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?

Timothy Olyphant (Justified) : Michael Weatherly (NCIS) : Chris Pine (Star Trek…okay not TV, but movie based on TV show). They could play brothers. Hot, HOT band of brothers with awesome hair.

But the Globes gave Avatar Best Picture?  What were they smoking?  I mean, it’s a fantastic technological leap forward in movie re-making for Pocahontas/Fern Gully/Dances with Wolves.  That doesn’t deserve Best Picture.  That kind of voting usually we leave for the Academy of the Easily Persuaded.

Well, this time, the Academy is also easily persuaded but not by the biggest movie of the year but by the most critically-hyped film which the Globes ignored.

Topsy turvy, my little world of Pop Culture has become.  I blame it on the global warming.  Or dying bees. Or something.

But anyway. Hooray for The Hurt Locker!

Not sure if it “deserves” the award yet, but having the first female director winning as Oscar totally kicks ass.

It is odd to go into the Oscars and not having seen the Best Pictures films because I didn’t do the AMC marathon this year.  2 Saturdays of 5 movies? I just couldn’t do it.  I managed to have seen 4 out of 10–Avatar, Inglorious Basterds, Up, and District 9–which will be 5 out of 10 as soon as I pop The Hurt Locker in to the DVD player.  It’s been sitting here by TV  for the past 2 weeks. (Sorry, Netflix!)

So I go back to my method of buzz judging.  And boy, my buzz meter still works beautifully.  As a matter of fact, it works so well that I’m starting to think that my personal judgment is obviously flawed.  If you look at my recent years of prediction when I actually saw all Best Picture nominees and a few other, I’ve been horribly wrong.

This year, going in half blind, I only missed 5 out of 24.  Back to the 79.17% accuracy of 2007, baby!  (2008 was the most disastrous at 50% and 2009 was 58%)

I was on the spot guessing The Cove over Food Inc. for Best Doc–despite my strong feelings for Food Inc.–and Young Victoria over Nine for Costume Design.  It usually doesn’t fail to bet on a lavish period pieces for Costume Design.  And, of course, the luckiest guess of Music by Prudence for Short Doc.

Foreign-language film, as of recent years, has always been a wild guess.  I went with A Prophet. I blame Entertainment Weekly for that one.  The sound awards, usually go to the big bang/boom movies so naturally I picked Star Trek (editing) and Transformers (mixing) and missed on both account.  I guess there are more bombs in The Hurt Locker than I thought.  And of course, a big fan of Wallace & Gromit, I cheered for them and was wrong.  The surprise miss was Best Actress.  I thought for sure Gabourey would go home with the Oscars.

Oh, and I don’t know who else was offended by the Orchestra’s choice to play “I am woman” when Kathryn Bigelow exited the stage for Best Director.  I mean, it is definitely a “You go, girl!” moment, but “I am woman”?!?  Really???

However, watching the reaction shot of Jim Cameron after losing both Best Director and Best Picture to his ex-wife is priceless. Heehee…

Final note:

Dear Sam Worthington,

You know I love you. I’m absolutely, hopelessly charmed by your toothy smile which you seem to have forgotten to do when a non-movie camera is pointed at you.  You know I adore your accent and your gentle eyes.  Did I mention your pretty, pretty mouth…yeah…

However, sweetie, you were up in the stage presenting the Academy Awards chewing gum.

First you stop smiling.  And now you can’t stop chewing gum.

My fantasy life with you crumbles to the floor under the weight of reality.  What a shame.

Love.

- OakMonster

My god. Am I a bad blogger!

But I promise to have something much more entertaining than my weekly food journal in a day or two.

For now, on to Meatless Tuesday.

*

Breakfast:

• Open faced “grilled cheese” sandwich: one slice of 7-grain bread, buttered, topped with slices of one whole vine-ripen tomato, sprinkled with Nature’s Seasons seasoning blend, and a few slices of snack-sized cheddar cheese, toasted in the toaster oven until the cheese is melted.
• A mug of full-leaf oolong tea.
• Mid-morning snack: 2 whole grain crackers (they’re like 2.5 inch across!) from Fresh & Easy with generous schmear of whipped cream cheese, my mid-morning snack of choice these days.

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Lunch:

• A bowl of vegetable chili based on the recipe in Food & Wine magazine (which I will blog about later).  In that: heirloom carrots, daikon, red bell peppers, kidney beans, hominy, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and generous shakes of Chipotle Tobasco.  And a piece of 7-grain toast.
• Late dessert/afternoon snack: a Godiva dark chocolate truffle.

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Dinner:

• Because it was a buy one get another one for $2, I got 2 rustica pizzas from Z Pizza: Moroccan (egg plants, pine nuts, feta, basil pesto, caramelized onion) and Mediterranean (artichoke hearts, feta, roasted red peppers, greek olives, pili pili oil).  I ate a few squares out of each.
• A glass of organic peach oolong iced tea.

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Satisfaction level: Meat? What meat?  Nope.  Didn’t miss it one bit.  And I was full all day.

Thoughts: It’s getting easier and easier each week, I have to tell you.  I even didn’t miss the meat too much today.  But I did have an egg for breakfast.  I did crave some proteins for dinner but I didn’t go for my usual burger or ribs, but salmon.  A little weird, I know.  I’m sure I’m going to want me a juicy burger in a few days.

I’m also more conscious now of what I’d eat on a Meatless Tuesday and Brandon has been helpful in keeping me in check on that too.  He’d try to help me think of places I could get something meatless to eat at.

Now, I’ve been thinking about it today that since I’m doing this a Buddhist reason, perhaps I should also not do alcohol on Tuesdays as well to make the whole religious day out of it.  After all, abstaining from alcohol is one of the Five Precepts a good Buddhist should follow.

By not eating meat/eggs on Tuesday, and having not kill anybody, abstaining from taking life is checked off the list.  Abstaining from alcohol? One day a week, I can do that.  Abstaining from sexual misconduct is everyday…although I wonder if lusting after  Taylor Lautner and/or Sam Worthington or dreaming about Jason Mraz counts.  Abstaining from taking what is not given, no klepto here so check.  And finally, abstaining from false speech aka lying. Well, that might be a little hard to swing in a corporate world, but we’ll do our best, won’t we?

Alright. It’s decided. Tuesdays will be meatless AND dry.

Oh boy.

Dances with Wolves in space, James Cameron even admitted that in his interviews.  And Avatar was exactly that.

And I love every moment of it.

Sure. The story is predictable.  And a little sappy.  And had been told many times before.

But it was told with a completely different visual representation.  A seamless integration of digital animation and live action.  For the first time, the CG characters don’t look like they were fresh out of a botox clinic.  Their big yellow eyes say something.  Their blue faces had nuances that the entire train full of Polar Express or (from what I saw in the trailer) A Christmas Carol didn’t have.

I mean, I *love* Sam Worthington going in.  But who knew I would also fall for his big blue avatar too!  I mean, the Na’Vi were ALIVE.  It’s so totally awesome!

Some critics have issues with the movie’s mix of live action and computer animation.  They said it felt like they were watching someone else playing video game for 2 hours.

Maybe because I am also used to the game graphics, and many of us are, we didn’t have the problem with the blending of digital and live action.

Also, surely, those critics do not play video games.  I mean, seriously, gamers (and game spectators like myself) wish our video games look as good the as Avatar all the way through,  not only just during the cut scenes.

Can you imagine how great Mass Effect, Halo, or even Final Fantasy would have been with Avatar level of facial movements and overall animation?  But I digress.

Most importantly, Avatar is one of the movies in a very long time that I got lost in. I was willing to overlook all sorts of discrepancies and cheesiness so I can stay on that planet with them.  Get lost in the adventure.  Fall in love along side Jake and Neytiri.  And root for the home team.

Okay, fine.  I did crack up when Neytiri told Jake that “You have a strong heart”.  But I guess nobody else got the Terminator accidental reference.

But the rest was pure escape. I would see this over and over again, the way I do with Dances with Wolves.

For almost 3 hours, I was running around Pandora.  And I don’t care about anything else.

I did get my $10 worth.  That is a LOT to say about movies these days.

Is it Oscar Best Picture worthy?  Nah, I don’t think so. But did it steal my heart?  Yes, it did.

Will Avatar make a pop culture impact like Titanic or Star Wars?  I don’t know.  The “I see you” thing is going to make it, I’m sure of that.  But the rest, I don’t know.  Will people take up learning Na’Vi (which, by the way, according to Professor Paul Frommer, a USC professor (Go! Trojans!) is being developed further)?  I definitely see blue, scantily clad bodies showing up at Comic Con though.

Finally, don’t get me started on a waste of Leona Lewis’ voice on that theme song.  My heart cannot go on with that gimmick.  Sorry.

Oh, and final note here for Sam Worthington.

Dear Sam,

Please show some teeth when you smile at movie premieres.  You smile a plenty in the movie and light up the screen with your cute dimples and lovely teeth.

But all the pictures I managed to find from your premieres, you only grinned…and smirked.  I don’t know if you were going for the Russell Crowe tough guy look, or you were trying to keep that piece of gum you were chewing in check.  But I must say that just doesn’t work for you quite as well.  Trust me, we are not going to complain if you break our hearts a little more by flashing us your full smile.  We’d actually enjoy that.  Very much.

Yes. YES. YES!!!

No. Not so much.

Please don’t pull a Posh.  Your mouth is too pretty not smile.

Hope to see you soon on my DreamBoat(tm).

Love,

Oakley

P.S. I watched the LA Times interview of you with gum in your mouth. Sweetie, lose the gum too while you’re at it. Okay?

And I’m hooked on the one, super hot Ken, Theeradej Wongpuapan.

This is Ken. He's yummy.

I only went home to Thailand for one week and I came back completely obsessed with a Thai TV novella, just like the rest of the female population in the country, Sood Sanaeha, directly translated to “Recipe for Love”.

It’s all about the leading man, Ken, who plays a chef.  He was tasked to teach a superstar to cook because she wants to win the heart of a tycoon, also played by one of my favorite Thai idol, Willy McIntosh.  Of course, the superstar and the Chef fought it out (foreplay!) at the beginning as they slowly fall in love.  Aww….

Anyway.  This obsession all started for me when my friend Pitch took me to see Rod Faifa Ma Ha Na Tuh, BTS: Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story, a blockbuster Thai romantic comedy of the summer.

Look at this trailer. The story itself is relatable and ADORABLE.  I mean, yeah, kind of predictable, but cuuuute!  I’m sitting here smiling watching the trailer.  The theme song is catchy as hell, even to non Thai speakers.  The leading lady, Cris Horwang is so frickin’ cute.  And of course, Ken is just…delicious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW7MxACDjHI

Anyways. At first, I wasn’t going to get in on the soap action.  But everyone insisted that if I have the hots for Ken, I should watch the soap.  So I did the one night I was able to while in Bangkok.  And that was that.  No use getting all tied up in it.

But then a week later, Tong, my BFF, posted a long scream for “Kru Kook”, Teacher Cook, aka Mr. Chef, on Facebook.  I was sorely disappointed that I missed out on the fun.

Until I copied the word Sood Sanaeha in Thai into YouTube.

Now I’m a mere one day behind everyone on the scream fest over Ken…and enjoying the ability to forward past the traditional Thai drama, slow pans, long reaction shots, etc.

And obviously, pause for some close ups. 

Being a pop culture fiend, I did know that story. Going straight into New Moon wouldn’t be a problem. I mean, Kuri’s attempt at reading Twilight for the rest of us got me to know enough of the sap involve that I personally don’t want to get in on that crap.  (Thanks again, Kuri for taking one for the team!)

But hey, I know how night time Thai TV could be. Twilight was a better choice.

As I mentioned in the other post, my interst in New Moon was purely out of lust.  Helllooooo Jacob!  I actually wanted to see it more after having seen Twilight because of the adorableness of Taylor Lautner even before the beefyness.

From both movies, I learned to really dispise Edward and Bella and for the lessons they are teaching teenage girls everywhere.

• You should love your stalker because he cares so much.
• It’s okay for him to sneak into your bedroom while you slept and watch you sleep.
• He confesses that he could physically hurt you and possibly kill you and he can barely restrain himself when he’s around you, BUT he loves you too much to go away. And you should love him back because that’s all about love.
• You should hide your boyfriend from your dad.
• Because your first (and who you think is your true) love moves away, you should be depressed and want to risk your life so you can just get a hallucination of him (aka your conscience…and probably your guts) telling you NOT TO DO THE STUPID SHIT.
• Your boyfriend should want to kill himself if you were to die.
• You also should leave your parent worried to go save said dumbass boyfriend.
• You should take advantage of another boy who also likes you, leading him on so he could fix your bike and run to you to protect you at will. But you will drop his ass the moment the “true love” is back in town. (…what a whore…)

I also found myself giggling in the theater every time Edward uttered the “You’re my only reason to live” crap.  Not swoony giggle but give me a fuckin’ break giggle.  Well, I guess if he’s over 100 years old, you get that right to use that type of language.  But still, hot dang.  I haven’t seen that much cheese since what was on Brenda’s Oktoberfest platter.

Now, you turn around and take a look at Jacob.  He is her friend first. They share laughs. They had a great time. He actually runs off when he finds out he’s not good for her…unlike Edward who keeps it going and going…Jackass.  He actually stays and fights to protect her instead of throwing her in a car so they could run away.  Even when she denies him, he still hangs around the make sure she’s okay.  A much healthier relationship over here than oh my god I’ll throw myself over a cliff because he’s not here kind of thoughts.

I guess I am too practical for that romantic notion of love.  Dont’ get me wrong, I still swoon over romantic comedy.  A few days ago I watched a Thai romcom, “Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story” (Rod Faifa Ma Ha Na Tuh) and came out of the theater starry eyed.  (Then again, it did end in the planetarium…)  I appreciate the sweet story however the sap I can no longer handle.

Call me jaded, but I’d take the more practical application of love than the swoony kind.  No bullshit kind of love.

Hence, Team Jacob here.  Straight up I love you and I’m here for you.  I could be a little nutty so back the hell off or you’ll get hurt…which is every dude when they’re angry anyway.  But I’m here for you.

Pretty much the love Brandon and I have. No sugar coating type of love.  I love you.  Here it is.  So Team Jacob = Team Brandon too.

And he definitely doesn’t sparkle in sunlight…albeit occasionally I think he glows in the dark.  Heehee.

I haven’ t read the book nor have I seen the first film but from New Moon trailer, I am Team Jacob all the way, baby.

Besides, it comes down to that Werewolf v.s. Vampire debate.  Who would you rather have, a vampire or a werewolf?

Not counting Taylor, my vote has always been for a werewolf.  Why? Let me count the ways!

1. He’s alive. Duh.
2. He eats like normal people. If you can’t share my love for food, you can’t be here.
3. He’s warm. Yep. I need that.
4. He’s definitely not  going to be skinny.
5. You can actually have a normal life with the guy during daytime AND nighttime. Hey, I’m old school. Don’t be talking to me about Daywalking business.  Unless you’re Blade, fuck you and the whole vampires sparkling during daylight crap.
6. He only goes “native” once a month.  And us girls KNOW exactly how to handle that time of the month moodiness. Ain’t that right, ladies?
7. He has a tail.
8. He’s comfortable going around naked.
9. What if I get scratched and become one? That’ no problem. I’ve always wanted to have a tail!

Now yourself.  Werewolf or vampire? Jacob or Edward? Taylor or Rob? Take you battle to the comments!

Chris Pine and Zach Quinto’s love child: Captain Spork.

I love you…even if you’re not real.

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

First up. Zach Quinto.

Okay I have to admit that originally, I didn’t think there was anything hot about him as Sylar on Heroes. But then as Heroes unfolds, his acting just makes him white hot.  Especially those times he was with Elle.  I mean, this scene here with her teaching him to use the electricity?  HOT!  Hotter than when they actually slept together. Seriously. Then again, the evil mastermind sociopath thing also works for me.

And then, Zach as the emotionally restrained Spock.  When he kisses certain someone, you can see that he REALLY wants to let it all out and be emotional.  He might have just let it slip for that quick, tender moment.  Hot. HOT, I tell you.

Then,of course, Chris Pine.  Already in love with this boy from Princess Diary 2. Beautiful, beautiful boy with eyes you can’t look away from.  Seriously. I’d love to drown me in those pools.  As Kirk, he adds the bad boy swagger to that and even a little bit slap-sticky humor that was totally endearing.  I’m sold.

Now. Sam Worthington.  Oh, my god.  Gor-geous!  And intense.  And an Aussie.  What is it with Australian guys?  Sam totally steals the movie from Christian Bale (I used to love him so…) and steals the hearts of every female in the audience as Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation.  I don’t even care what James Cameron is up to with Avatar, but my butt will be in the theater seat to take in the glory of Sam on the big screen.

Yep. That’s enough drooling for today.