New living space

New living space, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Out with the old. I love the new openess of the TV room. Now we just need some art on the wall. I think the wall 9 photo dahlia would look awesome!

it's the time of the season for...

fall, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Damn, it's Fall. While friends in NYC and PHX tell me that it's hot as shit and they're still wearing tank tops and shorts, we're all bundled up in fleece and long pants...

The Fremont Red Bull Derby race was on today and I thought about going but I wasn't in the mood to deal w/ the crowd. My staff felt they managed things quite well and I was rather impressed that they called to ask to stay longer.

Having a decent staff makes such a huge difference. Thank god for small favors.

:) Stay dry.

Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I love taking photos like these. So much movement and you never know what you'll get.

This was a 15 second open shutter frame as we left Omar's heading to Danny's house.

Omar Lebanese Food

Omar Lebanese Food, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

It's next to Danny's house and for a Monday night, it was empty. Only 1 other table and it was 2 fat women talking about nothing. Another girl came in to order take out. It seems she's never been in before and needed help with the menu.

We ordered falafil and tabouleh. It was very fresh and the flavors were distinct and fragrant. You get a soup or salad and since there were 2of us, we tried both. The eggplant soup was very hearty the salad dressing was tangy but not overpowering.

The lamb/beef roll was too compact for me. Like trying to squeeze a very difficult turd. Yes, that's what it looked like. The grill chicken with curry powder on the other hand was moist, flavorful, and excellent.

We didn't try their baklava which was being made fresh and in house as we were eating because we told Danny we would be heading over afterwards to finish up the pies.

A bit pricy but you do get A LOT of food.

The pot has arrived

The pot has arrived, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

hotpot and the village tonight. Yummy and a lot of food as always. The crab was my favorite. fresh, sweet, and very meaty.

Egg custard Tart

Egg custard Tart, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Tanner loves fried food. I see KFC in his future. Zen Garden in Milcreek was a good choice for dim sum this afternoon.

Dinner @ TNT

make love not war, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

As usual, the steak was dead on. Tyler impressed us with his piano playing. At his rate, he'll be playing Mozart by the end of the year.

TGIF

365: Day 39, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

It doesn't really mean anything, we work tomorrow. I did take a 1/2 day on Wed, but I ended up working from home anyway.

Neil was so excited to see Resident Evil: Extinction tonight. I was 1/2 falling asleep. The acting was actually well done, the action was ok. The story was just inconsequential. But I have to tell you that Milla Jovovich is damn HOT! :)

So to follow up with staffing, I have to say that I really like most of the new staff. Now I just need to improve their sales tactics.

Panasonic Lumix Leica TZ3

Tripe, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Neil decided to get his own point and shoot. A Panasonic Lumix Leica lens model TZ3. It's nice and there's a lot of cool features.

Across the Universe

I am in anticipation for this movie to come out. I just DL the music soundtrack from iTunes and I LOVE it. I love LOVE but I'm a suckah for musical/soundtracks/showtunes and this has all the elements to make a great movie, not to mention BONO!

I hope the movie doesn't suck but if nothing else, take a listen. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well they covered all the songs.

Fall

I'm going home, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Fall is here. Sucks. It's wet, cold, rainy, cloudy, wet, wet, wet.

On my way home, I noticed the clouds and I really wanted to stop in the middle of the freeway and just take a picture. Luckily, I took my exit and during a red light was able to capture the gorgeous burnt orange hue of the sky.

SUNDAY

orange scone, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

This is the 2nd weekend I've work straight through. So I guess it means I've worked over 14 days straight. Wonderful...
I have to admit that right now, my staff gives me ZERO headache. They're all learning and I'm glad that they are receptive and actually selling.

Today, I couldn't sleep so I was up at 3:30am and went to work at 5am and redid all the planters for fall.

Went back to Fremont at 10am to www.threadshow.com
we were only going to see some samples but ended up meeting some old friends and there was a section quartered off for wholesale and we wrote some good lines we missed in Vegas.

EMMY time!
:)

Korean for lunch

Korean for lunch, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

When I was in LA, we went to Koreatown and there's this Korean joint right in the center of the complex where we shop. It's run by Koreans and not Chinese, unlike some Seattle joints we've been to!
The seafood soup was so spicy and bubbling hot that we had to let it simmer down a bit. It was so hearty and tasty! The fish could have used some seasoning but it was rather cripsy and the meat was flaking. It was just a tad fishy.

Wednesday Sept 12 2007

sunrise, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Took a day trip to LA with our friends from Peridot to do some immediate shopping. Visit the store's blog to see our new arrivals.
Got up at 3am. Actually I don't really sleep when I have to fly the next day so it's a wasted night. Caught the 6am flight, spent the entire day walking and selecting merchandise. Took the 8:30pm flight home and went to bed at 12.

365: Day 29

365: Day 29, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Roast duck.
So good. I'm off to LA tomorrow for 1 day! Yeah, no packing!
6am flight, come back 8pm.

ecco rxp 3040

ecco rxp 3040, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Performance is what serious runners demand from running shoes, and Ecco® is on the cutting edge of performance footwear design. The uppers on the new RXP 3040 are a synthetic leather and textile combination teamed with breathable mesh, supportive overlays and a ballistic nylon lacing system. These features wrap your foot in a durable, yet breathable shell that is also lightweight so it won't slow you down. There is encapsulated DynaThane in the high-impact area of the forefoot to dampen shock. An ultralight, compression-molded EVA midsole is equipped with a Receptor® RXP technology plate that's anatomically designed for those who run on hard surfaces. Receptor's highly abrasion-resistant rubber outsole is engineered with a specially selected tread pattern that delivers optimal performance on roads, sidewalks and other smooth surfaces along with exceptional durability. For maximum stability, the shoe incorporates Receptor® RXP Plantar Fascia Bridge (PFB) technology and a dual-density medial heel for motion control.

Lynne and Hiram, try this one out! I'm telling you, it's amazing!

Happy Birthday DEBORA

Today is Debora, Neil's sister, birthday! Have a wonderful day and I'm sure you'll have a delicious dinner tonight! xoxoxoxo

Zen Garden

What was once the Imperial Palace is now Zen Garden. I was cautious about having Chinese in Mill Creek and the online reviews were not so positive. But I and I'm sure Teri and Danny/Ivy will tell you, it was damn good! I wasn't so keen on the multiple levels but the garden was very beautiful and picturesque.

We had 2 tables and Joe ordered the GREAT COMPANION GATHERING FEAST.

We had:
Deluxe house platter of assorted appetizers (jellyfish, pork, and beef)
Vegetable stir fry with sliced Chx and Shrimp
Scramble eggs with fried fish maw and crab meat
Shark fin soup
Dungeness crab stir fried with salted duck eggs
Berling mushrooms with tofu
Drunken chicken with ginger sauce
Deep fried grouper and pan fried sole
Seafood fried rice
red bean dessert

In celebrating Joe's engagement to Suzy, we met some of her friends and her parents sat at our table. Suzy's dad, Harold tried and ate everything! They're just sweet folks!

Let's come back for dim sum and see if the food is worth the drive.

No pictures because I forgot my camera at home. Neil didn't come because he was sick w/ a cold.

I guess Elvis likes to Sniff butts too...

DSC08482, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

The adventures of Elvis & Mimi

Saturday August 25:

Elvis took a nap after checking into Luxor. He showers and wakes up with a cup of 'Joe from Luxor Cafe.

Some Vegas shopping is required so a quick stop to Fashion Show mall where Evis met a hot A&F model. Then it was off to Marc Ecko for a pair of jeans for Neil. The sales staff were quite shy about taking a picture w/Elvis.

Sunday August 26th:

Elvis hopped a cab but can't remember where he was heading. He remembers having lunch @ Red White and Blue inside Mandalay Bay. Then there was some slot machine winnings and a beer was involved.

Here's Elvis with Neil checking into the Spa. Having some QT with Arianna and Kate and dinner w/ the gals of Peridot.

The evening concluded with some photo ops at the MGM entrance and a quiet night in bed with Mimi. Where was Mimi? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Monday August 27th:

Elvis needed a morning pick me up and was offered some yummy cupcakes from the Niche Showroom. Then it was off to try on some "bling". Stop and smell the flowers, and a horribly nasty lunch from the PROJECT show.

Tues August 28th :

There's always celebs in Vegas. Here's Elvis with Elvis, Jessica M&M, and the Travelling Gnome!
When at work, he had to make the obligatory hugs and kisses with his favorite reps!

Wed August 29th:

What's a trip to Vegas w/o a buffet.

Thurs August 30th:

A quick to Caesar's and Bellagio. The hazelnut crepes were very tasty!



Friday August 31st:

Elvis & Mimi smokes it up during their last few hours in Vegas.

At 6pm, they landed safely in San Jose.

Later that evening, they made it to their destination. Kisses to Hurley!


Saturday Sept 1st:

A lazy morning spent playing in bed.

I hate USPS

I sent a package to Nathan via USPS and it took them weeks to receive. What happened to 3 day air service? I sent out another misc item to him and it's been over 2 weeks. I should have made Hiram bring my camera back. I had him send it out to me overnighted but I gave him the wrong zip code, 98103 instead of 98109. I've had shit delivered to me with the word dravs or dravis or drav and i still got it. They can't fucking deliver 23 Dravus!? There is no 98103 Dravus. Don't they have a fucking locator??? I'm sure it would correct the shit!

I called them and the tracking # doesn't do anything but track. Meaning? It's like doing it on the computer w/ a person. Don't expect help! When I asked 2 previous customer service reps, they said, "YES, it was overnighted" End of conversation. I was like, " It was an overnight package" And again, they said, "YES". I was simply baffled by their inability to provide customer service.

So when I realized I gave Hiram the wrong zip, I called them and they said there's NOTHING they can do. I might get it, I might not.

So I called again. They said it was after hours and I'll have to call back tomorrow. They said that I had to locate my local post office and deal it with them as all mail is routed through my local post office. Mind you, this is a business. I don't know where my local post office is located.
They said they can help me TOMORROW when they open. "and what time would that be?", I kindly asked. She asked me what time zone I was in. I said, "Seattle.: She said, "I'm Mountain standard time." And I said, "I'm in Seattle." She said, "We'll here in Mountain standard time, we open at 6:30am." So I said, 'That would mean I can call you at 5:30am!" I am guessing that she did not know where Seattle was.

So I asked her, "Why are you guys called customer service, and I seeem to be unable to get any? If you were UPS, they could locate my package and deliver it to the right address." She said, "Sir, we are NOT UPS. We are USPS."

It went on and on... All I was trying to do was locate my fucking camera and where I could go to pick it up or have them deliver it to the right zip code. But obviously, this is something USPS is TOTALLY incapable of doing. It will probably go back to HIRAM and if it does. I will kindly ask that he fucking locates a UPS center or FedEx/ Kinkos and mail it to me at:

John Tseng
c/0 Red Rooster Inc
23 DRAVUS ST
Seattle WA 98109

:)

Dinner

365: Day 22, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

I'm actually happy to make a simple stir fry for dinner.

Hurley

Hurley, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Hurley's been Worholized.

Stick it to her...

Stick it to her..., originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Lynne received her first acupuncture treatment.

Amici's

Amici's, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Hiram took us to his favorite pizza joint on our last night in San Jose and right before our flight. It was a great way to end our trip. Awesome oven brick baked thin slice pizza with delicious pesto penna pasta with clams and salad.

Koi Palace

Koi Palace, originally uploaded by awungfoo.

Hiram and Lynne took us to Daly City to eat at Koi Palace for Dim Sum. It was packed and the wait was forever. Neil had a run-in with a crazy fat woman who fell down. She said he pushed her. No one was interested in helping her as they were all listening for their # to be called over the intercom!

I don't have a pic of the coffee ribs. They were really good!

The roast duck was succulent and the dragon's beard was fun to eat.

Dinner for Mama @ Yea's Wok

Mama leaves for HK tonight at 2am. I'll have the luxury of dropping her off at midnight tonight.
We took her to dinner @ Yea's Wok for her farewell and birthday dinner as we won't see her till next year.

From left to right, top to bottom:
Spicy jellyfish, braised beef ribs, honey walnut prawns.
BBQ pork fried rice, Ong Choi, Basil wok fried clams.
sweet sour prawns, General tsao chicken, fried ice cream.

Rain Rain Rain

This rain sucks. The rest of the West is sunny, hot, and blazing. But here in Seattle, I flip you the bird.

Labor Day Weekend

Made a detour this weekend from Vegas to Seattle via San Jose. We spent a wonderful weekend hanging out w/ Lynne, Hiram, and Hurley. Thank you for the hospitality and the chauffering us around. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in Hiram's car and I await for it in the next day and post all the pictures!

It's 1am and upon landing, we were showered with thunderstorm, lightning, and lots and lots of rain. Welcome back to Seattle!