Sure Beats Work

Most of you probably didn’t realize, but michellewoo.com was offline for approximately 5 hours in the wee hours this morning. Michelle and probably everyone on the west coast didn’t realize it was down. Someone forgot to renew the hosting. My first thought was, “She let her hosting expire again?” Then I realized I am in charge of her hosting account, because I didn’t think she would stay on top of renewing it.

I have a feeling our marriage will be highlighted by regular periods of time spent in the dark and without heat.

Although my wild animal meals come stuffed in a pork sausage casing and grilled to perfection. Also, there are fries with homemade dipping sauces and beer to wash down the sausages and fries.

After we looked at the OK Go exhibit and watched then perform their set, Michelle and I headed to Lazy Ox Canteen for a bit to eat. The food is awesome, but food bloggers must have some kind of trust fund, because holy shit that place is expensive.

I prefer my suds to come in large pitchers, not tiny fancy glasses.

These lime chili corn kernels are delicious. Way better than beer nuts.

Charred octopus.

Brick-roasted mussels. The house made sriracha sauce is incredible.

Pig ears. Yum!

So now my stomach is a bit heavier and my wallet a bit lighter. It was worth the try, but my wallet hates me.

You’ve all heard of OK Go before, maybe not by their actual band name, but you’ve seen them. They’re the band with the treadmill music video. Now it’s ringing a bell, right? Well they released another awesome video which is making it’s way across the Internet.

I got the opportunity to visit the LACMA on OK Go’s VIP guest list thanks to Michelle, who just seems to know people. OK Go had it’s video release party in the penthouse and exhibited parts of the Rube Goldberg machine used in the video.

Colorful flags and mouse traps. Pachinko machine in the background.

It’s mini OK Go!

Michelle pretending to get splattered by paint.

OK Go LEGO!

Playing glasses of water with a guitar.

Paint covered jumpsuits.

OK Go even performed a live acoustic set. They said it wasn’t originally going to be an acoustic set, but Dan was in Mexico so a full performance was impossible.

Here it Goes Again, better known as the treadmill music video song.

They covered the Pixies’ Wave of Mutilation.

The song for the video release party. This Too Shall Pass.

Streetlights, people living just to find emotion. Hiding somewhere in the night.

Since the beginning of the year I have lost about 10 lbs by cutting down on the junk I eat during work. I’m fortunate enough to have a pretty high metabolism still, so just cutting out the work day munchies has been good. I will not, however, turn into one of those people that eats nothing but rice cakes and tofu just to survive. Food is something to be enjoyed, whether it’s fine dining or just a warm, hearty meal with friends.

A terrible picture of a delicious snack. Had the Singapore Wings at Edison before heading to our actual dinner.

This is our Noodle Club meeting at a chain pho joint. Oxtail Pho! This is way better than the standard rare steak that gets overcooked and chewy.

Friday night Michelle and I decided to do something adventurous and eat somewhere new. We took it one step too far and decided to eat at a vegetarian restaurant.

We stopped into The Green Temple in Redondo Beach after reading many positive reviews about the place. What we didn’t think about was how much we love meat. The soup tasted like onion and potato water. Chicken broth is the answer here!

The veggie quesadilla was not bad at all but nothing is when you have guacamole and salsa, the meat and gravy of the veggie world.

This is supposed to be a vegetarian hamburger patty with the special tofu sauce that everyone loves on Yelp. The best thing on the plate is the broccoli. At least you know what you’re getting when you eat a vegetable. Why must vegetarians try to disguise their food to look like meat?

This is walnut loaf, and like it’s name suggests it’s meatloaf but with walnuts making up a large portion of the protein. This one has a much more meat-like texture, but you’re still very aware it’s not meat.

What this meal needed was bacon. It’s as simple as that. While I don’t think I would go back to this place again, I am still looking to try out another garden burger spot in Redondo Beach that apparently has people asking, “What kind of meat is this?”

Japanese inspired spicy cod roe spaghetti at Italian Tomato in Mitsuwa. Hot sauce and peppers added by Michelle.

Kimchi ramen with a beef bowl. A limited time special for the Mitsuwa anniversary.

Some Korean bar food at Raku Raku in Torrance after a long day. Not a bad deal at all.

I am full.  And just as important if not more, I am satisfied.

The Olympics makes it quite evident where people’s cultural identities lie. I have friends rooting for China and Korea, but it confuses me. They’re Americans! Why aren’t they cheering for America?

Growing up I never wanted to cheer for anyone other than Team USA. When I would ride bikes and race around with my brother and friends, we were always Team USA, and whoever lagged behind we called Team China.

So what’s the deal here? What’s the attachment? It’s not like any of these countries have strong historical and cultural ties to figure skating or cross country skiing.

Am I wrong to think this way? Why does it seem that everyone who is assimilated well into the American way of life passed off as “someone who lost his own cultural identity?” Why can’t I just be an American?

Last night was Valentine’s Day dinner for Michelle and me. Michelle was so busy with work that we didn’t have time to do anything last Sunday. Also, I forgot that I was supposed to do something. I took Michelle to Sushiya, which I’ve been to once before.

Live scallop. So incredibly fresh.

Live sweet shrimp. Well it was alive until they pulled the head off and fried it.

Spanish Mackerel.

More Spanish Mackerel.

They really give you all of the fish.

Diamond Roll. Wouldn’t be a special meal for us without something to burn the palette.

If you’re in San Pedro, go eat here. It’s truly a gem in a city where food is normally a much heartier affair. The fish is always fresh and the staff is super friendly. The sushi chef knows people are finding him on Yelp.

The groomsmen have booked their flights, and we’re all seated next to each other in what will be called the “We think we’re going to Vegas” section. Do they still offer free alcoholic beverages on international flights? Does Canada really count as an international flight? That’s right! We’re going to Canada, Vancouver to be more specific. Apparently it’s quite the hot spot for soon-to-be-hitched people to celebrate their final days of freedom.

We should rent a yacht and have a monkey knife fight. Those are legal in Canada, right?

Two words can sum up this past weekend. Eating and sleeping.

Friday night Michelle were looking for some Korean BBQ, but the place we’ve been to a couple of times was closed. We went to a local joint that serves Korean bar food. We were looking for something spicy and this did it. After dinner I was passed out by 10:00PM.

Saturday morning we woke up early to head to the LA Street Food Festival. The place was a mad house.

Wrong. It was a long ass line.

Once inside there were more lines. It reminded me of the lines to use the bathrooms at Coachella. Insanity. The first thing we got to eat was Panang Curry from the Yum Yum Bowls truck, because the line was the shortest. The rest of the time we spent in long lines, feeding each other as we got food from one line or the next.

Qzilla BBQ was probably one of the best deals, $5 for a sampler. They were delicious.

Fries from the Frysmith truck. Kim Chi, Rajas, Chili Cheese, Chicken and Sweet Potato, and a special Foie Gras Mousse.

Fried Chicken from Ludo Bites truck. My cousin Trevor got in this line as soon as he got into the event, and it was the last thing we got to eat. Delicious, but worth three and a half hours of wait? No way.

I’m pretty sure they had no liquor license as beers were done as donation only.

For those of you that couldn’t get into the event, don’t feel bad. It wasn’t worth it. I know the organizers were caught off guard by the popularity of the event since this was the first time, but even with a bigger venue I still wouldn’t recommend attending this. What they need to do is create night markets like they have in Taiwan.

After the food fair we decided to hit up Mr. Churro on Olvera Street for some custard filled churros before heading straight to Chinese New Year dinner. We thought we wouldn’t be able to eat anything, but we did surprisingly well for having eaten all day. We were exhausted from standing in the sun all day so we crashed by 9:00 PM, sleeping until 9:30 AM.

Michelle insists she has mono. I certainly don’t. Who has she been kissing?!

Alright, listen to me. You pull up right where she lives, right? Before you get outta the car, you lock both doors. Then, get outta the car, you walk over to her. You bring her over to the car. Dig out the key, put it in the lock and open the door for her. Then you let her get in. Then you close the door. Then you walk around the back of the car and look through the rear window. If she doesn’t reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in: dump her…Listen to me, kid. If she doesn’t reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in, that means she’s a selfish broad and all you’re seeing is the tip of the iceberg. You dump her and you dump her fast.

Fortunately Michelle and I live in the day an age of power locks. We make it work.