Jenniferzhenyu's blog

To Women: Love, God.

All I have to say is.. sigh =)
Read this anytime you need a pick-me-up, ladies.

When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being. When I created man, I formed him and breathed life into his nostrils. But you woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man because your nostrils are too delicate. I allowed a deep sleep to to come over him so I could patiently and perfectly fashion you.

Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity. From one bone, I fashioned you. I chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him, as you are meant to do. Around this one bone I shaped you, I modeled you, I created you perfectly and beautifully.

Your characteristics are as the rib: strong, yet delicate and fragile. You provide protection for the most delicate organ in man, his heart. His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the breath of life. The ribcage will allow itself to be broken before it will allow damage to the heart.

Support man as the ribcage supports the body. You were not taken from his feet, to be under him, nor were you taken for his head, to be above him. You were taken from his side, to stand by him and to be held close to his side.

You are My perfect angel.. you are My beautiful little girl. You have grown to be a splendid woman of excellence, and My eyes fill when I see the virtues in your heart. Your eyes.. don’t change them. Your lips, how lovely when they part in prayer. Your nose, so perfect in form. Your hands, so gentle to touch. I have caressed your face in your deepest sleep. I have held your heart close to Mine. Of all that lives and breaths, you are most like Me. Adam walked with Me in the cool of the day, yet he was lonely. He could not see Me or touch Me.

He could only feel Me. So everything I wanted Adam to share and experience with Me, I fashioned in you: My holiness, My strength, My purity, My love, My protection, and support. You are special because you are an extension of Me. Man represent My image, woman My emotions. Together, you represent the totality of God.

So man, treat woman well. Love her, respect her, for she is fragile. In hurting her, you hurt Me. What you do to her, you do to Me. In crushing her, you only damage your own heart; the heart of your Father and the heart of her Father. Woman, support man. In humility, show him the power of emotion I have given you. In gentle quietness, show your strength. In love, show him that you are the rib that protects his inner self.

(via gabebondoc.tumblr.com - via KnowGodKnowLove)

FOUR EGGS? Growing girl!!

Jetlag has really gotten to the best of me. Ever since I returned back to the States, my routine has usually been waking up between 4-6am and go about my day, start feeling sleepy around 3pm-ish. I'll probably nap from them until dinner time then after dinner (around 9ish), I'll pass out again until next morning. And repeat.

I hate jetlag. More than I ever have before.

It's so bittersweet being back in the US. Luckily, I'm in California right now, so easing my way back towards Texas has been nice. From Saturday til yesterday, I was in LA. My mom and dad also arrived in LA the same day I did and since then, we've just been doing the normal things we do while visiting family in LA. This time around, I had a mini Dreamer reunion with Robert. We spent the day on his side of LA... the non-Asian side that I'm typically accustomed to when visiting LA, haha. Rob tried to teach me how to ride a bike... which was an absolute disaster. I got to see how beautiful Malibu and its surrounding areas are, and Santa Monica pier at night is amazing. I definitely recommend going on the ferris wheel at night - it's just beautiful from the top!

Now my family and I are in San Francisco and will be driving in to Napa tomorrow to visit my brother and his wife. I'm excited because this means TAYLOR'S... er, I mean, quality time with Justin. Heh. But in all seriousness, I'm thrilled to see Justin and Karen, it's definitely hard not having your family close by you at all times. Especially with their crazy work schedule, sometimes you wish the restaurant industry would slow down/Americans would learn to cook for themselves (just kidding, my brother needs some way to put the bread on the table... oh wait! Karen's already got that taken care of at Bouchon. ...Sorry for my terrible jokes, must be the jetlag).

Things I'm looking forward to in Napa:
-Justin and Karen of course
-Bouchons from Bouchon
-More vineyard visits = more opportunities to use my d50
-Sunny, hot weather (compared to humid, hot weather in Hong Kong)
-Taylor's garlic fries, pistachio shake, and ahi burger ...drool

Oh and if you're wondering why the peculiar blog title. My aunt made me an omelette with four eggs. Apparently that makes me a beast, according to my family.

Feeling sleepy. Once again.

C'est la vie!
LGLP.

Hong Kong Playlist

I just had to get this out there. Dunno why.

Hong Kong playlist:

1. Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling (Summer ’09/UOD HK ’09 Anthem)
2. David Tao – How Long (自導自演的悲劇)
3. Jordin Sparks – Next To You
4. Daddy Yankee – Pose (J[airo] and Angela – I’ll forever think of my favourite Colombian and Guatemalan when I      hear this song)
5. Pussycat Dolls – I Hate This Part
6. Drake – Houstalantavegas
7. Paradiso Girls – Patron Tequila
8. Gabe Bondoc – Love Story (Taylor Swift cover, Romeo's perspective. Youtube it. Now.)
   
9. Estelle ft. Kanye West – American Boy
10. Pearl and the Puppets - Because I Do
    

...mostly old songs but nevertheless, great songs.

Sorry I’ve been isolating my little nook here in the blogosphere. Promise I’ll give a Hong Kong update soon (hopefully). If this help, it has been one of the most incredible experiences ever, and I can’t wait to share my stories with you all!

Strings Attached

Last week, I had the most humbling experience down memory lane to the good ‘ol high school days. Expect another unnecessarily long blog. Sorry but then not :)

It started Thursday when Sarah, Sohyung, and I visited Mr. Shiu and Ms. Prontka, our high school orchestra directors. We thought it’d be a short trip – just drop off donuts for Sinfonia, chat with Shiu and Prontka for a little bit, and then go along with our day after that.

We were right off the bat mobbed by the Sinfonia kids when we came in. I remember my high school days when it was such a treat to get visits from alums that always brought breakfast for us, and it’s kinda weird realizing that now I’m the alum doing the same good duty. The highlight of this was when Justin Wang, my big little Justin Wang, said “I want a hug first before a donut”. AWWWW. Warm fuzzy feelings, for real.

And the other thing about Sinfonia kids – I can NOT believe the sophomores I left my senior year are now all grown up, graduating and going to college. They used to be so naïve and lost – I was their momma during my year of presidency. I would drive Justin home, take Shawn to CHAT, have boy-chats with Sophia, and get lectured by Jieun about why I shouldn’t like his brother. And now, they’re all leaders in their own way and well-polished kids with incredible futures. Example – Brian Lee transferred to Memorial at the start of his sophomore year. This kid with AMAZING talent on the cello was so shy and soft-spoken. Now, he’s vice president of Sinfonia, unbelievably outgoing, and seriously just an overall STUD. Everyone’s going to great colleges – Berkeley, Harvard, UVA, Vanderbilt, UT (Hook’ em!), Rice. I’m so proud of my babies =) . And I know this couldn’t have been done without the guidance of Shiu and Prontka who run this very family-oriented orchestra. It genuinely warms my heart.

After Sinfonia’s class period was over, we hung out with Shiu and Prontka in the orchestra office as we normally did daily after school. What comfort. Those times in the ork office are some of the most memorable times I experienced in high school. I was reminded of Mr. Shiu’s quirks, Ms. Prontka’s bluntness, and annoying freshmen. We ended up staying until school got out because Prontka let us play during her 6^th and 7^th period. Um. I suck now. No like… really, really suck. And she put me next to an all-stater. It did, however, make me want to pick up my violin again. Sitting through her classes was like a blast to the past. I forgot how entertaining orchestra class was. Freshmen chewing gum or saying “nothing” when Ms. P asks what they just said – and then getting hours for it. No slouching, notebook-pencil checks, chair rotation, singing in front of class in return for borrowing an instrument. Of course, orchestra has evolved over the years into something slightly unfamiliar to me. I think it’s just the people and not being able to keep the same traditions. However, you can still feel its pure intentions and visionary at the core of it all.

Man, I miss orchestra.

Oh yeah, and I’ve been listening to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade For Strings in C, Opus 48 while I’ve been writing this post. You can thank that for this rush of nostalgia as this was one of my absolute favorite pieces to play during high school (I played one of the movements during my freshman year and then played the entire piece during my senior year). Gotta love Tchaik.

Keep the music alive.
LGLP.

Lei ho (hello) !

It’s great to be sitting in the comfort of my own bed. The bed I’ve been sleeping on since age 7. My room is still a mess from semi un-packing as I moved out of my dorm in Austin. Though I feel it’s somewhat pointless since I’m going to be re-packing all the things I’ve unpacked for my summer in Hong Kong.

Yes, Hong Kong.

Boy, it’s been awhile since my last post. The whirlwind of events this past semester distanced me from here. I wish I had the time to blog considering the various folds of emotions throughout the semester, but good ‘ol summer days are what I have to resort to.

<tangent> To say the least, this semester, no wait, this whole first year at UT, was filled with a lot of unexpected encounters. I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout this school year, but I also can’t say that it was a waste. It definitely was not. Ultimately, I grew. I don’t quite know in what way, but I know I’ve matured in learning the value of my academics, trusting in Him, and which friendships are worth/not worth keeping. I met incredible people who I believe are the fruit of God’s vision and even UT’s vision. This school really let’s you do whatever the heck you want. And it’s exciting to see young people do what they believe is for the betterment of themselves. One friend I met in particular this year - he’s going to do great things. I know it. He has a servant heart for the Lord. He walks daily with Him. He’s a leader among his peers and many people from different groups respect him because of his character. I can’t wait to see what he does in the near future and what God has in store for him. More people should replicate his discipline.

OH TANGENT. </tangent>

Anyway. So how did I land myself two months in Hong Kong? God’s enrichment is pretty much what I conclude to. I thought this summer was going to be boring and a replica of summer 2008. Stay in Houston, work at Fossil again/find a new job, summer school, a couple trips to Austin. Going abroad to Hong Kong didn’t seem to be an accessible option considering the only programs UT offered for Hong Kong study abroad were either limited to business students or cost me $26,000 for a semester with Syracuse University. I envisioned to study in Hong Kong during the summer after my sophomore year since high school. The timing seemed “right”. But after not being able to find a program and money being tight, I didn’t know if it was possible. Especially with the slightly downhill motion of events that occurred this semester, I wasn’t expecting much.

Silly me for thinking God can’t make these things possible.

A couple months ago, my friend, Tom, told me that our friend, Christine, was going to spend her summer in Hong Kong. I asked her about it, and it turned out to be this incredible internship program from the University of Dreams. I looked at the website, saw what they had to offer, and couldn’t believe what I was reading. It seemed wayyyyy too good to be true. A summer in Hong Kong with a guaranteed internship. Seriously? And especially for the PR industry, experience can be of more valuable than a simple degree. UOD works with local firms as well as the big honchos like Waggener-Edstrom, Ogilvy, Weber-Shandwick. With the blessings of my awesome, supportive parents, I applied and started internship searching. I had my first and only interview with a global boutique firm, Text100. I’m proud to say that I have the honor to intern with this technology-driven PR firm whose client list Lenovo, Xerox, Nokia, and MTV – to name a few.

My heart is seriously going nuts inside my body because not only am I going to my parents’ roots in Hong Kong, but I also get to work in the industry that I love (SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH – don’t know what I’m getting myself into but I’m stoked) with a company who so generously took in a Liberal Arts undeclared, no-experience student. Hopefully that’ll change to Public Relations major student in a couple weeks. I’ll get to finally explore the city on my own, ride the Baat Daht Tong to my own desire, and don’t even get me started on how fat I will be by the end of August from all the fresh baked bread and street vendors’ food. I’m all giddy. There’s really no other way to express it.

Now I’m just hoping to really improve my Cantonese. I’m going to be so ashamed of myself if it’s just as bad from when I leave to when I get back to the States.

Oh yeah, and I get to go to California after Hong Kong to spend time with the fam. My crazy, awesome aunts, my parents, and I are going to drive up to Norcal. Potentially rent out a house in Napa. Visit Justin and Karen as Karen does her externship at French Laundry (oh yes, you heard right). When I say that this summer is going to be badass, I don’t think of it any less than that.

All of this, I owe it to Him.

Feels good to be back.
LGLP.

I'll Stand With Arms High and Heart Abandoned

Despite the tangles of my brokenness, burdens, weariness... I am still set free by Your love. How glorious.

It has definitely been awhile since I've blogged. A lot has changed within the span of 3 months, and it's incredible to see how much I've learned since then. Many happy moments, many discouraging moments. Regardless, I rejoice in God's power to carry me in and out each day.

I don't know why I have that urge to blog right now. Probably to ignore the fact that I have an advertising exam, Chinese exam and module due tomorrow. Meh. I guess this means back to studying...

Things to look out for in the near future on my little e-page of ramblings:
Food Adventures: Avec, Hank's Oyster Bar, Cafe Spiaggia, Marvin
Summer Plans
Spring 09 Semester

In awe of the One who gave it all,
Jenn

LGLP

Food Adventures :: Textile

I went to Textile a week before I went back to Austin for the spring semester. My family and I went to scope it out undercover (Justin) er I mean.. celebrate my mom's birthday. The restaurant has been open for several months now located in the Heights area. Overall, it was a pleasant meal with good ideas but has work to do on their execution. Some food came out perfect others came out lukewarm or undercooked. I've been busy to really give a full out blog on the meal (ugh short term memory) so sorry for the lack of details! Not that you all really care anyway =)

Textile
611 West 22nd Street
Houston, TX 77008
www.textilerestaurant.com
Executive Chef Scott Tycer

Chef Tycer has previous worked at Aries and Pic, both closed down, but that doesn't mean his work lacks merit. He's the owner of Krafsmen Bakery and Gravitas which is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Houston. He's an alum of UT (extra point!) and has worked at Spago (Wolfgang Puck) in Palo Alto, CA. As I said before, his menu was interesting but what was brought out to us needed a little push to it. I am, however, not obligated to make such judgments as it's typical for restaurants to try to see what their fortes are within the first six months of a restaurant's opening. My dad and Justin got the seven course tasting menu, my mom and I got the five course. It however turned into a 9 and 7 course dinner after Justin was spotted by his acquantance, Dax, who is chef de cuisine (I think?) of Textile and previously worked as executive chef at Beaver's (another favorite restaurant of mine). Justin was trying to go undercover for Fearless Critic but Dax spotted him while coming out to serve a dish, double checked the reservation book, and caught Justin red handed. Though Dax joked that we wouldn't get any freebies because Justin didn't mention that he was coming, he sent out an extra dish as well as extra dessert (another extra point)

My five course consisted of:

Mixed Hydro lettuce, Fromage D'Ambert, Onion Strudel
-crunch of lettuce was light and refreshing, dressing complimented the lettuce and cheese
~
Black Bass, Cauliflower Puree, Serrano Ham
-pan seared bass, came out nicely, loved the cauliflower puree with the sweetness
~
Bacon Tart, Basted Quail Egg, Wilted Bitter Greens, Balsamic
-favorite course of the menu, tart was flaky and warm, bacon went really well w/ quail egg yolk
~
Gulf Shrimp in Cauliflower Puree
-compliments of Dax
~
Braised Provimi Veal Breast, Pumpernickel Leek Sausage, Truffles Hollandaise, Hydro cilantro
-pumpernickel and leek sausage.. very interesting.
~
Morbier Grilled Cheese, Onion Marmalade, Black salt
-loved it, our server was really knowledgable about the cheese, i wish i remembered everything he said about its processing

~
Liquid Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Short Crust, Brown Butter Ice Cream
-ice cream felt more like consistency of gelato but nonetheless nicely done
Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Terrine, Banana Pudding, Salted Wafers
-really liked the chocolate ganache, banana pudding was alright
Sweet Potato Beignets, Bacon Honey, Cinnamon Pudding

~
Bon Bons      
-bites of shortbread and brownies.. Bouchon could totally kick these bon bons' butts

Pictures later. Gotta run to class!
LGLP

Enthralled

I can't go on today without noting just how BBBEEEAAUUUUUTTTIIIFFFUUUUULLLLLLLLL it is outside today! Oh Austin winter weather, you have been good to me so far =) God, once again - you're too fun. It's mid-January, and you give us this absolutely flawless weather? You enthrall me.

Even better about it is that my super cool rhetoric teacher, Tony, let us have discussion outside on the grass behind our class at Parlin. This is exactly what I love about UT. Things are starting to look up. You have no idea how high my optimism is right now about this year. Little things like today's weather is what gives me a nudge that things are gonna be aiiiiight. Thank You, God. Simply for being... You. =)

<insert picture from my phone later>

LGLP

Food Adventures from Textile next time!

12:16am

Random bits of my unorganized thoughts. Gotta love Vox for letting me throw up the random things that go around in my mind to keep my head from exploding =) Even better that no one reads it! Or close to no one, maybe.

I really, really like Swirll. I used to go there like 2-3 times a week during the summer. It's my new Jamba Juice. I don't think people really understand exactly how much I truly enjoy savoring every scoop of pomegranate + original house blend + fresh fruit + mochi that I take. Oh Austin Swirll, won't you please open already?

I'm so glad I don't hate the place I work at =) Plenty of people could very well hate working in retail, but I got lucky. Most don't understand why I like working at Fossil so much. They also don't understand why Fossil. It's hard to explain, sorta. I dunno, great coworkers + great management + great product + great company doesn't give me much room to complain.

I could recklessly spend money on designer jeans and never feel bad about it.

I used to NEVER paint my nails, but I've found myself doing it a lot lately. I don't know why. Oh, and I hate it when my nails are long. Violin has conformed me to a short-nailed person forever.

Can't wait to get my ink done with Gat when I get back to Austin!

I know God has missionary work in store for me because I feel that flame in my heart. But when and where I'm suppose to go, God has yet to show me. I know that when he does show me, the timing will be right at His will. Make it Yours, not mine, Lord.

I'm really not as social as some people think. I can be really awkward sometimes because I don't know what to say in small talk. I wish I was witty and quick to think =/

My absolute favorite thing to wear are my PJs. Sometime I don't like going out of the house just because I'm too comfortable in my pajamas =)

It sucks when you do laundry and lose only one sock. But so comforting when you find that one lost sock a week later.

I've never read a single Harry Potter book nor do I ever feel like I need/want to. Some people scorn me for that.

I'm really proud of my brothers. They're two completely different people with different paths in their lives, but they're equally amazing, well-driven, accomplished, and passionate in the things that are most important to them.

People have been wondering why I've been working this entire winter break. It's because I'm helping my dad out in paying for my grandfather's niche for his urn. My goal was to help chip in $500, but after seeing how much I've made so far this break, I decided to do $600. It's a lot of money, but I believe it's the best way possible to spend it. I feel like it is money well spent because it provides a peaceful new home for Ye-ye. On top of that, it gives me peace knowing that spending money on the important things in life is SO much more rewarding than any pair of $200 jeans or whatever other materialistic things I could've easily spent on myself.

LGLP

Food Adventures :: Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine

Been trying a lot of new places lately. Last night, one of my good friends, Melissa, and I tried Banana Leaf in Chinatown in the Dan Huang Supermarket shopping center. And..

UGGGHHH!! I hate it when ethnic-specific restaurants AREN'T ethnic-specific. Especially Chinese owned restaurants that claim they're Malaysian or Korean or Japanese.. and end up serving ethnic dishes turned Chinese instead. What a disaster.

Banana Leaf

So somehow I ended up ordering Singapore-style noodles with shrimp and chicken. Shreds of romaine lettuce topped it. Though it was light and settled well in my stomach, flavor was bland, and the shrimp was overcooked. Fake bamboo was mounted on one wall and some kinda like.. Hawaiian style indoor awning.. hovered over the cash register and kitchen. It was all just an impostor restaurant in the end. So far, Cafe Malay has been the only legit Malaysian restaurant I've been to. Overall score: C-

Singapore-style Noodles

Went to Brasil afterwards with my other friend, Melvin. Uhhmmm yeah.. even Inversion is better than Brasil, and I don't even like Inversion that much =/

Jkwan and I had really disappointing avocado club egg rolls at CPK today. They're actually quite good most of the time, but today's order wasn't on top of its game. We decided we need a new "thing" to eat that's labeled as "our thing" to eat. It's a little homo I know, oh well =) Wonderful service though! Thanks, Mark!

OH and then we got Swirll afterwards. YESSSSSSS.

I hate writing notes on Friday/Saturday nights. I feel like such a loser =( I think it's time I get back to Austin where I can get my freedom back. As much as I love being home, I hate being on lockdown all the time. My mother still believes I'm too young to go out past 9pm. SERIOUSLY? Man, if she only knew what my schedule is like in Austin..

Rule of thumb on going out in Houston: If I'm out for the night, STAY OUT until I really want to go home. Big mistake to come home after dinner.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Pictures can't upload for some reason.. oh well.
LGLP