There's a Carrabba's right near us, so they've made it to VA. Though for Italian, I prefer the not-chain in the shopping center nearest to home. (Okay, I think they actually have 3 or 4 restaurants, but no way is that a chain the way Olive Garden is.)

I woke up this morning with the thought of William Shatner guesting on Highlander.

"There.....Can.....BEonlyone."

I offer no excuse.

aren't they the ones with weird trees and shit on their roofs?

Yep, that's them.

My friend Gary from California is in the area for the week, and we almost ate at a very old Buca di Beppo in Eden Prairie, MN last night. If we had, this conversation would have been a very odd coincidence.

Buca di Beppo frightens me. I'm fairly sure that if there is a hell, there's a Buca di Beppo in every circle.

I have never been in an Olive Garden.

Gris - try NAIS ? [link]

Eh, Buca's fun if you have a large crowd and not too picky eaters, so that it makes ordering easy. The issue becomes when you have a large crowd and no one can agree on what to order.

The one in Cleveland also used to make some wicked good tiramisu.

Ah, the joy of employing new personal care assistants (some of my current assistants are undergrads who are leaving to go home for the summer). I placed the advert online at 11am. It's now 4pm. I've had over forty phone calls and twenty e-mails. I've put the phone on silent now. Most of the candidates can't speak English and almost none of them understand the concept of paying tax. Seriously, people. Telling me you can't afford it isn't going to change my mind and agree to employ you illegally, so stop sending angry e-mails about how much tax plus travel will cost you, and go find a job that will cost you less. (I pay approaching double what a lot of the adverts say they do, so it's just insulting.)

And the amusing thing is that it's only a three-hour-a-week position. The job market really is slow, isn't it??

Shir, that's extremely frustrating. Family can be stress. Especially sisters, I find. I love mine, of course, but grr argh. Moody is indeed the word.

I just discovered "group accupuncture" which isn't nearly as creepy as it sounds and allows me to get regular needling, which helps lots with the chronic pain, without having to deal with insurance or high fees. I am loving it.

This sounds interesting. I've only ever had a few sessions of accupuncture, for cost reasons, but it's so fantastic. I shall look into this.

Right now I want a massage more than *anything*. They do reasonably-priced ones at the sports centre on the other campus, but I don't have the time to drive over there. Hopefully tomorrow...

Eh, Buca's fun if you have a large crowd and not too picky eaters, so that it makes ordering easy.

For all values of "fun" which include preternaturally PERKY! WAITSTAFF! WHO! WON'T! LEAVE! YOU! ALONE!

It was like being served by Rachel Ray on speed. They kept trying to move my chair so I wouldn't be "stuck in the corner." Nevermind that I had deliberately moved my chair as far into the corner as possible because I was trying to get away from them because they were scary. t /full body shudder

we almost ate at a very old Buca di Beppo in Eden Prairie, MN

As you know, Bob, Buca used to be a local Twin Cities chain (5 restaurants or so) run by an actual Italian family. And then they went corporate-national. Actually, I find Buca to be rather tasty and amusing, though I'd never eat at the one here.