An Evening with Marcus Samuelsson

Happy hump day! I hope everyone is having a fantastic (or at least tolerable) week. :-) To be quite honest, I'm having a hard time keeping track of the days - I really only know which day it is by my gym class schedule (Wednesdays = Chisel fo’ Shizzel with my favorite instructor). While I'm still working (my summer classes start in two weeks), I have to say that it's soooo nice to finally have a little time off from the commute and from the constant high level of interaction. As I've mentioned before, I love my school, but I desperately need a little recovery/introvert time.

Thus far, my recovery has included quite a bit of time at the gym (making up for all of the days I missed during the semester), pleasure reading time (my to-read book and magazine pile is diminishing!), and some quality time with friends and Mario. As one of my favorite academic bloggers called it, it's time for me to become my Best Summertime Self! The first part of being my BSS included a fabulous weekend in which I met the totally adorable and so sweet Chef Marcus Samuelsson, discovered the best mojito I've ever had, and attended my first sumo match.

Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert

Anthony Bourdain + Eric Ripert = über awesomeness

Last Friday, Diana and I attended what is totally the culinary equivalent of a rock concert: an evening with the super-awesome Antony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. The auditorium was packed with foodie fans, and as with any hot show, there were the requisite inappropriate screamers ("I love you, Tony!" "Come home with me, Eric!"), the note-tossers (I'm just going to guess that the notes two guys in skinny jeans & skull caps put on the stage pre-show contained phone numbers and invites to hipster bars), almost nonstop laughter & clapping, and a plethora of cheap beer.