Jacob vs. Cupcake

A very happy first birthday to my little boy Jacob

Anniversary Pie & Dinner at T.W. Food

So what you have here is a low-quality picture of the remnants of our "anniversary apple pie" T picked up in celebration our four years of marriage. We both love pie and she similarly picked up a "birthday pie" back in April for me as well (Sorry cake, I'm just not that into you). What can I say, I have an amazing wife!

Luckily, we were able to have a belated anniversary dinner less than a week later, where we left Jacob with a babysitter for the first time ever. It turned out great, and I'm happy to safe we have an option when we want to go out on a date in the future!

Back to the anniversary dinner: I made a reservation at T.W. Food (377 Walden St., Cambridge, MA), a restaurant I've been wanting to check out for awhile. Although restaurant outings have been non-exisitent since the baby came along, the Mrs. and I really enjoy tasting menus, especially for our inaugural visit to a restaurant, where we really get a better idea of the chef's culinary POV. Here's the menu:

Here are the highlights:

• First off, the tasting menu had a great variety of unique flavors, each course left us eagerly awaiting the next
• Some very creative offerings here. T was really impressed with the borscht and how well the salmon roe and bacon served as bursts of flavor in the soup. This is coming from a person who doesn't like cold soups.
• I thoroughly enjoyed the creme brûlée foie gras which came with some delicious toasted brioche. You had to crack the top of the creme brûlée, just like the dessert version!
• The surf & turf had the best scallop T has every tasted. We were both a bit puzzled by how the sauerkraut fit in...but we finished every last bit on the plate.
• Early grey is probably my favorite tea (shout out to all the Next Generation fans out there) and in parfait form, it was a light, refreshing way to finish our meal!

I've also heard good things about the brunch at T.W. Food, and can't wait for our next chance to visit!

Chairman...approves!

Getting back into video games

Since marriage, I've played way more board games than video games. Since the baby was born, I've played a whole lot of...nothing. With the little guy not needing a feeding every hour, T and I have had more time to watch TV and relax a bit in the evenings, and while we do try and get out of the house on weekends, we rarely plan anything during the actual week.

So it should be no surprise I was bitten by the video game bug after hearing some great recommendations on The Indoor Kids podcast (a recent find) and realized this was something I could definitely fit in on quieter evenings. so the research commenced, I downloaded some new games on my iPad, I located, dusted off, and charged my Nintendo DS, and was ready to dive back into my long dormant hobby.

Here's what stuck:

I installed and enjoying League of Legends, a popular computer game in a genre I had heard a lot about, but had no first hand knowledge of. Although it has a steep learning curve, with the help of some experienced friends, and even some friends to play with, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. If you play or decide to try it out, feel free to add me as a friend at "IamBluesteel".

Also, I'll be sure to share what other games that really stick out, and it'll probably be a mixed bag of casual games, like Candy Crush, which I have a love/hate relationship with, and more substantial games like the aforementioned League of Legends.

Speechless

Ok, finding the time to blog as a new Dad has been quite the challenge, and it was a pretty lofty goal when I thought I could set out to make regular posts since there's a biiiiiit of a learning curve in this whole taking-care-of-a-little-life business, but I will try when I can.

I'm happy to share that we have been able to make it back to church for two weeks now with Jacob in tow. Unfortunately, I've only been able to participate in said-services for only a small fraction of the time, but hey, its progress, and I'll take what I can get. In general, we are learning what we need to bring and what we need to do when bringing the little guy out, namely, bring more diapers than we think we need, and multiple changes of clothes for the baby.

Along with that, I am relearning how to interact with other adults. Now at work its pretty easy since you have a framework already set up, whether its talking about TPS reports or engaging in light chit chat (by which I mean talking about The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Community, etc.), but when faced with questions a bit more opened ended like "How have you been?" or "How is being a new parent?" this has been my response...

...but hey, its not that I don't appreciate human interaction, I'm just not the most thrilling conversationalist at this point and time, so thank you in advance for your understanding.

April Update

Just a quick check-in as I relearn how to construct sentences:

• Welcomed my son Jacob into the world on April 1st at 11:15am! Many future blog posts to feature the little guy, who is healthy and doing the things a newborn should do...namely eat, sleep, and poop...sometimes all at once.
• Recovery for the wife has been more challenging, but we've been seeing improvement each week. Overwhelmed by the love, help, and support we've received from friends and family.
• Boston Marathon bombings: in short, it was shocking but just incredible to see the city (especially the police) rally together for a single purpose.
• My Mom is with us for two weeks and has been a huge blessing...and our place has never been so clean and well stocked with food.
• Survived my first week back to the office, which wouldn't have been possible without the bullet above.

Thank you and good night...

Preparations

An adorable hat the Mrs. knit this weekend

Once it felt like Baby Hsieh's due date would never come, that it was months and months away...and now, with roughly a month to go,  I find myself physically and mentally scrambling to get ready for the his arrival! Granted, I'm not expecting to truly feel 100% "ready" before his arrival, but there are a few tasks that I'd really like to wrap up in the next few weekends:

• Purchase the crib and dresser/changing table at IKEA
• Assemble said crib and dresser
• Purchase the stroller
• Install the car seat

A few of these tasks requires me asking for help, which I seriously struggle with, but something I know I will need to be doing more in the near future. Blame it on a combination of stubbornness and macho/delusional pride.

It also seems like the remaining weekends are going to fly by. A quick glance at the calendar reveals daylight savings time coming up (the bad one where we lose an hour), and in two weekends I'm expecting a wonderful visit from my sister and cousins, who are making the trek from New York to visit us up in Boston...on St. Patrick's Day weekend (an unplanned coincidence). Following that, we've got Palm Sunday and Easter, which I look forward to every year as time of celebration and gratitude. After that, there may be a sliiight decrease in the frequency of blog posts ;)

I'm alive!

Happy Valentine's Day readers! I just got wrapped up my busiest season of work, a five day postgraduate course we put on annually the first full week of February. This usually means a very busy, rapid-paced January, but everything shaped up in the end, despite a big 'ol blizzard hitting Boston on the last day of the course.

Anyhow, that explains the lack of posts in in January, I should be posting more regularly in the coming weeks, but in the mean time, I leave you with the following song that's been stuck in my head since the weekend:


Can't wait for the new album to drop in March!

Song of encouragement: "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

I faced the unenviable task of choosing songs for worship this past Sunday morning that would compliment the theme of "Joy" for our Advent series, a task complicated by those in our congregation (and our nation as a whole) still in shock and grieving for all those affected by the tragedy in Newtown, CT. In my head, I knew that the level of participation of the congregants would run from "I'll sing anything that's put on the screen" to "I want to smash that guitar over your head for forcing me to sing these happy sounding songs when I'm anything but..." and everything in between.

I struggled to find an appropriate response song that would both point to the Lord to be our Comforter and Keeper in our time of confusion and need, as well as touch up what is the heart of this season of Advent: the expectation and preparation for Jesus' coming, and stumbled upon the hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus:

   

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

An extended taste of the Bay Area

Blog entries haven't come as easy since I've been playing "catch up" with life after being stuck for an extra five days in San Francisco unexpectedly thanks to super storm Sandy. Luckily for us, one of T's close high school friends was kind enough to host us for all but one of our extra days and was an extremely gracious hostess!

We made the most of the trip and got to explore the city and some of the surrounding area during our forced vacation. The weather was gorgeous as well: mid 50's and a little foggy in the morning, but sunny and 70 degrees by noon! This really redeems my last few trips to SF, where I had to drive in an unfamiliar city amidst pouring rain.

Ok, now the part you probably are waiting for: the food. Amongst all the delicious things we ate, we really enjoyed the wealth of coffee options in the Bay Area:

Pour over from "Jane," near our hotel in Japan town.

A cute siphon pot from Blue Bottle Coffee

The Mrs. enjoying some coffee from Philz

Philz Coffee in particular won us over, seeing as how we visited the local chain three times. I brought home a pound of their Tessora beans, and with my trusty french press, have been able to recapture a bit of that coffee heaven at home.

Now onto the food: here's a quick bullet list of highlights of the some of the restaurants we hit up:

Obligatory In-N-Out visit

• O-Toro Sushi - super fresh
• Mission Chinese Food - spicy and full-flavored Chinese food. This is the original, and I heard they opened one in NYC as well.
• Koi Palace - delicious dim sum
• Bi-Rite Creamery - really enjoyed the salted caramel ice cream
• Golden Gate Bakery - for their egg tart
• In-N-Out - double-double animal style, check!
• R&G Lounge - repeat these words after me: "salt and pepper crab"

"Eat me, I'm delicious!"

All in all, it was a really great trip, but the next time I visit the Bay Area, we will hopefully have the opportunity to plan (and pack) accordingly!

I love New England in the Fall

I was fortunate enough to have Columbus Day off this past weekend and the timing of the long weekend was perfect as I really needed sometime to recharge the 'ol batteries. While a relaxing weekend, the Mrs. and I were able to partake in the great New England Fall tradition of apple picking. Besides getting a huge bagful of apples from Bolton Spring Farm, we were recommended this tasty treat:

Pulled pork over a cider donut! This photo stirred quite a reaction when I initially posted it on Facebook :) While a bit sweet for my tastes, it was a clever pairing and also prompted me to buy a half dozen cider donuts for the ride.

I also have to plug the movie Looper which I saw Monday at the Somerville Theater. I was blown away with their prices: $6 for any movie before 6PM! I am definitely catching more movies here in the future.

Anyhow, I'm terrible at movie reviews, but I have to say it is one of my favorites of the year. Dealing with a plot that includes time travel can often be headache-inducing, however the way Looper handles the plot device is both clever and tongue-in-cheek, encouraging viewers to not think about it too much and just enjoy the ride. On top of a great story, the movie is also beautifully shot and I think you get some great performances from the entire cast, both major and minor characters. Bottom line: Looper is a smart sci-fi film that is definitely worth checking out.

Lastly, it's almost time for Halloween, and I stumbled upon these lovelies:

If any old school Transformers is willing to shell out $60 for these hoodies, then you too can play out your Optimus Prime or Grimlock fantasies this Halloween.

Taiwan Through Pictures: Part 2

For the first part of this post, check out Taiwan Through Pictures: Part 1.

Wow, it's been 5 months since my trip to Taiwan. That will teach me to wait too long to post about my trips in the future! Unfortunately my memory is getting fuzzier and fuzzier, but hey, that's what pictures are for!

The favorite stop on the trip for both me and T was Sun Moon Lake. A lot of natural beauty here, although it rained the hardest on our way to the lake. This is how I found out my jacket that I packed for the trip was water resistant, as opposed to waterPROOF. You live and you learn. But the thunderstorm finally broke over night, lending us the beautiful view form our hotel room above.

We had the opportunity to visit a Hakka village, enjoy their cuisine, and even make some Hakka tea, which was a mix of green tea powder, black sesame, white sesame, puffed rice, and a couple of items I can't quite remember (in the baggie has either pine nuts or peanuts). Suffice to say, it was all very tasty.

At one of the rest stops, there was signage for one of my favorite Taiwanese soft drinks, Apple Sidra, a caramel-colored apple soda. My other favorite is Hey Song Sarsaparilla, which I guess is like a more medicine-y tasting root beer. Perhaps more of an acquired taste, T is unfortunately not a fan.

For the rest of this post, I will merely share the rest of my pictures, with the occasional caption. This will hopefully teach me the importance of writing things to down during or shortly after my future trips.

Outside the Beitou Hot Spring Museum

Best. Pork. Ever.

We had some delicious mango and strawberry snow from this place, but not as much fun as posing with their mascot.

While I don't know when our next trip will be to Taiwan, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to go with my family, and to show my wife a bit of the motherland!

Fancy feet

I've posted before about my love of sneakers and footwear in general. For the past year or so, I've been wanting to upgrade my business/formal footwear. In my research, I came across the popular American brand Allen Edmonds who have a great reputation for quality shoes in classic styles. However, the biggest hurdle was the price point for a pair of these classy shoes...that is, until I came across Nordstrom's big annual sale in their men's department a few weeks ago. With free shipping and returns, I had to bite on these:

 

Say hello to my first pair of Allen Edmonds' Clifton oxfords in Walnut.  The walnut is slightly lighter in person (which is fine by me), and I really like the conservative brogue detailing (the decorative "dots") which makes them more interesting than your standard brown shoe, but not too crazy for a more formal occasion if necessary. I'll post later on how well these break-in over time, but I'm happy to report that my collection of shoes have now done a little growing up.

Reflections from MLK Weekend

Here's an old post that I drafted up back in January, but thought it was a nice road marker for what was on my mind at the time that I felt I should clean it up and post it:

Back in January, my wife and I drove down to NY for an early birthday dinner for my father over the MLK holiday weekend. Three-day weekends tend to make for less hectic visits to my family. Reflecting on the weekend, I've come to realize that I've inherited the love language of Quality Time from both of my parents, meaning that it doesn't matter so much as to what we do or where we go, but rather the intentionality of setting time aside for one another is most readily received.

 

Something else I have to mention, in light of the trip, is my dislike of driving. In driving, I have a drastic decrease in patience and a greater probability for using "salty" language. Some of this may resonate with you out there as these are pitfalls for those who suffer from road rage. However, I'm pleased to share that this trip's car experience was not just tolerable, but almost...pleasant. What made this drive different than the rest you ask? Two things really:

• First, the 3.5-4 hour drive is a great time to really talk to my wife about things both serious, as well as silly. What happens at work typically stays in the office, but for my wife who's a teacher, there's always an abundance of things to work on at home: grade papers, plan lessons, etc. There was an incident leading up to the trip where an email exchange between us seemed the best way to take care of time-sensitive matters, which just seemed so sad since we live under the same roof and don't travel for work! Again, it's that Quality Time-thing showing up again.
• Second, NPR. Something about a long drive and talk radio that goes like peanut butter and jelly and we were treated to a great piece showcasing a bit of history on MLK Jr. in honor of his birthday.

Learn How to Stand in a Line (aka the Boston Food Truck Festival)

The evolution of the food truck has been quite an interesting journey. What was once a cheap, convenient (and questionably clean) lunch option, has transformed into a smart, tech-savvy, gourmet enterprise. While I have an access to a handful of rotating food trucks in Boston's Chinatown, the Boston Food Truck Festival at UMass Boston this past Sunday seemed like an efficient way to try more than 20 different local food trucks. Here are some quick thoughts from the event:

• It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day, however standing in long lines with no coverage led to some members of our group to get sunburn.
  

Crazy Line courtesy of Scribble Kitchen

• Patience is a virtue at these kinds of events. The lines we waited on rivaled that of the most popular roller coaster at an amusement park...which for me happens to be the Batman ride at Six Flags. While we did not do it this time, I highly recommend the VIP tickets that get you in an hour before the event opens to the general public.

Photo courtesy of Scribble Kitchen

• The food was decent, but nothing particularly wowed me. I was generally pleased with what The Chicken and Rice Guys have to offer. I love the original halal food truck from NY, and I would consider visiting this food truck in the future. In the picture above you'll see what they were giving out, a choice of chicken, lamb sausage, or combo. I would go chicken as the lamb sausage is inferior to the ground seasoned lamb that many folks might be expecting based on the original truck. To the right of the rice box is a slider (either pulled chicken or pork) from BBQsmith, which my friend Juan had. Props to him for sharing his pictures with me, be sure to check out his blog Scribble Kitchen.
  

Rainbow Slushie courtesy of Scribble Kitchen

• The watermelon/lemon rainbow Italian ice was the perfect finish for the afternoon.

Memorial Day Hike

This past Memorial Day weekend, in a continued effort to try new things and expand our activities as a couple, the Mrs. and I went for a short hike at Middlesex Fells Reservation. While I enjoy being outside in nice weather, I've never really been a "hiking" sort of guy, but this hike had a few things going for me:

• The weather was fantastic! Sunny but not too hot.
• I suggested the hike on Monday morning, which net my occasional need to do something spontaneous.
• T was kind enough to take a look at the Reservation map and choose a trail for us. My wife really knows me and chose something not too long for our first outing, that also had patches of shade. I get hot very easily, which if extended to a lengthy period of time usually leads to grumpiness.
• The site was only a 15 minute drive away from our home.
• Parking was easy.
• With driving time, the whole thing took 2 hours and we were back home in time for a late lunch and to work on somethings at home!

Our destination for the hike: Bear Hill Tower

So I'm happy to report that the hike was a big success and I actually look forward to our next hike. It was a great time to get unplugged from our daily grind and to really enjoy quality time with my wife. While I was prepared with a light back pack, I don't think my old pair of sneakers will really cut it if this becomes a regular thing. I would love to hear any recommendations on footwear for this hiking newbie!

Taiwan Through Pictures: Part 1

Back in April, I had the pleasure of taking a vacation to my ancestral home of Taiwan along with my wife, sister, and mom. We traveled primarily in a tour group, which was a great way to maximize the sights (and eats) on a trip that was just barely over a week. Here now are some pictures from that trip:

We ate at the Din Tai Fung in Taipei both at the beginning of the trip, as well as at the end, and my God, they really were the best xiao long bao (soup dumplings) I've ever had.

The Mrs. picked up a little charm of Din Tai Fung's mascot.

Taiwanese people love fruit! We came right in time for lembu seaso, also known as wax apple or mountain apple. Bear in mind that other than color, this tropical fruit shares nothing in common with the common American apple, but instead has a very light, airy, Styrofoam-like texture, and has a very light, sweet flavor.

Mangoes unfortunately were NOT in season, but this farm stand that our bus stopped by on the way from Kaioshung to Kenting had some large mangoes for sale.

Banyan trees are everywhere we went.

We also got to ride both the bullet train, as well as the classic train.

This is a picture of the wonderful wooden bowl that acted as a container to our delicious lunchbox, modeled after the offerings train riders would order back in the day.

Here we have a smoked chicken leg, that was light but flavorful. You'll also notice the wonderful variety of flavors and textures along with the chicken: a slice of Taiwanese sausage, veggies, corn, and diced bean curd, all on top of a bed of rice.

The wife and I also came across some very interesting restroom signs at this train station...

...which were strangely similar to abstract art.

Saltiness and shawarma

Since returning from Taiwan, a few things have changed in the area of food:

• Everything tastes too freaking salty! I mostly blame the light (but delicious) seasoning of the food in Taiwan. A meatball sub I had this past week for lunch left my mouth feeling like the Sahara. Bleh!
• I've had a lot of noodle soups and rice porridge, mostly because I've been struggling with a cold for nearly two weeks now.
• Before my trip, I was set on blacklisting a few things from my diet upon returning from vacation, and while the list may grow, it currently includes soda (club soda is OK), artificial sweeteners, and fast food (with the exception of desperate moments like at an airport or on a road trip).
• I haven't been cooking too much in 2012 other than a few staples that my wife and I enjoy, but I was really inspired to take up the spatula again when I caught my first episode of American's Test Kitchen. The episode featured a very tasty looking recipe for spaghetti and meatballs which I'm dying to try. 
• Just barely related, but The Avengers movie has boosted sales of shawarma! This is shawarma in case you were wondering:

Back from Taiwan, initial thoughts

• Traveling with Signet Tours was a wonderful way to see Taiwan. The accommodations chosen were top notch and there was no emphasis on shopping or vendor partnerships, which can make a lot of decent tours seem tacky. Definitely recommended, but note that it is for Mandarin speakers.
• The food was so light and not overly seasoned, even when we had fried foods. I didn't really miss the normal fare we normally have in the States, though this may only be the case with a week-long trip.
• I realize that I'm overly cautious and risk-averse. I need to take more chances and say "Yes" to new experiences and opportunities
• Everyone, family or just random sales people, were very emphatic that I learn Mandarin. Might be worth looking into :P