Oh! My Traitor Body

This is a quote from a very earnest young writer I heard reading once when I was in college. It has become a very bad private joke. It is totally appropriate right now, though, as I have had the most intense and distracting cramps for the past two days that have totally put me down and destroyed all my plans. Tuesday I was going to do all my catering shopping and some of my catering cooking so I could relax and get some other things done. Instead, all I managed to do was go to lunch with Jennie, do a teensy bit of work on the computer and the slip tallies, and spend a lot of time in bed whining. Yesterday I managed to get through my work day with a lot of complaining and ibuprofen, then it was back to bed, sleeping through dance class AGAIN. Sigh. There was no way I was going to be able to do that stuff anyway, I know it, but I still felt awful for missing another class. I finally got myself sort of roused at 7:30 and went shopping. Stumbling around the Market District in a spacy haze with Rob screaming for vengeance in my ears. I ended up making spinach feta puffs till 1am, with some breaks to read excerpts from John Preston novels. I watched a bunch of Judas Priest videos and drank cold coffee with kahlua. The cramps morphed into a general uncomfortable feeling (thanks, alcohol!) and I was able to get right to sleep when I finally hit the pillow.
This morning I feel better so far. Plus, it looks like a potentially beautiful day. Here's hoping I can get a lot accomplished and not be distracted by the inner workings of my reproductive system!

Oh my goodness! It's Roxie mania around here again all of a sudden! It started out last week when Jilly and I went to dinner at Buffalo Blues after our meeting with the ladies from the library about catering. We just happened to stumble upon the entire Swedish population of Pittsburgh gathered to watch the England/Sweden cup game. Every time Sweden would get a goal, the table two over from us would erupt into some sort of Swedish folk singing or chanting. They were having a great time.
So, after a nice strong beer, I came home and drunken-emailed Ryan, cuz seeing that many Swedes in one place of course reminded me of him. (it also reminded me of salty licorice fish, which the Market District carried for all of one month. Long enough for me to get addicted to them. Bastards) Anyway, he of course wrote me back a sweet message and I had to read it over and over all day and grin and grin.
Then, today, my next Netflix came, which is the Alice Live in Montreaux 2005 DVD. I tried to watch it all the way through but it was too much for me. I am going to have to take it in small doses. Luckily I have a lot of catering to do this week so I will be able to keep myself occupied while I watch it. Roxie really just is too lovely for words. And I suppose I had forgotten how much he shreds on guitar, even though he is always mixed in the broken channel of my DVD player soundsystem. Sigh.
So now I am listening to Dad's Porno Mag and feeling all swirly. He told me that he expects to have new music out by the end of the year. Just wait to see what a mess I will be when that happens!

EEK! I will be seeing Trent and Daniel Ash in FIVE DAYS!!!!! Somehow this totally snuck up on me. EEEK! Last night I made a playlist of what the setlist will most likely be for the NIN show. I did this for Jennie's benefit, for the most part, so she could get familiar with the songs before the show. However, here I am listening to it getting all jazzed. I ended up having all the songs that could potentially be on the setlist (curbed from posts of the last month of setlists) except for a new song called "non-entity" and Trent's cover of Dead Souls. I suppose I could put the original version of Dead Souls on there for completion's sake. Ha. ANYWAYS, this is going to be a GOOD show. And plus, before Trent even gets on stage, I will have my mind blown and my heart exploded by bauhaus. I am slightly troubled by the fact that they are apparently not using the video screens for bauhaus though.....so I may not get the laying on the lawn staring up at a giant Peter Murphy face experience I was hoping for. I hope it's not true.
This week is going to speed by....I have a lot to do before Friday! Two catering jobs to prepare for, plus working my shifts, bellydance class, packing for Boston, finishing the slip tallies. Woo! Hopefully there will be a little socializin in there as well.
So, I didn't make it to the ludas lovestyle show because I am an old woman. I passed out on the couch at 10pm on Saturday. It was baby exhaustion, I'm sure. Lucky for me, Justin came in to the QS for a milkshake before leaving town so I did get a big hug. And that is what really matters.

Hello there world!
This seems to be turning into a weekly recap sort of blog...I guess maybe that is to be expected in the summertime. I just waved farewell to my dear friend Betsey and her husband Michael and their totally adorable baby William (14mos). They visited me for a couple of days inbetween the Episcopal General Convention (they are both priests, and Betsey was a delegate to the convention) and a trip up to New England to visit with Betsey's family. Which is doubly cool for me, because chances are we will be able to see them again up there next week! Woohoo. William is a super fun baby. We went to the Children's Museum where he got play in sand and with a giant litebrite and with water. I got to visit Mr Rogers Neighborhood and crawl into Daniel Striped Tiger's Clock where he sang to me. Awwww. Then we went to the Natural History museum where William got to drag a bone all over the Discovery Room. We decided that maybe he would rebel against his parents by becoming a voodoo priest. Ha. It was a short short visit, but I am so glad I got to spend some time with them. They are awesome parents (as I knew they would be) with a very awesome baby. And like I said, hopefully we will get to meet up again in the Boston/Glouster area for fireworks!
Earlier in the week was all about working working working and meetings meetings meetings. Things are coming together in a good way. We got a couple more catering jobs sewn up and got some good work done on portion control and presentation(despite silly grumbling from the peanut gallery, blah) I'm in a sort of marketing obsessive phase right now...trying to figure out how to get our catering brochure into more hands. I read a nice article on making a marketing plan the other day while I ate lunch that had the wheels spinning in my head.
Today is all about trying to eat some of the vegetables in my refrigerator (you know what it means when people visit from out of town...eating out for every meal!) and putting some effort into catching up on slip tallies. Ugh. The super awesome thing that happened is that Betsey and Michael wanted to have one more meal at the Quiet Storm, so we went up there for lunch. AND, my Judas Priest Live Vengeance '82 Netflix was there. So, I can park myself on the floor in front of Rob Halford and he can scream for vengeance while I do my tallies. That will make it a lot less painful.
Tonight is the triumphant return to Pittsburgh of LUDAS LOVESTYLE! I cannot wait.

This week was mostly unremarkable. As in, I would rather not remark upon it. I basically didn't do any of the things I planned to do and instead I drank a lot and smoked a lot and ate a lot of things that aren't good for me. Eh, what ya gonna do.
I'll just consider it an extra week of playing hooky and blame Rob Brezsny.
This weekend, however, has been all about unexpected pleasures.
Yesterday, despite the fact that we didn't quite make it downtown in time for the pride march, which is said to have included more than 6,000 people(!), we did make it over to Riverfront Park for the festival. The entertainment was pretty crappy, the sound system was REALLY crappy, and the booths seemed to be mostly about dogs and churches. BUT, there were all sorts of leathermen there. Sigh. The leathermen were all extremely affectionate with one another and it made me so happy to see them hug and kiss. There were also lots of other out and proud and colorful and lovely people milling around, soaking up the sun and being who they are. It was awesome! It really kind of restored my faith in humanity. It was also nice to tool around the "North Shore"...I hadn't really gotten a good look at it before and it is really lovely. Reminded me a bit of Cleveland, actually. Not that Pittsburgh people want to hear that, but there you go.
After the pridefest we got some beers and headed to Juli and Will's for a cookout. Only we were very early, but they were super gracious hosts and fed us yummy coleslaw and cheeseburger anyway. Will helped me get the sound files on the anita fix myspace, FINALLY. Relief. We had to run away pretty much right after eating cuz becky had to work, but it was a lovely time while we were there.
I did some computer work and then took a little nap before heading into South Oakland for the Styles For Modern Living and Telefonics, and Pimps Up Hoedown show.
I really did not have high hopes for seeing these bands in a south oakland frat bar, but it turned out to not be like that at all! Their beer selection is INCREDIBLY AWESOME. They have Magic Hat #9 ON TAP. They also had Pomme Lambic, which I saw first, so that is what I had. It was like granny smith beer. So tart and lovely. I talked about 6 people into the Magic Hat though. It's like finding the holy grail! I've only ever gotten to have Magic Hat once before in the Martian Martini Bar in Baltimore, but I remember it to this day. And I can't wait to go back and get some!
The bands were all great. I got a big hug from my favorite boy who I haven't seen in sooooo long...at least three months. It was a nice treat to catch up with him. I got a nice spot in front of a big window fan (it was boiling hot up there on the second floor!) and I didn't budge all night. We left about four songs into the Styles set because we were getting sleepy after our full day, but I was so happy that it had ended up being a totally enjoyable evening.
Speaking of surprisingly enjoyable, I went to brunch at my dad's house today! I felt sort of roped into it by his girlfriend, but it turned out to be a lovely day. We ate outside and she made a delicious brunch of fruit salad, ham, cheese, egg, and spinach pastry, pecan carmel baked french toast, bacon, and cherry tomato salad. Yum. I got to see the sibs and the nephew, and then after we ate dad invited me to go with him to Trax Farms! So I had a nice drive into the country with dad and his girlfriend, and I got to shop at the farmer's market. Drool drool. I bought a jar of strawberry jalapeno preserves which are the BOMB DIGGITY. And a big ole beefsteak tomato. Ah, summer. Dad was shopping for hanging baskets and he got some very lovely ones for the front porch. Then he drove me home! What a sweet day. I feel very guilty for being convinced I would have a rotten time.
Now I have some things to do before the kitchen meeting tonight. I've already plugged my breakfast recipes into the master cook---it's such a kick! There's going to be a lot of data entry to be done in the next few weeks, but once it's done it will be a snap to cost out any recipe we want. I am salivating.
I was hoping to go see Jello rant for three hours tomorrow night, but I don't think I can afford it either monetarily or in terms of the time better spent washing dishes and vacuuming. He sure is entertaining though!

Good morning! I trust we've all survived the weekend? It was touch and go for me yesterday, but after an early evening nap I came back feeling good. In order to spend three hours on the internet! I couldn't help it...I started looking at a photo thread on a message board dedicated to you know who. Heh. There is some amazing stuff in there. Including a pic of him wearing a t shirt with a leather pride flag on it, which was extra special because on Saturday I got myself a lighter with a leather pride flag on it. It really is one of the most visually pleasing symbols I can think of. It's got my favorite color combo of blue and black, plus that sweet little heart. Awww. Leather. I got it at A Pleasant Present on Saturday, where rebby and I had gone to try to get a copy of the Advocate. We wanted to spend our gay money in a gay establishment, but unfortunately he didn't carry it because it is a bi-monthly and didn't sell too well. Bah. The guy was so nice though that I wanted to spend some gay money there, so I got my sister a lesbian wedding card, and then I got myself the lighter and a little button. I should really make a point of getting down there more often. I've joined the card club now, so I should at least take advantage of that!
Before we started our Advocate search we had breakfast at Kazanskys. Well, it was past breakfast time and I had a Rueben, but it was the breakfast-y meal. I had coffee with it. We ended up sitting with Mike Vulture, who spends every Saturday morning there. He is such an entertaining fellow. I felt a little bad that he talked so much he didn't end up finishing his sandwich, but really that was his choice. It was fun to get a lot of "alternative weekly" gossip. Although some of it was not exactly "fun". It's amazing the kind of bigotry that still goes on in 2006 and in an "alternative" paper. Oh well. Perhaps I should just get over being amazed by bigotry? It seems to be the way of the world these days. (I can't even form a coherent thought about that, by the way. I originally read the story on yahoo news, and then I read through several pages of bigoted and hateful comments about it. All I can think is "Magneto was right.")
Anyway, after "breakfast" but before the gay store, we went into Jerrys. There was absolutely zero Judas Priest to be had, but I did end up getting a really cool old bellydance record (autographed by the dancer!) and a record by Gay Bikers on Acid. I haven't listened to it yet, but I'm sure I will love it. Rebby got a Saxon album that is a little silly, and also KISS Unmasked. Which is also a little silly, but what are ya gonna do? Shandi is a good song. We ended up having to go to Barnes and Noble to get the Advocate and use the restroom. Her picture in the Advocate is sooooo cute! We headed up the street to The Exchange where I got a few cool things....Music for the Masses(My favorite Depeche Mode CD, which I had on record back in the day), This Is Hardcore by Pulp, something by Faster Pussycat (I am not even sure what CD it is...it was a dollar!) and a cassette of Turbo by Priest. Turbo is a pretty terrible album overall, but it was a dollar and I admit I love Turbo Lover. Locked In isn't so bad either, if I can listen to it without picturing everybody's bad 80s hair. Rebby got Metallica's Black Album on cassette and I will loudly and proudly admit to loving that one. I know it's the SELLOUT album, but I don't care. "Sad But True" is one of my favorite songs ever. I like it more than Master of Puppets and I don't care who knows it. So there!
I asked the guy at the desk about A Small Deadly Space by Fight and he told me that there was a copy at the store in Dormont. When he told me it was $6.00, I made a quick mental calculation and decided that the six dollars plus the gallon of gas it would take to drive to Dormont and back was not worth it, especially when I could get it for $2.00 plus shipping from someone on the internet. So I passed, but I am really anxious to hear it. It's apparently got some vaguely social commentary-ish lyrics on it. I'll let you know.
Came home and crashed out. Rebby did the dishes while I napped, and then I made dinner and we watched "Cowards Bend the Knee" by Guy Maddin. Well, I watched it....Rebby conked out about half way through and slept pretty hard till I woke her to go out. We got down to the Pub and it was so nice to be there and surrounded by lots of friends. I drank a few Straubs and rocked out to the Working Poor sans bass player (truthfully, I didn't miss it) and then I enjoyed the Bumps. I don't think I would ever go out of my way to see the Bumps, as it is not particularly my cup of tea, but when I am in the right head space I do enjoy it. Plus, they did a cover of "Pancho and Lefty" which made me happy. I started to lose my spark in the middle of their set, and by the time Home came on, I was pretty much done for. I tried to get into it, but I was too sleepy and they just weren't grabbing me. So we headed home and I slept hard and woke up and went to work.
It was one of the most thoroughly pleasant brunches I have ever worked! Jilly and I were both in really good moods, and the menu was totally amazingly good, and it was busy but not unmanageable. Just completely lovely. I was really sore and tired by the time it was over, but for most of the day I was just taking care of business and feeling really good about it. It was so nice to get out for a little smoke break here and there to hear Dean Martin crooning and lots of smiling people digging in to awesome food. Jeffy and Tori Amos came to eat and brought my bottle of Pirate sauce, which made me grin. Alan came and brought me the most adorable little pewter bat on a leather thong necklace. The bat is hanging upside down, like bats do. Its perfect.
All in all, a good if exhausting and kind of spendy weekend. I think today I will stay put at home where I have plenty of work to do. There are orders to place, and catering inquiries to answer, and the ever popular laundry and dishes and cleaning to take care of. I am also going to attempt to make a new workout tape. Tomorrow I intend to attack that cross country skiing machine like a beast!

OK, I'm plum tuckered out! I've been burning the candle at both ends big time this week. Engaging in all sorts of unhealthy behaviors. I feel kind of like I'm in the midst of some sort of backlash against myself. It's okay, though.....Rob Brezsny said so. I always listen to what people named Rob tell me to do. (*wink)
Let's see...where have I been? Wednesday is a blur, except for the fact that I had a private lesson bellydance class. No one else showed up, so it was just me and Amethyst. It was lots of fun, and boy howdy, did she work me over good! I still cannot master the head slide, but I did "get" a couple of things sort of suddenly, mostly as a result of repetition. That's the way to do it, I guess. On my way to bellydance class I bought a pack of marlboro milds, for which I blame Rob Halford. ( I have absolutely no grounds for blaming him for either the cigarettes(except that he does or at least did smoke) or the choice of Marlboro Milds. Still, in my mind it had something to do with my Rob Halford obsession. I could talk my way through it if I wanted to, I suppose, but I'm not sure it's necessary.) ANYHOW, there was a moment when I was downtown with my new pack of Marlboro Milds when I thought "if there was a bar downtown where I could go and buy a drink and just LOOK at leather daddies, I would so do it right now." Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, there is no such bar in downtown Pittsburgh. So I came home and stopped at the Taco Bell to get some dinner, and filled my giant drink cup with Sierra Mist. When I got to my apartment I promptly topped it off with VODKA. Wow! It's the triple threat...cigarettes, junk food, and alcohol! Hows about that, Rob Brezsny?! It was awesome, I must say.
Thursday morning I did not work breakfast but I went in to unload the Frankferd order and wrap 8 boxes of tofu. It's very therapeutic for me. Had a nice time checking in with my peeps, and then I came home and monkeyed around for a while. I don't know what I did. I did try to go somewhere to buy a copy of the Advocate because there is apparently a picture of my girl in there from when she was on the road with the trannies, but almost as soon as I got far enough from my house not to turn back, it started to rain. So I went to Giant Eagle instead, where I thought there was a 5% chance that maybe they would have the Advocate in the giant magazine section. Nope. Instead I bought some miscellaneous stuff, and then I found a new bellydance practice DVD on sale. So I got that too. Came home and ate my grocery store sushi (it wasn't terrible, but of course it also was not very awesome) and watched the DVD. It seems like it will be a good workout...much more active than the Rachel Brice one. Then I got myself all dolled up to go out dancing at the Brillobox.
Rebby met me there, and we proceeded to get pretty drunk(me= one blackstrap stout and TWO Red Hook IPA s!!!!) and not dance all that much. Some of the music was great, but some of it sounded pretty much like house music from any dance bar and that was sort of uninspiring. We stumbled out of there around midnight and went to Taco Bell AGAIN! Shameless. It sure does hit the spot after drink nights, though.
This morning I felt pretty darned raw when I had to get up and go to work, but once I was there and had drunk copious amounts of coffee I kicked it into high gear. Which was good, because around noon it became obvious that I was going to have to be the lunchtime dishwasher in addition to getting everything finished for supper. I totally admit to getting a macho kick out of stuff like that, and luckily it wasn't super busy so I didn't have to be in the dish area constantly. I made some delicious acorn squash and sundried tomato bisque, and some REALLY delicious garlic roasted carrots with white wine tarragon vinaigrette. I also made five lentil loaves, tho I did not get to try them to see if they were delicious. They smelled delicious, though. Eventually, around 5pm, I came home and crashed out!
Now I'm up again, listening to Halford in the hopes that I can get a second wind in order to go to the store for ingredients to make strawberry pretzel fluff and mini cheeseballs for brunch. It's working okay. This album is super excellent, though it is not the most recent before rejoining Judas Priest like I thought it was. It is actually the album he would have been touring the time I almost but not quite got to see him at Starlake when he opened for Iron Maiden. The Maiden show was terrible, except for the fact that I was with a really fun bunch of boys. It would have been so much better had we made it in time for Halford. Next time we'll have to take more trucker speed. Ha!

Woah. My schedule has been all flip-tossed around and it is making me nuts! I guess I have more Capricorn in me than I like to let on. Monday I had the day off, and I spent it laying around watching Judas Priest videos as promised (I also did two loads of laundry and some dishes. It wasn't a total slack off day) So then Monday evening after making my first porn Rebby and I walked in the gorgeous evening air to the Elbow Room for dinner, where I had a lovely seafood pasta with a glass of white wine. Yummy. In the middle of dinner I got a call from Jilly that her flight was being delayed, so suddenly I was working breakfast Tuesday again. Sigh. I made the mental adjustments and we carried on with our lovely evening, stopping at the Market District Shopping Wonderland for angelfood cake and whipped cream so I could make a dessert. While there I happened to notice that the DVD of The World's Greatest Lover was on sale, so I picked that up and we watched most of it while eating angelfood cake with strawberries and peaches and whipped cream. Yum!
So then I went into work on the DEVIL's DAY and totally forgot my Slayer! I did have plenty of Priest though, so I rocked out and made lots and lots of stuff. Granola and flavored cream cheeses and roasted tater salad and etc. I was so psyched to be able to label them all 6/6/6. That's because I am totally turning in to a retarded metalhead. It's like at 39 I am suddenly a 19 year old dude. It's funny. So yeah, I made all kinds of stuff and when there was room on the label I threw on "of the beast" just to make it funnier. Roasted Tater Salad of the Beast 6/6/6. Ha. My gymdate was called off and that threw a further spanner in the works. So I compensated by smoking. Lame, I know.
Jilly came in looking all tan and relaxed and gorgeous with tales of wonderment from the sunny southwest. She also brought me this gorgeous present from a crystal shop in Sedona. Awesome! We chatted a bit and I sat around waiting for the mail to come, but my package was not delivered, so I finally came home around 3pm. And by the time I got home, I was cranky as all get out. Rebby came over but I was all pissy so I took a nap and she left. I woke up a couple hours later feeling better. Sometimes you just have to sleep it off. I folded laundry and did dishes and then I made some dinner and created more dishes. Where is that houseboy I asked for?
Harrumph. I watched the rest of the Gene Wilder movie (there is so much gay humor in this movie! I wanted to watch it through with the commentary to see what he has to say about the gay humor, but I was too tired) I also spent a lot of time on the computer doing Rob Halford research, cuz I am officially obsessed. I found a new super funny interview to go along with the super sad one I found a couple of days ago. I also found a picture of him leaning against a wall (I think it might have been from a tattoo magazine, he was displaying his really impressive backpiece) with a yellow hankie prominently displayed in his left back pocket. I wasn't expecting THAT. I have my little hankie code card I got from MG Leather last summer, so I know what that means. Hmmm. (note: my little hankie code card is no where near that elaborate. I wonder if Poison knew what they were doing when they chose lime green for their glamslam metal jam bandana color?)
Anyway, did you like how I slipped in that part about making porn? Ha, I'm sneaky. So yeah, after more than 4 years of dating an arty filmmaker, I was finally asked to appear nude in a film. Well, I'm only partially nude, but only the nude part actually appears in the film. If it doesn't prove TOO HOT FOR THE MATTRESS FACTORY, my bare bottom will be projected much larger than life at the garden party. I'm a little surprised at how very casual I feel about it....this has mostly to do with the fact that I totally trust my filmmaking girlfriend to make something arty and beautiful, and partly to do with the fact that I'm really a kinky exhibitionist deep down inside. Well, maybe not so deep. Anybody who knows me already knows this about me, I suspect, and anybody who doesn't know me probably will never even know whos bottom they are looking at.
OK, I should really get moving on my day. I am hoping to sew up a big catering job for July today, which will bring a much needed influx of cash to the coffers. Hopefully making Skid Row at Seven Springs more of a reality. Cross your fingers!

DUDE!!!!!!


July 14th at Seven Springs. $25 general admission tix. I really only REALLY want to see Skid Row, but Quiet Riot would also be pretty awesome. And plus, I REALLY want to see Skid Row. Somehow my Sebastian Bach obsession has ballooned out of control and I literally had heart palpitations when someone read this concert announcement out to me at the brunch counter this afternoon. I mean, he's no Rob Halford, but he's still got some pipes on him. And such gorgeous long flowing blonde hair....
So, it's worth considering, anyway. I doubt it will sell out so I am sure I can keep considering it until after I get home from Boston. If I'm flat busted, I won't feel too bad about missing it. But damn!
So, my eight day week has finally come to an end. I celebrated by going grocery shopping, and now am enjoying a tall glass of Mateus. It goes with anything! Even nothing. :) I really hit the wall yesterday, so after I was done rebby took me out for beer and burgers at Sharp Edge, and then we went to The Exchange so I could procure British Steel. I had to have it after watching the video of "United" from Electric Eye. It's such an amazing song. The drums, maan. I was also able to get "Resurrection" which is the album Rob did most recently (I think) with his solo project Halford. It's super metal, and features a duet with Bruce Dickinson. I also scored my favorite Stabbing Westward CD, and some awesome dollar cassettes: Love and Rockets (the one with the BIG HIT So Alive) Low-Life by New Order, and a Snoop Dogg and an Ice T. The adorable long haired dude who checked me out actually shook his head at my eclectic selections. I'm an Aquarius, it comes natural.
I didn't end up doing anything else last night except for watching a little bit of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and then falling asleep at an absurdly early hour. But hell, I needed it. Today was pretty okay, but I have never felt so glad to leave a place in my life. Tomorrow would normally be my labyrinth and library day, but I think I might just not leave the house at all. I have mountains of laundry and lots of cleaning to do, and don't even get me started on the backlog of slip tallies. And plus, there's something to be said for laying around on the couch watching Judas Priest videos. I think I've earned it!

Woah! I have a pretty serious sugar and caffeine rush going on right now. Last night after a delicious-tho-surreal birthday dinner at La Fillipina, we got some rocky road ice cream and a tiny little piece of "wedding cake" in a tin foil package for $1.79 at the Shur-Save. I finished off the wedding cake this morning with my coffee and now I'm BUZZED! Hopefully the buzz will help me get the dishes done, finally.
So yeah, I took rebby out to La Fillipina for her birthday dinner, with a nice bottle of Mateus Rose. (It goes with EVERYTHING!!!) We had an amazing dinner of fresh rolls, crispy curry puffs, soup of the day (it had spinach, wontons, and shredded chicken in a glorious chicken broth) plus we both got the Taste platter which is spanish beef with olives, some kind of delicious pork, curried shrimp, and rice. And then tiny little gorgeous desserts (cassava cake with young coconut and sweet sticky rice with mango) That was the delicious part. The surreal part was the couple sitting next to us. It was an older gentleman sort of shabbily dressed and groomed, with a much younger woman of Indian decent in full makeup and nice out fit. The tables are close enough in that place that you are forced to eavesdrop even if you don't want to, but this woman was making it completely impossible by talking in her outside voice and even at several points trying to make us part of her conversation. I figured that she must be a paid escort based on their dress and mannerisms and the bank envelope of $$$ he handed to her which she proceeded to count at the table. He had addressed the envelope "To Janet--You Sexy Thing". She read it out loud before opening it to count the money. Their conversation was pretty one sided (she made lots of loud pronouncements and he mumbled agreement) and it seemed like they had known each other for a while as she mentioned some people they both knew. It was one of the all time oddest situations I have ever been in. I was pretty boldfaced rude to her when she interrupted our meal a couple of times to ask us questions about our wine and my necklace. Which, I know, is pretty damn boldfaced rude to begin with so I didn't feel at all bad. Still, despite that extremely odd setting aside, it was a fantastic meal. I heart that place. Next time we go, though, I am going to try to order something with actual vegetables in it.
After dinner we had the ice cream and wedding cake while watching Judas Priest videos. It was a very metal birthday for my girl!
I am still sore from an intense bellydance class. Also, I am on day 6 of my 8 day work week. I have to get to the library this afternoon before I go in for my dinner shift, and then breakfast tomorrow, and then brunch on Sunday. (which is kind of a relief....I was scheduled for dinner on Sunday, but the person who was supposed to do beta brunch asked me to switch Hoo-rah!) As a result of that brutal schedule, I doubt I will be doing anything fun this weekend, though I do want to check out the Saturday evening schedule at the arts festival. It's started, you know!