Category: Personal

Or rather, the world. I’ve made it a point to avoid any semblance of American food while I’m in the big city. Thus far I’ve had:

• Curry from a fast food Indian/Pakastani place, with spinach and potatoes
• Plunderschnecke, a German pastry from an absolutely AMAZING German bakery. Plunderschnecke is a flaky pastry dough rolled with a vanilla custard, brushed with honey and nuts streusel. I nearly wept with joy when I had this.
• Brazilian Barbeque for lunch, where I was able to have everything from beef and pork to chicken hearts and alligator sausage
• Dinner at a Chilean Deli, where I had a pork sandwich with tomatoes and avocadoes, and an amazing caramel tort

My plan today is to have lunch at a Thai place called Lemongrass, and dinner at my hotel where I will finally be stuck with American food from Bambara. Of course, it has been voted the best restaurant in Salt Lake City, so I think that will be ok. 🙂

• Lunch at Lemongrass was incredible. I stuck with Pad Thai, partially because I like comparing the differences between how different restaurants flavor it. This one was nearly perfect…sweet/savory/spicy, with shrimp and chicken and egg blending with the noodles. The best part of the meal, though, was the Thai custard I had for dessert…small chilled custards on hot sticky rice made with coconut milk. The custard by itself wasn’t particularly sweet, but with the rice it was perfect. An excellent combination of hot and cold, with the smooth texture of the custard and the slightly chunky texture of the rice. I’m in food heaven.

EDIT: Because Justin asked: I’m in Salt Lake City for training on the SCT/Sungard product Luminis Content Management System which MTSU is adopting. I’m here to learn how to create, edit, and manage templates for the CMS. I’ll post more about that when it’s all sunk in and it’s not just a rant about proprietary systems and silly markup.

Just a few notes on my current abode: the Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City, Utah. Behold the pictures:

The lovely King sized bed.	One of the more interesting inclusions in the giftpack: the Intimacy Kit. It includes 2 prophylactics, 1 package lubricating jelly, and 2 obstetrical towelettes. I’m interested in the fact that 2 condoms are included, but only one package of lubricating jelly.	My new best friend. The Monaco will loan you a goldfish for your room to help you feel less lonely. I can’t say that the goldfish is as cuddly as either Betsy or my kitties, but it’ll do in a pinch.

The interesting giftpack at the door. I don’t really need the stuffed goldfish, but it is an interesting selection of candy and such. Props for the Altoids, the Jelly Belly’s, and for including a bunch of locally made foods.	The cool-as-hell cheetah print terrycloth robe.

My mother’s father was born in 1920, and served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Yellowstone National Park, where he once had a bear walk through his tent. He worked for dozens of years at a garment factory in Olive Hill, KY, producing uniforms for the various armed services. At the funeral of my grandmother, some 15 or so years ago, he broke down over the casket and weeped until I thought he could have no tears left. Growing up, he was always a gentle, kind man. Just last year my Mother visited him to find him on the roof of his house, checking for leaks.

My Grandfather went into the hospital today for pneumonia…and at 84, even a common cold is a serious thing. So I’m a little preoccupied with worrying about him. The hospital assures us that he’s recovering, and that most of the danger has past. His fever has broken, and x-rays show the infection seems to be localized in a small part of his left lung. He is conscious, and coherent, and in good spirits.

But I’m still going to worry until he gets home.

This time it’s all my fault. The weekend was spent in Anaheim, CA, attending GenCon SoCal for the first time. Got a good deal on the trip, so I decided to head out and help out running the booth and tournaments for Comic Images. While there, I picked up a couple of Utilikilts, some of the coolest clothing ever. At some point I’m sure there will be kilted pictures, but not today. 🙂

This week is back to work, trying to wrap up old projects and get into new ones. The tech here at MTSU is less than cutting edge, and we’re fixing the sins of the past about half the time. But it’s still going well…I like the people I work with, and aside from the drive it’s a great job.

Next weekend we’re heading to B’s family, to help her dad do some Xmas shopping. Seems like we haven’t had a weekend without an event in so long…don’t remember the last time the two of us were home together on a weekend.

Last night we got the chance to see Ryan Adams perform in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The Ryman was amazing…such history in that place! Originally the Union Gospel Tabernacle, it opened its doors in 1892 , and the pews that were installed then are still in use today.

Ryan’s performance was amazing…he performed with a backup band, The Cardinals. My only problem was with the encore. I was hoping for something rockin’ to send us out, but we got a very low-key encore. However, in honor of the Ryman, he ended with a beautiful acoustic version of Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone.”

All in all, a great night seeing a performance of an artist we didn’t actually think we’d ever get to see, given his random touring history.