My little cannoli

I've been craving a cannoli for several months, and so when I went to sample this little Italian deli in Silver Lake and saw that they had cannolis, I had to try one:

The verdict: Pretty good and not overly sweet. Most of all, I love that I can order a little itty bitty one (about 3"), since I can't take too much of the filling (or too much of the calories.) I also find it mildly amusing that the menu says that the freshly made cream is "stuffed by experts." I wonder if I can take a class in cannoli cream stuffing.

Update: Cardone's Deli (where I got this cannoli) has shut its doors. I guess the cannoli-stuffing experts will have to find a new place to practice their craft.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Last night, I blogged a little about wanting to have more time to blog, and today, I'm home sick again with stomach problems. I guess I'll have plenty of time to post now. I just have to keep all my hypochondriacal thoughts in check.

Rudolph, the red bass guitar

I'm taking a break from homework and thought I'd catch up on my blogging. It's been difficult these last couple of weeks to stay on top of everything, and I'm trying not to put undue pressure on myself to post as regularly as I had originally planned. I'm so overbooked as it is and this is meant to be a fun hobby, after all.

Speaking of fun hobbies and overbooking myself, I've started up on bass again. I had put that on hold for awhile due to my chronic arm pain, but I'm getting better at managing that, and so far, I haven't experienced any problems when playing. This is very good news... I've missed practicing my favorite songs and being able to jam with K.

I watched "Juno" last weekend and I thought it was an interesting coincidence that Juno mentioned her ideal set of adoptive parents to be "a thirty-something graphic designer with a cool Asian girlfriend who kicks ass on the bass guitar" and that she had named her guitar, "Roosevelt." Sometimes I wonder whether those kinds of coincidences are the universe's way of directing you or if those references are all around you all the time and that you only notice them when you are thinking about them to begin with. Hmmm... before I start to talk about the law of attraction and get all Oprah on you, I'd better get back to my homework.

A shot of my bass, "Rudolph"... yes, I know... I can be a little too hipster-precious sometimes.

Poetic Love

For Valentine's Day, one of my favorite love poems (not to mention the source of my name):

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

The fifth stanza always gets me: "...neither the angels in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul..." There's nothing better than romanticizing tragic love (and nothing worse than actually experiencing it.)

In any event, hope everyone is having a lovely (non-tragic) day!

Back

No, I didn't go anywhere (unless you count going on a mental vacation.) I just had a crazy week and was so exhausted it hurt to think about anything, even about what to eat (and I love to think about food!) Anyway, I'm back on track (read: functionally sane) and speaking of food, last week, I saw this little item on Eater LA:

"Crumbs Bake Shop, the New York cupcakery with sugar bombs like caramel apple, Oreo, and Fluffernutter flavors will open at 216 N. Larchmont in April. The good thing about Crumbs is that it's not a monolithic chain (there are only seven locations so far), whose owners still actively oversee daily operations. The first west coast Crumbs opened in Beverly Hills in September---and they gave away free cupcakes on day one. Yes, they're willing to buy your love."

I reviewed Crumbs on Yelp after visiting with the Cupcake Meetup Group and so far, they are my favorite over-the-top cupcakery in Los Angeles. That they are opening a location within 10 minutes of my home means I have to hurry up on sorting out my fitness plan. Still, despite the possibility of rear expansion, I'm happy that they are opening a location in my area. If you take a look at the L.A. Times' cupcake map, we are currently underserved.

SUPER SUPER

Sometimes I forget how exhilarating sports can be. Maybe it's because I usually cheat (myself) and find out the score of most games (which we usually record) ahead of time in order to save myself from the stress and possible disappointment of defeat. It's the equivalent of keeping your eyes shut during a rollercoaster ride and really, what's the point of that?

Well, I'm glad I kept my eyes open during yesterday's amazing game. It was definitely a bit tense in moments, but ultimately, it proved to be a very rewarding and transcendent experience. (That was putting it mildly: During most of the second half, I screamed and jumped my way to happy exhaustion.) In any event, good for the Giants, who weren't intimidated by the Patriot hype and didn't give up. Their defense was spectacular and it was great to see Eli fulfill his potential (and Brady get sacked so many times.)

I did feel a little bad for the Patriots at the end (especially Junior Seau), but that was shortlived, especially when a sour Belichick walked off the field early, a particularly classless move.

As a sidebar, the subs were awesome and well worth the extra 45 minutes I had to wait for them (and I ordered online early!)

Super

Super Bowl Sunday is definitely one day of the year where you can count on most people being wrapped up in pre-game, game and post-game activities. I never used to be one of those people. In the past, I've taken full advantage of that by going to amusement parks and other places that are usually overcrowded. However, since I've been dating K, I've actually been following NFL football and getting into it. (Not that this is without precedent: In high school, I was on the football stats team.)

In any event, I, along with everyone else, will be watching the game today. I'm rooting for the Giants because a) I was impressed with their previous showing against the Pats; b) I like an underdog; and c) I hate Tom Brady. (Sorry to all the Pats fans!) Unfortunately, deep down, I'm worried that Eli Manning will have a meltdown of Rex Grossman proportions. Hopefully, the Giants will be able to maintain the momentum that has gotten them this far. If not, oh well... at least, I'll have a Bay Cities sub to munch on. (Sometimes it's nice to be a relatively apathetic L.A. sports fan.)