Sunday, September 26

Vanity

Maybe it's just me but i believe there's something in human nature that makes it so that when you sit across from a mirror you can't help but keep looking at your reflection a/k/a VANITY.

I'm sitting in the salon right now waiting for MaMa and Hippo and I JUST CAN'T STOP checking myself out in the mirror. Particularly fiddling with my newfound bangs. And with my iPod earphones in, it's like i'm in my own world (like those scenes in movies where the protaganist is standing in the same place while the world around them is moving SUPER QUICK).

I always have really weird experiences in salons. Maybe it's because i always get my haircut at some Chinatown salon. For instance, i once had a stylist continually ask me if i wanted to dye my hair, not so subtly implying my hair was in bad condition. CONTINUOUSLY. and you can only listen to "you sure? cause it bad" so many times before it starts getting annoying/funny. On another occassion someone cut my hair with the worst random cowlick on the back of my head, which i didn't discover until after i washed it and dried it for the first time. every time i dried my hair it stood up to Alfalfa-like porportions.

Most recently, i walked into a salon to get full-on straight bangs. I've been really wanting them and WoofWoof's are always a constant reminder. My hair's not ideal for straight bangs because i don't have that STRAIGHT STRAIGHT hair that other asian girls have; mine gets wavy and cowlicky instead. I once got straight bangs in middle school with disastrous results (imagine helmet/giant poof). But i decided to take the leap. I'm older, wiser, and armed with a hair straightener now. I think i can make it work.

So i gave the stylist specific instructions to use the portion allotted to my former sidebangs and use it to cut straight bangs. She seemed to understand. She trimmed my hair and started to work on the bangs, which had grown to chin length since my last haircut. She then asked me, "how short do you want it?"

To which i responded "not too short but so i can see out of them." After which i pointed to the section above my eyes for reference.

She nodded and responded, "so here?" and pointed to the area AT MY MOUTH.

I corrected her again pointing to the area above my eyes.

To which she responded by pointing the area AROUND MY NOSE.

This negotiation continued for 10 mins before i just gave up and let her cut it (we'd reached a compromise to the area of my eyes but not above them). I figured i'd just correct her after. As the cut progressed it became very apparent that she was cutting SIDEBANGS not straight bangs.

So I advised her that i wanted straight bangs NOT sidebangs. This was her response:

"Uhhh... I not know your faaace. I not know if this works for your faaace. I know [the current cut] works for your faaace. You look good. I no know if [straight bangs] work with your faaace. So how bout nex' time when you come back we try that." (And this is exactly how she talked. I'm not being racist).

At this point i just gave up and let her do whatever she wanted. It was too tiring to negotiate.

2 days later i trimmed it myself and am now sporting the desired straight bangs.

Tuesday, September 21

Chain Eating

as an example of my innate New Jersey-ness, for my cousin's bday dinner, we went to Bahama Breeze. it is a fact that if you live in NJ, you spend most of your time dining out at chain restaurants e.g. Chili's, Olive Garden, TGIF's, Applebee's, etc.

i've been to Bahama Breeze only 1 other time, and i only heard about this restaurant over the summer. the 1 near me has a nice outdoor seating area, which is usually packed, but we went there on Labor Day so there wasn't a wait. we were a total of 8 ppl so they seated us at a large round table. and when i say large, i mean LARGE. i practically had to shout to say anything to Woof.
kudos to our waitress because we were that annoying party, where 5 ppl sit down first and then don't order anything for 30 mins because they're waiting for the rest of their party. i felt so bad that i broke down and ordered 2 apps before the other 3 ppl arrived. BirthdayCousin picked the Island Onion Rings and Woof chose the Coconut Shrimp. the menu clearly tells you the apps are big enough to share, but that claim is always put to the test when it comes to my fam (the party ranges from 7-13 depending on which cousins are present). however, the Island Onion Rings lived up to its claim as they were a ginormous tower of rings! and delicious at that. they arrived piping hot and crispy, with a hint of coconut in the breading. and i'm a big fan of the chili-horseradish dipping sauce. the Coconut Shrimp weren't as "share-sized" (more appropriate for a party of 4) but they were equally delish.
Hippo was torn between ordering the Wood-Grilled Top Sirloin Steak and the Jerk Chicken Pasta, so i did her a solid and ordered the pasta for my entree. despite the actual size of the menu, the options aren't very extensive and, since i hate ordering the same thing as someone else at the table, once everyone else was done choosing, there weren't many choices left.
Hippo's about to tear into that steak
the menu's bigger than Woof's face!
but it's all drinks on 1 side, food on the other.
the pasta was ok, nothing spectacular. there was definitely a spicy jerk flavor which is presented in a creamy sauce, but the pasta and chicken itself was slightly overcooked/mushy. the same goes for the Pan-Seared Salmon Pasta. you don't often find seafood and cream sauce pairings but Bahama Breeze clearly believes in it. the steak was good, although i've never been a fan of yuca fries (i find them too dry). i've had the fish specials before and they all tend to be pretty good, so that's what i'd recommend getting, aside from the apps.
perhaps a dinner of just appetizers? if only Felicity was real and Sean had opened his concept restaurant Before and After as he'd originally planned...

The things I need to do...

...to join things.

45RF9F39SCEQ.

an explanation will be forthcoming, pending that this works.

Monday, September 20

안녕

to the New Yorker that is diligently checking this blog, i say "hello", although who it could be i have no idea.

btw, just to clarify, i am so not korean. i just happened to date one/two (eons ago) and thoroughly enjoy listening to k-pop and watching dramas (currently enjoying My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and Playful Kiss).

i guess i really should be more careful. because more and more, ppl are starting to get confused.

i recently had relatives visiting, which means a lot of going out to eat (i am back to blueberry form due to all the dining out). amongst the myriad of dining choices was Keo Ku, which was the 1st korean restaurant that i remember opening up around my town (it's technically not in my town but 2 towns over). i remember going there 1-3 times before my family and our friends decided it was too expensive, and i haven't been there since although i've wanted to, since there really are no other korean options around my house unless i trek to 32nd St. or Fort Lee.

so i was pretty psyched when someone suggested we give Keo Ku another try. and i was pleasantly surprised when i saw they had signficantly extended their menu options, and to include a multitude of specials affixed to the walls. i got extra excited when i saw the specials included samgyetang and budejigae. anyone who's been with me to Kunjip knows army stew's my jam. it was a tough decision but i ended up ordering the budejigae.

and they have makgeolli? what?

the food was just "eh" and not at all comparable to others that i've had, but props to them for trying to offer the full array of korean cuisine, even if it perhaps does spread them too thin. however, that wasn't the highlight of the evening.

i always get a little dorky excited when i can practice any of the linguistic vocab i've picked up from friends/television/books/music. this comes out full force when i'm in japanese, korean, and chinese restaurants run by native speakers. i just can't help myself. and this was no exception.

although, i didn't really say anything. i just ordered food. 2 orders of samgyupsal, budaejigae, soondubu, and haemul pajeon. maybe it was the choice of food, or my spot-on pronunciation (insert sarcasm here), but, seeing as i'd only ordered 1 portion of haemul pajeon for our table of 8, the waitress proceeded to explain to me how 1 portion wouldn't be enough for all of us. completely in korean. and when i gave her my "huh?" look, she proceeded to explain again. in korean, but a little slower. and with hand guestures.

so i guess i should stop posing.

Wednesday, September 15

Stolen Thoughts

i stumbled upon an interesting article for female attorneys while perusing my blogroll today, see to your right. and then i stumbled upon Legal Tease at Sweet Hot Justice. and i just had to re-post these 2 articles.

1. Does this Law Degree Make My Ass Look Fat? discusses what men think about female attorneys. hmm, not very promising.

2. Working Girls discusses how to get ahead/succeed in your firm. it also uses a hooker-stripper-porn star analogy.

now i remember why i entered this profession.

surprise!

i'm gonna take the time to appreciate the little things.

for instance, my breakfast this morning was a nice little surprise. i've been eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast recently since they're so easy, not extremely fattening, and qualify as a "hot" meal (vs. the ease but coldness of cereal/granola bars and the difficulty and time-consumption of eggs). there also happened to be a "buy 1 get 2 free" deal at ShopRite a few weeks ago which also helped my decision. i purchased a box of vanilla, strawberry, and grape.

as we (meaning me) made our way through the boxes, someone decided to consolidate the remaining Pop-Tarts into 1 box. great idea to save space, but now you never know which flavor of Pop-Tart you're picking up (in case you haven't had a Pop-Tart in ages, they come in these spacey-silver-neoprene looking wrappers. you can't see anything inside). i've been receiving a run of strawberry, so, this morning, when i put my Pop-Tart in the toaster, i assumed it was strawberry.

this could be strawberry or vanilla flavored, right?

operating under my assumption, i was genuinely surpised when i opened the toaster oven door and vanilla wafted out towards me.

a genuine, and pleasant, surprise.