the big "C"

This whole new year has kind of caught me off guard - medically speaking. First, I found out I have an ulcer - which is a little bit of a relief to know I have an answer to why my stomach hurt so much all the time! It took 3 months to find out... the emergency room doctor had mentioned something about my stomach when I had food poisoning last October. They took x-rays at that time. But by the time he called me and my primary physician was available - well, I found out soon after the new year began.

Then these past 2 weeks has been a bit stressful because some tests results didn't come out very good. I went in for a regular check up but the doctor said something was wrong. Then she said I have cancer but need a biopsy for more information. It took awhile to get that appointment then, it took 2 weeks to get the biopsy results.

All stressed out, I began thinking of how I could go about accelerating my lifes' "to-do" list. What could I prioritize? I didn't get very far with the list since life has been extra busy with work and the new restaurant. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. Being pre-occupied with some abnormal cells, I kind of been going through life in a blur - not really paying attention but just going through the motions. Until last week, daydreaming at work, I chopped off almost a quarter inch of my thumb while making sushi. That woke me up just a little bit. Luckily, it's healing quite well.

So these past 2 weeks, I've just been waiting for the biopsy result. I finally got it today in the mail. Thankfully, it came back negative but it was recommended I return in a few months for a check up - just to make sure.

My mother is coming for a visit - she actually was coming to attend the doctor's office with me for the biopsy results. So she'll be at my place all the while I'll be at work. It's just been too busy and there's not enough time to take vacation days.

The restaurant is coming along extremely slow. There was a new law passed for the new year requiring an extensive checklist of requirements for all new restaurants. We actually have to break ground and re-do some pipes, install some city mandated equipment in the floor and it really looks like we'll be opening in June. If we're lucky, perhaps May. In the meantime, my living room is beginning to look like a restarant with dishes, fish case, containers, etc all over the place. My garage and my business partner's garage are both full of restaurant equipment as well. We're just waiting for the city approval so we can begin construction. It takes 5-9 weeks to process the paperwork. The construction should only take 2 weeks.

Bangkok Samurai - Coming Soon

Well folks, this is going to be quite the adventure. Perhaps a never ending one but at a minimum a learning experience to remember. A few of you know that I've been wanting to open my own restaurant for some time. At 32, I still think I'm too young - need more experience but an opportunity popped onto my lap that I couldn't refuse. So, with that being said some friends and I are opening a restaurant soon. It's called Bangkok Samurai - Thai and Japanese Cuisine. Yes, my partners are Thai and they will be taking care of the Thai side while I take care of the Japanese side - more specifically, sushi.

We signed the lease last week and have been frantically hunting down distributors for food, equipment and everything else in between. Needless to say, it's been one long week! There are not enough hours in the day so I've been living on about 3 hours of sleep a night and still working full-time.

We decided to have some construction completed so although I'm aiming for an opening the first week in April, realistically I've been told June. We'll see how this goes! Hehehehehe.

So this is what the restaurant looks like now. We still need the construction crew to come in and make a sushi bar. Then we'll install the equipment. It's a really small place - maybe seating for 30-36 people. The downside is we cannot serve alcohol... the city requires 2 restrooms for any establishment that serves alcohol and we only have one. But I'm sure we'll be okay without it.

We decided to keep the drapery. It's kinda cool looking. The previous business was only open for 6 months before then went out of business. It's a fairly new building - just a few years old. Two businesses have been here in the 1 1/2 years since it's been constructed, so our odds are a bit tough. But we keep thinking optimistically the third time is the charm. I know with the economy not very good, it'll be even more difficult opening a restaurant and it might not be the smartest thing but it's a risk we're willing to take. There are so many restaurants going out of business, there are a lot of leases available and perhaps less competition.