So What Exactly does a Non-Answer Cost?

I recently mourned celebrated another candle on my cake. I’ve stopped counting candles. Candle counting is depressing.

The non-depressing part about adding a candle to my cake is the birthday octave. You can read about it here.

This year’s birthday octave festivities included one GNO (girls night out for those of you not familiar with uber-cool acronyms).

Five ladies descended upon Lillianas, a very lovely restaurant with New Orleans inspired fare and a wonderful wine list. The intent of the evening was drinks and snacks; snacks of course including dessert. What’s a birthday celebration without dessert? Just sayin’.

I am the first to arrive at said restaurant, where the very nice bartender inquires about what kind of drink I would like. I order a glass of his recommended wine, that is happily 25% off due to happy hour. I can get happy.

Friend #1 arrives and inquires about my wine. Brian, the nice bartender, suggests a bottle of said wine. I inquire about the cost of the bottle of wine which I am told is a great “value” because we’ll get it for the happy hour price of 25% off. (Notice how this isn’t a real answer. ) But order it we do. Because it’s Friday. And we’re celebrating. Yay us! Aren’t we thrifty?

The entire group congregates. Wine is poured. Appetizers are ordered and consumed. More appetizers are ordered along with 2 particularly delicious sounding entrees. A second bottle of wine is ordered. Entrees and appetizers are devoured. The second bottle evaportates. Three desserts are ordered because if one is good, three is better. Then there is coffee.

And then.

The bill arrives. (Insert scary sounding horror music here.)

$278

I know.

That’s a car payment.

Or a Coach purse. Whichever your prefer.

The culprit? That damn happy hour wine at $78 a bottle. A bottle! Now I will concur that it was indeed very delicious. But $78 delicious? Hard to say. But what’s done is done. That ship has sailed and now it’s time to pay the piper for my very good (and unknowingly expensive) taste in Malbec wine.

Important life lesson – get a solid answer on the cost of the wine. Oh and always order the bananas foster for dessert, because bananas with butter, sugar and rum almost makes it worth adding another candle to my cake.

Culture

Once a year I attend American Players Theater (APT) with my girlfriends in an attempt to get cultured.

I am not against culture, but plays just aren’t my thing. That probably explains why I only attend one per year. I’m more of a musical kind of gal. If folks aren’t intermittently breaking into song and prancing about in costumes with sparkles you’re going to lose me.

The whole event is very nice. It really is. There is picnicking beforehand with an ample amount of wine, snacks and snarky banter. This is my favorite part of the whole affair. I’d be only too happy to sit in the woods in Spring Green and drink wine all night. But then a bell chimes indicating the play is going to start and we trudge “up the hill” as they say, to be cultured by Shakespeare.

There are a couple of flaws with the whole culture in the woods Shakespearean plan. First, I’ve usually had a few glasses of wine, am happily buzzed and would like to continue to go on being happily buzzed. I’m a booze bag that way.

But one can’t continue to throw down red wine whilst watching Shakespeare. That’s frowned upon by the management. Spirit crushers.

The other flaw is, I generally only comprehend about every third word of the play. That’s pretty good if the play is on the lighter side of Shakespeare such as an “As you like it” or a “Taming of the Shrew”. If you’re going to force me to endure a “Hamlet” then the words to understating ratio is going to drop like a stone.

I know I am a huge cultural disappointment to my friend who graciously coordinates this event each year. Let’s be honest, I watch an unhealthy amount of reality TV and cooking shows. I don’t exactly fit the profile for “has a deep love of the classics”. I choose my books by the ever important criteria of smut content. I definitely gravitate towards books that fall into the “good beach read” category and walk right on by the Jane Austin and Shakespeare at the local library.

Overall I successfully comprehended most of The Taming of Shrew although I would be lying if I said it was my all time favorite play. I appreciate it the experience for what it is. It forces me outside my cultural comfort zone, I get to chat with my besties, drink some good wine and enjoy a nice summer night.

That’s a good dose of culture for this year I think.