Author: Ruel

Day 165: Scrabble

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It’s been awhile since we’ve had a game night at the house, but thanks to a visit from the kids, we had a three-hour session of Ticket to Ride and Scrabble. Even though a deluxe edition of Scrabble (with its fancy rotating board and lockable letters) has been on my wish list for years, my old board is still going strong after over a decade of use.

Another thing that’s still going strong is my love of the game; it remains fun and challenging, even if I can never remember all of the legal two-letter words. Why do I always forget “za” (slang for pizza)? It’s one of my favorite foods. It should be one of my favorite Scrabble words, too.

Day 164: Drive-Thru

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Boba Ave Express

We went to Boba Ave Express in Arcadia today. It’s the first drive-thru boba shop in Los Angeles County and I’m surprised it’s taken this long for this to appear. Given the lack of parking throughout much of the 626 area and the popularity of boba, this seems like a game-changer.

I remember my first experience at a Starbucks drive-thru and this feels the same way: ultra convenience for a totally unnecessary product.

I can’t wait to go again.

Day 163: Free Pizza Night

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There’s a thing going around on Facebook about who your true soulmate is, but tonight I found a better indicator of soulmate-iness: Waiting together in an hour-long line for free pizza.

Today Blaze Pizza gave you a free pizza if you followed them on social media. It was our first visit to Blaze, but my wife and I both preferred it to Pieology. Blaze had me when I saw they offered whole roasted garlic and Kalamata olives as toppings, so we’ll be back as paying customers soon.

Day 162: Metastasis

Metastasis

Metastasis

Thanks to Netflix, I’m practicing my Spanish. No, I didn’t find a streaming Spanish-language class. I’ve watched a few episodes of Metastasis, the Columbian remake of Breaking Bad. I love how close the producers stuck to the original; why ruin a good thing by remaking it?

Diego Trujillo is terrific as Walter Blanco (ha!). The scripts so far have been exact replicas of Breaking Bad, except for the language spoken. I’m surprised how riveting the series is so far, especially since I already know what’s going to happen. And while my Spanish hasn’t improved after a few episodes, hopefully that’ll change by the end of the series, or “El Fin.”

Day 160: Stunned

King James

King James

Like every NBA fan in the world, if you would’ve told me at the start of the playoffs that the Cavs would lose Love and Irving to injuries and then they would go up 2-1 against the best team in the league in the Finals, I would’ve asked you to submit to a random drug test. What we’ve seen so far through three NBA Finals games is LeBron giving a performance for the ages. He’s averaging nearly a triple double against a team that won 67 games. He’s gone beyond what I’ve been calling him for years: Magic Johnson 2.0.

No matter how the rest of this series plays out, what LeBron has done so far won’t be forgotten. He’s slowed down the game for the Cavs, who have outmuscled, outhustled, and outplayed the Warriors so far in the series. I still feel like the Warriors have enough talent 1-12 on their rosters to figure the Cavs out (David Lee played some great minutes for them tonight), but if the Cavs hold on to win a title, it’ll go down as one of the greatest upsets in NBA history.

I’m still stunned that the Cavs managed to win not one, but two games against the Warriors. I don’t know how I’ll feel if they actually win the championship. Flabbergasted? Bewildered? I’ll have to dig up my old Roget’s if that happens.

Day 159: Surf Dog

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I was in the Santa Barbara area today and stopped off at one of my favorite spots in the world: Surf Dog. It’s a hot dog cart on the Carpinteria Bluffs, where owner Bill Connell has been serving up delicious and affordable hot dogs for two decades. He’s a friendly guy and will offer you some Red Vines while you decide what to eat.

Pictured above is my go-to meal: Polish sausage with chili, sweet onions, and sauerkraut. You can eat at the cart or take your food across the parking lot to enjoy the ocean view.  Nothing has changed over the years, from the comfort food served from the cart to the mellow vibe shared by Bill and his customers.

Day 157: Sports Saturday

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A change in plans today meant I could watch some sports while cleaning up the garage. What a day! I woke up to Serena Williams winning her 20th Grand Slam title. Next, FC Barcelona completed the Treble by beating Juventus. Finally, American Pharoah won the Triple Crown, becoming the first horse in almost four decades to do so.

I had planned on watching the opening of the Women’s World Cup, but after the Belmont Stakes I was wiped out. There’s still work to do in the garage, but that’ll wait until tomorrow. For now, a tip of the cap to Victor Espinoza and American Pharoah. A misspelled name never looked so good.

Day 156: National Doughnut Day

Free donuts make me smile

Free doughnuts make me smile

I had no idea that National Doughnut Day had such a long and military-influenced history (read about it here). Apparently, the day has been recognized since 1938, but doughnut shops giving away donuts on the first Friday of June is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Today, I stopped by Dunkin’ Donuts. There was a line out the door so I decided to drive-thru and pick up my favorite coffee and score my free doughnut (one for every drink purchased). The drive-thru wasn’t moving much quicker than the one in the store, but I eventually had my breakfast. Even though I’m not a fan of the food at DD, the coffee is consistently good and I was happy to be celebrating with the rest of the nation.

Note: I usually go with “donut” as my way of spelling these fried slices of heaven, but in honor of this special day, I’ve decided to heed the Grammar Girl’s advice and go with “doughnut.”