I'll have the beef…with a side of cough drops

Have you ever dined at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills? Yeah, that was my guess. Especially about you. Anyway, that's where my dad decided to treat himself and eight guests to dinner for his 75th birthday last night. There were at least two ingredients per menu item that N. and I could've used a translator for. We weren't even sure what kind of meat one of the items was describing! But, I ended up with an amazing beef dish (my dad, the Lakers fan, refused to consider the Kobe beef. Isn't he funny?). It came with a vegetable that at first glance I assumed was corn, but upon trying it, turned out to be something else cut up into little pieces to resemble corn. Still don't know what it was, but it sure was tasty! I sneaked a look at the bill when it came. N. and I took a four-night cruise last year for less than the amount of that sucker!

You know how your throat itches after you eat honeydew melon? You don't? Really? Hmm, maybe it's just me. Anyway, I thought I had that yesterday, but then when I woke up with a sore throat, I figured it might be something else. I tried to ignore it; then my boss sent me home early from work. Apparently my face looks the same color as my shirt, which is what the fashion designers like to call Pertussis Pale (look it up, it's funny). So, that being said, I'm gonna pass out on the couch now. You?