The Weekend in Review

Hopefully this cup of Starbucks coffee (my third of the day!) succeeds in waking me up; otherwise, I’ll be totally useless this evening. Of course the two beers I had whilst having dinner with a coworker a short while ago have done nothing to help the productivity level, but after the busy weekend, I deserved alcoholic refreshments.

So to summarize the weekend:

1.) The research Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning went well and didn’t take as long as in months past due to the lateness of the season. Fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be) one insect group on which I’m conducting a taxonomic study was collected in relative abundance, so I spend more time at the microscope this week than in sessions past taking care of various curational procedures (e.g, pinning, labeling, specimens, etc).

2.). A friend and I went to a relatively upscale, trendy Latin American restaurant about four blocks from the apartment called Luna Maya. Despite the fact that it’s been there about five year, this was my first visit and certainly won’t be my last. The food was first-rate and the ambiance was….well…orange. Minimalist décor save for a few mirrors and lamps against a backdrop of orange walls all around. In the subdued lighting the color actually worked well (e.g., I didn’t once feel I was dining inside a pumpkin). Certainly will be back.

3.) I attended (and did the cooking for) a casual dinner part at a friend’s condo Sunday evening. Prepared basic Italian cuisine (homemade soup, spaghetti , etc) and it turned out well…so well in fact, that we’re having another dinner party there next Sunday with French cuisine featured this time around. It’s a little more involved and I’ve started putting together the menu. Will have dust off my pastry baking skills this week in preparation for the cook-a-thon next weekend.

All in all, a very good weekend. Very busy and productive and most importantly a lot of fun.