Busy Social Calendar

            For once it’s a sunny and beautiful day here in Seattle.  It almost sums up my past week perfectly.  If you recall from my Mondays post last week that I was at my parent’s house.  Not a whole lot happened just did some yard work and went out to an awesome restaurant called Four Swallows in Bainbridge Island.  You can read more about it on my Friday’s blog. 

            I returned in time for film happy hour where I meet the wonderful producer of Imagos films again.  We talk almost the entire evening about games, film, and general geeky thing.  We made a date to have lunch this Wednesday.  I also meet another producer and director who are in the midst of finding another sound designer.  I am going to be courting them at the SIFF gala in the coming weeks.

            Friday rolled around and with it another party.  This time it was for my 3 friend’s birthdays, all of them have a birthday in the same week.  It was great to let lose, drink like a fish, and chat with some old friends.  I am so glad I did not get drunk nor had a hangover the next day.

            Then came Sunday.  I made plans to have lunch with this girl (who is a musician/song writer) I meet last time at Happy Hour.  She invited me to her house for some home made pha thai since she is strapped for money.  Getting to her house was a pain, for whatever reason the bus services suck and if you missed your bus it is an hour wait.  I did manage to arrive around 12:15 and she was still in her pajamas.  She thought we were having dinner but I corrected her and we still had lunch. 

            The food was good and the tea was strong, we had a light conversation about working and that was about it.  Not to say it was dull but I doubt we have very much in common other than music and work related questions.  I think next time it will be coffee at a coffee shop in the Udistrict.

            This coming week is full of social engagements.  As a result I am going to postpone party Wednesday for a couple of weeks due to scheduling and SIFF events. I will be updating on Mondays and Fridays as usual. 

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: Restaurant Review: 4 Swallows

             

            Shaking things up this week, it has been ever so nice outside that it put me in a good mood.  As a result, I am going to write a quick review instead of my usual gloomy disposition on life.  Let’s dive in, shall we.

             This past week I visited my parents and went out to dinner at a restaurant that we have never been before on Bainbridge Island.  Four swallows is an Italian/northwest inspired Cuisine, more on the emphasis on Italian.  You have two choices on where to sit.  You can sit in the dinning room that looks and feels like an old French country home, perfect for a date.  Or sit with the locals in the bar area, it looks more like a comfy English pub.  Which ever you chose you will get the same menu.

            The cocktail that I had was spring thyme.  It was light and very refreshing, and not to herby with the fresh sprig of thyme that is placed in the drink.  For the appetizer I had the cheese plate that featured cheese from Vashon Island with apricot jam and house made crackers.  The cheese its self was not over powering and had a lovely velvety texture much like brie. 

            My entrée was beef tenderloin in a red win reduction with butter potatoes and sautéed asparagus.  The beef was the size of a fist and so tender that it fell apart in your mouth.  The sauce accompanied the dish well and the potatoes tasted like they have been injected with butter.  I would gladly come back to have this dish again.

            Finally I went against my better judgment (and full stomach) and had desert.  I had Affogato, which is espresso with vanilla ice cream and chocolate covered beans.  It came in a tall glass filed with ice cream and shoots of espresso, resembling a milkshake.  It was light and I ended up ditching the spoon and drank the remainder of the dish.

            Four Swallows is an excellent date night destination, just hope on the ferry at sunset and come back on for that beautiful Seattle skyline at night.  The down side to this place is that it is off the beaten path and you will be walking for a distance away from the main drag.  Also the wine here is expensive; you are better off taking your own and paying for the corkage fee. 

            I encourage everyone to go off the beaten path every once in a while to discover a new gem.  Four Swallows web site for your enjoyment: Four Swallows.  Thanks you all for reading, please leave a message and what you thought down below.  If you have suggestions on what I should review or rant about next please shoot me an email or comment.

See you on the other side.

A variety pack week

This past week has been full of ups and downs in regards with my social life. My week started off great, I bought gifts for my friends birthday party, tried dahlia lounge, and I even found the perfect dress for SIFF's opening Galla. Now all I need to do it find the right shoes, make hair and makeup appointment, and buy proper undergarments.

So all was right with the world up until PAX Prime tickets were announced. I logged on two minutes after the announcement and waited for over 20 minutes to only find out over twitter that all their 4 days passes were sold out with in the first five minutes. Needless to say I was pissed, I felt like I got screwed over by this Que line, later I found out from some of my friends they were to screwed over as well, and it feels like every year their ticketing system keeps getting worse and worse. I could have bought individual day pass but that would have been a lot more money that I felt would have been a waste. It is pathetic but I went threw the stages of grief over PAX. Now I realized with all the money I am saving by not buy or attending PAX (about $450) that I can use that money for my trip to Hawaii later this year. Can you say up grade?

The rest of my week had its up and downs. I had lunch with my father at Purple cafe and wine bar, good food, good wine, and for lunch prices were reasonable. The icing on the cake or I should say should have been the icing was the fashion show event on Saturday presented by RAW.

I was going in support of one of my good friend who was walking in the show. In hindsight my man and I should have listen to our gut and stayed home. For starters there was a change in venue after we bought our tickets; originally it was going to be at Trinity club but moved to a new club out in the middle of SoDo. A week before the event it changed from 21+ to 18+, and finally two days before they decided to make it a dry event.

Already these RAW people pissed me off. I wouldn't have bought tickets in advanced if I knew about these changes up front. But we still bought the damn things and I promised my friend that I would go, so we went. According to the event page there was plentiful parking around the event. I'm sure there was if you arrived at five but when we got there we had to park 1/4 a mile away. Side note there wasn't any signs for the event so we kept driving by it two times. Once we arrived we had to wait outside 15 minutes after the event was suppose to start. Eventually someone came out and said we had to use the side entrance, this would have been nice if there were signs. Mind you there were over 30 people waiting to get in before they came out.

We looked around the "art gallery" area, no one was by there art to engage you or try to get you interested in there craft. For food they had a taco truck in the back, which you had to pay for, and the drinks were free jones soda out of a can. 45 minutes into the event they had some singer from Idaho on stage singing for 30 minutes. This would have been great if she did a sound check first. All you could hear was her guitar blasting out the speakers and some mumbled words, this is why you do a sound check or unplug you acoustic guitar. The worst part was when she played the ukulele plugged in, I thought my ears were going to start bleeding it was so loud.

After her was the fashion show, which is why 80% of the people were there for, but they had to change the seat so it was going to be another 45 minutes before it started. According to our watches it wasn't going to start until 9:15 or the most likely case 9:30. We didn't want to stand around ant wait for them to set up so we left around 8:30. I can honestly say that I will never attend another RAW event, I have never been to a more disorganized and boring event.

The moral of the story is to go with your gut. This coming week should be better with my film happy hour and my retreat to my parents house which I am currently at. Have a wonderful week everyone and don't for get to come back for party Wednesday for some cards against humanity.

See you on the other side.

Party Wednesday: Cards Against Humanity

            This game is so great to play with friends with a good sense of humor.  This week there isn’t any big production with the theme.  It is just the down and dirty basics of having a good time with your friends with good food and drink.  Let us relax and see the oh so dirty minds of your friends.

Décor

             What you didn’t think I was going to let you off the hook this week?  Ha!  I did keep it supper simple and intimate.  For this party you will want a large table to fit all you food, drinks, and people around.  Next is to cover your table with a table cloth, I choose a black and white strips to go with the card game.

http://www.lineneffects.com/productPrint.cfm?oID=603

Finish things off with the right mood lighting.  For this go with an over head lamp hovering over your table.  Have it bright enough to illuminate the entire table and nothing else; much like an interrogation room.

Food

         

Scotch Egg

http://scentofgreenbananas.blogspot.com/2006/10/scotch-eggs.html

Pigs in a Blanket

http://daily-pins.com/mini-pigs-in-a-blanket/

Conch Fritters

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/03/30/conch-fritters-recipe/

Spotted Dick

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9300/spotted+dick

Drink

Slow Comfortable Screw

http://www.drinkswap.com/slow-comfortable-screw.htm#.UXLxob3h7M0

Buttery Nipple

http://intoxicologist.net/2009/09/top-10-popular-shot-recipes/

Burt Reynolds

http://thesipadvisor.com/super-saturday-shot-day/

Blow Job

http://cocktail365.blogspot.com/2013/01/blow-job.html

            I kept it simple this week do to many engagements that I am tied up in.  Here is a link to Card Against Humanity web site to buy a deck or learn some new rules to play by.  If you have suggestions or pictures of your own themed party, please share and send them to me.  See you on Friday for another rant or next week.

See you on the other side

Boston Marathon and Texas Explosion

            With all the tragic events that has happened this past week; I will not do my usual Friday rant.  Instead I would like to take my time and say my heart goes out to the victims and families who are affected by the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Texas fertilizer plant explosion.  I can only hope for the victims in both tragedies will recover and for those who have died to find peace where ever they may be.

            I have found some charities that you can donate to give aid to the victims and their families for both tragedies:

Boston Marathon

The One Fund Boston:  http://onefundboston.org/

American Red Cross:   http://www.redcross.org/

Boston First Responder’s Fund: https://www.bosfirecu.com/

Technology Underwriting Greater Good: http://tugg.org/

Texas Explosion

Mercury One Disaster Relief Fund:  http://fundly.com/mercury-one-disaster-relief-fund

American Red Cross:   http://www.redcross.org/

Salvation Army:  http://www.salvationarmyhouston.org/

Party Wednesday: Injustice Gods Among Us

            I am more partial towards Marvel than DC, but I still find it cool that they turned the DC universe into a fighting arena.  While still giving a nod to Mortal Kombat fighting genre Injustice pushes the boundaries of the traditional fighting games.  This week we will gather our friends and challenge each other to a battle to the death with our favorite DC heroes.

Décor

             There are many arenas in Injustice and in each are different sectors of that arena. I’m going to focus on the Watchtower since that is were a majority of the characters gather (you know the Justice League). 

This is going to be a tough one, I’m not going to lie, unless you or a friend owns a large warehouse or space station having a great imagination is a plus.  So as you can see in the picture above they are on a space station over looking Earth.  Ideally you will want to dedicate on side of the room to be “window” to over look earth and the stars.  You can do this one of two ways; the first is to have a projector and play a DVD of space.  Second method is to buy a laser star projector and get a large Earth wall decal.

 

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/8ed4/?cpg=cj&ref=&CJURL=&CJID=297616

http://www.squidoo.com/our-planet-wall-decals-and-stickers

Use metal tables that don’t show the leg like these beautiful side tables from Croft House:

http://www.crofthouse.com/blogs/croft-house-blog/6559575-custom-metal-side-tables-oooh

Or you can buy metallic cloth and drape it over you table, be sure it hits the floor

http://ytwiremesh.en.alibaba.com/product/337348648-209372876/Metallic_Cloth_decorative_glob_table_cloth.html

The last item to add is the giant floating earth.  You can place is on its own table or at one of the selected food/drink tables.  I find the floating globes to be too small to get the right impact of you surveying the world.  You are more than welcome to buy one of these expensive items, or you can buy a giant inflatable globe (with base) and paint the continents a gold color.

http://www.yoyo.com/p/jet-creations-36-inflatable-globe-clear-topographic-718790

Food

         

Batarang (chicken wings)

http://www.howtocookgourmet.com/grilled-sweet-and-spicy-chicken-wingsen-wings-2.html

Aquaman’s Shark Bait (Crab Puffs)

http://www.marthastewart.com/315200/crab-puffs?czone=food/fish-and-shellfish/fish-and-shellfish-favorites&center=344318&gallery=339209&slide=281884

Luthor’s Highest Currency (Beggar’s Purse)

http://www.kosherculinaryarts.com/beggars-purse-with-spinach-and-artichokes-dairy

Harley’s Cherry Bomb (Fiery Stuffed Cherry Pepper)

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Fiery-Stuffed-Cherry-Pepper-Appetizers-My-Recipes?columns=3&position=19/36

Drink

Kryptonite

http://www.drinksecrets.com/drinks/kryptonite/d1447

Wonder Woman (Crush and Blush)

http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Live_the_Life/Island_Time_Cocktails/Crush_Blush.jsp

The Flash

http://www.party-ideas-by-a-pro.com/superhero-party-food.html#flash

Joker

http://cocktailsdetails.com/2011/03/signature-drinks-for-your-wedding-by-color-purple/

  

            For this party I would highly encourage you and your guests to dress up as the favorite DC hero or villain, here is a link to all the characters in the game IGN Injustice.  If you have suggestions or pictures of your own themed party, please share and send them to me.  See you on Friday for another rant or next week.

See you on the other side

Being a Social Butterfly

            For once I have not locked myself in my apartment as a hermit last week.  I started working out (again) in the hopes to finally be rid of my belly fat and thunder thighs.  I found an awesome website full of recipes and helpful how to guides to start and maintain a healthy living.  Her story is kind of amazing and so is her transformation, go check her out: Undressed Skeleton.

            Another plus for me was finishing up my taxes.  I know that may not seem exciting to you but for me this was a long and painful process.  If you have read my previous blogs on this subject you would know my grief.  I finally got the right document from my grandfather, which means I get to pay a whole lot less in taxes this year! 

However I have to keep in mind that the IRS might say I did it wrong and want more money, even though with the new document and having three people go over it says I’m right.

            I also went out with a friend of mine to a vintage inspired clothing store.  I bought a cute striped tank top and sunglasses.  It is good to go out with a friend and catch up on each others lives.  Later that day/night I went to a friend’s house for a BBQ.  It was alright but a lot of the people, including his girlfriend, are heavy drug users and I don’t use drugs.  Also I can’t stand my friends girlfriend, aside from her drug use it is mainly that she is highly immature.  I do realize that she is a couple of years younger than me but you are living on your own and a grown ass woman who needs to grow the fuck up.  I’m just saying.

            This week my dad comes home and I am going to go to a fashion show.  The hardest part is going to work out when I will be to fit my dad into my schedule.  It would help if he can communicate better.  Have a great week everyone and I will see you all on Wednesday.

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: The Mom Who Hates Her Children

            Let me tell you about Isabella Dutton who wrote an article for The Daily Mail out of the UK, where she told her tale of motherhood.  Instead of it being the joys and trails of being a mom, she reflects on how it was the biggest mistake of her life.  Granted some women never plan on having kids and poof they get knock up, but this little gem of a woman did.

           

            Now to say that she actually wanted children in the first place, far from it, she never wanted children.  The reason why she agreed to have children was for her husband, who wants kids,

 “Tony began to ask whether I was still adamant that I didn't want children. In the end I relented because I loved him and felt it would be unfair of me to deny him the chance to be a dad.”

While it is great to see a man so admit about being a father, I feel that they shouldn’t have kids together.  In the article she states that her relationship with her husband has been going strong for 37 years and that she

“Did not dread the effect of the baby on our relationship.”

It is admirable that her and her husband has maintained a healthy relationship together; however I find it selfish on his behalf to widdle her down to get what he wanted.  On the other side of the coin she knew when they got married he wanted kids.  I cannot understand why you would sacrifice your happiness and desires for that of someone else. 

            You would think that Mrs. Dutton would only have one child but no.  According to her

“It may seem perverse that I had a second child in view of my aversion to them, but I believe it is utterly selfish to have an only one.”

What?  This just blows my mind.  She never wanted to be a mother and when she did she had no love for her own child.  So why the hell would you want to be a mother of two? If some one could explain this to me I would very much appreciate it.

            While she may not have that motherly instinct, she did take cake of the children as a stay at home mom with out help.  She never starved (aside from the emotional end) or abusive towards the children, but she treated it like an unwanted job or task.  What really struck me in the article was her negativity towards working women who leave their children with nannies;

“I cannot understand mothers who insist they want children - especially those who undergo years of fertility treatment - then race back to work at the earliest opportunity after giving birth, leaving the vital job of caring for them to strangers.”

I can tell you one thing about working moms who leave their children with a “stranger”, they actually love their children and don’t think of the as “parasites.” Yes they do work because maybe, just maybe, they don’t have the luxury to stay at home.

           

            I myself do not want children ever, nor does my man.  If he decides in the future that he wants kids then I am going to have to walk away from this relationship.  Yes I would still love him but I do not want to deny him what he wants nor could I be happy in the life of motherhood.  Sometimes you just have to look out for number one (yourself) in your story of life.

            Let me know what you think of Ant-Mom in the comments below. Don’t forget to read Anti-Mom’s article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2303588/The-mother-says-having-children-biggest-regret-life.html#ixzz2PuPJefdS

 Be sure to follow me on twitter and subscribe to this blog, I put out new posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

            See you on the other side

Party Wednesday: Game of Thrones: House Lannister

            Yes the primer for Game of thrones was two weeks ago, but I love the HBO series (I still need to read the books which is on my thing to do) and I feel I should do a party theme.  Then I got to thinking with all the complexity of each house and location why not separate out the four main houses into different parties.  To start off I am doing the “favorite” house Lannister.  The Lannisters reside in Casterly Rock but for the sake of this theme we are going to hold it in Red Keep, King’s Landing.

Décor

             The Red Keep is full of luxury and grandeur, so very suitable for the Lannisters.   Wall decorations are plastered with fine tapestries and fabrics.

 Hang some Lannister crest and banners like theses:

            Also draping fine fabric along your windows and furniture will help enhance the haughtiness of the room.  When choosing fabrics, go for gold and reds colors like the one shown below:

http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Metallic-Brocade-Paisley-Fabric/dp/B005ONG1UG%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAIAA4MWUJXHBYFRNQ%26tag%3Dsquid1088577-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB005ONG1UG

For lighting It should be bright like if you were at the beach on a sunny day.

Now for your table; ideally your table should be long in a dark wood.   

            Food and Drink will be served on this table in a more formal manor.  Plate and dishware should be in gold plating with fabric running down the length of the table. Also adding candelabras is a nice touch as well.

Here are some examples of some plate and dish wears:

http://www.laurelleaffarm.com/pages/vintage-glassware/vintage-stemware.htm?page=2#.UWSuSb3h7M1

http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=OB2973&name=Medieval+Utensils+Set

 

      http://www.alpersonpartyrentals.com/gallery.html

To top off your table a beautiful centerpiece would look lovely.  You could go for flowers but why don’t do something like this instead:

Food

          Imp Skewers (Lemon Garlic Shrimp)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-garlic-shrimp-skewers-10000001076678/

Bloody Crown (Roosted Rack of Venison)

 http://www.marthastewart.com/326800/roasted-rack-of-venison-with-red-currant

Chop ‘n Bits Salad (Quinoa, Corn, and Mint Salad)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-corn-mint-salad-10000001981779/

King Slayer Pie (Winter Veggie Pie)

http://gardenofeatingblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/winter-veggie-pie-with-cabbage-roasted.html

Drink

Lion’s Mane (Blonde Ambition)

http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/drink_recipes/blonde-ambition/

House Lannister

http://westerosbartender.tumblr.com/post/24964546880/house-lannister-the-kingslosher

Paying Debts (Spiked Sparkling Cider)

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spiked-sparkling-cider-00000000047347/index.html

This is a party that the Lannisters would approve of.  The rest of the houses will follow in the coming months so have no fear.  If you have suggestions or pictures of your own themed party, please share and send them to me.  See you on Friday for another rant or next week.

See you on the other side

Being a Shut in.

This past week I really didn’t go out and do much.  I Just hung out with may man on his day off, Cleaned the apartments and practiced some sound editing and implementing sounds in games.  I have come to the realization that it would not hurt me to know how to do this since I live in a city that has quiet a few game companies. 

            In the later part of the week I had almost a sour stomach, and the results were not pretty.  Not going into details here but I was very sleep but couldn’t fall asleep and couldn’t sleep very long.  I am feeling much better now; just wish I knew for sure why I suddenly got ill. 

            Well for this coming week I have to wait and see if I get my W-1 form or if I have to get an extinction on my taxes (thanks grandfather).  Also I am going to a BBQ for a friend; a little worried because I don’t really care for his girlfriend (she is a little too loopy and white trash for me). There is going to be a Game of Thrones themed party this week, a little late I know, but I want to break it up by the main houses to go with the seasons.  Which house will it be this time?  Tune in Wednesday to find out.

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: Sour Stomach

             

            I have a horrible stomach ache and not so desirable reactions to this.  So I will not be doing a regular rant today.  Enjoy the weekend and remember to watch new episodes of Doctor who and Game of Thrones.

            See you on the other side

           

Party Wednesday: Doctor Who

            This maybe a little late since the new season premièred this past Saturday (just wait until you see next weeks theme).  I wanted to do this theme for a while and I hope you all enjoy. Note that I am focusing on the 11^th doctor but you can do any one you want just change out a few colors and food out.

Décor

            Now if you are going to have a Doctor Who party you need the Tardis.  But let us go one step further; let’s have the party in the Tardis.  To get in we will still need that beautiful blue police box.  You can achieve this one of 2 ways.  The first being you make an entire police box and place it inside your home:

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-TARDIS-Replica

Or the cheaper and much simpler way is to buy a wall decal and place it on your front door.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/103484756/tardis-blue-police-box-wall-decal-72

The interior of the latest Doctor’s Tardis is very gold and lux.

http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/peek-inside-the-tardis-3266.htm

            I am not going to ask you to build an entire set (but that would be so bad ass if you did) but pick and choose certain elements of the room.  For the walls you can buy foam boards or ply wood, cut and paint them and attach them to the wall.  Lighting you will want to play with warm tones of gold and brown, with touches of blue.  The main console will act as you food and beverage table. 

            To make the console I found a love blog that details how to make one on the cheap.

http://thethemepartygirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/doctor-who-theme-party.html 

You might want to make a hole for the center to have the tall cylinder to flow down.  To make the cylinder refer back to my Mass Effect Omega party for details. 

           

Food

            Fish Fingers (and Chips) with Custard

http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/extras/season-7-wallpapers/doctor-who-party-guide/fish-fingers-and-chips-with-custard/

Cheese and Herb Soufflé

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/cheese-and-herb-souffle.html

Bowtie Pasta With shrimp

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Shrimp-and-zucchini-with-bowties-in-light-tomato-sauce-352054

Jammie Dodger.

http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/783/Recipe.cfm

Drink

Sonic Screwdriver

http://www.thenerdista.com/2011/05/doctor-who-tribute-cocktail-sonic-screwdriver-11/

Weeping Angel (Fallen Angel)

http://cocktailsincharleston.blogspot.com/2012/06/fallen-angel-cocktail.html

Tardis Blue (Blue Angel)

http://www.drinksecrets.com/drinks/blue-angel/d1181

The Doctor

http://www.sheknows.com/recipes/doctor-cocktail

 That my dear companions is a Doctor Who style party.  If you have suggestions or pictures of your own themed party, please share and send them to me.  See you on Friday for another rant or next week.

See you on the other side