No chocolate shake for me. Instead, I had a Long Island Iced Tea, which, in my opinion, exacted longer lasting damage. (I may need to re-think that dionysian thing about the fish.) This morning I felt dehydrated and just kind of blah. It didn’t seem possible that one drink could do that but I guess LIIT’s are not average drinks and I am not an average drinker. Anyway, atmosphere cannot be discounted either. We arrived a little late to Hard Rock thus being assigned the last and worst-positioned table in the foreigner’s (non-smoking) section. We decided to move into a booth in the smoking area. Ick. All night I inhaled disgusting cigarette smoke in between breaths and bites of veggie burger (itself a possible instigator, or at least co-conspirator, of the blahness).

Anyway, I had a good time while I was there. The alcohol was like a big muscle relaxer and I was looser than usual. Dave’s coworker is Korean-Canadian. His wife is visiting from Canada and she is also Korean-Canadian. She was a kick. Dave was glad to interact with someone so direct and lively. Apparently the couple have almost nothing in common, but they’re happy to lead separate lives as she describes herself as being very independent and wouldn’t want to be with someone who didn’t allow her to practice it.

At a table adjacent to our booth sat four emaciated Korean women dressed to the nines. (Is that right? Nines?) They ordered a plate full of chicken wings, a bottle of tequila, and a decanter of wine. I watched them toss back shots of tequila, sip their wine, and nibble on the wings; all the while wondering when they would barf it all back up. How else can one maintain such a figure?

So this morning I wasn’t feeling so great - not bad, just like someone had filled my digestive system with concrete. Like I said, I suspect it was a combination of bad air, big burger, and the LIIT. Anyway, when we left here at 11:30 to meet yet another couple for lunch, I totally wasn’t feeling like eating. I ate anyway, though: A salad, roll, and crepe with real whipped cream, strawberries, powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. I had a little salad with my dessert. The restaurant is a European chain called Marché and the absolute best thing they have is crepes, in my opinion. I make it a point to get one when I go, whether or not I should. I mean, how often can one have crepes? Not often enough, so, you know, that’s why I do it.

The couple was nice. The man is a reporter for a newspaper that reports exclusively on the electronics industry in Korea. He wrote an article on Dave’s company a few months ago. He called last week and invited us to lunch with him and his wife. His wife works for the company that is contracted with Disney to manufacture all of the Disney stuffed animals. She was far more interesting and I’m envious of her job. She travels overseas regularly and since she’s working with Disney, that means she often spends her time in Disneyworld or Disneyland. Both of them speak English well. We will probably meet with them again.

Dave stopped at the video place on the way home from there and rented a couple of videos. He’s watching Starship Troopers now, which I’m not interested in seeing so I’m in here doing this. Later we’ll watch Alien 4 together. I think sometime in between I’ll take a nap just because my belly is still reeling from the veggie burger, LIIT, and the more recent crepe smothered in real whipped cream. Sure was good going down.

A dream I had last night:

A red bullet I would have chosen
approaching a concrete cliff --
Falling, Falling, Falling.
It’s a longer drop than I imagined,
my stomach fills my throat.
Still, we fall.
A bounce on the tires saves us;
parked perfectly in the only space left.

In the top of a metal and glass tower,
all sides drop away from here.
I am afraid of the height,
recent events have made it so.
The offices, the art, the hallway - all modern
and decadent.

I wake on a slender sofa occupied by two.
Connection re-established.
Arms like grapevines.