Making New Pickleball Friends
Posted on October 1, 2024 by Ching under Life.
It’s interesting how pickleball brings people together who wouldn’t normally meet otherwise. Several weeks ago I got a random text from a strange number. It was a guy who recently moved to Wichita who was looking into getting more into pickleball. He said he got my number from Brian Harshman. So then I text Brian and ask him if this guy who just texted me from a strange number is legit and he sends me a screen capture of Joan Grosset, new Assistant Tennis Coach at Wichita State. Brian was pretty much like, he’s legit but I probably wouldn’t Venmo him any money just to be safe. LOL.
Since Brian, who I respect and think highly of, vouched for him, I happily set up a couple of games for him that same weekend. Joan Grosset, who goes by Jay, turned out to be a friendly, super nice, French guy. We played with Tiffany and Donnie Lesparance at the 13th Street Sports Park in Andover on Saturday morning and that same evening we played with Krystal Fosnight and Trung Ho-Nguyen at the Wichita State courts.
With Donnie and Tiffany
With Krystal and Trung
I somehow managed to convince Jay to sign up for the IPN mini tournament at Riverside on Sunday and, as luck would have it, Ariana Raga (also an assistant coach at WSU) and Brady Matthews (assistant coach at Newman) also signed up to play the same day. They all knew each other but Brady and Ariana, who signed up together, didn’t know Jay would be there and Jay certainly didn’t know that the two of them had signed up to play as well. It was a wonderful surprise when they all saw each other on Sunday morning. The wildest thing about that Sunday morning IPN session – Ariana and Jay ended up getting paired together for the bracket play and obliterated everyone. As one would expect.
Sunday IPN at Riverside – September 1, 2024
A couple of weeks ago, we had space in the Chicken N Pickle ambassador open play. None of the guys RSVP’d so we turned it into an all ladies session and opened it up to others (non-ambassadors). I invited Ariana so she could meet the other ladies. It turns out she knows a couple of pickleball players like Anna Le (who played with us that night) and Laryssa Booth (from the KC area) because they all went to Newman together. It truly is a really small world.
With Yokkie at 13th Street Sports Park
Speaking of meeting new people, I also recently met Yokkie Mahajaroenkul. This was super exciting because a few years back (maybe three years ago now), Tiffany was telling me about her and how amazing she is. Anyway, she ended up moving back home to Thailand so I never had the opportunity to meet her. She recently moved back and I ended up meeting her when another pickleball friend, Sam Tope, set up a session at the 13th Street Sports Park. I told her that I had heard so much about her from my friend Tiffany so I was super excited that we finally got a chance to meet. She truly is amazing. I just love how pickleball brings people together!
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Who Doesn’t Love Thai Food?
Posted on September 30, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Well, actually, Brian doesn’t so we rarely (if at all) go to any Thai places together. I usually either have to get it on GrubHub or just go by myself. Recently, I got to check out a couple of Thai restaurants.
A few month ago, my favorite Thai restaurant that I’ve never been to, Chiangmai, opened a location in Andover. I’d actually never been to the original restaurant, which is located on the South side of Wichita. I have only ever eaten their food by ordering through GrubHub and having it delivered to the house. I was so obsessed that, when I was working remotely three days a week, I was ordering Chiangmai at least once a week. I was so excited when they finally opened a location in Andover, which is less than ten minutes from our house.
Of course, Brian isn’t particularly into Thai food so I had to go check it out by myself. Here are some pics.
The other Thai restaurant I recently tried is Tuptim That, next to the Best Buy on Rock Road. I went last month when I took my friend Susie Ternes out for a birthday lunch treat and asked her to pick the location. I was so excited when she chose a Thai restaurant because I rarely ever get to eat Thai food.
Here are pics of the menu to browse a head of time for when you decided to go.
It’s super easy to tell which is Susie’s and which is mine because I always get the same thing every time I go to a Thai restaurant (except for Thai House because I have a different favorite there). I always get the yellow curry with chicken and potatoes. So good!
For dessert we got sticky rice with mango. Sticky rice is like suman, a Filipino dessert thing. I actually have a tough time calling suman dessert because we eat it for breakfast too. Anyway, it brings back memories so it was nice to be able to have it for dessert during our lunch.
If anyone ever wants to go grab some Thai food, hit me up. I know I want to go to Thai Tradition soon because I haven’t been there in ages. Let me know if you want to go and let’s make it happen!
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Social Tap
Posted on September 30, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
The Social Tap Drinkery on the WSU campus is one of our absolute favorite spots. It’s specially nice when the weather is beautiful and you can sit out on the patio and enjoy the sunset. Here are some pictures of some of our favorite things to get there.
You can find more of our faves here.
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Greater Grounds
Posted on September 23, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
There’s a brand new coffee shop downtown that opened earlier this year called Greater Grounds. They don’t have the best coffee but the coffee is pretty good there. What I do like best about this place is the interior decor. It is hands-down the cutest coffee shop in all of Wichita. If you are thinking of going on a coffee date, catch up with a friend, or just a nice new spot to work remotely, you must check this place out! Here are some pics…
The fake trees are not just cute and decorative but they also provide a touch of privacy to each table. So it doesn’t feel like you’re shoulder to shoulder with the people next to you.
Here’s the menu:
Here’s the WiFi password for those who want to do some work:
And a selection of coffee cocktails for after work (or your day off):
This place is THE cutest place to have coffee in Wichita. If you’re not in for a quickie and actually have a bit of time to spare, then go check this place out. At least go now while downtown parking is still free. LOL.
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Las Abuelas
Posted on September 20, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We recently discovered a new lunch spot super close to work. It’s called Las Abuelas and is located on Central. It’s kind of a hole in the wall and, unless you’re specifically looking for it, you probably wouldn’t even know it’s there. It’s my new favorite spot for #tacotuesday. Here are some pics!
We’ve yet to go on a different day because we really like their tacos. The best part is the tacos are only $1 each on Tuesday so it’s a way better deal than our previous #tacotuesday spot (Rain Cafe) which had tacos for $1.50 on Tuesday which is also a really good deal. We’ve talked about going on a different day so we are not tempted to get tacos because we really want to try their other dishes too. It’s just hard to pass up a good deal. LOL.
They usually have a bunch of delicious pastries in the pastry case too but, as I am creature of habit, I always end up getting flan. It one of my favorite desserts of all time and they make it really good there.
We really need to expand our horizons because they have so much good food on display and on their menu. Maybe this next week is the week that we actually order something different. Stay tuned!
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