Rouge + Jeff from LSF

Today I woke up at noon, watched a movie "The One" with good ol' Albert and talked / joked / made fun of it the whole time like we always did back in high school / college. It felt like great times again!

Then I rushed off to work, and cooked for a wedding. NY Strip steak was on the menu, along with other hard to pronounce French words. Tonight, we used lemon aioli (sauce) to top the crab cakes. My cooking partner Matt (culinary grad) mentioned that it is also used to top empanadas, which was on my mind since reading Annie Tran's blog about her empanada lunch. I asked him what they were, and he said they were like apple turnovers with meat instead of apple. Being a carnivore, I thought: Hook it up! It also unraveled the mystery behind Annie's empanada story.

My eight hour shift ended at 11:30 pm, and immediately Jerm and Niki picked us up to go clubbing at the Rouge. It didn't end up being a non-Niki girl after all (inside joke). There were a total of 7 of us there: Me, Lisa (IV), Tina Chiang (IV), Merm, Niki, Jeff (LSF), and Jeff's friend. Going with a big group made it infinitely better than last nights experience. Unfortunately, cover was $20 a person. But you really get what you pay for, and this place was nice. There were 3 simulataneous bachelorette parties happening, and the place was mainly full of wild girls dancing on the bar... which is enough to make Ken Kong jealous that he didn't come :). We had a great time, but the best part was spending time to get to know our friends in a different context (ex. dancing with Tina, slight drama with Lisa, dancing with some random bachelorette (causing slight drama), letting Jerm turn my shirt into a bikini top while people stuffed cash into my pants as I danced). But on a deeper interpersonal level, I'll explain...

I've been impressed with Jeff (half Korean, half white) ever since I met him. At first, I think it was his confidence, sincerity, supportiveness of others, and faith in the Lord. I sensed those things about him right off. Plus he's super athletic. Over time, I've found that we have similar tastes: We split a bottle of Mondavi cabernet sauvignon (our favorite) in Napa, we dress similarly, and he sipped Jack Daniels tonight in a cognac glass (which I would do). Only, I feel that in all of these things mentioned above, he's a step ahead of me. That's why even though I rarely hang out with him (total of 4 times), I admire him a lot.

Disclaimer: I include the antics and details in my life and stopped being afraid of what my friends think. Even so, all of the craziness at the club was really just superficial "razzle dazzle." The best moments were the experiences of being goofy together, as brothers and sisters. There may be those who will read my stories and scoff. I don't need to write this stuff, it could just be about sunshine and butterflies in my walk with the Lord. I just feel that I get so much judgemental, conservative flack from my Christian friends, which is ironic because I used to be so uptight and critical of anything "worldly." I've come to realize that it's always easier to stand on the side and shake our heads, yet harder to truly live in the world... but not of it. I've since stopped isolating and insulating myself, and that has been the most powerful witness of all.