Grub and Grind

We had lunch today with Mr. Monkey's family at Issen Joki (333 S. Alameda Street, Los Angeles), otherwise dubbed "The Old Lady Place" by Mr. Monkey's brother and sister-in-law.

It is mediocre food at best, and the Old Lady is really stingy about air conditioning, so I was a damn sweaty mess the whole meal. Among the dishes we had were the tonkatsu lunch special advertised above, agedashi tofu, grilled squid, and natto (blech).

It must be noted that the original destination was Curry House, of which I tire, as many of you know, and to which Mr. Monkey's family wants to go over and over again. Being the ever-so-gallant man that he is, Mr. Monkey requested that we head to another restaurant, but that restaurant was closed, so we ended up at Issen Joki.

Alas.

I do love him so for trying. He is a wonderful Mr. Monkey.

Little Monkey Niece was very bubbly today. Unprompted, she cried out to Mr. Monkey, "I like your glasses!" She also rubbed my toenails and said, "Pink! I like it!" It seems that her new favorite pastime is announcing very loudly what she likes.

After Issen Joki, we headed downstairs to sweet treats.

For the first time at my new job, I went to work on the weekend. It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to get into my building. It's like a total lockdown at my company on the weekend; there is only one way in during non-business hours. I had to swipe my card and look into a mirror-thingy to be let in by security through a semi-underground entrance. Maybe I do work for the CIA after all.

I did a few hours of research (for a letter that was originally due on the 18th but is now due tomorrow) and then picked up dinner from Mandarin Noodle House (701 W. Garvey Avenue, Monterey Park). Oddly, it's been a staple in my family and Mr. Monkey's family since we were both wee little monkeys.

Green onion pancake.

Potstickers.

Beef noodle soup.

Our dessert consisted of some mochi-based items we picked up from Little Tokyo around lunchtime, as well as the last of some gourmet mochi that Mr. Monkey's dad brought back from a recent trip to the Far East.

You can never have too much mochi.

Surprises, Treats, and Bores

Work has truly been amazingly pleasant lately. If it were like this all the time, I might actually like my job. Alas, I know that this lovely schedule is an anomaly, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

SURPRISE
This morning, a very nice secretary who used to sit on my floor called me and asked if I was busy. I said I wasn't, so she said she was coming to pay me a little visit. When she arrived, she handed me a perfectly wrapped box with a bow on it. She said, "You turned 30 earlier this year, right?" Yeah! Who doesn't love a surprise birthday present six months after the fact? Hee!

Check it -- a 30-year anniversary Hello Kitty watch! How incredibly thoughtful!

I gave her a hug and thanked her profusely. I was so touched by her gift. She said that, when she saw it, she just had to get it for me. What a sweet woman!

TREATS
It's Thursday, and, as many of you know, that means crepes! Today, BPLJ and I had lunch with our former secretaries from our old firm. BPLJ and my former secretary dined on Charlie Kabob, while BPLJ's former secretary and I headed to the crepe stand. She had a Long Vegetarian Life, while I had the Palermo.

Then I introduced our friends to the yummy-nummy moonpillows I raved about last week. Mmmmm...mochi truffles. They were a hit! I have yet to meet anybody who doesn't love these. I simply can't resist. These really are a great new Thursday tradition for me.

I've been getting so many hits on my blog from people Googling "moonpillows," so I told Tiffany (the woman behind moonpillows) that she needs to get her website running, stat! There is definitely great interest in these amazing little desserts, and it's well-deserved.

BORE
It's no surprise that office life is boring. Pointless meetings and conference calls are the worst. You're held captive for an hour or so with no possibility of escape. I sat next to BPLJ during a meeting today. King George was on my other side. Nevertheless, we've grown pretty brazen and don't refrain from doodling or passing notes even though "Dad" is right there. Very junior high, I know, but it makes such meetings far more entertaining.

One of BPLJ's favorite sayings is "What a donkey!" This phrase is appropriate for bad situations and annoying people. Do you remember Fuckity Fucker Fuckface Fuckhead ("FFFF")? Well, in typical Fuckity Fucker Fuckface Fuckhead-fashion, he is shirking work yet again. During the conference call, FFFF claimed not to know that a letter was due today and then tried to blame his failure to draft said letter on my not having completed my motion. I then triumphantly proclaimed, "Um, actually, FFFF, I sent a draft of that motion to King George and Jay-Z yesterday."

As FFFF bumbled some more, I drew this quickly and pushed it toward BPLJ, who made his own annotations, which I circled in red. If it's not abundantly clear, S_____ "Burro" S__________ is Fuckity Fucker Fuckface Fuckhead.

Our former secretaries tell us that, when BPLJ and I left our old firm, the laughter died. I believe them.

A Thursday Like Old Times

After having gone to bed around 2:30, maybe 3:00, I woke up close to 9:00 this morning. The first thing I did was check my BlackBerry. Sick, I know. It seems my work has trained me well. I had an e-mail from a partner informing me of a 9:00 a.m. conference call.

Shit.

I dialed in from bed in my pajamas. Oh. So. Boring. I jotted down some notes regarding audits and whistleblower complaints, and then I decided to brush my teeth...while still on the phone. Have you ever tried to brush your teeth while talking on the phone without the person on the other line knowing? It's no easy task without a mute button or a headset. But I did it with my finger glued to the mouthpiece, and I did it without making a mess. Talented monkey.

After about an hour, I decided my time would be better spent showering and getting dressed, so I e-mailed Perfecta, who got on the line and took notes for me. Later, I asked Pescado if he heard me brushing my teeth on the line. He said he didn't and asked me if I heard him taking a dump, eating breakfast, and smoking a cigar during the two-hour call. Ha!

I got to work around 10:30 and got crackin' on my motion to dismiss that has to be filed tomorrow. This motion has been hanging over my head for weeks now, but other things just kept getting in the way. I'd dabbled with it a few hours before, but today I really dug in deep. Around 11:45, though, I was ravenous, but I had so much damn work. I decided to go grab a crepe and bring it back to my desk, and I asked if Perfecta wanted to come.

Thursday is Crepe Day! It has been for three years now. It started with Curly Fries, Lasagna Man, and me, and Perfecta became a part of the Crepe Crew when she joined the firm later. Every Thursday, there's a small Farmers Market at 7th+Fig, which includes nuts, candy, kettle corn, tamales, and crepes!

Perfecta and I visited our favorite Thursday haunt. I got an Omega-3, which is stuffed with salmon, tomatoes, red cabbage, and cheese. Perfecta got a Healthy Choice, which has chicken, spinach, mushrooms, and cheese. Both were enveloped by spinach crepe dough, topped with a crispy cheese crust, and smothered with garlic sauce. Mmm.

Today we discovered a new vendor at the Farmers Market -- moonpillows! What are moonpillows, you ask? They are the most delicious little East-meets-West delicacy ever! And the name is just the best. So perfect! moonpillows are "mochi truffles." Fresh chewy mochi on the outside and smooth truffle filling on the inside. Decadent. Awesome.

The pumpkin spice was "milk chocolate ganache infused with pumpkin and autumn spices, enrobed in cocoa mochi." The passion fruit was "passion fruit-white chocolate ganache enrobed in flavorful passion fruit mochi." The chocolate-peanut butter was "creamy chocolate-peanut butter ganache enrobed in cocoa mochi." The matcha was "green tea-white chocolate ganache enrobed in green tea mochi."

Delicate and delectable. I'm so excited about this find! One drawback is that they weren't cheap. I got six for $11.25. They were very close to being worth the steep price, although I don't think either my wallet or my waistline could survive moonpillows every single week. (For the record, I'm only one pound away from wedding weight now. moonpillows every week would thwart my weight loss!)

Oh, little moonpillows, how I love your chewy creamy goodness! You bring new joy to my Thursdays!

Perfecta and I actually sat down and dined quickly at 7th+Fig instead of bringing our crepes back to the office. The sun was shining, and it just seemed right. And it was right. It was so nice to have lunch with Perfecta. It was like old times.

And the old times continued at work. It's hard to rehash in text, but Perfecta made the funniest mistake today, and we had the best time laughing and laughing and laughing about it.

Later, I talked to B-Dawg on the phone, and Pescado passed by my door and came in to join the fun. Now this was really like old times -- the good days when B-Dawg was still at our firm, the good days when we still had fun. Ah, I miss B-Dawg and the way things were back when they were good.

It was a good Thursday today.