A Week Long Excursion Part Two: The Garden State and the Greatest Natural International Border I've Ever Seen

I've always wanted to see Niagara Falls and what better time to go than when already on the East Coast? I always thought New York was pretty small and envisioned one could drive from the city to the falls. Yeah, that's not really true if you're pressed for time. Turns out it's a 7 hour drive with a series of toll roads and frustration. Alright, plane it is, but before we left the country, it was time to explore Newark and Jersey City. I wasn't there long enough to confirm or deny the Jersey stereotype, but I will say it's not as bad looking as people claim. Newark is an industrial city - what can you do? Every industrial city looks (and smells) like that. If you ever do venture to NJ via NYC, definitely head down to Ferry Street in the Ironbound District. It feels like you're legitimately in Portugal and you can eat sandes de picadinho and pasteis de nata all day.

This farmacia is actually not in Lisbon, but rather New Jersey

We headed to Ontario via Newark and after a series of intriguing customs questions (Do you plan on visiting a farm while in Canada? Are you bringing any birds to the country?) and not getting the ever so sought after passport stamp in my expedited rip off lame new border rules passport, we made it. Once we were in Niagara, you could already feel the mist of the falls hitting your face from quite a distance away. Awesome! It was already dark by the time we got there so we end up walking around Clifton Hill and getting a quick bite at Wendy's. Yes, the red headed girl from back home whose establishment serves up baked potatoes and spicy chicken nuggets. What were our other options? Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, Little Caesar's, and TGI Fridays. Hold up. It was at this point I had a very disappointing revelation: this place looks like America. < / expectations >I don't really know what exactly I was expecting from Canada, but I mean, some sort of culture? Granted, we were literally on the border of the United States and maybe if I ventured further (possibly towards Montreal), it'd be different but from what I saw, man, total let down. I'm assuming they maybe want to cater to all of the tourists, sigh, who knows. At least there was a Tim Horton's - that place rules. We spent the rest of the night at the casino and it was great because the age of majority there is 19 so Sameer was able to partake in the casino fun as well. He came out the biggest winner out of all of us and by big winner, I mean a whopping 20 dollars.

The view from the bridge (Rainbow) you cross between countries

Open the door and you will be home again.

The next blog-worthy event that happened was the morning we decided to weigh in on the Which side of the falls is better? debate. It was time to cross the border back into Niagara Falls, NY. Immediate reaction: the United States kept their side of it very natural. Niagara Falls on the U.S. side is surrounded by a fairly large state park. It's a great place to have a picnic, go for a bike ride, a quick jog, or just relax. It's very serene - a total contrast from the Ontario side. We decided while we were here, might as well take the Maid of the Mist from New York. Now, I always saw people in their crazy ponchos on a boat to get a better view of the falls on TV and what not and I always told myself I'd never do that it's kind of scary. That all changed when I told Michelle a few weeks prior to the trip that we were headed on a trip to the area. I told her I had no plans of going on the boat and she told me that it was an absolute must, because that's the most fun (if not only fun actually) thing to do while you're there and I'd regret it if I didn't. She was supported by about five others in our group who also agreed that it was their favorite thing to do there when they vacationed in Niagara, so I gave in. After reading about it online a little bit, I too was becoming very excited to ride the Maid of the Mist. I couldn't wait. I shall continue this in a later post.

A Week Long Excursion Part One: Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made Of

I shouldn't have used such light colors. Rats.

Here's the entry that I should have posted in September of last year. I have a fair amount to write, so I'll break it up into several posts, each going through one leg of the trip. First stop: New York! So, being the rogues that we are, Sameer and I decided to fly first thing Friday morning to LaGuardia - right through Hurricane Earl. Earl is a big fat poser. We experienced maybe 20 minutes of "turbulence" the entire flight and once we set foot in the city, I was like 70 degrees at 6pm with a slight breeze and brief instances of drizzle. Earl Schmearl. I was relieved we declined the option to accept airline flight waivers. This was my first time ever in NYC and I was beyond excited to finally visit. Once we landed and got out of the airport, oh my goodness the city is more insane than you can imagine. Nobody was lying when they said 1 - it's a concrete jungle and 2- the traffic is absurd. Furthermore, why are these people (New Yorkers) always running? Where are you going, guys? On a Friday night, you clearly are not running to work. What is going on?! Running through intersections, running like mad through subway stations, running to Duane Reade, seriously, just always in a hurry. I stopped to take a picture in front of Madison Square Garden (where our crazy shuttle driver dropped us off) and people were literally confused as to why someone would be stopping on the sidewalk. Sorry guys, I don't run around all day! Lazy Californian supppp? This was the same issue Saturday morning and every other subsequent day. No wonder they're all thin. They don't stand still for a second. Anyway, like just about everyone else, I love NYC!!! I would love to visit again but I would NEVER live there though. I don't understand the hype about that. I love big cities and city life, but this is too much insanity for me. Pass!

First time in the city, gotta see it like a true tourist, right? Of course. That's exactly what we did. The rest of the crew came in Saturday afternoon and we were on our way. Visited the United Nations (awesome), Empire State Building (went to the top - overrated and a waste of time), Central Park (amazing), Rockefeller (nice, but I wanted to see it with the ice skating rink), Time's Square (pretty cool but way too many people, felt like a zoo haha), Brooklyn (hipster paradise), Brooklyn Heights Promenade (awesome), West Village (great area), Staten Island Ferry (fun and nice way to relax for a while), and a bunch of other random areas we ventured into out of curiosity. Remember my attack on Google Maps via iPhone? Google Maps may not know LA, but it knows New York City very well. It got us everywhere we wanted to go without a single glitch! It also was great with public transportation. It knew exactly what time certain trains were coming and always gave us the next three we could take had we missed the first. Bravo, Google Maps, bra-vo!

So, I didn't know this until I got back, but you're supposed to eat at about 20 different "must eat places" when visiting? I ask because friends kept asking me what I ate in NY once I got back. Seriously? You travel 3,000 miles to eat? I'd be lying if I said I never saw or heard about some place and was like, "Oh man I MUST eat there." I do that a lot, especially when I see something crazy on the Food Network, but when people go on vacation and make a list of like 10 places they must eat at, that is just wrong. Considering most of us live(d) in Los Angeles, a food mecca in itself, you cannot possibly go elsewhere and revolve your trip around things to consume. A lot of the things people were suggesting are readily available here! haha. Anyway, let's be real here - I had my own mini list of things I wanted to try. Gray's Papaya - awesome. I love hot dogs that are that thin and cripsy they are my favorite. The chicken and rice halal cart on 53rd and 6th - oh man it was AMAZING. That totally lives up to the hype (and I almost always get let down by over hyped things) and we were lucky enough to get there at a time when the line was fairly short. I wish that cart would be imported to California. Just writing about it is making me hungry again. Cart food rules. I ate a good amount of it. I bet you Bonni is cringing as she reads this - you need to let go of your fear of shady food, Bonni!

Looking Back on 2010

DISCLAIMER: Some things will never change. I'm always such a slacker. I started this post on January 1, 2011 in an attempt to recap 2010. I got distracted and now am here to finish it on yes, Feburary 3rd. Better late than never, right? The posted I had started and now finished, is as follows:


Happy New Year! We made it through another decade! Turns out I only had 9 blog posts all of last year, but just like in 2010, I will do a quick recap of the year. 2010 was pretty good, but I am so ready for 2011. I have a lot of things to accomplish this year and I know that I can and will (can you tell I've been reading The Secret? haha). In all seriousness though, I'm getting back on track this year in more ways than one.

Recap of 2010:

January: Spent the last days of December and New Year's Day in Vegas. Definitely a fun way to ring in the New Year. I spent the first few hours of the year at a blackjack table, followed by my first trip to Pampas inside the Miracle Mile Shops where I had the best Brazilian BBQ ever! Haven't been back yet but man, let's hope I go back there ASAP this year.

February: Must have been pretty boring, because I really don't remember anything happening in February. Meesa turned 24. That counts, right? HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEESA!

March: Luck was on my side as I won a trip to Vegas with some insane VIP treatment! The downside: not many of my friends could join me as I had to take the trip the weekend right before many people's finals, but I was able to round up some girlfriends and we had such a fun weekend! I wasn't really sure why Bonni was so bent on spending the weekend with Alan, but then, days later, as I was sitting by the fountains inside The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, waiting for Amandeep to finishing buying purses, Bonni called me to let me know that Alan had just proposed. HOLLER!!!! I am so so excited for their wedding this year!

April: showers bring May flowers

May: Marie and I had this once in a lifetime opportunity to spend a day at Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory for a charity event. Probably the most random (yet awesome) day of our lives. Remember that Vegas trip from March? I was supposed to see Travis Barker at Pure one of the nights and it didn't happen. I was so bummed! Then, come May, sweet Jesus, not only did I get to see Travis Barker perform, I got to meet him too! I just about died. I also met Pharrell, the love of my life, who actually is kind of a weird guy, but hey, we all have some flaws here and there, right? I'll never forget this day. It made my entire month.

June: Celebrated another year of life on the same day as the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They later went on to become back to back champions. Three-peat here we come! Oh, remember back in 2010 when Meesa posted this comment on Justin's behalf on my Recap of 2009 post? In case you didn't, here's what she said:

Meesa said...

also, justin wants me to remind you that the lakers got killed by the cavs. and he looks forward to the lakers being beat in the nba finals.

i really don't want to be in the middle of this..

January 10, 2010 8:28 PM

Stick to NHL talk, Justin!

July: LeBron made "The Decision." What. an. idiot. Who the heck leaves a city that adores the heck out of you for a ring? Shoot forget the ring. I'd rather be idolized, man. Anyway, if he knew what was good for him - Chicago was a better option. I'm glad he didn't infest Chicago though. I love the Bulls and I do not love him.

August: All I can remember is it was super hot in August. Al Gore told you guys this was going to happen. Dang it, Al.

September: Remember when Southwest hooked me up for my College Football Pick'em skills? I took advantage of it in September. What started out as "Oh cool, I will go to NYC" turned into, "Well if we are going to NYC, let's head up to Niagara Falls and Toronto, spend a few nights in Canada, and head to Chicago on our way home." What an amazing trip that was. I wish I could do it all over again. I will do a more in depth post on this later. It's too good to be summarized into just one measly paragraph.

October, November, and December:

The last few months of the year are always filled with so many holidays (twice as many for me) so it's a lot of time spent with family, friends, and food - lots of food. It's always a time when I get really fat. It's like those people standing outside of concerts, sporting events, and anything else that is fun - "Party now PAY LATER." Oh yes, I am currently paying. It has been weeks since I have eaten out at any fast food establishment or consumed any beverage high in sugar. So boring, I know, but what can you do? Anyway, here's to an amazing 2011! Hopefully I start blogging more often. I enjoy it.

The Nightmare That is Valley Produce

Let's face it: an Indian family cannot live by shopping at Ralph's. It's just not going to happen. If you're going to feed a family of four daily, you're going to need to buy vegetables in bulk. At $2 a pound for tomatoes and maybe $1 PER onion, any Indian would go straight up broke. Let's not forget chicken tikka masala is all the rage now so that's going to cost you about $6 a bottle for some CTM sauce. So what do families do about this? They stay away from the chain stores when in need of vegetables and/or spices. Instead, they shop at a farmer's market or at a local "ethnic market." For my family, that local spot is the grocery store known as Valley Produce. I believe it started out primarily carrying Persian/Middle Eastern goods, but now they literally have everything from every country (they even carry Kinder Happy Hippo! +5 points for that shooooot). They have produce that's super cheap so you can happily purchase things in bulk without making your wallet cry, a wide assortment of products from all of the world, and an amazing Persian bakery with the best cakes and pastries. You might be thinking, "Wow this place sounds so awesome, what's the trade-off?" I'll tell you: MY SANITY.

The place is a freaking zoo. I won't complain about how crowded the parking lot always is because hey, they have low prices, but brace yourself because I have a hefty amount of other gripes. First of all, the people who shop here have zero patience. I can always count on people pushing me aside because I'm standing in front of something they need or someone ramming their cart into me and hitting my foot from behind because they're in a rush. That shizz hurts man! Do they ever apologize? No. At Valley Produce, apologizing is for the weak. What else grinds my gears? The employees. They're always hanging around in some aisle I need things from pretending to be "busy" restocking things on shelves. I usually see they're there, decide to go shop for other things, and plan to return to that specific aisle later with the assumption that they will be done restocking and I can purchase what I need to. Wishful thinking, right? You bet. They're always still there. If you say, "Excuse me" in hopes of them moving out of the way, dream on kid. These things I'm talking about didn't just happen once or twice, they are guaranteed to happen every time I set foot in the store. I can promise you this is the same experience every other person who shops here has as well.

This is getting long, let me just discuss the issue I had last week. My mom and I are in one of the aisles looking for atta and naturally one of the employees in right in front of what we need, refusing to move. We can't see the prices, so we don't even know which brand we wanted. My mom decides to ask the guy working there how much one of them was to which the employee responded, "All of the prices are written, see, (points to sticker), you have to read it and then you will know the price."

HOLD UP COWBOY.

I then told him, "We can't see the prices because you are in the way."

Employee: "Listen. I said read the stickers and then you will know the price. It's written. Look at it."

Me: "You need to move out of the way then so we can read the stickers on our own."

Did he move? No no moving is for the weak.

I think I get an ulcer every time I shop at this place.

Ok I could go on forever, and let's be real here, the store is a gold mine, the prices are incredible, and I could never stop shopping here. The main point is that my sanity is checked in at the door every time I walk into this place and I really wonder why it must be this way? Can't we all be happy at VP?

An Attack on Google Maps

Oh Google, my Google, I love your search engine, Gmail, Gchat, Google Earth, Picasa, Blogger (obviously) and pretty much everything else you have to offer. Well, everything except one thing - Google Maps. Yeah I said it, Google, you are ruining my life with Google Maps and frankly, I am not amused. I also hate that it's the default map app on iPhones. Whenever I press "current location" while sitting in my house, you put me on some random street 3 miles away in Reseda. How dare you. That's the least of my problems though. Here's what grinds my gears:

You are terrible at giving me directions to ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE!

How can a company so good at everything be so awful at a simple thing such as giving driving directions? Of course, I no longer use Google for directions if I'm planning a trip from home (MapQuest FTW!), but sometimes when I'm on the road, I need to look up directions on my phone and unfortunately, I have to use GM. Here are some of the most recent Google Maps snafus I've dealt with (multiply the amount listed here by 20 and that's about how many other times I have been messed with):


Sawtelle Blvd. is NOT an exit on the 405 South. Exit 51 actually has no mention of Washington Blvd. or Culver City either. I was supposed to exit JEFFERSON BLVD. Google geez!

From UC San Diego to Pala Casino:



Ok no that's all wrong. All of it! Thanks for that doozie G-Maps!

From Northridge to Cookies by Design in Long Beach:


This was quite the epic fail as well. When you're on PCH and make a right on Havana, you go into a residential area and a few feet away is E. 8th Street. I make the left and great, I'm back on PCH. Why did they make me go in a circle through some random residential area like that when I could've kept going straight?

I honestly could keep going but seriously, why do you suck so bad with driving directions? Get it together! Let's not forget the time you made Sameer catch a nonexistent train from Oceanside to Northridge through Metrolink's Trip Planner. I'm shaking my fist at you, Google.

Super Bowl Commercials

So I guess many people thought this year's Super Bowl commercials weren't up to par. I personally thought they were pretty funny - and definitely funnier than last year's. I do laugh at just about anything though so I am not really a great indicator of comedic value. Here are some of my favorites from last night (in no particular order):

1 - "Keep your hands off my momma, and keep your hands off my Doritos"



LOL!

2 - The McDonald's shout out to the '93 McDonald's commercial

2010 Commercial:



Larry Bird at the end - classic!

Who remembers the original? Although I was seven, I sure do.

1993 Commercial:



P.S. Slammin sweater, MJ!

3 - Bud Light AUTOTUNE!



hahahahhaahahhahahahaha. Coming from someone who adores her I Am T-Pain iPhone app, you knew this was going to be a winner in my book.

4 - Dodge Charger



"I will watch your vampire tv shows with you."





Lastly, honorable mention to the folks at Vizio. I mean, they used my hero Tay Zonday. Another instant winner. Chocolate rain forever!

Tales From the Stall

Every one tells a lie here or there (or at least I do...), but sometimes people take it TOO FAR. I'm talking to you, Georgia-Pacific! I was in a public restroom the other day and check out the toilet paper dispenser (yes, I took a picture in the restroom, don't judge me!):



The "Never-Out 3000." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Never out? That's a bold claim - and it's a dirty lie. Sure when that 1st roll runs out, there will be a 2nd one available for use, but what about after that Georgia-Pacific? Sounds like we have a problem. To make it worse, 3000? Really? Only super amazing things are allowed to have a denomination of one thousand in its name (i.e. The Kingfisher 9000 among other things) and your dispenser is so not worthy! I can't believe you Georgia-Pacific.