Plush Steve Jobs. Awwww, he’s so cute!

For our special anniversary dinner last night, we finally got to try out Glebe Point Diner after hearing about it for so long. (It was awarded a hat in this year’s Good Food Guide.) I had tried to get a table for our wedding anniversary last November, but I left it too long and they were booked out. This time I wisely called a couple weeks ahead. We got there half an hour early (since it was raining and we took a cab instead of walking) but they were still able to seat us. The place was busy and the service was harried but pleasant. The menu/wine list was just a single photocopied A4 sheet (since evidently it changes often depending on what’s in season). I had crab and chestnut soup as a starter, while the Snook had bluefin tartare. Both were excellent. The soup was creamy and moreish and warming, while the tuna had big juicy chunks that zinged with finger lime. There was a bit of a wait for our mains, but they were worth it. I had crispy duck with Brussels sprouts, fig, and barley, while the Snook had Scotch fillet steak with mushrooms and asparagus. We also ordered some veg (“Roman beans”) to share between us. (The portions were more generous that I’d expected though, so I think you could easily forgo the sides.) My Brussels sprouts were hiding under the duck, and they were the best sprouts I’ve ever had in my life. Soooooo good. The only annoyance I had was that we had to wait forever to get our bill (and ask twice!), but I think that was because the host was busy ordering taxis for people going home in the rain. Forgivable. The cost (less than $70 each) was actually pretty good considering we each had two decent sized courses, half a side, a beer, and a glass of wine. I’d definitely recommend it… if you can get a table!

Note: They do have a couple seats at the bar, which I turned down when they were offered last November. I’ve changed my mind on them though. It looks like a worthwhile option if you’re trying to get in on short notice.

Man, I’m sorry it’s just an April Fools joke. I’d LOVE a Tauntaun sleeping bag!

Awww, Willow and Wesley had a girl.

I’m kind of fascinated by this fake Mars mission experiment. Six astronauts are going to be locked up for three months in a space capsule to see how they react to the prolonged isolation of long-distance space travel. They’ll have all their supplies with them, and their communications to “Earth” will be delayed by 20 minutes. Won’t they all just go nuts? That’s what I’m expecting. Other questions that popped into my head: What do astronauts do with their garbage/human waste? Just dump it out into space? (I’m now picturing this space capsule hooked up like a motorhome at a camp ground.) And why aren’t there any women included? Surely the dynamics of a mixed group would be more interesting that all men.

Mathison leaving Idol??? Nooooooooo! TELL ME it’s an April Fool’s joke.

Happy anniversary, Snookums
Nine years ago tonight – just about right now, in fact – I was in the Distillers Arms in Hammersmith celebrating being granted a British work visa (which meant I didn’t have to go home in a week). Pretty much the whole office had ended up there, and we were partying it up. Half a dozen of us decided to kick on to the “Leopard Lounge” in Fulham to do some dancing. The place was pretty sad, actually, and not very full, but we made the best of it. At one point I was dancing with the cute boy from the office that I had a crush on, and I just decided to go for it. We smooched and held hands. It was an incredible rush, yet at some level even then I knew it also felt completely comfortable and right. We’ve barely been apart since.

It’s been a great nine years. Happy (real) anniversary to my best friend…

The SMH report on the cake decoration competition at the Easter Show, which they claim is one of the “fiercest contests.” See, this is why I’m not a huge fan of transient art forms. If I spent four months knitting Na Craga only to have somebody knock it over and ruin it, I’d never pick up the needles again.