kick some ice

What more does one need after a long week other than a nice relaxing and deliciously mindless 93 minutes with Will Ferrell? Nada. Will Farrell cracks me up. Some comedians poke fun at themselves or go on tirades cutting people down and in the end, solely succeed in irking me to no end. Not Will. Whether it's traipsing around NYC as an Elf, screaming he's to be feared ('cause he's the division manager AND he drives a Dodge Stratus), or embodying the motto of every proud Mississippi State fan (more cowbell, of course), he just cracks me up. Take that and combine it with ice skating, my favorite sport, and that's just about as good as it gets.

I was tired and wanting to get out. Rio's in the midst of finals for classes focused on a lot of heavy topics, so a little Blades of Glory seemed to be just what was in order. Now I did like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but I guess like is being somewhat generous. Maybe I should say I thought it was okay. Anyhow, I was willing to see if this one could come through better than its predecessor. I had faith.

John Heder coming out in a swan costume and the way they followed them around like "a day in the life of" feature just made me laugh, after having watched skating for so many years. Skating was the closest I ever came to sports growing up -- I probably took lessons for some three years. I wasn't one of those people who was crazy into it... so no 6AM runs to the rink for me or ballet classes to maximize flexibility on the ice. I did do one competition and spent some quality time in the lovely harness to get more lift in my jumps. Haha. All-in-all though, great exercise!

Anyhow, the cameos were cracking me up as well. Definitely was just what I needed... my abs were hurting from laughing so much. It did make me want to get my skates back out though. I can't even remember the last time I went skating... maybe in Miami? Gosh, three years or so ago?

Afterwards it was off to Oyamel for some Mexican cuisine. I'd scoped out the place when they started remodeling after Andale folded. They specialize in aperitivos (appetizers), so it's a pretty direct challenge to Jaleo, located right around the corner. I'd really liked Andale, which had occupied the space beforehand. Apparently though not enough of DC did, since I believe that's why they closed.

The space was still arranged the same, although the decor was much more vibrant and there was an interesting second bar area in the front righ-hand corner of the restaurant. At first, I thought they were preparing the desserts there, but then it looked like they were doing other dishes there as well.

I can't compare Oyamel's food with their prior operation in Crystal City, but Rio and I were pretty pleased. The queso fundido con chorizo was excellent. It came with these mini-tortillas which were really good. The tacos were good as well. Some reviews I'd read mentioned them being small for their $3.50 price tag, but the ones we got did come with some great guac and honestly by that point, I don't know that I could have handled much more. We did try their pollo con mole, which I really liked - but I'm typically a mole fan. The chocolate cake (also with mole) was a great finale.

It was not a cheap meal, but it was good and a spot that I had been wanting to hit for a while. I'd say it's a good spot to grab something small at the bar or meet some friends after work. I probably won't be there weekly, but not half-bad.

So is it 5:30 yet?? Guess that answer would be no... [groan]