Mon, June 30

6.55am - omega 3 bar, on the way to bootcamp, with Ritesh. Just looked at this a mere two days later (today's Wednesday) and the gas price has gone up 20 cents. In two days! Super plus is now at 5.05$/ gallon. Not that we get super plus, but that kind of number does sort of jump out at you. And to think how shocked we were when gas hit $3/gallon. And then $4.... A tank is now costing me just under $60. Ten years ago, it was $18. 8.32am - veggie juice, at home, after bootcamp

10.22am - half an almond horn, cherries, and a mirabell plum, at work

12.46h - my spinach masala dosa and Nady's pineapple-cashew utthappam at Annapurna South Indian Restaurant, with Nady

19.53h - more currywurst, w/ oven fries and salad, at home, with Ritesh (thanks, love, for making such great German food!)

Sun, June 29 - Euro Final

8.43am - oatmeal w/ almond milk and raspberry -flaxseed sauce, walnuts, sesame seeds, at home, with Ritesh11.07am - toasted whole wheat English muffin w/ olive oil and salt. Something to line the stomach as the time of the game drew near. Just found out around this time that Michael Ballack was actually going to play - he'd been out with a calf injury for the last two days.

11.44am - Phinney went all the way to Rockenwagner to buy fresh pretzel bread! And she brought sweet German mustard! And butter and brie! (you're so the best, Phinney!), the minute before the game started, at Juan's, with Stuart and Jess, Scott and Tamara, Greg and Phinney, and Ritesh. Don't ask me why the piccie is sideways all of a sudden - did neither take it nor save it or upload it that way. Hmm...

12.36h - Ritesh went all out and made German-style currywurst, and a whole platter of it! This is the most popular German fast food (along with Turkish doner kebabs which, admittedly, are more photogenic), and it's basically a pork bratwurst with a special fruity curry ketchup, some curry powder, and a curry-tomato sauce - home made in this case by Ritesh, who cooked up three batches of the stuff last night: the first one had a little too much vinegar, the second one was so spicy only he and I could eat it, and the third one was just about perfect. Yet in spite of all this effort, and the fabulous result, the German team just was not to be persuaded to actually play well. The Spanish were running circles around them, literally. And of course Fernando Torres (Liverpool's number 9, as Stuart likes to remind people) had to score. So Spain won. Ah well. Good for them. They deserved it. But as they say - after the game is before the game, and we're just warming up for the World Cup in a couple of years...

14.34h - some marzipan-y German almond horns, after the game

15.01h - and no better time to get some cupcakes! Still helping Phinney in her research... These were from a place on Wilshire and 5th, which I think is called Vanilla - hard to say since there's two cupcake stores on this block and I'm not sure which is which. These are mini-cupcakes btw, mocha, red velvet, and the seasonal berry in front, with a passion-fruit filling. My favorite. However, decidedly NOT dairy free...

18.04h - so dinner had to be healthy - spicy hummus w/ cucumber, tomatoes and some organic whole grain-flaxseed tortilla chips

Sat, June 28

8.50am - oatmeal w/ almond milk, raspberries, walnuts, sesame seeds, at home.13.53h - salt ramen from Satsouka, with Ritesh

14.13h - udon soup w/ kagiage tempura, at Mitsuwa Market, with Ritesh

16.35h - raspberry-flaxseed smoothie, at home, with Ritesh

18.02h - just one bite of Phinney's great mac'n cheese, at home, with Ritesh

20/24h - roasted sweet corn and avocado salad w/ curry dressing, at home

20.43h - Mirabell plums from Nady's garden, some walnuts, at home

21.43h - Awakened Buddha tea (lavender, rosemary , clove) at the Literati Cafe

Fri, June 27 - now dairy free

8.09am - alright , my friends, this is what it's going to look like from now on : dairy-free oatmeal made w/ almond milk and raspberries, walnuts and black sesame seeds, my blueberry-flaxseed-aloe vera smoothie, and some Argentinian Mate, at home12.45h - Korean appetizers at Tofu Ya

12.48h - a steaming and bubbling stone pot of kimchee soon tofu soup - the tofu is hiding under a layer of the red kimchee spice, but you can see the fresh raw egg getting boiled in the soup. At Tofu Ya.

17.48h - Ritesh's Indian lentils and rice, at work, after Susan quit

19.21h - Vietnamese veggie pho at Pho99, shared w/ Ritesh

19.22h - Vietnamese Bun (rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber w/ grilled pork, grilled shrimp and an eggroll), shared w/ Ritesh at Pho 99

Thurs, June 26 - Going off dairy...

8.04am - fresh-squeezed OJ (you guessed it, from Nady's oranges), Argentinian Mate, at home8.30am - nothing like ice cream for breakfast - home-made avocado-coconut ice cream w/ toasted almonds. I have to explain - I'm seeing a new acupuncturist later today, and I bet she'll take me off dairy again, and it would be a shame to let this ice cream go to waste. So I sacrificed myself.

10.28am - jalapeno-cheese Wetzel dog from Wetzel's Pretzels, outside work. Farewell to cheesy junk food.

11.18am - farewell chocolate-almond croissant, at work

19.20h - leftover Chinese fish and broccoli, at home. As suspected, as of tonight, this blog is now officially dairy free...

Wed, June 25 - Euro Cup 2008 Semi-final

7.13am - June Gloom - der Himmel ueber LA..., after bootcamp.

8.05am - fried egg, buttered English muffin, avocado vinaigrette, at home

10.01am - pastry and fruit salad, at work.

13.09h - Chinese take-out from Hop Li (some fish, and some Chinese broccoli w/ rice), while watching the soccer semi-final between Germany and Turkey, at home, with Ritesh. Let me just add that we virtually never watch TV - in fact, we don't even have our TV connected to the cable. Only on very special occasions such as today do we connect it - this was only the second time all year (first one was the Oscars). We do watch DVD's but TV is mostly just a waste of time. Hey, I'm allowed to say, I WORK in TV.

13.38h - and Germany wins and makes it to the final!

13.43h - my fortune from the cookie above, and Lahm's decisive last minute goal, at home, with Ritesh.

14.24h - vanilla ice-cream sandwich, back at work, outside

19.51h - celebrating at Divino in Brentwood - not only did Germany make it to the Final, but we also got our annual bonuses at work. Not half bad. So this is a rice croquette filled w/ fontina cheese, and the green stuff I understand is basil-infused olive oil. With Ritesh.

19.54h - bread and olive oil and balsamico

19.57h - and more bread

20.04h - Ritesh picked this appetizer: eggplant w/ tomato, salad and prosciutto

20.16h - and this is my orecchiette w/ calamari and branzio which I think is sea bass, arugula and tomatoes. Nicest green pasta ever.

20.20h - Ritesh's pappardelle w/ braised ossobucco, also very, very good

Tue, June 24

7.11am - omega 3 bar , after bootcamp , with Ritesh.7.25am - roasted corn w/ chili and lime, avocado vinaigrette, at home

7.39am - fresh squeezed juice from guess-whose oranges, boiled egg, at home

9.18am - whole wheat English muffin w/ PB&J, at work

12.42pm - Ritesh's tofu and broccoli w/ brown rice, at work

14.12h - frozen yogurt w/ pineapple and strawberries, outside work

18.50h - self-assembled falafel sandwich, at Lissy's, w/ Ritesh, Lissy, Katherine, Bill, Rani, Shiraz, Elvira, Joel, Maria and a couple of undergrads

19.21h - dessert, at Lissy's