My heart goes out to all the victims of the Colorado shooting. My thoughts are with them and I wish you all well.
It is absolutely absurd how the University of Colorado trying to distance themselves from James Holmes. Saying things like due to police order we can't release information, we was in the process of dropping out, and such. For the victims family, this mouse & cat game gotta suck. Why not just man up and say yes he was a student of this fine university & that where it all ends? Reading the news, I can't help but wonder how hard the university if trying to make sure not to get tangled in this mess.
I also think that James Holmes is not psychotic or have any kind of disorder. Have you seen the court pics. The guys is putting on a show, trying to fake emotions. My guess is, after a year he at the university he realized he's not good at neuroscience. What to do with a bachelor degree in neuroscience? You really can't do a whole lot? And that's when he wanted to do something drastic.
Either way it is sad and this shouldn't have happened.
Despise
Never really believed in a soul,
My heart is empty now.
With all the ups & downs, I tried
And wanted to see the beauty in you.
Heard so much of you, I was excited.
To finally come so close,
The feeling was serene.
I had unlaced mine,
Felt some particles of you;
That made the leap seemed possible.
But with all the noises around,
You didn't even get to wet my toes.
Then again I doubt,
If there would have been a splash.
From the 20' you and me were apart,
You looked annihilated, dirty and too calm for my liking.
I don't know which way to turn anymore,
Whether to love you or despise you?
The good 'ol days have passed,
Memories faded;
I can see your deceit and lies,
But then everyone lies, don't they?
The hurts, the pains, scream of helplessness...
Had sailed,
But the ghost is back.
Keep pushing, Keep pushing
Soon it will be all blurred.
Visit to Chicago
Last weekend we visited Chicago on a whim. I had thought of visiting on
Friday. That night I made the hotel reservation, packed all our stuff without
Tina knowing.
Friday night got drunk on Vodka. Next morning we went to the Blank Park Zoo with our friends as
promised. Tina had no idea. After the zoo, get some ice-cream at the DQ. From
there we took off. After driving for an hour, she figured out we are not going
swimming but Chicago. My plan was quite simple for the whole trip. We would be
in Chicago by 9pm the latest on Saturday. So hit up Devon st. first. Get something
to eat, and then shopping. On Sunday, do more shopping during the day. In the afternoon,
hit the beach and try The Weiner Circle
at night.
Needless to say, most of that didn’t happen. We did the shopping and
more shopping, oh and lots of eating & shopping. That’s all. I first fell
in love; learned to eat a hotdog in Chicago. Back in 2003, when I visited
Chicago, I fell in love with their hotdog. And that was the last time, I had a
Chicago dog. Since then I’ve been to the Windy City twice, but never had the
chance to try one out. It’s frustrating to think, I spent a good hour (maybe
two) on Friday searching, reading reviews and then finally deciding on The
Weiner Circle. Just as I had planned on going to the North Avenue beach, which
didn’t happened either. Who the fuck am I kidding?
We went to the Navy Pier, but it’s more commercialized than Coney
Island or Santa Monica. We didn’t even make it to the end of the pier or try the
bike tour. Unlike LA, Minneapolis or even NY, Chicago lacks some kind of vibe.
I never quite felt the urge to live here or move here. The whole city appears
to be much commercialized. For the people in the Midwest, this might do.
I did reminiscence the first time me & Ruma came to Chicago. And by
sheer chance, we were staying at a hotel on the same street as before. As we
were driving around, the roads looked familiar. At one point, I recognized the Mediterranean
restaurant we went to but didn’t really eat much. Instead came back to the
hotel and ordered some Chinese with no MSG.
No worries. Soon, pretty soon sitting on the stairs, I am going to
enjoy a bacon wrapped hotdog with Siana in Hollywood; sit on the sidewalk to
enjoy a taco & tamale in Koreatown; share the Bicycle burger at Grandma’s
Restaurant in Duluth….and more.
No to Cheesecake Factory
Went to the Cheesecake Factory today during lunch...company treat. The whole welcome, intro part was a little over the top for me. How about keeping it simple? I guess not here.
The new girl(she just joined our team) ordered the Thai Lettuce Wraps. Tom ordered something similar. Now they say you can judge a cook/eatery/chef by how they cook a burger. The pride, the patience goes into making one that will have you wanting more. So, I ordered the Old Fashioned Hamburger from their Glamburgers & Sandwiches, even though I should have went for either salad or soup. You see the night before we used one of the Restaurant.com certificate and indulged at the El Aguila Real Mexican, and there was nothing Mexican about it. More on that some other time.
In between conversation, the food arrived. Not too soon, not too late either. The new girl got her lettuce wraps first. Both me & Tom were aghast as to the unimaginative, blend plate. Even the new girl was turned off by it. It wasn't hard to see/figure out how the plate could have been delivered from the truck to the table. How about chopping up the lettuce? Mixing up all the ingredients and present the chicken & the dressings on the side??!! Even the lettuce didn't look appealing. It was dark, not the kind you would want to wrap around a chicken and dip in the sauce. The new girl was not satisfied, she pretty much left her plate untouched.
On my side of the table, both the new girl & Tom were a little jealous of my plate. I mean look at the burger & the fries with mayonnaise. They were both commenting on how good it looked & all. Well, I will gladly share fries but you only get to take a bite out of my burger if you are either my wife or my daughter. Anybody & everybody else, not a chance. Always start with the fries. That's how I like it. Finish the fries first & then work on the burger. After few fries I am having a real hard time going for more, let alone finish it. The fries are warm, cooked just right. It's the salt. I've never had fries with that much salt. My fingers & lips are just covered in salt. I let my colleagues know my disappointment with the fries. Against my will, I start on the burger. After the fries looking at the burger I am suspicious. It seems there's an overflow of salt & pepper on the meat itself. First bite, my jaws are hurting. This is one chewy meat. After few more bites, I am looking for some dressings. I dip the burger in the mayonnaise in vain. This is one dry burger. I can't seem to taste anything except for the meat & some buns. Towards the end, I could taste some mayonnaise which may have been slapped on with a spatula. Was there really lettuce, onion, pickles and tomatoes as the menu said? I didn't taste any of them.
The waitress suggested some desert. I am not big on sweets and after my unforgettable, special encounters with the burger & fries, I am less inclined to order anything else. Tom & the new girl suggested I get some desert to go for the wife. Hmmm...not a bad idea. I got the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for her to go. She hasn't touched it, she wants to eat it with me tonight...=)
I am sorry honey, but you might be disappointed.
The new girl(she just joined our team) ordered the Thai Lettuce Wraps. Tom ordered something similar. Now they say you can judge a cook/eatery/chef by how they cook a burger. The pride, the patience goes into making one that will have you wanting more. So, I ordered the Old Fashioned Hamburger from their Glamburgers & Sandwiches, even though I should have went for either salad or soup. You see the night before we used one of the Restaurant.com certificate and indulged at the El Aguila Real Mexican, and there was nothing Mexican about it. More on that some other time.
In between conversation, the food arrived. Not too soon, not too late either. The new girl got her lettuce wraps first. Both me & Tom were aghast as to the unimaginative, blend plate. Even the new girl was turned off by it. It wasn't hard to see/figure out how the plate could have been delivered from the truck to the table. How about chopping up the lettuce? Mixing up all the ingredients and present the chicken & the dressings on the side??!! Even the lettuce didn't look appealing. It was dark, not the kind you would want to wrap around a chicken and dip in the sauce. The new girl was not satisfied, she pretty much left her plate untouched.
On my side of the table, both the new girl & Tom were a little jealous of my plate. I mean look at the burger & the fries with mayonnaise. They were both commenting on how good it looked & all. Well, I will gladly share fries but you only get to take a bite out of my burger if you are either my wife or my daughter. Anybody & everybody else, not a chance. Always start with the fries. That's how I like it. Finish the fries first & then work on the burger. After few fries I am having a real hard time going for more, let alone finish it. The fries are warm, cooked just right. It's the salt. I've never had fries with that much salt. My fingers & lips are just covered in salt. I let my colleagues know my disappointment with the fries. Against my will, I start on the burger. After the fries looking at the burger I am suspicious. It seems there's an overflow of salt & pepper on the meat itself. First bite, my jaws are hurting. This is one chewy meat. After few more bites, I am looking for some dressings. I dip the burger in the mayonnaise in vain. This is one dry burger. I can't seem to taste anything except for the meat & some buns. Towards the end, I could taste some mayonnaise which may have been slapped on with a spatula. Was there really lettuce, onion, pickles and tomatoes as the menu said? I didn't taste any of them.
The waitress suggested some desert. I am not big on sweets and after my unforgettable, special encounters with the burger & fries, I am less inclined to order anything else. Tom & the new girl suggested I get some desert to go for the wife. Hmmm...not a bad idea. I got the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for her to go. She hasn't touched it, she wants to eat it with me tonight...=)
I am sorry honey, but you might be disappointed.
Gay Marriage & Thursday
Today is a good day. Well, for one it is Thursday and another the President Obama voiced his support for Gay Marriage. It is amazing that he was so clear, to the point. No mumbling or playing games. I do wonder, a) if gay/lesbian marriage will be legalized by 2014 (unlikely)? and b) if the presidents statement will have any impact, effect on any third world countries or middle east (again highly unlikely)?
I have always been a proponent of gay marriage. At the end of the day, who the hell am I to tell someone if they can or cannot marry a person they love?!
As we humans are progressing, we are overcoming a lot of our prejudices. First slavery, then racism (which a lot of people are still overcoming), Equal rights, Women's right, Child labor, and now the same-sex marriage. So what's next? After we legalize same-sex marriage what is the next step forward?
I think after the same-sex marriage issue settles down, we should team up like the Avengers to battle, diminish, modernize religion.
I have always been a proponent of gay marriage. At the end of the day, who the hell am I to tell someone if they can or cannot marry a person they love?!
As we humans are progressing, we are overcoming a lot of our prejudices. First slavery, then racism (which a lot of people are still overcoming), Equal rights, Women's right, Child labor, and now the same-sex marriage. So what's next? After we legalize same-sex marriage what is the next step forward?
I think after the same-sex marriage issue settles down, we should team up like the Avengers to battle, diminish, modernize religion.
Adventureland, Avenger...all As
Last Saturday, woke up at 7am. Wake the family up at 8am so we can all go to Adventureland....yay!!! That place is so fucking lame. I am glad we got discount tickets from our friends. Normally the tickets are $39.00(yes, that is thirty fucking nine dollars) per person. We got it for $18.00 per person. It has more kiddie ride than adult ones. Even on those rides kids are just spinning...yeah spin their brains out. So, what's my beef with the Adventureland??!!
1. Not enough rides/amusement for adults...hardly any.
2. The roller coasters are fucking lame. Just looking at the Tornado, I decided not to wait in line. It just basically goes up & down..3 times. That's it. Since the line at the Dragon was a little shorter, I decided to try that one. Two 360 loop & one turn...and it was over.
3. We were looking forward to splashing in the water. But I guess $18.00 doesn't entitle us to do that since the water park was close.
Few times I was reminiscing the times at the Worlds of Fun with Sameer; Oceans of Fun with Sameer, Andrie, two Russian chicks and few others; or the fun we had at the Six Flags Magic Mountain with my sister-in-law. I need to gather all these people around and do another amusement/water park day...
So, last night after getting home from work, my wife tells me today is Mothers Day. I freaked out. I thought it was on Sunday but she kept insisting it was yesterday(for her today, that is Tuesday). I am thinking it doesn't make any sense, it should be the second Sunday of May...you know to let you take some time to appreciate & celebrate with mom...Oh fuck. So, I drove around and bought a Wii with Zumba for her. Just before leaving the store, started chatting with the clerk and he confirms Mothers Day is on Sunday.
Oh Well.
But I had also promised her to take her to see Avenger...and so we went. I am more excited, anxious about The Dark Knight Rises. On Avenger, my favorite character was Hulk by far and I was getting more annoyed by the Ironman...too many quirky lines.
1. Not enough rides/amusement for adults...hardly any.
2. The roller coasters are fucking lame. Just looking at the Tornado, I decided not to wait in line. It just basically goes up & down..3 times. That's it. Since the line at the Dragon was a little shorter, I decided to try that one. Two 360 loop & one turn...and it was over.
3. We were looking forward to splashing in the water. But I guess $18.00 doesn't entitle us to do that since the water park was close.
Few times I was reminiscing the times at the Worlds of Fun with Sameer; Oceans of Fun with Sameer, Andrie, two Russian chicks and few others; or the fun we had at the Six Flags Magic Mountain with my sister-in-law. I need to gather all these people around and do another amusement/water park day...
So, last night after getting home from work, my wife tells me today is Mothers Day. I freaked out. I thought it was on Sunday but she kept insisting it was yesterday(for her today, that is Tuesday). I am thinking it doesn't make any sense, it should be the second Sunday of May...you know to let you take some time to appreciate & celebrate with mom...Oh fuck. So, I drove around and bought a Wii with Zumba for her. Just before leaving the store, started chatting with the clerk and he confirms Mothers Day is on Sunday.
Oh Well.
But I had also promised her to take her to see Avenger...and so we went. I am more excited, anxious about The Dark Knight Rises. On Avenger, my favorite character was Hulk by far and I was getting more annoyed by the Ironman...too many quirky lines.
Tamale's Industry
Last year I purchased a $20.00 Restaurant.com certificate to use at the Tamale's Industry in Des Moines, IA. After living in Cali, I am a big fan of tamales. Not only tamales, I also got to experience & love other Mexican food and the culture too.
In college, a friend once took me to Tacos El Mexicano. He ordered a burrito for me and asked me to just try it. Man, I loved it. Only after I finished the monstrous burrito, he told me it was a cow tongue burrito. I had no idea, but boy it was good. Since then that's the only food I'd eat at that restaurant.
Now back to Tamale's Industry. Few weeks ago, we decided to give them a try. If I hadn't purchased the gift certificate from Restaurant.com already, I wouldn't have drove to this part of town for Tamale. From outside it looked rather rundown. Once I got inside, I was immediately taken back to LA. It looks & feels like any other family-owned restaurant (which it is), but they did a pretty good job emulating eateries on Alvarado. I asked if we could do a carry-out rather than dine-in. The guy was very nice, polite and said that won't be a problem.
Here's what we ordered:
2 spicy beef tamale meal
2 pork tamale
1 Chicken Burrito meal
1 cow tongue taco meal
While waiting inside I was chatting with the server & the cook admiring the look & feel of the place. When I told 'em my love for tamale and I used to live in LA, the owner sent a complimentary tamale & salsa on our table. I loved the texture, but it felt like there wasn't enough beef filling.
After getting the food, we drove home fast, to devour the food while warm. We got home, laid all the food down on the living room and turned on the TV. After going through each of the take out box, my wife turned the TV off.
"Let's just eat first."
I'm not complaining. I got to work. I really admired the way all the tamales were wrapped, authentic. First I started with the pork tamale. It was OK. After having one pork, immediately I tried the spicy beef. This one was much better than the pork. I was pleased and set the last spicy beef aside for the finishing pleasure. I also tried the cow tongue taco. I'd rather go to Tacos El Mexicano for a cow tongue burrito next time. I had few bites of the chicken burrito from my wife and it was pleasantly good. Needless to say, I finished my meal with the spicy beef tamale that Sunday evening.
Afterwards, both me & my wife agreed on few things:
1. We would go back to the Tamale's Industry,
2. But we wouldn't order either the cow tongue burrito or the pork tamale.
Hope you guys enjoy the food & atmosphere as we did.
In college, a friend once took me to Tacos El Mexicano. He ordered a burrito for me and asked me to just try it. Man, I loved it. Only after I finished the monstrous burrito, he told me it was a cow tongue burrito. I had no idea, but boy it was good. Since then that's the only food I'd eat at that restaurant.
Now back to Tamale's Industry. Few weeks ago, we decided to give them a try. If I hadn't purchased the gift certificate from Restaurant.com already, I wouldn't have drove to this part of town for Tamale. From outside it looked rather rundown. Once I got inside, I was immediately taken back to LA. It looks & feels like any other family-owned restaurant (which it is), but they did a pretty good job emulating eateries on Alvarado. I asked if we could do a carry-out rather than dine-in. The guy was very nice, polite and said that won't be a problem.
Here's what we ordered:
2 spicy beef tamale meal
2 pork tamale
1 Chicken Burrito meal
1 cow tongue taco meal
While waiting inside I was chatting with the server & the cook admiring the look & feel of the place. When I told 'em my love for tamale and I used to live in LA, the owner sent a complimentary tamale & salsa on our table. I loved the texture, but it felt like there wasn't enough beef filling.
After getting the food, we drove home fast, to devour the food while warm. We got home, laid all the food down on the living room and turned on the TV. After going through each of the take out box, my wife turned the TV off.
"Let's just eat first."
I'm not complaining. I got to work. I really admired the way all the tamales were wrapped, authentic. First I started with the pork tamale. It was OK. After having one pork, immediately I tried the spicy beef. This one was much better than the pork. I was pleased and set the last spicy beef aside for the finishing pleasure. I also tried the cow tongue taco. I'd rather go to Tacos El Mexicano for a cow tongue burrito next time. I had few bites of the chicken burrito from my wife and it was pleasantly good. Needless to say, I finished my meal with the spicy beef tamale that Sunday evening.
Afterwards, both me & my wife agreed on few things:
1. We would go back to the Tamale's Industry,
2. But we wouldn't order either the cow tongue burrito or the pork tamale.
Hope you guys enjoy the food & atmosphere as we did.
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