Two boots, two cities and the BSE
Goodness me, it is 2004 already!

Spent the last four days of the old year, and the first four days of the new year in vegas and la respectively! Vegas knows how to take your money even if you're not a gambler. I put in no money into the slots or on a table. If I'm going to spend $50, it will not be thoinking it into some stupid machine where the fate of my $50 is determined by random chance. Nope, no siree. My $50 and more went to: 2 pairs of boots (one of which I will return because it is a PINK pair of stilletto boots), post chirstmas pressies for my family, one coffee maker and one Bellagio buffet. By far the best buy was my other pair of boots. Found a pair of Jill Sander riding boots at 75% off. Now, tell me you can beat that price!

We took a friend's advice and decided to cancel our Santa Monica reservations so that we could stay in Korea-town. It was a fabulous decision. Living in K-town was one thing. Partying in K-town is another. Think kimchi, soju and ramen, repeated in every bar we went to. Nothing quite like it. The typical american bar doesn't quite live up to it because it doesn't serve food, and they always play music so loud that you find yourself yelling the entire conversation. I was stuffed, drunk and stumbling back to the hotel room very happy.

The rest of LA was a culinary experience. We went to Palms, where the Thai Elvis sings nightly. Thai food in LA is outstanding. There is simply no comparison. Papaya salad, fried fish, tom yum gai... We discovered C & O Trattoria in Venice beach, and Roscoe's fried chicken and waffles in Hollywood. SF pales in comparison.

Resolutions for the new year? Haven't thought of any really. I am going to lay off beef completely. Absolutely do not trust USDA at all and their assurances. I lived through the British mad cow scare. Til today, Singapore still bans british beef. I hope they ban american beef as well. It's complete nonsense that the case is isolated to one and only one cow. BSE is contracted through animal feed. Can't tell me that only one cow contracted BSE from the feed it shared with all the rest of the other cows. Am going to serve my public duty by referring you to this website. .