Seattle Vacation – Dueling Piano Bar
Tonight we walked down to experience my first ever dueling piano bar called Chopstix (and we didn’t have to pay the $7 cover charge per person because Michelle talked our way out of it!). It was pretty great entertainment and they had the most amazing steak sirloin strips I have ever tasted! Seriously, the flavor was so good I was enjoying licking it off my fingers…I even ordered a second plate. (This is what I’m holding in the picture below in case of confusion).
After that we went to a coffee shop attached to our building and enjoyed some free drinks courtesy of our hotel (they give us a $10 voucher per day!). I finished the first book that I started on our trip, The Catcher in the Rye, and am now pondering why it is such a literary classic?
This is the personal blog of Jeremy Jernigan. Husband, father, teaching pastor, and student of truth.
Glad you’re having such a great time!!
I think CITR is a classic because it has so many layers, and you can really dig deep into the meaning, symbolism, etc . . . I remember spending a least a week discussing this book in English class, and though I don’t remember the book that well, I do remember really liking it.
Of course, I’ve always been a bit odd, so perhaps that would explain it!! 
Ciao!
Good old Holden Caulfield. Hides from the world to protect himself and yet notices the complete and utter phoniness of the outside world. I think the book is actually pretty deep, especially for those who feel lost and confused in a world that they feel doesn’t quite understand them. Reading some classics are you? Pick up Native Son by Richard Wright.
Yeah, I get the symbolism and what the book represents. I guess I just don’t think that Holden is really believable. He is too extreme. I feel like I have to logically explain to myself what the author was trying to do because it didn’t naturally happen on an emotional level.
Good work, Michelle! And Jeremy, if you hadn’t said it was a sirloin tip you were holding up, I would have thought it was an anchovie(Ewww!!)
And as for CITR, I think it’s one of those books you either love, hate, or just don’t get. For myself, after reading it 3 different times (high school, college, and a few years ago) I’m in the “I still don’t like it” camp. I mean I do get all the layers of meaning, symbolism, and such, but Holdan just grates on my nerves to no end and he feels rather contrived to me. And just because it’s deemed a literary classic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. What actually makes a book a classic is that it reflects the time in which it was written, took revolutionary (or, in some cases, evolutionary) jumps in style or form, and greatly influenced works that came after it. Sadly, a lot of what makes Catcher not likeable for me are the things that made it revolutionary and innovative 57 years ago.
Personally, A Separate Peace by John Knowles is one of my favs and imo is an underappreciated classic. I love how this book makes me think and how Knowles paints intricate relationships that we can all recognize and relate to on varying levels. It’s just a well told and well written story. And you gotta love the main character’s name, Phineas! Hmmm…could be a cool baby name “Phineas Winston Jernigan” or “Phineas Mercier Jernigan”…both sound so scholarly. Ahhh, the possibilities are endless! ; )
They have a dueling piano bar on mill called “Big Bang” too. The atmosphere is awesome and the music is amazing! I’m not sure if they have sirloin strips, but it’s worth checkin out. It’s good to hear your Seattle trip went well… now get back to work!!
I have to second the reco for Big Bang. It was a frequent after-work spot when i worked at the starbucks across the way.
Don’t even get me started on CITR; I am pretty sure you have to be a young male struggling through the angst of adolescence to really have that book speak to you.