26 posts tagged “fun”
Last Wednesday Stef called with an offer that I couldn't refuse, purchase a ticket to Vegas and everything else would be covered for the 4th of July weekend. Her manager was flying there with a high roller friend and apparently two hotels were covering all of their expenses. Crazy! They put the two of us in a suite one floor below the penthouse at the Palazzo, the new Venetian towers, with a fantastic view of the strip. We treated ourselves to lots of pool time, the spa and several decadent meals. It was fabulous.
I've known Stef for a few years now but this was the first time that we've done a solo thing together. I feel kind of special that she thought of me for the trip. It was a great time and we got along so well. We're more alike than we first realized and I know this is the beginning of a close friendship. Here are highs and lows from the weekend:
- Our suite came with three flat screen TVs including one in the bathroom, remote controlled curtains and a walk-in closet
- The lounge chairs directly in the pool were awesome. Who needs a cabana when you can sit in the water all day?
- Ran into a friend's bachelor party and got to hang out with friends that I haven't seen in years
- A very drunk girl fell into a friend’s birthday cake and then wiped her hands on my dress
- Went to Jet at Treasure Island as a favor to Stef's manager and discovered it was the "5’4 and under" club
- Pulled an all-nighter on Saturday to fly out at
7:30am on Sunday. I felt a little crazy
at the airport but well that's how Vegas is done I suppose
- My feet still hurt from dancing in heels all
weekend. Heh.
After years of going to Vegas for birthdays, getaways, bachelorette parties and one very cold New Year's Eve, I know better than to come into work the very next day. It takes a full day to recover from the excessive drinking and lack of sleep. Almost all of yesterday was spent either in bed or on my couch, minus the hour I spent unpacking and cooking dinner. Today my legs are still sore from all the dancing that I did on Saturday night. It was a fun time despite initial my concern that I was too old to be partying like that. ;)
The roundup from the weekend (includes only details that I could talk about in a public blog like this):
- Stayed in two awesome suites at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Very swanky but it was about a mile of walking to get to the pools. We were hooked up with a discount so the rooms ended up being cheaper than staying in Mandalay Bay.
- Average temperature in Vegas was 105 degrees. Such a shame that I only spent a total of four hours in the wave pool.
- My longest stretch of dancing in one night without sitting down? 5 hours.
- Celebrity takeover: Kardashians at Pure nightclub caused the lines to shutdown at midnight. We thought there was going to be a riot since they had a zillion people waiting.
- Bill for bottle service and table at Prive: two bottles of Grey Goose vodka at $450 per bottle.
- Stef's friend hooked us up with a "party bus" that came equipped with a dancer's pole. I would like to note that I did not partake in the pole dancing.
- Met Steve Kim from Chippendale's at Seamless, a new after hours club.
- Missed breakfast every day. But we did dine at Bradley Ogden and Social House.
The latter's tasting menu of sashimi was amazing and worth every
penny. Bradley Ogden is owned by the same restauranteur as Lark Creek
here in San Francisco but it definitely wasn't as good.
- I slept a total of four hours in two days. Woo.
Thievery Corporation put on an amazing show last night. But I expected nothing less since the Greek Theater rarely disappoints especially when it's beautiful out. It was still well into the 80s for the earlier part of the evening. Beau, Chris and Alex came over to my pad before the show where I fed them shots and made them listen to songs on repeat. They were good sports about it. ;) And Patty made it just in time despite the horrendous bridge traffic. Yay, to a fun night with friends and good music.
I remember a time when doing 15 push ups a day were a piece of cake. That was also the age where I was doing shots all night and then get up without a hangover. I miss those days. Thanks Alaina for sharing this as it's a great nudge to get my arms in shape. My initial test was very sad, as I could barely do 6. Weak. On top of that I totally forgot we were starting this on Monday and didn't get to the push ups until 11:25pm. Eek, but I did it. Day 1 was easy enough so I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks.
Tiff left a gift on my desk this morning: happy tears crafted after her own work along with mini-stickers and a Hello Kitty paper kimono. I about died with glee over the kimono. Ayako (she's in the SF office this entire week) came by shortly after that to hand me a bunny. "I was born in the year of the rabbit!" I exclaimed. She nodded eagerly as if she knew all along. Two gifts in one day. I am a lucky, lucky girl.
I'm headed to LA this Friday for my niece, Kathy's (see 1.) college graduation. She's graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a business degree. Damn, I'm getting old. And yes, my sister (see 2.) did start really early especially if you consider that my nephew graduated two years ago. It's a shame but I won't have extra time to see friends on this trip. I arrive in LAX around noon on Friday where I plan to pick up a car, head to Robertson Blvd. for some shopping, and then hop on the 405 South before rush hour starts. If I don't make it out of there by 3pm then I'll have to wait until after 7pm to drive to Irvine. I suppose I can meet with friends then but her graduation is early on Saturday, and I wanted to spend some quality time with her on Friday night.
Kathy is the favorite out of my sis' kids. She was the sweetest baby and always so cheerful. She used to follow me around the house, holding her baby blanket and giggling. Adorable. Though in my teen years, I didn't think the following me everywhere part was so cute anymore. But I guess that just meant she adored her auntie. These days there isn't much following but she's really good about sending photos and updates on her life. I'm so proud that's she's finishing college and able to start this next phase of her life.
Last month I celebrated a friend's birthday at Michael Mina. It's been on my list of 'must try places" for the last two years but has been slipping down the charts in favor of more affordable restaurants. The benefits of eating with a large group (there were 12 of us) are the number of dishes that you can try. But large sittings generally mean larger bills. My grand total was $260, which was thankfully less than my meal at French Laundry.
Located in the Westin St. Francis hotel across from Union Square, you can ride the hotel's glass elevator to the top floor and look over all of downtown. Or well, at least one side of downtown. The atmosphere at MM isn't as stuffy as French Laundry, in fact the noise level can get pretty high in the open areas. Men aren't required to wear jackets but you can always find a few suits that have come in after work. It's the type of place where men talk business, couples celebrate anniversaries, and girls get way too dolled up in organza skirts.
They serve a three course prix-fixe menu as well as a chef's selection tasting menu. The tasting menu is easier for those that hate making decisions. But when you're paying a hefty price for it, might as well do the work yourself. Within each course there are several selections, of which you can choose only one. Each selection has one core ingredient and is prepared in three different ways. There are also "classics" to choose from, which are dishes that the chef is known for but those are only prepared in one way.
Confused? So was I.
For my first course, I chose the the Hudson Valley foie gras served hot to cold with huckleberry gastique, pickled strawberries, poached rhubarb and pistachio crumble. It was amazing but there was so much of it. I ate half and gave the rest to Katie who proceeded to wipe down two other plates of extra foie gras.
The dishes came out so slowly that by the time course number two arrived, most of us were kind of full. Eep. This was disappointing since my trio of premium beef was so, so good and I couldn't really enjoy it. The first preparation was grass-fed rib-eye in a sauce au povre with creamed spinach, second was American Kobe short-rib with horseradish whipped potatoes, and the last was Misami Kobe sirloin in a bordelaise sauce with marinated mushrooms.
Dessert wasn't really memorable except for the caramel flan and green tea bon bons served with toothpicks. By the time the bill came, it was almost midnight and I was falling asleep at the table. No better way to end the meal I suppose.
I purchased the book without reading any reviews or hearing any recommendations from friends. I picked it up mostly because of all the historical details of seventeenth century China. Her portrayal of China and its customs would intrigue anyone with an interest in ancient and modern China.
While the book is categorized as historical fiction, it borders more along the lines of fantasy and the super natural. Most Asian and Buddhist customs contain heavy elements of life after death, so it's not surprising that the book focuses on that. This may not be everyone's cup of tea but Lisa crafts a very good story from these ancient traditions. Some reviews note that the prose is too flowery but I found it very fitting to a historical period drama with lovesick maidens, an enamored poet and an epic opera. It's sweet, informative, and leaves you aching a bit in the heart.
I leave for Puerto Vallarta this Thursday. It was a great deal especially considering how expensive other locations such as Playa Del Carmen or Hawaii are right now. I paid $800 for the flight plus five nights at a really nice hotel with an all-inclusive package. All-inclusive food is usually just okay but getting the beverages and alcohol covered is where it's at. Friends say Puerto Vallarta has a ton of great restaurants so we'll likely be eating out a couple of nights. Can't wait! Checked the weather out last night and it was 80 degrees even at night. Hurrah. Kind of wish it was a longer vacation, just an extra day or two since my days are pretty action packed. When I booked three weeks ago I was kind of afraid of sitting on the beach for five days with nothing to do. Eeeek, what if I got bored?? There would be the usual tanning, building sand castles, playing frisbee and reading. And Nick would be there so it's not like I wouldn't have conversation. But what else? What else?!! Food. Beer. And?
So I bought a travel guide (because as hard as I try I cannot travel without doing the homework first). For a few extra dollars, we'll now be spending our days riding zip lines across the jungle, driving VW buggies to San Sebastian, snorkeling and kayaking around Marietes Island, and I left one day for hanging out on the beach and walking around town. :D Hopefully I'll come back with a little bit of color.
Mirabelle and Leonard had extra tickets to see Chris Rock last Friday. Luckily they thought of inviting me. I've never been to the Paramount Theater in Oakland but it's a lovely venue. Reminds me of old Hollywood or downtown Las Vegas, especially when you see it light up in the early evening. Very surreal since this part of downtown Oakland clears out once the work crowd heads home. The theater iteself is done up in ruby and gold tones, with plush seating and great lighting. They needed a few more bartenders as the lines were insane. I downed an entire glass of champagne in under a minute thinking I couldn't bring the drinks inside. Um no, you totally can.
Here are some of the quotes from his act:
1. "My kid is spoiled. He asked me for a new bike the other day. I told him HELL NOES! Your daddy never had a bike. I was sooo POOR…I was 9 years old before I reached your age... of 5."
2. "Why is McCain running? McCain was too old to become president 10 years ago. He’ll be dead before seeing the effects of his policies."
3. "The only thing we can be guaranteed of when Hilary becomes president? She can forgive like no one else."
4. "How is Hilary going to handle becoming president? Man, imagine having to sit in that oval office where your husband got #$&*%*$&%. She’d redecorate that shit into the rectangle office."
5. "Barak can’t become president because that means we’ll have a black woman as first lady. And that ain’t EVER going to happen. Yea I said it! In OAKLAND too. Booyah...
Now lemme tell you why… It’s because all black women want to be president. “You ain’t gonna tell me what to do. We become president together. Oh and make sure Keaky is Secretary of Defense. She can fight!”
6. "I face racism every day. Every day. I live in this beautiful gated community in New Jersey…in a nice multi-million dollar home. There are four black people in this community. FOUR: Mary J Blige, Jay Z, me and Denzel Washington. Each one them, exceptional.
Mary, the hip-hop and R&B queen. Jay Z, needs no introduction. Me, I did the Oscars. And Denzel Washington, one of THE best black actors in the world.
And do you know who lives next to me?
Some white DENTIST!! That’s right. Just a plain ol’, yank your teeth out dentist. Ain’t no plain ol’ black dentist ever getting into that community without millions. Not unless he starts performing some miracles too."
