Friday Five

The Excuse

At this rate I’m beginning to think I might not need this any longer. Of course I really shouldn’t jinx myself.

The Week

Found myself in Dallas again. Well, Irving to be specific. What was nice is that it was a class that I’ve done a million (or so) times now, which makes for a very relaxing week.

I wish I could add something cool that happened this week, but I kept it pretty low key. Watched Deadliest Catch. Took (and passed) an exam (I’m now a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Application Development). And beyond that, mostly just worked, ate, worked out and slept.

The Restaurant

After working out on Tuesday I wanted something cheap and easy for dinner. I found Genghis Grill on Yelp and decided it fit the bill. Nothing overly special – just your typical “Mongolian bbq” joint where you fill up a little bowl and they stir-fry it for you. Kind of a divey little place, but for $10 for all you can eat, it certainly worked just fine for me.

The Exercise

4 times. Yup – you read that right. 4 times. Felt fantastic!

The Travel Note

I had a small adventure last week trying to get home, as I mentioned on Twitter. There was a storm in Houston that caused the airport to shut down for a couple hours, which just backed the entire system up. I wound up catching a flight out of Tampa at 6:30 – and that was the 2:30 flight that was delayed until 6:30. I then managed to catch the 7:00 flight from Houston to San Diego which departed at 11:30. Didn’t get home until about 1-ish. Blah.

The one frustrating part of the deal was this – When I landed in Houston I knew that my original flight was not going to take off on time, so I ran down to the Continental club and had them swap me to the earlier (also delayed) flight. The attendant there was kind enough to look to see where the plane, flight attendants and pilots happened to be. He told me the flight wouldn’t be taking off until 10:45p. The board said 9:30, which I didn’t notice until after I had left the club to grab food. I spaced the conversation we had until it was after 10, meaning I waited around by the gate for a good hour plus when I could have been sitting comfortably in the club or in a bar.

Memo to all airlines – please give us departure times that are at least in the correct ballpark.

The Five

Wound up going with a few food-related things.

1. When I was a kid I never thought I’d tire of eating out. Since I’m forced to eat out almost all the time, I can tell you, I tire of it frequently.
2. The two “demons” I have conquered are soda and sweets. I rarely have soda, and don’t often snack on sweets or have dessert.
3. That being said, I have a hard time resisting certain fatty foods. In particular there’s a small sub chain called Jersey Mike’s that does NJ style subs (anyone who’s had one knows what I’m talking about). That means it’s doused in oil. But boy is it yummy.
4. Having a grill and a great butcher has completely ruined me on eating steaks out. For a fraction of the cost I can get a much better steak at home now.
5. I know that on the whole there’s no money to be made, and it’s extremely stressful, but I’d love to own a restaurant some day. Not that I’ve taken any steps in that direction.