Teej's Secret Box

5470 E. Second St., G-J
Long Beach, CA  90803

Sushi of Naples have succeeded in supplanting a very long list of sushi places to become my second most favorite location, right behind Yoshi of Sydney, NSW, Australia.  I do assume that once I get to Japan, there will be a multitude of places solidly placing themselves on the top dozen list, but until then, and even then, I strongly recommends anyone in the Los Angeles region to go here.

There are a number of sushi places I have been to in the valley, from the garnish Japanese hibachi places, to the “elite” locations in the middle of downtown Los Angeles.  None have really given an impression on me, hence the absence of such a review here.  This one place, with Sushi Chef of twelve years, Junji, have only been outrightly defeated by a chef of 26 years.  Pure skills is only the difference, as this gentleman brought out a wide variety of food that successfully pushed the boundary of my taste.

The single moment of brilliance that solidly placed this location at second place is the Albacore Toro sushi.  Toro = Belly location, which can be remarkably tasty, especially for Sake (Salmon).  Look at your stomach, and what do you find?  A nice layer of fat, unless you’re a skinny bastard (I hate you, hate).  With fishes, the fat content is much lower, yet it add a subtle yet brilliant taste to the sushi.  The Tuna Blue Fin (Totobi) is also something I strongly recommends, along with Aji, Suzuki, and Sake.  The sake was the only down point, being too favorable, and not as subtly dry as I prefers.  It is a decent sake, nonetheless.

The second shocker is that the entire meal came to about half price of what I expected.  The brilliant Albacore Toro that would normally go for $12.50 elsewhere is sold for $4.75.  The prices of the other options are just as low, lending to a much more moderate price tag, something I can heartily agree with.

This place is large, well crowded during meal hours, yet not too crowded to demand reservations.  It is my hearty recommendation that everyone who loves sushi go there with a loose budget for a tasty surprise.

I was at Toys R Us today pursuing the “Buy 2 Wii games, Get 1 free” deal that is going on this week.  As a result, I have three new games, and a fond memory that most likely will drive me for a while.

Unfortunately, I discovered a ploy by the company in attempting to minimize their damage by holding back the vast majority of their supply while trying to clear out older titles.  Whether it may be to ensure sufficient stock for the upcoming Black Friday holidays, or to minimize the lost profit from this generous deal, it is never good to see a clearly well-stocked cabinet all reversed in a statement of “not for sale.”

While pursuing the meager options, a very kind gentleman with a teenager boy in tow, were checking out the options, unaware of this deal.  He is bemused by the high prices Nintendo have commanded for their games, despite the age of some titles.  After explaining the deal, and continuing to explore the options together, I felt compelled to ask him how he play the games.

You see, this well built gentleman is missing an entire left arm and half of his left leg — a recent victim of a tragedy that was not explained.  Iraq?  Afghanistan?  Ford Pinto?  I do not know.  I am curious of how he would control games with a controller that is meant for two hands.  He was more than happy to explain how it all worked — showing how he could wedge it against his good leg, and dance among the buttons with his hand, becoming strikingly good at it, enough to boast of his prowness.

Surprisingly, despite what some thought, he says that the Wii is actually the hardest console to play on, since the nunchunk and the wiimote are both independent of each other, with buttons on both side of the controller.  He bemoaned the difficulty of playing Super Mario Galaxy, but thanks to ArsTechnica, I was happy to report that the game support the use of Gamecube controllers, which is much easier for him.  However, he did point out that he love to use the wiimote to point at the screen to capture star bits and shoot at enemies and strategic characters.

There were clues that this was an event that occurred several years ago.  He is well adjusted to his life, and very much in a happy mood overall.  This is what drove me to ask the question, which is clearly taboo in society.  It is not, especially for people like us with a handicap.  I am deaf, and is more than happy to explain what that entails, while he lost an arm and leg (boy, California housing prices are insane…), and is clearly happy to explain on how he adjust to his new life with his old love.  He mocked Guitar Hero, calling it a game that plays music he’ve played a long time ago on a REAL guitar.  And look at it, the cheap plastic frame… *shudder!*  This was a MAN of music, let me tell you.

The lesson I have learned?  Do not be afraid to ask, especially if that person is happy.  The other lesson I am becoming aware of?  I need to see if Nintendo could find a way to wield the Wiimote with the nunchunk for some of the games, just so that people with only one hand could control it with greater ease.

Time to write them a letter.

UPDATE:  Thank you for painting the road over the weekend.  It was much easier to drive last night.

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Dear California –

As you are very aware, your highway system is quite extensive, transporting millions of people daily from here to there. Safety and usage concerns have led you to expand and improve the system to withstand the heavy demands, and the constant changing Earth, including the intense earthquakes that strikes from time to time.

However, I do wonders if you aspire to be like Mexico. In my trips through the country of Mexico, I am struck by their lack of use of paint on their roads. It leads to a free-for-all attitude among cars, drifting from one side to another, like a zealous NASCAR driver protecting their position.

Why do I say this? Because your interstate 405, considered as one of the heaviest trafficked road in America, and made famous for the hilarious self-titled film, is missing paint. Particularly between the Long Beach airport exit and interstate 705, there appears to be absolutely no lane paint marking going westbound.

At night, it is not an issue, as reflective prisms guide the way for us mere mortals. During the day, we have to squint to find the same reflective prisms, tiny and transparent against the whiteness of the road. This much of an attention would protect us from drifting from side to side, leading other cars and trucks to the unforgiving walls. There are a large number of curves and lane shifting through this area to make this a challenging ride.

However, bear in mind that this is a heavy-use highway, highly prone to surprise traffic jams at any time. Too much attention to the lane marking reduces our attention to the traffic in the distance. This create a very dangerous situation of rear-ended collision.

Spend the money and paint the highway marks now, please.

Yours.

Yes, I am using a thesaurus.

There appears to be a disturbing trend lately at least here in Long Beach of women who have a defect with their olfactory organs. Perhaps it is the aura of the fire last week that created the defect. The fragrancy of burnt cedar was definitely overpowering. But to excuse their effluvium masked as a claimed boutique of essence on the stench of the fire is inexcusable.

Okay, I have abused the thesaurus quite enough there.

Look, if I am able to smell your perfume in an empty elevator, you used too much. If I am able to smell your perfume walking down an open air field without seeing any humans in sight, you used too much. If I am able to take the stairs, and smell your perfume through the fire door on a floor I am climbing, you used too much. If I am able to smell your perfume while waiting at a stop light with my windows halfway down, you used too much.

Are you so traumatized by the tale of Hansel and Gretel to the point where you must find an alternative means for people to find you instead of the unreliable breadcrumbs? I do not think they really say, “I am woman, smell me roar!”

Please, when you pull out that perfume, use the absolute minimum as possible. Plus get a man’s opinion (preferably a gay man, not a guy who’s trying to figure out how to get in your pants, and is willing to lie all the way up and down if he thinks you’ll spread the legs wider) on your choice of perfume. Once you find the right perfume for yourself (and honestly, sometimes you just should decide to do without, especially with a good deodorant), use it sparsely.

I do not want to smell you when I can’t even have the pleasure (or displeasure?) of seeing you.

I am experiencing the South California Fires.  Actually, I am experiencing the after-effects of said fire.

One of my fond memories from the tender young age is roasting marshmallows over an open fire.  Sometimes, there would be certain type of woods added to give the fire a much sweeter smell.  Wood grills also produce the same smell, and is all common at cub scouts camping trips.

This type of smell is exactly what I smell when I arrived here in Long Beach for work this week.  This, after experiencing an incredibly strong turbulence while going over the mountains on the way down on approach to LGB.  The sky is hazy, with dust particles landing over everything, including the rental car.  Walking produce footprints in the sea of orange-gray tinge.  Sunsets creates a bold orange facade, a boon for artists around.

I was able to determine that I am highly allergic to dust, with the entire Monday spent sneezing my head off.  Claritin does the job well enough for me to be functional the last two days, although my body is already giving hints that if it wasn’t for that, I would be a mess.

We are not even experiencing the full brunt of this firestorm — San Diego and south into Mexico, countless people are affected, including people I have worked with, and known.  I do hope they are all safe and sound, with minimal issues from this inferno.

To the arsonists fanning the flames:  It won’t be long before you will have eternal flames.  The lives you have harmed, not only humans, but also animals, will be too great to be ignored.