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More than meet the eyes
The conversation when I ordered the cake for Brandon’s birthday party on Saturday went a little bit like this.
Me: Hi, I’d like to order a cake for 15 people, please.
Great Dane Baking Company: That’ll be a nine-inch cake. Now what would you like on it?
Me: Transformers.
GD: Which one?
Me: Optimus Prime.
GD: The red and blue one?
Me: Yep.
GD: Okay, what’s the name [to go on the cake]?
Me: Brandon.
GD: How old is he?
Me: Thirty seven…
GD: Did you say seven?
Me: No. Thirty. Seven.
GD: Oh. Hm. Well, I guess we won’t be piping that on the cake, huh? /laughs
Me: Good idea.
And here we are. Behold the geek glory of Brandon’s birthday cake creation.
This is a 9-inch round, 3-layer high white cake with non-dairy strawberry cream and fresh strawberries, frosted with non-dairy whipped cream. (Our friend Aurora is allergic to dairy so we went the non-dairy route.)
Underneath all of this big, bold, manly man decoration is pink and white, somebody’s perfect wedding cake.
More than meet the eyes, seriously.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Husband!
Pieces of You
Undeniably, especially with my involvement with Thrill the World this past year, Michael Jackson has somehow ALWAYS been a part of my life.
My knowledge of MJ is backward than from most people. I was growing up in an era in Thailand where trends and pop cultures arrived months, if not years, later than in America/UK.
It was my brothers who introduced me to MJ after his famous moonwalk on MTV. I remembered the MTV video we bought and watched, and watched and watched. At some point, I remember my brother Onk had learned the theory of the moonwalk from somewhere and was teaching me. We quickly realized that we couldn’t moonwalk on carpet. And/or barefooted.
I never quite connected Billy Jean video with MJ back in the days. All I knew was either the song by itself, or that video where the sidewalk lit up.
Then came Thriller video. My mom bought us the special video with the making off documentary. After having seen it through the first time, the many times that followed, I would stop the video after the dancing was done. The zombies attacking the house scared the beejesus out of me. And I didn’t even know what that Vincent Price–obviously didn’t know who he was either–was saying but his voice scared me.
And of course, just like anyone else, I tried to learn the dance.
Then it was time of Bad. Back then, I absolutely adored MJ’s new face. He was beautiful to me. And Smooth Criminal video, and subsequently, Moonwalker became my favorite movie. I even remembered playing Moonwalker Nintendo game at my friend’s’ house.
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to visit Neverland when I was growing up, and wanted to HAVE my own Neverland when I grow up.
I haven’t followed MJ much after that until my brothers came home one summer with Dangerous CD and all the buzz about Black or White video. Again, watched bajillion times on video. I coudln’t stop listening to that CD or stop going over all the tiniest little details on that cover art. The obsession bled into my choice of performance for a talent show at school. Me being an environmental nut at the moment, choreographed and rehearsed over a weekend with another friend to Heal the World. It was a message piece nobody got and obviously written off as boring. Probably my worse school performance ever. LOL.
It wasn’t until I got to the U.S., I found out about MJ as a part of the Jackson 5.
After Dangerous, I haven’t gone back to Michael for musical inpiration. Okay, maybe for a moment there with Scream. He seemed to going off the rail right about then and I stopped paying attention. Until he announced a performance in Bangkok.
I wasn’t home in time that summer to go to the concert with a huge gaggle of my school friends. But dammit, I WANTED TO GO! (Consolation prize? My dad took me to see Whitney Houston later on.) As we all know, that was his last before THE trial.
As much as I wanted to not pay attention, I still gravitated toward MJ somehow. My first trip to the U.S. and visit to Disneyland, I wanted to keep going back to Captain EO. As a matter of fact, until it was closed down, two things I never missed were the Captain and Star Tour.
My freshman year in the dorm, I dug around my closet for a Halloween costume and turned up as Michael Jackson circa Black or White video. I had a white tank top underneath a white button down, black pants, white socks and black loafers. I wrapped one arm with gauze for that one glove/bracer thing he had going. My suite mates helped braided my hair the night before to get that lovely MJ curls. And, the final touch, our Caucasian suite mate loaned me her foundation to make me “white”. My friend Katie probably has a picture of us around somewhere still…
Not until Thrill the World was I reconnected with Michael again as an adult.
He might have been a total wack job and an alleged pedophile. But there’s no denying his musical genius and dance prowess. There’s also no denying he has always been a part of my life.
Good night, Michael. You finally have your Neverland.
Thrill me one more time
Bye, Michael. Thanks for the memory. This year’s Thrill the World will be a tribute to your greatness.
Crash Test Oakley
I’m not safe on a bike. Never have been.
But I insist on getting on the thing so I can spend time with Brandon. Not to mention that it’s fun.
Y’all remember my little blue Townie?
After the stunts I pulled yesterday, I now have a name for the bike.
Wallbait.
You’ll see why here in a bit.
Feeling ambitious on Sunday, I proposed that we rode from our place to the Alamitos Bay Farmers’ Market in Long Beach so I can pick up some fresh veggies. After all, Brandon hooked up my cargo department so my little bucket won’t come flying off like it had before. This would be the perfect time to go play!
And so we did.
On our way there, we rode down Los Alamitos/Seal Beach Boulevard over the 405 freeway and down Westminster/2nd Street. I did pretty well all things considered with a few stops to rest my tired legs. We got to the market in one piece.
Oh, the market. The. Market! I *LOVE* farmers’ market. So much good stuff.
Thank GOD we had a limit of buying only what I could carry in the bucket. Well, Brandon did help carry a few other things. Like a satchel of lavendar. And our $10 a pound ground bison. Yes, bison. Tatanka. Bison.
We then rode to Seal Beach for some Z Pizza. And then it was time to head back.
With my haul, Brandon suggested that we rode back on the San Gabriel river bike path for easier terrain.
However, we underestimated the extra weight on the back of my bike going through all of those underpasses.
Coming down one of them, my cruiser hit a patch and it wobbled. Hard.
I was *this* close to losing control and spill.
Not that a beach cruiser is know for its agility to begin with, the extra weight also contributed to a few more near-disasters I had all the way home because I couldn’t stop fast enough.
A sudden stop coming back from the trail onto Katella resulted in the peddles hitting me (and left a bruise) on my calf.
A sharper turn back down our street, I was caught between “going to fast in a turn and I would totally crash” and “not slow enough, oh my god I’m going to launch off the sidewalk!” With enough time to strategize how I was going to crash, I slammed the bike into the metal sign post: wheel to the left, handle to the right, and my right hand wayyyy out of the crash zone.
With all these odd maneuvering, y’all, I am sore in places I didn’t know existed.
However, I must admit…
It was hella fun.
Hooters & Pasties
But first, a shout out.
Gregg, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Now. The coverage.
David brought wings from Hooters. I brought pasty pies from Pasty Kitchen. Gregg provided alcohol.
This past Friday, the Hooters & Pasties was born.
(Thank GOD, nobody taped me channeling Thom Yorke and Eddy Veddar…)
Proceed at your own risk of hearing loss.
The second session contains some truly frightening vocal performance. However, hilarity factor is REALLY high.
Strange Bed Fellow
One of those questionnaires people sent around asked, where would you want to live if you can live anywhere.
My answer is “out of a suitcase, in hotel room, anywhere in the world.”
Some people insist that they sleep in their own bed. I don’t seem to have that much of an attachment.
I like to be somewhere else once in a while. A change of scenery during the day is one thing, but to have slept somewhere different is something else altogether.
Yeah, I guess you could say I have the Travel Bug. A dormant strain, compared to many, and is kept in check by a potent vaccination of financial constriction.
An outbreak happens once in a while that I feel like I must get out and go somewhere else, even if it’s for a night in an inn down the street.
The recent trip to Miami seems to have aggravate the Travel Bug. Then again, having just read Eat Pray Love doesn’t help.
I popped a question to Brandon to see if he’d want to scoot down to the brand spanking new Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes because there’s a good deal going on now. Plus I’ve worked with one of their sales manager before and he would hook us up with something fabulous, I’m sure.
Brandon, perhaps fortunately, doesn’t have my Travel Bug. What he has is common sense. It doesn’t make any sense to him to spend the money to stay somewhere 30 minutes away from our house for one night.
For someone in my condition, a luxury resort for half the price is a good deal. A new bed for just one night is a good deal. A day spent at a gorgeous pool with a good book and a lovely cocktail is a good deal.
One day away from everyday grind is a good deal.
I guess we compromised somewhere in the middle.
We just bought a tent when REI had a sale a couple of months ago. Brandon wants to test out the tent, our current sleeping bags, and some of the new stuff we bought, and to dust off our camping skills somewhere where it’s convenience. You know, testing the waters to see if we can actually survive a rougher and tumble-r camp sites we both want to get to.
A night in a tent under the stars?
It’s definitely not my bed.
Travel Bug, prepare to get suppressed.
At least for a little while longer.
Cook Bake Geek
It’s been a crazy weekend. But super fun. AND productive.
First of all, Brandon has FINALLY came out of the severe sinus infection that he had. And with abundant energey fueled by cabin fever, he ran errands all over town for me on Friday.
Because, you see, on Saturday, I threw a casual baby shower for a coworker and his girlfriend at my friend Amy’s house. I made these surprisingly gorgeous and delicious pasta carbonara tartlets and fruity modification of the Italian Scroppino (lemon sorbet + prosecco + splash of vodka).
After all of that, I came running home to my first introductory massage at Massage Envy. It was heavenly and I signed on for their membership. Being forced to get a massage every month? Open until 10 p.m. on weeknights AND open on Sunday? And quite a lot cheaper than the fancy schmancy joint the other end of town that I could never seem to get an appointment? Yeah, that’s a membership I can get behind.
Naturally, on Sunday, Brandon went in to get his and signed up for the membership as well. While some people see getting a massage as luxury expense, we see it as preventive medicine. If we manage our stress well now, that would help us with high blood pressure and other stress related illness down the road. Happy body has a happy mind and both contribute to good health. But I digress there a bit.
Sunday morning came, Brandon waited for me to crawl out of bed and we headed out for brunch. Unsuccessful at finding any place we wanted to eat at without a line, we drove through Del Taco and took our hangover brunch to the beach. It was beautiful out at Seal Beach pier.
It was a great start for a busy Sunday at home for me.
I got home to start the 3 loads of laundry.
Then I geeked out for a while, upgrading to WP 2.8 and set up the website for Thrill the World Los Angeles, gearing up for this year’s participation.
Done with that, I started in on making the mascarpone ice cream for my KitchInspirations strawberry shortcake challenge. Once the ice cream went into the fridge, I geeked out some more with TTWLA site.
Then I made dinner, spaghetti and meatballs, and got my strawberries soaked in Grand Marnier and honey.
Then I grilled up the pound cake and assembled my dessert with mascarpone ice cream and macerated strawberries for dessert.
After dinner, I finished blogging about the tartlets.
And put (most of the) laundry away.
I seriously need another day of the weekend.
Phototastic Friday: Sideway
Well, I still can’t get used to turning the video camera the right way. My apology for your tilted head.
But Dresden is just too frellin’ CUTE in this!!!
Women Rule
Why would women want to be like men?
I mean, yes, we deserve to have the same pay for our skills and all of that. But there are some who try to prove that us women can be just like the men.
But we are not.
And why should we be like them?
I believe that women shouldn’t try to be like men because, well, crap, we are not them. There’s not good reason why I would want to be a man.
Well, outside of the ability to pee anywhere. But I digress.
We are built differently. We have strengths they don’t. And they have strengths we don’t.
So what?
We are more emotional in a way that men could never be. We have a way to develop deep relationships. We nurture. As mothers, we can withstand a whole lot more…like drool and vomit and all the gross stuff that would send a grown man run screaming from the room. We can stand the discomfort of pregnancy and pain of childbirth. Not to mention the monthly pain and bleeding we have to go through for most of our lives. Would men have the patience for that?
(Okay, another thing some of us wish we didn’t have to go through. But then again, this monthly discomfort builds our characters.)
Hank said on King of the Hills, “I don’t trust anything that can bleed for 7 days and not die.”
Because women *can* handle bleeding for seven days and not die. Hank is right. He and the menfolk should be very afraid of our abilities, the strengths the men didn’t think we have.
Am I an anti-feminist? A sexist? I don’t know what I am. But I just believe that as women we should celebrate our given gifts and abilities. We *can* have it all without becoming a man.
Instead of trying to be like men, I think we should focus on our strengths and be really good at it.
I really believe in the Jurassic Park logic.
“God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs. …Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.”
Because we are not men. We are better off that way and we should celebrate our womenhood in every way!
Anyways. While on this subject, I want to celebrate all of the phenomenal ladies I have come to know online and off. But there are a few who have really inspired and awed me in recent days.
Aurora continues to amaze me. Since our cooking classes, she has been cooking a lot more than I do with her crock pot. This is the girl who hasn’t cooked much before a couple of months ago. I am soooo proud! And all this motherhood stuff? She’s got it down.
My colleague Sonia ran her first Los Angeles Marathon in just under 7 hours. Enough said right there.
Annette lives in Lancaster with her teenage son, commutes to Burbank to work, AND comes down to Long Beach on certain weekends to hang with her little girl. In the meantime, she works that interweb like it’s nobody’s business and continues to meet new people. How she did it all is an inspiration and a half.
Amy G. is whot anyone should want to grow up to be. Strong. Smart. Funny. Moreover, if you throw this lady in a room full of strangers, she’ll walk out with a room full of new BFFs. I mean, I have never met anyone like that.
My sister-in-law Pim is a yoga practioner, who now has “students” all over the Big Mango. You look at this gorgeous, tall skinny Thai girl and you wouldn’t think she’d be atheletic, but you’ll be sooo wrong. Pim also runs and works out on top of her daily yoga routine. She always encourages everyone she speaks to to discover the benefits of the yoga practice. She believes in it and that makes us believe in it too.
My Thai BFF Tong is planning to move to New Zealand to open a restaurant with her partner. For an (over)protected only child, this is a hell of a breakaway. The girl has always love food. It’s about damn time she actually gets in the kitchen!
The other BFF Joy just gave birth to her second son a couple of weeks ago, and she’s playing with Jett, the 2-year-old, one moment, feeding new born Jade the next. In a few more months, she’ll be back running the show at her family business again. AND she paints. I mean, seriously now. There must be a Wonder Woman cape under her bed somewhere.
And then there’s the final Thai BFF Lily who just came back from a solo trip to the French Open. Lily has travelled more than any of our gang and she’s done a lot of it on her own. This is a girl who we all knew as the one who didn’t like English back in K-12, then surprised all of us when she got into the English-language Economics program at Thammmasart University. THEN she came to spent her grad school in Texas and training in Miami. And then you start getting postcards from her from all over the world as she trots the world.
I salute you, ladies. You’re my inspiration.
Spork me
NY Post Pop Wrap shows us this magical work by He Who Laughs.
Chris Pine and Zach Quinto’s love child: Captain Spork.
I love you…even if you’re not real.
Happy Wednesday, everybody!