Hot & hungry... I mean Hungarian

So I'm in Reno on business and I'm staying at the Hilton. Turns out the place is hosting some romance writers group. Let me tell you, those girls know how to party. Maybe I can write a book if this P.I. thing doesn't work out.

Anyway, one night I find myself in desperate need of a margarita on the rocks so I go into the Mexican place in the hotel and there he is...

Antonio.

Yes. He gets his own line of text to offset him from the rest of the paragraph.

Antonio could be a hero in one of the romance novels. Not only is he a hottie [pictures coming soon] with a sexy Spanish/ Hungarian accent and plans to be an orthodontist, but he's that rare kind of guy who genuinely likes women. [Good thing with 2000 of them running around the hotel]

Now maybe he was just flirting with that Mia Zachary author and her friends to get a bigger tip, but I think that Antonio is just a natural charmer, even to pudgy, middle aged women.

If you're ever in that Chevy's restaurant, though, watch out. Antonio mixes one hell of a strong margarita!

Grass isn't always greener

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is offering a $1 per square foot rebate to homeowners who replace their grass with xeriscape. Xeriscape [which to me sounds like a cool title for a sci-fi action movie] is creative landscaping for water and energy efficiency and lower maintenance. Derived from the Greek xeros meaning "dry," the term, xeriscape means literally "dry landscape."

Xeriscape doesn't mean you can only have rocks and gravel, although since I'm lazy I'll probably go that route. Some of the plants recommended by the SNWA are 'trailing lantana' [sounds like an embarrassing condition!], 'chilean mesquite' [delicious on barbecued chicken ha ha] and 'compact Texas ranger" [can you make mine 6 foot or taller please?]

It's not that I don't take the water situation seriously. But it's still 86 degrees out so I'm gonna go and unapologetically jump into my pool. Hey, don't give me that look. The SNWA gave me a $50 coupon towards a removable cover to cut down on evaporation and therefore on usage. So I am conserving water, so there.

ICE your electronics

Tempting to use real ice, as hot as it is, but ICE stands for "in case of emergency"

The idea is to add an entry to your cell phone, blackberry, palm pilot or whatever called ICE so the police, paramedics or hospital can quickly find your family and contact them in an emergency.

It only takes a few moments of your time , so go ICE your electronics.

Stay out of the airport, too

It was a record-breaking 116 degrees yesterday. At McCarran International, electrical problems shut down the air conditioning in the main terminal and adjacent C and D concourses for nearly four hours. Apparently the heat outside caused an unknown number of planes to miss their scheduled departure times, too.

It seems that soaring temperatures affect the "lift" that aircraft can achieve when taking off. On very hot days, changes in air density require planes to travel farther on runways before they can leave the ground. As a result, planes must shed weight by reducing passenger counts or fuel loads.

Airport officials weren't able to say how many passengers and travelers had been affected by the heat and delays, but fortunately none of the more than 1,000 slot machines throughout the airport terminals ever lost power.

If you can't stand the heat

Stay the hell out of the kitchen.

It's over 110 degrees today and the idea of even looking at the stove does not in any way appeal. Instead I'm going to grab some leftover pasta and whatever is in the fridge and make a salad. You can make this for one or for many- just depends on how much of the ingredients you put in. This recipe is for a small crowd:

PASTA TRICOLORE

1/2 lb penne or small ziti pasta

1/3 cup grated Parmasean
1 cup mushroom, diced
3-4 oz Genoa salami, cubed
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp of Italian seasoning [mixed dried herbs]

1 small bunch asparagus (tips & tops) cut 1" pieces

1/3 - 1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

Toss the pasta with the salad dressing and the herbs
Add the mushrooms, salami, tomato and asparagus, mixing well
Add the cheese and remaining dressing, mix well and serve

What about me, dammit?

According to the stat records page of my web host administrator, the following are the most visited pages of the www.steelemidnight.com site:

index
Sinatra
Stone
AboutMia
About Weddings

And these are the keywords that when searched result in the www.steelemidnight.com site:

Frank
Sinatra
Stone
Cameron
Weddings

Doesn't anybody want to know more about me????
Or are you using this blog for that? I never should have made that comment in my July 5th post...

Dream hangover

Not a good morning.

Do you ever wake up in a fucking lousy mood, feeling groggy and disoriented, but you're not sure why? I know I was having nightmares- certain images refuse to fade- but I can't remember exactly what they were about. I recognized people, but could see their faces. I know they were talking to me but I couldn't hear the words. And I know that bad things happened and maybe I'm afraid to recall the details.

So I'm left with unresolved and seemingly groundless anger and fear, knowing that my subconscious was trying to tell me something but not remembering enough of the message to interpret it. It's like being hungover when you didn't have anything to drink.

I hate it when this happens.

London bombings

This morning, in London, several exploaions occured in Underground stations and one of the famous double-decker buses had it top half blown off. As of the current time (6pm PST), there are 38 confirmed dead, and over 700 injured some of them seriously.

What gets to me is that this was no accident, no equipment malfunction. Someone or a group of someones did it on purpose, will full intent of killing strangers. This is what I honest to God don't understand. How is it possible to hate someone you've never even met so much that you want them dead?

Sorry to jump on my pseudo-feminist highhorse again, but if women ran the world we would never ever ever slaughter the innocent to make some half-assed and sociopathic political statement. Only men do that, men with a certain agenda.

This is my blog so I can say whatever I want to. Right now I'm saying there is only one God. Wehther you call upon the Creator, Yaweh, Allah, Budda, Vishu or God, it is one and the same and I don't believe She ever intended for her people- all people- to kill in her name.

14 months until Midnight

It's official- the contract for ANOTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT arrived in today's mail. As soon as the lawyer looks it over, I'll return it and [woohoo] get a check!

The book won't be published until September of 2006, [though watch this space for a possible date change.] In the meantime you can

1) Keep reading this blog to learn more about Steele
2) Check this page to meet Stone
3) Follow this link to read about the concept
4) Click here to read an excerpt
5) Get to know Las Vegas
6) Find my favorite Sinatra songs
7) Plan a quick or unique wedding
8) Meet the author

Guest bloggist- Mia Zachary

Safe Sex and Rock&Roll

It's the start of the Fourth of July Weekend and I have to work at the bar both Saturday and Sunday. If I stopped to think about my lack of a life, I'd get depressed. So tonight, I'm headed for the House of Blues .

The HOB in the Mandalay Bay Resort, that is. VH1 is presenting Whitesnake in concert as part of the Rock&Roll Rhythm and Blues Tour. Whitesnake was one of the best 1980's 'hair bands' and I love their rock ballads like Is This Love.

I have to go shrink-wrap some jeans on, find my old pixie boots and tease my hair with a whole tube of gel, so I'll leave you with these drinks recipes:

BLOW JOB
3/4 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
3/4 oz. Kahlua
Whipped cream to top

In a shot glass, combine Kahlua and Bailey's
Top with a puff of whipped cream.
Drink it without using your hands!

ONE NIGHT STAND
2 oz Vodka
1 oz Watermelon Pucker
Splash of cranberry juice
Splash of Sprite

Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice.
Combine the vodka and pucker and shake well.
Strain over ice into a highball glass.
Top with cranberry juice and Sprite.