[CyberTOPS] Another Adventure.....OT

[George Hughes, Jr.]

Saturday I went downtown with friends to dinner and to see The Phantom of the
Opera. I have never been to an Opera before and I've never really cared to go.
It's just not my cup of iced tea with Splenda but the tickets were free and I
figured why not? It's not going to kill me. Now....what the heck do I wear?
I've gained 31 lbs. over my goal and you have to dress nice (no jeans and
t-shirs which is what I usually wear) to go to The Houston Hobby Center to see
a Broadway Show. I did find a shirt that fit and I tried on my "SRD suit
pants" and they were tight in the "nether regions" but they would work. :) I
looked good if I do say so myself. Dang I should of took a picture! LOL! I
even shaved....go figure!

We left early to head downtown to have dinner at a nice Italian place that we
have always wanted to try. It's by the Hard Rock Cafe and it's call Mingalone
and it's pricey but we figured why not. I'll tell you why! LOL! We went in and
got seated right away but they put us right next to the kitchen and in the
traffic zone for the staff. It was noisey and just uncomfortable. Why I didn't
say anything to move I don't know. I ordered a glass of wine that turned out
to be 11.00 and gross and only less than 1/2 full! It took him forever to
bring our drinks and then forever to take our order. It was no big deal
because we had time. We ordered an appetizer and then our entrees. He asked us
if we wanted salads and we said no thanks. He finally brought us bread and
about 5 minutes after he took our order out comes our food. I was like wow
that was fast but where is the appetizer? We said nevermind on that. What if
we had ordered salads? Would it all have come out at once. My lasagna was
AWESOME, I will admit, but my friends was disgusting. It was fettucine alfredo
and runny and gross and I could have made it better at home. We were shocked
for the price. The waiter never asked us if we were okay, he brought two
baskets of bread out and gave one to one table and walked right by us and put
it back in the kitchen, he never asked if we wanted anything else or
anything.We wanted more bread! I had to ask for the check and nope....no tip.
I was going to say something but it got so busy I just wanted to leave. Our
bill was 50.00 and we left. We headed to the Hard Rock Cafe but the wait was
too long. We weren't full at all.

We went down to the parking garage and were told we could walk from the
restaurant to the Hobby Center under ground. We walked for about 15 minutes,
got lost, and had to go back upstairs and realized we did a complete circle.
HOW FUN! We finally made it and were soooooo hot from walking around in a
humid parking garage. We went in and picked up our tickets and I had a 3.00
can of Diet Coke, my friend had a 7.00 alcohol drink, and we were able to sit
and rest and cool off before the show.

The show was AWESOME! I really, really enjoyed it. I didn't think I would but
I did. EVERY scene with the phantom was fabulous. There were three scenes that
went on WAY TOO LONG and I was soooo bored but it was worth it. There was also
a scene when only the girls were signing and it was awful! It sounded like a
bunch of screaming and I wanted to plug my ears. We had a 10 minute
intermission and then back to the show. Awesome. I really enjoyed it. Would I
see it again? No but I was so glad I actually went. Before we went in it was
pouring and on came a huge thunderstorm. I thought please don't knock the
lights out!! That would be just my luck. Then I was worried about what would
happen when the show was over because we walked....and I had my fancy big boy
clothes on! LOL! But, luckily, after the show it wasn't raining anymore and it
was very cool out which was nice. Only two homeless people asked for money on
the way to and from. I expected a lot more! :) We got free tickets to see a
movie tomorrow so we will be back down there again.

We headed to eat afterwards and, unfortunately, we went to Mexican and had a
great meal. Maybe the walk to and from helped burn some calories? Either way
it was a great night.

Just had to share......George has attended his first play/opera and it was a
good one! It was 2 hours and 37 minutes with a 10 minute intermission...not 4
hours thank God! LOL!

George :)

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-Alanis Morissette