Friday, August 7, 2009

How I Roll: Reality Bites


SO on top of searching, packing, moving & unpacking last week I was gone for 9 days working on a Nickelodeon Family Cruise BIG shout out for my LB Gay CC for looking out for me & getting me this fantastic gig! I WUV HIM!!! The kids were amazing & it was so nice to be around families, not too many of those out here in La La Landia (crazy that I experienced more reality on a cruise being around families for 7 days than the "reality" of living in LA... FAR OUT!)

Everyone that worked on the cruise was INCREDIBLE too! I can't get over how blessed I was to be around such a fantastic organization, fabulous food, a good friend, play Rockband, make arts & crafts, sun & fun made new friends AND got paid for it?!?!? OOOOOOOh AND... I got slimed!!! I lived 2 80's fantasies in one, recreating the famous scene from Flashdance & getting slimed, I didn't have to say "I don't know" either... damn me dating myself on here!


Gotta LOVE the Nickelodeon Family Cruise stamp on here & I go off & do this... there's something wrong with me!
It was a 7 day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera... Cabo, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta! I have been dy-ING to go there since the Love Boat days & Julie would say "welcome to beautiful Poorrrrrrrrrrrrto Vayartaahhhh" when will I learn to stop dating myself on this thing? Cabo was awesome... as usual, been going there for years. Maztlan is what Chris & I coined as the taint of Mexico, well that's what I called it... CC's version as awesomely clever as it was should not be repeated on a Foodie website, he did keep the taint part though HA!!! I WUV him!!!



One of my favorite moments was when I had breakfast with this fantastic guy named Charlie & I asked him about his story. He's first Gen like me (first generation American) his family is from Thailand. He did the whole school thing, got an Engineering Degree from Duke University but it was when he was in college & he saw a Mascot on the court at a Basketball game that he found his true calling. I LOVE meeting passionate people & it was SO intriguing to me to get such a beautiful slice of life from this truly awesome character, hell he's a character literally. I found myself having to remind myself to breathe... his conviction about his life & his passion was so strong, I was mesmerized by his every word.
All my life I have been entertained by Mascots & Characters & I swear all I have ever thought was "damn it must be hot in there, are there little fans or something in there?" I never thought of it as being someone's passion... someone's dream. I swear he was honestly thee most passionate person I have ever met. He could make six figures & do the corporate thing, hell he was so handsome & charismatic he could be a martial arts super star in the movies & here I thought people like him were hiding behind a mask but what he does by entertaining others & making them happy he removes there's. I wish Charlie the very best he is SO GOOD at what he does. He played several characters on the cruise & I stood in awe at every single one of them.



The food on the cruise as well as on land was incredible. Some of the kids & I started a "Dinner Club" & would meet in the dining room at 6:30 everyday. Grace, our FAVORITE server catered to our every whim & entertained us, I swear whenever I couldn't decide on what to eat, I just ordered multiples I also had bacon, waffles & fried rice for breakfast every morning... I'm DISGUSTING, wait not together I would start with the fried rice, I was FASCINATED that one can have fried rice for breakfast & if you've EVER been to LA our Chinese food is atrocious!Then I made the waffles like my breakfast dessert, breakfast dessert I am an ass, mind you I had the audacity to have sugar free syrup to feel better about myself... GNARLY!

Screw it I was on a cruise, rock climbing, walking around the cities for hours & chasing around Rugrats, how much weight could I possibly gain? Oh contraire mon frere... 10 flip flappin lbs in 9 DAYS!!!! I was already on a mission to lose 12 lbs in time for my brother's wedding next month WHICH LISTEN TO THIS... will be filmed by MTV, they're even filming a segment about me catering his rehearsal dinner.... uh uh uh UHHHHHHHHHHHH I just want my old arms back & eat fried rice for brekkie is that too much to ask?!?!?

On Monday I started The Master Cleanse, I'm at the halfway point, day 5 I've lost 7.5 lbs already & dying to eat something. I'd like to say my sole purpose of doing this is to lose the weight but honestly I am just TOXIC from all the food I consumed, especially all that meat. I ate so much meat a cow should come over here & kick my ass. I'm not miserable about not eating, just waiting to get over the hump of feeling lethargic still waiting for my energy to kick in, my dog's actually kind of happy I'm not as toxic, dude... you know it's bad when your own dog is sleeping on the floor & not the bed by choice because of the greenhouse gases being omitted, once again TMI, I have no filter... sorry.

My roommate on the other hand is not too happy. Poor kid, before I left I cooked for him everyday since day 1, he got all used to it I leave for a week & am like "I'm not cooking for 10 days"... terrible I have to make it up to him BIG time! OH he & Mimi had a FANTASTIC idea, they are going to buy food one night every week, I have no idea what it is & I have to make something fantastic of whatever mystery ingredients they buy.

We have coined this day "What the What Wednesday" as soon as I'm done detoxing (in 5 more days) I will introduce the blogoshepere to the WTW Wednesday's edition. I can't imagine a better way to make good use out of a humpday... well maybe I can find a slightly better use out of a humpday with someone actually humpi... WAIT... WHAT THE WHAT?!?!?! TMI AGAIN MANOUSCHKA!!!! *snort* HA! Alright, let me get out of here & catch Julie & Julia



Rockband!
Yuuuuuuuuum Escargot

Shrimp cocktail
Duck with potato croquettes

Seeing Cabo from my balcony when we arrived.
This is what I found in my room one day, Nickelodeon ROCKS!!!

CC & I enjoying the awesome deals in Cabo

The best $2 ceviche I have EVER had!
Titan in Mazatlan
Filet of Beef
Creme Brulee
The Patrick I made in Arts & Crafts & I hit a beach bar in Puerto Vallarta
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Poor Patrick after round 5
Patrick had enough at round 6
CC's amazing Wonder Woman tattoos
Bryan
CC & I in PV
Patrick after our glorious 2 hour massage. I was so relaxed I ended up leaving him in the cab on the way back to the boat :-(
My Steward made a different towel animal everyday, loved the monkey
Crabcake
Pork Loin
More meat
One of Grace's many tricks.... dancing forks on a toothpick
Tempura Mahi Mahi & Shrimp with Bok Choy

How SICK is this? Rock climbing on a boat!

Wedgie up the wrong way
My favorite baby

it came with butter AND shrimp
added more butter
Ordered the Top Angus also & made myself a....
SURF 'N Turf!!!
A menage a trois of slap nasty goodness
Da Da Da Da Da Dora... LOVE her & Diego!
With Nat & friends making the new Patrick
My new Patrick in the "jungle"
Katie with new Patrick
My fvorite twins
My favorite family dressed as their favorite character Patrick, with new Patrick

BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE!!!!!!With my favorite toddler
Ang from Avatar
Leigh & I on the last night