My Omelet

The trip to Seattle was awesome. I ate so much. Thanks to all the walking I did around the UW campus and Discovery Park I think I only gained a few lbs. Prior to the trip I think I spent around 6-9 hrs on Yelp and different websites to research food places and I'm really glad it paid off. There are a lot of different specialty food shops around Pike Market for cheese and dessert stuff. If anybody wants recommendations feel free to drop me a line.

The main event for the heavy weight bout was me vs. the 12-egg omelet. Beth's Cafe serves four different kinds of omelet: veggie, American, bacon, and the southwestern exposure omelet. They also serve a 6-egg variety of their omelets. Let me just tell anyone that's brave/stupid enough to try the omelet, DO NOT get the southwestern exposure omelet. This happens to be the one Adam Richman ordered on the show Man v. Food as well, but that's not why I ordered it. I saw that it had chili and salsa and I thought the spiciness would help my appetite, but I totally did not consider the fact that chili has BEANS in it, which makes it extra filling.


















I gotta say, I had my doubts going in whether I could actually finish this. I know I could eat, but I'm no competitve eater. My friends weren't really helpful either and filling me w/ negative thoughts. When they finally bring this monstrocity out on a f-ing PIZZA PAN, I didn't even know where to start eating.

My friend and I actually talked strategy a little bit on our bus ride over to Aurora Village. Laugh all you want about how much of a dork we are, but it really helped. We debated a little bit whether to eat it really fast or pace myself. The omelet comes with some toast and hash so we decided that I should finish the toast and hash first since I don't like it as much. Well, the hash is buried underneath the omelet so I decided to change strategy and just mix everything all together.

I inhaled the four pieces of toast and cut my omelet into 4th's. I blew through the first half great, no problem at all. Then the grease from the hash, plus the sour cream and all the beans just slowly to trigger my gag reflex. Each bite was becoming more and more difficult to swallow. I mixed the remaining omelet and has together and then divide them down into 4th's again. And I think I did this one more time when I find it hard to slide the food down my throat again. Somehow the last fourth really wasn't all that bad... I guess I just hit a wall.

You know, when I watched the show I was wondering why Adam quit like a little girl with only maybe 3 or 4 bites left and maybe the producers had something to do with him throwing in the towel. I know now what kind of pain he was in. I mean, damn... that was some serious work. All that chewing and at one point I had to try to trick myself and think happy thoughts. But hey, I finished it, he didn't. Jason > omelet > Adam Richman.

My Emerald City

I'm heading to Seattle this coming weekend for Memorial Day. I'm really excited! Seattle is one of the few cool cities I've never been to before. My parents went with my sister a few years ago I think... I think I had to work so I didn't go w/ them. Honestly, nothing against my folks, but they're pretty boring.

God knows how many hours I've spent on Yelp looking at different restaurants and what not; probably somewhere in the 6-8 hours ballpark. I'm going w/my friend Craig and we're staying downtown close to Pike Market. I have a feeling that by the time we depart Seattle there's going to be a food shortage.

We're going to a Mariners game, and I'm going to be taking on the 12-egg omelet challenge @ Beth's cafe. I also kind of want to explore the UW area, or U-District I guess is what the local calls it. Check out Discovery Park and the Ballard/Fremont neighborhood and their Sunday markets. I want to try abalone somewhere. I don't think I'll be doing the whole museum thing that much this trip or even bother with the Space Needle. I have a lot of restaurants and little dessert or snack shops planned out but I'll report about the ones I actually went to when I get back. I'm already hitting the gym extra hard this week in preparation for all the eating coming up.

This 12-egg omelet... it doesn't look that big, but I'm kind of scared. Pray for me that I defeat this culinary beast!

DC Recap

DC was delightful. I got to meet up with quite a few friends, the only one that I missed was Johanna whom I went to high school and college with. She lives far north east of the District in Maryland so it was harder for her to come out.

I stayed with Dan, my old tennis doubles partner who lives in Crystal City, which is just one metro stop away from the airport. I got up at 4am and had a bowl of soup but other than that I didn't have anything to eat all day. The reason being that when my plane landed in Denver, the one to DC was already boarding. We actually arrive in DC about 10 minutes early at about 1:05 but the luggage carousel didn't start until about 1:45... what the frick, seriously. And I waited for my bag to come out. And waited. And waited. Finally the little bell went off and the belt stopped. Oh Lord, you did not just lose my bag with the all my warm clothing in it. I started walking towards the Frontier office to let them know but turn my head to give it one hopeful look, the way they do it in the movies where the character looks back to see if their lover ran out to stop their departure, and voila! It was there, sitting lonely on the belt as probably the 2nd to last piece of luggage to come out.

Dan and I went out to Pentagon but security was super tight and you can go in w/ a scheduled tour but you have to book it THREE WEEKS in advance! Three weeks? I joked with the security guard if he meant three days or hours. They don't really appreciate humor when it comes to matter of national security... So yeah, it was pretty boring and you can't take any pictures at all. The most you're gonna get is one of the five sides anyway... it's not like I had access to a helicopter. We then went over to Arlington cemetery, which was creepy, yet beautiful at the same time. That was followed by a hike across the Potomac to Lincoln Memorial and bunch of other memorial this, memorial that before we hopped on the Metro over to Rosslyn to watch the Texas-Stanford game where I met up with Paul, his fiance, and Chantal. I don't know why it didn't register in my head before, but all three of us b-school kids were all in the very first LeaderShape our freshman year. I also met up with Hilda after the Texas game at Dupont Circle for the KU game. Hilda has to take the MCAT the following Saturday so I figured this might be my only chance to see her while I'm in town.



Saturday was mostly just the cherry blossom festival stuff. Dan and I went up to the National Building Museum (I didn't know there was a museum for buildings...) where the opening ceremony was and saw some performances and arts & craft kind of stuff for family and kids. We saw the White House, the Old Postal Pavilion, the Capitol and walked over to Jefferson Memorial before getting to Arlington Cemetery again for our metro stop. It felt like everybody in DC and their grandmothers were out... it was so crowded. We walked maybe 5 miles that day? I should've brought my pedometer, that would've been a fun little fact. My feet definitely felt the impact of all five all those miles as it was very thin on the bottom, no cushion to soften the impact of the road at all.

Sydney got us some tickets to a contemporary dance performance at Sydney Harmon Hall that night. Honestly, I don't know much about dance. I've been to ballets and stuff and I'm pretty familiar w/ art and music but just never been exposed to much dance, not to mention contemporary. I didn't really understand the first performance. I usually try to find the message the artist is trying to convey through different clues or context when it comes to art or music but this performance was very messy, disorganized even... maybe that was the point. The 2nd performance was cool. There was a man who was in a yellow tight, which I think symbolizes the sun or the light because all the other performers were in the shade of the rainbow. The third and final piece didn't have music at all and you could check out an iPod shuffle for it. I brought my own. I think it was intended for us to listen to music on shuffle to get a random song but given the variety of songs I have on my iPod was going from Black Eyed Peas to say Jack Johnson... it didn't make sense at all. I eventually decided to put on something futuristic or electronic like Ghostland Observatory, Hot Chip and settled on Holy Fuck. I thought it worked magnificently. They would play sounds of New York like the subway, the PA announcement or cars. It felt like I was just listening to my iPod and people watching as I commute. The title was called "eyepiece" so I thought that was a fitting interpretation.

Dan let me borrowed one of his tennis shoes on Sunday when we head to the zoo. I wear about size 11 shoes and he had one that's 11 1/2. Paul and Chantal both mentioned the zoo when we were watching the game on Friday plus I really wanted to see the pandas. Headed back to Rosslyn for Rhodeside Grill to watch the game w/ Ryan... we lost, it was pretty miserable. I was going to Kennedy Center to meet up w/ Paul as they were going to do some engagement photos there w/ Katy, whom I've heard both Paul and Sarah talk about her but I've never met her... but the weather turn really gray and it looked like it was going to rain so I just stopped by Paul's place as they were taking their dog Duke out for a walk by the Iwo Jima Memorial (yes, I know, another memorial...). I was dead tired. I think I fell asleep watching The Soup on E! by 9pm. Dan said I was snoring, whatever dude....

Since the weather forecast for Monday was rain, I had planned to hit up the museum that day instead before my 6pm flight to stay indoors and dry. I went to the Air & Space, the Art, and the Natural History Museum while fitting a trip to Hard Rock Cafe, H&M, and Zara in there somewhere. I didn't really find anything I like at H&M and Zara, fairly disappointed I must say... I got home at like 1:30am and I went straight to bed.

I liked DC a lot, I hope the weather is better than what I've seen the 4 days I was there. It does seems kind of boring with all the museums and national monuments, but I know there's a lot of partying going on as well, I was just too tired to part take in any of that this weekend. On top of that I can't say I'm too into politics... it annoys me, so I don't know how well I'd fit in here. I'm actually thinking about going back for 4th of July (lots of people again...) or maybe even go to Georgetown for my MBA.

Napa/Sonoma Winery Tour

I've been doing some research on the wineries out in Napa. I think it'll be cheaper if we go ourselves and make reservation at the ones that require them. Napa is only an hour out north of San Francisco so if Bret is willing to drive I don't think that'll be a big deal.

V.Sattui
1111 White Lane
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-7774
9am to 5pm
Group of 10 or more are required to RSVP and pay a tasting fee
No public tours are offered... only self-guided tour

ZD Wines
8383 Silverado Trail
Napa CA 94558
(800) 487.7757
Tasting room open daily from 10am to 4:30pm
Traditional tasting: $10
Premiere tasting: $15

Honig Winery
850 Rutherford Rd
Rutherford, CA 94573
(800) 929-2217 ext. 318
10am to 4pm by appointment
$10 per person

Duckhorn
1000 Lodi Lane
St. Helena, CA 94574
(888) 354-8885 for reservations or online for five or fewer guests
10am to 4pm
$20 - four current release wines
$30 - hour long tour, semi-private tasting of limited production wines w/ food complements

Beringer
2000 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-4412
(707) 963-8989 ext. 2222 for reservations
10am to 5pm
Free tasting coupon on the website (Monday through Friday)
$10 - three wines from seasonal menu
$25 - four reserve wines
Introduction Tour: 10:45am, 1:30pm and 2:00pm daily. Approximately 30 minutes. $15 - includes 3 wines at tasting bar, advance RSVP not available.
Historic Tour: 10:30am and 3:30pm daily. Approximately 75 minutes. $25 - includes four wines in Rhine House. RSVP recommended - 14 person maximum
Vintage Legay Tour: 11am daily. Approximately 90 minutes. $35. 10 person maximum
Taste of Beringer Tour: noon, 1pm, 3pm, and 3:45pm daily. Approximately one hour. $20 - includes 3 wines at Rhine House
Wine & Cheese Pairing Seminar: 2pm, approximately one hour. $30 - 4 cheeses and 4 wines pairing. 10 person maximum, RSVP required
Wine & Food in Balance: 2pm. Approximately one hour. $30 - four different wines and food pairs. 10 person maximum. RSVP required.
Tasting in the Cellar: 3:45pm. Approximately one hour. $25 - semi-private tasting of 5 reserve level wines. 12 person maximum, RSVP required

Sterling
1111 Dunaweal Lane
Calistoga, CA 94515
(800) 726-6136
10:30am to 4:30pm
$20 - includes aerial tram ride, five wines. No RSVP required, $5 coupon on the website (up to four adults before 12:30pm)
$45 - Reserve tour and tasting, three reserve wine. RSVP required (707) 942-3359

Dean & Deluca
1400 California wines
7am to 8pm

Chandon
1 California Drive
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 944-2280
$20 - 35 minute guided tour and tasting, no RSVP necessary. 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

To Do List: San Francisco

I'm planning a trip to San Francisco in February, taking advantage of President's Day so I don't have to miss work. Although I have been to SF a few times already b/c my aunt is in the area and done the touristy stuff, this time I'm going to hunt out some more unusual and less saught after stuff or things I haven't been to:

• Wave organ (I think this is down by the Marina by the Wharf)
• Alcatraz
• Tatto museum (I heard there's some freaky cool stuff here)
• Lombard Street
• Divas--drag contest down by the Castro
• Napa/Sonoma/Wine country
• Find those golden fire hydrants
• The first fortune cookie place
• Ocean Beach
• SoMa clubs, etc

Also good (this is for DJ Emil, who's never been to SF):

• Golden Gate Bridge
• Palace of Fine Arts (Lyon St)
• Chinatown (Grant & Bush)
• Golden Gate Park--Japanese Tea Garden, Conservatory of Flowers, Strybing Arboretum
• Coit Tower (Summit of Telegraph Hill)
• Fisherman's Wharf--Pier 39
• Ghirardelli Square
• Lincoln Park
• Japan Town
• Union Square
• TransAmerica building (600 Montgomery St)
• Ride the cable car/trolley (Powell & Market to Fisherman's Wharf or Ghiraardelli Square)

Restaurants and Bars/Clubs that I hear multiple mentions on TV:

• La Taqueria (Mission & 25th)
• Swan Oyster Depot (Polk & California)

More to come...

Oh btw, I found this in my old pictures. This was the very first time I was in San Francisco. I was only 9 years old. This picture just has nostalgia woozing out of the butt. It sure would be cool to take another picture from the same spot on the same date. I do love the city very much... maybe one of these days someone will make me a job offer or I'll fall in love w/ a hippie and move out here.

Muchen Mag Dich!

Translation: Munich Loves You! Kind of like the I Love NY slogan. Well, at least somebody loves me b/c pretty much after this trip nobody does anymore. You'll see what I mean.

Oktoberfest was not at what I expected, both in a good way and bad. I decided on a whim to go to Munich for Oktoberfest and stay until my birthday. I've been wanting to put my six month Europe visa to use again since this summer anyway. Sounds cool right? Well, not if you leave the way I did. The following abbreviated dialogue sums up what I had and will have to deal with now that I'm back.

Mom & Dad: "What about work?"
Me: [stuffing clothes in backpack] "That's a chance I'm willing to take."

Mom & Dad: "Who's going to pay for this?"

Me: "You will, or I will. I don't care if I have to spend the rest of my life paying this off."

HR Personnel: "Well, you're a new trader Jason. It is really recommended that you be at your desk and get over this learning curve as fast as possible."
Me: "I know that. But it's not like I'm on salary. I'm paid based on performance. I know my opportunity cost. I'm gonna go."
HR Personnel: "Well, I'm disappointed in your decision, but you can't just go like this."
Me: "I'm sorry but I have to. You can fire me when I get back if you want.

Cute girl: "But what about me?"
Me: "What about you?"

Cute girl: "You're so selfish. You're just going to leave like this?"

Me: "Me? Selfish? You attention whore. I can't spend all of my time on you."

So why did I go? Honestly? I just heard my calling. Maybe like how God called out to Joan of Arc. Something was talking to me. Something just tells me that I need to go. Everywhere I go I see signs. Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest. My mind is completely obsessed with it. Well, let me be the prophet or discipline to the Beer God. This is my pilgrimage.

I shoot a msg over to Bobo who's working in Munich. Bobo both interned in New York. He was on the Deutsche Bank audit and I was on BNP Paribas. We've always joked about visiting each other in Germany or France if we sign on to PwC full time and do the foreign rotation. Well, he signed and I had a occupational revelation. He is south of Munich said he'd have a place for me to crash.

Well, I left Thursday afternoon and by the time I get into Munich it was morning but technically it was like 3, 4am in the morning back home. I called Bobo with my calling card but he didn't pick up at all... turned out later the bastard was at work. I tried to get to his place in Fasanengarten or Fasanengpark or whatever... fucking German, I don't know a lick of it. I ended up wondering around Munich that entire day with my stupid backpack filled with what felt like fucking boulders. I shoot him msgs on facebook and his email at the internet cafe but got no responses. This went on until about 6pm. Still no contact with Bobo. At least the sun goes down later here in Germany... I had to start looking for a hotel or hostel, just a roof over my head for the day until I get in touch with Bobo. This was Friday afternoon/night now... during what feels like the climax of Oktoberfest. There's not a single vacant room in this city. Not even a stable. If this was Bethlehem I could at least get a stable w/ the horses, man (sorry for all the religious/blibical references... they just kind of fit with the story).

What happens after that is a little hazy now... b/c I started drinking. Hey, I'm in Munich for Oktoberfest, what did you think I was going to do? Throw tomatoes at strangers? I'll leave that for the Spaniards. I took the metro down to my beloved Hofbrauhaus, ordered some food and a drink... which quickly became 2, and then 4. I literally walked or take the metro all over Munich while every hour or so I'd find a internet cafe to check if Bobo msged me back or try to call him. And drink. I exhausted the 40 euros or so I had left from the summer Europe trip and tried to get some more out of the ATM but the damn thing ate my card. WTF!!!!!!! I guess I forgot to tell the bank that I was going to Germany. Well, screw you, Bank of America! Can't a guy take an impulsive trip out of the country without credit card fraud suspicion? It must have been at least 2 or 3am before I found a nice big discrete tree in the English Garten and fell asleep under it.

I must have not rested for more than a few hours before the polizei woke me up. Talk about a wake up call. And by wake up I mean I really woke up. I don't think I've ever gone from zombei state to alert so quick. I guess they've became familiar w/ people random passed out drunk in the city b/c I thought they'd take me in for questioning or arrest me (or I've just been a goody goody kid my whole life I didn't know what to expect). I get to the internet cafe again... FINALLY!! Thank god, Bobo msged me on facebook that his phone was out of commission due to a beer accident, which his phone accident went skinny dipping in a giant mug of beer. He told me to wait for him under this gold statue in the big square in Marienplatz and he'll come find me at 10am. Find me he did! Geez... pray the Lord! I don't know how it worked w/ all the shit load of people in the city but it worked out. We took the metro down south to his place. I showered up and decided that I was in no shape to parttake in the festivities so he left while I slept the entire afternoon.

That Saturday night and the rest of Sunday and Monday is not as interesting... well, it is interesting but it's pretty much what you expected. Oktoberfest is 100x better than Mardi Gras, New Years, Halloween and the night when we beat Ohio State and won the first Rose Bowl on 6th street combined. Oh, the tents, beers, sausage... especially this white kind that I could eat for breakfast the rest of my life. Even pretzel. I don't like pretzel at all but with beer, it goes down all smooth. I hate to say it but I really don't remember a lot of it. I remember thinking to myself that German girls are either super hot (like Heidi Klum) or they're fugly, big and strong as if they're ready to do hard labor like chopping wood, hauling hay or change my oil (they'd fit in well at A&M). What sucks even more, is what was suppose to help me remember, my camera, managed to disappear from my possession. I'm pretty sure I left it at the Hofbrauhaus. They did hav some kind of lost & found but I came back the next day there was nothing... Boooooooo.

Anyway, I'm back now... so tired. I'm going to pay hell for this trip and I'm not just talking about financially with the credit card but I have to patch things back up with my folks, I'll probably find out in the morning if I still have a computer at my desk to see if I still have a job. As for the girl... whatever, I didn't like her that much anyway and it wasn't that serious. I joked with a few people that if my car broke down and my dog died or ran away this would be one hell of a country song.