FLIP + CHING

I Don’t Always Beg People for Money

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ching under Events, Things to Do.

I don’t always beg people for money… but when I do, it’s usually for some kind of bowling charity fundraiser. LOL.

So what’s the cause this time? Well, it’s an important one that is close to my heart.

I’m bowling on Saturday, February 7, to support the YMCA’s Strong Community Campaign. So yes, I’m begging for donations and I’m not ashamed of it. I hope you consider making a donation to support the YMCA’s Strong Community Campaign because the Greater Wichita YMCA is the region’s largest provider for:

Child Care
Swim Lessons
Summer Day Camp
Youth Sports
Health & Wellness
After School Programs

When you give to the Y, you continue to strengthen our community and move everyone forward. Your gift makes a meaningful, enduring impact right in our own neighborhood.

Please help us build a Strong Community by supporting the Strong Community Campaign Bowl-A-Thon. Your support and generous donations are the reasons why we have the best YMCAs in the nation.

Every donation, no matter how big or small, makes a difference. Thank you.

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Last Weekend Was a Fantastic Weekend

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Ching under Poker.

Last weekend was a great weekend but some had it way better than others for sure.

We played in the 2015 Kansas Poker Championships (also known as Cards for the Cure, a charity poker event benefitting the Susan G. Komen foundation) with some friends. Brian played in the Kansas Poker Championship, the main poker tournament. I didn’t play in it because it started at 10 AM and I have a couple of Zumba classes on Saturday mornings. I don’t get done until noon. However, it is a great cause and I enjoy playing poker so I registered for the Ladies-Only Poker Tournament later that day. It didn’t start until 4 PM so I had plenty of time to shower and get ready for it.

Brian was out by lunch but our friend Jay got deep into the main tournament and eventually won the whole darn thing. He is now the second person we know to be a Kansas Poker Championships champion. Our friend Michael Abay won it a couple of years ago. Incidentally, Jay’s winning cards were pocket queens — the exact same hand Brian was holding when we got knocked out of the tournament.

The ladies poker tournament was fun but had a low turnout. I was thinking that the 300 seats would fill up so I pre-registered on the web site. The day of the event they were begging women to play and I think they still only ended up with 99 players. My friend April took 6th in the ladies event and won $300. Not as much as Jay’s $10K first place finish, but it was a much smaller field. Still, it was great because it made up for their entry fees and then some. Great job, April!

After the dust settled Jay took everyone out to Red Robin for a celebratory dinner. It was really too late for us to eat, but I didn’t want to miss Jay gloat and bask in the glory of his win. He said buying everyone dinner was the least he could do considering some of his $10K was our money. We had to be there to celebrate the momentous occasion with our buddy. I figured we’re going to hear about Jay’s big championship win until at least one of us achieves the same feat (otherwise read: forever) so Jay’s gloating over dinner wasn’t going to be his last. Might as well get used to it. LOL.

Jokes aside, we are really proud of Jay’s achievement. Way to go, Jay! Way to represent!

Brian and I have decided that we really need to start playing more poker because we have a couple of friends now who have won the Kansas Poker Championship. Playing once or twice a year will no longer cut it. We’re going to have to play more if we intend to do better in next year’s tournament. It’s going to take a lot of practice. If Jay and Michael can do it, we should be able to do it too. We just need to get our heads back in the game.

Anyway, at least my bowling performance last Sunday made up for my disappointing finish in the ladies tournament. I can’t believe I beat mom. She usually bowls over 500 and I typically score around 400. It’s like we switched bodies. It was a good bowling night for me, which was great because I bowled extremely terribly the previous Sunday. A lot of it had to with arriving late though because we came from my staff meeting at Andover YMCA. I’ve decided that I cannot be late at all for bowling because it completely messes me up. I could not recover at all. It took me all of the first game to find my spot and didn’t really do that much better in the second and third games. It was a very bad night.

Last weekend was fantastic, though. Granted it was more fantastic for Jay, but it was great and it made me happy all the way around.

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Rib & Chop House

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

Yup. You guessed it. More pictures of food are coming your way. This happens when I get behind on blogging. Sorry, guys. We are almost caught up, though.

One of my favorite aspects of traveling is trying restaurants that I wouldn’t find in Wichita and trying dishes that I wouldn’t normally get back home. Our friends in Saint George took us to Rib & Chop House, a restaurant conveniently located next to our hotel.

I had the stuffed red snapper with a side of asparagus (above). The filet was stuffed with crab meat. It was almost over the top. The dish was delicious but it was so rich that I couldn’t finish it all. It’s a shame too because I want to eat it again just thinking about it. I wish I could have found it in me to eat every single morsel.

The surf and turf was popular with several people in our group. You could get with either lobster or crab legs. As soon as I saw the surf and turf plates arrive at the table, I regretted ordering the red snapper. The surf and turf plates looked amazing.

I didn’t order it because I didn’t want to fight crab legs which tend to be difficult to eat, but Rib & Chop House has pre-split the crab legs. They’re already cracked open so you don’t have to do any work. You just dig the meat out of the shell with your fork and chow down. It required little to no effort at all.

The restaurant also served mutant baked potatoes as a side option. That’s not what they’re called on the menu but that’s what they looked like to me because these potatoes were ginormous.

Speaking of ginormous, check out this ice cream sandwich.

It’s not like any ice cream sandwich I’d ever seen. It was huge!

I had to get a picture of Josh’s beer. That’s something else not readily available in Wichita. LOL.

I’m not a beer drinker so I didn’t get to try it but now I wish I had. I mean, when will I ever return to Utah? Sometimes the things we regret most are the things we didn’t get to do.

Oh, well. Maybe work will let me go again next year. If so, I’m definitely having a Polygamy Porter. Bitter beer face and all.

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Avenue Café

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

We always eat a lot on work trips. Here are a few more pictures of food.

You’ll never go hungry when you stay at the MGM Grand. The casino resort is like a small city with dozens of dining options.

Avenue Café is just one of several restaurants on site. The best part about Avenue Café, besides the great food, is that breakfast is served all day (note that they close at 2 PM).

If I had one complaint, it would be the price. $5 for a hot chocolate is a bit much. Then again, it is Vegas, so I guess that should be expected. I have no complaints about the food. I had breakfast there a couple of times and I liked what I had both times. They had several gluten free items and I even liked them.

We all cracked up when I ordered the gluten free corned beef hash with white toast. LOL. Ginger had to explain to me that even though it’s listed as gluten free, I don’t have to order it that way. Anything that is gluten free can be made the regular way so I could have just ordered corned beef hash, period. I was like, “That’s good to know. I was just reading it straight from the menu.”

Also, it’s never too early to drink in Vegas. Even though Avenue Café is a breakfast place, they had a good cocktail selection — most notably the “manmosa” which is the manly version of a mimosa. It’s the exact same thing, except they serve it in a beer mug rather than a champagne flute.

The champagne flutes are small and skinny so you don’t get much for $8. The $20 carafe is a better value because you get several champagne flutes worth. I only know because we had some on departure day. As tempting as it was, we didn’t have any the first time we were at Avenue Café because we don’t partake on work days.

If you don’t mind paying a little bit more for breakfast, Avenue Café is a good, convenient option. It’s a straight shot from the MGM Grand lobby.

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Gonzalez Y Gonzalez

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

I’d never been inside New York New York before. It’s actually pretty cool in there. They have the fake skies that make you feel like you’re outside though you’re inside the casino. The restaurant facades are made to look like you’re walking along a city street.

We ended up at New York New York because that’s where the Mexican restaurant Gonzalez Y Gonzalez is located. Gonzalez Y Gonzalez is the restaurant they picked for our first group dinner. The food is pretty good and the prices are reasonable. Here are some pictures.