Monday

Mark: comes after Sunday, before Tuesday.

Jen: Culinary highlight of the decade.

Mark: pfft.. decade.

... Monday was amazing. For Christmas, Mark gifted me with a "culinary experience"- a dinner at Edo that would take us "far beyond sushi." After spooking ourselves with bad omens (half hour for the taxi making us late for the reservation making us almost not have seats) we arrived at our places (which ended up being beside each other after all!) and stared dumbfounded at the THIRTEEN glasses in front of us.



The evening was narrated by the owner of Edo, who explained Japanese culture and cuisine, and about what we were eating. We were eating a lot. The first course was a shredded chicken and steamed egg salad, probably the prettiest dish of the night. This was followed by a gazillion other courses. They were:

- creamy potato and soybean soup
- tuna sampler (compare three types of tuna for taste and quality)
- Chef's choice sushi sampler (with Mark's favourite avocado and tempura yam rolls) and an amazing salmon mango roll.
- Sake dilled salmon in tinfoil pretty pocket think. This was also with an amazing sauce, and the tinfoil pocket came with an origami crane attached to a spear for easy opening.
-Chicken medallions with a Kobe beef pate filling
-rich chocolate mousse with a green tea and red bean cake

As for the glasses, three of them were filled with sake. One was a warm sake, one a cloudy sake, and one was a high quality 'polished' sake. Apparently, the highest quality sakes are made with polished rice, water, and yeast - and nothing else is added. Cloudy sake comes from unpolished rice, and is my personal favourite due to its subtle sweetness. We also tasted nine wines (three red, 6 white), and had a glass of champagne with dessert. It was incredible.

This post is nowhere near as elegant as I had hoped it would be, and doesn't do justice to the night. I had such a wonderful time and am so lucky that someone knows me so well. Thanks also go to Edo foor going above and beyond what would reasonable be expected of them.

Here are Mark and I with the wonderfully talented chef:



Loot from the goody bag! Awesome mini-martini/sake glass, or hilarious-yet-fragile clown nose? YOU DECIDE.

In case you were wondering.

Every time anyone says they need me to "bring it," I always think (thankfully not out loud) "oh, it's already been BROUGHT." I never would have thought that Bring It On (2000 Cheerleading movie that I had to watch for work, really!!!) would be influencing my thoughts for so long.

I'm just saying.

Snow day!

I'm sitting at work, having one of the quietest days ever. Except for the occasional student roaming the hallways, it feels like nobody is on campus. I'm probably not using the time as wisely as I should, but I am enjoying myself. It looks like the next few days will be nice and snowy too - hooray for winter!

Friends in Bellwoods

Jaime, Mark, Sharon and I went down to the Tranzac tonight to see the Friends in Bellwoods release show (Sharon was a nice surprise - I'd expectd her to be knee-deep in bunk-bed parts all night!). It was a really solid lineup (The D'Urbervilles, Sebastien Grainger, OhBijou, and the Paramedics - a Bry Webb solo project HOW EXCITING) and it couldn't have been more packed if it tried. We managed to be almost first in line at the door, snagged some of the few remaining tickets, and wedged ourselves into the crowd to enjoy the show. The Paramedics, who might possibly rename themselves 'The Splinters' were really, really good, although with Snailhouse and Bry Webb on vocals they couldn't really have been otherwise.

The D'Urbervilles:




The Paramedics:



The paramedics sometimes have a Zylophoner (ullulater? what?):



And for Megan, Bry Webb:


Voice of an angel, that man.

Sebastien Grainger was good, and my feet took me home before ohbijou, sadly, because I love them (them being ohbijou, I was not pleased with my hurty feet tonight). Tomorrow, I get to sleep in, which is probably the best thing ever, and the study my ass off.

Photos!

New Year's Eve:


Waterloo, on the way to Paula's in Windsor:


The girls, together at last:


Cooking GC dinner:


Eating GC dinner:



Someone is showing someone else some moves, I think:


Paula's new hat, on Sharon:


Paula's new hat, on Paula:


Mark and Laura, no hats:

Off to a good start:

Shake it...

I miss polaroids - as great as digital cameras are, there's nothing like the instant gratification of a polaroid. Case in point:



Tonight: Mandarin, finally (it's only been a year in the planning). I'm taking bets on what colour Maggie will be when we leave... my money is on green.

Thoughtstorming

I still haven't gotten around to uploading any more photos... maybe soon? I have some more now, mostly from the Em. Haines show that I attended with my lil' cuz. I'm starting to realize that my whining about lack of siblings & thus blood ties unseverable by squabbles can be possibly cured. I found someone who will shop with me, borrow my shoes, AND make snappy/witty comments about singers that are probably quite accurate (not that I want any more shopping - I'm starting to get stomach-achey at the thought of a mall & all of the mass-produced lifestyle add-ons that go with it).

Cuz & me:



Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton:



So far, 2007 has brought back the going-out (definitely not the outgoing) Jen, my new little black book has been packed with things to do and people to see. I finished my first novel (The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian) and am trying to resign myself to a dialed-down schedule that includes more appointments with Physics, Biology, and Chemistry rather than jump into another novel (apparently, I think I might make it till the end of April before caving?).

Lately, I've been inexplicably anxious. I've been feeling fluttery and fretty, and have been getting regular doses of heart sinking feelings that I can't quite explain. I'm pretty sure that it's mostly a result of not being tethered to a secure life plan, and not knowing exactly where I'm going. I really can't wait for this awkward stage to be over - and hopefully it will at least result in some personal growth. I really hate to think that any part of my life could just be wasted, even if I have no choice right now but to wait for what I really want.

2007: Optimism

After a fantastic New Year's weekend at Paula's (pics to come), I arrived home to 4 wonderful things:

1) A letter from my landlord/the city, informing me of a zero-point-eight-two percent rent reduction.... wooo?!
2) A completely unexpected box from Insound, which contained a wonderful 7" featuring Jens Lekman. Insound, you rule.
3) Mark's Valentine's present, ordered after, but arriving before, his still m.i.a. Christmas present.
4) The first issue of my Walrus subscription! Thanks M! I'm in love with the cover, a wonderful display of colour, with the word optimism printed very secretly across the rainbow. I've decided to make it the theme of my year (I have yet to decide between secret optimism or in-your-face optimism).

In that vein, here are some of the things that I'm looking forward to:

- Budgeting (this may be too optimistic), not fun in itself but will result in
- A fantastic world trip! France? Spain? Poland? India? WHO KNOWS!??!
- Learning more French.
- Studying (I've only been out of school for 3 months and already I'm yearning for the grind...).
- Fantastic local trips! Whether they be to Mtl., Windsor, or even to Greektown.
- Greektown! Sharon is moving there TODAY and I'm very, very excited.
- A Japanese experience, I've even got a new dress for it (thanks Mr.M, it was a super Christmas surprise).

I also resolve to send in my taxes this year, and possibly also last year's taxes...