Unbelievable

This is unbelievable! I just upgraded to a newer (and faster) laptop at work, and I'm loving it! With the new Windows 10 interface (which mimics a tablet/cell phone interface, with apps, etc) and new Microsoft Office 365 Word, we're getting cool things like this function:

It's under Clarity and Conciseness, and it's amazing that they're including checks for gender-specific language, racial bias, oxford commas, passive voice, euphemisms, among other things! This is really leaps and bounds beyond my expectations lol.

Other fun updates - I celebrated Halloween last weekend with my friends, and had a really good time. I dressed up as Rey from Star Wars - The Force Awakens, which was a great costume for me since I don't like dressing up the way everyone else does in Halloween. I'm not a big fan of the stereotypes of women dressing up in sexy skimpy mini dresses with bunny ears, because all it does is perpetuate the stereotype of women having to dress sexy (and men having to dress funny/silly). It's also cold haha, so it was refreshing for me to be able to wear pants and rock the look! :D

I never really celebrated Halloween like this before, so I'm glad I had the quintessential experience here!

 Also went to Alinea in Chicago for the first time - it's my second 3-star Michelin experience and it blew my mind! It's definitely one of my 2 all-time favorite restaurants now (the other being Atelier Crenn, which I think deserves 3 Michelin stars but really has 2), and is my favorite in terms of experience! They incorporated so many elements of surprise, and subverts expectations on purpose in many ways - e.g. they put items on the table that looked like it was for food but was only for decoration, so you'd think some of the other dishes were for decoration too and NO! It turned out that those other dishes were actually cooking on your table the whole time et voila - time to eat it!

Things like that really delights the customer and brings out the playful inner child in us - I for one, did the helium balloon voice for the first time at Alinea (because they served edible helium balloons - yes go figure that). They also played with our sense of smell, sight, touch, and taste with a definite Asian fusion influence including umami and cinnamon/star anise spices. I love the food and the overall experience - I'd highly recommend it (for folks with the $$$)! They also change up the menu every once in a while so don't worry too much about spoilers haha, but I'm not going to share too many photos or you'd know what's on the menu. The whole point of Alinea is the surprise after surprise, so you're not supposed to know what comes next ;)

Edible helium balloons anyone?

Such beautiful plating and presentation - really a feast for the eyes!

I love this plating - it's just some aluminum/steel like sheet that you can crumple and folkd and play around with!

Creating dry ice over citrus fruits