帥哥西裝 Handsome Suits

this is a japanese movie. one of the best ones i've seen in a long time. the moral of this movie is "never judge a book by it's cover"; which is especially true when it comes to love and finding love. for some reason, watching this movie brought up a lot of memory which got me thinking...

it's always easy to be loved then to actually love someone. loving someone means ur putting yourself out in the open with lots of risk of getting hurt. but an easier way would be to learn how to love yourself first. because once you know how to love yourself, loving someone you care about with all your heart, all the risk doesn't seem to matter or mean anything anymore.

watching this movie reminded me of how i was when i first met cherie online. she was in high school, while i was in college. she and i met online through a chat room because i was bored at 3am in the morning trying to finish my marketing paper. cherie went online and start chatting with me in english because she needed english help on her paper. thus as time went on, we became penpals.

during that time, we didn't see each other photos, nor did we know how each other looked like. it was after a month later that we talked for the first time on the phone. even then, we didn't know how each one of us looked. i was shy, because i was never the handsome type. so when she asked me how i looked, i would always say... i'm the cute type. wahaha...

during the many months we chatted online and offline, i really liked her personality and we have so much to talk about and so much in common. but i knew, once she gets into college, maybe this little crush she has for me will fizz out like a bubbling champagne going flat. but her crush, her love for me, kept going strong; which i could no longer deny my feelings for her. we never met, nor have we ever seen each other's photos, i had a feeling maybe she's the one. but never had i let her know how i was feeling for her, because i was afraid when we meet face to face, it will change everything.

cherie was a swimmer and had broad shoulder and a longer chin, but definitely shorter than Jay Leno's. haha. but when i first saw her photos and met her in person, i knew she was the one, because those were the things that attracted me to her even more.

she came to the airport to pick me up at 6AM, after taking the long bus ride from Taipei to the airport. when we meet for the very first time, she was very shy but happy to see me (which after our marriage she told me she was a bit disappointed the first time she saw me... but that's for another story later on.. haha).

when we walked side by side, she kept wiping her sweating palm against her dress. she looked like she wanted to hold my hands but was shy to do so. so, i grabbed her hands and next thing you know.. cherie leaned her head on my shoulders. right then and there, i knew she's the one i've been waiting for. the one that God had made all my previous relationship end in misery or burn up in flames or crash and burn if you will. all that was to test my endurance as a trial and preparation for the one He prepared for me. cherie is my missing puzzle, she completes me. she's my best friend, my lover, my wife, and my partner in life who has given us a beautiful angel, haley.

never judge a book by it's cover.. likewise, when you do meet a guy or a girl whom doesn't attract you at first sight, maybe you should look again carefully... not with your eyes, but with your open heart. because just maybe.. he or she may be the one that God has create and planned for you to meet.

this movie is really the best! a very heart felt, warm and fuzzing feeling type of movie that will melt away your heavily armor shielded heart to find love again~



click here for a brief overview of the movie

craving for crab cakes...

well, tonight... i just had a sudden craving for crab cakes. don't know why, but at least i'm not pregnant. roflmao (rolling on floor, laughing my ass off).

anyway, crab is too expensive and it bad for my cholesterol. thus, i decided to make something else. instead of using crab, i used black cod. yup, you heard it, black cod cake, that's what i'll call it!

i used the following ingredients:
2 x black cod fillets
2 x potatos (any kind will do, probably the red potato or the creamy yellow ones will taste even better)
1 tsp of butter
1/2 yellow onion
1 tsp of season all (guess it's the US version of MSG... haha)
1/4 cups of grated Gouda cheese (aged 6yrs)
2 eggs
1/2 bag of panko (japanese bread crumbs)
dash of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) cut up the potato in small portions and boil in water till soft. smaller portions of potato size will cook faster and more evenly. you can also add some sea salt into the water to make it boil faster. after poking it with a fork to ensure it's soft, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. let it sit and cool while still draining.

2) dice up the onions and pan fry it with 1 tsp of butter. add a bit of sea salt and a dash of pepper and let it cool on the side. don't cook it till it's super soft, just enough where the onion is caramelized and smells sweet.

3) take you black cod fillet and pan fry it till the fish starts to tenderize and fall apart. don't worry if it doesn't look good, cuz it's going to be mashed up in the end anyway. pan frying it will bring more flavor to the fish.

4) find a bit bowl or pot and put the potatos, black cod, grilled onion, Gouda cheese and season all. start mashing it like mash potatos and adding sea salt to bring the flavor to your liking. remember not to put too much salt. it's back for your blood pressure and also because the Gouda cheese will be salty too. once the taste is to your liking, now add the 2 eggs in and mix till it's even.

5) panko time. if your mixture still looks to be too moist, throw some panko in there and mix it up to absorb the moisture.

6) heat up your frying pan and just use a tad bit of oil. keep it at medium heat. like about 3-4 tsp of any kind of oil, except olive oil! olive oil is not too happy with extended heat and will cause the oil to breakdown chemically, which isn't going to sit well in your body later on in life. best oil to use is corn, it's happy with extended heat and won't breakdown that easily.

7) take the mashed up cod and potato mixture and using a spoon put a small amount in your palm and roll it to a size of golf ball. then roll the golf ball in the panko so it's evenly covered on the outside. next.. press your palm together so its flatten a bit. don't flatten it all the way.

8) gently put into the pan. u should be able to fit 4 pcs at once. when you start seeing the edges a bit golden brown, gently flip it over to the other side. once golden brown on both side, put it on a dish with paper towels and let the oil drain.

9) now enjoy with either ketchup, tarter sauce, or cocktail shrimp sauce. i only had ketchup at home, too lazy to make a cocktail shrimp sauce.

who would have thought pan fried food could be good for you and help raise your good cholesterol? as Elton Brown would say... "Good Eats~!"

here's a photo of the finished black cod cake... super delish~!


here's chloe anxiously awaiting for her steamed black cod fillet..

what a beautiful tasting port!

if ya'll didn't know yet.. my favorite wine is PORT. i know it's a dessert wine, but what can i say, that's why i love it. whether you are bill gates or warren buffet or even the office clerk that has a $hitty day every day at work, everyone needs a bit sweetness in their life. ;)

this is one of the many port that i have tried and really liked. it's made by BOGLE Vineyards in Clarksburg, California. this bottle is the bottle in 2006 and is a limited release with only 120 barrels produced.

this is the Bogle Petite Sirah Port. after opening it, the fragrance is released in the air and as i pour the port into my favorite glass, a little of swirl while it aspirate with the air... the smell is a beautiful floral with sweetness of baby grapes. no kidding.. it really smell like a floral garden in my glass. ;)

i just hope i don't finish the whole thing tonight. i've been missing my babies for a while now and the many more days that i'll be away from them.. tears me up inside ever so slowly~ i miss my lover and my baby haley~

a couple glass of port with some piano based soothing music to set the tone. this is really, really smooth!! i love it!

SodaGreen... 蘇打綠: 無與倫比的美麗

this is probably not a new song.. but for me.. i just found it on youtube and man... the words are really deep and has sooo much feel~

this is the bomb! i love it....... this is a wonderful song with a coffee or a glass of wine... dim the lights and sit back and relax... going to find my wine now.......

生命無限公司...Life of Never End Co., Ltd.

when i first saw this movie's title, i wondered what it's about. so when i started watching it, it all seem like a fairy tale, very child-like but with a twist.

this film was made in my hometown, kaohsiung. regardless of what ppl say about the southern part of taiwan, kaohsiung is the bomb... haha.



this is a slow movie with wonderful supporting music and visual backgrounds. and with slow movies, it's usually building you up for something that will hit you like a mofo running a red light and getting a side impact by a 18 wheeler truck!

for anyone that has lost someone precious to their hearts, watching this movie will help you find closure and you will understand life as all the puzzles will come together in the end.

this is definitely a good movie to watch... just make sure you have your tissues ready.

My dental coverage sucks!

today is the day that cherie and haley went back to taiwan. i can't blame anyone except for the dental coverages we have here in US. it really sucks big time.

last year, i had two dental insurance coverages and had to do 2 root canal + 1.5 crown. guess how much it cost me? that's right... try $700+. that's on top of the max. allowance possible from 2 dental insurance coverage. can you believe that?

well, maybe it's not only the dental coverage sucks, but the dentist here charges an arm and a leg just for the dental service. they always bill above the max and guess who have to pay for it... that's right.. me! sigh...

i'm starting to feel like there's no dentist i can trust... it seems they are all like an used car salesman. i've changed 5-6 different dentist in the past 5 yrs. the best of all, i trust those dentist farther than i can throw them, which isn't very far at all!

so back to the reason why cherie and haley went back.. cherie needed to get her root canal + crown done plus other dental works. it's cheaper to send her home with haley than to pay the dentist here and use the weaksauce coverage we have.

although that idea sounded good at first.. it sure didn't feel good when i have to wave goodbye to my daughter and wife. haley was giving me a kiss bye and just before they were about to enter into the custom's door, haley started walking towards me. i burst into tears and couldn't hold back from then on.

now... i miss both of my babies...