Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 43. I've never been one to worry about age too much but I gotta say, my bones are getting WEARY. I took this not necessarily flattering photo in the morning (after coffee but not before trying to deal with the massive cowlick I've developed recently)in an effort to be honest about where I am at this point in my life. I am almost entirely HAPPY. But I am not really HEALTHY, and that has to change. As a birthday present from the gods, I got an email the day before about the new gym opening up three blocks from my house having an introductory special absurdly low membership fee. So I sent in my email. I'm on my way.
I think the key to getting myself in a better place this year is going to be yoga. At various points in my life I have been more or less into yoga and any time I am, I notice an almost immediate 200% improvement in the way I feel. Considering my job involves pretty much 10 hours of standing in one place moving my hands and arms, I figure I could use some limbering up in other areas. So I've got potential yoga dates lined up for the new year. And I'm also really going to take advantage of all that FIOS ON DEMAND has to offer in the fitness selection. And also---those bellydance workout DVDs I bought two years ago and watched from the comfort of my couch. I'll be rolling with those too. This all sounds very ambitious but I think I will make a sincere effort this year because I HAVE to. I feel more like a grown up this year than ever before and with that comes a certain amount of responsibility for my physical upkeep.
OK, stern words done with. My birthday was a beautiful, sunny day which I spent almost entirely by myself. I did a lot of reading both on the internet and in book form (Farm City which my friend Lisa loaned me sometime in the summer---another resolution has to be to make more time for reading because I have a huge stack of books and magazines I REALLY want to get to!) and then I got a call from my gal telling me that Richie Havens is playing at the Carnegie in Oakland on Saturday night and she wants to take me for my birthday. Woo! My love for Richie is so deep and profound and plus he shares my birthday so it's like we're spiritual twins. I went to see him once at Rosebud after finding out that afternoon that he was playing. It was one of the best evenings of my life, and I'm sure this one will be the same. I am totally given to hyperbole when describing my love for musicians and singers but you gotta believe me, Richie Havens has some kind of special power to instantly make me feel better about the world. His voice is soothing in a way that few other things are. Love.
I also had a little bit of frustrating email communication with the hotel we are staying at for the PASA conference coming up the first weekend of February. (I should talk about the PASA conference a little bit. I will, in a different post. This is already getting long winded.) I had made an email inquiry, and the response was to call for a reservation. So I did, and then I received a call telling me to call for a reservation. So I sent another email to confirm that my reservation was on the books, and they sent an email saying my reservation was on the books for thurs, fri, and sat feb 3rd, 4th, and 5th. So I sent another email saying thank you, but lets be clear that we are coming wed, thurs, and fri, feb 3rd, 4th, and 5th. And they replied that was correct. Unfortunately in the meantime I read some internet reviews of the place which cited more than one reservation screw up, so I was (and am) a little worried. I am not too concerned that the place got negative reviews, because I have learned from personal experience that people who post negative reviews normally have some kind of axe to grind. And plus, we're only going to be sleeping there, not hanging out. I'll post my own review once we return.
Anyhoo, the original plan for the evening was to go to Legume, which I have been wanting to check out forever. Unfortunately, even when Rebby is local her schedule is completely unreliable, so I was not too hopeful about making a reservation for a night when she was working in Aliquippa. So after she called to say things were not going according to plan (surprise!) I decided we would go to La Casa instead. Its close, doesn't require a reservation, consistently awesome, and has a bar. Problem solved. I made myself a tuna salad sandwich and got an Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and settled in to watch Julie and Julia on demand.
The movie is cute--Meryl Streep did a great job as Julia and Stanley Tucci was awesome as Paul. I found the Julie/Eric story to be completely true to the book, and as with the book, I was way more sympathetic to Eric than I was to Julie (and for this reason I don't think I am going to be able to read her next book....)
My favorite moment of the movie, though, came in the opening sequence when Julia and Paul are having dinner in France for the first time. Julia's reaction to her first bite of pan fried fish---her inability to articulate, her rush to share, the gamut of emotion that plays across her face as she savors it---it was absolutely perfect. That one moment conveyed what Julia Child was about more completely than really anything else in the entire film. And it conveyed my relationship to cooking and enjoying food better than any of the shows I've seen on the Food Network. (oh, that's a post for another day!) That moment made me really happy, and felt like a blessing on my birthday.
Rebby got home right around 6pm, and we got changed and drove over to Ellsworth (which we affectionately refer to as "little P-town") to Casa. I was a little surprised that there was only one other couple there, and more than a little disappointed that our favorite drag queen waiter Jamar was not working. Nadia was fantastic, though--she remembered us (or maybe she just says that to all the girls?) and treated us warmly, and flirtatiously, without being intrusive. It's a gorgeous little space inside and once you get some sangria in you it is impossible not to feel romantic. We ordered the charcuterie--serrano ham, dried chorizo, and little cornichons with delicious fresh baked bread and balsamic reduction for dipping; and a salad with hazelnuts, goat cheese and rosemary croutons, and a delicious savory balsamic dressing to start. The menu has changed a lot since the last time we were there---its really moving more toward Moroccan flavors and away from traditional Spanish, which is an ok thing for me. For our second round we had the amazing Patatas bravas, and tuna and salmon ceviche. I wouldn't really call it ceviche--more like tartare, I think---but man was it good. The tuna was done with a deep smoky sesame oil, and the salmon with capers and parsley and vinegar. So good. There were at least three other things on the menu I really wanted (can I really go to a tapas restaurant and not get shrimp in garlic? I guess I can!) but we were both stuffed. We moved on to profiteroles and Six Grapes Porto thanks to Nadia's suggestion. Luckily we were just finishing up our meal when a couple of dudes came in to sit at the bar and talk loudly about their problems...that was our cue to get out. We vowed to go to the liquor store this weekend and stock up on spanish wine and get some port for home. :)
Today I get another day off! And this evening I'm getting taken to Embury by my BFF. Birthday 2010 continues!