The Travel Voucher

This blog has been pretty heavy lately, so here's something a bit lighter. A lot lighter.

For years, I have hoped to have the opportunity to help the airlines. Let me rephrase this. You know how airlines sometimes oversell flights? I don’t understand the reason behind this, but they do. Anyway, when this occurs, airlines will ask for volunteers to give up their seat to go on a later flight in exchange for some type of travel voucher. Every time this has happened to me in the past, either I had to be on that flight (for something work or family related), it would be frowned upon if I took the later flight but let my young kids fly alone, or the airline already had enough volunteers.

Traveling to Charleston earlier this month, United Airlies asked for volunteers to get put on a later flight as well as a $700 travel voucher. I was apprehensive since I didn’t think I could do this, but two people I was with encouraged me to go for it. One even used the “you waited in line for burritos” argument and said I was the king of getting free things, so why wouldn’t I do this? It was a very persuasive.

By the time I approached the desk, the voucher was up to $800. I was sold. The flight boarded, and I waited at the gate to make sure it was full. It was. I had to wait at the gate for another 20 minutes after the flight departed from the gate, but at the end, United gave me a $1000 voucher. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The next step was the airline giving me a voucher to take a shuttle from Dulles to National for a flight on American Airlines. I'm not sure how United got me on an American flight, but I wasn't going to complain. I took the shuttle with another woman who also took United's offer for the voucher and later flight. We talked about our families and how the voucher would help us visit family living in other areas. Oh, I also received a $10 food voucher. It didn’t cover my entire Five Guys meal, but it was close.

Of course, it turned out that the woman who shared the shuttle had the seat next to me on the plane. At that point, we had nothing else to say to each other. Hooray for books and headphones! I made it in Charleston in plenty of time and now I have a $1000 to spend on United! With three kids, that might (might!) cover one family flight next summer.

Asking For Forgiveness

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins on Tuesday evening. I'll spend much of the Tuesday evening and Wednesday at synagogue praying for forgiveness while also trying not to think about the fact that I'm not eating or drinking. However, another important part of this holiday is asking those you have wronged over the past year for forgiveness. While I still need to contact several people, in looking at my blog posts, I think there's some atoning I have to do.

I apologize to Chicago Cubs OF Chris Coghlan for essentially calling him a racist. That wasn't fair. He might be a dirty baseball player, but I crossed the line.

I'm sorry for criticizing the grammar used by Dale Lolley, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat reporter for the Observer-Reporter of Washington (PA)

I'm sorry for using Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back to describe the 2015 Pittsburgh Penguins draft class.

I'm sorry for making fun of Parents Magazine. I may even read one of the last two or three editions that are sitting in a pile under the newspapers.

I'm sorry that we didn't get Jagoff in the dictionary. That would have been cool.

I'm definitely not sorry for winning free burritos for a year again. They are quite tasty.

I'm sorry for criticizing how Peyton Manning dresses. I mean, you would think with the amount of money he makes, he could dress better. I'm going on a tangent here. Sorry for the tangent and sorry Peyton.


For those of you observing Yom Kippur, have an easy and meaningful fast and day. Now, do I need to look at my Twitter posts from the past year to see what I wrote there?

Free Burritos! Free Burritos! (Take Two)

Seven years ago, when I was still in my early 30s and without kids, I waited in line for over 5 hours to earn free burritos for a year. Now, approaching 40 and with two kids, I decided to try for free burritos again. Here's my story:

- When California Tortilla opens a new restaurant, the first 20 customers in line get a “Burrito Elito” loyalty card with free burritos for a year. Back in my day (meaning 7 years ago), only the first 10 people in line earned the free burritos for a year. Even though the grand re-opening of a California Tortilla occurred at a location very close to me, I didn't plan on waiting in line. I had too much to do and already have free paninis for a year. However, a friend wanted to be one of the first 20 people, so on the morning of the grand opening, I considered joining him

- I arrived outside California Tortilla at 8:00 AM, saw that there were about 8 people in line and left. My friend wasn't there yet, and, as I mentioned above, I had stuff to do. After several texts with my friend and others encouraging me to get burritos, I came back to the line at 8:30 and was rewarded by being #17 in line. Minutes later, my friend arrived to be #19 in line.

- The woman next to me (#16) planned on surprising her husband with an early Christmas gift. Cal Tort is his favorite restaurant, and he had no idea his wife was in line. She deserves a wife of the year nomination!

- The 18th person in line was on a morning run preparing for a half marathon taking place two days later. He noticed the line and stopped his run. It turns out that the guy is from Pittsburgh, and we overlapped being at Ohio State. I really don't make any new friends these days, and while it would have been awkward, I probably should have asked for his contact information. I would definitely watch a Steelers game with him. Of course, I'm not sure when we would have ever got together. We're in different stages in our lives and live about 30 minutes away from each other so I wouldn't want to start a long distance relationship.

- The 21st person in line was really upset at himself for not getting there earlier. He complained for a few minutes and openly hoped that someone would leave the line. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, the negotiations started. Apparently, the 8th person in line was open to this and accepted a mere $60 for his spot in line. Those of us in the back in the line questioned this decision. With tax, a large burrito is about $8. Over 52 weeks, that's over $400 in free burritos. Even if you miss several weeks, that is still worth way more than $60. We decided that it would take around $200 to "sell" our spot in line. Fascinating philosophical discussions when you're standing in line for burritos!

- Meanwhile, the first person in line arrived at 7:00 AM. This was significantly later than the first person arrived in line in 2007. I'll let Milli Vanilli explain:



Oops. Wrong video, though I appreciate the prominence of a rotary phone in the video.



Hopefully that makes more sense. It rained all night and early morning until dusk. I think the rain and threat of rain dissuaded people from waiting in line.

- Back in 2007, I brought my Walkman and a book. In 2014, I brought an umbrella and a laptop computer. When the sun appeared, I actually did some work holding the computer in one hand and typing with the other. California Tortilla staff brought out chairs around 10:00 which made it significantly easier to use the computer.

- I was probably the only person in line without a Smartphone.

- Despite there being about 40 people in line, someone showed up at 10:25 incredulous that he wasn't one of the first 20. For free burritos for a year, you have to do better than arriving only 35 minutes before opening.

- I should probably mention that everyone received a free burrito and drink from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM. That's why there was easily 100 people in line when I exited the restaurant.

- Although the rules clearly state that you can't save a spot for someone in line, no one was going to argue with the woman with three kids. Her husband was one of the first people in line, and she took his spot with their children around 10. Now, if the husband stayed in line with her, there could have been a major problem. Since he left, Cal Tort took the opportunity to highlight the family.

- A few smart people decided to take advantage of this captive audience. One guy passed out flyers for Comedy for a Cause , an All Veteran Show to help the homeless. Plus, a realtor gave out coffee & Munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts to help promote himself.

- Cal Tort distributed T-shirts to the first 25-30 people in line. I was just excited about getting the T-shirt as I was for the burritos.

- After two and a half hours of waiting in line, I was rewarded with free burritos for a year. If a California Tortilla opens near you, I suggest waiting in line too. (I'm looking at you State College, PA.) Everyone was really friendly, and well, how can you argue against free burritos?


Please Like Sean's Ramblings on Facebook!

2014 Election Day Food

Did you vote today? If so, good for you. If not, there's still time to read this and go to your local polling station. Unless, of course, you're reading this after the polls close, are under 18 or don't live in the United States.

Regardless, to thank you for doing your civic duty, several restaurants in the DC area (and probably nationally) are offering free or discounted food.

California Tortilla - Free Chips and Queso to anyone who either wears their "I Voted!" sticker, or says "I Voted!" to the cashier -- no strings attached

Glory Days & Fanfare Eatery – 10% off with coupon (sign up for their e-mail list)

The Greene Turtle – Children receive a free meal with paying adult.

Red Robin - Free Tavern Double Burger with Bottomless Steak Fries with purchase of 2 beverages and an entrée. (I’m not sure that makes this deal free). Offer available to everyone. Just mention “Tavern Double Tuesday” to receive the offer.

Do you know of other discounts? If so, let me know and/or leave them in the comments section. Go America!

Update...The Washington City Paper created their own list which is better than mine. I wish I saw this before I wrote my blog post.

Corner Bakery Free Paninis Journal

I'm getting back to my blogging roots. Last week, I made a reference to Sean's Ramblings favorite, Kevin Pittsnogle. Today, I'm sharing my experience of attempting to win free paninis for a year.

Long-time readers might remember a simpler time when I earned free burritos for a year from California Tortilla. Over the 52 weeks, I ate $278.09 worth of free food just for being one of the first 10 people in line at the Cal Tort grand opening. Therefore, when I learned that Corner Bakery was opening a new restaurant in my neighborhood with the first 100 people in line receiving free paninis for a year, I started planning. By planning, I mean that I mentioned this to my wife a few days ago and I woke up around 5:00 instead of the usual 5:40.

I started the day by shaving, getting dressed and feeding Ziggy. I said good bye to my wife and she gave me an "Are you serious? I can't believe you're leaving since both kids will probably wake up as soon as you leave" look and rolled back over.

I arrived at Corner Bakery just after 5:30, and there was already a significant line. While I expected much of the line to be teenagers, I was surprised of the age diversity among the group. It seemed like about 40% already qualified for AARP membership and there were many families in the group (though no young children). After standing in the back of the line for a minute a two, a woman that works at the Corner Bakery corporate office handed me #56. I was in! Hooray for LaMarr Woodley! (Actually, since Woodley is no longer a Steeler, hooray for, um, Jordan Zumwalt!)

Here are some notes from the morning:

- This was the first time in Corner Bakery history that they gave away free paninis to open a restaurant. Previously, the first 100 people received free coffee. I participated in an historic event!

June 30, 1936 - Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind is published.
June 30, 1950 - US enters the Korean War.
June 30, 2014 - Free paninis at a Northern Virginia Corner Bakery

- The first person in line arrived at 2:00 AM. Rookie! It was the first 100 people in line, not the first 10.

- While I brought a chair, book & Walkman (yes, a Walkman!) to the Cal Tort opening, all I took for the Corner Bakery opening was an Entertainment Weekly magazine and a piece of paper and a pen to write some notes.

- I got a little concerned when a guy in a Sherriff's officer uniform came to the end of the line. I worried that he was going to shut everything down. Turns out he joined the line for free paninis too.

- I asked if we got tired of paninis during week 35 if we could switch to a less expensive item on the menu. I was told that I wouldn't get tired of paninis. Then, I was told that the coupons were for paninis only but staff might work with me.

The doors opened promptly at 6:00 AM and everyone received a wrapped stack of 52 cards good for one panini a week for a year from week 1 (7/6/14 to 7/12/14) to week 52 (6/28/15 to 7/4/15). July 4, 2015 seems like a really, really, really long time from now!

After nearly 10 minutes waiting in line to order food (and discovering that the first free panini coupon isn't good until next week), I decided to leave. I felt a little bad for getting the free cards and rolling out, but there were 55 people in front of me (though the line moved quickly) and I needed to go home and get ready for work. I'm sure that I'll make it up to Corner Bakery over the next year!

Don't forget to like Sean's Ramblings on Facebook.

Help Bring Sonic To Northern Virginia

I like Sonic. They have solid food at very reasonable prices. I particularly like the milkshakes and the Sonic Blasts. Unfortunately, living in Northern Virginia, I need to drive more than 40 miles to either Fredericksburg or Winchester if I ever get a Sonic craving. This is unacceptable! Why isn't there a Sonic in Fairfax, Chantilly, Burke, Arlington, Alexandria, Centreville, Herndon, Reston, or even Springfield?

Therefore, I decided to look into franchise opportunities. Here's the basic information:

•The term of a SONIC franchise is 20 years, plus a 10-year renewal.
•The franchise fee is $45,000, and the total initial investment ranges from $710,000 to $3 million.
•You must have prior or current successful restaurant experience and/or strong entrepreneurial skills.
•Royalty fees are 4 to 5 percent; advertising fees are 5.9 percent.

I definitely don't have this type of disposal income or have prior or current successful restaurant experience unless you count earning free burritos for a year at California Tortilla.

Since I'm not going to open a Sonic franchise myself, I thought the least I could do is start a petition for a Sonic in Northern Virginia. If there is a petition for the Steelers to "throw away" their throwback uniforms, why not this?

Therefore, I encourage you to join this petition on Change.org and help bring Sonic to Northern VA. Thank you!

UPDATE Please click here see Sonic's reply to the petition.

The War on Halloween

You probably notice all the candy on display at supermarkets. You also may have received invitations for Halloween parties and/or thought about what you or your kids will wear this year. Although the temperatures are falling (although the high is supposed to be around 80 in DC today) and we’re now a month into Fall, there is clearly a War on Halloween in this country. Look around your neighborhoods and especially at intersections for proof. Sure, there might be some places with Halloween decorations, but they are no match for political signs. That’s right; Halloween is under attack from political parties, political action committees and the media.

What do you see when you turn on the television? Political advertisements. In the DC area, not only are there ads for or against Obama and Romney, but we see countless commercials for Virginia’s Senatorial candidates and several Maryland propositions. You can’t enter or exit a Metro station without people asking about voter registration or handing out flyers (or newspapers in the morning). Even restaurants such as California Tortilla have contests based on the Presidential candidates (yes, the Obama burrito vs. the Romney burrito). If you want further proof that there is a War Against Halloween, look at The Simpsons. The long-running show features the “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween-themed episode each year. This year, Fox aired Treehouse of Horror XXIII on October 7th. October 7th! That’s more than three weeks before Halloween. Rupert Murdoch, also the head of Fox News, is surely to blame.

It’s time to fight back! We cannot lose this war. Halloween is too important to kids, candy companies, guys who like seeing women in scantily-clad costumes, dentists, women who like wearing scantily-clad costumes, and pagans (including San Francisco Giants OF Angel Pagan) among others. Sure you can vote on November 6th, but don’t let them take away October 31st!

Yinz Luv California Tortilla

I didn’t want to write two separate posts, so I’m combining two of my favorite things into one: Jim Shearer’s Yinz Luv videos and California Tortilla.

Here is your latest Yinz Luv Da Stillers video featuring a very funny Brett Favre feature:



Plus, if you go to a California Tortilla today (Wednesday, October 28) and whisper the secret password “Yee-Ha” to the cashier, you’ll receive a small burrito, pop (some - not me - may say soda) and chips & salsa for $5. What a bargain! (Yes, I am going there for dinner tonight.)

TMI Thursday: Find a Kid Next Time

Yesterday was Kids Eat Free Day at California Tortilla where you received a free kid's meal for each adult entree purchased. What a great deal as kid's meals are $4 or $5. So my friend visited a friendly neighborhood CalTort and ordered a Honey Lime burrito and a "Make Your Own Platter" off of the kids menu consisting of grilled chicken strips with shredded cheese and two 6" tortilla shells plus chips and queso, a brownie and a drink. When asked if I (I mean, my friend) had the child with him, the reply was that, no, he was at home. The employee then stated that the child must be present for this deal. This bit of information was not included on the California Tortilla website or the CalTort e-mail. However, I (sorry, my friend) did not want to argue since there was not a child at home, only a kitten. The nerve of my friend for even trying to get a free kid's meal even though there was no child!

Make sure to visit LiLu for more of your TMI Thursday needs. Plus, you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.

Ain’t Too Proud To Beg

The big news in the NFL the past few days has been James Harrison’s refusal to visit President Obama when the Steelers are honored at the White House. Harrison originally told WTAE "if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won." This also led to an extremely funny post by Christmas Ape at KSK (R-rated language for those sensitive readers). However, Harrison revealed to the Post-Gazette that the real reason he is missing the White House visit is because he has a fear of flying. I guess this also means that Harrison will not be a Monday Night Football broadcaster after he retires.

With Harrison missing from the festivities on Thursday, and based on my understanding of Algebra II from high school, it seems like there is an open spot for someone to attend. Therefore, I’d like to propose someone that already lives in the Washington DC area and does not need to fly. This person has been a Steelers fan since birth and even has this photo with Hall of Famer Franco Harris.



Plus, this person is a terrific blogger (at least in his mind), and he’d be more than happy to write about his experiences on this very blog. I have an idea: how about Sean of Sean’s Ramblings!

In all seriousness, how does one get invited to the Steelers ceremony at the White House? Besides actually being a Rooney or a Steelers player or a coach. If you have any connections at the White House, and can get me in, I’d love to witness this event. I'll even get you a Pop Tart from California Tortilla (Wednesday only). President Obama, if you happen to be reading this, have Rahm send me an e-mail!

I Have a Secret (More Free Food!)

I bet you think that I'm a day early for TMI Thursday. Well, I hope that you didn't make that bet. Today (Wednesday, April 22) is secret password day at California Tortilla. Visit any California Tortila and when you say the secret password "Talk Talk," the spunky cashier will give you FREE Chips and Queso or Salsa. I have looked to see if the purchase of another item is required, but that doesn't seem to be the case. According to the e-mail I received from Pam, California Tortilla's Queen of Burritos, there are no strings attached.

I really hope that you're visiting my blog for more than free food notices!

Obama Food vs. McCain Food

Although the Presidential election is still a few days away, some businesses, such as the three below, want to get into the action with their own election.

Visit your local 7-Eleven for the 7-Election (get it? 7-election instead of 7-11? clever) and place your vote by choosing either an Obama or a McCain cup of coffee. The website even has state by state results, although many "red" states have no 7-Eleven stores operated or franchised by 7-Eleven Inc.

If there's any post about food on this site, California Tortilla generally gets mentioned. In this case, California Tortilla is tallying the number of each of the candidate’s burritos sold from October 13th through November 3rd and they guarantee that whosever burrito sells the most will win the election.

The McCain-Chilada: Mexican rice, mesquite chicken, tortilla strips, velvety queso, fresh salsa, and shredded lettuce, rolled in a warm flour tortilla, smothered with green enchilada sauce and garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

The O-Chili-bama Burrito: Mexican rice, turkey chili, tortilla strips, jalapeño peppers, sour cream, and shredded lettuce, rolled in a warm flour tortilla, smothered with velvety queso and garnished with fresh salsa and green onions.

Now through, well, today, cast your ballot by ordering one of the special election omelettes at Silver Diner. The Obamalette (inspired by the candidate’s favorite hometown food, Chicago deep dish pizza – a pizza omelette?) vs. the McCainlette (indicative of the candidate’s home state of Arizona, as well as his favorite way to cook, Barbecue).

I’m sure there are more of these McCain-Obama food and drink election deals out there, but I couldn’t find any others. If you type Obama vs. McCain into Google, there are 31,900,000 results. I only got through about 13,154,120 before I gave up. If you know of any places doing this, feel free to share in the comments section.


Only five days until this is all over!

Selling Out?

Back in January, I wrote that in the three years since I started Sean’s Ramblings, I have earned a total of $0 from writing this blog. Nine months later, I am proud to say that I have made enough money from writing posts about eating free California Tortilla burritos, trivia night questions and Steelers news and information that I should be able to retire by 2108. (Now that is going to be a difficult election!) Actually, that’s not true, as the current total I have earned from this blog remains $0. Regardless of the economy, I guess I’ll never be able to earn a living from this.

Recently, however, I have received several inquiries about money-making opportunities. In one case, I would write about a specific topic, and an advertiser would pay me for my opinion. As long as the advertiser is fine with me possibly slamming the product or issue, I could be OK with this. I guess it all depends on the topic as I’m not going to start writing about shampoo or tax policies. In the other situation, a sports handicapper wants to provide a banner ad on this site. Whether or not I am interested in having ads on this site, I have no idea what to charge for ads or even how to post them.

So my dilemma now is if I want to sell out to make a little money. Will you respect me less if you do? Would you worry about money clouding my opinion on a particular topic? I’m probably over-thinking this. The $5 extra dollars I could possibly make won’t help my retirement accounts. (Although, I could use it for a burrito!)

In the meantime, feel free to send me free stuff! For example, Turner Publishing is the greatest publishing company ever. Yes, I’m biased since they sent me the book Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt. There are some amazing pictures of Roosevelt with the Rough Riders and giving his speeches during his presidency. While we are likely tiring of Obama-McCain, the 1912 election between the incumbent William Howard Taft, Roosevelt, running for a third term after a four-year hiatus, and the eventual winner Woodrow Wilson, must have been fun (and I mean this is a non-sarcastic way).

Happy Birthday California Tortilla

Since I am out of my free burrito coupons, I now seek out new opportunities to earn free food from California Tortilla. Fortunately, California Tortilla is celebrating its birthday today (Wednesday, September 24) by giving everyone who purchases an entrée a coupon for a FREE quesadilla, salad or burrito on Thursday, September 25th. Yes, the catch is that you need to eat at Cal Tort two days in a row. In addition, the first 50 people in line at 11am and 5pm today receive a free Cal Tort T-shirt when purchasing an entree.

As always, more information is available at the Cal Tort website.

In case you were wondering, the picture is of my friend’s car for his 33rd birthday. It took him almost two hours to remove all of the post-it notes and drive home.

Burrito Year in Review

I’ve written and deleted numerous sentences to start this post. It’s hard to explain the significance of earning free burritos for a year at California Tortilla. How can I properly express my love of burritos, the subsequent desire never to have a burrito again and then the realization that burritos really are good? Well, let’s go back to August 2007. As part of the grand opening of a new location, California Tortilla has a promotion where the first 10 people in line at 11am will get free burritos every week for a year. When they opened last August, I was #8 and wrote all about my experiences waiting in line.

So now that the year is complete, here is the summary of my California Tortilla adventure:

Free Burritos: 34
Free Quesadillas: 13
Free Chips & Queso: 2
Free Salads: 1
Missed Weeks: 4
Total Savings: $278.09

I’m sure that you have lots of questions, so I’ll try to answer them.

Q: Did you get sick of burritos?

Yes. I had burritos for several months and decided that maybe I should eat a little healthier by having burrito bowls. I quickly determined that the burritos were much better with a tortilla and switched back. In early January, I had enough and attempted to sell the coupons on Craigslist. I think I posted an ad on three separate occasions, but only received one response from a guy named Jimm. Yes, there is more than one M. Jimm’s reply, "Trade you for my taco coupon lol." LOL? That’s not LOL. Spell your name correctly, Jim!

Q: I’m confused by the summary. You wrote that you received free burritos for a year. Why are there quesadillas and a salad?

There’s no need to be confused my friend. Around the time I first attempted to sell the burritos, I realized that a spinach quesadilla would be less expensive than a burrito and asked if I could use the coupon for something other than a burrito. California Tortilla was nice enough to say yes. Quesadillas got me through the cold winter months and allowed me the temporary break from burritos.

Q: So what was your favorite burrito?

Of all of the free burritos, I had the Blackened Chicken Caesar probably 75% of the time. The Honey Lime variety was a favorite during the final month or so, but the BCC is still the #1 seed.

Q: Did California Tortilla ever contact you?

Yes, actually (sort of). I met Pam, the Queen of Burritos, at the grand opening and she even commented on my blog when I tried to sell my coupons. Her quote: "You’re selling your California Tortilla burrito coupons, Sean? I'm shocked. SHOCKED! I tell you."

Q: $278 worth of California Tortilla food. Wow!

Um, this is not actually a question, but yes, the total amount I would have spent over the past year was $278.09. The number could have been well over $300 if I had more burritos than quesadillas or ordered the regular size burrito more often (I ate a small burrito most of the time – the small really isn’t that small).

I’ll be happy to answer any other burrito-related questions that you may have in the comments.

So that’s my burrito year in review. If you are wondering whether or not I would do this again, I definitely would. I would also like to thank my colleagues for encouraging me to wait in line for the burritos and the staff at the Reston California Tortilla who is always friendly and has never got my order wrong.

Historic Milestone

We interrupt our coverage of Ric Blas at the Olympics to mark a significant date in Sean’s Ramblings history. One year ago today, I waited over five hours at the grand opening of California Tortilla to win free burritos for a year. (Is it possible to use any more prepositions in these last two sentences?) I’ll have a full report about my experiences sometime soon.

Free Birthday Food

Inspired by my birthday (which just happens to be today), I have compiled a list of restaurants that offer free food for your birthday. Please note that when I write "with certificate" below, it means that I received an e-mail from the restaurant for signing up on their mailing list. The "certificate" is required for the free food.

Red Robin – Free Gourmet Burger with certificate – (received e-mail 5/6; expires 5/20)

Austin Grill – Complimentary Entrée with certificate – (received e-mail 5/6; expires 5/20)

Silver Diner – Complimentary Entrée and a Piece of Birthday Cake with certificate and Blueplate Club card. Valid with the purchase of an additional entrée. (received e-mail 5/1; expires 6/1)

California Tortilla – Free burrito (good only on the day of your birthday)

McCormick & Schmick’s – Free Signature Desert with certificate and purchase of an entrée (received 5/6; expires 5/27)

Baskin Robbins – Free 2.5 oz. scoop if ice cream with certificate (received e-mail 5/8; expired 5/18).

Mamma Lucia – Free desert with purchase of at least two dinner entrees (received 5/6; expires 30 days from receipt of e-mail).

Dairy Queen – Free 16 oz. Blizzard with certificate and purchase of another 16 oz. Blizzard (received 5/6; expires 5/25)

Texas de Brazil – Complimentary dinner with certificate and purchase of a full price dinner (received 5/6; expires 6/5; not valid on Saturdays)

Moe’s Southwest Grill – Free entrée with certificate (I don't know more about this offer.)

Coldstone Creamery - I think free ice cream, but I cannot confirm.

Noodles & Company - I think a free entrée, but, again, I cannot confirm.

While this list is better than my attempt at this last year, there are many, many more restaurants out there that offer free food for your birthday. That’s where I need your help. Please leave any other suggestions for restaurants (preferably in the Washington DC area) that have free birthday meals in the comments section. Thanks!

I Want To Be a Sell Out

Unless you count the Google ads on the side of this page, Sean’s Ramblings does not have any sponsors. In fact, in the 3+ years of this site, I have earned exactly $0, although I did receive a free book and DVD. Instead of hoping that companies contact me to place an ad, I thought I would do the opposite and post information about businesses I like and would be happy to have as a sponsor.

Wegmans – The greatest grocery store of all time.

Guppie Boutique – Primarily sells infant and toddler clothes and accessories. Run by ex-Pittsburghers.

Let’s Eat (specifically the Johns Creek/Alpharetta, Georgia location) – Provides customers with family dinners, sides, appetizers and desserts for in-store assembly or pick-up. There are several of these types of places around, but I’m singling out this location since it is also run by an ex-Pittsburgher.

California Tortilla – Long-time readers know my affinity for this restaurant. Besides serving great food, I love their promotions such as Pop Tart Day and free burritos for the first ten people in line for a grand opening. (Yes, I would still like to sell my free burrito coupons; there are only about 15 left!)

Any major corporation, television show or movie company – The exposure of your ad on this site could be worth millions (millions of what, I don’t know).

Election Day Parties and Events

Tuesday is the Potomac Primary/Chesapeake Primary/whatever you want to call it where voters in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia go to the polls to vote in the Presidential Primary. What to do once you cast your ballot? Well, here are some suggestions for the rest of the day.

- California Tortilla is giving customers a free taco. Just stop by your local DC, MD or VA's Cal Tort on Tuesday, February 12th proudly wearing your “I VOTED” sticker or with your sample ballot, and they will give you a free taco.

- IHOP’s National Pancake Day Celebration - From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., IHOP will give you a free short stack (three) buttermilk pancakes. All that they ask is that you consider making a donation to support locale children’s hospitals through Children’s Miracle Network, or other local charities. This really has nothing to do with the election, but it’s free food!

- Obama fans? Watch the DC/Virginia/Maryland results come in at James Hoban's in Dupont Circle on Tuesday, February 12th. They promise good company, good drink/food specials, and good results for Obama. In return, they’re asking for a minimum donation of $25 per person, all of which will go directly to the campaign.

- Come out to show your support for Senator Obama with the gay and lesbian community as they watch the primaries for the DC, VA & MD at Nellie’s Sports Bar in DC.

- McCain fans? The Virginia Election Night Party takes place at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Alexandria. Will John McCain be there?

- Nothing says election night like Drag Bingo at Chaos.

- Al Jarreau performs at the Birchmere, but tickets are sold out. You may have better luck with Disney’s High School Musical at the National Theatre.

- Don’t Spend a Dime has a list of free food and drinks (again, not election-related, but free food!)

- Koji Kakinuma is at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage at 6. It’s a free show, but I doubt that Kakinuma will have much election analysis (since the polls haven’t closed yet, of course).

I could not find any election evening events for Hilary Clinton, Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul, but I’m sure there has to be something. If you know of any other events or discounts for Tuesday, please leave them in the comments. Oh yeah, don’t forget to vote!

California Tortilla & Washington Post Updates

After 21 consecutive weeks of eating a California Tortilla burrito, I think it is time for a break. However, I still have 31 coupons for free burritos good only at the Reston location. If you are interested in buying a coupon or multiple coupons, please e-mail me at seanramblings[at]yahoo dot com. The regular Blackened Chicken Caesar burrito is $6.19 including tax and some of the other specialty burritos cost even more. I’m looking to sell the coupons for $4 each, but I am willing to negotiate, especially if someone is interested in buying multiple coupons.

As for the Washington Post, I am getting closer and closer to canceling my Sunday subscription. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I received the newspaper at 9:30 AM on Sunday, December 16 and then, the paper was delivered on Sunday, December 23 even though I submitted a vacation stop. Today, the paper again arrived just after 9:30. I submitted a comment on the Post’s subscriber services page, but I doubt that I will receive a response. If I do not hear from the Post by Tuesday afternoon since the screen stated that the Post’s “service representatives have received your message and are working to address it within two business days,” I will call them on Wednesday.

While I was waiting for Sunday’s newspaper, Good Morning America featured a story about an octogenarian couple in Edgerton, Wisconsin who have delivered newspapers for more than 50 years. The story mentioned that they generally deliver the paper around 5:00 AM. That would be 4.5 hours before my newspaper is delivered!