3/26/07

I had a really bad case of the “Don’t Give A Damns” last week. It isn’t quite as bad today but then again I don’t have a whole bunch of pressing engagements this week. Well, that and I have internot access again. The GSM, which I found out is what the system I'm using should be called, is ever so slightly faster than the dial up I used to use. I'm somewhat under whelmed with it though. John swore I was going to be hooked on the “fast” connection. Yeah, yawn, not so much. Anyhoo, here’s what went on since I last spoke to y'all. Friday evening I took mom to dinner at the Silver Fox Steakhouse. My aunt Margaret and uncle Jim joined us. We were seated and the waiter told us about the “specials.” One of them was a 14 oz Australian lobster tail with veggies and such. I don’t remember the rest. Mom ordered a steak. I was thinking about the lobster. Aunt Margaret ordered the filet medallions. I was thinking about the lobster. Uncle Jim ordered the filet medallions. I was thinking about the lobster. When it became my turn to order, I thought about the lobster for a moment more. I contemplated asking how much but remembered the old adage that suits a place like that, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” I ordered the lobster. A few minutes after taking the order, the waiter returned to say that the lobster would take twenty minutes. I knew it would put the older folks out a little to have to wait but we were there a good half an hour before I am usually hungry anyway so I said it would be fine. Pretty soon, well at least twenty minutes I guess, the food arrived. Now, when the waiter said “14 oz lobster tail,” I mentally pictured a 14 oz steak and thought that’s about the amount of meat I'd normally order. I'm not sure what I expected 14 oz of lobster to look like, but I was a tad disappointed when they set it down. That is, until they removed it from the shell, then it was positively huge! I think the size of the plate might have had something to do with it as well. Anyhoo, I'm staring down almost a pound of “ocean cockroach” thinking how good it’s going to be. Now, any complaint I have is a stretch because it really was a fabulous meal. Having said that, the meat wasn’t quite as sweet as I remember lobster being. That, and the drawn butter was a tad on the oily side rather than being nice and buttery. We all ate and when we were finished they brought out a chocolate cake for mom. We shared that and the bill came. Uncle Jim saw it before I could grab it and started pushing money on me. I protested as long as I could and finally accepted it. The bill was $151.00 for the four of us. I slapped down my card and began to sweat it. I had checked the balance before the meal and thought, “If we don’t go over $147.00 we’ll be fine.” There must have been enough in my savings to cover the rest because they didn’t ask for an alternate form of payment. I decided to finally look and see how much the lobster was, after the fact. Now, I have been known to eat $60.00 worth of sushi in a sitting so a $63.00 lobster tail shouldn’t have been that big a stretch. I was a bit taken aback though. Oh well, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it. We went home and I tried out the new GSM internot connection. It is adequate. Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet at the shop early so John could get some serious work done on his “new” 510. He called Friday evening to say that he was meeting his siblings for breakfast and wouldn’t be there until 0930 h or so. I said it was cool, because it was, and decided to sleep in a bit. I rolled out of bed and headed to the shop around then. I was planning to install my AEM bypass thingy while he worked on his stuff. I had the location picked out, the pipe off and cut, and was cleaning up the ends when he arrived. I got it installed while he jacked his car up and put it on stands. I milled about, looking for something to inspire me to work, and helped him when needed. I pulled Mr. Wiggly around to see about installing the receiver hitch but decided it was worth $70.00 to have it installed after all. He worked on his car until lunchtime and we went to eat. We came back and “finished up” his car, at least all that we were going to do that day, then went home. I drove Mr. Wiggly. Well, I think I might just save Sunday for tomorrow. Yes, I think I will. Y'all have a day.