ABQ Trip

Went this past Monday to ABQ, NM to find me a home! Mom and dad wanted to come along as a pseudo-anniversary trip from themselves since their car broke down the week before when they were supposed to go to San Antonio but I didn't mind, especially since I knew they'd pay for all the meals along the way hehe. Took almost eight hours but we got there around 4-5pm and checked into our motel on the north side of town. My parents had their sights set on trying this chinese food place that they had heard great things about but was closed down for good when we got there unfortunately so we settled for some average chinese buffet place off Zuni St. instead, ehh oh well. It was really close to the Ta-Lin Market though which was pretty cool looking, it had almost everything asian you could think of and completely separated into shopping isles by country. (http://www.talinmarket.com) The prices were a bit higher than the ones I've been to in Austin and elsewhere here in TX but for ABQ that seems to be THE place to go for authentic asian stuff.






The next day, on Tuesday, we went apartment hunting and we looked at several properties that all looked okay but I wanted something close to downtown so I narrowed things down to two different places and I was pretty torn about which to pick but by Wednesday I knew which one I'd settle for, but not to jump too far ahead I have to also mention that after the hunt my mom suggested checking out the Sandia Casino on the north side of town which I hadn't really planned on seeing but I wasn't going to go against the idea! The casino was surprisingly close to our motel, maybe 10-15 minutes away and the place was gorgeous for an indian casino. I followed my parents around watching them play the slots and such until I decided to take a small shot in the largest poker room in the state there with my measly $50 at the nearest 1/2 table...an hour and a half later it was gone lol. Was up and down until I had just $20 and shipped it with top pair but lost to someone's straight draw by the river and that is why you don't buy in for the minimum folks! The buffet there was decent for the price. I was surprised at how small the check-in area of the hotel part was though, a place like Sandia really should have much more going on in the hospitality department than what I saw, especially compared to the Isleta Casino that we were able to check out the next night on Wednesday.







Wednesday we went to Old Town which is sort of like a tourist area west of downtown full of cute little shops that look like something straight out of 1800s. It's an artists dream district for sure as there are art galleries everywhere and tons of things to see and do like the museums in the area. We went into the Museum of Natural History and I felt like I was 12 all over again lol. So many dinosaur bones everywhere but there was a cool little area that showcased the rise of the computer age and there I learned that Microsoft's HQ was once in ABQ! They just moved the whole company to Seattle because Gates and his partner had family up there and that was interesting I guess. That night as I mentioned earlier, we checked out the southern casino, Isleta which was waaay nicer than I thought it'd be. I didn't like the layout of the gaming floor and their cardroom was tiny and outdated but the hotel and steak restaurants...they were gorgeous! Very stylish lobby area and their non-buffet eateries were very cool looking. Oh, the buffet was cheaper than Sandia's but it really had some great items on the menu like their green chile chicken casserole was just AMAZING as was their desserts.

We all came back on Thursday about 5 pounds fatter. Thanks mom/dad! lol

A-kon 20 Finished!

I'm so lazy about updating this but my Facebook/Twitter has officially taken over my life for all things personal in my life but there are some things I just can't keep short and simple for those apps and that's why I'm going to keep on updating this for as long as I can still remember having this blog :)

I can't believe A-kon 20 came and went already but I had a great time with friends old and new and I really hope I can make it to next year's again because this one was such a blast! I decided to cosplay afterall and went as Tatsumi Saiga from Speed Grapher and TWO people recognized me there, I was so happy for that because it was a pretty obscure show from a few years back. I felt like this year's convention lacked some of the wow-factor that last year held for us but it could just be that it was because last year was our first but we really did have a great time and it'll be the only time that I will ever ENJOY having 9 people sleeping in one hotel room...

Twitter and Flickr

I use both of 'em now! Sorta makes the need to write and post pics in here kinda worthless now unless I have a LOT to say, which I do right now!

Plans for the death star A-kon 20 trip are finally complete and I know who all is going and not going and such but I'm a little sad about not cosplaying like I thought I would be this time and that's mainly due to money and lackthereof because I am still saving everything I can for the big move this summer and I know there's no way I'm spending less than $200 on this Dallas trip so I don't need to be spending another $100 or more on a costume right now! :(

Thinh says he's going as Ishida from Bleach and I can't wait to see it done because he's one of the cooler characters and I WAS going to go as Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father but thought better of it after awhile.

We're staying in the Indigo again since it'll save all of us more money that way and James is going YAY!

Until next time...

The Austin Adventures (a.k.a. i need a flickr)

I was pretty lucky to have been able to see Austin twice last month, first with my mom and then again a couple weeks later with my good friend Thinh and below are just some of the pictures taken from both adventures, enjoy!

Rodeo White Tigers

February is Black Austin Month

Or just Austin month because I go there every year around this time and even though I was just there two weeks ago, I CAN'T GET ENOUGH AUSTIN! This time I'm going with Thinh and we're going to visit a friend who's getting married soon but I'm really going because I get to 1) leave San Angelo and 2) EAT. We haven't decided where yet but I've suggested T&S Seafood off N. Lamar(where I went a couple weeks ago) and he suggested a pho place so I'm sure we'll fit both in but I know we're going to be hungry for something else while we're there too, we'll end up driving all over to find it probably but that's whats great about Austin, there's really no shortage of good food in that town. Sushi sounds great but our wallets might be a little too tight for Uchi this time around...unless anyone would like to donate? No? Darn.

77th Annual Stockshow and Rodeo

It's that time of year again, the time when we small town folk head out to the local carnival to experience the fine culinary wares of the traveling fair! I really could care less for the crappy rides because the heart-attack food is where it's all at honestly. I went with a couple friends and we ate so well that of course I forgot to take any pictures. I did get pics and video of the white tigers that were there though so I guess I'll post that below but I really wish I could have shown you what a Cheesecake on a Stick looked like, or a greasy foot-long corndog, or a powdery cinnamon funnel-cake, or even a beef and lamb gyro all tasted like because it was all a stomach exploding blur right now. All of that set me back about $20 and it was money well spent I say! The only thing missing was maybe a little cotton candy or candy apple but hey there's always next year...

Superbowl Sunday

Went to Justin's this past Sunday to watch the big game with his family and Michelle. Justin made a ton of food...


Stuffed and ready for the oven...

Crispy and ready to eat!

Bacon, burgers, cheese fries, oh my...

Beans, beans, the more you eat...

They were acting REALLY nice for some reason...

Then that night...




If you guessed Applebee's you just won yourself a hungry stomach! ^_^

Finally...

Out of the Apartment! YAY.

It only took a few days of moving and we ended up not really cleaning anything because I figure we're not getting our deposit back anyway. I'm more worried about Ruth charging us even more for things than our deposit being taken because the dishwasher doesn't work, they also have to replace the carpet because of Hannah. So getting any money back will be slim to none so there wasn't any reason for me to clean the tub really good or toilet, etc.

Last night my mom came and helped me move the last of it out--mostly kitchen stuff and I turned in the keys afterward so we're officially DONE with that place. Now I'm actually looking forward to life at home again because I REALLY need to save money and refocus on what I want to do with my life. I'm going to start working out next week, probably on Monday if end up not going to Austin this weekend with my mom. Originally, I was going to go with Thinh for Ikkicon but that fell through and I still have the weekend off Fri-Mon so my mom is considering a trip there just for getting groceries from the chinatown there, lol. That and a chance for dim sum! I think we'll go Sunday if we go at all and come back Monday but it still depends on what the doc tells my mom tomorrow when she goes for a visit...

Change...

is an extremely gross understatement to say the least in my life as of late.

I'm not going to get too into it since it's very personal but the short version goes like this--Billy and I aren't together anymore. Our 4.5 years are up. I have no angry or hard feelings about the matter, in fact I currently have NO feelings about it at this time which worries me but no there wasn't any cheating involved or anything like that. It's something I may talk about later but for now all I can say is that we broke it off a few days ago and we're still trying to move out of the apartment and it's just kinda strange now when we're together talking or doing anything together, akward is a better word. Hopefully things'll get better and we can just be friends because I don't want him totally out of my life since we shared so much for so many years its hard to let some things go but that's where we're at and I just thought I'd share that here since no one reads this anyway. I'm sure Billy is taking this harder and he's already going through some other things that I know he needs sorting out but I really do wish him the best and hope that we can one day be friends because the time we shared was an experience that I know I'll never forget and I'll always cherish the good memories that made us happy forever. Okay, now I'm sounding almost cheesy so I'll spare the rest because this really isn't the best forum to be using about this topic but I just wanted to write something about it and its pretty late at night so rambling is about normal for me right now. I'll prob just delete this entry tomorrow but we'll see.

This Week in Food...

January 29th: 4:30am @ Denny's with my friend Justin



Top is the new "Slamwich", at least that's what I think it was called and underneath are some hush--I mean "Pancake Puppies" they were fun to eat but I don't recommend eating too many of 'em...or your stomach will make you pay for it later!

Denny's is giving away free Grand Slams tomorrow between 6am and 2pm, I'd like to go since I get off work at 7am but I don't know anyone that'd go with me that early :(


January 30th: Road Runner's Burger Deli (yes again lol)



Forgot what the top one was, but it had bbq sauce and onion rings inside--something Daniel would enjoy :) and a Jalepeno Burger (bottom)


January 31st: Armentas Cafe w/ Justin and Michelle




Kinda dark, need a better cam...