Enkai was amazing.

I didn't expect it to go any differently than it did, but I still want to tell everyone that my first time eating at Enkai (used to manage Shinshen) was fabulous. I've never written a restaurant review, so I'll just tell it like it was.

The menu was pretty much the same as when they had Shinshen. As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing. First thing's first, the location. I have to admit I was worried when I found out where they were going. That location hasn't had the best of luck with bars or restaurants, and it's not exactly a well traveled road. That being said, I love it! They did a great job decorating with local artwork without being over the top. My only complaint with the setup is I feel like we were sitting in a very dark spot and it was hard to read the menu. Everyone else seemed to have enough light, it was just that one table. Now onto the food. I had the sunomono (I think that's how you spell it) for an appetizer which is a cucumber salad with ginger, seaweed, crab, and a butterflied shrimp. This was one of my favorite items before and it is still fantastic. I am more than happy not to share. Also at the table was a miso soup (it disappeared too quickly for me to try some so I'll take it as a good sign) and edamame. I used to think that you couldn't mess up edamame until I had it at another restaurant where it was soaked in butter, but Enkai seasoned it perfectly. The rolls were delicious. Pictured above from right to left (approximately) is the Bourbon roll, crunchy spicy tuna, kyoto (another tuna roll), they dynamite, and the sunshine roll. The Bourbon was one of my favorites at Shinshen and it has not lost its quality. It has the perfect amount of crunch, sweetness, and just plain goodness. You can never go wrong with the tuna rolls, and the dynamite was dynamic as always. I'm pretty sure the sunshine is a new roll, I liked it. Unfortunately I do not have the memory to recall the contents. If anyone knows please comment, I'm sure everyone (including me) would love to know what goes in that or any of these rolls. 

I hope this was informative and interesting for all, and I hope it encourages you to visit Enkai for an evening that is sure to impress. Just be sure to call to make reservations, it's no secret how good they are.

completely exhausted

I am feeling completely exhausted today. My feet hurt from running around decorating for the birthday party at Coral World today. It's really cute, I did a pretty good job. Every time I have a party I buy a stuffed animal from the gift shop because they make great decorations, and I have some stiff paper fish that can be taped up around the Blue Water Terrace. I wish I had more decorations than this, but I really don't have enough parties here to have enough of a budget to buy anything else. This morning I went to KMart and spent $40 on candy, small toys, and clown fish that are meant to go in your bathtub to reduce slipping but work great for the food table decorations. I then decorated the area from 9AM to 10:45, right before the party arrived. For pretty much the duration of the 3 hour party I was running back and forth between my office and the party making sure everyone was happy. Finally at 2:15 (15 minutes after the party was over) I went down to clean up. I was overjoyed to see that they had cleaned the area, but unfortunately my decorations also got cleaned out. I feel awful and I definitely wouldn't try to charge them for it, but now I have to restock my decoration supply, with very little money available in the birthday area, and I have to explain why I didn't stop them from taking it. Ugh, it's just exhausting. I wonder how bigger aquariums handle decorations. Do they have enough money not to worry about "stolen" decorations? The answer may be unreachable to me, but still I wonder...

So, that's why I'm completely exhausted. But luckily I have a delicious Premium French Soda, Pomegranate, Organic, in a beautiful glass that Jason got me at lunch. Yay.

Everyone needs grammar lessons.

I think that everyone should be required to consistently pass grammar and composition "tests" in order to continue functioning in society. I have noticed that as social media and email correspondence is increasing in social and professional settings, our attention to how we talk has gone completely down the drain. Right now, as I am checking Facebook updates, I am appalled at what people choose to share with the world. For the most part these are people who went to a college prep high school with me and moved on to Ivy League schools and other top notch colleges around the US. One girl read a book in which a few parts "in lightend" her. Now I could go on and on with things that annoy me that I see posted on Facebook and other social networking sites, but eventually someone is going to recognize something they said and that might end badly but what I really want to say is that we need to realize that it is important how you present yourself whether it's talking to you boss, your neighbor, or in 140 characters or less on Twitter. People are looking to find business relationships in ways that previous generations never would have imagined and if we are to have a fighting chance of avoiding Idiocracy. I can tell you that if I am ever in a managerial position where I am looking for new employees I will not be hiring the girl (or boy) who can't spell, can't write, and decides to post it all over the world.

I am not going to suggest putting a spell checker on every Facebook, Myspace or Twitter update, just think before you write.

sometimes i feel... like i am drunk behind the wheel.

I would like to dedicate this blog to a song. Sometimes I feel like I'm drunk behind the wheel, sometimes I feel like throwing the wheel out the window and screaming at the top of my lungs, and sometimes I feel like grabbing the wheel and going with the flow.


"Sometimes I feel
Like I am drunk behind the wheel
The wheel of possibility
However it may roll
Give it a spin
See if you can somehow factor in
You know there's always more than one way
To say exactly what you mean to say" - Fastball, Out of My Head