Then and Now

A Little More Hello Kitty Obessed than Usual

Because I don't already have enough to do and I seemingly lost my mind this semester, I'm writing an 8-10 page Researched Essay with my ENG 112 classes.

And you guessed it: mine's on Hello Kitty. I'm speculating causes of HK's popularity among grown-up women in the USA.

While researching I discovered one possible cause of her popularity: her mouthlessness.

Several of my sources claimed she was popular because her mouthlessness is like a mirror. Fans of HK can project their feelings on to her, and suddenly HK is feeling the same way as them.

I like this theory.

But what seems most accurate to it is that most pet owners do the same thing. I can't tell you how many times my little Bleu is happy, sad, frustrated, excited, yadda, yadda, yadda because I'm projecting my emotions onto him, even though he has a mouth. My little pet is my mirror.

And, for me, HK is my little pet in many ways too...

I'm Cuter Than Usual. Thanks, Lemon Cadet!

Jealous?




Get your Yeti on here!









Buy your own little bean here!











Thanks, Lemon Cadet, for the tees. I totally heart them.

Me Want Food!: A Tribute to The Best of Local Eats

There are days I crave brownies.

To the point I would die if I don't eat one.

My problem was I'm not a baker and I just couldn't find any place that had the "perfect" brownie.

Needless to say, I died many times over the past 4 years.

I'm dying no more, though.

Thank you, Myles Baker Street!

Myles Baker Street has the BEST cookies, desserts, cakes, and truffles in Northwestern Ohio and dare I say Southeastern Michigan. Their prices are completely reasonable for the high quality ingredients they use and the gorgeous aesthetic of each baked good. Myles Baker Street also serves breakfast goodies and lunch goodies, and I've heard their soups are AMAZING! (I still need to try their food, but I've been such an addict over their brownies I keep forgetting the have food.) Additionally, the environment of the cafe is cozy and modern with wireless internet. If you live in or visit BG, you MUST stop at Myles Baker Street; I promise you won't be disappointed.

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Besides brownies, the other food I'm addicted to is Mexican. I seriously could eat refried beans EVERY day. And so I go to El Zarape at least once a week. Their prices are beyond reasonable for their portions. (The appetizer chips and salsa are still FREE!!!) Their service is super-fast and friendly. And their food is tasty without the grease of some Mexican restaurants and authentic unlike "chain" Mexican joints. I recommend the Sopa Azteca, a Mexican soup, the enchiladas, and quesadillas. Fun fact: You can purchase their salsa to go; I always pick up a 16 oz container before I leave.

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Our friend JP recommended the next two places to us, and I can't thank her enough.

FD and I have recently developed a taste for curry. And so far the BEST Asian restaurant we've eaten at in Northwestern Ohio is Bangkok Kitchen. Their curries are FABULOUS! You can order any of their dishes mild, medium, or hot. Just beware, the hot is fire-hot. What I love about Bangkok Kitchen is that they are always really sensitive to my shelled-seafood allergy. I just tell them about it every time before I order and they make sure I don't die. It's quite nice. Their fried rice rocks my world too. I haven't had any of the entrees except for the curry--I recommend the green curry and the Pad Nam Prik Pow--but I would bet anything you order would be beyond satisfying. The prices are pretty good. Just be sure to get there early if you go on a weekend night; the joint gets packed. Also, have patience. The food does NOT arrive quickly, but the taste more than makes up for that little snag.

Our other new fav international restaurant: Indian Restaurant The Jewel. The Jewel has a lunch buffet and dinner hours. Being that I'm new to Indian food and I'm a germ-a-phob, buffets aren't for me. I trust their wold be good, though, based on our dinner. The dinner portions are enough for dinner and lunch the next day, and for me, the prices were reasonable for that amount of food. (My Chicken Masala was $12.50 and FD's Lamb Subj Gosht was $13.95.) The Nan is to DIE FOR! I'm still craving it! And the setting is really Indian-inspired and quite comfortable. Hot tip: You can bring your own alcoholic beverages to The Jewel; they don't sell them, though.

For those of you who are new to the fantastic world of international foods my biggest suggestion for finding a good place is this: if you see people of that restaurant's ethnicity eating there, you can be sure it's good. That was the case for our experiences at Bangkok Kitchen and The Jewel. In other words, I rarely see any Asian folks or Asian workers at The China in BG, and the food at The China can't even compare to Bangkok Kitchen's. Also, don't be afraid to talk to your server and ask for recommendations and help. I've found that the servers know more than me and I have always like what they recommended for me.

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If you're in the mood for Pizza, order from Pisanello's. Their ingredients are high quality and their crust is light and yummy! Why support corporate pizza when you can eat local pizza?

If you're in the mood for a deep dish pizza, try Myles. Good pie! Just be ready for cheese galore and HUGE pieces.

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Surprisingly to me, South Side 6 has the BEST burgers in town.

Trotter's Brown Jug Steak Dinner is the BEST steak in town.

Call of the Canyon has the best sandwiches and corn bread.

And Stimmel's has the best lunchmeat--Boar's Head.

For microbrews and wines and a local grocery store that has it all including sinks and flooring (think a specialty grocery store meets Lowes), check out The Andersons. I'm a fan of the meatloaf and stuffed peppers at The House of Meats.

Best breakfast in town: Kermit's.

Best Cosmo in town: Tea Tree Asian Bistro.

Best Semi-Fast-Food Mexican: Qdoba.

Goes without saying, the best gourmet restaurant: Revolver.


~

All this talk of food is making me hungry...and craving refried beans, brownies, and a Cosmo.

Kinda A Little (OK A Lot) "Creepy" with Many Quotation Marks Involved

Meet Prada Eames, my Second Life avatar.

My label whoreness=Prada.

My love of L&O CI=Eames.

I've been flying around Second Life, and I get it. But I don't.

Here's what I get: That, in terms of education, it's the next step. In the picture, you see Prada viewing the BGSU art gallery. How rad, right? And how rad that there are faculty offices where you can "meet up with" and "talk" with your professor bypassing all the awkward BS that comes with face-to-face meetings? And how rad that you can be at class in a "video-game-like" world? I adore all this business. But seriously how many students have the the newest Mac computers (or PCs) that are able to support Second Life? Most college students I know are poor, praying for enough money to get their textbooks.

Which leads me to what I don't "get": the desire to be freak-ish. Yes, in Second Life it's "cooler" to be something you could never be in real life. As you can see in Second Life I'm a brunette with Christian-from-Project-Runway jeans and a killer white jacket. No tats or pink skin or mohawk hair; I'm just me. (I admit if there was a Hello Kitty avatar I'd be her.) Aside from Hello Kitty, I don't want to be anyone else quite honestly. Also, I just don't want to put that much energy into a world that isn't Godly.

Yes, Godly.

Here's where SL gets creepy for me. Didn't God create us to live our lives in the flesh and blood? Aren't we put on this crazy planet to learn about life, love, fashion in real life? So why do so many people live their lives in SL? Seriously? I have a fab marriage, awesome friends, a sweetie puppy I adore, a job I love; why in the world would I need to live a computer-generated life? Aren't things complicated enough, though, with feelings, life lessons, and understanding the world? Why in the world would anyone want to "live" in SL? I mean bad things happen there: you can assault avatars, bomb buildings, terrorize islands. I can't figure out why people do that in real life; how in the world would I ever be able to understand the code for getting a therapist after a SL assault?

I totally understand the merit of online education/distance learning through SL. How rad to "transport" a class to India to learn about Indian poets and food. How rad to have a common meeting space to be able to "see" one another even though we're online and in different corners of the world while in class at the same time? In terms of all things education, I'm all for SL.

What I'm arguing against are those who use SL to live their lives.

That shit scares me. Our lives are so rich and meaningful; why in the world turn to digital media to create a life for yourself? Just walk outside and take a walk. For real.

Maybe a lot of people are afraid to go outside, let alone take that walk. But what does that say about our society? To me it says shouldn't we invest in cleaning up our world rather than creating digital ones (Hello, owner of Amazon who created SL in order to boost online shopping and online sales)?

The sad thing is I'm living in this real world and the Second Life one, and I don't have the hang of either one yet.

Though I see the merit in both, I just prefer the real one much more.

Quick About Things (A Sneek Peek of Sorts)

This past Friday Stokes and I went to The Beachland Ballroom and saw the ever-so-sweet Tim Easton play live.

Because I'm a wimp who was afraid to have her digital camera confiscated, I'm using a photo from imaphotog. Thanks, imaphotog @ Flickr!

Yeah, there were like 100 people there, and tons of crazies with their digital cameras standing right in front of the stage taking awesome pics. I just watched them from my seat, crying a little. We all know my pics would have been awesome. And that I could have gotten Tim Easton to take a photo with me that I could have made my profile pic on Facebook. C'est la vie...

Tim Easton was beyond great--never a let-down yet when I've seen him live, even when he's hopped up on cold meds. The audience was weird, though. There was Random Clapper, Superfan who couldn't shut up between songs (literally, he yelled 5 minute convos with Tim), and the Sleeping Housewives. Guess you had to be there...

Regardless, Stokes and I had a fab time. And I learned how to text faster on my phone. Thanks, dollface.

Saturday, FD and I got some Bangkok Kitchen in Maumee. We're addicted to their curry. It's so good I crave it every meal. (Which reminds me I need to write post on all the local restaurants I love like Bangkok Kitchen, Myles Baker Street, and El Zarape. Another time though. Idol comes on in few minutes.)
After our tasty curry meal, we came home to snuggle up with BleuBerry and watch The Darjeeling Limited--twice! Finally, an idie film worth a damn. Thank you, Wes Anderson. How I love that you love little "stuff" and create sets that I want to live in or eat because I love them so much. Seriously, in my humble opinion Wes Anderson is THE best indie director right now.

Then Spring Break began, and, of course, I've been working the whole time. Why wouldn't I? Tonight through Sunday, though, I'm taking a little break to cuddle with my BleuBoo who was neutered almost 12 hours ago. You wouldn't be able to tell by the running and jumping he's doing that he's not supposed to be doing, but he is a little more tired and whiny than usual.

I'm hoping over the next few days I'll have a few moments to blog more. I have ideas for posts. One on Second Life. Another on how Hello Kitty is a form of escapism. Yet another on Pimp My Kennel. Or the dog that's allowed to eat high-end designer "wife-beaters." And we can't forget the standard here's-who-should-lose-on-Idol-this-week? (Definitely Danny and Luke from the Boys. I'll Twitter my girl predictions tonight.)

So many topics and so little time.