Off My Game

Last night shortly before 10:30PM, my "Tagger Spidey-Senses" were tingling so I popped my head outside to find two kids failing miserably trying to marker-tag a real estate sign just down the street. I guess these morons didn't realize that trying to vandalize a damp surface with a crappy marker gets you nowhere–frakin' rookies.

"HEY YOU F*CKING C*NTS! TAKE THAT SH*T SOMEWHERE ELSE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The two wannabes nonchalantly glared back at me, looked at each other, then continued to walk West down Santa Ana Boulevard.

I considered chasing them down for some extra exercise (not to mention Christmas cash), but for some reason, I decided against it and just stood there.

What the hell Ben?! This is so unlike you? You didn't have the urge to give them a face full of mace?
 
Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was wearing flip-flops, or that I'm currently out of pepper spray, or maybe because I didn't see any additional damage around the neighborhood. Or perhaps it was the fact that my top-of-my-lungs shouting didn't stir one neighbor–causing a single light to be turned or a front door to be opened in curiosity.

Figuring I should at least call the cops to make sure these kiddies got home safely, I rushed back in to grab my cell phone (which I hadn't yet programmed SAPD as speed dial–idiot) and called SAPD dispatch.

Fumbling with my new phone, I hurried back out to the street only to find that the two hoodlums were nowhere in sight. Getting the dispatcher on the line only added more frustration to the situation as the dispatcher couldn't keep up with my well-paced and well-trained caller-to-dispatcher dialog.

"Hi, I've got two teenage taggers–both Hispanic males around 14-16 years old walking westbound down Santa Ana Boulevard, just passing Garfi....".

"WAIT WAIT WAIT–slow down sir", the dispatcher said.

"UGH! I should have just chased them down THEN called you" I said. I then began to walk down the Boulevard in hopes of seeing where these f*cktards went. As I passed Garfield Street I thought back to the last time I caught a tagger around here and that it took SAPD over thirty minutes to arrive.

It was only after wrapping up the phone call with SAPD did I realize that I had walked too far down the street without my usual post-10PM tagger-chasing accompaniments (pepper spray, Jesus Stick, etc).Even more frazzled, I gave up the search and headed back home.

The thing that's eating me is why didn't I react like I normally do? Am I getting soft? Geezus, what's happening to me? Unprepared and non-reactive just isn't my style.

Or have I finally begun to succumb to the apathy that eventually plagues everyone in Santa Ana?

I mean, why risk my life when I haven't even beaten Modern Warfare 2 yet, right?

Man, when did I stop caring or even worse, when did I come to my senses? I'm hoping what happened last night was just a glitch in the Matrix and I'll be back on track in no time.

On a side note, can anyone recommend a decent-priced paintball gun with good distance?

Things to do in Santa Ana (Nov 09)

Is it Patchwork season already? Say What--You don't know what Patchwork is? Tsk, tsk.

This Weekend: 

Information below stolen from The Road Less Traveled Store's website.

PaTcHwOrK: 5-Santa Ana
November 15th (sun), 11AM-5PM
Our popular arts and crafts fair is making a holiday return. Over 80 vendors including music, food, DIY booths and lectures devoted to making things. Shop creative * buy local!

Check out this blog for information on current and previous Patchwork events.

Next Weekend:

Next weekend, the First Annual Santa Ana International Music Festival will be taking place in Downtown Santa Ana.

From the website:

Entertainment: various musical styles from all over the world, including world music, country, reggae, latin, african drumming, japanese, flamenco, persian, rock, hip hop, native american, colombian, brazilia and much more...

Where: Downtown Santa Ana 4th Street, Sycamore, Artist Village, Fiesta Marketplace, Yost Theater

When: Saturday November 21, 2009, Noon to 9:00 p.m

Sunday November 22, 2009, Noon to 8:00 p.m

Also, don't forget to stop by the Santiago Art District on Saturday, November 21st. Check out the website for more information and gallery openings.

Memphis Fo' Life!

If I had to eat at one restaurant everyday for the rest of my life, it would have to be Memphis at the Santora in Downtown Santa Ana, though I'm not sure how that would ultimately affect my life expectancy.

Yet with a menu as delicious as this one, I'm often baffled as to why a restaurant as amazing as Santa Ana's very own Memphis can't stay open seven days a week. But then again, we are talking about Santa Ana, where absurdity happens on a daily basis.

For the last several months, the wife and I have been religiously patronizing Memphis on Wednesday nights, taking full advantage of their $10 barbecue specials.

Just recently, Memphis has kicked it up a notch by streamlining their menu and adding specials such as the hearty Bison Burger, fantastic Shrimp Tacos, and Mrs. Dayhoe's favorite Po’ Boy Sandwich. In addition, Memphis has added an amazing BBQ Combo plate to their repertoire.

According to Memphis' General Manager David Hastie, the new sleeker menu now allows for "more options in the moderate price range. Specialties will remain the same, but we plan to switch up the seasonal section 3 to 4 times a year so we can focus on locally grown and organic seasonal produce and fresh seafood."

Click on the menu graphic below to embiggen the new dinner menu, or scroll down for a downloadable option.

You can also check out Memphis' Brunch and Lunch menus on their refreshed website, or you can download a PDF version of Memphis' new Dinner Menu here.