Pepperlunch

Wednesday has always been one of my favorite days of the week for reasons unknown to me. Part of it may be that in the previous three years of high school, Wednesdays were always minimum days, but a much larger piece of the puzzle lies in the fact that it's precisely in the middle of the week, and needless to say, balance is the key to many things in life.

Today, I finally woke up before noon...sort of. My eyes saw daylight at around 11:30, but it wasn't until an hour later that I would haul my ass out of bed and get ready for the day. Before my ortho appointment, I ate a hearty plate of banh beo, which was somewhat bland as it was lacking dau xanh, and finished things off with a cinnamon cream-cheese bagel. After I showered and picked out my attire for the day (which included a shirt I wore for the first time), I proceeded to fix up my hair (which turned out very nice today, if I may say so) and clean my shoes (which also fit very well today).

3 P.M. struck, and I walked into my orthodontist's office only to find out that my appointment was actually set for 3:15. A little bit of extra waiting time was no big deal to me, however, as once my name was called, I was in and out of there in less than 5 minutes. All's well in my mouth, it seems, as my retainer wear is excellent and I only need to wear them at night now. Shhh, but that's what I've been doing ever since I got them!

Patrick and I made plans to go to Great Mall today, but as he wasn't ready by the time I got out of my appointment, I headed over to Jamba Juice off of King Road and used my $5 gift card to treat myself to a Protein Berry Workout, one of my personal favorites. Despite being in a somewhat "ghetto" neighborhood, the employees were a few of the nicest people I have ever encountered to the foodservice industry. Thanks for the smile, "Junior" and "random cute Asian coworker who's name I didn't quite catch!" Picked up Patrick and Michael afterward and headed to Great Mall, where we met up with Eric Or, Quang, and Aaron Pham. After a tour around the mall, Michael left for home while the rest of us drove over to Pepperlunch Japan, where I had some of the best Japanese-style beef I've had in awhile.

While we're on the topic of Japanese food, I must pay a tribute to last year's winter break. My parents and I drove to sunny Southern California on the first weekend of winter break to visit my siblings, and upon the first night of arriving, I was immediately surrounded by Japanese culture as we headed to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, where we enjoyed dinner at a small homely restaurant by the name of Honda-ya, followed by a stroll through the gateway for some mochi. More details can be found in my blog archives; that weekend was such a memorable event for me in more ways than one, and something which I will never forget.

All-in-all, Wednesday turned out to be a day filled with spontaneity and pleasant surprises, and although I didn't buy anything at the mall, I did find something...or someone, rather: Melles! It was nice "meeting" her for the first time; ironically enough, we went to the same middle school, but never talked until now, when we go to separate high schools. She asked me if I wanted to hang out on Friday, and hopefully our plans to visit Chynna at SJSU and maybe grab some La Vic's goes through, because despite indulging myself in Mexican food twice last week, my cravings have come back in full force. For now, though, I'll settle for the leftover piece of chocolate cake in my refrigerator.


Goodnight!