 |
June 2, 2000 |
|
Well, Pam is off to Maine this weekend. I have have
been left to contend with just my friends and I… not that it's
that bad really.
I had lunch plans with some friends of mine. Today it would be Tom, Scott, Dave, and Kenny. We were celebrating Dave's divorce which was now final. Funny thing how life is, we have gotten to the point where we're celebrating divorce.
We went to Hooters, of course. Not that I mind so much, but that seems to be where we always go. Kenny ordered a sandwich the way he always does, but the rest of us had chicken wings. We ordered the plate of fifty wings. I've said it many times before, Hooters does have exceptional chicken wings.
We, as a group, were particularly rowdy today. If you can say that even for Hooters. Naturally, I'm well behaved, but the rest of the guys were a little… restless. Kenny and I have a theory that having Scott in the group is typically the catalyst for the conversation to take a quick direction south. I think that we have to do some more observational studies with objective, quantitative ways to measure both the frequency and the lewdness of the conversations.
I realize that many of the waitresses are used to some sexist behavior from the men clientele, and are even used to many of the men looking and glaring. However, I must admit that I find it a little inappropriate and embarassing when my friends are making these comments within earshot of our waitress.
It's just a tad disrespectful.
I had plans with Len tonight. We talked about getting dinner and a movie, but other than that and possibly the time, we didn't have anything more specific in mind… not that we ever do.
We talked sometime in the afternoon and we had finalized our plans, for the movie anyway… we were going to see Shanghai Noon, which is the new Jackie Chan movie. Our dinner plans would revolve around the movie. We made plans to see the movie at Redmond Town Center, and there were a number of restaurants nearby.
As we were leaving, I got a phone call from Aileen. She is thinking about moving jobs and wanted some advice; I suppose she may not be a rocket scientist anymore. We talked briefly about what she could ask for other than salary… benefits, more vacation time, etc. She seems to have gotten a fair deal to begin with, so she seems happy. I think she really knew that she would accept the offer, but she just wanted someone else to listen to the details to confirm. I was more than happy to do this for her. We finished our conversation shortly after that.
Meanwhile, Len and I were driving to Redmond Town Center, we decided to go to Thai Ginger for dinner. Neither of us had dined there before, however, he had heard good things about it. It was within walking distance from the movie theater. We had about one and a half hours until the movie, which should be plenty of time for dinner; the one thing that we didn't count on was the possible wait for seating. Why would we? This is not Seattle.
As it so happens, there was a wait, but only for the larger tables. Len and I were able to get a table right away. The decor was nice… a quiet mingle between Asian and American styles, the lighting was low tone and pleasant, not so dark where you couldn't see anything.
We ordered the springrolls for an appetizer. Len ordered the chicken Massamun (which they didn't list with chicken, but they were happy to make); I ordered the chicken curry.
Len and I seem to play this game with the springrolls. When they first come out to the table, I always eat one immediately and tell Len that they're not hot. Whether or not they're actually hot is inconsequential, you understand. And more than once I have managed to burn my tongue doing this. There was even one time when I had told him that, "They're not hot." before I had even picked one up and eaten it. Len's role in this is that he always waits for a few minutes before having his first one. I know… silly dinner games.
Both dishes were very good. I preferred the sweetness of the sauce of the massamun better than the curry, as well as the consistency of the sauce. The curry was very soupy, which is okay, but it doesn't quite appeal to me as much. I think part of the reason is because I like to mix it with the steamed rice, and I don't like the mixture to be too runny. I know I'm getting picky in my old age.
I also had the coconut ice cream for dessert, which was quite nice. The ice cream itself had some slivers of coconut in it and it had a good texture. The ice cream itself was probably a little better than the ice cream in Shamiana's coconut ice cream pie, but the pie itself is a better total dessert package. It had something to do with the chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and the graham cracker crumb crust.
Pam had called during dinner, which I missed since the resturant was a little loud. It wasn't the area code in Maine, which seemed a bit strange to me. I tried to call that number back, but it said that the number was inaccessible. I tried calling the hotel where she'd be staying, but she had not checked in yet.
Len and I went to the movie.
How was Shanghai Noon? Well, it was a Jackie Chan movie, that's probably the best description. I hate to think about it this way, but he has little range. Maybe he gets typecast into such roles. Maybe part of it is the idea that Asian men can't play anything but Asian roles involving martial arts. I don't know. The movie was good. Certainly worth the price of admission. I suppose maybe I didn't disappoint me because my expectations really weren't that high. It is a Western and a Jackie Chan movie, that pretty much describes the movie.
I was able to get in touch with Pam. Actually, I had gotten a phone message right before the movie started, where she told me that there was a delay to the final leg of her flight. She ended up getting to Maine pretty late. I called her to see how she was doing, she seemed to be doing okay, though maybe a bit tired. We only chatted for a few minutes.
June 2, 2000