Goodness! Just when I was planning a big depressive “Woe is me” party, you guys have to butt in with all these sweet and wonderful words. You just won’t let me wallow in peace, will you? Hee hee hee! But seriously, thank you, all of you, for your touching words of encouragement and comfort. They certainly lifted me out of my dark pit!
You know how sometimes, when you’re feeling really down…your masochistic side kicks in and you just feel like making yourself feel worse and worse? You replay every hurtful word in your mind, letting your tears flow and flow, curling up by yourself in the corner and basically just throwing a big dramatic self-pity fiesta.
Well, I was about to do that, but reading all of your comments made me realize that I would be one big fat hypocrite if I were to indulge to my pessimistic side. Haven’t I been professing about how important it is to stay positive in no matter what circumstances? At times like this, I’ll just have to pick myself up, dust my pants, and force myself to smile and look at the bright side.
Since the source of my little rant came from my parents, I decided to actively list out some of the signs of love and care they have showered upon me all these years:
- When I was first born, my father didn’t sleep for days out of excitement, while my mother slept for days out of exhaustion
- As a child, my dad always told me proudly that I was the most beautiful girl in the world. I was shocked to find out that wasn’t the truth a few years later, but realized that to my dad, it is the truth
- When I was hospitalized for anorexia, and being a total bitch to everybody, my parents still came to see me several times each day, painting on goofy grins on their faces just to make me smile
- When I checked myself out of the hospital, my parents supported my decision, while everyone else pointed fingers at them and called them “Stupid”, “irresponsible”, and any other negative adjective you can find under the sun
- When I was at my lowest weight, my parents crept in each night while I was asleep, checking to see if I was still alive
- The first time I ever saw my father break down into heart-breaking sobs was when he discovered me secretly trying to throw my food away…I will never ever forget that moment
- When I called home after my second hospitalization in Northwestern, my mom cried the whole day, while my dad put on a brave front to comfort both her and me
- When I fell and hurt myself several times because of lack of muscles, my parents freaked out even more than me. For months, my mom tenderly dressed and cleaned my wounds even though blood makes her squeamish
Okay. I can’t go on now. I’ve got tears running down my cheeks again, but it’s not because I’m feeling bad for myself or pissed off. It’s because I’m shaken to the core by my parents’ persistent and fierce love and support for me all throughout these years. From the moment I was born, to this day, they never failed to love me. They are humans, with human flaws and weaknesses, but their unconditional love for me? It’s superhuman. It’s…freaking amazing, for the lack of a better word.
My parents once told me that unless I am a parent myself, I will never understand the level and deepness of a parent’s love for the child. I guess they’re right. I can never fully understand, but I sure as heck am grateful and appreciative towards them.
Another person I am really grateful towards is one of my best friends, Joyce. Joyce is— well, honestly, someone completely different from me. She is sweet, gentle, patient, and kind, great characteristics that I do not possess. She is one of the friends whom I will be eternally thankful for, because even though we are so different, we connect in a level that is really spiritual and deep.
Even when I isolating myself like a bitter, cranky hermit, she still called me whenever she came back from college, and occasional sent me sweet and encouraging letters. Even when I looked inhumane and pitiful, she never once looked down on me, but treated me as her equal, her dearest friend.
Well, it was her birthday Sunday, and I decided to treat her to a good lunch this afternoon. Her boyfriend Allen came along, because they’re rather inseparable and he’s cool enough to hang out with us 
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I took her to Chef Geoff’s at Tysons: 
Of course, the first thing I noticed was that there was good lighting. The interior decoration was sleek, simple, and sophisticated. I felt a bit out of place though, because I was dressed in jeans and flip-flops, while everybody else were dressed in business suits and touted Gucci purses. 
Our waiter was a tall, blond guy who looked like he was a college student. He served us this amazing bread at once: 
Warm, chewy black olive bread with roasted red pepper hummus! Oh wow, I usually don’t eat from the bread basket they serve, but this was quite good. Really intense and flavorful from the salty olives.
Joyce ordered a Pomegranate Lemonade to start: 
This was non-alcoholic, but just a sip of it was like a jolt to the taste buds! Extremely puckish, in a good way, because that guaranteed that it was freshly-squeezed.
Everything on the menu looked good, so we took about half an hour to decide. The waiter was really nice about it though, and answered all our questions. I also had fun teaching my friends what mascarpone, prosciutto, queso, EVOO, and arugula was (Joyce thought it was cheese!).
Allen finally ordered one of the Pizza Pies: 
Chicken, Queso Oaxaca, Smoked Corn Relish
g>
Damn pretty! 
The flavor combination was amazing, but the only problem was that there was too much juice or something, which made for a soggy crust. Well, if you close your eyes and dig in with a fork, it would be a very tasty casserole!
Joyce ordered the best dishes out of ours, the Day Boat Scallops: 
Mushroom-asparagus risotto, truffle mascarpone, white balsamic reduction with seared scallops 
Holy freaking yum! Hers was the most expensive, but certainly worth every single penny! 
Really flavorful, and the rice had a nice texture to it, unlike the risotto I got at Brio’s on Monday.
I, unfortunately, ordered the worst dish ever, the Country Ham & Gruyere Melt: 
On “baguette” with sweet onion relish, dijon, baby lettuces. It was supposed to be on a brioche bun, but because I don’t like soft airy rolls like brioche, I substituted the “baguette” instead. I put “baguette” in quotation marks because it was hardly the good, crusty French baguette. More like the imitation, holey baguette you buy in cheap grocery stores. GAH!! 
And what the hell is with this sandwich? It was ALL bread and no filling. Which I didn’t miss much anyway because the ham was SO freaking salty to the point of nastiness. 
And where the hell is my sweet onion relish? More like a sliver of white onion chopped up. I was so disappointed, because one of the reasons I ordered this dish was in anticipation of the sweet onion relish it promised.
The baby lettuces turned out to be just salad drenched with some kind of sour dressing. If I had known it was salad, I would have asked for dressing on the side because I abhor salad dressings.
The waiter saw my disgruntled face and asked whether he could switch up the dish for me, but I decided to just choke it down because it was kind of my fault for messing with the dish, anyway. Also, I didn’t want to make a big fuss when we were celebrating Joyce’s birthday. I ended up eating the sandwich open-faced, and dipping the bread into the leftover hummus.
Ah, well. At least Joyce’s dish was stellar! She was the guest of honor, the birthday girl, after all, so I was happy that she really enjoyed her dish. 
Despite my stupid bready sandwich, I’m back to a pretty chipper mood today. A positive perception, a little initial forced smile, and great friends will do that to you! (The above picture is JOYCE! Not me! I’m not that pretty!)
Another reason why I’m happy? I received my new camera which I ordered in ebay today!
A Canon Powershot SX-200 IS! Yahoo! 
I was actually debating between a SD880 and a SD1200, but after reviewing several more reviews, I finally settled on this to replace my crappy Sony Cybershot T-5. I have yet to tinker around with it (the battery is recharging right now) but I hope I’ll be able to produce better pictures with this!
One day though…I dream of getting a proper DSLR…Gotta start saving my pennies and nickels from now on! 
Question of the day: Do you have a close friend who is surprisingly different from you? How so?
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Your family and friends sound amazing! You are really loved aren’t you which is wonderful
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vat a touching post!! family and friends are the most inportant in once life.. congrats on ye camera!! look beautiful.. Those scallops sound amazing!
cheers!
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Cheers !! You have got an award for your lovely food blog. Pick it from my blog
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My parents tell me all the time that “Until you’re a parent you won’t understand _____” … it must be a “parent thing” to say! I suppose they’re right, though.
Wow… if you’ve been taking such awesome pictures with a “crappy” camera, you are going to totally rock it with a Canon… they are the most incredible cameras ever!!
<3 <3
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great idea, making a list of the positive things that they’ve done for you. I’m glad you got to go out with Joyce – sorry about your sandwich though. that is never fun
yay for the new camera!
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Awesome post. It is a hard thing to see your parents as people who come with flaws but that will make you closer to them. As for being a parent, it is amazing how quickly you would do anything for your child within moments of ‘meeting’ him/her. I try not to be that mom who only talks about her kids, but I am so invested in them and I completely understand all the times my parents would be upset or worried. It is hard watching them become independant!
Nice camera too!
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Ah, isn’t it amazing when you start counting your blessings how long that list gets.
Sorry to hear that the meal at Chef Geoff’s was subpar, but it sounds like the company sure was not. Enjoy these last days of fun before you head off to college.
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The scallops look the best. Just delicious. You are lucky to have such wonderful parents!
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Mmmm yummy pizza! And you are so lucky, your momma and poppa love you very much! <3
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All of us bloggies love you! Keep that chin up
That black olive bread with hummus sounds AMAZING! never heard of that type of bread before but oh my goodness it looks so fresh and tasty. I do have a weird best friend … he’s my ex bf! lol.. the thing is we were friends a good year before we ever started going out. It’s just good having someone to talk to, who knows everything about you. Have a great Thurs girly! <3
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Wow, what a delicious food. And, congratulation on your new camera too.
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Oh my gosh, Sophia. I love, love, LOVED this post! You had me near tears, too, just reading about your parents’ strength and love for you. You are truly blessed to have such amazing people looking after you. =]
As for the foodie, I’m sad that you didn’t enjoy your sammie very much. Although I have to say the rest of the dishes look really delish! Maybe that restaurant is worth another try, sometime?
Anywho. I’m off to work. (Pleh, I know.) Luff ya, girlie! And I’m sorry that our San Fran meetup didn’t work out. Maybe sometime this fall/winter instead? USC is pretty close to Scripps!
<3<3
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Oh I just love your attitude, this post was very sad to read but you always end on such a positive note! I admire you!
All of my friends are pretty different from me actually!
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wow girl — i am in awe of your ability to translate you negative emotions in to positive energy — thank you for sharing that exercise with us! I think it’s really important to focus on the good we have in our lives rather than wallowing in the bad! way to go, love
!
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I loved all those beautiful things you said about your parents. You are such a wonderful person with so many talents, strengths and skills. Thank you for being so ‘real’ and ‘open’ with us – it takes a brave soul!
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I wasn’t particularly lucky with my friends when I was younger. They were typically different from me but not just in personalities, we hardly had anything in common, so most friendships didn’t last.
Those scallops look great! I haven’t been to this place yet. Actually, we haven’t been doing any dining in local places and the other day discovered that a bunch of the places we used to like now are closed but were pleased to find out about some new ones. We are going to be eating at Villa Mozart in Fairfax next Wednesday. Have you been there? I probably won’t blog about it as it is a dinner with my husband’s boss so no pictures
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You live in VA? I just moved out of Crystal City in Arlington! I wanted to try Chef Geoff’s before I left but never had the chance. Gorgeous post. You had me crying when you were writing about all of the things your parents did for you… and the part of your dad breaking down just killed me. They sound like such amazing parents, you are so lucky to have such a great support system. I know I have said this so many times, but I admire your ability to be so candid with your readers… it is a beautiful thing.
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so sorry the restaurant turned out blah, but I’m glad you had a great time with your friend. I understand that weight gain can be a battle, it will take time, at least a year or so. When I danced a lot many people thought I was too thin, but I couldn’t eat enough and I was growing and interested in healthier options. You’ll get it girl and you are doing so well
You’re parents sound so wonderful, you are a lucky gal 
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I hate ordering the worst dish out of everyone when I go to dinner! Bleah! I have to tell you, sounds like you have such an amazing family that has always stood by you and supported you through everything.
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It sounds like your parents have really been there for you! And Joyce, too. Love doesn’t really let the hard times get in the way, does it?
Scallops are the best. Mmmmmm.
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Aww that was so sweet of you to take your amigo out for her birthday! I love your new camera, it’s so pretty!
I definitely have friends that are totally different from me because, as they say, opposites attract!
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I’m an introvert while my best friend is a def extrovert. She brings out my wild side and I love her for it! Without her I may have missed out on so many opportunities in high school. We live miles apart now (california and tennessee) due to college, but we always check on each other and visit for holidays.
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You little foodie explaining what everything is – that’s so cool! My Mom said the other day if it weren’t for me she wouldn’t know about any of the new food trends. Yay for the new camera! And the first part of your post was very sweet – the list – I need to do the same – make a list when I get frustrated or angry with my parents. It sure puts things in a different light.
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Ive heard good things about chef geoffs from so many people! The food looks great! Enjoy the new powershot, its an awesome camera!
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Sounds so fun, glad you’re feeling better! And yay for a new camera
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Glad you’re back to feeling happier. It sounds like a lovely lunch with Joyce!
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[...] granted? A freaking good sandwich. Remember that disaster sandwich at Newsroom Cafe? And what about this sandwich? And this one? Maybe not, but after those episodes, I realized that you certainly can mess up a [...]
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