madmax's thread about looking at stuff and eating other stuf

Today I visited the 2 thrift stores and 1 music store that are near this library.

At the first thrift store, there were 3 recorders.

At the second one, there was a barrel with a disassembled digital drum kit inside.  I apparently didn't mention this before, so I guess it wasn't there.  One of the cymbals had a price sticker saying $100.  There were 3 practice drum pads for $2.00 each; 2 by Remo and one by Vic Firth.  If I wanted to get into drumming, I would have picked up 1 or both of the Remo's.  On the counter was a violin.  On the shelves behind the counter, there was a Yamaha DD-20.  There was also an Alesis SR-16 for $85.

When I went to the music store, there was a sign saying something like Due to unforeseen circumstances, these are our hours";  and today they were closed.

My trip plans have been complicated by the fact that I have to get myself a "new" car.  I'm going to check a few dealerships out after I leave here and buy dinner.  I was contemplating not even doing it, and waiting until the end of May.  What I might end up doing is mostly visiting the pawn shops on one day, and doing the thrift stores the next.  I am hoping for going on Tues.

Whatever happens, I will be getting food to review, and maybe a beverage or two.

Now it's time for that disgusting item I mentioned before; well at least in a little bit.

My next stop was the jewelry/pawn shop. In the gun area, they had a bunch of brand new Bushmaster AR-15 copies. For amps, there were heads from Blackstar, Kustom(a 250 I think), and Marshall. The Marshall was from the MG series, and had 100 in the name. For some reason somebody wrote "Jimi Hendrix"n purple pen on the faceplate. I'm thinking somebody was trying to put a fake autograph on it. The main thing is that JH died in 1970, so I don't think he was available to sign an amp from the 2000's. There was am Casiha on top of these.

Finally what you've all been waiting for! When I entered the business, I came in through the jewlery side. There was a Chihuahua walking around. I thought it was a dog that belonged to the employees. When I was going though the entryway to the pawn area, I saw 2 turds on the floor. I think I went "Uhhh", and kind of sidestepped the dog shit. There was a guy walking around who wasn't an employee. He picked up both turds with HIS BARE HAND!!!!!!! I then saw him go outside. I then saw him back inside. I don't know if he washed his hands(or did a good Purelling) after doing his turd handling. It kind of makes me not want to go back in there.

Next was the tornado pawn shop. I first went to look at what was behind the counter. A lot of the guitars were still there. This time there was a Gibson LP for $999. There was also a Gibson SG.   There was also a G&L Tribute(cheaper line) superstrat with just a bridge hb.

The only guitar I made note of in the regular area was a Fernandes tele with 3 sc for $149. I didn't play it because it was right behind a guitar with a strap on it. I will one day explain my dislike for guitars with attached straps.

I think there were some Casihas.  That huge Willimas digital piano was still there.

For amps, there was some mystery Fender for $499. It had a cover, and I didn't feel like lifting it up. There were also 2 Peavey Mace amps. The was $229 I think, and the combo was maybe $529.

There was a Roland GR-50 guitar synth rack unit for $74. There was also another rack unit for $34 that was sitting on top of the Roland, or the Roland was on top of it. I'm thinking it might be a Yamaha REV100, but I didn't put it in my notes.

There was nothing at the Salvation Army, but I wanted to mention that I walked through someone's fart cloud. It might have actually happened at the thrift store with the boxed Yamaha.

I then stopped at the library to catch my breath and type up my notes.

Next was the strip club pawn shop.  The Casio I was kind of interested in was gone.  I asked the lady there what it sold for, and she didn't know.  I think there were a few Casihas that I didn't care about.  For amps, there was a large Crate which I think was for acoustic guitars.  For guitars, there was a Jay Turser LP.  I didn't try to see what kind of a neck it had.  There was a Lakland bass.  There was a Squire bass for $189.  I recall it being a Jazz model.  I didn't ask the lady to see where it was made.

Next item of mention was  the gun store.  There were a lot of people in there so I didn't get a chance to talk to the worker there like I did last time.  The 20-rd SKS magazine was gone.  There was what looked to be a coach gun for $249.  Its barrels were an inch or 2 longer than the "traditional" ones(that were more $$$$) adjacent to it.  There was a Cobray M-10/11 copy for maybe $589.  One case had a bunch of Desert Eagle pistols(FYI $$$$).

My last stop was the shopping center with the antique, thrift, and pawn shops.  I'll get to those next time!

Lets finally get to the food.

The first day of my vacation was on a Saturday. I spent that day looking at cars. That night, I went to Pizza Hut. I got one of those large pizzas with the garlic knots around the crust. My topping was pepperoni. The pizza was good. The garlic knots were also good. I think they were even bigger than they looked in the commercial(a definite first). The pizza came with two containers of tomato sauce(aka marinara sauce) for dipping. That was good, and I used both of them.

The next night to mention was Tuesday(the day I did my trip). I first went to KFC, then to Arby's.

At KFC, I wanted to try the Nashville Hot chicken. All that was on the menu board was package deals(chicken with other shit). I asked the guy if the sold just chicken, and he rattled off the prices....$$$$. Since I was tired, my brain wasn't functioning. I was intending to ask about a bucket, or smaller multi-piece deal. I ordered thighs and a container of gravy. Since they had run out of gravy(it was late at night), the guy gave me a wing and biscuit instead. He also had a container with a thigh and leg that someone had ordered and left without getting, so he gave that to me for no charge. It was ok. It was spicy, but not very hot. I didn't let it sit for that long. All it is is the extra crispy chicken with a bunch of the sauce squirted on it, and a few pickles added. I didn't really pay attention to the pickles. Oh yeah, the roll was ok.

For the Arby's part of the meal, I got 2 French dip with Swiss sandwiches since I had a 2 for $6 coupon. I also got a large order of mozzarella sticks. The sandwiches were good. The mozzarella sticks were good. These came with 2 very small containers of tomato sauce(see above). There was a bit too much chicken, and I was getting stuffed when eating the Arby's stuff.

The next day I had cold cuts and an eggplant. I fried the eggplant like I did the time before, but this time before I would take the slices out of the pan, I put mozzarella cheese on them. I took an 8oz block and cut it up, instead of using the pre-shredded. It did a good job of melting. Thanks to Cook's Country/America's test Kitchen. While the eggplant was good, I couldn't taste the cheese. I think the eggplant has such a dominant taste.

On Thur(St P's), I got my traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage from a grocery chain. It's $$$$, but it's fucking good!

Next time I'll get to the post-vacation food.

Finally, it's booze time!

The next one I had was the Kahlua French Vanilla flavor. I know what vanilla is supposed to taste like, and I didn't detect any. I can't remember how it tasted compared to the others, but just now I seem to recall it was similar to the Hazlenut.

I just have one more Kahlua to try. After I try and review that, I have a ton of others waiting.

As I said before, I went to the strip club pawn shop last Wed. There was a lot of stuff still there from the last time like the Sterling and Ibby EX. The Lakland bass was still there, but I don't know about the Fender. They had quite a few superstrats; including an LTD and a Jackson. One of these had a single coil pu in the neck humbucker opening. There was also one by Dean, and another by Kramer. Sitting on the floor was a Fender Stagemaster. Sitting next to it was an Epiphone SG Jr. They had a lot more Epiphones besides. There was an ES-335-shaped one there for $289. There were 2 LP-style ones there with the 1v1t knob configuration and the "Flying E" logo. There was also an LP with sucky aftermarket knobs, P-90 pickups, and a Bigsby. There was also a Les Paul Pee Wee. I don't know if it is a kid's guitar or is supposed to be used as a lap steel.

There was a fancy looking Washburn bass.

They had 2 newer-looking, yet dirty Casiahas.

In the glass case were 2 clarinets and a BOSS BR-1600CD digital recorder.

There were some fx pedals on the tiny shelf, but I didn't ask about them. I think one was a graphic eq.

When I was leaving I saw an Epi LP Jr that had just a neck hb.

Last week on Tues, I had the Lay’s Kettle Cooked Olive Oil & Herbs potato chips. While they didn't taste like French onion dip or sour cream and onion, they weren't as great as I thought they would be. I would put this in the "don't make an effort" category.

According to the bag, there were a  bunch of other new flavors floating around. Since they were part of some online voting promotion, they might not be around anymore, or the local stores were too retarded to sell them. The 2 I was interested in were the Korean Barbecue and the Smoked Gouda & Chive.

The day after, I stopped at Arby's, then went across the street to Burger King.

At BK, I got the Angriest Whopper. Like it shows in the ad, the bun is bright red, which does look a bit odd.  As for the taste, It wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be. The only spiciness I got was from the jalapeno peppers. I didn't eat it right away, so it cooled off, which affects the spiciness. This is $$$$, so I wouldn't buy it again.

At Arby's, I got 2 orders of onion rings, which were good again. As for sandwiches, I got 3 items. The first was the Loaded Italian. It was good. I could really taste what I thought was Italian dressing.  There is actually some kind of vinaigrette and garlic aioli, which is just mayo with garlic and ? mixed in.  A cheaper alternative would be to get one of the Subway Italian sandwiches(Italian BMT or Spicy Italian, with BMT being closer), and get provolone, tomato, lettuce, onion, banana peppers mayo(or ranch) and, if available, red wine vinaigrette or traditional Italian dressing(they have 3 different Italian dressings on the site, so the one with vinegar and oil) on it.

They are doing the 2 for $6 Gyro deal right now. I got 1 of each(turkey and beef). They were both good. As for Subway equivalents, get the Carved Turkey or Roast Beef(or Steak and Cheese if cheaper). Have it on flatbread and put provolone(if you want cheese), tomato, lettuce, onion, oregano, Tzatziki Cucumber sauce(or ranch if the TC is not available) on it. I don't know about the price comparison.