My life is difficult.

Grad school is tough. So many research problems to keep on top of ... sometimes I just need a nap.

Kalbi weekend

It's getting near to the end of the semester, and a lot of big changes are about to happen.  People be graduating, getting new jobs, marrying etc.  Most of the guys from the house are moving onto bigger and better things.  (Not me yet.  Soon, please soon...)  So, time to celebrate!

We know how to do it right.  Lots of meat.  Twenty-five pounds of it to be exact.  Kalbi time baby.  

Over the past several years, this is our fourth Kalbi weekend (Kalbi = BBQ'ed Korean style ribs).  A lot of sweat and tears goes into preparation (also $$$).  Here's your's truly, tenderizing that delicious meat.  In total, it cost us two labor-intensive hours, two broken tenderizing hammers, and one casualty to blisters, but we prevailed.

Gideon substituted in for the injured Brendan.

And here's us after finishing...so tired.

Danny took care of the marinade -- a combination of his mother's secret recipe, another recipe from the www, and intuition.  Lot's of ingredients go in...

...and they come out like this.

Then you got to layer it on like this.

Allow it to simmer for a day or so.  After showering all the splattered meat off my body and getting a much-needed rest, I prepared my body for meat consumption by running a half marathon.  Nothing like a brisk 13.1 mile run to work up an appetite.  (I originally was going to name the post "Half Marathon Weekend", but then realized that most of the post had to do with beef).  I was particularly excited for this year's half marathon, because my running buddy was much cuter than last year's (No offense Paul).

Mike was a good friend and woke up early to take pictures of his coworkers during the race.  Even though it's only mile 5, it looks like I was already loosing some mental composure.

Here's one that's a tad more normal.

We finished in about 2 hrs 10 mins.  Not too bad; only 3172 people finished before me.  And my mission was ultimately accomplished, because I was starving afterward.  So was my running buddy.

Finally, time to chow.

We had a bunch of great friends show up, including some from Chicago.  Somebody said something funny here.

These were the attendants for the initial batch of BBQ.

And Brendan finally figured out where the meat was too.  Finally another white guy to celebrate with.

Whoa, Ok, maybe a little too much celebration here.

Danny with the Chicago friends.  Also an amazing icecream cake for his BDay.

All the fellas.  Well, almost.  Looks like Brendan took off again.  I've never seen him eat a whole meal in one sitting.  Maybe he was off debating anatomy terms with Ritika again.

And finally, Danny with all the ladies.

I'll miss all you guys next year.  It's been an amazing couple of years.  I'll never forget.  Thanks for all the memories.

Onward we go!