22 February 2009

Dogs drink, too..?

Last month, Red's dog, Roxy, celebrated her 10th birthday. Being the good mom that she is, Red sent out evites for a party in Roxy's honor at The Dog Bar. This is a super-cool establishment in Noda, just outside of downtown, in which you can bring your pup to the bar.
Now, it must be noted that on the Web site it clearly welcomes "all dogs of shapes and sizes...as long as they are 'well-behaved.'" Mmm-hmm...Thus, for the past two weeks, I've been debating as to whether or not my dear sweet StarBar would be able to join in the festivities. Star has never been referred to as "well-behaved," that's for sure. Rather, she tries to bite both people and other dogs. This could've been scary.
Red suggested that she really ought to be given the chance. She was right and the four of us (Red, Rox, Star, and I) drove on down prior to the party's start time to The Dog Bar.
Star did better than I ever could've imagined. There were only a couple of people she tried to bite, which, with as many as were in the small place, was phenomenal. There were two dogs that annoyed her, but it seemed they annoyed the other doggies, too...kinda like the bullies in elementary school. (Oh, wait -- I was one of those.)
Red brought out Roxy's cake about halfway through the party, and I'm still amazed that she has all ten fingers after doling it out to the doggies.
It really felt like Vegas with all of the overstimulation--a crowd stuffed into the small establishment, people talking loudly, dogs barking eve more loudly, cocktails, birthday parties, Great Danes...whew. I think I slept as well as Star did once we finally arrived home.

Great place, though. Since Star handled herself like a true lady, we'll be able to go back. Hooray!

16 February 2009

How time flies...

Last week started with a fun Tuesday at Red's house for "book club." Yes, do note the quotes. There was an abbreviated group for club, so we instead wound up drinking way too much vino and giggling around the table.
I brought a yummy-yum chilled-well white wine that we'd tried in cooking class the Saturday past, Four Rivers...Wait, no...Five Vines...no...um...It was Four Vines naked chardonnay (naked, as it's aged in stainless steel rather than oak casks). Now, I'm surely not a chardonnay drinker, but it is a tasty one, and it paired well with the Mediterranean diet foods that we were making that afternoon.

Anywho...after a garbage-y Thursday and Friday at work (I think there's a definition for it), I was very much looking forward to the weekend, even if it were Valentine's Day.

My Saturday started off by talking with Phil Squirrel, who surprised me with a noon phone call. He was painting (and quite tired of it, as it sounds), and was sweet enough to call. Of course, maybe I'll take back the "sweet" and replace it with "upsetting." Yeah, we were talking about potential plans for my next trip, which is looking like it'll be March. Edinburgh? Mmm-hmm, sounds good. Not that I can pronounce it correctly, but another week hanging with Phil Squirrel in London and thereabouts is just what the doctor ordered.

Following our conversation, I went to watch my England team play Wales in the 6 Nations tourney at the Charlotte Rugby Club. Yeah, we won't discuss the final score of the Eng-er-land game. Sigh. Next up? Ireland v. England on the 28th. That day, too, the club was playing at 3 p.m. Red met me up there for that, and we watched the game, along with a bunch of others out in the beautiful sun, with the smell of grilling burgers in the background. Good times.

After the game (and me oversleeping from a slightly-beer-induced coma), Red and I went down to a bar for an Anti-Valentine's Day shindig. She cracks me up, she does. Guys would try to approach her and flirt with her, and Red would exclaim under her breath, "Make him go away!" The icing on the cake? A not-too-bright boy (aw, bless!) who passed Red his phone number on a cocktail napkin. While that doesn't raise an eyebrow, exactly, it's what was written on it that made me howl with laughter: He actually had to cross out a number on the napkin. That's right, he wrote his phone number incorrectly. Yeah, not-too-bright might be a slight understatement, but we'll leave it at that.

So after our fill of this place, Red, Philipp German (that's his nationality, not his last name), and I went to Jack's to meet up with one of the rugby players we'd met earlier that afternoon. With Rocky Horror's "Time Warp" playing in the karaoke room, us giggling in the barroom, and our new friends quizzing us with questions, it was just fun...Home by 2:45 a.m., I think that was the type of Val Day that I exactly needed--silly, light-hearted, and sans roses...

01 February 2009

Today's forecast: ow, ow, ow

So I've had a wonderful few nights of blowing off steam of late. Thursday night we'd planned a GNO (that's Girls' Night Out for those not in the know), which nearly didn't occur. It shouldn't seem so completely difficult to get a bunch of girls together, should it? Yeesh...Dinner at Al Mike's (Alexander Michael's, the 4th Ward equivalent of the Regal Beagle) was fun and giggly. Topics ranged from family to the economy to boys to my impending move. Looks like the next GNO will be held at Trish's not-cabin-it's-a-lake-house in May. Crikey--four more months before we do this again??
Of course, the four months will likely be what I'll need to recouperate. Following dinner, Tracy, Susie an I played a round of bar golf, which culminated in getting hot and sweaty on a salsa dance floor at Cosmos. Too fun...Mental note: never do shots. Ow.
Susie had to crash (i.e. pass out) at my place, as it was late-late and there was no way either of us were in a state to drive her home. Upon waking up, she remarked, "Geez, Andrea, you keep your house so cold! What's the temp in here..?" She attempted to look at the thermostat, realizing it was dead--there was no heat. Ugh.
I worked from home on Friday to ensure I'd be around when the heater repairman came. It turned out to just cost me $125 (whew!) and the guy was awfully helpful and kind, even clearing out the many, many spiders and webs from the outside unit. Eew...
Friday evening, deciding to take it easy, I figured I'd call in for Thai Taste (my fave Thai restaurant that delivers). I went to get my wallet but...wait...Where is my wallet? Seems yours truly was dumb enough to lose it the night before.
Freaking out, I called to cancel cards, but received an e-mail from a stranger who'd found my old Web site with its e-mail address. He had it, said that even my cash was still in there, and had been trying to leave messages for me at my work phone number. Wow. I love that people like this still exist.
Last night was another interesting evening, as Red and I went to Suite for a "recession busters" party (no cover, two free drinks). After our free drinks, we left. Red wasn't too impressed with the place. ("This is it? This is what everyone's been talking about??") We found ourselves at The Breakfast Club, dancing to '80's tunes and hanging with folks dressed up in period-appropriate garb. Aww, even Dead Scott was there! Good times.
Of course, I awoke this morning with a bit of ouch. The kind that can only be cured with a big ol' Big Mac...Why is it that grease is the best cure for a hangover? Yikes...