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i don’t think there was a better way to spend a saturday.  the weather was beautiful and the location was smart.  it was at rainbow lagoon park (across the street from shoreline village).

gates opened at 10:30am; we got there sometime after 11:30am and the line for @grlldcheesetruk was super long.  we sought out @kotacotruck – more specifically cause their truck was wrapped for robert rodriguez’s new movie, “machete“  with art done by @misterctoons.  machete comes out september 3rd, btw.  sadly, we didn’t try any of their offerings and opted for @donchowtacos.  we really wanted to try their kung pao chicken chimale (chinese tamale) but they were only offering a 3 taco sampler for $6.  the tacos were kung pao chicken, chinese bbq pork and LA taco (carne asada with bacon & grilled onions)  – c & i liked the flavors on all of these but our favorite is the kung pao chicken.  i’m used to kung pao chicken being so heavy but this was really light.  it seemed to be all white meat cuts of chicken and excellent seasoning.  i could’ve gone for another kung pao taco but again, they were only offering the $6 sampler, boo!

after snacking on those we agreed to try @coolhaus.  was bummed to hear they only offered a sampler as well.  i guess it makes it easier for the food fest scene.  each mini was $2.  c got rocky road and i got red velvet.  talk about teasing your mouth.  the ice cream sandwiches were SO GOOD.  so good that we chased the truck the next day, heh.

we set up our blanket in front of the stage and listened to the band, “blue steel” – they were actually good, they played a lot of cover songs and i won a cd for naming a sublime song.  duke brought his legos and we just had a good ol’ time.  c ended up getting a watermelon drink, beef brisket slider and fries from @unclelausbbq – i still can’t decide if the fries are their creation or something you can buy from a food distributor, they were decent, i’m not complaining.  the brisket was good.  i would’ve preferred it to be a little hotter (temp-wise, this is always a complaint of mine) and the watermelon drink was pretty yummy.

the big winner for me was @thesweetstruck – they get a bunch of local favorites and sell ‘em.  my fave was the peanut butter & marshmallow cakewich from cake monkey.  i would’ve got another one but $4 each is a hard one to swallow for my cheap ass.

we got our tickets presale so it was $6 each, it’s going to charity so i didn’t feel bad having to shell out money.  we spent about $30 total for 2 people and another $8 for parking.  we parked at shoreline village rather than $10 at the long beach convention center. thanks to the organizers of this event, it was well planned and definitely someone’s “baby”  – GOOD JOB and can’t wait to spend more money on one of your events!

if anyone was to weather a storm it’d be me but this whole year has been a bitch and i just fell back.

shit kept happening, one after another… so much of it to deal with and i needed a breather for myself.  most of my absence from here was spent on twitter and playing animal crossing city folk.  that game is IT.  talk about relaxing me lol

but my saving grace actually happened last night in watching 2 shows that brought back bittersweet memories from being a teen.  as lame as it sounds they were:  TI’s road to redemption with a 15 year old girl gangbanger named cynthia from south central and icons: metallica

first of all, TI is a stand up celebrity.  he fucked up and now he’s trying to fix it while helping others.  not only the kids he’s personally helping but the ones watching..  i can appreciate that about him even if i’m not a fan of his music.  it shows character and most rappers that do damage (violent rap lyrics, stupid beefs)  are celebrated.

cynthia – she got into the gang after her brother was shot and killed when she was 13 and wanted retribution.  she had the toughest exterior i’ve seen on the show, her hardcore accent and slang were making me laugh. i grew up knowing a bunch of cynthias because i was raised in long beach.  TI brought her to a funeral home in compton then to homegirl cafe where gang members shared their stories..  then he showed her what her future could be, a photographer.  i was so touched by the episode because i grew up in the era where west coast rap was the thing and no one wanted to help misguided angels. i wish cynthia the best!!

metallica – i hadn’t watched it and it aired in 2003 so it was a nice treat.  i was like WTF at avril lavigne though.  really mtv, really? :rolleyes:  my faves were snoop doing ‘sad but true’ and korn doing ‘ONE’.  i remember the first time i ever saw the video for ONE.  i was at my high school best friend’s house and she had it on vhs.  taped off late night mtv when mtv still showed videos 24/7 or THE BOX (who remembers the box? you call in and order music videos for .99 – it was the shit).  anyways, she put it on and i was blown away.  i never seen shit like it and it was then that i started listening to metallica.  i was the type of chick that listened to KIIS FM and west coast rap haha

anyways, I’M BACK BITCHES!