Tag: friends

Operatic Meal

elsaf, judiang and I are stuffed to the gills tonight thanks to Opera, a very upscale (read expensive) Chinese restaurant just a few blocks down the road from Judi’s apartment. Elsa had a $50 off coupon, which is telling in itself. But we made good use of that coupon, I’ll tell you!

We started with drinks. Elsa, as our Designated Walker, stuck with diet Coke. But Judi and I got our usuals: Amaretto Sour. The sour was perfect. Which means that Judi had to dilute hers a bit. Heh. We got two appetizers: pork & ginger dumplings and beef & asparagus crepes. (I misheard the waiter and was trying to figure out how in the hell they stuffed all that stuff into grapes.) The appetizers were excellent – even the garnish was good.

For the main course, we tried Tiger prawn noodles with a curry sauce, scallops, and pineapple chicken & cashews. All three were excellent – they even served up the scallops in 3 separate dishes to make splitting the dishes easier. (We love to share – get to try more things that way.)

Despite being full, we ended up all ordering dessert. The waiter plonked down the dessert menus – we had no defense! Elsa got a Trio of Brulees. Since I’m VERY trad regarding creme brulee, I couldn’t order that dish. Judi got a Trio of Sorbets that the Iron Chefs would be proud of. (One was red wine & red pepper!) I stuck with the Trio of Chocolate items. Good lord! I now know what free-basing chocolate must be like! They had a flourless chocolate cake that was HEAVENLY. They also had a chocolate mousse cake that was decadent (but no match on the flourless cake). And an ice cream with chocolate somethings in it that was really just there so you didn’t OD on the chocolate. *sigh* I shall be remembering Opera with much fondness for years to come, I believe.

Now we’re back at Judi’s for our last night before returning to Detroit. We’ve been working on Judi’s new PC all day – and it’s been a real lesson in computer work. Elsa noticed a nice correlation between our computer building and another old tradition. You can read about that here. Perhaps I’ll go into more computer detail later. But for now, I must go blow up Judi’s old HD to reinstall Winders XP. Wish me luck! 🙂

Giving Thanks

I try to give thanks for my privileged life every day, but it’s nice to have times like organized holidays to guarantee that I do it at least once a year. (Grief, I hope I’ve done it more than once a year!) Indeed, holidays are great for pausing for a moment to note the passing of time. If we didn’t have such moments, life would go by in such a blur we wouldn’t get to enjoy it as much. At least, that’s my humble opinion.

I am thankful for my loving family (mom, dad, Amy, Rachel, and Leo, and the extended family too). I am thankful for my kind & generous friends (elsaf, judiang, and so many of you out there I’d probably forget someone if I tried to list you all). I am thankful for my health and my wealth. I am thankful for the roof over my head and all the stuff under it. I am thankful for a job I love and students & coworkers who are a joy to work with. I am thankful for the freedoms that I have. I am thankful to be single & comfortable with that. I am thankful for the ability to travel when I want and where I want. I am thankful for the beautiful town that I live in, and for the beautiful planet that I live on. I am thankful that people are basically good. I am thankful for much more than I have the ability (or patience?) to write. I live a good life with good people and I hope to celebrate many, many more Thanksgivings.

I’ve been working on my Christmas MP3 collection and am, thankfully, finished. So now I get to listen to the music. Hopefully I shan’t have to do this again for some time. I watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade today, and having seen Santa Claus, it’s now OK if I listen to Christmas music. (OK, I admit that some years I start before Thanksgiving. I was good this year.)

In fifteen minutes or so, the folks & I are off to my cousin’s for the Short Family Thanksgiving. I shall do my best to avoid stuffing myself like a turkey. And I shall endeavor to be thankful for the bountiful meal that we will be having. And thankful for the family that I’ll be celebrating with.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating!