It's all happening again...

This blog has recieved so many nice emails over the past few months that it's been hard to keep up at times. That it's reaching so many people in so many different ways is a great feeling--it's why I keep on writing every week. It's introduced me to so many interesting people that mostly I feel blessed and lucky for it. All that didn't prepare me for what happened last night. We had just started service when one of my favorite bloggers, Violet Blue showed up and gave me a really cool gift--firecrackers. (truth is, any gift from her and her bf Jonathon would be cool.) Then I was handed an envelope that simply said "for Richie" on it. I took it in the back with the firecrackers and left it there for the next two pickups--mostly because we were crazy busy. When I finally had the time to open it, the contents were pretty simple: a hand written note thanking me for writing my blog, along with $300 in cash. It was completely anonymous. I was astonished, to say the least. The note alone was so nice and complimentary...the money was shocking. So to whoever dropped off that letter, thank you--it was an amazingly kind gesture.


goals.
Last year I set some goals for myself...not resolutions so much--just things I wanted to accomplish. Lets see how I did.

• Read 25 Books. 12 of these can be re-reads. There are no rules about book length or content. - Do comic books count?
  
• Commit to memory 15 new recipes. And be able to cook them with my eyes closed. - Yes - easily accomplished this one.
  
• Commit to memory the metric system, and all relevant conversions. - The iphone converter is a very fancy crutch. Did not complete.
  
• Take 1200 photographs. - Closer to 2000. Easy one.
  
• Hunt, kill, butcher, and eat an animal. Fish don't count. - In my Omnivores Dilemma mode, I thought this would be a good idea for a cook. Never happened. But I did butcher many an animal.
  
• Cook at home every week. - Not even close. This was not a good year for home cookery.
  
• Write every day. Does not have to be post worthy. - Kinda sorta. I'm not sure my scribbled notes count for this.
  

notes:

• nate appleman and the a16 crew on iron chef. robbed by boomer fucking esiason.
• monday is the new friday
• jasmine estate coffee is back at blue bottle.
• at a certain point, you cant say im sorry anymore
• two weeks after he gives me an xbox, dylan's breaks. nice timing.
• i bought the domain name linecook415.com. now if I can only figure out how to make it work.
  

corey.
What can I say about Corey? He's a funny motherfucker, and I think it's fitting that he's so popular with the readers. He's the character you can't write, and when he says one of his lines it usually leads to doubled over fits of laughter. In a few weeks he makes the official leap to sous chef--so to celebrate this, here are some more of his lines.

• "You know what's good for your back? Shower sex."
• "She's the kind of girl that's a fuck buddy and a can opener."
• "You know, i've got some lotion that'll help that burn."
• "It's even hotter if they've got softball socks on. Game, set, and match."

conversations:

Merrell: "I just want to tell you how nice your cocks look tonight."
Corey: "Hell yeah. It's like seeing the light of God for the first time."
-merrell and corey, discussing the rotisserie chicken

Ponder: "She used to look like Joan Jett."
Corey: "Now she looks more like Boba Fett."
-ponder and corey, talking about one of ponder's friends

Paul: "I just feel like when you want to do something, you just do it."
Me: "Well isn't that very in the moment of you."
Corey: "Yeah, good talk L Ron Hubbard."
-paul, corey and I on new years resolutions

other quotes:

"It's gonna be pretty hard to save the world if you're dumb." - Merrell, on her favorite do-gooder.

"Hey Richie? If I were a Mexican, would my name be Mr. Pito?" - Eddie, whose last name is Dick.

"I fuckin love the Gap." - Ponder, who loves neither the Gap, nor sensible fleece vest and scarf combos.


from top: 10 til midnight, eddie, ponder, ann, corey and paul, nye prep list, 78 margaux grand cru, cassoulet, crab salad, nye gifts for the kitchen, dinner, midnight cava, my wife's ticket: came in at 12am on 1/1/09