Another Weekend, Another Catfish, Another Reaction (11.08,15)

First, let's start things off friendly with a reaction video from my lovely friends that Rain Bridge Studios gathered to entertain us with... LOL. Some of their reactions... or lack there of, really crack me up!! These are home-grown, fully-fresh, Americans and they are reacting to K-Pop music videos. ... Can anything be more odd?

Alright, so onto sadder and weirder news, along with good food, friends, and the like! 

Friday set me in a writer's meeting with JJ, who I'm writing something for. As usual, we got off topic and started chatting about our normal lives. I mean, we're two girls with the gift for gab, we can't help it. Anyhoo, as usual, she was concerned about my dating life... or the lack of existence of one... and was extremely suspicious when I told her about M-Guy. (Protecting the name for privacy reasons.) I mean, I've tried Tinder, OkCupid, Coffee Meets Bagel, Match, Chemisty, Christian Mingle, eHarmony, Thirty Flirty, and... I think Plenty Of Fish will be my last one. I'm tired of trusting and being lied to, catfished, and judged. It's painful for me, someone who is a clean slate, and I'm so annoyed with all this stuff. Anyhoo, she looked over his profile, all of our conversations, and concluded that the guy wasn't to be trusted. 

And then I told her that I had agreed to a date with the guy on Saturday, the next day, in the evening. She was livid and demanded that I not go, or go with back up. We talked back and forth, she commented on my improvement as a female flirty texter... I was HORRIBLE before... and she complimented me here and there. But, in the end, we decided it may be a good idea to share such knowledge with girls and guys out there that need it. And so, look forward to a video about that. Better made, of course, better quality of picture and sound, both shot on Canon 7Ds and sound recorded on a boom mic into an H4N Zoom recorder. Hey, hey, hey! And then, at midnight, she wanted to go shoe shopping and the Ross next to The Grove is open until 1 am, so we went. And as she shopped for shoes, I couldn't help but feel worse and worse about the supposed date. And it came to the point, I realized it wasn't going to happen. And... I WAS CRUSHED. (Oh... so innocent am I, right?)

JJ told me not to worry but I did. She told me not to over-think, and I did. And the next morning, I woke to a text message asking to reschedule the date. And... I was so sad. And yet, I still hadn't picked up on the clues that I was (possibly) being catfished! 

I know you'd probably kick me when you met me, but I was just so hopeful about it!! And I wanted that first date... You might wonder if I'm really this gullible and trusting and the truth is, YES, I AM. And I spent the day doing nothing, having cancelled my plans so that I could get ready to meet this guy, and ended up having a girl's night out with JJ, Sno, and Moon at the YellowHouse Cafe, in K-Town. It was fun, sweet, and comforting to have my girls around me... until the other two were briefed on my cancelled date that night and... they were NOT happy. Well, they were happy at first that I managed to get a date (I'm a REALLY busy bee!) but when JJ exposed everything in our conversation, passing my phone around to compare profile pictures and conversation texts, both disapproved immediately. ... For shame, Tea, for shame...

But I got home and went to sleep well. Moon said being Catfished is very widely popular and that, since I excelled at meeting people in person, I should go with that and find someone special. Sno had mentioned her deep concerns in my trustingness and said that going to a bar, with the girls, on a girl's night, to hunt for me was a better option. (She didn't use "hunt", I did.) And JJ just wanted me to find someone real... which is, surprisingly enough, the tagline for my POF profile. "Looking for someone real." Seriously... And that morning, I had spent the morning looking through male profiles, suggesting things that can get them more noticed by women, and the like, and even helping a man who had friend-zoned me improve his profile. So, I basically was stabbed near my heart and then I helped the person twist the knife and break the hilt, so that I couldn't get that damned blade out. 

Oh, woe is me. ... But I'm getting over it.

Sunday morning brought me to upload the video above and then the early afternoon led me to DimSum with JJ, Sno, and Tall-V (I know too many females with such a name and she's the tallest of them all) in Temple City, where my family loves it and, well, I've come to enjoy it, too! JJ and Tall-V both know good DimSum when they eat it. And they've had terrible ones out here. Along with Sno, who had horrible stuff in Chinatown... so I've decided to take them out of the fakeness and into the real good stuff, the yumminess of the yummiest!! We went to the Full House Seafood Restaurant in TC/Arcadia. That's right, peoples, we had food and it was good, authentic, Chinese food! 

Unfortunately, most of the Dim Sum was gone by the time we got there and we ate as much as we could, got drinks, and then we headed home. The good part was, I had enough time to finish and upload another video shot on Halloween! Enjoy!!



And here was episode 25, for those of you who missed CoTangent!!

Eating And Talking All Weekend Long

I like to talk to strangers, observe and people watch wherever I go, and sometimes... JUST SOMETIMES... I explode with excitement and can really scare people. It's those times I have to step back and regroup before I lose any friends and such. HAHA!

Fruit Waffle
@Iota Brew Cafe (LA)

Friday night found me at Iota Brew Cafe and... the servers were nice but the service wasn't so great. When we asked for the bill, they only billed us for our dessert. I know you're wondering why we didn't just pay and dash... but I have a conscience, people!! So, we recounted our order and were billed accordingly. When we left, it was a bit disappointing, but they seemed to be training all new people, so I guess we have to wait to see how they do when they have more experience under their belts! This trip, however, was disappointing and... only 2 of 5 Stars if I really had to rate it!

Ice Cream Brownie
@AKA Bistro (Pasadena)

Strawberry Shortcake
@AKA Bistro (Pasadena)

Hanger Steak
@AKA Bistro (Pasadena)

Saturday had me at A.K.A. Bistro in Pasadena. As usual, the ambience was sweet and intimate. Not sure if it was simply because we sat in the back or not, but there was a strange smell... almost sewer-like. At the risk of not sounding rude and assuming it was the people I saw with, I guess someone might have spilled something and no one really mopped it up? The food was only so-so... I much preferred the Cheesecake Factory!! But, alas, my dining party had decided beforehand, so we ate and left after sharing two only mediocre desserts. This time, strange as it was, only scored 2 of 5 Stars with me. 

Steamed A-Veggies
@BDK (Temple City)

Mixed Veggies
@BDK (Temple City)

You'd think I'd give up and crawl into my blankets to hide and wait for Sunday to be over, but NOPE!! Sunday found me, once again, in Pasadena, picking up my wayward wandering bird. He insisted on Bull Demon King in Temple City and... THERE IS NO GREATER PLEASURE than eating there. So, after waiting for them to open at 5 pm and then picking up more cash because they only took cash, we headed over and were seated instantly. We ordered our own bowls of medicinal beef noodle soup with thick noodles and I quickly transferred the beef to his bowl because he likes them. And then, we ordered the usual Taiwanese sausages with sliced garlic that we did not finish, along with A-veggies and the mixed veggies platter. This man KNOWS how to eat!! The food was delicious, the sides were wonderful, and I enjoyed this meal so much, I felt as if I were experiencing it again for the first time. It had only been a few months since I last had it, but I still felt it in my soul. What a wonderful way to end the horrible strike I'd been having while dining out. Easily, 5 of 5 Stars, hands down, no competition.

Afterwards, because we had time to burn before I needed to drop him off to be loaded onto the great metal bird that would return him to the other coastline, I brought him to my guilty pleasure spot, The Yellow House Cafe. -- The boy didn't even know what hit him or how great an honor it was for me to bring him there. But, he soon found out as soon as we were seated and he looked at the menu. Oh, how his eyes widened with pure delight and glee. We ordered drinks first, him a rose tea and myself a Moroccan mint tea. Neither were excessively strong, but their light flavor helped our stomaches digest and then we ordered a slice of Tiramisu with three scoops of ice cream; chocolate, vanilla, and green tea. Oh, the splendors and with the ambience, it felt good to be there. There were no awkward servers, but quiet ones who hurried to help when they heard the bell. All in all, as usual, this experience was easily 5 of 5 Stars for me. Oh yes!!

Ice Cream & Tiramisu Cake
@YellowHouse Cafe (LA)  

After which, we left for LAX, but not before we stopped by In-N-Out and sat through the drive-thru massively long line for 2 protein styled double-doubles! He took them on the plane, and we he left, he was thoroughly happy with the day, despite being flown for six hours back to Maryland for the presentation that awaited him on Monday and the final test that leered at him on Tuesday. I was thankful for his company, for he pulled me from a rather event-less weekend, and his excitement at my favored places only showed me that I am a darn good hostess and a true American, at that! Hah!

Please check out my most recent CoTangent podcast with Ed!!