I was out of town this weekend my love of travelling nearly dashed.  I flew out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport as I have many a time, but this time I was met with some outrageous prices.  Booking my ticket online was painful enough but understandable given inflated fuel costs.  Then realizing that I had to pay to check my luggage was some more salt in the wound.  I would have been able to take my backpack if not for the 3-1-1 rule of airborne liquids.  I know next time to just take my glasses and buy contact lens solution at my final destination given that checking one bag each way put me back $30 on Northwest.  Driving is usually the easiest method to get to the airport.  The bus is the cheapest, and not unpleasant in the least if you have an hour and a half to get downtown.  As I was driving towards the airport my blood was boiling.  The Blue Deck is now proudly advertised at the reasonable $10.00/day and boasts the advantage of being a covered lot.  However, all other parking lots on the airport campus are also charging $10.00 per day.  Where is the value?  Also, only three years ago the price was $6 and it has been slowly creeping up dollar by dollar.  Not understandable.  How does the price of fuel affect a parking structure?  Fine, I suppose some expenses go up to operate the shuttles.  Either way, it seems that air travel will soon only be reserved for the rich so I had better get all my travelling in now or get rich really soon to maintain my habit.     

Thai food. Coconut milk curry is addictive, so I have to go anywhere that you can slurp this down. I feel like sushi is something I get far too often, unfortunately neglecting other tasty Asian culinary gifts to the world. Across the street corner that Noir Leather sits on, is a little Thai restaurant – Ahan Thai. I ignored it at first glance and proceeded down the street. But after looking at Lily’s Seafood & Pronto’s which I’ve been to about 4,000 times, I walked back. The entrance has a square countertop in the center of the place and stout booths around the walls.
I got the Pad Thai. I know, I know. But if the standard dish at an establishment isn’t any good, then why go? I was satisfied. It definitely had what I want in good Thai food – which is the perfect blends of polar opposite flavors. Lime and peanuts, coconut and tofu. I was too timid to get a spicier sauce grade. Gotta walk on the wild side next time. They have that on the front of the menu – mild/medium/spicy/very spicy – each with a corresponding chili pepper insignia.
The best thing about their food was that they have the best fried tofu I have ever had. Instead of getting chicken or beef, definitely opt for the tofu! It’s crispy delicious, but not overdone. And in the sauce. Yum. Tom Yum. That was the name of the soup I had…before the entrée.
Ahan Thai is tom yum, I’d say.
               After that I went to my personal tea leaf heaven. It was opened last February. Since then I’ve been hooked. This ain’t yo mama’s Townsend Tea Extravaganza. With the numerous stock of books (most of which are about tea), beautiful teapots resting on the shelves, and cozy corners, I can’t help but get my zen on. I ordered some Tie Guan Yin Oolong and my friend got some Lapsang Souchong. Probably the sweetest gesture was that after I got my tea, an employee there who knows I get aural woody for Van Morrison went to the back and put my jam on for me! How many places in public can I sip my Oolong and listen to Mr.Morrison? I was sitting between a priest and a kid w/ sweet dreads. Any place that draws these two demographics, I wanna be.

Interested in learning how to use social media sites to draw new customers to your business? Want to know what Internet tools are out there to help you target niche groups of consumers? Scheduled for next week, the local event, “Cultivating Detroit’s Creative Culture Through Social Media”, will answer those questions and more. (more…)

I was doing my daughterly duty and visiting dear old Mom in Warren today, and by the time I got to her house my brains were loose and I had to run to a mirror to make sure I still had all my teeth.

Why?

Potholes!

I’ve seen some really nasty road holes in my travels (8 Mile at the 75 interchange? Yeeow.) but these busters today (VanDyke and 12 Mile – stay away) were seriously rocky. After I finished checking my molars, dear old Mom tells me that if I would have had the foresight to take pictures of the road, I could have won me some free tires. Now, while I’m pretty sure that pulling over and trying to photograph the road in rush hour traffic would have put my grill in more danger than just bouncing along VanDyke, but the lure of free stuff might be worth it.

So, find the worst pothole in Macomb County and go win those things! Head to this gentleman’s website to submit your photo. You’ve got until March 5.

There’s been a lot of talk over the years that the small, 11,000-resident city of Farmington should “merge” (for lack of a better word) with its close neighbor, Farmington Hills, which has 84,000 residents. Tomorrow night, results from an $83,000 study – commissioned by the city of Farmington Hills – will reveal whether or not the experts think it’s a good idea.
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What’s the deal with all the fires in suburban Detroit lately?

I knew about the one set on Halloween at Dondero High School in Royal Oak, but was shocked when I read this article, which notes three other instances of fires at suburban school buildings over the past 10 days:

1. Four fires set inside Rochester Adams High School between Monday, October 30, and Wednesday, November 1.

2. Fire at Grosse Pointe North High School on Sunday, November 5.

3. Fire at Mt. Clemens School District administration building yesterday morning.

Jeepers…crime in the suburbs? Who knew?

I’ve been travelling around town lately on various business going to offices in Farmington Hills, Livonia, Troy, etc. I’ve noticed a drastic increase in the last few months of “FOR LEASE” signs at suburban office complexes and industrial complexes. Most notably, along the stretch of I-96 through the west side into Livonia and along 15-mile road in Troy by I-75 and Rochester Rd.

I suspect that many of these firms closing down and leaving are related to the automotive industry, specifically the large industry devoted to things ancillary to the auto companies (such as tool and dye firms). Has anyone else noticed this? I suspect that if you haven’t noticed it, you will soon, especially if GM joins forces with Nissan/Renault.

Where are the people that worked in these plants and offices going? Further away into “exurbia” or just leaving altogether?

While it isn’t Detroit, the city of Westland in Metro-Detroit has begun the demolition process of the smokestack that once served the Eloise Hospital & Asylum.

The landmark smokestack has stood since 1924 as a reminder of the Eloise Hospital that sprawled across 100s of acres. The tower had been abandoned along with the adjoining powerhouse for decades. Recently around the beginning of the year, a huge chunk fell off the top of the smokestack.

The country has approved the demolition and it is currently in progress. They are taking it apart brick-by-brick and it should be complete in a few weeks.

It is sad to see a local landmark demolished. The owners (Wayne County) continue to let the other abandoned buildings decay (fire house, bakery, powerhouse), and hardly maintain the occupied Kay Beard Building. I just hope the same fate isn’t given to these buildings.