Gigantic post of weekend awesomeness!
But to start, ow. Ow, I think I broke myself. I feel like I've pulled every single muscle in my body in the last four days. Seriously, the muscles in my arms and hands are so tight that I'm having a little bit of a problem with typing. Plans for tonight definitely include collapsing in the bathtub for a long hot soak. Eeesh.
Spent Wednesday night with Jenny and Shaun at Sky Lounge downtown. Cute little lounge place, awful quasi-European house music for dancing. I dunno, I generally prefer something a little more raucous unless I'm in the mood for super swank. But the company was good, and much fun was had.
Went home for dinner on Thursday. Was quizzed at length about my current dating situation, which I think was a bit much for my mom to wrap her brain around. I don't see much point in lying about my life, as I think that implies some degree of shame, and I'm totally okay with my life and my choices. Better than okay, in fact. But she seemed okay with it, too, so go team mom. We had our annual ritual sacrifice (with pie), and we each gave our thanks. I, for one, gave thanks that my sister remembered to wear an actual shirt to dinner, as opposed the the thin sheer red braless rhinestone-studded hand-towel-plus-random-strings top she wore to Christmas dinner. Oh white trash family, never change. I also hung out with Rachel, my brother's fiancée. She's really awesome and funny, and I'm glad that they decided on a long engagement. In fact, I seem to have my awesome brother back, as opposed to the weird post-adolescent jackass who'd taken his place the last few years. So that's good. Best moment of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade: giant floating Jeff Koons bunny.
We had dessert at the house of many babies (my cousins have gone on a total reproductive spree in the last few years). I played nice with the kidlets and showed them how to make Play Doh snakes. I also made Play Doh unicorn poo. We then went to my uncle's for drinks, and he was being a total jackass, so I made a point to tell him so. Oh, family. We were doing so well until then. Fortunately, everybody else pretty much thinks he's a jackass, too, so I wasn't really in the minority, sentiment-wise. I mean, he told Rachel that she shouldn't marry my brother until he buys her a bigger ring. And she picked out her own ring. This guy clearly majored in douchebaggery. Went home with the bro and we were nerdy about Elizabethan history. I give thanks that there is someone else in my family with an education and a license to geek.
Friday, I embarked for NYC. I took the Chinatown bus up, which was confusingly un-marked but otherwise non-skeevy. I have never heard so many languages at once. I settled down and laughed at some Laurell K. Hamilton pr0n. Arrived in NYC ahead of schedule, where I was met by
texmorgan. We did some chilling, watching Top Secret (which I found surprisingly funny), before he left for work, and I did some hip drills and watched Amadeus. We had midnight dinner at 7A-- yummy lemony garlicky tomatoey cheesy pasta goodness.
Saturday was sleeping in, then brunch at B Bar with Tex and his friend Alex. I liked the décor-- greenhouse meets urban meets Asian. I had yummy nut and berry pancakes, then we went to Babeland to peruse the wares. I got one of the special candles in a mango vanilla, plus a few other odds and ends. The cone? It mystifies me. Anyway. We went back home to chill, trade backrubs, and watch State and Main before heading to Ninja.
Let me say this about Ninja: it was total culinary debauchery. A long, decadent food orgasm. Here's what we had:
Aside from the amazing food, the presentation was very friendly and fun. We had ninjas jumping out at us ("Why aren't you scared?" one ninja asked. "You've never met my mother," I replied). We had ninjas attacking with swords to take away our plates. All of the menus were on scrolls. The private table-for-two was enclosed and hidden away, with a faux rock-wall dripping in greenery. We even had a table-side magician. It was an incredibly special meal, and my thanks to Tex for taking me. After dinner, we took a walk around City Hall and up over the Brooklyn Bridge. I oohed and aahed at the lights, and Tex turned into a giant Texcicle. We then went to Otto's Shrunken Head, a rockabilly tiki bar where the women were dressed and coiffed within an inch of their pinup-loving lives. There was a band playing that had great instrumentals (I love punk rockabilly double bass), but disappointing vocals. Boo to that, but everything else was very cool.
Sunday, we got up for bagels, then headed to the batting cages at Chelsea Piers with Tex's friend, Mike. I was a little worried that I'd lost my batting-fu in years of non-playing, but I seem to have done quite nicely for myself. Little-known secret? I used to be a jock. Six years of all-state ball. Shh, don't tell. Anyway, I broke an aluminum bat, which I don't think is supposed to happen. But overall, I was pleased that I didn't embarrass myself. We then went to Lush, where I picked up some Ocean Salt and a Holiday bubble bar, 'cause I'm a glitter fanatic and red glitter was just too cool to pass up. Though with few exceptions (Jingle Spells!), I've forsworn Lush bombs for Fantasy Bath ones, some of the newer bombs were really neat, and I want to try the Silver Clouds and Geo Phyzz... is Bling Crosby any good? Anywho, then it was off to Mud Coffeehouse for a snack before winding things down. I got to meet Tex's cool roommates, then he escorted me to my bus. Overall, it was an awesome, awesome weekend, and I'm excited that I'll be back in NYC in just a mere two weeks.
I came home to a fun package frompallid_regina from my Wishlist swap-- awesome yarn hairfalls to wear to my performance next weekend, armwarmers, and a wonderful letter. I see the start of a beautiful pen pal relationship.
But oh, this morning, I am feeling every muscle in my body. I think it was the batting cage that did me in. I also had cracktastic dreams involving me singing Pamina in The Magic Flute, only every time I tried to sing, my mouth was filled with cookie dough. Uhh. Also, for some reason, Jared Padalecki was playing Tamino, and he was very irritated at my inability to do my lines. Brain, WTF?
I also pre-ordered Asharah's Instructional DVD, and if you bellydance, you're probably going to want to do that, too. Dooo eeeet!
I think that's everything that's fit to print... note to self, watch the Ten Inch Hero preview and download BSG: Razor.
Spent Wednesday night with Jenny and Shaun at Sky Lounge downtown. Cute little lounge place, awful quasi-European house music for dancing. I dunno, I generally prefer something a little more raucous unless I'm in the mood for super swank. But the company was good, and much fun was had.
Went home for dinner on Thursday. Was quizzed at length about my current dating situation, which I think was a bit much for my mom to wrap her brain around. I don't see much point in lying about my life, as I think that implies some degree of shame, and I'm totally okay with my life and my choices. Better than okay, in fact. But she seemed okay with it, too, so go team mom. We had our annual ritual sacrifice (with pie), and we each gave our thanks. I, for one, gave thanks that my sister remembered to wear an actual shirt to dinner, as opposed the the thin sheer red braless rhinestone-studded hand-towel-plus-random-strings top she wore to Christmas dinner. Oh white trash family, never change. I also hung out with Rachel, my brother's fiancée. She's really awesome and funny, and I'm glad that they decided on a long engagement. In fact, I seem to have my awesome brother back, as opposed to the weird post-adolescent jackass who'd taken his place the last few years. So that's good. Best moment of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade: giant floating Jeff Koons bunny.
We had dessert at the house of many babies (my cousins have gone on a total reproductive spree in the last few years). I played nice with the kidlets and showed them how to make Play Doh snakes. I also made Play Doh unicorn poo. We then went to my uncle's for drinks, and he was being a total jackass, so I made a point to tell him so. Oh, family. We were doing so well until then. Fortunately, everybody else pretty much thinks he's a jackass, too, so I wasn't really in the minority, sentiment-wise. I mean, he told Rachel that she shouldn't marry my brother until he buys her a bigger ring. And she picked out her own ring. This guy clearly majored in douchebaggery. Went home with the bro and we were nerdy about Elizabethan history. I give thanks that there is someone else in my family with an education and a license to geek.
Friday, I embarked for NYC. I took the Chinatown bus up, which was confusingly un-marked but otherwise non-skeevy. I have never heard so many languages at once. I settled down and laughed at some Laurell K. Hamilton pr0n. Arrived in NYC ahead of schedule, where I was met by
texmorgan. We did some chilling, watching Top Secret (which I found surprisingly funny), before he left for work, and I did some hip drills and watched Amadeus. We had midnight dinner at 7A-- yummy lemony garlicky tomatoey cheesy pasta goodness.Saturday was sleeping in, then brunch at B Bar with Tex and his friend Alex. I liked the décor-- greenhouse meets urban meets Asian. I had yummy nut and berry pancakes, then we went to Babeland to peruse the wares. I got one of the special candles in a mango vanilla, plus a few other odds and ends. The cone? It mystifies me. Anyway. We went back home to chill, trade backrubs, and watch State and Main before heading to Ninja.
Let me say this about Ninja: it was total culinary debauchery. A long, decadent food orgasm. Here's what we had:
Toh - Lychee juice cocktail, with champagne and a lychee. Sooo good. It was sweet in a way that complimented the meals, without being too thick. Also, I love lychee, so this was pretty much a guaranteed winner for me.
Sha - Muddled strawberries, mango, lime, and spearmint with Bacardi Rum and a splash of soda. Essentially, a super fancy mojito with strawberries and mango. 'Twas tasty.
Floating Sashimi - Three different sashimi specially selected by the chef. We got salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. The selections were absolutely perfect, and this was one of the art dishes that misted thick dry ice smoke across our table as we dined. I am also happy to report that the wasabi was up to snuff. I have become a bit of a wasabi snob.
Magic Cauldron - Diced tuna marinated with wasabi and soy sauce, citrus marinated crab meat, along with avocado and tomato. You dump this upside down then mix it with the fried potato crisps surrounding the avocado. Again, great presentation, and very tasty. A good mix of citrusy-tuna and crispy texture.
Batto Jutsu - Sea scallop and salmon, layered with a light mix of fresh edamame, grape fruit, cherry tomato, water shield and cucumber, served with coriander sauce and citrus sauce. Another art dish-- when you pull the short sword from the grapefruit, mist spills forth. God, the citrus in this one just made the dish.
Sushi Rolls - Spicy tuna roll and eel avocado roll. This is the first eel roll I've actually liked, and the spicy tuna roll was also fabulous.
Ninja Crab Cake - Snow crab, white fish, shallot and green paprika served with fresh lemon, chili mayonnaise and wasabi tartar sauce. Again, just absolutely stunning, and I consider myself a crab snob, being from Baltimore and all. Having crab served sans Old Bay is rarely satisfying for me, but the addition of the fish and prominent herbs, plus the incredibly tasty chili mayo made this one amazing. Layers upon layers of different flavors, all balanced so well.
T-Bone Steak - U.S. prime t-bone steak prepared in wasabi sauce served with onion cajun tempura and potato au gratin. Dear Thanksgiving Fairy, thank you for finally blessing me with a dude who a) not only eats seafood, but b) loves his steak still bloody and mooing. We had our steak rare. I may have moaned in ecstasy. And the wasabi sauce? Ohhhhhh. Wow. This course was mostly eaten in the kind of satisfied silence that often accompanies the afterglow of great sex.
Bon Sai - Designed as a beautiful bonsai tree, tiramisu with a twisted sugar palmier. I was a bigger fan of this than Tex, but then again, I love tiramisu. This was beautifully done-- a pastry-and-sugar bonsai tree rising out of what was essentially tiramisu dirt cake. Yumm.
Rose Chocolate - Chaud Froid served with four layers of chocolate, flan, cream, sorbet and caramelized mousse. Accompanied by a rose flower sitting in rose-infused mist. Sex, take 2. I mean, really. It was like brownie batter, frosting, and cream filling all rolled up in an amazing cup, with strawberries and starfruit for dipping.
Aside from the amazing food, the presentation was very friendly and fun. We had ninjas jumping out at us ("Why aren't you scared?" one ninja asked. "You've never met my mother," I replied). We had ninjas attacking with swords to take away our plates. All of the menus were on scrolls. The private table-for-two was enclosed and hidden away, with a faux rock-wall dripping in greenery. We even had a table-side magician. It was an incredibly special meal, and my thanks to Tex for taking me. After dinner, we took a walk around City Hall and up over the Brooklyn Bridge. I oohed and aahed at the lights, and Tex turned into a giant Texcicle. We then went to Otto's Shrunken Head, a rockabilly tiki bar where the women were dressed and coiffed within an inch of their pinup-loving lives. There was a band playing that had great instrumentals (I love punk rockabilly double bass), but disappointing vocals. Boo to that, but everything else was very cool.
Sunday, we got up for bagels, then headed to the batting cages at Chelsea Piers with Tex's friend, Mike. I was a little worried that I'd lost my batting-fu in years of non-playing, but I seem to have done quite nicely for myself. Little-known secret? I used to be a jock. Six years of all-state ball. Shh, don't tell. Anyway, I broke an aluminum bat, which I don't think is supposed to happen. But overall, I was pleased that I didn't embarrass myself. We then went to Lush, where I picked up some Ocean Salt and a Holiday bubble bar, 'cause I'm a glitter fanatic and red glitter was just too cool to pass up. Though with few exceptions (Jingle Spells!), I've forsworn Lush bombs for Fantasy Bath ones, some of the newer bombs were really neat, and I want to try the Silver Clouds and Geo Phyzz... is Bling Crosby any good? Anywho, then it was off to Mud Coffeehouse for a snack before winding things down. I got to meet Tex's cool roommates, then he escorted me to my bus. Overall, it was an awesome, awesome weekend, and I'm excited that I'll be back in NYC in just a mere two weeks.
I came home to a fun package from
pallid_regina from my Wishlist swap-- awesome yarn hairfalls to wear to my performance next weekend, armwarmers, and a wonderful letter. I see the start of a beautiful pen pal relationship. But oh, this morning, I am feeling every muscle in my body. I think it was the batting cage that did me in. I also had cracktastic dreams involving me singing Pamina in The Magic Flute, only every time I tried to sing, my mouth was filled with cookie dough. Uhh. Also, for some reason, Jared Padalecki was playing Tamino, and he was very irritated at my inability to do my lines. Brain, WTF?
I also pre-ordered Asharah's Instructional DVD, and if you bellydance, you're probably going to want to do that, too. Dooo eeeet!
I think that's everything that's fit to print... note to self, watch the Ten Inch Hero preview and download BSG: Razor.