cc and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

so sorry to all my loyal readers (haha) for slacking on the blog... i was on a roll for awhile! i guess i haven't had anything worth while to write about. that is, until this week... which has probably been one of the worst series of days i've had in, well, ever. so awful in fact, that it is just down right hilarious.

SUNDAY
it's interesting how life can seem so absolutely fantastic, and then bitch slap you in the face. take, for example, my sunday, which was supposed to be a fun-filled adventure to apple hill with the guy i've been dating for the past few months... a guy that i had become smitten with, despite grumblings from many of the friends. this adventure, however, was severely shot down when, after waiting for him at my place for over an hour, i went to his house without any warning (his cell phone was broken) and walked in on him:
on his bed...
in his underwear...
wait for it...
straddling his ex girlfriend.
oh, and let's not forget the goofy grin as he realized that he had just been caught. what a jackass.

now, the last thing i want is to turn this blog into a forum for me to air my dirty laundry, but who are we kidding... it was the ultimate in special moments. and no, i didn't scream, i didn't throw anything, i didn't kick his ass. all i could do was ask, 'are you on top of someone?' which he responded, 'yeah.' then i walked out.

MONDAY
just a crappy day due to residual effects of the previous day. i also woke up with severe stomach pains from sunday's binge of leftover chinese food, champagne, an entire thing of trader joe's mac & cheese, a large grilled sourdough and brie cheese sandwich, three budlight tall boys and two bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream. if there were an emotional eating olympics, i would have won the gold medal that day.

TUESDAY
after lunch with katie, my office manager called and asked me to pick something up at spataro. realizing that i was supposed to be at a meeting 5 minutes ago, i frantically tried to call the restaurant so that everything was ready for me when i swung by. of course, my bluetooth had just decided to die so i resorted to speaker phone. as i pulled up on the corner of 10th & L, who should happen to be there, but a bicycle cop. i immediately dropped my phone, but it was too late. i was signaled to pull over, then forced to endure an unnecessary lecture, followed by a $100 ticket. and wouldn't you know, this is actually the second time this has happened to me... i think those damn copcycles are out to get me.

WEDNESDAY
oh dreaded wednesday. those of you who know me, know that every wednesday, i have to endure a 3+ hour marketing meeting with my bosses. now, with the plummeting economy, the restaurant industry has been hit hard and the stress level in my office has sky rocketed. during the meeting, i was forced to admit that i had completely forgotten about a couple projects, which did not make my boss very happy... and spurred him to wonder, out loud, if they even needed marketing. GREAT. luckily, i was able to pull myself together enough to get out of that one, but barely.

later, while browsing facebook, i noticed this lovely page suggestion:
no, i DO NOT want to become a fan of apple hill.

TODAY
so far, so good today... although there are quite a few hours still left in the day. i did have a jackass sighting while riding in the car with my friend sean, who refused to satisfy my request to drive around the block so we could pass him again... and i could yell out some choice profanities. mature, i know.

BUT he promptly reminded me: short term bad, long term GOOD. and even though i hate to give sean (s.o.b.) such credit, i have to admit he is right.

i also have to admit that, despite all the crappiness of this week, my friends have really pulled through... making the whole experience a nicely packaged life lesson on the value of friendship. so next time you are thinking of blowing off one of your friends, think again. because you could end up having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week and need that friend to get you through it.

thank you to all of my wonderful, amazing, fabulous friends for being there in my time of need! you are all so special to me...

nightmare on 23rd street

as promised in my previous post, i will now tell you about my other special adventure on sunday:

one thing i have yet to mention in any of my posts is how incredibly special my neighborhood is. in fact, one of my favorite hobbies involves sitting on my front balcony and watching all of the interesting characters pass by, some of which happen to live right around me... "live" as in "among the living," unlike the two individuals i met on sunday. yes, that is what i said.

after breakfast, jace and i headed over to my next door neighbor's to see the fabulous vintage cruiser that she had just purchased at a garage sale earlier that day. since jessica didn't have a lock yet, it was currently being stored in the basement of the house... which i didn't even know existed.

until that day, i had been under the impression that this house, owned by the family that jessica nannys for, was split up into four units. but as we entered the basement i began to realize there was so much more than i thought, and it literally took me a couple minutes to really soak in the scene around me. there were books, videos, old cassette tapes, speakers, boxes... basically junk everywhere. according to jessica, all of it had been left by previous tenants over the years.

she then asked if we had seen the rooms. 'what rooms?" i asked as i looked around. she then preceded to lead us toward a door. this door opened into what i can only describe as being an exact representation of what i picture when they talk about child molestors that kidnap kids and keep them in hidden rooms in their house. talk about getting the chills. there was even an old mattress propped up against the wall, which was almost touching the 6 foot high ceiling. she then lead us to another room... same creepy rape vibe. sick.

i would have pondered the strangeness of it all, but after walking out of the second room, i got distracted by a box of old videos. i immediately went from being creeped out to curious and began to rummage through some of the boxes. jace joined me, but after about five minutes, i was over it and ready to get the F out of there. as i was walking out, i turned to say something to jace and saw him digging into a box filled with tissue paper. he then pulled out an old wooden box, opened it and said to me, "cc, i think this is someone's ashes."

"EXCUSE ME?!" i shouted. "yeah, there is a rosary in here," he said. i was in complete shock. he then pulled out a second box and pointed out that it had a label on it. i couldn't help myself; i had to look. on a plain white label, in plain black font it read:

Bert Mojica
1994
Coloma Cremation Shoppe

that is when i really began to lose it and screamed out, "jessica!! there are dead people in your basement!!"

she came running up, eyes wide, hands in the air, screaming "WHAT!?"

"these boxes are filled with ashes," said jace, "and i think i just got some on my arm."

as i looked around for an appropriate place to vomit, jessica began screaming, "oh my god! there are yurns! yurns in the basement!" and yes, that was not a typo. apparently she thought that an urn was a yurn. which only made the moment more special.

i ran outside, breathed in the fresh air, and began to laugh. i couldn't stop. it was just all too hilarious. i mean, really? of course there are dead people stashed away in the basement of the house next to me. but the real question is, who is Bert Mojica, and why would someone ever leave behind the ashes of what i can only assume was their relative?

either way, i am still very creeped out. after all, i'm the girl that can't watch scary movies and has to cover her eyes at the sight of blood.... and cover her ears if she even thinks something scary is going to happen. it's just not my thing. i suppose now we have to figure out who this "Bert" is and get him and his anonymous partner, back to their family. otherwise they are bound to haunt that house, and possibly the surrounding neighborhood, forever. anyone heard of him?

a great weekend... in sacramento?

i know many people that like to get out of town every weekend... to tahoe, sf, down south... however, i have found that it is completely possible to have a fabulous weekend right here in sacramento, especially with the help of good friends!

saturday:
the main event of the evening was luxe for life, an event that raises money for the sacramento children's home. located in an airplane hangar at the sacramento executive airport, the space was transformed into what jon aptly described as a giant tiffany's box... which sounds gaudy, but was really beautiful. now, i've been to a number of charity events, but i will say that this is definitely one of the better ones. however, they really should consider not doing the event in august, in a building with no air conditioning...as much as i love make-up melting off my face.
here's the assessment:
- decor: as previously mentioned, stunning
- food samples: saporro was doing made-to-order hand rolls... yum!
- alcohol: OPEN BAR, enough said
- "who's who of sacramento": ran into a lot of people i love, dressed fabulously... also saw a number of questionable outfit choices, including the one pictured here. we thought the striking similarities to a go girl can had to be pointed out.
- entertainment: david garibaldi, who did a painting of audrey hepburn that i loved... however, is anyone else starting to feel like he's getting a little played out? no offense.
- auction: there was... stuff? i don't know, i can't afford to bid.
we left around 11pm and headed to meet sara and patty k at the lounge on 20 one-year anniversary party, which was a blast. congrats ali!

sunday:
although a bit tired, i forced myself to get up at 9am and walk to my car, which was deserted the night before due to my inability to drive at the time. i then embarked on my weekly adventure to the farmer's market with the neighbors. this sunday tradition has resulted in some of the best days ever, and this past was no exception. here are some pics i took with my iphone (i heart my iphone):



upon returning, i proceeded to cook a delicious breakfast for my friend, jace: scrambled eggs with fresh cherry tomotoes, chives from our garden and special cheese from farmer's... served with the best croissants ever (pictured above).

after breakfast, jace and i had a really special adventure that deserves it's own post, so stay tuned for that...

later that evening, after an intense four hours of cleaning, jon and matt came over to help prepare a fabulous dinner, which would later be served to the neighbors and my family. i put them to work and left for the grocery store... and i have to admit, it was pretty amazing walking back into my apt to find the two boys, hard at work chopping up vegetables. i wish i had taken a picture. dang.

the menu? stuffed red bell peppers, grilled skirt steak, fresh tomatillo-avocado salsa and chile lime chicken. yum!
dinner was great, but the best part of the evening had to be the presence of my parents, who were able to hold their own during our little 20-something midtown dinner. for those of you who know my mother, enough said. for those of you who don't, come to the next PRG event and look for a tiny little asian woman, in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with anyone and everyone. her infamous boogying at the cinco de mayo block party is why we now refer to the holiday as 'cinco de freako.' and yes, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

all in all, it was a great weekend with great friends, great food, great drinks... and much more. if only every weekend could be this fabulous! or can it... :)

yes, we will judge you

after last week's little disaster at the park, there is only one thing that could get me back there: the opportunity to sit next to jon while he judges tonight's hair wars competition.

since i don't have time to explain any further, i'll let the real writer do the, well, writing: CLICK HERE

let's just say it will be special at it's finest.

why i love facebook

thank you to all that participated in this special convo...

watch your wallet

it's been awhile since i've made an appearance at the park (ultra lounge) but, after much internal debate, decided to return last saturday. i should also note that this decision was mainly due to the fact that my new bff, ryan, was going to be there... and the thought of the trouble that would most likely ensue was too tempting to pass up.

what started out as a normal evening quickly escalated with adventures such as drinking champagne at katie's and knocking back a couple of vodka presses while watching jeff's band at capitol garage. at around 12:30am, katie and i decided that it was high time for us to prance across the street to the park and grace everyone with our presence. we immediately ran into some friends, including ryan, and let's just say that between 12:30am - 1:10am, it's all a bit of a blur.

and then came 1:11am.

ryan, trish and i had just gotten drinks at the bar when i felt a tap on my shoulder. i turned to find myself staring a two police officers. "excuse me, ma'am, do you know this woman?" #1 asked while pointing to trish. "yes, i do... why?" said i. "i will not discuss this in here, i need both of you to come outside immediately," said #1.

now, part of me wanted to argue with him right then and there, but i realized that would probably be a bad (and embarassing) choice. after all, i was innocent, right? so outside i marched, leaving my purse on the bar with ryan.

"ma'am, you have been accused of attempted pickpocketing. we are going to have to ask you to leave," said #2 (#1 was having the same conversation with trish). now, i can't really remember exactly what was said beyond that, but i can tell you that there was a lot of the following spewing out of my mouth:
- excuse me?
- are you kidding?
- there is NO WAY i would ever do such a thing.
- do you know who i am? (i know, so humble of me)

his response to all that? "well, the club is about to close anyways, so you might as well just leave."

now, i'm no expert at dealing with the police, but this was all seeming a bit ludicrious. so i curtly told him that i was going back inside for my purse. strangely enough, he had no objections. at that point, i waltzed back inside to ryan and began to tell him the whole story... completely ignoring the fact that the police officer was waiting for me outside. after about five minutes, i turned to see #1 walking towards me. i flinched, preparing myself for an embarassing handcuffing at the bar. but instead of reading me my rights, he said, "i'm sorry, ma'am, apparently you were mistakenly identified."

my response? THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT.

cheers!

last year, a friend of mine, erick castro, approached me to see if our restaurants would be interested in participating in an event he was planning called cocktail week. now, erick isn't any ordinary bartender, he is a true mixologist. i knew this wasn't going to be a week about kamakazis and vodka crans (although fun)... this was going to be the real thing, and i was excited. long story short, he was able to pull off a week of fun events celebrating the art of the cocktail, elevating sacramento's reputation in the "mixology scene." i went to the class on absinthe... my thoughts? cool to learn about, disgusting to drink.

unfortunately for all the cocktail nerds of sacramento, erick moved to sf, leaving everyone wondering if the event would continue in the years to follow. and lucky for everyone that it has!

due to the success of last year, cocktail week has morphed into midtown cocktail week and brought on such partners as the midtown business association, sacramento press, and some of the best restaurants in midtown. last night, i went to the kick-off party at L wine lounge... and what an event it was! i had a fabulous raspberry collins made with muddled, fresh raspberries, then went to the back patio "luau," where i enjoyed a refreshing sno-cone rum cocktail, served in a coconut cup with a pineapple garnish. it was a great way to start off what is sure to be an amazing week! you can check out the website for the full line-up of events... midtowncocktailweek.org

and make sure that you come to paragary's on friday night for the punch party! my friend, erick will be there making three different kinds of punch... which you will be able to enjoy on the famous paragary's patio, amidst waterfalls and olive trees. yes, please! (click on the image to see the facebook event)

for the purposes of background info: castro and i met while bartending in hell, i mean bj's in natomas... since then, he has moved on to much bigger and better things, including creating the killer cocktail menu at lounge on 20 when they first opened. he now works at bourbon & branch, which is quite possibly one of the coolest places in SF (you need to tell the doorguy a password to get in!).