a much better weekend

bc's birthday party was lovely; many people appeared, many phone calls with good wishes were received, and much excellent food was provided. i received several nice compliments on my Cute Outfit(tm), of which tritone's was the nicest, i think. (he commented on how well-coordinated it was, which pleased me greatly because i happen to agree.) i spent some time on the patio with the conspiracy theory crowd, and was comforted by the feeling of being the sanest person in the conversation.

i even spotted a very cute guy, but didn't get a chance to meet him. and as it turns out, he's much too young anyway.

i think the best part was that i was calm enough that i didn't babble endlessly about myself at everyone, so i left the party feeling not vaguely embarrassed, as i often do after parties, but lighthearted and relaxed.

also, bc makes a killer mai tai. i think the blood orange juice was the key.

better weekend, the prequel

the gaming session went very well from my POV -- my character got to engage in pretty intense combat, and came out okay, considering that he almost got killed. i managed to use tactics effectively enough to beat someone who was actually better than my character, which i'm pretty pleased about since tactics aren't usually my strong point. (although i have to give credit to the other players for making a couple of good suggestions.)

i still think it's funny that i'm the only woman in my gaming group, and i'm also the biggest combat monster.

better weekend, the sequel

i went over to Pacifica's fabulous Italian deli for one of their excellent sandwiches. i got my favorite, the "Philadelphia Hoagie", which has cotto salami, genoa salami, prosciutto, provolone, lettuce, onion, olive oil, red pepper, and oregano on a freshly-baked sweet french roll. the best part of going to Colombo's is the wait; they're always very busy on weekends, so you take a number and wander around browsing the wares while they slice the meat and cheese fresh for your sandwich.

i always end up buying a few things. i lusted after some of the more fabulous cheeses (pecorino romano with whole black peppercorns in it, and another variety with bits of red peppers) and sauces (imported tomato sauces with ricotta, parmesan, porcini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, vodka, or "tonno", which i'm assuming is tuna, and they all looked absolutely wonderful), and marveled at the massive and as-yet uncut wheel of parmigiano reggiano on the counter, which must have weighed 50 lbs.

in the end i restricted myself this time to a bottle of Torani pomegranate syrup, a package of gnocchi con funghi, and a container of coarse sea salt. i thought about eating the sandwich down by the fishing pier, but decided to just come home and have it on my balcony instead, with a tall, cold glass of Italian pomegranate soda with a twist of lemon. it felt wonderful to sit in the sun and read for a while, enjoying the view, but even with SPF15 my shoulders started to burn after an hour.

so now i'm back inside, considering what to do with the rest of this absolutely gorgeous day.

it's good to feel calm again.