Mt Fuji

This is rather tacky to keep talking about me and my birthday, but how often does one turn 50? Not too many times. Tonight we had the big celbration, dinner at My Fuji. It's a Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse. The views up there are incredible (especially with Autumn creeping in) as is the food and the show/presentation. The tables seat 12 people in a sort or square U shape with the chef cooking in the middle. He has a few knives and spatulas that he flings around with the precision of a Ninja. He also does some tricks like flinging the tails of the shrimp that he cut off into the top of his chef's hat. My Mom and Aunt Grace have never seen anything like it so it was a treat for them. Ealier in the day, Grif wasn't real keen on going there last night. He just wanted to hang with his cousin. He was grinning ear to ear once the cooking started. Not only is the food prepared as a show, it is also very tasty. They had combinations of chicken with shrimp and/or filet mignon. They use all fresh veggies in the dishes too.

I got this great gift from my brother. BOSE Around the Ear Headphones to use with my iPod. These have incredible sound and are also noise canceling. They run around $150. I can also use them with my guitar amp so I can play anytime without bothering anyone if I decide to crank it up.

Today I gave Dylan a big surprise. I was coming back from town after picking Dylan and his bike up from town. I normally don't do that, I figure if he rode there he can ride back but since we were going out for dinner he needed the ride so we wouldn't be late. We put the bike in the trunk and drove home. We live on a private road which translates into "a dirt road". We stopped at the bottom of our street and I asked Dylan to get the mail. I then asked him if he wanted to drive the car. His eyes bugged out of his head and he said "YES". So we switched sides and I gave him the quick rundown of the brake and gas pedals and how to out it in gear. He started off jerky but he went down the road pretty well. It's only about 1/8 of a mile but he really did quite well. His turn into our driveway could have been better but at least he didn't hit the garage or anything. He said how it was a little harder than he thought it might be. There is a feel one has to aquire in for working the gas and brake. I've let Grif sit on my lap and steer a few times and I has wanted to let Dylan try his hand at it. He was reallt thrilled to have done it, he was all giddy. We'll see how tomorrow goes but Dylan was talking a lot more than he usually does with me and I think I blew him away with my offer. It's not something that he will do often but what the hell, I want him to remember having a good relationship with me. He's at a influential age too (almost 14) so any bonding I can do with him is good I think.
Well, it's late. After 2 am. I think I'm done with this entry.