Atlanta: The Guide (Part 3)

The World of Coca-Cola- New building, new exhibits. Including a 4-D (yes, 4D!) show and of course, that room full of soda fountains from around the world. Careful though, some of those sodas are a tad unfriendly.

The Vortex- The place where all the cool cats go to eat. They boast no-nonsense service and awesome burgers.

Loca Luna- dance dance dance dance salsa dance dance dance dance...

Atlanta: The Guide (Part 2)

Rugged Wearhouse- Thrift stores are fun. You should really go when you're in need of retail therapy of the third-world-poor kind.

Souper Salad- I sure love salad. If you agree, find yourself one of these and pig out to your hearts desire.

Sutra- dance dance dance dance dance dance.

Lucky Buddha- 24 hour Chinese and Thai take out. Hits the spot after a night of dancing.

Atlanta: The Guide (Part 1)

Junkman's Daughter- The best alternative store in Atlanta. If you think Hot Topic is for losers, you should go to Atlanta and visit Junkman's Daughter.

Sweet Lime- Yummy Thai food in a cute little restaurant and cute waitstaff. Little 5 Points, Atlanta.

BJ's on Hwy 58- Some neighborhood bar with bands and DJ's. Chattanooga, bitches.

Atlantic City: The Guide

If you ever find yourself in Atlantic City, you'll probably stay at one of the casinos and spend the whole time there. They build those suckers so you never have to leave.

I was there not too long ago for a bachelorette party and stayed at the Taj Mahal. Here is a guide to all the stuff you can do there aside from gambling.

The Rim- The Rim is a Chinese/ Vietnamese noodle bar. The food was good but, as with all Vietnamese, not like my grandma's. The congee I ordered was bland, but I heard the sweet and sour chicken and pho was delicious.

Ego Bar & Lounge- Ego is a lot like the hotspots you read about in Hollywood. There are private tables that can be curtained off and the lighting is super dark. So things could happen if you were on a date or you're single and ready to mingle.

Casbah Night Club- Casbah is a club that opens at 10:30 pm and closes at 6:30 am. Girls get in for free, guys pay a ridiculous cover plus drinks. Dance until your feet hurt and meet new people. Plus, they have go-go dancers that are actually pretty good.

Plate- Go to this place for breakfast, they make excellent eggs, toast, and hash browns.

Girls Night Out

My social calendar recently added 2 events that are more or less all-girl. First a bachelorette party in Atlantic City and then an all-girl outing with my bestest girl Joy in Atlanta. These are the types of activities I think Joe should be weary of and yet he isn't. Curious.

Elevators and the People In Them

Know what I hate? Strangers trying to chit chat on the elevator. I rather prefer uncomfortable silence, thank you. It's more tolerable than listening to you chortle over which level you parked your car. It's definitely more tolerable than wondering out loud whether the first floor or the ground floor takes you to the street. Duh people! The ground floor takes you to the street! That's why there's a star next to the G on the button!

Beer League vs. Beer Fest

Ever notice how sometimes a movie comes out in theaters and like, a week later the very same movie comes out again? It's sort of like a collective think tank in Hollywood comes up with all the ideas. That's what I was thinking when last year, both Beer League and Beer Fest came out in theaters (or straight to DVD, whichever). The difference is, one was passable and the other was simply horrible.

Beer Fest is about these 2 brothers that discover they are related to cocky beer guzzlers in Germany and go home vowing to show up those sonsabitches at next year's Beer Fest. It's unrated, so you see some naked boobies, there's a few funny guys from Super Troopers or whatever and, this is key, there's a plot. And characters. And it's funny.

Beer League on the other hand, was the brainchild of Artie Lange of Howard Stern fame. Some motley group of losers who play softball and they're always drunk and get beat by some cocky sonsabitches. And they vow to beat those cocky sonsabitches by the end of the season or else get relegated to a different league. The movie just wasn't that great. There're no naked boobies in this movie. So you decide which movie you'd rather see.

Sophalopalus: Cultural Learnings of Boys for Make Benefit of Clueless Girl

Lesson 1: Guys decide within the first 30 seconds of meeting a girl if he wants to bang her.

This surprises me and at the same time it doesn't surprise me. The part that surprises me is that every single guy is like that (except maybe the ones with a Jesus problem) and that they make these decisions on every girl they meet. In other words, this is not a function that can be turned off.

What also makes me wonder is how you guys can act cool and calm around us all the time, when in fact you are thinking about getting laid. I mean, there are guys I've met that I'm cool with and they have never, ever hinted at the notion of bleeping my whatever (or whatever it is that you think). So I've concluded that Lesson 1 is kind of creepy.

Lesson 2: If they could, guys prefer to have sex every single day. (And sometimes twice a day)

Duh. That's a no-brainer. But here's where girls should pay attention. If you hold out/ cut them off/ whatever no-sex punishment you choose, they will look elsewhere. In this lesson, you should note that this is where "playerism" lies. Even if a girl can agree to sex every other day, that's reason for a guy to play 2 girls so he can get laid every single day. Get that?

Discussion Points: Think about how this plays into a relationship. If the above lessons are true, then why would a guy agree to be exclusive with or even marry one girl? Are rules of a relationship made up entirely by females? And guys just agree and play along because they know it at least guarantees them a certain amount of sex? Yeah, it's a lot to think about!

Food Crazes: A Summary

Joe and I go through lots of food crazes. We like something, and then soon enough we really like it. Pizza is a house favorite, but some things come into our house and then we're eating it like there's no tomorrow. Here are some examples of some phases we've gone through.

The Burrito Phase.
This all started with the burrito degollado at El Rodeo. This was a breakthrough for Joe because he'd been afraid of beans since childhood. Ever since then, I can expect the burrito response 1 out of every 3 times I ask.

The Pineapple Phase.
Like a lot of people, we were intimidated by the pineapple. How do you cut those things anyway? Well, we figured it out and ate maybe 2 whole pineapples per week. Whenever we ran into people at the grocery store, they'd raise they're eyebrows at the pineapples in our cart. That lasted maybe all of the beginning of summer.

Italian Ice Phase.
Rita's Italian ice was an obsession for 2 whole summers. We probably stopped there once or twice every weekend. I love the custard, the thickest I've ever come across. I'm a big fan of fruity flavors, especially all the red colored ones. Joe was partial to the banana split sundae.

Peach Phase.
Right now, we're in the midst of a peach phase. Joe gets these peaches from a farm stand on his way from work and we can't seem to get enough. I think it's safe to say we're eating a dozen peaches a week. They're in season right now, so they're super delicious.

This Screw is Screwy

I always thought green or blue eyes with jet black hair looked cool. So that's why I'm getting color contacts. Green for me, please. Blue is so played out.

I'll also change back to blue-black hair too so I look super duper cool.

But in the meantime, I had the guy fix my glasses because my lens keeps popping out. I think the thread is stripped from the screw that keeps the thing together so it just keeps spinning without tightening. In french, the saying would be "la vis est folle", which literally translates to 'the screw is crazy'.

I Give Great...Gifts. What'd You Think I Was Gonna Say?

I like to think I’m a pretty good gift giver. I’m a good listener and I’m very observant, so I find myself taking lots of mental notes when I see friends and family. I prefer giving gifts than receiving them, and getting an appreciative thanks for thoughtfulness means more to me than getting something in return. This year will be an unusual year for giving gifts. Friends are getting married, there’s a big anniversary somewhere in there, and soon my sister is going to hatch another one. I’m thinking maybe if I get these ideas out on paper, it’ll spur some other ideas I’m looking for. So excuse me while I brainstorm…

Ben and Kelly: These 2 crazy lovebirds moved to Seattle for 2 years just for the adventure. They visited home often and friends always returned their visits. They may or may not move back this year, so we gifted them airline credits for their wedding. I’m hoping they use them.

2 other weddings are on deck for this fall. First, Joey and Jenny. Friends of the family. This is a mixed race wedding (Italian and Vietnamese), so I won’t be surprised if there’s like 400 people on the guest list. I have no clue what to get them. Even if they really do have 400 guests, I want them to remember my gift. (Yeah, I’m a little vain like that.) The problem is that I don’t know them that well. I hate to just pick something from the registry but I think that’s what’s going to happen. Ideas?

Then there’s Josh and Barbie. This one is a tad tricky. The couple didn’t really register for anything that struck me as being personal. Plus, Joe’s in the wedding so I think he has other plans to go in on a gift from the other groomsmen. If this actually happens, and I also gift Barbie at the shower, I don’t feel obligated to get anything big but I don’t want to come empty handed either. Hmm…

By the way, I’m gifting Barbie some stuff to pack on the honeymoon. I figured most people will get couples gifts or gifts for the home. I figured it would be nice to get her something just for her. So I got some mood candles, perfume, and I’ll throw in some alluring lingerie in there too. Wait, did I say ‘just for her’? Maybe this is a couples gift after all.

Gram and Grandpop Metzger’s 60th anniversary: I knew beforehand from Aunt Jane that Gram insisted on no gifts. I figured that at their age, there’s nothing they need now and there’s really nothing they need for the future. So I decided to take them back to the past. I looked up popular candies from the 40’s and picked up a nostalgic card/ pamphlet that listed current events, retail prices, old ads from the year they got married. Sure enough, the gift did what I intended. Gram remembered going to the penny candy store for Mary Janes and laughed at the licorice pipes. Everyone marveled at the price of cars and rent back in 1947.

Housewarming: I went to Ellicott City to see Steve, who I haven't seen in maybe 6 years. He just bought a townhouse with his boyfriend. I don't know him that well either, but I was lucky to have been by a book sale that same day and picked up a feng shui book for supercheap and that was his gift. Anway, I've got another housewarming on deck for Aaron and Alisha, whenever they finally settle on their new house and move in. I haven't a clue what to get them either. Ideas? They're the retro 50's kitschy type, so I'm looking at maybe some wall art or something to go along with another book I picked up at the book sale (a lounge lizard type journal thingy).

Sigh. Stuff like this literally clutters my brain for days until I can think of something good to give to someone. Gift giving sometimes becomes a passion and I get upset when I can't churn out good ideas. Don't even get me started on Christmas. I'm sure that'll be a separate issue when the season comes nearer.

2007-2008 Fantasy Soccer

Fuck! I missed the first 3 weeks of Premier League. Now my competitive spirit is slightly ruined. I hastily threw together my team, as much as I could remember from last season, and hope that I can catch up with the rest of the world with points. I did make some worthy trades though. Suck on this...

Goalkeepers: Van der Sar, Jaaskalainen
Defenders: Dunne, Neville, Ferdinand R, Ferdinand A, Carragher
Midfield: Lampard, Butt, Fabregas, Reo-Coker, Hamann
Strikers: Van Persie, Campbell, Agbonlahor

Don't ask me how I figured out how to afford Frank Lampard. I think I started with him and worked my way down. And I don't remember Fabregas and Van Persie being that expensive before. Doesn't matter, I'm ready to play!

FA Premier League

Fig Einstein

Me: I should probably eat these figs. You want one?
Joe: Yeah, I'll try one.
-----
Joe: You know what would be good? If these had some kind of cookie thing with it.
Me: Like a soft cookie with fig inside.
Joe: That would be real good. That's such a good idea, I'd call them Fig Einsteins.

(laughs)

Joe: You think I'd get sued by the Fig Newton people? I mean, it's a totally different scientist!
Me: They aren't named after the scientist.
Joe: So then what's the problem!?!

The Hunt is On

So we decided to start looking for a house. We've been hesitant until now because we really like our apartment and frankly, we didn't have enough for a decent down payment. But now we're ready to start a serious and tedious search.

We saw 2 houses today to at least see what we like and what we don't like. We probably won't buy either house, but at least we know what we're working with now. Our tastes are so precise, so we feel like we're in for a long search.

Wish us luck.

Notes on the Last Harry Potter Book (Spoiler Alert!)

Before reading, here were my predictions for the 2 main characters that would die:
1. Voldemort. If he didn't die, the books should go on. No point in stopping.
2. The last book has always been about whether Harry lives or dies. So Harry was my top choice.
OR
Snape: it would totally explain whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. And since he killed Dumbledore when he was so trusted, there would be some 'splaining to do
OR
Ginny: if the only power that Harry has that Voldemort doesn't have is love, then does Ginny make the ultimate sacrifice to vanquish Harry's enemy?

The following is a list of reactions during and after I read the last Harry Potter:

-First and foremost, the revelation of Snape was the best part of all the books. I love how his story was revealed after all the debating in the previous books. It was done so so well. I think his love for Lily really made his death (or the reason for his life) so poignant. I also think his doe patronus is so sad. Best part ever!

-I'm ticked off they never explain the veil. It shows up, Sirius falls through it, and that's it?? No explanation?!

-The Battle at Hogwarts reminded me of the Battle at Helms Deep from Lord of the Rings. It was so fast paced, I was frantically trying to read faster.

-The last chapter was lame. Why did she write the end like that? It only made me want to know what happened to everyone. Like what happened to Luna and her dad, Kreacher, Cho Chang? How does George manage without Fred?

-Wouldn't it have made sense to tell Neville that he could have been The Chosen One? It would have steeled his determination and made more sense how he all the sudden got up enough courage. And does anyone else think he deserved to kill Bellatrix?

-Could someone please tell me how the Elder Wand thing works? I'm confused.

-Giving Draco short term ownership of the elder wand was better than I expected for his character. I was afraid he was just a school bully.

-Dobby's burial was a little over-dramatic.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (3D)

I saw Harry Potter in IMAX 3D over the weekend. Trying to squeeze the last bit of enjoyment out of my vacation before heading back to the grind. I have just finished the book before heading to the beach, so I had automatic comparison mode on while watching the movie.

You know how movies are never as good as the book? This is so true in the case of Harry Potter. There are so many details Rowling writes that get left out of the plot. So it may feel like skimming if you've read the book beforehand. But other than that, as always, it's a fun ride and you really root for the good guys here. You'll really like this movie, in 3D or not.

4 eggrolls out of 5

Staring is Not Polite

I don't know about you, but I still get stares in small town establishments. Take for instance, today we stopped for a banana split in Dover. The second we pulled into the parking lot, I saw old people staring out the windows at our car and watch us walk all the way in.

Then after ordering, I got stares as we found a seat to enjoy our frozen treat. I sat facing away from the old geezers but asked Joe if they were still staring. He said they kept looking over in our direction.

I reckon they must have been having flashbacks when they saw someone like me in their itty bitty ice cream shop. They must not get people like me in their parts too often.

Beach Reading List

Originally, I was going to take Harry Potters 5 and 6 with me to the beach. But Joe threw a wrench in the plan when he ordered me a novel from Amazon. So I'm reading Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix now and leaving The Half-Blood Prince for the beach.

I never read except for when I'm at the beach and I try to really cram it in. So aside from Harry Potter, I'm taking The Nasty Bits by Tony Bourdain and Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really liked Everything is Illuminated (the movie, I never read the book) so I wanted to dabble in something else from Foer.

Now that I've started, I want to get through The Order of the Phoenix as quickly as possible so I can catch up to what's going on and not get spoiled by other people's commentary on the upcoming, and last, book in the series. Plus, the movie's out now and I want to see it. But not before I read the dang thing- it's 800 and some pages long!

My Most Brilliant Idea to Date

Yesterday, Joe and I went to Hoss's for lunch. During the middle of our meal the hostess was pulling a high chair to the booth right next us, readying a table for a family of four. But the father asked whether they could sit at a table further away so it would be easier to maneuver the high chair. And then I thought "Yeah, take your kids to the kids section! I don't want hear your baby cry!"

Then I realized I stumbled upon the greatest idea I've had to date. Now that Pennsylvania is slowly banning smoking in public areas, I thought restaurants should convert those smoking sections into kid sections. So people like me can enjoy their meal in peace. Hey, I'm not being mean and selfish here. Think of all those new couples out on a date and then think of how their date is ruined when a family of 6 is seated in their vicinity. I know you can see my point here, don't deny it.

But I also have to call out the poorly trained restaurant staff who don't recognize a date when they see one and not-so-smartly seat a huge party with 7 kids next to them. Look, I know your job is to evenly distribute customers among the waitresses and make sure people get seated promptly. But your job is also to make the experience enjoyable, so pay attention to what's going on and stop putting the loudmouths near my table!

If You Could Go Back and Change One Thing What Would It Be?

I answered this question in a MySpace Survey that I posted as a bulletin. My response was "I'd try to be friendlier". I thought a bit more about this and figured I'd elaborate on that.

I'd say my fatal flaw is that I start out hating people at first and then discover reasons to like them. Rather than the other way around like most other people. They start out giving you the benefit of a doubt and figure you're a nice person and then find your flaws and start disliking you as a result.

I don't really see this as a good idea at all. Why meet someone and assume they're a good person when they could be serial killer? I'd rather assume the worse and then be relieved with it's not true. Sure, you have less friends that way but who cares. I know for a fact I don't have psychos in my life. And frankly, I like it that way.