Pauly's Plog

updates

2009-05-01T06:52:00.001-07:00

VERY LONG TIME without an update, and for I'm sorry...

-graduation ceremony in Boston in 2 wks, though not officially done until Sept.

-headed to Asia from there for an elective class, gone for 3 wks, visiting companies such as Toyota, LG, Asahi Beer, Samsung, etc. In tokyo, seoul, bangkok. Also going to cambodia.

-work is good.

-mel is substitute teaching

-mochi almost died, but now he is ok. Pet hospitals are very expensive

-its spring in portland. U can see the mountains and everything is green and gorgeous

-my wife is an amazing chef.

-a very tardy congrats/props to bj and matt on ur weddings, we had a blast at both.

-praying for my unc to heal and strength to fight a tough battle. We love with all our heart and soul!

Peace from the morning train ride,

Pauly

Snowbound and Dreaming....... (A post made by Mel, since P is busy being a SMARSH/BABSON dork these days)

2008-12-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ahhh....cabin fever.

Gotta love it.

We've been living in the Pacific Northwest for over 3 years now and have never seen this much snow in the city. The mountains, yes. But here in Portland? Nope. I thought I left this weather when we moved out of Philly....

It's weird. At first, I loved seeing it come down. I gave Pauly his Hannukah gift, a nice retro record player/radio/stereo system, cracked open some vino, played some old vinyls, and went for a walk in the snow.

I don't mind that I can't drive in this, but it sucks that the bus isn't even running. So I can't even go to the gym, which is only a 5 minute drive away. And no, HELL NO, I'm not walking up a steep insane snowy bank to get there. (I value my health and all, but not to that extreme).

Two days off from the gym is not a big deal. I can wait.

But now I'm kind of craving warm.....

What I wouldn't give to go here RIGHT NOW:

http://www.hotelriadcelia.com/

And pretend to live abroad, drink tea at high noon, cocktails before dinner, and indulge in a nice horseback ride into the sunset?

Hmmmm....we can all have our fantasies right?

Ick. I'm counting down the days (literally) until we head to Montego Bay, Jamaica for BJ's wedding......

I need a vaca like no other!!

At www.igniteportland.com tonight

2008-11-13T17:52:00.001-08:00

At www.igniteportland.com Tonight...

Mel praxis test

2008-10-28T06:26:00.001-07:00

HUGE CONGRATS goes out to my wifey, Mel for passing her praxis test!!! This test has been a major obstacle in our lives, but its now behind us. Next up in our lives is her student teaching after the new year, and also my moms in law moving in with us for a few months until she gets situated here in Oregon.

GO PHILLIES!!!

my bro-in-law's food tv show pilot!

2008-10-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

"A Local's Guide to Thai Food" - with my bro-in-law, Travellin' Matt as the host, check it out, click here!

the past 3 months...

2008-09-22T11:48:00.001-07:00

these past 3 months have been a blur. school/work, school/work, school/work is all i've been doing. we had some visitors at the end of the summer: Mel's brother Matt and his girlfriend, OJ, and then our homey Rich and his girlfriend, Liz. we had a lot of fun, did some cave-dwelling with rich and liz underneath mount st. helens where the lava flowed, it was really cool. mel rocked some frisbee golf on mt hood with matt and OJ, i missed out on that one since i had work...

school's cool, doing this big Innovation Challenge next wk, competing against around 100 teams of MBA students from top schools all around the world.. 1 year down, 1 to go. hopefully going to japan, korea, and thailand for school to study asian business in may 2009.

work is cool, still killing it at sales and managing 4+ ppl in portland.

mel is good. she's cooking like a top chef these days. we traded cooking duties when i went back to school and she's really outdoing herself.

im off to chicago in an hour or so for a work conference, just for a day.

mochi is cool. he has 2 personalities. 1/2 the day he is cute little mochi (aka mocheezle or mochironi), but then the other 1/2 of the day he is ScratchBite (aka SB, or scratchbizzle the demon). it's crazy how quickly he can change personalities. he terrorizes kippy, and everything else in the house. he loves receipts and napkins. and pouncing on kippy when she least expects it. and your toes.

listening to M.I.A. and My Morning Jacket lately.

excited fall is here. get your honeycrisp apples when you see them and stock up.

Happy B-Day Mom, Happy Father's Day Dad. And Meet our new kitten, Mochi.

2008-06-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

Happy B-Day Mom!
Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Meet our new kitten, Mochi:

nike5k

2008-06-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

ran the 5k today...finished in 29 mins..probably could've done a lot better, but it was so crowded at the start it slowed us down majorly at the beginning and again at the end... elyse and ken from work and my homey henry from school ran with me....got to hit the nike employee store afterwards - major props and thanks to krishnan for the hook up on the Oregon track club jacket, new Zooms, etc...

results and pic:

here's a video of what it's like to dogsled with a real Iditarod dog sledding team

2008-04-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Alaska Pics

2008-04-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

here's some pics from our alaska trip: glaciers, wildlife, city of anchorage, city of talkeetna, dog sledding, etc.

Alaska, Day 1

2008-04-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Since many of you don’t read our blog, or my personal blogs on myspace, I thought I’d send everyone an update of our present whereabouts in Alaska….

We’re in love with this place.

Although P and I did not “plan” ahead of things to do (which really isn’t our style anyways), we came up here on a last minute desire (Thank you again, Thomas. We absolutely LOVE and miss you) and decided to just wing the trip in all.

But seriously, we LOVE this place. And I know my exposure so far is JUST the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended, hahah).

It’s everything we imagined it to be and more.

We arrived to Anchorage late Thursday night and drove our rental to this ‘lil Bed and Breakfast only 10 mins from Ted Stevens International Airport. We crashed and woke up this morning to this HUGE homemade breakfast and then hopped into our rental en route to our fist Alaskan adventure, Portage Glacier.

The drive was scenic and downright breathtaking. Surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, we drove along the Turnagain Arm and stopped along the way to view Dall sheep trekking in the rocky mountain side. I had brief “moments” where I SERIOUSLY felt as if I were in a clip from the hit T.V series, “Planet Earth”!

For REALS.

It was CRAZY.

After about an hour or so (like 50 miles), we finally reached the small town of Alyeska. It’s sleepy ski village with lots of cute and friendly dogs and their nice owners.

While here, we stopped at a candle factory/mini bookstore/coffee clutch, bought a few souvenirs, and headed to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. At this place, P FINALLY got to see his beloved “Musk Ox” and some reindeer, and I got close to a brown bear cub (Behind a wire fence of course).

It was pretty neat.

Lastly, we reached Portage Glacier after another 15 minute drive and got lost in the scene.

It was OBSCENE. SO AMAZING.

I cried because of the beauty.

The backdrop was so white that it was blinding. It almost reminded us of the snowy/icy backdrop from “Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back”. As we stood there, motionless, we could imagine these huge robots emerge like in the movie…..unreal!

We loved it. Spent a while browsing, snapped insane pics, ate some reindeer sausage, and headed back to Anchorage for a brief nap.

Tonight, it’s all about the Alaskan king crab, baby….

We have reservations for a spot downtown that was recommended by our neighbors/homies back in Portland, Trevor and Megan. The place is called The Glacier Brewhouse and we’re told that the beer is off the rocker and brewed to perfection….my mouth is salivating.

Tomorrow, we head north towards Fairbanks to Trevor’s hometown, Talkeetna, to meet his family, go dog sledding, and maybe pick up some fresh wild salmon which we will transport back to Portland. (Thanks Trevor for the hook-up!! We’ll take pics of the fam and send our love). We really appreciate the tips!

I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated.

If not, it’s cool….we’ll send everyone some pics soon!

Lots of love,

Paul and Mel

P.S. - Forgot to mention that while driving back to our place, we discovered this older couple walking their dog AND their pet reindeer (named Star).

P.S.S. - We decided that we are never leaving.

Just kidding. Or not.

Alaska & Nike 5k

2008-04-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

2 real quick things:

1) Mel and I are going to Alaska tomorrow night for a few days. Yeah, just like that. We're headed to Anchorage. We're going to eat Alaskan king crab legs in Alaska. We're going to drink Alaskan Amber. We're gonna ride on a dog sled and pet Alaskan husky and Malmute puppies. We're going to see moose and caribou and wolves and bears. We're going to eat Alaskan salmon and halibut. We're going to see glaciers. And the aurora borealis. should be a blast. come look for us in Anchorage if we don't return once going 'into the wild..."

2) i signed up for the Nike 5k for kids. sat, june 7th...i've got a couple friends running it with me. 3.1 miles...

be good.

pauly.

update

2008-03-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Waiting at the mexican joint to pick up some tostadas for dinner. Ran 2 miles today. Prior, I was only able to run 1.5. When I started, about a month ago, I could only do 3 laps, or .75 of a mile. Feeling good...its my stress reliever. Last yr it was biking, but now I value my time on the bus and train, as that is where I bang out much of my school reading...

School is tough. Lots of reading case studies and discussing complicated business strategies and possible ramifications.

Obama was in portland today. Tickets sold out quickly. Mel tried to get them. I hope he wins.

Lots of chai tea lately. And more and more vegetarian meals. Clear mind and body. Helps me focus. Acupuncture again tomorrow.

Alaska trip soon. Can't wait. Mels mom visiting for a week in 1.5 wks.

Stay well.

pauly

Acupuncture 2

2008-03-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

I have sensitive skin...

acupuncture

2008-03-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

Mel and I went to our first acupuncture treatment on Saturday. The
acupuncturist is our neighbor- http://drcatherinegurski.com/ I think is
her site... Check these pics!

best new song with best new robot

2008-02-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

my favorite new song: Spoon "Don't You Evah" along with a video of the coolest robot: Keepon

Winter Favorites by Melenie

2008-01-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

Yep. Rainy season is in FULL EFFECT. It's driving me nutso...stir crazy...Bleh. However, I have come to fully accept the very fact that I live in the Pacific Northwest and it rains here. Alot. Period. Especially in the winter. With that said, although I get nutty from the drub, I do know that this rain is responsible for creating the ginormous trees and ferns I've come to love since I relocated. And I love the green come spring!

So I've compiled a list of favorite things that I turn to when I feel drab from the long rainy season here in Portland. (For those of you that live here or in neighboring Seattle, you can relate so enjoy). For those of you that live afar, send me sun if you have it.

1. I love wine.

I joined a wine club over the summer (Maresh Red Barn). This wine ROCKS. Really. It does. I love the fact that this dude who works there always wears the same blue overalls (his name is Sam) and he remembers my name. Plus their vieww of the Dundee hills is SICK. (Think Sonoma/Napa County meets a wave of green and a few alpacas). Love this place.

Also love the Portland winery Hip Chicks Do Wine. (Google their website). Their located 15 mins from my house and they have yummy wines. The winery is also solely run and operated by two VERY COOL women that are driven and super smart. They inspire me. If you go late in the day, the nice lady working the retail store/tasting room will give you a short tour of the processing room. Very cool. Something very chill to do in the rain. And the wine is considerably less expensive than those in the Willamette Valley. (their harvests come from there though) :)

Finally, the BEST wine for the price that I've indulged in recently is Charles Shaw's (formally known as "2 buck chuck" for you west coasters) Nouveau Valdiguie. The bottle is a mere $2.99 and tastes so close to a Beaujolais from the rack of a pricier wine specialty store. It's yummy. I like it. A case only costs $35 bucks. When I first moved here from philly I went Charles Shaw crazy...It was February and my first "Rainy season"...

One of my resolutions was to indulge in good wines in 2008. Cheers to that! Holler.

2. Title Wave Bookstore rocks my world.

If you live in Portland you know about this place. If not, then you must discover. I go here atleast once a week. (Sorry Powells, I love you too...BUT...) This bookstore is owned by the Multnomah County Library and holds books that are overstocked or outdated from each branch (which are quite a few). I swear my book collection has TRIPLED in the past year due to this place. All books are priced at like $1 to $3 from ANY realm and they have magazines for 25-50 cents. I just bought seven praxis/math guides, two zines, a political journal, and book for 8 beans. They often have sales where they offer you a bin to fill with as much stuff as you can for 10 bucks.

Go there.

3. Ristretto Coffee Shop makes an OBSCENE latte.

Seriously. It's my new favorite latte spot. I have a list of fav latte joints. But since my move to the Concordia 'hood, it's been a while since I've been to a few of them. Costello's Travel cafe rocks. Tiny's Rocks. Gold Rush rocks. and Stumptown will always have my heart. (Although it competes with Aj Java and Portland Roasting Co.)

4. Dragonfly Chai is BLAZING.

Buy a bottle for 5 bucks. Cop a box of soy milk, measure half/half, warm it up over the stove, mix in the mug. Indulge. I have one every night after dinner...it's from a local company here in Ports. If you want a bottle, holler. If I love you I'll send one. :) They have many flavors. (Black Tea, Roobis Red, and Green). The Roobis is my fav.

5. Stews and Soups are a big part of my winter life.

(ok. it's been a minute since i've blogged. So forgive the length.)

I LOVE cooking. Really. I do. And in the winter time I love making my homemade Juk and wonton soups (yes, from scratch my friends). We often go out for udon/ramen or pho, but it's fun to make it at home too. P and I have also broken out our Fondue kit that we got as a wedding gift and never used. I must say that this thing ROCKS. We recently made a "hot pot" and did it up sukiyaki style at home. It was life altering. We also used it during NYE for cheese and chocolate...yums. **Note: everything in moderation people!

6. Buy the pork carnitas from Trader Joe's. Like now.

So yummy. Rip the pack open, dump it in a cast iron pot, add a cup of beer (light or dark), a can of corn, and your favorite salsa. (I typically chop up LOADS of garlic and onion too). Let it simmer. Add cilantro. Enjoy. When I'm too lazy to cook an entire meal this pack saves me. I never added tequila to it, but I bet it would be a nice substitute for beer...

7. Rogue Beers RULE against most others.

www.rogue.com Visit this site. The Chocolate Stout is by far my favorite.
ok...enough for now. I'll add more later.

Nonetheless...Happy New Year everyone. Sorry I haven't called. Been busy hibernating.
Cheers.

Currently reading : The United States of Wal-Mart
By John DickerRelease date: By 16 June, 2005

toyota yaris

2007-12-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

this is the car we bought today, same color, toyota yaris.

buying a car

2007-12-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

cant decide, new car or used car?

new cars i'm looking at are the floor level toyota yaris, maybe the kia (only because of the 6-10 year warranty), maybe honda fit, but its out of my budget. i dont want to finance.

OR...used toyota or honda accords...

looking to drop around 10k....

what to do, what to do... the new car will put me at 12-13k though....

December

2007-12-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since my last post. Things are going really well, though pretty stressful learning to adapt with a couple of hours of reading a day for school. My first two classes are over this weekend and two new ones start this week: finance and managerial assessment.

had a little Babson holiday party last night and I have my work one tonight, which should be a blast. things are going great, i'm juggling some potential very large sales right now, should find out some news by end of year about them...

i think we're gonna buy a car this month, as we need to get out and explore more on the weekends, if we can get away from schoolwork. melenie's taken over cooking on the weeknights. i miss it. she does a great job, however, as she's an awesome cook also.

facebook.com is my new favorite web hang out. im probably mad late on joining that party, but i dig it, nonetheless. def. way better than myspace.

happy hanukah and merry xmas.

p

beaker from the muppets sings coldplay

2007-12-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

bday wknd

2007-11-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Family visit was a blast. had some great times, some great food, some great laughs. i got a Nintendo Wii, a dope digital voice recorder, a bbq kit, cast iron pans, home depot gift card and a homemade apple pie. couldnt ask for more...dinner at Carlyle was fantastic, breakfast at Columbia Gorge Hotel even better and lots of wine and brandy tasting. oh, and honeycrisp apple eating, the best apples in the universe.

busiest week for me in ages...school and work proved to be super stressful this week with team conference calls lasting 2 hours each night and a long in person one on friday night....

Babson issued a press release about our class this week...

pumpkin carving video w/ me, erica and melenie:

School/DC/30

2007-10-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Life has been hectic, really hectic lately. First off, I've started school and went through 5 days in a row of 8am-8pm class from thurs-mon. Then, the next morning I woke up at 4am to fly to DC. Worked at a conference until this morning and now I'm waiting in DC to fly home. Cool thing is though, I fly through philly and have a 3 hr layover there, so my mom and sis are gonna pick me up to chill for a lil bit and maybe grab a cheesesteak. Waiting at the airport now blogging (writing this) on my cellphone and doing some observations for class. I'm REALLY excited about school, the kickoff was very inspiring. My class is about 45 very bright mid-30s to 40 guys from Intel, Microsoft, Nike, GE, Apple and more...mel is quitting her job next week, my parents and Er come out to visit next week and I turn 30. Getting old stinks. Pauly.

breast cancer walk

2007-10-04T12:28:00.001-07:00

My cousin Abby’s team for the fight against breast cancer and the huge walk this wknd in Philly raised over $60,000!!!!

That’s amazing and I am very, very proud of her. Abby, my mom, Aunt Lo, and many more are walking like 50+ miles this wknd for the cause. Congrats on a great job, ladies and have an awesome weekend.

Paul

some links

2007-09-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

a ton of links for you to browse:

a little info about my new grad school here: Babson College

SHOCK: GREENSPAN CLAIMS IRAQ WAR WAS REALLY FOR OIL

Oregon Wine

our new supermarket where everything is local, organic, sustainable, etc.: New Seasons

the current audiobook i rock in my mp3 player while biking to/from work: Malcolm Gladwell, "Blink"

our favorite new thai restaurant on alberta st, its actually fused w/ brazilian?!?!? but it's amazing: siam society

update?

2007-09-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

sorry for not writing for such awhile...

been fixing up the condo a bit, learning how toggle bolts, how to put up mirrored closet doors, etc. bbq to meet all the neighbors last night was fresh...made 2 racks of ribs and some sum thum. oh, and we made sangria too...delicious.... so erica and rich came to visit...then a few weeks later, kellie and jesse came to visit...we went wine tasting and to the coast both times....def. our favorite things to do here...winter's hill is our current favorite winery.... we're off to america's dopest sake producer next time - Sake One.

studying accounting today. very fun.

we now have a new pet, a beta fish. its name is bater.

i got a promotion at work. yay!

ive been on cholesterol meds for awhile now and riding my bike all summer but my lipids are worse? nay!

i like these comedians, they're flipping hilarious. flippin! (like flight of the conchords...)

john heffron
http://www.comedycentral.com/comedians/browse/h/john_heffron.jhtml

demetri martin
http://www.comedycentral.com/comedians/browse/m/demetri_martin.jhtml

we have 2 other visitors coming this month...nicacelly, an ill clothing designer who se know from stink and mecca and my girl marisa tener...and also tim sword, from Food Export, USA, who we went to India with in December....

rich and erica visit

2007-08-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

new spot is coming together very nicely. mel turned 29 on aug 1. rich and erica came to visit this wknd. wine tasing, chess on the coast, seafood eating, bar hopping, here's the Rogue brewery, best beer in the world:

school/condo

2007-07-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

i've been accepted to 2 schools thus far for grad school and am waiting to hear back from 1 more. i'm torn between a very prestigious, top 25 school (according to business week) And #1 entrepreneur school worldwide according to newsweek... but MAD expensive... $50K for the 2 yr program... so torn between that school and a good local school thats very reasonable on the pocket...about 1/2 the cost of the prestigious one...i figure if i make $10k more per year with the prestigious degree, even if it's 5, well then i make that back in 2.5-5 years...so i'm gonna attend the prestigious school if student loans will assist enough....i've already got the burden of rent going up by $350 a month because it's not rent anymore...now it's mortgage + HOA dues...

new interpol album is boring. sales are great right now. new condo has the coolest neighbors...10 units and all the owners are cool peeps that are our age.

its been absolutely gorgeous here with the most perfect temperature and weather. 75 and sunny today. can't beat it.

im off to do some super late night moving.

p!

new condo tour - sorry about the lighting & camera-work

2007-07-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

my boys from philly's new song/video: The Cobbs "Hold On"

2007-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ratatouille

2007-07-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

mel and i took 3 of her students to see the new Pixar flick, Ratatouille today. The movie was amazing...a rat aspires to be an amazing chef in paris...awesome for kids and adults, check out the trailer below:

amazing weather

2007-07-01T01:31:00.001-07:00

its been an awesome summer thus far in terms of weather. another gorgeous high of 80 day today enjoyed with some wine, cheese and gelato at a chill neighborhood outdoor café...

condo

2007-06-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

our offer on the condo was accepted and so i guess we bought a condo!??!?

it is located here.

it looks like this:

we close/settlement in about 2 weeks. we will move between mid next month and the end of the month...

the show flight of the concords on HBO is hilarious!

oregon strawberries and ranier cherries are so ripe and delicious right now.

peas.

gmat/condo

2007-06-23T17:30:00.001-07:00

retook the gmat today, brought my score up 70 pts to a 550! good news, good news. also made an offer on a condo we really dig, for only $150k in a dope up and coming neighborhood!

tall lilys

2007-06-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

we've got some tall lilys in our yard...

its been a while...

2007-06-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

let's see what's new with us...well, we've been house-hunting exhaustingly over the past 2 weeks, going out almost every night looking at condos to purchase...we're still not sure exactly what we want though and finally realized howw stressful this can be whhen push comes to shove...for example, when you're sitting in the realtor's office going through the 50 page sale agreement with the pen in your hand, initialing everythign and at the last minute, ask what's up with the other property, then see that that one came back on the market at 10G's lower than what it was before, but it's still not necessarily in the your budget...or is it? hmmm....

after the past 2 weeks we've developed a way more knowledgable perspective on things though, and are gonna just chill and keep an eye out online but not go look at anything else unless we aboslutely love what we see online...we're gonna focus on school tests right now...I have to retake the GMATs because my math score was sub-par, and pretty much, same with mel, she has to retake the math portion of her PRAXIS test also... so we'll be studying the next month or so...

our cousin out here, Dylan, is graduating high school tongiht, so congrats to him, we're off to his graduation ceremony in an hour or so....

my plants are looking nice right now, especially the strawberry's and mel's HUGE lilys...pic to come...they tower over us...

early shout out to my mom turning 50 next weekend and tim-t turning 30 on the same day...

im thinking about driving to either Glacier or Yellowstone National Park this summer...which do y'all thnk would be doper? both are around an 11 hour drive...

full sail beer

2007-05-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

slamming new full sail brew out. check the 6 pack pics. house hunting this past week, looking for a spot for $150,000. checking out both condos and single homes...still torn between which one we want...also trying to finish up my grad school application essays...thats whats new, thats the deal. peas out, pauly pecans.

gmat; game of real life

2007-05-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

took the test yesterday morning, bright and early. i didnt even hit my personal minimum that i wanted to, so im pretty disapointed...we'll see if its enough to make it into business school, i have a couple of options here in portland, though i really only want to get into 1 school - PSU, portland state university...

other than that, played a cool board game over this couple's house last night called "the game of real life" - http://www.gameofreallife.com/ . check the board out below. some hippy took 6 yrs to develop this and sells it at the portland saturday market, which is like a huge flea market every saturday downtown...

raw egg

2007-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

after a lot of studying for the gmat, me and these crazy culinary student neighbors nathan and jason drank down a raw egg, hatched by a local chicken that a chef-teacher raises at their school...

farmers market, philly/portland/orlando

2007-05-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

its been a month since i last posted, so sorry to all my faithful readers.... life has been good to us recently... won a sales contest for being the number one salesman for january through march so got to go to orlando for a few days for a nice conference, made a bunch of good leads, chilled by the pool for awhile, got to golf which was cool. eat and drink great food, good wine with my boss.

melenie resigned from being a pre-school teacher, and has a new opportunity with a non-profit and is concentrating on grad school. she got to fly down to LA earlier this week to interview for the job, though she will work from home in portland. things are looking good for her there.

we flew back to philly for Tim-T's wedding to Alisha, and also for a ceremony for my nan Hannah. the wedding was great, the ceremony was very nice and we had a blast overall. it was great to see all our friends and family. my pop mel gave us some awesome family recipes and a cool willie the worm mumsic box he hand-carved. had my moms awesome brisket which i helped her make, and got to chill w/ a ton of people. peace to travellin matt, my brother in law home for a few weeks as well in philly who brought me a ton of cool shrts from thailand... tim-t - congrats homeboy and have a blast in hawaii. bj, alex and evan - have fun with your girls moving in. dont kill each other. cook for them every once in awhile. bring flowers every once in awhile. dont forget to lift the seat when pissing. bean - tell your girl to pace herself next time. mom and dad - love yas.

mels friend kristy had her baby! congrats to her and alan and little erica anne!

back in portland. spring is here. it's amazing. farmers market today was awesome. we copped a vanilla honey latte, some fiddlehead ferns, maiitake mushrooms, french breakfast radishes, tomato seedlings, lemon basil, thai basil, arugula, awesome organic sausage (country sage, italian, sweet potato and andouille). mel got some peonie flowers.

last night we saw douglas coupland's first movie, "everything's gone green" - pretty dope. nice to see vancouver in a movie, it looks awesome, i want to go back there... cool movie about feeling guilty from slight corruption, not being happy w/ being middle class, photography, the lottery and being in your late 20's.

new pics from wine tasting in dundee

2007-04-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

i added some new pics from when unc jay visited and we went wine tasting in dundee, OR.... click on link below from my post the other day w/ thee pics...

Kurt Vonnegut, 84, dies in Manhattan

2007-04-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite authors passed away tonight...

Kurt Vonnegut, 84, dies in Manhattan

unc jay visit

2007-04-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

uncle jay arrived a few days ago to visit for the long easter weekend...he got here on friday around dinner time and i bbq'd up a leg of lamb...i used alton brown's recipe, marinated it w/ mint leaves (from my garden), mustard, red wine, salt, pepper and garlic.... next day, went to the falls, a fish hatchery and hood river.... dinner at clark lewis for some awesome, local organic foods... halibut, radishes, scallops, mussels, pork, rock fish and squid w/ pasta... drinks at doug fir, mcmenamins, and more....saturday off to cannon beach / indian beach, for cool climbiing on the rocks, awesome seafood: fish and chips, dungeness crab, razor clams, etc... wached 10 commandments at night....sturgeon fishing today! we caught about 4-5 fish, only 1 keeper, though, a 42 incher. sturgeon are living dinosaurs...they haven;t changed in 20 million years, they are bottom feeders, relatives of sharks, CRAZY looking, and taste pretty decent....the guide cleaned it for us - they are really different than most fish....i baked some and fried some up for dinner tonight...new sopranos (slow), and new entourage tonight (pretty decent)...off to voodoo doughnuts later...off to some wine tasting and to visit jeannie and chris tomorrow...next week off to a conference in orlando for work, then week after off to philly...

check out a bunch of pics over the past few days right here:

uncle jay visit 4-8-07

picture test from the celly

2007-03-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

test 1, 2 whatup from the cells

what's going on?

2007-03-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

whatch'all been up to? me - downloading movies like pan's labrynth and 300 @ rlslog.net and burning dvds. helping melenie study for the Praxis test (like the SATs for teachers. reading "long way down" by nick hornby and "freakonomics" by steve levitt and steve dubner. making sales at work. looking into getting my MBA degree and starting to study for the GMAT test to apply to grad school...thinking of going to Portland State, the other PSU...they have a great business school

spring is here. its nice out and everything' blooming...my uncle jay is coming in a week. im still cooking like crazy.

getting excited to come back to philly for a few days next month. looking forward to it. eating healthy. talk to yall soon, stay cool.

pauly

dvd burner

2007-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

fiinally copped a dvd burner for my home PC and it took me a few days, lots of frustration, rage, taking the cover of the computer on and off 10 times, plugging and unplugging everything 20 times, etc, but i finally got it working! movies dlizzoaded and burned so far: rocky balboa, blood diamond, borat, hannibal, music and lyrics, pursuit of happiness and the holiday...

watching rocky as we speak...dope scenes of philly...

google text msgs/SMS - INSANE technology!!!

2007-03-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

this is CRAZY! you can text message/SMS any question to google and it text msgs you back in like 2 seconds with the answer: weather, directions, money conversion, stock quotes, movie listings, dictionary!??! it's nuts!

try it out...seriously...send a txt msg to GOOGLE, or 466453 and type "pizza 97212" or "sushi 19147" or "philadelphia, pa to portland, or" or "10 yen to usd"

heres a link for more info

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum / bizarre foods / morocco

2007-03-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

im dying to go here, and hopefully will be this october...

also, has anybody watched the bizarre foods show on food network yet, with andrew zimmern? dude went to morroco (which i might take mel to for her 30th bday) and it looked awesome...andrew got down though! dude ate everything, every part of the lamb (down to the eyeball, pancreas, etc..)...then ate some crazy rotted meat w/ eggs...he almost puked though...he was the real deal, he didnt fake like he liked it... here's the link to the show: http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/bizarre-foods.html

my current favorite song

2007-03-06T19:25:00.001-08:00

silversun pickups "lazy eye"

things

2007-03-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

saw two flicks recently: departed and stranger than fiction. both super banging.

departed won the coveted best flick of the year and many other awards. incredible cast, very tragic/shakespearan flick. definitely an awesome movie, highly recommended.

stranger than fiction, starring will farrel: to me, was equally dope, but in a totally different category. will farrel still cracks me up when trying to be serious. dustin hoffman plays another psychologist, very similar to his role in i heart huckabees, which i absolutely fucking love. jake gyllenhals sister is in stranger than fiction too, and is pretty cute in it...this flick is highly recommended as well.

finished another coupland book, my third in like 2 mos - jpod. jpod is based in vancouver, about a group of cubiclemates that work at a videogame company. they discuss pop culture, traffic illegal immigrants from hong kong, the mom grows high grade weed, they take a short trip to china, and discuss everyday mundane life. its a funny, fresh read.

im growing a beard until tim's wedding. i might roll to the old south philly italian barber for a fresh shave w/ a true blade again like i did before my wedding.

i made some matzah ball soup the other day. the secret is most definitely a TON of fresh dill.

statistics blows. i've been helping melenie a little bit with this class and i absolutely hate it. i somehow got out of it, i think by taking the harder route for computer science, which involved calc 1,2, & 3, but for some reason, stats seems harder right now...ughhh

i want a nintendo wii. REALLY BAD. check out this cooking game they have:

jazzy jeff in thailand / past wk

2007-02-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

here's a pic from december i've been meaning to post of mel and i, my brother travellin' matt, and philly's dj jazzy jeff... here we're in MBK mall in bangkok, the dopest spot to shop in the world for everything and anything...

what else has been up? short, but yet somehow long week...mel's been sick...ive been stressing at work over this huge sale. saw the shins the other night which was dope...copped my plane tix to come home to philly...did my taxes and owe a bunch of $ from when i was doing freelance PR last year. tim tizzle's wedding's coming up in april...copped our tix to go home..made the best egg salad ever the other night...checked out this cool neighborhood out here, multnomah village, last weekend, pretty rad...what else...mel's work schedule is changing soon so she can spend more time on grad school...she'll be working 7am-2pm soon, starting in like 2 wks i think...friday night and im helping her w/ some statistics problems...ughhh...

my man pots and pans...

2007-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

so lets see whats been cracking this past week...

went to omaha, nebraska on friday for a HUGE sales presentation...it went well...brought back some of these nice rib eye/prime ribs:

bought this book also in omaha on the plane ride home and crushed about 150 pages of it on the ride: Chuck Palahniuk's "Lullaby" ... so far = super banging..

i had this really nice Polo wool/cashmere, long black overcoat to wear over suits in the cold months...some lady sitting in the row in front of me had one too from portland to denver...we both had ours in the same overhead compartment...now, i have hers and she has mine...anne klein, size 14. a large lady... this sucks, i loved that coat...united lost and found gets me nowhere...

happy chinese new year this coming week and also happy valentine's day...

i need to cop my tix to come home to philly in april for tim's wedding...next paycheck...

did anybody see Pan's Labyrinth? i think we might go see it tonight... check the trailer here... check the reviews here...

i stepped on a nail yesterday while helping my neighbor move some wood from the house he's fixing up...which i want to buy..if inly i had half a mill...its worth about 750K though, so i should see what i can do... that aside though, i cant tell you the last time i hd a tetnus shot...so i went to the hospital last night for one..always a fun way to spend a saturday night....then came home, drank about 5-6 small glasses of port, watched jungle feaver and passed out...

we've got the shins concert coming up next week... here's their latest video that you may or may not have seen already:

talk to yall next week...this sale is huge by the way, so i will keep yall up to date...

p

Everything's Gone Green

2007-02-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

bored, watching the bears beat up on the colts in the first minute or two of the pooperbowl and browsing the web....so it turns out that my boy douglas coupland wrote a movie that is coming out in the US soon called "Everything's Gone Green". written for middle class, late twenty-something year olds...

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CLICKING HERE FOR THE TRAILER

douglas coupland

2007-02-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

just finished two douglas coupland books, and i recommend checking them both out:

hey, nostradamus

and

all families are psychotic

i liked hey nostradamus better, thought more about morals/religion while reading it, though all families are was a faster read...just reserved 2 others of his i slept on - microserfs and jpod, both about cubicle life, working for microsoft or something... gotta give out a shout out to my old millersville professor dr. greg seigworth for putting me down w/ douglas coupland back in 1997 with the book, Generation X, which is a fantastic read...

countries i've visited and foods i reflect on in each country

2007-02-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

reflecting on my travels the other night, i made a list of the countries i've visited and thought of some of my favorite foods in those countries..i definitely want to keep adding to this list as i think mel is taking me to tokyo / japan for my 30th later this year...countries i've visited are as follows, along with favorite foods experienced:

bahamas - dont remember
costa rica - rice and beans, grilled fish
mexico - guac, salsa, beans, grilled meats
jamaica - jerk chicken, curried goat stew, acki and salt fish
thailand - som thum, bumee, bbq pork, juk soup
philippines - grilled shrimp, garlic crab, sour fish soup
hong kong - dim sum, congee, everything
china - everything, stir fried eggplant, pork and string beans, har gow
denmark - tuborg beer, fries, cheese
norway - salmon
sweden - dont remember, oh meatballs?
france - onion soup, cheese, bread, escargot, everything
holland - coffee, soups
england - indian food and beer, beans with my eggs for breakfast
ialy - everything, pasta, coffee, wine, salads, seafood, cured meats, cheese
czech republic - beer, chicken and dumplings, white asparagus
canada - noodle shops in toronto, indian in vancouver
belgium - beer, mussels, chocolate, garlicky steak
india - dhal (lentils), tandoori chicken, lamb tikka, everything.

more to come.....

alton brown

2007-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:00

alton brown is the man. i want to get his "i'm just here for the food" book. they just put out a new edition of the version that came out a few years ago...was checking it out at powells and it looks really dope, chock full of science, recipes and food tidbits:

bernard/this past weekend

2007-01-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

my buddy bj came for a visit this past weekend. definitely nice to see the guy. some highlights of the weekend:

1) snowboarding at Meadows (www.skihood.com) . we both fell a nice amount of times, but had a blast. all powder, until the afternoon when some rain froze a bit and made a tiny bit of ice. but there was still so much powder it was all that. mel packed us some nice lunches too for the ride.

2) dinner at jakes famous - amazing seafood. had some really ill fried razor clams, great chowder, great small steamers, some kumomoto oysters, beers, wine, etc.

3) drinks at doug fir lounge - w/ the really ill NW log cabin feel.

4) bj telling me that you can REALLY clear your earwax out by lighting a paper cone in your ear for a few seconds. he let me try it on him. it did not work. pic:

5) amazing sushi at yuki's on ne broadway.

6) pool, burgers, beers at mcmenamins

7) a hike at mt. tabor park

8) lunch at burgerville, the fresh, local, sustainable, organic whatever fast food joint

9) lots of coffee, and i kept the kid away from starf*cks too...

10) old school video games and pinball at ground kontrol

it was nice to see you, fam...

next visitor - unc jay - see ya in april!

pauly

daddy, the people don't like me...

2007-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

"daddy, why don't the people like me? I just want around 20,000 more people to put their lives on the line for nothing..."

"what's the big deal?"

no reservations portland episode next monday the 15th!

2007-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

anthony bourdain "no reservations" Portland/Pacific NW show airs next Monday the 15th! 10 pm EST/PST

this week/food/sean lennon/books/family

2007-01-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

so its been a week since my last post and not much has changed in the life of your chill superhero, pauly pringles. took a yoga class last weekend that focused on inverting yourself into many upside down poses. it was pretty cool and i want to go again, possibly tonight or tomorrow.

my nan selma has a 1/2 brother that lives about 2.5 hours north of here in olalla, WA, just a quick ferry ride to seattle, where we are headed next month to check out the amazing art exhibit on the human body i've heard so much about over the past year or so...i think it was in philly last year...with live, well not anymore, human cadavors (sp?). it's called BODIES...The Exhibition.

what else...lets see...bj is coming to visit in a few weeks and mels girl stacy is coming this summer...my nan selma may also come in june, and we will be back in philly in late april for my homey tim-t's wedding. hope i dont miss the bachelor party in AC...

ive been cooking a lot lately...turkey pot pies w/ frozen leftover thanksgiiving turkey last weekend, chicken korma earlier this week, pork chops piccata earlier this week as well, orange zest salmon, some black dal lentils, thin sliced crispy potatoes and brussel sprouts w/ bacon all last night...spaghetti and turkey meatballs earlier this week, bbq'd some ribeyes and steamed some crab legs on new years... watched the eagles tear it up on new years last weekend also at this awesome philadellphia eagles bar here in portland! check it out right here

freezing here and 70 in philly. reading the dalai lama on the shitter and Chris Moore's "Fluke, or I know why the winged whale sings" on the train and while Mel watches entertainment tonight and mtv. the new sean lennon album is fantastic. it sounds like john lennon just released a new album.

here's his latest video, "dead meat":

p

TONS of new India Pics!

2006-12-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

TONS!!!! of India pics posted below - click on the pic below to go to my new Picasa page for my India photos!

India 2006

india/thailand food pics

2006-12-25T22:35:00.001-08:00

many food pics from my india and thailand trip below. more pics to come as i just signed up w/ google's picasa and recommend you do the same. just google picasa..

my food pics below, click on image:

eating in india and thailand

new pics and video from india/thailand

2006-12-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

a video from a night market in bangkok.

also, here's some more pics from the trip

neighbor

2006-12-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

question:

what would you do and think if your 87 year old neighbor that was supposed to feed your cat whle you were gone told you this upon your return: While you were gone, he saw an asian mom and her two kids inside your house and when he asked who they were, they gave him a mean look and pretended they didnt understand him? he says he saw them coming down the stairs, as if they just spent the night.

Now, let's just say absolutely nothing was missing from your house, and nothing looks disturbed at all. the neighbor is also quite old and regularly repeats himself, and you think he has alzheimers?

i think he's gone wacko. i called my landlord and he has no clue who that is/nobody else has keys, and he thinks the old neighbor needs some serious help. he also thought the neighbor would have called him or the police if he really did see anything like that. plus when the landlord ran into the neighbor a few days ago, the neighbor said nothing of this to the landlord, but did mention he was taking care of the cat... man i think the neighbor dreamt this story up last night...his mind is replacing real memories w/ delusional ones...a definite symptom of alzheimers... rest in peace to my grandfather, who was a victim of alzheimers. at one point, alzheimers hit him so bad he was talking into the remote control, trying to pass it around to other family members in the room saying the phone was for them, and that he just had a nice conversation with someone on it....its a crazy disease...

so what do you think?

india videos

2006-12-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

2 videos from india:

1) here's some video from the streets of mumbai/bombay:

2) a video of a snake charmer near Ghandi's cremation site:

end of trip

2006-12-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

i'm so tired...too tired to type momre and upload pics from the camera...but not the cellphone camera, we have 2 nice ones for you now...just got back to portland this morning instead of last night...LAX airport is the worst in terms of directions. our flight to the states was late also. that and miscommunication in terms of picking up bags when arriving in the states / customs/ checking into domestic flights made us miss our flight last night. the two awesome upsides, however are:

1) I met Kanye west in the airport and he was really cool. he was w/ his fiance/wife. he let me take a pic with him. peep:

2) we got to eat at In-N-Out burger, which really does stand up to all the hype. order your cheeseburger "animal style" off the secret menu!

more india and some thailand

2006-12-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

before i forget, 2 days ago, i had an awesome 2 hour butt naked aromatherapy hot oil massage from a blind lady. no you dirtballs, there was no happy ending. at one point, she did pick it up though and say something in thai, but i have no clue what she said. i laughed and she laughed and she put it back down and kept massaging my legs or whatever. yesterday we hit the custom tailor. i am getting 2 suits custom made, 3 shirts and some ties. mel is getting a suit, a skirt, a shirt and a jacket i think.

back to india... i left off the day Rajeev was showing us around... so at that muslim monument, there were tons of gorgous wild parrots flying around. bright green. we went to the spot where Gandhi was cremated. we paid our respects. Rajeev brought us home to his crib and introduced us to his wife and mom and pops. his wife showed me how to make chapitas, an indian bread similar to naan or roti, either fried or grilled. we made both. we also had an awesome raita w/ yellow split peas, a very good potatoe curry, a mixed vegetable dish, a cashew desert, and more. i learned about the 5 spices in garam masala (secret) and more...we drank lassi (yogurt drink) without the rumored bhang (cannabis). anothony bourdain drank some bhang lassi in rajisthan, india.

we went back to the hotel and walked to a night market and bought some things like ayurverdic hair products/lotions for melenie from this store that had a signed johnny depp poster there saying everytime he comes to india he buys hair crap from this place and loves it.

more to come about taj mahal, food, mumbai, bankok, etc. i have some really really good pics and video as our new camera w/ a 2gb memory card is the shiiiiiiiiit. we took about 750 total pics/videos.

india

2006-12-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

back in thailand now after some crazy adventures in India. I don't even know where to start. I guess by city descriptions. New Delhi is the political capital of India and less modern than Mumbai/Bombay, aka the Washington DC of India. Mumbai was the New York/business capital of India, though it's on the coast, so there are palm trees everywhere. We LOVED Mumbai, didn't care too much for Delhi, though the food was amazing everywhere in India.

We spent 5 or so days in Delhi and 2 in Mumbai. we arrived in delhi at around 11 or so at night, so we just passed out that first night. we stayed at a gorgeous hotel, The Ambassador, since our trade mission for Siam International was hsoted by Food Export USA. We were there to promote US foods in India, through Mel's moms import/export division. the hotel had awesome food and breakfast was included, I ate many dosas for breakfast, which are kind of like a crepe, though filled w/ a potato curry, if you get a masala dosa. They typically come with sambor i think it's called, which is like a minestrone soup, minus the noodles, and then 2 chutneys, a coconut chutney and a tomato chutney, though it's more like a paste you spread on the dosa. very, very good.

we hit connaught place the next day. mel bought some saris. i bought a little antique tiger. we did a lot of haggling. our associate, got poop thrown on his shoe. this is a scam we read about it our india travel guide. someone throws poop on your shoe, says its monkey poop, then offers to clean it up for 10 ruppees, which is only about a quarter in US money. i have a pic to show later on this. i ate some really good street food, a plate of spicy lentils with good grilled chapita bread. connaght place has a crazy underground, indiana jones type of shopping too, which just looked like all corny bootleg stuiff that is way cheaper in bangkok at MBK mall anyway.

next day we called up my uncle jay's client's brother, Rajeev, who lives in New Delhi. This guy was so cool and gracious...he hired a cab for the day, took us around to some sites then brought us to his house for a big home cooked indian lunch. we saw a huge temple in the shape of a lotus for all religions, the Bahá'í House of Worship. We saw Iskon temple, a huge krishna temple, where I got some good pics and video of music. we then went to a really sick muslim monument, which i have to dig for the name of the place. a former king built this as a memory ...

gotta run in mid sentence, be back later, lots more to come...

p

thailand

2006-12-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

whats goin on my good readers?

first day in thailand, super long 17 hour flight from LA, a 2 hr one before that from portland. arrive in bangkok, not as hot as last time, only about 80 or so. some super blazing koh mon gai, and then the fried version too... koh mon gai = boiled chicken w/ garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and scallions, then use the stock to make rice, serve you a side of chicken stock/soup w/ radish/daikon, then a heap of rice chicken flavored from the stock, w/ the chicken on top (boiled or fried), we had both, w/ a side of cucumber, a blazign sweet/hot sauce, then we had some moo satay also (pork grilled on a stick served w/ a peanut sauce and a little side of cucumber, chili and red onion in vinehar w/ sugar.)

holler. shit was blazing.

ive got about 5 singha's in me right now. im passing up seeing dj jazzy jeff perform at Que bar (www.quebar.com) where matt is manager cause mel is feelign sick on our first night here and is downstairs sleeping. its 12 midnight. im about 13 hours ahead of yall right now or something.

copped an ill new digital camera for about $180 today. a super slim fit in your pocket sony cybershot 5.1 mp.

also coppd my favorite little tapioca balls stuffed w/ panuts, eaten w/ cilantro and a striahg tlittle thai chili.

mel ate her favorite juk soup.

the electronics mall was sick. forgot to mention a 2 gig mem card i bought also for the new cam...specifialyl for all the video i'm a record in india...watch... but yo, 5-6 floors of all little electronics boutiques...sensory overload....

im ghost...more to come.

thanksgiving weekend with stink and mecs

2006-11-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

we had a blast with stinke and mecca this weekend...amazing thanksgiving dinner that mel and i cooked:

a brined turkey stuffed w/ apple, onion and other aromatics
candied yams w/ marshmallows
acorn squash soup
lemon, tarragon, dill and crab dip
cheese and crackers
tons of pinot noir
creamed spinach
som tum (amazing spicy thai papaya salad)
garlic mashed potatoes
garlic jasmine rice
pumpkin ginger duck confit dumplings
apple pie
fried tofu

we went snowshoeing at mt hood on friday to walk it off.... hit the city, shopping, drinking and eating (montage: jumbalaya and mac n cheese) on saturday...nice sunny day too... then today we hit the coast - from astoria to cannon beach to tillamook... good times, good friends, good food..

curse of the beagles

2006-11-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

eagles lost and lost mcnabb for the season. this blows:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=261119021

turks

2006-11-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

cant wait one minute more! like my old favorite tune from CIV, im pretty amped to see my ol pals stink and mec from philly relocated to the bay area trekkin up here for turks day.

after evaluating many a recipe for roasting a turkey, im going to trust my main man Alton Brown on the food network..if you've ever seen his show "good eats" - you'll know this guy knows his shit...big time science behind the cooking guy.. Alton's turkey recipe can be found here. i'll use his brining method as a nice starting point... letting it brine in a cooler outside for hours before roasting...

so we got this 20 pound bird! lotta turks for 4 people so some turkey soup will most def. be on a few days later...friends are coming for 4 days which will be nice...

a week later mel and i are definitely headed to india... bounce dec. 1st, arrive in bangkok dec 3rd, kick it with dj jazzy jeff and travellin matt that night at Que Bar where matt is a manager and dj, then bounce to new delhi, india the night of the 4th... IFE food trade show is the 6th through the 10th. my uncle jay's good pal has a brother/family in new delhi, and Rajeev will be having us over for dinner one night for an authentic indian homecooked meal!!! so excited to experience that...hopefully they'll also show us around for a little bit... we'll have some extra time in which we can hopefully make it to Rajisthan where Bourdain got his bhang lhasis on!!! do some research to know what im talking bout, but if you've been to amsterdam, its similar to a spaceshake... on the 10th we hit the taj mahal say word! then the 11th bounce down to Mumbai in the south (formerly known as Bombay). ask me if im gonna drink a bombay sapphire martini james bond style in bombay...come on now! extra olives or maybe a little pearl onion action called a gibson. hells yeah! back to bangkok on the 13th through the 17th to kick with matt, do some crazy bootleg shopping for $5 bape hoodies, cheap digital cameras, tons of sneaks and shoes....holler. not to mention a lot of thai full body $5 for an hour massages. no happy endings, get your mind out of the gutter, guys... and TONS of som tum, thai bbq chicken, bumi (egg noodle) soup with the bbq pork, bbq duck, etc. kow mon gai (mels favorite), street style pad thai and more. oh wait, curries. man i cant wait.

keep in touch people.

pauly walnuts

p

random recent pictures

2006-11-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

here's some trout that i cooked recently, a cool truck, pictures of duck confit (before and after) and some nice autumn leaves.

bff,

paul

duck confit

2006-11-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

im making a duck confit today. im going to india in a month. duck confit is made by slowly cooking duck legs in duck fat. its supposed to bee amazing. happy birthday aunt lish!

plug and socket slappy hollerween!

2006-10-29T16:16:00.000-08:00

my birfsday tomorrow

2006-10-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

its my birfday tomorrow. twenty nine years young. halloween party tonight - YEAH BABY, my favorito time of the year.

other things ive been up to:

my old college roomate, Tadd, came to visit about 2 weeks ago. he works on alaskan fishing boats counting the diff. species of fish they catch. this last boat was a mackerel fish.
i like mackerel. the japanese cook a bangin mackerel..oily fish with a lot of flavor. ive ordered it cooked and raw from japanese restaurants, and it tastes the same both ways.
india coming soon. my buddy john from work old me that the one emperor who built the Taj Mahal originally planned an identical black Taj dead across from the white one. i can't wait to see it - one of the 7 wonders of the world...
reading the new haruki murakami short story book, "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". REALLY good. highly recommended.
using this super delicious finishing salt, fleur de sel (flower of the salt) on everything...
bout to cop a new chef knife, courtesy of my lovely sister, erica, for a bday present she got me, a gift certificate to a knife store...thanks, slick.

audi five gees

farmers market in autumn

2006-10-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS DAY TODAY! farmers market. chanterelle mushrooms, squash, radishes, locally raised pork products, tons of super fresh amazing fall harvest items..

SICK new concepts from el Bulli

2006-10-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

The #1 restaurant in the WORLD - el Bulli has these serious idealogies/concepts for their food styles - taken from their website, www.elbulli.com :

Synthesis of elBulli cuisine. In the mid-1990s a new style of cuisine began to be forged. Today, this style has been wholly consolidated and may be defined in the following terms:

1. Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.

2. The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly are taken for granted.

3. All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price.

4. Preference is given to vegetables and seafood, with a key role also being played by dairy products, nuts and other products that make up a light form of cooking. In recent years red meat and large cuts of poultry have been very sparingly used.

5. Although the characteristics of the products may be modified (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the aim is always to preserve the purity of their original flavour, except for processes that call for long cooking or seek the nuances of particular reactions such as the Maillard reaction.

6. Cooking techniques, both classic and modern, are a heritage that the cook has to know how to exploit to the maximum.

7. As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking.

8. The family of stocks is being extended. Together with the classic ones, lighter stocks performing an identical function are now being used (waters, broths, consommés, clarified vegetable juses, nut milk, etc.).

9. The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.

10. Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated: touch can also be played with (contrasts of temperatures and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe d’oeil, etc.), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process.

11. The technique-concept search is the apex of the creative pyramid.

12. Creation involves teamwork. In addition, research has become consolidated as a new feature of the culinary creative process.

13. The barriers between the sweet and savoury world are being broken down. Importance is being given to a new cold cuisine, particularly in the creation of the frozen savoury world.

14. The classical structure of dishes is being broken down: a veritable revolution is underway in first courses and desserts, closely bound up with the concept of symbiosis between the sweet and savoury world; in main dishes the "product-garnish-sauce" hierarchy is being broken down.

15. A new way of serving food is being promoted. The dishes are finished in the dining room by the serving staff. In other cases the diners themselves participate in this process.

16. Regional cuisine as a style is an expression of its own geographical and cultural context as well as its culinary traditions. Its bond with nature complements and enriches this relationship with its environment.

17. Products and preparations from other countries are subjected to one's particular style of cooking.

18. There are two main paths towards attaining harmony of products and flavours: through memory (connection with regional cooking traditions, adaptation, deconstruction, former modern recipes), or through new combinations.

19. A culinary language is being created which is becoming more and more ordered, that on some occasions establishes a relationship with the world and language of art.

20. Recipes are designed to ensure that harmony is to be found in small servings.

21. Decontextualisation, irony, spectacle, performance are completely legitimate, as long as they are not superficial but respond to, or are closely bound up with, a process of gastronomic reflection.

22. The menu de dégustation is the finest expression of avant-garde cooking. The structure is alive and subject to changes. Concepts such as snacks, tapas, pre-desserts, morphs, etc., are coming into their own.

23. Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.

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i love this. i'm trying to study these concepts and seriously hypothesize on them. i'm a little crushed right now though after a few happy hour pitchers of mcmenamins terminator stout...

asia, here i come again...

2006-10-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

rumor has it that i might be headed to india, vietnam and thailand in early december.

holler at your boy.

ok go

2006-10-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

in case you havent seen this ok go video yet, its hilarious and i still dig watching it from time to time:

culinary tour de france

2006-10-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

my cooking class at in good taste was definitely a night to remember. one of portland's best chefs (tom hurley) paired w/ portland's freshest sommelier, ken collura.

things i learned/knew but was reinforced/took new outlook on:

while eating a fine meal (or any meal where you truly want to taste your food), breathe solely through your mouth
begin meals with cold dishes, as your flavor profile changes
blanching in salt water then moving to the ice bath shocks green veggies, stops them from cooking, locks bright green chlorophyl color in
different foods absorb diff. elements in diff. fashions, i.e., when dressing a salad, oil adheres better to some foods while vinegar adheres better to others, egg whites help this, etc.
foie gras is amazing. fuck all those sissies worried about the geese and their livers.
all grapes have white juice
fleur de salt is an amazing finishing salt...i picked some up and actually overdid it with it tonihgt in this chicken and oyster mushroom dish i made w/ onions, red wine, thyme and chicken stock
tom hurley served foie gras protestors chocolate chip cookies made w/ some foie gras fat!!!
quenelle is an egg shape? we had these awesome quenelles of halibut in a lobster sauce. it reminded me of a fishy matzah ball
adea and coleman are ken's favorite small-shop local pinot noirs
pinots should be flexible, can go w/ fish, chicken or red meat
best chicken ever for tom hurley is seared first then roasted @ 425.
anything is great seared first then roasted in the oven.
tom cooks fish, scallops, and other shellfish with avocado oil
his lobster stock has lobster and shrimp shells in it along w/ white wine, coriander, brandy, thyme, onions, carrots, celery, fennel and tarragon?
all of the french countryside is gorgeous.
ken and tom both grew up in NY
the #1 restaurant in the entire world is el Bulli in Spain.
the el Bulli cookbook costs $350 at In Good Taste
I flipped through it. it's INSANE!!! Many of the cool dishes at The French Laundry and Alana (the dope chicago restaurant w/ the chef is kinda like a mean scientist also) seem to come from the likes of this cookbook...
Farce is a blend of 70% meat (duck, chicken, bacon, etc.) and 30% fat (pork/duck, etc). we ate some pheasant breasts stuffed with a farce, then wrapped in caul fat, seared then roasted.
Caul fat is the lining of a pig's stomach. It looks like netting or white, ripped, pantyhose. It tastes amazing when you wrap other meats in it. I bet its off the wall to wrap scallops or shrimp in caul fat..it melts away leaving an incredible pork/bacon flavor in whatever you cover it in.. I was told it freezes well too.
supposedly city market here in portland sells foie gras as well as caul fat
im going to make stinke and mecca eat foie gras and caul fat on thanksgiving
confit means to cook ini fat
i have a dope recipe for duck confit. its a duck leg cooked in duck fat. it supposedly tastes like heaven.
what did the french chef say to the american chef? he said "more salt. more butter." ha!
1st category meats are tender, like the tenderloin
2nd category meats are more like sirloins
3rd are shoulders, necks, shanks. bacon is a 3rd category. these need to be cooked slow at a low temp to break down all the fat and muscle holding the meat together.
supposedly you can cook bacon in butter and the bacon wont absorb it. it cant absorb any more fat, supposedly the butter removes the fat in the bacon? tom said this...
cut onions with the grain, not against it in an onion ring fashion. notice the difference in the smell and your eyes not watering.
ken thinks the best pinot noirs are made in the burgundy region. then 2nd place is here in oregon. france thinks so too. the french come here more and more...worried.
dont cook caul fat too fast, you want the flavor to seep in your food...
season every component of the food.
dont eat different foods on your plate, take a bite and get a piece of everything, all the food should blend well together.
a great holiday meal would be sage and thinly sliced walnuts underneat the skin of the chicken/turkey. sear then slowly roast.
sweet pea emulsion: peas + pea husks +salt + pepper + truffle oil
rose petal jam is phenomenal

hbo's "The Wire"

2006-10-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

although i fronted on HBO's "The Wire" for a few years because tim and bean loved it so much, i now admit i played myself. i bit off my nose to spite my face.

the wire is amazing. def. in the top t or 4 tv shows ever.

check out THE WIRE

crater lake video from july 4th weekend

2006-10-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

october

2006-10-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

eagles are currently rocking the packers
i got melenie a laptop for our anniversary
she got me an amazing french cooking class
temp has dropped into the 60s here
leaves are changing colors
i got the lamb chops at timberline lodge
we went swimming in a heated pool, it was amazing to have mt hood behind us, at 11,249 feet elevation... gorgeous view...cool from the shouders up, but in a nice warm pool shoulders down....
2 bottles of bubbly..some tattinger and some moet...
nice local pears and apples, some good brie & chevre...
hiking in the morning after breakfast...
now eagles crushing the packers...and wireless internet finally in the crib.
october is my favorite month. fall is here. as of october 29th (my bday), it will have been 1 year that we've been living in oregon...

1 Year Anniversary

2006-09-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

our 1 year anniversary is tomorrow. as is my aunt sue's 50th bday. as is the start of yom kippur. we're spending the night @ timberline lodge at the top of mt. hood.

here's a pic of mt hood on a sunny day in portland:

click below for the amazing menu for dinner @ timberline dining room tonight:

Timberline cuisine is predicated on freshness in the preparation of the area's bountiful natural resources. Wild and rare Chanterelles and Morels thrive on our mountain sides.The finest Fruits and Vegetables are grown in the volcanic rich soil of Oregon’s green valleys. Special emphasis is placed on a great galaxy of fresh Seafood from our waters. The naturally healthy lifestyles encouraged by the beauty of our environment are reflected in our sauces and preparation techniques.Our award winning culinary brigade will offer you many unique Cascadian style classics and international dishes and the best of Oregon cuisine in this very special setting...Timberline Lodge

Leif Eric Benson A.A.C. C.E.C.
Executive Chef Timberline Lodge

2006-09-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that it's still sunny in Portland. Holler at your boy.

p.

tired.

2006-09-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

i'm tired.
my one year anniversary is coming up in a week and half. we're spending the night @ timberline lodge at mt. hood.
my sister ate our anniversary cake (the top part of the wedding cake) on a drunk rampage one night many months ago.
we have to go out and get some really fresh dope strawberry shortcake to make up for that.
i'm tired.
i just finished another haruki murakami book: norwegian wood and it was not as dope as the rest i've read, in my mind. more of a twisted love story. still pretty good and worth a read, but not as twisted and extraordinary, in the creative sense of the word, not the way most people use the word today.
i made some good tea tonight, white peony and orange pu-ehr
roobis tea (red tea) is def. my shit these days though, but i'm out.
melenie got an A in her first grad school class!
im going to start a book soon i've decided yet again...i have a dope start of a novel in my head, but it's really hard to get on the computer at night after sitting in front of the screen from 7 am - 5 pm these days.
my mom makes me feel guiltier and guiltier every time i speak to her on the phone, for moving out west. i think she's being quite selfish. what do you think?
fall is here. i love it.

good bye.

pauly

picture time.

2006-09-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

another big shout to my man EMC who stopped by again on his way back from washington. here's us chilling for the day at one of the smaller falls.....

my wife, looking as gorgeous as ever with some pinot noir grapes from the williamette valley, home to america's best pinot noir wines, i think she's at Maresh red barn here in this pic..check for it at your local wine store...

here in this pic are our most recent visitors...monique and her bro, aka my main conspiracy theorist, christian..and on top, straight outta montreal, quebec, my man marc...another dope day at wakeena falls, one of my most favorite places on the planet... christian put me down with many new truths in the world, most especially those of larry silverstein, owner of the world trade centers and biggest asshole in the world, taking out the bigget insurance policy ever and then planting detonators to "pull" the building, in the same fashion that any old building is taken down. look at building 7 for further explanation. some examples:
example 1 : example 2 : example 3 : example 4 : example 5

oh wait, here's video PROOF on PBS of him saying "pull it"

my tomatoes were amazing this summer. but fall is here. leaves are turning and beginning to fall. its getting slightly cloudy again. i miss my family. sales are up. food is good. im plotting a novel in my mind. melenie is doing great at grad school. life is good.

i miss yall,

paul

currently reading cookbooks

2006-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

two books i'm currently studying:

The French Laundry Cookbook
by Thomas Keller

Supposedly The French Laundry is the best restaurant in the country, so I'm pretty damn curious what this guy can do in the kitchen and onto a plate...and i'm REALLY impressed with what I've only flipped through so far...the secrets about super green veggies and poached eggs and how important vinegar and salt are in cooking, and how if you can taste either of those two, well then you've used too much... check out his current menu

you've probably read my older posts about Anthony Bourdain and his tv show on the travel channel, No Reservations. I've been dying to see what kind of dishes he kicks out of his restaurant after seeing the guy critique food from all over the world and it's pretty decent french food, though nowhere near the innovation on Frnech Laundry. les halles is a typical decent french cafe, and bourdain even says so in the book... however, i've definitely scraped up some really nice recipes from this book, such as the pot au feu, coq au vin, onion soup, mushroom soup (for mel), beef bourgnion, and one or 2 duck dishes... oh and the real way to make stock and demi-glace.. some more on this book here...

happy labor day. life is cool. i worked work out for now...had a good sales month. melenie is doing good in grad school. stinke and meca are coming to visit us for thanksgiving. i have a new chef apron. my tomatoes and strawberries are blazing. fall is coming. i miss my friends. i want a dog. and a house with a big backyard. its saturday night and i had some beers with lunch. made a blazing breakfast. chopped up green bean and cherry tomatoes from the garden omlette w/ goat cheese, some tater tots and decent breakfast sausage cooked in chicken stock. happy hour/lunch around the corner, bloody mary, beer, spinach crab dip w/ chips, a pear and walnut and blue cheese salad, couple of oysters and a fish taco. helping mel w/ a powerpoint presentation tonight. reading more of my new cookbooks from the library. drink some wine, maybe.

bye for now.

sammy

2006-08-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

peace and good luck to my cousin sammy who is moving to london for grad school this weekend!

bad week....

2006-08-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

crappy week. i got yelled at again (and a 3rd written warning via email) at work for my attitude and doing dumb shit and being cocky. this time, when my bosses were gone, i took it upon myself to move my desk. i dont feel like giving the excuse why (actually i totally do, but im thinking that i shouldn't and just accept that it was stupid and that nobody told me to do so).... this sucks becaue i think i'm gonna end the month with a really good sales number....

onto something else...so mel got pink eye this week, and then got sick directly afterwards... so she's sniffling behind me and there's a million tissues and nasty wet washcloths (warm compresses) everywhere. of course everytime she gets sick, we make jook soup. so here's a recipe for a lazy saturday afternoon:

need: jasmine rice, chicken stock, garlic, ginger, scallion, cilantro, pork, eggs
*note, melenie says her mom never uses garlic in the soup but i personally like to...

1) cook some jasmine rice in a pot or rice cooker. (1 cup of rice, 2 cups water)
2) while the rice is cooking, dice ginger and garlic and cilantro and scallions and chop up pork breakfast sausage or ground pork (on separate cutting board, but you should know that already)
3) when rice is almost done, saute pork w/ ginger and garlic in a non stick soup pot.
4) when pork is almost cooked, add a lot of chicken stock. bring to a boil.
5) rice should be done. add that to pork in soup pot.
6) add greens
7) simmer for 2-3 mins.
8) crack an egg or two in the soup. stir it up. the eggs will cook really quick in the soup.
8) eat quick before rice soaks up all the chicken stock. if this happens, add water. add salt and pepper to taste, as well as pickled ground thai chilis peppers.

enjoy mel's favorite thai soup. the thai version of chicken soup or my matzah ball soup... this is also called congee in vietnamese or chinese restaurants. here is a pic of congee that we got in hong kong:

what else...so we've had jeannie and chris's car and didnt take advantage of the situation and actually go somewhere... we're off to go water her 1 million plants in a little bit...its hot here this weekend...then off to costco...again, guys, thank you for the car and costco card! monique and her bro christian are coming in a week or so... mel is off all next week... i'm out.

p!

stand by me?

2006-08-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

the stupid stand by me video that i posted on youtube a few mos back now has more then 7,000 views... crazy shit this internet thing, isn't it?

i want to give a big "have at it" shout to my man mark phile out in ol reading, pa...i miss you, dog...

p!

medford / horizon

2006-08-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

flew down to medford, oregon today for a business meeting. hour flight, much better than a 5 hour drive... surprising thing was that Horizon Air turned my ride home into a happy hour. they were pouring one of my favorite local beers, Drop Top Amber by Widmer like it was water. no charge, refills all around. that was nice... my meeting went great also... the library rocks here...you can even download audiobooks as a rental...chris and jeannie are back in philly for a week or so...letting us borrow the car as a trade for taking chris to the airport and picking them up....good deal, i say... thanks guys...oh, and watering of the plants is required.... melenie is gearing up to start her first class for grad school... she's taking online courses to get her master in elementary ed/teaching certificate...

im tired...woke up @ 4:30 am this morning...peace in the middle east.

no title..

2006-08-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

well let me start off by saying that for mel's bday, our neighbors baked mel a penis cake. this was kind of funny, especially when our 80 year old neigbor, Van, stopped over the other night to say happy bday:

so what's been up?

well, EMC stopped over Friday after work...we caught up on what we've been up to... ed's been at this college called Heartwood studying chinese medicine. he's off the raw food diet, now eating whatever his body tells him to eat, so long as its organic and not too high up on the food chain.. i think goat's milk, goat cheese and goat meat (once so far) is as high up as he'll go. he schooled us on canola oil (cheap canadian oil) and a cool way to make coffee that wont kill us in the long run. he has a long beard and long hair now. full rasta hippy man. he's chillin though.... and on his way to the amazing san juan islands off the coast of northern Washington state. i got him to eat some bacon in this flick, though:

so we went to vancouver, BC last saturday... EMC got off 3/4 of the way there. oh, we stopped in Seattle, by the way to pick up a piroshy at Piroshky, Piroshky (got the smoked salmon jawn). also picked up some super juicy Rainier cherries (the yellow and red ones). oh, and some little SUPER juicy organic donut-shaped peaches.

we went to chinatown in Vancouver and it was comepletely full of heroin addicts and other junkies... that sucked. gastown near the water was ok, but nothing special. when we got to Vij's, there was what do you know, an hour to an hour and a half wait. we strolled the streets and found CRU wine bar. got a gin martini, mel got a pinot noir, we had some chevre cheese w/ champagne grapes and a seared scallop appetizer. went to vij's for an AMAZING meal. we had another appetizer (hey, we had a buzz, it's ok...) we chose the baby jackfruit in a black mustardseed and cardamom curry. with the bomb naan bread to sop it all up. I chose the venison medallions in some chocolate curry sauce. mel had lamb tenderloin w/ mushrooms and this really good eggplant fritter. we also had some awesome drinks but i cant remember for the life of me what it was. this place comes HIGHLY recommended, i really loved the venison.

the wait coming home through customs blew. it took hours and hours. luckily, the view was incredible to the west. we stopped again in seattle on the way home. seattle seems a lot cooler than when we visited before...we found a dope new neighborhood there too to chill on. it's only 2 1/2 hours away.

tadd jets back on his alaskan fishing boat again until october.

snow patrol comes here on sunday for $7 admission to the Bite of Oregon food festival. they're touring w/ The Subways.

EMC

2006-08-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

I know everybody remembers the good man EMC aka Ed Campbell aka Soupy from bensalem/temple/philly. well the nomad himself will be blessing us with his presence in portland on friday night then hitching a ride with us 1/2 way to vancouver, BC, getting off in northern Washington State, near the San Juan Islands...

I've known EMC since the first day day of my sophomore of high school...he was a freshman...we met in study hall and we played dungeons and dragons with jessica lipson. yes, we were geeks and played d&d. i also really dug jess lipson and took her to the soph hop or junior prom or something... but EMc has been my man since like 1991 or 92 or something... everytime i would pick him up, he was never ready on time. but he could tell you the origins of popcorn. or how many miles it is from here to Saturn. dude's a genius. he has a philosophy degree. he is homeless. he travels like the wind. i visited his hometown in jamaica, sligoville, with him and his pops back in like 1995 or something. we partied it up. we ate meat and drank Red Stripes and smoked our hearts out. Ed is now a vegetarian who does none of the above. let me take that a step further....Ed is a macrobiotic? He lives by the Raw Foods diet. he ONLY eats raw fruits and vegetables. no meats, no fish, no cooked vegetables. STRICTLY RAW. well, he's not the type of dude to totally limit himself, i guess if that's all there is to eat, cooked veggies, he'll eat them, but he prefers raw. i think he's been on this diet for a few years now. i'll update everyne on how he's doing shortly.

Looking forward to kicking it with you, Ed.

pauly

twenty eight

2006-08-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

it's melenie's twenty-eighth birthday today so i'd like to say happy birthday, dear, I love you. we're off to vancouver, BC this weekend. eating dinner at the world renowned Vij's.

Mel Gibson goes buck on the jews...and skype

2006-07-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Gibson's Anti-Semitic Tirade -- Alleged Cover Up:

http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/28/gibsons-anti-semitic-tirade-alleged-cover-up/

----------

also... get SKYPE, it's free to call from your computer to other computers, house phones and cell phones until the end of this year.

www.skype.com

email me for our username on skype

wed night hump day

2006-07-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

you know the saying but no humping today, we're beat....been waking up early and going to bed late...stupid neighborhood cats meowing like crazy in the middle of the night, fighting with each other or with other animals...or late night phone calls or kippy knocking crap over or also meowing with this little dumb hello kitty in her mouth...

been eating a lot of yogurt lately...oregon strawberry flavor, tilamook brand. very good shit.

we've been cooking lots of thai food lately. bitter melon and pork soup tonight with jasmine rice and a shrimp and brocolli stir fry w/ spicy chili and garlic sauce... pour a little of the pickled thai hot chilis w/ the vinegar on it, blazing...

i've finally got some green beans growing now..little babies... and the cherry tomato plant is off the chain, taller than me, reached the top of the fence and real thick too...about 50+ little tomatoes on it right now and more to come soon.

big shout out to my girl marisa tener, that would be dope if you moved out here, and even super cool if you came out to visit oregon and we got to chill...thanks for thinking to give a shout, it's been a long time...

and lastly i want to give the antithesis of a shout out to my homeys who never hit a brother up anymore.

audi

p!

climate crisis widget

2006-07-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-07-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Been working hard this week at work on both PR and sales... my sales are slumping a little right now, need to focus more... been eating and cooking healthier, more soy products, more whole wheat, less dairy... don't worry i'm nowhere near a vegetarian, still gotta have meat with most meals...

had a scotch egg at this irish bar the other night, it was banging...a hard boiled egg covered with sausage, breaded and deep fried...goes great with a nice dar stout...

saw Al Gore's movie about the climate crisis last night...it was incredible.

Please go see "An Inconvenient Truth."

Here's the trailor for it, it can be seen in movie theatres across the country and is DEFINITELY worth your time and money: