30 Eylül 2012 Pazar

Purgatory pizza - Downtown

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This hole in the wall type of pizza place is located east of Downtown L.A. I never had a chance to come here because this place close early. But I finally tried last week. We already had dim sum lunch, so we were not so hungry. We each got a slice of pepperoni pizza. The pizza was not good as we expected. I like Papi's pizza better than here.




















Pepperoni pizza (slice)













Rating : 3 / 5
Service: 3 / 5
Repeat: Maybe

Purgatory pizza
1326 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90033

(323) 262-5310

Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 11 pm
Sat-Sun 12 pm - 11 pm
 
http://www.eatpurgatorypizza.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/purgatory-pizza-los-angeles-2

Purgatory Pizza on Urbanspoon

Irish coffee house - West Hollywood

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I came here to kill some time. This place is so tiny, there were total 4 tables on the first floor and they were so close to each other so you can hear what people are talking about. Since I like cafes in Koreatown, this is not the place for me. This place is ok if you just wanna grab coffee and pastries to go on the way to work, but not the place I wanna stay.


















Cafe Latte (S) $2.60 and chocolate croissant $2.75
My latte look like cappuccino. Nothing special.


















Maybe there were total about 1 teaspoonful of chocolate inside, but really, chocolate parts were only outside. And I must say, pastries at whole foods are better than this. I guess this place doesn't care about the quality of the pastries.













Rating : 2.7 / 5
Service: 3 / 5
Repeat: No

Irish coffee house 
8470 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
 (310) 855-3564

Mon-Fri 8 am - 8 pm
Sat 9 am - 8 pm
Sun 10 am - 6 pm

http://www.theirishcoffeehouse.com/
 
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-irish-coffee-house-west-hollywood
 
Irish Coffee House on Urbanspoon

La Dijonaise Cafe et Boulangerie - Culver City

To contact us Click HERE
This place was disappointing. Nothing delicious. They don't heat up tart or muffin so our tart was just cold. I ordered latte and I could only taste milk. It was my first time asking to take them back my latte.


















This is cafe latte that I tasted and didn't like at all, so I asked them if I can change it to regular coffee. They said they'll make new one, but I didn't want that. I just asked for regular coffee.













And I got coffee. It was nothing special, like you can get at Seven Eleven.













Desserts and Drink menu


















Gluten free blueberry muffin
It was dry. Not soft or moist and that means not so high calories?













Apricot tart
Served cold. Tasted like from cheap bakery. I didn't like tart crust.













Rating : 2.5 / 5
Service: 2.6 / 5
Repeat: No

La Dijonaise Cafe et Boulangerie
8703 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

(310) 287-2770

Mon-Fri 7 am - 9 pm
Sat 8 am - 9 pm
Sun 8 am - 5 pm

http://www.ladijonaise.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-dijonaise-cafe-et-boulangerie-culver-city

 La Dijonaise on Urbanspoon

My new favorite kitchen scale - Cuissential SlickScale

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I received this awesome kitchen scale recently and I absolutely love it so I thought I should share this with my readers. It's really tiny and slim, nice and simple design. Also very useful for English and Asian recipes because they use "ml" and "g". Of course you can also use this scale for "ounces" too.
You can purchase on Amazon.
















http://cuissential.com/

http://www.amazon.com/SlickScale-Digital-Kitchen-Precision-Measuring/dp/B006WBW356


Life's a Beach

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I'm staying a little closer to the beach this week, maybe a mile off the sand itself. That sand would be on the north end of the Jacksonville beaches, properly called Atlantic Beach, or maybe Neptune Beach. One of those. There's a Starbucks about a block from the sand. It only has a drive through and a patio with a walk-up window. I like it. I'm there now...





There's a woman working at the front desk of my hotel. She's blonde. She's European, or maybe Russian. She's about 45. She has large, fake boobs. She speaks english but she pauses before responding, as if her processor is lagging. Every time I step from the elevator and walk by, she looks at me with a seemingly sarcastic smile and she appears to be considering kidnapping me, ordering me to my room, sexually assaulting me to her satisfaction, and then ripping my head off and leaving it on the bathroom floor. She appears to be a predator. I could do without the decapitation.



My laptop has dementia. It seems to be dying from the inside. It is on its last leg and I just may violently put it out of its misery. I should probably wait until I buy a new one. That will be happening shortly.

People are getting to know me at The Poker Room at Orange Park. I don't necessarily like that. They say things like, "Welcome back" when I walk in on Sunday evenings because they know I just drove back from SC. They yell at me from two tables away and ask if I'm "causing trouble" when the floor is making a drawn-out decision at my table. They know my name and I know theirs; Alan, Alan, Eric, Jerry, etc. I took it easy on one of them the other day and that goes against everything I believe in. He did check the turn to me and let me hit my straight flush for free to crack his aces. I still won a decent amount in that pot. Maybe I don't mind getting to know a few of them, they seem like nice enough guys. But they should be advised, I want their stacks.

I seem to be maintaining my win rate. I now have 236.5 hours logged at 2-5 and my hourly rate is $47.73. It swings between $44 and $49. I mentioned an hourly in my last post, but that included two weeks of 2-2 nlh. I realize as well as anyone that this sample is small. I worry that I won't maintain while remaining hopeful that I will. I buy in a little short each day at $300 and I wonder if my rate would improve if I sat with $500. I'm not sure that it would make a huge difference, but as my roll grows, my buy-in will grow.

I feel a little lost in other areas of life, but my head is in the game. I'm making money. I'm dedicated as I've now driven to Florida for ten straight weeks while returning each Saturday to deal the SC game. I am tired as shit, have been for about 2 weeks, but I just keep plugging along. I'm relaxing a little during the daytime hours today and maybe I'll move myself from this chair and out onto the beach. Maybe I'll lie down on the sand for a bit, listen to some waves. I did finish up early last night and get into bed at around midnight, but I didn't sleep well at all. When I'm not at the poker table, things are disrupting my ability to rest. Mabe it's the uncomfortable beds I'm sleeping in, maybe it's other things. Maybe my neck, back and legs hurt purely as a distraction from some emotional turmoil I'm going through. Or maybe my legs hurt because I began wearing flip flops last week and I walk differently in them. And maybe my neck and back pain really is because of the beds. Who knows, as long as I continue to make that money.

No more writing for now. I'm over it. Until next time... Up TheTrooper97!

29 Eylül 2012 Cumartesi

More workplace!

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Anyone who knows me, knows I hate change. I have my rituals, my routines, my schedules. But, all in all, this transition to the new office has not been too bad. The drive is easy, just about 15-20 minutes. I feel safer here, everyone knows everyone, Joseph is a few buildings away. I love saving money! I love the fact that my husband/boss gets to keep his race shop, he really loves to have his own little playground! Ok, time to get to work!
"The Man"

As big as the last place we were in, but we have a restroom here!

The race shop, Charlie's happy place!

Warehouse, Parts, Restroom!

The Written Word

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I am not a writer, or a singer, or songwriter...but I love the written word. (hence, the new tattoo quote on my wrists). I never found my niche in life, I don't think it is too late, just I have not found it yet. I do know I am really a good wife. I have a knack for it. I love to cook and clean and bake for my hubby, I love to make him laugh when he comes home from working hard all day. I am "the good wife". I wake up happy everyday and shower him with kisses and hugs. It makes life so much easier, it takes less effort to love than fight and the results are way more fun!
So, back to the written word, I just finished reading Patti Smith's book "Just Kids", wow, it was one of those books you cannot put down, I devoured it! It is about her younger days spent with Robert Mapplethorpe. Read it today!
I am off to find a new book to read today, I love biographies so I may go for another rock star one!
I love Stephen King, but only the old, old stuff, his new stuff got to funky to follow. He is the one that wrote "Get busy living or get busy dying" It is in his story " The Shawshank Redemption" which is one of my all time favorites they made into a movie!  His other stories became really great movies too, The Green mile, Christine, Misery, so many more.
But this one always stuck with me, and now I know why:

It is all about the view!

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I bought Sam a new post so he can look outside during the day, we try to keep him in as much as possible, but his routine dictates that he be let out at 6:00 am, really, or you will never here the end of it. He is a very vocal cat and when he wants out there is no shutting him up! So at 6:00am he wakes us up, we let him out and then he goes off to scout the hood, then he comes home sits in the front yard until charlie leaves then comes in and has breakfast with me. He then stays in all day napping and playing with his toys. He is a real good cat.
This is the view from Ventanos, a favorite restaurant of ours, we had dinner there on Friday. We just love the shrimp on the stone! It is on Horizon Ridge and Valle Verde in Henderson.

Inspiration!

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I need a little inspiration for my upcoming trip, 3 days in Spain and 7 days cruising the ports of Italy.I came across this trip/challenge: The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.
www.hokaheychallenge.com
Wow, that has got to be one amazing trip. This year's challenge starts in Las Vegas and ends in New York! I am hoping to get my hubby to take me to see them start off this Sunday, I will take some photos! I really need a boost of confidence, I know all I need is tattooed on my wrists, but I am still getting a little nervous. How to pay for taxis, how to order from menus and pay my bill correctly, oh, I have a million questions that keep me up at night and I still have a month to wait!!I will look forward to seeing these men and women head out on their journey across the US with nothing more then their motorcycles and the stars in the heavens to guide them!! Good Luck everyone and how about a little luck for me too!!
Here is the url for the video: http://vimeo.com/36997860

#5 Livorno, Italy!

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Oh, I am so happy to finally be in Italy! My grandma, Ginia, travelled to Italy many times with her boyfriend Dante. She loved it there!
     The ship sailed into Livorno, the Tuscan region of Italy on Tuesday morning. From here we could travel to Florence to see where the Medici Family made their fortune in banking and art. Florence became a breeding ground for some of the world's greatest painters, sculptors, scientists, and architects.
     Not too far from Florence, another genius by the name of Galileo graced the region with his presence. In Pisa, you will find the Leaning Tower where he supposedly demonstrated his scientific findings!
     I chose an excursion to wine country to go to my very first wine tasting! What better place to experience wine making than an actual winery in Italy?  Christy and Jeff headed out to Pisa, while Ronna and I headed  for a tour bus to take us on a one hour drive through tuscany to The La Torre Vineyard.
     We arrived at the La Torre Vineyard and we are taken to the place where the wine is processed and barreled, after viewing the cellar, we are seated for the wine tasting. They do not spit the wine out here, no sir, they pour you a glass and we enjoy with plates of salami, bread and cheese, oh YUM!
     We were served a glass of La Torre's White, their Cabernet Sauvignon, and their Sirah. It was very good. After lunch we enjoyed walking the vineyard and the grounds. We headed back on the bus where everyone, full of cheese and wine and bread, napped for the hour ride back to the ship! This excursion was a highlight of my trip and I am glad to have missed the crowds at Pisa for a nice relaxing lunch at an Italian Vineyard!!