stood up

twice in one day.

first, by my professor, instructor, teacher, whatever-they-call-em-here. class started at 9 AM. at 9 AM, there was no teacher, no classroom setup (in fact, they are building walls in the middle of the room for some reason right now, so everything was coated in drywall dust)--just a bunch of confused students. at 9:15, the TA walked in and told us she wouldn't be coming today. meh. i am debating placing out of that class, although that requires me to do a lot of paperwork by tomorrow.

next, by the yoga instructor. i am going to try to join amber for yoga on tuesdays as it's not too far from school. however, no instructor today. sad. at least i got to meet amber's co-worker/friend and got to catch up with amber. the other people waiting for the class all seemed pretty friendly and nice, too, unlike people at the old yoga classes i used to frequent. anyway, i still enjoyed lolling about on the shady lawn, gabbing away.

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at least the bear didn't stand me up for our labor day date yesterday. i guess it's kind of hard to stand someone up if you live together. we had read about seal beach's main st. in our AAA westways magazine, of all places (as did many other yelp reviewers), and we figured it might be a little less crowded than other beaches on the holiday. plus it's one main st. and pier we had yet to explore.

we didn't really stop in any of the shops on main st., but there was one with GIGANTIC (albeit slightly messy-looking) cupcakes. we made a beeline straight to beachwood bbq. there was a wait for tables, so we grabbed a pair of seats at the bar. our bartender was friendly and quite knowledgeable about the craft beers they have on tap. witness all the beers, written on chalkboards hung on pegboard (love):

the bear had a pint of moonlight death + taxes (similar to newcastle, but drier and less...thick). i had a pint of allagash white ale (a really good wheat beer). i was tempted to try the big sky moose drool brown ale or rubicon monkey fight based solely on their names but ultimately decided to stick with our bartender's recommendations.

the fun taps were lined up right in front of me.
we watched rutgers (bleh to joisey) and [can anything good come from] fresno [?] state play each other. the score was boobies at the half (O-O). good thing it was food time.

oops, i got too excited and forgot to take the glamour shots before we dove in.

the bear felt like a burger. the smokehouse burger was good and very smoky tasting. big. 1/2 lb., i think. carmelized onions, lettuce, a fat slice of tomato, and a slice of cheddar topped off the smoked patty. the fries were thick and on the soft side. mmm.

i got the fried green tomato burger. the crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside potato roll contained smoked fresh mozarella (O.M.G.), basil, mixed field greens, the fried slabs of green tomato, and a balsamic and tabasco vinagrette. the sweet potato fries were really very good, but i rarely find bad sweet potato fries. these are cut a little thicker and longer than usual, and the extra potato in each bite made eating them a lot more enjoyable. the sandwich had really subtle, mellow flavors that i punched up a bit using the house BBQ sauces.

SUCH cute packaging. so sad my photo is so dang blurry. there is also a "vinegar" sauce that looks dark and rich, but our caddy was missing it. i was too lazy to ask to borrow a bottle from someone aaaalll the way down the bar. spicy was the bear's fave. i liked both spicy and mustard. the sweet was good, too. not just straight sweet, it had a nice tart zing to it. the mustard was thick, sweet, spicy, and better than honey mustard (although that's probably what it is). the spicy wasn't too spicy, but definitely peppery and zingy. we both dipped our fries and sandwiches in the yummy sauces.

delicious, indeed.

so did anyone else notice the interior is red and aqua and white and brown? EEEEE! you'd think the bridal squeals would have stopped by now.

in the dining room, beyond this little cutout filled with glass, the wall reads, "eat." in red and is accompanied by framed black and white photos of people eating. cute.

i thought this was cute, too. especially the compartmentalized paper plate.

yes, my lens is super dirty. this is what happens when you take it into your woodworker's shop. anyway, our lunch was very relaxed, enjoyable, and delicious. the place wasn't too crowded, so we had plenty of elbow room at the bar. it would have been a perfect, breezy, beachside socal meal if not for the interesting character seated on the bear's other side. another story for another day.

we strolled down the pier afterward, and the beach weather was perfect--breezy but not too windy, sunny, clear, and the perfect temperature. lots of others thought so, too.

yes, again, the dirty lens. the waves at seal beach are baaaaabies and break very close to shore. the beach was blackballed, so there weren't any surfers out, only kids with [most likely morey] boogie boards. i learned all this from the bear's commentary as we watched from the pier above. people on the pier were fishing quite close to where the people were swimming around. we could see the cranes of the port in the distance. it was crowded on the beach, but the pier wasn't. it's been awhile since i've been to the beach, so i just breathed the yummy air in.

now to end the stream-of-consciousness that was the last paragraph (sort of), our dinner that night. spaghetti alla carbonara, alla better than corner bakery's. mmm.


let's hope i don't get stood up for class tomorrow. i have a feeling i will since we don't have a classroom or desks for this particular class yet. i may even be helping build those desks later this week...