Tuesday, August 30, 2005

The San Francisco Post (Work Edition)

Today OCI -- Round Two started up for me. It's quite different to go through it this time around, knowing that there is a job for me to fall back on should nothing pan out. Walking into the interview room with an offer already on the table is a huge relief. That being said, plenty is at stake because (I don't know if you know this, but) I really want to be back in SF. [/snarkiness hehe]

It was quite a fiasco for me to set up a meeting with the San Francisco office over my two week stay in SF. Let's just say I really really really am glad I won't have to deal (much) with the recruiting department any longer. In the end, though, I was able to meet up with my friend for lunch on Friday AND with some people from the corporate department after the lunch. Yay.

Best get to bed so that I can be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for my interviews tomorrow. More later on how those go.

The San Francisco Post (Home Edition)

Home was awesome. I spent two weeks doing pretty much NOTHING, and it felt wonderful.

On the plus side, I gained only 2 pounds or so over the course of the summer. On the minus side, I've gained about 7 pounds *shudder* since 2L year started. Looks like I have a new project for 3L year.

My brother turned 21 during those two weeks. It's hard to believe he's growing -- make that grown -- up. I still remember the times we used to sit in the laundry basket, tie empty paper towel roll-skeletons to the sides, and pretend we were astronauts.

The Firm Post

I stand by my previous statement: I like my firm because of the people there and the work to be had, but I dislike New York. Please let me find something in San Francisco.

The Food Post

It's been a long while since I've posted, and plenty has happened in that time. This is The Food Post.

We went to db bistro moderne on Wednesday. I had the famous $29 foie gras burger, and it was delicious! Wow, what an experience.

My final lunch was at Oceana, which was delicious as far as I can recall. I remember having a fish I could not recognize (which was very good -- I think it was the "loup de mer" now that I look at their online menu). The food was good, but the service left something to be desired. I had to ask them if we would ever receive our menus, and the waiter was a little -- for lack of a better word -- "cheeky."

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Random Question

Do you think toilet paper should roll from over the roll or under the roll?

Lunch Home Stretch

Today we went to Aureole, which was incredible. I had the summer tasting menu, which was a fabulous deal that I highly recommend. The menu included a strawberry & ricotta tart, a striped bass dish, and a lamb dish that had lamb so supple, it was like eating butter. Mmmm... We had high expectations for dessert because Zagat had warned to save room for the "show-stopping" desserts. In reality, Aureole definitely delivered. I had the bittersweet and milk chocolate marquise, which was sinfully rich but wonderful. It was an interesting experience, too, because we ordered the creme brulee parade for the table, which included traditional creme brulee, chocolate chipotle creme brulee (pretty good!), and sweet corn creme brulee, which was...in one word...narsty. Oh well. You know me; I'll try anything once!

Just Like Home, But Not

On Saturday, I went OUT-out with a few friends for my last weekend in NYC. We went to Bed, which was pretty cool and filled with Beautiful People. The drink that I had (the "Horny Little Devil") was disgustingly strong and tequila-heavy, but the food was surprisingly good and plentiful. Overall, the night was fun, and it was cool to do exactly what I would do at home (lounge around in bed) while people-watching and feeling like part of the social crowd.

One of the things about being social in NY, though, is the feeling of hierarchy and class. It actually gets pretty depressing to think about how self-important people are and how entitled the Beautiful People act when encountered with the oh-so-fabled Velvet Rope. If I were to stay in NY, I doubt my self-confidence would survive many nights OUT-out.

More my style was the awesome Single Room Occupancy (a.k.a. SRO) that is just around the corner from my sublet. It's this tiny underground wine & beer bar that has an unmarked doorfront and a buzzer you need to ring for entrance. While this might sound more self-important sounding than the huge clubs, it's not. It actually felt intimate and comfortable, and the people there were welcoming. At the point where you know where to go, that's all that matters.

I guess my forays into New York nightlife were fleeting but varied. If anybody can recommend anything that might seem more my style, please do share.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Sunday, August 07, 2005

This is Chinese Food?

On Wednesday last week we went to Chin Chin, a "fancy" Chinese place in Midtown. The company was wonderful, but the food itself was, shall I say, uninspired. I'd read many good things about the "Grand Marnier Shrimp" on all of the usual suspects (citysearch.com, menupages.com, etc.), so imagine my surprise when this much-lauded dish arrived and turned out to be (drumroll, please) shrimp-with-walnuts, minus the walnuts.

Yup, you heard me right, it wasn't just something that could easily be had at the local Chinese joint, but it was FAKE Chinese food on top of that! It was good, as shrimp-with-walnuts often is, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Plus, at $20, it was definitely not worth the money when the same amount would have bought at least three dishes in actual Chinatown. Ah well...I guess that's what I get for expecting Chinese food to be good outside of Chinatown.

I miss SF.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Tummy Sticks -- Even I Don't Know

Can someone out there tell me what it means to "play tummy sticks?"

Yes, I saw "Wedding Crashers." And, yes, I've been thinking about it a lot (granted, not too much, but still...), and even my corrupt and pervy mind can't think of a concrete definition. Instinct tells me it has to do with a *ahem* stick that, er, rises to hit one's tummy (in plain language, I think it has to do with erections), but can anyone confirm this? What's the exact definition? Is this its first use? What's the etymological origin, even??? :)

I'm going crazy with this gap in my mental dictionary of depravity!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Beats Me

The cat is sniffing my dirty laundry, specifically zoning in on my underwear. Man I just hope I don't wake up to Shredded Wardrobe with a side of Hairballed Hamper.

I'm at a loss for words.

Ching Ching Goes The Bling Bling

Last Wednesday, we made a trip up to Mohegan Sun for a fun real-life Casino Night event. I played craps for real this time. My friend and I were partners in crime (figuratively speaking, of course). We were major high rollers. Awww yeah. After cashing in a whopping $20, we had our chips in hand and were ready to play. After two and a half hours of majorly fun entertainment, he and I left the tables, running back to catch the party bus on its way back to NYC. Aha. But we did not leave before cashing in our chips. Oh yes indeedy. I cashed in $60 and he cashed in $50. We were rollin' in it! :)

The party bus was fun on the way back. By then, everyone had finished up the beer on the way up, so the more adventurous of us moved on to the mysterious decanters of brown and clear (a.k.a. "white") liquids that came with the party bus. It turns out that brown was tequila and white was GOD-awful vodka (in the style of large-plastic-jug vodka). And yes, there were partners and associates on board, including Hiring Partner. Anyway, (bartenders take note) let's just say that three new drinks came into creation that night: White & Sprite (self-explanatory), Brown & Coke (also self-explanatory), and (drumroll) for the truly adventurous, the Rainbow (brown & white together).

SF Uber-Update

Alas, after popping my head into the Hiring Partner's office to find out FINALLY what the star is going on here, I have my answer. It is apparently "not likely" to happen this summer (for me to go to SF at the end of the summer). It is "logistically difficult." He had the Recruiting Manager "follow up on it," which I find highly curious because the Recruiting Manager has been on vacation (in the middle of the summer program, yes) for the past two weeks. Anyway, at least now I know that they're at the least reluctant and at the most downright opposed to my going to SF...as of now. So I've devised a plan:

1) Lay low on the NY front and just earn my offer at the NY office.
2) Get the hell out of NY the day after the program's over, go back to Chicago, then go straight to SF the very next day, do not pass go, do not collect $200 -- SF here I come!
3) Once I'm in SF, contact the SF lawyer I know at my firm and see if she can get the lay of the land for me with their Recruiting while holding the whole "She has an offer in NY, but she'd rather be in SF near her family, etc." card. Offer to come in, interview at the SF office, the works, etc.
4) Cross my fingers majorly that this will work out.
5) Talk to Awesome Partner who is at Palo Alto Firm that I got an offer from. Mention that NY sucks and SF rocks. Pray to god he'll once again see how awesome I am, go to Recruiting on my behalf, say I can come in and meet people and let them get to meet me, and then get an offer as an incoming Associate for Firm.
6) In the meanwhile, prepare to do OCI because the probability that all will work out is so-so at most.

Yay for reinterviewing with below-median grades. No worries. I will make up for all with my spahhh-kling personality, dahhh-ling. *flips hair* Whee!

Loathsome Late Leute

Warning: Rant Following

I hate late people. I hate them. It is so inconsiderate and disrespectful to be late. I think late guidelines should be instilled into our collective etiquette. Up to five minutes is allowed, then I require excuses. Five to ten minutes and the culprit can get by with a token excuse. (Think "the elevator took forever!" sort of excuses.) Ten to fifteen needs a GOOD excuse. (Think "I was on the phone with my mother.") After fifteen, I'm walking. Harsh? Hell no. Time is money, people! And I hate to waste money.

Edit: Yes, I agree that there is such a thing as "fashionably late," but I think that only applies to parties, at which time a half hour -- even an hour -- is A-okay. When we're talking about situations with reservations involved, you should not arrive at the meeting point -- and I'm NOT talking about the ultimate destination -- at the time of the reservations themselves.

Late Lunch Lowdown

It's been a while since I've updated my restaurant visits. Here's the scoop from last week:

On Monday, we went to Tamarind, an absolutely beautiful Indian restaurant tucked away in Gramercy. Lunch here was delicious! I had an apricot-stuffed lamb, which was pretty good. I filled up on the breads and appetizers beforehand, though. *hides* As an aside, it is getting REALLY starring annoying having to listen to Dieting Summer discuss the ins, outs, and betweens of her strict "I don't eat carbs and I am thus a psycho mean person because of it" diet. Ugh. Anyway, I once again ordered rasmalai for dessert. Yum.

On Tuesday, the bristly-mustached Italian waiters welcomed us with open arms to Nanni's. It was pretty dern fabulous (except for having to eat with Dieting Summer once again -- how can Italian be your favorite type of food when you refuse to eat pasta???). I had the Nanni pasta (on Who Woulda Thunk It Summer's recommendation) and the veal marsala, which were both excellent. For dessert, we all had strawberries with cream.

Le Colonial
was our Wednesday destination. It's a French-inspired Vietnamese restaurant. The decor was on the extreme side (think Disneyland's Tiki Room), but the food was very good. I had an entree of lemongrass beef. Dessert was absolutely amazing. I had a banana beignet, which I devoured unabashedly.

Friday found us at Felidia, which was pretty dang good. I do, however, regret not ordering the pasta. Italian is for pasta!! :) I had the Maine diver scallops (which were pretty good, but not nearly as amazing as the pear and pecorino-filled ravioli) for my first course. For my second course, I ordered the grilled salmon, which was also good, but I'm STILL fixating on the ravioli!! Dessert was interesting. It was tiramisu, but it wasn't the traditional tiramisu we were expecting. The tiramisu was citrus-inspired, so there was a lemony flavor to it (which was an interesting twist) and candied kumquats as a garnish (which was kinda weird).

Yesterday, we went to 21 Club, which I was really excited about. Alas, I was sorely disappointed. The inside of the restaurant was dark -- VERY dark. (I told another summer, "I feel like we should be making out here." Yes, that was very red light.) Overall, I was not that enthused about the place or meal at all. The salad I had was very fresh and yummy, but I would much rather have appreciated being able to see what I was eating. I had a freaking $27 burger which ended up being not all that great. The warm cinnamon and vanilla rice pudding dessert was really good, though.

Lunch today was supposed to be a "quick lunch." I wanted a "quick lunch," which I thought meant a Subway run or something. Oh no. No no no. How naive! Apparently, a quick lunch instead means a really excellent lunch at a good restaurant but with no dilly dallying. That is A-okay with me! We went to Dock's Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, which was actually surprisingly good. The chowder was a little tangy, but still plenty chunky for my tastes. The sesame encrusted yellowfin tuna was really crazy good. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the rice (I'm not much of a rice person). It had a delicious ginger and roasted nutty flavor. We didn't dawdle over dessert because this was a "quick lunch." *winks* Instead, I took a veritable vat of chocolate pudding to go for dessert. YUM.

More on lunches and my (must be) expanding waistline to come.