August 2006

Since Wendy had rehearsal tonight, I stopped by a new Chinese restaurant that has opened on my way home. I got an order of their house Fried Rice, some fried wontons, and a spring roll. Everything was pretty good, nothing special, but I appreciate the convenience of the location, so will probably eat there from time to time.

After experiencing the petering-out of the second half of HEAT by Bill Buford, I’ve moved on to HAUNTED by Chuck Palahniuk. It’s got a scary-looking cover with a secret — it glows in the dark! Thematically, the book is about as far away from HEAT as you can get (from the back of the book): “Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three horrifying, hilarious, and stomach-churning stories. They’re told by people who have answered an ad for a writer’s retreat and unwittingly joined a “Survivor”-like scenario where the host withholds heat, power, and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate, their tales become more extreme, and they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show that will surely be made from their plight. This is one of the most disturbing and outrageous books you’ll ever read, one that could only come from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk.”

and then or

A last-minute call from Chef Lilly at Cincinnati State modified my early-evening plans a bit. They were hosting a culinary event and needed an extra pair of hands from 5:00 until 7:00, so I agreed to swing by the college before heading home. Shruging into my borrowed chef’s clothes, my main task was to help with cleanup after the event. There was a lot of stuff, but it wasn’t too bad and we finished by 7:00 when I headed home.

Dinner was roasted corn and a steak-and-chicken burrito made by the guests at the school.

Another quiet evening at home with a simple dinner of beef ravioli in tomato sauce. Then, we cut the dogs’ toenails and gave them all baths, so I sit before the computer a bit damp, dog-hairy, and a little dog-smelly. But the dogs are all clean and running around like fools.

From The Unlimited Mood, by way of Virtualzen…

Five Items in My Freezer
* Herbed Goat Cheese Polenta Cakes — I made it as an experiment some time ago
* Vidallia Onion burgers just waiting to be cooked
* An old, squarshed genoise cake — it’s probably no good anymore…
* Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas
* Chicken frames for stock

Five Items in My Closet
* A plastic hamper
* Shoeboxes
* A big blue terrycloth robe — very comfortable!
* Several chef coats
* Frequently, a cat. Often, a blind cat

Five Items in My Car
* CDs — Over the Rhine, Rocky Horror, and The Verve Pipe at the moment
* Pen & paper (does that count as one item?)
* FM transmitter — I listen to audiobooks on my PDA through this
* Mobile phone charger
* Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie

Five Items in My Wallet
* Business cards
* 2 free passes to the movies
* A fortune from a fortune cookie: “A man [sic] best possession is a sympathetic wife.; Lucky # 4 8 15 16 23 42″
* 4 phone calling cards (all expired by now, I would imagine)
* “Player’s club” cards from 3 casinos in 2 states

After work, I ran by Borders near our house to pick up The Seasoning of a Chef: My Journey from Diner to Ducasse and Beyond, which I fully expect to be a crappy book but want to read anyway.

Then, I got a nice surprise — Wendy, who was scheduled to have rehearsal for THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, got the night off since rehearsal was cancelled — it’s just as well because she’s currently fighting a summer cold and not feeling well.
We stopped by Lulu’s Noodle Bowl for noodle dishes, steamed dumplings, and fried wontons which we ate in front of the television watching the season finale of MONK (congrats to Tony Shalhoub for winning another Emmy!).