Hole(s) in the Wall(s)

Sometimes the best restaurants go unnoticed. Low advertising expenditures. No franchise or name recognition. There are many reasons why these "hole in the wall" places fold and disappear. But often it's not because of the food.

My friends and I ate at a good little Asian spot the other day, if you're looking for something a little more authentic. It's called Fusion Asian Grill, located in the same complex as Dallas Roberts. Give it a shot if you're looking for something new, before it goes under as well.

In addition, my trusted colleague "bird on the lawn" tells of a great Mexican place as well. I haven't been here yet but I've heard from 2 or 3 people that it's worth exploring.

So get out there and try something new. After all, this may be a limited time offer...

Forgotten memories

It's nice to talk to family and talk about memories that I have since forgotten. It just goes to show how easy it can be to forget about something that happens in your own life, and how helpful it can be to write it down, whether physically or virtually.

There was the time when my dad was mowing the lawn and out of nowhere the sliding glass door shattered. We assume it was a rock, but I like to think the sound coming from the lawn mower reached just the right pitch to match the glass door's natural harmonic frequency.

We went to Disney World several years in a row when we lived in Ohio. We then moved to Florida, and my parents were thinking of taking us to Disney World again. They asked us if we wanted to go and, much to their surprise, got a ho-hum response. We ended up going to a nearby hotel, had some fun on the beach, and we each got $50! My parents still tell that story to other families that talk about taking such vacations, and they get a kick out of it.

I should make a habit of writing down stories like these so I don't forget them like I did these. So one other one that I haven't forgot: we went to play at the beach during Hurricane Georges. Of course, we only went down to the bayou behind our house, but it was still a lot of fun. There were waves nearly 6 feet high in a location where 1 foot waves were considered big. I can only imagine what the waves were like on the Gulf coast. We also jumped on the trampoline during the hurricane. Now that's a good memory.

The most influential dates in my life

1. December 1983, in a military hospital
2. July 1995, in a military hospital
3. Spring/Summer 1997(?), in a Florida forest
4. December 1998, in my backyard
5. December 1999, in Kent stake center
6. June 2001, in Kent, WA
7. October 2003 in Seattle, WA
8. December 2003, in Provo MTC
9. February and September 2004, in Миасс, Russia
10. February 2005, in Челябинск, Russia
11. October-November 2005, in Пермь, Russia
12. June 2006, at Provo airport
13. December 2007, in Provo, UT

Many of these events are very personal, and some are events that many have gone through. It was an interesting exercise thinking of these events though. Which events are responsible for who you are?

Phobia(s)

I don't know the technical term for each of my fears but here they are in no particular order:

1. snakes
2. the unknown
3. water beneath me in lakes and oceans (may be related to #2)
4. dying alone
5. sterilizing myself or developing cancer from use of electronic devices, specifically cell phones
6. sticky hands (not so much a fear as a manifestation of OCD - see also sink eater/trash eater for those familiar with the terms)

That's all I can think of but it's been a long day. I'm in Italy now.