16 JUL 2005 : Saturday
Work… I procrastinated by upgrading the photo gallery backend and thought about upgading the weblog software. The gallery defaulted to a blue color this time. Maybe I should have posted some new pictures instead as I am six months behind.
Amanda got out a bit early (4pm) and surprised me as I did not have time to clean up the apt a bit as I normally would do. We decided to eat out somewhere… Agua Verde… a mexican place. It was a bit underwhelming, but perhaps that is because we had heard that it was a great place, and expectations can/will affect one’s perceptions. Here is a review I wrote to someone else:
“The food quality was inconsistent. Their chips were mediocre, but their homemade salsas were very good. The mango quesadilla was very good, as were the catfish tacos. The portobello mushroom tacos were bland and unappetizing. They serve the fillings on the soft tortillas, which kinda invites them to get soggy (although it looks good). The margaritas were very very weak.
I would not call this place cheap for dinner unless you are a very light eater; the taco dinners were $10 with beans and rice ($7 without)… not a large amount of food as portions (for the taco dinners at least) were on the very small side.
Service was fine, although what is up with the salsa limits? Are students running off with it?
In the end, I’d rather spend a little more and go to Cactus, or spend less and go to Taco Del Mar or TacoTime.”
Upon further thought, it might be ok for lunch. The tacos still aren’t worth it though.
After dinner we went on a ride down the east side of Lake Washington for yucks and to check out more of our new city.
17 JUL 2005 : Sunday
Work… Amanda got out early at noon, so we went on a bicycle ride to Alki Beach in West Seattle. The ride was alright, but I was reminded on why I do not like riding on “multi-use” paths… they are not good for transporation purposes… they are only good for toodling (is that a word?) around. We were not really in a rush to get anywhere, but we were going faster than toodling. Amanda almost wiped out when a kid was behaving a little too erratically and swung into her.
Anyways, we had a late lunch at Spud’s Fish and Chips. Here is something I said about it:
“The cod is pretty good. The chips are mediocre. One should probably get one of the meals rather than a la carte so as not to pay for condiments. I hate that… kinda like I hate paying extra for white rice at asian restaurants.
Well, maybe hate is too strong a word. Anyways, yes, greasy fish ‘n’ chips. yum.”
Amanda just had chips and a chocolate shake; she found them perfectly acceptable.
Alki beach did not seem all that exciting to me, but then I grew up on a much much bigger beach. There were certainly a lot of people there (and trying to get there). The weather was nice after all.
We eventually made it back. We did a big grocery run as we are trying to wean ourselves off of going to the grocery store all the time. We went to the Madison Market, Trader Joe’s, and Safeway all in a row. They are all in walkable distance after all, and all on Madison St. (with the Safeway right below our apartment). I am getting a handle on grocery prices here. They are more expensive than NY in general it seems. I miss Wegmans.
18 JUL 2004 : Monday
Work… um, yeah. Amanda got back at a reasonable time. We had fajitas for dinner.
19 JUL 2004 : Tuesday
Work… We went to a Family Medicine BBQ thing at the head guys house (Bob). We got there late because Amanda did not get home until 7:30pm or something like that. It was fun, if a bit brief. Bob had a cat whose tail had to get amputated and whose left front paw was way injured. He (the cat) was still quite quick patrolling his territory. He also had that sad cat face when looking at his empty food bowl.
Bob said something funny about how his old pets are “settling over there”… there meaning underneath a flower bed. He had a lot of “turnover” in pets; he had always had a lot of pets, but he only had one cat and three little fish now.
Amanda is asleep on the inflatable matress. Piglet is sleeping in the bed. Is something wrong here?
She… Amanda that is, Piglet does not work… has tomorrow off. Piglet has every day off. Ten straight shifts for Amanda; she theoretically has four days off a month. I imagine she will sleep in. Maybe I should restore order in the household and get Amanda to sleep in the bedroom.