16 Jun 2006: I'm sure the infatuation will Pass...

Her name is Madge...

Madge the MINI

These are the pics the night I got her...Ummm the pics don't do her justice...in the daytime she's more atlantic blue...or ummm a afternoon sky blue with a bit of silver flake...like so:

I will post day pics after the weekend...

In my eyes she was born yesterday and conceived in November when I got on the waiting list...Yes boys and girls, the MINI Cooper S Convertible was finally delivered with all the extra bells and whistles, well at least the bells and whistles I wanted...I went to the dealership yesterday around 6pm and we didn't get out of there until like 830 pm. Hahaha we shut that joint down. I have to admit...For those of you who don't know - when you decide you want a brand new Mini Cooper - you get on a waiting list. Because the mini's are made in between regular production - they are also made to specs per customer, they don't turn out very many and the value stays super high. So once you get on the list you put a refundable deposit of 1000 bucks down and then they will contact you once you are on the list - then you come in and finalize your specs and put a secondary deposit down so production can begin on your ride then you get your car --- uhhh, 4-6 weeks from that point. So I got on that list in November and they called me in March and I pushed the date coz I wanted to put more of a downpayment down...then about 2 months ago she went into the Mini Production Line aka Birth Canal...Last week I get this call - your car is here, let us know what you want in it that we install domestically - So I had the usual stuff put in...Lo-Jack System, Privacy Tint, Ipod Attachment, An armrest, Run Flat Performance tires and take the rims up one more inch and all that shit...Last night I went to get her.

Oh Honey...I could barely stand that shit - and when I took the elevator to the second floor I saw a mini facing the exit doors with a car cover on it...it looked like a doo rag for a euro ride. haha. So we go through the motions - sign the paperwork, I get the little aircaps with a mini logo for the tires, they throw me 3 Mini logo pens, 2 logo keyfobs, 2 alarmed keys and 1 plastic key to keep in my purse in case I lock the keys in my car so I can get in. Then Greg says - would you like to see HER? I say YES...and he takes off the car cover and voila - there she is. Madge...I could barely stand it. He explained everything in the cockpit (see pic above) and believe it or not all of those buttons and switches make sense...After he drove us on the loop de loop exit from the 2nd story - I dropped the top and put it in reverse.

1) I'm so happy I got the 6 speed, she's so growly

2) Turbo makes me moist

3) I'm uber happy I got a sports package and upgraded performance shit.

4) Must remember to put a hairbrush in the glove box

5) The night skyline seems much prettier from a convertible

6) Madge is a little bottom heavy so I couldn't resist - I took a right turn @ 50 MPH. I also peeled out on a left turn at Priest and University. Ah so lovely that I have a switch to disable the auto correcting brakes. hahha.

7) I like it when people look at my car and miscalculate her power.

8) It hurts my feelings to drive with the top up.

...so it's 11:30 at night and I pull up to my boyfriends house blasting K-os on the lovely stereo. He pops out the door with a big grin and a wave...I pull into the driveway and the Xenon lights self adjust. haha. He and Zokes are just laughing...they are so happy for me and lookin' at the car sayin' OMG how dope...this car is sick. hahhaa. So the boyfriend unit says so we'll take her for a spin RIGHT. hahaha - he's already runnin' into the house for his wallet. I look at him and he says Wallyworld? I said sure. So we all get in the car and take the highway there and the backroad back. hahaha. En route he had the biggest grin on his face. He was just as happy as me. Then when we woke up this morning...He's like uhhh hmmm can you take me to the Asian store - haha. I laugh and grab my sunglasses and we roll to the store and when he comes out he goes, well we ARE right here - we might as well show Hyder old Madge. Hahahha I laugh.

Hyder is like ohhh dooope. I love Hyder. He's like oh so it wasn't a LIE (big ass grin from Masta Foo)...I'm like Oh c'mon hydacious - you know how hard it is to get into these things. hahahah. He's like Oh I know Sauuuucy...He's like it's a dope car - you deserve it girl...enjoy that shit.

I'm having so much fun right now. I'm sure in a month or so - I'll be over this initial euphoria but for now I'm just gonna have fun with it...Life's little pleasures. I can't wait to drive down Highway 1 in Calie...

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...they are a gang...

Mini cooper people are a little gang. hahaha - but a happy gang in kyoote cars. It's funny, everytime someone in another Mini rolls up on you they either wave or grin or both. It's kinda spooky, but funny spooky. I like that I have a color limited to the Cooper S convertible...

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...on Black Forest Cake...

I made a gelato version of a black forest cake.

Everyone who's tried it really liked it with a few exceptions...

I've been doin' a lot of test kitchen stuff.

Lucky lucky kids...I wish I would have

had a job as a teenager and someone

would say - HEY come here try this...

Bwaa hahahhhahha

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...14 years old...

Why is everyone marking their profile private and stuff...The proliferation of drama is becoming way too prevalent. I don't invite drama, but I won't avoid confrontation either. Ummm. It's just weird how stuff happens tidally - the water's always really high or really low. So you are either wading or drowning...haahha.

But remember this. No matter who you are to me, and no matter how much I love you or like you - once you Volunteer for bullshit you get no sympathy from me. You invited THAT into your life, so you no longer qualify for sympathy or compassion because by volunteering you ceased to be a victim of circumstance.

10 Jun 2006: Mission Accomplished

Albeit she's a bit lumpy and dumpy. Pardon the imperfections - I worked until 10:30 last night and came home and started baking and ganaching...I hope Alyssa really likes it..

This was similar to what she got last year

This is what she got this year...

The inside is strawberry vanilla marble cake and the filling is chocolate ganache - the princess knows what she likes and Daddy Konradio gets it for her...I love that saucy kid. If I would have got a cake like this at such a wee age - I would have squealed my little pigtails off...

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My little sister has already told me I want a cake like that for my birthday in November...Bwaa hahahha. I'mma bring that shit to her office...she ain't no little kid - but i'll accomodate...

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I'm pooped, I'm takin' a nap then getting a rental car until the mini cooper is done on Wednesday damnnit...

10 Jun 2006: Scented Memories...

Today is Alyssa's Birthday, that's DJ Konradio's baby...Last year I did her cake. She requested anything with strawberries and chocolate. I did a strawberry cake with a chocolate ganache filling and whip cream style frosting. Then I topped it with some pretty roses and some chocolate dipped strawberries. That was a 5th birthday cake. You know it's hilarious --- everytime I smell Strawberry Cake baking I think of that kid. I have to say you must love a child's honesty - she once told me the peanut butter cookies I made needed more sugar but the chocolate chip ones were very very good. hahaha.

So it's almost 2am and here I am baking up pans and pans of cake for this kid. This year I'm being a bit more ambitious. I want to do a 3 tier cake of the same flavors but covered with fondant and little hippy flowers and stripes. Bwaa hahaha. I've got plenty of time. The party isn't until about 5-ish tomorrow...I know it's a bit excessive - but i'm gonna make it happen.

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The scent of caramel popcorn reminds me of the ocean...

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The scent of fresh ink just makes me happy and reminds me of afterschool days at the library in happy silence...

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The scent rust reminds me of Manila...

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Cold mint scents reminds me of my early ski trips...

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The smell of gelato reminds me of Venice...

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The steamy scent of ramen reminds me of HongKong...

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I never knew the scent of dust until I moved to Arizona...

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Issey Miyake reminds me of the ferry from Dover to Calais...

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The scent of green mangoes remind me of Boracay Island...

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The smell of hot pavement in the sunshine reminds me of vacation...

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The scent of oak reminds me of after workout saunas...

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Phisoderm makes me think of high school...

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The milky scent of sleepy skin makes me smile..

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How come I love the smell of new books and magazines but can't describe it...and sometimes when you lift the page of new book to your face it's almost like skin caressing your nose...

All kinds of smells that barrage you everyday...it's amazing that your brain can link smell to memory to location to people...just amazing.

09 Jun 2006: I made a new friend today...

This scale has been sitting around the shop for over a month. It was put in the gelato makin' area because it weighs up to 30 kg which is appropriate for their batches. Yet every day when I'd throw my bag under my station it would be sitting there. I had an old beater scale that did standard kg or oz...So today I was scaling out some stuff and couldn't find my beater scale and I walked over to the gelato area to take their secondary scale and took a look at this shiny thing and said to myself Fuckkit - they don't wanna use it, it comes to my station almost daily - I might as well learn how to use it...so I put it on my station and told the GM, the girls don't want to use it and it always ends up at my station so I'm taking it. She said okay...I said does it have a book or anything? She's like they are mailing it to us - I'm like okay...It took me all of 5 minutes to figure out how to move the lever and how many times you push which button to switch from oz to lb to gram to kilogram...I even figured out that if you lift that turquoise window - it automatically zero's out the reader and goes to a frontal read on the micro grams...Too pretty, too dope. It's my new best friend...

Mo' Cakes Foolios...

Caramello Chocolate: Can I say I just love working with caramel...it kind of grows and moves on it's own and gains character. It reminds me of how wood changes after you stain it - or oil paintings grow in clarity and depth

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...on Countergame...

I was talkin' to a friend of mine who has had this reoccurring lava in his life. Boy meets girl. Boy talks to girl and then...

A) She thinks he's a stalker

B) She thinks he 'overlikes' her in some way or form

C) She gets standoffish, pissy or weird coz she feels he likes her

D) All of the above in random order.

E) Said girl wants to hump him and he's not hearing that...

...well let me say this. You're countergame is in the wrong place honey - coz his verbalisms do NOT equal eroticisms...Just because he's inquisitive doesn't mean he's trying to stick his churro in your cupcake. Intense conversation doesn't equal emotion. So tuck your big ass clappin' ears behind your choppy big head haircuts, coz you miscalculated and your cake sank. He doesn't want in between your legs, he wants in between your ears. Coz if he did like you, you'd know without words. And when he chose to show you it would be with printed words. You may be accustomed to game girly, but his spewings aren't game, he's just bein his version of real...

...it ain't that serious 'princess'...his interest is quite low carb...

Don't misconstrue conversations, observations and happenstance glances.

Just because he speaks in passionate voices doesn't mean it's coz of U...

Everything is not about you...the world is made up of everything else.

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How horrible. You can't even have intense conversations or state what you've noticed into words without things being misconstrued. So many people are so full of gassy egocentricisms. Full of themselves yet there is no substance to fill those empty heads. Is it enough - that trendy haircut, those pricey jeans, your trendy passing interests, oh your so intellectually trendy, but that mind of yours can't scratch my brainy itch...can't people be evoluted enough to understand that you can have passionate conversations without sex as a sequel...can't people be evoluted enough to understand that argument and debate can be void of anger...can't people be elevated enough to accept that exchanges don't always lead pursuit...

This is what happens when people tell their children they are special, when all they are doing is average work. People should be thanked for doing what they should be doing and praised for excellence. Praising mediocrity has bred a lot of people, who feel that a simple hello is an intro to seduction.

Well lemme tell you...If you think that's seduction

go back to preschool baby...

Coz your world is so tiny

I might sneeze on you

and it will simply

disappear...

07 Jun 2006: Damn Dust Storms

The weather is just weird...I'm not feeling this dust storm shit - it really gives me the geebies to drive in dust storms...the lightning and rain doesn't bother me - although that trickle can hardly be called rain...It's really odd to walk to your car in 107 degree temps but the raindrops feel ice cold hitting your skin...odd. It's worse walkin' in pure dust - my contacts feel like razorblades in my skull. I don't like it.

So I was walkin' out of the shop...diggin through my stuff --- my brain was already far away and I could hear the quasi excited speech of a little teenage girl. She was talkin' about someone in her school to a group of boys (who of course wanna smash her cake) who did their best to appear attentive. She's just like any of those 15 year olds you see around super thin, assymetrically cut hair, a bit too thin and jeans riding low with heavy shoes...She was blathering on about a boy in her class. Someone who didn't 'have friends' or 'go out' and would rather be doing his own thing...and 'geez no one likes him'...The first thought in my head was - maybe he doesn't like any of you that's why he doesn't get in the mix with any of you. There prolly ain't shit wrong with that kid - he's quiet coz he can't stand your asses...of course it would never occur to her that she's annoying. What arrogance, such pitiful arrogance mixed with a useless desire to please and be popular. *urp* sorry i just puked in my mouth...

So there's raspberry and there's chocolate

and the two are still married...

Graduations are in Season...

All three of mine seem so long ago...

Congratulations Julie (my jujubean), Aly (my APC), Sam & BrittBratt (my two favourite cheerleaders ever and Erin (my favourite breaktime breaker) then there's my two favourite trouble makers, Nicole and Rachel...I'm sure you all will stalk me on your vacations home for treats and hugs...

Testing Testing 1 2 3

I've been testing different stuff. I like testing recipes and making adjustments and tracking everything. I must admit I'll never get tired of almond meringue cookies. My tastebuds were all euro-ed out from the different tortes I was making so I made a Peanut Butter Sandwhich...well uh...a Peanut Butter Gelato on poundcake with a bit of Raspberry chocolate ganache...The kids like it...I left it in the freezer to see how it would weather a couple days on ice or if I have to butter that hoe up a little more. It's a fun eat - that's for sure...I wish i had a pic of the kids faces after they tried it...

...tired now - head's swimmin...

fans squeakin...

and i sure could use a slurpee

but i'm too lazy to drive...

ciao

31 May 2006: Bow to the BAO - foo'z

...the BAO situation...

Char siu Bao aka Steamed Buns aka Siopao aka Manapua

Rocky is our marketing director at work...he and I often enter conversations about food and dim sum and what not. So he told me you should try to make some kind of Pan Fusion Bao. My intention was to make brisquet filling. But today I just wanted to mess with the dough. So I picked up a strip of beef tenderloin (erm 40 bucks worth)...and I marinated it in some honey sesame teriyaki crap with korean red chili...The cooking part of it is simple 15 minutes of steaming no peek a boo cookin = then dry the lid and steam for another 7 minutes. I've never made Bao before...So some of the buns opened up but my sister said girl I would kill all 10 of those if you din't already make korean ribs. haha. I put the prettiest ones away for Rocky to try in the freezer but here's a pic of the 'rejects' everyone will eat with dinner tonight...

-reject bao-

My brothers friend is stayin' with us for a minute. He is, as Judi says, the most Filipino white boy I know. It doesn't even matter what I cook or my sister cooks - he's like what's it called - okay i'm down. It doesn't matter what kind of food it is, he kills it. His absolute favorite is Kare kare and he even rocked spicy bagoong with it. How you like that shit. Well, I told them last night - i'm making korean ribs and cucumber for dinner - so they all got on the treadmill tonight for an extra 30 minutes - haha. He's also never had Siopao, and I split one for him and my brother and he said shit i'm addicted now...shoooo-POW! I looooove it. Hahahha. All the food got killed tonight - I made about 10 lbs of flanken ribs and the usual, there was enough to pack lunches for tomorrow and the puppies are most happy with all the bones left...It's hilarious - even at the volume that I cook at any location - very rarely are there leftovers, and when there are they are quickly packed as a next day lunch. My lolo (grandfather) used to call them re-runs...but there's hardly ever reruns...I take that as a quality seal of approval - when all the food is killed...

on Rice...

Steamy mysterious peeking under the glass covered keep hot machine - AH. I love rice even though I'm not eating it lately. I love medium grain sticky rice like Kokuho or Calrose...When I can find it I like green sprout tipped Japanese short grain that is so fragrant and naturally sticky it doesn't need any help at all. With a Garlic and Sampaloc (tamarind) leaf stuffed Salmon I just adore Pandan infused Rice. Measure it by hand, don't measure it with a cup. Different grains require different movements of the hand - fuck it up enough times and you'll figure it out. When I used to eat rice on the daily - I even liked cold rice with a piece of salmon tucked inside of it like a rice ball and sprinkled with Wasabi powder...ah so sadly - those days are gone - when you're in your 30's you have to give up some things, and rice is one of them. Nevertheless, I love the scent of it when it's properly made.

I roasted the ribs in the oven, I was too lazy to heat coals in the pit. Besides, the oven was already hot from the Beef Tenderloin slow roast

See Ribs Below...

Oi - korean cucumber with kochujang and chili powder...So Yummy - I could eat a pound of these By Myself...see below

**burp** the end of dinner

My favourite things lately...

...garlic roasted peanuts

...mexican omellettes

...chartreuse toenail polish

....laughing visits from the kids at work

...my new universal remote that looks like a cell phone

...my new dvd player with DivX that plays burned movies

...goofy voicemails from my boyfriend that make me laugh

...Dr.Zokes calling me a GANGSTA chef in a drunken stupor

...sugar free tamarindo drink

...the new maurice sendak stamps with the wild things monsters

...russell stover sugar free chocolate peanuts

...my Dubstar stickers

...kneading dough

...my poisonous journal with all my poisonous thoughts

...brand new canvas waiting to be painted on

...all 12 of my new tees to go with my new pairs of jeans

...nana wedgie shoes for April's wedding

...long naps for no reason at all

...anticipating vacation

Bad Stuff...

...erm my new vanilla sparkle antiperspirant, WHAT WAS I THINKIN'

...running out of palmers cocoa butter, ashy ashy ashy

...no extra toilet paper in the potty - damn you guys

...hang nails

...i'm out of echinacea

...south beach power bars make you fart for 4 hours

...the mini cooper s convertible takin' too long...

...anticipating vacation

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I haven't brought the digi cam to work for a few weeks and I have yet to take pics of these edible chocolate plates I made for the dessert to sit on - but I'm doin the best I can as work lately is just work - not as much as it was and not as much as it could be. I trust that nature will right herself - because everything goes where it belongs and where it should be naturally...no matter what you do, you belong somewhere or you don't...

...the cake is still payin' my bills

Tiramisu & Rocky Road

Here comes the Roche

and still more chocolate

Raspberry chocolate - very strange this one - I've been getting a lot of custom requests for these ones and in big sizes. Hey it's one of my favourite combinations too...but people rarely break from what they know.

And raspberry...even my best Chef Girl Katie loves Raspberry...

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I miss Chef J from school...As much as a pain in the ass most of those girls were in my class - I still find myself missin' school. hahha.