Hit the restart button

2003-12-22 / 11:54 a.m.

Wow, so I'm still trying to get my room in order. Some part of me thought it would be a good idea to clean out the closet and the bathroom while moving my college stuff back into this tiny, tiny house....so it's taking longer than anticipated. I'm planning to have everything put back together tonight. If that's the case, tomorrow will be journalicious and phototastic with updates about stuff and pictures from boston...plus maybe some of Joe in a funny hat...we'll see. Back to the cleaning for now though!

Catching up!

2003-12-15 / 1:09 p.m.

Okay...so I don't have time to sit down and write about everything all at once, but I figure that my birthday celebration with Joe definitely deserves an entry devoted to it, as it was completely fucking awesome.

After a supremely shitty day, I came back to my room, showered, dressed up a bit, and drove to his apartment to meet him. He gave me my gift, which is lovely, and I could kick myself for not having a picture of it to post. It's blue topaz, which is the december birthstone...not the novemeber one, which is just topaz--I only emphasize this because Hillary and I argue about it all the time because she's jealous ;p (kidding...don't hate me, HB). Anyway, it's set in white gold, and I adore it. I'll post pictures soon

So then we went to dinner, though I didn't know where we were going. Joe indulged my request that he surprise me with location, and all I knew was that it was someplace neither of us had been before. I was absolutely thrilled when I realized that we were going to Bacchanalia! Oh my. It was a terrific experience...I don't even know where to start. Food and love are two things that make me painfully aware of the fact that I'll never be a good writer, because I can't ever find the words to describe either. ::sigh:: it was fantastic though, so I have to try...

bacchanalia is located in the back of trendy gourmet shop, Star Provisions, on Howell Mill. The inside was pretty and surprisingly cozy for a warehouse-type building. Our table had a chair on one side, and the person sitting oppsite of the chair was fortunate enough To start, Joe had beef tartare and I had California snails with wild mushrooms in a sauce that was somewhat spicy. I can't speak for the tartare (which Joe wasn't crazy about), but the snails were amazing. It wasn't at all like French escargot that I've had--with lots of garlic and butter. This was very light. The mushrooms in it was insane...so rich, they were like meat. For our entrees, Joe had lamb and I had duck with duck confit, served on bean cassoulet. Whenever I've had duck in the past (and its only been once or twice since I can remember) it's always been too greasy, but this was excellent. Very tender and flavorful. The presentation was also really beautiful, with the breastmeat cut into very uniform bits and drizzled with a thin and smokey sauce, and a duck leg resting on a little mound of the cassoulet. Then for the salad/cheese type course (heh :) I'm not nearly cultured enough to know what to call it) I had a salad with apples, candied walnuts and a type of blue cheese (I want to say it was called "blue sixty-five" but I unfortunately cannot remember anymore). It was absoulutely divine the way the flavors of the apples, cheese and nuts complemented each other. For a little between-course palatte cleanser, they brought apple sorbet in a orange sauce with a few happy pommegranate seeds floating about in it. I noticed that the menu had quite a few apple-related dishes made with north georgia apples--this, as well as my salad, and something else were made with local produce. The sorbet was cool and mild, and was really amazing with the tang of the orange glaze-y stuff it was in. The pomegranate was a lovely touch--the bright color was a nice contrast as far as presentation goes, and I love the taste of pomegranate as well--it's too bad it's such a hassle to eat on its own! We shared a plate of pettifors (I bet I'm not spelling that right) that were also presented very nicely--my favorite of which being a small coconut cream ball covered in very rich dark chocolate. ::gasp:: half a bite of absolute heaven! mmmmmm. For dessert, I decided on a chocolate souffle with bitter orange frozen yogurt. I had never had souffle before, so I wanted to try it. While it was very very delicious, I think I would have chosen something else if given the chance, not because there was anything wrong with my dessert, I just don't think I'm a huge souflet person. :) Joe had this incredibly rich-looking chocolate cake that looked wonderful, I would have liked to have gotten that, or perhaps their warm brown sugar cake with walnut icecream--my second choice. I also indulged in two glasses of wine, one with my appetizer and one with the cheese. They were both amazing, but writing about wine is even harder for me than writing about food. There's an entire vocabulary of words people use to talk about wine that I'm completely ignorant of because A) I don't drink a lot of wine and B) I don't know a lot of winesnobs :) I can tell you that they were both white, and both rather sweet. The one I had with the cheese was sparkling, and almost had the feeling of champagne because of it. The whole experience was terrific! Hands down the most interesting birthday dinner ever. :)

It was really really late when we finished with dinner...almost 11:30! Unfortunately, this made us a bit late for Rob and Cassie's holiday party, but we still got to stop in and see them, which was nice becayse they're just an incredibly nice and cool couple. I feel a little bit of a bond with Cassie without really knowing her that well because she's closer to my age than a lot of the people I've met through Joe. :)

After a few minutes at their apartment, we went over to The Highlander and Joe treated me to a birthday shot. He wanted me to try a chocolate cake, which I think he said was made with vanilla vodka and frangelico (correct me if I'm wrong, joe) and somehow mysteriously tasted like chocolate. Highlander doesn't have Frangelico, so they made something similar with hazelnut liqueur (I think). It didn't taste like chocolate, but it was tasty all the same. We had a shot of Jager as well, which I think is growing on me.

Wow, this has gotten really long...I doubt that anyone will read this all the way through. :) At any rate, I'll wrap this up now, because my session on the computer is almost over. Forgive misspellings and typos, as I don't feel like proofing this. Ta-ta! I'll update again when I get my computer at home hooked up...I've got lots to write about!!

rudeness

2003-12-15 / 12:20 p.m.

So I'm back in CobbCo...and hating every minute of it. :p It's a bit mysterious, but there's a point somewhere after you exit the perimeter and head into E. Cobb where the average level of human decency drops 50%. In my comings and goings today, I have encountered more rudeness than I could have ever imagined...No one says "please" or "thank you" or "excuse me" (unless in a deadpan tone because they're forced to by the retailers who employ them). The crowning moment to sour me on home happened in the grocery store. I managed to run into the one guy I dated in high school who I'm not still on good terms with. He works at the publix and was bagging my groceries. He had the nerve to comment on what I was buying (fruit, pita, and fat free cheese--seems harmless enough to me) and asked if I was dieting. Ummmmm, okay. Inappropriate question. He went on to tell me how lucky his girlfriend was, because she didn't have to diet, and could eat all the time and blah blah blah blah. Ug. It isn't like I really care what this guy thinks of me...I mean, he's a complete asslick, but it still bugged me. I was speechless at the time, but since I've thought of several tart things I could have said. bb...b..bb.bahstud. (Sorry...I've started re-reading All the King's Men :) heh.)

Driving has been trying as well. I've been cut off many, many times. I was caught in a narrow lane in a parking lot for, I shit you not, over five minutes behind some whore in a Lexus SUV waiting for a parking spot. There wasn't any room to go around her massive car, and I couldn't back up, because there were other unfortunate souls behind me. I made the mistake of trying to WALK to the library (where I am currently) and was nearly flattened. People are just not nice.

So I'm just chillin' here in the library, waiting for my visa pictures to be processed o'er at the camera store. I was going to borrow a Chuck Palahniuk book to start on, but CC Libraries don't have many copies of his books (go figure), and most of them have a realllllllyy long wait. :( What can I take to read in Boston.

Oh yeah! I'm going to Boston this week, from Tuesday to Friday in case I haven't told you! Probably be lots of good pictures afterwards. :)

huh?

2003-12-14 / 1:32 a.m.

Just taking a packing break before I pack up the ole' computer. I wish i had the time and energy to sit down and write about the past week...finals, my birthday, my real birthday, new developments with Argentina...but I just can't now. Give me a couple of days...tomorrow, monday, but for certain when I get home from bahston (if I even get to go, but that's another story as well).

I'm having trouble focusing now. I'm really out of it. Still functioning, but on a very detatched and distracted level. I'm burned out, and way low on sleep from my schedule being all fucked up this week. But I'll leave it at this: I'm finally done with this semester. wahoo.

ack!

2003-12-13 / 9:16 a.m.

In the home stretch...just one more paper to finish, the daunting task of packing up and moving out, and I'll be done. I've been so crazy busy, I haven't really been able to update. I would like to write some really kickass updates between Sunday when I get home, and Tuesday morning when I leave for boston (assuming my aunt gets my tickets to me).

one quick thing:

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday great. Though timing made me celebrate it in sections from last Saturday until yesterday (birthday week!), it's been great. There will be entries about some of the cumplea~os exploits soon.

.....

and finals suck.

That is all.

for now.

wish me luck.

If you can't get enough Ann Coulter...

2003-12-09 / 9:50 p.m.

You know you've found an unreliable and biased source when it's advertising the talking Ann Coulter action figure. BTW: I highly recommend clicking the link and looking at it...but maybe I'm just punchy.

Day of Lasts

2003-12-08 / 12:03 p.m.

Today is the last day of class for the semester. The last day of class I'll take at TheCollege until next fall. It's the last chance I have to talk to my globalization professor about the disasterous drug paper. I think I'll give him the really really really rough draft I've got to see what he thinks. I would say it's the last morning here that I'll get up insanely early (as I've said, the gym won't be open in the mornings)...but I'll hold off on that one. If it isn't stupidly cold tomorrow, I'll run outdoors.

Today is also the last day I'll be listing "20" as my age. The last day of the second decade of my life.

Ug...So sick of writing these papers.

Played with this for a couple of minutes to decompress. As of today:
I met Joe at the Bruce going away party about 199 days ago. I've been keeping this journal for 852 days. In 72 days, 18 hours, 6 minutes and 39 seconds my plane from Miami to Buenos Aires should be departing....

Okay, this is the last journal entry before I get more written on the drug paper.

This is what study breaks are made of

2003-12-07 / 9:13 a.m.

I don't generally do these kinds of things, but I saw it on Joe's LJ and thought that it would make an excellent study break.

Choose a band/artist and answer only in song titles by that band:: Cake
Are you female or male:: Pretty Pink Ribbon
Describe yourself:: I Will Survive
How do some people feel about you:: Never There
How do you feel about yourself:: Ain't No Good
Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend:: I Bombed Korea
Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend:: Love you Madly
Describe where you want to be:: The Distance
Describe what you want to be:: Short Skirt, Long Jacket
LyricsDescribe how you live:: Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
Describe how you love:: Haze of Love
Share a few words of wisdom:: Cool Blue Reason

Probably not the best band to use, but it's probably the only band for which I have a sufficient mastery of their albums. Okay, study break over. ::sigh::