King Crab Dinner II: The Return of the Hungry Dude

What a feast that was. King Crab never disappoints me. And I also did my part diligently, as a diner.

This time there were five of us. Janice and TT couldn't make it, thank God. Well, when the size of the crab is fixed, you really don't want to share it with a whole lot of people. It's like the bloody triple constraints they taught you at PM 101: Time, Cost, and Scope. When one or two is fixed, the other one(s) will have to give.. to achieve equilibrium. Just kidding, they were just too busy.

We were hoping to get a 12-14 pounder, but the 'biggest' one they got was only 9.2 lbs. I guess it's closer to the season end and they'll just be getting smaller and smaller until next year. Well, that was only a little hiccup, and the fact that we have 2 fewer people in the table made up for it.

Anyway, the first course was the usual steamed crab legs with chopped garlic and oil. It was fantastic... without bothering to find a better word. Second course was a little adventurous for me. It was 'bay fone tong' style.. a little hot and spicy, but dried, with garlic and chilli pepper. It was ... also fantastic. Tasted like the deep fried one we tried last time, but only better.. coz of the chilli flavor that creates a contrasting flavor with the sweetness of the meat.

As we are chinese, we didn't order any wine. But a white wine or a cold beer would just make this perfecto.

Hail to King Crab!

Round Table Pizza

Charleston is coming for dinner tonight. I ordered the best pizza from a nearby place. I think he will like it. Round Table Pizza is located at Garden City and Blundell; it's very close to our home.

We usually ordered the Everything Special, and the Hawaiian Special. Wife wanted to try other pizzas, so Chicken Special also came to mind... but at the end, we still picked the same kinds.

Thinly crusted with lots of toppings and grilled cheese, these pizzas have got flavorous taste and smell. Pizzalicious!

April Snow

It's mid April already and we've just got snow last night. This year's winter has been a long chilling one - not too cold, but temperature has been around 5-9 degrees for months. It's a bit unusual for Vancouver.

I can imagine condition is even worse on the higher grounds. Colleagues living in Coquitlam and the north shore has been working hard with their shovels this year. My move to Richmond was not a bad idea after all.

How long will this last?

Promotion Nomination

Months ago when I noticed her performance and potentials, I started to set the stage for this. I am quite impressed with her versatility, attitude, and personality. And I believe I can help her excel. After all, I was once a subordinate and I knew the difference a manager can make.

I tried to raise her profile by engaging her with more meetings with senior management and external parties. It's a partnership. It will only work if she is willing and can in fact perform. She didn't let me down.

Writing recommendation is not as easy as writing blogs. I've put in a lot of effort trying to polish the write up. Knowing what the readers are looking for is key. Emphasis strength, and present the need is also important. Coz after all it's all about business case. I think I did pretty good on that.

Another hurdle is the panel review, which was done today. A panel of managers would review the nominees together to see if they are all okay with the promotions. I am prepared to fight the battle and had thought of numerous justifications to support her.

Surprisingly, it was easier than I expected. Not only were there no objections, my senior manager actually gave some good comments too. No blood was shed. And the important thing was that my effort was well spent.

Flogging

Have been spending a fair amount of time yesterday and today fixing up my facebook and blogs. Interestingly, the last time I was similarly addicted was when I joined fb last summer.

First, the cleanup. I have removed all uninteresting applications from fb... my pet is now back to SPCA, no more Stephen Chow movie quizzes or personality tests, sayonara to web sudoku, unquote Confucius quotes, last call to the pub, and fantasy stock exchange closing bell is now rung for real.

Then, adding the face to the book. haha... not literally coz it would be rather scary. I meant personality. Although the apps do, in some way, express a bit of one's personality, they will never speak one's mind as truthfully as blogs do. It's like the classic buy vs build argument in IT. Sorry, my geeky side is talking again.

I'm quite happy with how my fb and blogs look now. It's time to concentrate on writing the 150 topics I drafted so far... Stay tuned.

Ceramic Spheres

The first time I paid any attention to ceramic balls was when I was watching one of Kelly's shows on tv. She uses one to set the color theme of a living room. That's the first time I know ceramic balls don't always belong to glass display cabinets or used as golf balls but can also be used as decor.

Since then, I've been trying to get one for our home. I haven't really done any extensive search yet... just went to a few shops and only able to find a few from Art Knapp so far.

The other day, my wife caught a glimpse of a couple of cool ceramic balls with contemporary patterns as she watches a hk tv programme. I've been no luck finding anything like those even online. That's unusual for me, as I normally could nail down anything using a search engine in no time.

Anyway, if anyone is reading this now, you know what I want for Christmas.

Lunch with Mike and Cora

The three of us have 'regular' lunch together every now and then. We went to a Vietnamese place near work today.

I was kind of hungry, didn't order the usual beef noodle soup, but a pork chop rice dish.

Gossiping has always been the main theme in these lunches. And today, we talked about the downsizing of our business unit... and a potential organizational change in my team. Mike was a good friend of the top guy in that business unit, and he made sure I was taken good care of by saying a few good words for me. I'm indeed grateful.

Frankly, I am not too worried about the possible shake up of the management... change is inevitable in this dynamic economy. That's life. I think I am well equipped and have the connections and capabilities to only go up then down at this point.

I'm quite exited to see these changes coming... I think any change will only be a good thing for me. It's the survival of the fittest. And I will survive.

Lunch was good, pork chop was well charred. Great flavor, just the way I expected and liked.

Babysitting Brandon and Matthew

I went to my sis's place after work to help babysit my two little nephews. It's too much for my sis to handle especially when my brother-in-law is away on business trip.

Brandon was yelling 'Uncle's car!' when he saw my silver Passat approaching the front of their house. He's always been cute. He came to greet me at the door and I irresistibly gave him a hug; something I longed for... and lightly pinching his soft cheeks.

I got along quite well with Brandon although we don't meet as often as I'd like. We do have some remembrance and some special bond. He showed me around his new play area in the basement. It was my pleasure.

Matthew is only 1 year old, too young to recognize me as a friendly character... he let out a little cry, turned away from me, and hid in her mom's arms when he saw me. I could see Brandon's smirk on his face at this point. It's funny.

After a little while to get acquainted, we all got along and played and ate together. I fed Brandon with my plate of noodle dish sis cooked. He just wouldn't eat from his own plate. He liked my service. I quite enjoyed feeding him, actually. It's a gesture of trust and it's all about bonding again.

When I was about to leave at 8pm, Brandon demanded that he followed me home. haha... I'd love to... but I think he's still a little too young at age 3 to be away from his parents.. even for a day.

Brandon, I look forward to have you to stay over one day.

King Crab Dinner

I had a wonderful king crab dinner last night with wife and friends. It's the first this year, third in my life.

It was the same restaurant we went when we had king crab with wife's aunt and uncle last year. Empire Seafood in Richmond is the place. Instead of ordering the crab by itself, we picked the dinner set for 6, which has 2 courses of the gianormous creature, 2 courses of peking duck, saute mixed mushrooms, savory chicken, noodle sauted in crab broth, soup, and red bean soup for desert.

As a first time blogger, I forgot to capture these wonder dishes in photos. But believe me they were lovely. The first king crab course was steamed crab legs in chopped garlic and oil. One can really tastes the sweetness of the meat. Second course was my favorite. Deep fried king crab with ground pepper and salt. Golden outside, white inside. The flesh are more chunky and firm than the steamed dish.

Yum yum. I look forward to having another one again soon.

Blackberry

I've been using blackberry for a few months now and am getting to like it more each day.

Couple years ago when I joined the company, I had the option to get a blackberry. Rights come duties and the appeal of having one is undermined by the fear of constant reminder of work. I was the only manager without a blackberry for the longest time.

As time passes there's more 'opportunities' for early morning or late night teleconference. Having one not only means I can get instant access to emails and long distance phone service, but also allow me to stay on top of things and ahead of the game. I finally submitted to it.

Now, I use in everywhere: at home, in office, in the car, on the road, and at any time of the day. I even use it when I'm having my hair dressed now. Thanks RIMM.

Teamwork

Yesterday was the deadline for setting goals for this year. I spent some time preparing these for my staff the night before. One of the things that I put in this year was the focus on team work.

Team work is critical to achieve team success. I laid down the set of guiding principles in such areas as team integrity and credibility, knowledge sharing, respect for others, openness to criticism, conflict management, and team bonding.

Sometimes it's easier said than done, but I believe these rules would reinforce the team to all work toward a common goal individually and collectively. Now that by itself is team work already.

All I hope is the team won't take these for granted but really spend time to think about why I put them in their goals in the first place.