While I did spend most of my five days off doing house work on the properties, we did end up going hiking at Zoar Valley for memorial day.

(e:terry) hiking down the gorge


Racing through trying not to drop the camera

::Download Flash Video::

The car that didn't make it down the road.


The cliffs are beautiful as always.


As is the confluence you have to cross to get to the waterfall and the island where the nudists are.


This time we crossed half the creek over a fallen tree.

::Download Flash Video::

The water fall is my favorite place.

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Some guy was sun bathing at the bottom of the cliff when a rock slide happened. He didn't move fast enough and got covered in the fallout dust.




Here, you can see that tiny vanilla color spot in the pic above was a naked dude.



In the end we met up with a lot of naked people. We previously had heard rumors that you couldn't go naked there anymore. Didn't stop Dave and I. (e:terry) and (e:matthew) remained clothed but there are no pics of any of that this year yet.

Here I am crossing the creek on the way home

::Download Flash Video::

(e:lilho) helped me paint and cut the bushes at the rental property so I promised her I would go dress shopping to get her party dress for our party this Friday - everyone is invited (e:lilho,39406) .



At the same time I promised (e:terry) I would pick him up from work. And (e:terry) promised (e:matthew) we would go out to eat. So seeing as (e:terry) works near the galleria, we decided to try the Cheesecake Factory - big freakin' mistake. I was definitely the worst dining experience of my life and the other patrons around us.

But first the other stuff.

implosion
Did anyone hear the implosion conducted by Dykon this morning of the Kaleida Building on 50 High Street - about a block away from us. If I hadn't gotten a warning email from Roswell, I would have probably had a heart attack this morning at 6:00am when the implosion went off. It was everything I imagined an earthquake would be.



Gelatto
Here is a better pic of the Wegman's Gellato. It tastes even better than it looks and it is very inexpensive compared to the place on Hertel. The kiddie size is plenty for me and it costs only $1.79.


Ants
And onto ants? Is this an ant, maybe a queen ant? It was trolling around in our front lawn the other day. I wanted to change the film speed so I could get a better pic but it was moving so fast I had no time.









At the Mall
I ate apple gum balls outside the apple store. They were yummy but ine dropped on the floor and some Police laughed at me. I hope (e:Carolinian) is right about the macbook pro upgrade at the WWDC, I cannot wait to own a new one.


The mall is so freaking full of gay porn looking advertisements. I was drawn up this guys short legs and into Hollister.


Where (e:Terry) got a cowboy shirt. So I guess it worked.


(e:lilho) got a dress at a store called "Forever Under 21", they had these crazy plastic shoes.


I had a conversation with someone (can't remember who) last week about seashell balls and they didn't know what I was talking about - this is what I meant whoever you are.



Back to the Cheesecake Factory in the Galleria



First of all it's not worth it to go to an expensive restaurant that serves like 300 people. There are so many expensive restaurants that can give you really great food and service and that is bound to suffer when trying to serve so many people. I hated it so much there are no pictures of the food!



proximity
I also don't like how close you have to sit to other people. I felt like I was in a cafeteria, even though it was visually pleasing to look at.

Waiting to Order
But still I think our waitress was probably the slowest, deafest, rudest, most incompetent waitress I have ever had. When we first got there, the girls next to us ordered cheesecake. After waiting what seemed like an eternity they got the wrong flavor. I thought, okay no big deal but after another 20 minutes went by with no water or drinks I was getting really irritated.

The menus
Then came the menus. Now you all know how I feel about advertising but this is sent me over the edge. At a place where a meal costs ~$20 per plate, it is outrageously tacky to have every other page of the menu be a full page color advertisement. Now lets pretend for a second they were advertisements for other restaurants owned by the same people or even food, or even the mall - but they were not. There was an advertisement for plastic surgery and cruises. Plastic fucking surgery. Who is like, "yes I would like a double order of chocolate fudge pie - and honey maybe we can schedule me an appointment for a face life tomorrow?"




The people on the other side
As we go over the menu, the couple next to us freaks out because the guy ordered pork and it was raw in the middle. Raw, I saw it, it was raw - it was pork. I think we learned in home economics in middle school that pork should never be raw because of trichinosis.
The girl's brocolli was also not cooked. At least that is safe. The manager comes over they get comped.

The Appetziers
They were delicious at least something worked. At this point (e:terry) order a second beer ($6.50 each)

The food
So the food arrives and all the pasta is really overcooked. Like so overcooked it is a ball of dough again. (E:lilho)'s was definately the worst. I mean if you paid like $5 for it you could overlook it. But when you paid $19.50 for a pasta meal and it is disgusting, that is actionable. So (e:lilho) requeste dthe waitress who requested the manager. He gave us this whole spiel about how at the cheesecake factory everything is of utmost quality, blah blah. Then he offers (e:lilho) a new meal. She agress but says, just don't have them spit in it. At that point he goes into disaster recovery mode and kneels down to tell us about ho there are camera everywhere and that could never happen. She is like, it happens everywhere and he leaves to go get her a new meal.

The Water
Finally, the water comes. I am almost done with my meal at this point. She also says to (e:terry) - "let me check and see if that beer is ready." As if it had to brew.

Dessert
So she brings us the fucking advertisment leaflet again to see if we want any dessert at this point. Seeing we are at the cheesecake factory, eLilho wants cheesecake but the waitress never coes back for so long that (e:lilho) just went up and ordered it for herself at the dessert counter.

The Waitress
So the waitress finally comes back with the bill and get this. The beer (e:terry) ordered before the meal came. But what made that even more fun was that the beer was on the bill 4 times. Yes 4x $6.50 even though he only had two and one had just arrived after the bill. When he questioned the woman, she says - I at least brought you three. We were indeed very angry at this point, so the manager came back and the waitress left crying and with a $5 tip on $120 meal - and that is with (e:lilho) getting her meal comped and the 2 beers being removed - and minus the cheesecake which was paid separately.

Conclusion
I a never eating in a chain restaurant like that again. If I want to drop that kind of cash on a meal, I will most certainly choose Left Bank, The ChopHouse, Hutches, frankly anywhere else.







They can't even bother to have their website set up.

Registrant:
Saeed, Amir
5520 west 190th St # 210
Torrance, CA 90503
US

I just watched this american express commercial where this slightly post skater-looking slaker kid gets bored in San Diego or wherever and looks up skiing on the net. He then decides he need to go where it is snowing to go skiing and flys to utah, where he meets some people who tell him to go to Canada where there is even better snow. The canadians say the real storm in Japan - so off to japan. The japanese tell him the real skiing is in Norway, then off to go to italy where he gets a text message that the surfs up in maui. Each time he flys to the location and skiis.

Each time he flys with "points." At the end he says I need a card that gets me places - and thats why my card is american express. Mind you, the ad was playing during final American Idol episode.

Is this not a way of luring in young people to spend a fortune on credit cards and rack up ridiculous debt.

Holy crap. I would never think I would see the most tacky rendition of a beetles medley on American Idol where they got together and sang Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. I wonder if that is what people thought when they heard the beetles sing it.

Followed by:

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends

I feel like (e:mike) 's Dare censor must be going off.

American idol had a record 74 million votes for Jordan Sparks who won this moment.

Maybe it is pretentious but I love sitting on the porch wacthing people go by while pointing at the house and smiling. It almost makes the $6000 in taxes/year worth it.



Wegmans has gelato now. It is delicious.


The new baby squirrel likes the porch too.

I just saw thi on google news:

Nine US warships in Gulf for show of force

Reuters Canada - 38 minutes ago
By Mohammed Abbas. ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS (Reuters) - The largest daytime assembly of US warships in the Gulf since the 2003 Iraq war prepared on Wednesday to hold drills off Iran's coast in a major US show of force that unnerved oil markets.

What is the war now if not the Iraq war. I wonder when they study this in History class how they will explainhat George Bush declared the war over at least 4 years before the troops were done fighting. It seems like a holdover from the past that if you capture the leader of another country, the war is over. Did that ever ean anything?

Still looking for the right tenants of the upper apartment of our house over on Prospect. So many people have called but I refuse to bargain down below $575. It is right next to D'Youville and I feel like if the people can't pay $575 - I don't want them as tenants. We have had such bad experiences renting to poor students. I am just so tired of begging for the rent money each month. Plus I want to recoup fro having it painted. Last year I think we invested back more than we made.

I figure if the difference between $550 and $575 per month for 3 people in a 3 bedroom puts them over the edge, then I just don't want to risk having them as tenants as they won't be able to pay rent.



We removed the rug in the dining room and painted. Before:


My mother said that is how it was when she grew up. After:




The living room - we are still painting this and the bathroom.



Holy Angels looked pretty today. I took the picture waiting for (e:enknot) to drop some stuff off for his girlfriend megan. I can't go in his house anymore because he has a cat. I love how he like to pretend it doesn't make him sick. He must really love it.


Why does this nicely painted house on Porter have newspapers blocking the window?

For lunch today (e:nknot) and I ate at Niagara Cafe On Niagara Street. The food was pretty good, especially considering the lunch specials only cost $3.99 I think everything they server is red and yellow colored. I would suggest trying it out.

Yummy friend plantains with garlic dipping sauce.


Some sort of yummy chicken stew.







Check out the rest of the prices

I finally finished painting the porch after working on it for like 3 weeks. The house looks so much better without the shitty red peeling porch paint. Tomorrow I might do a third coat.



I freakin' love this house - I cannot wait to paint it.


Matthew also cleaned up the rose bed.


It seems like we barbeque everyday now.



I hate raw chicken. Here it is swimming in chivettas in a punch bowl




These are the clams I talked about in the last journal.


We even bought cherries to go with the sangria, which two buckets later - is almost gone.


(e:lilho) oven baked some veggies. They are really tasty, I recommend roasted artichoke. I just covered it in olive oil and oregano.


What is hilti?


In Japan you can get a 24k gold facial. That sound so ovver the top ridiculous.

So, I was hopping at tops on elmwood because they had this major sale on clams. We got 5 dozen for eight dollars.

I hadn't been there in a really long time. At least since last clam season as it is usually the only reason I go. They have totally re-decorated everything and it doesn't look so skanky now.







Is it not weird to have bass pro gift certificates in Buffalo. It seems a little premature.



This news is too weird

I have been so busy this week. We are almost ready for the launch of the new young adult health care blogging site. I will save all the details for the launch but it is a technical advance from estrip. I hope to integrate stuff back downstream soon.

Today is Wednesday, October 2nd 1985
Dear mike,
We are learning to round off a nubber. Find the place look next door. If the neghbor is five or more, raise the place. 659->700. The buffalo bills have a new coach. DO ou think the bills will win now maby he will be beter maby not. I'm not sure but I'll find out britty soon.

Apparently, the old coach of the bills sucked because an overwhelming majority voted it would improve with the new coach. I mean only 1 voted no.

Today is Thursday, October 3rd
Dear Mike,
We took a poll through or journals. The question was, "Do you think the bills will win now that they have a new coach?" (Coach Bulough) There were 16 replies, We made a graph. The results were: 12 yes, 1 no, 3 wait and see.
Attach Graph!

Today is Friday, October 4th 1985
Dear Mike,
We took another poll. Now all the students have voted. So we have another graph!. Will the bill win now that they have a new coach, bullough?

12 said yes ************
3 said no ***
8 said wait and see ********

We I think the turtle pet idea stuck. Maybe because I am allergic to all other animals. I have had like 6 turtle and the current tortoise is supposed to last the rest of my life.

Today is Monday, October 7th, 1985
Over the weekend I wacht muppet babies I went too my cousoun Jenny and chistina. I played vityo games. It was fun I went t imy grandparents house we went to the contery and got applesidder It was good I had a really good time I really like turtle. I ite buy one at pet lovers paradise they are $2.95

Random Day
Today is eating in the room day. If I am an "all star" for behavior and Work, I not only eat in the room, but I also get my nae on the weekly star board, get a good grade and become a helper to miself, the class and mrs c.p.s. Everyone gets at least one turn to eat in the class room

You are an all-star!

We are having a corn kernle contest. We guess how many thousand, hundred, tens and ones. The students who guess the closes to the real nubber wins. I think there are 2485. Last night I did my siens project is all the water suppost to sink all the way down.

That depends. The sand soaks up more water than the clay soil.

I was clearly programmed to say this. There are so many writings about school taxes in my box.

Today is October 15, 1985
School taxes are due. I think School taxes...are ok cause because I don't have to pay. We need them so the school can go on. They are not fun to pay at all. I wonder wat what my parents think of it, taxes at any rate at all ?

Good thinking, write an edited copy of it.

I really stopped writing the dates on a lot of these. I like my software blog just does it for me now.

Random Date In october 1985
Over the week end I went to my grandmother's house I had a good tie we cleaned he cuberds I was fun got a soda maker I'm going to make it today IT will be fun I will make a shake with these flaver's banna cookei vento choclet and milk. There are such interesting things in grandmas cupboards, Yummy!

I wish cooking was really as easy as reading. Now I think attention span is equally important to reading the instructions. It is one thing to put something in a frying pan to fry, it is another thing to remember you put it there and take it out before it burns.

All this sport talk. I know fro a later journal that I never played sports so who is feeding me all the sports info. It surely was no my dad. I don't ever remember talking about baseball with him.

October 16th, 1985
Dear Mike,
MSpiners Reading Groop made MRs. Birdies bread for the class. First they read over the entire recipe to get the idea of what you do. Then they fowlolowed the direcshones step by step. If you can read, you can cook. I like the smell of the bread but best of all I like the tast.

The results of the corn kernel contest are in. Would you belive there are 8,435 kernels. Now we have two more jar's of kernnales. That's about 8,000+ 8,000 + 8,000 = 24,000 kernales. We are going to estimate WOW!

The world series is here. It begins Saturday. The Kansas City Royales laegue will play the St Louis Cardinails fromt he National league. Both teams are from Missourri. I a cheering... for the Cardinails.

Wow, this one is a long one. I was really impressed with this trip to the forest. I can still remember it now. I think it is what got me interested in hiking and camping as a life long hobby. Weird how certain things can have such an impact.

Today is October 21st, 1985
Over the weekend I wacted tv on saterday I wacked muppet babyes and I wacted wastes and I wachted a lot more and on sonday I went so far I went past Bosten, NY. We went 5 towns past Boston NY we went up a hill it went kervey up it then it went up down up down about ten times. then we saw a house it had a guesebow in a the back and a brige over a lake the house locked like a manchen my mom wanted it every there looked rich then we saw a forest we went in it we got pretty leafs and a few plants I brought them to school today and on the way back we bought gum and a litle candy at a tops in the middle of nowhere! It was fun on the way home we saw a lot of forests and me and my littel brother ate all the candy the we got home and I read about math in my dad book. It was funny. The math was like this w- B+1xB3=w34 then I looked at knots It was fun I did the balaknot I did it with rop and the square know and all sorts of other knots then I wacht Murder She Rote a guy named dammanded money and another guy kild him then I read about the atomic bom and a forest fire kovred the sun for two days in 1953 I played a gae of scavenger hunt and I won It is a fun game my dad alwease says he will win but I allwease do he never wins he never makes it home it is a bord game and on friday my grandparent's cae over I went to the gymnastics now I can do a front hand spring and a front walk over and a front limber and a back limber and now I can do a somersalt on the hi bar. The Bills won their first game of the season 21 to 9. The saint louis cardinals have won two games of the world best of 7 wins.

P.S. Well acksally my brother gobbled up all the candy.

OKAY THIS ONE IS THE WINNER - Who taught me about inflated candy prices ALso dodes anyone else remember M5 gym. It was so sweet. They would play 80s music and set up all these fun jungle gym stations, etc then you would have liek a minute at each station to complete it. I think I liked it because it was not a competitive sport.

Today is October 22 1985
Dear Mike,
Yesterday we played candy store and used play money to buy candy at inflated prices (like in europe) We still have football gumball to buy but for that we need work cents, when we complete our work for the week, we get it? M5 gym was a lot of fun.