Nov 11, 2004

To Remember
I just noticed it was November 11th.
Back in the day, old men wearing suits and berets would be selling poppies for a nickel in the subway station. That's how you knew it was time, because people need reminders.

They don't celebrate Remembrance Day here. They've got Memorial Day, but that's earlier in the year, in May.

It's interesting how Rememberance Day is pegged in memory of the two world wars, in hopes that such a tragedy would not occur again. It's notable how significant Dieppe plays in Canada's military history. November 11 is a depressing day.

Memorial Day in contrast is a long weekend. Think Victoria Day in Canada. Now I think it's related to the timing, the onset of summer, but I wonder if the American losses are mostly glazed over by the history of victories.

Just a thought.

I wonder who will sell the poppies when we run out of old men.

Nov 6, 2004

26
I hate birthdays. They can end up being so incredibly depressing.
I had wanted to be a hermit this weekend. However friends had planned dinners (without my approval). I had wanted to just skip out, but I'm not one to take friends for granted.

On Thursday we had dinner at Julius' Castle, a little out of the way place near Coit Tower in San Francisco.
-tuna/salmon/seabass tartare
-duck liver pate with black truffles
-grilled lobster tail with black pepper
-crab ravioli with apple curry
-five spice grilled quail
-Molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato
All the food was mediocre. Everything was either mediocre or below par despite some promising menu descriptions. Apparently the restaurant is quite nice. Our table was in a rather old room with a decent view, but I suspect there was a nicer part of the restaurant that hosted a wedding banquet that evening. We didn't end up checking out the rest of the restaurant. However, because of the wedding, the valet took forever. They did give us free dessert to make up for it.

On Friday we had dinner at ABC Seafood in Milpitas. More like a feast.
- house soup
- Peking duck
- Mongolian beef
- black bean and pepper beef
- cashew chicken
- spinach with thousand year old and salted duck egg
- squid deep fried with salt and pepper
- steamed rock cod
- crab deep fried with chili, black bean and garlic
- peach shaped steamed buns with white lotus paste
- red bean soup
ABC tends to have decent food. We don't go too often, since it's rather expensive, but they usually do a good job with dim sum and big meals.

I spent Saturday at church, collecting cheques for the mission conference. Had leftovers for dinner, which isn't half as bad as it might sound, given what I ate the last two days. Saturday night we went to a bar where my friends knew the bartender. We all got free drinks, then headed back to their place for poker.

We played for a few hours, ending the evening with a three-way all in hand. I had a flush to the ace, beating out the flush to the queen. However, in my excitement I failed to notice two jacks on the board. I lost to the third guy, who held the other two jacks in his pocket. Note to self, must be more cautious.

Got new sheets.
bed


Also got a new snowboard on clearance. I probably won't ride it, I got it more for decoration. The design suits me.


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I hate birthdays because it's always a reminder of what you have yet to achieve, and this seems to get worse as I'm getting older. Perhaps it is a worldly mindset to desire achievements to boast about. It is so much easier to say "see, look what I have done", than to allow God to work in our lives, especially when the latter may take time and patience. Regardless, I still feel like I'm getting on, towards that dreaded settled life.

In the meantime, I remind myself how greatly blessed I am with friends. I think I'm being taken out for lunch after church tomorrow. Thank you, sincerely, to all my friends.

Nov 2, 2004

Election Day
Given the choice between Bush, Kerry, and Nader, I'm glad I can't vote in this country.