Home Away From Home
Posted on November 17, 2015 by Ching under Travel.
Hyatt Place Topeka has quickly turned into my home away from home. Been staying here for days at a time as I work on my new project assignment. It’s not the greatest hotel in terms of how comfortable the bed is and how clean the rooms are but the staff members are friendly and they’re starting to get to know me. I think that counts for a lot. Unless the place is absolutely gross like that time that Carmen and I got stranded in Atlanta and had to stay at that terrible hotel, I think I’m pretty tolerant of minor misgivings.
Anyway, the Hyatt Place does some pretty cool stuff. For instance, they had a staff pumpkin carving/decorating contest over Halloween. The staff members got really creative. Here are some photos of their unique designs.
I actually voted for the towering cupcake pumpkin one.
There were actually two winners. The witch and the cupcake tied for first place. What do you guys think? Which one is your favorite?
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Juli’s Coffee & Bistro
Posted on November 15, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
I found a great place to eat while I’m in Topeka, Juli’s Coffee & Bistro. It’s just across from our Topeka office on 8th Street. I eat there almost everyday, whenever there’s enough time to grab lunch.
It’s got unique decor and really cool ambiance.
Even their salt and pepper shakers are cute. There are different ones at each table.
And, they serve breakfast and lunch.
Here are some pictures of food from Juli’s.
I would have more pictures of food except most of the time I’m grabbing my food to go and eating while I work. As you can see from my parking voucher below, ten-hour days are not unusual. I think we’ve had a couple of thirteen-hour days already so ten hours is about average.
I’m still straddling my regular job and my role in the CIS project right now so I’m kind of doing my old work while I’m working on the project. Fridays are pretty much dedicated to getting caught up on what’s happening with the Customer Relations Center, and training my coworkers and team members who have been gracious enough to take care of some of my duties while I work on the CIS project. I’m finally at a point where my major responsibilities are covered so I can start focusing most of my attention on the project.
I’ve been spending most of the week (Monday through Thursday) in our Topeka office. While I’m starting to get used to driving from Wichita to Topeka, I’m not really fond of driving so I’m glad I found a place within walking distance of the office that serves great food. I highly recommend Juli’s if you’re ever in downtown Topeka.
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Pictures from the Boo and Brew Ball
Posted on November 13, 2015 by Ching under Events.
The Boo and Brew Ball was fantastic. It’s a benefit for Dress for Success Wichita which is in its 14th year. Dress for Success helps impoverished women break the cycle of poverty by providing women with professional attire to wear to job interviews, guidance through the career center, job training, and employment retention support programs.
This was our first year attending Boo and Brew. I hope we get invited again next year because it’s not only a great party but it also supports a great cause.
We ran into several people we knew including Aharon (pictured above) and CJ. Also ran into the glamorous Sheona from Backstage Makeup Studio who I met earlier this year when we had our team builder at her shop.
Chef Jason was there also. He offered his services as a live auction item. I think it fetched more than any of the other live auction items that night. Rune won the bidding on that one. I’m too poor to bid on live auction items but I absolutely love the silent auction.
The silent auction is one of my favorite things about these fundraising events. I won two this time around; which reminds me, I still need to call Patton Pest Control and schedule bug extermination service.
Rune’s costume was a big hit. He won a $100 for the best men’s costume. His Darth Vader costume looked so authentic that several people asked to take photos with him.
The Boo and Brew was so much fun. I can’t wait to go again next year.
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Connie’s 50th Birthday Extravaganza
Posted on November 8, 2015 by Ching under Events.
This is definitely the most elaborate birthday party I’ve ever attended. It was grander than most weddings!
The guestbook was a guitar and drink tickets were guitar picks.
The Western theme decorations were spot on.
The live band was phenomenal.
Here’s a picture of me and Connie.
We also got to see some of our favorite people who we hadn’t seen in a long time.
Brian and I were a tad overdressed for the party because we had another party to attend that same night which was a masquerade ball (more on that next time). We wanted to be there for Connie’s grand birthday, though.
It’s not everyday that one of our friends turns 50 and hosts the party of the century.
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District Taqueria
Posted on November 8, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.
I found out about this restaurant from my then hygienist at Wichita Family Dental, Rebecca. She’s moved on but we keep in touch on Facebook. One day last year, while she was cleaning my teeth, she told me that her brother was about to open a taqueria on Douglas. We didn’t really have a restaurant specializing in tacos so I thought it would make an excellent addition to the collection of restaurants in downtown Wichita.
If I remember correctly, opening was delayed a bit. Then I forgot all about the restaurant. And then it finally opened. But, as these things go, they’re always so busy during the first few months. Inevitably they’re understaffed and I end up with bad service and then the negative experience colors my impression of the place. I didn’t want that to happen so Brian and I decided to wait. And then we forgot all about it except for the occasional reminder each time someone we know mentions that they went.
I’d been wanting to check the restaurant out since before it even opened but the opportunity never came up until Nykole suggested that we eat there after our team building activity at the Kansas Food Bank. OMG. I’ve been seriously missing out. The tacos are unlike any other tacos I’ve ever had. The tacos at the Hill come close but you have so much more selection at District Taqueria. If you’re craving tacos, District Taqueria is the place to go.
Here are some pictures of the various tacos we got to try.
As you can see, all of the first timers tried a variety of tacos. They’re $3 each when you mix and match. I wish that I could have tried them all but there’s no way I could eat more than three in one sitting. I suppose this is how they keep you coming back.
Nykole had been there before so she knew exactly what she wanted.
You can also order a bucket of chips to eat with their salsa. You can also get a jar of their queso which is quite different than any other queso I’ve had. Their queso is thicker in consistency and has a bit of a kick. The guacamole was very good but it wasn’t really that different than the guacamole at other restaurants I’ve tried. I do like that everything is served in cute jars, including dessert.
We had the tres leches. It was just as tasty as it looked.
I liked it so much that I decided to take Brian there a week later for my birthday lunch. We both took vacation days off work that Friday. I wanted him to experience District Taqueria because besides the great food, the ambiance is really cool. They even have a shuffleboard table.
This was his plate.
Here’s mine.
We were both too full for dessert. We will have to go back though, because I really want Brian to try that tres leeches. I know he will love it.
If you’re wondering if you can have beans or rice with your tacos, you can’t. As far as food choices go, there’s really not much else which I think is smart because then the focus is on the wide variety of tacos offered.
Anyway, I highly recommend District Taqueria. Brian and I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and are ready to go back to sample more tacos.
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