SDMA Sculpture Court Cafe - Giuseppe

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity (along with a couple of my co-workers) to accompany the Photography class field trip to Balboa Park. It was a beautiful and sunny San Diego day - simply gorgeous! We felt so lucky to be out and about instead of cooped up in our offices. Anyhow, we chaperoned the class's excursions into the Timken Museum, the Mingei Folk Art Museum, as well as the Museum of Photographic Arts (that will be a separate upcoming post). Lunch was on our own at the...
We dined al fresco since the weather was so nice!
Their cafe menu consists of soups, salads and sandwiches (click to enlarge):

My co-worker got the Natural Turkey Cobb Salad ($12) with organic greens, bleu cheese dressing and "traditional" fixings (bleu cheese, eggs, bacons, onions). The portion was quite sizable and chock full of tasty ingredients (well, except for the bleu cheese and the dressing).My other co-worker got the Balsamic Portobello Panini ($10) which had a thick slice of mushroom (of course), artichoke and olive tapenade, fresh mozzarella cheese, wild arugula and aioli. It came dressed with a tiny bit of organic greens...I had the Niman Ranch Burger ($12) cooked medium, served on a sourdough Bread and Cie bun with white cheddar cheese ($1.50 extra), a slice of tomato and soft butter lettuce. Instead of french fried, I opted for organic green salad instead. This was a really tasty burger that I'd go back again for! The meat was just dripping with its juice...OMG...I want it...again!

Mandarin Chinese Restaurant

Last week my co-workers and I met our former co-worker (this is the one who retired last semester) at Mandarin, located next to the old Henry's across from Southwestern College.
I hadn't been here in so long. It wasn't crowded when we got there...Sorry for the crappy photo. There are money covered Buddha's on the counter (some with foreign currency like the Philippine peso!).

I chose their $4.75 lunch special. It came with soup (choice of hot and sour or egg drop), two pieces of fried chicken wings (a drummette and the wing) , plus rice (fried or white) and a choice fromthe top half of this menu.

My egg drop soup...nothing spectacular. I ended up putting some of that chili oil in it to give it flavor.

I was actually restrained that day since I only took photos of my own food. I had three other people there but I didn't feel like hovering over their plates. OMG, a first, I know! I had the fried rice with the stir fried vegetables. This was actually quite a bit of food. I barely made a dent in it, maybe eating not even a fourth of this plate. Seriously, this was huuuge. I ended up taking it back in a clamshell and putting in the fridge at work for tomorrow's lunch.

The food here is Americanized Chinese food - I'm not a big fan of these types of places, but I liked those wings! This is the place we normally order our wings (well, this place or at the other Mandarin located on Telegraph Canyon Road). It was one of those rare occasions for me to eat off campus...

Package from Canada

[FYI - This package from the lovely C from the blog, Life on Manitoulin was received several weeks ago. Can you tell it's from Canada?]

All of the products she sent us were local or from Canada. She sent us a couple of jars of goodies - Red Pepper Jelly (which I can't wait to try with brie and crackers) and Garlic Sauce (can't wait to try this too!).
Here's another Manitoulin Island product - Chocolate Fudge Sauce! Wow, now we have to buy some ice cream so we can use this!

This was also so very cool - She sent us several packages of Maynards (a candy company based in the UK). As I write this on November 2nd, at least three of the four candy packs are now gone!

The Fuzzy Peach gummies and Swedish berries were the first to go! I really liked the peaches - they were soft and sweet and not too sour. The berries were also quite excellent!

She also included a few hand creams and a small sampler bottle of lotion...all of which will come handy at work. They're also handy to just throw in my bag since they're so tiny.

Thanks again C!

TC's costume - Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender

[photos originally taken during the 2009 Comic Con in July]

I meant to post these a while back, but you know how things can get busy and then you forget...Anyways, earlier this summer, I had TC' costume custom made for the Comic Con. The seamstress also does costumes for the ballet; this was one of her first non ballet costumes and her first costume based on an animated character. My daughter went as Katara from Nickelodeon's excellent animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (fyi - this will be a live action movie coming out next summer; it's directed by M. Night Shymalan). More on the animated series here. Cannot wait!!!

Instead of those incredibly lame and weakass bDisney princess bitches or that horrible hillbilly bimbo Hannah Montana (I predict that Miley Cyrus will end up pregnant or in rehab by the time she's 17) or those slutty ass outfits that hypersexualize young girls (c'mon does your 9 year old really need to be a sexy Little Red Riding Hood or a French maid?), my daughter wanted to go as someone who was kind and strong and independent. One who could kick ass and bend water!The Katara costume was a bit complicated because there were so many components. With only TC's Avatar books as guides as well as patterns I found on the internet fan and Cosplay sites, the makings of TC's costume was based on Katara's battle costume. This particular comes in six pieces. There's a pair of arm gauntlets (dark blue), then a side slit wrap blue tunic with white edging complete with curly-cue water design on the lower corners of the tunic. The white-obi like sash serves as a belt over the tunic top. Then, there are the blue pajama like pants as well as the faux fur lined velour "boot" covers which have an elastic that goes over and under her shoes. The last handmade piece was the waterbag which was made of felt with a rope strap.

Back view of her costume. TC's hair by the way is modeled after Katara's - worn tied back with braided "loopies" over the ears. Because TC's hair is layered, the pony tail didn't really stay that nicely. Also, I think the seamstress made the waterbag too big. But what the fk, what's done is done, right?

The last of her kind, Katara is the only one left in her Water Tribe - (the Southern Water Tribe) who can bend the element of water.

Another view...

Another part of her costume was the Water Tribe necklace- which I made myself. The necklace is supposed to be "Katara's grandmother's betrothal necklace" which was handed down to her. I thought Bert and I did a reasonable facsimile of this necklace....

I bought a royal blue grosgrain ribbon and added plated silver end crimps to the ends. The end crimps come with attachments for a clasp and chain since they are made specifically for ribbon chokers. I took apart an old necklace and used its clasp and extender chain. For the choker, I bought a circular but flat mother of pearl pendant and painted over it with sky blue fabric paint. Bert's contribution was the water tribe insignia which he drew with a steady hand since I was afraid I'd mess up. Lastly, I attached the pendant to the chocker with a jump ring. Voila...Katara's water tribe necklace!

At the Con, she had her photo taken by a few people. The first was this Asian fan boy and the others were by giddy females. The year before, a whole group of young people (teens) went as the entire cast of Avatar the Last Airbender (Aang, Sokka, Toph, Katara, etc). Cosplay is taken very seriously at the Con, but TC wore this for fun. I figured she'd get some use of out this after the Con with upcoming Halloween costume parties, the Literature Parade at her school and Halloween itself. I think this was her favorite costume so far over the years. She was the only Katara at her school and the only one probably in our neighborhood. I'm glad she chose such a great character!

Helloween!

OMFG!!! I can't believe that some people didn't know I was a Hogwarts student, specifically from the House of Slytherin (yes, the BAAAAD house)! Dumbasses! Someone thought I was a "headmaster", a "girl scout", and the best one of all, "Judge Judy". But then, these comments came from adults who weren't familiar with the Harry Potter movie franchise. Most of the high school kids knew what I was supposed to be. One of the teachers went as Octo-Mom, a Viking, a college marching band member (complete with USC marching outfit), a roller derby chick (that was such a cool costume!) and a Volleyball officiate. This was a resurrection of my costume from a couple of years ago...

Instead of a an official gray uniform skirt and flat Mary Jane shoes, I wore my sexy gray pencil skirt and my cockroach killer pointy high heels. My skirt is actually part of a two piece suit that I have. I think that skirt can do "double duty" for a future "Sexy Secretary" outfit. Ha ha. Anyways, I told someone I was Mrs. Snape (ha ha, actually Severus Snape doesn't have a wife - in his heart, he still has a torch lit for Harry Potter's deceased mother, Lily).
Let us all enjoy the awesome movie that was "Halloween" (1987) by metal band Helloween:

We can also frolic to the winsome ditty penned by Oingo Boingo frontman turned composer, Danny Elfman...

and lastly, Ministry's "Everyday is like Halloween" (sorry no video)...Release your inner goth!

How would you like to get your candy from Michael Myers? He almost made a few little girl cry. The kids would knock on the door or ring the doorbell. He would open the door silently and stand there, then silently hand out the candy. At one point, he took off his mask so this little girl wouldn't be afraid. I think it' funny that the mask is so pale and his neck is so dark!
TC's stash...

She had these wierd gummy candies that she can't really eat since she has orthodontic expanders. These are shaped gummies - one was Spongebob themed, the "Crabby Pattie" and the others were called "Body Parts". This one was a severed foot. Nice.

These confections were in the shape of a severed finger and a brain. I don't know what they taste like yet. Usually these gummy candie are pretty horrid tasting.

Here are the pumpkins that Bert and TC carved...Singing ghosts!
Haunted house on a hill...
TC did this one herself - The Spider and its web...

In a separate post, TC's costume (which debuted first for the Comic Con earlier this year)...

Chicago: Day 7 - Superdawg & O'Hare

[Update 10/28 - Okay, my last 3 Chicago posts are finally done! Scroll down and enjoy...or not]

Today was our last day in Chicago. We had to go to Chicago foodie landmark Superdawg before we left. Superdawg is one of those must try places if you are ever in Chicago. Plus I promised my brother (who'd be picking us up later tonight) to get a Superdawg for him. After the 10th Wonder of the Cheesy World that was the Leaning Tower of Niles, we headed straight to SuperDawg in the Norwood Park. Check out the yelp reviews here.
The statues actually have names: Flaurie (the female one) and Maurie (the caveman one). They are named after the owners who opened Superdawg (and still operate it today) in 1948.

I love how their eyes are a glowing evil and Satanic red. They must look even better at night!

There are these order windows at each car port. You don't even have to get out of your car to order your food here. Plus, someone from inside brings out your order once it's down. Perfect for lazyasses. Actually, you could also go to the restaurant and order there, but it's pretty small inside.

I was having a hard time photographing this. Both the box and napkin were on my lap and the light kept changing. Plus the car was moving....

The "Dawg" is buried underneath the fries. I really don't like the pickle spear!

The box against the brick backdrop of my cousin's house. After getting the dawgs, we went back to my cousin's to get our luggage and eat a quick lunch. TC and I had already eaten a bit earlier at Super H-Mart...so Bert was the lucky one who got to consume this last Chicago style dog.
This was Bert's dog, or shall I say "dawg". The other one was for my brother. Okay, it was around 11:30 am when we bought these. Our flight left at 4:25 pm (it was eventually delayed 45 minutes) so we didn't get back in to San Diego until 7:45'ish. I don't know how good it tasted since I just recently found out he didn't even eat it that same night! He ate it the next day! Gross!!!

Because I'm a worrywart, we got to O'Hare waaay early. Like more than 2 hours early. Even though my cousin only lives less than 10 minutes away from O'Hare, I didn't want to take any chances with any unforseen accidents or traffic holdups. Anyways, here we are back at O'Hare. We noticed that airport workers were unceremoniously tearing down the plastic coverings on the pillars, the ones that said "Chicago- Olympic Bid 2016". And before we left Chicago, I had to take a photo of their amazing self-cleaning toilet seat covers. Here is a sign on how to use this contraption...

The first time I encountered one of these was back in 1998 when we had a stopover at O'Hare en route to NYC for N & L's wedding. I tripped out over this dealie here. So yeah, I took a photo and lucky for me, no one else was in the bathroom hearing me snap away. What kind of sucked about this (or at least this stall) toilet's mechanism was that it didn't really work. I waved my hand over the sensor, yet the plastic did not automatically circle around the lid to be replaced by a fresh, ass-germ-less sheath of plastic. Needless to say, I did not entirely press my glutueal region (aka: nalgas, ass, arse, pwet, bum) on this when doing my business. Despite this modern contraption, I still felt like I couldn't trust it and had to maintain a "safe" hovering distance. Anyways, how do we know this plastic stuff isn't being recycled and is just going 'round and 'round, teeming with ass germs???? Here is someone else's video of this mechanical device in action. Luckily there wasn't anything "floating" around...

And that's all she wrote folks. Hope you enjoyed these Chicago posts! Until our next trip or odd excursion!

Chicago: Day 7 - The Leaning Tower of Niles

Okay, since we saw the leaning tower only at night, we HAD to see it today before we left Chicago. The Leaning Tower of Niles is located on W. Touhy St. in a small suburb slightly NW of Chicago...We parked across the street at this food place...Papa Chris Place - a wierd hybrid of American, Greek and Italian fast food. The Leaning Tower YMCA is home to this urban tribute to one of the most famous towers in the world. It's just so random..You're driving along this really blah and ho hum street and bam! You see a fake Leaning Tower of Pisa ahead of you!

Built 75 years ago , the Leaning Tower of Niles is a half size replica of the one that stands in Pisa, which has been the sister city of Niles since 1991. The Tower was built by Chicago industrialist Robert A. Ilg to hide a water tower that serviced two swimming pools. When he died in 1964, he left the tower to the nearby YMCA which now bears its name. Check out this link to someone else's blog post about the tower here

Too bad people can no longer go inside and climb to the top. By the way, I noticed that I'm wearing the same damn jacket in nearly every photo of our Chicago trip. Believe me, it was pretty cold (well, not freezing) and poor old spoiled Southern Cal girl that I am, was not liking it. Normally my wardrobe varies more than this!

Last night when we drove by, there were several tourists taking pix of themselves. There was no one today except us. On a more morbid ntoe, I wonder if anyone ever tried jumping off this thing?

Plaque at the Tower...

Another view...you can see one of the side pools here.

This was one of the "junk" snacks TC bought at H-Mart, Kancho by Lotte, a South Korean sweets maker (known for their "crunky" chocolate bars). These are similar to these Japanese Koala cookies, except their box is shaped like an octagon. What's funny is the name, "Kancho", which is some sort of pranklike game that school children in Japan do to other people. To "Kancho" someone, you put your hands together Charlie's Angels style (with your index fingers pointing out), like you're pointing a gun, then you forcefully ram it up someone's ass, preferably when they're not looking. You heard that right. OMFG! What kind of fkg game is that? My friend C from the blog Life on Manitoulin used to be an English school teacher in Japan and said that kids did that a lot over there! Hopefully not to her!

To learn more about this questionable (but funny!) practice, click here! You may also observe the proper hand form here! Make sure to "do it right" okay? Their store also has several t-shirts on sale, like "Kancho University" or "I (heart) Kancho", and my all time favorite, "WWJK?" (Who Would Jesus Kancho?). I'd wear that to the Vatican and say, "Yo, what's up Pope Ben?"!

On to Superdawg!