since my last post, i have not double-fisted (fine, triple-fisted) any more alcohol.
HOWEVER, yesterday i could be found on my couch simultaneously eating from two open containers of ice cream - haagen-dazs coffee and edy's double chocolate brownie. i couldn't decide which to get, so naturally....
i need an intervention.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
How you know you drank too much last night OR How I spent my morning OR There's no such thing as too much alcohol.
1) You take the “scenic route” to the bus stop.
2) Staying awake during grand rounds is even more difficult than getting yourself to grand rounds.
2) Staying awake during grand rounds is even more difficult than getting yourself to grand rounds.
3) You miscalculate the trajectory of your coffee mug to your mouth, and "POOF"....coffee becomes perfume.
4) You can’t read.
5) You have trouble understanding emails that require one-word responses.
6) You’re still drunk (its lunchtime where I am).
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
this
is what karin said in response to my post "barbaro"
i thought it was very insightful, so i wanted to post it.
thanks k :0)
"I’ve struggled to understand the many people I know with pets who are so emotional about them and yet they eat meat. I’ve always found it to be really mind boggling. And I think they think it’s funny that I am not really very sentimental about animals but haven’t chosen to eat one in fifteen years. I’ve bought purses and shoes and various other leather products, and I think this is why I would feel hypocritical being more empathetic. I think, for me, vegetarianism is largely a dry, ethical choice. For you, it was emotional. That couldn’t last. I think you are right in the way you describe people in your closing paragraph. It’s smart. We like them when we want to like them. We breed them, buy them, sell them, neuter them, feed them…it’s really controlled. We have such bizarre relationships with
animals. Symbolically, we adore them, worship them as creatures who know what we won’t or can’t. But we destroy ecosystem after ecosystem, upsetting balances in order to dominate what we can’t really control. But we will never give up our struggle for domination.
There was a story on vegetarianism on NPR the other day. http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/02/20070202_b_main.asp
I like animals, some animals, the same way I like some people. I don’t want to eat any of them, nor do I particularly want to keep them as pets. I think pets for the most part are sad animals, especially those without any autonomy. But, at the same time, I knowingly buy products made from them. I think it’s the same way I buy things I know were made through sweatshop labor. It’s far away, indirect. Not the same as dead flesh in your mouth. It’s a byproduct, doesn’t go inside me, not so personal."
i thought it was very insightful, so i wanted to post it.
thanks k :0)
"I’ve struggled to understand the many people I know with pets who are so emotional about them and yet they eat meat. I’ve always found it to be really mind boggling. And I think they think it’s funny that I am not really very sentimental about animals but haven’t chosen to eat one in fifteen years. I’ve bought purses and shoes and various other leather products, and I think this is why I would feel hypocritical being more empathetic. I think, for me, vegetarianism is largely a dry, ethical choice. For you, it was emotional. That couldn’t last. I think you are right in the way you describe people in your closing paragraph. It’s smart. We like them when we want to like them. We breed them, buy them, sell them, neuter them, feed them…it’s really controlled. We have such bizarre relationships with
animals. Symbolically, we adore them, worship them as creatures who know what we won’t or can’t. But we destroy ecosystem after ecosystem, upsetting balances in order to dominate what we can’t really control. But we will never give up our struggle for domination.
There was a story on vegetarianism on NPR the other day. http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/02/20070202_b_main.asp
I like animals, some animals, the same way I like some people. I don’t want to eat any of them, nor do I particularly want to keep them as pets. I think pets for the most part are sad animals, especially those without any autonomy. But, at the same time, I knowingly buy products made from them. I think it’s the same way I buy things I know were made through sweatshop labor. It’s far away, indirect. Not the same as dead flesh in your mouth. It’s a byproduct, doesn’t go inside me, not so personal."
Monday, January 29, 2007
Barbaro
Barbaro, the prize-winning race horse, was put down today after months of small successes and, ultimately, bigger failures. When I read the news, I was moved, and I might even say I was sad for the horse that I never met but who found a place in my heart.
Albeit a very strange association, whenever I hear of or see an animal dying (I’ve watched two dogs die this past year, one of them my own), I always recall my stint with vegetarianism. When my first dog died close to eight years ago, I decided to give up meat. It was always something I wanted to try. Although a very noble cause, for me it was not about any deep-rooted belief in the unnecessary dependency of humans on animals. I simply loved them and did not want them killed on my behalf. People always asked me why I gave up meat and when I told them that my dog was hit by a car, they looked at me oddly. I suppose it was a difficult connection to make, but in those brief moments when I pictured my Millie as road-kill, as a piece of dead meat lying on the side of the road, my stomach turned inside out. Some part of me felt as guilty as the car that side-swiped her and left her instantly and peacefully dead.
I am reading about Barbaro today. There are very detailed accounts of the surgeries he has suffered through, of the pins and casts placed on his bones by qualified and highly-trained veterinary surgeons. He has been called “champion”, “hero”, and “fighter” in his obituaries. It is possible he was all of these things, but we will never know for sure because these labels imply that Barbaro the freedom to act on his wishes. Barbaro might have decided to forgo a life of competitive sport to instead run free in a field somewhere. He most certainly would not have chosen to undergo the long painful road he traveled over the last year. Yes, Barbaro was a hero, but simply because we made him our hero. He fought the fight we gave him and won the races we made him run. With our help, he slowly improved, and despite our help, he simply did not get well enough. He was put to sleep, a humane choice but, ultimately, one that was not his own.
Since my Millie died, my family has also lost her predecessor, Lillie. After suffering two weeks with inexplicable diarrhea, Lillie was no longer the dog we knew and adored. She could barely stand, she did not run to the door, and she did not bark. Our little guardian was tired. We were told by the doctor that she was suffering and so we decided to put Lillie to sleep, a decision I only wish we made sooner.
What becomes glaringly obvious is that we, humans, make all the decisions. I started eating meat again. It is my decision, one that I made when I realized I could no longer identify with the emotions that prompted me to stop in the first place. I also realize that it is completely my choice to love my dogs. I choose to bring them into my home and to cry when the void they leave behind is simply too deep to fill. Their fates, and the quality of their lives, rest in my fickle, selfish, calculating hands. Ultimately, the point is not to believe that that we are terrible hypocrites, undeserving of their love. It is simply remember the gift of our autonomy and the power we wield over these creatures who so wholeheartedly live our lives, accept our choices and make us believe that they are the lucky ones. The joke is very much on us.
Albeit a very strange association, whenever I hear of or see an animal dying (I’ve watched two dogs die this past year, one of them my own), I always recall my stint with vegetarianism. When my first dog died close to eight years ago, I decided to give up meat. It was always something I wanted to try. Although a very noble cause, for me it was not about any deep-rooted belief in the unnecessary dependency of humans on animals. I simply loved them and did not want them killed on my behalf. People always asked me why I gave up meat and when I told them that my dog was hit by a car, they looked at me oddly. I suppose it was a difficult connection to make, but in those brief moments when I pictured my Millie as road-kill, as a piece of dead meat lying on the side of the road, my stomach turned inside out. Some part of me felt as guilty as the car that side-swiped her and left her instantly and peacefully dead.
I am reading about Barbaro today. There are very detailed accounts of the surgeries he has suffered through, of the pins and casts placed on his bones by qualified and highly-trained veterinary surgeons. He has been called “champion”, “hero”, and “fighter” in his obituaries. It is possible he was all of these things, but we will never know for sure because these labels imply that Barbaro the freedom to act on his wishes. Barbaro might have decided to forgo a life of competitive sport to instead run free in a field somewhere. He most certainly would not have chosen to undergo the long painful road he traveled over the last year. Yes, Barbaro was a hero, but simply because we made him our hero. He fought the fight we gave him and won the races we made him run. With our help, he slowly improved, and despite our help, he simply did not get well enough. He was put to sleep, a humane choice but, ultimately, one that was not his own.
Since my Millie died, my family has also lost her predecessor, Lillie. After suffering two weeks with inexplicable diarrhea, Lillie was no longer the dog we knew and adored. She could barely stand, she did not run to the door, and she did not bark. Our little guardian was tired. We were told by the doctor that she was suffering and so we decided to put Lillie to sleep, a decision I only wish we made sooner.
What becomes glaringly obvious is that we, humans, make all the decisions. I started eating meat again. It is my decision, one that I made when I realized I could no longer identify with the emotions that prompted me to stop in the first place. I also realize that it is completely my choice to love my dogs. I choose to bring them into my home and to cry when the void they leave behind is simply too deep to fill. Their fates, and the quality of their lives, rest in my fickle, selfish, calculating hands. Ultimately, the point is not to believe that that we are terrible hypocrites, undeserving of their love. It is simply remember the gift of our autonomy and the power we wield over these creatures who so wholeheartedly live our lives, accept our choices and make us believe that they are the lucky ones. The joke is very much on us.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
I finally concede
that it may be time to get me one of those backpack thingies on wheels.
i'm not a mule for godssakes.
i'm not a mule for godssakes.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
I LOVE
....bubble tea.
it's going to single-handedly get me through the winter.
:0)
this thought is prompted by the recent discovery that my office is only....wait for it....FOUR BLOCKS away from Saint's Alp Teahouse.
maybe i am lucky after all.
http://www.saints-alp.com.hk/
it's going to single-handedly get me through the winter.
:0)
this thought is prompted by the recent discovery that my office is only....wait for it....FOUR BLOCKS away from Saint's Alp Teahouse.
maybe i am lucky after all.
http://www.saints-alp.com.hk/
Monday, January 08, 2007
I never thought
I'd have a reason to be be jealous of a bear, but...
filling my belly,
rolling over,
and falling asleep until spring...
sounds like a very good idea to me.
filling my belly,
rolling over,
and falling asleep until spring...
sounds like a very good idea to me.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
We have decided
Farida and I, to be women of leisure. We'd like to open a brothel-minus the men, of course. That way we could lie around on velvet and eat delicious food and watch Step Up on repeat and not feel guilty or useless. Karin, Sil, Arthi - you are more than welcome to join us.
We need some financial backing, however. So we are going to fundraise in the form of a bake sale. I will be making my gingersnaps and F will make her famous "straight-from-the-box" brownies. She may also make an apple pie, depending on the altitude.
Date/Time: TBD
Location: Our Apt.
We need some financial backing, however. So we are going to fundraise in the form of a bake sale. I will be making my gingersnaps and F will make her famous "straight-from-the-box" brownies. She may also make an apple pie, depending on the altitude.
Date/Time: TBD
Location: Our Apt.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Last night
Silvia and I went to see Damien Rice at the Beacon. He makes me think that maybe depressed little Irish men might be my type. It was a great concert, at times angsty and very rocked-out. The sound and lights challenged my baseline anxiety level just a bit. All in all, however, it was a great show, especially seeing how sweet and funny a man who writes such depressing songs can actually be. One of his lyrics goes "I love your depression, and I love your double-chin". He's a such a sweet-talker.
I had masala dosa at hampton chutney beforehand. For an indian food place run by Americans, I was pleasantly surprised at how good their food was. And their mango chutney was fantastic. I'm going to try to make it at home. (http://www.hamptonchutney.com/)
I had masala dosa at hampton chutney beforehand. For an indian food place run by Americans, I was pleasantly surprised at how good their food was. And their mango chutney was fantastic. I'm going to try to make it at home. (http://www.hamptonchutney.com/)
Friday, December 08, 2006
Muffins
A muffin is just a guise for having cake in the morning (minus the frosting). Regardless, I deserve a little cake on my birthday.
BTW, I tried the aztec spicy hot chocolate (see item #2 of entry from 12/5/06). It was pretty good but a little on the rich side. I think I can only drink about 1 oz at a time. Not to mention that you'd die of a massive heart attack if you try to drink any more than that (something like 10 gm sat fat per serving - 50% RDA - geezaloo!)
What I really want to try is kee's chocolates. I went by the store after work a couple of days ago, and there was a sign on the door that said "all sold out for today". Can you imagine?? It was only 3:00. It makes me want them even more. Oh, how will I ever get my hands on a batch??
I will have to be crafty.
BTW, I tried the aztec spicy hot chocolate (see item #2 of entry from 12/5/06). It was pretty good but a little on the rich side. I think I can only drink about 1 oz at a time. Not to mention that you'd die of a massive heart attack if you try to drink any more than that (something like 10 gm sat fat per serving - 50% RDA - geezaloo!)
What I really want to try is kee's chocolates. I went by the store after work a couple of days ago, and there was a sign on the door that said "all sold out for today". Can you imagine?? It was only 3:00. It makes me want them even more. Oh, how will I ever get my hands on a batch??
I will have to be crafty.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Doesn't this make you drool?
Top Ten Chocolates according to NYTimes (feel free to send any of these my way)
1. Kee’s Chocolates, 80 Thompson Street. Kee Ling Tong does it all by hand, fresh, every day. Best passion-fruit bonbon extant. The black sesame, blood orange and blended pepper are merely extraordinary. Hands down, the best chocolates in New York. Maybe the world. $11 for a box of six.
2. MarieBelle, 484 Broome Street. Hand-painted chocolates so photogenic you might not want to eat any of them. Force yourself. Kickin’-hot chocolate mix, Aztec Spicy, made with great Colombian chocolate, as well as ancho and chipotle chilies. There’s a delightful tea room in the back to fritter away some calories. $17 for a 1-ounce tin.
3. Richart Design et Chocolat, 7 East 55th Street. A stage-lighted gallery where the micro-mini chocolates covered with Kandinsky-like scrawls are divided into flights of fanciful taste: roasted, balsamic, fruity, spiced. Richart uses only criollo chocolate and creates seasonal goodies that could be framed. It also carries its own chocolate spread, which the store manager calls “Nutella in a tuxedo.” $15 for 12.3 ounces.
4. La Maison du Chocolat, 1018 Madison Avenue. A Belgian friend and I divided up 14 bonbons and voted Traviata — almond and hazelnut praline topped with caramelized almonds — the winner. But then there was Bresilien, coffee-infused ganache, and Cannelle, all cinnamony, and Romeo, with fresh coffee mousse inside. $70 for 50 pieces.
5. Debauve & Gallais, 20 East 69th Street. Chocolatier to the Bourbons, Proust and now the Samurai Shopper. The prices are as egregious as its former devotee Marie Antoinette. (Let them eat Hershey’s.) But try the aiguillettes, candied ginger enrobed in dark chocolate. They’ll take your breath away. $40 for a quarter pound.
6. Recchiuti Confections, Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco; http://www.recchiuticonfections.com/. Michael Recchiuti is an Italian guy from Philly, a self-taught chocolate master and the king of the world, as far as I know. He makes big, bold, seditiously decadent chocolates. Get the 32-piece Burgundy box ($75) and experience nirvana.
7. Chocolate Deities, http://www.chocolatedeities.com/. Speaking of nirvana, here’s a Christmas shout-out to the Buddha, and to the sound of one lip smacking. You can order him (from $28) in milk, dark or gold-painted chocolate. Also try my favorite chocolate Celtic bad girl, Sheela Na Gig; she’s a real showstopper.
8. Christopher Elbow, 118 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.; http://www.christopherelbowchocolates.com/. If you’re not going to Kansas City for Stroud’s fried chicken, at least make some Elbow room for Chris’s 21-piece artisanal chocolate ($38): espresso with lemon, boozy Champagne bonbons and caramel with fleur de sel — that’s right, salt in chocolate — mixed perfect clarity and harmony.
9. Garrison Confections, 815 Hope Street, Providence, R.I.; http://www.garrisonconfections.com/ confections.com. Andrew Shotts left La Côte Basque and the Russian Tea Room, and eventually found himself less rent-poor in Providence. You can sample his wares locally at Bierkraft, on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, or be brave and order a box directly. The cranberry orange and fig anise from his Autumn Equinox collection were outstanding, and I can’t wait to sing the “Hallelujah” chorus when he unveils his Christmas goodies. $20 for a 12-piece box.
10. L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates, http://www.burdickchococlate.com/. Straight from Walpole, N.H., to you; mice with long tails ($29 for nine), mousse-stuffed penguins ($32 for nine) and crystalline pâte de fruit (chocolate-dipped orange peel, $8.50 for a quarter pound) to throw back with your beans.
1. Kee’s Chocolates, 80 Thompson Street. Kee Ling Tong does it all by hand, fresh, every day. Best passion-fruit bonbon extant. The black sesame, blood orange and blended pepper are merely extraordinary. Hands down, the best chocolates in New York. Maybe the world. $11 for a box of six.
2. MarieBelle, 484 Broome Street. Hand-painted chocolates so photogenic you might not want to eat any of them. Force yourself. Kickin’-hot chocolate mix, Aztec Spicy, made with great Colombian chocolate, as well as ancho and chipotle chilies. There’s a delightful tea room in the back to fritter away some calories. $17 for a 1-ounce tin.
3. Richart Design et Chocolat, 7 East 55th Street. A stage-lighted gallery where the micro-mini chocolates covered with Kandinsky-like scrawls are divided into flights of fanciful taste: roasted, balsamic, fruity, spiced. Richart uses only criollo chocolate and creates seasonal goodies that could be framed. It also carries its own chocolate spread, which the store manager calls “Nutella in a tuxedo.” $15 for 12.3 ounces.
4. La Maison du Chocolat, 1018 Madison Avenue. A Belgian friend and I divided up 14 bonbons and voted Traviata — almond and hazelnut praline topped with caramelized almonds — the winner. But then there was Bresilien, coffee-infused ganache, and Cannelle, all cinnamony, and Romeo, with fresh coffee mousse inside. $70 for 50 pieces.
5. Debauve & Gallais, 20 East 69th Street. Chocolatier to the Bourbons, Proust and now the Samurai Shopper. The prices are as egregious as its former devotee Marie Antoinette. (Let them eat Hershey’s.) But try the aiguillettes, candied ginger enrobed in dark chocolate. They’ll take your breath away. $40 for a quarter pound.
6. Recchiuti Confections, Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco; http://www.recchiuticonfections.com/. Michael Recchiuti is an Italian guy from Philly, a self-taught chocolate master and the king of the world, as far as I know. He makes big, bold, seditiously decadent chocolates. Get the 32-piece Burgundy box ($75) and experience nirvana.
7. Chocolate Deities, http://www.chocolatedeities.com/. Speaking of nirvana, here’s a Christmas shout-out to the Buddha, and to the sound of one lip smacking. You can order him (from $28) in milk, dark or gold-painted chocolate. Also try my favorite chocolate Celtic bad girl, Sheela Na Gig; she’s a real showstopper.
8. Christopher Elbow, 118 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.; http://www.christopherelbowchocolates.com/. If you’re not going to Kansas City for Stroud’s fried chicken, at least make some Elbow room for Chris’s 21-piece artisanal chocolate ($38): espresso with lemon, boozy Champagne bonbons and caramel with fleur de sel — that’s right, salt in chocolate — mixed perfect clarity and harmony.
9. Garrison Confections, 815 Hope Street, Providence, R.I.; http://www.garrisonconfections.com/ confections.com. Andrew Shotts left La Côte Basque and the Russian Tea Room, and eventually found himself less rent-poor in Providence. You can sample his wares locally at Bierkraft, on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, or be brave and order a box directly. The cranberry orange and fig anise from his Autumn Equinox collection were outstanding, and I can’t wait to sing the “Hallelujah” chorus when he unveils his Christmas goodies. $20 for a 12-piece box.
10. L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates, http://www.burdickchococlate.com/. Straight from Walpole, N.H., to you; mice with long tails ($29 for nine), mousse-stuffed penguins ($32 for nine) and crystalline pâte de fruit (chocolate-dipped orange peel, $8.50 for a quarter pound) to throw back with your beans.
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