home

Had some time to visit a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a while. Spent the night there and got home on Day 4. Not a bad drive at all. I ended up leaving Yreka, CA and even though I checked the weather forecast and road conditions (which were good), as soon as I got on the interstate the state troopers were flagging everyone over to put chains on.

I've never put chains on before and it must have been either my puzzled expression, looking at the pictures for instructions or just the look of a female in distress but some guy came over to put them on for me, which I thought was super nice. Just as he finished putting them on some other drive by traveler said real politely that the chains were on the wrong tires - my little car has front wheel drive. So the guy moved them from the back to the front. Took him like 5 minutes. Guess he was used to putting them on.

Course, as a typical girl I broke my nail. How bad is that?! Anyway, I only needed them for 12 miles before the roads were good again. Yet those 12 miles took 4 hours with the traffic delay. Took the chains off the tires, stowed them away and hoped with all hopes that I would not have to put them on by myself. Ugh! That would probably be another nail! The roads were just wet with rain the rest of the drive home.

I did have the chance to stop by my favorite waterfall in Oregon. Multnomah Falls - it's the first time I've been there in the winter. Usually it's Spring, Summer or Fall time. So it's cool - there's snow all around the waterfall.

Won't have the chance to do that 1/2 marathon a friend of mine and I had sign up for. Another friend is taking my place. I figured I can always do it next year but wanted to get a head start on the roadtrip due to the weather.

little creek near the waterfall

smaller waterfall off to the side

the upper portion of Multnomah - you can walk across the bridge

lower portion of Multnomah

Multnomah - the whole waterfall from far away

1st/ 2nd road segments

Started my roadtrip to Washington state yesterday. Need to get there fairly quickly and the weather has been alittle bad with rain, snow and ice. Didn't know exactly how long it would take to get there but I gave myself a week... just in case. If it were summer, it would only take 1 1/2 days... but snow in the mountains make traveling alittle different. And it's been awhile since I've driven in snow.

Anyhow, I decided to take Interstate 5 all the way home. Got just out of Los Angeles on I-5 and all of a sudden I was in Bakersfield. Had really no idea how I got there... but I guess I took a wrong turn - ah, the scenic route... so it was about an hour out of my way. Must have gotten used to Cali commuting where you grab your tunes and just drive. After returning to I-5, it only took a few hours to get to Gilroy... spent some time with some friends.

Day 2

Left later than planned but that's ok. Was hoping to get to Portland but was willing to stop in Medford, Oregon if the weather was bad. Didn't get there either. Actually still in California - spending the night in Yreka. Been raining suppose to turn into snow and ice... and the roads are suppose to be shut down.

Tejon Pass, California

Gilroy area, California

near Mt Shasta, California

near Mt. Shasta, California

beautiful people

So these are the closest friends I made while here from work - just in the past few months too. You know how you can be hanging out with people and you realize they are cool and enjoy hanging with them? It's kinda subconscious but then something happens and you realize wow, these people are not only great to chat with but are also really beautiful people - like you see them all in a different light. Yeah, that was tonight. We all hungout as a final farewell. I just realized tonight what beautiful people they are... kinda difficult to explain. But it's like you've known them longer than you have. It is really rare I get that feeling.

It's like the timing is just perfect - to have met and befriended them. It just always amazes me to find other people that I really like and "click" with because not only am I reserved and have a quiet personality, but I am also quite picky about who I socialize with. Which makes it really difficult to make friends. For the longest time I just thought I was anti-social prefering to hang with animals (mostly cats and dogs) or solitude. I probably still am.

When I meet these kinds of people, I just want to get to know them more. It really fascinates me - to find people I really like and figure out what it is that intrigues me. A lot of times it's their personality that interests me, sometimes their life story, their travels and of course, most times I have no idea but am just glad we are friends.








Wendy, June, Lek, Jack, me










So I figured it out. A friend of mine asked how many Asian friends I have. I had to think really hard. Come to find out (and it really surprised me) I just have one and she's an email pen pal - never met her before. So this group of Asian folks are my only Asian friends. Kinda interesting. It's also the first time I've been submerged in an Asian community for an extended amount of time. I mean, almost everyone at work is Asian - Japanese, Thai or Laotian. It was a bit of a culture shock for me since I'm used to being the only Asian or one of a few in places where I work and hangout with.

good luck

Wow, so I put in my resignation yesterday for this fast food sushi restaurant. It was kinda sad leaving the place since I've begun to make friends at work. I think that made it so much easier in staying there since the job position was only fast food. One of the girls gave me a going away present - a jade elephant charm. It's suppose to bring good luck. Now, to be stereotypical ( I know, I'm bad), I can fit right in the Asian culture by having a charm attached to my cell phone.

Then she also gave me a dzi necklace. It's really cool - it's a Tibetian bead (agate) that brings good luck. I was trying to find the meaning and this link gave the best description.

http://www.dzicrystal.com/eng/resources.aspx

I've seen these kinds of necklaces before but never knew the meaning of it. Wow... I just thought people wore it because they liked it. Hmmm, now I'm enlightened. Interesting stuff to know. That's just so amazing to find out about other cultures.

seasonal trail yo-yo

I feel like a yo-yo. I'd forgotten this part about the seasonal trail. Things change in an instant. Everything is last minute and to go where you really want you have to be really spontaneous and super flexible.

So I'm on again for the cruise. Spoke with the cruiseline and got my flight itinerary, class schedule. Everything is set IN STONE. I fly out to Honolulu on the 8th... my training starts on the 10th. I'll be on the Pride of America. Still kinda in shock as far as getting the job, not getting it and getting bumped up to a different class date. I was a bit worried.

Means I'll have to be quit fast food sushi (yahoo!) in the next couple of days in order to pack up and move out. I had planned on moving by the end of the month anyway... hmmm. Guess everything worked out afterall.

I'm kinda dreading the move - I just made some really cool friends. This is the difficult part in seasonal work too. Meet cool peeps then move on. As far as career though - it's a good move. Has all the criteria that I want - let's just hope I like the position.

all in a day's work

A mild setback occurred...

In summary, I thought I got the position on the cruiseline - making sushi in Hawaii. My other job offer was on a tallship off the coast of Connecticut - traveling along the East coast for the whole summer. I had to choose and I chose the cruiseline... As much as I didn't want to, I turned down the tallship offer in order to remain in the sushi world. Then the cruiseline cancelled my class. They are still trying to place people from the ship the company moved from Hawaii to the Carribbean - some people didn't want to transfer with the boat.

So okay, I decided I wasn't going to return to the seasonal trail. I would remain in SoCal and continue my apartment hunt in Long Beach... then the store manager who is training me for the new store informed me that her bosses decided to go with seniority and give the Long Beach store to someone else - who's only worked at the restaurant 2 months longer than I and has less experience. Strange though that I just spoke with one of her bosses - the guy that hired me for Long Beach. He didn't say anything about not taking over the store - just that it is now behind schedule for opening, perhaps in June or July.

Regardless, it's time to move on.

job offer

Since the other day's ordeal, I went job hunting. Back to the seasonal trail. I think perhaps I was getting abit too comfortable living here and of course, can't let that happen just yet. So I found this seasonal gig working on a pirate ship. Yeah, it's something I've always wanted to do! Really, don't laugh - I'm serious. I never knew people could work on them so I never applied for a job. Anyway, it's not in the sushi field at all but I'd be the lead cook - well, the only cook aboard. It's a really cool program for teens and the crew would be teaching these kids how to sail, build confidence, learn teamwork and independence, etc. They even have an adult women's program as well.

I'm not so sure about the kid thing but the pros of this job is I'd learn how to sail, I'd be working on a tallship and be on the East coast (never been there before). The cons are leaving the sushi field and going into home-cooked meals... nothing fancy at all. It'd be more like several steps backwards in my goals. By the way, I got the job.

Then I heard from the cruiseline. They would like me to start next month. The pros - it's in Hawaii (never been there before), it's in the sushi field and there will be tons of people around. I've been noticing for every seasonal job I've been reducing the number of people I socialize with since the locations are remote - there just aren't very many people to hang with. Kinda going in the withdrawl hermit stages and I'm a bit young to start that. The cons in this position are crazy hours - well, considering it's seasonal work, I'd be returning to the 50+ hr work week (more like 80-90 hrs for this job). I have been bored with the 30-35 hr work week.... that's probably why I've been getting into so much mischief - too much free time.

Big choices. I think working on the schooner would be an awesome adventure. But perhaps another time. Who can turn down sushi? Of course, I'm going to choose that position. So I leave next month for Honolulu. Packing up and heading back to the parents place after my marathon.

Oh yeah, so my roommate is into these marathon things - this is her year of races. We signed up for a 1/2 marathon. That same roommate I did a 5K with couple weeks ago. We have about a week left in training for this one. Just going to be walking the 13.1 miles. Nothing too hardcore. It's on the beach so it can't be that bad, right? I'll definately have to let you know how it goes...

re-evaluation

Everything going so fast makes it difficult to think. I'm really enjoying my time in SoCal. The location and the people make me want to stay here and live indefinately - just need to find a really good job to go along with this place. Thanks to yesterday's work though - it gave me the kick in the pants I've been needing to put everything back into perspective.

I've come to realize I was starting to settle for a job - a job I don't even want. My whole purpose of remaining in SoCal is for sushi - to gain speed and better technique in making nigiri-zushi (little rice balls with fish on top). Looking at a nigiri, one would think easy - just roll rice in a ball and serve. Believe it or not there is actual technique and I have yet to practice. I try to at work but I'm faster at rolling sushi so the store manager insists I roll or be the cashier. Sure I'm getting some training with management but so far, I haven't learned anything new - just a different computer system. Ordering food, supplies, managing people and customers are still the same as previous management positions. Nothing special about that and realistically quite boring.

I timed myself the other day. It took me 15 seconds to make a tuna nigiri and 45 seconds to make a kappa (cucumber roll). I had to do it a couple of times because I thought the clock was broken... but it wasn't. And they weren't even pretty - I was rushed. How disappointing. I'm slowing way down. While in school, I was at 8 seconds/ nigiri and 30 seconds for a kappa - and that was really slow. Ideally, a nigiri should take 3 seconds and a kappa 10 seconds, if you're good.

I've been getting sidetracked alot lately - there's so much to do, things to see, places to go, people to meet, etc that I've been getting comfortable living here. Been staying so busy there's no time to think, no time to just sit back, relax and take a breather to plan out future events. I'll just leave the excuse to big city, too many options for stuff to do. It's a nice feeling but I'm not ready to plant roots yet - even if it is Long Beach (a really awesome place and a runner up from Austin on places to settle). There is still so much out in the world to experience and I cannot give that up - I just don't want to yet.

Anyhow, a long time ago I worked at a fast food pizza outfit where I would hold an advertisement banner trying to get passersby to enter the store. I promised myself I would never do that again. Making pizza, answering phone orders - no problem but holding a sign? That's a definate no go. This sushi job is similar to that - make sushi and answer the phones... I had previously decided to stay with this job because of the management position and considering it's fast food, the pay is decent... but those excuses are wearing thin and yesterday was the finale.

This sushi restaurant is trying to maintain store goals the headquarters has challenged. It's always within reach but just high enough where we cannot meet the goal. We need sales. The sales goal is the 2nd highest in the company and it seems impossible. So the store manager had asked for ideas... my idea was to place a sandwich board sign outside during rushhour (5-7 pm) when people are driving home and give those customers a discount for ordering at that time. I was informed that we are not authorized to do that - it's a headquarters decision, not ours. Instead, the store manager wanted to use the idea but have someone hold a sign. Yet the only signs we have are from the grand opening that just says we are now open. The manager wanted to give it a try and see if it would be effective. It wasn't, primarily because all the other Asian eateries along the street have discounts and various specials and we all offer similar menus - just different prices.

Everyone was excited to go outside and hold up a banner. Everyone had a turn at it and yes, I too. That is where the line has been drawn. This position has sunken down to the bottom depths of - well, lets just say it gave me the motivation to move on. Forget about the management position and new store. It was enticing to be sidetracked for abit but I know I really need to focus on why I decided to remain in SoCal. Experience gained. Now it's time to move on.

2008 plans

I've decided I'm going to hold off on the cruiseline. I really thought I'd be leaving in January but it won't be until late Spring/ early Summer and even that is tentative. Instead of waiting around for the position to open up, I've concluded that I should stick with what I have and take on the management position at the fast food sushi place. This new store is running ahead of schedule and should be opening in late March. I'm not sure if it is set in stone so to speak since the current restaurant I work at was suppose to open last April and just opened this past November. Regardless, it will be interesting - at least for a little while. So it looks like I'll be staying in Southern California for a bit longer than planned. I'm actually looking for a new apartment as well in the Long Beach area.

In the meantime, I have a few other job offers coming in. Flights of fancy that make me want to drop everything and jump back on the seasonal trail. These jobs are not in the sushi field so although it's very tempting, I'll wait it out. I'm actually looking forward to opening this new store and will wait until it has opened and perhaps a few months after before I move on. Originally, I planned on staying a year but that travel bug is really beginning to itch again. Everything is in the air. I'm not really sure of my 2008 plans as far as jobs go. Life is a bit hectic in civilization - kinda makes me want to return to a slower pace of life (seasonal trail) just to sort things out then return and take on the whole world.

Working seasonal gigs always makes it difficult in making friends and when I do it makes it difficult to leave. I'm just starting to make friends after 5 months of being here. Good thing I've decided to stay longer.

Orange County 5K

With a new year, my roommate has a resolution to be in as many races as possible. As a side effect, I'm tossed in the middle of it being her 'battle buddy' so to speak. We had signed up for the Orange County 5K and luckily enough another friend joined us. Just so you know - tall people walk really fast... short people don't walk as fast. I was tired just trying to keep up with her. I think she thought we were racing or something. I might have just ran the whole thing. Then the other friend takes a speed walking class every weekend so she's used to walking really really really really really fast.

I think I like the leisurely pace - like a stroll in the park. No rush. Enjoy a breath of fresh air (or as much of fresh air as the air pollution allows), enjoy the company of friends, etc. Course it was 8AM when it started. I'm usually still asleep. Kinda made me grumpy to walk that fast still sleepy.

There was also the 1/2 and full marathon. The 1/2 marathon (13 miles) started before us and the first people to arrive were running in at 90 minutes! Whoa... that's fast - that's abit under running 7 minutes per mile.

The 5K ended with the same route as the marathon so of course, we had our pic taken at the mile 26 marker.

Karen, Carrie and I - near the finish line.

shipping delayed

Made a few phone calls to figure out if I'm actually employed or not on the boat. I am but will not be shipping out until late Spring/ early Summer. Whoa... that's kind of a long wait. Due to the holidays and government agencies being closed, my paperwork has not been processed yet. So I'm waiting for that as well as a position opening since one of the boats is being transferred to a different location.

pink slip?

I'm not sure if they still call it a pink slip since the paper I recieved was white. Got a letter in the mail from the cruiseline. Not so good news... they had 3 ships but after the new year, they were going to downsize to 2 and transfer the other boat to the Carribbean. So that's 1,000 employees displaced after Jan 1.

Still no word on when I am set to leave. I'm not even sure if they will be calling on me now since there are only 2 boats working the Hawaiian islands. I'm not even sure if I still have a job with them. They might have too many employees.

In the meantime, the new fast food sushi restaurant is ahead of schedule and is set to open late March (instead of April). We'll see if that actually happens since this current store I work at was 6 months late in opening. Anyhow, I'm still assigned that new store so either way my options are still open. I start prepping for that store with hiring employees, organizing the kitchen, interior design, etc next month. Kinda exciting but not as much as traveling.

This cruiseline stuff is taking a long time. (Did I mention that I'm quite impatient... still?) My paperwork is complete and I'm just waiting on their go ahead to pack my bags.

Back bay bike ride

Whew! So a friend and I kayak this back bay area of Newport Beach. We realized there was a bicycle trail and wanted to check it out. We went this morning and rode the whole bay - 10 miles. Bicycling on a stationary bike is way different than a real bike... I forgot about climbing hills. I've been riding on flat land and on the stationary bike which are really easy. This trail went all around the bay - it was really scenic since it goes around the bird sanctuary - we saw several cranes and little birds.

Took a few pics of the place. There are several trails that branch off - one goes from Newport Beach all the way close to where I live and it is an 80 mile ride. Getting alittle ambitious on that part. I think this 10 mile trail kinda kicked my butt - there were a couple of challenging hills, one I actually got off the bike and walked it up the hill.

The trail was easy to follow since we just had to look for the path markers.

This is the bay area - this is actually the hill area that was a tough climb.

Fat Bob

Anyway, after getting home from sushi I started all my baking projects. It didn't take as long as I thought I got to bed early - 5AM... just in time for a quick nap before I had to wake up at 7 for the Harley demo rides. This has been something I've really been looking forward to. Actually, it's something I look forward to every year, when given the opportunity to attend. Harley-Davidson comes out with the new year's motorcycle - this year - 2008, is the new Dyna Fat Bob. Whew! What a nice looking bike. At these demo rides, you get to test ride any bike you want - just sign up and fill out the waiver. You can spend all day riding each bike. It's a fantastic treat.

So being here without my bike, I've been missing out on all the rides that I could be going on. A friend of mine is thinking about getting the Fat Bob, so we went to the demo to ride. We were the first ones to sign up. She rode the Fat Bob with mid-controls (controls built in the middle of the bike) and I rode the Fat Bob with forward controls (controls that are built closer to the front of the bike). Kinda funny since she's mega tall and I'm really short - we should have rode opposite bikes... short legs, mid controls/ tall legs, forward controls... anyway, the forward controls was cool. I really need to grow about 2 more inches to touch the controls. I had to sit on the tank to reach the pedals - brakes and gears even with my heels on! This bike is a 1584cc engine... the largest engine in the whole Harley fleet, with the exception of the Screamin Eagle brand which is 1808cc. My bike is only a 1450cc... mine is fast but this one is way faster - just a little flick of the wrist and I was flying down the road at 70mph! I didn't even realize I was going that fast until I looked at the spedometer. Just imagine... with a 1450 engine, you can top out at 120mph... I wonder what you can top out at with a 1584cc? Wow.

It's such an awesome bike. Even I was tempted to take it home with me! With the drag bars - it just makes you want to take sharp turns and race... the pipes are cool, the color (I rode a blue one) is great and get this! You don't need a key (I'm always worried my key will fall out of the ignition and I'll be stranded). The newer bikes you turn the bike ignition on with the key then store it - and the bike still works! Also on all the 2008 models is a 6th gear. I wonder if that means you can go faster.

2008 Dyna Fat Bob with forward controls

Fat Bob with forward controls - demo ride

holiday lights, boat show and good eats

Whew! What a busy day. Started out with a nice kayak trip around the Newport Beach back bay bird santuary then lunch in Little Tokyo (downtown LA) at a kaiten (conveyor sushi bar).

Our plans had originally been for sushi bar hopping for dinner. We found 4 restaurants we wanted to check out since we had heard good reviews. By the time we got back to town from LA, it was dinner time (and rush hour traffic). We had reservations for the 2nd sushi bar... we had to skip the first sushi bar in order to keep the reservation. Next up, we went to a boat show in Newport Beach - the locals all decorate their boats with various lights and decorations for Christmas and drive around the bay. We went for this in addition to seeing the winning houses light displays along the promenade on Balboa Island. When we finished the looking at the lights, we went on to the 3rd sushi bar. And after this place - it was already midnight and we called it a night, forgoing the 4th place for a later date.

Wow, what a day... eating sushi for 9 hours. A few weeks ago, my friends had asked if I would make desserts for their Christmas party for 60 people. Jumping at the practice, I said yes... but with what time? Anyway, after getting home from sushi I started all my baking projects. It didn't take as long as I thought. I'm typing this up as the last of the projects are baking. I decided on 5 desserts - a struesel, white chocolate pound cake, red velvet cupcakes, rum cake and a sponge petit four.

coast guard update

So I went back to the Coast Guard with my birth certificate in hand - the state copy and hospital copy. I spoke to the same guy as the first time (I think he's the only one that works in that office)... and he STILL could not believe I have two middle names. If anyone can send abit of patience this way, it'd be highly appreciated. He even recommeded that I get my name changed legally in order to make things less complicated for government officials. Ok, whatever - at least my mom would be proud that I held my tongue. While that mess gets sorted out, all my other paper work is complete. I should find out more about the job next month since all training has been stopped for the remainder of the year.

another '07 goal

This has been a fairly good year. I made 3 goals for this year and all of them have been accomplished... well, kind of. One of my goals was to move to Austin, which did happen. I just didn't stay there as long as anticipated. The other two was the cross country bike ride and sushi school.

With those down, and still having a few more weeks of 2007, I thought to create a new goal. Ah yes, swimming lessons. Ok... with this cruiseline job, I figure I should learn how to swim. You know, just in case the boat sinks or I just want to jump ship. I think I might know how to swim - I do play in the pool alot but its really not being able to swim but the fear of what's in the water with me and not being able to touch the bottom. Mind games, I know... too many Jaws movies as a kid or an over abundance of watching Lake Placid or any other freaky water movie. I would like a refresher course of the basics just in case. At least, when I get more confident in the water I'll be able to do more water stuff that I've been wanting to try out but have been wary of. I hear Hawaii's got alot of stuff to offer and of course, all the water stuff I'd like to do.

So far, the lessons are going alright. I swallow and inhale quite a bit of chlorinated water. Cooties, I know! I'm not quite coordinated yet in keeping my head above water when breathing. Hopefully though with more practice the less water will be taken in. And the deep end... whew, I try to keep my mind pre-occupied since thinking about touching the bottom and can't is when I tend to get real nervous.

sushi school testimony

Sensei asked if I would write a testimony for the school. It's on the school website.

http://www.sushischool.net/testimonial.php

MMD

I'm trying to get an MMD card through the Coast Guard. It's a mandatory thing if I want to work on a boat. So I went to the office this morning and took all the requested paperwork with me as well as my drivers license, social security card and passport.

I'm having a little difficulty getting this card. Apparently, I am a suspect of identity theft. I don't get it. Do you ever wonder what some people are thinking? First off, I was wondering why this guy (I'm really trying to be polite here but I do have all sorts of other names for him) thinks I've stolen another person's identity... and secondly, it makes me wonder what my parents were thinking when they decided to name me. I am kinda lucky that I don't have some funky name but I wonder what they were thinking when they decided upon two middle names. Perhaps, they knew two middle names would confuse this one particular person.

So I have two middle names and it's the first time I've been hassled about having two. One is American and one is Japanese. Yes, I've had them since I was born. No, I'm not making it up. I really have two middle names. Granted, alot of forms only have one spot for one middle initial hence the reason why I have to choose which one I want to go by. Which means sometimes, I do not get a choice like on my driver's license. They put down the initial of my first middle name. My other documents have the other initial so not all my identification matches. My passport has the other middle name on it.

But I would think once you are verified by a government agency, you should be good to go. When I enlisted in the military I had to show all these documents to verify who I was, etc and they wrote down both middle names. When I got out of the military, I was given a veterans card which has both middle names.

So when I gave the coast guard guy my identification, he's not only doubting me but other government agencies. Apparently, he doesn't believe someone can have two middle names and wants to see my birth certificate with his own eyes. How would I be able to get a passport, a driver's license or even a valid social security number if my birth certificate is fake? So this adds a couple more weeks onto the wait time, which all I'm waiting for is the okay from the coast guard - the approval will result in the MMD card.

sushi for dinner

Been wanting to try out some sushi restaurants in the area. Went out to dinner with a friend of mine to a little hole in the wall place we found off of http://www.yelp.com/ It had some good reviews so in we went. I kinda liked the place... kinda traditional Japanese with a bit of Americanization in it. Good twist of things... we sat at the sushi bar and ordered off the specials. I think so far, this is the best sush restaurant I've been to in southern CA.

















Recommeded monkfish liver (ankimo) to my friend who had never tried it before and was willing to try anything. It's compared to foie gras - rich creamy yet light flavor topped with ponzu sauce (citrus sauce), momiji oroshi (horseradish red pepper) and green onions. It's often called foie gras of the ocean and getting popular in the States. She really liked the shiso leaf too... I think the translation is perilla leaf but although incorrect can kinda be called Japanese basil.
















When I saw this, I had to try it. It just caught my eye and I really like quail eggs - alot. It's called a shrimp boat...butterfly shrimp stuffed with kanikama (crab), topped with masago (smelt eggs), quail egg and green onion. Dipped in soy sauce - this was the bomb! It was my fav dish tonight.















Then we ordered a sashimi plate - only to check out the plate. It's a flower shaped ice mold. Thought it was really cool. Although the concept is correct, the cutting and plating was not so good. That ice mold though, yeah that's what sold me. This was tuna, red snapper and octopus on a bed of shredded daikon, shiso leaf and lemon. They had another ice mold of a boat for a larger order of sashimi. That would have been way cool to see but too much food. Perhaps next time.

We ordered some other stuff too but these were the ones that impressed tonight.

long beach sights

Thought I'd spend the day sight seeing since I haven't really done so since moving to California. I went to Long Beach and hung out at the aquarium and took a short walk around the village shopping area. The Aquarium of the Pacific is kinda nice. I had been here before several years ago when it first opened. Back then there were alot of jelly fish but this time there were only 3 cases, which was a little disappointing. They did have sea horses though as with the weedy and leafy sea dragons. I thought those were pretty cool looking.






leafy sea dragon - found off the Western coast of Australia. It's a relative of the sea horse family.











weedy sea dragon - also a sea horse relative. These are also found only off the coast of Australia.











sea horses












movie of a male sea horse giving birth - click on the play button





lion fish














porcupine fish













jelly fish












queen mary in the distance















that's me...

scratch tofu

Wow, I'm amazed that making tofu from scratch is so easy. Time consuming but very simple to make. Took me about 1 1/2 hrs to make a loaf. I'm sure though the time would have been the same, had I made more. But this was just an experiment. Last week I made tofu from a kit... the only difference is that this time I actually got soybeans and food processed them into liquid form then cooked and strained it. Other than that everything else was the same - yeah, even the flavor. Unbelieveable.

tofu

I've been wanting to learn how to make tofu from scratch for awhile. After seeing various kits, I decided to start my first scratch batch from a tofu kit - just to see how difficult the process is.
With this tofu kit - all the ingredients are in the box. I didn't have the correct tofu container but I thought any plastic container would do. Turned out great... I'm amazed at the flavor. Kinda reminds me of grits - flavor, not texture. It's really good and tastes so different from store bought tofu.

In the meantime, there's another tofu recipe. This is actually for real scratch - where you get the soy beans, macerate them into mush and all the rest of the stuff. That will be interesting to make.

oh oh - aimed a little low

This is so weird. I interviewed for the wrong job. I ended up taking a job with one of those original 6 interviews. All I wanted was a sushi maker job - to be alittle peon in the grand scheme of things. Roll sushi, make sashimi, nigiri, etc - gain speed, get more practice, something temporary - what better way than fast food sushi. I'd be easily replaceable when the cruiseline gives me to go ahead for training.

I was over-qualified as a sushi roller... so I had interviewed for a supervisor position - a floor manager to be in charge of a shift of the sushi roller people. Today was the first day of work. The guy I interviewed with is actually going to be my boss and I met his boss today - the Regional General Manager as well as the company trainer. Now, I was thinking this place is kinda nice - the Regional manager took time out of his busy schedule to welcome me into the company and I'll be trained by a guy thats only job is to train people for their position. Quite impressive. I figured they really want some good sushi people producing some really nice rolls. I mean, fast food sushi - who would have thought? Never heard of the company until the interview but hey, sushi is popular.

Uh, come to find out that position I interviewed for was not floor manager. The Regional general manager wouldn't have greeted me that way... and I wouldn't have a company trainer to train me had it only been for that shift leader position. The job interview was for store manager. Wow. They want to give me my own store! It's being built right now and will be ready to open come February. Man, those crazy Japanese accents! Floor manager, store manager - it's definately not the same thing. Can you say I aimed alittle low? The store is in Long Beach - a place that's got a really way cool aquarium. Well, if I had to live in Southern California, Long Beach is the place I'd want to live. This might be a toss up - cruise or Long Beach, I mean store manager. Pros and cons, the cruise is still in the lead. How do I back pedal out of this mess?

And I got another job offer - just for fun, like a side job. A friend of a friend of a friend has been looking for a sushi chef for their catering company. They make some really nice wedding cakes - the pictures are awesome. I wonder if they taste good... hmmm. Anyway, they want to expand in the sushi world - that might be alittle entertainment. We'll see. Options - there are getting to be several.

By the way, starting my medical tests for the cruise today... doing good so far.

couch potato - in the car

I have some good news. First off, that 7th interview - the one with the job I really wanted... they called me back for a 2nd interview. Got the job too. But being bummed out this past week about that job has made me realize, I could move on knowing that I didn't get it... and had begun making other plans.

Now that I got the job, I don't want it. Part of my decision in not taking the job is the commute. Been there 3 times already and feel like I'm wasting time driving back and forth. It's only 35 miles to Beverly Hills but it takes 2 hours to get there and 3 hours to get back home - in normal traffic. 5 hours in the car is abit much 5-6 days a week. That would almost be like a part-time job.

The other plan consists of a compromise. Whew! To say that, well... to those that know me, know I'm not very good at compromising and it is rare than I do. Maybe it's a sign of old age? (Oh oh, it's downhill from here on out.) I kinda miss the seasonal trail. I miss the change, adventure, meeting new people, checking out new places, etc. With the seasonal trail, I change companies every 4-5 months and had realized I needed to settle down with one company to show stability, think of the future, perhaps even job benefits like health insurance, medical and everything else I haven't had to worry about. Hence, the reason I decided to stop the seasonal trail and grow some roots. But I'm already bored and to think of staying in one area for years and years indefinately is a like a ball and chain - kinda makes me want to run.

So my goal was to settle down in order to focus on my sushi career. I'd be willing to do that for a few years but I haven't really found anything that has caught my eye - something to tie me here to LA. Then as part of my job hunt I saw a cruiseline job fair. I had planned on going then talked myself out of it. (I knew what would happen if offered a job.) But my roommate persuaded me in going - "look but don't sign ANYTHING," she said as I walked out the door.

So the compromise is... I'm returning to the seasonal trail on that cruise line. I was offered a job on the spot and it's a guaranteed sushi position (so I can be in the sushi world), travel and if I like it, remain within the same company for stability but still have all the change. It'll take about about 2 months to complete all the testing and medical stuff if all goes well. So it's kinda like a win-win situation. Let's hope so.

In the meantime, I've decided to take one of the job offers out of those original 6 to tide me over so to speak. I've been on more interviews since but knowing the job will be temporary, I'm not being as selective as I normally would.

On the cruise, I'll be returning to the 80-90 hour work week. This time though it'll be 7 days straight for 5 months. Never really done that before... I've worked many hours but I've always had a day off, a 6 day work week. We'll see how it goes. It's real tight quarters - 4 people per room. A small room with a gym locker to hold all our possessions (so I'll have to pack abit lighter!)

To the future! Changing as always...

interviews

I've been interviewing for sushi jobs since I finished school last week. I made sure to get a few interviews to practice on before I got an interview for the job I really want. 7 interviews... 6 of them practise since I get really nervous when I want something - and I got job offers from them all. That 7th one is the job I really wanted and haven't heard from. That kinda bums me out. Even with those 6 practise interviews, I still got super nervous and it didn't go so well. Strange thing though, since I knew I didn't want those 6 other jobs I wasn't nervous at all, which is probably why I got them.

Back to the real world. I kinda get tunnel vision when it comes to jobs so since I didn't get the one I wanted it really doesn't matter where I work. Maybe I'll pick from one that I got... Or go on more interviews. We'll see.

japanese cuisine and culture

Went to a Japanese cuisine and culture festival this afternoon. It was sponsored by the Japanese Restaurant Association and the California rice commission. Lots of food - noodles (somen, udon), nigiri, sashimi, sukiyaki, tempura, crepes, yakitori, even beer and sake tastings. It was kinda cool since I'd been wanting to eat sashimi the past couple of days.

One of the demonstrations was a bigeye tuna - it was 150lbs and it was cut up and served as sashimi. The guy was quick! It probably took him 15 minutes or less. Then he had his helpers cut it down into serving sizes.

I also saw sushi machines. You put the rice in the machine and one makes rolls and the other makes nigiri - and even puts it in plastic. I figure maybe for airplane food?







150# bigeye tuna

huge bowl of ikura (salmon roe) plated in rice bowls with shredded nori - like in scattered sushi.

sushi roll machine



















nigiri machine













nigiri finished product - packaged in plastic from the machine

finals

Today was finals. Along with the written we made 3 dishes each... a signature roll, appetizer and a combination plate of nigiri and tuna roll.



Signature roll - cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato concasse, crab, sesame leaf - tempura battered with plum and honey siracha sauce.












appetizer - mackeral bird nest croquette. In the croquette is mashed potato with shredded mackeral with panko crust, deep fried with a persimmon ginger dipping sauce.

I was so consume with ensuring my ingredients were fresh and all in season, I didn't realize my error until I started my testing - both dishes are fried.






combo plate - tekka roll (tuna roll) with halibut nigiri












Class: L-R
Cheuk, Jason, Jake, Sensei Andy (in black), Danny, Dai, Nick (asst chef instructor), Lorraine and I










Now graduated - with certificate

That was a quick 2 month course. I'm thinking I'll be staying in the LA area but still job hunting and open for options.

veggie nigiri

Today was vegetable nigiri day... after disecting the worms from the beltfish. Thankfully! I think everyone ate their veggie nigiri although some of the guys pan fried their beltfish and had that for lunch instead of raw.

L-R: kaiware (sprouts), eggplant with plum sauce, avocado, carrots, cucumber and soy beans, green onion with miso, roasted red pepper, asparagus.

it waved at me

Ok, so I grossed my classmates out again. It was unintentional - really. Today's assignment was a belt fish also known as a scabbard fish. We were cutting it down into filets, one classmate cut away one side and I cut the other filet but once I got the portion off, I noticed some dark looking round things in the meat and asked Sensei what they were. Uh, worms... oh yum... why is it I get the wormy fish? So I had to pick the worms out of the meat and prepare it for sushi. Most times, this fish is a cooked item but if tried as sushi, it has a distinctive flavor that some people (Sensei) likes. Me? Uh, I tried it last week and gave it away - the good thing is all the leftover sushi that we don't want, we give to Ouchi, the school office manager, who usually takes it home to his family. Oh... and if it's cooked more than likely you've eaten a worm. Good protein source, eh?

Last Friday we had an assignment on pompano nigiri. Pompano is this cute little fish - I think posted a pic of this fish skeleton... we deep fry the skeleton and eat it like chips. Anyway, everyone's assignment was complete and we were ready for lunch. (We all sit down together and eat like a family meal). As I looked down at my soon to be lunch, I saw this worm... it was standing up on end and waving at me. Literally, I'm not kidding. (Although it was a bit funny so see the color drain from my classmates faces). I guess I didn't do a very good job killing off all the worms - it's kind of a wormy fish. Sensei just told me to kill off the worm and eat the sushi anyway... needless to say, no one ate lunch that day - we all lost our appetites.

A few weeks ago, as we were doing our class assignment I had a worm crawling around on my plate. That time though, we all carved up the fish and put it in a big tray so I don't know who cleaned that fish but I ended up with it. It was a little baby worm - but the guys didn't eat their lunch that day either.

So far, there's been 3 worms found and yeah, guess who's been lucky to find all of them? It makes me wonder... if I am the only one to find worms in the fish, perhaps my classmates have eaten the worms unknowingly? I can't be the only one! Could I?

Out of my own evilness - I've posted Friday's lunch for you. By the time I got my camera the worm crawled down from the nigiri on the right and is in the middle of the two nigiri.

My friend... the worm.

jackfruit versus durian

I think jackfruits and durians are in the same family. They kinda look alike. Jackfruits are big pine coney things with tons of pokeys... and durians are little pine coney looking things with tons of pokeys.

Some of my classmates said in Vietnam, people put fences around the fruit trees. I thought maybe perhaps they were claiming the wild tree but they said no... the fence is suppose to protect people from dying. Ugh! Dying? When these fruits are ripe, they fall off the tree. Getting hit on the head by a pokey thing can surely cause brain damage, if not instant death. Ouch - that's gotta hurt a little! So when harvesting, people wear hardhats just to be sure they are protected.

I ate a jackfruit and thought it was delicious. People either love it or hate it. There's no in between. It stinks and in order to tell it's ripe, it stinks real bad. Real bad - like rotting onions. But if you like mango, peaches and bananas - that's what it tastes like (to me) if you ate all three fruits at the same time. Real yum, I think. Kinda like eating a ripe peach - texture wise.

Durians on the other hand. Well, I went to the Asian market and bought one thinking it was a jackfruit since it was huge. I usually see little durians... never big ones. So I got it, brought it home and read the tag... claiming it was a durian. Never had it before but had heard you either love it or hate it. These too stink REAL bad, when ripe. So I cut it open and ate it. This is like creamy egg custard like texture which is good. But the taste... yuck! To me, it was like eating a nice sweet banana and garlic - at the same time. Maybe it wasn't quite ripe yet? It was stinking up the kitchen... In some places in Southern Asia, durian is prohibited in public places because of the stink - to some people love it and other's, it totally offends the olfactory sense.

sushi - nigiri and box

It's been a few days since uploading pics of sushi. We've learned a couple types of fish and have been practising on cutting a whole fish down into usable pieces for sushi.







sushi - red snapper, sea bream, abalone, imitation crab



bottom row - box sushi with tuna, avocado and tobiko; egg nigiri (tamago)








box sushi - we make this kind of sushi in a box then cut it into squares. This one is tuna with wasabi mayonaise, kaiware (sprouts), tobiko, honey siracha sauce and siracha mayonaise.








sushi -

top row nigiri - tuna, albacore, salmon, scallop

bottom row - spicy tuna temaki (handroll), spicy tuna roll and scallop








oysters - one in a 1/2 shell with ponzu, chili radish and green onion; the other is a shooter with quail egg, siracha, green onion and lemon wedge










appetizer special - toro tartare. Toro is the best part of the bluefin tuna - it is the belly part of the fish. Tartare originates in Russia (Baltic states) and is a coursely ground, high quality beef mixed with salt, pepper and herbs, topped with an egg. In this case, the dish is fusion - substituting toro for the beef, garnished with green onions and topped with a quail egg and ponzu sauce.




nigiri - saba (mackeral), mussels, ama ebi (sweet shrimp) and aji (spanish mackeral)

a few days ago, i had a picture of an overgrown scallop liver. these two are normal sizes although different colors - one red, one brown. (See September 25, 2007 blog titled "nigiri").

Time is flying by! Graduation is next week - 8 more days of practice then the real world. I'm still unsure of future plans except to say I'll be in the sushi world. While prcrastinating on the job front, I do have a few ideas. I guess we'll both be finding out where the next home will be at approximately the same time... or stay in Southern California and become a beach bum. Hmmm, options.

disneyland

Whew! Still recovering alittle from the weekend. Last Friday, was mid-term day already. That means 2 more weeks until graduation... unbelieveable. Time is passing so quickly. Anyway, as a treat I went to Disneyland. It's only a few miles down the road from where I'm living and hear their fireworks display every night. I hadn't been there in a long long time - since I was a kid. Could it be almost 20 years ago? Wow. I'm old! Hehehehe. It was fun. There were alot of new rides I'd never been on before. Then there were a few rides, I'd been on before. Space mountain is a roller coaster in the dark. I'd been on it before but it had been fixed to take tighter turns, go faster and be darker.

There's this new concept called fast pass. You can only get one at a time but you get the ticket and don't have to wait in line as long. You just return at the time the ticket tells you and you maybe have to wait 10 minutes for the ride. I think the longest wait we had was 35 minutes without the fast pass, which isn't bad at all. It was a very nice day but tons of people - old people, young people, kids and tons more of kids being pushed in strollers. I got my toes ran over by strollers, stepped on, hair pulled... way too many people for me.

duck tongue

Tonight was an interesting dinner. Most of the classmates got together to hangout in Chinatown - this is a 'modern' one, located in a different town. If I didn't know it was Chinatown, I would have thought it a regular part of town with a few Chinese stores. It was all spread out and we actually had to drive to different areas.

Anyway, one of the classmates works in a Chinese restaurant and we've been wanting to try authentic Chinese food. Guess I'm willing to try almost anything once. We just picked a bunch of dishes that were recommended by our classmate. He did a pretty good job... one of the entree's was duck tongues - literally, with basil, black pepper and veggies. It was good. There were other duck tongue dishes but supposedly the tongues stink really bad and kinda ruins your appetite - basil reduces the smell so we went with that one.

I should have taken a picture for you for the proper visual. (hehehe) Oh and kinda raw chicken. It's called the House chicken special. It looks raw - the meaty part is real pale, the skin is on and looks raw as with the bones - the marrow is bright red. It really is cooked but on real low heat for a short period of time, air dried (I think) for a bit and returned to the low heat. Honestly, I had a hard time trying that one.

semi round fish

Still getting the hang of making the nigiri (rice balls). We get timed every day to get faster. Amazingly working with the nigiri - some of the classmates have forgotten how to roll sushi... they put too much rice in it and it doesn't close. So we get timed on our cucumber rolls as well. 8 nigiri in 2 minutes and 2 cucumber rolls in 2 minutes are the class goals. For me, the timing is not a problem butI still cut crooked... when you look at my rolls, they are more trapezoid shape. I think I just rush myself becuase when I'm not in a rush they turn out okay.

In the meantime, we're learning how to fabricate various fish. Today, we learned how to cut semi-round fish - like the red snapper and sea bream.

nigiri - shrimp (ebi), sardine, sea water eel (anago) and avocado eel roll

nigiri - sea bream (tai), red snapper, salmon skin temaki, sea water eel (anago), pike mackeral (samma)