Queenkv’s Brainpickings

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Making Friends, originally uploaded by queenkv.

Daisy’s slowly making friends. She still doesn’t like other doggies to sniff her butt, but then again, it’s quite a pushy thing to do. Especially on first sniffs. She started growling at this hefty boxer when he tried to cuddle closer to her. Crazy dog.

Daisy has been a blessing for my graveyard shifts. On my weekend, she’s my sounding board, my jogging partner and my TV watching buddy. The puppy was happy to see Jennifer kicked off Project Runway. Heck, the dog can’t help being bored by the matronly dresses from the Syracuse designer.

This week, we ran about 1.5 miles on the bike trail near Alamo Creek. Daisy’s learning to pace herself at the beginning, unless there’s a squirrel running up a tree. She has this blissful look on her face as she’s trotting by my side.

For me, I let go of all the negative vibes from work when I’m running on the trail. As always, work is hard. It’s exciting work, but it’s also stressful and demanding. I’m doing my best to avoid any screw-ups.

So on my weekends, I run. With my heart pounding and my brow dripping with sweat, I feel like I can take on the world again.

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I am amazed and humbled by my friends. Betina and Hans have opened up their hearts to so many people and they keep giving. Someday, when we get around to having a family, I hope we could be like them - devoted to the kids and to having a good time with friends. I could see it’s hard work to find that balance, but they have shown me it’s possible. My latest tube addiction, Project Runway, kicked off its new season two weeks ago. One contestant is an architect-turned-designer. She has five kids. She said she always made an effort to look glam and good - because she knew it was too easy to slip into the role of the frumpy mom in sweats and a mini-van. From the clip I saw, when she tumbled around with her kids, she looks like a good mom. I’m always impressed with folks who keep their identities and are good parents. I’ve also season an episode of Super Nanny this week. It’s bloody birth control for anyone toying with the idea of being ready to be a parent. I can’t believe one woman allowed her child to punch her in the mouth! What the hell! That’s a good example of being a bad parent and losing your identity. I don’t want that to happen to me.

OK - back to the food. This is the seafood paella. Heaven! Fresh fish and shellfish…I love the smoky mussels. Savory rice to soap up the juices. It’s my first paella in, well, too long. We shared this dish and a couple of tapas. It was a hearty meal for four people. I haven’t been able to find a place in Kansas that serves paella. Damn shame. I’m grateful for the paella pan we got from our wedding gifts. I do have a poor woman’s version that involves salsa and canned mussels. It takes a while because I let the rice simmer in the broth to develop a thick texture. I know I should use brown rice, but I’m trying to be healthy about it. Still, paella from Cafe de la Paz - it’s great.

One last note on Berkeley. Good-bye to Sun Hong Kong. It became my favorite place for Chinese Food, after Taste of Taipei closed in the Durant Food Ghetto. Sigh. This place was open late and I loved going here after a movie…or to sober up after bar hopping down Shattuck. I remember the prawns and walnuts and the shrimp in black bean sauce. I’m always a sucker for dishes with black bean sauce. So sad about Sun Hong Kong.

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At work…I didn’t have net access and that was brutal. We stayed calm and we managed to get a show together. Somehow.

In the last half-hour - we lost sound on tape. You’ve got to be bloody joking me. We rebooted the system and we got our lives back to normal. I must have had two near heart attacks this morning. Hopefully, it didn’t show. God I hope not. I stayed positive. I believed in my morning crew - and we kept going…I let my boss know what’s up and he sounded like he understood the techie demons were out to get me. Which is jacked up since I do my best to work within the parameters of the programming….and still - i get bit in the ass.

It’s bedtime soon.

I sent Daisy to daycare…simply because I need sleep. But I know life will be better when she comes nibbling into my life this afternoon.

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Charmed - it’s about three witches living in San Francisco. If you can get past the self-righteous attitudes and suspend your disbelief the rhyming spells - you can get some amazing skyline shots of San Francisco - the Golden Gate Bridge, financial district, the Mission and more. With the Smiths blaring in the background - a montage of Bay Area hot spots fly across the screen. It feels like I get a little closer home. It plays in the morning - so that’s like my mimosa to end my working day.

The Apprentice - I also love the look of New York City. The pulse of it - the action. And I also love watching MBA’s get fired….I suppose that’s from back when I used to work at a business school. I’ve observed plenty of business students who would BS their way through presentations, plans and computer troubleshooting. I had one too many customers who claimed they were “power users” in the lab. One even had the nerve to tell one of my workers that he’d end up making three times as much as the student by the time he left. So…it’s a petty pleasure to watch these folks get taken down a couple notches by the Donald. I end up taping this show to watch the next morning after work.

The Amazing Race - I try to convince Mark we’d have a blast on this show with all the traveling. He insists that he’d be too stressed trying to beat the other couples. I love all the different locations these lucky people get to travel to. I imagine how I could have outwitted them on the challenges. I know Mark and I would have a fighting chance…besides - all we had to do was figure out the puzzle, trivia question, etc - and then take a break to enjoy the touristy sights. Good game plan there. I catch this show before our evening cast.

Top Chef - It’s a reality show that pits chefs from around the nation against each other. It’s also set in San Francisco. Their first challenge was to work the line in Fleur de Lys - wowa! And the last challenge had them shopping for ingredients at Berkeley Bowl. Sweet! I love cooking and it’s pleasure to watch these folks concoct yummy-looking dishes. I got hooked on the show since I was also a Project Runway junkie….

And I may be getting into ABC’s The Evidence. At the end of this week’s episode - the detectives drive up to the Bay Bridge and they get a cup of joe at Red’s Java Cafe. It’s a fantastic dive next to the bay with cheap food and greasy counters. Watching them inside Red’s - just hit me up with more homesickness. It seemed like an authentic - SF cop thing to do.

And yes, Daisy likes watching all the shows with me. She ends up hopping into my lap when she hears the theme song for our 10:00 Evening News. And after the first block news finishes up, the commercials run through and when weather goes on - she hops off my lap and heads to the bedroom. This gives me enough time to top off my coffee cup and tuck her into bed for the evening….Cutest dog ever!

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