Last Monday I went to dinner with Amber at Blue Ginger in Wellesley MA.. Me and Amber were both having a "no-good-miserable-horrible day" and needed to have a good end to the day. We met at the restaurant and after a short time looking at the menu decided to do the Tasting Menu.. The tasting menu was 5 courses including dessert. I got mine with the wine paring, I assume the waitress filled my wine glasses beyond where they normally would so that we could share.. The amuse bouche was a bite sized pork meatloaf in a mushroom sauce. Course 1 was - hawaiian bigeye tuna poke with a crispy sushi rice cake topped with peppercress-tosaka salad. Course 2 - sake-miso marinated Alaskin butterfish in a wasabi oil, soy-lime syrup with a vegatarian soba noodle sushi. Course 3 - foie gras shiitake shumai in a sauternes-shallot broth. Course 4 - grilled marinated hanger steak and garlic-black pepper lobster with lemongrass fried rice and pea tendril salad with soy-ginger vinaigrette. Course 5 - bittersweet chocolate cake with cardamom ice cream and a sesame macadamia carmel nut tart. The wines were all very good but the stand out wine for me was the 2005 Atteca Old Vine Garnacha which is from Calatayud Spain. I have been there in the past with Jessie and it was just as good this time. I wish it was not so far away so I could go there more often..
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Saturday I had a board game day at my house.. The planning started out as a small six person Catan game and ended up turning into an epic day culminating in 12 people coming over and 15 going to dinner and Star Trek!
Randy won Catan thanks to Christian stopping me twice from winning by pulling away my longest road points. In retrospect I probably should have stopped trying to get longest road after the first time and I probably could have just built another two settlements and been done with it but I could fixated and fell... After Catan we played Betrayal and hit a haunt I had never seen let alone played, the good guys almost didn't have a chance as I was the only one strong enough (Ox) to beat up the spaceship and I was taken out in the first round.. :(
Star Trek was a bit of a frustrating experience for me.. I honestly didn't care if I saw the movie in the movies and was only going because I knew so many people who really did want to see it. I am that guy who talks during movies (whisper to people sitting next to me) and one of the big reasons for me to go to movies is to have that running commentary with people.. Anyway, we went into the theater and everyone scattered to different locations (some WAY up front, some WAY in back and others in the middle), unfortunately for me that meant that first of all I would now have to choose who I sat next to.. Normally I would have just stayed with Jessie in the middle but I really wanted to see it with my friends who drove really far to watch it with me.. Jessie went and found an elevator and I was able to go up to the top of the theater and watch it with Christian and Brad.
So, what did I think? Well.. I have to say that I went into the movies with low expectations, I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to continuity and I was afraid of what they were going to destroy by making a prequel to the original series. I also have to say (somewhat braggingly) that I did not see a single preview, I had a few close calls but I didn't even know who was cast (other than Kirk and Spock). I am not going to give any details, just a few statements.. Casting - 4.5 Stars! LOVED the casting of the younger versions of the crew, the only one who didn't amaze me and the reason for this not being 5 stars is Kirk. I felt that he was sorta generic and didn't scream Kirk to me. Everyone else was perfectly cast. Special Effects - 5 Stars! The effects were not only really well done but they never became the focus of the movie, I hate how so many new movies focus on the effects and lose the actual movie plot and character development. Good Character Development & Dialogue - 5 Stars! Evil Character Development & Dialogue - 2 Stars! The enemies were supposed to be Romulon but they did a very bad job of portraying them both in appearance and attitude. Plot - 3 Stars... Nothing to say here, just see the movie and we can argue if you want... Continuity - I am not going to rate this or say anything about it because it would give away the plot..
---Thought of the Day
"A love affair is not a lifetime.
It's calendars and clocks, my friend.
All good things
Have to end.
A memory of a happy moment --
That's what this week will one day be." - Aspects of Love
I have been accused of not doing "short term relationship", at the time it was meant to be a knock against me, I think it's a plus. My shortest relationship with a lover was almost 3 years and I really like being able to look back on shared memories of happy moments. There are people in my life I have known a very long time and I would be sad to have them leave, I am not foolish, I know that all good things do indeed have to end (learned that from Picard) but it does not mean that it has to end now, or even in a few weeks, months or years... I really wish I had saved my calendars over the past 14 years because it would be so nice one day to be able to look back on those and say "remember when we did that"... I know I have the google calendar for things going forward but it's a shame to not have the ones from the past.. I guess what I'm trying to say is... Don't get so caught up in the moment to not think about saving something to remember it by.. In the end all you really have is memories and, if you're lucky, someone who shares them with you..
Thanks to everyone who has and continues to help me create my "memory of a happy moment"..
"Sometimes I get the feelin'
I was back in the old days - long ago
When we were kids when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know
The days were endless we were crazy we were young
The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
The rest of my life's been just a show
Those were the days of our lives
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing is true
When I look and I find I still love you
You can't turn back the clock you can't turn back the tide
Ain't that a shame
I'd like to go back one time on a roller coaster ride
When life was just a game
No use in sitting and thinkin' on what you did
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
Better sit back and go with the flow
Cos these are the days of our lives
They've flown in the swiftness of time
These days are all gone now but some things remain
When I look and I find no change
Those were the days of our lives - yeah
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing's still true
When I look and I find
I still love you" - Freddie
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