Salty Characters I've met in the Great State, #1-2 in a list

1. #4 Kite surfer in the world. I really thought this was some bullshit some guy was telling me in a bar, but I googled him and apparently it's true. Who knew? (No, it wasn't a kite surfing card. Apparently he moonlights as the general manager of the Omni. Again, who knew?)

2. Kazanovasex@hotmail.com. Um, who could have even begun to suggest that this was a good idea? He seemed like a nice enough person at the time (no, I did not sleep with him, for the record), but then found he was still logged onto his hotmail account on my computer. Kazanova. Sex. What more can I say.

I WON.

Don't get excited--it's just a dialogue with a hipster that I won, not anything worth having.

He, looking disdainfully through my iPod trying to find something he could tolerate, finally happened upon a single Andrew Bird song, a song I got free with my Austin City Limits ticket and have not yet listened to at all. And then sadly noticed, "You only have the one song."

I joked, "Yeah, I just have that one because I found the rest derivative."

He accepted this as valid!

New (to me) fried foods, #1-2 in a list

1. Oysters, having been marinated in pickle juice.

2. Avocado. Yes, seriously.

You say, "Wow, deep frying this already oil-laden substance really removes any possible health value."

I retort: "You say that like it's a bad thing."

My trip, in brief:

OK, I'm here now. And that is a fact about which I will be sure to write more later. First, however, a few bits and pieces on the interim.

--*Quitting my job was amazing. Pretty much the most fun I've had in a while. Or, I should say, I had had until I went on a monthlong trip to Italy.

The highlights:
It should surprise no one at all that mostly they related to food. I'll won't go on at too much length, as I'm now in the land of we-don't-even-have-a-french-restaurant.


It's well established that Barcelona is amazing. I did find shocking, however, the fact that there is actually an establishment that created a cheese plate so intense that Dacia and I actually failed to finish it. We were defeated intensely.



Fig gelato. Even thinking about it makes me speechless.


I can now affirm that I'm capable of ordering a $70 plate of ravioli. I am not, however, capable of fully enjoying it $70 worth. (See Cracco Peck, apparently the 42nd best restaurant in the world: http://www.theworlds50best.com/restaurants/restaurant_42.html.) In other overly considered food news, they also served me a Caprese Salad flavored jello. Seriously, tomato/basil gelatin with pieces of mozerella floating within. Fascinating.



I can now personally confirm that when you check "Yes" on the customs form in response to "Have you handled livestock?" Your bags will be searched. Thoroughly.

It is, apparently, possible for four people to spend so much time together that they can reduce every thought or sentiment they wish to convey to a "your mom" joke. The human spirit never ceases to amaze. (This has nothing to do with a baby lamb. But I can't format this otherwise.)




To quote some extra once on General Hospital,** "I just don't get that modern art."





*We'll note that while blogger has a shortcut command for Hindi translation, I have not discovered any capacity for bullet points. Or footnotes, for that matter. Or hyperlinks. I'm kindof starting to hate Blogger.
**When these sorts of phrases form in my mind, I begin to question my own validity as a person. Really.

My boss, on magistrates

"If you ain't the cowboy, you can't ride the horse."

Seriously.