Busy Week, Plus Ice Skating & A Yummers Vietnamese Dinner made by BK :)

Current mood: rejuvenated
Category: Friends

Hola, I hope everyone is having a great weekend...like most people I think most of us have tomorrow off for President's Day (or is it just me being a "gov-ment" worker now that I think everyone should have all the Federal, National, State AND Local holidays off???) Anyway, I have a LOOOOONNNNGGGG weekend & I am absolutely ecstatic about it b/c I was "for realz" working hard for my money this whole week...I had to organize two events & pull them off plus I have one coming up next week that I won't be participating in but I had to try to get 2 dozen staff volunteers to volunteer for, make floor plans for for all the different stations, plus assign them to their various jobs that day & then TRAIN them in one day (which is going to be on my bday & two days before the event - whew!)...it's overkill but even if I get a dozen people for this coming weekend's event, then it will be all "goodness" for me...

Hmmmm, so, yesterday I saw my good friend's little baby celebrate his 3rd bday & he had it at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating rink...he was there with his cousins plus all the day care school friends with their - get this - rubber ice skates...they were all aflutter b/c I was eavesdropping on a "triad" of little boys who were always sticking close to each other & they were talking about how they were watching all the skating on the Olympics that's being televised right now from Italy...I thought that was adorable & how kids can be easily influenced & also, pick-up so fast - you know it's that "no fear" instinct that kids have - after getting their quick lesson from their instructor they're ready to just hop onto that ice! The party group was asking me if I was going to step on the ice - I told them "no way!" b/c I already sacrificed one arm in a fall & I didn't need to give up the other...I learned my lesson...peeps, I was making like Michelle Kwan & saying "no moh' " to ice skating after my injury ...baha!

I was taking snapshots of some of the kids heads peering over the skate wall - you would see the top of their beanie-bedecked heads or if I knew the kids, they would just wave & have these big ol' smiles on their funny faces, b/c they were so proud they were just slowing inching their way UPRIGHT in around the rink...hahahahahaha!

Anyway, I think all the kids & even some of their parents (the big kids) had a blast yesterday afternoon...it was adorable to see the parents with the kids just teaching them to skate - how maternal and/ or paternal the instincts were coming out with the kids on the ice...love it, love those family moments...esp. when the families would be holding each other's hands...okay, you can call me a big cornball - I don't care - I'm not made outta' wood, that's for sure & if you're a real decent human being with a heart, your ice, cold jaded heart would've melted too if you witnessed all the family bonding going on there in Yerba Buena Skating Rink ;-)

After, doing a little window shopping, I headed home & took an even LOOONNNGGGER cat nap - that was my way of celebrating the time off I had...ha! After waking up from that big beautiful slumber, I got ready to go to my friend BK's party no queridas (dears), not Burker King but my friend who's initials are BK ...she made a spectacular 7 course meal & she IS a phenomenal cook though when I first stepped in her place, I asked her if she needed help in the kitchen before she "shooed" me out & said, "Noo, no, no, I'm a kitchen Nazi - so just grab a glass of Pinot" & let me do my thing!" Wow, well, I'm a good soldier & followed those orders & hung out with her friends just chit chatting ...while more friends came in & we just lounged around admiring her new digs (this was a belated housewarming, if I didn't mention it) ...anyway,when she was finally done she had cooked us the following; 1. Garlic Noodles with green onions 2. Garlic crab with chili powder & generously peppered with buttered sauce 3. Grilled red, yellow, & green peppers with equally grilled shitake mushrooms 4. Garlic Shrimp with salt & pepper with sauteed gin over it & with braised basil leaves 5. roasted mushrooms in a pesto, & a nicely melted cheese, butter sauce 6. Kimchee fried rice with green onions, chopped up spam & eggs 7. A delicious white whipped cream & raspberry, strawberry cake from my fave bakery Dianda's (on 25th & Mission, which I always go to when I'm nearby to pick-up a good cannoli) drizzled in Kalua Chocolate Hot Sauce ...man! Talk about winning people's hearts through their stomach! I was mightily impressed b/c you know how I "loves" me some good eats...it was hilarious b/c her co-workers who she invited didn't even know she cooked b/c they said she usually just buys her food during lunch, etc. Anyway, she told me she only likes to cook like this anyway when there's a lot of people around or if she has good friends to cook for and that I should come over any time if I ever feel hungry (she lives in the Richmond too & it's only like a 10 minute Muni ride straight down Geary or California)...now, I feel like I should be obligated to throw dinner party of my own so I can repay her for the hearty & delicioso meal she threw together for us last night...hmmmmm, I'll think of something...BK is such a sweet gal in the brief time that I've known her...I'll have to make it up to her somehow...

Hmmmmmm, so since I was a bit busy yesterday, I've been a bit lazy today...I was supposed to go over to my mom & grandma's (Lola's) place most of the afternoon today or actually, I was going to stay over but I woke up late & my mother told me not to bother since my grandmother seems to be doing okay & she could handle her by herself...so, maybe, I'll stop by tomorrow instead since I have the day off...

Mmmmmm, I'm listening to my sister's or her boyfriend's mp3's tonight off the laptop that they've downloaded in their folder & they have a remake of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" by a group called, Social Distortion...it's good but mmmm, you can't compare to the classic tune...damn, I know most of you have already watched "Walk the Line" but can I just recommend that movie one more time to everyone or what...I'm so happy it's getting all the awards & Oscar nominations it's gotten...what a fabulous movie & again, kudos in the stupendous acting from Joaquin & Reese....I can't believe I was lucky enough to snag free movie preview tix for it when it first came out

So, it's going to be a short week for me...I'm taking some days off to go away this weekend in Sonoma to indulge in some low-key birhtday celebrating...I am SOOO looking forward to it...really, even if it was just me, myself & I on this trip, it would be all good - I could dearly use the get-away from the city & urban landscape...just somewhere nice & quiet & I'm looking forward to a full body massage that I will be getting that Saturday or Sunday there - I'm going to make sure it's going to be as heavenly as possible!...ummmm, not that I didn't get to go away the beginning of this week, well, I had a taste of it at least - this past Monday, I got to go to an all day offsite meeting in Moccasin which is a stone's throw away from magnificent Yosemite...I was going to plan for an event I'm setting up for late April for some VIP people that want to visit where the "water comes from" & basically just get educated...but mostly, we want to just show off how the system works for these people...planning & event planning takes a LOT of work - I think sometimes people don't respect that - ummm, I take that back it's not that they don't respect it, it's more that they don't want to get down to the minutae of ever little thing that comes with planning events - it may seem inconsequential to most but getting it down to where you want to place people on a conference table to where is the best location for booths to what kind of "tschoskes" and/ or souvenirs you think a particular group of people want - can make it or break it especially if you want it to come across as a good business "relationship" and/ or "partnership" in business...anyway, I'm excited about the project & if I can get enough people to volunteer for this particular event, maybe I'll be swayed to stay overnight at one of our bungalow cabins on the agency's premises...it's very quaint, cabin style but I would love to stay overnight just so, I can check out Yosemite Nat'l Park the next day if I have a good group with me...we'll see, we'll see, I think I can round up some people together ;-) Hmmmm, one thing that totally blew me away driving up there in my lil' company car Prius was that there were these gorgeous, white (blanca) blossoms on the tree orchards on our scenic drive up there...when we finally got to Moccasin I had to ask the woman we were meeting with what they were...Cherry Blossoms? Apple Blossoms?...she said "No, they're Almond Blossoms!" Almonds Blossoms? I had no idea that there was such a thing much less, thought about where almonds really came from than besides the can but then that's the beautiful thing that happens, you always have something new to learn everyday & I was really pleasantly pleased by that discovery ...anyway, she went on to inform me that there is only a small window of opportunity to witness those blossoms & I had good timing to come up now in February to be able to see them...it was my lucky day that's for sure...I was so into them, on our ride back, I made my co-worker stop the car off the side of the road & took about 3 pictures of the floral display going on there ...when I get a chance to download them @ work this week, I'll try to post them on this blog

Anyway, everything's going well all the way around (knock on solid, hard, hard, sturdy wood!) & I'm feeling a bit blessed at this moment...I hope all is well on your side of the world...Now, I'm hearing "Digging on You" from TLC - a remix version - damn! I haven't heard that song in eons...I LOVE it...I miss TLC ( a moment of silence for Lisa Lopez everyone - I'm not kidding either or being funny!) - hmmm, okay one last note, I had to make a playlist for some friends b/c they wanted to throw me a party...now, I don't care if this list totally ages me but it's from my generation & if you can push back the cobwebs of the recesses of your mind on these old tunes, just flashback for a minute with me now Happy Reminiscing!

>1. "Friends" - Whodini (Because I want to dedicate it to all my friends>coming to this bday happy hour...baha!)

>>2. "I Can't Wait" - Nu Shooz (If you forget the song, here's how the>song lyrics start below...that was mah' jam back in dah' day ;->)>>My love, tell me what it's all about>You've go something that I can't live without Happiness, is so hard to>find Hey baby, tell me what is on your mind>>Coz I can't wait (baby I can't wait) till you call me on the telephone I>can't wait (baby I can't wait) till we're all alone>>

3. "Ladies First" - Queen Latifah>>

4. "Big Poppa/ Warning" - Notorius B.I.G.

>>5. "Going Back to Cali" - LL Cool J

>>6. "Real Love" - Mary J. Blige

>>7. "Lean on Me" - Clubb Noveau

>>8. "Spread My Wings" - Troop

>>9. "Can't Stop" - After 7

>>10 "California Love" (Remix Version!) - Tupac

>>11. "Whatta Man" - Salt n' Pepa

>>12. "Hold On" - En Vogue

>>13. "Come With Me" - Shai (Okay, not exactly a dance track but I love>that song, we can slow it down a bit)

>>14. "If You Love Me" - Brownstone

>>15. "Crush On You" - The Jetts

>>16. "Can You Feel the Beat" - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

>>17. "Head to Toe" - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

>>18. "Point of No Return" - Expose

>>19. "All Night Long" - Mary Jane Girls

>>20. "Nite & Day" - Al B. Sure

>>21. "I Feel for You" - Chaka Khan

>>22. "Rumors" - Timex Social Club

>>23. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deniece Williams

>>24. "Best of My Love" - Emotions

>>25. "All Fall Down" or "Let Me Be the One" - Five Starr (okay, I snuck>in two but who ever plays Five Starr??? I admit I looked through my old>cassette singles & tapes for some of these...lord have mercy...funny as>hell)

>>26. "Square Biz" - Teena Marie

>>27. "Saturday Love" - Cherelle w/ Alexander O' Neal

>>28. "Love Makes Things Happen" - Pebbles & Babyface

>>29. "Summer Girls" - Dino

>>30. "Girlfriend" - Pebbles

>>31. "Meeting in the Ladies Room" - Klymaxx (I saw them on a hot 1986>day @ the Fresno State Fair, people! With my rolled up jeans & pure as>the driven snow keds getting all dusty & dirty w/ the 4H shows happening>all around me!> Talk about being a fan...where the hell are they now???)

>>32. "Never Too Much" - Luther Vandross

>>33. "This Will Be (Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole

>>34. "If It Isn't Love" - New Edition

>>35. "Kiss" - Prince (Only b/c I'm thinking about Valentine's Day")

>>36. "Working Day And Night" - Michael Jackson

>>37. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - Michael Jackson

>>38. "Make that Move" - Shalamar

>>39. "Cutie Pie" - SOS Band

>>40. "Ring My Bell" - Anita Ward (My last one b/c I know you've had>enough & the lyrics are a bit fast! Ha! Hope you all had fun reading>it!)>>I'm glad you're home>And I think you really miss me>I guess you do by the look in your eyes (look in your eyes, look in your>eyes)>Well lay back and relax while I put away the dishes (put away the>dishes) Then you and me can rock-a-bye>>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>>The night is young and full of possibilities Well come on and let>yourself be free My love for you, so long than I've been savin'>Tonight was made for me and you>>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell>You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell

Currently watching:
Sixteen Candles
Release date: By 06 May, 1998

For you Rom Com Movie Fans Go Watch "Something New"

Current mood: giggly
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Yo Kids :)

So, this past Monday night, my friend I. Lo got a few free passes to see "Something New" the new movie with Sanaa Lathan (from "Love & Basketball", "Brown Sugar" & "The Best Man" - all GREAT movies) & I, as a romantic comedy fan, can only give it rave reviews! The acting, writing & just the whole movie were pretty top knotch & it was such a well done film - I'm saying for the genre they were trying to market it in (African American comedies) - sometimes in those type of movies, mostly, the characters can seem more like caricatures than real people & this one, well, it goes beyond the genre & besides being a romantic comedy, it has a bit of intelligence in the writing & has something to teach & say about dating or trying to figure out if you're dating your one true love (not just interracial dating - but there's a lot of that too but done well because you're not beaten over the head with it -so, it's not overly preachy about it) - it ultimately, sends out the message that you need to go beyond your own "lists" in your head of who you should date, marry, love...

starts having an affair with this 16-year-old kid that they become friends with (the 16 year old was the lead actor in that WB drama, "Everwood", which I only know about b/c my former roommate's nephew used to watch it @ our apartment whenever he'd hang out with us...baha!) - just good acting from the standpoint of a man trying to keep his "perfect" world together after his wife betrays him ...anyway, Simon Baker has been around in Hollywood for awhile playing various character actor-y type of roles & did I already mention he's Australian? What is it about Australian actors? Why are they so compelling & just supremely masculine on the screen? Masculine in the way that they're just comfortable in their skins - not afraid to beAlso, I am completely in love with the lead actor, Sanna's love interest in the movie - his name is Simon Baker & I've been following him for awhile - he was the guy in "L.A. Confidential" that was the murder victim/ film idol who got killed in the beginning of the movie...he was also in that TV show a couple years back called "The Guardian" where he played a child advocacy lawyer that I used to catch off & on just to LOOK at him - he's pure eyecandy but he's also a pretty, damn good actor - just a couple months back I caught him in an indie flick off the Sundance Channel & he was in something called, "The Book of Love" where he played this English teacher that becomes devasted b/c his life goes downhill when he finds out his wife well, MEN? It's natural too, like his easy going nature in the film is probably the same in real life, too...I read his biography off of the IMDB site that he used to surf in Australia competively as well ...*sigh*...also, well, the man has been married for like over 10 years & has 3 kids...the good ones always are soooo committed...all, I know is that when I. Lo, her cousin, my best pal & me were leaving the theater we all had FALLEN in LOVE with him at the end of the movie - they just made him the perfect man...one more thing, you're also left not wanting to leave the characters - like you love them so much, you want to know more about them, - you care for them like they're really friends or people in your life - that is for damn sure a good movie when you care about the characters as if they were your own friends...

The writer of the movie, also writes for "Everybody Hates Chris" that new Chris Rock show & the producer of the movie, also produced the critically acclaimed "Hustle & Flow" ...they're all African American women & if you watch the movie you can tell that females wrote & directed the movie catering to female tastes (like the director has nice close-up shots of Simon Baker's biceps & then the writing, the speeches from him are like dream lines any girl wants to hear - plus, I won't give it all away but there's touching dialogue between Sanaa & the guy who plays her dad in the movie) ...anyway, I read somewhere the critic described it as a "good Harlequinn" romance...baha! Not quite Harlequinn but to me, more of a modern day fairytale & again, as a romance comedy fan, I wanted to buy my DVD copy of it right away when I finished watching it - so, yes I LOVED it that much...

So, if you won't take my opinion...here's a review that I've cut & pasted below that I thought was great, honest & touched upon a discussion I had amongst the girls after the movie, what it meant to us after seeing it...she couldn't have wrote it any better :)

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday too everyone...I'll be in Hercules celebrating my brother's bday for the Super Bowl party he's throwing all day tomorrow & also, I get to see how much little baby Kylee has grown in the past month...I can't wait :)

Take care,
El -

_____________________________________________________

Saturday, February 04, 2006

'Something New' offers black women the chance to see themselves

Leslie Gray Streeter / Cox News Service

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Chris Rock once joked that as a black man, he was born a suspect. And judging by most romantic Hollywood movies, black women are born sidekicks.

Or, even worse, nonexistent.

"As a human being, you want to see your experience on-screen, and they're too few and far between for us," says Sanaa Lathan, the top-billed and undisputed star of the nifty romantic comedy "Something New."

By "us," Lathan means educated, non-crazy, single black women. And she oughta know, because of the handful of those few-and-far-between movies made in the past five years or so,such as " The Best Man," "Love and Basketball" and "Brown Sugar," she's been in most of them.

So it's not surprising to find her in "Something New," playing an upscale career sister named Kenya who has a very long and rigid list of requirements for the perfect black Mr. Right, but finds herself in initially reluctant love with Brian, her very handsome, very rugged and very white landscaper (Simon Baker).

Even when she does meet the perfect black man, played by the perfect-looking Blair Underwood, she has to decide what's perfect, and what's perfect for her.

Opening herself up to date a white boy, Kenya's so-called "Something New," is "a metaphor for stepping outside of your comfort zones and the boxes you put yourself in," Lathan says.

But for me, the new thing is also finding the rare romantic mainstream movie where the "It" girl, the object of desire and adoration, and the most sought-after lady in the joint, happens to have brown skin.

This is notable, because in most romantic movies, the black woman is:

A) the secretary, maid or third-string buddy on hand strictly for moral support;

B) the sassy underprivileged homegirl at the community center or finger-snapping, "You go girl" comic relief who teaches the star to triumph over adversity, let her hair down, live free and love again;

C) tragic, misguided or destined to be rejected, brutalized or some sort of symbol that Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock can learn from on their way to happiness;

D) sitting in the row in front of you eating nachos, because it's likely for dang sure she's not up there competing with Reese Witherspoon for a man.

Usually second banana

At this late and ridiculous date, Hollywood still cannot, with few exceptions, wrap its silly small mind around the concept of black women as worthy of being that non-second banana "It" girl. Yet here, deliciously, is "Something New," directed by first-time feature helmer Sanaa Hamri -- yes, she and her star have the same beautiful Swahili first name.

Both Sanaas, like Kenya -- and heck, like me -- are single, professional black women in their 30s, who don't think it's too much to ask to see themselves, or something close to themselves, on-screen.

"I wanted to (show) a woman who has a job, who just bought her house. Other characters are doctors, lawyers. There are no gangbangers," Hamri says.

"We're not used to seeing ourselves," the other Sanaa agrees. "We've seen one particular story of black people. It's getting better. But we have a huge rainbow of experience that we still usually don't see."

Look, I want the same things that my white counterparts in this crazy jungle of singlehood want -- a good man with his own teeth, his own place, a job with a tax ID number, a command of the English language and a minimum of drama. "Something New" gets a lot closer to my experience than your average Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock flick, even though Sanaa Lathan is vastly more movie star perfect-looking than I will ever be.

And that's because "Something New" actually bothers acknowledging that I exist, or at least a thinner, richer, prettier version of me.

Think about it -- not even Halle "Drop-Dead Gorgeous Oscar Winner" Berry can usually get a man in the movies since she's busy being a sad, fragile tragedy magnet ("Monsters Ball"), nearly lasered to death by a power-mad evil genius ("Die Another Day") or brutally murdered and then licked back to life by a million stray cats, thus reincarnated with some weird kitty DNA ("Catwoman").

Kenya's world of cotillions and landscapers in "Something New," or even the Huxtables' Brooklyn brownstone existence on TV's "The Cosby Show," is much more upscale than mine, but it's a heck of a lot closer to me and most of the black people I know than, say, the gold-toothed country bumpkins in BAPS or the neighborhood hoochies in "Friday." It's not better or worse than the accepted norm. It's just different. And it's true.

And besides, if everyday white people are allowed to fantasize about wearing Jimmy Choos with Carrie Bradshaw or living in the O.C., then you need to back up off me. Now.

"Some people see "Something New" and think 'That's me!'?" says Hamri. "And when non-African-American audiences see it, they are educated. .?.?. The point is that we have to talk about the things we brush under the table."

And in her movie, Hamri's spread those things right smack in the middle of that proverbial table. Rich and pretty though she may be, Kenya has a lot of everyday black girl concerns. She doesn't want to talk about her weave, even though she knows she has one. She freaks at the prospect of getting her immaculate, straightened hair wet in a rainstorm -- "That's the worst! We all know that! And it was pouring. It wasn't just a mist," Lathan says.

More seriously, Kenya and her friends confront the disturbing statistic that almost 50 percent of black women never marry, maybe because the appropriate men are already married or incarcerated or dedicated bachelor commitment-phobes or gay or strictly into white girls.

Understand that I have no problem with interracial relationships -- I've been known to date a white dude or two myself, as there are too few nice professional, moral, non-crazy men without baggage going around for me to quibble over a little melanin. My problem is that sometimes in real life, and even on screen ("Save The Last Dance," "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?") black women are not the choice. And too often it feels like we're playing second fiddle to everybody. Can't you understand how profoundly and deeply that blows?

Kenya knows this. And even though she's gorgeous, and has everything going for her, she burrows into her high-thread count sheets in her fancy ZIP code afraid that she might wind up alone.

I want the same thing that Kenya and almost every other woman of any race that I know wants in life, and in our movie dreams. We want to be the first and adored choice of that someone, as Hamri puts it, "who fits you, no matter what. The message was not to go and date a white man (but) a universal message that you have to 'let go and let flow,' as the movie says and allow nature to take its course.

"If I couldn't get that across, I didn't do my job right," Hamri says. "Brothers have said they liked the movie. I wasn't dissing Blair's character. He was a great guy who may fit (Kenya) on paper. But does he fit her heart? .?.?. It really is about love."

We all want that love. We want to be the star, and not the sidekick, in our own little movie, where the flowers are always for us, where we're not picked by default and where, when the credits go down, it's us walking into the sunset with the stirring musical montage.

Currently reading:
Little White Lies : A Novel of Love and Good Intentions
By Gemma Townley
Release date: By 29 March, 2005