New Designs

Today is August 5th and its my Momma's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! i love you so much and hope you have a great birthday. Sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate with you and the rest of the fam...

For her birthday, my dad got her the iphone4 (!) which he just received in the mail today. As I was driving home from work tonight, I got a call from my dad. He was flipping out!!! Apparently, he couldn't get the phone to work and it wasn't syncing with the itunes on their little macbook. Earlier in the day he had gone to the Apple store to set up the phone but they, annoyingly, sent him home, claiming it was easier to do it from there... Needless to say, my dad disagreed.

He was yelling that the 'thing' wouldn't turn on and that itunes was messing up and saying that it was signed into my account. I'm pretty sure he was pretty close to saying "F it" and returning the thing! Good thing he didn't!

Iphone4 for my Momma!

After another trip back to the APple store, they finally managed to get it synced up and to the point where my brother could set up my mom's email and wifi. geez... what a fiasco. I'm sure the guys at the Apple store got an ear full. haha.

I hope my mom enjoys the new phone and fully takes advantage of all it has to offer. And now that jailbreaking is legal, she should go ahead and do it!

Someday I will get my own Iphone4...

Meanwhile, at work today, things are definitely getting busier. Fabian, my designer mentor, is off for the next week or so which leaves me to deal with ALL my bosses alone! No worries, I got this shit!

The new box will be dubbed, "Quacked Eggs!" Bwahahah

Here is a design I came up with for these chocolate eggs that have a little marshmellow duck inside of them. The little, peep-like duck is so adorable and it's hard to want to eat him. And although I fully knew it was a duck, for some unexplainable reason, I designed the box with a Chicken in mind. Perhaps the duck reminded me of Chicken Little...

So here is my "Chicken Coop" box fully decked out with red chicken coop, flying chicken and the words 'chicken' all over the thing... grr. Don't worry, I easily transformed it into a duck theme and made it even flashier!

Cookies!

The other project (for another boss) is a box for Cookie Dough bites. They're to be sold in a standard size theater box and my company is trying to go into competition with the preexisting king of cookie dough bites. I had a bunch of designs made but this is the only one I photographed.... Conclusion: Too classy/fancy for cookie dough bites.  Back to the drawing board on this one.

And all the while I was doing a whole other slew of designs for my OTHER boss for this line of little boxes! Because we didnt' know what type of food item would be featured in these boxes, I had to design them using generic patterns. The patterns had to be fresh and exciting, but generic enough for any type of food... ugh. This project was a killer for me. I've been working on it for the past 2 weeks. I refused to take an pictures because I dont' wanna have to see another pattern!!

Very nice!

When I got home tonight, I found this wedding invitation in my mailbox. It is for my cousin's wedding in October and I'm super psyched to go! It'll be nice to go back to Tahoe breath the clean crisp air up there! The only drawback is that Jenna can not attend... so I guess I'll have to boogie for the 2 of us. :)

Tahoe Buffet

Last weekend, Jeff (my brother) and I had a basketball tournament in Tahoe! On Friday, we both flew up to the Oakland airport from our respective residences and then drove with the fam up to Tahoe that night. Now, basketball tournaments are fun for many reasons. Namely, we get to play together and have tons of fun with friends who we rarely see. Another great aspect of tournaments are that we get to have time with my parents, exploring the local area through their food and late night activities.... Ok, mainly just the food. Well in Tahoe (and Vegas) the best food is at the All You Can Eat Buffets!

Every year, we take our time to stand in line for the Harris Buffet which costs a hefty $30 per person! Because of that price, I make sure to eat my moneys worth and encourage others to do the same. I may not be as big as I once was back in the day but I can still put it down at a Buffet. And there's always a technique and certain procedure to get the most out of your buffet experience.

-Go for the expensive meats: Prime Rib, Filet Mignon etc. They're going to be the most expensive cuts and will probably taste the best!
-Skip the salads and carbs: You don't wanna fill up your precious stomach space with lame items like lettuce or bread sticks. Only turn to these things if you're really feeling the effects of the meat sweats.
-Eat fast and keep moving back to the buffet lines: I, unfortunately, take after my father and tend to eat my meals really, REALLY fast. Because of this, I don't feel the effects of eating food until much later. But when that wall hits, it hits hard! (MVF!) In a buffet, I suppose this is a good thing because the faster you go, the more prime rib you can gobble up!
-Keep hydrated: I, myself, like to keep drinking lots of liquids with my solid foods. This is to make sure everything sloshes together nicely in my stomach.
-Lastly, Push yourself with a little competition with others at the table: My brother and I tried seeing who could eat more.

This was my first plate. I know it looks empty but there was actually a load of about 8 sushi pieces which I ate while standing in the Prime Rib line!

Jeff doin' work!

My second plate with more prime rib and some vege's to cut the meatness in my belly! Not pictured are the scraps I picked off my mom's and brother's plates.

Jeff's second plate(s) foolishly included miso soup and salad. Such a waste at a buffet.

Dessert came early this night but the pumpkin pie was delicious! Not pictured is the ice cream with peanut butter M&Ms, cream puff, chocolate brownie, fruit tart and GIGANTO jug of milk!

Jeff sneakily stole one of those fruit tarts to go and ate it later that night! Gross. He also ate more items that weren't pictured.

All in all, I think we did a good job getting our moneys worth without having to "pay" for it later that night. (not for too long that is..) The meats were delicious and tender but I won't be eating fist sized portions of bacon wrapper Filet Mignon for a loooooooooooong time!

Oh, and we won 3rd place in the tournament and I went almost 100% shooting... if the ball was ever passed... Poor Jeff came away with a displaced left thumb and almost no progress on his homework! haha. At least we got our buffet and a little souvenir from the power balance tent!


**Updated Thoughts**
I was really upset that there were NO cookies at this Buffet! No cookies and no Jello! Those 2 things should be standard at all Buffets. Thanks.

Time Lapse of the Koi Shoes

Here's a little video of the designing process....

Kid in a Candy Store

Just wanted to jot down a couple thoughts that I had this morning while at work...

1. Going in to our company warehouse is a HUGE tease for me. The candy is sitting there, waiting for me to eat it.... taunting me...!

2. I need to become more ambitious and find ways to help out more either with design related work projects or my own work at home.

3. I need to stop eating candy and trail mix while at work. I can feel the sugar sticking to my insides!

4. Anyone ever seen Kid in a Candy Store on Food Network?!?

Adam Gertler

Yeah, that's me EVERYDAY at work

5. And finally, the greatest gif i've come across today:

Kustom Kicks

Hi everyone!

My brother Jeff has a blossoming business called Kustom Kicks where he takes people's ideas and designs and transforms them into wearable pieces of art. So far, he has done numerous custom vans as well as a couple hats and backpacks. His website is Kustom Kicks and you can check out his past projects or even order your own pair!

Seeing his success has really fueled my desire to help him and grow his business.

Here is my first attempt at some shoes for Kustom Kicks! Let me know what you think! KOI SHOES

Koi/Lotus Flower Shoes

Ode to the Beach BBQ

We used to beach bbq all the time during my first year in Santa Barbara, but for some reason it's been almost a year since our last feast at the beach. I have been very stressed with work and school, so this bbq was a perfect stress reliever. Here are some pics from a wonderful Saturday beach bbq on the Mesa!




Cute grillmaster.


















How lucky am I to live here?


















Yumminess. Burgers handcrafted by Casey with spinach, avocado, and whole wheat buns, grilled asparagus, cherries and grapes.










This asparagus was REALLY good!


















Very happy with the delicious meal :-)




















We tried grilling corn for the first time, and it was fabulous!

















S'mores - how can we ever resist?












What a great way to enjoy a Santa Barbara Saturday!

Heating UP

OH Man... LA is sure getting hot. Even though I no longer get an 'official' summer anymore, there was no mistaking that summer had officially arrived based on the TRIPLE digit temperatures last week and this past weekend. Here at the Bryan & Casey apt, we neglect to use our air conditioning in an attempt to save a little cash (and cuz we're asian) but, last week, as we sat, melting on the couch, there was no other choice but to create a little breeze. I mean... 5 days straight of 98+ degree days is no fun. I was so drained and lazy by the time I go home from work that I would skip the gym and trick myself into thinking that I was losing weight by just sweating in my room!

Luckily, this week, temperatures are cooling down and by next weekend, I'll be BBQing on the beaches in Santa Barbara, probably wearing a sweatshirt!

However, let me share some events that occurred over the past few HOT days.

On Saturday, Jenna and I were rudely awake at 7am by the scorching LA heat and the blinding light shining through my window shades. I swear, most times, its like my blinds aren't even there.... I WILL be buying a large sheet/blanket to cover the window.

Since we were already up and couldn't possibly fall back asleep, we decided to head to the beach. We had already planned on going but not as early as 9am! Good thing we did go early because by 10am, Manhatten Beach was already packed with rainbow colored umbrellas and pasty-skinned people looking to get their first taste of the sun.

We haven't been to many LA beaches yet, but Manhatten is by far, one of the nicest. I'm very very jealous of the people who get to live in those beachside apartments. One day we will own one! (......)

Jenna mostly stayed on the sand and tanned her already bronzed body. Meanwhile, I took every opportunity possible to body surf in the cool ocean water! If you've never tried body surfing, it is the most fun/cheap thing to do at the beach. There is no gear necessary and you just gotta know how to swim. My brother and I will do this for hours on end when we're on vacation in Hawaii with our family. Of course, this time, I was body surfing all by myself but no worries: I'm good at keeping myself entertained. haha.

Another reason I spent so much time in the water was that I couldn't bear listening to the stupid conversation of the people around us! There was this group of blond girls and guys sitting near us that coulda really been the real life version of the hills! As they were applying their sunscreen, we overheard their intelligent conversation about reapplication times.

Dude: "How often are you supposed to reapply sunscreen?"
Blond Girl #1: "Ummm... I heard that depending on what number is on the bottle is how often you're supposed to reapply. So since we have SPF 70, you have to put it on every 70 minutes."
Blond Girl #2: "Actually i think that you're supposed to times that number by 10 and thats how many hours youre supposed to wait to reapply again. So 70 times 10 is...."
.........long pause........
Still, no one from the group of TEN!! has responded.....
Dude #2: "So...every 700 hours?"
Blond Girl #2: "No, that can't be right. It must be 700 minutes..."

And with that... I could no longer take it and had to run into the water! hahhaah.

After working up an appetite, Jenna and I yelped the nearest/highest rated sandwich shop around. We found Sandos Sub Shop only a mile down from the pier where we were swimming. It was just a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot where you pretty much have to always eat TO GO because there's no room inside. The joint has been featured in the Los Angeles magazine as one of the top sandwich spots to visit in all of LA.

I forget the name of Jenna's sandwich but it was an amazing blend of chicken, bacon, avocado and other stuff. Oh, and up above that picture, are the homemade potato chips that Sandos is pretty famous for. They were thick but not too crispy and a really great side for our sandwiches.

I got the Turkey Rosecransberry sandwich which was turkey with sprouts and cheese and cranberry sauce! Also very gooooood. We decided to eat on a bench near the beach and got many stares from passerbys. One couple even stopped to ask us where we got the sandwiches because they thought they looked THAT good. Unfortunately, Jenna and I couldn't remember the name OR the street on which it was on. haha. We just pointed in the general direction.

The reason why we opted for sandwiches for lunch was because we knew we were gonna be splurging for dinner. My friends Cindy, Shar and Cynthia were coming down to LA for the weekend and would be staying at the 4 Seasons in Beverly Hills. We decided to all eat at the 4 Seasons hotel restaurant because Shar, who works for 4 Seasons in the Bay Area, got us 50% off of our bill! ONE MORE THING....

The room that the 3 of them were staying in was priced at $1050 a night!?!?!?! And they were paying NOTHING! haha Dam Shar, you sure have awesome job perks! I mean.... who can afford to pay $1050/night for a hotel room?! That's almost an entire month and a half of rent in Jenna's one bedroom apartment! I may get free jellybeans but I'd trade for a free suite in Hawaii at a 4 star hotel anyday!

Here is the lobby of the 4 seasons and their beautiful display of flowers in vases filled with lemons. I really felt obliged to steal one of these vases just because they were charging so much money for people to stay there! They shoulda been complementary! Alas, I settled for a couple small apples that were in little dishes around the lobby.

For dinner, I had the Pork done 3 Ways. For a fancy restaurant and a dish at a regular price of $34, the portions were pretty generous and my belly was fully satisfied. I guess we also did get some scrumptious bread as well as macaroons for dessert! To go with my pork, I had a glass of the merlot which was very dry but tasted excellent with my meat.

Jenna had this GIANT hunk of salmon that was perfectly cooked and combined it with a glass of white wine. Both dinners were great selections.

After dinner, we decided to go to Busby's and get our groove on. Little did we know that it was apparently Asian night at Busbys and that we'd have to fight for space on the dance floor for the whole time! I think the only dance move you could have performed would be a box out like in basketball! Craziness mixed with a whole lotta drunk people and a lot of sweat. ugh.

All in all, a great event filled weekend that seemed way to short. I'm looking forward to a cooler weathered work week as well as a relaxing uneventful next weekend with Jenna in SB!