I got a double dose of DJ’d music this week.  I don’t know  what it is with the head-bobbing dudes and their giant headphones, but I want to make them all my future ex-husband.

Thursday night, M and I went downtown to see Flosstradamus spin.  We were a bit annoyed with the fact that the show was on a Thursday and that it was at Red 7.  On top of that, there were two openers and Flossy wasn’t going to hit the stage until 12:30.  We decided to camp out at the home bar and drink for cheap until the show started.

The set got off to a good start but then it got lame.  I though things would improve when the dudes mixed in the song from the Lion King and someone on stage lifted up the fan like Simba.  No such luck.

Friday night I went to Sock Hop vs. Soul Happening.  I put on a party dress (pink gingham halter dress), fluffed up the afro and hit the Mohawk.There is something to be said about live dj-ing on actual records.  These guys went the extra mile by spinning 45’s.

SSSH  ended up winning the battle.  They had better transitions and they had the crowd dancing until they could dance no more.

Everyone needs a little adventure in their life.

M, The Jew, and I had planned a trip to Chicago back in May (I think).  When I say planned, I mean M and the Jew were drunk and bought tickets using M’s leftover Southwest credits.  The real plan was to stay at M’s Parents place for a week and eat, drink, and sleep to our heart’s content.

As the date for the trip drew near we were no more prepared than we were in May.  Seriously, things have been a bit of a train wreck lately (more on that some other time).  We recklessly packed our things (including some dirty laundry) and managed to get to the plane on time (we also managed to squeeze in shots of bourbon before hopping in the cab).

The flight was horrible. Turbulence and poorly behaved children.  We hoped that it wasn’t foreshadowing of things to come.  I had planned to sleep through the entire flight (It’s been a rough week).  No such luck.  After 20 minutes I woke up.  I put in earplugs but they weren’t enough to drown out the voices of the kids behind me.

When we landed in Chicago it was pouring.  The luggage coming in at baggage claim was soaked.  Then yet another delay,  the ramp was closed due to lightening.  They were holding our luggage hostage.  Then M’s dad was stuck in traffic and wouldn’t be able to pick us up.  Three sad faces.  We were tired and needed a snack.

Things eventually came together.  Our luggage and our ride showed up.  We arrived at M’s parents place safely.  We were fed and put to bed.

Day 1:
We woke up rather early. There are routines at the Parents’ house that interfere with sleeping in.  The “plan” for today was to go to the Korea street festival and go out for indian food on Devon Ave. Done and done.  Bonus: a cool picture of M with a 40 of Sake and a straw hat.

We roamed around the mall after our food crawl.  The Jew needed sunglasses.  No sunglasses, but people watching and heckling was in full effect.  When we got home I went swimming in the sweet “R” shaped pool.  Then it was a quick LAN party to upload pictures from our adventure on to the FB.

After dinner we wanted to go out and see some Chicago nightlife. It was fairly uneventful.  Apparently Chicago’s version of Hipstertown had been overrun by yuppies.  We plan on going back to the last bar of the evening.[get name from M]. Since M was driving, the Jew and I were drinking.  I came home drunk.  The Jew was somewhere in between drunk and tipsy.  Needless to say we needed food.  The Jew wanted White Castle for some strange reason.  Thanks to the iPhone we made that dream come true.  I had indian leftovers at the house (Excuse me, why can’t more places serve veggie hashbrowns?).

Day 2:
Up at 11am.  Yes, we got to sleep in.  I don’t know what time we came home and passed out. The menu for today was Chinese and Thai.  M and the Jew actually went running this morning.  I do not run <strike> (I will probably swim later)</strike>.  We got a late start leaving the house. Today’s menu was Chinatown.  We went to lunch at Joy Yee’s (4pm is now lunch time).  Then we roamed around.  Sunday night is “family” dinner at M’s parents so we ended up making a small feast in their kitchen (I love the accessibility and granite counter tops).  We stayed in the rest of the night eating and drinking.  Needless to say, we slept well once again.

Day 3:
Today I was up at 8:30 for some strange reason.  We made it out of the house by 11.  We hit the field museum.  DINOSAURS! Then it was off to fancy dinner at Custom House.  The food was ok.  It was well thought out but poorly executed. The textures were off.   We ended the night dancing at Fizz.

Day 4:

Today was a full day.  After our usual breakfast of leftovers we headed to the Art institute.   We split up to cover more ground and I ended up seeing the whole thing (I could spend days in there). We made plans to go out to for tapas at Emilio’s with M’s family.  Yet another feast.  I was tired.  I passed out after dinner.  M and the Jew went out for drinks.  I didn’t even hear them come home.

Day 5:
The Jew’s last day in down.   Not so much food grazing today.  We had a low key day.  Chicago Safari.  Frank lloyd wright houses, Oz park, and   Licoln park.  M and I have dinner with an old friend.  Surprisingly decent indian food for the suburbs.

Day 6:
Lazy day.  M and I slept in.  I had to scan some paperwork to refinance my house.  we hit the Costco and the H&M. Then it was Green Zebra for dinner.  My favorite fancy dinner so far (there will be pictures).  We drank A LOT at dinner. Then we met some friends for drinks later.  Chilling out before driving home was a must

Day 7:
We went back to Uru Swathi for brunch.  We got to go orders of samosas and aloo gobi before leaving Devon ave.  We had planned to lounge by the pool before leaving but it was looking pretty dreary.  We ended up packing and chilling out.

Overall it was a great vacation.  I spent more money than I intended but at the end of the day, you can’t take it with you when you go.

2.0 and I went to the farmers market yesterday.  The food looked super awesome.  Everything was really pretty and fresh.  We ended up taking home rillete, hummus, grass fed beef, a baguet, and some colby cheese.  I think we’ll make a more regular habit of the farmers market.  It’s just too good to pass up on.

(David Weaver) A-List photos from the Austin Monthly bachelor issue release party at Gables Park Plaza on 07.27.10.

M and I went on an adventure Wednesday night.  Well, it wasn’t the quite adventure that we had planned it to be.

For a few years, M has wanted to check out the Austin Monthly Bachelor Party.  She’s come close but never made it into the door.  This year, due to her web 2.0 skills, she was able to RSVP for the both of us to get in.  The plan was to get dressed up and meet some interesting dudes.

I arrived at M’s in a ridiculously short dress and heels (I don’t usually wear short dresses.  I am already a tall girl.  Short dresses and heels make my legs look freakishly long).  M threw on something equally daring and we set off for the Gables (BTW.  these are some very nice, but expensive, apartments).

We arrive and there is valet parking (score!). The attendants showed their appreciation for the outfits (they were cute).  We have only made one snarky comment on the way to the table to sign in.  Things were good.  Or so we thought.

We arrive at the party, only to realize that we are the misfits.  Two lone hipsters in the plastic jungle (riddled with Cougars, I might add).  It was like some ladies night on West 6th with dollar drink specials (oddly there were no men cashing in on this).  Everywhere you turned, label after designer label.  At least there were free drinks.  Grey Goose was a sponsor so M and I started on Vodka (survival tactic).

We did a lap and decided to go outside and observe the wildlife from the other side of the glass.  we grabbed a copy of the magazine so we could do some research before the formal introduction started.  Most of the guys seemed really interesting.  There were some we considered adding to our list of future ex-husbands.

When we went back inside we discovered a field of gift bags by the door (and a girl wearing something that resembled an Ikea pillowcase that was trying to be a dress).  We didn’t feel like carrying anything, besides drinks, so we left them behind (after checking out the loot inside).  The bachelor intros were…(well there is no better way to say it)… Lame!  First of all, there wasn’t a mic.  The MC, host, whatever she was, ended up using the DJ’s headphones.  You could barely her her adlibbed intros over the commentary from the jungle floor.  When all was said and done, we took advantage of a few photo ops, grabbed some wine, and went outside.

We did a lap around the patio to confirm that we were, in fact ,the misfits.    Oh well.   It was getting late so we made one last ditch effort to communicate with the one bachelor that we would actually run into  in real life.  There was a split second when the Fun^3 Fest guy wasn’t surrounded with cougars and we took a chance and inquired whether or not he was bringing Sleigh Bells.  Then we asked if any other people asked about the fest.  In this crowd.  Only one person.  We chatted for a bit about music stuff and a mutual friend.  Then we asked who we should contact if we wanted to get press passes.  It was obvious that he was looking for fan girls to fawn over him vs. people that are interested in his business.   Not at all what I expected.

Overall, it was a not-so-eventful night. M and I caught up on a few things and got to test drive some dresses that hadn’t made it out of the closet yet.

Superman/Clark Kent - Superman Fan Art (546265)

…are never in the same place.  The same is true of M and myself when it comes to relationships.   One of us is always single.

I mentioned it to 2.0 a week or so ago and he asked if we did it on purpose so someone could be there for support.  I said that was not the case.  It just happens.

Thursday night before the Flossy show, M and I went through the full chronology of our friendship and I was right.  She asked if she should ditch 2.0 so I could date someone [Obviously she was kidding.]   I told her that it really shouldn’t have to be that way.  One of these we will go on a double date.  Just not now.

THE HOOD vs ANATOMY MAGAZINE

It’s X-mas in July.  The Hood Internet has dropped not one, but two new mix tapes.  I have rocked out to both of them in my car but I have to say that the mixtape for Anatomy Magazine is the better of the two.

I suggest you download the album at Anatomy so you can skip a few tracks as needed.  Here are my favorites, with my top 3 in bold.

1. Jay-Z (feat. Pharrell) x LCD Soundsystem - Just Wanna Dance Yrself Clean
3. 50 Cent x Ratatat - Have A Billar By Me
4. Ludacris (feat. Pharrell) x Rilo Kiley - Moneymaking Money Maker That Makes Money
7. Lil’ Troy (feat. Fat Pat and Yungstar) x TV On The Radio - Wanna Be A Wolf Like Me
8. Clipse x Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clipse Your Hands Say Wamp Wamp
9. Asher Roth x The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - I Love Friction
10. Devin The Dude (feat. Andre 3000) x Les Savy Fav - What Would Devin Do?
13. DJ Assault x Deerhunter - Deer Assault

Image from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

In the last few weeks I have made the executive decision to remove a few people from my FB news feed.  Why?  Because life was getting to be a bit like a B movie.  Sure, Web 2.0 has a lot of benefits.  You get to keep in touch with people all over the globe, but at the same time, there are just a few things you don’t need/want to know (or you will go CRAZY).

As we all know, the classic B horror flick contains several scenes where the audience tries to tell the actor/actress not to do something.  “Don’t go in the basement!” or “Don’t open that door!” or “Get the fuck out of there, something is going to kill you!”

My version of that is deleting people from my feed (I don’t “un-friend” them).  If I really want to know, I have to make the effort to go to their profile and read their wall.  But as we all know from experience, that is a bad idea.

Recently I’ve received a few apology letters from boys that I went on a handful of dates with.  I don’t know what it is, maybe they thought I was still hung up on them, b/c they were just that wonderful. Ha! yeah right.

Went on about two dates with each, had an alright time, but there was really nothing there that compelled me to want to go on more  dates with either of them.  I would go if they asked and probably would also have had an alright time.  However, neither was smart enough, interesting enough, or really hot enough that I would take time to try to make plans.

The hysterical thing is, they must have hugely inflated egos.  Why would you need to apologize to someone you only went on two dates with after you (maybe in an unsaid manner, but still) mutually agreed that it wasn’t really all that worth it.

Boys: I was just being polite, it was clear that neither of you understood my intellect.  This is not to say that I’m smarter (I don’t need to say that, I know, you know, and we know it).  I just have a different way of thinking about things, from you.  I admit I’m a bit kooky, crazy even, but I’m sure as hell you’ve never met anyone quite like me.

I think it goes without saying that they also didn’t bother to get my point of view, and perhaps that’s the most important part of it all. They never tried to understand my sarcasm.  I know that’s partially my fault too, maybe I wrote them off too early.  But in all honesty, I feel that anyone who’s worth my time, will show me almost instantly.

It’s a little cocky on your part to think that I’d be hung up on you.  So, sorry to burst your bubble, but truth is, I know I deserve, and have better people in my life.  It’s even a little rude to send those e-mails.  I know why you did it though, to bolster your ego, and I’m ok with that. As long as you can sleep at night.  The only thing is that it’s a bit unfair to bolster your ego at the expense of someone else.

More than anything else, the e-mails made me mad.  However, I do also know it’s not worth my time to bother responding.  Go on, off into the ether. Thanks for playing, but you loose.

Here’s an excerpt from the e-mails, it’s great for a laugh: He titled his e-mail “Sorry”

I am too genuine to even let a trite 2 date thing let go.  So I am sorry for not responding to you.  I was in a place.  I liked you, but I didn’t want to expose you to things so I just….let it go. It’s the crap that I complain about, and I did it myself.  So, I am sorry for not at least saying….something.  Because it’s rude, and I’d be pissed too.  I hope things are going better for you now.  It is a thing I hate for me to be just “another asshole guy”.  Because I try to be nice.  I am a “nice guy” and actually pretty sick of it.

Genuine? Really? Um, if you were a real man you would have said something at the time.  I was ok just letting it go, srsly.

It is a”thing” for me to be misunderstood.  I lose it when someone doesn’t understand what I’m saying.  And it’s why I never responded.  So there.

Uh, dude, you’re misunderstood because you don’t know how to communicate clearly and concisely. You’re going to blame me for not understanding you?  That’s not on me buddy.

But I cut it short.  I was afraid to see.  If you haven’t noticed already, it’s all or nothing with me  I’m supposed to do “me time” but, I know what I want.  Sort of.  Maybe..  I guess I felt I should say these things.  Just so I am not “another” asshole.  I used “quotes” a lot here.  Oh well..
Uh…./emo off

Get over yourself dude.

Here’s the other one I got.  This one didn’t so much make me angry, but more confused.  I still didn’t really think there was much in common here, but it was a much nicer e-mail than the “I’m really a nice guy, so I have to tell you, but I can’t communicate or be bothered to try to.”
I think this one is more about hoping I’ll respond and maybe he can go on more dates with me. Sorry dude. It wasn’t terrible, but I have better/more important people to spend time with.

Hey M,
I just wanted to wish you happy Summer. I know with so many things going on that we went apart but I had a really great time with you.  You possess that rare quality of beauty and intelligence that I’m finding is incredibly rare here and everywhere in the world.

However, it was nice that he said I am intelligent. At least this dude bothered to try to get that.  I bet if I saw him out somewhere, I’d be polite, maybe even buy him a drink.  I doubt I’ll run into him though.

I don’t care if douchebaggery isn’t a word.  I needed a good descriptor for what is to follow.

<soapbox>

I got a disturbing round of texts yesterday about the use of a friend’s photos in their ex’s new online dating profile.  Really?  Specifically about a picture taken with their pet.  Seriously,  pictures with your ex’s animal(s) do not score you points in the sensitivity arena.  How do you handle the questions about said animal in chats or on the first date?  Do you make up a story about how fluffy was hit by a car and it has been a hard few years, but now you can finally deal with the loss?  Inquiring minds want to know.

A long time ago, the staff put together a few lists of profile do’s and don’ts (here, and here).  As always, I say skip using your past to advertize your present self.  How hard is it to get a friend to take a few pictures?  If you don’t have friends, try a fucking camera with a tripod and timer.  My cheap ass netbook does a good job of taking profile pictures.

</soapbox>

—Synonyms
1. gourmand; gastronome; chowhound.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

This is what I did the other night.  I have a friend in from Seattle.  He’s a real chef.  Much better than the likes of me.  I would argue that he has almost as good taste as my father. (I still think he’s the best cook there is.)

Anyhow, whenever he comes to town, we go to what-ever’s the newest thing.  He’s just at that point where every time he comes back to visit, he thinks about opening a place here.  So we consider our outings to be “research” and the like.

Last time he came back I took him to Justine’s.  If you didn’t already check, Jen blogged about it but didn’t say the name, she was afraid it would blow up.  Thing is, no amount of us keeping our mouths shut would keep people away from our little hideaway on the east side.  It’s just too fantastic, one person found out about it, and now there’s always at least a 3 hour wait.  I’ll be going again in the future, I don’t mind the wait for food that awesome.

So, back to the story.  My dude was in from Seattle, and he wanted to go to Uchiko.  It’s not even open yet.  They’ve been having a “soft-opening” for the last week or so.  I guess I don’t know any cooks or restaurant people anymore, I called around to everyone I could think of and no dice.

We were in luck though, b/c a friend of his had been recently and told us that we could sit at the bar and nosh there.  So his friend met us there, who is consequently the sous at Mulberry.  (Still haven’t been there yet, planning on that soon.) And we ate.  We ate, and ate, and ate.  Then we decided to go to Uchi, just for comparison.

We got to Uchi and they boys were almost wanting to bail.  I’m a trooper, the wait wasn’t that long, 45 mins or so.  So I made them stay.  I’m glad I did too, was a super fun evening with tons of food, correction, tons of really great food.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a food snob, you guys know that about me, and for the past few years I’d been staying away from Uchi.  I like what Tyson started with and all that, but I think it needed some new energy in the menu.  The thing that tipped me over the edge was when my dude said that Uchi got a new chef b/c Tyson was busy at Uchiko.

I gotta say, I’m a fan of the new guy.  I heard, read: have not done research on this to check my sources, that Ben McBride (the new chef) used to work at Parkside with Shawn Cirkiel.  I’ll get back to you on that.

In the mean time, here’s some of the pics I took of the food at Uchiko and Uchi.  It was beautiful.