After MUCH procrastination… I started, and almost finished, my Christmas shopping yesterday. I went to Walmart, the Avenue, and some other places… Kendra and I spent much of the day together. I got gifts for Vance and Julie’s kids and for Ryan and Amber’s daughter Bella. I also grabbed up Mom’s and some gift cards. I still have to get Staci and Doug’s kids’ gifts, and Dad and Carolyn. But that is about it. I also picked up a few “gifts” for myself too. You know… some sweater vests and a couple of pairs of Sketchers. It was awesome. Yesterday was also my very first “Cheat Day” on my diet. Like, I have had little “cheats” here and there, but yesterday, the gloves were off!! I had Mexican for lunch, and it was SO good. I did feel terrible after, though… My stomach is not used to that kind of food anymore. It was go greasy and cheesy… and SO FRIKKEN GOOD!!! Anywho… Went home, put stuff up, and then threw on a new sweater-vest thing and my new shoes and headed out. Last night was Victoria’s annual Christmas dinner. Although she usually cooks and we go to her place, the circumstances of this year didn’t unfold to that effect, so we went to Macaroni Grill.

!! O.M.G. Alert !! – Romano’s Macaroni Grill was TERRIBLE last night!!! – We got there and well, you know how it goes… we were seated, and the server took a drink order. The bread was brought to the table pretty quickly, and well, that was ok. Then the night started going south. Fast. We discussed what we were going to order, and Victoria asked me about some appetizers and if they would be good for an entrée. To that I said that the cheese sticks were good… and you get a lot. We all continued discussing the menu before ordering. The server guy was OK, I suppose. Nothing special, nothing bad… just OK. He took our order and then after what seemed like an eternity, the food finally came out. Remember when Victoria asked about the cheesesticks and I told her that they were good and that you get a lot? Well… They must have changed the menu because the cheesesticks she got were SAD… If memory serves, the last time I got cheesticks there, there were like 6 of them, and they were HUGE. Yeah, not anymore. For an Appetizer, your party gets to share a whopping 2, yeah folks, I said that right… TWO (2) cheesesticks. What the eff kind of place gives you 2 cheesesticks?! Anywho… that was not all. Jerrica and I ordered the lasagna. I thought it was good the last time I got it, and she wanted to try it. Now… I get that sometimes in a restaurant setting the portions don’t always come out the same way, even with the same entrée. I get it. But the lasagna that we ordered… were 2 completely different sizes. Her portion looked like it could have been my portion’s little baby brother. It was ridiculous. So Jerrica commented to the server that it was quite obviously a difference in the sizes of the portions, and that she was not happy. Of course, Jerrica was not mad or bitchy with him, but kinda half-joking/half-serious, and in the most polite way possible, she brought it up. To that, the server said, and I quote: “Well, it’s the luck of the draw!” *chuckle chuckle*. Then he scurried away. We were dumbfounded. Not only was that NOT funny, he COMPLETELY did not address a REAL issue. Come on, it is not rocket science. Portions should be comparable. Sheesh… anywho, I digress on the lasagna… Eric ordered this Alfredo Pasta stuff, and he said his tasted like crap… and well, the food experience was just not where it usually is at Macaroni Grill. We expected better. To top it off, though… when he brought out the checks, they included a “suggested tip”. Now, I understand and accept that some parties of “[insert number here] or more” are usually charged a standard gratuity and that it is automatically included in the bill. I have NO issue with that. At Macaroni Grill, it is a bit different. They suggest a tip, then say that you can “increase or decrease the amount” as you see fit. So, with the server being a douche and the food being sub-par, I was not inclined to give a good tip. So I wasn’t… until I saw the checks. The jack-ass actually WROTE his tip in for us. Can you believe that?! Like I said, if the system puts it on there because of some kind of rule, that is one thing, but this place does not have that rule… I found it completely RUDE to write your tip in when one is not mandated! It’s bad enough to leave a little tip, but what he did would have made me REALLY look like an ass because I would have had to scribble his tip out to make a new, lower tip. I just said to hell with it and signed. I didn’t care anymore at that point. Then… after he took the checks and brought back the receipts… He vanished. You know, sometimes, people like to just sit around after a meal and talk. Dinner service does NOT stop after the checks are taken. No refills, no more bread, NOTHING happened after we paid. I have received better service at a White Castle. This was total crap. I know that I will not be going back to that place for SOME time. On the plus side, though… as usual, the bread was OFF THE CHAIN!!! I really LOVE their bread. kk. !! END O.M.G !!

Where was I? Oh… I know: To my surprise, I was informed that Jerrica was going to join us. I got SO excited!!! It’s been like 6 months sense we have all hung out, so it was really nice to see her! We caught up some and cemented our plans for this Saturday. Her mom is making her kick-ass meatloaf, so we are going to go there for dinner, then hit Tribe after. Can’t Wait!!! It has been SO long since I have gone out!

I am still liking work. Still going through code tutorials… and I am hoping they will start tasking me with defects and bugs soon. I want to learn SO much!!!

I think that I am going to go through my music at home. I bought a new iPod, and in the process of getting everything into iTunes, I have discovered that my music is terribly unorganized and I have all kinds of duplicates. Gotta fix that!

See you later!

-=brett=-