the captain of my soul

So I missed four days of work this week because I've been under the influence of the influenza. Timing is horrible as work is hitting a fever pitch these days, but I suppose there is no good time to have your body feel as if you've been hit by a ten-ton truck (insert any of your knocking on death's door metaphor here - I felt it). While I was curled up in bed, aching everywhere imaginable, I thought of the Victorian poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Yeah, of course, I didn't really. I really thought, "Mommy! I need my mommy now with some hot chicken soup." (Actually it was more like hot porridge than chicken soup, but I'll cater to you white people out there, cuz I am culturally diverse and sensitive like that.)

the king of randomness

Saturday afternoon. It's a steady rain out. I had lunch at Mom's Tofu House in S. San Francisco (one of my handful of favorite Korean restaurants in the Ba Area) and then got a large latte from Peete's. Now I am home listening to Radiohead's The King Of Limbs. I pre-ordered the whole limited edition package for $48 just because I want the artwork; I am a sucker for Stanley Donwood and Radiohead. The title The King Of Limbs refers to a thousand-year-old Oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest; it's located three miles from Tottenham Court House, where the band recorded parts of In Rainbows. I like knowing that. As with any Radiohead record, it will take time to marinade in my brain before I can come to say I like it. Radiohead I think makes music that are difficult to like instantly, at least for someone like myself, who generally prefers a hooky melody. But I count Radiohead amongst my favorite bands because I like the challenge, and they usually in the end win out over my need for instant gratification. Or maybe I am just brainwashed into thinking I should like this stuff, so I end up liking it. Who knows? Best not to over-intellectualize it, even if this is very intellectualized rock music. But it is a good record to appreciate on a wintery afternoon like this one. Speaking of wintery and rainy, it's the annual wet Chinese New Year's parade. I am not a big parade goer. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I've been to a parade. Maybe at Disneyland? I am not knocking them at all. In fact, I bet I would have a blast, waving at the floats and eating popcorn and cotton candy. I certainly remember enjoying the heck out of the Electric Light Parade at Disneyland. I like magical stuff as much as the next guy, although probably not as much as Ryan Gosling, who according to the GQ article I just read, really really loves magic and Disneyland. But in the end, going to a parade is just too much damn trouble. Oi, the parking, the crowds, the standing on my feet for hours. Yeah, I'll just sit here in my heated living room drinking hot water and watch Howl (my latest Amazon On Demand rental), starring that nut James Franco. Speaking of whom, he and Ann Hathaway are one week from hosting the Oscars. I am curious as to how they will approach their duties. I am not thrilled that in recent years, there are barely any surprises to the Oscars anymore in terms of the actual awards. It's so over-analyzed that anybody who pays any attention (as I do) knows that The King's Speech will beat out The Social Network and walk away with Best Picture easily. We also know that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman will win Best Actor and Actress respectively. Sometimes you get a curveball or two with the supporting acting categories. But the real fun left now is the celebrity gawking. I am really looking forward to seeing my favorites including Marisa Tomei who is a presenter this year. She, along with Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder, are my perennial crushes. It's a mystery to me that they don't get the prime parts or the award notices anymore; as far as I am concerned, they can still out-act and outshine them all. I mean, what an insult that Winona Ryder has lower billing than someone like Kevin James (in The Dilemma). I say, Winona Forever (that's a Johnny Depp reference for you). That's something worth protesting about. There is protest fever sweeping across the world. It started with Tunisia, and it was successful in Egypt, which ended with the ousting of Mubarak and the collapse of his thirty year reign. Now there is mass protest going on in Bahrain. No, I had no idea where Bahrain was before this week either. It's an island nation in the Persian Gulf, to the right of Saudi Arabia, below Iran, and above Qatar. The protests, for political freedom against the monarchy rule of the King of Bahrain and for equality for the Shia people, are about a week old now and has claimed some casualties. The Shiites (or Shias) and the Sunnis, two Islam denominations, are the two populus groups in Bahrain. The Shiites have historically been subject to political oppression and persecution by the government. I always find it amazing that there is so much revolution and upheaval going on in other parts of the world while the rest of us worry about who will end up on the red carpet best and worst dressed lists. It's always been that way. While somebody is celebrating a birth, somebody else a few doors away is mourning a death at that same moment. All of this makes me oddly makes me think of the lyrics from Somewhere Out There which goes, "Even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star." Somewhere Out There is from the movie An American Tail, from Disney. Ryan Gosling would be proud.

the economy stimulator

I buy a lot of stuff. I guess I believe in doing my part to stimulate the economy. I am nothing if not patriotic.

These are a sampling of things I purchased recently that I am happy with:

Targus notebook cooler from Costco - It took me forever to decide on a cooler but I spotted this at Costco and gave it a shot. It works awesome. Now my lap is as cool as I am.
Lands End Canvas varsity hoodie and crewneck sweatshirts - These are like the best sweatshirt items I've ever owned. They have good fit (not all all schluppy like other sweats) and they are toasty warm, which is totally necessary these wintery months.
Asus UL30A notebook - I seriously have been loving this notebook since I bought it late last year. It's light and has good battery life. I've pretty much stopped using my desktop now.
Trader Joe's puff pastry dough - I made chicken turnover with this, and it turned out great. I went back to Trader Joe's for more, only to find that it is a seasonal item and won't be restocked til next holiday season. WTF? How is puff pastry dough seasonal?
James Blake eponymous debut cd - My musical obsession of the moment. This guy, in all his dubstep glory, is amazing, And his cover of Joni Mitchell's A Case Of You is so good that it gives me goosebumps.
Tempt-ation polka-dot dipping dishes from QVC - My go-to panna cotta ramekins now. I love the lids.
Prepology silicone splatter screens from QVC - These silicone splatter screens are great covers when I microwave leftovers, and they are actually great to bake on. And clean-up is extremely easy.
Sonicare Flexcare electric toothbrush - I am not completely sure whether these really clean my teeth better than my manual brushing, but it gives me the feeling that it does. I guess I am happy with it because I only paid less than $50 after all the rebates. Speaking of which, hmm, where is my Philips rebate for $15? I should follow up.
Nong Shim kimchi flavored bowl noodle - Currently at buy one get one free from Costco (in a box of 18), it comes out to be less than 40 cents a bowl, which is a steal. These are way better than Cup-O-Noodles, which I refuse to eat unless it's the apocalypse.
H&M easy iron dress shirt - Finally no more ballooning fabric at the back. And only $15 each.
Trader Joe's mango sorbet - Mango flavor is surprisingly strong. Too bad it's so damn cold. I would love it to be summer right now, so I can chill back and enjoy a nice bowl of mango sorbet.
Chobani greek yogurt - I tried this for the first time this morning. It's on sale from Target for $1. Greek yogurt is supposed to be better than regular yogurt (less fat, less carb, more protein). I like the thicker texture. Strawberry flavor is delicious.
Gap straight fit tailored khaki in navy pinstripe - I had to go down in size on this and ended up with a 31-32 for a nice fit. I don't like baggy/loose khakis. I think these will work well for those work occasions when I need to dress up a little without going overboard. And I really like pants with subtle pinstripes.

winner winner chicken lunch

For lunch today, I used some leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco and made chicken pot pie turnover.

I started with a can with cream of chicken soup, mixed in 1/2 can of water and maybe about 1/2 cup of frozen vegetable. Then I threw in the boneless and shredded chicken. After the mixture comes to a boil, I added a few dashes of black pepper.

For the pastry, I used Trader Joe's puff pastry sheets. After letting it thaw for 10 minutes, I cut each sheet into four squares, and spooned in a spoonful of chicken mixture. I folded the each square into triangle and brushed the top with egg wash.

These go into the oven, preheated to 400 degrees, for 15 minutes. They turned out rather delicious. And I did it all without a recipe - just threw together what I had at home and eyeballed the ingredients. I did end up with way too much chicken mixture. It's in the fridge now, ready for next round of puff pastries.

the wilhelm scream

The Wilhelm Scream. If you know this James Blake song, you may wonder, as I did, what is the Wilhelm Scream?

It's a stock sound effect, used in many movies including Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's named after a character Private Wilhelm in this western called The Charge At Feather River. Obviously he gets shot with an arrow and lets out a scream.

Check this out:

it was called yellow

This week in randomness - Just bought tickets to see Billy Elliot in SF for July. I absolutely loooved this show when I saw it last year in NYC - it was a tearful, joyous, uplifting, awe-inspiring, and magical experience. I cannot wait to relive it in my home city. Told you it's going to be an amazing summer...I got the Tom McRae "The Streelight Collection" in the mail today. The guy's cynical as heck and he cannot stand Madonna (via his Twitter rants), but he is a brilliant songwriter and singer and actually quite funny live. I asked him via Twitter to sign the cd for me, but he forgot to do it before the cd got sent out, so he made it up by sending me an autographed photo instead. Nice...Who did I think looked pretty at the SAG awards? Hailee Steinfeld of True Grit and Rosario Dawson. I loved Hallee's adorable youthfulness and Rosario's effortless cool and sexiness, neither of which you can buy from a stylist...So, Ryan Murphy apparently publicly threw a hissy fit and said "F**k you" to Kings of Leon just because the band said it would never let Glee use one of their songs. Wow, is it that inconceivable to Ryan Murphy that there are people out there who aren't tripping over themselves to be on his show? Seriously, anybody who made Eat Pray Love should never get too cocky...Kelly Osborne is the new Material Girl for Madonna and Lourdes' clothing line. WTF? First Taylor Momsen and now, Kelly Osborne? Madonna used to be cool, right? Like elite, uber-cool. She hanged with the likes of Basquiat, Haring, Ritts, Meisel and Gaultier. She should have dismissed Momsen and Osborne with a slight wave of a hand. I blame it on Lourdes the tween. Actually why not Hailee Steinfeld?...A better casting choice - Henry Caville has been cast as the new Superman...My division at work had a holiday party this week. Yup, a month late. We even had a Yankee Swap. What the heck is a Yankee Swap, you ask? I myself thought it sounded rather dirrrty. But as it turns out, it's just another name for Secret Santa, or White Elephant. Why is it called Yankee Swap? Well, the Yankee Swap supposedly derived its name from the Civil War days. It seems that the Yankees and the Confederates at some point swapped prisoners as a sort of game to lighten up the atmosphere, hence the name “Yankee Swap.” Yeah, ok...Speaking of the mysterious origins, somebody asked me why Asian people are yellow, and Native Americans are red. I said it's the skin tone. But upon further pondering - does that even make sense? Do I really have Big Bird's skin coloring? Hmm, gotta research and figure this out...The four cds I am most looking forward to in the coming months are: James Blake, Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn and John, and The Streets...Oh, the result of the Yankee Swap is that I got a gift card from Target. You cannot believe some of the cheapskates we have. Somebody gifted a flashlight that had our agency's logo on it. Another person brought a free Costco cookbook. But I think the worst of all is a used Phil Collins Tarzan soundtrack cd. WTF?...It's Chinese New Year's - the Year of the Hare. My horoscope says I will have plenty of promotion opportunities at work (meh) but I will be faced with "villain intrusion." That sounds heck of exciting. I am going to have a nemesis? Just like Batman has his Joker and Riddler and Tom Hardy? Way cool. For my love life, it says I should initiate early to find a partner and end my single status. Hmm, did my mother hack my internet?

i don't know about my dreamin' anymore

This week's top ten songs I'm listening to:
10. Basket - Dan Mangan
9. The Bike Song - Mark Ronson & The Business Intl
8. Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes
7. Tree By The River - Iron & Wine
6. Everlasting Light - The Black Keys
5. Breaker Breaker - Peter Bjorn John
4. Timing Is Everything - Garrett Hedlund
3. I Follow Rivers - Lykke Li
2. Second Chance - Peter Bjorn & John
1. The Wilhelm Scream - James Blake