Fancy Pants Dinner

I had my Top Chef dinner!! Jen made my dinner Saturday night... and it was DELICIOUS! I was so excited to go... and the inside of this restaurant is AH-MAZING. It's in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and the architecture was very similar to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We had a bit of a snafu in the beginning of the evening... we were a bit late running out of the house (because SOMEONE didn't check to see if his clothes needed to be ironed...) and we weren't sure what the parking situation was. So we're on Broad Street, and see a parking garage... and park there. And then had to walk HALF A MILE to the restaurant. Half a mile isn't all that far, except when your reservation is at 9:00 and it's 8:58. So we didn't get to the restaurant until like 9:15-9:20. I did call them to let them know that we hit a snafu and would be there shortly.

I had a short rib, and Gene had homemade pasta with a bolognese sauce. I was really expecting Gene to pick up his plate and lick it. I also had the second best glass of pinot noir of my life. (the first best was at the Red Square in Atlantic City with my dad on my 21st birthday. I haven't been able to find a pinot that tastes quite like that... it just melted) The whole atmosphere was wonderful... the food was ridiculously good. We didn't order an appetizer... it was a lot of seafood dishes. Gene LOVES seafood, but I'm really not a seafood fan. We split a dessert though. BANANA CREME BRULEE. ZOMG. It was made of win.

The only thing that discouraged me was that the server for the two tables next to us took his tables back to meet Jen. My server didn't do that. I don't know if that's because we didn't order like $500 worth of food, or because we weren't staying at the restaurant? (or because we were late?) But it didn't make me feel very good. Though I am just happy knowing that Jen totally made my dinner. I could see her in the window!

Glam Rock, Revisted

I ventured out to West Chester PA last night to see Spacehog at The Note. The song you'd remember most by them is "In The Meantime," which is a GREAT tune... and they have a ton of others. The band is two brothers who sing and play guitar (both play bass, piano, and guitar, actually), a drummer, and lead guitarist... all from Leeds, England. Their biggest audience was along the Eastern seaboard back in the mid-90s through early 2000. They used to wear these jumpsuits and platform shoes? So when we walked past them on the street an hour before the show (for serious) we had no idea it was them.

Gene: Huh. That looked like Anthony and Royston (the brothers)
Friend: Nah. They aren't tall enough. Remember? They were really really tall.

Nope. Totes them. No more jumpsuits, either. Anthony had his Buddy Holly glasses, skinny jeans, button down shirt, and snipped off tie... Royston had an oversized (and very comfy looking) sweater... and his hair looked like he stuck his finger in a socket. But these guys are still awesome. They played some new stuff, so hopefully a new album is in the works.

It was the first time I'd ever been to The Note, and if you're from this area than you know The Note fairly well... and you know that it's owned by West Chester's own Bam Margera. Who was totally there! I knew he owned The Note, but I didn't expect to sit next to the guy at the bar! And before the show started, we were talking about how I hope the opening act is good... they're local and that's all we know because we've never heard them before... AND THEY ARE SITTING NEXT TO US. They were awesome, by the way.

I really love small venues. I usually only get to see concerts at like the Wachovia Center or the Susquehanna Bank Center (formerly known as The Tweeter Center) with 50,000 other people. Much cooler to stand in a big room with a hundred or so people, sometimes less. This show and Better Than Ezra at The Troc were two of the best shows I've seen. Not flashy.... not overcrowded... just really good music.

Next time I'm at The Note though (because we're totes going back) I need to try the Grilled Cheeseburger. Burger in between two grilled cheeses? NOM.

You need to SLOW DOWN when...

It's no secret that I work two jobs and that I'm really stubborn and have to do things for myself. Thursday night, I was ULTAing... doing my usual stuff. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary (except go outside without a coat on next door because I was chasing a shoplifter, but I doubt that's related). Friday, I woke up and my back had seized. I mean... I couldn't bend over AT ALL. Two inches was about as far as I could go without screaming. I cried most of the day. Went to the doctor, they gave me medicine (that I'm pretty sure isn't working at all. Aren't muscle relaxers supposed to make you all drooly? not drooly. In fact, mostly still in pain)

Saturday... I had to clean my entire house. Like CA-LEAN. It was my friend Sara's 30th birthday party... we had it at our house bc the building she was going to have it in was way too big for the number of people coming. It was a bit snug at my house, but we had plenty of food (even vegan cupcakes! which were delicious! who knew?) and plenty to drink. But me, being stubborn, had to everything myself. So I basically cleaned the whole house. Sara came over to help me.. and I wouldn't let her. As soon as I finished... I was completely exhausted, but on muscle relaxers... so I was pretty sure that if I took a 20 minute power nap, I wouldn't wake up until tomorrow.

Today it's a bit better. I tried to take it easy at the ULTA on Sunday, and left early. I feel like if someone grabbed my legs... and someone else grabbed my arms... and they both pulled, THEN I'd feel better. I really need to call my chiropractor.

The only good thing that came out of this weekend is that I'm no longer panicking about the Big M Word. I've been feeling really bad about myself lately. Gene and I got into a really big fight on New Years Eve (great timing, right?) about weddings and all that... and he said something really hurtful that he didn't mean, but I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I mean, I've spent seven years of my life with this guy... we're not engaged... I want to be... I want to get married... he just wants to go to the JOP and "get it overwith." Real romantic, right? But my best friend was over Saturday night, and she talked me off of the ledge. I'm not entirely confident that it's going to get better, in all honesty, but she at least convinced me to stay.

How much is too much?

How many times a week do you need to eat out for it to be too much? I went out for my friend's birthday last night to a fondue restuarant (seriously. Do you need to charge me that much to cook my own food though? And our server wasn't very nice at all. And spilled wine on our table and didn't clean it up). I'm going out to this little tavern tonight (with AMAZING food) because myself and two of my coworkers each have $40 gift certificates for there, so we're having a little date.

Next week, we're going to the restaurant OF MY FAVORITE EVER TOP CHEF CONTESTANT AND I AM SO FLIPPING EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT. I can't wait. I just want to skip over the rest of this week and go right to next Friday so I can eat at her restaurant. It was my Christmas present. I love Top Chef. I think it's the best reality contest show on television. My fave girl was from Philly.. and she was FIERCE. Also her restaurant is the closest to us. I was PISSED when she had to pack her knives. But now I get to eat her food (hopefully she works on a Friday night.. I figured that would be a good night to go)

I wanted to go this week, because I'm just so excited.. but Gene said that I'd be eating out three days this week and that is too much. I think that's just dumb. I think eating out 5-7 days a week is too much. And it's not like i eat out 3 days a week every week. This is a special week! Birthday! Top Chef! and gift certificates! That one almost doesn't count.

Who carries a machete?

What a way to say goodbye to 2009.

My friend was a little nervous when she saw a homeless man sleeping in her hallway. She didn't want to call the police, so she called her landlord (who lives downstairs) to inform her. I guess the landlord called the police, because there was quite a scuffle in the hallway.. and my friend heard,

SIR. DO NOT REACH FOR THAT. DO NOT PULL OUT THAT MACHETE. SIR. DON'T TAKE THAT OUT... DO NOT RESIST! WE HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT YOU CAN'T BE SOMEWHERE YOU DON'T BELONG.

Um. Why was a homeless man with a MACHETE sleeping outside my friend's door!??? And where does one acquire a machete? It's not like there are specialty machete stores. Not here, anyway!

I don't think she's going to mind that 2009 is over now... Happy New Year, everyone!

No, I'm fine. Really. I'm fine.

Do you ever find yourself being unnaturally upset about something that in all honestly shouldn't mean that much?

My ex is engaged. Which is great. And honestly, I'm happy for him and I think that his fiancee is good for him. And really the problem isn't that my ex is engaged to someone else. It's that my ex is engaged before I am engaged. My ex who was terrified of committment and sabotaged our relationship by sleeping with someone else because we were getting more serious than he wanted to be. My ex who spend the following YEAR actively trying to sleep with me and get me back. My ex that I am still friends with, but there's that strange tension everytime we see each other because it's like I'm "the one who got away."

Should I be upset that this guy... mr. committment-phobe is engaged, and I, who has been in a very serious relationship for seven years, am not? Everyone is getting engaged and getting married before me. And every time someone else gets married or announces that they're getting engaged, I get more and more upset. Like actual tears upset. I don't know what to do. I'm never getting married.

I knew there was a reason I hated snow.

Saturday was actually very lovely. Even though outside was ridiculous, I basically didn't move all day. We ended up with 17 inches. Gene did go out in the morning, because he had to work at the station, but he got there and came home without incident. The party in Jersey ended up being cancelled, and probably for the best because my friend would have made his 1000 shrimp, and then he would have been left to eat them all by himself.

Sunday, the roads were still a bit scary, and of course I had to go to my retail job. God forbid they take the safety of their employees into consideration. This morning everything was okay though.

The worst part of this whole thing is that my best friend is now stranded in Ireland. Her flight from Dublin to Philly was CANCELLED. She was supposed to come in on Sunday, and the earliest flight she could get out of Dublin was on Thursday..Christmas Eve. And I don't know if her trip is going to get extended, so that means that I probably won't get to see her since she'll only be home for 5 days instead of 10. Needless to say, I'm a bit angry at Mother Nature right now. She's only home twice a year. If worse comes to worst, then I'll just go to her house after Christmas Brunch with Daddy Dearest and hang out at her house. I know her family won't let me kidnap her for the day. I really hope that it works itself out...