Pub Quiz, Part Duex!

Hello everybody. Sorry I’ve been absent for awhile. My only excuse it that I really haven’t done too much worth blogging about. No, that’s a lie. Since we last spoke, there was Thanksgiving, which was memorable, and the Kaiser Chiefs show, which was awesome, and yet another pub quiz. Since Thanksgiving and the Kaiser Chiefs are too far away in my memory to discuss anymore, I bring you the 2nd pub quiz.

Because I’ve already gave you the run down on the previous pub quiz, I will simply give you two things I didn’t before.

• Pictures of the actual pub quiz
  
• The questions (and answers!) of this week’s quiz, as well as the best wrong answer given by one of the teams.

I know it’s not much, but it will have to do until I get my head around blogging again.

My name on the marquee? I'm famous!

ROUND ONE QUESTIONS:

1. What does the chemical symbol ‘As’ represent?
   
2. In which year did the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor occur?
   
3. What is the name of Gandalf’s horse in the Lord of the Rings?
   
4. What US State had the most tornadoes in the last half of the 20th Century?
   
5. At the beginning of Casablanca, what beverage is Rick drowning his sorrows with?
   
6. What Middle Eastern capital forbade men from going to work in neckties in 2001?
   
7. How many teams are involved at the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?
   
8. From what country does the poinsettia plant originate?
   
9. Who is referred to as the Godfather of Grunge?
   
10. What is the traditional gift given to a couple on their 3rd wedding anniversary?

ROUND ONE ANSWERS:

1. Arsenic Best wrong answer given by a team: Silver
   
2. 1986 Best wrong answer given by a team: 1981
   
3. Shadowfax Best wrong answer given by a team: Pokey
   
4. Texas Best wrong answer given by a team: Idaho
   
5. Champagne Best wrong answer given by a team: Gin & Tonic
   
6. Tehran Best wrong answer given by a team: Kabul
   
7. 65 Best wrong answer given by a team: 32
   
8. Mexico Best wrong answer given by a team: Spain
   
9. Neil Young Best wrong answer given by a team: Kurt Cobain
   
10. leather Best wrong answer given by a team: Lace

Dave is over thinking this one, or just doesn't care...hard to tell.

ROUND TWO QUESTIONS:

1. What type of creature is a Bombay Duck?
   
2. With which war is Florence Nightingale chiefly associated?
   
3. Who wrote the Winnie the Pooh books?
   
4. Angelina Jolie did the voice for the character “Lola” in what 2004 animated fish film?
   
5. What US State flag has a UK Union Flag on it?
   
6. Who threw a record 6 touchdown passes in one Super Bowl, in 1995?
   
7. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2009 is the year of the what?
   
8. Which Christmas word means “turning of the sun”?
   
9. What classical composer is buried in France, all except his heart which is buried in Poland?
   
10. How many syllables makes up a Haiku?

ROUND TWO ANSWERS:

1. Fish Best wrong answer given by a team: Rabbit
   
2. Crimean War Best wrong answer given by a team: None…everyone got this right!
   
3. A.A. Milne Best wrong answer given by a team: None…everyone got this right!
   
4. Shark Tale Best wrong answer given by a team: Saving Nemo
   
5. Hawaii Best wrong answer given by a team: Maine
   
6. Steve Young Best wrong answer given by a team: Troy Aikmen
   
7. Ox Best wrong answer given by a team: Monkey
   
8. Yuletide Best wrong answer given by a team: Solstice
   
9. Frederic Chopin Best wrong answer given by a team: Handel
   
10. 17 Best wrong answer given by a team: 8

ROUND THREE QUESTIONS:

1. How many bones are there in an adult human body?
   
2. Obama says that his alternate career choice would have been a) Pastor b) Architect c) Doctor or d) Lawyer?
   
3. In Morse Code, which letter of the alphabet is represented by a single dash?
   
4. Name the 5 James Bond films with a one-word title.
   
5. Which European capital’s name translated means “merchant harbor”?
   
6. In which sport is there a York round?
   
7. What US city is the Encyclopedia Britannica published?
   
8. What kind of fruit is a jargonelle?
   
9. Who wrote the song ‘White Christmas’?
   
10. What was the world's 1st independent credit card company?
    

ROUND THREE ANSWERS:

1. 206 Best wrong answer given by a team: 196
   
2. Architect Best wrong answer given by a team: Pastor
   
3. T Best wrong answer given by a team: Z
   
4. Goldfinger, Thunderball, Moonraker, Octopussy, and Goldeneye
   
5. Copenhagen Best wrong answer given by a team: Istanbul
   
6. Archery Best wrong answer given by a team: Yachting
   
7. Chicago Best wrong answer given by a team: Minneapolis
   
8. pear Best wrong answer given by a team: Melon
   
9. Irving Berlin Best wrong answer given by a team: Leonard Bernstein
   
10. Diner’s Club Best wrong answer given by a team: American Express

ROUND FOUR QUESTIONS:

1. What is the Mandarin expression for wind and water?
   
2. What nickname was given to the F-104 Starfighter aircraft?
   
3. What is the tall hat a chef wears called?
   
4. Who was the first actress to receive 1 million dollars for a film?
   
5. What is the largest African country by area?
   
6. In 1898, Pepsi Cola was introduced under what name?
   
7. Which kind of creature in Hebrew legend is made from clay?
   
8. What was the first US city to host the Olympics? Extra point if you name the year.
   
9. Which writer is mentioned in the Police song “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”?
   
10. When was the first test tube baby born? Extra point for her name.

ROUND FOUR ANSWERS:

1. Feng Shui Best wrong answer given by a team: Tai Chi
   
2. the Widow Maker Best wrong answer given by a team: Millennium Falcon
   
3. Toque Best wrong answer given by a team: Le Chapeau de Fromage (Hat of Cheese)
   
4. Elizabeth Taylor for Cleopatra Best wrong answer given by a team: Julia Roberts
   
5. Sudan Best wrong answer given by a team: Ethiopia
   
6. Brad’s Drink Best wrong answer given by a team: Peppi
   
7. Golem Best wrong answer given by a team: Goat
   
8. St. Louis, MO 1904 Best wrong answer given by a team: Lake Placid
   
9. Nabakov Best wrong answer given by a team: Jack Kerouac
   
10. 1978, Louise Brown Best wrong answer given by a team: 1980, Petra Dish

The Tea Baggers won again but they had some competition this time!

Quiz Master! - Costa Mesa, CA

THE SCENE: Patio at the Harp Inn, approximately 4 Saturdays ago.

SPECIAL NOTE: Exact conversation may vary. I have a bad memory and I failed to bring along my personal stenographer that night.

MOE: (sigh) I wish John Joe would have a pub quiz here. Or that the Shamrock holds one again soon. I’ve really been in the mood for a pub quiz.

KEVIN: The Harp is having a pub quiz?

MOE: NO, I said I WISH the Harp was having a pub quiz.

DAVE F: Then have a pub quiz.

MARILYNN: What’s a pub quiz?

MOE: What do you mean, HAVE a pub quiz? Like hold one ourselves?

KEVIN: The Shamrock is having another pub quiz?

MARILYNN: What’s a pub quiz?

ANDY: Sure, why not? Just ask John Joe.

MOE: ...to hold a pub quiz?

ANDY: Yep.

KEVIN: What time is the pub quiz at the Shamrock?

MOE: The Shamrock isn’t having a pub quiz, I just said I WISH they were.

DAVE F: A pub quiz here would be a good idea. Hold it on some Sunday when it’s dead.

MOE: OK, let’s have a pub quiz!

ANDY: Who wants to be Quiz Master?

(Moe shoots her hand in the air before the question is even out. She does this because she believes that Quiz Master is a sought after title and many will be clamoring to take from her if she is not swift in her acceptance to hold it.)

ANDY: You want to be Quiz Master? You sure?

MOE: Absolutely!

DAVE F.: It’s a lot of work…

MOE: That’s fine.

(John Joe suddenly appears out on the patio. Moe calls him over.)

MOE: Hey John Joe, can we have a pub quiz here?

JOHN JOE: Sure.

(Without another word John Joe walks away)

MOE: Maybe I should have been more specific.

MARILYNN: What’s a pub quiz?

And that, my friends, is how I suckered myself into hosting my first pub quiz this past Sunday afternoon.

To steal directly from Wikipedia so that I don’t have to go about describing something ineffectively: A pub quiz is a quiz held in a pub (oh, good one Wikipedia). It is largely a British phenomenon. (damn those Brits with their brilliant ideas to get people to drink more!) Most pub quizzes depend on answers being written in response to questions which may themselves be written or announced by a quizmaster (in da hoooouse!). It is up to the quizzers to form teams, which are generally based on tables. The team members decide on a team name, which must be written on all papers handed in. (Maybe I would have been better at describing this). People often have to pay to participate – ranging from £1 to £5 per person (current currency conversion rates mark this as $12.35 to $800 billion American). There may be between one and more than half a dozen rounds of questions, totaling anything from 10 to upwards of 80 questions. Prizes are awarded to the highest scoring team, and possibly runners-up as well.

My own personal experience with pub quizzes is minimal. I attended one at the Shamrock last year and I was at one with Beth at some dodgy bar in New Berlin, but I could have sworn I’ve been to at least one more. Wait, I think it might be coming back to me….it’s fuzzy but it’s there…2000 or 2001, Huntington Beach, Fitzgerald’s….I was there with either Andrea or Finky…probably Andrea…we lost…badly. Sorry that I slipped into a reminisce. Now I have to listen to “Reminiscing” by the Little River Band as punishment for making you go through that.

“Hurry! Don’t be late
I can hardly wait!
I said to myself when we’re old
We’ll go dancing in the dark
Walking through the park and remiiiiiiiiniscing!”

God, what a horrible easy listening 70’s tune. And yes, I do have a perfectly good explanation on why I have it in my iTunes catalog. And no, I will not be revealing that explanation to you.

So yes! The pub quiz. I want to share this with anyone who may be tempted to shoot up their hand as if on fire at the prospect of owning the title Quiz Master. Being the Quiz Master is a lot of work. You may think to yourself, “Self, this will be EASY. How hard is it really, to collect together 50 odd questions? Easy peasy Japanesey. Like, a day tops is all it’s going to take. Self, you are totally all over this.”

These fine lads are enjoying their pints and crisps while thinking of ways to taunt the Quiz Master.

What you fail to realize when your hand shoots up as if reaching for falling money at the glory of Quiz Master is that you will be on a stage with a microphone reading 40-50 odd questions to a bunch of people who, while claiming to be your friend, will not hesitate to heckle you the very moment you screw something up. These questions, because they are coming out of your mouth, are YOUR questions. If the question is too easy, your now drunken heckling “friends” will roll their eyes and odd drunks who are not even playing will call out the answer ruining that question for everybody. If your question is too hard you will get a collective groan and “whatevers!” and “well, I’m out on this one!”…after they (your now VERY drunken heckling friends) force you to read the question not once but three times to make sure that they were correct in assuming that this particular question was the most lamest asinine question ever known to man.

Oh, and lastly…try to choose questions that don’t contain words that are hard to pronounce or give way to Freudian slips. You will be nervous enough without saying loudly in a microphone to a bunch of your drunken heckling friends “Bram Stroker’s Dracula” (Bram Stoker) or “Vinson Massive” (Vinson Massif) or “Jaffa” (pronounced Yafa or Hafa, not Jaffa like Jaffa cakes). That’s right, I’m here making the mistakes so you don’t have to. What can I say? I’m a giver.

Needless to say that once I got into formulating my questions, I started getting nervous. I knew I would have a mix of Americans and Europeans so, for example, sports questions, I couldn’t have them all NFL or soccer related. And after talking to people who would either say, “Please don’t make the questions too hard” or “You don’t want me to play, I’m excellent at trivia” I started to stress whether the questions I had were decent enough to keep both sides of the coin contented enough to have fun. I honestly spent a good two weeks putting together 50 questions and lost a bit of sleep at night those two weeks because I couldn’t stop thinking about the questions. I’m usually not this obsessive (I’m inherently too lazy to be obsessive on a regular basis) but I wanted it to be good enough that John Joe would consider holding a pub quiz again.

FAMOUS QUIZ MASTERS OF OUR TIME:

Marty "I read 'em, you weep" Johanson

Jacob "Spit on me again and I'll break your falange" Cook

Peter "The Lush" Hoover Jr.

Peter "The Lush" Hoover Sr.

Amiya Pahare (no, really)

By the time this Sunday hit and the quiz was two hours away my stomach was in knots. I went to the Harp to set up and seeing as that only took 5 minutes, I spent the rest of the time walking from the patio to the inside then back to the patio to either smoke my way through a pack of cigarettes, drink a pints upon pints of water, or use the bathroom (because of said water). I was basically pacing.

"Ha Ha Ha! Wait until we fuck with the Quiz Master this time! HA HA HA HA!"

The quiz started at 4 o clock (ish). 20 people showed up for the quiz forming a total of 5 teams. John Joe had gotten the hated microphone out for me but I was still a bit shaky to get up on stage. I pleaded with Kevin to go up there and read out the quiz rules for me. I needed to see how the crowd responded. If they threw peanut shells at him (and the Harp doesn’t even sell peanuts) then I knew I couldn’t do it. But the crowd, still sober, was fine. They heckled a bit but it was in good fun. So I got up there. The first round was a bit hard…my voice was trembling a bit, I mispronounced a couple words and I was in a constant fight with the bastard microphone…but over all it was OK. By the final 4th round I was pretty comfortable on stage. I still had trouble having fun with the hecklers though…I’m just not quick witted enough to throw something back in time (I tend just to make a face back which I think is a lot worse than just ignoring the heckle. I could be wrong).

Written: The Quiz Master is a big stupid head.

At the end the Tea Baggers were victorious (they choose the name not me)(and damn am I going to get a bunch of unwanted internet traffic with that sitting there) by getting 25 out of 40 of my American\European Hard\Easy questions correct and Bravo 2-0 getting 17 for 2nd place. People in general seemed to have a good time and I had not one but three people come up to me immediately after asking when the next quiz was. And get this…John Joe bought me a beer! John Joe! The owner! Bought ME a BEER! To make it even better, he wants me to come in this Tuesday to talk about scheduling more quizzes.

"We won the quiz so we won't beat up the Quiz Master on the way to her car."

After the quiz I sat outside on the patio talking to my participants\friends\drunken hecklers. They gave me a lot of great suggestions for the next quiz. I’m looking forward to it, I really am.

Thank you to everyone who showed up. Thank you for the beers and the suggestions. And mostly, thanks for having fun or at least saying you did.

**Sorry that once again I have no pictorial evidence of this event. I didn’t forget my camera this time…it was actually sitting on the coffee table begging to be brought along. Due to my habit of blushing on a moment’s notice, I couldn’t bear to have internet evidence of me on a stage with a bastard microphone beet red from nervousness. Maybe next time, maybe not. Let’s just say that you’ll probably get the Little River Band story about the same time as you get a picture of me on a stage with a bastard microphone.

Paul Frank Warehouse Sale (Part Duex -Holiday Sale)

Holy crap! People are stopping in to the site in droves because of the Paul Frank Warehouse Sale post! Always wanting to give the people what they want, here is the information regarding the Paul Frank Holiday Warehouse Sale going on this weekend and next weekend.

Two points I want to mention before you click on the below flyer link:

• You people in Europe and Asia that are checking in….are you planning on flying out for the sale or is there something you want me to pick up for you? If it’s the latter, I’m kinda broke, even at sale prices. Send me money and I’ll do it though (shipping and handling charges do apply!)
• Now that I’ve provided you the information that you were so desperately searching for, you should do me the honor of reading at least one other post. Not the one directly below, it’s not my best work….maybe the one on Irish Stew? People seemed to like that one.

Casino Night - Tustin, CA and Pumpkin Party - Costa Mesa, CA

Kevin is currently watching the Packers vs. Redskins game and so I thought it might be a good time to write. Granted, it’s hard not showing my team colors right now since I am from Wisconsin and the Packers are doing well. But I’m not a huge fan of football and I don’t like to watch the game unless I’m pretty sure the Packers will win, so there you go.

Anyhow, last weekend we were pretty busy. On Friday night, Andrea and Roland invited us to Casino Night, which was a fundraiser for the high school basketball team at the school they both work at. The tickets were $20, and it included a buffet meal and $200 in ‘gambling money’ that you play for tickets to use in the end of the night raffle. I was looking forward to it as I love me some gambling, even if it’s with play money. If there’s ever a sore part in mine and Kevin’s relationship, it’s the fact that I love Vegas and he hates it. Of course he’ll win any Vegas argument due to the fact it’s not logical to piss away your hard earned money on slots and blackjack, but damn, it’s so much fun. But obviously that’s just my opinion.

We met up with Andrea and Roland at the Tustin Inn at about 6 PM Friday night and followed them over to the Community Center. While I realize that this was a fund raiser, it still seemed a bit odd to hold a gambling event in a community center. Just saying. The food was pretty good, but I had a hard time concentrating on what I was eating as all the tables were being set up and all the wonderful raffle prizes were on display. After dinner and meeting all of Andrea and Roland’s fellow teacher friends, we headed over to the Craps table.


Andrea and Roland

I’m not a big fan of craps for the sole fact that I really don’t understand how to play. 7’s are bad…that’s about it. But in a setting like this, it’s a good environment to learn as the craps dealers are patient with you and teach you the game. This is unlike in Vegas where you get scolded every 2 minutes, especially if you are trying to learn craps at 4 in the morning wearing a feather boa and maybe had a wee bit too much to drink.

So we played craps and I kept losing because I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do. I kept at it though, because I really wanted to be the dice roller. When it was my turn to throw the dice, I kept throwing them too hard and one of the dice would land behind the dealer’s chips. Unlike Vegas, if that die happened to be part of a 7 combo, he would let me roll again. If it was a good toss, he’d let it stand. When my turn was finally over, I wandered over to the roulette table….where I lost even more money. OH! Was I getting worried that I wouldn’t have any money left over to buy raffle tickets! I eventually broke down and bought more “money” and played a bit of blackjack, where I did OK, then went back to the craps table because it was almost my turn to roll again.

So you think you can roll again do you?

All in all, I got 8 raffle tickets but didn’t manage to win a single thing. They had a regular auction too, and couldn’t win that either. We did manage to snap up a couple of the centerpieces (which were bags of Starbucks coffee) so it wasn’t all a loss. Thank you Andrea and Roland for a great night!

On Sunday, it was Richard and Squishy’s annual Pumpkin Carving Party. While this isn’t a new thing (since we went last year) it was fun, so I’m going to include it. Richard and Squishy put up close to a $100 of their own money to give out as prizes for the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place pumpkin winners at their party. About 5 people who don’t do carvings do the judging. Last year I won 3^rd place and got 2 movie tickets. I was really determined this year to place at least 2^nd.



For a couple of weeks before the party, I researched on the internet for pumpkin ideas. Outside of 3-D carving, most of the fancy carvings seemed pretty easy to do. I went through 3 solid ideas before settling on the tricker-treaters idea (as you will see below). I bought two pumpkins, a special carving knife, an exacto knife, a nail punch, mini Christmas lights, and a regular light that changed colors. All in all, I spent about $35 on my idea. It really wasn’t about the prize at that point, I just wanted to win. Richard’s brother always comes up with fantastic ideas so I knew that I had to do something good.



When I got to their house, I was really anxious to start carving. But no one was carving quite yet, so I jittery sat there, had some juice, and tried to make conversation. All I could think about was that damn pumpkin. After a half an hour, I couldn’t take it anymore and asked if it was alright that I start.


Kevin and Richard's brother (!)

So I started carving and got into a zone. People came over and said hi and I’m sure I said hi back and maybe even a ‘how ya doing?’ but I can’t say I heard the response. Carve Pumpkin. Carve Pumpkin. Don’t screw up and break that piece. Carve Pumpkin. ...It’s all that was going through my head. Andrea and Oliver even sat at my table and Oliver was being so cute as usual…but I hardly heard a word.

Mine is the one with the purple lights.

After two hours I was done and pretty happy with the results….until I saw what everyone else had carved up while I was in my zone. There was Frodo (Richard’s brother!), an awesome carving of the Eiffel Tower, a witch mud flap, 3-D floating pumpkin head, a scary cat, just to name a few. While I thought I did OK, I was really nervous over the talent. I was started to wonder if I would even place at all. But when judging was done, I ended up getting 1^st place. I was elated. The $50 dollar 1^st prize was only an added bonus to my happiness. I was so stoked, when we got home I told the neighbor’s cat. I told my cat. I told Kevin over and over, “I won 1^st place!” I was really really happy.


After soaking my pumpkin in water for an hour and rubbing it down with olive oil, I put it in the refrigerator. I was confident that if I could win 1^st place at the party, surely I could place at the pumpkin carving contest at work 3 days later. I actually had a hard time sleeping that night because of my excitement of winning at the work party.

I’m such a foolish girl.


Three days later I trot my award winning pumpkin to the HR office. Part of my confidence was knowing that only 3 pumpkins were submitted last year and only one of them was decent. However, walking into the HR office was a completely different story this year. There were already 6 other pumpkins submitted, and they were all better than mine. There was a pumpkin jail that had a little pumpkin inside of it. There was a 3-D pumpkin. And there was, what would be, the Work Pumpkin Carving Party winner, this thing:

Stupid Burger.

People afterwards tried to console me by saying the burger wasn’t even technically carved, but it was good and creative and it deserved to win. I took my sad little tricker-treater pumpkin to the Harp after work and donated it to that night’s Halloween party. It had a good time at the Harp, and I not only was glad that strangers kept coming up to it and wondering if it was actually real but that the next morning it was still there on the Harp’s front stoop. It was a good Pumpkin (Charlie Brown).

Fire!

A lot of family members have been calling me in the last few days to make sure that Kevin and I were alright (due to the fires). I suppose not posting here hasn’t helped the mystery at all so I thought I’d give you all a little update before my regular entry.

Kevin and I heard about the fire up in Malibu Sunday morning. We didn’t think too much about it as 1) Malibu is 65 miles away from us to the north and 2) with the extreme lack of rain we’ve had this year, fires are unfortunately inevitable.



Sunday night I was at home nursing my cold\sinus infection watching a bad movie I bought for $1.99 on Pay-Per-View (it was called ‘the Gold Diggers’…a PG rated movie with Cristina Ricci about two 13-year olds searching for gold in a mountain) (no matter how I phrase that it sounds bad, doesn’t it?) when Kevin called me up. He was out at our friends’ house having dinner and noticed some smoke on the horizon. He wanted to know if the news had anything about it.



Truthfully, I was so engrossed in my bad movie that I didn’t even notice the smoke. I walked outside and saw it immediately. The sky was black and orange and it smelled like a campfire. I went on the internet and saw that Santiago Canyon was on fire. Santiago Canyon is about 15 miles from our house in Costa Mesa, and a mere mile or two from where Kevin and I work in Irvine. Because of the Santa Ana winds, which are strong hot dry winds that blow west from the desert to the ocean, all the smoke and ash were coming our way. The winds were so strong it sounds like a ghostly freight train was blowing through the area. The moon appeared Halloween orange glowing though the smoke.




I closed all the windows in the house as I didn’t want the smoke to get inside. However, the Santa Ana winds make the temperature incredibly warm so it wasn’t long until inside got stuffy. Turning on the fans did little to help.



Kevin made it to work the next morning but I was still at home with my cold\sinus infection. With Kevin’s asthma and my cold\sinus infection just trying to breathe normally was hard. At work, they let any non-essential personnel leave and work from home.

As bad as it is, I feel very fortunate. We aren’t in any immediate danger. As I told my mom last night, we may be 15 miles from the fire, but there’s a lot of concrete from there to here. The worst we have to deal with is cleaning the layer of soot that has covered the backyard.



It’s Wednesday now, and the Santiago fire is 30% contained. The winds have died down some so the smoke isn’t so bad. There’s white ash everywhere and it kind of looks like snow. A co-worker just said to me, “I’ve heard of a white Christmas before, but not a white Halloween!”

*Photos are from the OC Register

Hi-Times Chili-Cook-off - Costa Mesa, CA

This is a week late, I know. I’ve been trying to formulate a way to compose this and have it sound exciting. Since the heat this past week has gotten to my brain, I’m afraid I’m going to have to give you the plain facts and hope you don’t fall asleep.

So…

As I’ve mentioned in the last post, Kevin and I live across the street from Orange County’s biggest liquor store, Hi-Times. Since April of this last year, they’ve been advertising the 1^st annual Chili-Cook-off for Charity. The Cook-off wasn’t to be held until August…talk about pre-planning. At first I debated entering myself in the cook-off; I make a decent chili mac that I thought would be worthy (and what a better new this weekend idea!). But as the Cook-off date got closer I got lazier. I didn’t want to make batches upon batches of chili mac. I couldn’t afford to make batches and batches of chili mac. Hell, I didn’t have the pots to make more than 8 servings. And besides, if there was ever an event to attend just for the sake of attending, it has to be one that’s practically in your own back yard.

The Chili-Cook-Off started at 10AM Sunday morning. Kevin and I were still in our pajamas, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper when the band started in on Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl”. Did I mention that Hi-Times is right across the street? It was like Rick Springfield and his band were singing in the upstairs bathroom. They were reading off raffle ticket winners around the time I thought maybe I should jump in the shower. I thought Kim P. who won the Jack Daniels Golf bag was going to run through our living room to claim the prize.

A few hours later we were ready to head over. It was $20 to get in, but that included drink tickets (or if you prefer, raffle tickets, they worked for both) and free water, soda, and of course, chili.

I was pretty amazed at the crowd. The Hi-Times parking lot by nature isn’t all that big. They sectioned off half of it for the Cook-off, and there were approximately 40 vendors\chili giver-outers. Most of the chili came from local businesses like the Harp, Pierre Street Annex, Mother’s Market, but there were individuals (like I would have been) that didn’t have flashy signs or trinkets but simply had a camping stove and a bit ole pot of chili. The place was packed. I’m not sure if it was the amount of people exactly or that the parking lot was shoved with so many other things that a small crowd made it looked packed.



They didn’t design the layout very well either, which makes me wonder if they knew that so many people would show up. For example, the sole place where you could buy drinks was in the same place where the bathrooms were, which was the same place where you drop off your raffle tickets, which was also the same place where the band was playing. So you had a line of people waiting for drinks trying to navigate through the people waiting for the bathroom who were trying to navigate around the people who were dancing to the band.

But the chili….the chili was really good. I’ve never been to a chili cook-off of any kind and I was really wondering what differences chili could honestly have. But there were tons of differences. Pasta chili, veggie chili, spicy chili, chili with fancy cheeses, chili with tequila, the list goes on. And overall, I liked all the chili I tasted except for the 100% organic chili from Mothers (it was too…I don’t know…earthy). My favorite chili was the pasta chili from Garduno's Ristorante Italiano. I even voted for it. The chili from Surf Side seemed to be the favorite of everyone else until the chili with the fancy cheeses came out.

Patrick, Michele, Mari and Gunter stopped by soon after we got there. But then they left right away. It was crowded with no place to sit down, and the micro beer they were serving was pretty bad so I understand why. However, Kevin and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity (it was right across the street!) and stayed for quite a few hours using up our friends drink tickets. I’m sorry to say that we did not win anything in the raffle but we had a good time talking with Richard and Squishy and watching people dance to the band. I hope they do this again next year but use the entire parking lot instead of just the half.

***************************************

Of course, that was two weekends ago. This past weekend, which was Labor Day weekend, we did do something new (albeit stretching the new thing) but since I was a dolt and forgot my camera, I’m just going to give it a mention instead of an entire entry.

We ended up going to the newly re-opened, under new management, Sam’s Seafood in Sunset Beach. It’s the closest thing I know to a Tiki joint in Orange County. Kevin and I used to go to the old Sam’s a lot. The old Sam’s bartender was Polynesian or Hawaiian and whenever we came in he’d say, “Oh! You want Scorpion, huh? For lovers only!” He would serve the Scorpion (for lovers only) in a gigantic plastic seashell with two huge straws that would poke your eye out if you weren’t careful. I was close to tears when we stopped by last year and saw that they had closed.

I was excited to learn that they were re-opened but a bit disappointed when I got there. It’s definitely under new management. Where the old Sam’s was like Elvis in Blue Hawaii, the new Sam’s is like Matthew Fox (from Lost) having his trendy lunch in Hawaii. It wasn’t the same even though they still had the Scorpion (but with no one to say, “for lovers only!” we didn’t get it). They do have an hour long happy hour on Sunday from 4 - 5PM where you can get half price appetizers (which are around $11 a piece regular price) and a $1 off beer.

Orange County Fair - Costa Mesa, CA

And back to our regular scheduled blog:

Yes, yes, I know. I have officially spent 6 summers here in Southern California (granted, not all consequently) and up until yesterday, I had never been to the Orange County Fair. This is almost absurd to me for the following reasons:

• The Orange County Fair is in Costa Mesa. I have lived in Costa Mesa all 6 summers.
  
• The Fair runs for approximately 4 weeks. 4 weeks is plenty of time to make it to a fair for at least one day.
  
• I love fairs…and festivals…and carnivals. Basically anywhere where they are guaranteed to be selling funnel cakes and corn dogs I will most certainly enjoy.

I have tried unsuccessfully to figure out why it has taken me so long to make it to what is surely one of the bigger fairs I have ever seen. I can’t figure it out. I certainly had enough time. I certainly could afford it. It’s a mystery as Ed would say.

Convincing Kevin to accompany me to the fair was another matter all together. Kevin doesn’t like fairs. He finds them too hot, too crowded, and way too expensive. He has valid points but I tend to think of the good (funnel cakes and corn dogs) outweighing the bad. I buttered him up for weeks with vague notions of maybe, if the weather is nice and we have a little money, to perhaps, if it wasn’t too much hassle, to kind of go to the fair. He always said maybe in the exact same vague manner and as the weeks went on, my time was running out. Finally, on the second to last day of the fair, I put on my best sad puppy eyes and whiney voice and said, “Please can we go to the fair? Pleeeeeease? Pretty pretty pleeeeeeease? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze??”

No, I’m not proud, but I got to go to the fair.

Because the fairgrounds are about 3 miles away from our house, we decided to take our bikes there. We save about $8 in parking fees and the headache of actually finding a spot to park.


Sand sculpture

We walked in and immediately set out to find something to eat. Kevin opted for a pulled pork sandwich and I held out for a falafel sandwich at the Greek place. During the course of the day, we had that and a corn dog (!), a vanilla ice cream cone, and a smorgasbord of fried artichoke hearts, zucchini, and mushrooms (Kevin’s choice). I honestly was amazed at the fried food options there. From a person coming from Wisconsin, that’s saying a lot. They even had fried Snickers bars and fried Coke. Fried Coke? What is that anyhow? My favorite food listed there that I wouldn’t dare eat is the fried Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich. That’s right, a piece of fried chicken in between two Krispy Kreme donuts. I don’t even have anything witty to say about it, I think it speaks for itself.


Fried Veggies

After our first round of food, we went to look at the livestock. We saw the world’s finest collection of odd looking chickens, I pet the bad side of a cow, and I got attacked by a bee when looking at the steers. For Kevin’s sake I will tell you that the bee landed on my shoulder and I freaked out. I started running in circles and screaming, “GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!” while Kevin stood there and yelled towards me, “Stay still! I’ll get it, I’ll get it!” But I kept running and freaking out until I finally swatted it away with the only item I had in my hand which was my camera. By then I had more people looking at me than at the steers and Kevin just stood there rolling his eyes. For the rest of the afternoon Kevin mocked me and my fear of bees. While I felt silly, I didn’t feel as silly as this goat:


Overheard: Daddy! That goat doesn't have a head!

Oh, and here’s the one of many odd looking chickens:



And a pig who needs a little TP:



Feeling like I shouldn’t just face one fear in a single day, after the livestock we went on the Sky Tram thing. You know, that little rickety bench seat that takes you from one end of the grounds to the other via the world’s smallest cable 30 feet up in the air. Beth and I used to ride the same thing at Summerfest when we got too tired. With my (now) fear of heights, this ride was torture. I held on for dear life while Kevin did his best to distract me with funny fried food signs. Afterwards I was shaking and had myself three cigarettes and the world’s most expensive cup of beer to calm down. Then I had another beer, but in the bigger more expensive size.


Not the Sky Tram thing, but another ride I would not go on.

Later, we headed over to the Midway to play some games. Kevin saw the below guy with a Homer and sparks of jealousy washed over him. While we couldn’t find any game that was giving away Homer, we did find a game that was giving away Bart and sat down to play. It was the perfect game too. You played against other fairgoers and the object was to fill up a beer pitcher with a tap of water that kept moving. After $12 we walked away with Bart.



We were beginning to get low on money, so we spent the next couple of hours walking around, looking at the games and the rides, watching the acrobats, laughing at the kids on the pony rides, and general people watching.



After the sun went down, the fair became unbearably crowded so we decided to head home. I will say that biking was an excellent idea for getting to the fair but later on when we were tired from walking around all day, it was a bit tough. We made it though.



All in all, the fair was awesome. I’d love to go again next year….if I can only convince Kevin. I’ll have to work on him starting in April I think.

Paul Frank Warehouse Sale - Costa Mesa, CA

*UPDATE: Those looking for the Paul Frank Warehouse Sale going on Dec. 8 - Dec. 16th, 2007, go here.

Well, if I thought last week’s entry was going to be short and sweet, this one is going to be even more so. Worse than that, I really don’t have many pictures for you. I’m so sorry. If it’s any consolation, next weekend should have picture overload and you can bask in the rays of all its shiny color 4.1 mega pixels.

If you read the comment section at all, you would have noticed that Michele mentioned my new thing this weekend, which was the Paul Frank Warehouse Sale. While I normally wouldn’t consider shopping in the new this weekend category, it was Paul Frank and it was held at the main headquarters.

If you actually have a life and don’t know who Paul Frank is, he is the fellow who makes the ugly monkey clothing.

When I first moved to California back in 2000, I had no idea who the hell Paul Frank was and neither did I care (to be completely frank (har har), if Paul Frank walked up to me in the street and asked me for the time, I still wouldn’t recognize him)(that is of course, unless he was wearing a big ugly monkey head). I eventually noticed his stuff around but still didn’t pay much mind. But then, THEN, at my 27th birthday party someone, SOMEONE!, had to give me my first Paul Frank monkey wallet. It was the classic monkey head on shiny glittery black plastic. I fell in love right then and there, though it might have been the cocktails. I really couldn’t tell you the person’s name who gave me the wallet (Dean? Dale? Dave?) but I know I loved that wallet. I still have it actually, though it’s pretty much torn to shreds as flimsy plastic is wont to do.


Me and my first P.F. wallet. I miss you wallet.

Since then I’ve gone through 3 more wallets. I also got the watch for Valentine’s Day a couple years ago (thank you Kevin!). I would probably have a bunch of Paul Frank clothes with various animals on it if they actually made clothes in a size larger than extra extra teeny tiny don’t you wish you were this thin small. I think Paul Frank and Urban Outfitters run the same size charts actually.

All and all, I was pretty stoked to go to the warehouse sale. I didn’t bring my camera as I figured that they might not let me in if I had it.

I arrived at the warehouse around 11 AM Saturday morning. There was already a line to get in. Very smartly, they would only allow a group of 10 people to go in every 15 minutes; this prevented the soul sucking groups of people trying to pick through a single cardboard box at the same time. Once I got in I was handed a plastic bag and a pricing chart.

Holy shit! The sales!

(OK, completely realize that this entry is only going to appeal to women….I’m sorry again).


And since I said that, I totally want this one but they don't make it anymore.

Bags for $10! Wallets for $5! Heavy coats for $20! Pants for $10! Socks for $2! Hats for $5! Watches $20! Sunglasses $30! T-shirts $3-7!


"Would you like a monkey with that? Oh, you already have one."

I ended up spending $50 on a whole bunch of stuff as seen below. Actually, I spent half of that the first time I went and the other half when I went back 5 hours later. I probably would have gone back the next day too if I didn’t finally come to my senses and realize I didn’t need to spend a bunch of money on shit with a monkey face on it. I have a car payment you know.



Well kids, like I said, short and sweet. I’m having a birthday BBQ party this Saturday so if you’re around, stop on by. Don’t feel pressured to bring me a monkey wallet. A hat or flip flops are cool too. Just kidding, just bring yourselves…starts at 3.