Time for a quickie!

So, on a super quick trip to Little Rock, AR. Usually, trips this far are a minimum of five days (three days recording, two days traveling), but this time we have a three day turn around: Katie M. and I flew into Memphis today. I took a snap to remind myself of the part that I won't be missing when I stop doing this job: the middle seat.

Before making the drive to Little Rock, we stopped by one of the Neely's BBQ restaurants.

I went for my favorite, Brisket Sandwich.

Although it was good, I wasn't bowled over.
After, Katie M. drove us to Little Rock. I tried driving out of the Memphis airport, but there really were too many trucks and highway closings for me (or Katie) to be comfortable.

So now, I chillax in my Little Rock room. I keep thinking of my previous visit here, almost three years ago. It doesn't feel like time has changed at all. I am tired - I flew in from Miami yesterday only to wake up today and make the flight and drive to here - but there's a pool downstairs and I have a bathing suit, and it's hot as good hell here. So, not too bad.

I'm Every Woman

Just back from Chicago, met up with Missy and some of her friends for dinner. Funnily enough we ended up hanging out pretty close to my office, at The Smoke Joint. Almost three years and I've never stopped by the place and after my recent experience with BBQ I thought that I'd give it a try. We began the evening by chilling at Moe's Bar, until it was time to go back to the restaurant. It was nice to just chat and hang out.

Eventually we made it to the The Smoke Joint. Being Saturday night and all the place was pretty packed. It was six of us and we ended up sitting in a pretty cramped area, near the door where people waited and ordered food to go so I'd say the place gets a Meh for atmosphere. After much deliberation I ended up going for some pulled pork with a side of cornbread, coleslaw, pickles, and mac and cheese.

Unfortunately the food was not the highlight of the evening. I was very disappointed with the pulled pork, the mac and cheese was just so-so, but the cornbread was good.

The music playing at the restaurant skewed very 90's, and soon enough Whitney Houston came up. Missy piped up to share that Whitney was her first crush and before we knew it we were all cursing Bobby Brown and remembering Maya Rudolph's SNL hilarious imitation. No sooner I had finished my last "Awwrite!" when Mi Cariño texted me to let me know that Ms. Houston had been pronounced dead.

It felt like too much of a coincidence. Something about the death of a celebrity... you don't know them, you know things about them, but they and their work are present in your life, specially when we're talking about music... and then it's worse when you start with the "they were so talented, so young," etc. etc.

All I know is that the weeks I spent obsessed with The Bodyguard and its soundtrack are embedded in my memory and are important to the being that I am. Talking to my neighbor Paola, daydreaming of my voice suddenly developing into Whitney's and being able to belt out her notes and suddenly earning the admiration of everyone around me... hell, even just the morning in Miami when I watched The Bodyguard on cable while Mi Cariño slept. Her life integrated with mine, even though we never met.

I went home soon after dinner, and the pork came back to haunt me later when I needed to regurgitate it out of my existence. Let's just say I will not be going to The Smoke Joint again.  And I will miss you, Whitney.

California Dreaming, Day 7

Today, we had a big break between interviews and so we took an extra long lunch break and drove to Old Town, San Diego. I enjoyed using the filters in my camera app. Some sightseeing shots:

Since today was also my last day of recording in California, we decided to live up the rest of the day and after everything was packed and put away, we took the short drive to Sunset Cliffs, CA to enjoy a nice sunset. Some shots:

I love this shot of Alex in silhouette. Totally jealous that we couldn't replicate it with me. 

This is a horribly drawn K & Y within a heart. Cuz I'm sappy like that. 

All the fresh air left us starving and so we met up with Alex's friend Billy and headed to Phil's BBQ. We had to wait about thirty minutes in a line that snaked around the building, but it was completely worth it. Waiters would come out every once in a while and provide people with an onion ring to make the wait bearable. At Phil's, you order at the counter, pick up your food and stuff, then hope to try to find a place. I realize that most "tasty" BBQ places do this. Because I felt adventurous I went with the pulled pork, and a ginormous order of fries to share with Alex.

To boot they had malted vinegar, which was amazing. It took forever to eat this, and both Alex and I gave it a valiant try. I did eat more than he did, and I had a great time rubbing it in cuz ha ha! Reminded me of my High School years at Church, where on Saturday nights our idea of fun was daring each other to see who could eat more, or the spiciest thing, and stuff like that. I always won at the eat more contests, because Mama didn't raise no fool.

Now to get ready for New York! This trip was exhausting, everything from my thumb being hurt to the time difference from NY, which made phone calls to Mi Cariño short and unfulfilling. I'm glad that this is my last recording trip of the year!

Barbecue and Drivin' part deux

At the end of our recording day, we had to drive back to Kansas City and it was my turn at the wheel. I tried not to think about it too much, telling myself when I did that I had done it before, and just because this time it would sneak into night time, there wasn't going to be a difference.

This time the drive was faster since I wasn't so afraid to hit the gas pedal. I chose my "buddy," a small truck that  looked to be heading in my direction and just stuck with him, and that helped a lot. Jackie was also helpful in letting me know when to change lanes and why.

Happiness didn't last long though - there was more traffic on the way in than out, and when we entered Kansas City itself things were moving a lot slower for me. To boot, night sort of creeped up on us, and having never driven at night time I totally freaked out: I couldn't see the cars behind me, all I saw were two points of light and they blinded me, and I couldn't see the actual lane lines. So I pulled out as soon as I possibly could, did some very dangerous driving in the process, and handed the car to Jackie, who I assume was okay with it since she wanted to remain alive.

As a reward for a long day we went for some BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's. The place is a legit restaurant, but it's also a gas station, with novelties for sale out front. There's no table service, and it was nice and crowded thanks to the presence of a filming crew - apparently some kid who had accepted a football scholarship was having some BBQ in front of the cameras.

I didn't mind one bit. I went ahead and chose the beef brisket with a side of creamy slaw and some white bread toast.

Although the brisket was a bit cold, it was quite delicious and I didn't hesitate on dispatching that rather quickly.

After, we headed over to Brookside on Naomi's recommendation, to have some custard at Foo's. We had to drive around quite a bit, and we were lucky that we arrived just as the owner was reopening the doors.

It being November the place wasn't crawling with people, but we were lucky to have somewhere to sit and eat. We were lucky that we had the chance to get the history of the place from the owner, a woman in her 50's, who was quite nice and friendly. I had the Butterpecan Concrete.

She added cookie dough and it was perfect. If you go to KC, you should always make stopping at Foo's a priority.

Barbecue and Drivin'

So, I get to go to Kansas, via Kansas City, Missouri. (Confusing, I know, but hey.) I met up with Jackie at the airport, and we made our way to Arthur Bryant's, thanks to Naomi's recommendation.

After my wonderful experience in McComb, I decided to give pulled pork a chance one more time. Plus, it was under "house specialties." I paired it with a diet coke, to steady the nerves. It came with a side of fries and atop a slice of wonderbread.

That was so good, I have no way to describe it and give it justice. It felt heavy, and bone filling, and delicious. And it gave me the courage to drive two hours in the highway, over to Fort Riley, Kansas. Oy to the Vey.

Nashville, Day One

So, work sends Gaspar and I to Tennessee. We stopped in Nashville on our way to Murfreesboro, a town about an hour away. There's no way you can stop by Nashville, TN without stopping by... you guessed it! The Parthenon!

What?! Yes, that's what I asked myself upon entering Nashville Airport, searching for "things to do" and finding "The Parthenon" hidden in between entries about Country Music and the Ole Opry. Apparently Nashville was once known as "Athens of the South" and so, in the 1897 fair they built a full scale replica of the original Parthenon. Apparently a bunch of other ancient buildings were replicated for the fair, but The Parthenon is the only one that still stands, made entirely of concrete.

I don't know if "full scale replica" means that it's exactly the same size, but the thing is pretty big. It functions as an art museum now, but Gaspar and I didn't have the time or the money to go inside. However, thanks to Gaspar eye, I did take a pretty picture:

The Parthenon is smack in the middle of The Centennial Park, which was holding a flea market type thing. We stopped there long enough to have some sweet, sweet lemonade

and to meet "Princess, [who] loves to ride."

This did not quell our desire to sightsee, and so we made our next stop de place de rigueur when in Nashville: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 

Mind you, we didn't have the stomach (or the money) to see the whole thing. Instead we stopped by a free Banjo Demonstration by Blake Williams who is apparently a big name in the Banjo world - or rather someone who's played with lots of big names. A bit of his prowess: 

Although it was pretty impressive and fun to hear him play, he spent most of his time talking about the people he's played with and what they had written and how awesome they were, and so Gaspar and I were ready to depart about 30 minutes in. 

After all the sightseeing we were ready to have some food, and had several recommendations from a friend of Gaspar's. However, we were determined to have some BBQ - after all, Tennessee is in the South, right? Isn't the South supposed to be chock full of good BBQ everywhere? Well, after several yelp and urbanspoon searches, we decided on having a bite to eat at Jack's. Although it was a chain, we decided it sounded local enough to have been just a good restaurant that did well. We had high hopes, since we got to see a nice little piggy with wings as their drive thru image.

Once in at Jack's, you go over the counter and ask for your heart's content. I went with their combo plate, which lets you pair up three meats and two sides. I was content with trying their Texas Brisket and Sausage, with turnip greens and mac and cheese. Pair that with cornbread, icy water, and a taste of three sauces: Original Tennessee BBQ Sauce, (Tangy Vinegar based), Texas Sweet Hot BBQ Sauce (Tomato based), and Kansas City BBQ Sauce (Sweet and Smoky.) 

I'll say this: Nashville doesn't show up on the list of places known for BBQ because... it's not known for BBQ. We should've accepted that and gone with the local flavors. What is there to say? The greens were too sweet, the mac and cheese was powdery, the sausage was sweet and passably okay, and the brisket was a shame, specially compared with the still deliciously in my memory North Carolina Brisket I had in August. Let us not talk of the corn bread. 

We ate our food because we paid for it, but neither Gaspar nor I were really happy with it, which was highly disappointing. Afterwards, we got on the road to Murfreesboro, not really excited after that bad encounter with what should've been really good. It was hard to try to remember that until then Nashville had been fun, but we tried our best. 

Of Parenting and The Ethics of Flying, Part 2.

First let me begin by saying that our last night in Charlotte we caved to our desires and went back to Mac's to have the brisket, this time with Mac and Cheese and the Green Bean Casserole. It was freaking to die for, and yes, I have pictures. Since it was the last night we celebrated with a frosty beverage. I had a local pilsner, Captain James Jack.

which was alright, not really remarkable, but not bad either. Here's the Brisket. For those that need to know, this was Carolina Hickory Smoked Beef Brisket. It was dry rubbed and slow smoked for 12 hours, and finished on the grill with red BBQ Sauce. I'm still having dreams about it.

But now, to flying.

I thought that not much could be worse than the experience I had flying in, with a child kicking my seat. I was wrong. There's something I can't stand, and have no patience for: rude adults.

While checking in and getting our seats, Susan and I were lucky enough to be able to switch to exit and aisle seats. They didn't have that much extra space, but it was nice. We boarded pretty quickly and sat down, to find some woman just standing up on the row in front of hours, ostensibly waiting for the plane to finish boarding to try to change her seat; you see, her older children had been placed in the middle seats somewhere in the back (same row though), and her younger child was in the middle seat of the row ahead of me. She wanted to at least get someone to switch with one of her children, so that they could sit together, and so that she could seat in the aisle next to her child. Sensible enough, right? And understandably so. But standing on the person's seat is not really the way to go about asking someone to take a middle seat for you, but whatever. She gets the person to switch with her (after bothering the flight attendant, and just generally standing in the middle of the aisle, getting in the way of people that are boarding) and so Susan and I look at each other thinking, "Good, now that's over, let's sleep!"

But alas, it was not to be. Just then, a "gentleman" comes over and seats on the other aisle seat, buckles himself, and then proceeds to have a conversation with the man sitting by the window - two seats and an aisle away from him. I don't know if I'll be able to explain this just with words. I want to draw y'all a diagram. Suffice it to say, that in order to be heard the men were loud, and annoying. Eventually the mom asks, in a not unfriendly tone if they plan to have a conversation over her the entire flight. The man's response? "You see that man? He's a sports news anchor at (enter small NY TV station) and I'm his producer. We were here covering the Giants/Panthers game."

I really wanted the woman to say "so the fuck what?" because after all, the freaking game is not even in Season yet, and this is a small TV news station. The game was last night. The hell. But instead, the woman feigns some interest, and what proceeds is the weirdest instance of three way flirting while in front of a child that I've ever seen. The News Anchor flirted, the mom flirted, the producer guy flirted and they all did it - LOUDLY. Eventually, the mom started to pay attention to her kid and the producer and the News Anchor just resumed their conversation.

Here's where I was torn. Unlike with Sam, these people knew better. I mean, really? In a small enclosed space like that? I was about to chew my hands off, specially since I didn't have headphones with me. To boot, just as the last few stragglers come in, turns out the News Anchor guy put both his very small bags on the overhead, and the new person putting their luggage away had to ask him twice to at least take one of his bags out. Which, he promptly put back in, on top of the other person's luggage as soon as they went away. In any case, the talking went on for ages.

Eventually, the CHILD was the one that made them shut up, by keeping interrupting the News Anchor and the Producer, asking to see things out of the News Anchor window. And then the flirting resumed between News Anchor and Mom. At least though, their voices were not as loud and annoying as the producers.

To say: I clearly hold more patience for children than for adults. But also, why not be courteous of others? Every time they talked I'd say "seriously, whatever you're discussing is not life and death, wait til we land!" But couldn't bring myself to say so, and eventually didn't really need to. But even 15 minutes of having to listen to them made the flight longer. Alas, next time, I will not forget the all important headphones.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Last Post before I head to work!

Arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday afternoon. Susan and I had one goal: Barbecue. Our work contact hooked us up with a place, so we knew where to go right away: Mac's Speed Boat or something crazy like that. There are three of them in Charlotte, just search for Mac's. It's ostensibly, a biker restaurant, with an area outside specifically for bikers to park. The regular car folk have to make do with a dirt hill.

On our way to Mac's we asked our hotel receptionist if she knew anything about Mac's. Even though the place was 5 minutes away she said she had never heard of it (My pronunciation may have had something to do with that) and recommended we go someplace else. My co-worker and I wondered about that until we got to the place. Once we in, including the two of us, we realized there were only 4 people of color that we could see. I don't know why I'm always aware of when I'm in the minority - everyone there was super nice to us, with our waiter calling Susan and I baby, and no one doing any of those Hollywood double takes that are supposed to happen when you enter a place you're not welcome in. But Susan was aware too before I mentioned it, so I know I'm not alone in this. We wondered if it had more to do with socio-economic statuses in Charlotte, since Mac's was recommended by a hospital worker, and because the food was in the pricey side (although not NY price.) Regardless, I would be curious to go to a "cheaper" place and see if the atmosphere would be different or the bbq would taste different. But don't let this bit of wondering stop you: this had to be some of the best Barbecue I've had in my LIFE.

First, instead of bread they brought us Hush Puppies. Coors Light cans were on special, so I had me one, too.

Oh, they were tasty. After, I wondered about getting a Brisket Sandwich. The waiter babied me until I gave in and got the full Beef Brisket Plate, with Mac and Cheese, and Collard Greens.

Oh my God, I ate til I couldn't eat anymore. The Mac and Cheese was to die for. The Collard Greens were a little sweet, but still good. The Brisket... oh Sweet Jesus, the Brisket. Sigh, the Brisket. YUM.

If you're ever in this part of town, make a beeline for Mac's. We finished the night by listening to the Parody Kings.

A great way to end the day.


Walked 2.20 miles in 31 minutes at 6:00pm

April 5th

Under Pressure


There's a point in the back
of my head, I can't touch it, it's inside
in the back
and I can feel it, squeezing, squeezing
squeezing
til I have no air left. My brain
has no room to breathe. 
When I think of a life 
with you
and without you. 


© yazcaminante, 2011.


Today John chose dinner. He wanted barbecue. Unfortunately, E&L does not serve anything other than pork, links, tips, catfish (with the bone in).
I went for the combo plate, which came with pork ribs, hot links, baked beans and potato salad (and two slices of bread.)

I managed to eat a link and a bite. Had them with the bread and some spoonfuls of the baked beans, which had sugar in them so blegh to them. I managed about a tiny try of the potato salad, but that was essentially mayo with potato and pieces of egg, so no thank you. I couldn't even bite into the ribs. I just couldn't do it. So John gets that for lunch tomorrow. And I choose the place.

Yoga at 7:00am for 33 minutes
Walked 2.1 miles in 35 minutes at 5:00pm
Lifted weights for 5 minutes at 5:35pm

All Y'all Come Back Now!

Things that I learned while in the south. Y'all and All Y'all are not the same thing. Well, I actually learned this in the North, but my southerner boss taught me it. Y'all means you. All Y'all means, well, you all. Funny.

In any case, our partner decided to take us out to lunch to thank us for the hard work and we gladly accepted. She took us to Schilo in downtown San Antonio, where they serve German and American food. They're also pretty famous for their root beer, so I decided to forego my usual glass of water with my meals and tried one. They come in frozen mugs.

My lunch consisted of Tuna Salad (with lettuce and tomato) on a Croissant with some chips and hot german potato salad.

It was cheap and it was good, and I'm sure that if I had chosen one of the "famous plates" I would've enjoyed it more. As it was, the root beer was too sweet (and being that I'm Dominican, that's saying something) and the potato salad / tuna salad were nothing to get too excited about. But I think the place would merit a "going back to try new things" if I were staying in San Antonio longer.

After work, and since we're leaving San Antonio tomorrow morning, we figured we needed to go for the other Texas mainstay: Barbecue. We chose The Barbecue Station, and had to really drive around in order to get it. It was worth it.

You're welcomed by a counter, and this massive barbecue pit. I wish I could've seen inside.

I chose the lean Brisket and chicken combo, with string beans and coleslaw and wheat bread, and some lemony water to wash it all down with.

It was my first time having Brisket and I dare say it will not be my last. OMG that was delicious! I quite enjoyed it. The chicken I wasn't too much a fan of, since I ended up with dark meat and I'm not much of a fan, so I gave most of it to Gaspar.

After BBQ we stopped by Amy's Ice Cream, for some Mexican Vanilla dipped on chocolate fudge. I forgot to take a picture, but trust, the stuff be good.

It was getting late and so we decided to squeeze one last thing in before going off to collapse in our rooms: The Alamo! Here I place Gaspar in front of the "Heroic Monument" (whatev's) in a classic touristy pose.

Around the corner I made him pose as if he was peeing. Hey, if Ozzy Osbourne could do it, so can Gaspar!

All in all San Antonio has been a blast. Oh, I almost forgot: I drove this morning! a 15 minute drive to work. I know, will wonders ever cease? See you soon from El Paso!