Raleigh Trip

I didn't get the job in Charleston—they were looking for someone with more experience with desktop application IxD, whereas most of my experience and self-education is spread across the web and emerging technologies. I'm a bit bummed, since it seemed like a really great company (and a nice place to live), but I'll get over it. =)

I'm going out of town this weekend, to Raleigh this time. I'll be visiting Ed and Jennifer at their newly-built house, along with Mike and Jeff, two other friends. I've known Ed for a long time (as long as Doug from last weekend—they were roommates in undergrad), and Jennifer for almost as long, so this looks like a fun weekend. I'm bringing a Cava (bubbly wine from Spain). =)

I was going to make the ~4-hour drive this afternoon, but was delayed so I'll be getting up very early tomorrow—I'm hoping to be on the road before sunrise. I should be back Sunday afternoon or evening.

One nice side effect of staying here tonight is that I got to try squid for the first time. My parents and I went to Sweet Basil, a Thai place here in Greenville with great food, a cozy atmosphere, and nice prices. This was my second time visiting, and although it wasn't as great as the first it was still very good.

Trying New Things

I'd never tried squid before so I decided to give it a go. It was okay: not great, but not bad either. It was rubbery and a bit thick; very chewy but without much flavor. I don't think I'd order it again, but I won't mind finishing off the leftovers.

I'm a strong believer in trying new things no matter what. The very concept of "new thing" implies that it can't necessarily be predicted or understood based on the old, so I believe very strongly that any rationally-minded human ought to continuously seek out and sample everything.

(This is one reason I tend to be so negatively critical of my last bout with grad school: a tragically large portion of the people there called themselves "scientists" yet refused to consider, learn about, or try new or different things—whether they be foods, ideas, techniques or methods, other disciplines, or even entire regions or cultures—instead willingly relegating themselves to a universe/box of stereotypes, assumptions, and preconceptions. There were exceptions, of course: generally the people I tried to be friends with, like Stephanie, Gary, Justin, etc. I don't think I've advertised this site to anybody who fits the above criticisms.) =P

Anyway, as far as food is concerned, the squid dish at Sweet Basil was about average: not bad, different enough to remark on, but it didn't change my world. It fared better than olives have: they make me wretch and leave a disgusting aftertaste in my mouth, but I keep trying them every time I come across a new type or a different preparation. No luck yet, but I'd rather eat a few nasty olives (and a few kinda-bearable ones) than give up on them and turn "olive" into a single static preconception, as opposed to a rich collection of wildly-variant categories.

My best "haven't had that before" experience was eel, at a small Japanese restaurant in Clemson. Most of the restaurant's dishes were kinda blah, but this particular menu item—simply eel over rice with some broccoli and a nondescript sauce—was exceptional. I've tried eel at a few other places since, generally as part of a sushi roll, but that initial discovery was absolutely amazing. =)