Travel Arrangements, Deal or No Deal, Food and Top Chef (and they are all related!)
With a little plea for help from Floridians and Top Chef fans
Okay, passport applied for and being walked-through, so that hurdle's taken care of. (I technically still had time to do an expedited but not walked through passport, but I was cutting it pretty close and anyway I feel more comfortable having someone who handles them every day fill out my online application and look over my documents.) I should have it back on March 5. That's plenty of time to fix whatever needs to be fixed if something goes wrong. *knocks on wood*
Now the fun part -- I was not the only customer at the passport/visa service. Besides several people getting visas, including one for China, there were two other young ladies getting passports so they could go to Estonia next Sunday to be on DEAL OR NO DEAL! (I have no idea why they are filming in Estonia, but apparently they do international shows from time to time. Maybe Howie gets the travel bug.) They were both ditzy blondes, but the adorable and sweet kind, not the conniving mean girl kind. I even had to go to the post office with one of them to get sworn. So, if you're watching Deal or No Deal and they filmed the episode in Estonia and you see a ditzy blonde hairdresser from New Boston, Texas named Misti, I know her! Lulz! She really was very nice. The other girl didn't have her birth certificate and had to leave to drive back to Texarkana to get it and return this morning. I really felt for her. That's a lot of driving to get a passport.
I am very glad to have that taken care of. I guess I was stressed out over it, because for the first time I feel like I actually am going on this crazy trip.
One bad thing about yesterday -- I left my office at 11:00 and finished at the passport/visa office at 4:30. Seriously. And I had not eaten lunch or my mid-morning snack before I left. Plus I had to go to the grocery store so I didn't get home until 5:30. I went from 9:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night with only a 230 kcal. breakfast of special k and 2% milk to sustain me. And grocery shopped after not eating all day, which is always a horrible idea. I'm not surprised some junk food made its way into my basket (and it's Saturday so I'm off my diet and can have whatever, so that was somewhat intentional). I am surprised that chicken breasts and fresh broccoli made it in there. I remember at one point just kind of standing in the store and thinking, "What the heck am I doing here? Can't I just go home and eat these chips?! And when I got home I couldn't figure out what to eat. There was some beef jerky and a bag of almonds on the table, so I had a little of each of those and felt a lot better. I was lucky they were there.
Final thing for the day - Top Chef fans and Florida residents and/or frequent visitors, I need your help! I have an overnight in Miami on the way back. My one travel goal for life now is to eat in as many of the Top Chefs' restaurants as possible. According to Wikipedia, there are 3 Top Chef contestants from Miami, all from Season 3:
Sandee Birdsong - Tantra - Food looks awesome, but it's "aphrodisiac cuisine, which is maybe a little not good for a single person? Anyone want to be my "date" there? I promise I'll be far too tired for the aphrodisiacs to have any effect.
Howie Kleinberg - The Food Gang (big on appetizers, which I love, but reviews aren't all that great and it looks way too trendy and club-kiddie for me, plus -- Howie was far from my favorite.)
Sara Mair is apparently concentrating on cheesemaking and not working at a restaurant, but she did also once work at Tantra.
So it's between The Food Gang and Tantra, and I think due to several factors (especially better, more interesting food and my dad's wife most certainly won't want to go there) Tantra is probably the winner. But I'd like to know if any of you have suggestions either way, or even if you think I should pass on both and go somewhere else. I think I arrive in Miami around 6ish and have to go through customs, get to the hotel and check in, so it's going to be a late dinner. But it's actually the thing I'm most looking forward to on this trip, so please, please let me know what y'all think!
Okay, passport applied for and being walked-through, so that hurdle's taken care of. (I technically still had time to do an expedited but not walked through passport, but I was cutting it pretty close and anyway I feel more comfortable having someone who handles them every day fill out my online application and look over my documents.) I should have it back on March 5. That's plenty of time to fix whatever needs to be fixed if something goes wrong. *knocks on wood*
Now the fun part -- I was not the only customer at the passport/visa service. Besides several people getting visas, including one for China, there were two other young ladies getting passports so they could go to Estonia next Sunday to be on DEAL OR NO DEAL! (I have no idea why they are filming in Estonia, but apparently they do international shows from time to time. Maybe Howie gets the travel bug.) They were both ditzy blondes, but the adorable and sweet kind, not the conniving mean girl kind. I even had to go to the post office with one of them to get sworn. So, if you're watching Deal or No Deal and they filmed the episode in Estonia and you see a ditzy blonde hairdresser from New Boston, Texas named Misti, I know her! Lulz! She really was very nice. The other girl didn't have her birth certificate and had to leave to drive back to Texarkana to get it and return this morning. I really felt for her. That's a lot of driving to get a passport.
I am very glad to have that taken care of. I guess I was stressed out over it, because for the first time I feel like I actually am going on this crazy trip.
One bad thing about yesterday -- I left my office at 11:00 and finished at the passport/visa office at 4:30. Seriously. And I had not eaten lunch or my mid-morning snack before I left. Plus I had to go to the grocery store so I didn't get home until 5:30. I went from 9:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night with only a 230 kcal. breakfast of special k and 2% milk to sustain me. And grocery shopped after not eating all day, which is always a horrible idea. I'm not surprised some junk food made its way into my basket (and it's Saturday so I'm off my diet and can have whatever, so that was somewhat intentional). I am surprised that chicken breasts and fresh broccoli made it in there. I remember at one point just kind of standing in the store and thinking, "What the heck am I doing here? Can't I just go home and eat these chips?! And when I got home I couldn't figure out what to eat. There was some beef jerky and a bag of almonds on the table, so I had a little of each of those and felt a lot better. I was lucky they were there.
Final thing for the day - Top Chef fans and Florida residents and/or frequent visitors, I need your help! I have an overnight in Miami on the way back. My one travel goal for life now is to eat in as many of the Top Chefs' restaurants as possible. According to Wikipedia, there are 3 Top Chef contestants from Miami, all from Season 3:
Sandee Birdsong - Tantra - Food looks awesome, but it's "aphrodisiac cuisine, which is maybe a little not good for a single person? Anyone want to be my "date" there? I promise I'll be far too tired for the aphrodisiacs to have any effect.
Howie Kleinberg - The Food Gang (big on appetizers, which I love, but reviews aren't all that great and it looks way too trendy and club-kiddie for me, plus -- Howie was far from my favorite.)
Sara Mair is apparently concentrating on cheesemaking and not working at a restaurant, but she did also once work at Tantra.
So it's between The Food Gang and Tantra, and I think due to several factors (especially better, more interesting food and my dad's wife most certainly won't want to go there) Tantra is probably the winner. But I'd like to know if any of you have suggestions either way, or even if you think I should pass on both and go somewhere else. I think I arrive in Miami around 6ish and have to go through customs, get to the hotel and check in, so it's going to be a late dinner. But it's actually the thing I'm most looking forward to on this trip, so please, please let me know what y'all think!