cousin Mike: for an italian, he makes awfully good mexican food.

Sunday (Cinco de Mayo for those of you without so much of clue), my cousin had a pre-grand opening party at his restaurant in Point Richmond. he's still waiting on some final health department approvals but since it's supposed to be a mexican restaurant, he wanted to throw a party to show off the new place.

it's way cool. i didn't get to see it before he started working on it but he's done a beautiful job putting it together. he picked some really lovely colors of orange and yellow for the interior, and had a local artist decorate the sign outside and his business cards. there's a ton of sidewalk space both in front and on the side, plus a big back patio. and then there's the food. the chef he hired has a lovely sense of flavor. some people were complaining that it wasn't spicy enough but, bah, what do they know. i thought it was delicious. best carne asada i've ever had, for sure.

i also got to see a lot of family: grandma, Sue and Mike, cousin Aaron and his fiancee, Judy and Jeff, even uncle Steve was there. we ate and drank and listened to the very excellent band and enjoyed the leisurely sunny afternoon. joy.

Monday was much less eventful. i spent the entire day waiting for a package that was supposed to arrive in the morning but ended up getting to me at 5:48pm! the worst part was i couldn't leave the house, couldn't even go downstairs to do laundry for fear that i'd miss the delivery guy.

but it was worth it. the package contained a new, super neat oil heater. it warms up my apartment, which has been uncomfortably cold, gently and subtly. it's a much more efficient and cozy way to have the place heated than the wall heaters which make everything hot and dry. and the best part is i can set two different times when i want it to come on. so at 8:00 when i get home, the house will already be heated to a comfortable 68-degrees.

party on, Wayne. party on, Garth.