Day 4 of seven…
Month: June 2014
He Still Makes Me Laugh
Mr. R. has kept me laughing all night by imitating Kesha. “You totally play the guitar better than me. Cuz I don’t play the guitar. My legs are shiny.” Keep in mind, Mr. R. is 6.4, 280 pounds. If he was gay, he’d be a bear. Laughing my butt off.
Pleasant Valley Sunday–The Monkees
Day 3 of seven. I may get stuck around Wednesday…
Carnage in the Name of Progress
I woke up to a sad notice on my Facebook feed this morning:
Come on by folks!! It’s TIKI’s very last Sunday Brunch .
Let’s see those photos!!
Tiki has been located at the Riviera Beach Marina since 2003. It’s literally an open-sided tiki hut about twenty feet from the water of the marina. And because of that you might think that they offered bad bar food and watered-down drinks, but you’d be wrong. The food is teriffic and the drinks are first-rate. Happy Hour is a good deal and they feature live music most nights.
Mr. R. and I have fond memories of the place. On our first visit, one date night when we couldn’t think of where we wanted to go, we ended up at Tiki, grabbed a table by the water, and were treated to our first time hearing local band favorite, Mighty Quinn. Then there was the time my work had our holiday party at Tiki. One of my colleagues, slightly sloshed, became a tad inappropriate and I was worried that Mr. R. might punch him in the head. Good times!
But alas, all that is going away. Tiki’s last day is July 6. Eighty employees will be out of a job. The place is being torn down because developers have realized that right next to the water is prime real estate. There are millions of dollars to be made by throwing up (and I use that phrase intentionally) stacks of condos, high end restaurants, and big ticket retail shops.
This is a cancer eating up miles of waterfront here in Palm Beach County. Last week I went to lunch with the girls at Bubba Gump in Jupiter, and along the way we passed the abomination that is Harbourside Place. THAT is what they’ll build where Tiki is. But Tiki is only the latest casualty. Next on the chopping block is Rum Bar and Panama Hattie’s in Palm Beach Gardens. Soon, Palm Beach County is simply going to meld right in with Broward and Miami-Dade. Charm and individuality are being sold to the highest bidder. In a soundbite featured on the news, a Riviera Beach councilwoman stated that employees of Tiki had been warned months ago and had been given a couple of months grace, concluding with the statement, “But they can’t stand in the way of progress.” And so it goes. Someone is going to make a lot of money from this deal. Dollars to doughnuts it won’t be the residents of Riviera Beach.
Mr. R. and I are going to make a point of having one last date night at Tiki before Friday’s 4th of July festivities. We should probably schedule one at Rum Bar before it’s too late. Sigh.
Saturday Night’s (Alright for Fighting)–Elton John
Challenge accepted! :^p
Friday I’m in Love–The Cure
It’s Friday. I’m in love!
He Makes Me Laugh!
I’m not a fan of cheesy cliches. On the other hand, cliches become that way for a reason.
In truth, Mr. R. and I laugh together. A lot. In fact, his quirky sense of humor is the first thing I noticed about him. That’s a story we’ll tell sometime. But here’s a conversation that actually occurred in our house today:
Mr. R.: I almost killed that fly with my bare hand.
Mrs. R.: I would have been impressed.
Mr. R.: I once caught a fly with chopsticks.
Mrs. R.: That was the karate kid.
Mr. R.: Oh yeah, I thought it sounded familiar.
I laughed until I cried. Live, Laugh, Love. Cheesy cliche? Maybe. But it’s a great way to approach life.
It’s finally Friday
Date night! It’s the last Friday of June, time for the Art & Wine Promenade at Northwood Village.
If you’re anywhere near West Palm Beach tonight we highly recommend this free event. Where else can you sip wine and stroll with your sweet as you explore the galleries, shops, and cafes. Vendors will also be set up along the street.
Which reminds me…during one outing at the Promenade Mr. R. bought me a beautiful hand-painted wine glass which unfortunately got broken recently (not pointing fingers, but let’s just say I didn’t do it). Tonight could be the night it gets replaced. Just saying…
Looking for a funky, affordable date night for tonight? Try the Art & Wine Promenade.
Adventures in Coffee
Have you ever noticed how seemingly simple things become absurdly complicated?
Mr. R. recently stopped by a local Panera Bread for a little caffeine fortitude. Entering the establishment, he took his place as third in the single line that awaited the next available of two registers.
At one of the registers, a gentleman was trying to order his You Pick Two preferences but the cashier helpfully kept trying to inform him of all the other options available to him as a You Pick Two diner. As the line waited.
The other register became available and the two ladies in front of Mr. R. moved to place their order. That cashier said to the ladies, “You’re going to have to wait for them,” indicating the other cashier, and she walked away to go back to the drink station. As they returned to the line, naturally Mr. R. insisted that they take their original place back in front of him.
Eventually, Mr. You Pick Two was able to complete his order and the ladies moved to that register, while, almost simultaneously, a third register was opened, allowing Mr. R. to finally order his coffee. His order was a double espresso, two cookies, and a baguette. The cashier rang up his order and took his payment. While she gathered his baked goods, she told the manager making the drinks that Mr. R. needed an espresso.
“Actually, I ordered a double espresso,” Mr. R. interjected.
“But I only charged you for a single,” replied the Rhodes scholar cashier. When the manager questioned her, she replied, “Yeah, he ordered a double, but I didn’t know how to ring that up so I just put it in as a single.”
Like I said, how do things become so absurdly complicated? Overly helpful, it seems, is as useless as unhelpful. And when did it become acceptable to do what’s easiest for you rather than what the customer wants? I can’t really blame the manager in this situation. No matter how fabulous he’d like to make his store, he’s stuck with the employees he can get to work for low hourly wages.
Why don’t young people have pride of workmanship anymore? I suppose it isn’t actually their fault. After all, it isn’t on the standardized tests.
Plan Ahead So You Don’t Miss Out
Plan Ahead So You Don’t Miss Out
“Plan ahead for what?” you say. The third annual Swede Fest Palm Beach, that’s what. It’s Saturday, August 2, 2014 at The Borland Center in Palm Beach Gardens.
What is Swede Fest? The tag line is “Bad movies by good people.” The Swede Fest Palm Beach website defines a “swede” this way: “A swede is a no-budget, laughably bad remake of a hit Hollywood film – the bigger, the better. The term comes from the 2008 comedy, “Be Kind Rewind,” and was made up to explain the sheer awfulness of their remade films by touting them as European – “swedes” because it sounded really sophisticated”.
That, in a nutshell, is what this event is. Amateur film makers submit short versions of popular films that they have ‘re-imagined’ with hilarious results. It’s a contest, so the audience gets to vote for their favorites.
Last year, friends of ours submitted a short of Goodfellas with the characters as mimes. You can use this link to check it out on YouTube. http://youtu.be/e-2JvzUB7q4
I know what you’re thinking: It’s not until August, there’s plenty of time. And you would be so wrong, my friend, because here’s the thing–they have sold out both previous years. Last year we bought our tickets online and were planning to meet friends there who were going to buy theirs at the door. Except, seats were completely sold out. So the moral of this story is…buy your tickets in advance online. General admission goes for $8. VIP goes for $11, and with that you get a lanyard with a VIP pass which is pretty cool on its own, BUT it also gets you better seats.
All in all, this is a not-to-be-missed Date Night.
Adventures in Date Night 
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