Hello Readers - I want to branch out for about 5 minutes and wish you Happy Thanksgiving! I would have loved to grace you with my next post about my new and exciting adventures but I have to blackmail a friend for some pictures so it may be a couple of days.
Anyways, I hope you all are having a fabulous day and that you get to spend it with people you love. As for me? Well, I'm in Arizona like I said and I have been having a wonderful couple of days with my adorable niece. Have I mentioned that it's been a wonderful excuse to watch lots of Disney movies?
And if your family hates each other and you managed to duck into your room for five minutes to get away, this should cheer you up:
http://video.tvguide.com/Saturday+Night+Live/Update--3a+Guy+Fieri/6684884
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Week of October 25th 2010: Pumpkin Punch & Koko Cocktails
As I sit in the airport ridiculously early for my flight (rumors about crazy body scanners, groping, tantrums, and protests prove to be decidedly untrue if you fly the day before the day before the holiday), I figure that it may be time for another post. Since Thanksgiving is almost upon us, it is only fitting that I write about the week of Halloween. I really need to catch up on these posts...
So this blog was always about doing new things and although many of my early posts centered around going to new places, a new thing can be as simple as something you can make at home. To get excited for Halloween, I had a crazy urge to watch the Nightmare Before Christmas
. In order to coax some of my friends to join me, I promised them some sort of festive fall punch. I did a little bit of snooping around and ended up finding a great recipe for a pumpkin punch (I tried finding the link again and couldn't find the same exact site but if you search for "pumpkin punch" on Google, there are a several versions).
I thought it qualified as a new thing since the drink was served in a pumpkin rather than a punch bowl (which is very convenient for people who may not own punch bowls). You start out by hollowing out the pumpkin like you would if you were to carve it. I made the top a bit bigger though so it would be easier to scoop the drink out of it. Once it was mostly cleaned out, I began scraping the inside of the pumpkin so that I could get some nice raw pumpkin chunks that would be used later in the drink.
The drink was pretty simple and consisted of 1 part spiced rum, 1 part apple cider, and 2 parts ginger ale. I then added back the pumpkin chunks, some cinnamon sticks and a couple dashes of cinnamon for flavor. It was really tasty but mostly it was just fun to drink out of a pumpkin. Things got interesting near the bottom when we had to take turns "tipping the pumpkin" to get the drink out. Needless to say, we had way too much fun with this.
A few days later it was the Saturday before Halloween and time to wander the streets in costumes and such. My friends and I figured it would be fun to just go bar hopping on Polk St. For those not in SF, Polk St. in well known for being littered with small, casual little bars and it's great if you want to go out to a fun place and not spend too much money. It's also almost guaranteed you'll fun into friends.
I'd been to many of the bars on Polk St. but I had never made it to Koko Cocktails. My friend Shannon recommended we start there and I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I heard the name. However, it was a really cool bar inside. They were showing The Shining
in the background and had a drink special called Red Rum which was basically rum and cranberry. It was a really fun little place and they had a lot of nice "Shining" themed touches. Example: in the bathroom, RedRum was also written on the walls - across from the mirror. I had a lot of fun there and I'm excited to go back for New Years!
Well Readers, if you don't hear from me in the next couple of days then Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to try to get to next weeks posts soon though. I want to dedicate them to my Dodger fan of a brother. In fact, I care so much about my brother, I'm wearing my Giant's shirt. Hopefully, he's still up when I get to Phoenix. I also hope that it's warm there because he may not let me sleep in his house... I guess sleeping outside in the dessert would be a new thing for me, although I was hopefully that it would have been a new Phoenix bar or restaurant. Suggestions?
. In order to coax some of my friends to join me, I promised them some sort of festive fall punch. I did a little bit of snooping around and ended up finding a great recipe for a pumpkin punch (I tried finding the link again and couldn't find the same exact site but if you search for "pumpkin punch" on Google, there are a several versions).I thought it qualified as a new thing since the drink was served in a pumpkin rather than a punch bowl (which is very convenient for people who may not own punch bowls). You start out by hollowing out the pumpkin like you would if you were to carve it. I made the top a bit bigger though so it would be easier to scoop the drink out of it. Once it was mostly cleaned out, I began scraping the inside of the pumpkin so that I could get some nice raw pumpkin chunks that would be used later in the drink.
The drink was pretty simple and consisted of 1 part spiced rum, 1 part apple cider, and 2 parts ginger ale. I then added back the pumpkin chunks, some cinnamon sticks and a couple dashes of cinnamon for flavor. It was really tasty but mostly it was just fun to drink out of a pumpkin. Things got interesting near the bottom when we had to take turns "tipping the pumpkin" to get the drink out. Needless to say, we had way too much fun with this.
A few days later it was the Saturday before Halloween and time to wander the streets in costumes and such. My friends and I figured it would be fun to just go bar hopping on Polk St. For those not in SF, Polk St. in well known for being littered with small, casual little bars and it's great if you want to go out to a fun place and not spend too much money. It's also almost guaranteed you'll fun into friends.
I'd been to many of the bars on Polk St. but I had never made it to Koko Cocktails. My friend Shannon recommended we start there and I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I heard the name. However, it was a really cool bar inside. They were showing The Shining
in the background and had a drink special called Red Rum which was basically rum and cranberry. It was a really fun little place and they had a lot of nice "Shining" themed touches. Example: in the bathroom, RedRum was also written on the walls - across from the mirror. I had a lot of fun there and I'm excited to go back for New Years!Well Readers, if you don't hear from me in the next couple of days then Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to try to get to next weeks posts soon though. I want to dedicate them to my Dodger fan of a brother. In fact, I care so much about my brother, I'm wearing my Giant's shirt. Hopefully, he's still up when I get to Phoenix. I also hope that it's warm there because he may not let me sleep in his house... I guess sleeping outside in the dessert would be a new thing for me, although I was hopefully that it would have been a new Phoenix bar or restaurant. Suggestions?
Monday, November 15, 2010
Week of October 18th 2010: Compete in a Bouldering Competition
Before you think I am some supremo climber - I want to preface that this competition was very casual. My gym likes to host series of rock climbing competitions (If you missed the post where I discussed different types of climbing, you should review that). I competed in a top roping series earlier in the year, but since I don't like to boulder (and personally don't find myself to be very good at it), I hadn't partaken in the last bouldering series.
I decided that I felt a little more comfortable with my climbing now and would like to at least check it out. The beauty of the set-up of the competition is that you are really competing against yourself (and maybe the friend you came with). You can climb as many routes as you want and you can take the top 5 scores from the night to make your final score. They divide you into 3 groups of difficulties by climbing levels. Beginner is v0-v1, intermediate is v2-v4, and expert is v5+. I had thought beginner was v0-v2 (which is the level for men) and since I had only done a couple v2's, it seemed like the obvious choice.
In terms of my climbing, I think I did a good job. I was able to complete a few v2's, a lot of v1's and even one v3. It's always fun to challenge yourself and see that you can complete something above your normal level. For me, this is even more true with bouldering. I won't lie, I'm terrified of falling and hurting since there is no rope safety net. Maybe a few more bouldering competitions and I can overcome that fear... safely.
The night wasn't just climbs and scores though. One of the highlights of the competition is the free pizza and beer, especially if it's from pyramid. Let's just say, I somehow managed to be a regular at the mini bar they set up in the gym (disclosure: no beer until climbing is done. I'm crazy, but not stupid). Then, when I heard the words "Shoe sale" over the intercom, I knew I was in heaven. I had been hunting around for a new pair of climbing shoes so when they were selling some for half off, I knew I had to act fast. Eddy, of course, had to get the same climbing shoes as me, again. I don't blame him though, they were great shoes.
All in all, it was a great night climbing.
I decided that I felt a little more comfortable with my climbing now and would like to at least check it out. The beauty of the set-up of the competition is that you are really competing against yourself (and maybe the friend you came with). You can climb as many routes as you want and you can take the top 5 scores from the night to make your final score. They divide you into 3 groups of difficulties by climbing levels. Beginner is v0-v1, intermediate is v2-v4, and expert is v5+. I had thought beginner was v0-v2 (which is the level for men) and since I had only done a couple v2's, it seemed like the obvious choice.
In terms of my climbing, I think I did a good job. I was able to complete a few v2's, a lot of v1's and even one v3. It's always fun to challenge yourself and see that you can complete something above your normal level. For me, this is even more true with bouldering. I won't lie, I'm terrified of falling and hurting since there is no rope safety net. Maybe a few more bouldering competitions and I can overcome that fear... safely.
The night wasn't just climbs and scores though. One of the highlights of the competition is the free pizza and beer, especially if it's from pyramid. Let's just say, I somehow managed to be a regular at the mini bar they set up in the gym (disclosure: no beer until climbing is done. I'm crazy, but not stupid). Then, when I heard the words "Shoe sale" over the intercom, I knew I was in heaven. I had been hunting around for a new pair of climbing shoes so when they were selling some for half off, I knew I had to act fast. Eddy, of course, had to get the same climbing shoes as me, again. I don't blame him though, they were great shoes.
All in all, it was a great night climbing.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Week of October 11th 2010: (Disneyland Edition) Flik's Fliers, ElecTRONica, World of Color
As part of my trip to L.A., I also made my annual trip to Disneyland
. It definitely wasn't a new thing for me but I thought it would be fun to write about what's new there since last year. If there are any other Disneyland lovers out there, I'm sure they would love to hear about how the new attractions.
Flik's Fliers might not be a new ride but I had never been on it before so I'm going to count it!! The ride is in the middle of Bug's Life
Land in California Adventure. Actually, come to think of it... everything new in this post was in California Adventure... but I digress. The ride isn't all that exciting but it's very cute. Since you're supposed to be bug-sized in Bug's Life Land, the cars are Chinese take-out and animal cracker cookie boxes. Curtis and Oleg wanted to be take-out so they jumped in that car while Shannon and I found cookies to be more fitting. Once the ride started, the middle rose up (so that the cars were in the air) and exposed that the engine was inside a giant whipped cream container. Overall - very cute and an easy way to kill 5 minutes with a lineless ride.Most of the day was spent going on the classic rides and a lot of shopping was done. No, really, we stopped in almost every store. We had also managed to get an "It's my Birthday" pin for Shannon so all day she was wished happy birthday and she even got serenaded at lunch. Each time it made me giggle a little bit and we decided that it was more of a very merry unbirthday a la Alice in Wonderland
. 
As the day progressed, we saw a lot of signs for ElecTRONica, which I had never heard of before. This excited the nerd in Oleg and I and we both really wanted to see what we assumed to be some sort of show. Well, we showed up and there was a mini-Tron show comparing Tron
from the 80's to Tron Legacy
, but the show was all to advertise this ElecTRONica thing. ElecTRONica, it turns out, is a giant nightclub in the middle of Disney California Adventure. I was not expecting that at all. Although they tried to sell it as "fun for the whole family" they couldn't mask the fact that it was more or less a giant rave. The bar featured glowing drinks and I ordered a "Glow"hito which was fantastic. The music was also great - they had a couple of DJs but were mostly playing the Daft Punk music from the new movie.
In the back of ElecTRONica was Flynn's arcade. Flynn's, like in the movie, featured your favorite video games from the 80's. There was Pac-Man
and Space Invaders and an air hockey
table. Plus, just like in the 80's, everything was a quarter. Just outside Flynn's arcade, a few wii's were set up to let people play a new Tron racing game. Oleg and I played and unfortunately I lost, but I'm pretty sure he cheated so don't feel too bad.Oleg had to leave at that point so the rest of us picked up another glowing drink and decided to stake out a place for the World of Color show. Basically, Disney completely gutted the whole lake in the middle of California Adventure and installed a ton of jet stream fountains like at the Bellagio. However, they then projected videos and images onto the fountains. It really was beautiful to look at. They also incorporated some pyrotechnics which is always fun. I think my favorite part though were the mini fountains and colored lamp posts spread throughout the audience. It was a nice little touch to have them unexpectedly incorporated into the show. I think that is my favorite thing about Disney all together - the details. Every little detail about everything Disney is so impeccable and perfect and the World of Color show was no different.
Well, that's it for my summary on what's new at Disneyland. Like I said, I'm a pro on the park so let me know if you want any suggestions. If you've been before - what's your favorite attraction? I will always love Big Thunder Mountain the best. I also love the Off the Page store and animation studio in California Advenure, although ElecTRONica might be gaining.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Week of October 11th 2010: (LA Edition) Barney's Beanery
This was a busy week for me and a couple days after going to Foreign Cinema, I was in a car on my way down to Los Angeles for the Cal vs. USC football game. While the game didn't go too well, the weekend was still a blast.
For those of you who don't know, LA is the place I call home in the bottom of my heart. I spent the first 18 years of my life there and going back is always a little comforting. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in and it's nice to have one constant in my ever changing life. Because I tend to only go to LA a couple of weekends a year, I tend to always go to a couple of my favorite places. Whether it's getting some Pinkberry or going out to Howl at the Moon, my Southern California trips are pretty predictable. So, in sticking with the challenge, not only did I try to go to some new places, but I also avoided the ones I usually go to.
It was a short trip and there wasn't a lot of time to explore too much, but after the Cal game (which we don't need to discuss here...) we were looking for a fun place to watch the Giants' first game against the Phillies. My friend, Lauren suggested that we go to a place near UCLA called Barney's Beanery. I didn't have any objections and so off we went.
The first thing you notice when you enter Barney's is the sheer number of TVs. Yes, it is a sports bar and TVs are a must but they went above and beyond in that area. There was a wall of TVs above the bar, some more behind the bar and one at each table as well as a few other scattered around. Someone commented that there might not even be any light fixtures in the place, everything was illuminated by the flat screens covering every surface.
The selection of food was even more impressive than the number of TV sets. The menu was literally a small newspaper and had just about anything you could possibly want to order. Don't believe me? Click here. Luckily, I had a general idea of what I was in the mood for (which NEVER happens) and just had to dig through the menu and hope they had it. Many in my group had to spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out what they wanted. Luckily for them, our server was fairly inattentive so they had plenty of time to figure out exactly what they wanted from the exhausting menu.
The beer selection was also fairly decent. The drink menu was organized by origin of the beer, be it state or country. They also showed different specialty draft mixes that could be ordered. For example, it explained the different beers that could be mixed with Guinness (black & tan, black velvet, etc.).
All in all the bar was a GREAT place to watch the Giants take home their first win against Philly. I also couldn't help thinking how incredible a bar/restaurant like that would have been near my college. Maybe an upcoming new thing will be seeing if I can open a franchise in Berkeley.
For those of you who don't know, LA is the place I call home in the bottom of my heart. I spent the first 18 years of my life there and going back is always a little comforting. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in and it's nice to have one constant in my ever changing life. Because I tend to only go to LA a couple of weekends a year, I tend to always go to a couple of my favorite places. Whether it's getting some Pinkberry or going out to Howl at the Moon, my Southern California trips are pretty predictable. So, in sticking with the challenge, not only did I try to go to some new places, but I also avoided the ones I usually go to.
It was a short trip and there wasn't a lot of time to explore too much, but after the Cal game (which we don't need to discuss here...) we were looking for a fun place to watch the Giants' first game against the Phillies. My friend, Lauren suggested that we go to a place near UCLA called Barney's Beanery. I didn't have any objections and so off we went.
The first thing you notice when you enter Barney's is the sheer number of TVs. Yes, it is a sports bar and TVs are a must but they went above and beyond in that area. There was a wall of TVs above the bar, some more behind the bar and one at each table as well as a few other scattered around. Someone commented that there might not even be any light fixtures in the place, everything was illuminated by the flat screens covering every surface.
The selection of food was even more impressive than the number of TV sets. The menu was literally a small newspaper and had just about anything you could possibly want to order. Don't believe me? Click here. Luckily, I had a general idea of what I was in the mood for (which NEVER happens) and just had to dig through the menu and hope they had it. Many in my group had to spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out what they wanted. Luckily for them, our server was fairly inattentive so they had plenty of time to figure out exactly what they wanted from the exhausting menu.
The beer selection was also fairly decent. The drink menu was organized by origin of the beer, be it state or country. They also showed different specialty draft mixes that could be ordered. For example, it explained the different beers that could be mixed with Guinness (black & tan, black velvet, etc.).
All in all the bar was a GREAT place to watch the Giants take home their first win against Philly. I also couldn't help thinking how incredible a bar/restaurant like that would have been near my college. Maybe an upcoming new thing will be seeing if I can open a franchise in Berkeley.
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