I threw a BB-Q luncheon for my new team at work this week. For me, it’s a simple thing. I like to cook and I like to cook for people I like. And what better way to bond with your team than food, lazy talk, and sunshine. They haven’t had a staff social function in almost three years! It’s difficult to understand how management can be oblivious to the drag in the office morale. You spend more time during the week with the people at work than you do your family and friends so you need time to relate, commiserate, celebrate. Like a colleague of mind said at the BB-Q, “All work and no fun, is no fun.”

“Staff meal was first about the fundamentals of cooking and how to work with by-products, using scraps to make something tasty, eye-appealing, and satisfying. But the message underlying that was “Can you be passionate about cooking at this level?” Staff meal. Only the staff sees it. If you can make great food for these people, create that habit, have that drive, that sincerity, and keep that with you and take it to another level in the staff meal, then someday you’ll be a great chef. Maybe.”-T.Keller, French Laundry

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: How Can I Tell You – Cat Stevens

It struck him as curious that he could run at all on feet so frozen that he could not feel them when they struck the earth and took the weight of his body. He seemed to himself to skim along above the surface, and to have no connection with the earth. Somewhere he had once seen a winged Mercury, and he wondered if Mercury felt as he felt when skimming over the earth.

Sidenote: Menza of Japan knows that nothing recharges an overworked salaryman than some eyebrow grooming and a cheerleader or two.

this is why Japanese men ain’t fighting any more wars for world domination

and this is why we work the 12-14 hour days. The glory, the beer, and the pom-poms. Brings a proud tear to my eye.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Butter Room – Honeycut

Word of the Day is my horoscope…
Denouement
1. The final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work.
2. The outcome of a complex sequence of events.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: So Sorry – Feist live video on KCR-Dub

Mix, marinate, broil, slice, fry, garnish and…wa-lah!

Dish of the Day: Saikyo Gindara (black cod marinated in sake infused miso paste) lettuce wraps with ginger-citrus pickled jicama and carrots relish, and a sweet potato fritter with yuzu-mayo. Served with KJ Chardonay ’00 (crisp, clean, citrusy, costco). The cod was o-so-fatty good. Next time gonna get bigger steaks and should have done dots of sauce instead of a poo pile. Dessert was bestest tasting strawberries picked by Wok, for reals, I even ate the leafy parts.
Hmmm something is still missing…

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Berimbau – Astrud Gilberto

I’ve been taking time to reflect, recenter, and gain a focus on my leading goals. They are like the points of an arrow, flying to the target, as opposed to being themselves the actual target in life. They guide your life to the target, all other things in life will either follow or fall by the wayside. The “target” will be expounded upon in another discussion but the K.I.S.S. version is being a happy person and a good person.

I want to be better. I can’t go on blaming mistakes on my age or lack of experience. Will is here. Way is taking the scenic route right now but is hopefully coming around the bend soon.

Subconscientously or conscientously been doing some things differently
- Singing along to Money Mark in the car (definitely not quiting my day job anytime soon) instead of listening to Marketplace
- Making more “on the fly” decisions at work, making less of those kind outside of work(?)
- Dancing alot more (until my sides hurt for the next 2 days)
- Do what YOU want, no excuses
- Expect as much from others as I would of myself
- Being more careful about who I let into my life
Love & Loving. For me, having feelings for a girl is like having the strings that connect my heart and mind and all the things in between pulled taut. The feelings are palpable and at times will result in temerarious behaviors—I am a die-hard, shameless romantic. There is an energy and creative capacity that wasn’t there before. Where it goes wrong is when I start falling for the “idea” of them rather than the true, in my face day-in-day-out, them. Ironically, I don’t think any of them knew me either.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Loving You – Paolo Nutini … sing with me now, “when you are loving me, i’m loving you, i love the prowess in all the things that you do, its your flawless soul that bleads my stone”