Brazilian Food, Hard-to-Watch Movie, and Reconstituted Barf

the infamous conversation heart cake

Pseudo-uncle Scott's sister (who is NOT aware of my blog) made a cake for us that looked just like the one pictured here. She probably got the idea in Relief Society. We decided to save it for dessert, which we would have together after Alyssa and I returned home from our double date.The red velvet cake itself was fine, but the conversation hearts / buttercream frosting combo tasted for all intents and purposes like reconstituted barf. We ended up tossing out the slices of cake with which we all started. Then Alyssa, who has serious kitchen skills, threw together some cream cheese frosting and quickly spread it onto the remainder of the cake, including between the layers, thus salvaging the efforts of the original Betty Crocker wannabe.

Alyssa said she didn't tell either of the guys we dated about my blog, so I can discuss them candidly here. Alyssa most definitely took the better-looking of the two guys for herself, but I believe my date had both intelligence and personality advantages over his buddy, so I consider that I came out ahead in the deal.

We ate at a local Brazilian restaurant. I'm an incredibly picky eater and have what are quite possibly the most un-exotic tastes of any person in the western United States who does not fall anywhere on the autism spectrum, but even my dinner was edible. It was probably a waste of money, as I can never come close to finishing an adult meal, and this restaurant did not offer a kiddie menu, though I would not have ordered from it, anyway. I don't have much dignity, but I cling with a death-like intensity to what little dignity I do possess. I probably would have enjoyed something from In and Out Burger as much or more, but at least I didn't have to make my entire meal out of the crackers the waiter brought to out table before dinner.

The movie our group of four ended up seeing was The Monuments Men. I suspect it was a good movie, but I am a pitiful movie watcher. My idea of hell is a double-feature movie in a theatre.  I'm better off watching a movie at home, where I can leave the room if anything bothers me or get up and walk around if I'm bored.

Reading books is so much more satisfying for me. I can just read faster if it's a part that shouldn't be dragged out, and the faces I imagine for the characters often work better for me than do the actors cast in movie roles.  In this particular case, the cast of The Monuments Men -- featuring George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman and other really good actors --  was wasted on me.

We made it home just in time for our midnight curfew. It was a rather soft curfew in the sense that there's not a whole lot the pseudo-relatives could have done about it had two nineteen-year-olds wandered in a few minutes after the midnight curfew. The matter was more one of common courtesy. It would be nice to be invited back, but more importantly, I didn't want either of them to worry about us.

We're heading back to California tomorrow, which is technically already today. I can't speak for anyone else, but I for one am ready to return. Utah is a nice place to ski or snowboard, but I wouldn't choose to live here.