Saturday, October 28, 2006
ONoir? OYes....
So, many of you may have read Jeff's blog post. There is a restaurant here in Montreal called ONoir where you dine in the dark. You are served by people who are 50-90% visually impaired. You are suppose to feel what it is like to eat as a visually impaired person and you are suppose to concentrate more on your other senses.
I will explain the process a bit. You walk into the lobby where there are lockers. You put your stuff in there so that you don't lose it and you also have to put in anything that glows or emits light. You then look at the menu and decide what you want. There are ~ 3 options for appetizer, meal and dessert. You can either get just the meal for 30$ or all three for 37$. You can chose one of the options or "the surprise". You just have to tell them if you have any food allergies so that you don't get too big of a surprise. Once you order your meal, you line up one behind the other, much like the locomotion, and walk through two sets of curtains into the dining room. It is pitch black and you are guided to your table by your server. There is very little light, but there are two red exit signs so that you know where to go in case of an emergency.
The set up isn't ideal for a large group. We went in a group of six and we ended up setting in a straight line. I don't know if this is the case for all large groups because some ass opened up their cell phone and I saw some large round tables briefly. I ordered the surprise for the appetizer, chicken as the main course and a surprise for dessert (because you really can't go wrong with any form of sugar). The appetizer was a seafood dish - which I guess to be tuna but it turned out to be salmon. My chicken was amazing! It had cheese on it which I wasn't expecting and it was the best surprise in my mouth ever. The dessert was a fruit mousse. I thought it was raspberry but one of the girls I was with thought it was strawberry.
Here is what I learned at the restaurant.
1. I am not very good at determining what something tastes like. Salmon vs. Tuna??? Those don't taste the same to me when I can see them...or do they??? I don't know anymore.
2. Being blind is hard. I never knew the size of the bite I was putting into my mouth. I am thankful that no one else knew either. I chewed with my mouth open a lot (well, much more than usual). I could never tell what type of food was on the end of my fork so it was always a surprise of what was going into my mouth. Or nothing at all...50% of the time there would be nothing on the end of my fork. I would also run my fingers over my plate to make sure that I ate everything on my plate.
3. People are stupid. I knew this all ready, but what is the point of going to a restaurant to eat in the dark if you have to open your cell phone 3 times to look at stuff.
4. Static is fun. I could rub my cloth napkin on my jeans and then I could make it the napkin spark. Yay for a fun light show.
So that was my experience. It was fun to do once or twice, but I will not be a regular. It is hard to have a conversation except for with the people right beside you. All in all, a good time.
"I Remember the words of the misguided fool, Do unto others as you'd have them do. Not an eye for an eye is the golden rule, just leaves a room full of blind men" - DMB
I will explain the process a bit. You walk into the lobby where there are lockers. You put your stuff in there so that you don't lose it and you also have to put in anything that glows or emits light. You then look at the menu and decide what you want. There are ~ 3 options for appetizer, meal and dessert. You can either get just the meal for 30$ or all three for 37$. You can chose one of the options or "the surprise". You just have to tell them if you have any food allergies so that you don't get too big of a surprise. Once you order your meal, you line up one behind the other, much like the locomotion, and walk through two sets of curtains into the dining room. It is pitch black and you are guided to your table by your server. There is very little light, but there are two red exit signs so that you know where to go in case of an emergency.
The set up isn't ideal for a large group. We went in a group of six and we ended up setting in a straight line. I don't know if this is the case for all large groups because some ass opened up their cell phone and I saw some large round tables briefly. I ordered the surprise for the appetizer, chicken as the main course and a surprise for dessert (because you really can't go wrong with any form of sugar). The appetizer was a seafood dish - which I guess to be tuna but it turned out to be salmon. My chicken was amazing! It had cheese on it which I wasn't expecting and it was the best surprise in my mouth ever. The dessert was a fruit mousse. I thought it was raspberry but one of the girls I was with thought it was strawberry.
Here is what I learned at the restaurant.
1. I am not very good at determining what something tastes like. Salmon vs. Tuna??? Those don't taste the same to me when I can see them...or do they??? I don't know anymore.
2. Being blind is hard. I never knew the size of the bite I was putting into my mouth. I am thankful that no one else knew either. I chewed with my mouth open a lot (well, much more than usual). I could never tell what type of food was on the end of my fork so it was always a surprise of what was going into my mouth. Or nothing at all...50% of the time there would be nothing on the end of my fork. I would also run my fingers over my plate to make sure that I ate everything on my plate.
3. People are stupid. I knew this all ready, but what is the point of going to a restaurant to eat in the dark if you have to open your cell phone 3 times to look at stuff.
4. Static is fun. I could rub my cloth napkin on my jeans and then I could make it the napkin spark. Yay for a fun light show.
So that was my experience. It was fun to do once or twice, but I will not be a regular. It is hard to have a conversation except for with the people right beside you. All in all, a good time.
"I Remember the words of the misguided fool, Do unto others as you'd have them do. Not an eye for an eye is the golden rule, just leaves a room full of blind men" - DMB
Labels: 2006, GC girls, Montreal, rachel
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Giving thanks to sarcasm...
Ah, thanksgiving. A chance to devour turkey (or, in our case, chicken) and have an extra day off from school/work. It is also a time to give thanks and today I want to give that thanks. The following is the back story.
I had a massage appointment today at 10:30. I have problems with my neck and shoulder muscles, so I am really looking forward to this appointment. I left my house an hour prior to the appointment. Now, getting to the Sports Medicine Clinic from my house can take me any where from half an hour to a full hour, it just depends on the connections that I make or miss. Today was starting off to be a good day. I got the metro as soon as I got there and my connection pulled up as soon as my previous train stopped. At my stop, I get out to transfer to the bus. I arrive two minutes before it is suppose to and I am quite proud of myself. Yay for being able to commute!
But then, we wait and we wait and soon there are thirty people at this bus stop waiting for a bus that will never arrive. I am getting nervous because I don't want to miss the appointment because they still charge you and my previous appointment was cancelled and I really needed a good back beating. In the mean time, I am sharing sarcastic remarks with the couple next to me. We bonded over sarcasm. They decide to catch a cab and their destination is the building beside the Sports Med building. They take me along for the ride.
Ah, sweet Brad and random girl at the bus stop. It is because of you that I am sitting here feeling looser (looser muscles :P) than I have felt in months. Thank you for taking me along and not even taking my money because you had once been students too.
I would also like to thank sarcasm, for whom without, I would not have bonded with strangers at a bus stop.
Three cheers for friendly strangers who share my sense of humour!!!
"Sometimes I walk there, yes, God knows, Sometimes, I take a bus there" - DMB
I had a massage appointment today at 10:30. I have problems with my neck and shoulder muscles, so I am really looking forward to this appointment. I left my house an hour prior to the appointment. Now, getting to the Sports Medicine Clinic from my house can take me any where from half an hour to a full hour, it just depends on the connections that I make or miss. Today was starting off to be a good day. I got the metro as soon as I got there and my connection pulled up as soon as my previous train stopped. At my stop, I get out to transfer to the bus. I arrive two minutes before it is suppose to and I am quite proud of myself. Yay for being able to commute!
But then, we wait and we wait and soon there are thirty people at this bus stop waiting for a bus that will never arrive. I am getting nervous because I don't want to miss the appointment because they still charge you and my previous appointment was cancelled and I really needed a good back beating. In the mean time, I am sharing sarcastic remarks with the couple next to me. We bonded over sarcasm. They decide to catch a cab and their destination is the building beside the Sports Med building. They take me along for the ride.
Ah, sweet Brad and random girl at the bus stop. It is because of you that I am sitting here feeling looser (looser muscles :P) than I have felt in months. Thank you for taking me along and not even taking my money because you had once been students too.
I would also like to thank sarcasm, for whom without, I would not have bonded with strangers at a bus stop.
Three cheers for friendly strangers who share my sense of humour!!!
"Sometimes I walk there, yes, God knows, Sometimes, I take a bus there" - DMB
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Stompin' to my beat...
So, I don't know how many of you know this, but in the first couple of years that Jeff and I were dating, we spent a lot of time in the Campus Cove. By a lot of time, I don't mean hours every day, but we were in there a couple of times a week. For those of you who don't know the U of S, this is the arcade/billiard hall on campus.
What, you may ask, were we doing in the Campus Cove? Well, DDR of course. That's right: Dance Dance Revolution!! Jeff and I spent many a good time on this dancing machine (he loved it so much that he bought one for at home!).
You may ask why I would chose to blog about this now. Well I saw this fantastic video toady and feel like I should share it. The song this guy is dancing to was my favourite one to DDR to. And this guy kicks my ass. I only did it really well once or twice and this guy rules me. I would recommend watching it as it is not very long. Enjoy!
"Hani, Hani, come and dance with me" - DMB
What, you may ask, were we doing in the Campus Cove? Well, DDR of course. That's right: Dance Dance Revolution!! Jeff and I spent many a good time on this dancing machine (he loved it so much that he bought one for at home!).
You may ask why I would chose to blog about this now. Well I saw this fantastic video toady and feel like I should share it. The song this guy is dancing to was my favourite one to DDR to. And this guy kicks my ass. I only did it really well once or twice and this guy rules me. I would recommend watching it as it is not very long. Enjoy!
"Hani, Hani, come and dance with me" - DMB
Labels: 2006
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