How was the dentist?

Well, when I walked in, they were playing Frank Sinatra/Bobby Darin/etc type music, and instead of a clipboard they put the paperwork I needed to fill out into a pleather portfolio on cushy couches and recliners. They had a water tank with mugs and teas, but I don't like to put anything in my mouth until after a dentist appointment- that's why I always always do them before lunch.  Before I went into actual work area from the waiting lounge, the receptionist also used a webcam to take a photo of me for their records.

The x-rays were next- I felt a bit like a little kid as the woman kept saying "good job" and "there you go" as let her put the protective jackets on and then opened and bit down on command. They had a little rack with rainbow colors to hold my purse during this, and a little bowl to put my earrings. The ceiling has fluorescent lights like any other office, but had covers with blue skies and fluffy white clouds on top of them so that each rectangle looked like a skylight instead. The light by me even had dragonflies lined up on a string hanging down from the ceiling to the floor, and the corner where the woman got the protective covering for me during the x-rays was behind one of those curtains you often see in Japanese restaurants that only hang partway down from a doorway… except the pattern of this one was just plain blue, with one rabbit on it.

After the x-rays, she asked whether I wanted relaxing, rejuvenating, or purifying toner (I choose the later) which I rubbed into my hands, and then dipped into a paraffin treatment. It was nice, but at the same time I had my hands in plastic bags that were then covered by silk bags my entire appointment… I felt a bit helpless in the chair, ha ha. Since this wasn't a cleaning, just an initial consultation with the dentist, I didn't sit in the hygenist chairs which are apparently massage chairs. While I waited for my dentist, she put just a drop of arometherapy oils on my temples, and asked what music I wanted to hear from their iShuffle menus- jazz, classical, indie rock… and more, but I don't recall them all. I also got sunglasses so my eyes wouldn't get blinded by the dentist light, how clever! At the end after removing the paraffin and using a warm washcloth on my hands, I also got to choose from a large menu of lipglosses- I ended up with Hershey Chocolate.

The funniest thing for me though was the fact that everyone single person working in the office had an earpiece… when I was done talking to the dentist, I actually heard him walk away and into the microphone say "#4 is ready for checkout".

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Chinese for me, Chinese for you…

I really wanted some Chinese food, so on the way home from work I stopped at Jin Wah. I had smelled it a few times, since it is located in this mall by the Beaverton Transit Center that my train goes by every day, and there happens to be a Petco also here so I had stopped there for a scratching post and this time needed a cat food refill. This third time, I couldn’t resist.

I was quite pleased that the food here was fast and delicious. They had a huge menu- sort of the equivalent of a small book here like you would get at the big restaurants in Chicago’s Chinatown, but in a place the size of the hole in the walls places like Seven Treasures is, although it does have a nicer feel (closer to the bigger Three Happiness). Besides that initial book, there was also a second menu that just had pictures (similar to what Joy Yee’s does in Chicago, but not with photos of all the dishes), I guess in case you have no idea what Chinese sausage fried rice looks like and such?

I came in thinking about chow fuun, but since my tastebuds perked up at the thought of chinese sausage, I ordered that instead…and it was pretty dang good! The veggies I also ordered, which were morning glory stir fried with garlic, was a bit on the oily side and less flavorful, but the fried rice made up for it. It is bizarre that I am raving about the fried rice, but it wasn’t the normal greasy chinese fried rice with hard rice kernals or in a puddle of oil that you would normally expect, it was fluffy and not too greasy given that there are chinese sausages punctuating the dish. The portion was huge, and I still ate that whole thing up on my own!

As I mentioned, the menu is extensive, so there is a a lot of variety to choose from. Seriously. I took a copy of the take out menu so I can order carry-out on the way home in the future, and I can count more than 200 different items on their take-out menu, and I know I saw more in the restaurant, not to mention they also have a specials board.  Although I was really wondering if I made the right choice when I first walked in and saw Thai and Vietnamese dishes alongside the Chinese, and the fact that underneath the English translation of the Chinese symbols was the dish in Vietnamese…

I was comforted to actually see other Asians in the place though, the way the wait staff is dressed reminds me of the outfits at Three Little Happiness back in the 80s (and they have the same stand-offish but efficient serving style), and as I scanned the menu I immediately saw items like jellyfish and home style chicken feet in appetizers, hong kong style pork spareribs, seafood bird nest, sea cucumber with duck feet clay pot, goose intestine with black bean sauce, 15 kinds of egg noodle soup, congee, and fried chinese bread, so I forgave the entries of pad thai and the pho and bun sections. This place has got to be authentic Asian. Yeah, I am totally going back.

The prices are very reasonable, and the restaurant is pretty large to accomodate a lot of customers. It’s not a trendy or even necessarily a nice looking establishment- it’s what you would expect to see in a strip mall- but sometimes, these strip malls hide yummy treasures, and really, I admit I have always have given a wide berth to Chinese restaurants after what I’ve seen in Chicago’s Chinatown and in China.

When I got home, I decided to treat Mew and Lobo to Chinese food too. Sadly, only Lobo was interested.

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Moon fall

On Fridays, I have an 8am meeting which I inherited. This past Friday was the first time I got to run it after the recent events. Because it's at 8am, it's the one day a week I allow myself to get a grande white mocha from the Starbucks on the work campus if I can get there in time for it. Yesterday, as I was heading down to the Max stop so I can get to the Starbucks and my meeting, the full moon was spectacular. The first two pictures are as I was walking along the 26/Sunset Highway where it goes into the tunnel through the west hills that emerges out west where Beaverton lies, and the last three pictures are when I was walking to the campus from the Max stop after arriving in Beaverton.

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Autumn

It's turning out to be a beautiful autumn.

I've been accumulating photos here or there from my way to work and back.

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Portland’s Fareless Square

I am *trying* to balance this blog by talking about Portland the city and other things (anything…) besides food once in a while. These photos I've actually been meaning to post for a while: I took them the week I was meeting F for lunch while I was waiting for UPS boxes to arrive and I had not started work yet.

Portland has taken an interesting strategy to decreasing the congestion in the downtown area of the city. For more than 30 years, they have let the people ride for free on the various public transportation options (bus, light rail, and streetcar), any time of day (not just certain hours). The area is designated "Fareless Square" and includes not only the downtown area proper where you find various corporate and government offices and hotels, but also the Amtrak and Greyhound stations, convention center, a large shopping mall, and a indoor sports/concert arena. No, the area is not really a square at all, but it has a nicer ring than "Fareless Area". Actually, I think the area looks a bit like a rabbit foot, including the chain.

There is an actual area that is a square that in my mind at least, I see as the middle of the city, even though actually it should be the street intersection of Burnside and the river that is the true center. But it's sort of inconvenient to have an intersection be the heart of a city, so instead it is an area called Pioneer Courthouse Square. It is a big public space that I often see people gather just to eat lunch, watch movies in the summer, or attend political demonstrations, or see the city christmas tree. I used to really dislike this area when I was a visitor because this is where you can most often see the bums of the city.

Unlike the homeless in Chicago who generally have psychological problems of some sort, the bums in Portland are lazy youth between high school and their 30s who don't work and instead sit around with cardboard signs asking for money. Sadly, they eek out an ok existance this way: Portland's people are very mother earth-loving, including wrapping their uneaten leftovers and placing them on top of garbage cans for others to enjoy. Recyclable materials, such as metal, aluminum, and glass can actually make people money as well at recycling centers, so on one hand, recycling programs are successful here, but on the other hand, meth heads steal pipes, air conditioners, and plaques off of buildings and graves.

More recently though since I have been able to pass through Pioneer Square a few times (ok, a few times I was also lost wandering around for landmarks without remembering what the address was), I have gained appreciation for a lot of the art displayed in and around the square too. One art work that I always mean to see in action but keep missing is the Weather Machine. As per Wikipedia's concise description of the Weather Machine: 

"Another public art installation, the Weather Machine, consists of a tall metal column topped with a large silver-colored orb. At noon each day, the following day's weather is announced with a fanfare of trumpets, flashing lights, and a spray of mist. The orb opens to reveal one of the following:

  • a golden sun, for a clear day;
  • a great blue heron, to forecast a rainy day;
  • an open-mouthed dragon, when storms are forecast.

Light bulbs on the side of the machine are reminiscent of a mercury thermometer and light up progressively as the temperature increases."

The other artwork/public works installation I really like are the fountains. There actually is a two hour walking tour of the various fountains you can take. On one hand, the fountains are pretty cool public works because they were built with the intent to encourage more water drinking and less drinking in saloons (you actually shouldn't drink the water in the decorative fountains now: they have real water fountains on the sidewalk for that). On the other hand, the variety of fountains built in Portland also bring some great art among all the buildings in Portland's City Center. I took some pictures of one of the twelve fountains: the "Animal In Pools" Fountain just one block from the Pioneer Courthouse. I've always liked these fountains eternally paddling ducks, upright otters that can't seem to believe what they see when they look at you, mama bear fishing for her two cubs with chubby butts, and earnest beavers.

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Despite that sorta complaint/rant from me about how the granola earthy aspect of Portland is abused by some, the fountains are a reminder of some of the artsy quirkness of Portland that give the city a whimsical personality.

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