¡Muy Caliente!: Peppers, Ping Pong, and a Vibrator (?)

Another start to the work week and I'm longing for the weekend already. The DJIA was down 777.68 points due to the rejection of the $700 billion "bailout" bill and there were so many aggravated clients on the phones on Monday. I just feel bad for those who are feeling it the most these days, especially people who are losing anywhere from 10% to 30% of their retirement savings. (Today was a positive upswing though. Hooray.)

After some rock climbing, Brian and I headed over the Cesar's house to have some homemade tamales. ¡Muy delicioso! Sorry no pictures of the tamales, just the aftermath.


That crushed red pepper stuff on the side was from this: chitle tepin. This is the dried form that you actually have to crush with this little mortar/pestle combo. They're considerably expensive because supposedly they're grown in the middle of the desert near rattlesnake nests. So due to the risk, their value is relatively high.


Luckily for us, Cesar's mom also has a plant in the back yard. We were gonna take the challenge.


We each took a fresh pepper and took a bite. The most fearful was Brian. Here we go!


Brian you dummy. You're supposed to drink milk not OJ!


That's better.


Cesar's mom had a few other peppers in the backyard for us to try.


The others were kinda spicy, but we liked them more for the taste of the actual vegetable. The chile tepin peppers were by far the hottest.


We also tried this spicy marmelade on toast. It combined the sweetness of regular jellies with the spiciness of the chile tepin.


Brian still recuperating from the first spicy. BE A MAN!


Afterwards, we headed over to Stephen's house to hang out and play some ping pong.




Doubles is defintiely not my thing. Juliana kicked my ass in singles. Well played.


A battle of the titans! Stephen vs. Will (translates to: CHINA VS. TAIWAN!).


In the end, China beat Taiwan because of Stephen's funky serve. Taiwan will get their independence someday...




Eileen and Juliana are facisnated with Cesar's ability to fit his fist in his mouth.


This was also sitting on top of the coffee table. We weren't POSITIVE on what it was, but we definitely had our assumptions. What else would you think of this little thing with a funny tip and a switch to make it vibrate?


Show and Tell kids. Pass it around.


Bruce is pondering a plan...


Nice. (Click image for the uncensored version.)


We also got a game of Mafia in. It was wack. Will's bored.


Basically it turned out to be just like Stephen's New Year's Eve party (better known as the "Worst Party Ever").


One day we're gonna clear those bookshelves and get some real climbing in.


After Stephen kicked us out, the standard loitering outside.


Bruce and Cesar end up coming over to reminisce over old high school dance pictures (blog post idea?) and do the iPod x Chris Martin of Coldplay dance. Looks more like Jim Jones's Ballin move.


They stayed till about 1:45am. Thanks a lot dicks.

They Should be 4-0.

Lagging on even the short blog posts. On Sunday I spent the afternoon with Jay and Brandon watching the Chargers suck it up during the first 3 quarters. Before the game started, Jay and I grabbed some lunch to-go at Tin Fish.


Thanks for spotting lunch Jay!


Chicken strips and waffle fries. Heavenly.


Brandon took his sweet time getting to the apartment. But I guess we forgot to check our phones to see when he got there. The view from 5 stories up.


Brandon tried to catch the keys to the gate. Definitely no Terrell Owens. Fail.




It's like looking into a time portal...


Roxy taking in some sun while we watch.


No pictures of the rest of the day. But the Bolts end up with 25 points in the 4th quarter, beating the Oakland Raiders 28-18. TAKE THAT BAY AREA! As I said before, the winning streak starts now!

In other news, I'm sucking balls in my fantasy league. My last matchup against ClareBear.


And my standing in the league as of the end of weak 4 (typo on purpose).


While the Chargers should be 4-0, I definitely deserve my spot. I F*CKING SUCK!

Sept 27: Dogs, Bikes, and Del in San Diego

With nothing going on in the OC, I made my way down to San Diego for another chill weekend with the homies. When I say chill, I mean it. Haven't done the real party scene down here for a while, which is nice. I need to calm down anyway.

Kicked it at Univ for a bit with Nash and Flo. Nash is getting ready to drop an album soon. BE READY!


If you've never been to Univ, you're missing out. They by far have the largest collection of random decor I've ever seen. Here is a small sample. This Panasonic (which is probably older than me) is turned on using the volume dial. The Shark is also older than me.


A smokin' squirrel with stocked rifle mantle.


Is that Richard?


Meet Shawn's dog, Mona. She loves the camera. How did I get a picture of Mona and not Shawn? Shawn reps for Coup De Grace and Alphanumeric. Nice meeting you Shawn. We'll be in touch.


Then made my way to East Village to 5&A Dime. Brandon holding the fort down at the Rogue Status popup shop. Maybe you should update your blog too Lay-Z-Brandeezy...


Josie got a new pup too.


Meet Daisy. She's 12 weeks old.


RJ insisted on playing some Old Maid. It's my first time playing.


Look who lost. HAH!


Jay was kind enough to offer me a Heavenly Cupcake. Heavy on the frosting, but it tastes good because I think they use real butter. Way better than that Sprinkles crap.


BLACK SUSHI!


Daisy loves the camera too. Just like Gian.


When shop hours are closed, we let the pups run free.


A lot of chasing around between these two. Roxy flipped Daisy a few times. All in good fun.


In the end, Baby Daisy won the battle. Roxy got the workout of her life.


Snagged a nap at Jay's and then we all headed to a bike/art exhibit. We couldn't fit 6 in the car so Flo rode his bike to the spot.


Reinventing the Wheel.


Pretty much an open warehouse/gallery with bikes and artwork on display. I'm no velohead, but this stuff is pretty cool. Enjoy the pictures.


My favorite bike the whole night. "It's nice bike... if you like delivering newspapers." -Gian.
F*ck you Gian! I will fight you.






Smartcar Piñata?!




Pepsi x Univ x Vapors Bike! Comes equipped with a hand-brake, black chrome details, and custom Porche leather seat. More info at the Robust Flavor Blog. Interested suitors may purchase the bike online for a mere $7000. Yowza!


Edwin (Blends SD) snappin' pix. Be sure to check out his and Ollie's new online magazine Segue Mag. WUTTUP OLLIE!


E.Vil Doers.


Another cool thing about the exhibit was the free wine and beer. Thank you!


One negative to the spot was that it the poor air circulation. It was hot as hell. So much of the time was spent outside. Brandeezy pt 2.


Gian and Josie.




Josie's got hops! And I've got point-and-shoot camera skillz.


Willy Santos (Birdhouse/Willy's Workshop) and Jay.


People from Willy's, Blends, and 5&A Dime choppin it up. We're all fam.


Afterwards was some late night eats at the Del. Backseat pimpin with the baby.


Brandon was so excited he wet himself. Baby needs a new diaper.


The order: 6 chicken soft tacos, 5 half-pound bean and cheese burritos, 3 spicy jack quesadillas, 4 regular fries, 4 regular drinks, 1 Del Combo burrito, 1 beef taco, 1 macho fry, 1 macho drink, 5 churros. The bill. (SHIEEEET!)


Chowing down. Gian was the one who machoed up on his order. He didn't touch his drink. Pace yourself son.


See what happens when you don't? Goodnight.