unexpected delights

the festivities started friday and continued into the major part of the weekend- the reason is celestial's pre-birthday celebration as i am out of town next weekend and missing her actual party. since we both were fortunate to get out of work early friday, we met up at 5pm and headed to pata negra for an early dinner. over a delicious pitcher of sangria (well balanced and just sweet enough, that is, not very), we chatted about life, relationships, shared friends, work, and whatever else was on our mind. the chorizo and fava beans and degustation of patitas was simply perfection. the owner matteo was extremely personable and gave us excellent recommendations. pata negra has effectively been added to my roster of go-to tapas restaurants.

the rest of the night was almost a blur. we grabbed a couple after dinner drinks at b flat. the drinks were as expertly made as always and i had a nice time catching up with kenny. then more drinks upstairs at tokyo bar with some of celestial's friends. and finally a long, well needed, sobering walk to pegu club where we had calamari and escargot pancakes. unfortunately, i'd had my fill of drink and could only drink a few sips of my earl grey martini. we took off shortly after.

saturday we both slept off the boozy night and met up at 3pm to do a little window shopping and errand running. at 6pm, we met up with the nose for dinner at bon chon, home of the best fried chicken ever. we got a large order of chicken drumsticks, half garlic, soy sauce based half spicy, a seafood pancake, and a pitcher of lychee soju. the chicken was succulent and the skin was crunchy, chewy, and oh-so flavorful. . . the soju was refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to the chicken. next time i won't waste stomach room on pancakes or any sides, just the chicken. after dinner, the nose headed back to willie-b to get some things and celestial and i headed to pinkberry for dessert then to the angelika for a screening of brideshead revisited.

this weekend was a lot of fun. . . but, i'd have to say the best part of this weekend, was discovering how much celestial and i had in common. . . it is at once surprising and wonderful that without noticing, i have come to feel undeniably closer to her. we were introduced through q2 a couple years ago and ended up hanging out on more than one occasion when our meimei passed out early in the night and we kept on going. initially, i'd say q2 was our common link, in addition to a love for good food, dancing, and having fun. gradually, we began to hang out on our own and as we began to confide our aspirations, fears and share many ups and downs, i came to know celestial better. . . and what i've discovered is a kindred spirit.

so. . happy birthday celestial. you deserve happiness and all the best that life has to offer.