this weekend was just great. since I was being unreflective yesterday, I'll summarize more thoroughly today. I got up around 1pm on Saturday, after the late night up with April. I then lazed around on the couch for a while and watched Ocean's Eleven on video. it was fine. I liked the cockney Don Cheadle. I put off taking a shower as long as possible (showering right after getting up just reeks too much of workday) and then got all gussied up for Belle & Sebastian.

Jim came over around 6 and we went to dinner at one of my all-time favorite restaurants in Chicago. it's this tiny Persian place right around the corner from my apartment. the food is so delicious, so perfect, and so amazingly inexpensive. the best part of every meal for me is this most exquisite lentil soup they serve at the beginning. I'm sure it's the simplest recipe in the world, but it is so incredibly good, I could eat it every day. all of the staff there are very friendly as well and everything is made from scratch each day. they've got some sort of mysterious way of preparing salmon that is not only simple but also mind-blowing. at the end of the meal, they serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream with cinnamon and honey on top. it's as if you've never eaten anything so good. I don't know how they do it all so well.

after dinner, Jim and I got into a cab to head off to the theater. I stuck the gigantic rose bloom that came with our restaurant bill in Jim's boutonni�re on the way and it looked pretty dandy in retrospect. the two of us made our way into the Congress Theatre, got a beer, and headed towards the front of the stage. a few minutes later, Stephen materialized, presenting himself to Jim before I'd even seen him. they'd never met before so I was surprised he'd picked us out so easily.

when the opening band came on, I was struck that all four girls had the same hair color: indie chick blackish-brown. I was also struck by their indifference to being onstage, as I mentioned yesterday. halfway through the set, Stephen commented that he was convinced he could easily be a drummer in a rock n' roll band, considering the lassitude and overly-simplistic manner of this particular group's rhythm maker.

Belle & Sebastian trouped onstage to lots of cheers and I recognized all present from the show I'd seen in California. I just love Stuart's voice. it seemed so soft, yet so big in that theater space. I've still got "I'm Waking Up To Us" in my head. I think they had 12 people on stage in total, but I could've miscounted. some of the people in the band look like they'd be a good time if taken out on the town. I loved it when Stuart broke into an extended dance during a particular instrumental interlude (can't remember the song now). one member of the band, Bobby, I think, is probably the prettiest boy I've ever seen. he's on the cover of Jonathan David and he's simply precious. it was such a nice show. the music was so good. I've got to fill in the B&S gaps in my collection.

Stephen drove Jim and me back to our neighborhood and then took off, as he's poor and will not get paid until Wednesday (a fact he kept having to remind me of). so Jim and I skipped off to a bar to down two pitchers of beer. we then went back to my place, where I gave him the frog-riding-a-motorcycle figurine I'd bought him as a souvenir from my trip to San Diego. it's the strangest little thing, and I found it in a gas station for $1.99. then we sat down to watch Saturday Night Live, which I'd taped. and then we ended up making out and stuff. these things happen. and it was actually kind of nice this time, nicer than usual.

Sunday I woke up around noon, after having woken up and turned back over to sleep a few times. I reinstalled myself on the couch, similar to the prior day's position, to watch With A Friend Like Harry..., which was an odd film. kind of a strange premise, but it allowed me to refresh my French movie skills.

after the film ended, I took a nice, long, hot bath and paged through my new issue of Spin, the one with Moby's head plastered with foil stars on the cover. [side note: I once had a letter to the editor published in Spin. yeah!]

after getting out of the bath, I traipsed out of the apartment to get some potato soup from a nearby restaurant and came back home to make a salad to accompany it. there's just something so yummy about potato soup. especially for me, who loves potatoes dearly. right about the time I finished dinner, the Simpsons came on. it was one of the best Simpsons ever in my opinion. when Ralphie wet his pants I thought I was going to fall over from the sheer animated and comedic brilliance in front of my eyes. Ralphie's great.

the rest of my evening was spent on the couch, alternately reading and watching various Sunday night programming. I crawled into bed around 10:30, read some more, and then fell asleep. it was a perfect, lazy, relaxing, and uncomplicated weekend. and the fact that it involved my getting a little action made it all the better.

my boss is out for the whole week. things couldn't get better.

P.S. Super Furry Animals' "Rings Around The World" is so damned good. I keep forgetting how good, really. the band who writes a song about Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton over a seemingly harmless melody can't be bad at all, can it?