what i did for a taco

canon digital rebel xsi

Food trucks are all the rage these days. One of the most popular in LA is called Kogi. They sell Korean BBQ tacos. They announce their location on Twitter and Facebook, and watch the fans line up.

Last night B saw that the Kogi truck was going to be in our neighborhood - literally across the street from the post office. It's ETA was quarter to eleven (pm). We figured, why not, and headed out.

A few minutes later we arrived to find a very very long line of people in parking lot. This was the first time Kogi had come to this area, and word had clearly gotten out. We ended up at nearly the end of the line at around 11:20pm. I would guess there were over 300 people ahead of us, all waiting for fusion tacos in the late night in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere in Los Angeles County.

Most of the people in line were close to half our age, and most surprisingly, were Twitter haters. I can't tell you how many times someone laughed at the idea of Twitter. Many admitted to having accounts on Twitter, but never having signed in after setting up their account.

After a bit of standing there, and the line seeming to go no where, one of the Kogi guys came out and told the person at the end of the line that he was the last. The last guy was Dino, in case you were curious. There were then worried hushes about the possibility of waiting in line only for the food to run out. People around us made plans to leave at a certain time if the line hadn't moved ahead far enough. The women behind us, who had brought a dog, decided pretty early on to leave. There was a guy ahead of us who seemed to be there alone who was one of the last to give up and leave. I think he may have gotten a call from his folks telling him it was time to go home. It was nearly 1am at that point. I felt bad for him - over two hours of standing, and no tacos to show for it.

B actually got a call from his parents around the same time (oh yes, I have been feeling like a naughty teenager, myself, lately). They wanted to know if their tacos would arrive soon. B explained that we were still in line, and it didn't look like we would be back very soon. They decided to go to bed.

We decided to continue waiting. The line would move in bursts. Still, by 1:30am, it felt like we were no where near the truck. We could smell it at least though.

Overall people were fairly well behaved. I couldn't believe though the people who pulled out chairs from their trunk, munched down their tacos and burritos, and then threw all their garbage in a pile in the parking lot. They weren't the only ones. A few people in the truck came out and cleaned up the mess, or I am sure they would risk being fined or barred from the city.

Around 2am we finally made it towards the front of the line. That's when I began to feel suddenly very odd. I am not sure if it was the difference in the temperature around the truck, or the more intense smell, or even a panic attack, but I felt like I might get sick or worse, pass out. I told B, and headed over to a little grassy patch and used a tree truck to keep my balance.

At one point I ended up sitting on the ground. A guy in the line noticed me, and gave me his bottle of water. It is possible I was dehydrated. We didn't think to bring any water as we never expected the line would be so long. The water helped, and I was able to get up and make it back to the car. As they set limits on how much each person can order to keep things fair, and had run out of everything but tacos, B was only able to get six tacos. I felt bad, but was just glad I was starting to feel better.

We drove back to the house, and we each finally got to take our first bite of a Kogi taco. I tried the chicken taco, and must say it was quite tasty. Worth over a three hour wait - I'm not so sure. But I might do it again. Just not tomorrow.


on the night stand :: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

six months married

canon digital rebel xsi

Today marks our six month wedding anniversary. It really doesn't seem possible that much time has passed already. It also doesn't seem possible that I have not completely changed my name yet.

I have made progress. Social Security card - check. Driver's License - check. Library Card - check. Bank - well, one of them. Credit cards - all have been notified, but not fully processed. Passport - working on it. On-line - don't get me started. It just feels like I am still in this in between state. I still am carrying around two ID's, plus my marriage certificate, just in case. Some days it also feels like I am playing some warped game of Whack A Mole - I change my name one place, only to remember three more that need to be changed.

The worst of it was having no access to my money for several days. I knew that that was a possibility, and honestly I doubt there is anyway around it. The other major hurdle is that everyone seems to have their own requirements for changing your name. Some can be done on the phone, others online, and still others require paperwork be mailed.

My bank, as I expected, required that I mail a copy of my marriage certificate. I sent a letter along with the document, asking for a new ATM card - as well - the old one was not going to do me much good. They changed my name on the account, but didn't notify me. I checked the account, saw the name change, and then waited a couple of weeks before calling because I still hadn't received a new ATM card. They were able to pull up the letter, and sure enough, whoever processed the request, either didn't read the letter, or didn't think that maybe a new card should be issued. How is that not policy. Why wouldn't you want a card with your new name?

The best experience I have had was with a retail store credit card. I was able to change my name on line with a couple of keystrokes, which prompted a "would you like a new card issued" box to appear. Amazingly, that card arrived in the mail a few days later. Ironically, I think the rest of their site is really a pain to use. In particular, when paying your bill, the system doesn't tell you what the full balance due when are on the actual make a payment page. It catches you if you enter too much, but a typo in the other direction could cause painful finance charges. It also won't let you schedule a payment, but name changing is a breeze. Sadly, I only plan on doing the name change once.

Tomorrow we go to the bank where we have had a joint account for almost 20 years, and I will get my passport photos taken so I can check that off the list as well. Fun times.


on the night stand :: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey