7 for 2007
Dalai Lama
Who needs anger management classes if you got the DL? Not me! Yen: Compassionately-enabled since October 2007.
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." -- Dalai Lama
Technology
A new laptop and a cellphone has brought me closer to current societal standards. Aggregating RSS feeds and relearning the finer points of XSL transformations for work - fun, but it's still work.
France
I was just reminiscing about this trip the other day... and sorely missing the Chinese food from a takeout counter in Nice. Yes, inappropriate, but I get to try again this year. This first trip to the mother country was everything I hoped it would be and more: friendly, frenchy, beautiful. Wait, are we talking about the country or the women? Har har. It was less, too: chaotic, crazy, inaccessible. Sitting at the park on top of the gorge in Gourdon was one of my best moments of the year.
Maladies
A radar head and some kidney damage in the boys and a bout of bronchitis in and a hospital visit for me makes this the year of the sick.
Novel
I originally wrote my time jumping meth meets Pony Express story three years ago and I finally rewrote half of it for Nanowrimo in November. I'm actually proud of it which is difficult to admit because I find my writing extremely tedious <-- like that.
Isabelle
First the woman releases my new favorite album of ever and all time in April - De retour de la source. Then she smiles and winks and talks to me during her concerts in Quebec. How, I ask, how can I not be insane in the membrane over her? I do have my limits, though. Obsess over her? Yes. Create a painting and selling it online for 15,000 euros?
Maybe.
Sandwiches
Po' boys, banh mis, croque monsieurs, cubans...bring it. I love you all so much I don't know how quite to express it.
I think I'll end the year on that note. See ya, 2007.
Labels: Cats, Food, France, Isabelle, Music, Trips, Yen
« December 31, 2007 12:25 PM | Post a Comment | 0 comments »
Master Splinter
This is a slow month. How slow? You really want to know?
If I could be a Turtle (the teenage mutant kind), I'd be Michaelangelo because he's the fun-time guy or Leonardo because he's the leader. Donatello would be alright, too, because he's so loyal. But, I'd probably end up as Raphael, the moody one who pouts all the time because he can't be in charge. It's because you're moody, man!
Whichever Turtle I'd be, I'd get to eat pizza (and nothing else), crack witty jokes (you know you laugh) and possess better fighting skills than any freakishly large reptile should have. Fortunately, I don't have to be a Turtle to have my own Master Splinter. One difference: Theirs is a rat. Mine is piece of wood stuck in my finger.
I've been living and learning from it for a week now. I've come to accept it and become one with it. No, for real, I can't get the damn thing out. My finger hasn't fallen out yet, but wait, there's more positive news! It hasn't turned blue or any other non-skin color. It doesn't hurt and it may actually accentuate the strange double jointed-ness I was born with. Thanks, Mom! Or Dad!
No, my mom. I blame my mom.
Labels: Yen
« December 27, 2007 6:28 PM | Post a Comment | 0 comments »
Crazy for cubans
If I had been born right (it's a little late for THAT), I would've had an Indian mother and a Cuban father. I would've eaten like a king growing up, even if I would've looked funny. Oh wait, that part's the same. Someone actually asked if I was Filipino the other day. And my non-Indian mom tells me I was mistaken for a Japanese baby when I was... a baby. Maybe it's her way of telling me something...
Anyway, my point is that I love Cuban sandwiches. What? That wasn't clear?
I wish I could pick a favorite cuban sandwich in Atlanta, but all I can say is the last one I ate is my favorite. There's something so right about these porky sandwiches. It's not just roasted pork, but there's ham, too! Genius. And then there's the swiss cheese that melts slightly on the hot pressed bread. All together, el cubano is one of my 3 favorite food groups. Yes, it's a category onto itself.
Here are some ATL restos that enable my habit:
Kool Korners - 14th St., Midtown
Even though it has non-traditional toppings of lettuce & tomatoes and jalapenos, this is just one tasty sandwich. It's spicy, the bread is outstanding and it has the right ratio of meat to cheese. It's ATL's most consistently recommended place to go for a cuban sandwich - mostly cause they make nothing else.
Havana Sandwich Shop - Buford Hwy & North Druid Hills
This is highly regarded, too, but just not by me. I do think the bread is excellent but there's too much mayo and the cheese is too melty, rendering the swiss cheese not as swissy as it should be. In spite of saying all that, I would not say NO to this cuban if I was just within a 5 mile radius of this restaurant. This is how addicted I am.
Las Palmeras - 5th St, Midtown
Being my neighborhood dealer, I am partial to this sandwich. It has the right amount of meat and the cheese is always done right. The bread isn't as good as the others, but I overlook that because the little lady owner is too cute.
Papi's Grill - Ponce de Leon, Midtown
As my backup dealer, I will give big ups to the consistency of this sandwich. It's always humongous, it always has a ton of meat and the bread could always be better.
Red Peppers - Main St., Acworth
As my gateway sandwich, I only remember that it had crusty, tasty great bread. I've only eaten here once so I don't recall anything else about the sandwich, but I was high from the experience. OBVIOUSLY.
Fuego Spanish Grill - Crescent Ave., Midtown
This is a tapas place and I'm not a big tapas fan, so I've only had it once here. The sandwich is normal size and not tapas size, but it had a lot more more mustard and pickles than necessary. The porky meats were good, though.
There's a few more places that I have yet to try (but I'm trying!). This includes Coco Loco on Sidney Marcus and Palomillas up in Norcross. If you're ever downtown, do not get the cuban at the Loaf and Kettle. They don't use cuban pressed bread so it's not the same at all. It's just the idea of a cuban sandwich and while that is indeed a tasty thought, it should not be an option if you want a good version of the 2nd best sandwich ever created.
What's the first? Good question.
« December 12, 2007 8:45 PM | Post a Comment | 2 comments »
Tuffy, mon petit!
My little French mouse has a name! It's Tuffy. He's not always French, only when he's in Paris being a mouseketeer. Actually, he only speaks in those 4 cartoons set in Paris. Otherwise, he's mute like Tom and Jerry in the other 9 cartoons that he's in.
Tuffy started life as an orphan and he was named Nibbles in the first few shorts. He always ends up at Jerry's door and Jerry, being a compassionate mouse, takes care of him without question. Tuffy was in diapers and half the size of Jerry in his first episode, but he grew up like a good little mouse during the 12 year span that he appeared on the cartoon (Academy Award-winning cartoon!).
What's that, you say? I know entirely too much about a recurring guest star cartoon mouse from the 1950s? Actually, I don't. Here's someone who knows more than any one person should about Tom and Jerry.
But seriously, if mice really looked like Tuffy, I'd totally have one as a pet and dress him up in diapers. I'd also arm him with a little sword because neither Jonas nor Zekey are as stupid as Tom.
Well, I'd like to think so, anyway...
Labels: TV
« December 05, 2007 8:11 PM | Post a Comment | 0 comments »
Ma Capitaine Mouseketeer
Tom and Jerry need no introduction, but have you ever met Jerry's French cousin, a mouseketeer in training? C'est la souris la plus mignonne que j'ai jamais vu.
"Touche, Monsieur Jerry?" He arrives in diapers, ready for his training.
"And besides that, I'm chicken!" He gets his first mission.
« December 04, 2007 7:40 PM | Post a Comment | 0 comments »
