Dream Big

This will be a short one. I've been ranting about a lot of bummer stuff lately it seems, so here's a quick dream scenario. The Ninth Street Taco Bell has been out of business for some time now. There's a huge sign that says "Bank Owned" and the building is basically in shambles. This would be the perfect location for "Jamie's Surf & Sandwiches" don't you think?? Right on PCH in downtown Huntington Beach, surfer adjacent, nightlife adjacent... I'm telling you this thing would be a money maker.

All I need now is an investor to give me a couple million bucks to buy that property, tear down the old Taco Smell, & build my dream restaurant/bar. It would be geared towards surfers and beach goers, serving hardy, healthy sandwiches to help all those active people refuel. They won't all be vegetarian sandwiches, of course, but you know there will be endless veggie options. And, this isn't like a Togo's or Subway knock-off, either. These will be gourmet sandwiches with fresh, locally grown veggies, high quality meats, freshly caught fish, fresh, soft breads that don't overpower the contents of the sandwich. And I'm not leaving things up to the customer to "design" your own sandwich. No, I won't let you put a tomato mozzarella sandwich on wheat bread.

But, I also want it to be a 2-story building with a bar upstairs. Yeah, that's right. Sandwiches and booze. Could there be a better combination? Throw in some local bands playing music in the evenings & this place is perfect.

This is a crummy picture, taken with my cell phone while driving (danger is my middle name) but it gives you an idea of how perfect this spot would be. There's even a bus stop right out front. I can picture the wet, salty, sweaty surfers walking up to my sandwich shop right now. I'll have a place for you to rest your boards, fellas, don't worry. I also want to have a walk-up "To Go" window so that people can order food & take it down to the beach with them for picnics.

I know this is a total pipe dream, but there's no denying that I am the best sandwich maker in all of Huntington Beach... so why shouldn't I dream about having my own restaurant? Here's another bad cell phone picture, but you get the idea... I should start seriously photographing my sandwiches...

Shown here: Jamie's To-Die-For Avocado Sandwich. You won't even realize there's no meat in it because it's so damn good.

[ j. ]

Earth Day in May?

Preface:

So, for some reason, lately I've been posting "notes" on Facebook instead of blogging. It's almost like I totally forgot I have a blog.... This was originally written on April 22, 2010 (Earth Day). So, let's just pretend like the date is correct on this posting & move on. Here ya go...

Yesterday, I was looking at my senior high school yearbook with my cousin, Carly, who goes to the same high school now. Nearly ten years later, it's kinda a trip looking through this book.

Back in high school is when I realized how important preserving the environment is to me. Growing up, my family always vacationed to places in nature... we weren't jet-setters or hotel hoppers. We were campers. My parents were backpackers (before I was born...). I think that spending vacation time in the wilderness is what planted a love of nature into my soul. Maybe it's the Native American blood in me, too. Anyways, I think the high school/college years are when you start to realize what issues are important to you. You pick sides. You challenge what other people say. You protest. You fight for what you believe in. Well... I found that I believe in protecting the natural world that I love.

I joined the "Ecology Club" and was literally the tree-hugger in the club photo in the yearbook. I was the recycling Nazi. At the time I was dating a surfer, so the two of us worked with Surfrider and organized beach-clean ups... and I even ratted out the people who were just trying to get their community service hours and weren't trying hard enough actually clean the beach. I was hardcore about it. No one was just going to skate by... not on my watch! After the first Seal Beach jetty clean-up, I organized a boycott on McDonalds because they were still using Styrofoam coffee cups... millions of which seemed to get stuck in the jetty rocks. McDonalds has since changed their cups, but you will still find them washing up on the shore. I bet they will still wash up on the shore 500 years from now. Just wait.

The point of all this, though, is that I feel like a fallen environmentalist. After high school, I kinda stopped caring. Other things became more important in my life and I stopped going to the beach. I stopped camping. I didn't recycle, in fact, I would even litter... which makes me sick to my stomach to even think about today. In the late years of college, my environmentalism got a little jump start when I started studying the Green movement in building design and interiors. LEED was, and still is, the cutting-edge of design. But still, I never really got back to the socially active way that I was in high school. Now that I'm not even in the building industry anymore, I'm really not doing anything to make the world a better place (except that I'm still a recycling Nazi).

I really need to get fired up again. I've been spending time in nature again. I go to the beach. Yosemite is my favorite place in the world. I'm addicted to the Discovery Channel and all those documentaries about the planet, the ocean, global warming, and anything Green. I'm a sponge for information, but I'm also as sedentary as a sponge when it comes to actually doing anything. When Earth Day rolls back around year after year... all I feel is guilt. Which is good, because for me, guilt is the ultimate motivator. I need to do better. I hear about environmentalist activities all the time around HB and the surrounding areas. I need to get off my ass and start cleaning those beaches and planting those trees! I hope some of my friends and family will join me, but I can't let the idea of doing this stuff by myself stop me from doing it. That's always been my mental excuse... that I don't want to go alone. Well, screw that. I'll lead by example.

Lastly, here is what my dear friend Jengyee wrote in my senior yearbook. "Jamie- I will always insist that you enjoy life more--even if that's just what I see in high school :) I was so excited for you when you won the art plaque and hear that you're an active member of Surfrider. If more people were like us, the earth would be in a much better state :) Take care and keep in touch. Sincerely, Jengyee Liang"

Jengyee, I wish I could be half as good of a person you were in your short life. I think of you every day and try to live up to your standards of preservation, caring, and respect for this planet. It's because of you that I feel tremendous amounts of guilt every time I use a plastic bottle (even if I recycle it!). All I can do is keep trying, keep up the good fight, and try desperately to keep your dreams of "the earth in a better state" alive.

So, stay tuned, friends. I've got a lot of ideas brewing and things are going to start happening...

[ j. ]