Mind the chicken...

Yikes - its been a bit since I posted last and there has been a lot happening. So, let's see here...

The single biggest thing has been the fact that I ended up with a particularly nasty bout of food poisoning last weekend. I had the Quick Draw on Saturday and then went with some friends up to Payson (map here) on Sunday morning. We grabbed Starbucks on the way out of town and went to Beeline up there for breakfast. We puttered around Pine and then had lunch at La Sierra and went to the North's meeting. So I got see tons of people I haven't talked to in awhile, which was really nice. But, moving on with the story... we changed clothes and headed up to the Rim afterwards. Well, partway up to the Rim -- at Christopher Creek (map here) -- I switched out driving with one of my friends because I wasn't feeling well and we continued on up to the turn-off for Woods Canyon Lake, because on the road that goes out there is a great vista point. By the time we got there I was really feeling bad so I waited in the car. But, after awhile I knew I was going to be sick - so I went off into the woods and then came back and we piled in to head back to the Valley. Partway down we had to pull over so I could be sick again and then when we were in Star Valley a few miles outside of Payson and I got really bad... my arms and legs began to constrict and cramp up and then I lost the ability to move my arms and hands and couldn't walk... it was pretty bad. So my friends called the paramedics and they took me into the hospital. They got me on IVs (OWWWWW - I HATE NEEDLES) and shot me up with some meds, did blood work, etc. and so I began to improve but I was extremely dehydrated. After I got out on Monday we all went and got some shut-eye at a friend's house up there in Pine which was really nice of them. My friends drove my car back down to the valley and I've spent the majority of the week asleep. I went in to work for two half days on Thursday and Friday and I'm planning on going back full time as of Monday. So, that was my fun Payson trip.

Let's see, the monsoon season is here... I don't know if we've officially had monsoon storms yet, but we have had some pretty big thunderstorms - and some whopping dust storms. I guess the dust has been three times the federal limit because of the storms here recently. I can tell you this... there was one last week that was so bad you couldn't even see through an intersection the visibility was so low from the dust. I literally shook dust out of my clothes when I got inside and I was only outside of the car to walk between it and the house and when I got out to return some movies. For those of you who aren't in Arizona... here is a picture of a Phoenix dust storm..

Right out of the movies, eh? They're pretty intense.

OK, I got some new lights for the bedroom... for the end tables... I'd take a picture but I'm too lazy... let me see if I can find one online... Yup! Found one. Gotta luv Google. OK, here it is... there is one on either end table now...

Oh, and I finally got my associates degree. It's officially here and all that stuff - the real paper. I had the courses done but never got around to putting in for it... and then I did and it took for-ev-er to arrive. I figured I'd get it when I retired, but lo and behold, there it was. So that's a relief... of course now I have yet something else I need to file. ;-)

The car is at 11,300+ now... and I missed my appointment to get the filter changed, etc. (it was the Monday I was in the hospital) so I've got to wait for my mechanic guy to come back from vacation - so that bites.

District Convention is next weekend - so that will be exciting! I'll get to see people I haven't seen for awhile... maybe... I'm not sure... I think most of the ones from the northern parts of the Valley had an earlier one. Oh well - it will still be fun. It looks like I actually might be staying in a hotel on that side so I won't have to drive over the 45 minutes or whatever every time. One of my friends has a big suite and extra space... and it has free breakfast!!!! (They so had me at free food).

Well that about takes care of it I think... I'll post again if I think of more critical stuff. ;-)

Oh, that's right... saw Transformers (good) and License to Wed (not so good). I want to see Hairspray but I'm trying to behave myself and trim down on my spending... I've been hemorrhaging cash of late... ;-)

It's all about the food...

OK - so I know that it seems I have a one track mind - that's its all food, all the time. If you are one of the many people who firmly believe this about me... I just want to say you are so right. :-)

So let's see where the food brigade takes me today shall we?

Breakfast was a Village Inn - I met Evan and John (well, picked them up actually) and we went to breakfast. Let's see... what did I have...

Coffee. Orange juice. Stack of whole wheat pancakes filled with banana slices and topped with strawberries and pecans. Bacon. Eggs. Oh, and hash browns. Yum. I was full.

On to lunch... I went to a deli I didn't know existed - which new places for food are always exciting! It's called 'Jason's Deli'. For their location on Google maps click here.

Dinner was an eat at home thing because, although its shocking, I actually did go grocery shopping today. I know, I know - total shocker.

Other than that... not much new. I turned 9700 miles on the car... always exciting. Oh, and I decided that I'm going to have to give up and make a summer shopping trip - these winter clothes are getting to warm considering its 110º + here.

Oh, I got a new pair of sunglasses the other day. They're Fox: The Meeting. For pic click here. They don't work so well with just t-shirt and jeans - but with nicer outfits they're perfect. They're my 'hide-from-the-paparazzi' glasses. :-D

OK, that's about it. I need to go consume some more calories...

Friday So Soon?

Well I can't believe it but its Friday. My problem is I don't remember the week passing by. Needless to say, I've been really busy at work. But such is life!

I went and got my car washed today - seems like I have to do it every week in the summer - the dust is so bad. But that means its all shiny again - zoom zoom! :-)

Otherwise there wasn't much of interest today.... I had 'Swiss steak' for lunch -- which was a first. Wasn't bad I guess. Came with corn on the cob and butter and herb potatos. It was the special at the cafe at work. It would have been better if I didn't have to eat while on a conference call - but it was either have a lesuirely lunch or a dirty car over the weekend. Yup, the choice was obvious. ;-)

Breakfast was more interesting! I was running late (naw me?) and my first con call was at 8:30. So, since I woke up 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave for work there wasn't time for breakfast at home. And, since I was late - no time to make it to the cafe. However, someone was nice enough to bring me a plate of danishes! So I ate seven of those and managed to maintain conciousness until lunch. :-)

I was so tired when I got home that I crashed... and didn't wake up until a bit ago - it being after 1 a.m.. So that means I'm still out of food... and further behind on my side jobs - but I'm feeling slightly rested! ;-)

Its off to bed for me though - have to be up early tomorrow ~

Beware the 'shrooms...

Before I delve into the story behind the title...

I'm not going to post a bunch of updates - just because I'm so busy I think its a never ending battle. I'll keep em short sweet and hopefully more regular.

So here's the funny story about 'shrooms...

I had to mail some stuff to Brad today (some hair product and a PCI wi-fi card) and so I ran to my apartment on lunch and grabbed the stuff and went to the Post Office. Would you believe that I barely had to wait in line and got the nicest most helpful postal employee on the planet? It was exciting! Anyways, back to the story...

I was in a hurry and I needed to get back to work so I decided to swing by the Chandler Fashion Center and go to Wildflower Bread Company for lunch. Well I was on the phone with Hilary and hadn't even looked at the menu when it was my turn so I just ordered what I saw first...

Which happened to be some type of grilled portabello concoction.

Hmmm...

Don't get me wrong - I love portabello mushrooms... especially grilled... but this one came with a side of leather. Trying to talk on the phone and knaw through the 'shroom was quite the exercise! So here I'm talking to Hilary with the phone pinned to my ear -- sitting at this table that couldn't stay level if its existance depended on it -- mangling this sandwhich in front of all the chattering suburbanite women. Let's just say it wasn't my proudest moment.

Oh well - I'm going to go scrounge up some dinner. Later ~

Back at last?

Wow - the last post said 'a week or so'. With reliability like that I should be a politician. Anyways, let me attempt to cover the major bases and we'll move on from there. Clearly, I cannot update everyone with all of the details, but I'll try my best.

First, some major happenings... I moved from Mesa last month to my new apartment in Chandler. Brad came out and visited for his Spring Break. He was here from March 29th thru April 9th (I believe). I've officially finished my last college class for my degree, and this week and next should wrap up the majority, if not all, of the remaining work I had to do with the College District after I left. I'm really excited to finally have some 'free time' again. Not that it is free in the traditional sense, but that I can unpack, get caught up on paperwork, my reading, and perhaps get some sleep worked in there as well. I also need to focus some on my health, as I'm very worn down of late. OK, moving on categorically...

Apartment
OK, so I'm officially in my apartment... that doesn't mean, however, that I'm un-packed. Far from it, unfortunately. Anyways, here are some details on the complex. I'm in the small one bedroom - c. 730 sq ft. - so it is bigger than my last apartment, and the balcony and storage is larger too. It's just about right. I would like a small den or larger bedroom so I have room for my full desk, but this is fine. I got new carpeting when I moved in, so I'm thrilled about that. I hate getting carpet that has been shampooed. It always has left over stuff in it and is all stiff. It is a lot quieter here than where I was in Mesa as well - neighborhood is still in good shape. It's about 10 years old or so I think (which is pretty old for the Phoenix area). However, they have kept it all up and don't seem to be cutting corners and letting the place slide. Some of the things I particularly like is the fact that there are 9 ft. ceilings (more important for us cursed tall people), ceramic tile floors in the entry/kitchen/bath, and wood cabinets. For pictures, floorplans, and other details on the place - click here. I'm in floorplan A1.

Brad's Visit
Brad was out here around the same time I moved. In fact, I feel bad for the poor guy because he had to help me move the first few days he was out. Then we had a chance to relax on Sunday - well my version. We went in streetwork at 6am, we had meeting at 9:30, then I went dancing at 6 - then we went to dinner at 9 up in Phoenix. (delux - great place - click here)

Unfortunately, one of my friends we were with in streetwork and at dinner was sick - and managed to give it to every single one of us. :-( Brad and I were sick by Monday night. After the Memorial we went to a dinner thing in Phoenix (about 10) and by the time we got home, I felt terrible. So, we spent the next three days in bed - so much for the poor kid's vacation.

On the up side, we did manage to get some fun stuff in. I took him to the Malls shopping and got him a bunch of new clothes (good thing too... we all know how much those North-Westerners have such a great appreciation for style *eyeroll*) We also went to see the BodyWorlds3 exhibit at the Science Center (Bodyworld's site here). And we got to go to Jillian's and use up some of those billion credits I have had forever. It's a great place - 65,000 square feet of food and fun. (Site here) It isn't all old people either - there is a massive arcade (where we were headed). Afterwards we went and ate at Islands' which is a great burger place. (Site here - location here) We also were able to do go-kart racing - which was a first for Brad. We went to the F1 Race Factory downtown (site here). That was fun - Brad did really really well! We didn't have a chance to do much else because all of that time we had been sick - but it was great to see him!

OK, so I will have to do a more comprehensive update on my car and school soon. I'm trying to get a bit caught up so that I can start doing little posts each day.

Talk later ~~

Update Dos

OK, so it has been another week since the last post, but such is life. This time I'm going to update on a few of the places I've gone in the past month (so no, I didn't hit all this in like one weekend) and I'll give another update on my car... if I have time I'll tackle school in this post as well...

First, the car... it went in and they updated the control arms and couldn't find anything wrong with the engine/turbo etc. for the funny noise and vibration. So I drove it with a tech and got it to duplicate so they are *supposedly* working with Mazda on finding a resolution. Since I haven't heard from them this week, then I'm going to call them tomorrow.

Back to the alignment issue - they said everything should be fine but I went over to a co-worker's house (who incidentally has a knack for tweaking performance vehicles... bit of a hobby) and he measured it and found the my wheels were off (at least the toe was) by like 1/4 inch. So he was able to correct it and now it seems to be much improved. Not sure if it is spot on, but still a drastic improvement. I'm hoping the tires start wearing properly now... because if they don't, then the Mazzie 6 models have no way of adjusting camber or caster (rumored to be two other types of alignment measurements - don't ask me... I can barely check the oil)... so if it has further issues then I have to get some sort of kit to give me the ability to adjust them... or keep taking it back to the dealers who can't seem to get it right. :-(

OK, enough about the car... only other things is I'm getting ready to do a filter change and an oil analysis - almost at 5k miles. And it is still just a fun to drive as ever... Zoom Zoom. :-D

Let's see where are some of the places I've been recently...

I went to Stringray's with some friends a few weeks ago... its a really nice Sushi place in downtown Scottsdale (click here for location - here for official website [has photos]). Bit of a story though...

I had some good sushi... they have a really nice spicy tuna roll... and I had flying fish eggs for the first time... they are tiny and orange... they didn't seem to have much taste. Other types I had were raw tuna, salmon, and eel - nothing very exciting. ;-) Sorry, no pictures... they have a cell phone policy that is summed up as "touch it and get kicked out" type thing. Oh well.

The interesting part was the sake. There was only one menu (and there were 6 of us there, Mark and Emily, Sunny and Eric, Jill, and me) and so I told the waitress to just pick one of their cold sake's and bring it to me. And that is what she did... and it was good... but then we got the bill and that one thing of sake was $40! And that's a small one person sake! So I was a little peeved, but I guess I left myself open to that one. Note to self - when eating at a restaurant that automatically tacks on gratuity, never ask the waitress sporting 'fake ones' to pick your sake... she's busy trying to get them paid off. *sigh*

OK, after that we went to E!ba Cafe in Tempe, right by ASU for some boba, and I got cheesecake. (Location here - official website here). Both were good... the boba is a little different than Lollicup's, but not worse.

Then we went to Chuy's (location here) because Emily was craving a karaoke moment. So that was short and sweet - but nothing interesting to report there.

I also went to the Big Bang with people recently (Mark, Emily, Sunny, me, and three other people I hadn't met before... can't remember the names - they were from both Em's and Sunny's halls). That was a lot of fun - dueling pianos - wooo! I guess it started as a show somewhere in New Orleans and they decided to open one up here on Mill. (Official site here - location from Google here) We only stayed for a few hours - like from 8 - 11. No use staying later because it gets too packed and you get all the college kids in there - which is nothing but aggravating. The dueling pianists were pretty good... and they could almost all play at least two instruments. Sometimes they would play the bass or the drums in addition to the pianos. It was fun to watch... not that I'm biased to the pianos or anything. ;-)

Other than that mostly just lunch/happy hour spots for the past few weeks... I had Keegan's (location here - site here) in Ahwatukee, and Rula Bula's in Tempe (a great little Irish pub - site here - location here), and awhile ago 56 East Bar & Kitchen in Chandler (location here - site here). That's about it - haven't been eating lunch out very often - too busy.

Oh from last week at the Microsoft Training I went to the Park Central Deli for lunch... and had some awesome food. :-) Real deli food. (location here - site here) They are kind of famous - I guess they have been around since the '50s. I actually had some pictures - but I accidentally deleted them. :-( Of course I had a little Starbucks while I was there, it was just begging me... (try the peppermint mochas if you haven't... they are doing them year-round now... it's like Andes mints in coffee - really delectable)

Oh, last Saturday I was at the Buckeye quick build... 12 hours in the sun... and it hit about 100º... so I have a tan finally. ;-) It was waaaaaaaay out there. Like 25 miles west of Phoenix city limits... it took me more than an hour with no traffic and I'm barely on the east side of the Valley! Saw some people I haven't talked to in awhile... which was nice (Brigham's from way back in Payson - Cambell's from Ahwatukee and some others). I would have taken pictures but my phone's battery was low and I was stationed at the main entrance which was about a 1/4 mile from where my car was parked... so recharging would have been a problem.

School will have to wait... as will moving and apartment news (and pictures) as well as info about Brad's upcoming trip and work related stuff....

So stay tuned for Update Tres sometime in the next week or so. ;-)

- C

Phoenicia Cafe for lunch

Hummos and falafel for lunch.... yum.

A few notes on the week...

Well I know I haven't posted at all this past week... I've just been waaaay too busy. Anyways, here are some of the updates...

I'm back in my contacts... my eyes were almost all the way healed, and they approved me to start trying out some new lenses. So far, so good... but then again I've been behaving too. We'll see how long that lasts.

Also, big news... I SOLD THE CAR! I was able to get a buyer for my Acura using Craigslist (website for Phoenix here). I sold it for $2,250... which is $250 less than I paid for it. :-D So I bought it at 174,000 miles and sold it at 234,000 miles.... hmmmmmmmm..... I think I did OK. :-P

Didn't really do much this weekend... after service on Saturday I went took care a few things around the house (i.e. laundry... dishes...) and then I ran errands w/ Evan... went to the Post Office, and Kinko's (ooh, I got an '07 Dilbert calendar on sale for my cube... w00t!)... and then Costco. *Guess what... Costco only takes debit cards. What kind of stupid thing is that? So, I had to have Evan cover it (after all, he currently has all the cash from my car purchase in his account, lol) and so I covered his purchases at the Mall and it all worked out.

Anyways, then we went to Nello's for dinner. (Click here for their location from Google). Sure enough, Evan had the same thing... 'Ceasar salad and a 14" Numero Uno please'. Yaarg... they have some cool pizzas... yet the same stuff! Anyways, moving on....

Then we went to the theatre... and decided to see Norbit over Epic movie.... Absolutely collossal waste of time. It isn't worth the gum on the bottom of the theater seat! Pathetic trashy movie - complete disappointment... and Eddie Murphy is up for an Oscar.... or whatever it is those film people get. Obviously, not for this film... but he better hope the judges don't see this movie at all. Because if they do, they probably won't even let him enter the building.

Today I had streetwork in the morning (Camelback area) and I managed to get Starbucks down the front of my slacks. That obviously didn't 'sit' well. So, then I went to the Quick Draw from there... and had to put up with coffee spots all day. And then after I changed on the way to the restaraunt... I managed to get wasabi on my 7 Diamonds shirt! Oh well, drycleaners will love me this week...

So now I'm crashing into bed - need to get up early tomorrow... and I've got lots of stuff to take care of this week... :-S

Later...

Raw Fish...

Seared Ahi tuna salad... w/ avocado... I'd ask you to wish me luck... but... well you know. At least I have my sake in case I have to *choke it down*... Oh, and the Suns are down three points according to the telly. :*(

Quail Eggs

That's right. I just ate that quail egg... raw. I'm at Shogun for dinner with the rest of my Quick Draw peoples. Click here for it's location from Google Maps.

Wait till the next post...

Moandays... lovely Moandays

Mondays are always kind of a pain. The week shows back up and, without so much as a hello, plops itself back in your lap. Oh well such is life.

I better finish off my weekend update first, huh? Let's take the tour, shall we?

Suns
Well, as you know (from the posts below) the Suns game was good... but not so good. They lost by 3 points... close enough to make it a good game (my voice took a good 12 hours to recover)... but far enough to make them lose.

And we're walking....

Dinner
We went to Elephant Bar to grab food... in addition to the beer I mentioned we had calamari and I had a smokehouse or stackhouse or something sandwhich. Good stuff... grilled chicken breast covered with ham, and I think bacon, and lots of cheese... and covered in hickory sauce. :-9 (That must be where the stack thing comes in)

Here are some better pictures of the resturant, and click here for their locations in Phoenix, Chandler, and Peoria.







And we're walking....

Sunday
Let's see what happened on Sunday...

I went to Sunday meeting with friends at their hall in Phoenix, instead of my hall's. (I forgot mine was moved to 9am and so when I pulled an hour late, I decided it might as well catch the whole meeting somewhere else). Turned out it was the CO's visit so that made seating fun. :) But I saw some people there from way back... (James Cassell from when we were in Payson - that's because Tiffany and Johnathan are in that hall - and then I saw Barbara... used to be Smith before she got married... can't remember her name now... the one who played paino... not that it makes me partial or anything, lol)

And we're walking...

Lunch
After that we (Jill, Catie, Emily, and I) went to Houston's (in downtown Scottsdale - not the one in the Biltmore dist.) for lunch... good stuff. (to visit their site, pick Houston's on the Hillstone restaurant group's site here, to see locations on Google maps click here) I had some type of breaded chicken/avocado/spinach something salad. Very good.

And that's it... I think... oh wait...

Let's see then I went and did my salsa lesson and dancing on Sunday night and that was it.

And we're walking...

Today... not much happened today... I did get a call from someone who is interested in buying my Acura off of me. So, I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow and he'll take a look at it. Now just to remember to drive the Acura instead of that loverly Mazda.... :-D

Oh, and I might be getting sick. Sore throat when I left work, got worse at meeting, and not so hot now... (Yes, I doped up -- to all of my collective mother's out there) So, let's see how it goes...
Ciao ~

Blue Nile for Lunch...

Well we all went for Ethiopian food on Thursday. Someone had a digital camera and took a picture so I thought I would post it up here for everyone. Here's part of the team I work with at Avnet:

From left to right it is:
Me, Tony (he's the British one - Londoner), Justin (fresh from Georgia), Tracy (she's 8 months pregnant [a girl]), Cindy, and Eric.

Anyways, the food was really really good, as usual. The thin flat pancake like bread (called injera) that your food comes on (and that you eat it with) has to be some of the best stuff. For some interesting information on it, click here! The resturant we went to is called the Blue Nile Cafe. Here's its location from Google Maps. (Click here. NOTE: The website Google gives for it is not correct - everything else appears to be)

There isn't too much else to report. I got my first statement from Mazda Finance on my new car, so now I can proceed with getting it refinanced. I also received my new plates, I just haven't had time to put them on.

I'm going to a Phoenix Suns game tomorrow so that should be fun. I'll upload some pictures to here while I'm at the game. :-D

L8r --

The Moutholution...

OK, here's the latest from Free Range Studios. Pretty funny:

Remember, since they don't label GMOs in the U.S. - you have to buy organic to be sure!

A Blip on Boba

OK, so I'm hooked on a new drink (new to me, that is). In general, its called boba. So, since I've mentioned it to many of you, I figure I should put provide some explanations that are more informative than my cryptic descriptions over the phone.

Bottom line is boba means bubbles, and the 'bubbles' or boba, are small balls of tapioca. It's added to a lot of different beverages, commonly teas or milk teas. Some of my favorites are Boba Milk Tea, Coffee Milk Tea, Almond Milk Tea, Honey Milk Tea, and Thai Tea. (I tried Thai Tea w/ Egg pudding instead of boba last night... that was interesting).

Turns out, it came from Taiwan. Anyways, click here for an article on boba milk tea found on Wikipedia - which gives pictures and a much more interesting description of its history (go wikis!)

The place where I go is called Lollicup. It's in Tempe. Click here for their official site or here for a link to its location from Google. By the way, they also have really good steamed pork buns... and other food that's good if you're in a hurry.

So, the next time you are looking for something to drink that isn't the same 'ole thing (that means you "meat & potatos" types), go for boba!

Yum... Saigon Pho for lunch

There is a really good Vietnamese resturant on Alma School south of Warner... it's really cheap. And their soup is really good (my shredded chicken & rice noodles with fresh basil, beansprouts, and lime is shown above). It's called Saigon Pho. Click here to pull up the map, address, and phone number from Google.