East Buffet & Place d'Armes

New thing of today, ate at East Buffet in Simi Valley.


We were completely exhausted from yesterday's whirlwind outings. Somehow we had breakfast and then all of a sudden it was 5pm. I was craving seafood, so we decided to give our local asian/seafood buffet a try. Husband and I really like LA Buffet in Northridge, so we were hopeful, and boy were we happy.


Yum, yum, yum! It wasn't very busy. The buffet was very clean and nicely decorated. The food was a lot better than I expected.


Notable mention - the sushi/Japanese section. Very good stuff. They had the basic rolls and a few creative ones that were quite good. Salmon, tuna, mixed rolls all good. Sashimi was great. There was a cut/fried roll which was especially tasty and restaurant quality, that I was pleasantly surprised was part of the buffet. The Japanese section of their buffet had a lot more variety and better quality then other buffets I've been to.


As for the Chinese section - excellent! They had tasty chow mein. All the veggies we tried were tasty. They had these salt and pepper chicken wings which were amazingly tasty and awesome. Also, great salt and pepper crab and shrimp. They had a really great salmon in sweet garlic sauce. There were only a few items that I didn't care for, and I tried a number of items. There was a deep fried sushi something, the whole thing dipped in batter and fried, that I didn't recognize what I tasted and didn't really like at all. The crab stuffed shells, egg custard and hot and sour soup weren't that great. One thing I really liked was that the fried food wasn't oily, just cooked very well and everything we liked had a lot of great flavor. Absolutely loved the sesame ball I had for dessert, smaller portion size which was good for a diet. Also I really enjoyed their tapioca pudding.


We really enjoyed it there. Stuffed ourselves, not realizing how hungry we were when we showed up. The only thing we didn't try was the Mongolian section where you choose your food and sauces and they cook it for you. We will have to try it next time. Staff excellent, polite and very quick to respond. Great place! We're going again and bringing friends and family. Plus unlimited seafood at $9-$12 a person, what a deal! Go visit and try it out!


Another new thing of the day, we booked our HOTEL for New Orleans! That may have been why time went so quickly this afternoon. I was scouring for deals and looking for nice places to stay, affordable, yet good location and something I wouldn't regret spending a week in. We've stayed in cheap/bad hotels - so not fun. I've stayed in luxurious hotels which felt partly like a waste since not sure how long we'll be in our room. Also spent time in noisy places and dirty/creepy places and fine places. 

Anyway, taking all the reviews, the statistics, the costs, location into consideration, finally decided to book - at the Place d'Armes by Jackson Square - as smack dab in the middle of the French Quarter as you can get. It's a fantastic location. It's not by Bourbon street which will prevent loudness and drunk craziness hopefully. It's family friendly but I'm hoping there will be no kids in the area at that time. Plus they have a great pool/inner courtyard area which basically stole my imagination and sealed it. The rooms look awful gaudy and atrocious. Quite possibly the ugliest room photos in New Orleans, but like a cruise ship or Vegas, how long are we going to be in our rooms anyway? 

Best thing of all, we got a cheap yet cancelable booking. If we find a better deal or a better hotel, we can change our reservation. I'm just glad we have something booked/set. Didn't want to wait until later when all the rates were ridiculously high. At least this way, we have something good (hopefully good) booked, and will keep an eye out for great/better deals. Plus the hotel guarantees their rate is the cheapest, and it's true because we looked at other sites for better deals for a few days - and the hotel listing had the best/same one. So we booked directly through the hotel. If they do have a better deal later, we can always request that one - for the week we're there.


I just really really really hope this is a good hotel room. Some of our last ones have been sketchy. Our honeymoon room on the cruise ship was located right underneath the galley, so I heard loud clatter of pots, pans and cleaning at about 2-4 AM. Most nights I was so exhausted I heard it but slept through it. One night it woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so it was awful and I had to go to the front desk and argue with the clerk over it. They refunded one night because of the sleep missed, but it still sorta ruined that room for us, the noise every night.


Then Gilroy for the Garlic Festival - stayed in a very icky dirty creepy Gilroy Inn - so not even redeemable and I felt like cleaning the place and doing laundry before even sleeping. That was pretty gross. 


Our anniversary hotel room in Santa Barbara Ramada was ok - no issues. Our Vegas hotel room in Palace Station was a bit dingy but the bathroom was nice. We weren't in there much anyway so it didn't matter. They weren't fancy or great, but descent, but not cushy. Maybe it's me getting older, but I'm getting way more picky about hotel rooms. Perhaps in my old age I'm wanting something more fancy or feeling more pampered. I want a room to feel and smell clean, and for me to feel like I'm on vacation. I think the Gilroy dirty trauma was especially scarring. I just really want a nice room, but I don't want to pay a ton of money. Put into perspective, 70% of our conscious time we'll be outside the room. Plus, we can always change our reservation, right?


Those were our hotel rooms in 2010. I really hope 2011 has something better in store. So that is my big hesitation/reservation about reservations. Are there any affordable/fabulous rooms in New Orleans? Maybe I'll split the reservation and stay somewhere else a few nights.


Anyway that's it. I'll be dreaming of New Orleans. Goodnight :) 

Spooktacular!

New thing of the day, partied up Halloween in style.

Most Halloweens I am not really into dressing up or getting too festive. It's fun, but I don't get excited. This year, we were very festive and in the mood to celebrate.

It started out by getting Halloween costumes. New thing - I was Rainbow Brite! Below is my costume and accessories. I had the blue dress and blue/red earrings. The rest is new. Got the hair tie/shoelaces from Hot Topic. Found the awesome rainbow leg warmers that I wore on my legs and arms at Spencer Gifts. The found the rainbow socks, necklace and fingerless gloves from Sidecca. Got my cranberry colored converse from Famous Footwear. The only thing I didn't have in my outfit is the wand and the rainbow belt.

I love this costume because I can wear all the accessories again and again. LOVE rainbow stuff. Plus I got a lot of admiration and kudos from other girls who were Rainbow Brite fans. We saw another Rainbow Brite walking around and we were like "DOUBLE RAINBOW!".

Saturday was a whirlwind of stuff. Did homework/studying in the morning. Went to lunch at 3pm at Philippe's, legendary home of the French Dip sandwich in downtown LA. We ordered beef french dips with macaroni salad and chili - the chili being the new thing! We've had the French dip sandwiches before. I'm not a huge fan of them. I think they're good, not great, but like the nostalgia and legendary status it holds. Loved the chili. Very hearty and warm and tasty. We got it with melty fresh oozy cheese and onion. I thought it was a bit pricey coming to $19 for lunch, but overall a yummy but late lunch.

   

Next we had season passes at Universal Studios so decided to wander around checking out the park, City Walk and people watch if they had costumes or decorations up. Very fun and relaxing, but overall I had a food coma and not a lot of energy. Good times though.

At City Walk they have a Pink's hot dog outlet, so decided to try TWO new hot dog dishes. I personally love the location at City Walk because it's close by and we can get a limited menu of Pink's without lining up for an hour in Hollywood. Just having a plain stretch dog with nothing on it (Betty White dog) is delish.

I got the Mulholland dog - with nacho cheese, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms and bacon. That was DELISH! I was too full from lunch to finish my dinner, but it was amazing and I highly recommend it.

  

We also tried the CityWalk dog. Some ladies were commenting when we got our plate like - WOW that looks amazing. It's got onion rings topped with BBQ sauce. Very messy but good. The husband really liked that one. I had a few bites and it was sweet and savory, but not a fan of the mess. Also quite large and unruly to eat.

 

So after that, got in our costumes and met up with some friends in Santa Monica at a new place Finn McCool's. A very cool place, lots of party revelers and people dressed up. They had a Beatles tribute band playing all dressed up - very fun. I'm not a huge fan of the music for dancing, but still had a good time. We walked around that area people watching. My favorite costumes of the night - a Charlie Brown and Lucy couple, a Tiger Woods and Elle couple and of course the other Rainbow Brite! Some honorable mentions, McGruber, a girl wearing/doing the "walk of shame", Mad Hatter via Tim Burton Alice, Hulk Hogan in skin tight leotards, some other wrestlers the husband recognized. 

Didn't want the night to end so decided to walk around West Hollywood - another new thing. Never did that before and Wow. There's a lot of skin and sexuality there and not as many fun costumes as I thought there would be. Just a lot of showing off the goods and trying to score. One awesome thing we did see - very new - a fully loaded kickass Ghostbuster car! Sorry the pic is sorta blurry but I took it quick on the fly. Sooooo cool!

So we went home after that, driving through/on Hollywood just to see the action. I think Hollywood had the best costumes and masses of people. If we have the energy or willpower, we might go there tonight to wander and check out costumes, if we can find parking. Last time I was there I was in college with some friends. I definitely want to go again and check it out, just not sure if we'll do it this year. Hollywood was amazing with the creativity of costumes, with a lot more normal people just walking around trying to have fun, and not necessarily show skin or get laid as in West Hollywood. We saw a Cobra Kai couple, and the husband was like "That was so his idea so much more than hers". I'm all about the spirit of having fun and dressing up to be goofy/silly! Plus the creativity! 

Apparently in the UK, at universities, per a friend of ours - she says about once a month they dress up in costumes for themed parties or clubs - and that she missed that. Here we only dress up to party once a year. There, they do it regularly once a month, with various cray themes. Awwww!

Anyway lots of new things of the day. Food, dressing up and fun! If only the nights didn't have to end or our feet get so tired. Alas :) Happy Halloween!

The Great Holiday Plans Charlie Brown

New thing of the day, as a married couple, deciding how we're going to split and spend time with the families during the holidays.

This is not our first holiday season as a married couple. We were newlyweds in 2009, so we had holiday season 2009 to spend with the families. Thing is, they're all local and it was super easy to figure out plans.

This year, 2010, we have quite a few relatives living up in northern California, and now we have to consider driving up north for the holidays. This means scheduling time to drive up north and drive down home area LA to spend it with the families. Plus splitting it between our two families, and also between time off work and such.

It was so much easier planning this stuff as a single person. No easy way out or in. Ugh. Plans may or may not work. That's all. The joys of marriage. It's rough - am welcome to any suggestions on planning.

Never seen "Four Christmases" before, but I assume it sorta feels like that. Being torn between multiple families, trying to see everyone in one day.

PS: I've also never seen The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown or A Charlie Brown Christmas. Something to add to new thing of the day.

Vote by Mail

New thing, voted by mail.

I registered to vote by mail at the last election. I figured I wasn't very good at going to the polls, and voting by mail just seems easier. You have more time to think about your choices, research them independently online, and there's no time pressure to finish so someone else can vote. You just vote, yourself.

It was fairly easy and painless. I didn't know much about the issues, and I didn't research them very well. I know my vote is supposed to be essential and important, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really feel like it. I'm really disillusioned with government and politics. There are probably more things right than wrong, but these days, I don't know. Healthcare, taxes, laws, etc. My vote feels like a drop in the ocean.

I just took a superficial glance at the candidates and issues, and picked one. Perhaps my picks were completely unbiased because I had no prior influence or sway to vote one way or the other. I took a look at what was in front of me, and voted.

The system, probably needs an upgrade. It's a shame that, most voters are completely uninformed, and base most of their votes on ridiculous ads. Some watch skewed TV news or talk shows that influence voters one way or another. Some use their heads and read things on their own and try to look at all the issues, and come up with their own answers. I hope I'm the latter.

Anyway I was eager to vote because, if you don't return your ballot/vote 2 elections in a row, they force you to go back to the polls. I think that's odd. Oh well, I suppose there are good reasons for that. Anyway this is a nice preferred method of voting. It's just a shame you have to do it in advance. Now that I've done it the first time, I'll probably pay more attention at the next election. I'll research the issues and initiatives and candidates ahead of time, and do some research at home before I fill in my bubble.

New Orleans here I come!

New thing of the day, booked flight to New Orleans!!!!!!!!!!!

I heart Southwest Airlines. They're having this kickass travel deal I found out Thanks to a coworker.

Of course I may feel differently after I fly. Although this was an AMAZING deal. I was planning on traveling to New Orleans for my 30th birthday in 2011. I was looking at flights and being the frugal person I've been lately, do not enjoy the look of spending for flight and hotel. Overall it looked really expensive and wasn't in the mood to spend the money or book the tickets.

Coworker - who I now adore - sent me a link to Southwest's website for travel deals. Holy smokes, so the travel deal now saves us like $200-$400 on round trip tickets for two people. Plus, the deal fits in with our work/school schedules, so we jumped and bought.

I am so unbelievably excited! It's different when you're just planning for a trip, then actually having one booked. In an effort not to swear, I am not swearing, but I would. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Ok so, we have this trip to New Orleans with discount off-season flights. It will be nice since the prices will be low and the place won't be packed with drunk college kids or hoards of people. Although, in the off-season, I hope there's enough open or to-do in New Orleans. I wish we could have gone for Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. Although, I hope we get a better flavor of the city, by visiting when it's just being itself versus being a tourist mecca. It will be quiet when we go, which I hope is a good thing and doesn't bore us to pieces. Any things to do recommendations?

Still hunting and looking for great hotel deals. I bought a Frommer's New Orleans travel guide a few months back, and want to maximize our hotel stay. Possibly stay at a cheap/descent place a few nights, then live it up and spend it at a nice/fancy hotel room the other nights. We shall see and scout for better deals as the days/months go by. Any recommendations for travel deal scouting?

Anyway - I can't believe my dream might finally be coming true. I wanted to go to New Orleans for my 25th birthday, but Katrina hit so we cancelled. Now we have a chance to go! Weeee!!!!!

So travel plans for 2011. New Orleans. Then we have a family reunion in St. Louis later in the year. Then I talked to my Dad and they want us to visit Manila Philippines for Christmas 2011, and I think it would be nice so we might do that. Some friends are doing a kickass trip to Europe this summer, and although it is so unbelievably cool, we just can't get the time or money to do it. One day, we'll be making the dollars and we'll be able to go. For now, we're scouring for travel deals and visiting places off-season to make the most out of our hard earned cash.

Sooooooooo excited! I hope I can get to sleep tonight :) Off to the books/internet for deals!

Weights

New thing of the day, tried out the weights and weight machines at my gym.

New member of 24 Hour Fitness and loving it so far. Decided to add one new workout piece to my regimen every week. This time it was weights. Did a quick and easy 30 minute walk on the treadmill (I'm not in shape yet) and then did some free weights and 3 or 4 machines. Did the lightest weights with 3 sets of 8. I want tone and I want to ease into my workout.

My strategy is "save some for tomorrow". It seems to keep me from burning out and motivates me to go the next day. If I don't do that, I usually end up worn out and resistant to go because I already worked so hard. This way, I am motivated to go again and continue burning calories and building muscle.

Overall I enjoyed the workout. The machines/weights area seems to scare me more than other parts of the gym. The treadmill/cardio people are in their own little space, their own little zone for awhile and seem to mind themselves. The weights area, there's a lot more room for hanging out in different areas/machines and getting some roided guy who wants to chat me up. Personally I just like doing my thing and being left alone. I do NOT like getting noticed or flirted with. Plus you'll see the occasional bulky small dick insecure guy who insists on staring at himself while working out.

Anyway I conquered my fear of the weights section of our gym and am now friendly and open to it. Viva la workout!

Got the giggles

New thing of today, got the giggles at work and started crying at my desk.

Monday, tired and not the most fun day of the week. Was flipping through some Fail Blog posts in between tasks, when the funny started building up. Not sure what it was, but you know, when you find things uncontrollably funny, but you know they're not.

Anyway this was the post that put me over the edge.

I started laughing out loud, uncontrollably at my desk. I could tell my coworkers were like, what's wrong  with her? They came over and looked at what I was looking at, and weren't all that impressed. I just kept laughing out loud for a good 5 minutes. Then I started tearing. Forced myself to calm down and focus on something else. A few minutes later I was laughing uncontrollably again. A few minutes later I decided to get up and leave the room, because I seriously had the giggles and just could not contain myself. Went to the bathroom, my face was red, I looked like I was crying and I was, with tears of laughter. Then took some deep breaths, went outside for a bit, and came back more composed. The coworkers were mainly jealous they weren't as giddy as I was :) I'm just glad I didn't run into any executives in the middle of my giggle fest.

Ahhh... that was fun. I wouldn't mind doing that again. It's more fun when you're not at work, but I always get the giggles in the worst places. Had it at a memorial once - long story but not a mean one. I've had it at church. I've had laughing fits with my cousins. It's a lot of fun but comes out of nowhere. Not sure what came over me, but, alas - Thank Goodness for giggles!

Santa Monica

New things of the day - saw the LA landmark Randy's Donuts, toured the new Santa Monica mall, ate off the pier at The Lobster and saw the movie RED.

It was a family day in Santa Monica. As we were driving, we passed by the LA landmark Randy's Donuts. I'd never seen it before so it was super cool to see it up close. We didn't stop by, but it was cool to actually be at the famous landmark. 

Next we wanted to check out the new Santa Monica mall. It was a really nice. The old mall was indoors and small and outdated. This one was an outdoor mall, with lots of pretty shops. There was a string quartet playing classic rock music such as Wonderwall, Smells like Teen Spirit and Sweet Child of Mine. Ha ha. Some photos below of the views from the mall of the pier and 3rd street promenade.

Next we decided to splurge and have a nice seafood dinner out at The Lobster off the Santa Monica Pier. It's the restaurant at the beginning of the pier before you walk down the walkway. It has great clear glass views of the beach, but unfortunately it was very cloudy that day. 

We ordered grilled lobster, cheese ravioli, chicken, wild rice and a seafood pasta. Overall food was good but not great. The sourdough wheat bread and pesto appetizer were not good. The grilled lobster with butter garlic was delish. The ravioli, chicken and wild rice were also highlights. The seafood pasta had a paella look to it, but tasted more like spaghetti O's with seafood. Our waiter was awful and inattentive. At the end he even gave us the wrong check 3 times the cost of our meal. About an hour after eating there, we all had stomach aches. We all came out of it ok, but considering we shared all the food, we're not sure what caused our ailment. We'll probably never go back. Just not worth it and didn't have the best experience. 

Last, we ended our evening with a movie - RED - Retired Extremely Dangerous. Our friends/family who did see it said they liked it. It was a lot more comedy and talking then I expected, but it was good. The family really liked it which was most important. Also, I am a HUGE Bruce Willis fan. He is, probably the sexiest most awesome action movie star in my opinion. He is probably the one movie star I would get all excited to see in person.  

The movie was more assassin sassy than action I would say. I thought it was a very stylish cool Oceans 11 type vibe but with very cool assassin characters and actors. Though there wasn't much action, it's like they cut out all the crap action and only left the coolest/best pieces of action in. My favorite scene was where Bruce Willis gets out of the cop car while shooting at his adversary here in this trailer. I also really like his adversary Karl Urban - the guy who plays Eomer from Lord of the Rings and Bones from Star Trek. He's becoming one of my favorite actors.  

Overall lots of new things of the day. Thank you Santa Monica. 

Bangs

New thing of today, got bangs.

I thing this "new thing" daily has made me a lot more open to trying things I wouldn't always be open to trying. My hair has become ridiculously long and a bit of a problem. I usually hate getting haircuts because I usually don't like them. The only few times I have had a great haircut, I usually had to pay $60 or more for it, or it was in Hong Kong where I lived for a little while.

Anyway I haven't had bangs since I was a kid. Mainly because I also had a bowl cut and looked like a little boy - slightly traumatic. When it was time to get a haircut, I started looking up styles I liked, and they all had long-ish bangs or bangs. I said, ok, why not? It grows out anyway if I don't like it.

So I went to our local Supercuts. Ugh. I've been to Supercuts like 5 times - different ones, and they all suck. I think it's time to move on and try a different place, maybe Fantastic Sams, before I go to a real salon and pay $60 for a good haircut. I'm holding out, still hoping I can find a cheap place that gives me haircuts I like. I asked for long layers - lots of them. Thing is, she did that, but they look weird, and well maybe you get what you pay for. I did NOT like the person that cut my hair. I also do not like how they don't spend time with you - it's like, cut, bam, thank you Ma'am.

Well I didn't like my haircut, but I liked my long bangs :) They give me the look that I like. Unfortunately they slightly drive me insane because they fall over my eyes and I'm constantly fixing them. I think it's just something to get used to. I'm not quite sure how to style them, but I suppose I'll have to learn. Overall I like the bangs so far. I may hate them later in the week, but I'm glad I tried it out and it gave me a new look, which is what I wanted.

I feel I look younger, since bangs are sort of the trendy thing. I felt a bit like Emo Spiderman in Spiderman 3 for awhile, with the look. Also I feel like I look like one of my cousins. Overall I think it's a younger look, and worth trying for awhile.

Hopefully - this turns out to be a good decision in the long run :)

Below were some of the hair photos I really liked.

Tommy's Tamale

New thing of the day, tried a Tommy's Tamale.

I began my love affair with chili cheese fries at the Original Tommy's. We've been going there since I was a kid. For years I always got the chili cheese fries. Today I saw a tamale on the menu, so decided to try it out.

This is what it looked like.

Pretty gross eh. It tasted like chili and mush. I couldn't even taste the tamale. There's meat and the cornmeal, but covered with the chili, cheese, onion, pickles and tomato, just covered it up and didn't add to it at all. 

I was starving when we ate there too, so the tamale should have tasted better, but it didn't. It was a texture thing. Too much mush, not enough solids. I liked the tomato and the chili is great, but it really needed something solid. Plus we could not distinguish the taste apart from the chili and the tamale. 

This was a fail. If I do order it again, I will try it without the chili and fixings. I'll have to find new favorites at Tommy's and not just the chili cheese fries. Oh well. At least I tried it and now I know. 

Ballerina - Documentary

New thing of today, watched the documentary "Ballerina". 

I love ballerinas. One of my favorite movies is Center Stage. I don't know if it's because I grew up in the 80s and took ballet classes as a kid, but I just love ballerinas. It's a little more graceful and elegant than other forms of dance. It's just so hypnotic to watch them dance. Not sure if I could sit through an entire ballet. Haven't tried it yet but perhaps I should add it to my list of new things to do. 

This documentary appealed to me and talks about Russian ballerinas at the Kirov ballet. It follows the stories of 5 very successful ballerinas. It has clips of their training and various clips of their ballets. It's amazing how much work it is, and how easy and graceful they look. It's truly an art, and some ballerinas just demonstrate so much more feeling and drama when they're on stage. It is hypnotic and the ballerinas are just so beautiful.

It's not that in depth. Just gives a general overview of their lives and the different stories behind some of the more successful ballerinas. Overall I liked the documentary. I may add more ballets to my Neflix queue if I can. It's just so beautiful and artistic to watch. Definitely a chick thing. 

Recognize

New thing of today, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. I'm not an alcoholic, but I recognize a need to change.

Yesterday I was telling a story, using a lot of swear words and being unnecessarily long winded. I noticed people wincing at my swear words and I noticed myself unable to be concise. I realized that, I was sort of picking up on a personality trait of someone I spend a lot of time around.

Recently we were talking about how much our office atmosphere has an effect on us. We can't help but be influenced by the people around us. I'm definitely picking up some very bad habits from people I hang out with. It's mainly based on communication styles and how I speak with people. It's a bunch of little things I'm noticing that I finally recognize and am determined to change.

Swearing is one. Not listening very well is another. Being long winded and not getting to the point. Being negative. These are just a few of the traits I'm noticing about myself lately. I'm doing things that are uncharacteristically me. I think it's because, well, I'm spending way more time and proximity with people and they're having a greater influence in my mood, my attitude and my reactions then they should. In general I'm very adaptable which may not be a good trait in this situation.

Instead of berating myself for slowly acting like someone else, I want to have a role model, ideal for something to look up to. Someone classy, elegant with a strong healthy character. Someone I can mold myself after and try to emulate.

I'd like to pick someone with more guts and backbone. I'm not naturally forceful. I'm sort of a easy going "go with the flow" type person. That doesn't always cut it. I need a healthy way to evolve, survive and thrive this oppressing environment.

Sometimes we need to find our own strength and voice, and maybe a little inspiration from someone else can help. Someone with force of personality who fought back when the going got tough. Not necessarily a bitch who likes to pick fights, but someone who, more likely, stood proud and strong when needed.

There are so few women characters and role models out there that can be strong, command respect and yet be feminine. Honestly, I'm having a hard time finding a role model who fits what I'm looking for.

I found that, there aren't very many strong lead female characters in western pop culture. It's quite sad. Most strong female leads are very masculine, or perhaps just hot action stars. There are few women with a lot of grit, character or force of personality. Meryl Streep probably plays the strongest roles. Let's face it, most of our heroes are men. That's just how they're written these days.

The verdict is still out. I don't have one female muse to find my strength of character to follow, but I am open to suggestions - comments! :)

Anyway back to the point, I recognize a problem with my outlook, mannerisms, speech and demeanor. Next step, I am determined to evolve into an emotionally stronger and more positive person. Someone with more confidence, class and moxie. A lady and a tiger. Perhaps I'll just have to be the change I wish to see in the world.

Anyway below are some of the strong female muses I came up with. I know I'm missing some good ones, but alas.

Evey - Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta

Lisbeth Salander - Noomi Rapace in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Classy - Audrey Hepburn (of course) and Anne Hathoway

- And many more women out there deserving mention but it's late and it's time to sleep.

HAIL

New thing of the day, driving in hail.

It was raining, not pouring, and I was driving. All of a sudden I saw a lump fall to the ground in front of me and was like "well that's odd". Next came a loud BOOM BOOM BOOM on my car and small white rocks hitting my car. I was like "It's HAILING!?"

I was talking softly to my car like "it's ok, we'll be ok". If anything it was loud and I was more shocked and amazed than anything. It wasn't really that cold in the first place, and it wasn't even raining that hard. The day was odd anyway.We had the power go out because something electrical blew out at a nearby station so like 4 cities in the area had power interrupted. Then there was thunder and lightning during the day and evening - unusual during rain and storms.

I had never driven in hail. Luckily it didn't last very long, just a quick short burst in our area. I was more worried for my car. Nothing damaged on the car. I was just glad we weren't standing outside when it happened. I've never been hit by hail before and am not really interested in that experience.

Also a new first-ish. Joined 24 Hour Fitness for the first time, and had my first workout there. Scoped the place out and thought about it for awhile, then signed up at the local gym. Been thinking about it awhile and finally decided to bite the bullet, but go with a monthly local plan because I want to make sure I'll use it before I buy in for a long-term contract. Anyway it's been a stressful week at work and we are refugees in another computer room because of some water damage in our office. Because of this I sit really very close to my coworkers which, is a little closer than I'm comfortable with. Plus the whole no cube, no personal space thing is wearing on me. Plus the husband's car wouldn't start so we were carpooling despite his now irregular schedule. It's just been raining and messy lately. So anyway, I was glad to get out and sweat off some stress and anxiety.

My oh my did it feel marvelous - MARVELOUS! Note to self - read this when you don't feel like working out anymore. It was so invigorating and relaxing at the same time. I took out all my anxious energy. I'm so out of shape that even just that walk on the treadmill really helped. Went to bed a good tired and slept awesome. So very very happy I signed up. I'll probably go workout again tonight and the rest of the week. It's definitely a better stress relief alternative than the chocolate, wine and other foods I've been resorting to.

Anyway, it was a stressful and tiring day, but ended with a fantastic workout. When it rains, it hails, sometimes.

Sushi Koy

New thing of the day, tried a new Japanese restaurant - Sushi Koy.

Had an icky day at work and was craving sushi. Awesome husband of mine was game, so we decided to try a new place - Sushi Koy. Heard from a few coworkers that it was delicious. Yelp rated it 4 stars, so decided to try it out.

I actually dreaded trying this new place. Sushi gets expensive but I love Japanese food. I wanted to eat sushi and just try something new and good. Risking $9-12 on a dish I've never tried before isn't something I do comfortably. So here we go.

First thing I ordered was the Jimmy Roll #1. It was recommended on Yelp - but there are 3 Jimmy Rolls and I was conflicted as to which one to try. The Jimmy Roll #1 had no rice, a cucumber wrapper, some fresh tuna and some pink mushy stuff I don't remember what it is. The roll tasted better when the cucumber and roll is separated. The sauce and wasabi/sesame were good. Overall I just didn't like the roll that much. I was disappointed and sad at the $9 we spent. 

When we were ordering I didn't want to put all my eggs in one sushi basket, so decided to try the Tuna Rolls at $5. It had a star next to it, and it was a bit cheaper. This was amazing delicious! It looked unusual. A lot more stuff on top of the rolls than I'm used to. Every bite was Unami! Oh so amazing. And best of all it was only $5. Too bad there were only 2 pieces. 

Husband got the chicken teriyaki dinner. Tempura, salad and teriyaki were really really good. It even came with steak fries which were pretty good. Overall yummy and I really liked the chicken teriyaki and salad. 

Overall Sushi Koy gets a 4 out of 5. I will try different rolls next time, and definitely the tuna roll. That may possibly be the best roll I've ever had?! Mmmmmm. Sushi Koy - new spot to try out and hopefully become a regular at.

Tins

New thing of today, bought some old fashioned tins.

Today we were browsing some antique stores. Saw a basket of neat tins. The one on the leftmost caught my eye and it got me looking at a bunch of other tins. The back middle one will be a gift. I love the tiny tiger one and might use it for jewelry or whatever. The red one was just neat and not sure if we'll keep it or give it as a gift.

So that's it. Yeay for antique stores!

The Expendables

New thing of the day, saw The Expendables at our local cheap theater.

Let me say - AMEN to small well kept and 2nd run cheap movie theaters. They are fabulous in these economic times and provide a wonderful way to watch movies at an affordable price. Ours charges between $3.50-$4.00 for a movie. Their concessions are also cheap. The cost of 4 of us watching a movie plus medium drink, soda and some Dibs cost about $23, or about the cost of two tickets at a regular theater.

As for the movie, it was expendable. I heard good things about it. I actually like guy movies. A coworker said, it was like, the male version of Sex and the City 2. It was like, the one or two females sitting in the theater, you know were dragged there by their guys. Also, the guys just got all excited and it was a total testosterone fest with all the action heroes and action scenes. A few of the guys at work liked the movie, so I thought it had potential. After all, we liked the new A-Team they made.

My take on the movie, not good. There were some funny/ridiculous moments of action and testosterone. There were just a few new and at times shocking fight/death scenes. It was interesting to see big stars face-off. It was kind of neat to see the scene with Stallone, Schwarzenegger and my favorite Bruce Willis. Overall it wasn't that exciting. We watch Dexter so it was cool to see Agent Angel Batista as the General in the movie.  I think Mickey Rourke did a good job in the movie and gave the most compelling and dramatic performance. Although I think the guy who really stole the movie and shined among all the other action heroes seems to be The Transporter guy Jason Statham. Stallone doesn't kiss the girl at the end which I thought was kind of cool. And I love the classic black truck he drives around in.

Overall the movie was eh, like I'd give it between a 4 and 6, depending on my mood. I guess it was good we saw it because we were intensely curious about it and thought it may have had potential. It's a good action guy junk movie. It may become a cult classic, the long tail. I'm glad they tried and had fun with it.

Here's leaving on a high note though. I thought this was an interesting poster/promotional piece. They took all the actors in The Expendables and created a movie poster based on how many movies and kills they've had in each one. It's kind of a fun body count of the movies they've all been in. Below is a copy of the poster :) I guess thinking back, it's sort of a fun guy action movie and may not be as bad as I thought. Just had high hopes. Oh well, at least we only spent $4 a ticket and had a good evening.

Double French Braid

New thing of today, double french braided my hair at work. I always loved the double french braid. Not a fan of the single french braid. Recently a friend did a double braid on her short hair and it looked awesome. Although, for me it all started when I was a camp counsellor at summer camp. I wore my hair in double braids. I would usually request someone else do the braid for me since it was rather difficult to do myself. As an adult and without much time or patience to braid hair, I almost never double braid these days. In fact, I think this is the first time my husband has seen this hairstyle on me.

Today at work my hair was bothering me. It's been getting a bit long and I've needed a haircut for some time. Some days I just don't know what to do with it. If it's warm in the room I want it up and out of my face, but I also want it to look cute. Down is the prettiest, but it gets in my face and tends to be very warm.

As a coworker noticed, I had it in 4 different styles today. First I had it up. Then I had it in a twisty messy half ponytail. Then I had it in a full ponytail. Finally, I was sick of my hair and wanted to feel good. I had some free time and decided to try the double french braid at my bathroom at work - without a brush, and without a way to see the back of my head - all by feeling.

Of course, whenever I use the restroom, it's always empty and I have it to myself for the few minutes I'm in there. I figured I could try the braids in peace. Today of course, when I went in there to try the braid, there were like 4 people in a 3 stall bathroom, one of them straightening their hair with a flat iron. Really? 

So... I waited and finally had a side of the mirror to myself. Gave it a try with a coworker there and then for the last part had the whole bathroom to myself. Since my hair is so long, it took more time to make sure the pieces weren't tangled before braiding the next set. I had no idea what it looked like, but it felt alright and it looked ok from the front. I asked a girl coworker I trusted "how does it look" and showed her the back. She said it looked great and she liked my hair down with the layers, without anything, but I told her it was just too warm to keep it all down.

Anyway I walked around all afternoon/evening with this hairstyle, having no idea what it looked like in the back, until just a few minutes ago. I am very happy with how it looks this may become a regular hairstyle, if I can keep doing it. 

So new thing of the day, double braiding my hair at work, without a brush, and having it come out a success. Could have turned out neater, but I still think it looked cute. Woooo-hooooo!

Flyaway

New thing of the day, saw someone off and picked someone up at the Van Nuys Airport Flyaway.

The picking up part was part of a plan. In-laws were coming back from a trip overseas, so they arrived at LAX and too the Van Nuys Flyaway bus from LAX to the San Fernando Valley. This is a fabulous service that I highly recommend to anyone travelling. It saves so much time and hassel for relatives and is a great service for the community. Go efficient public transportation!

The new thing was running into a coworker leaving for a family trip for the weekend at the same terminal. It was funny because I went to sit down and wait for the in-laws, and when I looked up I saw my coworker staring right at me like - Oh my goodness what are you doing here? That was fun and we said hello and it was nice to send him off with a friendly face on his trip. I was glad because I left work today and realized I didn't give him a hug and send-off of "have a great trip" before I left. So it was good for me to see him, because I could say - hey - have a good trip!

So that was new and very cool. Very, kismet.

Family Guy Season 3

New thing of today, started Family Guy Season 3. We started watching it because so many people at work talk about it, so thought I'd give it a shot. We saw a few episodes of season 1, and it just didn't have a lot of zing or funny. I asked some coworkers about it and they said first season, definitely slow and weird. After that it gets better. So Netflix instant play - lets you watch all the seasons. Unfortunately I forgot to add season 2 on my Netflix instant play, so I had season 3 on there and decided to try it out.

Wow did it get better. The jokes are a lot racier and funnier. Way more zingers, randomness and out there parts. The husband likes it too. We'll try it out awhile. It's pretty zany and just a nice short show to take the worries away. So ya, I'm on this wagon. Go Family Guy! :)

The Hundred Secret Senses

New thing of today, started the book on CD - The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan. Perused the audio book section of our local library, also a first. So sad, our local library has quite a battered looking collection of audio books.

I'm not sure if I've read this book before. I read few Amy Tan books and was trying to figure out if this is a new one or something I read a long long time ago. It seems familiar, then again a lot of books by the same author can feel similar but different. Anyway if I have read it, or haven't, it should make the commutes a little more interesting.

I find audio books make my drives go by quicker and seem to wake up the brain a little earlier. I like my drives and look forward to them. Plus it's a great way to get my reading in and I can listen to some books a lot easier than actually trying to read them. I couldn't have read "A Brave New World" if I wanted to, but I was able to listen to it on drives.  

Here's to audio books. So far, so good with this story. :)

Blame it on the gas oven

New thing of today, blamed my undercooked chicken on the gas oven.

Yes that is a ridiculous "bun in the oven" costume, and no that doesn't mean we have a bun in the oven I just thought it was a funny photo to post with this blog.

Anyway, I finally figured out why I don't like using our oven - it doesn't work the way we're used to. It's a gas oven. Both husband and I grew up on electric ovens and stoves. When we moved, I was excited because we both like gas burners when frying. Plus I hear it's the superior way to cook.

Ever since we started using the gas burners - perfect and love cooking with it. The only downside is it's a bit more dangerous with spills and the open flame, but overall I like how quick and easy it is to heat and cool foods.

We've had nothing but issues with our gas oven. I made bread in it which turned out ok but not great. We've made chicken and every time the chicken comes out underdone and we have to either keep it in there much longer than expected, or cook it somewhere else. There was a tri-tip that was in there too long and came out over dry. I got an oven thermometer just to check and make sure I could monitor the temperature. It's still hard to use because we can't see it from the glass window. It's hard to control the temperature and keep it high and consistent. I also do not like how the heat comes out above the dials and it's hot when you try to change the settings or get something from the cabinet above.

When we got the place, the home inspector said that it's a small oven, and that we have to keep the door closed to keep the temperature consistent, but I do open it quite a bit to check on things. I also remember he did not like the oven, and perhaps recommended us getting a new one. Don't know for sure though.

Today I tried to bake chicken at 350 for an hour, and it was still underdone. So we stuck it in the toaster oven for 20 minutes and it cooked through properly. So odd how in our old electric ovens we never had issues, but with our gas oven we're having all sorts of issues. I'm almost sure it's because it's gas, or because there's something wrong with our oven.

Anyway the experiment continues. Next time I may just up the temperature and keep the door closed for meat. Also I may pre-heat a lot more, and I don't know, up the temperature if i'll be opening it a lot. Or we may get it checked out by a professional and we may get a new one.

I hate to blame the machine. I believe our food is a result of our own actions, but when you cook multiple times in a machine and it consistently does not perform the way you need it to, it's time to blame the machine. So this time, for the first time, I'm openly blaming the gas oven.

No idea what it is about the gas oven that the issue is. I'll try some different cooking methods before we look to really having someone come out and look at it or worst, pay for a new one. Saving, saving these days. I'm just sad that we got a funky oven and wish it was working well. Oh well, here's to our toaster oven. I may default to that for now.

Every Little Step

New thing of today, "Every Little Step". It's a documentary based on the musical "A Chorus Line" and is about the making of the play, and also the choosing of the next cast to play on Broadway.

What I thought was most interesting, is the creation of the musical "A Chorus Line". According to the documentary, choreographer Michael Bennett decided to sit down with some dancers and himself, with a tape recorder and do a very candid interview about their lives and their careers. Basically he said that he thought their lives were very interesting, and he had an idea for a musical about it. So he created one.

I love that the musical was based on real-life people and events. Also, that they interviewed some of the original dancers and people involved in the original Chorus Line. One of the people screening the dancers and actors was actually a character in the show. Connie was part of the original interviews, they created and based a character on her in the original play, and she was part of the production team that was recasting and recreating it on Broadway.

It was interesting and a little less like American Idol and a lot more like real life. It was great to know you were seeing real life stories of people and not stuff a writer made up in their head. You were seeing behind the scenes and some of the stuff that goes on to those who audition and also what goes on for the producers. I just really like the idea of how the play was created and am all the more interested now in seeing the actual musical :) Totally cool and worth checking out if you like musicals, which I do.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

New thing of the day, watched "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie.

First Swedish subtitled movie, and a very good one at that. Heard fabulous things about it and had no idea what it was about, except it was some sort of murder mystery. I won't give anything away, but it's very dark, very violent, there's sexual abuse and sort of a sick dark and sad backdrop.  I do NOT want to read the books after watching the movie, but this is part of a trilogy, and 2 more movies as part of this that I definitely want to watch.

I love the heroine - the girl with the dragon tattoo :) According to Wikipedia - the writer wrote this in honor of a girl who he saw victimized and brutalized and it seems a sort of a vindication, perhaps a way to make-up for his guilt over not helping her. Some very dark stuff, and very gruesome sexual abuse issues that come into play in the movie so just be warned. It's dramatic, dark and very good. Some of the scenes and ideas stick around and haunt you a bit.

I love how he portrays the heroine - the girl with the dragon tattoo. He makes her real and strong and smart and a true hero in this movie. The hero is also a very honorable man. In the movie at least, there are some very dark monsters, and very good heroes.

Learned a new thing. Apparently, depending on what crime you are convicted for in Sweden, you get 6 months after the trial to put your affairs in order before serving your sentence - wow.

So, prepare to be shocked, but overall a good movie and worth the watching.

The Oinkster

New thing, ate at The Oinkster in Eagle Rock, CA.

It's funny to see Eagle Rock as a hip, trendy and happening place. Growing up there, it was always sort of a small town and bordering on seethy and ghetto. In the last 10 years it's become a kind of emerging hipster place with great small food places, and trendy areas to hang out. They have a Friday Farmer's market by my old elementary school. My husband said he went to a music festival where the whole main street was shut down and they had bands playing all along it. He said he watched a band play in the florist shop and like that type of thing. I think it's the Occidental college influence, but overall it's a surprising and nice evolution.

Anyway in my old town, Guy Fieri featured The Oinkster on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He's featured other favorite food places of ours like Polka and Fab's Hot Dogs, but The Oinkster was a new one that we had never been to but driven by and felt compelled to try. 

The Oinkster has a very classy asian influence on the diner style. The decor has bamboo walls and round lantern type lights inside. The bathrooms were really nice too surprisingly. The place was classy all over.

I was really excited to order the Ube Shake. Ube is a native Filipino purple yam, that's sweet like sweet potatoes but has it's own unique flavor. It's often used in desserts and I've had it before freshly boiled and pounded into a paste/jam, and it's amazing. The Oinkster puts it in a shake and it is amazing delicious. Even my husband who is American - really really liked it.

We got there right before the rush and tried the Oinkster Pastrami sandwich, the pulled pork sandwich and split a large order of fries with extra garlic aoili sauce. The patio seating was lovely. The food came surprisingly quick, and oh was it delicious! I can say it's the best pastrami I've ever had. Beats The Hat - no question. The fries, well, with the garlic aoili sauce - wow! The pulled pork sandwich was ok. It was good, but after the best pastrami ever, doesn't compare. The food was so good, just good - great. My compliments to the chef!

The only downside is that the show was featured on Triple D and we overheard someone talking to a server. I guess that show tripled their business. Some of these spots were already our favorites like Polka, and with success comes a lot of people. We beat the rush and the food and service runs pretty quickly, but we watched a line go from 5 minute wait to out the door 30 minute wait for this place. I hope they stay successful, but don't want them to change too much or become too much of a hassle to visit because they are so successful. Oh well. I suppose we can't save it all for ourselves. 

This is another reason I'm falling in love with LA - all sorts of cool new spots to discover and try :)