8/13/04 MY 23rd BIRTHDAY; Natalie takes me out to dinner and paints for me:

What better to do on my birthday than... work at Circle Line!

We passed closer to that crazy huge private boat this morning, so I took a closer shot:

It was a gray day on the boat. Nice and quiet.

I was very much looking forward to getting taken out to dinner this evening by Natalie. I believe this is my first birthday celebrated in the company of a girlfriend, and it's very nice.

Natalie picked a place based on the fact that I recently mentioned I like oysters a lot. So we went to one of the more well renowned oyster bar/restaurants in Manhattan.

And EVERY oyster had considerable sand in it. From an oyster perspective, it was a total disaster.

This scallop-based dish was pretty tasty, though.

Trying to make the best of it, with what's left with our sand-worn teeth.

Very vertical. Very boring.

The Tuna entree was actually pretty good. But there's no coming back from sandy oysters at an OYSTER RESTAURANT. I actually made a little stink by telling the waiter. He apologized and offered us free dessert. He probably should have taken the oysters off our bill, too... but he didn't.

Oy... what can you do?

Act like children.

The waiter couldn't even take an in-focus shot of us not enjoying his restaurant.

I have to admit, dessert was good... but at what price?

So we walked through the Madison Square area a bit and got some fun photos:

Natalie got me one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten! I love hand-made art by the gift-giver. It's so much more touching and personal and meaningful and memorable to me than stuff from a store that I could buy myself. Natalie painted me two mini-canvases that are supposed to go together. She says they didn't come out the way she wanted them to, but she's the fickle artist. I think they're awesome!