Delicious lobster from McCormick & Schmick's, where I had a feast for my birthday, complete with fried oysters, calamari, and creme brulee-- a treat from my aunts & uncles in California. I love seafood and eat it almost everyday, since I prefer it to any other kind of meat, but it's become increasingly difficult for me to decide what to eat or what to buy at the market these days. For the three of you who were there for this meal, you know that this lobster was not mine, that I instead ordered a "Chilean Sea Bass" in guilt! I thought that eating seafood meant that I was being healthier, and in some ways it is, but I also think it's important to try and consider the environmental impacts of our consumer choices. For example, demand for blue fin tuna (yup, that buttery melt-in-your-mouth toro) is so high that a whole fish can sell for more than $100,000 in the market. Farm-bred fishes, like Atlantic salmon, have higher levels of PCBs due to the synthetic feed, and are more susceptible to developing parasites because of overcrowding and have to be treated with antibiotics. Does that sound appetizing? Even though all the salmon at the market kind of look the same to me, should I pay twice as much for the wild salmon? Do I really want to think about all the implications, or should I just continue to enjoy eating the patagonian toothfish while I still can, before the species becomes extinct? Decisions, decisions...

Tonight's dinner: -baked mac & cheese with gruyere, emmenthaller, & chedder -Vietnamese-style grilled pork chop (not organic-- just discount meat from Pathmark!) -strawberry lemonade (courtesy of Emeril Lagasse) -old fashioned rice pudding, which I overcooked I just so happen to look over at Neil and his computer screen and what do I see-- he's added a 40-inch HD flat-screen television to his Best Buy cart!!! The only reason why it's not a sealed deal is that it's for in-store pick-up only... good thing it's in Texas. But now I've got to pay closer attention, I don't know what this fatwallet is that he keeps talking about. "I have to keep checking every hour, so I'll be one of the first people to get the deal..."