The things I can't live without are:

Okay, so here is a list, because I just love a good list.  I am vetting potential blokes on eHarmony and some of you probably recognize the title  It's a list of 5 things you can't live without and I have to say, I pay close attention to this list.  Here is my list of lame things that you should not put on this list:

1. Air lol  (uh, really? Being literal and lol-ing about it...how (not) cute)
2. Business cards  (a sign that you work or maybe network, waaaay too much)
3. Keys  (okay.....)
4. Pen (uh huh....yaaawwwn)
5. Wallet  (seriously?)
6. Internet, laptop, cell phone...if you list all 3, you probably are a hermetic computer geek.

I have yet to see someone say "YOU!" for this category....I really wish they would.  I would be oh so flattered.

Also, if you like to hang out with your parents and family in your leisure time and nothing else, or read books like "The Spirituality of Imperfection" I have to think that eHarmony is stretching a bit for us to be a match.  

I also really do not understand why everyone and I mean EVERYONE, is passionate about living life to it's fullest!! I mean...I am just waiting, waiting for the guy who says he is passionate about living in a cardboard box, doing nothing with his time, just sitting around, keeping his fingers cross for the Right One to come along.  Because that's the guy that is probably more truthful than the rest.  All the others are soooo cliche.  Please, please do not state that your passion is living life to the fullest!  Boooorrrring!

And a hint about photos:  Very blurry, obviously cell phone in the mirror with the phone covering half your face or you holding it way off to the side....not so much.  I mean, I have short arms and I can even still manage to take a picture of myself, non-blurry, with my phone, with an arm stretched away from me far enough so that it gets my whole face.  Effort, please!  I like to see a little effort!  No super far away pictures either.  I can't see your face.  And only head shots?  Well, you might as well be advertising that you are a whale!  Big, big hint:  if you wear a suit in at least one pic, birds will think you are professional, making tons of jack and oooh....not afraid to dress up?!  Yeah...we love a man in a suit!  It's kinda like a man in a uniform.  Mmm, mmm, good!

Last bit of advice to all those male eHarmony users out there....when you get to the point of open communication, where you can email the girl whatever you like, please don't waste it on something like this: I would luv 2 no more abt the lovely *****. I can be reached by text at 404-391-**** or my yahoo user name, g****7.   Umm...really?  Because I am an adult and I can handle a real adult conversation.  I am not afraid to pick up the phone and talk to you...but....apparently, you are.  Text you, seriously?  Is this like junior high?  I know texting did not even exist when we were in junior high, but that is how you are acting!  

Ladies and gentlemen....keep it real, yo!  You'll find the best mate for you more quickly.  Just saying'...

Grouchfest: Edition 1

I admit.  Somedays I am like a grinch.  Usually around Christmas as I am not a big fan.  But sometimes, between one holiday and the next, I act like a grinch.  

Today did not start out as one of those day.  Still glowing from an Oz-made meal (tacos on Monday night, after I had mentioned tacos on Saturday), MNF with Oz (Go Titans!!) and a good-bye kiss at the train station from Oz, I settle into my first day of work sans my boss, mentor and friend.  While at times I felt it hard to be motivated, I settled into a steady pace and got a lot accomplished.  At the end of the day, I felt pretty productive and happy.  Then came....

....Grouchfest!!  What, you ask, could possibly derail my thoughts of Oz being sweet and appreciative and laid back and easy going, to something that made me so miserable and grouchy?  Marta.  Yes, Marta.  

I missed my bus by 8 whole minutes and had to wait for another 42 minutes for the next one.  While waiting, I tried to turn my attention back to those sweet kisses that Oz gently placed on my neck and his huge, strong arms wrapped around me tightly, I just could not, because of the screaming child next to me!  I. do. not. understand. why. children. insist. on. screaming!  And why their parents let them!

I moved down the row to an empty bench.  And then.  The lady with the rolling suitcase.  Seriously?!  You disrupt my perfect silence (now that the screaming has subsided) with your damnable rolly friggin suitcase?!  I popped in the earbuds and cranked up Cee Lo Green's F**k You!  Only he can turn that phrase into something so upbeat sounding.  It is oddly therapeutic.

Then I play Love That Girl by Raphael Saadiq, followed by his song Never Give You Up.  I don't know, it's just a thing.  I was trying to bring back those feelings from last night, while wrapped up in Oz's arms while he was so sweet and tender.  Yes, yes...I am a girl and I sometimes act and think like one.

Finally the bus comes and even though I am cursing that the drive leaves and comes back, only to have delayed us by a precious 4 minutes, what really, really gets me is the second screaming child!  These short, shrill bursts, one immediately after another as though she were some kind of siren (and believe me, not of the Greek persuasion).  

I recover and get a phone call from a close friend and by the time I get home, pop some popcorn and settle on the couch with a glass of wine and at least one compliant, non-meowy cat, I see that I have a Facebook invite for something called "Wedded Perfection Tea."  I just wanted to vomit.

Which of my friends was having a tea, a tea I ask, in order to announce her wedded bliss?  This is when grouchfest set in for good.  So, is it not enough that you asked 2,000 of your closest friends and family to adore, worship and genuflect before you whilst you choose a dress, flowers, cake, send invites, tie something onto an obnoxious wedding "favour", but now you want to rub it in to all of us (single) people that you are blissfully happy too?  I have just been waiting for the divorce papers, really, so I can feel better about being single.

Fortunately, I was able to recollect may sanity after I realized it was some museum exhibit with 200 years of wedding dresses.  Phew...I was close on losing it for a second.

Then I wrote this post, had a second glass of wine and now I think the grinch is subsiding.  Maybe.  I could find something else to be grinchy about, I am quite sure.  Just one of those days.

Zippety Don't

Nothing exciting has happened in this Atlanta blogger's life.  Eharmony continues to be my main connection to the outside world.  It is hard sometimes, for me to believe that life exists beyond Marta, Hurt Plaza and home.  Like, really strange that there is anything other than that.  Oh, and Oz's place, but that is a thing of the past.  Or so I thought.  More on that later.

Yesterday I had dinner at The Brick Store Pub, in Decatur.  My friend's niece who is 22 and just graduated from Clemson just moved to Atlanta about 3 weeks ago.  So I've been trying to help her find a job and such, so we went to dinner to just kind of get out of the house and whatever.  I had gone to BSP once before, when I had been searching for an apartment before I moved to HotPants.  It was lunch and everyone was super nice and had suggestions about where I should live.  Dinner was pretty good as well.  We had to wait almost an hour, after we were told 30 minutes, but it was a Friday night and I know I like to linger over many beers on a Friday night after a hella long week.  We split the shepherd's daughter's pie and pierogi primavera.  Delicious!!  It was quite good.  The portions are not huge, which is fine for me because I do not eat lots all at once, but if you were a huge dude, you might want to get a starter as well.

I love that they have a vast selection of beers and I love the inviting, dark, cozy ambiance.  And the upstairs bar area is all nice and cozy and wooden everything.  It is very charming.  I wish it was closer to where I live now, because I would for sure make it my regular watering hole.  There is no such place near me.  If you're looking for a nice first or second or third date place, especially as it gets a wee bit cooler, I would highly recommend The Brick Store Pub.  You can get all nice and cozy there.  They even have Framboise in peach and raspberry.

Okay, okay, I've been stalling.  Oz!  He has been missing me, so we got together on Friday night.  He was up to his usual antics, but it was a completely platonic get together and I had mentioned that I was going to go run errands Saturday morning.  On Saturday morning, he asked how I was going to run errands and of course, I mentioned ZipCar.  I had to explain what it was.  And how I got to/from said cars.  After he had put some laundry in the washer, I walked into the kitchen and he asked, "So, what if you used my car to run errands?"  I was pretty sure he didn't want me driving his BMW 330i, so I said (after a long pause, staring at the ground because I didn't want to seem too excited), "Well, that would be really nice but I don't want to be a nuisance."  He assured I wouldn't be, and he had errands to run at a few of the same places too, so...off we went.

Lesson of the day:  it doesn't pay to be nosy.  While we were at Nordstrom, picking up my tailoring, he sat in a chair and immediately whipped out his text machine (aka cell phone).  It appeared he was texting a...gasp!...girl!!???  I realized how heartbroken I was, reminded myself that he was with me at that moment and hey, wasn't I still eHarmonizing?  Yeah...so... Still, it was amazing how my heart seized up on me and totally gave me away.  We grabbed lunch at Tin Roof as it was about 2 ish or something and we were both getting a little cranky from not having eaten. 

Long story short:  We had a great day, he helped me drop some things off at my apartment, saw my mess (slightly embarrassed as he is a neat freak!), but I blamed it on still unpacking (6 weeks later).  It was another completely platonic day and I just absolutely adored him all day.  He is definitely high maintenance and used to being spoiled, but crazy me, I love spoiling my loved one.  

And, that's a wrap!  Nothing more going on here this weekend, except I may finally reserve a ZipCar to go to CarMax and see what's up there.  Just another slllooowww weekend in HotPants

Day #51 in HotPants

In addition to this blog being my official review site of all things food and HotPants related, it is also the venue through which I pour out my heart-wrenching love stories, battle through my lonely, single days and talk about my cats.  Wait.  Have I not talked about my cats yet?  Or have I?  I can't remember.  All this working stuff causes me to lose track of my personal life.  Kind of.  Not really.  

I am, by nature, a very social and out-going person most of the time.  Sometimes I need time alone to recharge.  Like when I was dating Oz, I craved time alone so that I could recharge for another battle of the minds.  It was like a constant he-said she-said battle.  

So...I have had enough downtime in the last week plus a few days since we broke up, to recharge from 4 Ozes.  Is that the plural of Oz?  It looks funny.  But I digress.  That equates to = loneliness!  I find myself just absolutely gushing whenever I have the chance to talk to someone.  Like today I went to lunch with my coworker and just couldn't stop talking about my life.  It was sad, even to me.  And he is the one with the new baby.  On the up side,  we sat there long enough that they gave us each a free soda with purchase coupon to thank us for our business.

My connection to the outside world, and other human beings is now reduced to eHarmony's Guided Communication.  I tried searching Craigslist for platonic friends, but even in the just platonic w4w section, everyone is looking for "just friends but maybe more."  Um, I have no problem if that's your thing, but I just want a friend and nothing more!  Atlanta, by the way, is the second gayest city in the country.  No wonder I can't find a date or platonic girlfriends.  

Now, I understand that I don't have a car and so it is really hard for me to get around, get out and meet people.  Yes, yes, yes.  I get it.  And, I get that I have only been in HotPants for 51 days.  But hey!  I have already had 1 breakup!  Why can't I make a friend too!  

Dear Marta

Dear MARTA,

I intend to join your Board of Directors in the near future.  Why, you ask?  No, it is not so that I can add such a thing to my resume.  No, it is not so I can wield power...well, okay, yes it is so I can wield power.  Power to change MARTA for the better.  I know that you are losing money.  A lot of money.  In fact, so much money that you had to cut service and change routes.  This was probably more inconvenient than you could imagine.  Because, do you, MARTA Board, actually ride the trains and buses?  I venture to guess that is a no.  I haven't done my research on you yet, but I guess it is a no because if you did, you would have already implemented my below suggestions for improvement.  MARTA Board, watch out.  I am going to steal a seat from one of you.  Not on the train, not on the bus...a seat on the Board.

1.  Wi-fi.  Not pronounced wee-fee, pronounced Why-Fye.  So that anyone who has a job that important, can work while commuting.  Or, so that my 3G iPhone can access the internets while I am in a tunnel.

2.  Remove those silly TVs.  Really, you should have spent that money on Wi-fi (see above). 

3.  The seats really need to be long benches lining each side of the car.  None of this 2x2 seating facing front to back.  Check the NYC subway cars for examples.  It is much more efficient seating. 

4. Line the ceilings with bars low enough for even someone my height to be able to reach, so we can hang on.  You could add those hold bars or straps like they have on the buses.  This would reduce the amount of people like me, who cannot reach the ones you may or may not have, and have to crowd around the vertical poles near the doorway.  

5.  Every 12 minutes during rush hours?  Seriously?  Let's try every 8 minutes, maybe.  It gets awfully crowded.  Or perhaps you could add an extra car or two.  Or maybe if you followed the above suggestion, it would just seem a lot less crowded.

6.  Let's talk about these bus stops.  Mine, in particular.  If I miss it, I have to wait 50 minutes for the next one, then I am screwed.  Or, if I am running errands, sometimes I have to wait like 30 minutes for the next bus to show up.  We need to talk about efficient routes and such.  

7.  Or...and here is a crazy idea...extend the trains!!  Like, build some more tunnels and extend the train service to more than two routes N/S and two routes E/W.  Seriously.  You could put a lot of unemployed people back to work, building tunnels.  You'd be contributing to the economy.  Wow, what a thought.

8. Re-brand.  Hire my designer friend to re-brand your 1970's looking logo.  Refresh yourselves.  Guaranteed a fresh look and brand will improve your image. 

9.  Strategic pricing.  Do you really need to charge $2 for each ride?  Maybe you do, I don't know.  But maybe you just need to be more strategic about your pricing.  We can discuss this in further detail once I am put in a position to wield power and authority and research this.

10.  Elect me to your board.  Clearly, your aged leadership team isn't cutting it.  You need fresh eyes, young blood and a new vision and direction.  You have a whole new generation of green riders to please.  I am just the person to do that.  

Respectfully submitted,

HotPants Blogger

Friendless in Atlanta

I am not sure if that is like Sleepless in Seattle, but maybe...   I can definitely sleep.  I have discovered that not having three or four blazing red digits burning into your sleepless eyeballs actually makes a difference in how well I sleep.  I sleep better sans a clock staring me in the face.  Who knew?  I had even gotten a little used to waking up on time, sans alarm, when I was with Oz, and now, even on the weekends, I will wake up by 8am.  I am amazed at how long the weekend really is!

But that is kind of a tangent.  I am checking in with you all because I had the sudden realization today that I do not have any friends here!  I, who everyone seems to be able to talk to anytime and anywhere, do not have any friends here.  We are not talking Oz (we agreed to be friends, but honestly, how many of us are truly friends with an ex?).  We are not talking co-workers (work needs to stay at work, generally speaking).  I am talking about that girl, that guy... who you can call in a heart beat because you have had a crappy day and get drinks with.  Someone who will tolerate the occasional tirade, the frequent bad boyfriend, the funny jokes and quick wit, the person you know will try that newly discovered restaurant with you.....That person.  

I know, I know.  I have only been here for a month.  And I didn't really know anyone before I moved here.  But, it reminds me of when I moved to Cincinnati and didn't know anyone there either.  I did have a few single coworkers...at least, at first.  They all got boyfriends, fiances and husbands.  

Anyway, I digress again.  But there is really nothing more to this post than just this: I realized today, that I do not have any friends in Atlanta.  And that was depressing.

Cafe Bombay

Today, we are reviewing a restaurant called Cafe Bombay.  It is an Indian place on Briarcliff Road, near N. Druid Hills Road.  I dined here with the now ex, and sadly, this experience may well have been the catalyst for the prefix "ex"now applied. 

I like good service, just like anyone else.  But, I have to say, I never expect hurried or rushed waiters at an Indian restaurant.  It is usually pretty laid back.  And such was the case with this place.  I was quite happy with being seated immediately; the place wasn't packed.  The interior was slightly dimly lit and warm, friendly and inviting.  We sat and were not waited on for a few minutes.  Our waiter (clearly not part of the Indian theme going on) had a little bit of an attitude, I sensed.  Oz ordered a dry, dirty martini with no olives.  I decided I was too tired to drink, so just stuck with water.

We asked the waiter what he would recommend and his sass-filled answer was, "Well, depends what you like." So I said I like chicken and he pointed out a few dishes.  I chose Chicken Vindaloo.  Oz also asked for a recommendation and after confirming he liked spinach, ended up with Saag something... I am not sure if it was Saag Paneer or something else, but possibly.  

Oz's drink was brought out a little later (okay, even I thought it was a little slow in coming out).  He was already agitated at this point, so when he sipped his drink, I think it just put him over the top.  Dry martini means no vermouth.  Dirty martini means extra olive juice.  This was not a dry, dirty martini, and I can attest to that.  So he brought the waiter over and unfortunately, the waiter chose the wrong person with who to argue.  Oz knows his drinks.  The waiter stated that dry meant extra vermouth and dirty?  Well you didn't want any olives.  Oz finally just said, I want vodka with olive juice.  The waiter: We don't have olive juice.  Oz: Well how were you going to make a dirty martini.  Waiter: Well you didn't want any olives.   Oz just said forget it, that he would drink whatever he had been made. 

Shortly after, the food arrived but Oz was so agitated he demanded that we get it to go and leave.  Sigh.  There went my nice, spur of the moment, hey, I want to take you out to dinner....

But the story isn't so much about Oz as it is about the food.  The food was phenomenal!  I personally don't believe you go to an Indian restaurant for a dry, dirty martini....stay in Buckhead if that is what you want.  But you do go for the food, and it was really, really good.  I will definitely go back to Cafe Bombay, sans Oz.  And hopefully they will have replaced the waiter, who graciously (after first running the bill with the drink) ran the bill without the drink, since we "hadn't been satisfied with it."  

The Chicken Vindaloo was very spicy, as I had wanted it to be, and Oz eagerly ate his Saag something... and even after his little grinch moment, agreed that perhaps he would go back for take out.  

Saturday's Home Game

Indeed, I am playing at home today.  I went to Publix, the "local" grocery store based in Florida.  I am quite frankly, underwhelmed.  There were flies around the fruits and the organic section left something to be desired.  I chose a 50% less fat/calories avocado, but couldn't help but wonder what kind of genetic mutation the fruit has gone through. I will admit, however, there is nothing quite like walking into a grocery store on a Saturday morning and smelling fresh baked bread...and, I could have sworn, doughnuts, although I did not see any.

Last week while I was in NYC, I bought a pair of pants that needed to be hemmed, so I brought them to a nearby alteration place.  I don't know the name of it, but it is near the corner of N. Druid Hills and Briarcliff Road.  I was already having an allergy attack, but when I stepped into the dressing room, snot was literally pouring out of my nose.  I know, it's gross, but so was the awful moldy smell in the place.  The woman taking dry cleaning and such was really nice though.  I asked her to measure both legs separately as I have one hip lower than another (something pointed out to me by a former tailor in MI and for which I am forever indebted as it drives me crazy having one pant leg even 3/8" shorter), and she was more than happy to do so without arguing or saying it wasn't necessary.  

I then walked to Target Greatland to buy some wooden spoons and such, as mine were lost in my move. I didn't find a huge selection and was a little disappointed.  I prefer bamboo over other types of wood, as it is a sustainable resource.  The only bamboo spoons I found were a Giada de Laurentis item, but I liked the look and feel of them, so I bought them.  I also bought her whisk.

So, here is the recipe for my chicken, which I dressed this morning after I got back from Publix.

3 cloves of garlic

2 onions

3 lemons

Thyme

Rosemary

Olive Oil

Chenin Blanc

Mixed roasting potatoes

I cleaned out the chicken and salted and peppered the inside and out, then stuffed it with garlic, onions and lemon slices.  I also put lemon slices under the breast skin, along with more garlic.  I let it sit in the fridge for as long as I could possibly, but then I go impatient after about 3-4 hours, so I took it out, to finish dressing it and pop it into the oven.

Since I do not have a nice little wire rack to sit the chicken on, inside my roasting pan, I laid a bed of onions, which I had roughly chopped into eighths.  I pulled apart another head of garlic and smashed the cloves with my knife.  I put some of these in the onion slices and put the chicken on top.  I tucked the roasting potatoes around the chicken and the rest of the semi-smashed garlic scattered amongst the potatoes.  I poured olive oil over the chicken, then dusted with rosemary and thyme.  I used a second lemon's juice over the chicken and potatoes.  I used the chenin blanc over the potatoes and around the chicken as the roasting liquid, along with some water.  I didn't use all the wine, because I will need to drink some later...I have already drunk most of the bottle that I opened yesterday.  Excuse me, it helps my allergies!

I then put a few slices of bacon of the top of the chicken.  This kind of helps protect it from getting too crispy and the fat from the bacon will flavour the chicken nicely.  I roasted it at about 400 F or so, for almost 2 hours.  Internal temp has to reach 160 F, but you can take it out a little before and let it set, as it will absorb the juices, as well as continue to cook. 

I used a little chenin blanc plus corn starch to make the base of the gravy.  I added it into the juices from the cooking process and...wow!  A lemon-white wine flavour is amazing!!  Ridiculous!  So, so good!  The potatoes were roasted to perfection and I really liked the mild purple potatoes in particular.  

My whole place smells amazing and I have already gone back for seconds.  I wish I had bought some bread or something, just to make garlic bread, to compliment the chicken.  It does have a faint garlic flavour, although next time I think I would try to emphasize that a bit more.  

Next, I will make a creamy chicken soup from the gravy and chicken leftovers.  I intend to boil chicken stock, and add some pasta.  Yum!  I should open my own restaurant....

HotPants Milestone #2

So, after the best date of my life a month ago, comes the best breakup of my life.  Yes, Oz and I mutually decided to call it quits.  It just wasn't working.  The funny thing is, he started the serious conversation, but I had to spit it out for him.  In the end, we were laughing and joking like it was our first date all over again.  It was even in one of the same bars, near the Lindbergh Station.  

It was amazing to me how nervous he was about the whole entire thing and I had known all week that this was coming.  He was amazed at my prescience.  I just know these things; I have had plenty of experience.  He thought that I was going to throw a beer in his face and run out saying how I hated him.  I reminded him that I exuded maturity (his words, not mine).  It was even more enjoyable to turn the tables when the waitress brought the check.  I took the check and said, "Thanks for breaking up with me.  Let me buy you a beer."  All he could do was laugh and tell me how impressive it was.  This, after I told him how easy I had made it on him and wasn't I always thinking of him?

We agreed to be friends, although it is still TBD what exactly that means or looks like.  I told him there had to be definition and explanation of expectations.  I like this bloke.  A lot.  As a person.  Not just like only a boyfriend.  I want to be friends with him.  

And so, my life as it has been at the Lindbergh Station.  Seeing him waiting for the train as mine passes by and feeling my heart skip a beat, an instant smile on my face.  Waiting for our trains together in the morning and kissing him goodbye.  Meeting him for the first time nearby at Taco Mac for dinner, then going next door to play pool and getting a pool lesson.... and how many times did we drive there together, park and walk to the train?  Such good, positive memories....I am happy.  Happy with a breakup.  Who knew it could be this good?