Hills of Hayward

These past two Saturdays, we found a little gastropub named the Chop Bar in the Jack London Square area.  I’m a sucker for Eggs Benedict, and unfortunately have become a snob of sorts for this brunch staple.  When I read that the Chop Bar was having a seasonal special of Crabs Benedict last weekend, I took Christine and the two kids to try it out, and hoped the best.

Christine and I were both very impressed.  The crab meat came in large tender chunks and fused perfectly with the avocados.  The egg was perfectly cooked, and we wound up regretting that we both didn’t get the same dish.  A photographer from the San Francisco Chronicle approached us in the middle of the meal, and asked whether we were willing to be photographed for their upcoming review article.  We gave our consent and quickly forgot about it.

This last Sunday, we were craving Eggs Benedict, and we found ourselves at Chop Bar again.  The waiter recognized Anders and asked us if we saw our picture in the paper.  This prompted me to pull up the review article in my iPhone and here we all are… in the San Francisco Chronicle article “Chop Bar is a Treat in Jack London Square.”

Our front lawn has been steadily been dug up by what seem to be gophers. Initially, it was only a single hole in the ground, and over a year and a half, the entire front lawn has become home to 20-30 gopher holes. Admittedly, I have let this problem fester for far too long.

After purchasing a set of gophinator traps, I set out to find a gopher highway to place my traps on.  The first day, my traps remained empty, but on the second, I caught my prey.  When I figured out that I actually caught something, I was so ecstatic I jumped up and shouted for Christine.  She later told me that she thought something horrible happened to me.

So far, no new holes have been created in the last week.  Could just a single gopher wreck my yard?  The evidence increasingly seems like that this is the case.  What amazingly productive (and ugly) animals.

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After having two kids, I never thought of celebrating my birthday anymore. However, Stonebrae sent me a dinner invitation so I showed it to Harrison two days before my birthday. Harrison said, “Why did they send it so early?” I didn’t have any doubt but just thought that he forgot which day my birthday was again.

So he scheduled a last minute dinner at Kiss Seafood Japanese Restaurant, though now I don’t know if he just played like it was a last minute reservation or it was really a last minute thing. Unfortunately we had to miss our dinner because Arden started crying for feeding while Anders was fussing and not going to sleep. We could only feel at ease if we calmed Anders to sleep before we headed out so our nanny could focus on the little one. I guess that you can never predict your schedule when you have two young kids.

Luckily, thanks to my dear husband, who is great at finding new and nice restaurants. Instead of Kiss Seafood, we had a great time of a late night dinner at this nice cozy restaurant, Izakaya Mai.

I thought that was nice and it should be it! I never thought that Harrison had planned for tonight for a while. It was the first time I hang out with friends for a movie after Arden’s birth. I enjoyed Star Trek a lot and have been craving for Tea Station. I was happy but not surprised to run into Nancy, Chuang and Wei at Tea Station since they live close by; didn’t have doubts when Nancy asked to combine the tables. I didn’t suspect a thing until the birthday cake was brought to the table. I started laughing out loud since normally I was the one planning surprises!

Harrison’s plan was considered a total success. Thanks, Nancy, Chuang, Wei, Duc, Howard and Paul for coming out. Of course, thanks to Harrison for always thinking for me.

Chuck and I have known each other since elementary school. Although he was a couple grades ahead of me, he tolerated my immaturity all through those years. This last year, much to the delight of his family and mine, Chuck got married.

I very much regret not being able to attend the wedding in Taiwan as Christine was deep into her pregnancy; however, Chuck was kind enough to accept my offer to hang out with Christine and I for a week this February.

We had a great time with Chuck and Danna running around all over the Bay Area eating and clicking. You see, Chuck is quite a shutterbug. If he ever bought himself a SLR, he has the talent to become a professional photographer.

Ever since Anders arrived, Christine and I have packed away our SLR and have been taking photos relatively infrequently. Hanging out with Chuck and Danna helped us re-connect a little with our love for taking photos if only with our Sony compact camera.

We think Chuck found a great match with Danna, or vice versa. Best wishes to you both, and please let us visit you soon with the kids in tow.

Below are some photos Christine and I took that week.