October 7, 2011: I'm regular again! Pasta problems! And sushi with Ivon!

While in Toronto, I was terribly backed up.  It was a far cry from my post-move days in Vancouver when I'd been very regular, boasting two, three, sometimes even four a week!  But Hogtown did a number on my routine.  It got so bad, I was lucky to manage one a month – and that was always a fairly painful process. Hell, it reached the point where even a relatively modest completion was cause for celebration.  A trade paperback or a graphic novel -

Oh.  I'm talking about reading.  But you knew that, right?  So, now that I'm back in town, I'm back on track.  And last night's dinner with Rob and Hillary fueled my desire for more books.  You see, Hillary is a voracious reader as well and a big fan of the fantasy genre so, for part of the meal, we ended up talking about authors and titles – and she was kind enough to recommend a few.  The conversation so inspired me that, after we'd finished dinner, rather than heading home, I drove straight to my local bookstore and picked up a few things…

I know, I know.  I have a kindle and books are infinitely more cumbersome, but nothing beats the feel of a good book, or the look of a good book – moreover, hundreds of good books – lining a shelf. Don't get me wrong.  I love my kindle (compliments of my buddy Ivon) and it has served me well on trips when I want to travel light, but I very much doubt I'll be giving up on my library of real books anytime soon.

Rob and Hillary.

Anyway, last night, we checked out a new Italian restaurant in the neighborhood, Bibo, which occupies the space once held by – as far as I can recall – two defunct restaurants.  And, after last night's dinner, I fear Bibo may make it three.  The pizza was good (top marks for the sausage topping) but the pastas were a huge disappointment, cooked to mush.  Thus far, in my experience, only two Italian restaurants in Vancouver serve up consistently al dente pasta – Q4 (formerly Quattro) and La Quercia.  Someone should inform these chefs that they needn't cook the shit out of pasta.  It's not chicken or pork.  We'll be just fine. Honest. Desserts were hit and miss.  Same can be said for the service. Our waitress was terrific and on-the-ball taking our orders and serving us, then simply disappeared.  After waiting twenty minutes for someone to clear our table, I helpfully stacked all the dishes and cutlery for them.  I was going to wait another ten minutes and then deliver them to kitchen.

Today, it was sushi lunch at Aki Restaurant with this guy -

Ivon Bartok

- and the lunch time crush, well over half of whom were Japanese.  Always a good sign at a Japanese restaurant.

I told Ivon that once I'm back in the proper frame of mind – give it a week – we can sit down and start spitballing future projects.

Thanks to everyone who recommended anime titles.  I've seen most of the series mentioned, but a few had yet to show up on my radar. Looking forward to checking them out.

Today's entry is dedicated to blog regular Penny.  We're all sending good thoughts your way!