burma super-long wait

Last night I met with my sister and her friend to have dinner at Burma Superstar. Reviews on the internet had mentioned long waits, but also gave rave reviews to the Burmese cuisine, so I was pretty excited about my first visit to the restaurant.

Upon arriving, we scored an awesome parking spot right in front of Burma Superstar, which seemed fortuitous given the typically terrible parking situation in the Richmond. After being told we had a 45 minute wait, we were happy to kill time walking around the neighborhood. We stopped by the florist / fish shop on Clement, which is easily the craziest fish store I've ever been to. Then we browsed the bookshelves at the two Green Apple Bookstores.

Upon returning to Burma Superstar after about 40 minutes, we were told we still had another 30 minutes to go! Being the patient selves that we are, instead of complaining we went down the street to Quickly, and devoured a bag of perfectly fried popcorn chicken (way way waaaay better than what you'd get at Popeye's or KFC). Finally, we returned to Burma Superstar and looked miserable while crowding their doorway until they finally sat us.

After the tremendous buildup, it made it very difficult for the food to live up to the wait. I really can't remember the last time I waited an hour and a half at a restaurant to get seated. My favorites by far were the Vegetarian Samosa Soup and the Rainbow Salad, although my sister and her friend liked the Mango Beef and the Pea Shoots the best. Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me (and who knows when I'll be back again to chance the wait).

great season

Due to a work event last night, I was unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) unable to catch Game 6 of the NBA championship series. Although the Lakers lost, I'm happy about the season we had.  At the start of the season, I did not expect to see us challenging for the NBA title, and even after we acquired Pau Gasol, it was a pleasure to see the team gel and make it to the top of the Western Conference.  Now I just hope that there won't be any residual fallout next season due to the embarrassing blowout last night.

As far as work goes, many people have asked how the internship has been going.  Monday was my first day at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, and I finally finished computer training yesterday afternoon.  I'll be starting my first assignment today, so let's hope all goes well from here on out!

whew!

Lakers finally win a close one!

first 24 hours (and then some)

Wow.  It's barely been 24 hours back in San Francisco, and I've already accomplished so much.

Things kicked off with seats in a luxury suite at AT&T Park (which I still call Pac Bell Park).  Lauren's firm booked an incredible suite with an open bar and unending supply of sliders, sausages of all varieties, nachos, cookies and fruit.  It was also a sold-out game where the Giants, victims of Barry Zito's poor pitching, fell to the Oakland A's.  Memorable moment: when the sprinklers turned on in the middle of the ninth inning, during the pitcher's windup.

Today (Saturday) has been a busy day.  After dropping Lauren off at SFO, I hit up Tartine Bakery.  Then Howard picked up Nan, Kari and I with his Zipcar and we went to Shanghai House for lunch.  Then the North Beach Festival where a bunch of us split lobster rolls at the Lobster Shack.  Finally, Nan and I came back to the Mission, but not before sampling a prok vegetable bun in Chinatown, and ice cream at Bi-Rite.

i'm back!

I can't believe I'm back in San Francisco!  More thoughts to come.  For now, I'm off to a Giants game!

done!

I am now officially MBA-certified!  Now I have about 15 hours to clean up and pack my apartment before I leave Chicago for the summer!

san francisco!

I can't believe this time tomorrow I'll be on a plane headed to SF!

Here are some tidbits from today's SF Gate news:

Quiet in the great outdoors: Where to find it - or not

Exploratorium's Superstition Obstacle Course

Different sort of free Wi-Fi starts to thrive

new look

I should be studying for my final exam in a few hours, but instead I am cleaning my apartment (with the help of two hired house cleaners) and contemplating transferring this blog to wordpress for a new look.  Here's a first look at a draft of the new site.

studying = :(

In an attempt to study, I walked over to my neighborhood library. I figured if I didn't have my computer, then I'd be forced to study. Instead, I took a 15-minute power nap (head down on the table, heads down, thumbs up style). Waking up refreshed, I am now hogging the sole public computer in the library to update my blog (my lethargy was probably caused by Chinese breakfast from Yung Ho).

After I fly back to Chicago tomorrow, I've got two more finals left - Operations and Money Market and the Fed, bith tough courses to study for. I have an IEOR background, so it's hard for me to feel the need to study for Operations, and I've discovered that my interest in repos, the treasury bill market, bond operations and the like is insufficient to motivate me to study.

In the meantime, here's what my mind is wandering off to:
- Trying not to think about the Lakers (at least I'll be spared from watching Game 3 as it's during my flight on Tuesday). Either we'll have come back, or we'll have given up the series.
- What to do my first weekend back in SF. I'll definitely be at the North Beach Festival, as well as going out Saturday night to celebrate my return (please feel free to suggest venues).
- Leona Lewis reminds me of classic Whitney Houston.

bye bye wai po

Yesterday I said goodbye to my grandmother on my mom's side (Wai Po, as my sisters and I called her).  Thank you to everyone who has offered their condolences and warm thoughts throughout this difficult time.

Wai Po was an amazing person, and I will never forget her kindness to all, her love for our family, and her humility and modesty with which she lived her extraordinary life.  My grandmother's passing was peaceful, and in the comfort of her own home surrounded by her children. I am thankful we were all able to fly back and spend time with her on numerous occasions these past few months, and take solace in knowing that she is reunited with my grandfather.  Wai Po, we love you and miss you so much.

summer anxiety

So tonight I attended the last Kellogg lecture of the school year.  I've finished two final assignments, and have two more exams to go next week.  Tomorrow (or today) in the morning I need to wake up at 4:30AM to catch a 7:01AM flight out to San Francisco for my firm's orientation.  Then, I return to Chicago on Tuesday, take exams on Wednesday and Thursday, and promptly fly right back to SF on Friday.

I've already mentioned my nostalgia for the first year of Kellogg (see a Kellogg section slideshow here), but I am starting to get bit nervous about my summer internship.  What if I mess up?!  What if I make some horrible, inexcusable gaffe?!  Anyways, I think it was reading these two pieces on the web that got me anxious:

How Not To Succeed As A Summer Asssociate

Advice from the Corner Office: Use Google; Avoid Grammar Gaffes

i love turkeys

Last night the 2009 Jive Turkeys capped off our first year at Kellogg with the first annual Turkey Roast.  As I told many people, I am really feeling much more nostalgic at the end of this year, then I was at the end of my first year of law school.  Maybe because at law school we never had to perform a choreographed thriller dance in turkey gear.  Or is it dizzy bat and CIM Olympics that tug at my heart?  Or, maybe the fact that being in a section named Jive Turkeys is so much cooler than being in "Section 4" at the law school.

No, what I think really is the cause of my nostalgia for such a short lived moment (which is actually not even over yet), is the amazing people that make up the Jive Turkeys and the overall Kellogg community.  I knew going into Kellogg people would be different from at NU Law, but I now truly feel fortunate to be able to befriend so many smart, funny, caring, accomplished and considerate people.  Many people have asked if I will be around next year, and I promise that as the reigning "Kafe Kellogg Konnoisseur," I promise to be back for more turkey goodness next year.

To my Kellogg readers (I know there's at least one of you), farewell for now and good luck on your finals and summer internships!

thunderstorming

I don't care how much people complain about the "cold" weather in SF.  It's raining so hard here I thought it was snowing for a second.  Plus the thunder is one of many things distracting me from my take-home final.  (although the weather does look nice for later in the week when I will be in CA).

fitness

So I've already broken my latest resolution - to eat one piece of fresh fruit a day.  However, I will try my best to uphold it until I move to San Francisco, where I will vow to stay true at least until the end of summer.

I'm also very excited about the Nike marathon training, which kicks off June 28!

last weekend in chicago

Yes, this is my last weekend in Chicago before I leave for the summer.  I think I've done a pretty good job of making the post of it though:

Friday (as mentioned earlier): Korean BBQ and Kellogg party

Saturday: Laundry in the morning, then I headed up to Evanston to check out Dillo Day.  I caught the tail end of Ted Leo, as well as the start of Broken Social Scene's set.  They had a huge mud pit set up in front of the stage, so I decided to lie out on the lacrosse field's artificial turf, take a nap and read Midnight's Children.  Then after my Clif Bar dinner, it was time for Kellogg's Casino Night, capped off with BK.

Sunday: After a quick swim and workout, I continued to clear out my refrigerator by having 20+ potstickers and more for lunch.  After lunch, I headed up to Wicker Park for the Do Division Street Fest.  It would have been another solitary Chicago day of exploration, but I ran into some law school friends, and I ended up having a great day - three new t-shirts (from Renegade Handmade and Penelope's) and I got to try a new pizza place (Crust)!

As supposedly the "Midwest's first certified organic restaraunt," the pizza was just OK.  The Wild Herb and Cheese was my favorite, as we also tried the Shroom and Margherita.