2 Weeks Down, 50 To Go

not that i'm counting or anything...

i had a bit of a reality check on sat. b called and asked how i was doing, and after whining to her for 10 mins about the people that have been acting like whiny babies, i realized i sounded just like them. ICK. so needless to say, i'm trying a little harder to focus on the brighter side of things. work is always going to be crazy (spent most of the wknd looking at it), so why not have a little fun???

so... old classmate mara (and when i say old, i mean we were in the 4th grade together) happens to be a regulatory coordinator for the rwanda-zambia HIV group located next to my office (can you say small world?!). she's been living here for just over a year, and invited me out w/her friends to the brick store. this might be my new favorite place. not only is there a ridiculous beer selection, but there's a nice little single malt scotch collection and a belgian bar upstairs too (dane, i know you totally want to go). they also have some sort of amazing psuedo-homemade mustard that you get w/your pretzels (it was explained to me that you order the pretzels to get the mustard cuz you look like an idiot ordering just mustard). i think it's just honey mustard, whole mustard seeds, and some horseradish so methinks i can whip it up at home if i'm ever that motivated. or, i can just drive the 10 mins it takes to get to decatur...

besides the beer outing, i finally made it to the land of little korean people. this one is located in duluth, about 35 mins NE on I-85. it's in the middle of nowhere, or as ac's friend likes to put it cuz he resides out there: i actually live on the very upper edge of nowhere... long ways from the middle of nowhere...

it's kinda strange driving there. everything looks like a traditional american sprawling suburb: no trees, a few SUV dealerships, and a wal-mart. but as you look closer, every single store either has only korean writing on its storefront (w/the exception of wal-mart of course), or it has korean writing w/an english subtitle. it's like a foreign film come to life! oh yeah, and there's the odd concentration of hundreds of little korean people...

(what might be even funnier than the whole scenario is wandering the aisles of super h, seeing a korean man, and then listening to him talk in perfect english w/a really thick southern drawl...)

anyhoo, i'm grateful i made the trek cuz now i have plenty of 한국 음식 to last me a while. (m - your 언니 is going to be SO IMPRESSED if you can read this!!!)

also grabbed a drink on fri night (i recommend the mojito and not the mango margarita) and tried a new diner (the buckwheat pancakes were so-so, but the turkey bacon was de-lish!).

i also ate several more cookies. these things are so damn good i think i ate some w/o realizing it cuz the container only has 2 left and i don't remember eating most of them, but there's crumbs on the floor and on my face. so now i'm trying to ration them in anticipation of some really bad moment this wk (optimism, schoptimism. i'm realistic!). i know i could make my own, but then i'd be the only one to eat the whole damn pan. self control sucks.

in addition to swimming thru the neverending pile of work, i'm hoping to make it around town to one or two more places next wknd. by the time any of you actually visit, i'll be a well-qualified tour guide who can tell you where to find a good drink, good breakfast, or lots of little asian people.