07-17-2000

It's always nice to have a weekend where you can just relax, sleep late, and do nothing. This past weekend was not one of them. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Not, mind you, that I am complaining, because after all, it started Friday night with sushi and then a movie. The X-Men, to be exact. One couple managed to snag tickets for the premier of the movie in Davis, so we got to see it brand new. And it is fantastic! . I never read the comic books and I only saw the cartoon two or three times, so I realize I have no basis for comparison to what it 'should' have been. All I know is that I thought it was terrific. Of course, it had Patrick Stewart in it, so maybe I *am* a little biased (Yes, I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation faithfully, and any grown woman with her eyesight intact would agree that in that show, Patrick Stewart was a god....but anyway).

Saturday afternoon Richard and I drove to Berkeley because Bethy and Sabs - the strangers-turned-friends that we helped move in the rain a few months ago - were hosting a barbeque as a combination thanks-for-lugging-heavy-boxes, and friendly get-together for the area. Because the invitation did mention that we could bring something to grill if we wanted to, I did my normal worry that this meant we really *should* get something (It's genetic. I can't help it. I get the worry gene from my Mom, Goddess help me), so we swung by the produce stand that's conveniently located near the freeway entrance to grab fresh corn on the cob, and a bag of English peas for the road. I should mention here as an aside that I adore raw peas, and it is too darn hard to find them in stores. It seems that they have a season about as short as pomegranates in grocery stores - somewhere around two days - and just to be evil, the grocery store likes to only put out a teensy tiny display and hide it somewhere. Anyway, we drove, shelling and munching peas as we journeyed.

Sabs proved his skills as a barbeque chef, and both of them outdid themselves with the spread of food we were presented with. They've done quite a bit of unpacking since we last saw their place (well, *any* amount would be quite a bit, since the last time we saw it was when we moved them in). We got to meet two of their cats. We sat around and chatted, and ate. And ate. And ate. There is something about food cooked on a grill, combined with great company and conversation, that makes one eat far more than one should.

Afterwards, the initial plan had been for Ivy and Otis - her ex-and possible future SO - and Richard and I to head back to my house that evening, with a slight detour into a rather noisy restaurant to have dinner. The noisy part was a requirement because I brought a game with me we intended to play while eating, and we figured that if the place was noisy already, we wouldn't have to worry about adding to the general cacophony. After the barbeque, however, there was just no way any of us could even *think* about eating any more, so we ended up heading back to my house, and then going out much later for coffee, ice cream, and (typical for any time Ivy, Richard and I are together), much silliness and laughing. Sunday the laughing and eating continued as we started the day with chai tea and waffles, continued the food-fest with some of Ivy's truly delicious marinated fajitas during a game of AD&D that Otis began for us, and ended it with a pot of chocolate fondue and a plate full of fruit to dip. The prevailing theme seemed to be that every conversation got sillier and sillier and ended, somehow, on Ivy's butt. Perhaps this Ivy-butt fascination has to do with the 'moon' in her nickname - I don't know. Suffice it to say that it became one of those jokes that we'll probably haul out over the years to confound everyone around us by laughing our heads off while the rest of our acquaintences sadly shake their heads and murmur platitudes about our decreasing level of sanity.

Besides the silliness, the food, and Ivy's rear end this weekend, Richard and I got a chance to meet Otis. I'd met him before, twice, but the first time he was half-asleep, and the second time I was the one dozing off, so it was more of a wave and nod sort of affair. This weekend was a chance for us all to actually talk to each other - for us to get to know him, and for him to get to know us too. He seemed a bit hesitant at first - Ivy, Richard, and I together tend to be an rather odd trio and it had to have been hard for him to be dumped right into the middle of it - but he fit in just fine. She seems more relaxed with him, even though part of that could simply be the result of slipping into something familiar and comfortable. And it's good to see that they both seem to want to take this slow and make sure they're doing the right thing, whether they go further, or simply remain friends.

It wasn't a restful weekend by any means, and that wasn't helped in the slightest by the fact that I gave in to the lure and ended up reading the new Harry Potter book Saturday night. I couldn't sleep, so I just stayed up til about 2am to read instead. Back at work today I'm sorely missing the little coffee cart that was located in the old building. This new place has only the office coffee machines - and like all other office coffee dispensers, the coffee, while caffeinated, is only drinkable if you're really desperate. And despite being so tired from the weekend I'm not quite that desperate. Yet. Although one more conversation that spirals into tush-talk and I just might get there...