Rasika At Long Last

I told Joe we ought to do something to celebrate our one year anniversary, and all month, I nagged him gently reminded him that he should plan something to celebrate. We decided that Friday, August 26 would be the anniversary date.

Every few days, I would ask him "Have you planned something yet? You haven't? Why not? [Minor screeching]" Rinse. Repeat.

Then on Thursday of this past week, over chimichangas and pupusas at El Reconcito in Columbia Heights, I said casually, "I'm going to the movies with my friend tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" Joe said, with a worried look on his face. "You're going to the movies tomorrow? On Friday?"

Me: "Yes, tomorrow. Why?"

[Five second pause]

Ohhhhh... that whole thing. The anniversary thingy.

So I interrogated him about planning a date for a month, then I forgot about the whole thing completely and made other plans. Sounds about right.

None of it mattered in the end. I got to see "One Day"* on Friday with my friends.

And thanks to Hurricane Irene, we snagged a last minute reservation to Rasika on Saturday - I've wanted to eat there for years! Even though the streets in Penn Quarter were empty, the restaurant was almost completely full. I ordered the cucumber cocktail, crispy spinach, mango shrimp and black cod. The waiter asked if I had been there before and I said no. He then called me out on my Internet research. Yes, I was holding the menu with one hand and skimming Yelp reviews on my iPhone in the other.

I was so excited to eat that I started spooning my appetizers onto my plate before I even removed the napkin. I looked down to see mango shrimp sitting neatly on the napkin. Good God! Who does that? How is that even possible? I swear, you can not take me anywhere! In my defense, they were the same color, but really.

How lucky am I that my date thought that was endearing instead of incredibly embarrassing for both of us, which it is. Ha. I am lucky.

*As someone who adored the novel, I had reservations about the casting of this movie. Ann Hathway as Emma? But she pulled it off! And I am saying right now, she should be the heir to Julia Roberts' romcom crown. Very charming. By the end, they were absolutely the Emma and Dexter in the book. And even though I knew what would happen, I still teared up at the ending. I had to compose myself during the credits. Call me sentimental, but I really liked the film. Go see it and read the book too...

Tunes Tuesday: "Congratulations," MGMT

So MGMT makes an album full of catchy, crowd-pleasing electro-pop songs. Said album brings them international fame, sold-out concerts and a boatload of cash. How do they follow it up?

By putting out a spacey, self-proclaimed "no-singles" album devoid of any obvious hooks.

You gotta love the "eff you" spirit of that. Is that a really rock and roll move - just creating what you want to create, without worrying about focus groups or what came before? I have to think so.

And the fans that follow them off the psychedelic cliff are left to parse song lyrics like "It's hardly a sink or swim, when all is well if the ticket sells," as heard in "Congratulations," a slacker-pretty track that really grew on me. Maybe it turns out that the rock star dream doesn't end in choking on one's own vomit, like in "Time to Pretend." Maybe the denouement is fake friends and "someone to make reports/ That tell me how my money's spent/ To book my stays and draw my blinds/ So I can't see what's really there."

Of course, musicians complaining about fame is highly annoying (see: Drake), but I like that MGMT backed up their argument by making the album they wanted to make. The one that might kick them out of the mainstream for good.

PS - this is a soaring remix of "It's Working" by Air.

Fake Ink

In my last post, I mentioned Tria, the fun wine bar that Debie and I went to in Philadelphia thanks to a recommendation from our friend Kate. While we ate, we noticed that a bunch of the staff had identical "Riesling" tattoos on their forearms. What's the deal with that, we wondered. Did they really like Riesling that much? There's commitment for you.

They were temporary, of course. The manager gave me one after I inquired. Debie said I should put the tattoo on my forehead, or maybe on my neck. A "Riesling" neck tattoo. That's gotta be the yuppiest neck tattoo ever.

I stayed true to my conservative nature and just went for the fake wrist tattoo. I dipped my napkin in my water and applied the tattoo at the table. Classy. When I came back from the bathroom, a waiter had carefully folded up my soaked, crumpled napkin for me. Now that is service.

The manager kindly posed with me for a snapshot. I've joined the Riesling cult.

Two days in, and the "N" and "G" had already rubbed off. All last week, I wondered around with a "Riesli" tattoo. A lot of people thought it was the real thing! It looks very real. I'm getting used to the idea of having a tattoo now. I like the typeface and location. Hmm... Could I take the plunge?

The fact that it is so permanent is still scary. Maybe I'll just wear the same temporary tattoo in the same spot and constantly reapply until I'm 40.

Today, it just says "Riesl." That could be a name, if you were German maybe. So it's been a week with the temporary tattoo. I am going to see how long I can keep this going.