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Friday, July 27, 2007

What's Been Shakin'?

I meant to follow up sooner with my Tallahassee adventures during my friend Kathy's visit last weekend, but I've been busy reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sooo...

Saturday morning we wandered through the Tallahassee Downtown Marketplace. I love getting my produce for the week from the local vendors. This week I picked up some figs. Another female asked what I was going to with them. I wanted to reply, "How should I know?" But politely replied I could saute them up in brown sugar and butter to top some ice cream. In reality, I ate them in their natural state.

Lunch followed at Barnhill's and I hate to admit, but it was my first experience at the eat-until-your-pants-split-country-style-buffet and we were thoroughly pleased. A stop at Goodwill's new used bookstore on Thomasville was next (the store is new, not the books) followed by an afternoon of browsing and minimal shopping in Havana. We chilled at a friend's place, reading Harry Potter and napping (well, I napped, we were up until 3 that morning).

Dinner at Carlos' Cuban Cafe was the most interesting part of the day. The meal rocked and I'd definitely visit again. We even got to meet Carlos, a pleasant and entertaining character, not shy about sharing his perspectives about relationships. We'll just leave it at. Heading back to our evening dwellings, Krispy Kreme had the "fresh" light on so we HAD to stop and pick up a dozen.

We stuffed ourselves with a late lunch on Sunday at the China Super Buffet, another Tallahassee mainstay I hadn't tried, then Kathy was on her way home. I'm so glad she visited and I realized how much I miss my friends.

And the rest of the week? I'm happy to say it went by quickly, beginning with Zumba class on Monday at Women's World. It's a bit of Latin dance and aerobics, excellent workout! My legs still hurt, that's how I know it does something.

Tonight? Well, something really cool I hope! Sssshhh...can't tell...yet!

[Photos are from downtown Havana]

Saturday, July 21, 2007

When Friends Visit

My friend Kathy is visiting this weekend which means I come outta my shell a bit. We had a blast!

Started off with dinner at San Miguel (mmm, Mexican food and margaritas), laughed our asses off at the Comedy Zone Tallahassee (Spanky Brown, the headliner, is an extremely funny guy), chilled with Italian sodas and hookah at Aladdin's Sheesha Cafe (I felt a little old) and went to Barnes & Noble for the Harry Potter festivities.

It was crazy! So many kids, young adults and adults dressed up. B&N did have it pretty well organized and the lines moved quickly. Got home around 1:30, read two chapters and called it a night. Off to read more Harry Potter...


BTW - even after talking to the dude, still didn't get the connection between Harry Potter and the Freaky King, other than he's a big fan; I on the other hand, am disturbed by the Freaky King...

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Who Do You Meet?

Moving to a new town without knowing anyone is intimidating. We're lucky to live in the 21st century and have more means to meet people, like using MeetUp.com.

MeetUp.com is an international site broken down by city, almost like Craigslist. Within each city, various clubs and organizations are listed. These range from groups to study Wicca to the Republican party and "single again" to "bee keeping." Anyone can join a group, registration is free. What I like about it is the weekly calendar emailed to me so I can see all the happenings going on this week.

Another site I like is Eventful.com. I originally registered because I "demanded" to have John Edwards visit Tally. (That's what you do on the site, "demand" performers, politicians, etc. to visit your town.) Like MeetUp.com, a weekly calendar of events is emailed but the Eventful.com list contains things like concerts around town, outreach programs and parties. It crosses over with MeetUp, too.

Stay in the know!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Boo! Ghost Hunting 101 - Wish I Could Go!

I have to give kudos to the Tallahassee Democrat's Calendar Girl. She really does find some cool stuff to do in Tally and posts an awesome weekly calendar in the Democrat- keep it up girl! One thing which caught my eye for tomorrow is the:

Ghost Hunting 101 Workshop at the Monticello Chamber of Commerce.
Cost is $35 to learn how to photograph ghosts, capture their voices (which would be kinda spooky) and learn the tricks of the ghost hunting trade. The class is during daylight hours, 10 a.m. and reservations required. Call: (850) 508.8109.
Historic Monticello Chamber of Commerce
420 Washington St.
Monticello, Fla.

Monticello is one of the most haunted/spiritually active places in Florida. Went on a ghost walk last October and was fascinated with everything I learned. Yet, I haven't returned. I sure hope another ghost hunting class will be offered. I'd go tomorrow but have this yard sale thing going on.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Hello? Any Campers Out There? Writing Contest!

I received info on this today. Even though I'm going to enter (and win; I have a great story!), I'm still sharing this with my outdoor writing buddies. But hurry, submissions are due Aug. 31, 2007. Good luck!

Calling campers, wannabe campers, and writers with a sense of humor. Have a run-in with a raccoon? Forget your camp stove at home? Wake up to find your tent pitched in the middle of a trail and piss off a lot of hikers . . . wait, that happened to me.

To celebrate the publication of Let’s Get Primitive, Ten Speed Press is running a 500-word essay contest. Tell us your worst camping trauma. Share your backcountry disaster. Spill the beans and you could win a nifty 2-person Coleman tent, an unbreakable camp cocktail set (complete with shaker), and a copy of Let's Get Primitive: The Urban Girl’s Guide to Camping!

Essays will be judged on originality, humor, writing style, and degree of calamity by the Queen of Camping Mishap, me! (That would be Heather Menicucci)

No purchase (or chest-beating) is necessary, just email your very best camping disaster story of 500 words or less to camping@tenspeed.com between July 1 and August 31, 2007.

Visit www.tenspeed.com for more details and www.letsgetprimitive.com to read more about the book.

Things One Finds While Walking

Sunday afternoon I walked over to the Tallahassee Mall, about a two mile walk. It was hotter than Hades and humidity a brick wall, but I made the trek. Coming back, I cut across a parking lot and I found something new to me, Aladdin's Sheesha Cafe.

It's a hookah bar and yes, I've smoked a [legal] hookah or two in my time, especially in Afghanistan. Desserts and hot tea are served, too. Anyway, it's located on Silver Slipper Lane off of John Knox. I don't know how long it's been there (at least a year, I guess) and would have never found it unless I was walking. I just wish Tally was more pedestrian friendly.

Speaking of walking, ran some errands with a friend today and we past Kim Denmark of Ohio. She's walking across America raising awareness about welfare reform, homelessness and poverty. God bless that woman! Today was another hot and humid day but determination was on her face as she walked for her cause.

I am curious, though. The Tallahassee Democrat ran a clip about her on June 19 stating she's in Tallahassee, today's July 11. Maybe she enjoyed Tallahassee so much she spent about a month here?

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Keeping Cool in Tally

The hot, humid days of a Tallahassee summer are here. This summer marks my second anniversary living and working in Florida's Capital City. It's been an interesting ride, to say the least.

Getting caught up on things, last week's Bark & Wine seemed to be a success. I "heard" the Animal Service Center was anticipating around 50 people and from what I saw, there were well more than that. The wine tasting byKillearn Liquors & Fine Wine was fun, the wines had either animals names or animals on the labels, to fit with the event's theme. Wines like Porcupine Ridge Sauv Blanc from South Africa and Arrogant Frog Chardonnay from France were served.

Although it was hard to reach the catered food provided by Saucy, it was probably some of the best catered food I've tasted in a while (and I mean outside of Tallahassee, too). Most of the ditties were vegan and I can't remember a single thing, other than it was really tasty.

The artwork ranged from colorful and abstract to classical. Many great pieces are on display (and for sale) now through Oct. 1, 2007.

I received an email from someone asking me about my blueberry picking adventure two year s and if I'd remembered where I went. I replied and discovered this weekend Publix has five containers of blueberries for $10. I'm all for manual labor to pick my own stuff but when it's easier to pick it up in the grocery store than off a spider-infested bush, I'm going with the grocery store!

I see that the Comedy Zone Tallahassee is now open, has anyone been yet?

Sharing a few things brought to my attention lately which I think are pretty cool:

Nolefood.com: If you're the total recluse (or just don't feel like leaving the house for an evening), order a meal from area favorites like Po' Boys and Bella Bella and have it delivered to your door. Pretty cool.

Are you a creative living in Tallahassee? The Council on Culture & Arts is asking all the creative-types to fill out this survey (www.artspacetallahassee.org) as part of the Artspace Project to study the needs of the cultural and creative community.

Oh! And those paintings posted around the Lake Ella area, I think I MAY be a step closer in figuring out where they're from (still clueless about why). When I was at Railroad Square a couple of weeks ago, one was posted there, maybe it's a trail leading to Railroad Square? But what's the connection?

And if you're trying to save a few bucks here and there, here's my latest article about free things to do in Tallahassee.