Chinese New Year Parade - San Francisco

On Saturday, March 2 at 6 p.m., San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose FOX affiliate KTVU (channel 2) will broadcast live SF's Chinese New Year parade.

This year will be viewed much more closely than in years past. My friend and former co-worker Sherri (from Gymboree) will have her son Christopher performing as a part of the Lion dance from the Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy.

As Sherri has e-mailed to her family and friends, "Unless the line formation changes, Christopher will be the 2nd little piggy (nose, tails, ears and all!), from the left in the 2nd row."

Or, as the famous nursery rhyme reads, Christopher would be the piggy that stayed at home. In reality, that piggy is Sherri's daughter Lauren, who is anxiously waiting until she's old enough to perform in the parade as well.

Good luck and best wishes on your performance Saturday, Christopher.

Jong Mea Restaurant

menu image copyrighted and licensed by WorthPoint

Today after a 3-month hiatus, our department held a potluck lunch. The theme was Chinese, in honor of Chinese New Year. I was among the very few who actually prepared a dish (tofu with meat sauce, or in Cantonese, Ma Po Dow-Fu). The dish itself is amazingly simple to prepare. It only took about 10 minutes to make it. Most of the remaining food was brought in from Marina, a Chinese market in San Mateo.

During lunch, while in discussion about the history of Chinese food in the United States, it led to a conversation about my family's restaurant, Jong Mea. My parents tell me the translation of Jong Mea means "China & America". But I've been told it can also be translated as "Midwest". Regardless, both translations fit to a tee, and knowing my grandfather (the founder), this was intentional. Jong Mea opened in 1951, one of the first Chinese restaurants in Columbus.

We had locations in Mansfield and Columbus, Ohio (my birthplace), and Indianapolis, Indiana. There was another location in Houston, Texas that I knew very little about, probably because it was sold off in the mid 60's. My parents managed the Columbus location in the mid 70's to mid 80's. My aunt and uncle then took over the Columbus location until it closed in the mid 90's. My parents opened a 2nd Columbus location for a short time, then took over the Indianapolis location until it closed in 1998. My great uncle's family managed the Mansfield location until it closed, which I think was in the late 80's.

At the height of business in the 60's and early 70's, the Columbus location had on weekends, 7 waiters, 3 bus boys and 3 assistant managers (answered phones, seated customers, processed take out). We opened from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Lines used to snake around the corner with a 30 to 60 minute wait.

I worked as a cashier on weekends during my last 2 years in high school in the late 70's. Although I hated the work, it gave me invaluable experience that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Because my parents worked long hours, I learned to become self-sufficient at home. By the age of 10, I already knew how to do laundry and cook a simple meal.

When the restaurant was closed, we had wonderful parties at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were also weeknight dinners with my grandparents and their friends. My dad often prepared the meals for these occasions. I found this to be a bit surprising because he didn't cook much at home until my siblings and I were teenagers.

UPDATE: My September 2007 blog entry has a picture showing the front of the restaurant. It was taken in June, 1982, when my sister Cindy and I graduated from The Ohio State University.

Outside our window

We saw this outside our window yesterday afternoon...

Nice sight after the deluge of rain. Sorely needed and could use some more. My sinuses are thankful.

Whole Foods Market

As a lover of food, I am a huge fan of the gourmet food markets. There's a ton to choose from in the SF Bay Area, and sometimes one get can dizzy just trying to decide. One of my favorites is Whole Foods Market, headquartered in Austin, TX.

I think of Whole Foods as the Nordstrom's of food markets. I visit the San Mateo location near work at least once a week. Their best feature is the food bar. There are so many choices which include pizza, rotisserie chicken, sushi, olives, salad, soup and ethnic entrees. Their meat and seafood selection are among the freshest and prettiest I've ever seen.

This afternoon I visited for the first time the South of Market location on 4th and Harrison with the primary intention to buy swordfish for our anniversary dinner. I ended up circling like a vulture (I had just come from the gym and hadn't eaten all day) the food bar at least 6 times because there was Asian, Indian, comfort food all featured. The San Mateo location only features 1 of these 3 on a rotational basis.

Prices are a bit steep, but well worth it. If I lived nearby, I would find myself visiting there nearly every night. Screw the restaurants.

extended family tree

As mentioned in my blog entry on January 15, I've been catching up with my cousin Kit. She is the youngest daughter in my aunt's family (Mom's sister). It's been probably 12 years since I last saw her, which was her wedding in Chicago to her husband Shannon. We've probably caught up those 12 years in e-mails this past week.

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Also this past week, I was floored to get an e-mail from Kit's brother Ming. I've been exchanging e-mails with him all week as well. For many years Ming and my brother Sherman were close, but drifted apart the past few years. I'm hoping that will change over the next few months, but we'll see.

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The biggest changes in my cousins' lives are marriage and children. All of them are married, two of them childless, one of them officially separated. The above picture are all offspring of Kit's twin sisters, Ping and Ting. With 2 from Kit and Shannon, 3 from Ting and David, and 2 from Ping and Steve, totals 7 children. Kit's children are not in the picture.

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I won't tell you who's who's because I'm still not exactly sure myself. I had to get a quick synopsis from Kit. Fortunately, I've already memorized the their kids' names and know which belong to whom. I'm glad they're still young enough that they're not married and have children yet. Then I'll really be confused.

cracked windshield

It must have happened Monday night. On my way home from work, a rock hit my windshield and caused a slight crack. Because it was evening, I didn't notice the crack until Tuesday morning. I've heard debris hit my windshield many times in all my years of driving (knock wood), but this is the first time I've ever seen damage.

The actual damage was only about an inch long, slightly right of center, and about 2 inches from the bottom of the windshield. I really wanted to get it fixed, but thought it'd be such a pain. I thought I'd have to file a claim, get estimates, and then pay my comprehensive deductible. The only saving grace was that I wouldn't have to rent a crappy car to wait for completion of the repair.

I found out otherwise in a casual chat with my co-worker Jodi yesterday. I was coming back from lunch and saw her at the table eating her midday meal. Her husband Dante works nearby and they usually carpool together. Last Friday, their Saab died in the parking lot and it seemed like half of her department (Customer Service) hung out with them to make sure they got home OK.

I asked Jodi if they found out what caused their car to die. This led me to describe my windshield mishap and she advised me to call my insurance carrier immediately. They experienced the same incident and their insurance company had the windshield fixed without having to replace it. For FREE. I never knew about this kind of service.

Immediately upon returning to my desk, I called CSAA. They had an option on their menu for glass repair. Wow, major cool. I spent the next 10-15 minutes giving the vitals to the service representative. She gave me the option to have the car serviced that day or the next, and whether I wanted the repair to be done at home or work, or at their facility. Gee whiz. I chose to have the repair done at work. She scheduled me for the 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. block and apologized it couldn't be sooner. Wednesdays are usually my late nights, so it wasn't inconvenient at all.

The repair guy from Safelite arrived at about 12:45 p.m. today. It took me about 5 minutes to show him the where the crack was and sign the paperwork. The job itself is only about 30 minutes. Repair work of this kind will yield best results when the damage is minimal (no more than 6 inches) and reported immediately. The warranty is good for the lifetime of the car.

Compared to the body shop/repair experience I had in 1995 after my 8 month old Acura Integra was broadsided in an accident, this was a walk in the park. I wish all service experiences were this easy!

One last shameless plug. Safelite's headquarters are located in my birthplace city, Columbus, Ohio.

Severance package cut

My morning routine at work includes reading a daily e-mail newsletter from the National Retail Federation. Today, it featured an MSNBC article stating that Sharper Image founder and former CEO Richard Thalheimer had his severance pay cut by approximately $3 million.

As mentioned in previous blogs, I did 2 stints at The Sharper Image, nearly 4 years each, from 1983 to 1987 and again in 1989 to 1993. It was my first full time job in my newly adopted city, so I will always have a soft spot for the company. Salary and benefits for a lowly rank-and-file person like me really sucked, so for me to hear Richard's severance package being cut got my undivided attention.

The touchy feely part of me thinks this action is a bit harsh because Richard founded The Sharper Image. He's got terrible management skills and is far a from a person of the people, but the company wouldn't have gotten its start without him.

In contrast, the professional and former employee side of me thinks this is a well-deserved action. The salary gap between rank-and-file and executives has only widened over the years. This "we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore" attitude is long overdue. A company sinks or swims with its CEO, and if it sinks, so should his or her severance package.

short week, long days

Today ended the first week of work for 2007. This past holiday season was the busiest for me in many years. After taking 2 days off to go to San Diego, I knew I would return to work busy, but not at the volume I experienced this past week. We had a system crash this afternoon for about 90 minutes, which didn't help.

On Tuesday, I left the office at 8:45 pm. On Wednesday, 9:45 pm. Che and Jawa have noticed my late arrivals home. Once I did get home, they both climbed on my chest, curled around my arm, or sat on my lap as if to say, "Where the hell have you been?"

Right now, Che is sitting on the end table next to the couch, looking over my shoulder. He wants to sit with me. He has already this evening climbed on my lap and chest on 2 separate occasions. I know he's wondering when I'll be off the damn laptop. If the boys had it their way, they'd walk over the keyboard and block the screen, which they did manage to do Tuesday night.

The long work hours will continue for a few more weeks (or so I hope). I looked at my vacation hours again and I'm only 7 from maxing out. I plan to go in tomorrow just to catch up on work I couldn't get to or haven't touched. And I'm only doing this so the work on Monday will seem a bit more manageable.

Run of the mouth Rosie

This past week, Rosie O'Donnell received a heap of criticism for mocking spoken Chinese. She first provided a partial apology because she didn't think what she said was offensive. Today, she issues a full apology but warns she may do it again. A few weeks earlier, O'Donnell found offensive a remark Kelly Ripa (of daytime's "Live with Regis and Kelly") made after guest host Clay Aiken covered her mouth with his hand during a show taping.

O'Donnell said that as a lesbian, Ripa's response ("I don't know where that hand has been!") implied Aiken lived a certain lifestyle. Ripa said it wasn't that way at all, but only concern that she might catch a cold or flu. O'Donnell then realized she misunderstood Ripa, and said as a parent of young children, hands get dirty and full of germs. O'Donnell and Ripa kiss and make up. End of story.

What I find hypocritical about O'Donnell is that she gets all bothered about an alleged comment about a certain lifestyle, but doesn't think that her mocking spoken Chinese was offensive. As a double minority (gay female), O'Donnell should be acutely aware that both actions are bothersome.

A primary reason why I live in San Francisco is that minorities (gay, Asian, Latino) are the majority. But, as I said before, I'll get over it. So should you.

13 more days

I just got home about a half-hour ago. It's only Tuesday and it's already the week from hell. I skipped my gym visit (I'll try again tomorrow). Without boring you with too many details, all of us at the office are feeling the holiday crunch. Tomorrow afternoon is our holiday cocktail party, which I said I might attend. With the deadlines I need to meet tomorrow, I probably won't go.

I didn't go to last year's party either. While I enjoy our monthly department potlucks, company parties have never been particularly fun for me. I appreciate that companies do this to recognize and reward employees, but I find most of them superficial and boring. I've attended some rather extravagant office holiday parties. My first holiday party I attended in San Francisco was hosted by The Sharper Image.

The party was held at The Fairmont. Huge ballroom, tasty food, sloshed attendees. One of them, a telemarketing rep (name withheld) partied to the fullest extent. To the extent he doesn't remember what he did at the party. He only remembers the next day, trying to get home without shoes and socks. While he no longer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, his story became legend.

My favorite office holiday party was when I was with Gymboree. It was held at The Exploratorium. We had the place to ourselves, ate tons of great food, and got to play with the exhibits. There was a really cool simulation of riding a luge. I had the best time throwing baseballs in my black dress (heels tossed off to the side) to get the speed devices to measure how fast we were throwing. Out of fear in ripping my dress, I didn't throw faster than 45 miles an hour.

As for memorable customer meltdowns, at Sharper I once had a customer who ended up calling the president's office (before PC's and online tracking) because he wouldn't accept my answer that his package was "in transit" the day it was being delivered. Another customer put her son on the phone and forced my co-worker to tell him his present wasn't arriving on time for Christmas.

What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of pressure people put on themselves during the holidays. Especially when they struggle to deliver gifts on time. My attitude to all of this is "SO FUCKING WHAT". If it's that important to get gifts to your loved ones on time, then you've got a seriously shallow view of relationships. If your recipients place so much importance on getting his/her gifts on time, then it's time to re-examine the relationship.

You don't deserve this kind of hell. Neither do the folks who have to listen to you bitch and whine about it either.

parking violation

This afternoon as I was leaving USF's Koret Center, I found a parking ticket attached to my windshield. Guilty as charged, I've been parking in the lot without a permit for at least 2 years. They never enforced the rules, so I kept parking there. I already knew the violation fee, but seeing I owe a whopping $50 to a nearly empty university parking lot during the holiday season only pissed me off more.

It would seem with USF's recent sale with passes (buy 15 get 5 free, buy 30 get 10 free) and my parking ticket, they are needing additional revenue (most universities do). The rec pass sale is usually during the summer months and for the first time since I used the gym, they had a winter sale. I bought the 30-10 deal last week.

If USF is indeed being more aggressive in collecting revenue, I think there are much friendlier ways of doing it. First, they should change their rule on not issuing parking permits (for a fee) to lowly rec pass holders like me. Second, charge fees to all visitors to park in the lot. This is a potential cash cow because they have non-university activities going on all the time. They already have rec center staff for check-in and to process payments. To add parking fee collection to their duties would not be a big deal.

As a result of this ticket, I am thinking long and hard about whether or not I'll renew my rec pass. I've also grown a bit tired of the suburban yokels at the gym I use after work, so perhaps it's time for me to explore new gyms.

allergy meds

Last night after leaving the gym, I went to Walgreens' to pickup my prescription nasal spray. For the past 10 years or so, I've been on allergy medication year round. As I've gotten older, so have the number of medications I have to take.

At first, it was Chlor-Trimeton. It often made me sleepy and thirsty, but it worked. Then, Claritin-D because it didn't make me drowsy. After that, Zyrtec. Most health insurance carriers stopped discounting Claritin and Zyrtec in the late 90's, and buying it over the counter got expensive. I switched to my current medication of Sudafed Plus (or the generic version). I added Rhinocort, my nasal spray, about 6 years ago, and became a regular user of Advair (for asthma) last year.

Gradually, it became harder to buy Sudafed in bulk supply because of the increased illegal manufacturing of methamphetamines from one of its key ingredients, pseudoephedrine. Just this past September, the FDA required all medications containing pseudophedrine to be taken off store counters. They could only be sold in limited supply at the pharmacy counter.

Screw that. Too much of a hassle. So I began buying the new formula of Sudafed Plus, now called Sudafed Plus PE (no pseudoephedrine). Within a week, I found the PE versions weren't working as effectively. Two weeks ago, I tried loratradine (generic version of Claritin) in place of Sudafed Plus PE and nothing improved. My tried and true combo for sneezing and runny nose has been original formula Sudafed Plus and Rhinocort.

I was still in denial despite the constant runny nose and increased tissue use. It wasn't until this week that my eyes looked redder than usual, (even after allergy eye drops) and irritation with my contact lenses that I have to go back to the original formula of Sudafed Plus.

So when I went to pick up Rhinocort, I also asked for Wal-phed, Walgreen's generic version of Sudafed Plus. I asked for 2 boxes of 48, but the pharmacist was only permitted to sell me a single box. Damn. I was required to show my drivers license and they entered it into their database to record the purchase date. I take 2 a day, so this will only last me a little over 3 weeks. Federal laws won't let me renew a supply in less than 30 days.

I took a dose when I got home and within an hour, I noticed the difference. No more runny nose and watery eyes. A wonderful relief, but know I am no longer a drug-free spring chicken. My parents and relatives at their age try to top each other on how many pills they have to take. I'm not far behind.

I missed you, pseudoephedrine. Thank you for making me feel better.

dining table arrives

Today as scheduled, our new dining table arrived. It took about 15-20 minutes for them to unload, carry, and assemble the table (including extension leaf).

No surprises, it looks exactly like the table we saw on display at Scandinavian Designs. To make sure the table would sit 3 across, we put 3 of our existing chairs, and it fits, with plenty of room to spare. This is good because the chairs we have on backorder until January are considerably larger.

We now can officially plan our first Christmas gathering. I already have a tentative menu set. It's similar to last year's menu, but with the necessary modifications to accomodate our guests' dietary needs (me included). All is needed now are 3-5 chairs to borrow until the new ones come in.

Can't we just get along?

Unless you were hiding under a rock, the big news item yesterday was hearing actor/comedian Michael Richards (Kramer of NBC's "Seinfeld") repeating the "N" word several times in an emotional response to audience hecklers who told him he wasn't funny and he's only made it because of "Seinfeld". Sad but true.

Despite the progress we seem to have made on racial tolerance, in many ways little has changed. It wasn't all that long ago an intoxicated Mel Gibson said some not so nice things to a police officer. It seems now just about any public figure says anything disparaging gets in trouble for what they say. Usually it's in the heat of the moment and without much thought.

Having grownup in the Midwest, I've had my own experiences with racism. Kids in school and in the malls pointing, staring, and pulling their eyelids sideways mocking in pidgin English. Being told over the phone after they learn my last name that I don't sound Chinese. When we first moved into our house in Columbus, Ohio, my mom had to have our number changed because of the crank calls about our ethnicity. Luckily, most of this wasn't threatening. Just plain cruel.

While I'm not excusing Richards or Gibson for their remarks, I think we've become a bit too sensitive to racism. I also think we define things as racist too easily. Racist things have been said to me, but mostly it was because their expectation was that I'm someone who doesn't look or act like them.

Racism is mean, hurtful and can cause irreparable damage to a reputation and/or career. And I know somewhere (likely outside of California), an insensitive remark will be said about my ethnicity and/or gender. But I'll get over it. You should too.

Ohio State vs. Michigan

As many of us have already heard, former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler passed away today. Schembechler suffered a fatal heart attack while taping his weekly show, on the eve of college football's fiercest rivalry, Ohio State versus Michigan.

It holds special importance to me because I was born and raised in Columbus, and still bleed Scarlet and Gray. When I applied to college, I considered smaller schools within the state, but my heart and head knew there was no other choice other than Ohio State. While I was a student, I was extremely fortunate to be a season ticket holder. The games were like nothing else I've experienced.

Both schools became the perennial powerhouses they are now because of Schembechler and his former mentor, Woody Hayes. Without the legacy of Hayes and Schembechler, there is no Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Period.

This year the stakes are huge. Ohio State is top ranked, and Michigan is ranked second. Both schools are undefeated and have dominated their opponents all season. It is considered unofficially the National Championship game. Tomorrow's winner will likely go on to the actual National Championship game in January.

As much as I am saddened by Bo's passing, I want the Buckeyes to whip some Wolverine ass. GO BUCKS!

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image courtesy of The Ohio State University

office moochers

Today was the second of our office lunches this week, my department's (Finance) monthly potluck, with Human Resources as our guests this month.

At noon, there were at least 6 people in the kitchen preparing and heating up food, so it should have been apparent there was another luncheon and not a mass scramble to get rid of leftovers. But it wasn't, at least not for one person. Most people in the office go in and out of the back door through the kitchen, and this was no different for this person (gender and department shall remain anonymous).

While I was slicing the 4.5 pound pork roast I brought to be put on a serving platter, this person grabbed a paper plate and put a few slices of pork on it. When I noticed this, I immediately said that my food wasn't leftovers for everyone. The person said sorry and put the slices back.

I've worked in enough places to know this is universal for all offices. For some people, they lack understanding of social cues and office etiquette to know any better. For other people, it's sheer laziness. They no longer have to walk or drive to get lunch, and even better, the food is FREE.

When I worked at Gymboree, the Finance division used to have breakfast every Friday. Each department (Accounts Payables, General Ledger, Payroll, etc.) used to alternate to supply the food. Our breakfasts got so famous that other divisions used to crash the event. We ran out of food before everyone in Finance got their share.

There was one Friday I remember vividly when my department, Sales Audit, brought in Noah's Bagels. It pissed me off to no end that 2 women from the Art Department saw me carrying the bag of bagels, followed me, and actually waited for me to put the bagels out. I told them in a surly tone that the food wasn't ready and to come back once everyone else in Finance got their food.

We ended up having to distribute a stern company e-mail that if they wanted breakfast, then notify Finance and we would include them on the distribution list. Message acknowledged and understood. End of mooching.

Yeah, I probably take etiquette and manners for granted. My family's restaurant attracted people from all walks of life, therefore I got early and frequent exposure to all kinds of social interaction. As a child, I was either in the company of being the only Asian-American, or among all Chinese. Nothing in-between.

My advice to anyone who's not sure what to do in an unfamiliar social situation: SHUTUP, LISTEN and OBSERVE. Throw in unfailing politeness, and you'll do fine.

mixup on the office lunches

A correction to yesterday's blog about the upcoming holiday lunches. Tomorrow is the company's Thanksgiving lunch. Thursday is my division's (Finance) pot luck. I got a head start by having a burger and fries for lunch today. I relieved some of the gluttony running 3+ miles on the treadmill tonight and dined on salad and soup from Whole Foods afterwards.

The never ending battle with the bulge marches on...

Gorging season begins

This week at the office we have 2 lunch celebrations. Wednesday is our division's monthly potluck. Thursday is our company's Thanksgiving celebration. I LOVE turkey, so eating moderately will be difficult. If it weren't for my regular gym visits, I'd have to pull out spandex and leave it out until late January.

Mangia!

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image courtesy of recipesconsumer.com

under contract

Just checked the San Francisco Multiple Listing Service to find out the status of our old place on 6th Avenue. It's no longer listed because it's in contract. Sounds like the price reduction was the ticket. Location doesn't hurt either.

To the new homeowners, good luck. You'll need it.

Preapproved credit card offers

I received this weekend a preapproved offer to apply for the Discover card. Off and on for the past 10+ years, they've been trying to get me as a cardholder. When they finally called me, I told them to go away and take me off any future offers.

Because another offer got sent after I told them to stop, this is what I do to all credit card companies when they don't take no for an answer. Whenever I get an offer in the mail, I take the application that requires a signature and tear it up. Not in shreds, but just enough so that my name can be still be seen. I then take the shredded form, place in the postage paid envelope so graciously provided, and mail it back to them. Sometimes it usually takes 2-3 mailings from the same card issuer, but eventually it stops.

Of course, what will get phone calls and mailings to stop is to call the various agencies to "opt out". A few, such as the Discover mailing, will still sneak through the cracks. Why card issuers think these forms of solicitation still work is beyond me.