Geek. Pirate. Mom

TheBoy and I snuck off last week for a weekend away from the kids in one of our favorite cities, Las Vegas. True, we aren’t much for clubbing. Or gambling. Or even drinking.

But that isn’t why we love Las Vegas, it’s the food! As well as the luxury of getting to sleep in at a great hotel without worrying about kidlets.

Friday morning we set off from LA and started to make the drive through the desert. While yes, we could have flown and simply rented a car in Vegas, there’s something fun about the drive. Hours where we can talk, sing to songs, and stop and enjoy some roadside food.

This trip’s “I can’t believe we stopped there award” goes to Hesperia. Right on the border of Victorville and Hesperia, we passed a Gentleman’s Club that said that dancers were always welcome. Classy, right? We stopped there to fill up at a gas station and I admit, I really didn’t want to get out of the car to use the bathroom and buy some water.

From there, it was through Barstow (and BARSTOW STATION) and the desert until we reached Baker. In the past, we used to stop at Barstow for a meal. With the first Vegas trips, it was usually Barstow Station- out of nostalgia sake, and the fact that you get to eat in converted train cars. Then we started to stop a little further in Barstow, near the outlet malls.

Now we stop at Baker. Why? I have three words for you: The Mad Greek. The Mad Greek is in Baker, and has some delicious Greek fare (as well as diner classics) and the best strawberry milkshakes.

This time we ordered gyros (an odd first as we’ve stopped here so many times), and they were delicious. The meat was unbelievably tender- and their tzaziki sauce was excellent.

Then, it was back to the road. A first for us, we passed by some skydivers landing near Jean, NV. One was a little off course- but they all landed safely. It was still surprising to see that their landing site was so close to the highway, though. (No pictures- all I have is the cell and the couple pictures I snapped were much too blurry)

I always get a little sad driving through Jean. On one side of the highway is still the Gold Strike Casino, which boasts cheap meals and slots that pay out cash. On the other, is a cement footprint of what used to be the Nevada Landing, with its sign still standing.

As we were driving into Las Vegas, we passed a total of 10 cars pulled over – a few on the left side of the highway, each with motorcycle cops and a couple with some cars as well. I have no idea what happened, but I couldn’t stop laughing. I laughed when I saw the first one- as someone who regularly drives into Vegas, you always go the limit coming into and out of. They see the California plates and start pulling people over because they can. A little more when I saw the next one, and I was actually crying by the tenth car- it was so utterly absurd by that point.

Of course, you just want to know where we ate and what we had… so I’ll skip the reminiscing, and go straight to the Reviews.

Friday Night

Ping Pang Pong
Gold Coast Casino

I first ate here two years ago with my family and was struck by how amazing the food was. While the Gold Coast isn’t a very nice place, the restaurant is packed with Chinese tourists (and locals)- which means the food has to be the real deal.
First up, we had the potstickers. Filled with pork, they were perfect. The dough wasn’t too thick, the pork was perfectly cooked, and they were just crisp enough. Served with a great dipping sauce, we had a hard time reminding ourselves that we still had entrees on the way.

Of our two entrees, this was our favorite- and the one I recommend that everyone try who visits. Walnut Prawns. Coated in a mayonnaise sauce and served with honey glazed walnuts. The prawns are a little sweet with a bit of a tang from the sauce- and the walnuts are perfectly sweet and delicious. Honestly, I wanted to buy a bag of those walnuts for snacking on for the rest of our trip.

The prices are on par with a nicer Chinese food restaurant and the food is authentic. Casual attire will do, but not too casual.

Saturday Breakfast

Room Service – no review necessary. It was great, convenient and pricey!

Saturday Lunch

Solaro
Pool Deck at the Palazzo

One of Wolfgang Puck’s eateries, it’s a mix of California cuisine and classic American food. Food’s in the $15-$20 range and is also available to-go, so that it can be taken up to the rooms. Of course, you can only dine there if you have access to the Palazzo’s pools- which would mean if you’re a Palazzo guest or headed to Azure.

Sadly, I have no pictures- I had gone to CanyonRanch Spa, so I left my phone up in my room. It seemed silly to bring it and possibly lose it.

TheBoy ordered a burger- which was huge and came with fries. Always lovely when they ask you how you want your burger cooked.

I ordered the Prime Rib Panini, which came with potato chips. The prime rib was tender, juicy- and the horseradish cream on the sandwich was great. Now, any time I get a prime rib sandwich, I’ll be dreaming of this one.

We’re probably going to eat here again, next time.

Saturday Night

Dal Toro
The Palazzo

TheBoy was in the mood for Italian, so we decided to try this place. It’s rated to have one of the best patios in Vegas, as it’s set just below street level where you can people watch and see the show across the street at Treasure Island. (It was windy the night we were there, so we didn’t get to see the show) To make the street noise not so obvious, there are a lot of fountains as well as some fairly loud music.

It’s part Italian restaurant and car museum. I ordered the Tortiglione Rustica, a pasta dish with bacon, chicken, mushrooms, and thyme, tossed in a brandy cream sauce. TheBoy ordered the Lasagna delal Nonna- the grandmother’s lasagna. I got a bowl of pasta that was roughly the side of my head, and he had a normal size portion of lasagna. He said his lasagna was good, I thought that the Tortiglione was a bit sweet, but okay. Good, but not amazing.

For dessert, he had tiramisu and I had the Torta della Nonna (pictured). Both were excellent.

The service was a little spotty as well- quite often we were left searching for our waiter, even though the restaurant wasn’t full. Odder still, one of the hostesses was dressed in a tank top and shorts, when the rest were dressed like hostesses usually are.

If we come back, it will be for dessert only, I think.

Prices range from $14-42 for entrees. If you want to try it, reservations are recommended (they’re on OpenTable).

And with that, we left Vegas the next morning and returned home. We had lunch at Bob’s Big Boy in Baker (right next to the World’s Largest Thermometer!).

While we didn’t make it very far outside the Palazzo/Venetian complex, there are tons of amazing restaurants there. I have a long list of places that I’d like to try in Vegas- which range from pricey to very affordable.

Off-strip, but excellent was the Black Bear Diner. My cousin recommended this and the food was dynamite. Classic diner food, done very well. In the Venetian/Palazzo, I’d also like to visit Carnevino, Cut, Bouchon (and return to Pinot Brasserie). Next door at Harrah’s, there’s KGB- which boasts some amazing burgers. If you’re willing to trek through Circus Circus, THE Steakhouse is great. At the MGM, Craftsteak and Shibuya are on my list of places to go. At Caesar’s Palace, there’s Mesa Grill and Rao’s (TheBoy has this on our list for next time- since you’re more likely to get a seat there than Rao’s in NY).

Of course, by next summer- I’m sure I’ll have even more places to add to the list.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World is based on the epic graphic novels by Bryan O’Malley (@radiomaru). The graphic novels were set in 6 volumes, which yes, in my opinion qualifies it as an epic. Writing, drawing, inking and coloring them mostly by himself- that’s no small feat. (Plus, the movie is an epic of epic epicness)

Starring Michael Cera and directed by Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim has had a lot of hype in the comic community- and indeed, had a huge presence at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. The series was a fun hybrid of the hipster music scene, video game culture… it promised to be huge.

The only problem is that it hasn’t reached a major audience. So if you don’t count yourself as a gamer or comic lover… this review is for you.

Scott Pilgrim is a love story. It’s an action movie. It’s a video game come to live. It’s about music. It’s a comic book, visualized- with phones that say RING, head thumps that say THWACK, and split screens that flow like comic book panels.

A lot of people have said that it’s a movie only for geeks and those under 30. They’re wrong- elitists who see phrases like comic book and video game in press kits and immediately prepare themselves to find faults.

But at the core, it’s a movie about relationships. Friends that stick by you through everything, siblings that annoy, the ex who broke your heart, the person you date just to get through it all, and the love you find that changes everything. It’s about growing up. It’s about taking risks.

It’s a movie about Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a 22 year old slacker and bass player for Sex Bob-Omb who lives with his gay best friend Wallace (Keiran Culkin). He meets the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and instantly falls in love. Unfortunately, to win Ramona’s heart he has to fight her Seven Evil Exes and survive.

Sounds a little crazy, but it works. Why? The characters, despite their penchants for video game style fighting and fantastic dream sequences… well, they have soul. They seem real. Scott, despite being the hero and a pretty nice guy, is also a little bit of a jerk. Ramona, who is believable as the girl you’d fight seven exes to be with, isn’t so great herself. But it’s the flaws that sell it. So often, you read books or see movies with fantastic premises and characters that are lifted straight out of archetypes- wise old man, sweet ingenue, noble hero… Scott Pilgrim is filled with real people who happen to be able to do extraordinary things.

Admittedly, Scott Pilgrim didn’t do well at the box office. It might be because of all the advance showings they had for the movie, coupled with the fact that the trailers were designed to appeal to teens and gamers. It isn’t because it’s a bad movie- I would say that it’s definitely worth seeing, regardless of your age and history with game controllers. Show Hollywood that unique movies have their place at megaplexes. That movies like Scott Pilgrim are worth taking a chance on. Or that movies can build presence week after week, rather than simply vanishing.

Scott Pilgrim is out across the US at a theater near you. The soundtrack and score are available at stores and downloadable on iTunes and Amazon. The graphic novels (all six volumes) are available through Oni Press at bookstores.

Last night, my oldest son woke me up at 1 am to tell me… that he was thirsty. Much better than other ways I’ve been woken by him this week. I’m not sure I could have handled him wailing while I was still half asleep that he was wet.

So I got him milk and went back to bed and couldn’t fall asleep. One hour passed where I was laying in bed. So I turned on the TV and watched an episode of Psych. Then I tried to go back to sleep. My brain was still buzzing, so I tried writing. My brain was buzzing, but not coherent. I tried again, in vain. So I read a little bit and then fell asleep.

I wanted to rant about the Ground Zero Mosque. Mostly that it isn’t being built on Ground Zero and that it isn’t a Mosque at all. My belief is that there is a lot we don’t understand about Islam. While it is, at its core, a fundamentalist religion- it’s more in line with Christianity’s own Old Testament. Which, by the way, is filled with bloody wars waged in the name of God. So let’s stop judging them on their nutjobs and try to accept that like any religion, there will be nutjobs. Much like the ones who started up the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades and all the Witch Hunts. Lets learn to be tolerant and accepting, and realize that the only reason the conservative Right is making this an issue is because they need something to be angry about that will take away attention from everything else that’s going on. Heck, I’m not even a conspiracy type-person, but I can recognize a smoke-screen when I see it.

There are a lot more important things going on in the world right now. Let’s focus on them and play nice.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

I thought TheBoy was going to be working overtime both nights this week, but he’s free tonight! So we’re going to make the most of it and head to our favorite locally run movie theater and enjoy an epic of epic epicness.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Sometimes writing isn’t about what you write.

That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Of course writing is about writing. It should be so easy. You sit down and then… squirrel!

If you’ve seen UP and remember Dug, that’s pretty much what being a writer can be like. I’ll sit down to write and then, suddenly think of emails I haven’t returned. Or realize I haven’t checked Twitter in a half hour. Or decide to make myself a somewhat time consuming meal.

I’m very good when it comes to procrastinating. I’ll sit down and think of a hundred things that I’d much rather be doing, and then do them. Or a show I haven’t seen, and in the interest of emptying my DVR, watch. (With the necessary distractions I have, I’ve managed to forget that I was writing this several times, in fact. 8 to be precise.)

So for now, it’s about writing whatever I can. Whether it’s a tweet, a blog post, or some bit of fiction that I don’t think anyone would care about. That’s why writing isn’t entirely about the content, just about writing.

So what have I written this week in lieu of my still unnamed Adventure Serial Project? I have written 5 blog posts (two of which were deleted), including this one. I wrote twenty-eight pages of a revised draft that I doubt anyone will ever see- unless you really want to.

You see, once upon a time, I ran a Star Wars role-playing game online (along with my best friend). It ran for years and I have some of the transcripts. Sadly, it ended with a couple adventures in progress. Which means, those characters are still active in my mind. When I sit down to write, I usually spend 15-20 minutes placating them, so that I can move on to what I would prefer to work on.

I was in the middle of my daily exorcism, when I realized that everyone’s dialogue was much too long. Much too flowery. I’d been watching Sense and Sensibility and had just finished reading Mansfield Park. Looking at the dialogue, it was as though Jane Austen had been writing Star Wars.

On a whim, I snagged a transcript and rewrote it as a mashup- Regency dialogue and some societal conceits mixed in with the game. It was surprisingly easy, and the rewrite just flowed out of me. Granted, I wasn’t changing much- but even for revising a draft, that was a lot of work to do in one day.

So nothing new on Project X, sadly. Except a bit of a confession about the detours I take. Next week I promise to have something of substance- deciding what types of characters I need.

This post is for parents and those who plan to have kids. For my childless friends, or those who come for the food and pictures.. don’t bother reading.

I’m going to be talking about potty training.

I should say upfront that I am a lazy mother. I do not schedule our days, in and out. We play at home, they watch some TV or movies while I write, and run errands together. I make their lunches, TheBoy does the laundry- and it all works out. I dub this lazy because know women who do all that, schedule days, make their children’s clothes and… well, probably clean the house.

My oldest is well, my oldest. I had no experience with potty training, and didn’t remember how my mom did it with my sister and I. I read the books, and when D started to say enough that he could tell me he needed to use the potty, we pulled out the potty chair and started him on it. Then I had our youngest. Then we moved.

Read More…

Typewriter photo taken from Flickr user Emdot. Source.

This is the difficult part of blogging. I know that there are those who read my blog posts, but there aren’t any comments. At least not from humans. I get plenty of spam comments, those that are clearly written by foreigners. As I blog, I know that at least the bots are interested.

The comments from the bots are so obviously written in one language and translated into English- I only wish I knew what their original message was.

Today I recieved:

I admire what you maintain done here. I like the factor where you say you are doing this to around without hope but I would assume through all the comments that this is working for you as well.

Congrats, Russian comment bot. You made me smile. I also appreciate when one tries to link back to an autism blog as their site, but posts on the blog posts I made that weren’t about autism.

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Yes, I know that grammatically it should be “Return to Glen Ivy,” but as my previous post about Glen Ivy was titled “The Spa Day Strikes Back,” I couldn’t resist continuing the Star Wars theme.

As I mentioned six months ago, I go to Glen Ivy twice a year with my best friend. This was our third trip to Glen Ivy together, and our third trip using the cabanas. For us, the cabanas are a must. Not only do you have your cabana to keep your things, and the concierge service, but they keep an eye on your appointment times. No need to track down watches or clocks. You simply get to unwind.

Since our last trip, they replaced the cabana furniture, and I must say I really enjoy the new decor. In the Date Palm cabana, the lounge’s cushion is now a deep rust – very close to the color of their famous clay! The new rug is a great touch, too. I didn’t get to look at all the changes in the other cabanas, but I very much like the new look. (Also, the cushioned lounge was so comfortable that Jerad and I often wondered if we were simply going to fall asleep!)

The cabana staff were Marcus (who we’d met on our first trip) and Ryan. Both possessed the remarkable skill of appearing just when they were needed, without seeming to hover. And both were quite adept at problem solving- but more on that later.

This trip, the only service I had was a 50 minute Swedish massage “Under the Oaks” – which is their outdoor massage area, shaded underneath oak trees and palms. The massage was excellent, and it never fails to amaze me how mentioning that I’m a writer and a stay at home mother of two little kids immediately tells the massage therapists exactly where I need attention. I’m very glad that the weather complied- if it’s too hot, they move the appointments indoor.

I enjoyed my previous massage indoors (as well as other massages I’ve had indoors), but there’s something thoroughly relaxing about the fresh air combined with the actual sounds of nature. The wind through the trees, the sounds of leaves falling. Just wonderful.

We made use of the cabana deck’s salt pool early, which turned out to be good since one of the other groups in the cabanas was a baby shower in the cabana closest to the pool.

I cannot recommend their restaurant, Cafe Sol, enough. The food is light and fresh- and even heavier fare like pizzas or pasta are so fresh that they hardly feel heavy at all. I had the Shrimp Calzone, Jerad had a Lasagna Bread Bowl. Both were delicious. The only downside to our meal was that it was so delicious, that some local bees decided they wanted to eat them as well.

Yes, bees. Carnivorous bees. While it sounds like a bad horror movie, they did have some sweat bees nearby- which liked to eat chicken and apparently my shrimp. They’re not an aggressive bee at all, but when they proved to be extremely interested in my calzone, Ryan made sure that we got a table downstairs at the restaurant where we could enjoy our meal in peace. Many thanks to Ryan for his quick thinking! Also, I can now say that I survived carnivorous bees.

When Jerad had another treatment, I got to use the time for writing. And got a fair amount of work done!

It was a great time. Carnivorous bees aside, the only downside of our trip is that how quiet the cabanas can be depends on the other guests. Next to us, we had the baby shower- who seemed intent on their day at the cabanas be like a day at a Las Vegas Cabana. With music, food and fun. Loud music. Ryan did his best to keep the baby shower quiet, but the women were intent on having their music and ignored him. So please, if you plan on renting the cabana- remember that this is a spa. Not poolside at the Palms. People come for peace and quiet. (Again, I in no way fault Glen Ivy. Ryan did all that he could to reign in the women- but they were simply rude and clearly misunderstood what a spa is about)

At the end of the night, Marcus asked us which we preferred, the summer or winter at Glen Ivy. I admit, I don’t have a preference- each time of year has its charms. It’s warm during the summer, which allows one to take in Club Mud or enjoy a massage “Under the Oaks” – both experiences I enjoy. However, it’s blissfully quiet during the winter, which allows for true relaxation and reflection.

I’m already counting the days until January, when we’ll be back enjoying some R&R at Glen Ivy!

For whatever reason, I love picking projects that require a lot of research. One is set in so many time periods that I might as well get a degree in history.

So this is my break from that. Since it’s an action/adventure serial similar to Indiana Jones and the Mummy (and all the wonderful novels and radio show that inspired movies like those), I get to play a little fast and loose with history.

It’s the same way that movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” succeed. They give you just enough indication of the time period that it seems like it could be realistic without making it a true historical piece. Contrast the first Pirates movie with the third. In the first, it was established that pirates were hunted and the penalty was death. It was established that some groups branded pirates. However, it was just enough to establish some of the stakes that the pirates faced, but didn’t focus on them. It focused solely on the treasure and the Black Pearl. The third movie, on the other hand, became bogged down by details. While there were elements of the fantastic- Davy Jones and Calypso, the majority of the plot was about pirates being squeezed off the seas, trade agreements controlling governments. The series went from being a supernatural movie set in a historical time period to a period piece with supernatural elements. One was successful, the other… not so much. (And for the record, I did love the third one, but I’m a history nut. I don’t think it was as well written as the first.)

This story has a couple things that are tricky. There’s my MacGuffin, which is rooted in a historical time period (go artifacts!). So I have to make it fit without giving so many details that it seems fake- since too many details makes me feel like someone thinks I won’t believe it otherwise. Then there’s the timeline that the story is set in.

I want the location to feel believable, but at the same time, I’m not writing a travelogue.

Things I’m researching:

Alexander the Great
Nazis
South East Asia in the 1930s

The picture for this post is of Amice Mary Calverley, who I discovered while looking for inspiration in pictures from the 1930s. If it weren’t for real women like her, fictional characters from Marian Ravenwood to Evelyn O’Connell (nee Carnahan) wouldn’t have been plausible. I’d never heard of her until this week, but honestly- what an amazing woman!

My wonderful mother-in-law is watching the boys this weekend, so TheBoy and I can duck out for a vacation. Vegas! Yes, I’ll have a full trip report.

Right now we’re watching the kidlet’s new favorite movie- The Mummy Returns. I suppose I should explain why my two little ones are watching it, right? Well, I love the movie. I used to want to cosplay as Meela Nais as Comic-Con (She’s the badass reincarnation of Ankh-su-namun), but that just never happened. If it’s on television, especially one of the movie channels, I have to watch it.

A couple days ago, I was watching it while the kids were in my in-law’s room (one of the few moments I have to myself during the day) and the oldest kidlet came in while Imhotep and crew were on the train through the desert. So now I find myself watching it over and over, because it has “the Mummy train that goes through all the sand and stops with a SCREECH which is awesome.” At least it’s a movie I adore.

I share this story because I was starting the recording over again on DirecTV (I wish I could find my DVD of the movie) and noticed one description. “Two evil forces pursue the son of adventurer Rick O’Connell.” I guess Ankh-su-namun? But okay. The next description? That one was so off that I had to take a picture of it. Can’t make it out easily? “Two evil forces believe the 9 year old son of adventurer Rick O’Connell is the key to the reincarnation of Isis.” Which would make for an awesome movie, but is not the actual movie’s description. I would have ended it with “the resurrection of the Army of Anubis” or even “the Scorpion King.”

But Isis? That’s just laughable. But would still make for an interesting movie. Much more interesting than the third Mummy was.

(In the time that I took away from this post to get through my morning Google Reader check, both boys have abandoned this TV for the one in my mother-in-law’s room. And yes, I am still watching The Mummy Returns)

My youngest son is 2 3/4 years old. When he was 6 months old, he was diagnosed with a long list of allergies. We had started to suspect that something was wrong when he was about 3 months old, suddenly he was covered with eczema.

Our pediatrician urged us to try basic remedies- to change to hypo-allergenic lotions, and bath him more frequently. Nothing changed. She referred us to a dermatologist who put us on better lotions and had us eliminate fragranced items. When he didn’t get much better, she referred us to an allergist.

He was 6 months old by that time, and two years later, it sometimes amazes me that it’s the same kid. Sure, he can’t have dairy, wheat, soy, peanut or eggs. But there are plenty of things that he can eat- especially in his toddler mindset where he only eats a handful of foods. Tortilla chips? Fresh fruit? Turkey meatballs? He loves them.

His skin is clear. Unbelievably clear. His feet are a little scaly- after 2 1/2 years of scratching, it’s become a habit of his to scratch when he’s tired. But it’s clear. He can run around in grass barefoot and not have to be wiped down afterwards (he used to get itchy while in the yard). He can play with the in-laws cats and not need a bath afterwards.

We used to have to give him a daily dose of allergy medicine, and now we only use it for the occasional allergic reaction.

He hasn’t outgrown all his food allergies. He had some eggs at Thanksgiving last year and started to break out in hives. He had some crackers with soy and broke out in hives. He has some regular crackers (wheat and soy) and broke out in hives. But we haven’t found any new allergies, and he’s living quite happily with the food restrictions we have. I couldn’t ask for more.

Has it been easy? No. When he was a baby he had a hypoallergenic formula that we could only get from a medical supply company. His allergies eliminate most premade meals, forcing me to make things. We have to bring foods to restaurants for him, since I’m never sure what might have crossed paths with something that seems safe. We still travel with Benadryl and epi-pens everywhere. But it isn’t impossible.