No biting the personnel

Months ago, S signed up for the Vineman race, a half-ironman distance triathlon in the Sonoma valley north of San Francisco. Throughout spring, she trained hard only to injure herself 2 weeks ago. While the race was out of the question, we still had the airline tickets as well as the car and the hotel reservations.

So it was that on Sunday morning I was enjoying a flight of wines from St. Francis Winery while sharing with S a pairing of salami, pate and cheese. From our table we gazed first at a magnificent garden then at the vineyards and the Sonoma landscape.

Without a doubt, this turned out to be one of the more enjoyable long-weekend excursions we have done in a while. In all, we visited eleven wineries over a few days. In order: Korbel, Opus One, Peju Province, Beaulieu, Alpha & Omega, V. Sattui, St-Francis, Benziger, Domaine Carneros, Beringer, and Robert Mondavi. In years past, I have visited the Lake Chelan, Wenatchee, Yakima and Okanagan wine regions. None compares to Napa and Sonoma.

These two valleys take wine tasting from a vacation for your nose to a full-blown adventure. Remember that S does not drink. Alcohol smells awful to her. Even then, as the chauffeur, she had a blast this time. Here?s why: many of these wineries (check out these pictures of Opus One and Beringer) have gorgeous mind blowing architecture; Benziger?s tour of the winery was fun, instructive and cheap; there?s good food (e.g. Zazu and Cindy?s Backstreet Kitchen) in both valleys; the Culinary Institute of America’s West Coast campus is in St-Helena; etc.

Mostly, we had four long days of sun in a gorgeous setting.

A few things stand out:

1. My nose cannot appreciate wine of more than $45. Anything beyond that is wasted on me, at least for now.
2. The most I paid was $25 for a glass of a recent vintage of Opus One. At $160 a bottle, this is not a wine I?m about to taste again anytime soon, unlike others. I did not buy a bottle. Tastings on average were $5 to $10. Robert Mondavi had a reserve flight for $30, which we skipped.
3. The average pour is 2 fl. oz. Some wineries poured as little as 1 fl. oz. while a few poured 4 fl. oz.
4. 2 fl. oz. isn?t enough when paired with anything.
5. Our least enjoyable visit was Alpha & Omega. Being next to famous names does not mean you can charge $45 or more for a wine that does not taste any better than the average $20 bottle.
6. While the staff in a restaurant might encourage you to take highway 12 to get from Rohnert Park to St-Helena, the fastest way is this.
7. Lunch on Friday was at an In-n-Out burger joint. Now we understand why ex-Californian coworkers are fascinated by these fast food spots. Best fast food we had in a long time. Fries tasted of potatoes; can you believe that?
8. No, we did not go to The French Laundry or to Bouchon.
9. S cheated on her employer and deprived a youth of a chance to read. She bought the latest Harry Potter at Borders in Santa Rosa on Saturday morning. She got one of the few non-reserved copies.

While we did see the fog swallow the west coast at Bodega Bay, we did not see the Petrified Forest or the geyser. These are among the many reasons why we will no doubt return next time we want to get out of town.

P.S.: Thank you to Wendy for cat sitting Truffles and Kucci.

P.S. #2: We have finished the book: long live JK Rowling!

It’s contest season in Toastmasters. Fall is for the Table Topics (impromptu speaking) and the Humorous Speech contests while spring is for the Evaluation contest and the International Speech contest.

This last one is my favorite of the four. The written rules are simple: 5 to 7 minutes with substantially original material. However, to win, you have little choice but to have content that will interest the audience. Most, but not all, aim to inspire. To reach their division contest, like the one I organized on Friday and the one I attended on Saturday, they must win their club and their area contests.

Over the last few days, I listened to a number of speeches. One of the most memorable explained how extraordinary people are ordinary people doing extraordinary things, a simple message with an incredible delivery. Another used the speaker’s own gastric bypass surgery to discuss how life is not always greener on the other side. There was also the young man who reminded the audience of the importance of carefully selecting one’s obligations. Becoming a salary man may mean no more travels to New Zealand for a while.

My favorite one remains that of a young Japanese woman who explained her career path. She titled her speech “no women bathroom.” In her youth, she had dreamed of becoming a pilot only to learn that the flight university could not admit her, it had no women bathroom. This unfortunate reality, and the advice of her mentor, prompted her to go study in the U.S. for college. There she earned her flight certification. The story continued with her struggle to earn her permanent resident status, which American airline companies require of employees. More than ten years later, she is a flight instructor at the U.S. school and a corporate pilot on weekends. There are still less than 60 women corporate pilot in Asia.

Yes, you do hear some wonderful, personal stories in Toastmasters this time of the year.

This blog’s title has been changed. You ask why? Mostly because “Fizzz’s blog” is a tad boring. Where then does the new title come from? Ah…

Kucci. She’s now a 10.5 lbs adolescent cat, bigger and darker than Truffles. Looking at her, resting on the top of the sofa, surveying the living room, you might think she’s in a somber mood and ready to tear apart someone or something.

The reality is much much worse. In a foul mood, she might try to nip you! You, the staff that caringly feeds her, caresses her and even handles her litter.

[Update: context people, context! Sigh…]

Today S, myself and a friend went to see this exhibition in downtown Seattle. While S had seen ads somewhere, I got semi-interested after watching the advertisement in the new James Bond movie. In that scene you see a number of bodies playing poker. Frankly, I thought that setup was in so-so taste. I didn’t really want to go to the expo. I got dragged there wimpering.

3 hours later I was calling that product placement false advertising. Even the images on the web site don’t do justice to the display. I’ll be blunt: it’s almost as academic a treatment of the body as what you’d expect from a museum. Yes, everything is in good taste (although tastes may vary). Yes, you can bring your kids along. It’s incredibly educational. Remembering my time in school, I envied the biology students who were there. I actually hope one day every major city will have something like this. No book will convey to you the nature, complexity and wonders of the human body quite as well as seeing the real thing.

Notes:

1. I’ve never heard so many random people discussing the human body simultaneously than at this event. It’s as if instead of chatting about football, every one started discussing the details of lung cancer.
2. The bodies were either donated or unidentied and unclaimed. There were prepared at the medical department of a Chinese university. Once you understand this, it’ll impact how you look at the bodies. For example, most of them (but not all) are of smaller stature. Moreover, the one on display to highlight the relationship between fat and weight would hardly be called overweight in North-America. You do wonder however why all the models doing sports are male. There are only a handful of female bodies. That’s a tad unfair (as one of the people accompanying me would say).
3. The process and its results are incredible… Still there are so many negative questions that can be asked. For example, how many bodies were mangled for each that remains? Where do the profits from the show go? Etc. Sooner or later you assume that a show like this must require some very special and no doubt well scrutinized permits (after all, there are preserved human fetuses).

Anyways… if you have a chance, you should stop by and spend a few hours. It’s worth the cost and I guarantee you’ll come out amazed.

Sure, my workplace has free Starbucks automated drip coffee (caff or decaff). S’s workplace has puppies training to be guide dogs. Her coworker has a blog for the adventures of Lester and Louie. Fun reading.

IMG_1566

Originally uploaded by Fizzz.

Earlier in the year, maybe when we were away from home visiting Montreal, a light bulb started flashing periodically: could Truffles be bored? After all, it can’t be that much fun to be cooped up in a house alone all day long. At times we’d joke that we should get him a companion, a Trufflette.

It’s during our recent trip to Japan, after the scar of Tokyo’s stray cats, that we resolved to adopt a kitty. The day after our flight back we marched into the Seattle Animal Shelter and, low and behold, fell in love with an adorable puff of black hair.

Please welcome Kucci. That is her new legal name.

She’s a young female of the domestic short hair (DSH) breed. She also has a puff of white hair on the tummy. Life was very stressful for her at first. After her surgery she spent a week alone in a bedroom. Then she had multiple visits to the vet with sharp devices. Finally, this is a new world for her and there are so many rules to learn: no scratching the sofa; no nipping; no meowing; no jumping on top of the fridge to play with the flowers; no attacking feets passing by while hiding under the bed. Sigh…

There’s also the other cat. Since she’s between 7 months and 2 years old, she’s more energetic than the 5 years old king of the house, Truffles. When introducing a new cat into a house use common sense: introduce slowly, step by step. No one likes their world disturbed. Plus it’s so impolite of you to not provide a notice ahead of time. But by now they’re good friends. We were awaken a few days ago at 4:30 AM by two bullets playing tag in the bedroom. Yesterday they were wrestling on the bed. Periodically she licks his fur into place; a never ending task for him. He pays her back by eating all the wet food they’re meant to share. What a gentleman…

When considering a second cat we were afraid that it would always be judged against our first one. After all, we’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like Truffles. He has fur softer than Teddy bears and his American Curl ears give him a distinctly cute look. But Kucci is so physically different that we can’t compare them and of that we’re glad.

When I moved to Seattle years ago one thing gnawed at me for a looong time. I felt disconnected from pop culture. I missed hearing decent music and discovering the good upcoming groups. To be fair I didn’t have cable TV at home nor did I immediately appreciate the musical tastes of my new friends. It took a while before I settled into a groove. My first discoveries were KUOW and KPLU. One’s mostly talk radio while the other is a Jazz station. I couldn’t live without either nowadays. Then through a heated argument with W about Tori Amos came the British invasion which from Kate Bush went to Shakespeare’s Sister and Elvis Costello. There was also a bit of South-African music and a wiff of american groups (whose style did match my interest: Depeche Mode, Linking Park and Moxy Fruvous). But I was still without a decent everyday music station.

For sure there are many radio stations in Seattle besides the NPR ones. For example the C89.5 dance station is great (plus its run by students). But the others seemed very narrow. How much 80s rock can you play? Do I really want a country music station? Clear Channel must own stations in Seattle. I remember once approaching Vancouver and noting to myself how great the music was. Are Canadian radio stations, like Montreal’s Mix96, better? Not sure but everytime I go back I ask a good friend for samples of the new stuff. Diversity, it turns out, is the spice of my musical life.

Tonight at 4:34 PM a Seattle radio station played Malajube’s Montreal -40C.

Yup…

Long live KEXP, 90.3 in Seattle; my new love. Thx E for introducing me.

Since they are member sponsored they have very few ads (kinda like NPR). Their live feed, which I encourage you to listen to, gives them an international audience. Their focus is also obviously multi-national: this Monday evening’s programming included music from Congo. Finally all of their playlists and charts are online.

Judge them yourself. I need to go listen to more of the Tokyo Police Club and of The Decemberists.

IMG_1562Originally uploaded by Fizzz.

8 days.

Any dreams we had of arriving at an exotic destination other than the U.S.’s west coast were shattered when we landed in the fog, got stuck in the traffic on I-5 heading to the city (at 10 AM on a Saturday morning), circled for 15 minutes that evening hoping to find parking downtown and awakened to a drizzling rain the next morning. In short, Truffles, we’re not in Tokyo anymore.

We’ve been back in Seattle for more than a week now, an eternity in vacation land. If there’s such a thing as the vacation blues, I’m still suffering from it. S, lucky her, isn’t. Seeing her cat probably helped. Its life must have been dreadfully boring while we were gone: 50 minutes a day of attention from a cat sitter isn’t much. True, my parents occupied the house for a few days during our trip. That might explain why Truffles’ food bowl had been replaced by a crème brulée bowl. In any case, whatever misgivings he had about our prolonged absence were quickly forgotten with a serving of wet food.

So what have we done?

Saturday night we forced ourselves to stay up. Following the suggestion from Seattle Bon Vivant we headed for Tom Douglas’ Serious Pie. If you’re looking for a different pizza experience this is the place to go. Each pizza is certainly worth a try as the toppings are unique enough that you’ll probably have a favorite. I had the yukon gold potato one. S had the house mozarella. We each enjoyed ours but not the other’s.

On Sunday we hit the Ballard Farmers Market. Apples are still in season and the Mt. Townsend Creamery camembert is as good as ever. After this we detoured by the international district’s Uwajimaya for supplies and a stop at our favorite bubble tea store right across the street. Note the hot bubble tea for cold and rainy Seattle days.

The rest of the week flew by.

1. As has been mentioned in the press, our world got reorg-ed. There’s little to say except that times like these are always full of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD): a fun comeback to work on Monday.
2. On Tuesday I got up early and did something I wouldn’t have considered doing at anytime during our month out of town: I drove to a bakery and to a coffee shop. It’s not that you can’t find either in Asia; of course you can! It’s that I had to drive, on the highway no less, to both places… Good news though, with a thick and crunchy yet not crumbly crust, a full and tasteful body, a great aroma and a reasonable price, the best baguette in town is back at Dahlia Bakery which now has, once more, it’s own oven. Don’t be afraid though, the croissants are still anemic. Of course with good bread I had no choice but to stop by Vivace by I-5 for a latte and a cafe caramel.
3. Thursday… Thursday we had dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant and recounted our Japanese cuisine experiences to the owner chef.
4. Friday was the Toastmasters fall division E contest. As the division governor for half of Seattle’s east side it was my job to organize it. I’d done a good chunk of the work before leaving (and a few emails from Beijing) but it’s still always 15~20 hours of preparation: hunting down role players, booking a location, buying food and gifts for helpers, preparing certificates and awards, etc. As always some thing s didn’t work out as planned but in the end, also as always, everything fell into place. Everyone left happy.

Busy week. Overall I must have slept an average of 5 hours per night last week. Quite different from our vacation.

However, if the contest wrapped up the week with brio, Saturday was the icing. A friend of mine capped off a strong year with a 12 hour Ironman in Hawaii only a few weeks after qualifying at Ironman Canada. Go Lesley! As we got the SMS message that she’d crossed the finish line, we were listening to Wynton Marsalis at the Paramount. What a gorgeous venue for this great artist. I especially enjoyed the diversity of the pieces played. The last time I saw him was at Benaroya Hall some years ago. While I find the sound there better, the concert back then was strictly instrumental.

Today, today I got a short run in, the first in 6 weeks.

We saw it last night. Why? Because we were in Ballard, walked by the Majestic and said “Why not?”

My rating fits the Rotten Tomatoe rating. It was decent but not incredible. To me, one segment made it worth the admission price: the Vatican setup. That was the closest setup to the impossible mission of the old TV series. It felt nice.

What are we talking about the day after?

1. Why is the wife a nurse? It seems so stereotypical. If Ethan Hunt was a woman, would she be marrying a nurse or a doctor?
2. Where do they get the Program Management skills to run their missions so neatly? Wouldn’t it be great if projects at work were run as tightly? You’d announce to the entire team a realistic ETA that fits the team’s needs; you’d meet your ETA; if there was an unforeseen problem, you’d handle it without revising the ETA. Moreover, you’d always look good at it.
3. There’s one scene where Tom Cruise stands at night on the edge of a building’s roof. I swear the scene is setup like the movie cut-scene from any modern computer games. The hero stands on the highest point in sight, back straight, strong posture, determined look on his face as he surveys the land.
4. The Vatican has incredible bathrooms.
5. Interestingly, early in the movie you see him riding a motorcycle without a helmet. As I saw that scene, I thought: stuntman. Yeah, I’m surprised, Cruise did all the stunts in the movie himself (supposedly) including bungie jumping and letting a jack-knifed semi go over him.

The details are more interesting than the movie.

This evening we saw V for Vendetta. What a wonderful movie. It’s not too cheerful nor too dark. It has a message. It tugs at your emotions and your brain yet has enough high speed movement for the action fans. It has twists. Overall, well worth both the time and the money. I’ll remember the movie for a while which, to me, is the real test of how much I liked it.
Mostly, I found it had plenty of hidden gems. For example, there’s one scene when Natalie Portman is wandering in V’s lair for the first time. In the background starts playing this jazz song. Within a few notes I leaned over and whispered: Cry me a river. Yet I couldn’t identify the voice. For one of the most sung jazz classics, this was one rendition I wasn’t sure I’d heard before. It nagged at me. Even when the song was played a second time, again, I was lost. At least, I thought, they didn’t have Diana Krall singing. Her deep voice would have been too much for the scene I think.
Coming back home I tracked down the artist: Julie London. Yes, per this wikipedia entry, she was the first to sing this famous song! What a nice touch for the movie. How sad though that we don’t hear her work often anymore.