Wegman's is coming!!!!!!!!

I opened the food section in the paper today, and there was an ad for the grand opening of Wegman's in Hunt Valley! Wegman's is by far the best grocery I've ever been to. It's like a combination of all the best things from Safeway, Whole Foods, and Dean and Deluca. The store opens October 2. Just in time too, because I'm starting to run low on Dinosaur BBQ sauce. And I'm completely out of NY State Fair Chicken Spiedie sauce. It's a bit of a hike to Hunt Valley, but worth the drive for the produce department. Having Wegmans around is definitely gonna make up for the lack of farmer's market in the winter.

Went to the gym tonight. The water was way too choppy to kayak. I'm guessing this is the remnants of Hurricane Katrina cause it was pretty windy out today. I'd been getting lazy so I'm glad I got the workout in.

Getting tired. I need to start writing these things in the morning when my brain's not dead.

FOOD UPDATE: Made Jaime Oliver's seared tuna with chives and ginger tonight. AMAZING. And super easy too. That one's gonna have to be a staple. I can only imagine it would have been even better if I'd had a half decent tuna steak instead of the crap pre-frozen thing from Safeway. Next time I'm getting a decent cut from Whole Foods or Broadway Market.

Great night for kayaking

Went kayaking tonight. For a few fleeting moments, when the sun met the horizon, the light caught the water and flecked the ripples with tangerine. It looked like I was paddling through a Monet painting. Always nice to catch a glimpse of poetry in life. I need to go out in the evenings more often. Sunsets are infinitely more stunning in the reflection of the Patapsco.

Found out this morning that my friend, Michael is taking a job at JWT in NY as a creative director. I’m very psyched. In part because it’s an amazing opportunity for him and he’s gonna make a lot of noise there. In part, because now I know a creative director at JWT (good place to have contacts, just in case). And in part because maybe now I’ll actually get to see him every once and awhile when I’m in NY on production.

I also found out today the South Africa trip is officially a-go for September 10 (knock on wood). Looks like we’re gonna have a weekend free to do whatever because of some holiday down there (Thanksgiving, perhaps?). Hopefully we’ll get to go on a safari and/or see Cape Town. Gonna have to start conserving magazines for the plane ride though. I very well might spend the last 10 hours of the flight with my eyes crossed and my index finger going up and down in my lips going “beebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebee.” (Does that read AT ALL, or does that only make sense in my head?).

Lots of work to do tomorrow on Poker radio. I’d better wrap this up and hit the sack.

FOOD UPDATE: Last night I made sautéed cod with a mixed pea, corn and tomato succotash from Frank Stitt’s book. For some reason I always end up overcooking cod. (Obviously the cod’s fault.) Tonight was BBQ chicken with provencal-style green beans and cherry tomatoes. Took a stab at a watermelon smoothie after kayaking. Not bad, but I’d prefer it a bit thicker. Next time I’ll skip the milk and do just yogurt.

Food on the brain

This morning I rolled over in bed and the sun was shining through the blinds straight into my eye. Tonight, I’m sleeping with sunglasses on.

Jamie Oliver is coming out with a new Italian cookbook!!!!!!! I’m very psyched. It’s coming out in the UK Oct 2, so it should be here around the holidays. I’ve barely cracked his last one, so I’ve got a lot of recipes to try. Hopefully after we get back from South Africa I can take a week off and just hang out at home and cook.

Had a moment of kitchen-design inspiration yesterday. I think I’m going to decorate the walls with chef-autographed oven mitts. (I’m not completely sold on the oven mitts, but I’m not sure what else I could send through the mail easily without breaking. I want it to be an actual thing, not just a recipe card or piece of paper. Whatever it is, it has to be cheap. A plain white bread plate would probably be ideal, but it’ll probably break. Might have to take a trip through Ikea or Target to see if anything else will work before I start sending out for signatures.)

The weather is amazing this week, so I’m hoping to get some kayaking in after work. Haven’t been able to go for a couple weeks.

Okay, this entry is decidedly not funny, so I’m gonna wrap it up.

FOOD UPDATE: Yesterday was a crazy food day. Lunch at Quick Pita in Georgetown (had a mispronounced chicken gyro). Dinner at Jaleo . Split 6 small plates: Garlic rubbed Bruschetta with really thin sliced prosciutto (or something really similar to prosciutto), Beet salad with greens, blue cheese, pecans and tangerine (I think) slices, Salmon on roasted tomato confit, sauteed scallops on yellow heirloom tomatoes with onion, Cod fritters with this sweetish dipping sauce, and a cheese sampler. Dessert was Espresso ice cream for dessert somewhere in DuPont Circle. Made up for it at the Gym today. Will be hurting BIG TIME tomorrow.

The Greatest City In America

According to the police blotter in yesterday’s East Baltimore Guide, someone stole some guy’s 99 cent can of soda.

The guy responded as any rational person would: by throwing a chair at a woman. However, women don’t generally appreciate having chairs thrown at them. So she responded by throwing a vaccum at him.

The soda is still missing.

FOOD UPDATE: Tried to get take-out from Thai Jai Dee at 10:30 last night. It was closed. Went home and made a turkey sandwich w/ mozzarella and corn on the cob instead.

Brain dead

Worked until 7:30 tonight getting the work ready for tomorrow's poker meeting. Hopefully the client will finally pull the trigger on something. There's only so many times you can get sent back to the well before it dries up. 743 times, to be exact.

Tonight I watched 2 episodes of Scrubs on DVD. Now, I'm gonna grab my Men's Health and my pillow and probably wake up at 3am with a subscription card stuck to my forehead.

Tomorrow should be nice and quiet at work. I'm gonna go to the Gallery and return those sunglasses (I've decided they look kind of funny. Not haha funny. Bad funny.)

Okay, sleep time.

FOOD UPDATE:
Tonight's dinner: ground turkey tacos w/ Old El Paso taco mix (Major guilty pleasure). Bananna split with Ben and Jerry's Vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, pecans, whipped cream and two cherries (you only live once). I have DEFINITELY fallen off the work-out train. Yikes. Maybe tomorrow at lunch.

We are softball GODS!!!!!!!!

Could the 2005 Eisner Communications team be the best fucking softball team ever to step onto a field in the history of the game of softball?

Yes.

Last night, we finished the season several games out in front of the Advertising Softball league by putting Planit Advertising over our proverbial knee and giving them a proverbial spanking that they’ll never forget. Proverbially.

I personally had a stellar game, going one for one at the plate, and sort of scoring on an RBI fly-out to left. Sort of, because I missed touching home plate by about 4 feet. Which was okay, because apparently no one noticed. Except for everyone on my team, who would certainly never dream of giving me a hard time about it when I got back to the bench.

Next week is the first round of the playoffs. We find out who gets to endure our wrath on Tuesday. In the meantime, we’ll just have to take out our wrath on puppies.

FOOD UPDATE:
Last night’s dinner: Grilled Swordfish with Charred Corn Relish and Sauteed Collard Greens. Collard Greens were a bit undercooked. When in doubt, blame the recipe.