Have You Tried the Curry Squid Before?

Happy New Year’s to the three people who read this. My celebration last night was suitably amusing. I went downtown with Nathan, Jason and Nebakaneezer. We took the subway to Museum station and unsuccessfully tried to find Falconer Hall on the University of Toronto campus.

Next, we went to the Golden Stone, a crowded little restaurant in Chinatown. To continue our tradition of eating the most obscure and bizarre foods possible, Nathan and I both selected squid curry. A few minutes after we ordered, the stern maitre d’ approached our table and asked us if we had ever eaten that meal before. We both said yes, and she quickly walked away. It was one of the most amusing events of the night, due to the maitre d's strange question and her equally bizarre reaction. Would she have refused to serve us if we said we never ate that meal before? Perhaps she would have merely lectured us on the dangers of squid curry. Also, why did she practically run away after we told her we’re cephalopod connoisseurs?

Afterward, the four of us walked farther downtown, despite the storm. We finally found a decent bar at around 23:20 (Jack Astor’s, though “decent” is debatable). The place was noisy, cold and [anecdote removed], but at least we were out of the rain. The waitress said that Nebakaneezer “looked 12 years old”, but didn’t ask him for ID, and even brought him a complimentary drink shortly before midnight. Nathan and I split a pitcher of Alexander Keith’s and also drank champagne. We left a highly uncharacteristic tip of at least 20%, based on our new tipping philosophy [anecdote removed].

Before midnight, we all made toasts. There were some great ones, including Jason's [anecdote removed]. I think the only respectable toast was Nathan’s brief but fitting, “To success”. Those were appropriate words to mark the end 2006, as it was the most successful year of my life (personally, professionally and academically). More importantly, I’m sure I’ll continue to work hard and earn more success in the coming years.

I only vaguely remember what happened after around 01:00. I remember going on a few uncharacteristic drunken rants, reading a book by Carl Sagan, and falling asleep to the Who’s “Tommy”. It was good way to end great year.