awww…nostalgia. click here to treat your ears to the inspiration of this entry’s title. talk about a jaunt down musical memory lane! a classic.

please listen to this! this is the kind of thing i live for. so good and fun.

it’s my favorite “holiday” of the year. since i lack a clever costume today, i commemorated by wearing a skeleton tee (under a biz-casual black v-neck) and orange sneakers. in past years, i was catwoman, the joker, and a deviled egg.

from 2006, here are some pumpkins we carved up at steve and mike’s (photos taken by alex):
peg’s and mine

mike’s, anthony’s, hao’s

derek and fran’s

other than the obvious reasons for loving halloween, i get super-psyched about all the festive halloween music programming that the community/college radio stations unleash upon us lucky listeners. it’s exciting as hell!

local jazz juggernaut KCSM 91.1 has AWESOME programming on hallow’s eve, but only in the morning. unfortunately, i don’t think they archive their playlists nor their programs. check out their playlist on 10/31 from 6-9 am. you’ll see lots of goodies, like louis armstrong’s “skeletons in the closet,” raymond scott’s “dinner music for a pack of hungry cannibals,” glenn miller’s “swingin’ at the seance,” turk murphy/elvira’s “alabama ghost,” and so much more. mmmmmm….

i also found this “cool cat” while googling “halloween jazz” – he’s a dj in richmond, virginia who whipped up a mean playlist that you can listen to on his blog. as he wrote, “hear the fear.” his tunes include kay starr’s “the headless horseman,” nina simone’s “i put a spell on you,” the mingus big band’s “the chill of death,” and so on. there are also smatterings (or should i say splatterings?) of bloodcurdling 50s b-movie screams.

lastly, and this isn’t really pertinent to halloween, but twin cities community radio station KFAI has a program called “encuentro.” recently, it presented a two-part series dedicated to frida kahlo’s life, featuring “songs that she loved, songs that were popular in Mexico during her lifetime, and songs that were the musical backdrop for her artistic work.”

pretty friggin’ cool RIGHT? i can’t wait to tune in.

here’s part one and part two. unfortunately, the sound files are real media. for the clueless like me, this means they’re not as straightforward as itunes or media player automatically launching them for you.

enjoy!

(i just realized that i have melted chocolate on my hand from the take fives and almond joys i’ve already consumed this morning. i think it’s time to make sure i don’t have any smeared around my mouth)

…i feel queasy…

“g-g-g-guh-guys? wait up!! where you going? why are you running away like that? i just…i just wanted to see…if you know, you wanted to hang out tonight and play wii. my mom’s making stovetop…and…and…and we just bought some capri sun!!!”

i am equal parts delighted and terrified. this lil’ feller right here is exactly why i have such an abysmal love (deep as the sea, hyuk hyuk) for all things marine. thanks to fran for pointing this out, found on boing boing. the headline: “strange squid with human-like ‘teeth”

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! peep the comments following that article. funny stuff.

can anyone come up with the perfect name for our aquatic pal?? somehow, i don’t think alistair or archibald would cut it. i’m thinking something more along the lines of…fred? help me out here.

geek alert: squid guy reminds me of corinthian, the sandman character. i still vividly remember being an angst-ridden, black nailpolished little punk lying on my bedroom floor, reading sandman: the doll’s house (while listening to kiss me kiss me kiss me, natch) and seeing the horrifying, disturbing image of corinthian’s face for the first time. seeing this squid brings me back.

pretty dorky, right?

but anyway, i love animals. they are fuhhh-reeeeeaky.

i’m revisiting new order and it is a real nostalgic trip. if anybody out there loves “1963,” “love vigilantes,” and “regret” as much as i do, i wanna get a cyber high-five. *slap*

things have been whirlwind these past coupla weeks. i’ve been fortunate enough to eat some tasty meals, spend time with friends, pop my opera cherry, celebrate birthdays and artistic achievements, dance with sweaty revelers, and eat some more (much to my detriment).

in other news, life continues to perplex and astound by throwing jarring things my way. little emotional land mines here and there are par for the course, but once in awhile you’ll get a big one that can jolt you out of your comfort zone and shake you to your very core.

like moz once sang, “emotional air raids exhausted my heart.”

i guess this is what life is all about.

(but life can also be about moments like these…)

see this?

it’s cuz of my undying love for pungent vittles like this that i am cultivating an unsavory reputation at work: she who bears smelly foods whose aroma pervades the offices.

there’ve been enough incidences now that have given me cause for concern: the lion’s head meatball soup that elicited some “what’s that smell?!” commentary, a colleague asking me “do you have sauerkraut?” because i had the pictured cheese on my desk, and some other moments i’ve repressed by now out of sheer embarrassment (like the time i brought in chou dofu / fried stinky tofu…i kid, i kid…though i do enjoy the stuff).

oh well, it’s my own dang fault. i could be a normal person and snack in the lounge or outside. unfortunately, i am far too lazy to take such considerate action.

back to the glorious cheese. this is robiola bosina, an italian soft-ripened cheese made from cow’s and sheep’s milk. i LOVE odoriferous cheese with a runny consistency, the kind that when you take out of the fridge and turn your back on it for like five minutes, you’re stunned to find it’s changed from solid to semi-liquid under such mild conditions. it’s naughty and delicious.

though its smell is strong (and offensive for some), the flavor doesn’t dominate. it’s milky, earthy/woodsy, and perfect for any bread, dense and doughy or light and fluffy (i was going to say “artisanal bread,” but that would make me most loathsome). i usually just dip roasted hazelnuts in it and the taste is divine.

i have a sick unconditional love for cheese. in my convulsive fits of glee at the cheese counter, i have stupidly spent ungodly amounts of $$$ on various samples. the very idea of a cheese buffet drives my desire to visit france. i don’t know what i’d do if i was lactose intolerant.

man, just talking about it gets me all worked up.

*wipes drool away with sleeve*

okay, SO WHAT IS THE DEAL?

it’s no seldom occurrence that we all see an accessory / item of clothing that we covet but can’t actually possess. usually we “suffer” this because of paltry funds (or whatevs), but it stings even more when what i want is designed for the opposite sex or for beings in a far distant age range – specifically, that which belongs to little tykes.

in other words, i’m witnessing a lot of age-ism in “fashion” lately.

EXHIBIT A
:

an awesome pair of dino rain boots belonging to a tot. as soon as i laid my eyes on these, i knew with conviction that they were meant for me. so how come 1) i’ve never seen them before and 2) even if i could buy them, they’d only fit my big toe ?!
in general, i’ve seen plenty of adorable rain boots made only for kids, like the classic delightful frog ones.

while the children are traipsing out and about with little frog eyeballs sticking out of their boots, us “ladies” are relegated to the same ol’ atrocious, saccharine options such as these (zzzzz):

at the very least, i can always fall back on the classic, rugged (but sexy) wellies. whew.

EXHIBIT B
:

a fantastically awesome hoodie with a sassy and stylish print featuring some wicked fauna: scorpions, lizards, and one of my faves: bats! bonus – it looks like dinosaurs from afar. is there any reason why old navy couldn’t make this for a 26 y.o. woman? (granted, a 26-year-old- woman with a stunted childlike mentality) i don’t want some fleece zip-up $hit with old navy insignias plastered all over the sleeves. i want one with nicely rendered bats on it.

EXHIBIT C
:

the tried-and-true lion costume for halloween, except this one is sweet. i wouldn’t just wear this to halloween festivities. hell, i’d wear the jacket to your parents’ house, to the bodega, to the park while walking the dog, cuz it looks warm, snuggly, inviting. check out the paws and inventive use of felt for the mane! peggy tried it on and i wanted to pounce on her right there and then, it was so meltingly cute. old navy saves only the good stuff for kids and dogs. thanks a lot, old navy. THANKS. guess i’ll trudge on over to the “spirit” halloween store to peruse what’s available for my age bracket…lots of costumes that are pathetically imbued with banal sexual innuendo. booorrrring.

oh yeah, and over the weekend we went to the venerable berkeley institution vik’s chaat house. the last time i was there, i was still a wee college student. i almost cried tears of joy and paroxysmal pleasure when i took my first bite.

i have a new vice: handmade ginger candy from guilin.

man, this stuff is so addictive. i LOVE IT. shimmery golden nuggets, they are reminiscent of peanut brittle in texture and flavor. however, the ginger packs some exciting heat that you don’t detect at first. initially you’re relishing the honey sweetness and crunch, and all of a sudden you’re hit with this spice attack in your mouth and throat. i guess it’s like the confection version of the pain/pleasure dichotomy.

not only is it tasty as all hell, it’s also fun to feel the layers snap between your teeth. if only i had brought back enough packages for everyone. i’d love to share this with you.

i’m assuming all this tedious pounding and stretching gives the ginger candy its striated appearance and crispy strata

i’m back.

it was surreal stepping foot inside my apartment, especially since it felt more like two and a half months rather than two and a half weeks that i’d been away. being in my room for the first time was a trip.

now i’m nestled back into the “safe” familiarity of home and thus, the coveted company of loved ones. it feels so good. while in china, appreciation for my amazing friends and family never diminished. if anything, it skyrocketed. how am i so lucky to have such solid people in my life?

still a bit culture shocked and disoriented, but luckily the jet lag is not as severe as anticipated. for now, i just want to relish my last day of freedom and make it really work for me before i return to work.

there’s plenty to mull over and digest.

jesus, look at me, writing as if i’d been away on six-month sabbatical or something. am i really such a drama queen?

yesterday anthony and i went to clement’s new mei wah to pick up groceries for brunch, and in my mind i was comparing and contrasting, bemused by the fact that i was in china and now in sf’s “other” chinatown.

i’m disciplining myself to give this “series” proper closure, however tempted i am to give in to laziness.

i am eternally grateful to be able to experience china. it was more intense than one can imagine. overall, the trip was incredibly emotional — not because i had a few breakdowns and was susceptible to loneliness and alienation. those episodes were merely symptoms of my hormonal imbalances and character flaws/weakness.

the meat of the matter: i thought a lot about my parents and grandparents, where they came from and therefore where i’m from. it incited a lot of disbelief (i feel like an alien here, i can’t relate with these people) and yet a lot of pride (wow, i hope i inherited some of this badass hearty, sturdy, gore-tex-of-genes stock).

i thought of my grandpa, and wondered what he’d think of my trip – would he be proud or exasperated by my naivete? when i was in the park delighting in the ballroom dancing amongst the older folk, things clicked into place. my grandpa loved dancing and was quite the man about town at chinese community senior centers, where people would revel in karaoke and the foxtrot. growing up, he’d teach us all the smooth moves that he produced with swerve and verve on the dance floor. and here i was seeing this same plucky enthusiasm for dance, but in a completely different world.

there were many priceless, humbling moments that gave me pause. endearing simple stuff, like seeing weathered ol’ tough guys laugh and catch up as they unzip “jackets” away from their bird cages and hang the cages up onto tree branches. or other tough guys chillin’ in lawn chairs in parks, at dusk, to send their big kites to the sky. in tian’an men square, walking behind the adorable tots who would gleefully lumber around and suddenly, blindly reach his/her little mit up for some affectionate hand-holding, guidance, and shelter. the nearest grandparent/familial unit would oblige with tenderness.

and i am dead serious: there were some CUTE baby humans there. the ones that really got me were the little girls with boy haircuts who really reminded me of my toddler-era sister.

SO YEAH, your usual mawkish amy tan fare.

for now, residual photos from shanghai…

the coolest dude in the world – a gregarious and talkative driver. he’s restrained in his photo, wish he could’ve flashed that big smile

bustling nanjing street at night

lobby of the whampoa club, one of the few lavish restaurants where i indulged in a fancy feast. this was a most memorable meal (elegant shanghaiese) in an art deco setting

one of the divine dishes, blue river prawns with shrimp roe braised noodles. don’t get me started on this. the flavors were unlike anything i’d ever tasted. you know how when you suck the juices out of shrimp heads (for the uninitiated, don’t knock it), there’s this pungent powerful taste? well with these guys the taste was BIG yet diminutive. delicious! you could also see flecks of roe in the perfectly al dente noodles

hands down the best luo bo si bing i’ve ever had. here’s one with a bite taken out, so you can see the tender, soupy slivers of radish encased in a flaky buttery shell

cool photo gallery. see what’s on the desk?

puffy-eyed MF

leafy street typical of the french concession area…

…where you can visit zhou enlai’s former residence. many consider him one of the “good guys” from the chinese communist party

a lionfish on the bund

love this

in the chic, cosmo area on the bund

i believe this was HSBC. i imagine this is the kind of bank where people casually toss around the phrase: “just wire it to my swiss account”

instant fresh fruit market

heavy with longans and mangosteens

scooters make for dependable makeshift cots

sauntering in jammies

neighborhood watch, on the lookout for some perps

the shanghai subway: gloriously efficient, clean, modern, and hi-tech monitors informing you of the next train. the drawback is that during rush hour it transforms into the seventh circle of hell. when it’s time to board or alight, push and shove means nothing. it’s more like conquer and destroy

shaved ice bar. and why don’t we have one here in sf yet?

ominous graffito, almost too predictably juxtaposed with the pseudo-apocalyptic backdrop

this tips the creepiness scale; found on a construction site that appeared abandoned by the wrecking ball.

decorative window peering into din tai fung, a renown chinese restaurant with locations throughout east asia. on the wall are caricature-like portraits of celebrities eating the restaurant’s famous dumplings

…and it don’t stop