Wall Street, Main Street .. AND Red District Asking for Bailout

So you have all heard about wall street getting bail out. You probably heard about how the government is moving to bail out homeowners -- the main street. What you probably didn't hear about is that the Red District aka Porn Industry has also asked our government for a bailout. You don't believe me? Read this article. I just have to laugh at this justification for a bailout for the porn industry --

But the industry leaders said the issue is a nation in need. "People are too depressed to be sexually active," Flynt said in the statement. "This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex."

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It's time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

Err. Ok. Whatever. If Congress gives a penny to the porn industry, I'm going to quit paying taxes.

A Marriage Proposal

So I received my first marriage proposal... in the most uncharacteristic manner. The man did not bother to get down on his knees; but if the rule is that the man should be looking up at the woman while proposing, then he didn't break the rule. After all, I was standing and he was sitting. So he was looking up at me.

When he proposed, he did not use flowery language or begin with a 15 minute soliloquy about love and marriage. It was direct, short, and focused -- "Will you marry me?"

My reply? A smile and a gentle "no."

Well, you see, since my move to the new unit within my apartment, I have been walking to work by a different route. That route, unfortunately, has a lot of homeless people still sleeping while I'm walking to my work. One of the homeless men decided to propose to me. And while flattered, I certainly could not accept the offer without knowing who the man is.

All of which led me to think back to a question that my friend asked while we were in law school... and a hypothetical question of would you marry someone who was homeless and penniless? I'm pretty sure I was unable to answer that question at the time -- if that would be a quality that would deter me from marrying someone if you truly loved that person. Of course, this was a different scenario, since the man and I did not know each other.

But I was gently bemused to get my first proposal (I took it as a compliment) ... and have since then changed my route to work. I wouldn't want to be asked more than once and wouldn't want to give same answers over and over! ;)

Tim Tam's -- an Aussie Snack

So my sister reminded me that when we visited Australia, we loved eating Tim Tam's. And Target was selling them a few weeks ago! We bought some... and remembered why we liked eating Tim Tam's. They are yummy. ;)

Caramel and chocolate...

Can't go wrong with that!

Heat Wave in San Diego = Surf's UP!

It was a gorgeous weekend -- 70's and low 80's -- in San Diego. I finally got a chance to go out and soak in the sun. I'm making it a mission to make it down to the small, private beach in Sunset Cliffs (the path is steep and not marked from the top of the cliffs). But for today, I simply enjoyed surfers taking advantage of the great weather while reading my book out by the cliffs.


View of the beach at the bottom of the Sunset Cliffs. The water was clear enough you could see the bottom.


The beach is actually not that big... but because it's hard to get down, it's also not that crowded. I'm determined to get down there one day!


Other folks enjoying the view from the cliffs as well.


What view? Rolling waves and surfing!



Riding the wave.


There were quite a few surfers... all clamoring for a little bit of the wave.

San Diego Restaurant Week -- Kitchen Confidential

So during the San Diego Restaurant Week (1/11 through 1/16), my friends and I tried out Kitchen Confidential in the heart of downtown San Diego. It was a hip, trendy place to be seen, apparently.. with loud music and great looking but completely impractical tables and chairs. For the restaurant week, Kitchen Confidential had $30 menu, where you can choose any 4 dishes. Given that the vibe was so hip, I was a little afraid that the food would be more about presentation than taste. I shouldn't have feared.. the food was great! I had to take pictures... they were pretty and yummy.



I hate vegetables.. and am no fan of salads. But I ordered a portobella mushroom salad... and was quite impressed.



This is deconstructed pizza. Basically, ingredients of pizza. It was a lot of food so I got to eat it for lunch and dinner afterwards.


And this was unbelievably delectable. This is Vietnamese scallops. Even though it was the smallest dish, it was the best dish I tasted. If you ever go, you have to try it.

$30 was well spent on Kitchen Confidential.

2009 Resolutions

I have a few resolutions in mind, not all of which I am going to blog about. A couple of my resolutions are really just continuation of the resolutions I made last year (or years prior). I am adding a new resolution to my old ones this year. My new resolution is -- eat at least 5 baby carrots a day, every day -- no joke. My eyesight is pretty bad, and I knew that carrots are good for your eyes. I'm just bad about eating them. Actually, vegetables in general have a hard time making it to my stomach. ;) Every few weeks, I would buy a bag of baby carrots, and they end up uneaten. But this year, I am going to eat 5 every day. So far, this is one resolution that I have kept pretty well this first 4 days of 2009... and hopefully I will keep for the rest of 2009!

Stylin' in the New Year

This was way too cute! Tillman, the bulldog, loves to skateboard. It got enough attention that he got to be in the Rose Parade and received national media attention. Like so many stories, this little bulldog got its fame started from YouTube. This is way way too cute and cool!