holding life in my hands

and who says big corps don't have a conscience? altho i don't think it really counts because voting, while i applaud the efforts, has become such a fad. it's like when P.Diddy did Vote or Die and Paris Hilton was 1 of the promoters and then she blatantly admitted she didn't vote. posers.

the family came into Chinatown for a haircut and dim sum on the weekend so of course i went to meet them. we ended up trying a dim sum place recommended by the stylist close to Bowery and Hester. eh... even tho Jing Fong doesn't cook their dim sum in the healthiest fashion all the other properties definitely win over all the places i've been so far: they have the best and widest selection, the best and fastest service, and the price is equal to all other places. i think it's best to stick to Jing Fong for dim sum.

afterwards i walked around with my parents while they did a little grocery shopping. my mom's under the impression that the groceries in Chinatown are fresher than in jersey. i think it all depends on where you shop. it looks like it's lobster and crab season and the prices on shelled seafood is pretty low so i got 3 stone crabs for $10, which is a great deal. i decided to steam 2 of them and then i got an idea. there's a delicious dish where you steam seasoned crab with rice which infuses the rice with the crab flavor and it's super delicious. i was all ready to do it except...

...the crab was still alive. and it really freaked me out. i mean, it was all lethargic and definitely on it's way out, but still. and every time i got close to it with the knife i kept imagining it would all of a sudden jump up and attack me, as if it was laying in wait for it's revenge just for me to put my face close up to it. it was kind of scary. for some moral guidance and physical courage i asked Egg to come over so i could ask his opinion about it. boy did i ask the wrong person for bravery support. Egg took one look at what i was contemplating about doing and told me how scary it was. and how cruel it was. and once he got started, it was all over for me and i just gave up on the idea and steamed it. we discussed how next time i'm contemplating this dish i should just have them pre-cut the crab for me.

i will not be dissuaded. i will make this dish. just with pre-cut crab.

A new port in Newport

Yea it's fall! right now it's getting to that time where it gets windy and chilly at night, but the daytime is still pretty pleasant, that perfect sunny day without being too hot/cold. just to show how commercial contemporary times have become, the biggest indication of fall for me has always been the appearance of the pumpkin spice latter at Starbucks. i always have to get one when i go in. i just noticed they now have a maple americano (hmm, intriguing).

i got a great look of fall when Gohm and i went to Newport, RI for his pre b-day weekend (i would upload pics but don't have the wires right now). Debs let me borrow her Prius which i love. that car rocks. we got to Newport and back and some small driving in between w/just 1 tank of gas. and the whole tank is something like 11 gallons! love it. and that's not even getting into the GPS system (which is a big lifesaver when you don't know the way).
i booked us a room in a beautiful bed & breakfast for the weekend. it was close to Thames Street (walkable distance) and included complimentary bottle of wine. i'm usually pretty scared about B&Bs b/c i get creeped out about staying in a room that looks like somebody's bedroom, but this place was nice.

On our 100 day anniversary we ate some great seafood at Scales & Shells. their menu seems to change daily so it's written on a giant chalkboard when you walk in, no set menu to give you when you sit. i found out that Gohm doesn't eat oysters (total shocker b/c he's a purveyor of fine foods) but i had plenty over the weekend. we ate so much food that night and then set out for gelato which was unfortunately closed. instead we got dessert at the Red Parrot (this monster sized sundae w/pistachio, chocolate and strawberry ice cream and sliced bananas, strawberry sauce and oreo cookie crumble).

we spent time walking around Thames street and the wharf, shopping (really, me shopping and Gohm disapproving of things i like). we got gelato at Cold Fusion Cafe (Gohm got this amazing pear gelato, it actually had the texture of pears!) and had amazing breakfast at Ocean Breeze Cafe. Gohm (the eggs benedict lover) got the special of eggs benedict w/corn beef hash and i got a portugese omelette which was good (but i now wish i'd gotten the pumpkin pancakes special. i mean when are you gonna get another chance to have pumpkin pancakes?). however, the most amazing thing about this place was they made their own bread for toast and these things were huge and fluffly. i was so impressed. and they had this amazing banana hazelnut coffee. yum yum.

we went to Greenvale Vineyard for a tasting and sat outside the vineyard enjoying the weather. it was so nice, and my first time at a vineyard. for our last night there we had dinner at the famous Black Pearl (2 bowls of their new england clam chowder. so good)

Newport is definitely for couples tho. i would never go there w/just friends. but i'd definitely recommend it for a weekend getaway.