It was by far the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted (please note that I did not get the deep fried cheesecake after seeing the face the lady in front of me made after her first bite) and I want more. I was intrigued by Jackie’s post. Fried food on a stick sounds cool. But the reality made me ashamed. I ate half of it before the guilt overwhelmed me. I want to go back. I have found my guilty pleasure.

And another thing. I have been away from fairs too long. Who is the sadist that thinks up these rides? Let us think of a way to scramble then kill a man, then dial it back a notch. Five dollars please…

In celebration of their birthdays, a friend of ours and his girlfriend took us out to dinner last night. They’d heard wonderful things about Pizzeria Bianco from some of their friends back in New Mexico, so we decided to check it out. I totally thought they were joking when they said the wait was 2-2.5 hours. Oh no, my friend. We really did wait that long. Luckily there is this adorable little wine bar next door. It’s an old converted house, and the atmosphere was great. The wine selection was wonderful, though it would have been nice if they’d had coffee, since our table wasn’t set to be available until 10:30.
When we finally sat down for dinner, we weren’t disappointed. The fresh homemade mozzarella, tomato, and basil salad was excellent, as was the pizza. And the main restaurant had an excellent cappuccino. =) If you are a pizza lover, Pizzeria Bianco is not to be missed. My advice would be to try to get there a few hours before you want to eat (doors open at 5:00) so you can put your name down. I hadn’t eaten all day and was ravenous by the time we sat down, but was so tired I didn’t have the energy to eat much.

Driving east on Camelback, I noticed the U-Haul sign that proudly announced its special.

“30 days FREE for all Katrina Victims”

Uhmm….they are here because everything they own…is now gone.

Isn’t that just a little slap in the face?

That’s right, the Arizona State Fair starts tomorrow. You can visit cows, listen to concerts, ride rides, and eat just about any kind of food you can imagine fried up and then served on a stick. Just be sure you ride the rides and THEN fill up on food, if you’re prone to motion sickness. Or take a little Dramamine.

Huba huba. The big boys are coming to town and bringing their yet-to-be-released online payment system with them. Look for a major announcement on Wednesday that Google will open an operations center in the East Valley (Tempe or Scottsdale). Want to work for Google? Check out their open positions in Phoenix.

It’s been an (intestinally) distressful weekend here on the Thunderbird campus. At least 20 students have been taken down by the bug, which was initially thought to be food poisoning. We ruled that out, though, as there seems to be no common denominator – not everyone ate the same thing, at the same time, or even at the same place. Four of those stricken were out to dinner with us on Saturday night, so we thought maybe it was something at Haus Murphy’s but once we found out about the other people, it was ruled out. Someone posted that there is a stomach virus or going around the Phoenix area. Has anyone else noticed this?

In honor of our German friend Roland’s birthday, about 20 of us went to Haus Murphy’s in Old Town Glendale last night. Our table took up pretty much the entire outside seating area, and pretty much the entire room where the comedy show was held. The authentic German band provided ample entertainment, especially with the people who did the Chicken Dance everytime they played it. There’s just something so charming about watching a 50 or 60-something woman shake her rear end. Being a German restaurant, we should have realized that it wouldn’t be vegetarian-friendly, but we did manage to get some cheese schnitzel for the non-carnivores in our group. The staff was so friendly and so accomodating, that we didn’t even mind that our waiter couldn’t understand the Chinese and Japanese half of our party. Poor guy did his best, and for the most part, managed to decipher their orders.
During the comedy show, one of the comedians dubbed our table “the New Wall Street”. I guess we really do look like MBA students. If only he knew that instead of the BMWs and Mercedes he was teasing us for having were really Chevys, Fords, and Saturns. Perhaps one day, my friend, but for now, we’re just poor students.
All in all, it was a great night. They gave Roland free shots, sang him “Happy Birthday” 4 or 5 times, and were just so friendly and nice. I’d definitely recommend spending an evening there. Just don’t bring the vegetarians.

I am haunted by the coverage. Of all the tragedies that challenge us in these times, I fear earthquakes the most. Thousands may be lost. No, thousands have been lost.

And again we point you to citizen voices. Our friends need your support and your prayers and for you to hear their voices.

Metroblogging Lahore

Metroblogging Karachi

Well, your answer is irrelevant, because either way you should go see Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure at Theatre 4301 in Scottsdale. Ashley invited the Phoenix Metbloggers to the opening night performances there, and I have to say it was great. Hysterically funny. I won’t write more because I think Ashley’s going to write about it, but I wanted to urge people to go see him. Click here for tickets.

We spent an enjoyable morning at the Desert Botanical Garden’s annual Fall Plant Sale. If my hubby hadn’t been there to control me, I would have purchased a lot more than the three Texas Ebony trees, the Creosote, and the two flowering plants we bought. If you want to stock up on desert plants, there’s no better place to go. The sale runs like a well-oiled machine and there are plenty of knowledgeable and helpful staff members there to help you out. Today was member’s only day, but the sale is open to the public Saturday (tomorrow) 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

There is no charge to enter the plant sale, but if you do venture inside the garden this weekend through November 6, you can see the Monarch Butterfly Exhibit. We didn’t get a chance to check it out today, but we hope to go back before they are gone. The butterfly exhibit is free to members and $2.00 with a paid admission for non-members.

Desert Botanical Garden
1201 North Galvin Parkway