2011 has been a serious roller coaster for me professionally and personally. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was updating the 2010 end of the year list!

Golly.

2011 in Pictures

Jan – March: Welcome to the family, Robin Hood the Hyundai Sonata! / Custom made truffles from Drago Centro / Got laid off

April – June: New Zealand vacation / Cochon 555 / The Nerd Machine Slave Leia PSA

July – September: 4th of July at the Los Alamitos Base / Camping on Catalina / USC football season

October – December: Awesome Halloween / Thorough destruction of the bRuins / Annual candy cane martini at Patty’s house

Drinking Buddy of the Year: Brandon…again

When you’re unemployed for most of the year, who else would be your drinking buddy but your husband!  Brandon has returned to claim the title since he got it in 2009.  This year, the mister also started to try wine, so we’ve had a little more fun with that.  Speaking of wine…

Bar of the Year: District Wine, Long Beach

I was introduced to District Wine by USC Alumni Club of Long Beach.  The club has many mixers hosted here and the board congregates here for the board meeting for bottlomless mimosas on a Sunday.  Elegant but cozy place with friendliest of staff can be really mellow some nights and lively on others.

With a variety of wine by the glass and very reasonably priced by the bottle and delicious nosh, if this place was around the corner from my house, I would certainly haunt it.  I like District Wine so much when I was contacted by Ghirardelli to host the Intense Dark chocolate and wine pairing event, I didn’t even try calling anywhere else but here.

I’m looking forward to many, many more good times!

Restaurant of the Year: Vino e Cucina, Long Beach

My friend Brenda introduced me to Vino e Cucina a few years back. It was REAL Italian food, owned and operated by Italian family.  I totally loved the food there since the very first bite, but I couldn’t get Brandon through the door for the longest time.  You see, the first time we popped in was a Friday night when they were still in the one store. With no reservation, they couldn’t seat anyone. B didn’t like that too much.

Since then they had expanded into the neighboring storefronts, and I finally convinced Brandon to come order a to-go dinner on a weeknight. The food proved itself worthy.  And now we eat there about once every other month.

Newcomer Award: Saatchi LA Peeps

“But Oakley, you only worked there for 4 months! How could you be so attached to these people?”

When you find a work environment you like, meet the people you adore, and get a sense of a company culture that fits you like a glove, you can’t help yourself feeling like you’ve always worked there. I feel like I belong there more than any other place I’ve worked at before (maybe except HSX.com).  I’ve met great people and created some awesome memories in my short time here.  This will not be soon forgotten.

Oh, and again, thanks, Matt.

High point of the Year: New Zealand Trip

Fresh off the layoff, the trip was the perfect springboard into the new adventure.  It was a carefree trip. We ate a lot. We walked a lot. Then we drove a LOT but we also saw a lot along the way.  We nerded out with Lord of the Rings sites. We drank plenty of wine and guzzled enough local beer. We took a million pictures (and I haven’t uploaded them all yet).

It was great seeing my dad and getting him out traveling even on a very limited schedule. My mom had always wanted to visit New Zealand. In a way, we were taking this trip for her as well.

The best, though, is that my dad and I reunited with my cousins Nancy and Nat who we haven’t seen in 10+ years.  I also finally get to meet my nephew Brandon for the first time.

What an adventure.

Low point of the year: Unemployment

Yes, I was all gung-ho about my new adventures. Then I was defeated by the reality of it.  I had some days when all the rejection emails and resumes that disappear into the black hole that is the Orange County job market really got me.  There were days when I felt useless and stupid. And there were days when I thought I should just grab a cup and go panhandle.

I’ve gotten used to a set schedule and a steady paycheck for these past 4 months. Going back to not working is going to be interesting all over again.

Holiday of the Year: Halloween…again

That’s it. I’m retiring this category since a) Halloween is my favorite holiday, and b) it’s ALWAYS awesome.

This year I didn’t have quite the same number of costume change as last year.  But I still had quite a bit.  A 1980s prom princess at work pre-Halloween. A Trojan Cat in the Hat for Halloween weekend tailgate.  Myself aka the Devil for work on Halloween day and then the TARDIS in a tutu for Halloween party that evening.

That TARDIS outfit though, I’m quite proud of. Now you just have to find more occasions to rock out my blue tutu. Hee.

Song of the Year: Pumped Up Kicks, Foster the People

I know, I know. This song is now overplayed.  However, you have to give it credit of the catchiness.  I mean, I caught it a bit before it blew up and I still caught myself humming it out of the blue.

Movie of the Year: Captain America

As a Harry Potter fan, the final Potter movie should be on this list. However, it just wasn’t. Since I haven’t seen The Muppets just yet, Captain America will be crowned as my favorite this year.

Super hero movies has gone gray. You know, all the heroes have some kind of flaws or darkness they have to deal with.  It’s so refreshing to see a TRUE super her with no baggage.

Surprise Movie of the Year: The Warrior’s Way

Brandon got this on rental. Horrendously cheesy with the story, the comic book CGI, and gratuitous violence. Everyone is over the top and stereotypical. The plot is predictable as hell too. But you know almost immediately that you can’t take any of it seriously. Even the actors don’t seem to be taking it seriously. Once you look at this as a live action comic book rooted in no reality of any kind, some kind of a fantastic voyage where everyone is in on the joke, you’ll totally enjoy it.

Book of the Year: Hunger Game trilogy

Oh, Entertainment Weekly Magazine. You influence me so. After having read so much about it, I decided to pick up the Hunger Game paperback for my New Zealand trip. I just couldn’t put it down. I ordered the box set the moment I came back and plowed through the rest in a record speed.

I mean, what’s not to like? Post apocalyptic, totalitarian world. A teenage girl fights for her family. Two boys who love her yet she doesn’t really know what she’s feeling.

If you can skip through the narratives about the food, the fashion, and how she was confused about her relationships–pretty much the parts Brandon couldn’t stand and therefore didn’t read past the first book–you have yourself one kick-ass sci-fi trilogy.

And next summer, the movie. Squee!

TV Show of the Year: American Horror Story

I actually didn’t want to continue watching after I watched the pilot. My skin was left crawling. Too intense of an hour of television.  But curiosity–and free on demand–brought me back.

And boy am I back and so totally obsessed with this show now. (Glee? What’s that?)

That’s about it for 2011.

While I *am* indeed the official partner of Ghirardelli and a hostess to the upcoming Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings event for the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there was a glitch in promotion and folks are being sent here to OakMonster HQ for information on the event instead of to Food.OakMonster.com where all the coverage of the event will be. Click on the banner on right or…

Click here and head on over to Food.OakMonster.com now!

Get the information on the event and see how you can get on my invite list.

Ah. The woes of having an internet empire.

Disclosure: Posts on the blog and twitter about the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings event are based on an advertising relationship. I have been paid to host and promote the Intense Dark Pairings event for Ghirardelli. However, the opinion about the products are all mine.

Food.OakMonster.com is here, yo!

We’ll be working on some graphics for the food page on here. And possibly update the blog over all as well.

This whole limiting my television time seems to be working out. A little bit.

Alas. The first cold of 2011. The game changer.

I made New Year’s Eve dinner of 40 clove garlic chicken to feed James and Aurora and her sister Lee.  I took pictures of everything as it would be my first post for HmmFoodGood for 2011 according to Goal #5.  We sipped some wine and hung out until 11:30 before Brandon and I shambled home before the drunks got back out on the road.  We kissed at midnight and promptly crawled into bed.  So, no. I wasn’t out at a raging party.

The next morning, we were summoned back for Aurora’s famous crepe breakfast.  We came home to a few hours of television followed by a nap.

You know it was never good when you woke yourself up choking on your own phlegm.

What the f…?

Where the heck does THIS come from?  I was not even close to sick these past few days.  No signs of it. No scratchy throat. No itchy inner ears. Nada!

Here I was, stuffy, phlegmy and overall miserable after the nap.  And it went downhill from there.

Sunday was all coughs and fever so I wasn’t going to play the piano.  There went Goal #2.

Monday was all fever as the massive stuffy nose/head replaced the cough. My hair needed a wash but I wasn’t about to work out.  There went Goal #7.  I did, however, not watch TV and instead read my book.  So, score for Goal #1 and #4…although a lot of TV was watched during the time I was couch-bound.

Tuesday was milder version of Monday.  Since I could use anything to make me feel/get better, I asked Brandon to bring me chicken soup and therefore brushed off Meatless Tuesday and Goal #10 to keep it up.

Wednesday I dragged my butt to work.  I figured I could use all the sleep I can get so I opted to nap in the morning instead of working on the blog.  There went Goal #8.  I also left my lunch at home so I had to go out which, as you will find out soon, led me to break Goal #10 again.  Date night also didn’t happened as I was half alive.  So tacos and TV was it.  I didn’t quite break #Goal 6 though, more like shifted it.

Thursday, having felt much better than the past few days, Brandon and I redid date night and went out to silence my cravings for Hooters wings once and for all.

Friday started with a nap on the bus and all the intentions to eat my leftover, but then my boss and I took our new colleague to lunch for her birthday.  So I did buy 2 lunches in a week and therefore broke Goal #10 BUT I did order a Cobb salad so that made up for sticking with Goal #3.

Yeah, pretty much I’m doing the year over starting tonight.

That means, I have to fit an active activity into the day tomorrow before I wash my hair.  I wonder if the long walk from one end of the parking lot to the farmers market will count…

Goals for 2010: 6 out of 10

1. SUCCESS: Lacto-vegetarian Tuesdays. I totally rocked that. Sure, there were some accidental lapses and a few intentional ones, curiously some of those cases involved bacon.  But more or less, I did REALLY good. And I even threw in no alcohol to that mix. So yay me!

2. FAIL: One hour of piano/guitar/singing, twice a month. Another victim of my television habit.

3. SUCCESS: Keep up with Italian. Still going strong despite feeling like the village idiot in class. The joy of learning the third language on your second one.

4. FAIL: Work out at least once a week. HAHAAHAHHAHAHAH …nope.

5. FAIL: Read at least one book a month.  8 out of 12 and two of those are graphic novels. So yeah, I cheated a little bit.  I didn’t do so well this year because I rocked #6. And I got stuck trying to get through “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “The Zombie Survival Guide” when I should’ve given up and moved on.  The sad reading list looks like this:

1. Serenity: Better Days #1 (Comic book)
2. Serenity: Those Left Behind (Comic book)
3. Angel Time – Anne Rice – the first book I ever hate
4. New Classic Family Dinners – Mark Peel – Read it but haven’t cooked all of it.
5. Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
6. Room – Emma Donoghue [ETA: Totally forgot to mention]
7. Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
8. Naked Heat – “Richard Castle”

 
6.  SUCCESS: Finish reading the magazines as they arrive. And that’s why it eats into #5 goal a little bit.  I usually read my book before I go to bed so I’d bring in the magazines some nights instead.  Someone was laughing at me that I couldn’t finish reading a magazine in a few hours. Unlike other people, I *do* really read my magazines, getting my money’s worth.  Entertainment Weekly gets read the day it arrives, except the big issues.  Food & Wine gets in the next few days as well and will get another going-through when I sift through them later to pull out recipes.  WIRED and Self also get read cover to cover but over a longer period of time, in that order.

7. FAIL: Do my household paperwork on early day from the office.  Not so much. I found myself using that time for something else like catching up to the DVR.  Again, another victim to a television habit.

8. PARTIAL SUCCESS: Eat breakfast everyday.  Not very consistent here, but I did make an effort to do so.

9.  PARTIAL SUCCESS: Take a crack at National Novel Writing Month. Another weak yes.  I did it but didn’t accomplish it.

10. SUCCESS: Keep up with what’s working.  Starbucks and lunch out once a week for most of the year.

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Goals for 2011

Less ambition! More routine setting!

Well, a lot of the failures last year has to do with bad television habit. It’s like a vicious cycle. If I don’t watch the show(s) that night, then I’d have to sacrifice another night to catch up and therefore losing time. ETC.  Hopefully, I have come up with a good solution.

Here goes!

1. 12 books a year. One of these years I’m going to be able to manage this!  Already have some books lined up to get read:

• Full Dark, No Stars: Stephen King
• Side Jobs: Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden short stories
• Emperor of Maladies: Siddhartha Mukherjee

 
These will be alternating some what with a bunch of cookbooks I haven’t read yet, and the three newest edition.

• Momofuku: David Chang — this has more stories than recipe!
• Ad Hoc At Home: Thomas Keller
• Fiesta at Rick’s: Rick Bayless

 
2. Play piano/guitar/sing on Sundays after dinner for an hour. More manageable and a set schedule on the least busy night of the week.

3. Eat a salad a week…Vegan Tuesdays don’t count! Trying to add more vegetables into the diet here.  And yes, I switched from calling it meatless or vegetarian Tuesdays because I also don’t eat eggs. That just throw people the hell off for some reason.

4. Catch up on DVR on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends (Friday is flexible). This doesn’t mean no television on any other night.  We will still watch a show with dinner, but I will not linger on the couch and watch everything else on the DVR every night of the week.  Tuesdays, since I already can’t have meat or alcohol, I’ve gotta have me one of my vices!

5. Cook one new recipe a month…and blog it! This could be a total disaster, but it’ll keep me on schedule at least.  Especially with all the cookbooks I have/want to read.

6. Wednesday Date Night. We MUST establish a day or it never happens!  LOL

7. If the hair needs a wash, work out! With much hair, I am not going back to washing it daily. No way in hell!  So, if it’s the pony tail day, it’s a work out day.  And by work out, I mean doing something active.  Like going for a walk or go to yoga class, or doing some mini workouts with the weights I have sitting on the bathroom floor before hitting the shower.

8. Write every week day on the way to work. It’s proven over November during NaNoWriMo that I *can* write on the bus on the way to work without getting motion sick!  The route is pretty straight on and the traffic is never too staccato. And I don’t really miss the morning nap that much.  That’s an hour of productive time I can have.  And I should use it!

9. A secret goal. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask me personally.

10. Keep up with past success. Weekly Starbucks and lunch out; Vegan & Dry Tuesdays; Italian lessons; Reading magazines as they arrive; and participating in NaNoWriMo.

*

So those are mine. What is/are your goals?

I mean, look at how neglected this blog is!!!

Let’s take a look back this year, see what all I did, and give out some 2010 awards, shall we?

2010 in Pictures:

Drinking Buddy of the Year: Bus Buddy Amanda

We’ve been riding the bus together for a few years and carpooled together numerous times.  But it was this year that Amanda and I started hanging out outside of the bus.  We grabbed a few drinks either in Downtown LA or right here back in Los Alamitos.  We occasionally dragged our husbands with us too, like when we went to the Night Dive at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Next up on our agenda is shopping.  Our wallets should be afraid. Very afraid.

Bar of the Year: Chaya Downtown

I actually have visited less and less Downtown LA hot spots since last year.  Work dynamic continues to shift and happy hour gathering has become more and more difficult to manage.  Yet, I kept finding myself moseying over to Chaya Downtown whenever I have an excuse to do so.

At the beginning, I didn’t really give Chaya much of a chance.  Compared to the cozy vibe at the Library Bar, I felt Chaya was a bit more snooty.  I was proven wrong on that.  Also with Library Bar having become so popular it was too crowded for my liking, Chaya has plenty of space to spread out either right up to the bar or out in their Japanese beer garden.  It’s one of the better places in the financial district for happy hour these days with great menu and strong drink specials.  I mean, that $5 cocktail specials they have would knock a lightweight on her ass, I tell ya!

Chaya bar is not just for drinks, but for lunch too.  Bartender Greg always take a good care of me whether I was just picking up a very reasonably priced to-go bento box or sitting down to pig out alone.  The food was surprising fast out there at the bar versus sitting down at the proper restaurant section.

Newcomer Award: USC Trojan Nation

Fight on!

It only took me 11 years since graduation to get around to buy USC football season ticket.  Bless her heart, at the time of purchase, Gridiron Goddess Amy shouldn’t be spending her money on the ticket, but she did. And we roamed and ruled USC campus as tailgate nomads, lugging our own food and beverages, looking for a place to crash.

During the sesason, I reconnected with old friend Roy aka USC Psycho and crashed at my rarely-seen Trojan brother Joel and his wife Zoe’s tailgate.  I never quite made it to Hawaiian Jen’s group at the engineering quad though, my one regret.  I also made new Trojan tweeps as I tweeted my away games from my couch or at the bar with USC Long Beach Alumni Club.

Yes, the Long Beach Alumni Club is back and very alive!  As destiny would have it, it got resurrected this year.  And naturally, I joined and soon became their director of technology, handling their twitter account and soon to design their website.

More Trojan Nation shenanigan will ensue through the spring, I am sure.  Thank god I’m not a basketball fan too or else my husband will never see me again…

High point of the Year: NaNoWriMo

I have great friends who always supported me through everything I do whether it’s AIDS Walk Long Beach with Team Lesser Weevils or joining GuerilLA in a spectacular improv musical unleashed upon the unsuspecting crowd at Universal City Walk.

This year I took a swing at National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and raised money for the foundation set up in my grandfather’s name in memory of both him and my mom.  Friends were super supportive with donations and encouragement.

I was writing on the bus on the way to work. I was writing it at lunch at work. I was writing some of it at home too.  50,000 words in 30 days proved to be too much for me as my inner editor and procrastinator kept chipping away at my words and my time.  However, I did have half of that for a draft of a memoir about our family’s ties to mom’s two big folders full of fortune teller notes.

Low point of the year (other than a disappointing USC football season): Sickness and death among friends

This year has sucked for so many friends healthwise thus make it a low point of the year.  Friends have been afflicted with fibromyalgia, MS, and cancer. I hate you, diseases, for making my friends’ lives unnecessarily harder. My fist. Your direction. Grrr….

Also,  a former colleague who had been dealing with kidney issues unexpectedly passed away.  He was okay one day and died in his sleep over the weekend. It was quite a jolt.

Holiday of the Year: Halloween for a completely different reason!

The past two years, weeks leading up to Halloween had involved running around with Thrill the World.  This year, I passed on the torch so I get to have my favorite holiday back!  Then again, the costume change this year was the most I’ve ever done.  5 costumes leading up to Halloween, if you can imagine.

1. Halloween Friday: Nerd Herder for work
2. Halloween Friday Party: Slave Leia for a Star Wars party at Amy’s house.
3. Halloween’s Eve: Crazy USC fan gear.  Well, I just topped off with what became my signature Dr. Seuss hat for the game.
4. Halloween afternoon: a Jedi costume was thrown on to visit Gregg at the hospital. I did tell him I was going to bring out Slave Leia but I didn’t think it was appropriate for a hospital.  David said if anyone was to have a heart attack, that would be a good place for it. LOL.
5. Halloween: Resident Evil’s Alice accompanying Brandon’s Tallahassee from Zombieland to our usual trick or treat evening at Paul’s house.

Song of the Year: Teenage Dreams, Glee version

Can’t. Stop. Listening.

Movie of the Year: Toy Story 3.

No, I haven’t seen the Social Network, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, or anything critically acclaimed.  Naturally, Woody and the gang won this round.

Surprise Movie of the Year: Hachi: A Dog’s Tale

It’s a straight-to-video gem.  I’ve grown up knowing the story of the original Hachikp in Japan so I was curious to see this movie Entertainment Weekly and my friend were raving about.  I knew it was going to be a 3 hanky type mush so I expected a little tears in my eyes.  But oh, no. No no no no. THAT was the middle of the movie.  At the end, I was sobbing so hard Brandon asked if I was okay.  I never cried like that for a movie. Ever.

Book of the Year: Delivering Happiness

Amy G. knows me more than I know myself sometimes.  She definitely knows something I don’t when she saved me a pre-release copy of Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness she had received at an event.  It only took me months to get to read it.  And once I did, I was inspired and depressed all at the same time.  You know, excited about the future and the fact that there’s a company out there that has the same perspective about “work should be a happy, inspiring place” as I do. (Damn you, Zappos for being in Las Vegas!)  And of course, it’s a little disheartening to look at my current situation which is not quite what it could be.  Then again, there’s not much fun you can really wring out of the line of work I do. *sigh*

TV Show of the Year: Doctor Who

I might have just become a late fan of the show (helloooo Martha Jones!), but my attachment to David Tennant is pretty strong.  So I was very skeptic of Matt Smith’s taking over.  But the show managed to change my mind and kept me glued.  So, hats off to you, Doctor!

Runner Up: Hawaii Five-O.  Alex O’Loughlin’s taking his shirt off every other week?  If this is not the best show on television I don’t know what is. But to tell you the truth, it’s Scott Caan’s performance that is keeping me hooked.  His big softy, smart alecky Danno is the only real character on the show. Everyone else is kind of two dimensional.

Oh, and you’re welcome for the following clip. (Good luck, Aquaman!)  Alex’ chest deserves his own FB page…oh wait a minute…

Restaurant of the Year: Koi Sushi, Seal Beach

We have always known of Koi Sushi.  As a matter of fact, my memory of it was that Brandon’s parents wanted to take us there once but the line was out the door.  We rediscovered it one day as a part of my quest to find a true Japanese restaurant, not just a place that serves sushi and teriyaki.  Koi was exactly what I was looking for.

They hooked us at our first visit with a huge hunk of braised pork belly “appetizer”.  I mean, we could’ve split that for dinner, it was that big.  And it was delicious.  The teriyaki beef got Brandon addicted.  Tender beef cooked perfectly and the teriyaki sauce that’ not cloying.  What I like most is that they a special menu that changes every week I believe.  Food was fresh and portion is generous.  Service was great.  As long as we get there off peak hours, there wasn’t any line.

When it’s a restaurant that Brandon actually craves, that gets on my favorite restaurant list!

*

Well, that’s my 2010. How did you year go?

Guys, the Meatless Tuesday experiment has stuck.  16 weeks I haven’t wavered and my resolution is as strong as before.  It’s just that now that Meatless Tuesday has become an established routine, writing about it seems, well, tedious.  And absolutely unimportant.

I have been tempted to drop it and go for meat a couple of times when I was stressed out.  Sure, I wussed out and got nachos or something as bad for me on those days, but I managed to not eat meat.  Or, as of the new added rule, take any swig of an alcoholic drink.

I have a few accidental egg consumption.  And maybe even a few more of disguised eggs consumption that I chose to ignore.  But I’ve being more conscious of the egg content as well.

I just thought, at this point, when it becomes just as normal as my everyday diet, I probably shouldn’t bore you any more with it.

So here we are, the last Meatless Tuesday post.

Also a few weeks before I may fall off the wagon.

You see, I’m traveling to Costa Rica this Wednesday.  The following Tuesday is the day I get back, but we don’t leave until 6 p.m.  Having read the guide book, I could possibly avoid the meat during my last day, but I won’t make anyone’s life difficult especially my friend who’s hosting me for the last few days in Costa Rica.  If meat and eggs show up, I will eat it.  And I’ll take Wednesday off meat instead.  Just this one time to not offend my host during travel, that is one compromise I will do.

So, be happy for me, my friends, that I have made a year goal into a lifetime commitment.

And I’m sure you’re not going to miss reading about my weekly diet. ;-D

Ideas worth spreading = Spirit of TED.

TED conference is where the brightest minds came together to share their ideas.  I’ve heard of the event last year for the first time, and have been wanting to attend ever since.

And I finally got to do it this past week at TEDxUSC, an independently organized event hosted by USC.

In a small world, Amy G told me about her friend who were going to TED who turned out to know @FStop23.  As a matter of fact, dude was the one who told @Fstop23 about the conference, who then reminded me to apply for the invitation. I, then, in turn, told my friend Janetta about it.  The next thing we knew, our little posse worked out a great deal.  @Fstop23′s gang, having a more flexible schedule than the rest of us, secured our seats in Bovard Auditorium.  (5th row from the stage, better than my CEO’s seat, no less.  Not too shabby there, gang!)  I showed up with lunch for one of the gang and snacks in hand.

We’re talking innovation here, so I baked Pim’s The Morning After Banana Bread in muffin form. Ah, the glorious blend of bananas, espresso, and Jameson!  Not only I got to feed my little crew, I offered some to the people sitting nearby and some random students as well.

See? Ideas AND muffins worth sharing!

Anyways. TEDxUSC’s format was mostly live speakers with a few videos of  TED presentations, USC student films, and musical performances.

My mind was blown.

So much energy in the place. And so positive!  Bovard auditorium has never felt so large AND small all at the same time.  I mean, there’s so much more out there to know and to discover that you feel so tiny, but yet all the spirit of discoveries and innovation makes you feel larger in life, like you too can do ANYTHING.

Like Woodstock for the brainiacs.

Peace. And free ideas. Rock on, man.

I’m not going to recap everything from the event because they’ll post all of that up on TED website soon.  However, these are the ones that made an impact on me.

Daniel Seddiqui : “50 jobs in 50 states” in 50 weeks: “You make your own destiny,” he said.  Word.

Then we were in space with Dr. Nicholas Patrick, NASA astronaut. How your perception of everything changed when you’re in space. Like the value of letting go and holding on. One of the most intriguing things he said: You can see the [environmental] policies from space.  How the policies are affecting the earth.  We can’t see it down here but they can see it from up there.

And while in space, we explored a little further with Paul Frommer, the creator of the Na’vi language for Avatar. Instead of discussing the language, he instead introduced us to how to use Na’vi in romantic situations. Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?

The video of Temple Grandin’s presentation at earlier TED conference was very fascinating.  “She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids,” says the description.  Ms. Grandin herself said that the world needs all kinds of minds.   And the mentors are essentials in bringing in more great minds.  Funny how in WIRED magazine a few months ago, Thokil Sonne advocates for the same thing for the 12 shocking ideas that could change the world.

Michael Yap, CEO at the Media Development Authority of Singapore, talked about new media in sharing experience. The whole putting another billion people online is one thing.  But then he showed a video of a “Food Lab” which has sensors in your ladle and in your pot, which transmits to the other pot and ladle so you can learn to cook, knowing exactly how much force you need to stir a pot at what temperature.  I’m not alone in thinking that it was a little creepy of a way to learn to cook.

Food should be something personal.  Look at all the processed foods out of the factories, they’re nothing like a home cooked or even restaurant meal.  Human element is needed to make food good.  Oh yeah, I’m off on a foodie tangent there for a bit.  But see? Wouldn’t have stopped to think about how I or we learn to cook and what food really means until Michael showed us that.

Then there’s a sit-down chat wiht Jeb Corliss, the Human Bird.  Dude puts on a flying squirrel suit and jumps off planes.  He said it’s not because he has no fear but that he harnesses the power of his fear into training and meticulous planning of every tiny little steps to ensure that everything goes right. If you do that enough, you have nothing to fear.  While I can understand what he’s saying, I still think dude’s fucking nuts. And awesome.

And of course, Al Seckel.  At this point, we’ve been in the auditorium for 4 hours now. And then Al came in and fucked with all of our brains with his sensory and visual illusions.  It started with all these crazy visual stuff then it was also audio.  You know, Stairways to Heaven going backward on its own was mumbo jumbo but when you look at the “hidden lyrics” while you listen, suddenly you hear every word that wasn’t there.  But all of that comes down to how your perception was formed (by the age of 8 thereabouts) and what we think we believe in.  Total trip.

We closed with the behind-the-scene of OK Go’s Rube Goldberg music video with Adam Sadowsky of Syyn Labs himself with a video intro from the band. (Tricked me. For a second I thought OK Go was REALLY behind the curtains!  Boo on you, Adam!)

Like that wasn’t enough. There was an interactive reception afterward with “toys” you can play with like interactive physical therapy game that needs you to move to accomplish the task–a gentler Wii, if you will–and then there’s this laser thing that traces your image and projects it onto a wall (look at Janetta below playing with her laser shadow), and some models showing off wearable arts by Psycho Girlfriend like a dress made out of plastic tubings or pool foam “noodles”.

Now, at the reception.

<rant>

Us paid customers to TEDxUSC got red badges and no wrist band.  I’m assuming that they too assumed we were all of age.  Students in attendance were carded and given wristbands if they are over 21.

It is a blessing and a curse of looking like a college student even though I graduated from that very same college 10 years ago.  The bartender wouldn’t serve me. because I had no wristband.  I told him we red badgers didn’t get one so here’s my ID.  He refused to check my ID and brushed me completely aside.

Look, motherfucker, if I was an underage trying to get a drink, would I BEG you to check my ID!?  I PAID to be here at this event and have been in the fucking auditorium for 6 fucking hours. AND YOU WON’T SERVE ME MY MOTHER FUCKING WINE?!?!

Yep. I almost went Woodstock 1999 on his ass.

I found another bartender who listened to my situation, kindly looked at my red badge, and checked my ID.  Wine was served with a smile AND an apology for inconvenience.

The kicker?  I went back to the motherfucker who refused service earlier with my empty plastic cup of red wine and asked for a refill. “Of course, miss.  Here you go.”  Not event asking for that godforsaken wristband he couldn’t live without a half hour ago.  Whatever.

</rant>

Despite the ID incident, the event was great.  Our little gang had a great time.

I ran into someone I know during the break.  I asked how he was liking the event.  He said that he didn’t understand why the program should be interrupted by music and student films.  And he thought not all speakers were worthy because they weren’t all innovation that are practical.  What’s with that human bird guy or that autistic lady?  A kid with looping electric violin?  Really?  For business executives like him, he said, he felt like he was cheated out of his precious time to spent 2 out of the 6 hours with what he considered nonsense instead of finding out more about cutting edge innovation.

My friend Janetta just looked at him and said, “You’re not at the right conference then.  That’s not what TED is about.”

He just blinked at her.

Down with the Man, man.

Breakfast:

• My Starbucks treat: decaf tall Americano with caramel sauce.
• Leftover plantano frito con frijoles y crema–fried plantains with beans and sour cream–from my Friday’s foray into Salvadorian cuisine. Ahhh…Sarita’s Pupusaria at the Grand Central Market!

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Lunch:

• Mendocino Farms’ Vegetarian BLT.  Yes, you read that right. It has vegetarian “bacon” and pepper jack cheese. And it was wonderful.  You read that right. This bacon fiend actually enjoyed the vegetarian “bacon”!  Then again, I was eating int the sun in line outside of USC’s Bovard Auditorium. It’s like being home again.  Everything tasted better!
• A handful of blueberries

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Dinner:

• A few glasses of wine at TEDxUSC reception and a few noshes, a little cheese quiche and a blue cheese & grapes egg roll.
• Came home and made The Minor Elvis: a grilled peanut butter, banana, and honey on 9-grain toasts.  The real Elvis has bacon in it…

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Satisfactory level: Very satisfied. Again, the surprise that was the vegetarian “bacon”.  It looks horrifying but it tastes like a less salty, not so greasy, crispy fatty part of the real thing.  I would eat that again. And I’d even put it in the Veggie Elvis!

Thoughts: Holy crap. I ate a lot of carbs this week…

Saturday I spent the morning with my hubby cruising down to San Pedro for a feast that is breakfast at Gaffey Street Diner.  The rest of the day I spent baking, mostly.

That night, the hubby set me loose to party with my Twitter crew.

We threw an early birthday party for @always_blond at @fstop23′s place.  The ever gracious host didn’t call off the party when he heard that his daughter-in-law had gone into labor earlier in the day.  However, we had contingency plan as to where the key is and what we were to do if he had to run off to the hospital to hold his first grandchild.

All the usual suspects were there: @macabrephoto, @sendchocolate, @vbesack, @joncruz and @dananner who brought her daughter.  We also met @kerbehr and @hankito for the first time and I hope we didn’t scare them off…too much.  @phraktyl and @phraklet made an appearance after a long absence.  Finally, a surprise drop in from @anaperiodista completed the crew.

In the middle of all of the party, of course, @fstop23 suddenly yelled out, “Sophie’s here!!”

The condo exploded in squeals and applause.

I had made a promise to @fstop23′s daughter-in-law, who adores the Nigella’s Guinness Chocolate Cake recipe I make, that she would get her own cake once the baby’s here.  So I came to the party with one cake for the birthday girl, and a small one to be delivered to the new mama.

“@fstop23, take the cake!” I called out after him as he was grabbing his keys.

“Oakley, she just gave birth. I don’t think she’d want to eat anything right at this moment…” He didn’t even get to finish that sentence.

Almost every woman in the place is a mother. They weren’t going to let him leave the condo without the cake.  And some plastic utensils.

“She hasn’t eaten anything since she’s gone into labor. She KNOWS you’re here with your friends and the cake. AND you’re going back out there without the cake?!  Are you fucking kidding me?!” That’s pretty much the general chatter.

He sent a picture back to us a while later of the mama holding the baby. A hospital bed table in front of her, on it was the cake–with a fork stuck out and a good chunk of missing.

Great time was had by all that evening as we rocked out to Rock Band.  @phraklet singing Eye of the Tiger was adorable. @macabrephotog posting the pictures of our butts on the internet–whoever stood in front of him during Rock Band–wasn’t quite as adorable but funny as hell.  And here’s a payback…

What a night, indeed!

Easter Sunday usually is just another Sunday for us. But this year we were invited to have dinner with Amy.  I have just visited with Amy last month but Brandon hasn’t seen her in a couple of years.  The mister doesn’t like to drive up to Los Angeles that much so once in a blue moon he’d do the honor.

We missed the earthquake on our way there.  Amy and her niece filled us in on the action while Kaya, the golden retriever, showered us with love. We also made a new friend with Jenni who arrived a while later and we all hung out and chat and drank wine while waiting for the roast.

And the what a roast that was!  I’ve always known Amy is an awesome cook.  But hot dang it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten her cooking.

Besides, it’s kind of nice to eat someone else’s cooking instead of my own once in a while.

The weekend wrapped up with a surprise message.

My high school friend and former BFF Jen has finally joined the Facebook.

Another point for social media.

And here’s to new friends, old friends, good friends, and 4-legged friend!