Our #100chowdownchallenge

We're out on a mission: after our Benihana experience, we decided that we will not be eating in the same place twice until 101st. We have to chow down in a different one each time we decide to dine out.

#100chowdownchallenge all began about a couple of days ago when we wanted to  eat at Kula but the typical one to two hour wait was just unbearable.  So option two was next door -- Dumpling Inn Shanghai Saloon.



One down side of this challenge is if we end up ordering one that we'll end up not liking, or something we would really like and crave but will have to take a while before repeat since the challenge prohibits it.  Double-edge challenge of our own choosing.

So far, we've these for are crossed-off:

1. Dumpling Inn Shanghai Saloon
2. Donut Bar
3. Paris Baguette
4. Ajisen Ramen


Ajisen Ramen

Another down side would be including fast food chains in the challenge like Micky D's which is our staple quick fix joint and our typical caffeine booster when out and about, Starbucks.  

Mediocre at best

It's been bothering me all day. As if there was an after taste that lingered that kept me thinking about it. Last night, we went out with our co-workers for dinner and Benihana was their choice. Anna has gone before but it's been years and I haven't.

 I did had my doubts about the place. Anna said she'll leave it up to me. I hated the thought that we're going out to eat at a place with price that doesn't match the taste and will eventually regret it. Days prior, I tried to convince the whole party to rethink and maybe just go somewhere else. I tried suggesting going to a Korean Bbq place and even Kula, all to no avail.




 This would be the first and last time that I would let a non-Asian decide what Asian restaurant to eat at!  There's so much angst in me right now that I can't even properly put into words how I feel. It was as if I were to invite a Mexican friend and tell him let's eat good tacos and burritos, then head to Taco Bell. Or go to Texas for steak, only to end up at the nearest Outback or Applebee's.  Seriously.

 Say I may not be the best person to give recommendations about good restaurants, but I've had my fair share of having been to really good ones - expensive or not, plus the fact that I can make mean meals sans recipes. I love food and we love to eat. We would even travel hundreds of miles just to have a taste of some extra ordinary food we saw either online or some TV food show.

 Benihana is like Chuckee Cheese for adults. You don't go there for the food, you go there for the entertainment. And that "entertainment" is a good fraction of what you're paying for.  I'm too old to be entertained by flaming volcano onions and flying shrimp tails, quite honestly. I won't mind driving all the way to San Francisco to try that extra ordinary chicken, because I know it's worth the trip.




 I ordered Hibachi chicken and scallops for Anna. I was not impressed with either. The fried rice was like the one I make at home on weekends. I even put that entry on my Instagram.



 I need to end this. Never again Benihana. You're that awkward date that I swear I should have cancelled and never bother. I don't even want to be friends with you. Saying you're a mediocre is me being nice trying not to hurt your feelings.  Good riddance.  However, I'll still give A++ to Pedro and his team for trying their dibs at entertaining us despite being too damn tired flippin'.

Alexa...... (You know where this is going)

 I happen to check on my Best Buy account yesterday and saw that I have a few dollar rewards to spend. Unfortunately, it expires that very same day. I immediately took off and on the way there, I was wondering what to get.

 Was going around the store browsing and in my head sky was the limit...and the sky was at $35! Felt like a millionaire LOL. Took me a while but at the center of the store was Amazon's booth. And there it was, THE Dot. Just staring at me. It had a price tag of $40+. Oh hell, I'll just throw in some extra cash.



 I did not get to set the thing up until after midnight. It was a snap, took me a few minutes to get everything synced and just fell in love with Alexa.  I asked her to play me soothing music before heading to bed and just doze off until morning.



  Anna and the kids fell in love with it too. Now I understand why some people would buy several of these. You can't have just on!  At least 3 for the size of my house. And we also have one smart plug, now I want a dozen  LOL. I'm gonna start turning this house like what I've always wanted when I was a boy in the 80's.

 "Alexa, finish this entry for me"

Jump for heart

 The moment I picked Happy from school on her first day, she immediately mentioned that there's another fundraising in school that she needs to promote. I asked her for details, and she can't give me any. So I promised her that if she obtains any information, I will immediately get into it.

 And yet she did. The moment I picked her up, BOOM!!! She told me to register right away since she wants to get a lanyard for donating. Talk about goals. Before I even saw the webpage, I told her that I would just buy her one.

 As I was finishing up with the registration, I did see to obtain a lanyard, she would only need $5 worth of donation. Now, I feel bad. But I did donate more than that and she was ecstatic.

 Here's the link:

American Heart Association Event

Waiting again

 Learned my lesson not to wait till the very last minute. A few days ago I was in a virtual line waiting for my Comic-con tickets. Now, I'm back waiting for concert tickets.



 Lucky I was off this day and when I went over to AXS.com, there was a tab that says "Join the waiting room". And the most logical thing to do is, hop on.

 While I'm patiently waiting, I'm putting an entry in and just crossing my fingers that I won't get ridiculous ticket prices this time.

Update:
  Virtual waiting room


  Now this is just unacceptable. At least with Comic-con I was able to buy tickets. They had me on a virtual waiting room for 30 minutes. At exactly 10 AM, I was then shown a line how far off I was. 5 minutes after, i was then shown a screen with an option of how many tickets I want. I chose 2, but it says that there's no tickets available. I then proceeded choosing different options and choices, but it just kept telling me that there's non.

 Thinking it was a glitch, I did the same procedures on another computer and even my phone. Both gave me the same results. I then decided I need to head out to the box office.



Update:

 After picking Happy from school, we immediately went straight to the Valley View Center box office. To my surprise, there were only three people ahead of me. But they were there for another event. When I went to buy the tickets, the lady told me that the tickets sold out in mere minutes right after opening. People were lined up from 6 in the morning.

 

 To my dismay, me and Happy just ate our Chick Fillet sandwiches. And since I did not want to go home empty handed. I just bought the next best thing that was available, The Chainsmokers.

 But the thought of going all the way there for the Ed Sheeran tickets and not getting one was just too much. I looked up online, and the ticket prices on StubHub started creeping up. In mere hours, the prices immediately went an extra $20 up to $100 on other sites. And that was the trigger.

 By the end of the day. I got what I wanted. And the photo below shows who's really happy (in a way).

The night before the Switch

 Been thinkin about this day since last week. Happy just couldn't stop talkin about March 3rd. And there's a midnight launch on most bigbox stores. I pre-ordered the system at both Gamestop and Bestbuy.

 Too bad there's only a few games comin out and my Zelda ain't comin till next week. And there's really no point of me goin out tonight to get the Switch with no games.