1224 tony roma's

After the service, I joined some friends for a Christmas Eve dinner. I thought that we would end up at Norm’s again (see posts for 12/24/07, 12/24/08 and 12/24/09), but someone found out that Tony Roma’s was still open (just outside the Carson Mall), so we headed there.

The last time I was at a Tony Roma’s, I ordered the Sampler, in order to decide which type of rib I’d order the next time. But that was about five years ago and I forgot which one I decided on. So I ordered the Sampler again.

It was a larger group than previous Christmas Eve’s: Mike & Carol, Judy, Janice, Wanda, Brian, Vern, Laura, Matthew, Brianne, and myself. We all had a great time!

1224 Christmas Eve service

SBCC had two Christmas Eve services. I went to the second one at 5:30pm. I was glad I did so, because the first service at 4:00pm was packed, with standing room only. I noticed that when I arrived, as the rear doors were open and I could see people standing inside with their backs to the walls.

The second service was comparably less populated, at 80% of the seats filled. Fortunately, I was in my wheelchair, so I was already in a sitting position.

KidsKrew came in and performed their version of “Jingle Bells” and then joined Evolution for a recital of the story, “Love Came Down At Christmas”. Christmas messages were given by Youth Pastor James and Pastoral Intern Dave. After the messages was a performance by the Hula Ministry to the song “Winter Snow”. The Worship Team performed before, during, and after the service.

1222 el torito

Mike and I had lunch at El Torito. Partly because of the food selection (this location has Huevos Rancheros in their buffet) and partly because I had a coupon from my Entertainment Book. I saved $5.00! (A12a)

2011Book: $20.65 to date

1217 tron legacy

I went to see “Tron: Legacy” at the Regal Promenade Stadium 13. I thought it was very good. Some people I talked with said that they saw the original “Tron” and thought that the special-effects weren’t that great. I told them that the special-effects were cutting-edge at that time (“Tron” was released in 1982), but they’d look old now.

The movie was good as it continued the story that was started in the original film. Jeff Bridges played the same character that he introduced in the first film. The story tells that he re-entered the digital world that he created, but became trapped. His son, Sam, remembers him leaving one night and never coming back. Now, 20 years later, he enters the same digital world and discovers that his father is still there.

There was one character (“Alan”) that I thought looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember his name. When the credits rolled, I discovered that it was Bruce Boxleitner, the original “Tron”. The actor has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. No wonder the “Tron” character was helmeted in “Legacy”. Digital avatars don’t age, and using special effects would have been very costly (although they DID do it for Jeff Bridges’ “Clu” character).

Okay, time for a question. When Garrett Hedlund’s character was transferred into the digital world, his clothing was taken and replaced with the uniform of the realm. When he returned to the “real world”, he was wearing it again. How did that happen? Before you answer that, also address the source of Quorra’s clothing. Where did that come from?

1213 I'm still here

Several friends contacted me to find out why I haven't posted in a few months. Yes, I'm okay. No, I haven't died. No, I didn't have another stroke.

No excuse. I just ran out of time to maintain it. So I'll be catching up in the next few weeks.

Sorry.

1211 too much sun?

I had a glass of wine to help me unwind. I can hold my alcohol, but just a small amount causes my skin to “flush”, and thus my cheeks and neck turn pink for about an hour.

I finished the glass and was thinking about getting another when Steve Y walked up and we had a brief conversation. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that things were going well with me. He replied, “I see you’ve got some sun!”

That was when I decided that I must’ve had enough wine. Lol!

1211 how is your Spanish?

After checking in at the registration table, I looked over the array of prizes that were being raffled off. One of the major prizes was a portable heating unit. On one side of the box was a picture and all of the features as bullet points. On the other side was the same picture, but all of the descriptions were in Spanish.

Guess which side was facing out and which side was against the wall? I think that the organizers were trying to see how long it took before anyone noticed.

1211 shrinkage

Tennis Connection was having their Annual Holiday Party at the Doubletree Inn in Torrance (on Hawthorne, about a block south of Torrance Blvd).

As I put on a dress shirt, I noticed that I was barely able to button the collar. Funny, it fit fine the last time I wore it, which was at Jerome & Liz’s wedding (see 8/07 post). It must have shrunk while hanging in the closet.

1211 sweet potato fries

Jim Y and I went to lunch at Coco’s, following my walking exercise at Liberty Park. After ordering, we noticed another patron had orange-colored fries on his plate. We flagged down the server and he confirmed that they had sweet potato fries. Jim had the server substitute a side dish on his order, but my order didn’t have a side dish, so I asked if I could have a side order. When the food arrived, the server placed a big bowl (about 10 inches across) heaped up with sweet potato fries on our table. I said that I only ordered a side dish. The server replied that the kitchen ran out of small plates, and this was the best that they could do. He assured me that I wouldn’t be charged any extra for the additional amount. The bill only had a side of fries for $1.99.

Next time, we’ll ask if they could do it again.

I was able to use one of the coupons from my Entertainment Book and saved $5.65! (A11a).

2011Book: $15.65 to date

1203 I tried to be bad

The news reported that UCLA students were caught trying to paint “UCLA” on the USC football field. This brought back a memory of a prank from over 30 years ago.

In my senior year, we had a football game against our rival Lakewood High. It was a couple of weeks away, but some friends had an idea to make a big “splash” to make our senior year memorable. We decided to “paint” a block “J” (our high school was named for David Starr Jordan) at the 50-yard line of their football field.

My father owned and operated a garden center, so I volunteered to arrange to “borrow” some lawn paint (in winter, some people painted their dormant bermudagrass green, rather than overseed it with annual ryegrass). As I was reading the label for application instructions, one of the “old” (now that I think about it, he was in his mid-thirties) employees asked some pointed questions to figure out what I was using it for.

I couldn’t lie very well, and he figured it out. He told me that if the lawn paint was applied to live grass, then the paint would kill it. I told him that I couldn’t think of another option.

He suggested using a liquid fertilizer. I told him about the time constraint. He suggested diluting urea (51% nitrogen) in water. Because of its high nitrogen content, urea is fast-acting. Plus, as a liquid, the chances of burning were extremely small. I asked how I’d be able to get it right without a stencil. He suggested forming an outline with sand, and then pouring the liquid inside the outline. If there was enough time, the sand could be spread with the foot and it wouldn’t harm anything.

I told the others about this and they agreed. After all, no one wanted to damage or destroy anything.

The Friday night before the game, several guys walked up to the front of Lakewood High (we couldn’t get access to the football field) and poured sand in the form of a block “J”, then walked fast to their cars and left. About 10 minutes later, the rest of us walked up to the same location, spotted the outline, and proceeded to pour the liquid into the outline. We were about to scatter the sand when someone spotted headlights coming down the street. We ran to our cars and took off.

I had some friends at Lakewood High, and they told me the rest. The principal arrived early on Monday, saw the sand and had a custodian rake it away. He thought that if that was the best that could be done, then the football game would be a sure win.

The next day, the grass grew in the form of a block “J”. More so than the surrounding grass. The principal called the sheriff and said that he wanted to file a vandalism charge. A deputy drove up, took one look at the “J”, and then told the principal that he couldn’t file a vandalism charge because nothing was damaged. The principal asked what he could do. The deputy said that he could apply a grass killer, but then he would be damaging his own property. Besides, the grass killer would take at least 3-4 days to work (remember, this was 1977), and the football game would be over by then. He could have a custodian mow it, but there would be no guarantee that it wouldn’t grow back. Or he could just live with it. With that said, the deputy left.

The principal had a custodian mow it, but the “J” grew back the next day. He couldn’t justify the time it took to have it mowed again, so he had a custodian fertilize the grass around it, hoping that it would work fast enough to obliterate the “J”. It didn’t.

The “J” was still there on the day of the big game. Although I didn’t admit it, our principal told me to tell whoever did it that he got a kick out of it. He said that the most that he could figure was that I was somehow involved.

Hours spent looking at my reflection in the mirror (then and now) couldn’t figure that one out.

1124 el torito

Mike and I went to El Torito in Lakewood Center for lunch. Mike got a combo and I had some seafood (read shrimp and scallop) enchiladas. I was able to use one of the coupons from my Entertainment Book for $10 off (A12). My first use of the EntBook!

2011Book: $10 to date.

1123 thanksgiving?

This morning, there was a segment on the KTLA news about a food giveaway at the Hollenbeck Youth Center in downtown Los Angeles for needy families in time for Thanksgiving. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was there helping out. The KTLA reporter asked him several questions, which he answered quite well. Then she asked, “How do you say ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ in Austrian?”

He replied, “We don’t have Thanksgiving in Austria”.

1121 entertainment book

I got an Entertainment Book today. It’s not my first, but it’s the first one since I started this blog. So I’m going to be posting my experiences in using the Book.

Maybe this year, I’ll save enough to cover the cost of the Book.

1120 parmesan

I did my walking exercise inside Lakewood Center, as the pavement was still wet from the nighttime rain. After the walk, we (my friend and I) went to Sbarro’s. He had a portion of lasagna, with a lot of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

By looking at the photo, is ‘sprinkled’ the right word?

1117 ornaments

I went to Costco today and saw a case of Christmas ornaments. But a friend told me that the ornaments were for a yard display, not a tree. Good, because you’d need a really big tree to put them on (see picture).

1107 jenga

Sam had Koinonia over today. We played a number of games, including Jenga. Jenga is a tower made of pieces of wood, stacked in alternating layers. Players take turns pulling a piece out and placing it at the top. The object of the game is to avoid being the one who pulls a piece and causes the whole tower to fall.

When it did tumble, everybody laughed. That is, everybody except for the two-year-old, who was on the verge of crying. He didn’t cry, but we decided to play something different.

One of the guys had an idea for “Jumbo Jenga”, with railroad ties and steel helmets. No idea if they ever tried it.

1008 joel

Joel Gaines, the guy who plays keyboard on the SBCC Worship Team, had a concert tonight in the Nakano Theater at the Torrance Civic Center. It was very good. The theater was intimate with cabaret-type seating. I went with some friends from church, and met up some others from the church, including Barry & Marcia, who moved out of the area several years ago. It was nice to see them.

Joel wrote all of the songs that were performed and was also selling a CD that he compiled (I already have mine). There will be another show tomorrow night.

0921 hawaii five-o

Hawaii Five-O premiered last night. It’s not a remake; it’s a re-imagination of the original series. The back-story is well-thought out and the characters are very contemporary. As long as you can accept Kono as a female, the show is very appropriate. There is even a plausible explanation of “Danno”.

For those of you who think that I’m watching it only for the pretty women, let me just say this: not “only”.

0903 kathie lee

I was flipping thru channels this morning and on the ‘Today’ show, Hoda was reading a list of guests scheduled to be on the show next week. She mentioned that a rep from Adam & Eve will talk about some of the new adult sex toys. Kathie Lee Gifford replied that it was good, because “one of those things could slap me in the face and I still wouldn’t know what it is”.

I laughed so hard that I almost fell out of my seat.

0827 marijuana

I was flipping thru last week’s San Diego Reader (picked up during my excursion last weekend), when I spotted an ad for a medical marijuana collective with a 2-for-1 coupon. 2-for-1 joints, that is.

What is this world coming to?

0821 hachi

The ride back was spent watching a movie, but I could see and hear several people taking naps. The movie was “Hachi”, with Richard Gere and Joan Allen, and was about a dog that met his master at the train station at the end of each day, and continued to do so for nine years after his master’s untimely death. Very moving.

0821 gelato

Our Tour ended with a gelato at Cafe Zucchero. It was refreshing since it was a warm and sunny day. Afterwards, we were given an hour to meander around and see the sights.

0821 filippi's

We looked inside Filippi’s Pizza Grotto (1747 India Street), a small restaurant with a small deli in front. You had to walk thru the deli to get to the restaurant. I found that the main aisle in the store is barely wide enough for my wheelchair, and the other aisles were too skinny for me to venture through.

The deli was cozy and there was a fragrance of meats and cheeses wafting thru the air. Yum!

0821 prohibition

For several minutes, we stopped on a sidewalk on Columbia Street as Anthony told us about the Black Hand and the bootlegging that was conducted in the area. He showed us a warehouse and described an underground tunnel that connected it to a residence next door.

0821 church

One of the high points of the Tour was the Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church. The staff was setting up for a wedding, but we were allowed to go inside and look around. The congregation sits in old-style wooden benches, and there are murals on the ceiling and rear & front upper walls. One depicted the Crucifixion of Christ, but there appeared to be more observers than I thought there were. Anthony explained that it was the custom of the time (when the murals were painted) to incorporate images of patrons as observers.

Interesting.

0821 po pazzo

We stopped for lunch at Po Pazzo (1917 India Street), an authentic Italian restaurant. We had to select our entrees ahead of time, either Chicken Cacciatorre or Spaghetti and Meatballs, so it would be ready, as our tour had a time limit. I chose the Chicken and it was very good. Viv couldn’t make it, so she told Anjie to have her entree for her. Anjie ordered the Spaghetti; Viv ordered the chicken. It was nice for Rob, who stepped in and ate the extra entree, as Anjie’s spaghetti was enough.

0821 anthony and cristina

As we arrived in Little Italy, we were joined by Anthony and Cristina, our tour guides, who were well-informed about the history of the area. They showed us some of the architecture as our motorcoach drove through the local streets.

We were provided with wireless headsets, to listen to Anthony’s presentation, at his normal speaking voice, no matter how far away we were from him.

0821 little italy tour

The Survivor’s Ministry at SBCC had a trip to Little Italy (in San Diego) today, from morning to late afternoon. The tour group met in the SBCC parking lot and boarded a motorcoach.

Alan and Rob led the group in games, including guessing the number of candies in a jar, and bingo. Suffice to say, I didn’t win either of them.

0814 reunion

Grads from my high school organized an All-Class Reunion at Tracy’s Bar & Grill in Long Beach. Although it’s been held for several years, this was the first one I attended there. I decided to go after hearing that several of my classmates (Class of 1978) were planning to attend.

It was great to see everyone that was able to attend, although since it was All-Class, there were many that I didn’t know.

0807 wedding

Liz and Jerome were married today. The wedding ceremony was fantastic. Pastor Gary officiated the ceremony in the Worship Center at SBCC.

Before the ceremony began, the groom and groomsmen were on the patio taking pictures. At one time, they walked as a group from one side of the patio to the other. Someone commented that it looked like a scene from the movie “Reservoir Dogs”.

0731 caesar's

Jim Y and I were leaving The Loft in Cerritos, when we spotted “Caesar’s Mongolian B-B-Q”. Somehow, “Caesar’s” and “Mongolian B-B-Q” don’t seem compatible. What do you think?

0728 ok discount

I passed by a store called “OK Discount”. I guess it’s not a great discount or a good discount, but an OK discount. LOL

0720 haircut

I went to get my hair cut today. The sides weren’t short enough the last time, so I kept an eye out for a picture to use as an example. I found one. It was a picture of Anderson Cooper with graphics promoting his “AC360” show on CNN.

I showed it to my barber and asked if he could cut it that short. He said he could and started trimming.

While he was combing and cutting, he mentioned that Cooper probably goes to a salon and pays $100 for his haircut, and then deducts it as a business expense. I told him that I couldn’t deduct it, so to just give me the $10 version.

He stopped and said, “Well, in that case, we’re done!” After a few seconds, he resumed his combing and cutting. He said that he was just kidding, but the look on my face made it worthwhile.

I can imagine the look on my face. At the moment he stopped, my hair ... well, let’s just say that Hitler had a better haircut.

0718 avoiding a difficult explanation

After pizza, we made a quick stop at Paleteria La Mexicana, for something cool. It’s a small store with three freezer cases that have glass doors on the top that slide. They had two different types: an “Otter-Pop” tube and a “Popsicle” bar with a wooden stick in one end. Both were wrapped in plastic.

I went with the tube and chose coconut. My friend, Ching, got a tube also (I think hers was watermelon) and asked the guy on the other side of the cases about how to open them. He said to just bite it and it would open up without any problem. We paid and left with our goodies.

In the car, we wiped our tubes with antibacterial wipes. Mine was starting to soften, so I picked an end and bit into it. What do you know? He was right! The end just opened up easily. Unfortunately, it was the opposite end and the “stuff” spilled into my lap.

It was a little disturbing because it was a thick milky-white liquid.

0718 dean's pizza

Ching picked me up in the early afternoon and we headed over to Dean’s Pizza for something to munch on. It’s located at the southwest corner of Redondo and 10th in Long Beach. If you’re not looking for it, you’ll miss it.

She had heard about it from friends (she’s a Yelp Elite; long story) because they have a great Thai Curry Pizza. We ordered one to share and it was great. Until now, I’d never had a pizza with tofu on top. Great choice!

0716 85C

My brother-in-law’s sister stopped by on her way home. She picked up some pastries from 85C in Irvine. There was a feature about it in Thursday’s Times. It’s a Taiwanese bakery on Alton Parkway, just a few blocks from where she works.

The name of the bakery comes from the “perfect temperature to serve coffee.” 85 centigrade! Yes, they serve coffee there.

We were sitting in the front room. I was facing Lori, and the driveway was to my left. I thought I detected motion out of the corner of my left eye. But when I looked to the left, there was nothing there. I found out several minutes later that it was my cousin, Patty, and her daughter, coming over for a dip in the pool.

0714 compression stocking

After Bible study, Mike F and I stopped by Abrams & Clark, to pick up a compression stocking that my podiatrist recommended. I put it on when I returned home. It looks like I’m wearing women’s hose. After a few failed attempts to pull it on like a sock, I read the enclosed directions and then it went on the first time. Very effective at compression.

But now I’m afraid that my podiatrist will tell me it will work better if I shaved the leg.

0711 toy story 3 question

My sister came by today and brought two of her kids with her. My nephew is only 7, but he had an “important” question about “Toy Story 3”.

There is a scene where the characters are on a conveyor belt, heading for a grinder. Suddenly, the slinky-dog is pulled up to a magnet, which removes metal from the rest of the garbage. Each of the characters grabs onto something metallic and are also pulled up. This act carries them above the grinder. On the other side, they let go and land on the conveyor belt.

My nephew’s question is ... how did the slinky-dog get down?

I didn’t have an answer for him. If you saw the movie, do you?

0710 dinner and a movie

Tennis Connection had a “Dinner & Movie” event at the Del Amo Center Promenade. I was able to arrange transportation with Gary K, and we met the others for dinner at BJ’s Brewery.

Larry L was one of the organizers and got our tickets during the dinner. I had the Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad. It was very good.

A large part of the group (me included) went to see “Toy Story 3”, from Pixar. It was very good.

Afterwards, we stopped by Jerry’s Deli for coffee and pastries. I split a pastry with Leslie.

0703 wimbledon

Serena Williams won the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon today. The awards presentation immediately followed the final match and Serena was given the customary platter that symbolized the title. My father commented that it would have been more impressive if there were a rack of ribs on it. LOL

0630 coinstar

Coinstar has machines in many grocery stores across the country. The machines separate and sort the coins and keep count while it does it. The machines charge 9.8 cents per dollar, but the result can be converted into cash at the checkstand. Sounds great?

I found out that Coinstar partners with several companies to put the total on gift cards or coded receipts, without charging the 9.8 cents per dollar fee. Companies like Amazon, Albertson’s, and Borders Books. Cool!

0621 can't find a tree when you need one?

There was a live telecast of the parade in downtown Los Angeles for the Lakers. There were a lot of people there. Perhaps thousands lined the parade route. Then the news station that I was watching ran an interesting story. The parade planners planned for every contingency: food, beverages, souvenirs, security, publicity, etc. But someone forgot to order porta-potties.

0524 a pound is a pound, isn't it?

I’ve been reading articles about keeping the mind sharp as one ages and quite often I see a tip about learning something new keeps the mind active. So this past weekend, I found out that a pound of feathers weighs more than a pound of gold.

How? Glad you asked.

Feathers are weighed in Avoirdupois weight (AV) and gold is weighed in Troy weight (T). A grain of feathers weighs the same as a grain of gold. An AV pound is 16 ounces and is 7000 grains. A T pound is 12 ounces and is 5760 grains. So a pound of feathers weighs more than a pound of gold.

I can’t wait to use that in a bar bet.

0519 asian chicken

Mike and I met for our weekly bible study (every Wednesday at 10:30am) and went to lunch at Coco’s in Lakewood.

I had the Asian Chicken Salad, which left me wondering: How difficult is it to find Asian chickens?

0508 bill

An old friend contacted me and we went out for dinner to talk and catch-up. Bill and I attended high school together. Most recently, he was an editor for "Institutional Investor" magazine in New York. He was a writer for "Wine Spectator" before that.

Yes, he resides in New York now. He was spending a few weeks with family. He has a sister who still lives in the area.

0503 farmville

Zynga, the company that produces several online games that can be played through Facebook, has come up with a way to make the game-playing experience smoother and easier for someone like me.

One of the games is FarmVille. It’s designed in such a way to get you to come back often. There are two forms of currency: FarmVille Coins and FarmVille Bucks.

Farmville Coins are easy to get and accumulate. Plant crops by paying to plow and seed, then harvest (after waiting the appropriate amount of time). The revenue from harvesting is more than the cost of plowing and seeding, so it’s a way to make FV Coins, which can then be used to “buy” some items for your farm.

Unfortunately, some items can only be obtained using FV Bucks. FV Bucks can be “made” only two ways. You can get one FV Buck fr every 1-2 days that you log in to the game, or you can buy some with REAL currency, using a credit card. I avoid sending credit information over the Internet, for obvious reasons. So I’ve made myself content with generating the FV Bucks slowly.

Zynga came up with a third option that subdues my paranoia. Cards with FV graphics are now available at Target, 7-Eleven, Best Buy, and GameStop. This allows someone to purchase a card at a retailer using cash, thus avoiding any exposure of credit information. A $10 FV card has a code (exposed after scratching off a cover) that will credit your account with 55 FV Bucks. Sweet.

I was talking to a friend (also on FarmVille) about stuff and the conversation changed to the cards. I asked her if she saw them. She replied that she did and, “What kind of loser would get one of those?”

I replied, “So this wouldn’t be a good time to ask you to pick one up for me?” Lol.

I got a card on my own a few days later. :D

0501 assyrians

After service at SBCC was my bible study group. We’re going through the Book of Isaiah right now. The section we’re in is “God’s Judgment of Assyria”. One of the women had difficulty pronouncing “Assyrians”, so she substituted another word every time she had to read a verse with the word in it.

What was the other word? “Australians”. It was difficult keeping a straight face when she was reading.

0417 warszawa

A group of friends got together to try a Polish restaurant in Santa Monica. It’s a small place called Warszawa, and the food is very tasty. There were eight of us altogether. Neil had come in from Ventura, while Cheryl made the trip from Redlands. The rest of us are spread across the L.A. basin.

The restaurant has about ten tables, so reservations are strongly suggested. There’s a covered patio in the back for private parties, although it was unused the night that we were there. The parking lot is small. There are a lot of signs, but the restaurant isn’t mentioned on any of them. But if you ask the staff, the parking lot is available to restaurant patrons.

The wine list isn’t long, but there are some good selections. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into it, like the menu.

The menu isn’t long, but there are a lot to choose from. There are nine salads, plus a combination of up to six of them. There are five different types of hand-made Pierogis (Polish ravioli) but you can order a combo plate with one of each. Mmmm. They are served dry, like empanadas.

I ordered the salmon-filled dumplings, and they were very delicious. One of the guys ordered the “Bigos”, which is a Polish hunter’s stew. The way he ordered it, though, sounded like he said “beagles”. My bad.

We all left room for dessert. Neil decided to try the “schlicki”, which is a vanilla crepe filled with lemon cheese, served hot with raspberries. One of the women said to Neil, “If you let me have a taste of your schlicki, I’ll order something else.” We told her that even in a Polish restaurant, her comment sounded suggestive.

Several of the desserts were ordered and then passed around. One item was a dark mocha chocolate cream layer torte with light vanilla sauce. The waiter added a word of warning: the menu doesn’t indicate it, but there’s espresso in the torte. Caution was tossed aside and the torte was ordered. Everyone took a bite and commented that the espresso was very light. I had a piece from the bottom. I found out then why everyone said that the espresso was light. It had settled in the bottom. My piece had a strong espresso taste.

0410 mo pho

Jim Y and I did our walking exercise at Liberty Park in Cerritos. Afterwards, we had lunch at “Pho 4 U”, to try some of the other things on the menu.

The menus are easy-to-read and there are plenty of pictures. Too many choices, but I’m sure that I’ll be back. At the time of our visit, the restaurant was having a promotion of a FREE Thai Iced Tea with Boba with every entree. The server mentioned that we missed out on the previous promo. That’s when they had a FREE dessert with every entree. Apparently, timing is everything.

The Pho Tai (#10 - Rare Steak Noodle Soup) was very good and there were plenty of noodles. I would have ordered the Pho Dac Biet (#9 – Special Beef Noodle Soup), but I’m not a fan of tripe. The soups come in two sizes (medium and large), and the large is a meal in itself. The soups also come with a plate of extras, such as bean sprouts, sliced chile peppers, and a sprig of mint. There’s also a small plate for dipping the meat into sauces of your choice. I had just the Hoisin sauce.

The Com Suon Bo Nuong (#32 – BBQ Beef Ribs Rice) is the Vietnamese version of Korean kalbi beef. It’s served with each rib separate, instead of as a strip of three ribs. The meat is tender and full of flavor, and the presentation is very appetizing. Rice is served in a separate bowl, and a plate of kimchi accompanies it for seasoning.

The Bun Tom Thit Nuong Cha Gio (#39 – Charbroiled Shrimp with Egg Roll and choice of Beef, Pork, or Chicken) is served in a bowl on top of noodles and mixed vegetables, and served with fish sauce. Yum!

I was going to get a smoothie to go, but because of the FREE Thai Iced Tea promo, they weren’t making smoothies. Oh well, something to look forward to on a future visit.

I’m glad the door was offset from the ramp. I had to push to get through the door jamb on the way out, and used my foot to stop from going into a planter. If the ramp was in a straight line, I might have rolled into traffic if my foot wasn’t enough.

I’m wondering why the doormat has a Mercedes Benz logo. Something to ask about in the future, if I remember.

0405 HB2U Caroline!

Today is Caroline’s birthday. She’s a good friend, attractive, and isn’t married. She works in Financial Services.

If you’re interested AND you’re not a jerk (which eliminates half of you), I might give her your e-mail address. Of course, you need to be single (there goes the other half).

Wherever you are, Happy Birthday, Caroline!

0404 easter morning

Steve T picked me up early as he was working the soundboard for all three services at SBCC. There was an early morning continental breakfast to get the day started right. Regulars were “encouraged” to attend the first service, in order to make room for new faces in the two other services.

The service began with a “video” featuring two of the emcees, Dave and Roxy. I’d describe it, but I can’t think of the proper words to use. So click below and watch/listen for yourself.





Pastor Gary started his “Inspirare” series and focused on an interview of someone facing a crisis and relying on God to get through it. “Inspirare” is a root word for “inspire”. Each person relying on God to get through the crisis is a source of “inspiration” for all of us.

Today’s message featured an interview with Barbara Romero, who has been with the church for many years. The video is broken up into three parts. Here are all three parts for you to watch/listen.
















The video took up most of the service. Pastor Gary titled this week’s installment as “Inspirare Invictus” and used verses from seven chapters of the Bible to illustrate his message.

0403 Easter weekend begins!

Easter Weekend at SBCC was a lot of fun! I volunteered to assist on both days, so what I don’t cover here will be in tomorrow’s post.

Steve T picked me up on his way to SBCC. His daughter, Tiana, was in the car and volunteered to help at the carnival. Steve was working the soundboard for the two Saturday services and Tiana was helping kids decorate cookies. I was assigned to help in the bean-bag toss booth.

There were a lot of kids there.

0403 pho 4 u

Jim Y and I did our walking exercise at Liberty Park in Cerritos. Afterwards, we decided to try “Pho 4 U” for lunch, which is next door to the Subway that we frequent.

The food was good and I know that we’ll be back. We were not disappointed.

0403 HB2U Jerome!

Today is Jerome’s birthday! Rome is a good friend and is definitely someone that you do not want to be on the bad side of. Trouble is, though, he’s usually smiling. I’ve known Rome for several years. Liz is his girlfriend.

Wherever you are, Happy Birthday, Jerome!

0331 omega-3

Last week, I went to Target in search of chewable Vitamin C tablets. What I found were “Gummy Vitamins for Adults”. There were several types, so I bought a bottle of each of the Vitamin C and the Omega-3.

The label on the Omega-3 reads “This product contains natural colors and flavors. Contains no wheat (gluten), milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts or shellfish. Does contain fish (anchovy, sardine, mackerel, tuna) and soy.” The label also indicates that the flavors are “lemon, berry & cherry”.

I tried one. It didn’t taste like lemon, berry or cherry. Now I wonder about the “natural flavors” and “contains fish”.

I found the chewable vitamins at Walmart.

0330 bap

A few days ago, a friend and I were “conversing” in an instant message. The conversation wandered, but at one time my friend typed about a “bap of sunflower seeds”. I knew the reference was a “bag” and a correction came through a moment later. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about it. You see, a “bap” is a Scottish term for “bread roll”.

The last time I heard it was about six years ago, but the first time was several decades ago (okay, three decades). It was in college, and it was accidental. In fact, if I didn’t ask, I never would have thought about it.

I was in a cafeteria with a group of friends, when another group approached and asked if they could join us. We were seated at a large round table and there were enough chairs, so we said it was okay.

A few minutes later, one of the girls in the other group (I didn’t know her; she was a friend of a friend) asked me, “Are you going to eat that bap?” Bewildered, I asked for clarification. She pointed at an untouched dinner roll on my tray. I shrugged and told her to help herself. As she was eating it, I asked her why she called it a “bap”.

She said, “Sorry about that. My grandmother used to call it that and I guess I picked it up. She was Scottish.” And that’s how I came to know the word. Otherwise, I’d be totally oblivious.

Yeah, I know. Hard to believe that a dinner roll would be untouched on my tray.

0328 avatar

About six weeks ago, Brian asked me if I saw “Avatar”. I told him that I hadn’t, but would catch it on DVD. He indicated that with the sound and special effects, it would be best to see it in a theater while it was still out. A scan of movie listings showed that it was still out in several theaters.

A couple of weeks later, the studio announced that the movie would be released on DVD in mid-April, but it would not contain the 3-D version. So we added that criteria to our search.

Conflicting schedules prevented us from meeting, but we finally saw it today. Brian picked me up at SBCC and we headed over to the Bridge Cinemas at the Howard Hughes Center. After getting our tickets and 3-D glasses, and a mandatory bag of popcorn (I always have to have movie theater popcorn), we found our seats in Auditorium 8.

The movie was good and I enjoyed the 3-D effects. I’m glad that we were able to see it.

A couple of things from the movie. I saw the substance “unobtainium” in another movie. “The Core” (2003) with Aaron Eckhart. And Grace’s line “Don’t shoot. You’ll only make it angry.” I heard that line spoken in “Blazing Saddles” (1974) with Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder.

After the movie, we stopped at Quizno’s in Gardena and we each had the Raspberry Chipotle Chicken salad. Mmmm. They were good.

0327 bible study

My Bible Study group usually meets on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. But because of a membership meeting (3/20) and Easter weekend (4/3), we were going to have six weeks between studies. One of our members, Gary H, indicated that six weeks was too long of an interval between studies and he argued for an interim study to keep current. So we scheduled an interim study for tonight. Everyone was present. Except Gary H.

0327 sun chips

Jim Y and I did our walking exercise at Liberty Park in Cerritos. For lunch, we went to Subway. I had a sandwich combo, which included a bag of chips. I settled on Sun Chips. The back of the bag had a bunch of ideas for finding “green” alternatives in everyday life. There was a quote from Stacey in Richardson, Texas, that read “I use re-useable bags when I go grocery shopping,” There was a picture to go along with the quote. In my opinion, Stacey should have shaved before the photo was taken.