Things have gotten a bit out of control

Now, I've never been one to be ashamed of my love of Starbucks, as you all know (a certain poem comes to mind...) However, recently things have spun wildly out of control. I got two of my co-works -- we'll call them N and J -- hooked on the stuff too. J is especially bad -- he gets a venti latte (I usually stick with a grande). Recently we've taken to making Starbucks a daily trip. I'll even admit that there have been days that it has happened twice. I'm officially a gold member with my gift card. Not good for our wallets or our waistlines. So, we collectively decided that Wednesdays would be 'no Starbucks' day. And I have to tell you, I'm jonesing hard right now. I understand that it is just because I've been told (even if just by myself) that I can't have any, but it is all I'm think about. My brain is going "Starbucks...Starbucks...STARBUCKSSTARBUCKSSTARBUCKS!" My hands are jittery. I can barely type.

It doesn't help that today I got an e-mail that a free drink has been loaded onto my gift card.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Birthday bash follow-up

I know, I know. I left you all hanging in that last post with promises to update again shortly…and now it’s a week later. A full, busy, chaotic, awesome week later, as I am about to expound on.

Obviously, the first order of business is to finish up the Chez Panisse post. Well, in case you couldn’t guess, the evening with capped off with me meeting Alice Waters. I know. I know! It was epic. I’d heard that she’s not at the restaurant all that much these days – after all, she practically has an empire to run. So I wasn’t expecting to see her at all. And then I spotted her early in the meal, stopping at various tables to chat. Alex and I began to notice something kind of weird – it seemed like everyone at the tables around us seemed to know each other, and Ms. Waters was kind of sticking with that group. Finally we deduced (well, a nice fellow at the table next to us explained) that it was a staff reunion night, which was why Alice was there in the first place and why they all seemed to know each other—because they did! Then, right before dessert, she stopped by our table and asked how everything was!!!! We chatted for maybe a total of 30 seconds, but they were an awesome 30 seconds. Alex commented afterwards that he was impressed with how composed I remained. Inside I was totally freaking out, to be sure. Anyway, it was a pretty excellent ending to an already fantastic meal.

But the birthday extravaganza didn’t stop there! Oh no, there was much more to come. First, Alex and I saw Bruce Springsteen that Friday night, and it was just an awesome show – I mean, Bruce never disappoints. And. And! He sang “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” If you know me at all, you know what a big deal this was. BRUUUUUCE!

So then came my actual birthday last Tuesday. The last two birthdays Danielle and I have gone to Boston and ate lobster, so I was originally thinking that maybe this year would be kind of quite in comparison. Well, then Chez Panisse and Bruce happened, so there went that theory. But I still wasn’t expecting much else, especially on the day itself. Wrong again! The guys at work took me out to lunch at an adorable little French bistro in the city, followed by cake and champagne back at the office. Then a bunch of “the gang” went out to a very good Vietnamese place in Oakland (Le Chavel). It was a fun day.

And then. AND THEN. Everyone at work (which is a total of five people, myself included) went to Disneyland for a couple days. True story. An epic birthday all around. Let’s hope that this means that 26 is going to be an epic year. It’s off to a very good start.

Updates, updates, updates

Wow, I have so much I want to share. I am feeling rather exuberant today due to some exciting news I got at work. Everyone at the paper knows that I have an interest in food and that I hope to make a career out of it someday (hopefully sooner rather than later). We have a weekly “Dining Out” section that is really just an overview of area restaurant, and it also includes “Chef’s Corner” (a seasonal recipe submitted by a local chef) and “Local Dish,” a weekly restaurant review. The section hasn’t really received its deserved attention since before I started working here, mostly due to an ongoing string of staffing issues. Well, guess who’s now in charge of this section? (Like you really have to guess). Each week I’ll visit a local restaurant and have lunch or dinner (on them, of course) and then review my experience in a positive light – we are a very positive paper. This is a big step for me – it will provide me with a great portfolio of clips directly related to my career aspirations. Yay!
And in other news….
A few days ago I watched Food, Inc. I know, I know, I am so behind the times – that movie came out years ago. But anyway, I finally got around to seeing it and it was really eye opening and inspiring. As an animal lover, I do sometimes struggle with my love of meat (roast chicken…Thanksgiving turkey…a juicy mushroom and Swiss burger…). I have always kind of justified it by thinking that these animals were raised specifically for this purpose, and that thought did provide some comfort. However, I never really thought about how the animals were treated prior to ending up on my dinner plate. I’ve mentioned before that I do not eat veal for this reason, but for whatever reason, it never spilled over into other types of livestock. Now, of course, my eyes are wide open. I am not ready to become a vegetarian, and I doubt I’ll ever be, but I have strengthened my resolve to only shop for organic, free range, grass fed (etc.) varieties of meat. I already buy organic milk and eggs for health reasons – I do not want extra hormones in my diet – so this isn’t a big leap for me. I’ll keep you updated.
Finally, a quick shout out to the Lenox Farmers’ Market! What a great market – small, but in an ideal location and with a wide variety of offerings. They always have abundant seasonal fruit (like I even need to mention my feelings on that) as well as flowers, baked goods, crafts, veggies, honey, syrup…this list goes on. I love visiting the market Friday afternoons and stocking up for a weekend of treats!