You know your work environment is uber-depressing when...

... your 'cubicle' is actually smaller than the cubicles drawn in Dilbert.



However, I can momentarily forget the miseries of the work life during (ironically) my commute home thru bridge-traffic. The cherry blossoms are nearly peaking around the Tidal Basin, which is now surrounded by an explosion of pink:



I often tell people that the only saving grace of working in rat-infested L'Enfant Plaza is the 2-week period of cherry blossoms each year. But that's not entirely true, because there is also the Penn Quarter farmer's market which re-opens next week.



PENN QUARTER, WASHINGTON, DC

Season: April 5 to November 15, 2007
Day and time: Thursdays, 3 pm to 7 pm
Location: North end of 8th St. NW, between D and E Sts. NW

But remember! When you buy your fresh local farm goodies to take home and cook up at home, DON'T stick your cast iron pan in the oven at 500 degrees and then later grab the handle with your bare hand, causing 2nd degree burns onto your palm and frying it to a crisp. Not that I know anyone stupid enough to do that...

If You're (Coming Back) From San Francisco...

I just returned from my trip to San Francisco for the 25th Anniversary of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. It was an amazing experience, and I was stunned by the incredible support that SF's festival has garnered from both an international audience and its local populace. It's opened my eyes to what we can aim to achieve for the DC Asian Pacific American festival, and given me hope for the Asian American film market in general.

It also reminded me how important a part film has remained in my life. It amazes me that despite the influx of different forms of media and the threat of online narrative forms cutting into the film market, film continues to be such a prevalent and dominant form of storytelling. I think one of the great things about film is that it has an ability to shape on the screen what may have been sitting idly in our subconscience but that which we were never able to fully articulate or even gain awareness of. It doesn't even have to be a deeply profound message either!~ it can simply be a feeling (like in "Lost in Translation") or a observation (the stereotype of Asian overachievers in "Harold and Kumar"). In doing so, film still plays a critical role of helping us connect to ourselves and society. This is precisely why diverse stories deserve and need to be told.

I met a lot of incredible people, not just actors or filmmakers, but regular individuals who poured tremendous energy into their efforts to advocate and support the films and stories that they felt needed to be seen and heard. On my flight home I realized that in just the few days I spent out in San Francisco, watching films, talking to filmmakers and filmgoers, was the most rewarding few days I had spent in a long time.

When I got home, I wrote out my resignation letter...ha, but the next morning I didn't have the sac to sit down with my manager or turn it in. So there it sits on the corner of my kitchen table, waiting..looking at me with accusatory expectation. And telling me that weekends like this will merely be blips in the flat-line of my life.

Transcending the Hot Dog Stand: DC Street Food

As an addendum to the previous post, the Washington Post also reports that 21 new vendor sites have been awarded in an effort to increase the presence of street food vendors across the city. Of course, it will take a long while before I can get past the stigma of bacteria-laced hot dogs stewing in week-old meat juices in the ubiquitous Red Hot carts all over southwest DC.

On the topic of meat though, last night I popped in "Fast Food Nation" by Richard Linklater and was reminded again of the horrific process by which most Americans get their meat. Of course, it wasn't an eye-opening revelation, as anyone who's been to college has had at least one hemp-wearing vegan with dreads expose them to the inhumane and revolting practices of the modern-day slaughterhouses. But it's like this collective societal guilt that we push to the back of our minds because it's just easier not to question it. No one wants animals to be skinned, butchered and processed while alive; or for immigrant workers to be injured every day at the processing factory; or to eat irradiated feces while enjoying a cheeseburger. But regardless of what vegetarians and vegans claim, human beings are omnivores and meant to eat meat (at least on occasion). Unfortunately our meat sources, much like many other modern day conveniences, have been distanced so far from our day-to-day reality that we just can't be bothered to think about it. And I've admittedly lost much of my youthful zeal for activism. I would definitely support legal regulations on farming and processing practices, and ideally I'd like for farms and plants to be completely sustainable. And as for today, I'll opt for the veggie pita, but tomorrow, I'll probably return to complacent ignorance.

Niche Restaurants

One of my biggest regrets about DC's food scene is the lack of niche food joints, which are generally common to most big cities. I've always wanted to open several niche food joints around the city: one for kimbap, one for waffles, one for mix-and-match mini tapas-style sandwiches (called bocadillos), one for tempura, and one for Korean yogurt desserts (Pinkberry beat me to it). The obvious benefit of niche restaurants is that with one product to sell and stand by, it's gotta be daaamn good. Sometimes it works - Amsterdam Falafelshop - and sometimes it doesn't - M'Dawg Hot Dogs. But it's nice to have that one go-to place that elevates foods that other restaurants dismissively relegate to their side dishes menu section. And so I'm very excited that Potato Valley Cafe will be coming to Chinatown next month! I mean LOOK:







Good golly gracious, I can't wait.