B E B E R E

Usually I don't like to go out on Fridays, as I'm either working late or too tired from work to enjoy myself. Hal stopped by the office, however, thus assuring that I'd get out at a decent time. (Good thing, too, as it was so stifling there I could feel a nasty headache developing.) How nice it was to get out at a normal time like a normal person and to have it light out. Anyway, since it was open and I'd not visited in a while, we took a wander through the Cambridge Street Antiques Market. (Smaller than the one on McGrath Highway, but much cleaner and easier to manoeuvre around in.) The high point of this visit was a giant Anubis statue in the back furniture section. It was going for something like $3300 and had a tag stating that it was commissioned by Haile Selassie but never picked up. How funny is that? The former emperor of Ethiopia orders something along these lines:



decides that perhaps it's not going to go with whatever his new decor is (something more Italianate? Would have gone well with a futurist or deco decor), so it sits around until a British film company picks it up. Somehow the Big Dog makes its way here to a shop down the street from my office where I can stand around and joke about moving my coffee table out of the living room so as to make room for it.

Dinner was Casa Portugal, which, interestingly enough, was hopping. I think that more people have gotten it figured out to be the "romantic place" that Hal calls it, as there were an awful lot of young couples. It was kind of fun listening to the ones seated next to us. Definitely second or third date. I had my paella valenciana (something that they make about as well as I've ever had it) and life was good. We split a pear that was macerated in port wine and decided that this was something I needed to figure out how to make.

Since Todd Solondz was sold out at the HFA (for which we were thankful as we both were beat. Don't get old; it sucks.), we made our way home, parted ways and ended up tucked in for the night at some early hour.