Summer's Almost Over...

My niece called me the other night to tell me how school was going, and it suddenly struck me... summer is almost officially over. Where did the time go? I cannot believe we are already well into August! Needless to say, the thought really took me off guard. Summer is for relaxing, going hiking, and being lazy by the beach. WHY DIDN'T I DO THOSE THINGS? Oh, that's right... it's because I was spending my summer like this:

Another funny thought occurred to me while I was mourning my loss of summertime. Despite the hatred I have for summertime in Houston, I always used that hatred to fuel my need to take a vacation (or two) during the summer months. Yet, I haven't taken a single real vacation since moving to California last fall. Now, one could argue that there is no need to take vacation when I live in the state I often vacationed to... but... vacation doesn't feel like vacation without a hotel stay! Where was my beach? Where was my pool time? Where was my sanity?!?!

Now, while I could sit here crying and enjoying my pity party while I continued to NOT enjoy what few days remain for summer 2012... I decided I should actually do something about it. Of course, leave it to me to want to start enjoying it at 7pm on a Friday night. Sigh. Thankfully, my friend V let me come over to throw back a couple of cold ones and watch the fish swim in her saltwater tank. :) Yes, I'm that easily amused. And if Mohammed can't get to the mountain... improvise with an ocean in a box! Ha!

When I woke up the next morning, my decision was finalized. I WOULD GO TO THE BEACH! Yes, that's what I would do, even if I had to go by myself. I was not going to spend another day wasted on my couch in the hot desert of the Valley. This morning, I called my friend J and invited her to join me. Luckily, she went thus saving me from a lonely day on the coast. We packed up and headed to beautiful Malibu!

Now, one of my favorite things to do when I go to the beach is to eat fish. Yeah, pretty sick, I know. But for some reason, the smell of the salty air just makes me crave seafood - especially sushi! Sadly, Nobu is not open for dinner, my favorite restaurant (Duke's) had an hour wait, and we couldn't think of another place that sounded good. J whipped out her phone and used Yelp to discover Bui Sushi, located off the PCH near Pepperdine. The place had a 95% approval rating and good reviews, so we figured it would be fine. 

Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna - Bui Sushi

Now, I normally don't write reviews of places unless I like them... but... I have to make an exception. Why on earth is this place reviewed so highly? I ordered a Rainbow Roll and the Crispy Rice. Both dishes were reviewed as "fresh" on Yelp. Um... I guess you could call it fresh since I was made that day? But the tuna definitely didn't taste terribly fresh. Blech. And the crispy rice tasted more like a deep fried rice cake! Yuck! The hostess was kind of snooty, and our waitress, while sweet, was inattentive. I could see if they were busy, but they just really weren't. I've had better sushi in grocery stores. It made me kind of sad. It made me really wish we would have held out for Katsuya later in the day....

My typical Katusya favorites - California roll, Crispy Rice, and Edamame! YUM!

After our underwhelming experience at Bui, J and I decided to check out the Sprinkle's Cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills. What's that? You never heard of a cupcake ATM? Oh, man... have you and I been missing out!

This is genius! Ok, so maybe that's pushing it a bit far, but seriously... how cool is that? Even though there was no line at Sprinkles, I just had to try the ATM! Wouldn't you? The ATM works just as the video above explained. You select your cupcake, swipe your card, and voila! Cupcake is in hand less than a minute later. Now, while this obviously is a silly choice during business hours (especially if you have a secret word for a free cupcake - check out Twitter!), it could definitely come in handy after hours. And who hasn't had a random sweet tooth while traveling? Hehe. Below is my cheesy picture after using the cupcake ATM. If you're not in the mood to try this, you should at least give neighboring Sprinkles Ice Cream a try. The line was ridiculously long, but those cupcake/ice cream concoctions sure looked tasty! 

My cheesy post-ATM face... man, I need a tan.

Alas, all good things come to an end. I'm home now, laundry is done, and my hair is finally dry post-shower. Tomorrow's Monday, meaning another long week at the office. Sigh. But, at least I can face this week knowing I didn't waste one of the last remaining weeks of summer! Next weekend, I'm off to Ventura for an Alumni Green Chile Festival. Sweet! Well, I'm off to bed. It is almost midnight after all. Sweet dreams, my bloggy friends.

Until next time...

--- Becks