Neighborhood: Shamrock Hills (like to frequent Plaza Midwood)
Relationship status: Single
What did you eat today?
This is yesterdays menu, haven’t eaten today as of yet. Scrambled eggs with gimme lean, spinach, Texas Pete and cheddar cheese with a mini wheat bagel with smoked salmon. Lots of snacks at a friends wine tasting…cheese- aged Gouda, Havarti w/dill, NY extra sharp cheddar, mini pizza with capers, hot cheese and corn dip with tortillas, cornichons.
Yesterday started early, quarter to six-ish. I rose early to do something I had ever done before. I voted for a President I actually believed in.
I‘m a genXer, beyond jaded about politics, beyond cynical. My past votes have been for the lesser of two evils, or a vote against the incumbent, or for a third party (mistake). Yesterday was a different story. You see, I’m on the Obama thing…hook, line, and sinker.
Fuck it, here’s the deal. Don’t stop believing. We bought the ticket, let’s take the ride. This is just the beginning. What I’m saying is, let’s not “check out” of this thing now that we got Barack in the White House. That history making event was made possible by you and I and our involvement in the process: canvassing a neighborhood (not me), engaging our friends, neighbors, and workmates (me), or simply getting out and voting yesterday (me too). It is our involvement that produces results. This has been a central message in Barack’s campaign.
Now, it’s possible that hope’s audacity and a belief in change were just a slick Hollywood shell that slid one man into the highest office in the nation, wherein, once installed, he’ll simply run amok like the last guy. What’s probable is that those were good words, from a good man, who believes in what he says. What’s probable is that yesterday we witnessed the American Dream incarnate. We witnessed a “community organizer” orchestrate a 50 State Strategy with outcomes the likes of which have not been seen since the passing of the 19th Amendment, women’s right to vote. We witnessed ourselves taking part in a process in ways so mindful, in ways so deliberate, in ways we had never experienced before.
I have been waiting a long time for something, someone, to believe in. I believe in this. I believe in our ability as country, as a community, to rally behind a good leader and change the world we live in. If you’re still reading, you probably believe this too. So, think for a moment about last night. Think about how you felt when it sunk in that we had done it, that we had put Barack in the White House. Got it? Now. Don’t stop believing. Hold onto that feeling.
Fearing long lines and general mayhem I got to my polling place at 6:10am, where I was greeted by about 100 fellow voters drinking their coffee and reading the paper. I had brought my camera and was hoping to get some good video of madness and mob scenes. Fortunately, there was none to be had. Other than some creative parking going on in the lot, the atmosphere was calm and really quite relaxing – my polling place is a church on a nicely wooded lot. My line-mates and I joked about those ahead of us – the *way too* prepared folks with folding seats and umbrellas who got there at 5:15 (or so I heard them say). Really? You’d think they were waiting on line for BonJovi tickets or something :) I’m happy to report that once the doors opened at 6:30 the line moved steadily, such that I was outta there and on another line, at Starbucks, by 8:15. The election official at the polling place said that of some 3,000 plus registered voters in the precinct, over 1,400 had voted in the previous weeks. This reflects the statewide numbers of roughly 40% or 2.6 million registered voters making their marks before November 4th. Keep reading →
Of all the people who watch NO RESERVATIONS, it’s been Filipinos who have been consistently among our biggest fans and most vocal about our having yet to film in their country.
Finally. I’ve been watching No Reservations for a while now and following the exploits of Bourdain even longer. I mean, who doesn’t envy this guy. When I heard he was going to the Philippines I was trying to figure out how to get in on the action. Chances were slim seeing as I’m half a world away, literally. As it turns out, many in the Philippines are onto the whereabouts of Bourdain and bloggers are having a field day. Or at least they were. Seems that independent coverage (aka blogging) about Bourdain and the show in the PI was so robust, the producers are asking local bloggers to tone it down out of fears they will a.) create huge fan turnouts at the locations making filming near impossible, and b.) steal the thunder of the show before it even airs. Many bloggers have taken down photos, withdrawn posts, and altogether curtailed coverage of the show. After all, it’s been a long time coming and they probably don’t want to be bad guests. Needles to say, there’s still all kinds of information out there, so…
Mom and food blogger extrordinaire – and I occasionally help out my friend, w/ his South Charlotte restaurant. I update the content on his website, update his menus help w/ menu changes item ideas and brainstorming.
Neighborhood:
Regrettably(from a food perspective) I live in plain, ole vanilla suburbia, the Marvin/Ballantyne area
Relationship status:
Married w/ children & the suburbia-required yellow lab
What did you eat today?
Broccoli cheddar quiche, bacon & rye toast w/ tea for breakfast & lunch was a boring ham sammie on wheat w/ Italian peppers & mayo – oh, and a tiny sliver of “no sugar added” apple pie from The Fresh Market (I’m a type 1 diabetic)
I cheated on you. Mi amor, mi vida, you know you are the only one for me. But I am just a man. A man who can be tempted by rumors of a better salsa verde.
Estamos en el Sud, amor, we are in The South. Here you are a rarity, truly La Unica. Pero the other night a whisper floated to my ear. A whisper I now know was El Diablo himself. The trickster told me of a fine salsa verde to be had just down the street from you, DIOS! Yo se, I know, chipis, que barbaridad. Pero the poisoned words of El Diablo sunk into my brain and the next thing I knew I was in my car.
Her name is Taqueria Mexico. I met her at 9 on Tuesday night on South Blvd. Keep reading →
...at Bellyspeak, I hope to tell you the story that’s not “center of the plate”, the story closer to the periphery, that has to do with the pursuit of food and what I see in the process.
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