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Smoking or Non?
Holy hot sauce Batman! Wasn't this supposed to be a restaurant review? All I have to say is, no one better be pickin' on my peeps (SDaniels, Magicsfive, refriedgringo, etc.) ... or when I return to town there will be deep fried finger licking hell to pay. :) Can't we all just get along? lol....— June 17, 2009 12:44 a.m.
None
If you love really good, fresh authentic sushi that is reasonably priced in a unique and cozy atmosphere...then this is the place to go in North County. It is easy to miss as you cruise along the 101, you have to step down to enter and the front is not showy. But inside is warm and intimate. There is a conveyor belt at the bar/counter where the daily specials along with groups of soy, wasabi, and ginger wind their way past you. You are never lacking for the right combination of condiments that allow the oh so good Japanese cuisine to melt in your mouth. You can't get a bad meal here, and you'll walk out with your wallet intact as well looking forward to your next visit. In fact, ask for their frequent patron card and accumulate hole punches for every $10 your spend to get a nice discount on a future meal (they even round up). Full service bar includes Japanese beer. For more privacy, eat by candlelight at one of the cozy tables, and when summer comes there is a little outdoor area to enjoy. Service is friendly and prompt, although it is a small place so everyone has to be a little accommodating. The only quirk is you have to talk a little walk outside through a courtyard to use the restroom. But good food at a good price served with a nod and a smile is worth a little walk anytime. Look for it along the west side of the 101 just past the main drag in Encinitas on the Leucadian border. Enjoy!— May 28, 2009 1:28 a.m.
It's Not Easy Being Mentally Ill
Magics! I almost wrote you to point out the Metallica quote!! LOL...glad you found it on your own, and glad to find you again period. :) LOVED LOVED LOVED your blogs...know how you can tell a good Mom? Read her daughter's Mother's Day poem ... Thank you, Robbiebear, for having the courage to blog your story. So much more needs to be said about this topic...while we've come a long way from imprisoning the mentally ill...we still have a very long way to go. So often there is a biological basis for what people suffer psychologically...and yet, the prejudice continues. Stay strong.— May 28, 2009 12:26 a.m.
Parents Taking Care of Children
Mindy3onesanda4: Some negligent parents need all the added grief the law allows. It depends upon the facts. But once you have a child you are wholly responsible for their life, their well being, their health. You literally have to walk around your home, at their level, and remove, lock up, cut chords, plug up outlets, put tempting/shiny/pretty things away. You have to be (and I hate this word but it says it) proactive. That is your JOB. And btw, parents who let their children under 10 or even 12 roam freely through their neighborhood and don't follow up and watch that they get to where they are going or have them call when they get there (or you call) or better yet, take the 15 min. to walk them or drive them there yourself have no one to blame but themselves when something happens. That may sound heartless...but it is not that I don't feel for them, it's that they fell down on the job. And their poor child paid the price. Some would say it is Darwin at work, but that is a mutilation of his theory. It is careless parenting at work...and many times we parents luck out and our kid is okay...but not always. Josh, I don't believe Eric Clapton was present when his son Adam fell out of the screen window to his death. I believe his son was with his mother, and she and Clapton were either separated or not living together at the time. If my memory of that event is correct, then I don't think he can be blamed! However, if your version is accurate I humbly apologize and yes... balconies and 4 year olds do not mix. Glad you survived your foray onto Clairmont Mesa Blvd. :)— May 28, 2009 12:19 a.m.
Cell Phones (in cars, trains, buses, movie theatres, press conferences...)
I refused for the longest time to own a cell phone. I simply did not want anyone to be calling my purse. In fact, my first voice mail greeting said something to that effect..."hello, this is Lisa, and you have reached my purse. I'm not in my purse right now..." I finally broke down when someone I was dating seriously made my getting one a condition of a continued relationship (he had a cell, beeper, and mobile car phone). You can guess how long that relationship lasted: as long as it took me to record my voice mail message. Further, once you do have a cell phone, people expect to always be able to reach you and talk to you on demand! The get testy, suspicious even if you don't answer your cell when they call or if it goes straight to voice mail. Hey, I pay for this phone for MY convenience, not yours!! So most of the time, mine is turned off. It has been handy though when I've had a tire blow or I'm running late, lost, (miss my kid), etc. I have the same attitude about call waiting. Hey, I'm already talking to someone else!! Wait yer turn! Remember the good old days when people just called and either it rang until they gave up (well, okay, answering machines ARE very useful) or THEY GOT A BUSY SIGNAL AND CALLED YOU BACK. We live in this "microwave" society where everything must happen instantly if not yesterday. So RefriedG, I'm curious, just how does a cell phone enable Mexican culture? Is it because of a lack of a land based integrated telephone system...or is there another, deeper reason? I'm sitting at the edge of my seat awaiting your response... :)— May 14, 2009 2:11 a.m.
Cell Phones (in cars, trains, buses, movie theatres, press conferences...)
As for drivers... 9.9 times out of 10 the one weaving all over the place at 10 m.p.h. below the speed limit while multiple people risk their lives to change lanes and hurl epitaphs at them as they cluelessly gab away should not be ticketed. They should also be shot on sight. Police officers and other drivers should be able to just take them out, like so much road kill congesting the byways. Josh if you can do it without distraction, God Bless ya, but you have to admit most cannot. As for movie goers.... I yelped out loud (yol ?) at the comment you would like to make to a someone who actually answers their phone to say they can't talk...in a movie or otherwise. I can understand forgetting...but then just quickly turn it off. If it is important...glance at the screen, note who called you, stop the ring tone of "Dancing Queen" from blasting out of your pocket...and go to the lobby. Otherwise, I will just walk over to you, politely remove your phone from your splayed fingers and drop it in my coke. Diet Coke. My boyfriend would be as mortified as Josh's girlfriend, but that's my version of tough love. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest Josh...LOL.— May 14, 2009 1:55 a.m.
Cell Phones (in cars, trains, buses, movie theatres, press conferences...)
A-frickin-men to all of the above. Sorry, but what makes anyone with a cell phone think that the rest of the world wants to hear or cares about what you have to say to the giggle puss on the other end or your voice box? I am so tired of standing in some line to buy something or deposit something and be forced to listen to some narcissistic megalomaniac yap ABOVE conversational levels into their cell. I should be able to shoot them for being so annoying rude. Here's a message I would like to send to all of you guilty as accused above: NOBODY CARES. Furthermore, it is rude as hell to be talking on your phone while you are checking out your groceries or going through a drive through. Would you carry on a conversation with a person live standing next to you under the same circumstances while the cashier or sales clerk processed your purchases or tried to get your attention? No, you would not. Know why? BECAUSE IT IS SO OBVIOUSLY RUDE. Same with people on planes as soon as we land, in airports waiting to board, on the train, in the doctor's office...try inside voices or better yet take it outside when possible or wait until you can yap privately. Unless it is a true emergency, having a portable phone does not abort all rules of social etiquette. And remember: NOBODY CARES or thinks you are so important about the inane nonsense you broadcast. I remember the first time I saw someone using a blue tooth device. We were all standing in line at the bank, when this woman who was a dead ringer for "The Nanny" - including the voice - appeared to start talking to herself! I thought at first she was talking to me, so I started to hesitantly respond. Then I thought she was mentally ill. Then I realized she was yapping "hands free." It takes either a lot of guts, or a lot of stupid to stand in the middle of a public place and talk at an elevated decibel level about stuff and nonsense while smiling straight ahead. (con't)....— May 14, 2009 1:55 a.m.
San Diego's Antiochian Orthodox church surprises.
What shall forever be a conundrum to small minds like mine is how it is that those who rally against intolerance (decrying its evil specter everywhere to the point of paranoia) can ever justify intolerance within themselves. Perhaps this is where that "forest for the trees" analogy got started.... Very disappointing Spliffy...very.— May 13, 2009 8:57 a.m.
Letters
Dear Neil Allen of Talmadge, in re: Ms. Atassi's cover article of April 30, 2009. I find the need to slightly mangle a well-worn portion of verse: me thinks you doth protest too much. What could have possibly set you off to pen that vivisection of this author, both as an author and a human being? The article documented Ms. Atassi's struggle to extricate herself from her own predicament of joblessness, semi-hopelessness, and ennui...likening it to the sea turtle that can't seem to leave the warm water effluent of San Diego's treatment plants even though it too knows it doesn't belong. At least that is what I read in that article. I saw none of the unpleasantness you complained of. I was entertained and bemused when I read it and it reminded me of that time I think many people go through, that period of life post high school (sometimes post college) but before the heavy hand of adulthood gives us a shoulder tap, when we still aren't sure what we want to be when we grow up. Or if we can grow up and grow away. We know we have to, and we want to be independent, but something - either a lack of frontal lobe development, low blood sugar, or fear - something holds us firmly in place. Both longing and loathing the comforts and security of childhood we can't seem to leave. Again, much like the misplaced sea turtles along our shores. Could you not read her own self-loathing for her lack of motivation and direction? And it is she who seemed to despise the idea of marrying simply to have a purpose, as I recall. Furthermore, I would point out that she is doing at least one thing constructive: she is writing; writing well, and getting paid for it! I didn't pick up the intentional slacker in her tale. I could be wrong, but the article had more of a calming and sober effect on me as opposed to inspiring a call to arms against a presumed malingering post pubescent! With all due respect, you were a bit hard on the gal and it makes me wonder if you have a 20 (or 30)-some living in your basement who thinks the delivery job you got him at Pizza Hut is beneath him while he steals your loose change left on the dryer. Even wayward sea turtles deserve a little love...and a second chance. Lisa A. Leitter La Mesa— May 13, 2009 3:41 a.m.
Holding Tight to Friendship
Magics5, that was, well...magically spoken from the heart with the clarity and beauty of a true writer's voice. You've only just begun. And I too had a crush on "Dr." Johnny Fever...and I hate to think of "him" suffering in any way. I'm sincerely sorry to read you are both dealing with such heartache. If there is any way you can return to SD before August please do! We'll set the pool party around that and bring Don. SDaniels, one of my favorite authors, (AND used car saleswomen, apparently) is a given as is Mr.Board & Co., poolside... RefriedG is also of course invited...it's beans, they're what's for dinner! LOL...seriously....some of these posters must be missing a Prozac dose or two. What happened while I was gone?!... RefriedG, I was shocked to learn your blog of last month was not the winner...someone must be sleeping with the Editor. :) But Magic, you've written a winner this month. It is as true as your heart.— May 13, 2009 2:45 a.m.