“Single” Serving of BBQ Chicken Salad

CHEESECAKE FACTORY

Yesterday, Mary, Dad and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a first-time for Dad and myself. Mary was incredulous that we had never been. As we are walking to our table I am marveling at the scale of everything. At first it was the giant columns, then the spaciousness of the restaurant, and then I noticed the plates of food on the tables! and by plates, I mean platters. I’m thinking: If that’s what you eat off of, what do you serve your Thanksgiving turkeys on?!? While we are waiting for our food, my eyes pan the other tables like some slow-motion camera, and I start noticing how big everyone is. It’s like that movie WALL-E has become reality. I read a study somewhere that pointed out that only in America do kids consider the word “supersize” a verb.

Diners

Notice what the blond in the front right corner ordered? Huge plate of broccoli and another huge plate of mashed potatoes. I’ll bet she’s a lot of fun.

SAKE

I recently ran out of soju. It is my newest “signature drink”. I mix equal parts soju, fizzy drink, and yogurt drink. Soju is really popular in Asia, especially among women. It has fewer calories, is considered “natural”, tastes good, and when you add yogurt to it, you can get your probiotics, prevent yeast infections, and get drunk. Anyhow, I just ran out but luckily, I had a back up bottle of pear-flavored sake in the fridge. So yesterday night, I asked Mary if she had any sake cups. Of course, she didn’t. I told her she needed to hand in her “Asian card” tomorrow. You may ask yourself, why don’t I just pour my sake into a regular glass and “supersize”? I don’t know. Somehow, drinking alcohol in thimble-size cups makes me feel less…. “lushie“.  Since Mary didn’t have any bamboo cups for me, I ended up improvising:

It just felt right

Turns out, she had a complete set of 6!

CAMP KIEVE UPDATE

I just received this in my email. I couldn’t believe Chase actually wrote a postcard to us! It brought tears to my eyes. Then I found out from the counselors that the campers “have to produce a letter home, or else they don’t get Sunday lunch.” Regardless, I am so relieved he is “Having a great time.” I check on the “Camper Connection” link on the Camp Kieve website several times a day for updates and photos. Every photo of Chase has him looking like he’s being tortured:

“Having-a-Great-Time Face”

Mary and I also noticed a lot of white, blonde boys. Camp Kieve is starting to look a lot like Junior Third Reich Camp. I am imagining camp activities like:

• Survivor
• Escape to Freedom
• Will Work for Food
• Asian POW Tag
• Burn the Cross
• Nuke the Gook

* The first 3 are actual camp game names

Oh well, nothing I can do now!

Until next time…