Rain, rain, go away

While the area we occupy is comfortable and spacious, there are no immediate windows... just a skylight reflecting natural light upon my desk, where the sound of the falling rain is amplified. It's peaceful and soothing, though not so conducive for a work environment. I wish I could hear the rain this clearly when I'm at home, snuggled up in bed.

Easter Brunch & Pie Swap

It's almost spring time! Woohoo! [I'm so sick of drabby winter - hence, the overtly cheerful colors of this image] And with that comes...

"Yen's Quarterly Give-Back" <--- I just made that up :)

We got such a warm reception from the cookies we donated last winter, a friend suggested we do PIES this time around! Yep, a perfect excuse to whip out that KitchenAid mixer and apron you never use!

Bake a pie (or two) - we'll cut one of your pies into slices to swap and taste amongst each other and we'll donate your other [whole] pie to the Portland Rescue Mission for distribution to the homeless on Easter Day! Bake it, buy it (peel off the Costco / Safeway label), steal it, I don't care! Sweet or savory! I'll provide the bubbly but I'll also have tea, coffee, juice, etc. Oh and an Easter egg hunt! Just come veg out, let the kids run amuck, relax and feel good about giving back! It's just a reason for us to hang out!

Golden Hour

I don’t usually blog about anything that relates to work, but as I do blog about my travels, this entry will be one of the few exceptions. I'll try not to write too much about my actual work, as it would go against the unspoken principles of this blog, though I suppose this would be a good opportunity to announce to you all (since I probably never will if I don't do it now), that I recently started working at a software development company! I know, a far cry from advertising :) but it’s exactly what I want - a laid back, hands-off, creative environment where it doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, as long as you get it done... and done well. Worry not!.. as I'm clearly not going to be the one developing the software (god help us all) but my profession is the same anywhere you go, regardless the industry – there’s always three common goals: keep the client happy, protect the bottom line and increase profitability. Plus, with a fridge full of beer, chocolate covered espresso beans, a Wii console, PlayStation and bean bag chairs, how could I go wrong? (Not that I drink beer, but they have OJ too).

The company is highly virtual, with our American CEO & Founder based in Dublin, Ireland and a good amount of our [web] developers dispersed everywhere between Portland to Pittsburgh and even Paris. HQ is (or rather, soon-to-be “was”) in sunny Santa Barbara, an absolutely majestic pocket of Central California, with mildly warm temperatures year-round, a Mediterranean-like ambiance, and structures covered with red-orange tile roofs - the elemental trademark of a beach town; even the gas stations and McDonalds had tile roofs - how charmingly way-out is that!? I got to fly down this past week to stra-tee-ger-ize and meet a few people from the team. My accommodations were apparently around the corner from the beach, but with so much to cover in two short days, I didn't expect to see much of Santa Barbara.

However, my new and awesome team had something else in mind. After enjoying dinner al fresco (my faaave) (in March!!!) in the courtyard of Argentinian restaurant Cafe Buenos Aires', my unassuming colleagues decided to use me (the newbie) as an excuse to re-live their old college days by taking me out for a night on the town to some of the most renowned watering holes around Santa Barbara's main strip, State Street. We checked out James Joyce, Wildcat Lounge, Elsie's, The Neighborhood Bar, and The Cliff Room among others ;)

Already content with what was accomplished in such little time, I prepared myself for the flight home the next day after another day-long meeting when Francisco Torres* and Tropicana Lily* decided I could not leave Santa Barbara without seeing the beach! Yes, photo opp! How could I say No? En route to the airport, we stopped by their beloved alma mater, University of California Santa Barbara. Situated on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, I learned that UCSB is listed as one of the top schools in the world and considered a "public" ivy league, according to Newsweek. That coupled with some of the highest public university rankings for students to get rich (upon graduation) and one of the few in the U.S. that has its own beach (check out the students surfing after class), I imagine it as paradise, not school. The last stop of my trip was at neighboring college town Isla Vista (and made up my mind that I'm going to name my daughter Isla; not sure how Michael feels about that yet :P but it reminds me of pearly elegant bliss in paradise), which because of its appeal, also happens to be the most densely populated square mile west of the Mississippi. "You know how you watch those movies about crazy college parties?" Francisco Torres says to me, " Well, it's like that here, except 10 times better."

So I didn't get to see Oprah's mansion in Montecito and I didn't have time to wine taste in the surrounding vineyards (though they tell me me it doesn't compare to our Willamette Valley), but I did feel that wonderful nostalgia of my years in Cali as a young kid when I saw the palm trees and smelled the eucalyptus leaves (I use to sit by those trees all the time as a kid, peel off the bark and pretend to build fires when playing house as a 6 year old)! I got to smell the oh-so-sweet Santa Barbara air (barring that skunk/weed smell, which actually could pass as "good" - that's how sweet the air was) and take pictures during "Golden Hour." Most importantly of all though, I got to bond with everyone! I’d been working at home the past week and was starting to feel ever-so slightly isolated, but as we went back to our respective homes in Newport Beach, Seattle and of course Portland, I felt a total sense of camaraderie. Tomorrow, I start work in the office and look forward to showing my compadres what Portland is made of when it's their turn to come visit!

*Names have been changed to protect the guilty :)

O.C.B.T. Part 2 - Plants

I did not inherit my dad's green thumb. Instead, I got my mom's brown thumb. Actually, I really shouldn't blame it on my mom. She might very well be good at caring for plants, but I know for certain that my lack of interest in plants and my under developed artistic skills were from her genes. I've never been interested in digging in the dirt. The only thing I've kept alive longer than a few weeks was my plant Earl in London. But I decided to give gardening a shot after hearing Tram lovingly tell me about a garden she started last year. So a three Sundays ago, when it was unusually sunny and warm, Tram and I headed to Home Depot to hang out in the Gardening section :) I bought a small tray of plant starter pellets along with some seeds including lemon cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

Now I know absolutely nothing about planting or gardening, but these pellets are nifty and great for beginners like me! You fill the tray with a bit of water in late winter, tuck the seeds inside, and a few weeks later when the seedling sprouts in the spring, you transplant them into the soil in your garden!

Now you're suppose to plant each type of seed in a couple of pellets to increase your chances of sprouting just one really strong one to transplant, but I just did two pellets for each seed. Imagine how happy I was all (but my basil starters :/ ) started sprouting!!!

Fast forward three weeks later and look at how big they are today! I love watching them grow. It's really gratifying for some reason, even though I can't yet eat from them.