With group dinners, I just like to know going in how we'll manage the bill to avoid reenacting that Friends episode, especially since these days I'm one of the poor Friends.

Last weekend I was the organizer in chief for a dinner with 14 Regency writers, and I'm pleased to say that despite many of us never having met before the conference, the bill-splitting went perfectly smoothly. We announced to the waitress that we'd all be paying separately at the start, and while she couldn't do separate checks, she was nice enough to do a handwritten sheet itemized by person to help us out. That and the fact that most of us were carrying enough cash to cover our meals helped out--I'm sure the thing where you hand the server a stack of credit cards and say "$25 on this one, $30 on that one, etc." gets seriously annoying with more than 2-3 cards.

Ginger and Deena, insent.

I really, really want to go for my walk, but my knee is still ouchy. It's less ouchy than it was this morning, since I've been staying off it most of the day, but it still feels irritated and inflamed.

And it's a nice day out, too. Feh.

In other news, my nice temp assignment ended Friday. They're talking like they would like to take me on full time in their curriculum development department, but it wouldn't be until January. I'd be willing to wait that long if I knew it was a sure thing and that it would pay enough, but I'm getting sick and @&(*$@ tired of all this uncertainty and waiting.

Hec, I like a port and raspberry sauce or lemon butter on mine.

See, I knew you'd deviate from the conventional in an interesting way.

::looks at unopened jar of fig and ginger preserves. Considers Raq's recipe...:

Emmett and I are back from our ride in the park. We went past the just reopened De Young Museum (huge lines, but it looks lovely. Can't wait to try out the tower and get the view from the middle of the park.), and then down to Stowe Lake. No bike locks yet so we couldn't do the paddle boats, but we got a Cherry Icee and an ice cream bar and reminisced about Stowe Lake. (A nine year old with nostalgia is a curious thing.)

Then we rode back to the double baseball fields where we parked the bikes in the grass and played with a very sweet and playful miniature schnauzer named Oscar. His owner was playing Irish Field Hockey nearby and came over and talked to us.

It's unbelievably gorgeous in San Francisco today - 80 and sunny. A classic SF Indian Summer. (Which we get to make up for our cold and foggy Augusts.)

Sounds fun, Hec.

Raq, if you're possibly maybe still there? Have you noticed Greek people ironing a lot? Because I was just speaking to my Greek flatmate and she was telling me that she ironed about six hours a week, especially underwear. Somthing about 'killing microbes'. And myself and my other flatmates were flabbergasted, because interviews are pretty much the only thing we iron for, and then only if we're feeling fancy. But then my Greek flatmate's Greek friend came over to iron with her, because it's such a fun activity, and she couldn't believe we didn't iron our underwear. And our sheets, and our towels.

Greek women, traditionally, are formidable housewives. You can eat off the floors kind of housewives. I have never known one with an ironing fetish, though. (lived 2 years in Athens and had many colleagues in the states)

Also, ironing TOWELS? WTF??

Also, ironing TOWELS? WTF??

I know! And bedsheets, apparently. Also baby clothes at least twice to be sure. She must be so disgusted by living with the rest of us.

And bedsheets, apparently. Also baby clothes at least twice to be sure. She must be so disgusted by living with the rest of us.

This totally makes me laugh.

Splitting the bill evenly is the easiest way to work it most of the time, but when you're a vegan celebrating a friend's birthday with twenty non-vegans at the town's most expensive sushi restaurant, you get screwwwwwwed. I'm still a little bitter about paying $60 for two orders of avocado maki.

Edited to make out with Nora! *grope*