Not so sweet...

We had a $75 gift card to burn and a few restaurants to choose from. After a quick coin toss we were in the car and on our way to Sweet Water Tavern.

I have a slight love for revolving doors so the night was looking to a great start as we circled around to the host stand. The poor girl, I remember my hosting days...lots of face breaking smiles as the customer had come up for the fourth time to see if their buzzer was in fact working, haha.

Anywho, we got seated at a great booth and the atmosphere of the restaurant was fun and colorful and our server made the boy and I laugh so we ordered our drinks and started out the course with fried calamari. The calamari was terrific, but afterward was when the night started to spiral downward...

...soggy lettuce
((insert new server here))
...sugar-sweet ranch dressing
((insert no explanation as to where our first server went))
...an order for a medium filet minon that came out blood red
((insert manager apology here))
...a recook on the filet that came back more well done than should be legal
((insert awkward what-do-I-do-now dilemma))

I mean, here I was with a piece of meat that they had just re-cooked for me that was in no way edible, but I didn't want them coming up to ask me about it so I just made sure I kept my fork in my hand at all times so they wouldn't stop to ask why I wasn't eating.

((insert sneaking hand off of food to ANOTHER completely different server))

We ordered dessert from the server we handed our partially eaten food to who then told the first server we had about the table right behind them that wanted apple crisp for dessert.

The dessert brought our fifth and last server ((hey, maybe the way they ran things there was a server for each course of the meal...who knows...)) and an actually good tasting morsel of food.

When we got the check we were surprised to find that they hadn't even deducted the tiniest of percentages from the ticket and had charged us for the salads that we had been told were included with the meal bringing the check total to $71.40.

Needless to say, the server did not get a 65% tip that night...whoever it was.

You can kill more flies with honey...

...but it's so much more exhilarating to use a baseball bat.

Welcome to Sarah's Smash Shack, where pent-up patrons can relieve stress by hurling dinnerware and bric-a-brac against a wall, as hard as they can, day and night, seven days a week.

San Diego entrepreneur Sarah Lavely charges her clients $US10 ($14.95) and up to pulverize plates and glasses during 15-minute intervals.

Music blares, clients dress in protective gear and a neon sign urges them to "Break More Stuff."

Ms Lavely refuses to discuss her clients' problems in detail, but says that maybe they're "under financial strain, maybe they're stuck in a job they can't leave."

Insurance broker Adam DeWitt came with his wife for his birthday and took out their anger about not being able to buy a first home because the banks have frozen lending.

"It was the best $US50 we've spent in the last two years, better than filling up your tank with gas, better than paying interest on your credit card," said DeWitt, 29.

San Diego may boast surf and sunshine year round, but it also has its share of black economic clouds.

Its real estate market has been hit hard by the high rate of foreclosures in California, the second highest in the nation, and its unemployment rate has risen to 6.4 per cent from 4.8 per cent in a year.

The Shack won't let patrons drown in their sorrows -- neither drinks nor food are served.

On the "menu" there are delectable glass and ceramic breakables, neatly arranged on shelves, ready to be obliterated in one of several "break rooms" outfitted with checkerboard tiles and slabs of dented steel bolted to a far wall.

One of the most popular items, "The Smash Shack House Special," mimics a rowdy Greek supper club, where diners smash plates when they enjoy the entertainment.

The Smash Shack version features 15 plates for 15 minutes for $US45 ($67).

The advantage to the plates, Ms Lavely said, is that clients can write nasty little epithets on each one in a thick black marker before hurling.

Guests also favor highly breakable frames (3 for $US10) into which they slip photos of enemies.

The DeWitts plugged in some music by Guns n Roses, scribbled the names of banks and politicians they don't like on plates and smashed away.

"Oh boy, we smashed some plates, a couple of TV trays, some cups and mugs. My wife smashed some glass flowers," said Mr DeWitt.

"You get mad and do something to your own stuff at home and you think to yourself, 'God, that was stupid.'

"But there you get a pure rush of picking up something and watching it smash and you have no remorse afterward."

Article here.


God Bless America. This has got to be the greatest invention of all time. The first time I had heard of this type of stress relief was I believe in China (but I can't find that article that I had read awhile back). It had said that there was an actual mobile cart that drove around and allowed customers to smash dinnerware to ease the tension.

Kinda makes you want to go buy a cheap set of plates to try it out...

Awkward facebook craze...?

Y'know...it used to be that facebook was a site set aside for college kids as a way to keep in touch with high school friends and find contacts at your new school.

It was great for getting contact information on a classmate if you had missed a class. Needed to know what part you were supposed to rewrite for the project? Problem solved with a simple message.

Tagging pictures let your friends see how crazy you were no matter the hour.

Maybe you were a freshman and contemplating a certain major? Piece of cake - search for students with a similar concentration and ask if you could set up a time to talk.

Facebook was our generations myspace.

Nowadays?

Nowadays I'm getting requests from 12-year olds, aunts, uncles, and random people who thought my "picture looked really good."

Now everyday is an awkward wait to see what friend requests await your next login.

Users beware, muahahaha!

Don't lose sight.

Bartleby Gaines: Nah, I'm not going to answer your question, 'cause you guys have already made up your minds. I'm an expert in rejection, and I can see it on your faces. And it's too bad that you judge us by the way we look and not by who we are. Just because you want us to be more like them when the truth is we're not like them. And I am d--- proud of that fact. I mean, Harmon College and their - and their 100 years of tradition. But tradition of what? Of hazing kids and humiliating anyone who's a bit different? Of putting so much pressure on kids they turn into these - these stress freaks and caffeine addicts.

Dean Van Horne: Your phony school demeans real colleges everywhere!

Bartleby Gaines: Why? Why can't we both exist? Huh? You can have your grades, and your rules and your structure and your ivory towers, and then we'll do things our way. Why do we have to conform to what you want?

Dean Van Horne: Your curriculum is a joke, and you, sir, are a criminal.

Bartleby Gaines: You know what? You're a criminal. 'Cause you rob these kids of their creativity and their passion. That's the real crime! Well, what about you parents? Did -did the system really work out for you? Did it teach you to follow your heart, or to just play it safe, roll over? What about you guys? Did you always want to be school administrators? Dr. Alexander, was that your dream? Or maybe no, maybe you wanted to be a poet. Maybe you wanted to be a magician or an artist. Maybe you just wanted to travel the world. Look, I - I - I - I lied to you. I lied to all of you, and I'm sorry. Dad, especially to you. But out of that desperation, something happened that was so amazing. Life was full of possibilities. A - and isn't that what you ultimately want for us? As parents, I mean, is - is that, is possibilities. Well, we came here today to ask for your approval, and something just occurred to me. I don't give a s---. Who cares about your approval? We don't need your approval to tell us that what we did was real. 'Cause there are so few truths in this world, that when you see one, you just know it. And I know that it is a truth that real learning took place at South Harmon. Whether you like it or not, it did. 'Cause you don't need teachers or classrooms or - or fancy highbrow traditions or money to really learn. You just need people with a desire to better themselves, and we got that by the shit at South Harmon. So you can go ahead, sign your forms, reject us and shoot us down, and do whatever you gotta do. It doesn't really matter at this point. Because we'll never stop learning, and we'll never stop growing, and we'll never forget the ideals what were instilled in us at our place. 'Cause we are S--- heads now, and we'll be S---heads forever and nothing you say can do or stamp can take that away from us! So go!

--Accepted, 2006. Quote from IMDb.com

I'm not a big movie watcher, but there are those times when I sit back to watch one and ideas that the movie was based on really gets me thinking.

How many people out there had that dream job? They wanted to play saxophone in a jazz band or become a movie star and get splashed across the big screen. How many of them got pushed away from that dream because of pressure from their parents, their peers, or society itself.

Getting kicked out into the world can be a humbling experience, but it doesn't mean you should lose sight of your dreams. I have gone without many, many times, but I know what I want from life and I won't let anything stop me and I've come up with a few "rules" to live by:

-->It's okay to cry when everything seems to be going against you.

-->It's good to work hard, but always remember to take time for yourself

-->Be smart about who you trust and where you get your information.

-->If there is ever a chance -- listen and learn, to everything and everyone, because you never know where you'll find that one thing that gives you the strength to get through one more day.

How do you comfort a snake??

For quite some time we've had a ball python that I finally named TNO (The Nameless One) after the boy had left him completely nameless for three years...

Now, meet the newest member of our family:

He's a baby corn snake and as sweet as can be, but as with TNO...I'm completely lost.

I was raised with dogs. Y'know...mammals. They're warm, they're soft, they smile, they whine. A.K.A. You can tell what they do and do not tend to like.

I have house trained. I have taught to sit and stay. I've scratched them behind the ears and told them "good job."

I can't even find his ears! Not that I know if TNO would like being scratched behind ears anyway...It's such a strange transition, haha. 

It's Official.

I have salmonella poisoning.

Yay...

So unfortunately I haven't been up to moving around and taking pictures, but I'll make up for that this weekend (I've decided that I'm going to feel better by then or die trying -- I hate being sick and I really don't like doctors so I'd rather not go see them.)

Let's see, last night we were talking about something the boy had heard something interesing on one of the radio talk shows. Now, Elliott in the morning is not exactly 100% fact because it's usually just some crazy bit of news to start a conversation going, but he brought up that some fortune teller or the like had prophesied that Obama "wouldn't see the Inauguration." Now, first words out of my mouth are: "Is he going blind?" 

That's when we got to talking about the fact that this could mean a million different things. Maybe he'll get salmonella poisoning and they'll have to have a special ceremony in a hospital room or hanging out in the White House master bedroom in his PJs and he won't get the usual ceremony (which would make a lot of people who spent thousands of dollars on hotel rooms very upset, I'm sure). Maybe one of his daughters will be playing around and accidentally poke him in the eye. Maybe he'll be so moved by the experience he'll start crying and find it very hard to see.

There are a million possibilities and it really made me wonder about people who call up psychic hotlines or have their palms read in order to make decisions on things. How do you know what in the world they're actually talking about (if, in fact, they know what they're talking about in the first place). "You will be very rich in the future." Oh wow, really? That's awesome! So you decide to spend everything you've got now and move to India because it's always been your dream and hey! you're going to be rich soon so there's no worry about spending too much because you're going to have truckloads of cash later. Well, that's when you have your first experience with the monsoon season and find yourself very, very rich...in wind and rain. Hrm, well now you're in a pickle...

I think my fever is talking at the moment so I'll leave this for the moment and hopefully catch a nap.

Quesadillas will never look the same...

Thanks Hooters...

I won't give you all the graphic details, but my body has been pretty upset with me the last two days. Ugh. Ah well - it was an awesome weekend before 4am on Monday morning!

The boy and I went to the National Zoo in downtown DC where I got my animal fill for the day. A ton of the place is under construction because they're working on this HUGE elephant walking thing with bridges over top, but right now it mostly resembles a broken down skate park...

Except the saddest thing was when we got to the tiger exhibit...The tiger was pacing back and forth outside the door to go in/ get food/ out of the cold/ be with its mate, I'm not exactly sure, but it refused to leave the doorway and kept jumping up on its hind legs to look in through the tiny window.

Oh, and sad part #2 when we were in the reptile house and there was this young snake trying desperately to dig himself through the corner of the little glass cage he was temporarily living in :(

BUT -- on a happier note, I got to see pandas and wolves (though the wolves were quite the masters of hide-and-seek) and some crazy antics of elephant seals and I got to spend a relaxing day with the boy, which doesn't happen very often so we're trying to fix that :)

p.s. Did I mention we were pretty sure it was mating season in the reptile house...?

Oh Yeah!

So I should probably let you know just a little bit about myself and not just jump into this whole thing so here we go...

I'm 20 years young, a four year old at heart, and have a tendency to act like I'm 40. Sometimes I work too hard and too much, but I'm always up for a good time. 

No matter the day and no matter my mood I can always see the beauty in the world around me whether it be in the shape of the clouds, color of the trees or the pattern of cars braking along the road at night. Capturing those moments are always the highlight of my day so I hope to pursue a career in photography, but I've just started and am completely and hopelessly lost, but I'm changing that a little bit at a time.

If money weren't an issue and I could afford to be picky, I'd be a vegetarian by now. Except, more than being a vegetarian I'm looking for opportunities to help against the mistreatment of animals. ((I'm the chick in the movie theater (I like spelling it "theatre," but the U.S. spell check always yells as me and says I'm spelling it wrong.) who is ignoring the cast of people in the burning house and searching desperately on the screen to make sure the dog made it out.))

My best friend and my boyfriend help keep me sane and as of now I reaaaallllyyyy  need to finish cleaning the house.

So for now that's all and you can always check out my other blog for other random facts about yours truly :)