Hola Señorita, welcome to Chevy's

It's crap. It's ridiculous. It's insulting to everyone who goes there and works there... but they make a hellofa great prickly pear margarita.

A very beautiful time-waster

I call all video games time-wasters. I spend a lot of time, time-wasting on a variety of things.

It's not altogether a bad thing, some people meditate, some read a lot of books, some garden, and some just get really angry and stressed until they freak out on everyone. I like to play video games, watch some crap TV, and some other random things I do to stay mentally healthy - see a shrink, work out, garden, cook...

Here's kind of a mix between meditation and computer crap. It's more like zen video game art. Orisinal. It is designed by a wonderful artist, Ferry Halim, who now lives in Fresno. That's about all I know about this person.

Somewhere, I ran across this website and just rediscovered it as I was organizing my web bookmarks (I did mention that I'm a geek, right?).

You should definitely check it out - my favorites are the pig stacking game and the first game with the girl and the giant bubble.

VinoRosso = f*ck yeah!

So my pals and I heard about this Italian wine spot in Bernal Heights. Think it came from Daily Candy... Yep it did, click here to link to the article.

Anywho - it's this little spot at 629 Cortland Avenue. One of my pals talks all about the service and style on her blog, so I'll skip all that and just get to the wines.

Here's what we had that we liked: (please excuse any misspellings, I was writing quickly AND I was drinking wine - not the best journalistic combo)

Re Manfredi Muller Thurgau 2003
white wine
smelled really sweet
tasted less sweet, but sparked ever so lightly
would be very good I think with some light cheese and fruit
I could also just sit around and drink a whole bottle (but there are few wines that don't fall into that category)

Botromagno Gravina Bianco 2003
white wine
I don't remember too terribly much about this one - I can tell you that I liked it enough to write it down, but didn't put a star next to it... My guess is that means it's worth trying

Di Majo Norante Ranitello Prugnolo 2001
red wine (85% prugnolo grapes, 15% aglianico grapes) - I only know these specifics because I loved it so much I bought a whole bottle and it's sitting right next to me.
Wonderful, velvety, rich, deep, plumby - yum!
It was $30+ for the bottle if you drank it there - $13 if you took it home.
It was great on it's own - better with food.
I think it would be awesome with flank steak.

Moroder Rosso Conero 2002
red wine
heavy, rich, tannins, you could chew it
would be great with fatty foods, perhaps duck confit?

Sigillio Primo Primitive 2002
red wine - made from essentially zinfandel grapes
excellent wine
I was a bit drunk at this point though and don't remember too many details, except that I really liked it and it was very good with the lasagna (which was very good).

Daz it.

Velvet Cantina & Revolution Cafe

Last night, the boyfriend and I decided to go out at the last moment. It was a strangely gorgeous June day in the City and the evening seemed just right. So we took a walk down to 22nd and Mission and popped over to outdoor Revolution Cafe (on 22nd between Mission/Valencia).

Revolution Cafe serves some cocktails (I think) and a bunch of different kind of beers - some cheap, some Belgium, some mid-level. They have food too - though I've never ordered it.

It really was the perfect setting for a few games of backgammon and a coupla beers. I felt almost as if I were sitting in a bar that was simultaneously in Mexico and the Czech Republic. Spending enough time looking around though, you notice that almost everyone is sporting the Mission Hipster look to death and you get over it pretty quickly. But with the breeze and the beer and the bustling cafe vibe, I was so perfectly happy to sit there and hang with J until I got hungry.

We packed up when the band of aging hippies got on stage (no comment on the quality of music, we really didn't stick around long enough to have an opinion - I can say that they all seemed to know how to play their instruments and they could harmonize).

Lucky for us, Velvet Cantina is located just a short block up on 23rd (between Mission/Valencia). I've been here twice before, the second time for my birthday. Before going into details, let me just say that every single person who was at my birthday party has returned to the Cantina since, and some more than once. I think that speaks volumes.

While the service does have some rough spots as they work out the kinks for this newish restaurant, the personality of the wait staff, the price, and the cocktails entirely make up for it. If it's busy, things can take awhile, but unlike some SF restaurants - the waitstaff always recognizes this, apologizes and more often than not has thrown a yummy plate of nachos or dessert at my table to make up for it.

More restaurants need to learn this customer service trick - if you have a potentially unhappy client, give them something to make them happy and make them return. A plate of nachos, or a free glass of wine costs a restaurant about a dollar - so worth return business and good word of mouth.

I digress. We had some EXCELLENT Mango and Raspberry margaritas, ate some yummy chips and salsa, ordered their house quesadilla (with ham) and their Ancho-Chile Steak Tacos. All good - the steak tacos were the highlight (of course next to the margaritas).

Velvet Cantina is not the best Mexican Restaurant I have ever experienced. HOWEVER, I love going there. The price is spot on, the cocktails are excellent, the service is super-friendly, the food has some interesting preparations and is quite good, and the atmosphere is comfortable and fun.

It was a good, easy-breezy night. I highly recommend this outing.

Nose Zit

I think I have a zit coming up just inside my right nostril. I know that sounds gross... I'm sure it is. However, I have found that I am endlessly fascinated by it and can't stop touching my nose and looking at it in the mirror. This has never before happened to me (at least not in my nose).

The one thing that is bothering me is this: I am 35 frucking years old. That's about 19 years past puberty. I am very thankful that I no longer have adult acne and I don't dress like my mom yet, but come'on already and leave me in peace, zits.

I'll keep you all posted (all 2 of you who read this) as to when it actually surfaces... I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats!

Ouchie, my koochie

My friend H-bomb decided it was time to get her koochie waxed and was very fearful of the endeavor. So in a show of support, I decided to go with her and get mine done. My newest swimsuit includes a skirt, but something is nagging at me that it's time to get a little more dainty down in my netherlands. We struck out to a great and inexpensive salon in San Francisco, Cinta Salon.

I fared so much better with this waxing lady than my previous run-in with koochie waxing 6 years prior. Back then I went to one of the cheap-o nail salons on the panhandle and faced not only a huge language barrier, but a sensitivity berlin wall. I remember that she just went in and did not surface until every inch of my crotch was burning and I was on the verge of tears. She sent me off with not one explanation about how to care for myself and my delicate hoo hoo. What ensued was 2 weeks of itching and MAJOR ingrown hairs. I was fearful to venture back.

That was then, this is now...

Today it hurt - I won't lie to you. Someone puts some hot dripping wax on the most sensitive area of your body, leaves it for a moment, then rips it off. You gasp, you moan, you may even bleed a little bit. However, I had a wax lady who talked to me about what she was doing, every step of the way. She also allowed me some time to relax and stop gripping the table between strikes. She gave me a long talk about after-care and when to come in next. She assured me that it gets easier.

and then she said, "Look. How pretty."

I mean really, that's all it took.

Now, my underwear is stuck to the minor bits of left over wax (it doesn't hurt though), and I have some "bruising". But I feel lighter, more feminine, and so excited to show my boyfriend the kooch update.

I want...

a kitchen-aid mixer
a smaller butt
an endless supply of wine and champagne
lots of free money
a night in the swankiest suite in the bellagio
a piece of roman pizza, at a roman café, right now
a hot tub
a trip to tahiti
all court shows to be cancelled
a big piece of stinky cheese
jake gyllanhall's phone number (i spelled it wrong, so sue me)
the ants in my house to go away
this lamp

Jim Carrey is a Freak of Nature

I was just unfortunate enough to see a video montage of all of Jim Carrey's movies... I know you've noticed it, but it just needs to be said again - this guy is friggin' strange as strange can be (and not necessarily in a good way).