H-Mart

(March 11)

For anyone who has experienced the thrills of shopping in large Korean groceries (basement levels of department stores), H-Mart should feel very familiar.  And when a branch opened in Burlington a few years back, it drew instant crowds and has caused the demise of some small Mom and Pop grocery businesses in the region.  H-Mart can't be beat for its selection, yet, and that's what it's all about.

Every time we go to H-Mart, I need to come away with some fun product I haven't tried before, and today's choice was the Japanese "Couque D'asses."  The cookies are much tastier than the name might suggest, and I direct you to this most excellent anal-ysis.

One thing I did notice right away was that the package described the cookies as "langue de chat," or cat's tongues, so I was compelled to find out what those were.  Traditionally, they are oval shaped biscuits, pretty much like one half of a Pepperidge Farms Milano, without the chocolate.  And yes, Couque D'asses are not far from Milanos.

(March 12)

Angelica and I had a rare shared ramen meal today, which consisted of another find from yesterday's shopping trip: Shin Ramyun Black.  Touted to be a "premium" ramen, our take on it is that we like the original Shin Ramyun better.  I think Shin Ramyun Black has a richer and smoother flavor with less heat, and this may in fact appeal to a wider audience; but for those who were raised on original Shin Ramyun, this new stuff is probably not a winner.

Backfill

(February 1)

This evening I was in the vicinity, so I stepped into Wegman's in Northborough.  Crikey, what a place...  one giant half is the supermarket, and the other half is like an open market with food stations: sandwiches, pizza, bakery, deli, burritos, prepared foods, etc.  They even have an Asian buffet and cafe seating.  Am I the only person who cringes, ever so slightly, at the all out display of consumable goods?

(January 31)

One of my cube neighbors, the kind of person who likes organizing activities, you know the kind, asked me if I wanted to buy some squares, and I asked, "Are they lemon?"  "No!  Superbowl squares!"  So, I bought a $10 square which has different rules than the normal payout per quarter.  It has a payout for the first 15 score changes, plus payouts at each half.  I hope the Superbowl is a shootout!  Anyway, she was selling $1 and $5 squares too, so I bought in to those.  Remember, folks, we're talking about the Superbowl FTVLT, and I want to make some cash off of it.  :-)  Well, I'd rather have a Patriots win.

(January 30)

I had a chance to play Mario Kart Wii in the "Mirror Level" today, thanks to Marcie who is now far and away the best racer in the family :-)  The mirror level is unlocked when you win the gold cup in all events in the standard three levels, and Marcie has surpassed my profile to reach this status.  Mirror level means all of the courses are laid out as if viewed in a mirror, so left turns where right turns would normally be, etc. which is very fun when you are expecting a hard left turn and go smack into a wall.  Heh heh.

(January 21)

Among the many, many things that my eyes were opened to in Korea was the world of spicy ramen.  Here in the States I don't eat it nearly as often as I did then, and today I just had to have a fix.  I tried a pack of An Sung Tang Myun.  Worked for me!

(January 20)

I went fishing on Wikipedia for an idea by searching on January 20.  This led me to learn about poles of inaccessibility -- points on land that are geographically the farthest from the coast.  The North American pole of inaccessibility is in South Dakota, and if the EOTW is due to massive tsunamis from the oceans, I'd advise heading there.

(January 19)

I ordered some company swag from our corporate store.

(January 18)

Stopped at Julio's Liquors -- that place is impressive!  I'm no connoisseur of alcohol by any stretch, but I enjoy a beer or a glass of wine every once in awhile.  I decided for TLY that I would explore some Pinot Noir, again which I am not qualified to judge, but which is a worthy variety for the occasion.  So, I picked up four different bottles of California Pinot Noir.

(January 17)

I created a public Google calendar titled "Tom's 2012 Bucket List," on which I'll eventually post all my 1s.  And maybe plan ahead a bit.