What a rollercoaster.
My girlfriend rarely calls me. If she does, it must be something important. I was in the middle of a game of DotA and saw the call. I had to take it in the middle of the game.
We still won. But that’s besides the point (it’s been a good win streak).
She lost her passport. More like she couldn’t find her passport.
I knew it would turn up eventually. But I was still concerned. I searched in the places she suggested in my apartment, but I found nothing resembling her passport. She was already saying, “Get ready to go to New York alone.” I’m not sure how that would go. Throughout the trip, I would feel weirded out… Uncomfortable.
I planned to search all day (today). I continued to play DotA for an hour or so, and I got another call.
She found her passport.
Like I knew she would. And it was in an obvious place, like I thought it was.
I almost won my parlay bet, but I lost it like always. 5 out of 8. Fucking Lions. Fucking Falcons.
That Falcons game had my heart racing like crazy. It was going to be the 5 out of 5 to continue my parlay for the afternoon (49ers win, Lions win, and over). 49ers did their part. Lions disappointed me. My parlay was already lost. It also lost me my fantasy. I switched the 49ers defense for the Lions… that’s an 8 point difference. I’m losing by 18 points, and I have Hockenson left.
There goes week 1.
I’ve been on a lot of podcasts.
Podcats.
They should make a podcast with just cats called podcats. *Quick Google Search.
It already exists… duh. 2 million followers. And it’s fucking Brazilian! Brilliant! Of course, they call it “Pochy Casty.” Gotta add the “y” on everything in Brazil. McyDonalds! Rock music?! Yeah, good luck. They call it Hockey music. The r is an h sound, and because it’s in English, it ends with a Y! Rock music = música de hockey. Little 15-year-old me in Brazil was fucking confused, but then I got into Punky music. CPM22 pra sempre!
I’ve been on a lot of podcasts. I rarely talk about it. I don’t like listening to myself talk. I haven’t listened to the latest one. Here’s the link. I’m going to listen right now.
It was for ABC Radio National in Australia!
Fuck… I’m nervous to listen to myself. It’s short though… So it can’t be that bad. We talked for more than an hour. It’s going to be edited heavily…
Ewwww. I just listened to it. I was horrible. Now I’m embarrassed. We talked so much about so many other things. I’m on around minute 8. Still listening, but I’m unsure if I will be on it again. I wish I could listen to the whole interview instead of just that snippet.
Yep. That was it. From like an hour of talking to a journalist, the only clip that made it was me talking about when I photographed Lindsay Lohan in Hawaii. It was my maximum moment for sure. But there are many others. At the end of it, they mentioned my name and my book nicely. It has translated into 0 sales.
For more paparazzi days… read my book Paparazzi Daze – Celebrity Encounters.
I get to talk to an amazing photographer from Seattle in an hour or so. And an hour after that, I’m selling a print I have of the arch in the afternoon.
That will be my Monday.
I haven’t made much money, but I got some tours programmed for later this month, and Patreon paid me.
Thank you to my patrons. You can become a Patreon… or maybe I’m moving everything to Substack?!
Substack a thing?! Will it be a thing for me?!
I’m a slave to the internet and the apps. Not as a consumer (well.. also as a consumer). But also to make a living. The more followers, the more shit I can sell, the more subscribers, the more money, the more content I have to create. This is my eternal loop. Eventually, I’ll have more followers, and it will get better.
But it is tiring. Getting paid in likes.
I have to finish a video today.
And after that… Get ready, New York!
Holy ffff here we go!!!! 25 full moons together and on our second big trip. I’m excited and nervous.
New YORK!!!!
All the podcasts that I’ve appeared on.
The latest for ABC Australia – All in the Mind.
The write-up is so professional!
It is the most professional podcast I’ve been a part of, and my part is the worst part of it. How embarrassing.
The rest of the Podcasts are in Spanish:
La Rómantica Idea with Karlha Ochoa.
Puro Compa – Mi Vida como Paparazzi.
Humano Podcast – La Verdad por Delante – 34
El Border Kid Broadcast #54 – Matingas
There are a couple of others that I can’t find. I’ll add them when I find the links. I’m embarrassed by most of them, yet I keep agreeing to podcasts…
Some people say I should have my own podcast… So much work. So much content.
Follow me on all my social media!
There was no Tijuana Newsletter. Not much happened. And soon New York.
We tried a new brunch place. That’s the video I have to do. I need breakfast right now. I’ll squeeze it out of me. One more Tijuana Newsletter before I go to New York. After that, a ton of New York content… I’m not sure if I should take my camera…
Then I’ll be back to all my TJ shit and content.
I finished the video about Social Animals. Now I have to do the write-up. This is part of the Tijuana Newsletter.
Also, a new tap room in downtown opened for the brewery Deserto. They still have work to do, but it is looking great.
Social Animals – Brunch in Telefonica
I usually only go to Telefonica for Otto’s and the occasional Humo hot dog. The last two original restaurants remaining in the food park. I’ve seen many come and go. Great ones left them to pursue bigger and greener pastures: Chef Adria Marina to Georgina and Chef Jose of La Carmelita.
I’ve seen dozens of restaurants come and go. Most of them were shit and didn’t last. Or they were the copy of the copy of the copy of something they saw trending online. It had its boom, and it disappeared. The next one to go is probably going to be the Philly Cheesesteaks. They resemble nothing like a cheesesteak.
But now there is a new place. A brunch place. And it comes from the brilliant mind of Mike of Morris Wine Bar. It’s very good, but it’s also very pricey. It’s a near-bliss, sloppy, greasy sausage egg sandwich breakfast (at around $14). The pork sausage patty is Jimmy Dean on steroids. The bun is classic, soft, and delicious. Cheese is basic as it should with a classic scrambled egg fast-food restaurant style. Topped with a delicious spicy salsa.
Breakfast bliss. But…
That’s what I made at home constantly. Except that I never get amazing breakfast sausage patties because they don’t sell them in Tijuana. I just had a similar breakfast. Four strips of bacon, three scrambled eggs inside a bagel.
Bagel was Bimbo. Not horrible, but it’s not good at all. Bacon was Rosarito… the best I could find. And eggs are eggs. It was still fucking delicious because it’s breakfast.
Back to Social Animals, is breakfast at another level with a cost. The homemade bacon is infinitely superior to any shit you can find in a TJ supermarket. The pancakes are a copy of Golden Diner in New York (I’ve never been), but people rave about it. And these pancakes, holy fuck… I liked them better than the Filipino pancakes or the pancakes at Morning Glory (another overpriced fancy brunch spot).
I still wouldn’t pay that much for pancakes or wait three hours in line to try some pancakes. They are some of the best I’ve ever had… but they are still fucking pancakes. If you love pancakes…. then… go. Now. And tell me what you think.
Finally, the chilaquiles with pork cheek. My girlfriend liked them, but I wasn’t huge on them. The meat section was great, but I expected more of a punch in gamey flavor. I expected more crunch from the tortilla. I expected more spice. I got chilaquiles. Good ones, but compared to the breakfast sandwich… It didn’t compare. And I would have preferred poached eggs instead of over-easy. It was plentiful, big enough to share.
The sides were constant hits, but also at a price. Pickled veggies that usually come for free in meals like this are extra. The beans were on point. There is never going to be anything wrong with labneh. And Ramonetti squeaky cheese is delicious covered in honey (who knew). I need to get back to buying more Ramonetti.
We got this much food, not because we ordered it, but it was sponsored by Mike. Thanks, Mike! Influencer stuff sometimes gets you great food for free, and I get to be an asshole about it after.
If you like overpaying for brunch, and a great one at it. Go. It’s the best I’ve had from a brunch place… BUT!
I still prefer to make breakfast at home or pay $6 for a nasty double pork patty and eggs with cheap cheese and a standard bun over at Jack in the Box. There is no beating that dumb, greasy breakfast sandwich at that price.
New York breakfast bagel sandwiches… here I come, almost tomorrow!
Oh fuck. I’m excited, New York!
Deserto tasting room in centro.
The biggest fucking rat I’ve ever seen in my life is in their new location. It’s in the Leyva building, a place that at some point was a strip club, but now it’s a bunch of shit, including multiple bars, a sex shop, and a jam room.
Well, the grill where I saw the largest rat I’ve seen in my life is now the bar for Deserto. Get over it. There are rats all over downtown Tijuana. There will be more rats in New York.
Deserto has a lot of work to do, but more competition is welcome in the dwindling craft beer market. Everything is more expensive, and craft beer is not an exception.
100 pesos seems to be the standard price, but places often go above that. Deserto is cheap for now because they haven’t officially opened, but beers will be priced over 100 pesos for some styles. I tried them all. The sour was my favorite one. In previous visits to their tap room, all the way in la tercera etapa del río… the beer that intrigued me most was a beet sour, but it had low ABV. This is a guayaba sour in a similar manner. Very sour and at the same time refreshing. Just thinking about it made my mouth water.
The rest of the beers were standard. The lager and pilsner were very crushable. I wasn’t a fan of the IPA; it was drinkable, but nothing special. I just had a splash of the stout, and I couldn’t see anything wrong with it.
As long as they keep prices below 100 pesos, I’ll consume their beers. But over 100 is reaching it. Might as well go back to the caguama days at these prices.
Perhaps that’s why the business is dwindling, and it gets blamed on the fact that people drink less. Maybe people drink less because they cannot afford it. And I am aware that prices went up for everyone, and they have no choice but to up the prices to turn a profit. But if no one is buying your beer… perhaps add more discounts and easier access to it? Sell it by the growler at a cheaper price.
For now, the best deal in beer is getting Agua Mala by the bottle from Licores de la Sexta for 57 pesos. The Mako pale ale is a delight in flavor and at that price.
More beer, more Tijuana, more in the weekly newsletter!
For now… this is a Matingas post and it needs a picture.
I have La Ballena shirts for sale. I still have a ton. They look like this one, except it is on ecru color and with the design on the back.
Like this one. But this is the totebag also for sale and I have a ton for $20.
It comes with extra!
And it means your support for this blog, my videos, and all the shit I do.
I need money for New York. I have enough for the days I’m going without splurging. I would love to splurge. I am not at the level of splurginess. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to splurge.
Splurge is such a gross word.
Other things to support me… You know it:
Buy my books on Amazon. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them if you enjoyed this. If you didn’t enjoy this… then… what are you doing still here?!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. The more subscribers, the more money, the more time I have to upload cool shit.
Follow me on Instagram and book me for a photoshoot!
Follow me on TikTok just because it’s the thing we do in the future.
Book a Tijuana tour with Tijuana Adventure! Still doing exclusive tours in 2025. Let’s see how much longer I last.
Read all my articles on the Reader. It is no longer printing! 148 covers and a dozen cover stories in print are now history.
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You can buy all my merch, books, prints, and more. You can hire me to be your tour guide in Tijuana or Ensenada. Or you can hire me to be your photographer. Or a guitarist. Or a writer. I can do it all. Well… not really. Just a lot.
Matingas 
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