Dear J (Journal), My birthday is only a few hours away!  This year, I thought I'd try to save some money and not do anything too extravagant. Famous last words- Wednesday we went with some friends to Lord Fletcher's on Lake Minnetonka. It's a really beautiful restaurant with a private "Wine Room". Of course we had to book that! The restriction on the room is that your check has to surpass $500 total for the group. That seemed easy enough since there were 10 of us. By the way, Ronn and Riki decided not to attend 'cuz they wanted to save money and we were planning a more casual get together tomorrow on my actual birthday. So, we sat down in this gorgeous room and listened to the waiter explain the history of the restaurant and the antiques in the room. It was quite an experience.
*FYI* I really enjoy fine wines. As a matter of fact, all the finer things in life. I believe that if you work hard (and we do), you should treat yourself from time to time. Lets face it, you really can't take it with you, thus, you should try to enjoy it while you have it. Don't get me wrong, you should plan for the future, but what's life if you can't "live it!" But I digress, back to the wine, I used to be a big fan of sweeter wines. French Vouvrays and German Piesporters were fairly common selections. But, as I got older I really found a taste for reds and ports. I love a nice robust cabernet with a little bite or a merlot blend. I'm a fan of Australian wines but more recently Chilean reds. I've also been experimenting with some South African wines that are getting great reviews lately. Another one of my loves is ports. You get the Bite of a red with the sweetness of a white. Granted these are my opinions as a connoisseur, but I'm no expert. I just know what I like. My favorite port label is Noval vineyards. They make a '66 Quinta de Noval that is just amazing. I discovered it at Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa. I was at a birthday dinner and thought it would be cool to order a port with the same vintage as me ('66). I just fell in love with it! Anyway, there's my Reader's Digest condensed career in wine.
Now, back to the Wine Room. The food was wonderful! I had a veal chop that was to die for! I don't do red meat very often at all, but was great! All through the meal we sampled several bottles of wine. They were mostly reds as I recall. Most of them were really tasty. I finished off with a nice port. It wasn't a Noval but it was pretty good. All that was left was the check. Did we reach our $500 mark? I glanced over at the check and, Oh yeah, we definitely beat $500. We beat it by over $700. Remember those famous last words? It's ok, like I said; you gotta treat yourself from time to time.
Sept 5, 2003
Dear J, Happy Birthday to me! It's hard to believe I'm'@#%&*%'years old! Something I didn't mention about last night; We decided to go see Riki at the Gay 90's. (see previous journal entry) Riki was there with our friend Robert. We arrived and had a couple of cocktails and a couple of shots and then a couple more to celebrate. Needless to say, after a night of wine tasting it didn't take much to get me smashed. Anyway, after that I was in no condition to drive so I had Sharon take over. Unfortunately, she doesn't know her way around Minneapolis. Since I couldn't really help her she got lost. After trying to get some help from me (with no luck) she decided to park the truck and let me sleep off the worst of my buzz. Thank god! I got really sick but managed not to make a mess in the truck. I actually like throwing up. I know that sounds weird, but every time I get sick after drinking I feel much better then and the day after. After a couple of hours passed we headed home and I was able to get my bearings. I don't get that drunk very often. Maybe every two years, just enough to remind me not to do it again for a couple of years. Riki had quite the adventure on the way home as well. I'm sure he'll write about it in his journal.
Anyway, tonight we decided to do something mellow and hang out with friends and go bowling. I love bowling! I only get to do it once or twice a year but always have a great time. I kept myself to drinking only beer this time. I learned my lesson after last night. (for a while at least) I have horrible form and hold the ball wrong, but somehow manage to bowl pretty well. I actually had a couple of great scores. I got some great cards and a bottle of tequila. Sharon got me a new grill. It's awesome! It has multiple cooking surfaces like a griddle top and grill area. Riki got me the most unique gift. It's a thick leather belt with a bunch of buckles on it. It's red and black and has a big round section in the middle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Logo on it. It's so cool!
*FYI* I love football! Especially the Bucs! I watch them every chance I get. I've actually been a fan since long before they won the Superbowl. You know, back when they SUCKED! I even get to work home games from time to time. Occasionally, I do freelance interactive characters for a group called the Wise Guys. They have the contract at Raymond James Stadium where the Bucs play. We get to dress up like pirates and entertain the crowd as they arrive at the stadium. We do face painting and balloon swords for kids and throw out beads. It's a lot of fun! The best part? At kick off they cut us loose to watch the game with our all access passes for the Club levels! And, we get paid for this! It's a dream come true for a Bucs fan such as myself. So you can imagine how much I liked Riki's gift.
So, I officially survived (barely) another birthday. Hopefully this year will be as fun and prosperous as the last. Thank you all for your love and support. By the way, if you ever decide to send me a gift, feel free to send me a Best Buy Gift Card. I tell everyone that's all I want. I have this weird dream of collecting them over the next few years and then buying something really big like a $6000 Plasma Screen with 356 gift cards! I just think that would be a hoot! I'd have to video record the face of the checkout girl. There I go rambling again! Anyway, thanks again for a wonderful year to all my fans, friends, and family!
