I was trying to post something while I was in Atlanta but it was hate filled. So it was in my best interest that it didn't post. Let's just say that I was thrown a big curve ball for Christmas vacation. I was unexpectedly stuck in the suburbs and that sucks.

Chicago




I'm sure some of you were wondering where I've been. I've been in the lovely city of Chicago for a week. I've been to Chicago a couple of times and each time I fall more and more in love with the city. I could live there if it wasn't for the weather. It's just a great town with enough hustle and bustle and great local culture. There is delcious food and shopping just waiting around every corner. The city does have it's chain stores but there are many local spots to find that unique thing that you have been waiting for. Here are some reviews of what the city has to offer.

Yoshi's
Tuesday night we headed out to the Lakeview area for dinner. Out of our list of reccomendations we decided on Yoshi's. Given the name you would think it was an Asian place however, it serves "contemporary American" cuisine. I started off with a tuna tartare appetizer. On my plate I found a generous mound of tuna sitting a top a large dollop of guacamole with freshly fried tortilla strips on the side. The dish also included an oyster shooter flavored with jalapeno. The oyster shooter was orgasmic so I asked for another. For my entree I had the spaghetnni with shirmp and scallops. I was nearly full from the appetizer but I ate every last bite of my pasta. Yoshi's is a must eat if you like great interesting food. Entrees will run about $20-$25 dollars but it was well worth it. Also Tuesday is half price martini night.

Frontera Grill
Chef Rick Bayless is midly famous as celebrity chefs go. He is rarely on the food network but had a show on PBS. He is known as the best chef that does Mexican cuisine. I shared appetizers with the group to sample more of the food at Frontera. The ceviche was very fresh as the squid was very tender without a hint of chewiness. The guacomole was just okay and with it's high price it should have been much better. My entree of carne asada came out cold but I excused that because we ordered around the time the fire department and the EMTS showed up. They brought a delerious looking employee who may have been burned. The second plate of carne asada was much better than the first one. The meat was actually medium this time and the black beans and plantains were very flavor full. I didn't think the food lived up to the hype. I've had better Mexican many other times from less expensive places.

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

For some intellectual stimulation, go see a taping of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. It's a very funny weekly news quiz they record every Thursday at the Chase Auditorium downtown. They have celebrity comedians every week who participate in the news quiz and they are hilarious and very politically incorrect. This week they had the very funnyMo Rocca who often does commentary for VH1's I Love the...(70s, 80s, 90's). I'm sure 90% of my taping was edited because they were so raunchy. It was very very fun.

Funky Buddah

Funky Buddha known as "The Buddah" to insiders is always a very fun club. People in Chicago dance their asses off. They don't care they just have fun. The Buddah plays a mix of hip hop, rnb, chicago house, oldies, rock. You name it they just might play it. A very mixed crowd comes to The Buddah and there isn't a hint of pretention. Be sure to shake your body when you are in town. Friday and Sunday nights are the reccomened nights for this place.

Be Thankful For Each Day


A friend of mine just lost a family member. His cousin died in a freak explosion. Actually, I few of you that read this blog have met my friend and some of you are friends with him.


I'm not as spirtual as I would like to be but I am indeed thankful for all that I do have. It is really weird how you could visit your cousin one day, fly home and then the next day he dies. That is what happened to my friend. I try to live one day at a time but if there is something I want to do before I die, I better put that on the schedule. You just never know. God bless his life.

So little time

Work is really busy these days. When I first start working there I took the time each day to read dcist.com and several of my favorite blogs. Then I thought I should start writing again and this is what we have here. Now my time to read blogs and write my own has vanished. When I come home from work I don't want to be the nerd who pulls out their computer to blog as soon as I get home. So now I have a dilemma.

Also DC Adventures isn't what it used to be. Much of the drama and funny stories came from dating and being new to my surroundings. Now I'm in a less exciting relationship (intercultural dating makes for great stories) and I pretty much know my way around DC. So what adventures could I possibly have? I really don't want to bore you all with stories of "How not to holla 101." I don't really know what I am going to do. I guess you have to just wait and see.

What if?





Since I've become a boring lame ass, I spend my friday nights curled up with netflix eventhough there are clubs just a few blocks from my door. Last night I watched Akeelah and the Bee. The movie is simplistic but it is extremely heartwarming. The ficitional character is from the neighborhood I'm from. I could identify it all just by the way the house looked. In fact, almost every Los Angeles hood film is filmed where I grew up. Safe enough for a film crew but still south central Los Angeles. I consider myself blessed in many ways because my life could have been just like Akeelah's. The only difference was that I had two parents, although divoriced who made sure I did my best. I did however, have a sister who was like Akeelah's brother and no matter what my parents did she was on her own thing. She always bought into the peer pressure to be the cool kid. So even with the same rearing you can have vastly different outcomes.

What if my father didn't come around after the divorice?
What if my mother didn't care?
What if they didn't get me into better schools?


I might have been that akward kid in an environment where my peers shunned learning. I'm so glad that wasn't the case. I really appreciated that this move took the time to show how hard to succeed when everything is against you. People are lying to themselves if they think it's a level playing field out there.