The more we get together the happier we'll be

Yes, excuse the cheesy title, but it was highly appropriate last night.

As the first night of Banff 2002 had proven, some of the best times come out of not having any plans at all. Things just fall into place even better than you would have even orchestrated in your mind.

Daisy has been deprived of the joy that is tempura for far too long. I decided to be a chum and enlighten her; plans were made for a Friday night dinner with her, Civic, and I at Sumo Lounge. Yummy.

aqua angel emails me around Wednesday, and hurrah! We have another member for our little Japanese jaunt on Friday.

So Friday comes, and knowing how me and my friends operate nothing really definite had been put together. I called Daisy when I finished work. She had just got home from work and needed time to get dolled up. But you know what? Latina was going to come join us, too! Yay yay yay!

I called aqua angel to see if she was still up for some sushi goodness and got her voice mail instead. Turns out she fell asleep. (Poor girl, she hasn't been feeling the best this week) However, plans with her were still a go. I could not believe how well this was all coming together.

Civic's brother came to join us as well. This brought our party to 6, double what I had expected. You honestly have to love it when that happens. That also made our group large enough to make use of one of those pseudo-tatami rooms. I love those, too.

Luckily, though I knew she would, Daisy fell in love with the tempura. The gyoza looked good, too, but alas I could not try it (you know, the meat thing). And since we were a larger group we ordered the big sushi boat. I mean the biiiiiiig one. Yum yum yummy.

Ah, and did I mention I had 3 thingies of sake? Yup, 3. That stuffs always hits me hard, more so than any other alcoholic drinks I get. Since our table had a few sake sets lying around Civic and his kin decided to snatch a set. I swear, my friends are dang glassware kleptos. :D

By the end of our dinner I think the chef had regaled us with 5 boxes of Pocky, unfortunately none of them being the chocolate kind. But who's being choosy?

Ah! And the best part of the night? The serenade courtesy of the chef and staff for Daisy's "birthday" (thanks to Civic's brother's swift outspokenness). I had no idea the song Sukiyaki really came from a Japanese melody! Who knows if the translations are identical, I doubt it though. They geared up Daisy in a Japanese princess outfit and aqua angel in a Japanese prince costume for a photo op. *giggles* Good times, good times.

I tried to find an official website to link up so you could see what Sumo Lounge is all about. Apparently, it has changed ownership in the past year and is now being run by the same guy who owns Sakana Grill. No wonder I love Sumo Lounge so much! I have yet to go to Sakana Grill, but Daisy, Civic and his brother (I guess he needs a name, huh? I'll call him Autobot) have said good things about it. On the flipside, it is kind of too bad that it switched operators as well. From looking at previous menus, the old Sumo Lounge had lots more to offer than what they have now. I mean, who wouldn't want to have the experience of eating Thai fried rice out of a pineapple? Perhaps it was the wide range of offerings that brought them down, but I'm not complaining about how it is today. Not. At. All.

Civic, Autobot, and aqua angel split from us after the great dinner we all had together while Latina, Daisy, and I continued on to Cinescape to check out Anger Management. I just had a big urge to catch a movie that night...and knowing me I would've picked A Man Apart (Mmmm, Vin Diesel...despite the facial hair thing) but the mood of the evening called for even more laughs.

Ah, and the three of us took sticker pics at the end of the night. Man, I haven't done that in years!

Friends rock. I love them all. Plans should always be made last minute, based on my experiences. :D