Vampire repellant

This ought to keep the vampires at bay in our house...


Recipe for roasted garlic:

ingredients:

X # of heads of garlic depends on how much you want to reek. I used 6 here.
olive oil

1) Slice off the tops of the garlic heads
2) Brush with olive oil
3) Roast in toaster oven (you can use a regular oven too) for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F.

This stuff is so good, but the downside to eating roasted garlic is that your pores will ooze a garlic smell for a few days. Also, I'm telling you, garlic makes your gaseous expulsions more noxious than normal!!!!

Time's up...back to the grind

And so it is...Back to work offically tomorrow. School for the students doesn't start until after Labor Day, but we have to be there early to help set everything up. I went in last Friday to clean up my office. Luckily, the fellow who used it during summer school was a total nice guy and kept my office meticulously spotless. Nothing was thrashed and it was very well kept. I really appreciated that.

Two months of vacation isn't that bad. I'm not complaining. I had a fun summer relaxing, reading my mags, taking my daughter to school, swim class, etc...I will miss dropping her off in the morning. I enjoyed going out to lunch with HotFudge, Lotus, Bert and Superman, and my other educator friends, who alas, are also back at work (or will be soon). I will miss those lunch outings very much.

We went to Hawaii for our anniversary/vacation/conference and had a wonderful time! We fixed up our master bedroom and got rid of furniture we had for eleven years. Thanks HotFudge for the tip about taking off the backing of our new book cases. Saves us to time and effort in not having to paint them. Looks quite nice. Our set up is nearly complete and I can consider it to be a retreat now.

Next days off, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving! Too far down the line but looking forward to it already.

New restaurants in downtown CV

Okay, last Thursday, I went to lunch with one of my friends to check out a new Thai place in downtown Chula Vista. Actually, it turned out that she had eaten there a few months earlier with her husband but didn't mind going again. Downtown Chula Vista has recently been undergoing a revitalization. There are some new shops along with the old standby's. For example, Tortas La Especial on Third is now gone and has been replaced with a Deli/Mini Mart (I forget the name). I used to like going there to eat their tacos al vapor (steamed tacos). They also served mole tacos which I didn't see at a lot of other places. Anyways, it's gone. Also, along Third Avenue is this new Italian restaurant (below), Mangia Bene, which just opened. It is located at the site of the former Educational Supply Center. I used to buy little things for TC and her cousins here. When TC was a baby, I bought educational posters (fruit, birds, modes of transportation, vegetables, etc) and hung them around her room and in our family room so she could learn different things. So, maybe one day, Bert, TC and I will check out this new place.We parked at the free parking place on Third and F (behind Marie Callender's) and walked the block and a half to the new Thai place, Mea Kwan. It's right next to the now defunct Vogue Theater. Mea Kwan used to be "Edelweiss", an old Austrian restaurant that we (us and Lotus/Shogun) ate at about a year and a half ago. Apparently, Mea Kwan has been open for about six months, but I never knew it was there (despite driving past it at least once a week when driving TC home from dance practice). I was suprised to hear of their half year existence when I spoke with a woman, who I believe is the owner, during our visit. She said she had complained to the city that her sign wasn't big enough and that's why she wasn't getting enough business. Finally, she said, she received a bigger sign and things were better for her. At last week's Lemon Festival, I noticed the signs and was curious about this place. The old storefront is still the same and looks jarringly out of place as a "Thai" restaurant. Where's Heidi? Yodel-ay-hee-hoo! Right when you enter, there is a smiling green diety that greets you.
We were seated at a booth towards the front of the restaurant. There was new paint and pretty wall hangings (although you can't see from this photo). There were wooden carvings, sequinned tapestries of elephants, village life, and beautiful Thai textiles with metallic threads serving as table cloths. Behind us was a China cabinet filled with delicate Thai china pieces. We both ordered the lunch specials which came with soup, salad, an egg roll with sauce and your main entree. The service that day was quick. The owner was friendly and came back periodically to ask if everything was alright. She was interested in knowing where we were from. Turns out we're all from Eastern Chula Vista; she was from the Eastlake area. My friend and I ordered two lunch specials which start at $5.95 for just the basics. If you wanted veggie or tofu, it was just $5.95, Then the price rose a dollar or two or three more if you wanted chicken, beef, shrimp, or some other seafood.
While we were waiting, the waitress came by with our soup. At most Thai places, you either get Tom Kha (Hot & Sour) or Tom Yum (spicy coconut). We were served neither version, not that we should have. I figured this soup was something new so I'd be open minded. Unfortunately, this was a rather bland, almost flavorless soup. It had cubes of tofu, sliced carrots, cilantro and very thin glass noodles at the bottom. I was disappointed by this soup because it didn't have anything to offer: no spice, no texture (other than the tofu), or flavor.
I ordered a Thai iced coffee (($2.75). When my husband ordered this same drink yesterday (Saturday), he had "whipped cream" on top! I had never seen whipped cream on Thai iced coffee. Perhaps this is some new thing? I thought my iced coffee was a bit too sweet. I prefer Vietnamese iced coffee because I enjoy the bitter flavor more.
Here was my lunch special: the Panang Curry ($5.95) which had bell peppers, kaffir lime leaves in curry sauce with basil. There were no other vegetables in the sauce. I thought it tasted okay, but it was quite tame. Again, there was no spice or "bite". I was beginning to suspect that this place were catering to xenophobic "American" palates (i.e. bland, boring and scared of flavor). The rice was blah. I was expecting jasmine rice which has an aromatic smell and nutty flavor and is normally served at Thai restaurants. This rice was almost as bad as Uncle Ben's. The egg roll was standard but nothing great. The salad was iceberg lettuce with carrot shreds with a thin peanut sauce. What I did like was the portion. It wasn't gigantic. The presentation was rather blah. My lunch companion ordered the Yellow Curry with Chicken ($7.95). Inside the little bowl were carrots and potatoes which added heft to her meal. The sauce tasted almost the same as mine. We joked that the only difference in our sauces was the color.
Yesterday, when I went with Bert and TC, I ordered the Som Tum ($7.95), also known as Papaya Salad. This is young papaya that is shredded and served with lime juice, fish sauce, chopped peanuts, tomatoes, chile, AND, according to their menu, salted preserved blue crab or dried shrimps. When we tasted the salad, we both found it to be VERY mild. So mild that even TC ate it. I suppose we could have asked for it to be spicy, but at most Thai places we've been, it's always been spicy. We've never had to ask for it that way. Not this salad. Not only was it NOT spicy, it contained neither the shrimp nor the crab. I kept prodding my fork in the papaya strands thinking it was hiding somewhere. Finally, Bert asked the owner if the items were included.

And here is where I feel my suspicion that this place dumbs down their cuisine is correct. The owner apologized and said that she does not include the salted preserved blue crab or dried shrimps because the "smell" offends the customers. WTF! I'm making a very broad assumption here and feel that she means the "American" (i.e. white) customers. She then said that having the crab or shrimp was a choice and customers could pick which one. I told her (nicely) that the menu was not clear in giving the customers a choice. My understanding from the menu description was that the salad came with both items. The reason I ordered the salad was because I actually like shrimp and crab - salted or dried or whatever. She offered to make us a new salad, but I just asked her to include some dried shrimps with the salad we already had, which she did. Her assumption that customers wouldn't like the shrimp and crab in the salad (that's supposed to have it) was lame. Why even offer it on the menu?

What I like about places that don't cater or bow down to conventional "American" tastes is that they don't care about offending their customers with the "smell" of their food or the "wierdness" of their ingredients. They don't understimate their customers' intelligence. They assume most people go to those places anyways, because they know what they're in for. If they order something they end up hating, they'll know not to order it next time or they can eat elsewhere. I consider eating other cuisines a learning experience, not something to be sheltered from.

For example, Sang Dao (the Laotian/Chinese place in the hood) doesn't ask you how spicy you want your shit. They just make it. Unless you tell them, the cooks are going to make it the way they make it. I respect that. I also respect that they will adjust it if you ask. But they're not going to dumb down the way they season their food because of some pussy customer.
Anyways, going to this place was worth a look see but I don't think I'll be going there again. Bert? I'm sure other people who doen't eat Thai food too often will find it satisfactory or even great because they have nothing else to compare it to, but I'm willing to travel to farther venues in San Diego to get better food with a nicer presentation. I don't mean to be too harsh on this place because, after all, this is a new place and I'm definitely not a professional food critic. I'm just a Joe-Blow with an opinion. I realize that this place is pretty new and perhaps the owner may just want to attract an initial customer base and not scare them away with all that "spice" and "smelly" ingredients. So be it and I hope she gains a lot of customers in Chula Vista looking for an "exotic" place to go...I just won't be one of them. Sorry dude!

Student Driver

This past Thursday, I went out to lunch with a very good friend. We drove through F Street near Hilltop Drive. There was a four way stop and the car on the right stopped first. So...I waited for it to go. Five seconds elapsed...Then, ten...then finally, the car made a right to go straight on F Street. I was commenting, "C'mon now already...go you fkn'...."

The funny thing was, when the car made the right, there it was...in big red letters on the trunk, "STUDENT DRIVER"...Aaaargh!!! I can understand being cautious, but fifteen seconds was too much! That's geologic time at a four way stop.

My momentary road rage was subdued immendsely because of the student driver and all was well again...There's worse things in the world to be ticked off at.

For Superman's sister...

"Show Me" by the Pretenders

Judas Priest Breaking the Law

Judas Priest Breaking The Law

This is the song that Beavis & Butthead refer to when they shout, "Breaking the Law! Breaking the Law!" As you can see, or will see, this video was made when the medium of music videos was fairly new, 1980. The lyrics were taken literally. KK Downing & Glenn Tipton (the dual lead guitarists) are dressed as vicars and prepare to rob a bank while the security guard snoozes away. Fearless leader and Metal God, Rob Halford (who would later come out of the closet in the early '90s! Major shocker! Not!) comes in and joins in on the mayhem. My favorite parts?
1)When the guitarists point their guitars to the bank vault and it opens!!!! I also like the part when they "break" a man's eyeglasses by playing their guitars! Yeahhh!!!
2) When the security guard plays "air" guitar with a cardboard guitar! Can you say cheesy?

A relic from MTV's early days, but a great song from a classic rock album, "British Steel" (1980), which was Priest's breakthrough in the U.S. I still like this song, but the video is unintentionally hilarious!

Squeeze my lemons...

Yesterday was the 10th Annual Lemon Festival. Apparently, Chula Vista was the self-proclaimed "Lemon Capital of the World' a long time ago. We decided to check it out for ourselves.

By the way, the title of this post is in reference to "the iinfamous "Lemon Song" by Led Zeppelin which was borrowed from "Travelin' Riverside Blues" by blues great Robert Johnson. For more on this reference, click here . As a chick, you couldn't squeeze my lemons anyways! Unless you want lemons to refer to jugs. In which case, I'll kick your ass!

This is for you HotFudge...R.I.P. Vogue Theatre.
The movie theatre where me, my brother and sister saw Star Wars, House of Wax in 3-D, Psycho II, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and most importantly, Surf Ninjas (I saw the last one with Bert in '93).
There were many booths hawking various wares such as toys, kites, jewelry, garages, home improvement items (roofing, windows, garages, walter filtration systems) etc... Plus your usual incumbents running for school board and other such politicos running for office along with realtors. There were a few lemon themed booths such as this one. A few were also giving out "Lemon Heads" candy. I'm not really into decorating my house with crafts with miniature citrus fruits, but to each their own.

Damn formatting. Couldn't get the text ABOVE the Neuter Scooter. Too bad this couldn't be for humans. Next up...Nacho Libre!
I like my hot dogs with ketchup and relish and religiously avoid mustard. Bert on the other hand slathers his dogs with mustard. Not surprisingly, TC takes after me. That day, I added two jalapeno peppers for good measure. Let's just say that it took it's toll on me later that day.


The fountain in Memorial Park where they were supposed to have "Free Kids Activities". This was a total dud. There was only a Boys Scout Booth, a Girls Scouts Booth and a jumper manned by a local YMCA. We did not see any other so called "activities" for kids to do ( I was expecting arts & crafts or something of that nature) so we skipped out on this portion.

Anyone up for animal exploitation? Poor llamas...

This was a lowrider bike, "Twisted Minds" (1969) by local artist, Mike Mejia (pictured). The bike was actually rotating on a circular, maroon velvet stand. Orale!

There was also a "beer garden" area, but you were only allowed two beers. There were carnival type rides, a rock climbing wall, llama rides (see poor exploited animal above), and a classic car show. We left a little bit after lunch, right before it got really warm. We also saw Mexican folk dancing (cute little kids), picked up various free samples at booths (yay Starbucks tangerine slushy!), heard a decent live band (they played my favorite type, classic rock), saw an animated elderly lady dressed up as a lemon, and had some pink lemonade. After all, what's the point of going to the Lemon Fest unless we tasted a bit of it's sour goodness?

Fun with figures, burgers & Treet

Chewie, HanSolo (the Bespin version) and R2-D2 duke it out on our fireplace mantel.

I think I have Chewie holding his crossbow the wrong way!!!

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of having lunch with HotFudge . She started work this week but had Friday off. I still have one more week of glorious vacation. We went to Vagabond where we both ordered burgers. Our appetizer was the calamari that I had last week. I hope Ronin enjoyed those leftovers. For our entrees, HotFudge had smoked salmon served with alfalfa sprouts, avocado, tomato, cucumber, red onion and lettuce.

I had the Kobe beef burger on a toasted telera roll. Both sandwiches were served with thin cut "frites". Unfortunately, I ordered mine "medium" when I should have said "medium rare". That was a mistake.I don't know what I was thinking. My burger was a bit too charred on the edges with no trace of pink inside. Next time, I'll remember!
I ended up eating just the softer parts of the patty and not eating the bun. I didn't want to pick up my
food with my hands (except for the fries), so I just used my utensils. What the hell right!

Anyways, while we were having lunch, this guy comes up to us and asks us if we're enjoying our lunch. We say "yes". Then he tells us that he's doing a photo shoot for San Diego Home & Garden and asks (nicely) if I could please move my pink "Hello Kitty" bag because it's in the background of the shot? I had it draped on my chair. It's actually TC's and I brought it along because I had frozen waters I didn't want to leave in the car. I obliged and put the "offending" bag on the floor. I guess they wanted to make sure that Vagabond had "upscale" clientele!!! Sorry, I don't have Coach, Louis Vuitton or Prada fkr!!! So I guess my back will be in an upcoming issue of SD Home & Garden sans Hello Kitty bag.

After lunch, we went our separate ways. I decided to go down to National City to check out Tatak Pilipino because they are going out of business, so everything is on sale! Time to stock up on Barrel Men! Schwingggg! But seriously, they will close in September and the main store will just be in Los Angeles. I also went to Big Lots (formerly "Pic 'n Save). Lo and behold, Ronin's favorite lunchmeat was there...the archnemesis of Spam, Treet!

Wow, it's only .99 too! HotFudge was just telling me that she was happy that Wal-Greens by their house had Treet and now they didn't have to travel far to find it. Well, if you're ever in National City, you know where to get your Treet fix!

White Lion - Wait

I couldn't help it! Here's one of my fave videos from 1987! "Wait" by White Lion...I think Mike Tramp stuffed a cucumber in his pants there! And that guitar solo has got to be one of the greatest ones that Eddie Van Halen NEVER did! Actually Vito Bratta was very underrated guitarist. He totally smokes on the "Pride" album.

13 Embarassing Songs...

Here they are...13 Embarassing Song that I Liked.

They are not in any particular order. This entry is complete with links (thanks mostly to Wikipedia and various song lyric sites) and my somewhat recalcitrant memories in dredging these oddities from the archives that I call my brain... I say this tongue in cheek, but as an avowed hard rock/metal fan, it's pretty embarassing for me to admit I liked these songs (except maybe for White Lion's "Wait")! I still like most of these songs!!!

Fly Robin Fly - The Silver Convention. I believe I was in kindergarten when this song was out (Billboard #1 in Nov. 1975). My excuse...I didn't know any better! I was a naive five year old. Actually looking back on it now, the simplistic lyrics and the robotic disco beat (typical of Georgio Moroder productions) must have been hypnotic to my then virgin ears which hadn't yet discovered the wonders of FM radio and what is now known as "Classic Rock". Gosh, there were only six words to this song repeated ad nauseum-----> "Fly Robin fly! Up up to the sky!"

Sailing - Christopher Cross . Aargh! 5th grade, 1979. Song Hits magazine. How could I have liked his nasal voice? But the music was so soothing! Soon to be heard in dentist's offices and elevators everywhere! "Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it"

Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia. 6th grade. 1980. This song is now a staple on all adult contemporary stations. Welcome to KYXY 96.5.Soft Rock..."Well, make a wish baby...well and I will make it come true...Make a list baby...Of the things I'll do for you" (edit - 8/12 - I heard this song twice whileshopping the other day. It's everywhere!)

Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb . 3rd grade. 1978. Oh yeahhh...gotta have that "manly" falsetto! Although my younger sister had a crush on Andy Gibb (dude had some major bucked teefs!), I secretly kind of liked this song even though I teased her for liking him. She had a glittery iron-on shirt with Andy Gibb's smiling image and wore it until that shit was peeled and cracked! Too bad he died, surprisingly not by a drug overdose, but by myocarditis (a sudden inflammation of the heart brought on by viral infection, but I'm sure the drugs had a big part in his early demise) . I blame it on Victoria Principal (aka 'Pam Ewing' of TV's Dallas fame) who dumped his ass! By this time, I was starting to like more rock, like Van Halen, Boston, and Queen. "Do it light, taking me through the night Shadow dancing , baby you do it right" Uh huh!!!

Can't Smile Without You - Barry Manilow. Also from 1978. Uhhh...the whistling intro...what more can I say? Listening to this song now is painful! This is truly a secret shame."I can't smile without you..I can't laugh and I can't sing...I'm findin' it hard to do anything"

Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers . 1st grade. 1976. Our family was in Bremerton, Washington by then. I think if we had stayed, I would've been some granola, Birkenstock wearing, tree hugging, hippy chick. The "Rollers" were so fugly! They had really bad teeth, sported helmety Carol Brady mullets and wore highwater Tartan plaid bell bottoms...AND platform shoes to boot. Nevertheless, as a youngster I enjoyed the song's alphabetic quality and chugging rhythmns..."S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...Night!!!! "

Puppy Love - Donny Osmond. This song is from his LP, "Too Young" which was released in 1972. This was the FIRST album that my parents bought me in 1976. I LOVED Donny Osmond! Long brown hair...big brown eyes...lots of teeth! And the hairless boy falsetto! I bought and wore purple socks because of him...yesterday. Just kidding. I remember asking my mom to buy me a pair when I was a kid...and she did!!!! Thanks Mom! Donny is 49 and he still looks decent. "And they call it puppy love"

Keep on Loving You - REO Speedwagon. This was one of the hardest songs for me to list. A total pussboy song. This was 1980 and I was in 6th grade. This band was about as faceless as other arena rock bands like Styx, Toto, Kansas and Foreigner. This is the type of song that people flicked their Bic's and swayed their arms to. The lead singer, Kevin Cronin had a major poodle mullet going on. This song would later be covered by the kick ass all girl band, The Donnas! Yeah! "You should have seen by the look in my eyes baby...there was somethin' missin'..." (8/10 Update - Today during my marathon 3 hour dentist visit, Iheard this song while my tooth was being drilled!!! At least it wasn't Kenny G)

Never Surrender - Corey Hart. 10th grade. 1985. I used to think Corey Hart was cute in a harmless sort of way. You know, puppy dog cute, not dangerously good looking like Billy Idol circa 1984. Anyways, I bought this 45 at Licorice Pizza because the single came with a mini foldout poster of Corey!!! I just realized there's a cheesy saxophone solo in here. Ugh! What was I thinking? "Just a little more time is all I'm asking for..."

Your Love- The Outfield . Another gem from the same year as Corey Hart's aforementioned hit. From the album, "Play Deep". I totally apologize for this travesty. I remember Lowery made fun of me for remotely liking this song. I liked the music more but the singer did have a high pitched and annoying voice. They were an "okay" band but didn't really stand out. I mean, how many other songs by The Outfield can anyone name? "Josie's on a vacation far away..."

Wait - White Lion. College. 1987. Okay, I'm not really embarassed by this, but the reason I included it is because admitting to liking White Lion in the late 80's when Heavy Metal ruled the World was basically admitting you were a total pussy. Wimp Rock(ie. Bon Jovi & Winger) was NOT COOL, but I still thought White Lion was better than Bon Jovi. Mike Tramp, the lead singer was a Danish pretty boy with a great head of hair, while the guitarist, a doe eyed Italian named Vito Bratta, was a blatant Eddie Van Halen ripoff. But I couldn't help liking this song! I loved the Van Halenesque guitar solo! Vito could hammer on just as good as Eddie! Plus MTV played it to death and I loved the video! "Wait...wait...I never had a chance to laaahv you... now I only wanna say I laaaahv you one more tiiiiiime" (you must sing this in a Danish accent)

Heat of the Moment - Asia. End of 7th grade. 1982. From their eponymous debut album. The band was another favorite of Lowery. Why did I like this pompous song? Perhaps it was those bombastic synths in the intro? The grandiose song lyrics? The fact that the band Asia had an impressive pedigree because they were all former members of past prog-rock supergroups? I was one of the few people laughing in the theatre last year when we watched "The 40-Year Old Virgin". The song was played towards the end when the Virgin went running (or was it biking?) after his girlfriend. I got the joke after the opening first notes. It was funny because the Virgin had an "Asia" poster in his apartment and was teased for having it. I'm sure most people didn't get it. The director Judd Apatow kept the song in there despite some advice that most younger moviegoers (and clueless older moviegoers) would probably not even make the connection. I'm glad he kept it in. It's stuff like this that rock snobs like me find enjoyable in movies. Check out these pretentious lyrics: "And now you find yourself in 82...The disco hotspots hold no charm for you...You can't concern yourself with bigger things...You catch the pearl and ride the dragon's wings"

Pumps Your Blood - Anson Williams (aka Potsie Weber from "Happy Days"). Check out the lyrics and the song here ! Go ahead and click on it! It's so cool! The song is from episode #142 - "Potsie Quits School" which aired on May 5, 1979. Remember? Potsie had to learn the lyrics to this song so he could pass his anatomy class. I recently heard it on TV for an aspirin commercial (of all things! the brand by the way was St. Joseph's). I dig the laugh track in the song! Happy Days...Channel 10 (ABC), Tuesday nights at 8 p.m.!

So there you have it.

The cringe factor...

Superman made an audio CD for me and Lotus the other day. We all met for lunch at the Gaslamp Quarter and had the Indian buffet at Monsoon on 4th ($13.95---fk!!! This used to be only $9.95!) I've been there a few times before and yesterday was the worst service! We could have done a "dine and dash" and they would not have noticed, known, or cared...

It was an episode of Howard Stern where one of the guys (CORRECTION - it was Richard not Randy) get a full on Brazilian wax. I'll just say this...if I were a dude, I'd be grabbing my private area and curling up into a ball! That was the funniest shit I ever heard but oh my GOD!!! Ouch! I was laughing and cringing!!!

I heard it on CD only and it sounded as painful as it must have felt for that guy!!! I was laughing so hard in the car on the way home from lunch. I must have looked like a fool on the freeway! Because we got out so late from lunch, I went straight to TC's school and parked the car on the street. I was listening to the part where the guy was screaming his head off because his nutsack was being stretched out and the hairs were being yanked off. Then I realized, "Hey, people can probably hear this" since I had the radio cranked up from being on the freeway.

All these moms and grandmas passing by my car with the open window must have heard the unearthly sounds emanating from the car. I turned it down and listened for a few more minutes before picking up my daughter. And no, I did NOT resume the CD once she was in the car. I had to listen to the rest this morning doing errands after dropping her off at school.

By the way, I learned a new word from that episode...Apparently "TAINT" is slang for the perineal area (the area between the scrot and the anus - for a man; for a woman - the area between the vagina and anus). I'd never heard it before and I actually called up Superman to find out what it meant. I thought the "taint" was a reference to the anus, (which by the way, this guy's "taint" was fully waxed there too), but alas it did not.