So, other than a bittersweet trip to the Warhol museum, I have actually been up to some other mischief lately as well.
Easiest for my memory as the caffeine begins to seep in is going to be backwards chronology–as my brain wakes up I may remember what happened a few days ago…but lets start with today.
Today I go back to school. My class isn’t until 6pm, so I’m kind of hanging around until I take a bus downtown for school. I have mixed media today, which I am a bit excited about–I don’t know exactly what we are going to be doing, but I’m looking forward to finding out. On Thursday I have Typography.
Last night Briggs and I went grocery shopping, so I am currently enjoying a honey oatmeal bagel with home-made apple butter and melted provolone cheese. Awesome. Last night we also started watching a show called Moonlight, about a vampire P.I. and the woman he loves from a distance.
<–the blond chick is his unattainable love. She’s a dirt-digging reporter for a sleeze-peddling magazine. Also appearing in this show, in case this image wasn’t quite clear enough to tell is:
<–yup, for those of us who care, Jason Dohring is back, but rather than having his heart dragged around by a fickle Nancy Drew wanna-be, this time he’s a paranoid, super-successful L.A. vampire.
Only seen the pilot, but so far it was at least entertaining.
Also in media this week, I just finished reading:
This young adult book kept me more engaged than I expected, with more danger, death and passion than many books of the genre. The story is that of a young girl who has the hereditary ability to see creatures of the ‘otherworld’–fairies in all their beauty, horror, and nasty pranks they pull on people. She has been schooled all her life to ignore them studiously, but this becomes a problem when the king of the Summer Court decides that she is destined to be his queen, return his powers and save the world. Unfortunately for him, not only does she not like fairies, but she is already head-over-heels in love with someone else.
On Sunday night, Briggs and I splurged on dinner and a movie.
First we went to P.F. Chang’s, and having been there twice, that restaurant never fails to amaze me. The only thing that I have ever had a problem with there is the tiny tables. Those are a pain. Especially since the restaurant is technically Chinese, where people traditionally order a few dishes and share.
However, that was the ONLY thing I could complain about. Everything else was, if anything, better than I expected. The seared Ahi appetizer was of course amazing, and the roasted asparagus was good as well. Everything we got for dinner was amazing–delicious and not over flavored or greasy. I got veggies and tofu in a coconut curry sauce that rocked the house, and Briggs got Mongolian beef that I was hesitant about, but turned out to be amazing–crispy and sweet, but not cloying and gooey. Great flavor, great texture…and the noodle dish we got to share was just the thing.
<–coconut curry veggie dish from P.F. Chang’s
<–Mongolian Beef…this looks a bit sweeter and gooier than the dish we got.
What really put the cherry on top for me, however, was dessert. You know how, 9 times out of 10, you go out to dinner and by the time the server is trying to con you into dessert, you know that no matter how tempting ‘Mount Fudgeamanjaro’ looks, you’d be able to finish about two bites, three tops, before pushing the confection away? P.F. Chang’s has come up with a solution that I can only call ‘Genius’. They offer, along with a few full-sized desserts, a variety of ‘mini-desserts’…glasses about the size of double shot glasses full of a variety of different sweet choices (I believe they have 8 total.) for $2 a pop. They are near impossible to say no to — something sweet to finish off dinner with, but nothing too intimidating, either in size or cost. Briggs got a mini Great Wall of Chocolate, and I got a mini Tiramisu…and it was just the right amount. Exactly how much dessert I would want. All restaurants should start offering tiny dessert options.
After dinner we went to see the film adaptation of the memoir ‘Breaking Vegas’…
…the truish story of Ben, a broke but brilliant MIT student, trying to get into Harvard Medical but coming up short on funds. When his non-linear mathematics teacher (Kevin Spacey) recognizes his amazing brain abilities, he recruits Ben to special team of other math-smart students, a group that takes special field trips every weekend to Vegas to count cards at the Blackjack tables and win a bundle.
The story is somewhat predictable–money and power corrupt but in the end the main character learns his lesson–but an entertaining and enjoyable film none-the-less. I mean, Kevin Spacey is a lead roll! That pretty much protects it from being bad. I liked it and would watch it again.
And now, the biggest and most interesting news for last, a special treat for anyone who has bothered to read this far….
On Easter we went to Briggs’ parents house for dinner, and in the course of conversation mentioned that we were house hunting, hoping for something a little cheaper than what we have now…and maybe with a real kitchen.
Well, it turns out that Briggs’ parents have a place that they rent out pretty much just to family members, and there was a chance that the people staying there were getting ready to leave. Well, last weekend, we found out that they are, indeed, moving out, and we can move in there.
This place is a bit far out –to get to downtown would be like….from Santa Rosa to Novato or San Rafael. The place is actually the foundation for a house that Briggs’ parents didn’t actually finish building…it is the concrete foundation/first floor, built partly back into a hill, with a front wall that is basically all windows. It has about two times the size (not counting vertical) of the place we live now, two bedrooms with a third between the two that has basically been converted into 3 huge closets (one for each bedroom, one for coats, etc.).
Briggs’ parents charge enough to keep property taxes paid–about $75/month. This means that we might have enough money to…well, not have to buy so much ramen…occasionally go do stuff that costs money, like going to the zoo or museum…and depending on costs, I MIGHT be able to go to school full time.
Also, due to the fact that there are BEDROOMS, we will now have somewhere to put people if any of our wonderful friends come visit us! w00t!
Unfortunately, our lease here is up at the beginning of June, and that is also when the people living there already will be officially out. My school quarter, however, ends June 14. So we are thinking of asking our landlord if there might be a way to extend our lease for a month. So long as he doesn’t already have people lined up to move in here, it shouldn’t be a problem. We hope. Because trying to move and do my finals simultaneously could be a bit challenging.
