La Folie

This is the 3rd time that’s I’ve eaten here, and like the previous visits the food was excellent. Let me state clearly that the food here is excellent, well worth the money. And for those who like good sized portions, this is the place to go, a rarity among the fine-dining establishements. And the service was prompt and cheerful.
I was in a mood to try a lot of food, so I ordered a 5-course dinner which I substituted dessert for another entrée. I had been working to expand my capacity for food in the last 2 months, however, it was still more food than I can handle.
I had a soup, duck consomme with slices of duck breast and foie gras tortellini. While it was good, it was also kind of ho-hum tasting.
The next dish was the Seared Foie Gras, most striking/memorable dish for me. It tasted flavorful and decadent. The foie gras was “melt-in-your-mouth” soft. It was both sweet and savory. On top of that, it was a big piece of foie gras, the size of a hamburger patty.
I then had the Lobster salad, this was a great dish. It was light and refreshing when I could have been a little heavy.
The next dish was the Sturgeon with Porcini Mushrooms, Leek and Potato Broth. This was an excellent dish. Since I normally do not like fish I might not have fully appreciate this dish. But the flavor was deep but subtle, and texture of the fish was firm. It did have a hint of fishy taste, which I did not like. I knew that this would be the case, but I wanted to try the sturgeon, since I’ve never had it.
I then had the Quail and Squab Stuffed with Mushrooms. By this time I was stuffed. I had a piece of each and while it tasted good, my palate was getting dulled enough that I don’t think I can do this dish justice. I had the rest packed to go.
Next time, I need to remind myself to not get greedy and order too much. It will be difficult because the whole idea of eating out is to eat good food that I don’t normally eat, and when the restaurant is this good, it’s too easy to be tempted to order more than I can eat. At least I didn’t try to eat everything and overstuffed myself like I did at Michael Mina’s 3 months ago. On that occasion, I ate so much (it was only a 3-course dinner, but it was still a lot of food) that I felt full till the next day. At that point I felt that I need to expand my appetite to the point that it can handle a nice meal without getting full. So for the last 2 months I’ve been eating more and exercising more to make up for it. I would have to say I’ve succeeded.

keeping up with Gisele

one thing a lot of us learn financially is "don't try to keep up with the jones", because it would be an endless cycle. but there's a bigger/different problem. a lot of time, instead of comparing ourselves (our appearance, accomplishments, etc..) with the jones, we compare ourselves with the "superstar" in our world, and find ourselves lacking. for example, women would look at a picture of a 53 years old christie brinkley and feel bad about themselves for not looking as good as she does. or worse comparing themselves to models who are in their 20s, and then feel inadequate. instead of comparing themselves to their next door neighbors, who they look just as good as, if not better.

the lesson is that we need to be fair about our "peer group". unless we think we are models or movie stars, we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to them. we can use them (models & celebrities) as inspiration but we cannot feel bad that we can't compare to them, because no matter how hard some of us try, we just can't. they make a living with their appearance, so a lot of them spend hours every day working on it, not to mention other resources like personal trainer, chefs, etc.. to help them. not only that, plastic surgery sometimes plays a part a well.

so while it is aspirational to look to the "superstars", we should look at the average joes or janes to see where we really stand.

the Warriors Win!!!

the warriors v. mavericks game last night (5/3/07) was one of the most incredible basketball i've watched in a long time. (i supposed not so much if you're a mavericks' fan). but baron davis playing on one leg and still dominating was just incredible.
at the very least, i'll get to enjoy one more playoff series. i did not think that the warriors were going to make the playoffs, and i thought this all the way to the very last game. they had a tough road and played well to get to the playoffs. it's been an incredible ride since.
GO WARRIORS!!!!

simple logic

sometimes life is very simple, like this saying "the more you do it, the more you do it". simply put, the more you do something, the more you wind up doing that thing. if you want to exercise, you starting exercising, as you start to exercise more often, you find that it is much easier to exercise more often than you ever thought it would be, so you exercise more often. and the reverse logic is also true: "the less you do it, the less you do it". all this is because as we do more of something, we make time for it, it becomes part of the routine, conversely as we do less of something, we stop setting time for it, and then we don't have time, energy and/or resources for it anymore, so we stop.

so if you want to do something, just start doing it, you will find that you will starting doing more of it. you still need to research/refine what it is that you're doing, if you want to be better at it though.

in my own life, i find this to be true of exercise, eating, saving, sex, poker, practically everything. once i find something that this logic does not apply to i'll let you know.