Just Breath

So I strange phenomena happened today. I had to give a presentation at 8:15 AM and I wasn't nervous. I wasn't sure why, other than the fact that I was very familiar with what I was presenting. So I looked over my slides and notes last night at 2 AM (which would really be this morning) and went to sleep. Didn't realize my alarm wasn't on and woke up on my own at 6:40. Made coffee and almost had a flood because I filled right up to that line, reacted by sipping some quick and didn't get burned, then drank my coffee, showered, etc. I found I was a bit shaky - lack of sleep? too much to drink the night before? I don't know, but I stopped, took a few deep breaths and settled down.

I was out the door in perfect time to get to the conference room early enough to get prepared. The AV person set things up, we found my Powerpoint, all was well. I started looking over the slides and heard an alarm coming from the laptop. I didn't realize that meant the power would shut off in a few minutes, but when it did, I was able to find the power and plug it in. I did need to confirm the plug I was using was ok because it looked fairly industrial and I didn't want to short anything out. I got powered up, rebooted, brought up the show and people started coming in. It went really well, I thought. People asked questions and I had time to answer them all and show some things live.

Through it all, I was relaxed. I moved on through the day, not worrying about where I would sit at lunch, if I would make it to the next session on time, what I was going to say at a meeting, and all was fine. My dinner date cancelled but I had already planned on going back to the room to call home and put away my laptop. Not knowing what the plan was, I headed out the door and took a look at who was around. Found someone and was going to join him and others at Wolfgang Puck's but then ran into another group who were on their way to Cat Cora's Kousina. This was the one of two places I wanted to go at Disney so I asked if I could join them. They said they were just going to ask me because their fourth person on the reservation cancelled. Checked back with 1st person and they said, "no problem" and off we went. We waited 2 minutes to get the cab, walked into the restaurant 40 min. early, yet 5 min. later our buzzer was lighting up and we were being seated.

The waitress was great. She wanted to explain the common questions about the menu because it would save time later. I love efficiency. We ordered drinks - I was going to get the Ouzo-tini and she asked if I liked Ouzo and I asked how strong of a flavor it had and she said it was heavy licorice. That's the only flavor I really don't like but I wanted to try something different so I gave it a go. By the time she finished describing all the items on the menu I chickened out and decided to go with the anti-oxidant sangria. It was very good. Fruity but not at all sweet. For dinner we split the "spread". Kouzzina Spreads – Greek Olive Tapenade, Chickpea Hummus, Eggplant Spread, Taramosalata, Whipped Feta with Peppers, and Tzatziki, served with Pita. I took the picture a little late, but all of it was wonderful - she's not afraid of flavor!

For my entree I couldn't resist the Fisherman’s Stew – Scallops, Seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter. It was rather rich, but I managed to eat most of it. There were mussels, clams and  shrimp, The waitress said there was a bit of heat and there was. The fennel wasn't very pronounced, but all of it together was tasty. The fish was the standout, being cooked perfectly.

The company was fun, the food was great, and after we walked around in the warm breeze, watching the lovely sunset on the Boardwalk and chit-chatting. Without any preconceptions for the evening, it turned out to be a fantastic, serendipitous time.