Wednesday, August 08, 2007

One Hundred Years of Not Blogging

It feels that way, doesn't it?

It's been a little more than a month since I last wrote in here. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: it's not that I'm not writing...I'm just not writing here. Yelp has become the chronicle of my life.

A lot has happened in a month. My life has changed in this way, really; I think my months used to be a little more staid. In July, I had dinner with a couple who live in Pasadena (of course, I met them on Yelp) and fell head over heels into friendship. Michael and Wendy are two of the awesomest people ever. We see each other about twice a week and have been going bike riding at least one of those times each week. Yes, they have made exercise fun for me. We are not just bike riding; we're off on trails by JPL and they are pushing me to go on more difficult terrain, which is scary and fun at the same time. I am certain I will end up eaten by a mountain lion, but it's definitely an exciting way to die, so I guess I can't complain.

My best friend had heart surgery and lived, which was good. I nearly died myself from the stress of waiting 7 1/2 hours for him to come out. Thank God his mom was there; we kept each other from going crazy during the wait. It's amazing that medical science has advanced so far that someone can have a procedure done on their heart and walk out of the hospital the next day.

I spent a week in DC for work, which was busy but also really fulfilling. I had a good time there and was able to reconnect with colleagues from across the country who I hardly ever see. Lucky for me, DC has some great food and bars, but the best part was work-related. My organization lobbied on the Hill in support of SCHIP and though the President threatened a veto of the legislation, both the House and the Senate passed bills by veto-proof majorities. Talk about a goddamned good day!

I also tried Craft, the new Tom Colicchio restaurant (a familiar name if you watch Top Chef) - AMAAAAAAAAZING. I can't recommend it highly enough. The pork belly alone is reason enough to go. This Friday, Michael, Wendy, and I, along with a friend of mine, are going to Osteria Mozza, the new Mario Batali/Nancy Silverton restaurant. I am incredibly thrilled and already have a list of things to order (Grilled Octopus; Grilled Figs; Orecchiette with Sausage and Swiss Chard ; Agnolotti, Burro e Salvia; Bombolini...okay, maybe I can't order all this, but there WILL be four of us eating!) I am hoping to also try Pizzeria Mozza, the more casual Mozza featuring, obviously, pizza.

I also tried my hand at acting and attended a prom (for Yelp, OF COURSE!) at which I was named Class Clown. Much more on those two items in future posts.

On a less exciting note, I saw a few movies - Paprika, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Knocked Up, and Ratatouille. I would recommend Paprika for the sheer amazingness of the animation of household items come to life marching around in a crazy parade. It wasn't the best animated film I've ever seen, but it was visually quite cool. Pirates 3 - eh, it was okay. Not as good as I had hoped, and not as bad as Hollywood could have done. Keith Richards was pretty funny. Now, Knocked Up I thought was solid - I laughed out loud, I shrieked in terror at the "crowning" scene, and Katherine Heigl is gorgeous. But of all the movies I saw, the one that stood out most was Ratatouille. If you haven't yet seen it, is a foodie's dream movie. It was funny, smart, and showed a reverence for cooking that I don't imagine we'll see again in an animated film. I totally loved it.

Seriously, I'm exhausted just reading this post...and this isn't even the half of it; it's just the highlights. Life is good and I am happy. How about you?

1 comment:

10 lbs of awesome in a 5 lb bag said...

"It's amazing that medical science has advanced so far that someone can have a procedure done on their heart and walk out of the hospital the next day."

Wow, walked out the next day? That's impressive. I was in the hospital for 6 days when I had open heart surgery.

I know that you don't know me, and imagine that you don't really care about the comment, but I felt compelled to write it, because it made a whole host of semi-repressed seven year old memories come flooding back to me. Glad that your friend is ok, and hope that he has a speedy recovery.