Jar

Here is what I've been up to lately -

- On Monday night I went to my favorite restaurant, Jar. Jar is a steakhouse that blows me away. I had the ribeye, we shared some duck fried rice and chocolate pudding and I had two old-fashioneds. It was a great dinner, that was almost ruined by the women sitting next to us. One of the women talked for forty-five minutes with almost no interruption. It was shocking how much she had to say while accompanied by grunts from her co-diner. They were clearly co-workers and spoke about their work environment non-stop. When they left we were just finishing our dinner course and I insisted that we sit in silence for a couple minutes to just enjoy the sound of nothing.

- I'm reading the book that eventually spawned "The Wire." For the uneducated it's called "Homicide," and it was written by David Simon who went on to create "Homicide" the television series and even later "The Wire." Simon was a reporter in Baltimore who embedded himself with the homicide division of the Baltimore PD. So far the book is fantastic. It's gripping and fascinating and as a fan of the T.V. series it's interesting to see the origins of some of the ideas and characters that I have been so enamored by. It's the type of book that makes me wish I read with a highlighter so I could mark my favorite phrases and quotes. But I don't. Because I'm lazy.

- I had what I think is probably my best birthday party ever. I managed to get 31 of my closest friends to go to a Dodger game and make one dollar wagers on whatever they wanted. Highlights included betting on strikes and balls, a bet that involved whether or not a girl in front of us had a back tattoo and exactly what time the first pitch would be thrown out. I went nuts and had a shitload of fun. And this picture came from it. Which is reward enough.