last night i ate so much garlic it felt like it burned a hole in my tongue.

one of my best friends and i took a common friend tim out to dinner. tim is one of my favorite people. unfortauntely, his life has been steered by the economic downturn of the tech industry. come friday, he’ll be back in his native toronto. lately he has been reading a series of books on economic freedom and careers. he has been really into it and, after having him talk to me about it, it does sounds pretty interesting. one of the key points is departing from the usual definition of assets and liabilities and deciding really where you want to be, financially.

i took the three of us to this awesome little restaurant in ben lomond, california. its name is “ciao bella!”. it’s this crazily decorated restaurant in a converted house. its outdoors patio is circled by coastal redwoods. the food was amazing.. and the service was great.

in talking with tim and my step-brother lately, i’ve realized that my friends (for whatever value that word has) can largely be put into one big group. what i mean by that is, there are a few people i know who are really cool people. they stand out from the other people i know. the rest are very similar. i have known most of them for years and it feels like hardly anything has changed. recently in thinking about things……. i think i value those unique friends a lot more.

i used to know this graphic designer. very talented. it was really cool watching him work. he inspired me to be more artistic. i say “used to know” because he has moved away and i have stayed behind. we dont really keep in touch, either. anyways.. my step-brother is artistic in the kitchen. he likes experimenting with different ingredients, spices, techniques. and my best friend is a photographer. he’s introduced me to infrared photography (he frequently shows me new things to learn about) and he used to teach classes. and tim. i am not sure if tim has a particular talent or hobby. i am still drawn to him.. it could be his thoughtful insight.. his attraction to artistic venues.. he has a nose and ear for interesting events.

over dinner last night, tim asked us what our personal goals were for this year. i was drawing a half blank– i knew i was going on vacation this year (my first time out of this country) with family. later i remembered my real goals.. i kept them to myself. here they are:

that third item draws additional inspiration from tim, who would always encourage me to move forward (and onward) with my passion.

i have been so lazy in my endeavors as of late. i’m not sure why. maybe it is part of living by myself for the first time.

anyways, i will miss tim. i do already. i need to snap myself out of this lethargy. and, perhaps, do something concerning my friends and who i would like to hang out and associate with.

well, i’m still here. this week turned out fun.

been eating out more. but doing so wisely. on wednesday i took part in an “dining out for life” fundraiser, at la moone, possibly my most favorite restaurant in san francisco. we ate for three hours. that, plus the bar tab, and gratuity resulted in a $750 bill. we managed to pay it in cash, which is great for a party of ten people! a quarter of the profits (plus the donations we all made) go to a good cause: helping stop the spread of hiv.

hrm, what else. been spending time with my stepbrother. he’s a really cool guy. he’s 21 and has the same want to explore life and the world as i did when i was in school. only i never really got out of west lafayette. getting acquainted with him has brought back a more measurable passion for life in myself. we’ve had deep discussions about religion and social interaction. and i’m back on a kick of foreign music. i’ve been introducing him to classic rock and more obscure stuff, such as air and early pink floyd.

my younger step brother turned 13. i got him the ultimate brainchild toy: mindstorms. i looked around.. it’s clearly the cheapest way to get into that level of robotics.

oh, and i’ve lost 15 pounds.

these past few weeks have been pleasantly quiet. and this weekend was incredibly fun. and next week is booked nearly solid. so things are speeding up for a bit. this week brings a dinner/movie night, a social fundraiser dinner, and pre-move activities. the weekened has a move and a party in store, so far. and i want to try some new recipes this week. oh, and im borrowing a camera from so i can play with this infrared film. man, so many things at all once. maybe i’ll do some lunch-break shooting this week!

this morning i realized i like where my life is right now. when people ask me how i am, how life is for me, etc.. i respond with, “really well, actually.” my good spirits have also made living by myself a great experience. maybe i needed a healthy dose of solitude. or maybe it’s the fact that i’ve lost nearly all the weight i wanted to shed. and 2003 has even more in store for me: my brother is getting married and i’m later going on a week vacation with family. at home, i’ve started collecting wine. i’ve added a few plants to my apartment which are doing well. and i’ve been having a lot of fun cooking. i’ll try not to think too hard about why things are going so well for me personally, and make the most of my feelings. maybe use this time to explore new areas with renewed esteem.

chicken and bok choy.

each time i cook it’s like a lesson.. i learn new things. tonight.. i learned that the chicken was too thick to cook evenly. and the pan stuff afterwards would have made a good sauce, since the chicken ended up a little dry. better luck next time..

tonight i made spicy beef and broccoli. with a real wok this time. turned out pretty well, tho it could have used a bell pepper.

so the mp3s on the raid set seem corrupted. the chkdsk probably trashed everything. it sucks having 120gb of stuff you dont know the integrity of. hooray modern filesystems.

a second day with family. food, food, present, movie. we watched ‘better luck tomorrow’. next on my list is ‘bend it like beckham’.