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Nana
by Emile Zola
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Floors to eat off of
Friday, Mar 5, 2010 10:00PM / Members only
The first phase of the flooring is complete; has been completed for a few days already. So-o-o pretty! Am still adjusting my walk on the new surface. Seriously. At first I was really picking up my slippered feet but have decided that carrying over my shuffle-slide, or doing more of that kind of action, works fine. haha.
For a second there, it did feel like I was sharing a home with the floor nazi though. Someone almost had a coronary when persons like myself walked on a small portion of the wood in street shoes. Had my head nearly chewed off. I understand the concern as little, hard objects can embed themselves in our shoe soles that could have potentially ugly results on a wood floor. All right already, we'll allow the floor to be lived in a bit before we become daring. ;)
The installer affixed felt pads to all the furniture feet, but apparently that didn't satisfy everyone so I had to double-up the felt on the bigger pieces.
The second phase will commence next week when the stairs are to be done. It was always planned but we wanted to find out what our experience with the 1st floor would be before committing for more. After I cleaned up fairly good, I'll have to contend with the dust and noise again. And flies. Lots of big flies that instinctively fly into open doors as if they've been invited.
A funfortunate thing happened when moving the piano. The boss-installer wanted to be extra cautious and brought in a dolly for the move. I wondered for the need of a wheeled cart when, I thought, we could've slid the piano to its proper place. Well, while they rolled the loaded cart on top of the cardboard path they created, a wheel managed to leave a trail of dented wood in a high traffic area. Doh! They'll replace 8 or so boards when they return.
I have to admit I miss the cushioning afforded by carpeting. And every speck of lint and little pieces of dust is so visible on the walnut floor. Carpets are so forgiving. However, it is a comfort knowing that the new surface is super-low in maintenance.
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Cool engineering to music
Wednesday, Mar 3, 2010 10:00PM / Members only
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CNY time
Friday, Feb 26, 2010 10:00PM / Members only
It was an unseasonably warm Saturday that I ventured out to SF's Chinatown. The plan was to have dinner with the folks but before collecting them, we snatched a look around our childhood haunt during the festive lunar new year. Mr. P had incorrectly pictured the streets of Grant Avenue lined with booths for the annual CNY street fair. Actually, that happens on a different weekend, so he pictured the wrong day. No matter; we were up there anyways...to get our exercise climbing down and then up the steep streets. ;P
Grant Avenue's lined with shlocky souvenir stores which all carry pretty much the same junk. I tried on a green Mao hat, or was that merely a China military cap? For a second, I lingered over the girl's kung-fu shoes thinking it'd be cute on girl-child but thought better of it. I used to wear them to school because it had been the fad. Nobody wears them to school these days unless they want to be ridiculed. ;D No matter how pretty the embroidery happens to be.
Passed by the building that houses the Empress of China restaurant. I don't know how many wedding banquets where I passed the time here. Too numerous to count. The food was never all that great. I've not noticed the decorations until I came to their website in the process of writing this blog. I have to say that the restaurant's appearance is very authentically, ancient-y Chinese. Hah, the place has probably been around since before the China fell (er, was elevated) to Communism. The place calls to memory dark, dank and musty. I think this restaurant was (is?) popular for banquets bc the dining room is big and a parking garage is just across the street.
In the foyer of the same building are some souvenir shops. There's a circular walkway with what once used to be a diabolical-looking dragon, ready to pounce unbelievers or evil-doers. During many long and boring wedding banquets, my cousins and I used to run out of the dining room and play in the elevators or in the downstairs shops. For something a little more exhilarating, we'd invent games revolving around the golden dragon looming over our heads at the walkway. I think we used to make a lot of racket out there by the stinky eyes the shopkeepers would throw us.
Walking the streets, I'd hear lots of pops and crackles. Firecrackers are banned in SF. A good thing cos those things are a nuisance, if not a tad dangerous. Those pops were from products similar to these boxes of "Pop Pop" I bought for a buck from an old man roaming the streets. They're little tissue wrappers containing a bit of gun powder that one throws not gently onto the pavement to make them pop. It amused us during our stroll. Not all of them popped which didn't surprise me for a product that came out of China.
Had a big Chinese New Year dinner with the in-laws and mom. New Face girl and her parents were also there. Peking Duck and free-range chicken were present and accounted for, and quite delicious. On the LCD TV, Hong Kong's LNY parade was being shown for our entertainment.
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Sweets talking
Thursday, Feb 25, 2010 10:00PM / Members only
If I were to ply you with these, would you apply yourself? Work more diligently?
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See these 3 films
Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010 10:00PM / Members only
I'm slowly making inroads into my films of quality in my Netflix movie queue. Three films I highly recommend are The Hurt Locker, District 9, and In The Loop.
The Hurt Locker. I didn't know about wanting to watch a war movie but this one's more than just a war movie. It's not about strategies and combat and politics or watching soldiers go down as their limbs are blown off and blood squirting out at every angle - something to do with how my ovaries totally reject this kinda fare (unless it's in Chinese, dress the characters in historical costumes and has subtitles ;P). The film's about a squad of 3 whose job is to locate and deactivate improvised explosive devices (IEDs). It's about the 3 men's psyches in their mega-dangerous jobs. It's tight, it's tense, it's masterful in dropping the viewer in on an aspect of real-life modern warfare in the Middle East that most of us couldn't have imagined. No off-putting, fancy camera-work. Gritty. Excellent. Hope it picks up the key Oscars.
District 9. I heard the title and vaguely knew it was about aliens. I think I ignored it bc I had assumed it would be about how Earth had to defend itself against an aggressive alien race. The film was a pleasant surprise. It's the aliens who are helpless as their spaceship breaks down over Johannesburg. They aren't aggressive (although they're "ugly" and powerful) and are moved by the Multi-National United forces (a business) into shacks in District 9. They're there for years and years, until District 9 is deemed overcrowded and the locals have become resentful of having aliens in their backyards. When the MNU go in to hand the aliens their eviction notices (!), that's when the trouble starts for one particular MNU agent/scientist. The film starts out like a documentary then changes into a narrative. I thought the concept was original and the acting and dialog worked.
In The Loop. This film is a wicked black comedy about the maneuverings of the the concerned officials (and their lackeys) in the UK and the US governments to persuade or dissuade each other about launching an invasion in the Middle East. Actually, it's less persuasion bc that would mean they're actually considering the issues of a real war than it is more about egos and one-upping the other. Everyone seems to be a buffoon or an idiot. The dialog is fast and the profanity is crazy. Gotta love the profane, British metaphors. The film's hilarious but also depressing bc you just know some of this absurdity (and accompanying buffoonery) actually exists within our governments.
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