Birthday Reflections

For my birthday, a friend took me to lunch at a place in Burlington that usually has excellent lobster bisque. I have to admit, yesterday’s bisque was not the best I’ve had, but it was tasty enough. For my entrée, I got their shrimp scampi, or at least that’s what they called it in the menu. Scampi should be a sauce of garlic, olive oil, butter, white wine, a touch of lemon, and parsley often served over linguine. This shrimp scampi was not any of that by any stretch of the imagination, except the overcooked linguine. Their “scampi” sauce was more of a lemon cream sauce with baby spinach and diced tomatoes. I don’t mind a lemon sauce. In fact, I love piccata, chicken or veal, but if you’ve ever made piccata you know that if you use too much lemon and cook it too long, it becomes bitter and overpowering. This “scampi” was bitter and overpowering. At least the shrimp tasted okay. After eating the “shrimp scampi” I turned down dessert. Besides, they didn’t have any kind of cake.

The best thing about the restaurant (besides being there with my friend) was the bartender/host who seated us. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants that left little to the imagination. He definitely had the kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, LOL. It was fun following him to our table. I definitely had some naughty thoughts about that man. He also had short but stylish light brown hair and the most beautiful blue eyes. He kept smiling at me, but I think he was just being friendly, or he could have overheard me tell my friend, “Now, I’d like to have him for my birthday.” I said it after he seated us and walked away but you never know. I’d have been mortified if he had heard me.

I tried to do a little shopping but the stores were so crowded, I just couldn’t handle it. I have never really enjoyed crowds, the only exception is when it’s a crowd of gay men, but even that makes me nervous, especially if I’m by myself. After entering two stores that were so crowded you could barely get around, I gave up and went to Starbucks for my free birthday beverage. This time of year, they always have the caramel brûlée latte, which is my favorite, though I get extra shots of espresso because otherwise it’s too sweet.

I’d considered going out for a birthday dinner, someplace with good cake for dessert. However, the lunch didn’t set well with me, so I had something light at home and had a glass of ginger ale. I have to go back to work today, and honestly I wish I had the rest of the week off, but I have to return at some point.