FLIP + CHING

It’s Not That Kind of Journey

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Ching under Confessions.

Brian and I had a funny conversation on the way to the new house to meet the Lowe’s delivery guys this morning. We have funny conversations all the time, so much so that I’m convinced it would make pretty good TV. Except I’d end up playing the role of a ditzy, Asian airhead. For someone presumably smart, some of the things that come out of my mouth are downright daft.

This conversation occurred right as we passed The Journey Church on Harry.

CHING: Let’s check out this church since we’re going to be living in this area now.

BRIAN: Why?

CHING: Don’t you want to go to church?

Brian just gave me a look of disdain.

CHING: It looks promising. Besides, I like Journey.

BRIAN: It’s not that kind of Journey!

We both cracked up. Brian added that, right at that moment our old friend Le Blanc (who used to say on a regular basis that I made is head hurt because of some of the things I’d say) was having an aneurysm.

It seems that there’s no convincing Brian to start going to church. Not by deception, coercion, or manipulation. He’s obviously not going to buy that Journey the church is in anyway associated with or related to Journey the band.

I wasn’t quite ready to give up yet, though. I looked up the church web site just now to get more information so I can make another attempt at persuading Brian to check it out. That’s when I found this photo.

I was like, “See! It is that kind of Journey!”

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Paisano’s Ristorante

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.

Paisano’s is another Topeka favorite. I’ve been here a couple of times, but someone has always taken me so I really don’t know where it is. I suppose I could enter the address in my GPS. The restaurant has been around a long time so it shouldn’t be a problem. Although, I didn’t have to worry about finding the place because Rachel drove and she is very familiar with the area. I was so happy to find her in the same training class. We used to work together in the same department about ten years ago. She started a month before I did. It was nice to be able to catch up. And, it was also nice not having to eat dinner alone for a change.

I accidentally ordered the Chicken Spidini Diavolo instead of the Carcciofi Spidini, which I probably would have liked better since I don’t really like spicy foods. That spicy diavolo sauce is no joke. It was so spicy, I couldn’t even taste the marinara sauce of the spaghetti. Unless, they put spicy diavolo sauce over it too. It was dark in the restaurant so I couldn’t tell. LOL.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish, but that isn’t the restaurant’s fault. I just don’t like spicy foods and I made the mistake of ordering the spiciest dish on the menu. It’s ID10T error, as Mel at work always puts it. LOL.

I don’t ever remember having a bad meal at Paisano’s and this was actually pretty good. Seriously. I ate most of it. Then again, that doesn’t say much, as Brian thinks I am a human garbage disposal and will eat just about anything.

I’m actually looking forward to going back to Paisano’s again and ordering the dish that I intended to order. I’m curious what it tastes like. I’ll have to make a mental note of this for the next time I have an overnight stay in Topeka.

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Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.

I had the opportunity to eat at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit while I was in Topeka a few days ago. I always like trying places that we don’t have here in Wichita. Lucky for me, there’s a Dickey’s restaurant right in front of the my hotel.

I made the mistake of ordering a two-meat plate and had way more food than I could eat. My two meats were pulled pork (a must because I love, love, love pork) and spicy cheddar sausage. I was quite surprised at how much I liked the spicy cheddar sausage. I would totally order that again. Although, the spiciness creeps up on you.

My sides were coleslaw and potato casserole topped with grated cheese. While I liked both, they were pretty average. The coleslaw tasted just like the ones you get at KFC. The potato casserole was a little on the bland side, but then it could be that my tastebuds were numb from the spicy cheddar sausage. LOL.

Jokes aside, I actually thought the food was pretty good as barbecue goes. I would eat there again even if it weren’t located outside my hotel door (though that is an added bonus because I don’t like having to drive all over the place when I’m away from my comfort zone of Northeast Wichita). Also, the people who work there are super helpful and friendly. They even let me taste the spicy cheddar sausage to help me decide whether I wanted to order it. It is a shame that there isn’t a Dickey’s restaurant within 100 miles of us. I wish I could take Brian to one. He love barbecue.

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Dinner with Grandma

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.

Brian and I spent some time with grandma on Sunday. We picked her up a little early so we could take her by the new house. She really liked it.

After looking at the house, we took grandma to dinner at her favorite restaurant. See if you can tell what her favorite restaurant is based on the photos that follow.