We'll get to the reason for that title in a moment. :)

Alright, this morning I woke up, and my neck just felt like hell. Still does. Again. Well, it sort of went away for part of the day, but never completely. /me suspects I may have done something wierd to it last night while situating my head during reading. Ugggh... I'll have to lay flat tonight, and if it ain't doin' better soon, grrr... Grudgingly make an appointment with the chiropractor. (Which I HATE doing, because any kind of doctor visits annoy me.) I mean, for me to be thinking about doing that, it's gotta be pretty fucking bad. But I really hate when it hurts just to move my head around. Hopefully, I'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be fine. Hopefully.

Anyway, on with our main story, such as it is....

Today, the geek squad made a trip into Boulder for lunch. Continuing the naming convention used in a previous rambling, A, B, and C piled into C's car, along with two other geeks, who I shall refer to as "F" and "G" (skipping the letter E, since I'm using a nonsensical convention similar to letter grades). D did not come on this adventure (some may recall from before that D is an herbivore).

So anyway, B, F, and G made squished into C's back seat, A rode shotgun, and of course, C drove (duh, it's C's car). This combination of slightly less-than-mainstream upstanding American citizens (if that phrase sounds cryptic, that's because it's supposed to) made their way from the realm of Perl Street, into the realm of Pearl Street.

C, forgoing the hunt for an ordinary (and near impossible to find) parking place on the edge of the street, opted to enter the parking garage, and promptly procured a spot. A brief stroll, and the five arrived at the restaurant: Sushi Zanmai.

Rather than wait a long, long time for a table, they opted to take an immediate seat at the bar. All in the group were veterans of the sushi dining experience, with the exception of B. B was a total newbie to the whole thing. B had no clue. lol. :)

Well, the others were all quick to give B much instruction on how to go about the whole thing. A's advise was to look at the little pictures, and whatever grosses you out the least, order it. lol.

B looked at the pictures for a while, but still didn't feel any kind of a clue coming on, so he proceeded, using the rough advise from G, A, and C on what quantities from what categories would make a sufficient meal. The final selections were relatively random, at best. lol.

After the soup appetizer was consumed (very tasty, although B didn't realize initially that the soup was meant to be drank straight from bowl to mouth; he waited several minutes for a spoon to appear, until A gave him a clue (and an example). Actually, G had already given him an example, but B was hesitant to follow suit initially.)

It wasn't long before plates containing all variety of sea creature remains were passed to the diners. C had a piece of octopus, which he appeared to enjoy, while others watched in wonder. B wasn't really sure which kinds of creatures were in which rolled up bundles of rice he was eating. But they tasted good, so he decided not to worry about it. :)

The meal proceeded in good natured, geeky fun, and the substances proved surprisingly filling, given their minute volume. One wonders why we don't just all go to the beach, pick up whatever random things that might happen to be crawling around in the sand or washed onto shore by the tide, and stuff our faces. Oh, we do? Nevermind.

But the real high point did not come until the final course, when the servers brought B's last item and placed it in front of him. I'm not sure which was better, the item itself, or A's reaction to it. lol.

Two heads, complete with nice, round, black eyeballs, of a couple of cute (or not so cute) little creatures. Each was about the size of my index finger. Kind of orangish in color, with lots of little crusty things hanging out around the bottom. Sitting in a dark sauce. Shrimp, we eventually decided.

B stared at this concoction for a few seconds. A reverted to "being a girl" (as she put it), attempted to shield her eyes from the great delicacy, and proceeded to squeal, gross out, and held up a napkin to shield her peripheral vision from the sight, all while simultaniously laughing nonstop at the situation. C, G, and F were also laughing quite hysterically.

B looked at it for a few seconds, also laughing, and decided to follow in the footsteps of a great hero: William T. Riker. "Gagh is best when served live." The waitress, seeing B's confusion at how to go about eating the little guys, confirmed that you just pick it up and munch the whole thing down.

B took a deep breath, divised a strategy, proceeded to pick up one of the tasty dudes, and bit off a chunk. Crunchy. Very flavorful. Mmmmmm. A's gross-out level had exceeded prior thresholds, which was causing all the more laughter from everyone. B found this rather ironic, because it was A who had so much wanted to go to this restaurant and eat sea creatures, but this same A was now squirming, squealing, and having a fit about what was being served and eaten. By someone else. lol. THAT was a priceless moment. :)

;)

Well, the bill was certainly high, as A and C had promised. When I had asked earlier, both told me without hesitation that they would eat this way every day, were it not for the cost (that conversation came before the shrimp heads). Can't say I would go that far, but it was good. Yes, even the shrimp heads had a very tasty flavor. Although I'm not sure which was better, the shrimp heads themselves, or A's reaction to them. Aw, who am I kidding? The latter, hands down. But those things were yummy. :)

So anyway, out came the happy bank account depletion card, and the five were shortly squishing back into C's car, with a few pounds extra for the trip back.

It was definitely filling. I haven't eaten a thing since, and I'm still not a bit hungry. That stuff stays with you. No exaggeration. We'll have to see about breakfast tomorrow.

Well, that concludes this yummy adventure, and my swap is full, so I'm off to read a little Shakespeare, rest my neck, and get a moment of sleep before the next big adventure begins.