Ok, maybe not really, but I have a sore spot (not a visible bruise) on my forehead from Davis hitting me. He was agitated with Cara (shocker!) and despite the come-hither looks, he took his anger out on me. On Friday, I had to move Cara from her room to their bathroom and then back so the "hired help" could service her room. I got a nice two-inch scratch as a result on my belly.
In other news, I finished my second picovoli sweater. It was knit using a superwash merino, which is finer than the Debbie Bliss Cathay called for in the pattern. It turned out quite nice when I knitted one size up.
I am ready to work on a sleep sack for my brother's piglet, but it turns out I don't have any yarn with weight called for in the pattern, or I didn't have enough of it. Instead, I decided to start with a baby blanket using Classic Elite's MarL La in what I thought was a varigated red/wine color. Turns out it's actually four strands of yarn in different colors! Very cool. Knitting it on 15s.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Here Todai, Gone Tomorrow
We took dad to www.todai.com for Father's Day. He suggested we go on Saturday in hopes of avoiding the Father's Day crush (he and I are so alike, it's funny!) Our experience confirms that I am not a buffet kind of girl. I don't like to fight for food, and I definitely don't stand a chance against Koreans and Taiwanese! Those peeps are buffet gurus and are not ashamed to take every last bit of . Having first experienced Todai in Las Vegas, QE and I loved the place. Lots of good food and very bountiful. We went to the one in Fairfax when it first opened and were disgusted with the service. Dad wanted to go, so we gave it another try.
The sushi was good, if we managed to get any. Thick fish, good rice. There must have been at least 12 plates for nigiri sushi, but only one or two had fish both times I went up. The maki (rolls) section wasn't any better. There was a modest line for sashimi--2 varieties of tuna, salmon, and red snapper. Very small pieces of fish, but it's a buffet, so that's to be expected. The kicker was that the sashimi wasn't put out on a platter but sliced to order. It would have been fine except the slicer (I wouldn't call him a chef) was so blatantly stalling in hopes of slowing down the line to possibly deter people(?). After every two people, he needed to pause and get more fish from the fridge. Nevermind that there were already three chunks of each already out. And boy, did he walk ever-so-slowly to the fridge. Then, he needed to adjust his gloves, wipe the boards, or just take a break. After every customer. No joke. Dad and I fumed over Todai's cheapness. If serving sashimi causes a huge loss, then don't serve it at all. By stalling, it only pisses people like us off. But surely a buffet excluding drinks that cost $27.95 could afford serving fish costing $4/lb wholesale, no? I saw a lobster and jumbo shrimp serving schedule that alternates between the two items every half hour. Gee, no wonder people swarm the station! What's really funny is that Todai is supposedly a sushi and seafood buffet. I guess it's a seafood buffet if dishes like fake crabmeat counts as seafood.
The sushi was good, if we managed to get any. Thick fish, good rice. There must have been at least 12 plates for nigiri sushi, but only one or two had fish both times I went up. The maki (rolls) section wasn't any better. There was a modest line for sashimi--2 varieties of tuna, salmon, and red snapper. Very small pieces of fish, but it's a buffet, so that's to be expected. The kicker was that the sashimi wasn't put out on a platter but sliced to order. It would have been fine except the slicer (I wouldn't call him a chef) was so blatantly stalling in hopes of slowing down the line to possibly deter people(?). After every two people, he needed to pause and get more fish from the fridge. Nevermind that there were already three chunks of each already out. And boy, did he walk ever-so-slowly to the fridge. Then, he needed to adjust his gloves, wipe the boards, or just take a break. After every customer. No joke. Dad and I fumed over Todai's cheapness. If serving sashimi causes a huge loss, then don't serve it at all. By stalling, it only pisses people like us off. But surely a buffet excluding drinks that cost $27.95 could afford serving fish costing $4/lb wholesale, no? I saw a lobster and jumbo shrimp serving schedule that alternates between the two items every half hour. Gee, no wonder people swarm the station! What's really funny is that Todai is supposedly a sushi and seafood buffet. I guess it's a seafood buffet if dishes like fake crabmeat counts as seafood.
Monday, June 04, 2007
It's Not You, It's Me
Having cleaned the cats' rooms over the weekend, I noticed how lucky those kitties are. Nevermind that I never cleaned my own room growing up, but here I am, cleaning the cats' rooms. The fact that they have a bedroom as "theirs" is crazy to most people. And then there's all their toys. Many children, especially in other countries, only hope to be as fortunate as our cats! In light of this revelation, I wonder if I am contributing to the environmental crisis. I think all Americans are, by default. The US is one of the largest consumers of energy and other resources. Compound that to us being one of the worst polluters and...there ya go.
What I find embarassing is that our president would like to have a summit of sorts with various countries and develop a plan to reduce pollution. That's great, really. However, my issue is that he is trying to limit India and China's pollution output. Sure, saving the environment is a gloabal issue, but who are we to impose limits and rules on other countries when we had our industrial revolution 100 years ago? Why do we have the right to limit other nations' industrial revolution?
What I find embarassing is that our president would like to have a summit of sorts with various countries and develop a plan to reduce pollution. That's great, really. However, my issue is that he is trying to limit India and China's pollution output. Sure, saving the environment is a gloabal issue, but who are we to impose limits and rules on other countries when we had our industrial revolution 100 years ago? Why do we have the right to limit other nations' industrial revolution?
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Hippie Chick
As the resident food police, Cara inspects everything we eat and is always interested in trying whatever we have. The girl has some odd tastes, including an affinity for egg and turkey bacon sandwiches, chocolate biscotti, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal. Yup, the weirdo likes whole-grain cereal. QE was snacking on a sample of Kashi we received through the mail and Cara was hounding him for a taste. She took a sample from his hand, enjoyed the cereal, and went back for more. I don't pretend to understand.
In other news, I started another picovoli sweater. This time in a gray superwash wool. It seems to be lighter and thinner than the Debbie Bliss Cathay. Should be perfect for summer, don't you think?
The whole Michael Vick dogfighting scandal has me really bummed out. I guess everyone knows dog fights exist, but most of us are probably in denial or mentally block it out. I was in the latter group. I don't care if an athlete or celebrity decides to shoot up drugs or engages in illegal activities. It's disappointing, sure, that they chose to use their wealth on such destructive behavior. But whatever. However, when animals are involved, that's a different story. Yes the dogs are mean and vicious. But it's not their fault. They were trained and taught to be killers. In addition to getting critically or fatally injured during a fight, there are innocent victims who were used as bait, namely cats, puppies, and who knows what other animals. Can you imagine being born only to get ripped apart? This poor baby animal has no idea what is going on. And the fighters themselves are injured in each match. If they are lucky (if you can call it that), they won't get killed by their owner for losing.
I know I am naive for thinking such cruelty does not exist on a daily basis. But maybe I know and try not to think about it. A few weeks ago, CNN had an article about how a cat was found with an arrow shot through his head at close range. The case only reinforces my belief that humans are evil. I would rather see all these evil people kill each other. Really. I don't understand why it's ok to be mean and abusive to animals but heaven forbid we smack a kid for misbehaving. Maybe if parents did a better job raising kids and installing morals and values (do they still exist???), we wouldn't have jerks like Vick running around profitting from animal cruelty. Maybe we would improve as a society if parents disciplined their kids. What I find really interesting is how well-educated people are concerned about the environment but continue to breed and place additional burdens on our already over-taxed planet. Oh right. They recycle their plastic water bottles, so they are doing their share.
In other news, I started another picovoli sweater. This time in a gray superwash wool. It seems to be lighter and thinner than the Debbie Bliss Cathay. Should be perfect for summer, don't you think?
The whole Michael Vick dogfighting scandal has me really bummed out. I guess everyone knows dog fights exist, but most of us are probably in denial or mentally block it out. I was in the latter group. I don't care if an athlete or celebrity decides to shoot up drugs or engages in illegal activities. It's disappointing, sure, that they chose to use their wealth on such destructive behavior. But whatever. However, when animals are involved, that's a different story. Yes the dogs are mean and vicious. But it's not their fault. They were trained and taught to be killers. In addition to getting critically or fatally injured during a fight, there are innocent victims who were used as bait, namely cats, puppies, and who knows what other animals. Can you imagine being born only to get ripped apart? This poor baby animal has no idea what is going on. And the fighters themselves are injured in each match. If they are lucky (if you can call it that), they won't get killed by their owner for losing.
I know I am naive for thinking such cruelty does not exist on a daily basis. But maybe I know and try not to think about it. A few weeks ago, CNN had an article about how a cat was found with an arrow shot through his head at close range. The case only reinforces my belief that humans are evil. I would rather see all these evil people kill each other. Really. I don't understand why it's ok to be mean and abusive to animals but heaven forbid we smack a kid for misbehaving. Maybe if parents did a better job raising kids and installing morals and values (do they still exist???), we wouldn't have jerks like Vick running around profitting from animal cruelty. Maybe we would improve as a society if parents disciplined their kids. What I find really interesting is how well-educated people are concerned about the environment but continue to breed and place additional burdens on our already over-taxed planet. Oh right. They recycle their plastic water bottles, so they are doing their share.
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