Safe & Sound
One thing I have learned from watching my new guilty pleasure called "Skins" is that the British tend to use the word "safe" to mean "cool" or "great." So if you were talking to someone about something positive that happened to you or something enjoyable, your friend might say something like "Wow, that's really safe."
Last night was definitely very safe, indeed.
Daphne and I celebrated the Fourth of July at the Safe House, a spy themed restaurant in downtown Milwaukee that has attracted a bit of national fame from the Food Network and the History Channel for its unique appeal and attractions. To even get into the restaurant, you have to know the password. It's pretty hard to find out what it is - most people wouldn't even tell me, even close friends. If you end up not knowing the password, the host/hostess will make you do something embarassing. One time I had to cluck like a chicken, Daphne had to flex like a bodybuilder last night, etc. The catch is that there are monitors throughout the restaurant and the patrons can see you do whatever you end up being asked to do.
Once you make it past there, a wall opens up and you go inside. All of the things on the menu and the drinks all have espionage-like names. For example, my dessert was called "Plausable Deniability" and my burger was called a "Spyburger." Our booth was really dimly lit and we had beaded curtains around the sides, separating us from the rest of the place and a big red lantern over our heads with a red candle on the table. It felt like something out of "Casablanca." There is piping all around the top of the walls, where the martinis come down to the bar. Sort of like those canisters when you make deposits at the drive through of the bank. Except this is for alcohol and it weaves around the entire space.
After dinner, we wandered around the multiple nooks and crannies and levels of the Safe House and encountered a shifting wall puzzle that you can play with and a magician in the back who was really cute and did a few tricks that involved somehow placing my cell phone into balloon and then deep throating said balloon until it disappeared and then he magically placed a $10 bill inside of a lemon and then cut the lemon open and revealed it to us. It was very cool and then we ended the night by going out a secret entrance through the basement. It actually wasn't as expensive as I kept hearing it was and it was a wonderful experience.
I was so impressed with the evening and everything I saw that I decided I wanted the Safe House to be the place I held my birthday dinner in August. I used to have annual dinners, where my dearest friends would come and we would spend one night together and everyone could meet everyone and so forth. To me, that's the best gift of all. To take so many people with their crazy schedules and have one night together - that means a lot to me. So I sent out the invites and a few people put themselves on the guest list that I didn't immediately consider, but I think would still be a good addition to the fun. I really want this to pan out. I'm giving people enough time to clear that day for this and to make sure they have money for it. I'm not asking for gifts, I'm not asking anyone to foot my bill. I just want who I want to be there. That's all.
This weekend has been pretty agonizing for me. The hair dyeing went well, but the humidity has been hard on the hair and it hasn't quite settled yet, where it's photo-worthy. The air conditioning also died in our building and I have had one box fan to rely on and I'm so tired and exhausted and emotional over it. I tossed and turned all night, yesterday, naked and sticking to my sheets and then trying to wrap myself in sheets how I'm used to and it didn't work and ugh. It was not a pleasant evening, by any means. The property managers don't consider air conditioning issues to be emergencies, so I hope when I come home from work tomorrow that it's all resolved. I don't think I could spend many more days like this.
I had brunch with my parents today and their wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. In keeping with the tradition of expanding them culturally and spoiling them in the process, I decided I will be taking them out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday. They're gonna shit frisbees when they see it and try the food. That's exactly the reaction that I'm hoping for!
I don't have much else to do tonight, but rest or at least try to. I want to make sure I look fabulous for the debut of my new black hair at work tomorrow. I hope people like it as much as I do and the reaction has been pretty positive, if not muted, so far.
Or should I say the reactions have been pretty safe.
Last night was definitely very safe, indeed.
Daphne and I celebrated the Fourth of July at the Safe House, a spy themed restaurant in downtown Milwaukee that has attracted a bit of national fame from the Food Network and the History Channel for its unique appeal and attractions. To even get into the restaurant, you have to know the password. It's pretty hard to find out what it is - most people wouldn't even tell me, even close friends. If you end up not knowing the password, the host/hostess will make you do something embarassing. One time I had to cluck like a chicken, Daphne had to flex like a bodybuilder last night, etc. The catch is that there are monitors throughout the restaurant and the patrons can see you do whatever you end up being asked to do.
Once you make it past there, a wall opens up and you go inside. All of the things on the menu and the drinks all have espionage-like names. For example, my dessert was called "Plausable Deniability" and my burger was called a "Spyburger." Our booth was really dimly lit and we had beaded curtains around the sides, separating us from the rest of the place and a big red lantern over our heads with a red candle on the table. It felt like something out of "Casablanca." There is piping all around the top of the walls, where the martinis come down to the bar. Sort of like those canisters when you make deposits at the drive through of the bank. Except this is for alcohol and it weaves around the entire space.
After dinner, we wandered around the multiple nooks and crannies and levels of the Safe House and encountered a shifting wall puzzle that you can play with and a magician in the back who was really cute and did a few tricks that involved somehow placing my cell phone into balloon and then deep throating said balloon until it disappeared and then he magically placed a $10 bill inside of a lemon and then cut the lemon open and revealed it to us. It was very cool and then we ended the night by going out a secret entrance through the basement. It actually wasn't as expensive as I kept hearing it was and it was a wonderful experience.
I was so impressed with the evening and everything I saw that I decided I wanted the Safe House to be the place I held my birthday dinner in August. I used to have annual dinners, where my dearest friends would come and we would spend one night together and everyone could meet everyone and so forth. To me, that's the best gift of all. To take so many people with their crazy schedules and have one night together - that means a lot to me. So I sent out the invites and a few people put themselves on the guest list that I didn't immediately consider, but I think would still be a good addition to the fun. I really want this to pan out. I'm giving people enough time to clear that day for this and to make sure they have money for it. I'm not asking for gifts, I'm not asking anyone to foot my bill. I just want who I want to be there. That's all.
This weekend has been pretty agonizing for me. The hair dyeing went well, but the humidity has been hard on the hair and it hasn't quite settled yet, where it's photo-worthy. The air conditioning also died in our building and I have had one box fan to rely on and I'm so tired and exhausted and emotional over it. I tossed and turned all night, yesterday, naked and sticking to my sheets and then trying to wrap myself in sheets how I'm used to and it didn't work and ugh. It was not a pleasant evening, by any means. The property managers don't consider air conditioning issues to be emergencies, so I hope when I come home from work tomorrow that it's all resolved. I don't think I could spend many more days like this.
I had brunch with my parents today and their wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. In keeping with the tradition of expanding them culturally and spoiling them in the process, I decided I will be taking them out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday. They're gonna shit frisbees when they see it and try the food. That's exactly the reaction that I'm hoping for!
I don't have much else to do tonight, but rest or at least try to. I want to make sure I look fabulous for the debut of my new black hair at work tomorrow. I hope people like it as much as I do and the reaction has been pretty positive, if not muted, so far.
Or should I say the reactions have been pretty safe.