after months of anticipation, it was finally time to leave for taipei.  i've been hesitant about going because i was busy with work, school, and the new puppy.  however, i decided i needed a break from the humdrum life, and my pet sitter would enjoy living at our house for two weeks.  she told me that my house was perfect for watching the fireworks ( Read more... )

I'm a fan of Gotham Gal, who writes a lot about food, travel, and art.  She also takes great pics.  This a review of Noma, which was named the world's best restaurant in 2011.  I also included a review of one of the proteges of Noma who went on to open his own restaurant.

http://www.gothamgal.com/gotham_gal/2012/06/noma-copenhagen.html

http://blogs. ( Read more... )

after the episode at au pied de cochon, i had trouble sleeping that night.  i woke up at 2:30 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., and finally 11 a.m.  i was so tired and was glad i wasn't playing scrabble that day.  since we were so close to chinatown, joe and i decided to try le cristal chinois for dim sum.  it's on the sixth floor of this mall, but we took ( Read more... )

Europea was a great dining experience. Service was impeccable, and the pacing was just right.
( Read more... )

i'll do a full montreal trip write-up later.  i've been feeling unwell all day due to the chlorine smell in the aquatic center.  my nose was stuffy, and i was getting a huge headache.  tried to grab some lunch but ended up picking the wrong thing of a burger that was more like meatloaf and lukewarm at best ( Read more... )

12-12 +452, 23rd place.  well, even record and a positive spread after yesterday's implosion isn't that bad.

words i challenged: GYPES*, ZILLA#, CONORIAL*, VESTAgE, FLaIRED, KUNAE*, BLAZINGS#
words i didn’t challenge: HASSLER*
words that got challenged: (D)EBEARDS, SHEALED#, HANSELL*, CONARIUMS*, EQUIT*, NEGLI(G)ES, DEMITiNG*, LENO, AWTS*
my bingos: ( Read more... )

today was a very frustrating day.  had a lot of racks with no vowels, especially in the endgames, which contributed to my losses.  record is now 8-9, +29, 26th place.

words i challenged: LINNERS*, BOVINeD*, CRUTOnS*, TRUC*, ANGULATES
words i didn’t challenge: LOGI*
words that got challenged: POEMLIKE*, HEPATIZE (138+5), FAIM*, OXES, DOLMIN(E)s, VIENNA ( Read more... )

4-3 +74 14th place ( Read more... )

i took the north tour today.  it is my last tour for this trip.  i'm going to relax the next two days, sleep in, and basically do nothing because this is a vacation of sorts.  it has been really windy this week and especially windy on top of a tour bus.  i need the next two days to recover from all the allergic reactions i'm having ( Read more... )

today was my best day so far with 6.5 wins.  i lost one game by a mere 4 points because i only had one vowel and a V to dispose.  i ended up in 12th place, and i was ranked 16th, but i lost 136 ratings points because i played the bottom half.  if i hadn't tied, i would have won the class b prize.  oh, well.  maybe i'll have better luck in 4 days ( Read more... )