laughter.

apparently, laughter can stimulate and boost one's appetite. this must be why I'm fat. I laugh a lot and therefore eat a lot. here's the article in businessweek.

chambray.

went to j. crew and finally got my chambray shirt. it's supposedly the shirt of the season, and I can't wait to wear it to graduation. I'll be looking damn good, fo sho (even if I am obese). my ray-bans should cover up most of my fat face.

tasting on tuesday.

thanks again patrice! I had the opportunity to partake in a food tasting today, as part of the student panel. it was a nice free lunch. we tasted several delicious dishes prepared by a chef named stephanie. she was helping showcase the products advance foods was marketing. a little embarrassing to be the only one taking pics, but who cares.

the main products consisted of sliced chicken breast, sliced sirloin, breaded chicken, sliders, and turkey burger patties.

first up was some teriyaki chicken, made with the breast meat. a little salty but good! definitely better than the bowls they serve at ramona's on campus. a rather pretentious someone asked about the garnish of italian parsley atop the bowls. he said it was unnecessary, and didn't go with the asian flavor profile. a little ridiculous in my opinion. (they're trying their best, geez!) we weren't there to criticize the plating and the flavor profile, just the chicken and the different preparations you could do with it! this ain't top chef. of course I shared my hatred of cilantro and appreciated the parsley garnish.

next were the sandwiches. philly cheese-steaks, chicken and beef. and some breaded chicken sandwiches seasoned with italian seasoning. I loved the cheeseteaks. with sweet peppers and onions. so good! and the sandwiches were also delicious. the chicken paillard was not too salty and was lightly breaded. also not greasy (like the spicy ones currently served at crossroads), which was a plus. the hoagie roll and the ciabatta were also really tasty. I love bread.

there was bacon in the chicken sandwiches, which only made it better.

these sliders were really delicious. some said they were nothing special. pssh. I love all burgers. and I was really excited when he said that there were sliders coming up next. with grilled onions. oh yeah. the only thing missing was cheese. these would be a perfect addition to the late night menu.

the alfredo pasta was also good! the bacon was just as good in here. I ate the whole bowl.

lastly were the turkey burgers. so juicy! they were served with avocado and a caeser-esq dressing. according to stephanie, avocados are 10 for $1 right now. I need to get on that. yum.

people grabbed them before I could get a shot of the full plate unfortunately...

patrice made sure to get the table's general consensus of the food:

• teriyaki chicken: good use of the chicken, very moist.

• philly cheese-steaks: the chicken was better than the beef. the beef was so-so. the peppers and bread were also good.
  

• chicken sandwich: this was a hit all around. everyone loved it. great seasoning and perfect in a sandwich, atop a salad, or by itself. not greasy nor salty. cal dining better get this! best item served. not to mention the good ciabatta once more...
  

• penne alfredo with chicken: tasty. nothing too outrageous. the sauce and bacon really made the dish shine. but good versatility of the breast again.

• sliders: delicious with the grilled onions. people didn't think it was too spectacular, but I thought it was awesome. and the versatility to customize them...endless possibilities.

• turkey burger: everyone loved it. good use of the avocado. nice sauce. definitely one of the best turkey burgers I've ever had. much better than the ones cal dining currently serves.
  

nothing like a fruit cup and a small brownie to seal the deal. (unfortunately, no pics of those). free lunches are the best. can't wait for the next tasting :)

astaria.

went to astaria in good ol' downtown san mateo for dinner this weekend. found it on yelp. it was my first time there. american food of course. and really delicious overall. quite a bit of old white people though.

some onion strings to start. nice and thin and not greasy whatsoever.

I ordered a cheeseburger with mushrooms. served with garlic fries. it was huge!

my dad had the chicken and potatoes.

my mom, the fried calamari and artichoke appetizer. (she wasn't that hungry)

she did order dessert though. warm brownie and ice cream. I sneaked a bite. it was so good! definitely one of the best. and it was real brownie and not cake (like elephant bar's where they try to pass it off as brownie).

real good food, and good to see my parents again. I'll go back. a yelp four stars.

cal day.

after my concert saturday, grace (my friend / old neighbor from ckc way back in the day) and I explored the campus for cal day. since everything was open and there was a myriad of free activities to take part in, we decided to check it out. I think this was our first time really seeing everything, not as prospective students.



awesome pic with the gate in the background. you can definitely see how crowded it got with all those people in the background. nice day too.

random man dressed in blue. this called for an asian pose.

we eventually found our way to vlsb, where discovered the live animals they had! it was pretty cool to touch the snake, and see it up so close. very reminiscent of the one britney had a few years back.

that tongue is creepy cool. we saw another snake and a starfish too.

now the stuffed animals... and a little random posing.

I look awkward and mad.

this puffin reminded us of the cereal. mmm. (the cereal not the bird)


just a random kid playing with some pom poms. he looked like he was having a blast.

went to see the boring plant exhibit and I saw this mushroom jar filled with random asian candies (probably made with rice). then this fobby chinese woman came up to me and asked me if I knew about these poisonous mushrooms. I didn't understand anything she said I just smiled, nodded, and walked away.

grace and ardie. she looks like an amputee here, haha.

the main reason we went to vlsb, was to attend a lecture on the triceratops. we peered into the room, and it was beyond dead. it looked so boring that we left immediately.

then stopped by the cal dining booth to see ferris. shoutout to patrice in the background.


of course the only thing to do after a long day, is grab a bite to eat! everything on campus was super expensive, so desi dog cart it was -- polish sausage for grace.
looks so good with all the toppings. and the first bite is definitely the best. went to walgreens afterward and I got an icee for myself. coke flavored (since the cherry one was broken). so refreshing on a hot day.

overall really good day. then took a quick pic of the blooming flowers outside our apartment.


after that, ferris and I went home for the weekend. on the bus to the bart station, there was this kid teething on the metal railing of the bus. a rather disgusting site. he touched my suitcase, and I couldn't wait to sanitize the handle.

while discussing our future plans on bart (we were really stressing), this really friendly "sister" interjected, offering advice. she had gone to cal too. (and diamond had been her faculty advisor.) she was an ib major and now, [looking good for] 40 , works for a biotech company. ferris and I were talking about prospectively attending law school. naturally she told us that they had many lawyers working for the company too. ferris wanted to know if they went to tier 1 schools. (we were wondering this because if we go down the law path, we probably would end up somewhere else in the top 100) I guess she misunderstood because she enthusiastically said that they went to harvard, yale, stanford (to name a few) and all had phds as well. so clearly finding a job after a tier 3 law school won't be so easy. moral of the story is that pharmacy still has a long way to go and the opportunities are really great (as she put it). but she also said law school is good too, and definitely worth it. so here I am, still unsure.

she came back from watching wicked with her daughter. she said she coughed up a little more for orchestra seating (as if it was nothing), but said it was worth it. a really kind and intelligent woman. a little chubby, but pretty. her eloquence is something to be desired.