Birthday Blog
My birthday was Saturday. Woo! It wasn't too bad. Just kept it low key. I'm not all about crazy birthdays anymore at my age. I'm getting to be an old man ya know (I'm 33 now). So I'm not all about doing super wild and crazy things. Just give me a cake with a candle in it and be done with it. Although, I'm open to things if someone planned something. I mean I'm down for whatever. But if I'm planning it myself I'd rather just take it easy.
I did do some celebrating this afternoon with a friend who also had her birthday, coincidentally, today! We had some fun hanging out in West Chester doing a little barhopping.
I'll get to that later though... Anyways yesterday my day started off with me sleeping in. It was perfect. I then went for a run in Valley Forge park per my usual thing that I like to do on nice sunny days. Then I picked up some food from Cheesecake Factory.
The place was PACKED! I went to the one in King of Prussia. I placed a take out order and then grabbed a seat at the bar while I waited. Got a sandwich for my mom and a sandwich for myself. In addition to the sandwiches I ordered a pumpkin cheesecake slice for me and my mom wanted some kind of chocolate cheesecake. I scoured the menu and found her the Godiva one. That's about as chocolate as you get. From there I fought all sorts of traffic on 76 to get down to the hospital downtown.
I had to wait a bit for her to return from her dialysis treatment. We sat and ate. I had to help her since she's currently not able to see (although today she said that she can see outlines and shapes again ever so slightly, so I think that's a good sign that the treatment is reversing the inflammation that caused her vision loss). She kept picking up her sandwich and eating from different ends. It's hard to eat when you can't see. But she's doing the best she can. But hey, in the end she didn't spill any sandwich in her lap at least! So I say, who cares what side you eat a sandwich from. And who said you have to always take every bite from the front to the back?
I say that sandwiches can be eaten from any direction. There's no wrong way to eat a sandwich. Just enjoy the fact that you have a sandwich in the first place.
After the sandwiches I ate my cheesecake in place of having a birthday cake.
My mom had some of her hospital pudding because she wanted to save her cake for later. I looked in her fridge and she's got a whole stash of saved puddings! Seriously, she had like 3 or 4 in there. Stocking up I guess? She tried the cake today though and it was delicious, just in case you were curious.
They say that your other senses power up to compensate when you lose one. So I'm guessing her taste sense might be on overdrive at the moment.
Well, after that visit I just came home and went to sleep. My plan was to wake up super early and go to a chili cook-off event in West Chester. I didn't end up getting up until about 11am. I slept through my alarm. Then, of course, I had a million things to do and for some reason I just couldn't get to West Chester until after 3pm when they were awarding the winners. Sadly no chili for me, but there's always next year! I had intended to do all my chore/to-do list things the night before but I was SO tired that I just came home and fell asleep right away after visiting my mom in the hospital.
I joined up with my friend and headed to a couple of bars around West Chester. We went to two separate places to celebrate it being her birthday and a belated my birthday. At the second bar, which was a rooftop bar, we had margaritas. They were having some kind of free raffle and giving away random things. I ended up winning a giant inflatable Corona Light bottle. We took lots of photos. Everyone there wanted to get photos with the bottle too. It was like instant fame. Even as we walked down the street to get some coffee at Starbucks after the barhopping, people stopped us to take photos with the giant inflatable beer bottle. It was kind of awesome though and made for a memorable day.
I ended up trading my giant inflatable beer bottle with my friend Lisa's friend in exchange for a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. She REALLY wanted to give the beer bottle to her fiancé.
I said, "Yeah, ok, that sounds like a fair trade."
We shook on it.
After all was said and done I ended up grabbing some food at Iron Hill and then went off to Planet Fitness to do a little ellipticaling and treadmilling. Now I'm home and it's time for sleep.
Oh, so, here are some Instagams for everyone... because if there isn't a photo, it didn't happen. Or something like that. So here's photographic proof!
This photo made me laugh so hard. Happy birthday to my best friend Lisa! A photo posted by Kenny (@kennywest82) on
Some New Favorite Things
Ok. Everyone. For tonight's blog post, I have two new favorite things to report!
Thing one:
The Real Deal Veggie Chips!
http://www.therealdealsnacks.com/therealdealrealveggiechips.html
I love these chips. They are different from all the other veggie chips I've ever had. I just dig em. Now, I don't know if they are for everyone... but I certainly think that a lot of people would probably enjoy them.
On the website they have all kinds of different types of chips. I'm going to have to try them all. You know me... once I find a new product I like... I want to try every single type they have!
Currently I'm working on a bag of the Sriracha ones. I believe the word I'm looking for is... Kickin'.
That's right people. These chips are definitely pretty kickin' for sure.
I got these chips at my local Wegmans. They probably sell them at a whole bunch of different stores though, I'd imagine.
Thing two:
Chameleon Cold-Brew Coffee
http://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com
Soooo good! It's at the top of my new favorite things list. I had some this morning before work AND after work. Seriously, I love it. You can buy it, keep it in the fridge and just pour a little over ice when you want a quick little pick me up!
Found this stuff when I was picking out orange juice at the local Whole Foods. It was on the top shelf just above the orange juice. I saw it and figured, hey... why not? Right? Might as well give it a try. I'm fan. Seriously it just had me feeling all kinds of the warm and fuzzies inside all day long today.
By the by, to borrow a phrase from The Princess Bride, the orange juice that I like is...
Uncle Matt's
Seriously people, I don't know who this Matt guy is... but he makes some damn fine OJ.
There you have it. Now you know all my shopping habits! Or at least three of them.
Acute Vision Loss
So I just talked to the nurse that is managing my mom for the evening... They are starting various tests at the hospital to look into the eyesight issue.
She refereed to it as acute vision loss since it happened suddenly.
A couple of months ago my mom lost vision in one of her eyes. Then a couple days ago the other started to go blurry. Now she's pretty much completely blind.
They are starting all sorts of tests to determine what the cause is. Vision loss can be caused by something in the eye, but it can also be something in the brain or neurological. I feel super bad for her, but there's not much I can do besides just wait and let the docs do their thing.
For now I'm just managing stuff at home. I'll probably stay in the next few nights instead of my usual going out. I generally tend to go out to things... well... mostly coffee shops. To sip on coffee and write blogs. I mean these blogs don't write themselves. Although I don't know if anyone actually reads them. I used to check the analytics back in the day on a regular basis out of curiosity just to see how many readers I had but I haven't logged into that in a while. Most of them were spam bots anyways.
So, I was thinking though about my mom not being able to see currently. Its definitely not a good sense to go missing. I mean, it's always tough in life when something was there... maybe it's a sense, maybe it's a favorite clothing item, or a person, or even a pet. I mean anything that you've had a long time, even your whole life and now it's no longer. It's devastating stuff. If it comes back, that's a relief. But sometimes in life things don't come back and then you just have to kind of prepare yourself for that.
I think life IS about... sort of dealing with loss. That's a big part of life. I think that's one of the hardest parts of life. Because when things come into our lives and we never had it before it's sort of this welcome surprise. It's exciting... it's new. It's like whoa. Where the heck did THIS come from! And we really can't compare life before it.
But then when that thing is suddenly gone from your life. It's like... ALL you want is to go back. To get that back. To change things. But sometimes you just can't and so then you have to figure out where to go from there.
Hmmm... well who knows what the future will bring with anything. I guess the most we can do is just hope for the best and cherish the past. And take whatever comes into our lives or stays in our lives one day at a time. Then when it's gone... cherish what was.
Hopefully my mom's vision does come back and she can go back to how things were before she lost it.
Well, I was going to write about some new veggie chips that I tried out this week in my work lunch that I actually liked a lot... but then all this happened. SO perhaps tomorrow or something I'll have to review the chips. Go back to something lighthearted. I'm all about trying out new chips, and breads... and various other lunch time snacking items. Keeps my life a little less seriousness business.
A Blog Moment of Silence For South Carolina
I can't say I know anyone that lives in South Carolina... but my heart goes out to the residents of that rainwater ravaged state.
Many people have lost their homes, and some people have lost their lives. I can't even begin to imagine how that must feel.
So for tonight's post, I'd just like to take a moment to send good vibes in their direction. Hopefully, eventually, things can start to return to normal and everyone affected by the flooding can recover and resume. It's always terrible when tragedy strikes, no matter the size or severity.
Birthday Restaurant
I've decided there should be a restaurant that people can only go to on birthdays.
"Sir, excuse me, it's not my birthday can I still come to your restaurant?"
ABSOLUTELY... NOT!
Unless you're with a friend that is having a birthday. Then... ABSOLUTELY!
It would be an over 21 place of course. Because obviously we're going to have super over the top drinks. There will be perhaps 5 courses to consume. Every course will have a candle. Even the main course. Of course the cake will have a candle too. The cake and the steak. Put a candle in everything! Everything will be over the top birthday related. It will be like a funky surprise 50th party... except... for any age... over 21. Because of all the booze. And we'll even supply a complimentary drunk bus to drive your hot drunk mess home after the festivities.
My mom keeps asking me where I want to go on my birthday. I can't decide. Maybe if a birthday restaurant existed, I'd go there. I'm kind of not even the mood to celebrate it. Haha... It's just another year to me. I think as you age you stop caring about birthdays. I just think... 33... and still single. Oh well. Who knows... maybe this will be the year I finally meet and fall in love with the girl I spend the rest of my life with and get to propose to... with a fancy ring. And say I do to... and walk down the aisle. I made that my birthday wish last year...
Obviously the birthday wish granters lost that wish when they were getting to the wishes. If the 32 previous years are any indication... I'll probably still be single as heck this time next year. Oh well.
But I have to think of somewhere to let her take me to celebrate. It makes her happy... So I'll let her make a big deal out of it.
Yep. I myself will be 33 on my next birthday. I honestly thought by 33 that I WOULD have met a gal and gotten married and all that. But here I am... still single. It's not so bad. I suppose... I think I've given up on that whole finding love thing. Anymore I just go out a lot. Just do lots of things and keep busy. Just like eh... oh well... yay to the single life...
Waiter! ANOTHER MARGARITA PLEASE!
Who knows, maybe this WILL be the year I meet someone special. Fingers crossed. Or maybe this will be the year I consume 365 margaritas, 365 lattes and go to 365 different planet fitness gyms just to keep busy and pass the time until I do meet that girl that I get to say "I Do" to.
I sometimes think that she's just not in this area.
Maybe I need to travel more. Who knows... perhaps the special girl of my dreams lives in another state and has been there all along having an equally tough time dating and trying to find the right guy.
I'm going to try and spend more time maybe in adjacent states... NJ, DE... maybe MD, and NY. Go on little road trips. Little day trips on the weekends. See what sort of people I bump into in those states.
I also want to plan some trips where I fly to new places. I'm thinking Austin, Texas. Everyone keeps telling me I'd LOVE Austin. I've had about 6 people tell me how much I'd love that place.
I'm going to make a travel bucket list. I've always wanted to go there for sure. There's a bunch of other places I've wanted to go to, too.
This will be the year that I travel more. I've finally built up my stock investment portfolio to the point where I'm not adding any additional capital and just making trades with the cash in that account and then reinvesting the money back in. So, I think instead I'm going to use my paychecks to travel more. I really don't travel enough. I guess it's kind of hard to... my mom needs a good amount of help.
And now in addition to her many other health problems... she's got this partial vision loss in one eye and the other is blurry. That happened recently. So I've had to do some more things for her. It would definitely be hard to just take off for longer than a day.
For now I'll just do the day trips... but eventually maybe after this vision thing is back to normal I'll go on longer trips. A couple days to a new city I've never been to.
Well, travel and birthday wishes aside... love or not... I still think there should be a restaurant that you can only go to on your birthday....
On second thought, actually I guess there is...
The Melting Pot. Because no one ever goes there except for a birthday. It's a little on the expensive side from what I understand. Or so everyone tells me.
Maybe I'll go to The Melting Pot for my birthday.
Actually, true story... I've never been to The Melting Pot. Not once. In my whole life.
I guess it's decided. I'm going to go to The Melting Pot. AKA, the birthdays only restaurant.
After that I'll probably head to this music thing I got invited to tonight.
Interesting little story of the night... So tonight I was out getting a pumpkin margarita. Yes, it's a margarita actually served in a pumpkin! Check it out...
I know... AWESOME! Right? Yes. It was every bit as delightful as it seems.
Well anyways, I'm sitting there drinking a pumpkin margarita and this guy next to me starts talking to me. We found out that we BOTH have the same birthday. I was like... oh heck yea! October 10th baby! 10/10! We high fived. Well so then he invited me to come hang out where he was going to party this Saturday for his birthday. He's going to The Ardmore Music Hall to see a Grateful Dead cover band called Box of Rain. I'm not a huge Grateful Dead fan... they're ok... not my favorite, but I was like well what the heck. Sure. So I agreed.
And who knows. Maybe the girl of my dreams will be at that show. And then I can say... if it weren't for a pumpkin margarita and the guy sitting next to me at the bar sharing the exact same birthday as me... I never would have met her.
Hey, a guy can dream. And it would be on my birthday too. Which would make for a cool story. I mean I'm happy to have a lame story too as long as it leads to the girl that I get to spend the rest of my life with. So here's to meeting the girl of my dreams this Saturday night.
And if not... There's always next year.
Throw Back Monday
Because... it's my blog and I can throw back any old day of the week that I please.
But... since "Throw Backs" are reserved for Thursdays, I'll call it a back throw.
Back Throw Monday!
What's a back throw?
Sounds like some kind of swimming stroke. The back throw. Probably because it's close to backstroke. I hated that. I did swimming growing up, SOOOOO much swimming. I was like level 9 bad ass swimmer at camp. There were only 9 levels. So I was top of the pops. I did swim team in high school too.
Some how... some way... I was swimming a mile 3 nights a week in college. When I think back to that, I think sometimes... that's kind of crazy. To some that's nothing. But I think that's pretty decent for a casual workout.
In addition to backstroke, butterfly wasn't my favorite either. If you love that... hey, more power to you. But I'm a breaststroke person myself. Freestyle/crawl also works for me.
If you don't swim you probably have no idea what I just talked about. If you do... You know. OH... YOU KNOW what I'm talking about.
Go do a 50 freestyle, then a 50 breaststroke, then a 50 backstroke, then a 50 butterfly. Tell me which one leaves you dying.
Where was I? iDigress...
Oh, yes throw back to when I was making back throw a thing. Here's a quick Google (Alphabet) image search for the term "Back Throw"...
Whoa now. That's intense.
There's that too. ANYWAYS... Back throw.
What I've been TRYING to say since the beginning of this blog post is that I wanted to post something that I found stashed away in my favorite funny things file...
It's a back throw to about 2008 ish... during the elections. I figure (iFigure) we've got some elections coming our way soonish so I thought I might as well post this since the first time this came out, my blog wasn't really a thing yet. Not that it's really a thing now, I guess. But it's more of a thing now than it was then. I think. I hope!
What's "a thing" anyways? And how do we know it's a thing? That's a discussion for another time I guess.
Well, so if everyone remembers back in 2008, Obama was running against McCain. Some of you may remember this internet sensation Jelly Donut that took the world by storm. Or, he got 60 thousand hits on YouTube apparently, because that's how many plays the video has. I remember it being a big thing, maybe it was just a big thing with my coworkers and I. Well at least it was a thing at some point.
Anyways, without further ado... I present to you my throw back back throw Monday to 2008...
Jelly Donut - McCain Be Old
Careful... it's catchy as heck. Trust me. I've been singing it over and over since I rediscovered it. Enjoy.
The Dish Water
OK, it's time to get serious right now and talk about... doing dishes.
We all have to do them. We all hate them. It's a fact of life. I guess maybe that's not quite completely true, I for one, actually like doing dishes... I know. CRAZY! It's true. I put on a podcast or some iTunes U content to listen to and clean away. I find it relaxing and rewarding to clear out a sink full of dishes and see an empty sink again.
FYI future wife: If you ABSOLUTELY HATE doing dishes... This guy right here will probably be the man of your dreams.
Over the years I've tried tons of different dirty dish solutions. Most of them just don't do the job well, or they are not very natural to use. Some of them feel like I'm holding a cat over the sink while the cat lick the plate clean for me.
A while back I did find one that works pretty well...
The Scotch-Brite Soap Dispensing Dishwand!
Here's an official link: http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Product-Catalog/~/Scotch-Brite-Soap-Dispensing-Dishwands?N=4337+3294631715&rt=rud
Oooooo ahhhhhhhhh. That's right. Be amazed.
It works pretty well in my book! My book of things that work well, that is. I've had the same one for... I think even a couple years now? Now, obviously the heads have needed to be replaced over those couple of years as they do wear out. That's what I'm really going to get into here.
I've tried them all. The different types and makes and models and colors.
So let's talk about the different ones. Now, the one that I'd like to get out of the way first is the one with the bent part in the front. That one just doesn't work very well at all. It's call The Curve (http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Product-Catalog/~/Scotch-Brite-Clean-Curve-Non-Scratch-Dishwand-Refills?N=4337+3294631117&rt=rud). I'm not a fan. The curve part just doesn't really seem to help it clean anymore effectively than the ones without. The other issue is that the adhesive starts to break up and the top part then begins to flop around. It makes it even harder to wash dishes at that point... might as well just use the licking cat cleaner instead with its tail flopping around. At least you have the cuteness factor with that.
The next one up that I had some issues... I liked it a TON at first, but it just didn't hold up. It's the purple ones with the smooth bottom. The minute I bought these I was totally all about them. I used them for a couple days though and sadly, they started to disappoint. Isn't that how it goes? Many of the things in life that seem to be amazing at first... quickly start to reveal all that glitters is not gold. Not all things though. But it does seem to hold true for many things.
Except for cats. Cats never disappoint. Ever.
Anyways, it's called the Stay Clean Dishwand refill.... It might stay clean, but it doesn't stay on. The adhesive quickly looses it's grip and the top part of it comes off leaving you with a regular old purple sponge.
Next up is the eco friendly one... I tried this one once. It didn't last either. And it quickly found its way to the trash. Which doesn't seem super eco friendly... but what do I know?
So those didn't work out so well for me. Luckily I did try some that did work!
I actually just prefer the original one. It really just works. The good old green and yellow one. Just like the classic sponges we all know... I'm going to call it the "scratch" one.
Ok so they call it the Heavy Duty one...
And I'd just like to point out that a cat's tongue just so happens to be scratchy too! Coincidence? I think not. Also, unlike trying to get your cat into your sink to wash your dishes for you, though... It won't scratch you.
But seriously, I've used the "scratchy" one for years and my dishes all still look the same. If you scratch dishes with this thing, you're scrubbing like a rockstar! Tone it down a bit. Let them soak in some soapy water. There's no need to scrub so hard that you wear through the dish. I mean, really.
Here's a list of a bunch of different ones to give you the overall big picture: http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Product-Catalog/?N=5584725+4337&rt=r3
There's one missing from that list that I also like. It's the Ocelo one. This is actually the one that I'm currently using. It's working very nicely.
As far as I can tell it's the same as the classic one... but it's just more colorful. What fun!
"Add a splash of color and expression into your cleaning. ocelo™ expressions dishwand and refills offer a stylish and creative way to clean. Bright colors and fun patterns make your daily work anything but a chore."
So there you have it! For those of you dish washing connoisseurs out there... Try out the Scotch-Brite Dishwand. And try the various replacement refills for yourself. I guarantee you'll like it. And if you don't like it... There's always that cat. And if you don't own a cat.. there's always your roommate's cat! Or your friend's cat. Or a go adopt a cat. You won't be disappointed.
Life Spice: Variety
Today after work I went over to Planet Fitness to work out a little... by work out I mean use the elliptical. That's pretty much the only thing I use. I pay my 10 bucks a month and use that one thing. I really just don't like any of the other equipment. But I figure buying one outright would probably be at the very least several hundred dollars. So even 60 bucks a year times let's say 10 years to buy one... but if that one breaks and I have to buy a new one within those 10 years, I'm still up. Plus it saves on space and gives me somewhere to go to get out of the house. Also there IS other stuff if I ever want to use it.
Well today, I thought to myself ok, since it's getting to be the cold dark time of the year when I really won't want to run outside anymore, I'll probably start using Planet Fitness more and more. But what happened last year was that I got super sick of going by the end of winter. The same location, over and over. I tried using other machines, I tried different spots in the gym. I tried listening to pod casts one night and reading another...
Life gets dull when you do the same thing over and over again. At least for me it does. Maybe I'm not doing the right stuff. Maybe if you do the right stuff it never gets dull? I don't know. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's this area. Maybe there's a place n this planet where everyone that lives there is like...
WOOOOO I LOVE EVERYTHING IN LIFE EVERY DAY AND I DO THE SAME THINGS EVER SINGLE DAY AND NEVER GET SICK OF IT!!!
If you know of a place... Let me know.
So, to keep up my gym work out throughout the winter time... I decided to upgrade to the 20 dollar a month membership (now I'm all kinds of fancy). This will allow me to use guest gyms. So now when I'm out writing at an Iron Hill brewery, or any other bar, or at a Starbucks, or any other coffeeshop... Instead going to the same gym near my house I can go to one of the guest gyms in the area to shake things up!
Because variety is the spice of life. So now I have the option of gym variety.
It wasn't really a super spur of the moment thing. I've been considering this for some time. Since I can't run in the winter time outside, this will keep me going working out a few times a week by alternating the gym locations to maybe, the 5 closest ones. That way I don't bored of just going to the same location over and over and over again.
All that for only 20 bucks a month! Can't beat it. If only the yoga place had multiple locations. And if my work had multiple locations too. And if I had multiple houses. I'd be set!
For now I'll settle for multiple gyms... and writing locations. And diversifying my stocks.
I figure hey I probably should have a healthy habit to help balance out the probably bad effects from my margarita search. So for every location that I find a delicious new margarita, I'm sure there will be a Planet Fitness nearby to help burn off the alcohol and sugars in the drink.
WIN WIN!
And who knows... maybe at one of these other Planet Fitness's I'll bump into a lady and find love. My bro met his wife at the gym. He used the following line "Don't I know you from somewhere?".
He didn't know her. He knew that. But it was an excuse to talk to her. Now they have been married for several years and have a house and babies and all that jazz.
I figure the more places I go out to... the better a chance of meeting the girl that will become the one that I'll come home to every night and never get sick of. No matter how many times I see her or hear her sweet voice. Or she texts me or calls when I can't be near her. Maybe she's been going to Planet Fitness too, but just in a different location.
It's all about fate and timing and all that stuff. Just have to keep waiting until those paths cross and then my days of going on a variety of first dates will be over. I guess variety isn't always the spice of life. When it comes to falling in love... I just want one. The same one. Day in and day out... for the rest of our days. Sigh. Some day I'll find that too.
The Perfect Margarita
I'm on the hunt for the perfect margarita.
So far the best one I've had was at Plaza Azteca (I've only tried 4 places). At the moment I'm focusing my efforts in the Philadelphia area. But I plan to try margaritas elsewhere in the world in the future. What the heck... maybe I'll just travel the world trying margaritas! I've got time after all... I'm 32... no kids... no significant other... soooo it's just smooth sailing and margaritas here on out on the horizon for me as far as I can see!
One of these days I'll try a margarita that will just absolutely blow my mind. And you bet I'm going to post about it here. I'll write a full review on this mind blowing margarita for sure. I imagine the Philadelphia margarita scene isn't the absolute best in the world... So I definitely think I want to start traveling just to try and review margaritas in other cities.
Maybe try the south west or something. I feel like they would have good margaritas in Texas. Or New Mexico. Or maybe Southern California or something.
In the past couple weeks I've tried a few places around me to start my journey for the perfect margarita.
Here's my current "favorites" list since I've started my margarita journey:
1. Plaza Azteca, Plymouth Meeting - Frozen. They put a lime in it and the glass is nice and big. Also on Monday's they have a 5 dollar house one!
2. Bahama Breeze, King of Prussia - This one was one the rocks. I liked it but din't love it. I got the extras though from the shake up thing. A little extra margarita goes a long way.
3. Matador, Wayne - Another on the rocks. It was good... but there was no lime. Where's the lime! I like fruit in my drinks. Limes, lemons... cherries... strawberries... whatever. Just throw some fruit in there!
4. Uncle Julios, Plymouth Meeting - This was my least favorite. Don't get me wrong it was good. Honestly I haven't had a bad one yet... but... it just seemed kind of watered down. Or like it was made from a prepackaged mix. Though this really has nothing to do with the actual contents of the drink itself, I feel like it should factor into the experience... I didn't like the glass it came in, and the bar tender was a bit like, annoyed that he had to make me a drink. I'm going to be factoring that into my search for the perfect margarita.
I'm all about the whole experience. I'm all about the drink itself, the taste, the ingredients, how it is prepared, the demeanor of the bar tender, the type of glass it's served in. If it comes in just a regular plain beer pint glass, that will be points off for sure....
Ok those are the four places I've had margaritas recently (or at the best ones worth mentioning). I'm looking for more places to try. Maybe places that aren't known for margaritas... but have great ones. Maybe places that have great ones and everyone knows about it. The more frilly and over the top and decorative the glass the better. If anyone has any suggestions for me let me know! Right now I'm sticking with the Philadelphia... or PA/NJ/DE area.
I can't decide if I like frozen or on the rocks better. I feel like I prefer the frozen one. But I want it made from scratch and not just some mix packet.
I usually go with salt. Although if I'm getting a second one... I'll go without salt because it's too much salt to have two in a row. I'm not a deer. I don't need a salt lick.
I think I'm going to have to come up with a whole entire check list and point system for judging the margarita. So far I have...
- Presentation - Glass, does it come with fun decorative things? Or is it served in something else off beat? I found out that Plaza Azteca has them in pumpkins for the month of October! I'm going to go back and try one ASAP. I'll post an Instagram when I do.
- Serve - The serve, just like in tennis has to have good from. Is the bartender disgruntled and annoyed or are they happy to make you the drink of your choice? Do they just kind of put it in front of you and walk away, or do they have some cheerful words as they ease it on top of a napkin? The Bahama Breeze server was delightful. This guy Peter was like... here you go sir... let me know if there is anything else I can help you with! We laughed, we joked. It was great. Full 10 on the serve for him. The Matador serve was sour. He just wasn't in the mood to be there, you could tell. He was annoyed that you even sat down. He was ready to check out. Which is fine. Maybe he just had a bad day. Totally cool. But, it just means less points.
- The margarita itself - Taste. Does it wow me as soon as I take that first sip? Is it TOO strong? Not strong enough? Too over powering with the sugar... is there more salt than a side walk in the winter? Or not enough salt? Do I do that little head nod as I'm slurping on the first little sip and then go "Oh yeah. Wow! That's good!" And then the bartender with their little drying washcloth is wiping out a freshly washed margarita glass and nodding back, proud that he's given you a proper margarita experience. A tear wells up in the corner of his eye, he's so joyful inside because you've got that warm fuzzy feeling of an ice cold margarita in your tummy.
- The extras - How's the ambiance of the place? Do they give you complimentary chips and salsa? Are they playing great music. How's the view?
Home work for the reader, or just some food for thought: Where's the best margarita you've ever had? What do you like? On the rocks or frozen? With or without salt? I recently learned that you can ask for custom tequila... I had no idea! Do you ask for custom tequila?
My standard is a happy hour house, frozen, add a lime, and salt. Toss in some chips and guac and I'm in my happy place.
Stormy Storms/Toasted Graham Latte
Storms get a bad rap. And... that's probably because everyone fears them. They muck crap up. They make life miserable. They make people grumpy. They break things. True. All of this true. And even inner storms as in bad moods in people also wreak havoc.
But... maybe they also create opportunities for things to be reborn... or they create opportunity for change to enter our lives. Maybe they bring people together after the storm to work together to rebuild.
Glass half full? Maybe.
But maybe they just create a little humor... an excuse to laugh in this crazy life... even in the face of uncertain destruction.
Today I found the hurricane Joaquin meme/hurricane track photo.
It made me laugh WAY more than I should have. I literally laughed out loud at work this morning when I saw it.
Here's a link to an article containing the photo in case the photo doesn't show up: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20151001/long-island-city/nypd-tweets-hurricane-joaquin-path-map-with-photos-of-joaquin-phoenix
Who knows what sort of track this hurricane will take, or what things will come from it. Perhaps bad, perhaps something good will come out of it. Time will only tell. That's with most things in life. Sometimes things that seem fantastic... end up being terrible in the end... and sometimes things that seem terrible end up being fantastic and becoming the best opportunities.
That's why "good" or "bad" can't really be determined until after the fact.
Speaking of good or bad, I'm trying out the Toasted Graham Latte at Starbucks. I'm a fan. It's pretty delicious. So... I'll give it a thumbs up.
It's a bit on the sweet/milky/frothy side... but I don't mind. I'm definitely about half way through and not regretting the purchase at all.
Usually I enjoy the raw coffee flavor, but lately I've been really into lattes. Also really into margaritas. I don't know why. But I just really enjoy them lately. So if you want my recommendation after a long day at work? Get yourself a margarita and then go get a toasty graham latte after. You'll be feeling mighty fine. And then take a gander at the Joaquin hurricane meme and have a laugh. Because... there are always storms ahead. But sometimes you just have to enjoy the small pleasures in life and sit back and have a laugh, and a Toasted Graham Latte... or a margarita.
Tomorrow will be another day.