Jiro's Big Day

After veto-ing a redo on Ring Pops, Warren stayed up late Tuesday making brownies for Jiro to take to school.



We all slept in, and then had a great breakfast at Bryants.


My mom and I went to the school just before lunch for the traditional walking around the sun.


Then we hung out with the Schoolyard Gang for a bit while we bided time in the hopes of securing a brownie for the road.


Warren picked Jiro up at 2:30 for his last speech therapy class for the spring semester at the U of M. His speech therapist had a special scavenger hunt planned for him and the snack of the day was a cookie with icing and sprinkles that he got to decorate himself.

I picked the boys up from school later and we went to McDonald's and then Target. Jiro picked out Bakugan, of course He "let" Satchel get one too. Next we went to TCBY (even though Baskin Robbins was giving out .31 cones) where Jiro refused to get out of the car. He fell asleep on the way home and I hoped I could somehow get him in bed, but he woke up. I let him play for a bit then we did bath, late night snack (He requested a slice of American cheese, a small bowl of white cheddar crackers, a brownie, a popsicle, and a spoonful of honey. I stopped after the cheese and crackers.), books, and bed.

Jiro was cranky and whiney and teary all day, which was a bummer. I think he was just exhausted. Just before he fell asleep he curled up next to me and said, "I lub you, Mommy."

Happy Birthday Jiro!

My baby is 5!

It's hard to come to terms with the fact that both of my boys are BIG now. Luckily they both still like to snuggle and let me hug and kiss on them, so it isn't completely devastating, but still!!

Here's a look at Jiro over the years...

Napping at Mothersville, where we spent the majority of his first fourth months of life due to the fact that Warren abandoned me to go dig stuff up somwhere.


In our friend Jeremy's backyard in Albuquerque during his first ever road trip.


Dictating the music selection a year later on yet another road trip.


Playing in waves on our first trip to Gulf Shores.


Eating donuts at Cafe Eclectic on a surprise breakfast outing last year.


Climbing to new heights at the City Museum a month or so ago.

Project Green Fork Dinner

My friend Margot, who started Project Green Fork, hosted a Spring Supper fundraiser at Tsunami Sunday night. I really wanted to go, but Warren wasn't too excited about having to dress up and schmooze. So, I decided to go with Mary and Warren decided to help out in the kitchen!

Little did he know that he would have to show up three hours earlier than me and actually work! Ben loaned him a chef jacket and it looked like he was fitting in just fine when I arrived. I was worried that he was going to be mad at me for once again roping him into something, but he enjoyed himself enough that he volunteered to help out at the Tsunami Farmer's Market dinner in June.


The menu consisted of local ingredients. We started mingling and drinking champagne around 6:00pm. PGF Board Members acted as servers for the evening and brought around Blue Cheese Potato Croquettes with Jones Orchard Chow Chow, Bacon Wrapped Dates, and West Wind Farms Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce (not pictured).

The first course was a salad of organic mixed greens from Windmere Farm with Bonnie Blue feta cheese, seasoned Delta pecans, and wasabi deviled eggs. Second course consisted of Farmer's market sweet potato and lemongrass soup with herb creme fraiche. Third was Delta grind cornmeal crusted Alaskan Halibut on purple hull and ebony pea ragout with Benton bacon and wilted arugula and broccoli rabe from Blue Bird Farms. Dessert was Rosemary shortcake with organic strawberries from Windmere Farm.


My favorite was the soup...and seeing Warren in a chef's jacket.

Support Tsunami and the other restaurants that have pledged to use local ingredients, ban styrofoam, conserve energy, compost, and use eco-friendly cleaners. Fratelli's, Andrew/Michael Italian Kitchen, Central BBQ, and Cafe Eclectic are also certified Green Forker. Miss Cordelia's, Soul Fish, Just for Lunch, Otherlands, Blue Fish, and the Brushmark are in the process of being certified.

Tell your favorite restaurant to sign up!

Rock-n-Romp Recap

In January when we started planning the 2009 season, we were vacillating between having the first show the weekend of the 18th and the 25th. We definitely chose the right weekend. What a beautiful day we had!

And what an awesome yard! It was hard to believe we were in Midtown, but we were. Thanks so much to the Cowles for opening up their backyard to nearly 500 Rock-n-Rompers! Erin & Bernard went out of their way to make sure everything was perfect for the show. Best of all, they never stopped smiling! So the next time you see these two be sure and tell them how much they rock.


I also want to thank Holly for making us this beautiful table cloth!


And Caleb Sweazy for making us this "Junkyard Amadinda" to replace our battered Banging Wall.


The "Sit-n-Spin Farm" didn't quite turn out like I had planned. Our Rock-n-Romper who owns six of them came down with pneumonia and couldn't attend. We only had four and as you can see, the kids had other uses for them! Maybe we can get it going at the next show. (Bring yours in June! Or let me know if you have one to donate and I'll pick it up!)


Alright, now for the music. First up, we had David Brookings. He provided a lovely start to the show with his smooth vocals. (I took a video of him singing a song about his daughter, but am having technical difficulties!)


By the time David was done playing we had quite a showing!


King Louie and Loose Diamonds played next. We were a little short on shade Saturday, so we really appreciated these guys braving the rays for us!



The last band was Unstoppable Juggernaut. It took them a little while to get set up and we ran out of beer, so I'm afraid about half of our crowd missed out on what was one of the best parts of the day.

Apparently kids love math rock. It was really fun to watch them spontaneously start shaking their booties and flailing their arms about once the music got going. It was unlike anything they'd ever heard before!


The highlight of the day for me was when these three little girls took the mic and sang a song they wrote about Rock-n-Romp. My stupid camera was out of memory space so I couldn't get a video, which breaks my heart, because this was an incredible moment. These girls made all of the hard work and long hours that go into Rock-n-Romp totally worth it. Thanks, girls!


(I hope they're signed up for the Delta Girls Rock-n-Roll Camp!)

Stay tuned for details on our next show, which is going to be June 6th! (I apologize to all of the people who joined the list right before the show and got very short emails with the address--you'll get a real invite next time, I promise!)

If you took photos, please add them to our Flickr pool!

Climb Night at Bridges

Warren had a class field trip to Bridges a few weeks ago. He loved it and suggested that we have the boys' birthday party at the climbing wall. I just happened to be working on a birthday party story for Memphis Parent, so I gave Bridges a call to get the scoop. I quickly found out that renting the facility was way beyond my financial abilities, but the director suggested having a party at one of the monthly climb nights that are open to the public. The climb nights just started last month and mark the first recreational use of the wall. (It's usually for team building exercises.) There are volunteer belayers and eleven people can climb the wall at a time. It sounded like a great idea to me, so I scheduled the boys' birthday party for Friday night.


Warren made cupcakes, buffalo chicken dip, veggie platters, and fruit salad. I bought balloons, colored plates, goodie bags, and pizza. We decorated a nearby classroom, and invited 30 of our best buddies to join us.

Satchel and his two buddies--Jack and Theo--climbed up the wall like it was a piece of cake. Satch got scared of heights just shy of the top, but enjoyed going up again and again. It was fun watching which parents were excited about climbing and which ones were content to watch. It was also awesome to see which kids were the most determined to get to the top.

I had planned to climb but Warren informed me that it was actually hard and spooked me. I was fine watching, as was Jiro. I was really surprised Jiro didn't want to try--even when I offered to go with him. He had fun running around with a few of the other kids who also viewed the climbing wall as giant and scary, so I guess it was ok, but in the end I felt like it was Satchel's dream party and Jiro's nightmare not-party.

After several hours, Shannon convinced me to give the wall a try. Nervous and exhausted and with much fanfare, I finally did. It was definitely hard! WOW! I almost made it to the top, but got too tired. Now, of course, I'm going to have to go back and try again when I don't have an audience!

Overall I think the party was a success. Satchel said it was the best ever.

I'll make it up to Jiro on Wednesday, his actual birthday. (He told me last night he wanted to go to Tsunami on his birthday and drink Diet Dr. Pepper!)

(Double) Self-Promo

My column this week is about Rock-n-Romp and how it got started: Rock-n-Romp kids with an ear for music.

Satchel and Jiro are almost as excited as I am about the first show on Saturday. (And no, I'm not letting them bring their DSes.)

The Lorax Wants You!

Everywhere you turn these days, someone is pitching something green or earth-friendly or sustainable or whatever. Earth Day is beginning to be a bit innocuous. However, there is something very concrete you can do to make a difference this Earth Day. Join the Lorax's posse! Tell that Once-ler Chuck Brady (CEO of the Memphis Zoo) that you don't want him to make anymore thneeds (i.e. Teton Trek exhibit) out of your truffula trees (i.e. the Old Forest)!


The Zoo still has seventeen acres of Old Forest behind a fence. They are steadily destroying the understory and have plans to develop it into an exhibit that is not necessary. If people want to experience the Old Forest (which is the purpose of the proposed Chickasaw Bluffs exhibit) they can do it for free any day of the week.

Help save the Old Forest! Join the Lorax.

The Big Day

Satchel decided to start his seventh year off at CK's with a Paul Bunyan breakfast. I met him at school later in the day for some communal Monkey Bread, the traditional walk around the sun, and then a much anticipated trip to Target for a Club Penguin membership card.


Jiro had a rough start this morning, not at all happy about it NOT being his birthday, but he came around. He spent his day working on a map of Asia for Satchel, which was really sweet and required a lot of effort. By the time we got to Target he was all smiles, and much to my surprise, Satchel picked out a six pack of Bakugan and told Jiro he was going to give him three without any prompting from me.

Happy Birthday Satchel!

Now that Satchel is in the Elementary, he is supposed to make a timeline of his life on his birthday. After school today we sorted through some of the thousands of photos I have taken of him and picked out one from each year of his life. Here are his selections:

My favorite, taken three days after he was born. (We had to lay him in the sunlight to get rid of a mild case of jaundice. Look at his hairy shoulders!)


By the time he was one, he would often stand at the door and say, "Outside!" (Look at that hair! Warren wouldn't let me cut it until he was one and a half.)


When he was two years and eight days old, Jiro came bounding into his life. (Now I wish he would have bounded in a few days earlier so that he wouldn't be so tormented by the fact that Satchel gets to have his birthday first!)


When he was three, Spider-Man came to his birthday party. (And then came back later to read him a story and tuck him in. It wasn't until he saw Spider-Man's hairy toes that he realized it was Warren.)


At age four his favorite activity was catching frogs in the front yard. ("Mom, they're toads!" I can hear him correcting me now.)


When he turned five, he had his very first sleepover (with more than one person), followed by a hike in the Old Forest. This is still his birthday activity of choice.


Last year, shortly after Satchel's sixth birthday, Warren convinced us all to dress up like Zombies and walk down Beale Street. (He's heartbroken that we won't be doing it again this year. Warren, not Satchel, that is.)



An almost seven-year-old Satchel and his best little buddy, Jiro, in front of the flowers they planted in the winter.

Finished Product

Sean & Anne delivered the finished amadinda and akadinda yesterday afternoon. (They had to put on a few final touches.) Everyone is really thrilled with how beautifully they turned out. I'm still amazed that we built them both in an afternoon!

Come see them for yourself this Saturday at the Evergreen Bazaar in Williamson Park from noon to 4pm. (The kids will be selling handmade & earthy crafts and our Lunch Daddy--Stephen Hassinger of Hunt Phelan--will be preparing grab-n-go snacks for sale.)

The Junkyard Cometh

Last week I tagged along on Mary's interview with Lisa Williamson. Lisa has been working on creating The Junkyard Memphis, our very own version of the City Museum for the past five years. The main hang up has been finding a suitable building. However, while her board continues to look for a permanent spot, Lauren Crews has given her permission to take over the Marine Hospital maintenance building and grounds adjacent to the Metal Museum. (I've been to a couple of parties there and nearly came home with a 9ft giraffe head after one of them, so the building is dear to my heart.)

Lisa already has big plans for some outdoor sculptures, musical performances (including Rock-n-Romps!), and summer camps. Here's a video Mary made:



(You can read more in Mary's column in this week's Flyer.)

To me, this is the perfect location to get started. Right near the river, but away from the hustle and bustle of downtown. Plus the fenced in yard filled with climbable sculptures will be perfect for Rock-n-Romp. Stay tuned for more info on this very exciting project. And contact Lisa if you have a donation, a great idea, or just want to help out!

Warren, Kendo Master

On my birthday, I also got the treat of watching Warren test for his Kendo level. The monkeys and I arrived just in time and I filmed all three of his matches. This one is the best though because he looks extra tough. (Warren is on the right.) Watch out!

Attention Target Shoppers

The day after Easter marks my kids' one year anniversary as Target Shoppers. Last year the Easter Bunny gave them enough eggs filled with quarters to buy a Bakugan. Our jaunt to the Spottswood Target ended in disaster when there was only ONE Bakugan on the shelf. What proceeded was a ridiculous hunt for Bakugans that led us to all four corners of the city and resulted in four Ben 10 toys as a consolation for the fact that some crazy mama had beaten us to every store.

This year the Easter Bunny once again included enough quarters the eggs that he considerately hid indoors at my mom's house for them to buy a Bakugan. (Funny that they have actually been interested in something for twelve consecutive months! And nevermind the fact that the Easter Bunny also brought them 3 Bakugans each.)


Before starting our journey today, I laid some ground rules. "We are only going to one Target," I said. "And we are only spending YOUR money. If there isn't something you want to buy today, you can save your money for next time." Both monkeys nodded in agreement.

"Now, which Target do you want to go to?"

"The NEW one!" they said in unison. (They watched it being built so they have a special affinity for it. Plus, it has yet to be out of something we're looking for.)

We arrived, parked, and (wallets in hands) headed straight for the Bakugan aisle. There were a million Bakugan there, so we had to weed through each one of them. Meanwhile, the monkeys' contemporaries swirled in around us, examining the wares for themselves. I heard several moms have heated discussions with their offspring.

"Save your money for something you really want instead of wasting it on that!" shouted one mom. I didn't hear what the kid said in response, but it must have been good because she threw up her arms and exclaimed, "Fine, but don't come complaining to me in a few hours when you don't have anything fun to play with!"

I was thrilled to know that I was not the only mother of a child with innumerable toys that complained of boredom on a regular basis, but I was also well aware that they had already grown tired of the 3 Bakugans they got the day before. It seemed a bit absurd to be shopping for yet another one. (Surely some wordsmithy type will come up with a name for this syndrome to enter into the urban dictionary.)

Eventually Jiro found a Bakugan that he wanted, but Satchel did not. We headed towards the Bionicles. I pointed out that they had an even shorter shelf life than the Bakugan. "One you put them together, you lose interest," I said.

Satchel let out a sign and headed for the movies. Then I suggested we look at the DS games. (I needed to take notes for their upcoming birthdays.) After much discussion about how much everything cost, the monkeys negotiated a deal to pool their money and buy a $19.99 game for the Wii. It was a moment of unparalleled team work. Go Team Oster!

I was beaming as they emptied the contents of their wallets on the counter and then walked away each holding a side of the bag.


Of course as soon as we got home, Satchel began mastering the game and Jiro spent 45 minutes whimpering about how he should have gotten the Bakugan instead. It seems there cannot be a Target trip with an ensuing bout of buyers remorse.

After some snuggling and some reassurances on my part, Jiro finally got it together. He watched Satchel for a bit longer and then the two of them happily played together while I rearranged Warren's closet.

What I Ate on My Birthday

As is becoming tradition, I spent my birthday restaurant hopping with the Smiths. (Colleen and I share a birthday.) I love restaurant hopping with restaurant people. We always get the royal treatment.

This year the Lindseys (David's birthday was the day after Colleen's and mine) joined us. We started off at Andrew Michael (where Andy & Mike came out to introduce themselves to Ben), then headed to Interim (where they were very tolerant of our special needs). The Chockleys (who were childless for the weekend) joined us at Interim, which was a nice surprise. The next stop was Bardog, but we were way too stuffed to eat anything! (And luckily we did not sit at the bar where the owner was ceremoniously pouring vodka down everyone's throats!) Our final destination was Yosemite Sam's for a rendezvous with my twin sister. (David was the only one brave enough to sing.

Aside from the awesome company and incredible food, the best part of the evening was our mode of transportation. I had mentioned to Ben that it would be nice if we could all ride in one car, so he secured this vehicle for the evening, and offered to be the designated driver:


Warren was so excited, you would have thought it was his birthday! We had both unknowingly dressed in black, too, so we were dressed perfectly.

Here's a peek at some of the delicacies we sampled throughout the evening. (Incriminating party pictures are all on Facebook.)

At Andrew Michael: Three cheese tasting, Antipasto, Ravioli with Maw Maw's gravy, Truffled Chicken Liver, Pan Roasted Scallops (not pictured), Polenta with Maw Maw's Gravy (not pictured), Potato Gnocchi (with gorgonzola), Oriecchette Pasta (with rabbit ragu), Budino (butterscotch pudding with shortbread cookies, and cannoli.

At Interim: Oysters on the half shell, Cheese Plate (with lavender honey-not pictured), Crab and Shrimp Salad (with vanilla-champagne vinaigrette), Roasted Duck Breast (with pea tendrils--not pcitured), and Orechiette Pasta (with grilled gulf shrimp, and Spanish style chorizo).

There was only one cheese that I didn't care for. The rest was amazing. If I had to pick my favorite dish, it would be a toss up between Andrew Michael's polenta and Interim's Orechiette pasta. But that ravioli was second only to the Zanoni's. And I really liked the gnocchi. And the crab and shrimp salad...

Pre-Birthday Cocktail Hour

Team Oster hasn't hosted Cocktail Hour in quite some time. My impending birthday was the perfect excuse to invite everyone over. (It being Easter weekend, over half of the usual crowd had one reason or another that they couldn't attend, so naturally I called in some new recruits.)

I made fancy blackberry vodka tonics (adapted from a sparkling water recipe I found in some magazine in the lobby of Jiro's speech therapist's office), Warren recreated the Buffalo Chicken Dip I'd been raving about all week (after having tried it at a baby shower), and Mary brought cookies (carefully selected from the aisles at Target). Topics of conversation included bathing habits of Peace Corps volunteers, brochure photos used to sell elective sterilization procedures, and why children need fancy electronic gadgets. Throw in the Wii, a few light sabers, and some nun chuks and we had quite a party!

I had originally planned to cut Cocktail Hour short so that we could catch Caleb's show at Otherlands, but before I knew it, it was after midnight. All of the sensible people went to bed, but me, Mary, and Nat went to the Cove to test out my Nancy Jew Spy Kit.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Needless to say, when I woke up Saturday morning, I felt every minute of my thirty-seven years.

Me. Waitress.

Jiro's latest response to everything (except Spaghetti-O's) is, "Ew, that's nasty." He's going through a major sensorial phase. The other day I sniffed his "scratch and sniff" sticker he got from speech class and he told me I ruined it!

Anyways, read all about the latest craziness around here in my column, Kids are toughest kitchen customers.

And in case you aren't counting (like RJA), this marks my one year anniversary as a CA columnist. Woop!

More Technology Talk

I've found a new use for Facebook. Or, rather, reason #1009 why Facebook is awesome. I was home alone with the monkeys when my phone went completely dead. I was in the middle of working out a carpool to roller derby practice and I hadn't yet texted Warren as to whether I was going to take the kids with me or wait for him to get home from school. We don't have a home phone line so I was a little perplexed as to what to do.

First, I located the instruction manual that came with my phone to see if I could pinpoint the problem and potentially fix my phone. It took me about 3 seconds to give up on this idea.

Next, I considered putting the kids in the car and driving to a gas station. But I wasn't entirely sure if gas stations even have pay phones anymore.

I turned on my computer and decided to email my fellow carpoolers to see if I could finalize plans that way. I figured if I could get them to pick me up, I could use one of their phones to text Warren.

After about thirty minutes of waiting for a return email, I was down to the wire. Then it hit me: See who's online on Facebook and have them send some text messages on my behalf! I logged in and I had about 30 friends online. As I scrolled down the list it occurred to me that I really wasn't close enough friends with about 28 of these people to ask them to do me this favor! Thankfully Kristy (or Ms. Sassy Molassy) was online and happily agreed to help me out.

She texted the derby girls that I would meet them at practice and texted Warren that he needed to pick the kids up at practice. She did not however provide any context such as "Stacey's phone is dead" so the recipients of these messages were a little perplexed, but they got the message!

Thanks, Kristy. And Facebook.

Grand Finale

Last month, my friends at Being:Art came to the kids' school for a World Tour performance. Then they came back the next week to teach the kids how to make shakers and rainsticks. Yesterday, they returned for the grand finale: an Amadinda! And, as it turns out, an Akadinda too!

The Amadinda is inspired by a traditional pentatonic xylophone originating in Uganda. The name is derived from Ama (big) and Dinda (keys). An Amadinda has twelve keys, and the Akarinda has seventeen. We made ours from walnut that Scott Banbury salvaged from a local tree and donated to our cause. (Thanks, Scott!)

We had about forty parents and students show up for a 5 hour marathon of measuring, sawing, chiseling, sanding, drilling, hammering, and fine tuning. We did have a short break for lunch thanks to our one and only Lunch Daddy, Steven Hassinger! And as you can see from the pictures, some kids (yes, mine!) hid in the office to play video games!

It was a really amazing day and I can't say enough good things about Sean & Anne. They have really been so much fun to work with and we (students and parents) have learned so much from them.

It is really exciting to have two handmade instruments for the school to use forever. The kids and parents totally amazed me with their patience and persistence on this project. Of course it totally makes me want to come up with more and more projects!

I was the designated photographer/bosser arounder. I think I got carried away with the former duty because my camera battery died right before we got both instruments put together!!

Here's a peek at the action:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Flower Power

In December the boys helped Warren plant some bulbs in our front flower bed. Now they are all in bloom. For the past week, our morning walk to the car was paired with exclamations like, "Whoa! Check out this flower!"

Call of the Wild

Last month I convinced Warren, the boys, Chip, and Connor to come to a session of the Great Outdoors University at the Hatchie Wildlife Reserve. Chip took pictures and I wrote an article for the current issue of Memphis Parent. Pick up a copy or check it out online.

Magic Tree House & Museum Musings

Over the past year, I have read about thirteen Magic Tree House books to the boys (and Satchel read one to himself last week!), so we were very much looking forward to seeing the musical at the Orpheum last weekend. Even though we aren't CMOM (Children's Museum of Memphis) members anymore, I received an invite to their Magic Tree House party last Thursday. The actors playing Jack & Annie were going to be there and there was free food, so we decided to go.

We arrived about an hour into the festivities so I'm not sure what actually went on at the party. When we arrived, Satchel & Jiro peered at Jack & Annie from across the room and said, "Can we go play now?" I tried my best to convince them to at least go over and have their picture taken with the actors, but they were very busy pretending to be shy.

We hadn't been to the museum since International Paper's Tree House exhibit opened last year, so I was eager to see the other improvements Dick Hackett had made in our absence. Therefore, I agreed to skip the official festivities and follow the monkeys through the museum.

Noticeable changes:

The party room is now the Little Malco. It doesn't seem like there's a movie screen in there, but I could be wrong. (I believe it is still centered on stage performances.) The formerly new Quizno's Kids' Cafe was now an even newer Domino's Cafe, which I guess makes more sense. The bank was a shiny new Suntrust, and the old Kroger was gone. (A new Kroger opened up over by the dress up area.) The China exhibit was nice--very much like the Japan exhibit a few years prior minus the awesome Cat Bus. Oh there was also a new minivan and a nice new police car. (Jiro instinctively climbed in the back!) I'm pretty sure the whole place had new carpet. In general it seemed much cleaner and nicer than a few years ago. The kids' favorite part was still the sky scraper. As they climbed around I couldn't help but compare it to the City Museum. And then all of the happy thoughts I was having about CMOM dissipated. Suddenly it was one giant, boring corporate ad.

As we were leaving, I asked the monkeys what they liked better CMOM or the City Museum. Satchel immediately said, "The City Museum!" Surprisingly, Jiro cast his vote for CMOM. Huh? Wha? Then he explained: "It takes too long to get to the City Museum!" I thought about his statement for a minute and decided to just appreciate CMOM for what it is and be thankful that we have something rather than nothing. (BUT! I do have some exciting news about the City Museum as it relates to Memphis. I'll tell you next week!)

Let's fast forward to the show at the Orpheum. Even though the boys just glanced at the actors at CMOM, it left an impression. They were thrilled to point out that they had met the actors in real life. We had amazing box seats on the Mezzanine, thanks to the fact that I got our tickets during the Goner Auction for Anna Ives. I've never sat in their box seats. There's actually space between the seats and the seats themselves are cushier. I felt like royalty.

The show itself was really well done. It had a whole Camelot thing going on, and the monkeys were on the edge of their seats. At the intermission, Satchel looked over at me expectedly and exclaimed, "It can't end like that!"

I love watching Jiro clap at appropriate times. I don't know why, but it just makes me melt.

Warren fell asleep, but he always does that.

The best part though? Managing to get out of there without purchasing "Merlin's swords"/a.k.a. wannabe light sabers for $20 a pop.

We ended the evening with a trolley ride and a tour of my office.