tasty, they were also laden with rich dairy products which didn't sit too well in my stomach. In fact, at the end of dessert I had to take an emergency poo because my digestion couldn't handle the meal. And while I was doing my business, a woman walked into my stall because the door didn't lock properly.

Take from that what you will.

New Toy

2011-05-08T17:54:00.001-04:00

My dearest iDan bought us new home theatre speakers yesterday. Bose CineMate Series II. They were fairly easy to set up. Really, we almost broke up over Ikea and we didn't even snap at each other during the setup.

The sound is excellent. The bass has a deep vibrato and the little speakers have a crisp sound. The universal remote truly works. We consolidated the controls for the TV, PVR, Apple TV and the speakers into one! iDan bought these as a surprise so now I feel bad for making a face at him the other day when he came home and didn't immediately wash his hands.

Admitting Defeat

2011-05-01T18:52:00.000-04:00

iDan and I decided to hire a house cleaner in the interests of saving our relationship. She comes twice a month to clean the condo from top to bottom and it's $120 per visit. Best money ever spent.

Surgery Update

2011-05-01T18:50:00.001-04:00

Last I week I had to:

obtain a pre-op physical from my family doctor
go back to my nose surgeon and fill out consent forms

After the surgery I will have to go back to the nose doctor for follow-up appointments. This procedure is slowly eating up all my vacation days.

More Mystery Fight Club

2011-04-25T08:18:00.000-04:00

Another bruise on my chin. The only explanation I can think of is that the skin on my chin is very thin and delicate and I lean too hard on my hand when I'm at my desk.

iDan and I are Breaking Up

2011-04-24T22:20:00.000-04:00

iDan is allowed to eat in bed but I'm thinking of revoking his privileges. He was eating sushi in bed and spilt the soy sauce on the sheets and mattress. Sigh...why are boys so dirty?

Homecooking

2011-04-20T20:55:00.001-04:00

Turns out I make a pretty good Jew. iDan is sick and I made him matzo-ball soup for dinner. Ground up enough matzo crackers to make one cup of crumbs, added two eggs, added two tablespoons of olive oil, and added S&P to taste. Boiled little scoops of the mixture in chicken noodle soup.

The next thing I need to learn how to make is hamantaschen. I just discovered it a few weeks ago and I can't get enough of it. Every morning during my commute, I drive past a bakery that makes them and it is so fucking delicious that I have to pull over and buy one for my 10am snack.

This and That

2011-04-18T20:15:00.001-04:00

Weekend stuff:

WarcraftBen's wife and I fixed my toilet this weekend. Our significant others were too busy being nerds.

The chain attached to the handle broke so I bought a new flapper and chain for $8 from Home Depot
Turned off the water, drained the tank and unhooked the old flapper from the pipe's ears
Attached the new flapper to the ears, hooked up the chain to the handle and filled the tank

Went for a pre-op blood test for my upcoming septoplasty.

Update

2011-04-15T22:28:00.000-04:00

iDan and I have living together for about a month and a half now. We've had hiccups but I think we're used to each other's rhythms now. We come home from work, de-compress on our own in separate spaces and then hang out. The biggest issue for me was concessions; how do we meet each other half way?

My biggest concession is letting iDan eat in bed. I tried talking him out of it or outright banning it but he'd keep eating his sandwiches in bed. But in return I got him to agree to vacuum every other weekend and to use the hamper. Oh, and constant hand washing. I have a germ phobia and always wash my hands the instant I enter my home. I wash/sanitize my hands after touching money, keys and anything that comes in contact with the "outside world". I've got iDan washing his hands the instant he comes home.

Mystery Bruise

2011-04-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Woke up with this bruise on my jaw. Did Fight Club occur?

Back to the Hood

2011-04-07T19:26:00.005-04:00

iDan and I are off to Edmonton for the weekend to visit my parents. I also co-opted Steph's house for a party on Saturday night. Thanks, Steph! She's even providing smokie sausages and coleslaw! Maybe I should bring some cheese smokies, I haven't had those for a while...

Update on the nose: Septoplasty is booked for May 13th. I know it's on a Friday the 13th but I'm Chinese and we only worry about the number 4. I feel confident about the surgery. ~~Besides, Mo was born on a Friday the13th so it can't be all bad.~~ Turns out he was born on a Monday.

Driving Win

2011-03-30T18:15:00.000-04:00

On the drive home yesterday I managed to enrage the car behind me. The car was in the adjacent merging lane. As a general rule, I only allow one car to go in front of me at a merging lane. I let the car in front merge into my lane but I wouldn't allow the second car to merge in front of me. He had to merge behind me and when I looked in the rearview mirror he was giving me double-fisted bird flips. Not only that, he was really shaking them at me. Amazingness.

iPad 2

2011-03-25T23:38:00.003-04:00

I took a vacation day today in order to stand in line for 7.5 hours so I could buy an iPad 2 for my mother. Mo's mom has an iPhone so I'll occasionally FaceTime with Mo. It's really cute. We sing songs, we play games, it's an Apple commercial. My mother needs to get in on this. I also picked one up for iDan since he wanted to upgrade.

8:30 - wake up.
8:35 - iDan texts me to tell me that WarcraftBen's friend, Allen, is also lining up today for an iPad.
8:45 - get ahold of Allen and make arrangements to meet up with him at the Sherway Apple store. I want a line-up buddy so I'll have someone to watch my stuff when I take bathroom breaks.
10:30 - get ready, drive across the city and finally arrive at the mall. Approximately 150 people are already in front of us. We get in line which is already outside the mall entrance. It is -7 degrees today.
10:35 - go to Sears to buy camping chairs and a blanket.
11:00 - start reading The Hunger Games.
11:30 - go back to Sears to buy sweater, tuque and gloves.
12:30 - iDan and WarcraftBen come to visit on their lunch break, iDan buys me poutine for lunch since I am cold and miserable.
1:00 - Come back to line-up to find that during lunch Allen was able to move our chairs inside the mall, hooray!
4:00 - Finish the book. Need to immediately know how book two and book three ends, wiki the plots. Katniss and Peeta live happily ever after!
4:15 - Apple employees start revving up the line-up by pumping their fists and whooping. This makes me angry instead.
4:30 - Apple employees start passing out tickets.
5:45 - Make it inside Apple store and buy two iPads.
6:00 - Walk out of Apple store and go back to Sears and return camping chairs, blanket and sweater. Yes, I know I have no shame.
6:20 - iDan and WarcraftBen come back to the mall and iDan buys me dinner.

Nose Job

2011-03-24T00:25:00.000-04:00

This morning I had a consult with the surgeons who will perform, if I decide to go forward, the septoplasty. They're actually plastic surgeons with a practice specializing in face and neck surgeries located in the shi-shi part of town. I asked about narrowing the base of my nose and refining the tip and they said they could do so by shaving a few millimetres off. I asked if shaving the base would change the look of my ethnicity and they said that I would still look Chinese afterwards.

I'm 100% sure I will move forward with the septoplasty since my right nostril is useless. I want them to get in there and whittle/reshape the septum so I can finally stop being a heavy breather. With respect to the rhinoplasty, I'm about 70% sure. I've gone all my life looking the way I do, so why change now? But I've always wanted a more delicate-looking nose.

Summer Adventure

2011-03-18T22:35:00.000-04:00

I've always suspected that I have a deviated septum and today's trip to an ear, nose and throat specialist finally confirmed it. Apparently my septum is "folded over itself" and the little shelves inside my nose (that help direct air flow) are larger than the average person's. I think I will elect to get septoplasty this summer. J suffered from the same problem and underwent the surgery a few years ago and now he's breathing easy. Luckily Canadian healthcare covers septoplasty since deviated septums obstruct airflow and are therefore considered medical rather than cosmetic. Suck it, Americans!

I'm debating whether or not to get rhinoplasty while I'm under anesthesia in order to get a 2-for-1 deal. I've always thought the base of my nose is too wide. We'll see, I have another consult next week and I'm going to ask about pricing for cosmetic procedures.

New Obsession: Konapun

2011-03-11T23:41:00.008-05:00

Making fake miniature food

I just discovered Konapun and I've been watching YouTube videos of it all night (while iDan watches Jackass 3 beside me and laughs as the fat one gets an apple shoved up his asshole and then a pig eats the apple). I need to look for a kit for myself.

Ikea Win

2011-03-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

LACK coffee table

Bought a small IKEA coffee table for iDan to use as his side table since he needs all his Apple products within easy reach. Brought it home and assembled it in 20 minutes and got it right on the first try!

source

Homecooking

2011-03-05T19:13:00.001-05:00

Olive, tomato and avocado spread with mozzarella and provolone cheese

Buttermilk cheese biscuits

iDan moved in last week because I want the two of us to get used to living with each other before the wedding. We've decided to try and cook more at home so tonight was a sandwich from the 'wichcraft cookbook and buttermilk biscuits from the Ad Hoc cookbook. The biscuits were a little too salty because I forgot to use unsalted butter.

Update: Threw out the uneaten biscuits. Too salty to finish.

NYC: Jean Georges Del Posto

2011-02-26T23:59:00.001-05:00

Amuse bouche

Steak tartare for me

Salad for iDan

Whole wheat pasta with bonito flakes

Lobster for me

Scallops for iDan

Sorbet for me

Gelato for iDan

Italian donuts

~~Jean Georges~~ Del Posto is fine dining with a capital F and D. It's not Per Se but it comes close. My only complaint was the menu. The prix fixe was quite confusing and it didn't help that the waiter didn't explain it very well. The couple next to us had to help us out and they said that they had to have the waiter explain it five times to them. The next seating at that table also seemed to have trouble with the menu.

NYC: Norma's

2011-02-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

Mango-papaya brown butter cinnamon crepes

James Beard Award-winning potato pancakes

Eggs Benedict

Norma's: So amazing but so fucking expensive. Breakfast for two was over $100.

NYC: Momofuku Noodle Bar

2011-02-26T23:38:00.001-05:00

Steamed buns with pork. Notice the 1cm of pork fat. Amazing.

Momofuku ramen

Pickled ginger and scallion ramen

Momofuko opens at noon but we arrived at 11:30 because we allowed time for getting lost. As soon as we started waiting by the front door for it to open, people started arriving and lining up behind us. They were all foodies and we compared restaurants while waiting. One of the kitchen staff left the restaurant and he took one look at the line and said dios mios while shaking his head.

Verbatim: Airport Security: 2; Heidi: 0

2011-02-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

The last time I went through airport security, they confiscated my moisturizer because it was over 100 ml. During last weekend's trip to NYC, my moisturizer was confiscated again for the same reason. I tried to lawyer the agent but he was having none of it, mostly because he didn't understand basic arithmetic.

Agent: The bottle says 125 ml, you can only bring in 100 ml.

Me: Fine. Squeeze out what you want.

Agent: ???

Me: If the maximum is 100 ml, squeeze out what you think will get me under 100 ml.

Agent: I don't know how much 100 ml is.

Me: Okay. The bottle says 125 ml. If it were a full bottle and you squeezed out half of it, the contents would be 60 ml or so...

Agent: ???

Me: I don't have a full bottle so no matter what you squeeze out the contents will be less than 100 ml.

Agent: We can't do that..

Me: Fine. Throw it out.

Ikea Will Be the End of Us

2011-02-13T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ikea delivered the correct furniture and the assembly team put the wardrobe together on Saturday. After they left iDan and I noticed that one of the drawers was higher than we would like. We pulled out the drawer, unscrewed and re-screwed the side pieces and nearly killed each other. I still have to go back to Ikea to buy glass shelves for the bathroom vanity because the ones I bought are too short. This will bring the total trip count to Ikea to four.

Yuppies are not Ikea-compatible.

Why iDan is Perfect For Me

2011-02-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

I was downstairs watching tv and binging on M&M pretzels (M&Ms with pretzel bits inside). The bedroom door opened, iDan walked out of the room, walked downstairs, took the M&Ms away and walked back upstairs. I was both shocked and moved that he knew me well enough to know that I was misbehaving with candy.

Ikea Fail

2011-02-05T14:02:00.002-05:00

Shit motherfucker shit fuck.

iDan and I bought the tall Pax wardrobes from Ikea but I measured the height of the wall wrong and we can only fit the short Pax ones in the room. We now need to go back to Ikea and buy the correct ones. Then when the delivery guys come, they'll take the wrong ones and bring the correct ones. Dammit.

Asian Fail

2011-02-05T13:59:00.000-05:00

Went to lunch with friends from work. I found half a clothes pin in my salad (presumably from when the line cooks peg the plates in order to mark them). I flagged down our waitress, who happened to be Asian, and told her about the clothes pin.

Afterwards my white friends told me I had flagged down the wrong waitress. Our waitress was another Asian waitress.

Countdown To...

2011-02-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

Several countdowns going on this month:

iDan is moving in at the end of the month. A friend told me that the first year of marriage isn't hard, it's the first year of living together that's hard. I'd like us to get into a rhythm before the wedding.
Going to NYC for the long weekend for another eating trip
Turning 30. Sigh...............

Stay Classy, Toronto

2011-01-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

I'm done with iDan's neighbourhood. On Saturday I walked by myself to Canadian Tire to buy a Magic Bullet and on the way back to iDan's, a thirty-something black guy on a bicycle passed me on the street and called me a chink. I don't get it. I was at Carlton and Church, in the middle of the Gay Village. Every other person is either a minority or gay. How did I get singled out?

That's not the only story I have about iDan's neighbourhood. A few months ago I was exiting the underground parking lot and waited for two pedestrians to cross in front of my car. One of them flagged me down and came up to my car.

Guy: Hey, my brother just had a kid and we're on our way to the hospital

Me: Um... congratulations.

Guy: Could we get a ride to the hospital? It's just a few minutes away.

Me: There's a bus that can get you there...

Guy: We'd really appreciate it, it's really close by.

Me: Um....sorry...

What the fuck is up with that neighbourhood?

Planning Ahead

2011-01-20T19:38:00.001-05:00

iDan and I are going to NYC during the February long weekend. We're going to celebrate our birthdays, my big 3-0 and to buy our wedding bands from Tiffany(!!). I had some time today and I put together our itinerary.

I know what you're thinking. Whatever, you wish you were this organized.

Wedding Stuff

2011-01-20T19:30:00.001-05:00

Found my wedding shoes! Black sparkly Miu Miu's! Buy from Net-a-Porter if you want a pair for yourself.