MasterChef: Season 4

Much props to Luca Manfé for winning the top prize on the hit FOX TV show last night. The fact that Manfé was eliminated early on in Season 3 of MasterChef (in fact, I don't think he even made it past the auditions), only to try again this year and win $250,000 plus his own cookbook (and a trophy), shows what a feel-good American story this is...overlooking the fact that Manfé is European (change that to South African if Natasha Crnjac was the one who won yesterday, respectively). Anyways, Viva l'Italia!

So What Would Jim Halpert Do? Ever since I returned from my trip to Tennessee almost a month ago, things have been a bit emo for me in regards to this girl that I really like at work. (Yes I know— "How old are you? 15?") I've been resisting the urge to write about her on this page... Not because it's unlikely that she'll find this entry (unless she Googles 'Jim Halpert,' 'Pam Beasley' or The Office or something), but because these articles ended up being (catharsis aside) all for naught. Every other girl that I blogged about over the last um, 10 years inevitably ended up getting with someone else (and becoming married; yay for 'oneitis')...so I'd be highly delusional to think that this rant would improve my chances with Ni—err, Nancy in any type of way. (I almost mentioned her real name here. Phew.)

Ever since Nancy and I first met last December (although I saw her at work as early as January of 2012), things have been cool between us. We always sat and hung out together at work. There was even this one time she asked me to take a walk with her—just the two of us—in an empty parking lot near the place where we were at (more on this later). However, from the outset of all this she told me that she was already engaged. Initially, I didn't care...as my feelings for Nancy didn't grow until we started to work together more often earlier this year.

What makes Nancy so great to be around is that she's easy to talk to, she jokes a lot, she's unpretentious (despite the fact she posts really gorgeous photos on Facebook... Keep reading further despite the fact I'm veering into so-called 'creeper' territory here) and...she likes 1980s action flicks and recent movies that feature 1980s action stars in 'em. (There was one time where she wanted to leave work ASAP so she could buy The Expendables 2 on DVD. No, it wasn't a gift for someone else.) Oh, and she reciprocates— Once Nancy added me on Facebook, I clicked 'Like' on the very first image (a self-portrait that Nancy took with her iPhone, if you need to ask) she uploaded right after we became friends. Not too long after, Nancy clicked 'Like' on a photo that I uploaded to my Facebook page. Of course, it probably helped that the picture I posted happened to be one that I took with a certain gorgeous MasterChef winner in Costa Mesa a few months back.

So where did things start to become all emo for me, you ask? In Ontario (California), more than a month ago. As I mentioned earlier, we always sat and hung out together at work. But what really endeared herself to me was when Nancy asked me to walk with her in that parking lot stated two paragraphs above. Granted, this took place during our lunch break...and she obviously wanted to burn off calories from the food that she ate a few minutes earlier, and wanted someone to keep her company during her stroll. But the fact that Nancy asked me to be alone with her (not to imply that I'm a wacko or anything... I'm only crazy enough to jump out of an aircraft 5.5 miles above the ground, hah) showed just how much she trusted and felt comfortable around me. We'll gloss over the truth that Nancy views me only as a good friend and that's why she did that. (Oh look, isn't that how Pam Beasley felt about Jim before he made a move on her in The Office's Season 2 finale? Anyways.)

Combine the fact that we bonded during the walk with us hugging before going our separate ways at the end of that day, and you have me start to develop feelings for that co-worker. (Just like in The Offi— okay, you get the point.) This memorable day was actually the last time I worked before I left for Memphis on April 27 (a Saturday)...and it didn't help that Nancy ended up going to Las Vegas that same weekend. Initially, she was reluctant to go; one of the main topics during our parking lot conversation was that she was invited on this Sin City trip by another female co-worker...who's divorced and has a daughter. (You can see where I'm going with this. Or maybe you don't.) Nancy, being unpretentious as mentioned two paragraphs above, didn't know just how crazy this lady could get when boozin' up...so our talk in Ontario involved me asking Nancy if she was ready to accept just how wild this co-worker (and other people who went with them on this trip) could potentially get while strolling out on the Vegas Strip. I myself didn't want Nancy to go... Despite the fact she's engaged to someone else, the thought of a divorced chick trying to bring Nancy down to her level (if you met Nancy in person, then you'd know what I'm talking about) irked me.

What made matters worse about this Las Vegas trip was that it didn't take place on the weekend that Nancy said she was originally going (which was two days after our gig in Ontario). The Vegas trip took place exactly a week later (yes, I was off from work for more than 7 days before I left for Tennessee)...which made it coincide with the time that I was in Whiteville to conduct the H.A.L.O jump. Of course, in the two days leading up to my 30,000-foot skydive, this jump was the only thing that I could think about. However, once this endeavor was successfully completed on April 29, it was pretty much out of my system (almost 7 years after it got into my system in the first place). So overlooking the fact that I was totally stoked over what I had just accomplished in Whiteville that day, my thoughts started shifting to what Nancy was doing almost two thousand miles to the west of me.

As mentioned earlier, the thought of someone trying to bring Nancy down to their level in Las Vegas annoyed me...but I knew that nothing bad was going to happen. Nancy was engaged...so what preoccupied my thoughts instead wasn't what she was doing in Vegas but how she was dressed hanging out over there with this group. In the last two days of my trip in Tennessee, all I could think about was heading back home to Los Angeles, logging onto Facebook, and seeing what provocative photos—if any—she uploaded or was tagged in. (Hey, if Radiohead can be a 'creep,' then so can I.) And it didn't help that my flight from Memphis had a brief stopover in Las Vegas before the final leg of my journey back to SoCal on May 1... Needless to say, my thoughts were fixated on Nancy (and a couple of slot machines that were amusingly placed near the Delta Air Lines gate where I boarded my L.A.-bound flight) as I sat and waited in the McCarran terminal.

When I arrived home from Los Angeles International Airport that evening, the first thing I did (even before I removed from my luggage the large envelope containing my H.A.L.O. jump certificate, the DVD with my skydive video on it and the USB drive containing raw footage and photos from the jump) was turn my computer on and then log onto Facebook. (Yes, I needed to get a new phone so I could visit Facebook while I was out in Tennessee. Not necessarily an iPhone). And lo and behold, Nancy posted a picture (Begin playing 'Creep' by Radiohead) where she's wearing a sexy black dress that reveals most of her (well-toned) back—and was tagged by the divorced chick in an image where Nancy's wearing a bikini. Can you say... Hot and bothered? (And creepy? I kid. I KID.) These photos were posted three days before I returned to L.A., so all I could do was check these pictures out since I wasn't in position to click 'Like' on them. [I didn't have a valid reason (presumably) to like these images till last weekend.]

So to make a long-ass story not as long as it should be (Michael Scott: "That's what she said!"), these Vegas photos intensified my attraction towards Nancy. I'll resist the urge to mention how she wasn't one of the people who clicked 'Like' or commented (yes, I'm contradicting my earlier claim that she reciprocates) on my H.A.L.O. pictures and video after I posted them on Facebook...and that Nancy actually gave off an irritated vibe (maybe she was hoping that I would've spent the money I paid for the skydive on taking her to a nice dinner and/or a cruise to Catalina Island instead? Yea, I wish) when my trip was brought up during a job we worked together in Northridge (California) about a week later (this was the first gig I got since returning from Tennessee). Speaking of Northridge and overlooking her indifference to my H.A.L.O. trip— Things were going awesome between us like they usually did in the previous assignments we worked together...until 30 minutes before we were to go home. Won't go into specific details (since I should've mentioned what it is I actually do for a living at the beginning of this Blog entry. Keep on guessin'), but Nancy ended up sitting with someone else right before we were about to wrap for that day. More on this in the next paragraph...

To continue on from the previous paragraph, I WAS PISSED. I didn't know what I did wrong to make Nancy diss me like that at the very last moment. Actually, I might have an idea... But it involves me going into a rant about other dudes at work who walk up to Nancy to start a conversation with her while I'm sitting nearby. C*ckblockin' douchebags. Unlike all the other times I was with Nancy, I went home without saying 'bye' or any other word to her. The thing is, the hurt that I felt from this debacle in Northridge only intensified my feelings toward Nancy. So basically, just like every other girl I blogged about before her, Nancy made me like her even more because she rejected me that night. And I can write another interminably-long article about how I have a futile attraction towards girls who play hard to get. ('Cause you know, they're already in relationships?)

So to end this entry, the high that I experienced after I conducted the H.A.L.O. jump is matched by the low that I've felt thinking about Nancy over the last four weeks. I don't have much of an appetite when I eat breakfast (kinda like how Jim Halpert told Dwight Shrute that he couldn't eat because of his feelings for Pam in a Season 4 episode of The Office), since I immediately wanted to log onto Facebook and see if Nancy posted something after I got out of bed in the morning. I actually dread the next time that I see her...which may be on a job assignment that I got booked on for next Tuesday. So basically, I'm at a loss for what to do. If this were a TV show, then I'd walk up to Nancy this Tuesday (if she shows up) and tell here how she makes me feel—and then she'll dump her fiancé of God-knows-how-long-they've-been-together and we happily watch The Expendables 2 over and over, forever. But this isn't a TV show, and Nancy will most definitely be mortified if she ever stumbles upon this entry. And I'll become emo over the next girl I meet while Nancy eventually starts posting photos from her wedding ceremony (whenever that will be) on Facebook. Yay for oneitis! That is all.

Photos of the Day... A few hours ago, I drove down to Costa Mesa in Orange County to attend a cooking demo by Whitney Miller...who won Season 1 of the FOX TV show MasterChef back in 2010. The last time I saw Ms. Miller in person was almost three years ago, when she did a previous cooking demo at the Anaheim Convention Center...also in Orange County (right across the street from Disneyland). Unlike that presentation however, I actually got to taste samples of the desserts that Miller taught the audience today. She showed us how to prepare two delicious pastries: the crispy coconut bites with chocolate sauce as well as molten lava cakes—the latter shown at the very bottom of this Blog entry. FYI, this is probably the first time I took a picture of my own food. I'm like a typical Asian. The only difference is, I didn't post this image on Instagram. Of course, it's because I don't have an iPhone.

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MasterChef... While the season finale is still weeks away (although the episode was taped months ago), I'm rooting for Christine Ha and Becky Reams to finish as the last two finalists. Christine taking the top prize—her own cooking book plus a check for $250,000—would definitely be an inspiration to aspiring chefs everywhere...particularly those with some type of physical disability. (Ha is visually impaired.) Becky becoming this year's MasterChef would be awesome because she exudes such great confidence cooking in almost every challenge, mystery box or otherwise, that Chef Gordon Ramsay and company present to her. That, and Becky is pretty hot. Hey— You know it, I know it, and the MasterChef camera guys and video editors know it too.

If there's one reason why I don’t think Becky will become MasterChef, however, it's because she’s very similar to Season 1 winner Whitney Miller and Season 2 top four finalist Suzy Singh in that their strengths lie in cooking dessert and other pastries. (Whitney was known as the "pastry princess" in the first season, Suzy was called the "pastry girl" last year, and Becky was called the "dessert girl" in an episode that aired a few weeks ago.) That, and they're all cute brunettes. Damn it— There I go again. If Becky does end up as the winner of Season 3, I hope she doesn't get creeped out by this androgen-inspired journal entry. (Assuming she reads this, of course. No reason Becky wouldn't... Nothing stays hidden on the Internet for long, haha.) I wouldn't mind attending a cooking demo by her the same way I attended a demo by Whitney in Anaheim almost two years ago. Why yes, I will keep mentioning that in future MasterChef-related Blog entries. That is all.

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MASTERCHEF... It’s too bad that Suzy Singh got eliminated from last night’s quarterfinal episode— I would’ve definitely attended an autograph signing by her (assuming there was one in SoCal) the same way I went to Anaheim last year to meet MasterChef’s Season 1 winner, Whitney Miller. But just like Ms. Miller, Singh was called the "pastry girl" (Miller was called the "pastry princess") during this season...which was probably one of the reasons why she didn’t advance to the finale today. (That, and the lemon meringue pie she baked during yesterday’s pressure test had issues.) Seems like Chef Gordon Ramsay and Co. were unwilling to hand the Masterchef title to yet another lovely contestant who was primarily good at making desserts. Don't get me wrong... I like desserts.

On the plus side, there’s still Jennifer Behm...who won the Miss Delaware USA competition back in 2000. Though I’m gonna echo Singh’s opinion and say that it will be Adrien Nieto who wins MasterChef today. Handing the title to Christian Collins would be a pretty big mistake...for those of you who’ve been watching this season like I have. Carry on.

UPDATE (10:00 PM, PDT): Woohoo— Jennifer Behm won the title of MasterChef tonight. When does she begin autograph signings in SoCal?

YESTERDAY, I attended The Celebrity Food and Gift Show at the Anaheim Convention Center in California...where I got to meet Whitney Miller—the Season 1 winner of FOX’s MasterChef TV show last September. Ms. Miller was totally awesome in person! She was very nice...and as shown on television, a really talented cook. Below is obviously the photo that I took with Ms. Miller, while my autographed ticket and a pic I took during her hour-long cooking demo are also shown in this entry.



If there’s one thing that I initially took issue with during her presentation, it was her comment that Michael Bay filmed Transformers at Camp Pendleton (near San Diego, California)...which was the site of one of the cooking challenges on MasterChef last season. Upon further research online, however, I think Ms. Miller was referring to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, obviously not the first film. In Revenge of the Fallen, there’s a shot during that final battle sequence in Egypt where U.S. Naval hovercraft (officially called Landing Craft Air Cushion vehicles, or LCAC) and Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopters arrive on a beach to provide reinforcement for the Autobots and company. That definitely must’ve been filmed at Camp Pendleton... Just because.



So I retract my earlier comment and have absolutely no issue with Ms. Miller’s presentation. You rock, Whitney!

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MASTERCHEF... I watched the season finale last night, and am totally not surprised that Whitney Miller won the title of America’s top amateur chef (plus a deal to write her own cookbook, AND a check for um...$250,000). If you read my previous journal entry about MasterChef, you’d know that I was expecting Chef Gordon Ramsay and Co. to have Ms. Miller finish as one of the top two finalists. I have good instincts! Well that...and it was pretty darn obvious from the numerous times the cameras focused on her lovely Southern face that the hit FOX TV show had great things in store for her. (Oh, and let's overlook the fact that the last 'pressure test' where Ms. Miller squared off against fellow contestant Sharone Hakman was designed in favor of Miller. Miller is known as the "pastry princess"...and that pressure test involved the two aspiring cooks to make—surprise, surprise—a pastry dish. A chocolate soufflé, to be exact. Ms. Miller obviously nailed it.) Now the only thing I have left to say is... When is Ms. Miller gonna publish her cookbook? And will she have a book signing when it gets released? And will there be a signing in Los Angeles? And if so...then I’m totally there. ‘Cause I too would like to um, learn how to cook like a master chef.



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© FOX

MASTERCHEF... I’ve been watching this new show since it premiered on FOX last month, and like with Hell’s Kitchen, I’m completely hooked. Mouth-watering food (from sirloin steak, Chinese food, halibut and Texas chili to even cupcakes and truck stop hamburgers) and lovely contestants like Whitney Miller (top) and the now-eliminated Sheena Zadeh (below)... What’s not to like about MasterChef? Chef Gordon Ramsay is more laid back in this show than he is on Hell’s Kitchen (which would be a huge understatement), and more emphasis is given to seeing what the contestants are cooking on this program, since these are amateur chefs we’re talking about and not the professional cooks who sweat their way through a Chef Ramsey dinner service on Hell’s Kitchen. Though if the choice of footage is anything to go by in the last couple of episodes, methinks Ms. Miller will either win the title of America’s MasterChef, or she’ll at least finish second. Not that I’d complain or anything.


By the way, the next season of Hell’s Kitchen begins September 22nd on FOX. Word.


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