Redondo Beach, April 16, 2011

Redondo Beach is a nice, quiet counterpart of the Hermosa and Manhattan Beach neighbors up north.  But we love it because of that.  It's less crowded, and we can actually get decent street parking on a 'busy day'.  Today was one of those days. 

At the end of the short Strand walk was King Harbor, where Blue Water Grill, Cheesecake Factory, and Portofino Hotel/Baleen Restaurant is at.  We love Baleen, the food - amazing.  It's on the pricier side, but a coupon from restaurant.com can ease up the tab for you.  There's also a great happy hour area where they play live music, so it will be something that B and I might consider checking out one of these days.  The view is of the marina, and I can just imagine this place during the holidays, when the boats are lit up with x'mas lights.  This place also offers wedding reception, but there was no way we could afford to have a wedding here.  My gf D had her reception at the Cheesecake Factory, and the view on the second floor of CF place is really nice.  We loooove CF - their chicken piccata is my favorite dish.  And the tamale cakes, and the cheesecake - forgetaboutit. 

Blue Water Grill is another place I was considering for our wedding reception.  The food is decent enough, and the view is just as great, but the establishment is showing signs of age, and so I changed my mind.  The good news is that Shade Hotel/Zinc Nightclub will be here late next year, which I am excited to check out because the planned architecture is something you've never seen in RB.  RB likes to keep things on a slow pace, but King Harbor definitely needs a jump-start.  Their Manhattan Beach counterpart is our go-to place to have our boogie on in South Bay, the clientele is around our age range (30's and up), and there is; albeit spase, dancing area.  And their margherita pizza is yummy.  I love meeting people to this restaurant.

Anyhoo, we only spent a brief amount of time on RB today, but it's definitely a nice change of pace from the HB and MB beach stretches.  It's quiet, less crowded, which makes the place all the more beautiful to us.  And when you have a large, naturally curious dog, less is definitely more.

"You goin' eat yo' cornbread?" 02.11.11

There's nothing like a freshly-baked cornbread to go with your usual Friday night pasta.  And after sucessfully baking a Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Brownie for last weekend's superbowl get-together at Mai and Jason's house, I got really ambitious.  And with all of the cool cookware we received from the wedding, I am more than excited.  I've had the box of Jiffy's Corn Bread mix for a while, since I tend to buy these things when it's on sale, for $1 a box.  It serves 6-8 muffins.  A piece of egg, a 1/3 cup of milk, and 20 minutes later, we popped a bottle of Blue Moon beer, and it's dinner time.

The quote is from the movie "Life" with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.  Another favorite quote of mine from the movie is "my name is Jiggly Jiggly" by Bernie Mac.  I can't find that reference through IMDB, but that was a pretty funny scene.  God bless him.  He died of pneumonia a little over 2 years ago.  Yet antoher reminder that life is short, so enjoy it while you can, because you'll never know what tomorrow brings.

It has been a crazy week for Tico.  I took him out to Redondo Beach Dog Park on Sunday morning, and also walked up and down the block from the park.  It was already 10am, and it's still misty and foggy out when we got out of the house, but this is not unusual.  Once we got closer to the ocean, it got foggier; but it died down in about an hour once the sun came up.  Apart from being closer to our house, this dog park is great because I get to see a really large varieties of dogs on here.  Every time I see some dog that fascinates me.  I got to enjoy watching a young husky that's barely a few months old playing with other yippee dogs inside the small dog park section.  The husky is adorable; playful, aggressive.  My coworker and his fiancee just got one too; and Bella (the husky) is about 7 weeks old, so she can't come out and play yet; but this place would be perfect for her.

Anyway, Monday night, we came home to a very sick dog.  Tico's food bowl was barely touched, and he vomited in the living room.  He won't touch any food, and his energy level is 10% of what it used to be.  The entire night was a crazy event of picking up vomit, moving him to the bathroom, giving him water which he could not even hold down - - it was insane.  He was vomiting, but that was it.  So I took off work the next day and took him to the vet.  I don't think I can take a chance coming home from work on Tuesday night and see Tico in a worst light than he was before.  I can't say the D word, but it was a scary Monday night.

I have a gripe about vets in general.  And Banfield is starting to tick me.  They are nice; but one thing that I don't like is the huge turnover in the doctors; and they are less experienced than the last one.  And with all of the tests, medicine, etc. that they put in Tico, they still could not find out what's wrong with him.  I told the doctor maybe it's because of the food that I gave him; because I fed him a Beneful wet product that was not his usual diet; and she flat out said no.  Maybe because we went to a family park, and the local dog park, and walked around the block this weekened; maybe he contracted from something or someone there?  Still no. 

She said maybe there was something lodged inside his stomach; so we should do x-rays; maybe he ate some chemicals, so I had to question myself to see if there's anything in the house that he could have eaten - - no.  Maybe some neighbor threw some chemical stuff over our fence - no.  So a few hours and a couple of hundred dollars later, we still don't know what happened to Tico. 

He's back to normal now, but he definitely lost some weight from the ordeal.  I wish he could tell me what was wrong with him, and what he ate and all that stuff; but he can't.  All I know is that he needs to change his diet from now on so he does not eat too much bad crap.  And being on a tight budget, I tend to go for the Beneful dry dog food and Alpo wet food stuff because they are cheap and Tico loves the taste of the Beneful over the Costco brand.  But as someone has told me, Beneful are basically just corn and fillers.  And having had a weak stomach; I have to choose brands that are more organic, and has real meat ingredients with no corn and soy products in it.  In other words: expensive.  But going to the vet and losing one day of work is way more expensive, and the heartache of seeing your dog suffer is priceless.

And so we learn. 

"Don't You Forget About Me"; Redondo Beach Dog Park; 01.23.11

Park: Redondo Beach Dog Park

Location: Flagler Lane and 190th Street, Redondo Beach, CA

Directions: Take the 405 Freeway, exit 190th Street; head west.  Dog park will be to your left.

Hours: From dawn till dusk.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/redondo-beach-dog-park-redondo-beach?rpp=40&sort_by=date_desc

Took Tico to Redondo Beach Dog Park again today.  It's our go-to park whenever I don't have time to roam around and check out somewhere new.  It's large, fairly clean; and the "gossip girls" aka old men cluttered about talking crap about other dogs and dog owners in the park, are no longer around - - or at least not around whenever I go; which is really early.  Today actually is a great mix of locals, young and old; and single men and women with their dogs.  It's a great dog-gone day in Redondo Beach.  

The great thing about this place is that I won't have a hard time finding tennis balls to keep Tico entertained with.  The park is a combination of mulch and grass, but mostly mulch; and is located under a bunch of power lines.   You can see the streets up the hill; so you can't miss this place.  There's a clear section for large dogs, and the small dogs section is next to it.  There's also a little section in the back of the large dog area for timid dogs or dogs who are still being trained.  There are two water fountains in the large dog park itself, and there are a handful of benches - but not entirely a lot.  Pooper scoopers are around.  Do be careful for poo; as some owners are not attentive to their dogs. 

There's good parking all around; the dog park itself is 3 acres in size, in the north section of the 24 acres of Dominguez Park (200 Flagler Lane), and it's next to Heritage Court Museum (302 Flagler); which is a pretty place to roam around in with your (leashed) dogs.   It houses the Queen Anne's Cottage; which is a cute Victorian in the middle of rose-laced garden, complete with white picket fences- - a good place to get married in, IMO.  The landscaping is pretty, and it's museum is open on weekends from 1 to 4pm.  There's also Baseball fields and picnic areas.  Keep your dog leashed whenever you roam around outside of the dog park. 

http://home.earthlink.net/~beckers912/presprog/heritage.htm

http://www.redondo.org/depts/public_works/parks/dominguez.asp

The caliber of dogs here are awesome.  Today, I saw a St. Bernard who is a young'n and is still being trained by it's owner.  The owner managed to keep the St. Bernard in one spot for a whole minute; until he let him know it's okay to move around.  He later went up to me and I got to pat him; St. Bernards are adorable and docile.  But  I can imagine them when they're still a puppy.  This one is about a good buck-fifty.  Tico is around 90 pounds right now; and when he charges me - he usually topples me over.  Tico's energy level is just insane; and he's already two years old.  I was told by a bunch of dog owners that he'll mellow out when he gets older, which I half-look forward to.  

Which brings me to Warren Eckstein's  http://www.warreneckstein.com/ radio show yesterday.  There was a caller, an old man; who sounded so sad and desperate because his wife refused to get another dog while he on the other hand; wants one.  They've had two other dogs before, and each one has passed on and lived for 12 years under their care.  So for about 24 years, this couple has had two dogs, enjoyed the dogs' companionship; and went through a bad time of grieving after the loss.  The wife does not want to go through that again.  Warren suggested that people always remember in the back of their heads that their dogs will only be with us for a short time; and to enjoy every moment of it while they are still around.  Warren also told the caller to suggest fostering to his wife; that way, they get to enjoy the great experience of dog ownership again, but not really get attached until the wife is ready to take the next step.  The caller is pretty happy about that suggestion.  

Warren is a firm believer of shelters; and can't stand "puppy mills".  My dog came from a breeder, so I have mixed feelings about shelters.  I once chatted up with a PetSmart clerk who told me that she adopted a puppy who she later had to put down because apparently it contracted parvo, and she never knew.  It gives me peace of mind to know where my dog's family came from; and their health background at birth.  At the same time, my heart goes out to those dogs whose owners were way in over their heads about dog ownership; and so it overpopulates the shelters due to their irresponsibility.  And with the recession; most owners have had to let their dogs go - - hence the overpopulation.  

One day, as I was getting ready for work; I heard a commotion right outside my front door.  When I got out on my way to the car, a couple of my neighbors were gathered around, calling on their cell phones, because there was a large GSD in the middle of the street.  My first reaction was that she was pregnant; but my neighbor explained to me that the dog has tumor the size of a melon.  The cop was already there waiting for the pound guys; but I felt so bad for that dog.  Someone just dropped him off on the streets.  And I could tell that the dog was an indoor dog; because he didn't move.  He's utterly helpless; and HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO.  I called him out, but he won't budge.  That night, I hugged my dog for the longest time.  I have about 10 more years with Tico, and I don't take that for granted. 

I don't know how those owners who's had to let their dogs go to shelters; or in this case, this dog with tumor; but it's heartbreaking to know that dogs have no power whatsover to take charge of their lives; and they are at the mercy of those owners who may have the best interest at first, but failed in the end, under different circumstances; reasonably warranted or not.  And then there's Warren Eckstein's caller; who would like to have a dog, but he can't easily have one.  His comment, while in between controlled emotion; was somewhere along the line of "there's nothing like the experience and joy of having a dog; it's the most loyal companion you could ever have".  It's true; and this old man just touched my heart.   

"Don't You Forget About Me" is a song by an 80's band called Simple Minds, made famous by the movie "The Breakfast Club".  The song is also featured in the movie that I am currently watching called "Easy A" by Emma Stone.  Two good movies, one great song.