Present-Forward

It’s been a ridiculously long time since my last post and I apologize, not just to you, my readers (are there any of you?), but my Self. This blog’s been an important outlet for me and despite the ridiculous amount of drafts I have hidden, I’ve been neglecting it.

I can list a hundred excuses, and most of them would actually be valid, but the truth is, we can make time for things that are important to us. I’ve sat in a plane at least 48 hours since February and while I did do a bit of writing and working, did I really need to do all those crossword puzzles (some twice if it was the second flight that month) or play all those games on my iPod? Oh yeah, and make the mistake of watching Avatar on one of those tiny Digi-players?

But no use in beating myself up now, which I’m sure none of you can relate to. A great bit of advice my now former boss gave me was just to move present-forward. Now that we realize the consequence/s of our actions (or inaction, in this case), going forward, we do what we can to make sure to prevent it in the future.

I say “now former” because a few changes have happened in my life, biggest of which is I have now officially moved to DC. *SHOCK!* I can hear your gasps now. As if my tweets whining of teary-eyed evenings whenever I had to pack to leave weren’t any clue. That means new job, new home and to some degree, a new life and it’s been exciting at best and overwhelmingly anxiety-ridden and stressful at worst. The key (well, more like the lock-pick) for me has just been taking one step at a time. I’ve now vacated my Seattle apartment and relinquished maybe 75% of my physical possessions. I brought no furniture with me and the majority of items I moved were books, clothes and a few kitchen essentials. What I’ve gained is a beautiful apartment with a great view of the District, ideally located in one of my favorite neighborhoods and walking distance to my favorite café. I plan to furnish my home as stylishly and eco-friendly as possible, using Feng Shui guidelines, somehow affordably. The crazy thing is I don’t think it’s impossible! You can read about my progress on the e-zine, The DC Ladies, where I am now a contributing writer on eco-living.

You’re probably wondering, did I still eat? Ummmm, yes of course. It’s an addiction for me. I eat every day, multiple times a day. And yes, I’ve had some amazing adventures which I hope to eventually log into this blog (probably backdating), but present-forward, remember? To list a few (in NO particular order):

• Komi – Washingtonian Magazine’s #1-rated restaurant. Yes, the title is well-deserved. Only drawback is they wouldn’t allow me to take pictures.
• Omakazi dinner at Sushi Taro – incredible, but too much food, even for me.
• Sushi Concierge dinner with Trevor Corson at Zentan – informative, but too many people to maintain everyone’s attention for too long, especially the loud Dutch girls next to us. Best part of the evening was the Singapore Slaw. I think I went back twice to the restaurant for dinner so I could have more.
• Reverence Dinner (Seattle) – A Gypsy-style dinner with 8 of Seattle’s most incredible chefs.
• Robin Leventhal’s Top Chef Dinner (Seattle) – A fantasy come-true for me to try the food I see on tv. Robin recreated some of the dishes from the hit show, and now I know I’m not out of my mind whenever I want to lick the screen.
• Cherry Blossom Festival and cooking class TenPenh – Being in DC for the festival was another item on my bucket list and I couldn’t think of a better way to start the celebration than with a cherry blossom-inspired cooking class. Only drawback was being served 4 glasses of wine before noon. I couldn’t remember everything, but luckily I have pictures.
• J&G Steakhouse – Most incredible calamari ever! Oh yes, and a surprisingly beautiful pavlova dessert.  
• POV at the W Hotel – My favorite place to go on a warm afternoon or evening, especially after walking the monuments. Unfortunately it’s difficult to get up there without a room at the hotel or a reservation in the restaurant. Oh, and unfortunately the food at the restaurant isn’t quite the same as at J&G downstairs.
• Restaurant Nora – This may be the winner of my favorite splurgy restaurant in DC. Aside from being the first certified organic restaurant, the food is absolutely superb and the service impeccable.
• Vidalia – Another restaurant in the running for my favorite. The bartender created an incredible Valentine’s Day cocktail which he shared with me and my dining companion. Both food and service were incredible.
• Marcel – Two words: Boudin Blanc. Most incredible sausage ever, although I feel so bourgeois calling it a sausage.
• Art of the Table (Seattle) - I may have said this once and I'll say it again, I absolutely love Chef Dustin Ronspies' food. If you don't have time to sit down to one of the restaurant's four-course dinners, the Monday happy hours are the best. It's sort of like an Iron Chef dinner where he can experiment with different ingredients and come out with something incredible.
• Po Dog (Seattle) - I totally dig on the ghetto gourmet this place embodies.
• Old School Frozen Custard (Seattle) – Super-fresh, incredible tasting. Not sure if I can ever go back to normal ice cream again.
• Pho 14 – I love having great Vietnamese in my hood!
• Full Kee – One great thing about living in a diverse city is I can get wonderful dishes like congee again!
• Dante’s Inferno Dogs (Seattle) – Sure, I’ve had them before, but on a whim, I tried one with cream cheese and sweet chili sauce.
• Marination Mobile (Seattle) – Hey brah! Howzit? OK, not a typical Hawaiian-style plate lunch food truck, but really damn good.