No Fear nor Loathing in Las Vegas
A Weekend Ketamine Experience, Best Things I Ate/Drank, Homemade Giardiniera and Thoughts on Life...
Most people use holidays as a form of reset, but in all actuality, these days are just another excuse to go on a small bender or escape somewhere only to look at your phone for hours on end (what happened to reading a book on the beach?). To me, the ceremonial beginning of summer is Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer as schools are out, temperatures are rising and those endless summer days frolicking in the pool are upon us.
This Memorial Day was a great chance for me to reconnect with people I haven’t seen in a long time. The weekend consisted of lots of great food, the opportunity to watch my two favorite sports teams in late May, which is always a treat, and great conversation. No, I did not gorge myself during the day, but opted for a standard day in my life consisting of the gym, hiking, and taking it easy for the day.
I got home around 10 p.m. and had the sudden urge to try a local ice cream shop called “Sorry Not Sorry Creamery,” which was lauded as one of the best ice cream shops in the country. The name was off-putting, but I am a sucker for those seasonal flavor drop establishments a la Jeni’s or Salt and Straw. Several flavors stood out (I ate them all, but just a heaping tablespoons amount of each, after breaking my fast hours later): the ube, guava cheese crisp, and the milk tea boba. I feel like having a finger’s length amount of desserts is the way to go, especially ice cream which gets quite analogous in flavor fast. You get all the flavor sans the guilt.
With that being said, I am kind of over these “new-wave” ice cream joints. Often there is a base flavor that teeters somewhere between a vanilla base and a bunch of random mixins and extracts are added to create a cloudy flavor. My brother remarked that Persian ice cream is the only ice cream worth eating, and I solely agree, but will add on that the best ice creams, and arguably, desserts in general, are better with more simple and honed-in flavors. Take for instance the new Salt and Straw line this month. These flavors are more gimmicky than anything else, rehashes of old flavors, and are elite marketing at its best. Just like how Crumbl’ cookies have new drops weekly, these monthly drops often take eating an entire pint’s worth just to distinguish the flavor and err more towards Hypebeast “drop” culture than anything else.
Nonetheless, this is the best ice cream you can buy on the market right now, some good old-fashioned gelato from Nancy Silverton herself:
I digress. The main attraction of the night consisted of visiting the new off-strip casino, the Durango. Situated halfway between Henderson and Summerlin, the two prominent suburbs of Las Vegas, the Durango aims to market itself as the gambling and culinary destination for locals.
I recently got a small dose of ketamine from a friend who swears by its psychoactive effects and minimal side effects. It was either that or drinking, and honestly, the thought of drinking some red wine sounded like downing some paint thinner on this hot ass day.
I take 150 mg, a fairly mild dose, and keep it under my tongue for 10 minutes. During this time I was talking like I had a wad of molasses in my mouth, much to the chagrin of those in the car with me. We got to Durango, and immediately I felt a parallel to the Johnny Depp classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
I start noticing subtle things that make me laugh like this sign:
We get in and the place is dead, but you would never feel that way as the lights are so damn bright that you immediately get that deer in the headlights look. When I was in my peak psychedelic experimenting days, I would scour Erowid.com, Pillreports.com and the like to get a good idea of what I was getting myself into, but that was not the case tonight. The onset was fairly quick, but I, like I do with drinking or practically anything else mind-altering, took it on an empty stomach. Colors are more vibrant, and everything is ethereal and euphoric, as witnessed by my goofy, chin-to-chin grin.
Your body feels as if it were floating, but nothing too intense. I took a liking to this machine and made this video I thought was funny at the moment. Then, all of a sudden, I made an off-color remark out loud and saw someone around me give me the dirtiest look. I thought nothing of it upon first impulse but was later struck by it.
Suddenly I felt shame and had flashbacks to 2Pac's infamous night in Vegas and the casino fight footage. My sudden euphoria and exuberant glee turned into introspection as in a blink of an eye I was thinking about a wide range of past and current happenings in my life, both good and bad. The people around me had no idea, but a few minutes later noticed I was a bit more reserved. About 20 minutes had passed, and unless you're at the poker tables or playing some sort of card game, that time limit should be your max inside a casino floor (for your pocketbooks and sanity).
During this "ride" I noticed two main things:
I could pick up on the energy of people around me. Whether it was the cocktail waitress who walked by and looked like she wanted to kill herself but was a dime or the zombie-like dwellers on the slot machine floor, I could pick up the aura of the person just by making eye contact with them. Many people say they are an "empath" and they have telepathic powers— I personally think that ‘ish for the birds, but I do believe your general feelings will pour out onto the world no matter how good you mask what is going on inside.
Ketamine allows you to compartmentalize your thoughts. Let's use this analogy: Imagine driving straight on a highway as a corollary to your daily thoughts. The beauty of most drugs when done right, is some sort of increased heightened sensory experience. Thoughts are louder, sounds and smells are more pronounced... Now when you're sober, some thoughts come ago throughout the day that can be compared to roadblocks, lane closed signs, potholes, and detours. For instance, I get triggered every time I see a small dog (Shih-Tzus in particular) walking with its owner as it reminds me of my late dog, Gonzo. I ruminate and sad thoughts come abound, but I keep it moving. When you're on ketamine you dig deep into all of your thoughts and see them through more of a third-person angle. Your thoughts can weigh you down or lift you up, and a truly enlightened person can see that and act accordingly, not in judgment of themselves but as a gentle observer (Buddhism 101).
I've taken shrooms, and let's just say other stuff... but taking ketamine recreationally is like a good cocktail that blends the euphoria of molly, the first few drinks' nonchalant effects, and the introspection provided by psychedelics. Best of all, you get a nice glow the next day, and it wears off after 30 minutes with no sides. I felt like hugging people for no reason (like a goof), but honestly, it felt good to be vulnerable for a change. I by no means am condoning drug use, but every so often giving yourself a small reset beats getting an overpriced spa package, escaping to a beach only to have your monkey mind follow you there, or any other ways people usually "decompress".
5+ Things I Love This Week:
Experiment of the Week: Homemade Giardiniera
Ok so while the general population revels in the wonders of home-made sourdough, I zig when others zag.
I came across a generous portion of Jimmy Nardello peppers, Chantrelles/Enoki mushrooms, some good quality Gigante beans, and beets (which are bitch to cook, too long mane), fermented them in some peach vinegar, salt, oregano, coriander, fennel seeds, black pepper, chili flakes and celery salt for a week and voila—giardiniera at its highest level. To me, giardiniera is better than kimchi and has a more robust flavor profile with meat than anything else.
Best Thing(s) I Ate this Week: Four Kings
Charred Chinese Eggplant with Pork Floss
Seafood Supreme
Salted egg squash croquettes
Red bean kakigori, dulce de leche, boba
Best Thing I Drank This Week: Karbach Brewery, “Crawford Bock”
I don’t get spon-con that often. As a micro-micro influencer, whenever a PR company sends me free things I am forever grateful. I got a huge 2-Day Shipped 24-pack of this beer from a brewery I wrote about in Houston and it has been chilling in my pantry for quite some time. It was a 105 degree night in Vegas and I did not feel like having one of my fake-sugar laden low cal beverages so I opted for this. My neighbors always have garbage bags full of Natty Light outside their door, and I have many times rang their “Nest encrusted” doorstep to gift them this 24-pack, mainly because it is the official beer of the Houston Astros.
A quick look at the standings and the Rangers and Astros are perched pretty close to each other—both mediocore. I thought nothing of this, but wanted my neighbors to upgrade their beer consumption. They never answered, so fuck it. It’s mine now. I popped one cold the other night and damn, this is that light, porch in the summertime, or laughing with friends while grilling type of beer. Ringing in at a cool 90 calories, this was honestly more refreshing to me than my bone broth, coconut water cocktail I have nightly. Hopefully this is the year we lay a fork in the Astros run… only for the previous evil empire of the Yankees to reign supreme, welp. DeGrom, Scherzer, Mahle, Eovaldi, and Bradford (all on the IL) will set us free.
For the first time in history, daily marijuana use has surpassed daily drinking. 40% of all marijuana users report using cannabis daily. I am not going to front, I used to be part of this statistic, and we can argue the safety of alcohol vs. marijuana use until our lips turn blue, but one thing to me that holds true is that marijuana just ain’t fun. It makes you slower, both cognitively and physically, and you just lose some of the lust you had for life after prolonged use. The kush hangover from an edible or god forbid the multiple blunt sessions I used to succumb myself to is worse than any other alcohol hangover I ever had, and that's coming from someone who used to put a half bottle of McCormick's into a Sonic "Ocean Water" and frequented Four Lokos. Now everyone has their vices, but I like to have my memory intact, be able to run a 4.6 40', and have the ability to dream every night 🤷.
Questionable Name, Ultimate Profits?
Zig where others zag. I'm sure you've seen or heard of the viral mouth tape brand Hostage Tape lately. The name of the product is questionable, and its marketing strategies are equally as aggressive, but the brand is set to make a whopping 40 million dollars in revenue in 2024 year to date. Their key? Invest all your paid media into Meta? Yes. The brand has leveraged deals with influencers like Joe Rogan and partnerships with daytime shows like "Live with Kelly and Mark" in talking about the brand on 30-second clips throughout Meta. So while young people may scoff at using the social media platform, older demographics are eating up the brand's simplistic solution to a better night's sleep by taping your mouth closed and forcing nasal breathing. This type of product would have gotten flamed on Shark Tank, but it shows how marketing can go a long way for such a simple product. I'll just stick to my geeky blue light blockers and reading before bed.
Sperry’s the Shoe of the Summer? Also Merch is Dead? Nah… GQ fails again.
GQ is pounding the table for Sperry's to be the shoe of the summer for '24. I'll pass on that. I'm here for aged frat bros who traded in their Vineyard Vines for the collared-shirt sweater vest combo slipping in beer puddles with them on though. By far the worst made sole of all time. Take those, Hokas, "Hey Dudes" and NoBulls and throw them in the gutter, panda dunks, and Adidas Yeezys of any sort while we're at it.
Final Thoughts:
Lately, I was having a conversation with a friend and I asked them why they weren't in contact with one of our formal mutual friends... She replied "They never hit me up anymore. The phone works both ways ya’ know?" I did not disagree with her at the moment, but for a greater point in life, I agreed with that notion. Yet, the older I get, the more I find that sometimes you have to initiate contact and check up on someone you haven't talked to in months. I remember a few days back a friend I had back in Houston reached out to me to ask me how I was, only for him to ask if I wanted to personal train at his facility. It is hard to not be cynical of people's motives, but life is short. If you want to talk to someone, do it, who cares about unwritten rules (Look at baseball, how are unwritten rules holding them back to this day). Be the bigger person for yourself.
Best Songs of the Week:
I’m cooked. It’s damn near 5:30 a.m. and I have nothing to eat all day but alcohol and water. If you got to this far message me on IG with the comment: “Dalvin Cooked”… a gift will be provided. Have a blessed weekend.