Looking Back at Reverb 10

Judging from the empty desks and quiet facebook world, I must be one of the only fools at work today. So to cure my boredom I'm reading old Reverb 10 posts to see what goals I had set for this year.

• Desired descriptive word for 2011: Answers. I ended last year searching for a change (personally, professionally, or geographically) and wasn't sure what would happen. I got one huge answer in the form of a job offer here in the Bay Area. The professional and geographical changes happened, and personal changes inevitably come along with those.
  


• 11 things my life doesn't need in 2011: long PJ pants (partial success, partial fail); procrastination (fail); dehydration (fail); avoidance of confrontation (success-ish); grazing (fail); a pushover personality (success-ish); disconnects (success); lack of go-to items (success); timidity (success?); lack of skin care (success); uncertainty (success-ish). Wow, not such a great record there.



• Lesson to apply to 2011: I have a voice. I wanted to apply this to my career by being more vocal and visible. Luckily, my job is forcing me to do this because I'm paving my own way through a newly-created role. Slowly but surely, I'm getting the word out!
  


• Thing to heal in 2011: fear of the unknown. I haven't always dealt well with the unknown this year, but I definitely faced the fear. "Starting over" has proven to be harder at age 31 than it was at age 24; however, it turns out that some of the unknowns aren't so scary after all. :)
  


• Thing to try in 2011: everything. By my standards, I've done a good job at taking every opportunity that's floated my way this year. Rarely have I said "no" to social interactions, and I've gone on many bad dates because I thought I should at least try to seize the opportunities!



• Places to travel in 2011: ATL, Sonoma, and somewhere exotic. Haha. Well, I was in ATL (and will be there briefly tomorrow), but I didn't have the "normal" trips as expected since I moved a wee bit farther away. I made it to Sonoma twice since it's right next door now. The most exotic place I went was Puerto Vallarta - does that count?



• Thing to achieve in 2011: regain a good body image. The holiday season is not the best time to review this one...although does eating every cookie that's come my way count as "taking advantage of every opportunity" (see above)? I must say, I have accepted the annoying body changes that came about with turning 30 and no longer freak out when I have to buy a more curvy cut in pants.

Best 5 Things Eaten All Year

Now that we're wrapping up the year, I thought it was only appropriate to summarize the best 5 things I've eaten all year. This will be quite hard since everyday on vacation I claimed to eat something better than the day before.


1.  Cod ala Brassa:  Portuguese for hasbrowns, fish and eggs, yes please!  This was a delicious lunch, and for as heavy as it sounds, it was light as a feather.


2.  Jamon Iberico at the Hotel Arts:  This tasted like pure butter and it was worth every calorie. This jamon was packed with flavor, one that still makes my mouth water when I think about it.


3.  Bone Marrow and Popovers (tie) at Wayfare Tavern:  I know the popovers may be a random thing to choose, especially when their menu is packed with all sorts of yumminess!  But the popovers were extremely delicious and light (sadness that their not GF and I can no longer eat them).  The bone marrow was AMAZING.  I've typically only had bone marrow the way my mom makes it, but this was fantastic.  The presentation was quite nice as well.


4.  Vanilla and Chocolate Creme Brulee at One Market:  Who doesn't like creme brulee? This was perfectly smooth, with hints of vanilla and chocolate, not overly rich, and had that hard sugar shell.  Also doesn't hurt that I was drinking a bottle of the 1981 Caymus Cab Sauv with it.


5.  Kanpashi Sashimi with Special Soy at Kanpai Sushi in LA:  I met up with an old friend from college and his girlfriend and they introduced me to Kanpai.   This may be the best sushi I've ever had, even better than the sushi I tried in Japan.  The yellowtail was perfectly sliced, with seared jalapenos and a truffle oil.  YUM!  A must go to if you're in LA.