QOTD: "If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement." - Jimmy Carter
Reading: Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity: Detective
Listening to: Paris Combo, Attraction
Decluttering accomplishments: I'm about halfway through a thorough cleanout of the file drawer I use for assorted clippings and magazine articles and the like
The title of this entry is really apropos of nothing, but I was channel flipping at the hotel the other night and caught a brief bit of some HBO show that is far too explicit to be aired at 9 p.m.. The guy who had invented the device in question exhibited it on the street in New York and that's even more questionable. I'm not particularly shockable but there are community standards to consider.
Which brings me to a news article that completely appalled me. The city council of Garden Grove, California - which is maybe 30 miles away from here - has placed a moratorium on permits for new cybercafes. Apparently there has been a major crime problem at the 19 existing cybercafes. One hears about internet related crime, of course, but the problem they were talking about was far more violent and, apparently, gang-related. An attack with baseball bats and two stabbings (one fatal) are hardly what I would associate with cybercafes.
As for my own news, first of all, I've got a draft of my Ecuador travelogue up. I'm not planning to make any real changes to it, but I need time after writing something before I can proofread it without seeing what I intended to write instead of what I actually wrote. Of course, if you turn up any obvious errors, let me know!
Most of my week was spent in Boulder. I could have lived without the icy drive on Wednesday morning, but the rest of the trip was fine. My meetings were moderately frustrating, particularly when Thursday morning seemed to start with undoing everything we had accomplished on Wednesday. But it could have been far worse. At least we finished early enough on Thursday that I had time to run over to High Crimes book and stock up more on mysteries. It's not as if I had actually finished the last batch I bought there, but my stash was getting low.
But it had obviously been a while since I'd taken a business trip. For one thing, I forgot to check the rental car for an ice scraper. Of course, they hadn't given me one - which is why it snowed. The even stupider thing I forgot was my suit jacket. I remedied that by a quick trip to Flatirons Crossing, a large mall in Broomfield, where I found a suitable sweater on sale. While I was there, I had dinner at Il Fornaio, which may be chain Italian food but is edible chain Italian food.
My best meal of the trip was dinner at Zolo on Wednesday night. They have a new menu and, while they do still have my beloved ahi, I experimented and got a cup of soup (a chicken chili - very nice with lots of cilantro, spicy but not extreme) and a crab cake appetizer as my main course. That left me with enough room for the mocha creme brulee for dessert. That worked out better than the next night, when I ate at The Med. I enjoyed sipping a campari and soda (hard to find in Colorado) with my salad, but the vegetarian paella I ordered would have been enough food for three meals.
By the way, my reading for the trip was Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. That may not be the best choice when one is forced to eat in restaurants, but it was thoroughly absorbing. Just don't invite me out to brunch for the foreseeable future, please. (Bourdain claims brunch involves the least competent cooks and all the marginal leftover ingredients.)
Back at home, my weekend has been completely filled with errands and housework. I picked up some needlework at the finishers and was quite pleased with the framing job. I'd had a pillow down there, too, which came out very well. I particularly liked it when another customer complimented me on my work, since the pillow was my own design - an arrangment of Scotch stitch squares I did to use up odd scraps of yarn. While I was at the shop, I noticed some very pretty turquoise yarn and had her order me a bag to knit a sweater from. Like I don't have enough of a stash already!
Then I delivered two of the postcards I'd gotten from the post office barrel on Floreana Island. This goes back to the whaling days. People leave cards to be picked up by other folks passing by and hand delivered. Unfortunately, the guy they were for wasn't actually in his office, so I don't have a great story to pass along. But I have a couple to bring to Washington, D.C. this week, so may have something better to relate then.
Today was more self-indulgent. I had one free movie coupon left (my mother gets them from refund offers and sends them to me as she never goes to movies) and sort of wanted to see The Count of Monte Cristo, since I love that book dearly. Or, at least, I love the Classic Comics version I read umpty ump times while I was growing up. Unfortunately, the theatre where that was playing wouldn't take the coupon, since I'd forgotten to take the accompanying letter that lists all the chains it's valid at. So I went to see Lantana instead. It wasn't dreadful, but it was rather slow-paced and not enough happened to justify it being two hours long. I treated myself to a few new CDs (including new ones by Paris Combo and by Jonathan Richman) at HEAR Music and to a couple of toys, as well. And, oh, I also managed to buy my very favorite herbal tea in the world (Twining's black currant, ginseng and vanilla) at Tudor House and indulged in a Nestle Pepperment Crisp bar while I was there.
Slowly, life returns to post vacation mode.
Copyright 2002 Miriam H. Nadel