Inception!

Last weekend I drove back to San Jose with my mom and sister. Nicole and I met up with Kyle, Jeremy, and Kim and watched Inception at the AMC theaters in Santa Clara. We opted for the IMAX screen, which I highly recommend. Before the movie started, Nicole and Kyle and I grabbed food at one of shopping center's restaurants. 

We did not choose sushi, or sub sandwiches, or Jamba Juice, or In N Out burgers, or pasta from some Tomato place. Instead we went with World Wrapps a fairly local chain that began back in SF circa 1996 (Yelp)...

Notice the world map? That's not the only part of this place that is "worldly" - their menu is pretty diverse too, with Thai chicken, Bombay Curry chicken, Teriyaki chicken, Argentina steak, Spicy Caribbean sole, Samurai salmon, Tequila lime shrimp, etc. Diverse flavors? Check. Vegetarian options for my sister? Check. You can even get your wrap served naked in a bowl with some rice. They have smoothies, salads, and bento boxes too.

I was really satisfied with my Thai chicken shrimp wrap that had Thai peanut sauce, jasmine rice, ginger slaw, cucumbers, green onions, and sesame seeds in a spinach tortilla.

We went to the 7:45 pm showing, and stood in line for a bit to ensure we got some decent seats. Check out this crazy line for the late showing! Inception was reeeeeallly good and I'm glad to see that there's a vampire-free movie out right now that's able to attract such a big crowd. Go Leo.

Eclipse Premiere

On Tuesday June 29th, Maren and I went to one of the coolest things ever. So you know how in the old days people would go to the movie theaters and get dinner served to them at their seat and then watch the feature film … okay, my mom just informed me that didn’t actually happen. A part of me doesn’t believe her.

My point is that going to watch a movie used to be so much more of an ordeal. Now you just flash your debit card, grab a seat, and then two hours later you leave with your pockets $10 lighter. BLAH!

I’m not the biggest fan of actually going to the movie theater. Yes, I go to watch the Harry Potter movies, anything with Miley Cyrus in it, or to see Dennis Quaid. Other than that I usually just wait until I cross paths with this or that flick. Superbad, I Love You Man, Bourne Identity VII – I’ll see them sooner or later!

When Twilight came out everyone went GaGa over it. I shrugged my shoulders and didn’t get all hyped about it. Then when I was on my graduation cruise (with the lovely Katie, Kerry, Krizia, and Franimal) they were looping it on one of the channels. I caught bits and pieces of it. A part of me wondered why the movie seemed to be only shot in green, foggy, settings. …Twilight. Oh. Gotcha.

I had about six months between graduation and my job – so I read a bit more than usual (which is barely anything, sadly). I read Twilight and then watched the movie in our family room. I liked it. And for the record, I vote Edward.

Then I read New Moon and watched that movie when it came out in theaters. I thought it was better than the first one – I liked how the love triangle was developing. I’ve always found love triangles fascinating. Super scandalous.

A week before the Eclipse premiere, I got a delightful text from Maren:

She called me and told me about an amazing event hosted by Bahama Grille.

Needless to say, I was stoked!

June 29th rolled around and I drove across town to Salinas (not far if you go the back way through CSUMB/Marina btw). Maren and I found parking on one of the side streets in downtown Salinas, close to Maya Cinemas.

The lines that wrapped around the block were intense! It was barely past 9pm and these folks still had a couple of hours of being outside in the gusty wind. Meanwhile, we walked straight into the theater and got to enjoy yummy food, desserts, and spa treatments haha….

They had an assortment of food from Bahama Grille, including delicious beef skewers, spring rolls, pork sliders, veggie sandwiches, cinnamon sugar pita chips, and shrimp skewers.

  

For dessert, one of three cupcakes were featured by local baker Fluff cupcakes.

Team Bella: Vanilla with vanilla buttercream
Team Edward: Red velvet with cream cheese frosting
Team Jacob: Chocolate with dulce de leche frosting

They also had chocolate covered strawberries. DELICIOUS.

This was such an awesome event – for only $18 you could avoid the line and cold weather, get some food before the show, and cross your fingers to win one of the 50 or so things they raffled off!

Maren and I got tinsel put into our hair. Hair Flare or Hair Bling – which do you prefer?

They were also giving out massages! I almost fell asleep during mine; it felt so nice after a long day at work!

The ladies from g’Syl Hair Salon and Aquablue Skin & Body Spa (229 Main Street, Salinas) put so much effort into organizing this event. One of their fellow salon mates, Frankie, helped emcee the event with Sybil, a radio host from 101.7 The Beach.

Makeup ladies applied sparkles and glitter to everyone who wanted to glisten like a vampire in sunlight. When they opened the doors to the theater, the emcees set up music and continued raffling off items and gave out candy.

Chick Flicks

When we returned from happy hour, candy country, and pastry paradise, we decided to pop in a movie. We decided on 10 Things I Hate About You. (This reminds me that I liked the abcfamily version, which has recently begun airing new episodes, I'll have to catch up on those sometime...) I also watched She's Out of Your League and I Love You Beth Cooper the other night. Don't judge me because I love chick flicks!

I thought She's Out of Your League was hilarious and it reminded me of something that would be a topic on this insightful blog: 20-Nothings. If you have a few minutes to spare I especially enjoyed reading this: The 5 Love Languages.

"Weekend's Top Events" - Blog Monterey

My pics from Blog Monterey's top weekend events (with my commentary):

Friday
“A Night In Italy” - Special dinner held by the Friend of the Monterey County Fair at the Monterey Fairgrounds. There is bocce tournament ($25 entry per team), two auctions, and yummy Italian dinner. $35 per person, $60 per couple and $20 for children 10 and younger. The tournament and dessert auction begin at 5:30, dinner begins at 7, and a live auction begins at 8:30pm. You can find tickets at the Monterey County Fair office at 2004 Fairground Road.
- THOUGHTS: I love Bocce Ball. There is a terrific Bocce court/restaurant in Los Gatos called Campo diBocci. Ever since my first trip to that establishment, I've always enjoyed playing a round or two while eating delicious Italian food. For that very reason, this event sounds really fun BUT I think it is probably for an older crowd? Also, I imagine most of the people who are planning on going are probably supporters of the Monterey County Fair and go to this event every year... and they'd be like: "WHO is she?"

The Pacific Repertory Theatre presents “The Jungle Book, Jr.,” live! The 50+ performers all come from PacRep’s School of Dramatic Arts. Show details: 7:30pm, Golden Bough Theatre, Monte Verde St. between 8th and 9th Avenues, Carmel. $20 for adults, $10 for students and teachers, and $7 for children. Purchase at the official Pacific Repertory Theatre website.
- THOUGHTS: This show goes on all weekend! I love theater shows! Especially ones that feature younger kids performing. It reminds me of the many PYT shows I saw in Mountain View with my mom and sister. It's just the bare necessities....

"It’s a full metal weekend at Jose’s Underground Lounge. The drumsticks fly fast and furious on Friday with death and thrash metal acts Praetorian, Remains of the Tyrant, Chasm of Illmen and Gorphyriac. 21+ (youngsters, check out tomorrow’s show). 8pm, 638 Wave Street, Monterey, $5."
- THOUGHTS: The Flight of the Concords song jumps to mind: "If that's what you're into..."

Saturday
More shark related Monterey Bay Aquarium stuff! Remember that post on Shark Days? Okay, this has nothing to do with that. BUT, wildlife photographer and naturalist Chris Fallows is giving a talk about photographing sharks in the wild. Listen at 11:30am, 1pm and 3pm (or all three?) in the auditorium. Price is included in aquarium admission.
- THOUGHTS: If you are going to the aquarium anyways, definitely take advantage of this opportunity. I retired from dangerous oceanic photography in '97, crazy stuff! Okay, not true. But imagine being the guy (speaker Chris Fallows) who took the photo below. WOWZA, yeah?

Photo Copyright Chris Fallows. Source: http://www.apexpredators.com/

More hike-ortunities! Take a docent-led hike at Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley. The Maple Canyon to Mesa Hike is 3.5 miles with a moderate elevation gain of 800 feet and will take about 2.5 hours. Meet at the Garland Visitors Center. 12:30pm-3pm. It’s free but space is limited; register on the official MPRPD website.
- THOUGHTS: NicoleG, a contributor over at BlogMonterey said that the reason they limit the size of the group is because each leader has a group of about 15 or so hikers. That's pretty neat! Next time I'm in town on Saturday I definitely want to sign up for one of these guided tours.

Documentary showing at the Steinbeck Forum at the Monterey Conference Center (One Portola Plaza) @ 4pm. “Shades and Stories of Monterey” shows what life was like in Monterey during the mid-20th century through the eyes of longtime residents. Also includes backstory on the canning & fishing industries from the people who lived it. FREE! ...BUT, seats are first-come first-served, so show up early!
- THOUGHTS: Has anyone else had to do a school project on John Steinbeck? I was part of a group project that did a video about the famous author. We went all over - to his Salinas house, school, grave. We also drove down to Monterey to add clips of Cannery Row. Our community is rich in history, so why not spend an afternoon walking around Alvardo Street (try a crepe from Monterey Crepe Co!) and then walk over to the Monterey Conference Center for a cool movie? Especially if it's kind of foggy out, those are documentary-watching-days.

“Hearts for Haiti” benefit concert. Acts include Carla Blackwell, SpectorDance, Red Beans & Rice and Jonah and the Whalewatchers; see the official website for a full list. 6:30pm-10pm, Embassy Suites, 1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under, military and senior citizens; you can save $5 each by buying your ticket online.
- THOUGHTS: No thoughts, really. This sounds like a great cause. If you do not have the time but still want to contribute to Haiti relief funds or the Chilean relief funds, or any of the other charitable organizations really - just google where to send your contributions to. But if you go to Hearts for Haiti, you can help out while seeing awesome local acts perform.

Afrobeat funksters Danjuma & Onola create a great party atmosphere with their bright, danceable music. They play Fernwood Resort tonight. 9pm, Highway One Big Sur, no cover.
- THOUGHTS: I want to go! Dang trip to Tahoe (not really, I'm very excited about that as well!)

Sunday
If you missed it last weekend, catch “Very Barrie” at the Monterey Museum of Art La Mirada today. Listening Place reads two one-act plays by J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan. 1:30pm, 720 Via Mirada St., Monterey, included in museum admission fee.
- THOUGHTS: Crossing my fingers they also have this next weekend... couldn't make it last time due to Vegas, and this weekend we'll be driving back from Tahoe.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend in Monterey, Carmel, Seaside, Big Sur... anywhere in our lovely county. If you discover something fun please leave a comment below with the WhoWhatWhereWhenWhys. If you are taking a vacation, drive safe! Call me if you are heading to Tahoe :)

Weekend of 13 - 15 February

Right now I'm watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! and Kim is celebrating her birthday in Vegas. I'll be there in three weekends! Yay! In fact, all of my upcoming weekends seem to be action packed. This weekend I went home to San Jose and spent time with my family and my fella.

After work on Friday I went to the mall with Nicole. I was looking for a cheap Vegas-appropriate dress from Forever 21 and had no luck. I did, however find a cute work-appropriate sweater thingy. Nicole bought a shirt to wear with her spankies for her solo. For dinner we went to California Pizza Kitchen and ordered the Asparagus & Arugula salad ($5) from their Small Cravings menu and the Kid's Original BBQ Chicken Pizza ($5.50). The A&A salad had arugula, asparagus chunks, and sun-dried tomatoes tossed in their homemade lemon-herb vinaigrette, topped with almonds and Parmesan shavings.

We drove home and then I made a quick trip to my dad & Lauretta's to drop off some of those strawberry cupcakes. After that Kyle met up with me and we pretty much just looked at People magazine and went to sleep (EXCITEMENT!)

Saturday I woke up and went with my mom and David to Nicole's Dance Competition at Monte Vista High School. She did great in her solo and her team dominated! I never realized how long sitting through an entire competition is! Good thing my aunt Cori and cousin Morgan were there! I had fun tossing around LOST theories with Morgan. She suggested Doc Jensen's blog on EW... I will check that out later.

After the competition I went back to my mom's and I made some more cupcakes with Nicole's help. This time I baked German Chocolate cupcakes (pictures to come). They were a Valentine's Day treat for Kyle. For dinner I went to my dad's for taco night! Yum! (extra yum points for the Cookies & Cream ice cream). When I got back to my mom's, Nicole and I watched three episodes of Make It or Break It. Great show! Guilty pleasure :)

Sunday I woke up and made breakfast with Nicole. We used the leftover pancake batter my mom had left. Banana walnut pancakes? I think? I don't know, they were yummy! Why do I use that word so much? Ick. Must use a synonym next time. Okay so.... I went to the gym and then came home and showered blah blah blah. Stressed out that it was already the afternoon, and I really needed/wanted to get up to Mountain View.

My Valentine's Day was wonderful. I won't get into the details, but we went to see Crazy Heart and made a delicious dinner afterwards. Sole, stuffed mushrooms, and baked sweet potato chips (with a bottle of wine). I was sad to leave this morning, but had to get into work. I'm saving up holiday time for another Vegas weekend! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Strangest 80's Movie Award...

If you want to waste 111 minutes of your life and get a few good laughs, watch The Secret of My Success (1987) starring Michael J. Fox. It is so ridiculous I can't even describe it.

According to Wikipedia there is going to be a sequel in 2010?? OH MY. WHY??