I'm ready

I'm watching football. I almost reneged and switched over to Masterpiece Theater. The whole airing of the complete works of Jane Austen is super tempting. The game is exciting…but it's a lot of manly--ugh-ugh-violence and the thought of watching a comedy of 19th century manners seems…relaxing. But, I was chastised and encouraged to continue with the watching of the football, so I will. It's quite an exciting game--no question about that.

Doesn't mean I can't write and watch, though!

I'm pretty pleased with this week and weekend. Friday, I walked home (good for me!), picked up some take-out for dinner and had an early night. Saturday morning, I was supposed to go to soccer practice with my outdoor team. I was kind of dreading it, but I got up early enough to make it, but I checked my email and it was cancelled. Several of us expressed the sentiment that if it were below freezing, we would skip. Color me relieved.

Instead of just lazing, though, I made myself some nice breakfast, vacuumed and generally got the house in order. My plan was to catch a couple of movies at the National Gallery and meet my friend, Belinda, for drinks in the evening. To make up (sorta) for no soccer practice, I did some yoga at home and walked to and from the museum.

The first movie, A Kind of Loving, was great. It starred Alan Bates, one of my favorite actors and he was wonderful, as usual. The second, This Sporting Life, was more interesting than good--but it wasn't bad either. Though, I must say, sitting for that long is uncomfortable. I got up between the two features, but walking home was a good thing.

Again, I got take out for dinner (what's up with that?), but I saved half and had it for dinner tonight. So, whatever. Plus I cooked some Brussels sprouts. Tiny, delicious cabbages.

After the movie and my dinner, Belinda and I went for drinks on H ST. It's very cool to be able to stick (more or less) in the neighborhood for a night out. We sat, drank and talked for a few hours. I was unaccountably tired, but it was a good time. After, I dragged B to a party/fundraiser at an art gallery near my house. We were, um, a bit out of place. As I said, "My glasses are too small and my coat isn't ugly enough. But my scarf is long enough." The place was full of artsy, fashionable, alternative folks. The music was loud and house. A couple of women carved out a small space to dance, the most noticeable of whom had "diva" printed across her chest on an otherwise nondescript, though nicely fitted, t-shirt.

We didn't talk to anyone but one guy, with huge glassless eyeglasses, walked by and said, "Hi! How are you! Hello!" to us--and everyone else. Well, hell. I started saying, "Hi! How are you!" under my breath (but loud enough for B to hear) to everyone who walked by. We were doomed not to break into the scene, but it was interesting to observe. I have to say, it was truly diverse. A similar scene in Seattle would be lily white, not so in DC. So, that's one thing the crazy, avant-garde elitist types in DC have going for themselves, which is pretty damn good, actually.

A half an hour of that was enough and Belinda and I parted ways, she back to VA and me to home and bed…eventually. I was a little buzzed from the drinking so it took me a while to settle into sleep.

This morning, I got up in plenty of time to make it to my (indoor) soccer game. We were all full of subs, including my friend, Katie (aka Dr J). We lost the game but I had fun. I'm getting a tiny bit better with each game but I'm not quite mediocre yet. Someday.

I took Katie home after the game and then stopped by my favorite coffee shop for a bite to eat. It's a bit loud but the food is good, the coffee is perfect and I can always find a place to sit.

When I got home, it was more cleaning (the job that never ends!) and loads of football watching. I think I might have overloaded on the football, but I'm glad I was persuaded to watch the end of the Giants-Packers game--what a doozy! I'm ready for the superbowl!

The best thing about this weekend, though, is that it's not over! The chores (laundry, bathroom cleaning) that didn't get done today will get done tomorrow. I'll also get to hang out, briefly, with my eldest brother and his family who are swinging through on their way back to NJ. Time enough for everything. I like that.

Grateful for: friends and football.

A coffee tale

On Saturday, I decided to visit the Big Bear Cafe a new, and new to me, coffee shop.

I hopped on my bike around 9:40am and I was there in about ten minutes. It's about a mile and a half from my place in the opposite direction of my favorite coffee place. (For those of you keeping track, this means I biked about 12 miles on Saturday: to and from the coffee shop, 3 miles; 8 miles to Pele's, which should have been less, but I took a few wrong turns; and 1 mile home from the Eastern Market metro. I haven't included the distance from Pele's to the Clarendon Metro, which is half a mile or less. And, yes, I'm a very slow cyclist--but I stop at stop signs (usually) and signals (always).) It seems that I prefer coffee shops about a mile from home rather than half a block away--but it's mostly the better coffee that draws me.

The place was great--a good set up, enough space so that it won't be overcrowded (I hope) a counter that you can sit at comfortably, a few tables, a sofa and some easy chairs.

Dad called on Sunday night and I told him this story about my coffee shop experience.

"After I ordered my cappuccino, the guy behind me, he got to the counter and he said, 'I'd like a cappuccino…in a bowl."

Dad said, "In a bowl?"

"Yeah, I dunno. You know how sometimes they serve coffee in a bowl in Europe? In France?"

"Um, I guess…wait, isn't that a café au lait?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Well, anyway, this guy wanted a cappuccino in a bowl. And the lady behind the counter was like, 'That big cup is for lattes. We make the cappuccinos in the smaller mugs.' They didn't have sizes for the coffee. It was just 'cappuccino,' 'latte,' and I don't remember what else, but just one price for each drink and no sizes!

"But the guy was like, 'I want it in a bowl, I want a big cappuccino.'

"The lady said, 'It won't really work in that size…there won't be enough.'"

That got a big laugh from Dad.

"And I'm thinking, 'It'll work if you put more in there!'"

Another laugh. Dad said, "I guess he knew what he wanted!"

"Finally, the lady said, 'We can make two cappuccinos and put them in one cup.' And that's what they did--and they charged him for two!"

"Good for her! And everyone was happy."

"Yeah, he didn't seem to mind paying $5 for his cappuccino. My regular sized cap was really good, so I'll definitely go back."

The coffee was great but the story might have been better.

Grateful for: Dad.

A word to the wise…

If you go to Starbucks today, you may notice they have a new menu (annoying!). One of the items is “Iced Vanilla Brewed Coffee.” Do not order it! It took almost ten minutes for them to get me this pre-made beverage because they ran out of iced coffee. Also, I had to repeat my order about five times before to the cashier could figure out what I was saying.

I broke my cardinal rule of consumerism (learned from Dad): never get the first model year of anything. Do not be an early adopter! Allow the manufacturer to work out all the kinks before you spend your hard earned money on their inferior product.

In this case, the coffee was bitter and despite the “vanilla” flavor, required a lot of half and half and sugar pack to make it palatable. I’m waiting at least a week before I order it again. Maybe I’ll just stick to getting the hot espresso drinks and the Frappuccinos™—that seems to be their strength.

Oh, and in case you didn’t get the message: DO NOT buy the iPhone on Friday. Give it a year.

Grateful for: coffee.