Little Nugget Diner

Going to the Little Nugget is an exciting adventure because not only is it right in the midst of Downtown Reno but it is the home of the famous Awful Awful Burger the winner of Food Wars and probably one of the best burgers in the United States.

I went to the Little Nugget for the second time with two of my friends, Ron and Phoebe, on Friday afternoon after class and the best thing about it was that it is so close to UNR. We took the Spirit Bus which happened to be my first time on a bus so Ron and Phoebe let me press the button that makes the bus driver know to make the next stop at the approaching site, but I guess I pressed it too early because when we were driving by the stop the bus driver was not stopping so Ron got up and told her that we needed to get off and she realized that she had forgotten to stop. After we got off, Ron wanted to make the experience even more thrilling by going through the back door into the diner as opposed to using the front entrance, so we walked through an alleyway (luckily for Phoebe and I we had big ol’ Ron lead the way) and then through the back door.

            Phoebe and I grabbed a table while Ron went to go get some money from the ATM that was around the bar and slot machines, and we could smell the awesome food that was being cooked up. Ron ordered an Awful Awful which comes with one pound of fries and he ordered Phoebe and me another pound of fries. When the food came out it smelled really good and the fries were pretty delicious but I did notice that the burger has become much smaller, if you could believe it, from the first time I went which was about a year or two ago, but Ron still enjoyed it! And Phoebe and I enjoyed our fries and I used like three little cups of ketchup to eat half of my share. However, I think the famous Awful Awful burger had more lettuce on it to make it appear bigger, but it definitely seemed smaller. It was bigger a few years ago and probably a lot bigger back when Allison Johnson, in the novel Northline, went to go eat her first Awful Awful with Penny. Nonetheless, the social, welcoming atmosphere that my friends and I felt we were in was probably one that Allison felt like she was in with Penny; good food and good friends to eat with. It is a good thing that ‘“[We] love to eat,’…” (Vlautin 98).

 

 

 

Louis’ Basque Corner

Louis’s Basque Corner is the home of traditional cooking. Known for its Basque influence, Louis’ Basque Corner is notorious for its family-style cooking and its hearty food ranging from rabbit to lamb to the yummy Basque Burger. After finishing up with Outreach, my team and I were driving down Fourth Street and while we were driving down, I saw right on the right of me, Louis’s Basque Corner. Now, I have never eaten there but I have eaten at a Basque restaurant south of Reno and it is very different from your usual restaurant. You are usually served several courses—appetizer, soup, entrée, and desert—and it usually takes about a couple of hours to eat because, different from here in America, meal time is the time where you socialize and relax and to really just spend quality time with friends and family.

In Northline by Willy Vlautin, Allison walks by Louis’ Basque Corner: “After a while, just being in the apartment frightened her so she got dressed and headed downtown. She passed Louis’s Basque Corner and Last Dollar bar, St Vincent’s thrift store, and the Fireside Liquor Store” (Vlautin 83). Frightened by her own loneliness, Allison decided to get out of her apartment and back into Downtown Reno which could also be a frightening place but in a different way. The danger of hanging around in the area by oneself, especially if you are a female, can be quite frightening but for Allison, it was her source escape. But to think of Allison’s solitude, left to her own thoughts to overlook any dangerous possibilities she may face being out and about by herself on Fourth Street on top of it all must express a glimpse of how afraid she really was to take the risk anyways.

Passing by Louis’ Basque Corner felt different, though, from the rest of Fourth Street. While doing Outreach, I walked along the area and I saw a different side of Reno that I am not used to, yet when I stumbled across Louis’ I felt a warmer side, a side that I am more used to and I wonder if this is how Allison would have felt if she had walked in. The feeling of closeness, of family, of warmth. This escape in comparison to the rest of her life could have been a very positive one that could have potentially changed her outlook on certain aspects of her life. Something as simple as walking into a welcoming environment can mean a whole lot to someone even if they are feeling down in the dumps.

 

 

 

Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center

Today Saint Mary’s is one of the main hospitals located in Northern Nevada right along with Renown Regional Medical Center. Just recently Saint Mary’s was purchased by a larger company called Prime Health and was to have a name change to Dignity Health but due to “historical” issues the new name has yet to stick. Saint Mary’s “is a 380-bed acute care and general medical/surgical hospital with a complete range of services, including Women's and Children's services, Home Care, Hospice and Palliative Care, a nationally accredited Center for Cancer, a full-service Heart and Vascular Institute and a multi-specialty Medical Group” (Saint Mary’s).

For decades, Saint Mary’s has helped individuals with many services and they were able to help Allison Johnson, from Northline, with her pregnancy. ‘“Remember there are people who can help. I think St Mary’s Hospital in Reno also has a program set up specifically for women in situations like yours. Adoption agencies can help, too’…” (Vlautin 58). When Allison was still in Las Vegas she spoke with Nancy Collins about who would be able to help her and Saint Mary’s was definitely the hospital that could. When Allison arrived in Reno and went to the hospital, there was a nurse that was immediately there to help her with her pregnancy and the future care of her child: “the girl took another pregnancy test and confirmed her situation, and by the end of the second week they had decided on an adoption agency, a doctor, and had even seen folders of prospective parents” (Vlautin 63). Although in the end Allison regretted giving away her baby, the baby was in safe hands and Allison was taken care of along the way living in a secure, little apartment right next to the hospital with other ladies of similar situations.

Just like her experience, I believe people still do encounter Saint Mary’s welcoming environment and genuine care. Whenever in need for help, a nurse will be there to help assist you and doctors are on call to diagnose and/or treat any conditions you may have. Like any health care professional, they are there to care for you in any way possible to make you feel more comfortable. Places such as Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center give people, like Allison Johnson, the opportunity to get better and find a new start. It was the place where she could turn over a new leaf and get healthier both physiologically and mentally, although she still had some alcohol and anxiety issues afterwards. Nevertheless, she was given a chance at a new life and I am sure many people still do get that chance as well.

 

 

 

Sands Casino

Walking in Downtown Reno you cannot escape the sights and sounds of the casinos all around. From Harrah’s to the Sundowner to Eldorado to Circus Circus to Sands Casino, you will never be able to avoid the flashing neon lights and the conversations of people walking around because no matter the weather or the time of day, people are always walking around Downtown Reno.

            Just like Allison Johnson in Willy Vlautin’s novel Northline, I walked around Downtown towards the river where I found myself walking by the Sands. “She could see street lights in the distance and a few cars passed on what seemed like a main road. She walked in the darkness towards it. She could hear the sounds of a river, and as she walked closer to it and the main street, she saw the lights from the casinos. The Comstock marquee appeared, then the Sundowner, and the Sands shone in the distance by itself” (Vlautin 60). With my Outreach Team, we had walked by the river and passed by Sands Casino. At first, I did not really know it was the Sands because I was on the back side of the building, but I knew it was a casino because of where it was located and how large it looked. All I had to do was walk a little more to the side and then look up so that I could find the sign to figure out which casino it was. And it, indeed, was the Sands.

            When we were walking, one of my fellow Outreach members was frolicking in the leaves that had fallen from the neighboring trees and some of the leaves got stuck in her shoes. We reached the end of the sidewalk and stopped to see if the car that had just stopped would yield to us pedestrians because, as you may know, sometimes they do not but he did thankfully. We crossed and right as we reached the sidewalk on the other side we heard the driver speed like some kind of racecar driver. My other Outreach member shouted and said, “Slow down, dummy!” People can be very impatient and I wonder if Allison encountered drivers such as these or people in general in Downtown Reno.

            It seemed very quiet, however, at the Sands. Unlike a lot of other casinos in the area, this one did not seem as busy. I only saw a couple of people; I saw more people as we walked towards the river and it was cold out. (I am sure the economy has a lot to do with its emptiness). Although the Sands was not as busy, it still illuminated part of Downtown Reno like it illuminated the path Allison was walking on. The Sands’ famous sign will continue to shine like it did decades ago shining on someone else’s path.

 

 

 

Life is Time, Time is Money

           Life, college, work, studies, family, friends, socializing, travelling, partying, sleeping, reading, eating, moving, living, surviving. There are so many things we do every single day. There are too many things to do that sometimes I wonder why our heads don’t explode. We are a culture of fast-paced, never-ending, multi-tasking habits. Only doing one thing at a time takes too much out of our time. Time is precious, time is money. We’d be wasting a lot of time just doing nothing, so we do many things at one time to effectively use the limited time we have even when we don’t think we are. Time, time, time.

We plan, we act, and we conquer. If it wasn’t for planning, I would have no idea what to do with my life. I work by a list, a schedule to check off what I have completed and to know what I have to get done. Right now, this walking journal is on a list of many things that need to get done this weekend. For example, my plans and goals for today are to get my argumentative essay done, apply for a job, go to the UNR vs. San Diego State game (GO Pack!), finish applying to a scholarship, and hopefully get some workouts done in between. Life is a schedule, but it is never boring.

I like to stay busy, but there are also different kinds of busy. School busy is my least favorite; I am not too big a fan of lots of homework because I feel as if it detracts from my ability to enjoy other things. I enjoy being work busy. I never have an excuse to just sit down; I love being on the move doing things, learning things, experiencing things. Honestly, I like to have a mix of everything in my life knowing that I am doing something productive because, again, time is money.

            Now, I did not come up with this phrase: Time is money. I actually heard this being used when I was listening to a motivational speech on the wonders of life and the future. The speaker gave us five rules, but I can only ever remember this one. It is the base from which everything stems out. It is how well you use the time that you have that will have the biggest impact on your life.

Hope you enjoyed my stream-of-consciousness!

Bringing Back Sophistication

           The architecture of my neighborhood is very elegant as it is themed after classical homes made of stucco. The houses are spacious and the designers took keen attention to the classical blueprint of these houses. Before I begin to describe the design of my neighborhood, I first need to explain the change in construction that happened in the past year. A few years back, the neighborhood that I live in used to be known as the Remuda Collection. There were three different houses you could choose from: the Morgan, the Friesian, and the Dartmouth; the first two being a one-story home and the last was a two-story. Our neighborhood lies right next to the collection called the Stagecoach Collection which is almost like Remuda but a little larger in size with four other house designs. Now, because of the economy and such, the Remuda Collection and the Stagecoach Collection were combined, but both share the quality of elegance and classical design (which is probably another reason why they were combined years later).

Arches are very prevalent in the blueprints of all of the houses in the Remuda/ Stagecoach Collections. They reflect on the classical design of the past centuries and the stucco gives the houses the authentic, rustic look. In addition, the colors used for the houses are very earthy and natural which also keep up the classical theme. The ceilings are all quite high which gives these houses the modern, classic twist. Also, the roof tiles represent an almost Italian look making the houses mirror the period of Renaissance.

 

These collections are quite different from the collections elsewhere. Other houses are made out of an exterior of boarded pieces of wood as opposed to stucco which gives them a different look that appears less elegant, one could argue. I guess this look is more reminiscent of the typical “American” houses that were built decades ago. It is an older, aged design but not like the classical European design of today’s new architecture for housing.

Architecture, at least in my neighborhood, has seemed to bring back elegance of the classical European design. The blueprints almost seem to reflect back upon the Renaissance, the rejuvenation of the arts mirroring back on values of creativity and elegance. Elegance and grace are coming back. Values are being revived, a step back to sophistication.

 

 

The Wetlands

           The history of my neighborhood brings back the beauty of nature. Before the Damonte Foothills became the residential uproar that it is now (or used to be before the housing crisis), it used to be a wetland. Covered in marshes and filled with wildlife. Ranging from the aquatic creatures like fish and frogs to the little mammals that dwelled there, to the birds who floated on the watery land. Then there were the mustangs who roamed all over feeding on the grasses and drinking from the ponds all around along with the coyotes that came from out of the hills.

What a site it must have been. Natural, picturesque, free. No buildings, no houses, no construction, no garbage. There wasn’t any human interference. The mustangs weren’t forced to move upward towards the mountain sides. The coyotes weren’t kept from crying out their childish cheers. The wetlands weren’t cut down to the size they are now so that more houses could be developed.

It is hard to imagine this is how it used to be for decades until the Damonte Foothills came to be what they are now. Although there are still glimpses of what used to be, sections of wetlands still preserved, the remaining wildlife that lives on, the survival of nature, it is still difficult to register the true nature of the land with all that there is now: houses, the high school, tractors, trash that litters around construction sites. It is amazing to see what kind of influence we, as a society, have on the land that we call ours; how we are able to change the very makeup of nature by removing what used to be.

 

 

 

 

Here are two very different images of the Damonte Foothills. The first is more beautiful (in my opinion) and almost untouched by urbanism. The second is the modern view of the remaining wetlands with the housing development in the background.