You Don't Have to Add Sugar

Yesterday, it was very warm at the office, reaching a high of 86 F. They are waiting for more parts, before they fix the air conditioners. Many of us are willing to donate money for overnight shipping of the parts, but I don't know that will make a difference. MS and I have started betting on what the high will be. He bet on 86 and I bet on 87. I think the prize was supposed to be a free piece of candy. Of course, I supply all the candy, so it's a good thing he won. I worked late and didn't get home until 9:15, which was just enough time to eat before watching the Duke v.s. Illinois basketball game.

Today, I went over to the new house. I saw the black marble around the fireplace, which looks very cool. This week, they've been installing the septic tank and they've had to do a lot of digging with bulldozers in the woods in front of the house. My dad took a few more pictures of the work they've been doing.

This evening, I had dinner with RP, SW, JE, DC, SP, BJK, and RH, although I have to say that it didn't seem like quite that many initials at the time. We ate at Bali Hai, a Mongolian Grill, on Wake Forest Road, in North Raleigh. I was very pleased that I didn't get lost, but I did turn too early. Unlike a lot of places, you can't get from one parking lot to another over there. After my u-turn on the side street, I promptly got back on Wake Forest and turned left again, but too late. Oops. The third try was the easiest. Basically, Bali Hai is sort of like a salad bar that gets cooked on the grill. You pick out what you want, tell them the type and heat of the sauce you want and they grill it for you. They didn't have any formerly swimming meat available, but that was perfectly ok. I love bean sprouts, cabbage, eggplant, onions, carrots and pineapple and it all went very nicely with the sauce and the rice. It's comparatively inexpensive and the staff was very attentive.

It was great talking to RP, SW and everyone else. I got to show off house pictures and hear about SW's woodworking projects. I really hope they get to move somewhere around here.

After dinner went to a Starbuck's down the road, to continue talking. JE rode with me, which I really appreciated. I'm not sure I would have found it otherwise. I got my old standard: cafe mocha, decaf, with skim. It's always nice having that decision already made, even if they have to translate it into whatever is equivalent at the particular coffee shop. The best part is that you don't have to add sugar.