I got home and started working on the packing process. I received a phone call from a co-worker around 9pm. It was a friendly call encouraging me to enjoy my vacation as I had “really earned it.” A short time later Trevor and Jessie arrived. They were passing through/crashing on their way to a Saturday picnic in the area.

We went down to Baggataway’s for dinner and drinks. We split an order of wings and I went with a mushroom and Gruyère burger. Pretty tasty all around. We sat outside and it was a very nice night to be sitting outside.

The rest of the night was spent sitting around a camp fire trying an assortment of beers I had acquired and discussing life. It was really nice to catch up with them both. We also discussed a “man-cation” next summer of RV’ing across the US stopping at various craft beer establishments. Before I knew it the clock read 3:30am and it was time for bed.

Today I got a little more serious about packing. However, my method of packing was questionable. I pulled all of the clothing that had piled up in my closet and started folding, sorting and hanging it. I decided that it would be nice to come back to a clean room.

I also found time to watch two good movies: Inglourious Basterds and Soylent Green. I especially enjoyed the first one. Creatively structured, good acting and edge-of-your seat action were the highlights. I’m not sure if I’d be eager to watch it again but definitely worth watching at least once.

I also popped out to the bank to deposit a check and made a run to the grocery store for some dinner items. I made scallops, zucchini and couscous. Delicious. Only problem is that I made too much and there isn’t anyone around to help eat it.

I’m going to spend the remainder of the night folding shirts and watching HGTV. Tomorrow morning at 9:45am Erin and I take off (got upgraded to first class) to Mexico for a week long vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. I expect nothing less than glorious enjoyment. I’ve got three books to read and an appetite for relaxation (and fruity beverages).

When I return, marathon training begins (but I won’t think about that until next Saturday).

1) Mushroom risotto #1 – I didn’t add the mushrooms until the very end and basically just let them steam. This kept the rice a nice cream color. I servered it with some small bay scallops. Overall, it was good.

2) Lobster mushroom risotto #2 – I don’t know what I was thinking but ACME had pre-boiled lobsters for $7.99 per pound. I bought around 3 pounds. Pulling apart lobster outside of a nice restaurant just doesn’t feel right. In this batch I soaked dry mushrooms in my chicken broth which turned it into a really nice mushroom broth. The rice ended up having a dirtier color as I strained the mushrooms from the broth, chopped them and re-added them. I tossed the lobster meat in at the end. Initially, the risotto wasn’t exactly what I wanted but after sitting in the fridge for a night it got a lot better for some reason.

3) Mushroom risotto #3 – This one was perfect. I didn’t over complicate the risotto. I used the same dry mushroom soaking technique but did not add the mushrooms in with the rice. I served the wild mushrooms on the side. I did forget to add salt which just means you have to add your own when you eat. Not such a bad thing as the salt won’t get disolved and it will have a bigger impact in enhancing the flavor and consumption time. The piece that pulled it all together was the dry-pack sea scallops. I seared them in olive oil with and flavored them with a little bit of kosher salt and fresh-ground red pepper corns. I believe I cooked the scallops perfectly. The are my favorite food of the moment. It was an excellent meal and the only real downside was that the mushrooms were a little boring.

This week I made turkey meatballs. I pan seared them and let them simmer in my Crockpot with sauce. They ended up being incredibly tender.

I find cooking to be very relaxing.

Update: If I were to consider a phone with the Android OS, which particular phone? I have AT&T.

Update #2: I went with the Samsung Captivate at the advice of John W. So far, so good! Thanks.