Mikel Marketing Newsletter

making the best of ike
by Mimi Dinh

I can honestly say that like many Houstonians, I really didn’t take Ike too seriously. I listened to the nightly news, read the paper, and acknowledged all the rumors about the severity of the storm; however, after years of overrated hurricanes that were actually nothing more than heavy thunder storms, my family and I decided to stay put. Well, you can imagine how surprised we were came Saturday morning…

We woke up early that morning only to find that we had no power, debris everywhere, seven leaks throughout our roof, and the huge oak tree in our back yard had uprooted and fallen over the power line into our neighbor’s fence. The aftermath had become all too real. Then it all came crashing down, literally. Our roof collapsed. After the initial shock, we just looked at each other and laughed hysterically, because let’s face it, what else could we do?

I always try to see the silver lining in everyting, so after finding out my office had no power and my daughter’s school was closed for a few days, the silver lining here was the unexpected free time on our hands, so I decided to "bond" with Kellie by taking a mini-trip together. While some of my friends were planning to go to Austin, Dallas, and New Orleans, I found out that one of my best friends, Patrick and his son, Isaac, had just left for San Antonio and told us about the great time they’ve been having there; so Kellie and I decided to follow their lead. Minutes later we packed our bags, jumped in the car and headed west.

While the majority of the hotels had reached capacity, I was lucky enough to have found a room at Mimosa, a 4 Point Sheraton property that was located about a block away from the River Walk. That evening, while the four of us were sharing fajitas and sangrias at a Mexican restaurant on the River Walk, we all had a blast catching up and goofing off; Ike seemed so far away. As we were sitting next to the water, enjoying the perfect weather, it made us feel a tiny bit of guilt that our spouses were left behind due to their work commitment as physicians.

That evening, I tried to get some work done from the hotel, e-mailing my clients to gather updates and details about their situations, but hardly heard back from anyone. Still, I kept trying because I was worried about how their offices and homes were holding up, and also needed their approval on some impending projects.

The next day, we woke up leisurely and strolled down the River Walk, just hanging out, people watching and window shopping. For lunch, we picked an Italian joint by the water, where we chatted and giggled over pasta, salad and garlic bread. Then we met up with Isaac, Patrick and his in-laws at the beautiful San Antonio Botanical Garden to explore the “Terrific Treehouses” exhibit, which featured nine locally designed tree houses, intended to delight and stir the imagination of their visitors. Speaking from experience, my imagination definitely wondered; everything seemed more exciting because I was seeing them through my daughter’s eyes. That evening, we all met up for dinner at the River Walk again (there really is not anywhere else to go for great eats and atmosphere in SA); however, this time at the famous County Line BBQ, a local fave. We ordered everything: sausage, brisket, sliced beef, ribs, potato salad, rolls, and some ice-cold beers to wash it all down.

As we were driving back home the next morning, I was thinking how blessed we were to have the means to be able to turn a negative situation (Ike) into such an unforgettable, unexpected, bonding, mini-vacation for Kellie and I.

After finding out from my husband that schools were canceled for the next week, and my office and our house were still without power, we were barely arriving into Houston before finding ourselves packing again, this time for a 4-day trip to Southern California to spend time with our families and friends.

We left the dreary Ike aftermath-scene to arrive upon sunshine, warm temperature and soft breeze—I couldn’t help renting a convertible to soak it all in. We went straight from the airport to Bolsa’s “Little Saigon” for some mouth watering Vietnamese “banh cuon” and “banh xeo” – just what our taste buds were asking for. With my GPS hooked up and convertible top down, we were enjoying the journey just as much as the destination.

The next day, my California friends gave Kellie and I VIP tickets to Universal Studios. As we went from one movie set to another, to see Kellie shrieking in delight was worth the entire trip. On our way back to my sister’s place where we were staying, we drove through Sunset Boulevard where Kellie got to visit her favorite store Kid Robot (apparently it’s like the latest rage in toys among kids and tweens), while I got to visit mine, Fred Segal. For dinner we had to stop by our most favorite burger joint in the world, In-N-Out Burger, a popular chain in California. We each ordered a burger combo and finished every morsel. It was finger-lickin’ good.

During our trip, I got to take my sister and her family to Mozza, a gourmet pizzeria run by celebrity chef Mario Batali, Nancy Silverton and Joseph Bastianich. I have been craving their thin crusted, white pizza and chicken pate over toast, ever since our California friends took my husband and I there during our last visit. It is supposed to be the most “hard-to-get” reservation in LA, even for stars such as Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz. We were just lucky that we came at the right time; there were just enough seats at the bar for all of us. We enjoyed scrumptious fried squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese, and two kinds of pizza, a “meat lovers” with tomato, mozzarella, sausage, salami, bacon & guanciale, and a “white blanco” pizza with Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage.

During the next few days, I spent a lot of time with my family and some of our friends and had a great time reconnecting with them. My sister and her family took us to Oh Me Ly, a Vietnamese and International cuisine restaurant with live music and karaoke. The food was excellent and the entertainment was surprisingly good. Our friends introduced us to a few unforgettable experiences: the best Vietnamese sandwich where the two sister-chefs went to France for 10 years to learn the secrets behind French bakery before opening up their sandwich shop. The same friends took us to an amazing modern home tour, Neutra VDL Research house, designed and built by Richard Neutra in 1932 in a serene setting looking over Silver Lake in LA. It was an embodiment of then-current European avant-garde style and design. This house was Richard Neutra’s own, his third building in America and the house in which he was able to live and work for nearly three decades. After the tour, they took us to Korea Town for the most delicious and interesting culinary experience we’ve had in a while. After little bowls of condiments were brought out (a tradition with most Korea dishes), we each received an individual, piping hot clay pot with chunks of tofu swimming in steamy broth so hot it was still bubbling. The spices from the hearty broth are what make this dish so flavorful, while tofu makes it healthy. A tasty and healthy dish; how could anyone resist?

In my spare time, I tried again and again to touch base with my clients and still had no luck. I assumed they probably did not have power, but I wanted to keep them as up to date as possible via phone and e-mail.

After spending most of my time in CA with family & friends, I was finally ready to have a “ladies night”. I saw no better way to end the perfect trip than by spending my final evening with one of my best friends, Mary. Being single, Mary likes to do “single” things. We began the evening at the exclusive hot-spot, Chateau Marmont bar, where we enjoyed fabulous cocktails while catching up and exchanging stories like we had never skipped a beat, even though it had been about a year since I last saw her. The night came to an end at Sky Bar. We ignored people’s warning that unless your name was on the guest list, it’s impossible to get in. Our confidence must have worked because as we smiled to the door guy, we found ourselves being ushered inside, and came upon the most happening scene of all. So this is where the party is, we wondered. Compared to the Sky Bar in Miami, this location was just as breathtaking, with a large reflecting pool surrounded by cabanas and lounging chaises under open sky. It was a great place to end the evening.

As much as I treasured everything we did on this trip, I was ready to come home. Ike had given us the opportunity to get away for the week, but now it was time to face reality. I was anxious to see my husband, reopen the office, and ultimately get things back on track. Ike was certainly destructive and disheartening and really put things in perspective of how fragile our lives can be when facing the wrath of Mother Nature. But Ike also made me truly grateful for all the blessings in our lives, the power of positive thinking, and to remember to always find a silver lining in every situation.