Arid Arizona

Halocha mi gente,

It's been a while since my last post so I figured it would be good to update you on my life in the state of Arizona.

My job is phenomenal. I love it. So very blessed to be doing what I love and loving what I do. God is amazing, and being a part of what He's doing on an international level is a real privilege. I have wonderful co-workers and just really enjoy going to work and being busy, knowing it serves a much greater purpose.

Arizona... has taken some getting used to, on the other hand.

It is a desert in a very literal and cultural sense, which is a huge adjustment from Los Angeles. I'm not trying to be snobby, occasionally you do find an oasis of quality/ genuine culture out here, you just have to work hard to find it. Not having a car has been a challenge, but thankfully I live right across the street from the slow, yet reliable, light-rail and have been able to go on some foodie adventures, discover some interesting events, and venture into different parts of town in search of hot spots and creative art.

There are not many mom & pop spots here in Arizona, but the ones that have managed to survive are very good. After a fairly disappointing First Friday (similar to art walk) I made the decision to stick to looking for unique food spots because art does not seem to be a strong point for the city. On one of my very first food adventures, I went to this restaurant called Barrio Cafe in the middle of Midtown Phoenix. The surrounding location is a bit rundown according to Arizona standards, but I think it was the first time I felt like I was back home in LA for a bit. There was some amazing street art/ murals and the restaurant was just kind of this hole-in-the-wall. I talked to the waiter for a bit about the menu and what I should order. I took his advice with the Chile Nogada and am very thankful that I did. It was such a unique combination of flavors and textures I could not put my fork down because every bite was different/ delicious. Serious. And then I managed to walk (and take the light-rail) home in time to catch a ride to a Super Bowl party. That was a very happy Sunday for me... minus the Pat's loss.

Barrio Café - Chile Nogada

The very next weekend I found an Ethiopian hole-in-the-wall restaurant, tucked into the corner of an ethnic food mini-mall by ASU called Blue Nile. It was delicious. Not quite on the level of the food my saintly Ethiopian friend/ co-worker in Kenya makes, but a very close second. And all of their desserts are raw, so I  had to try them and see how they tasted. Really interesting combination of flavors, and they were minimally processed, so... healthy as well! I got the chocolate 'cheesecake' the first time and a chocolate, with healthy greens and herbs blended in, the second time. Oh and friends of mine got a raw cinnamon roll that second time, which was delicious.

Blue Nile - Meat Lover's Combo

Some friends were in town the following weekend and after our initial brunch plans fell through we ended up at Lo Los Chicken Waffles, which (you guessed it) is very similar to Roscoe's. But we discovered the fried chicken at Lo Los is 100 times better than the dry stuff they serve you at Roscoe's. Twas phenomenal. Granted, the waffles were not great, but overall they had great service, we enjoyed our time, stuffed our faces, and left satisfied.

Lo Los Chicken Waffles - Yummy

This past weekend I tagged along with my co-worker and her husband to the Japanese cultural festival, which had very few actual Japanese-Americans or people of Japanese heritage there but was fun to check out and experience the authentic culture that was there. I learned about wish-fishes, which are made out of ribbon and blow in the wind. Very pretty, and honestly... who doesn't like to make wishes?

Hand-made wish fish

In addition to samurai swordsmanship clubs, martial-art and traditional dance performances, Japanese dog rescue programs, and some delicious Japanese food, there was a young artist there who made a very beautiful installation piece in honor of the earthquake and tsunami victims. Had I not been bumped around so much by Anime/ Manga fanatics taking pictures everywhere I probably could have spent a good hour just looking at/ experiencing the piece. It was really moving and somehow captured all of the emotions associated with the disaster and recovery efforts.

Origami Installation piece honoring earthquake/ tsunami victims

Then that night I went out dancing and had my first really fun night out in Arizona, followed by a day of learning how to drive a manual Beemer and shoot guns in the desert! Haha. Sometimes you just gotta let the inner stereotypical American come out to play.

Adventures aside, I have found a great gym with very talented coaches and fighters, but I'm not much of a social person in the gym so I think it will take time for friendships to come out of that. I'll be there for a while though, I'm not too worried. Training has been going very well thus far, and despite all my talk of food, I've been eating very clean, so I should be up and competing by the end of March/ beginning of April, just in time for Rumble in Venice! If you're in LA and free in May we should meet up during that time and you should come out to support Rumble in Venice, it's a great event.

Overall it's been a bumpy ride, but I'm getting there. Still trying to find my social niche and all, but I know that God's got me here for a reason and is leading me in all the right ways so I'm not freaking out about the whole move as much. Moral of the story: I miss LA dearly, and certain people that I've left there, but this is a good adventure and I expect to grow a lot.

Come visit me! I have plenty of space to host people, and would be more than happy to take you on a food adventure or some kind of random excursion to discover the 'oases' here. I will be posting more regularly too so I hope to keep you all updated that way. Besos, abrazos, y bendiciones.

With love from the desert,
-Educated & Employed