Adventures in Eating Out, and other stories

A few days ago, Dane and I met Joel for lunch. We weren't sure where to go until we stumbled upon Crazy Jim's Buffet. I had heard of these crazy buffets before and always wondered what it would be like to go to a buffet that boasts foods from at least the following cultures: Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Mongolian BBQ, Mexican, American, Italian...there might have been more. So, knowing that we would probably regret it, we ventured in.
It was pretty much a Chinese buffet, with a few notable differences. First, they had French Fries. I'm assuming that's the American food, despite its name. Second, they had "pork burritos" which we actually pretty good. They resembled the kind of authentic tacos you'd get from a little taco stand, so as long as you could overlook the fact that they were called burritos, you were good. Third, they had an extensive "dessert" bar. I put dessert in quotations because it was a pretty unique spread. They had your typical soft serve, brownies, cookies, and cake. They also had something that I am assuming was supposed to be cheesecake. It didn't taste horrible, but it was a yellow slightly-firmer-than-pudding-on-a-chocolate crust substance with sprinkles. Finally, they had big bowls of the most random things I've ever seen at a Chinese buffet: cheese puffs, popcorn, animal crackers, toffee peanuts, and cocoa puffs. Yes, cocoa puffs. Crazy, eh?
Okay, it wasn't really that crazy. Except that Joel pointed out that the real craziness was in the layout. For instance, there was one arm of buffet showcasing fruit. Fresh fruit, fruit salad, whole fruit, and chicken broccoli. That seemed a little odd. Also, you could find your typical salad fixings in another area: tomatoes, cucumbers, little cubed ham pieces, egg, various dressings. But no salad. If you were tenacious, you could find some chopped Romaine by the sushi.
So. It wasn't a terrible dining experience. And where else can you get Mongolian BBQ and cheese puffs?

Last Monday, we had Sushi Home Evening with my friend from school. He is also half-Japanese. We had a nice time. At one point, he and I were discussing the various pros and cons of being therapists while Joel entertained Dane. The middle-aged waitress, who is Japanese, was chatting with Joel and Dane. Apparently, she was a little difficult to understand, and Joel kind of decided she was talking about how Dane looks a little Asian. Addressing Joel, the waitress said, "I can see, your eyes are--" Not wanting to let her make a potentially embarrassing mistake, Joel interrupted her by saying, "Oh, actually, it's my wife who's half-Japanese. Her mom is Japanese." The waitress shook her head and said, "No your eyes. They look like the eyes of Elvis Presley."
Ooooh, flattering!
So here's a little game I like to call
Joel or Elvis?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Lastly, we were working in the yard a couple of weeks ago when a duckling waddled up. There are ducks in the canal near our house, but this duckling was obviously lost. I scooped it up, determined to return it to its family, despite a nagging feeling that the family may not take it back if it's been touched by humans. Does that sound familiar to anyone? I seem to remember hearing that sometime, but I don't remember the context. Anyway, we tried our best to save the "biwt," as Dane calls it. Now, every time to pass the canal, Dane calls for the biwt. It is cute.