Supa Dupa Weekend

Jeff, Ethan, Mom

GREAT weekend.

Friday night was supposed to start at Riddles, but it was closed for two weeks. ???

So we walked down to Ginger Bistro, this new chinese restaurant where the old Blockbuster used to be.

In a word, delish.

I ordered the Spicy Coconut Curry Chicken, my date got the Basil Chicken. And here's where it got weird. And nice.

Our dinners come out, both in these ceramic pots. Interesting. I take the lid off of mine, and am looking at what I think is beef stew. It smells terrific, but I am trying to stay away from red meat, so hail the waitress and ask her what the dealio is.

She said it didn't look like chicken, apologized profusely, and took it back with a promise of the right dish in five minutes. No big deal, I assured her, it was cool.

About a minute goes by, and the waitress is back with the same dish.

Turns out, it's authentically prepared, sauteed for a long time in traditional curry (brown), and it's actually the right dish.

Okay, fine. No worries. I proceed to eat it, and it was damn good.

Then the owner comes over, this 60-something Asian lady who introduces herself as Jennifer and starts to tell the story of how the dish came to be. It was an interesting story (I'll save you the deets).

She came back to the table a couple times during dinner to check, chat a bit, and ask if we needed anything. The attention was very sweet, as was she.

They gave us two free desserts for the mixup, and ended up taking my dish off of the final bill.

Outstanding.

So I simply must recommend this restaurant. It was a tasty, quick, affordable and personable experience.

Afterwards went to the Market Pub, which was kinda gross. I don't recommend that place.

Saturday I ran in CC Park with Ash, then had a yummy quiche brunch at my mom's house, then got ready for Cin's Halloween party. I had no clue what I was going to be, so I teased my hair, drew on a fake mole, broke out the hooker lipstick, threw on my biker jacket and called myself Stephanie from Grease 2. It was a hoot.



Sunday I met with a client bright and early, then ran a million errands, took a much-needed nap, and headed out to Lake St. Louis for my cousin's Halloween extravaganza. I had a lot of baby time - Ethan is getting so big, he's just so fun to watch. A very good-natured baby, always looking at the pretty colors and in constant, twitchy motion. And a little spit-upy.

Spooktastic

Anyone who knows me can attest to my love of all things spooky.

I have a story to tell about a real-life ghostly encounter that took place about a year ago.

Before I begin, I'd like to emphasize that what I'm about to write is true. I'm not making anything up. I don't wish for spooky things to happen to me. I really only like to watch them portrayed in movies. I rarely watch Ghosthunters, 'cause that stuff is just TOO damn scary.

Here goes...

I was living in a loft, a very old building on the north/west edge of downtown St. Louis. Word is, it used to be an artist colony back in the 80's, before that it was offices, and before that it was a factory.

I lived on the 5th floor, in a spacious two-bedroom, two-bath unit. A wall of windows lined the living room/kitchen, but no natural light made it's way back into the master bedroom. When my mom came to visit, she called it "the cave". I slept really well there, probably because it was so dark and cozy. Until the following happened.

One night in the middle of November, I woke up to my bed shaking. It was really shaking, like moving back and forth, sort of a rocking, not a trembling. My dog was sitting on the bed with me, and he was having a freakout, barking and panting. I immediately thought it was an earthquake, jumped out of bed and ran to the front door, which is just outside my bedroom door. On my way, I happened to look back at my bed, and it was still shaking.

But nothing else inside the house was shaking.

??

I opened the front door and stood in the doorway to be safe, like I was taught. I noticed that no one else was up and about. And I noticed that the floor wasn't moving.

And I could still hear the bed shaking. For about 10 more seconds.

10 seconds last a lifetime when you are spooked.

Finally, the sound of the bed shaking stopped.

I went back inside, let the door shut behind me, and decided to go watch TV to see if there was indeed an earthquake.

I sat there and flipped back and forth between news stations for an hour. Nothing. No earthquake.

So what in the hell shook my bed?

I slept on the couch the next couple nights, too scared to spend the night in my bedroom, and nothing else happened. Eventually I was less spooked, so decided to move back to the bed.

For the next three nights, I woke up in the middle of the night, about the same time my bed had been shaking.

But no shaking woke me up. I'm not sure what woke me up, but each time I did, my right arm was straight up in the air. Like I was reaching for the ceiling.

???

After three nights of this, it stopped. It hasn't happened again, ever. I eventually moved out of the haunted loft, and haven't had anything spooky happen to me since.

I do believe there was something shaking my bed. And I believe that something raised my arm in the middle of the night.

Not sure if it was evil, mischievous, or a little bit of both.

But that was enough of an encounter to last me a lifetime.

Top 10 Reasons I LURVE October

10. Baseball is OVAH - yes, I'm well known for disliking baseball. I enjoy going to a game when it's cool out, getting a tall brew and shooting the shit with friends. But as for the game, well, I could care less. BO-Ring.

9. Cooler weather - I am at my best during this time of year. The smell of wet leaves, the chill in the air, damp mornings and evenings on the back porch. I dig it. I really do.

8. Football - specifically, college. Go Bison, go Tigers, go Jayhawks. Nuff said.

7. Oktoberfest - I love a month that is dedicated to celebrating beer. My favorite at the moment would be Lips Of Faith Dunkelweiss by New Belgium from Ft. Collins.

6. Halloween - everything about this holiday makes me smile. The candy. The costumes. The decorations. My family has a long-standing tradition (this marks our 20th anniversary) where we get together, deep fry everything (fries, shrimp, etc.), hand out candy, watch scary movies and play cards. It's a blast, and I look forward to it every year.

5. Wineries - I love me a little long-stemmed culture on a hillside with my homeys.

4. Foliage - Missouri has phenomenal changing of the leaves. The colors are unlike anything I've ever seen. I guess growing up in North Dakota, where there are 4 trees and you have maybe 21 minutes between summer and winter will do that to a girl.

3. NBA - I think basketball players are incredible athletes. Constant movement, multitasking, speedplay. Astounding.

2. Bad horror movies - I recently reviewed the Human Centipede. I would consider this to be a bad horror movie. Bad in a good way. Others would include Motel Hell, I Spit On Your Grave, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre II.

1. Good horror movies - nothing beats a good horror movie this time of year. My favorites include Halloween, Devil's Rejects, The Shining, Grindhouse, The Exorcist, Inside, 20 Days of Night, Let The Right One In.