If so, here's your reminder:

So yesterday we go to China Buffet, home of the "Mile Long Buffet."  I still haven't figured out how they get a mile out of those buffets.  Anyhow, after the meal, you could guess what happened.  Yes, we made the "mile long" walk to the "mile long" soft serve ice cream, walked a "mile" back to the table, and sat down to eat our "mile long" ice cream.  Our waiter brings out the "mile long" check and our "mile long" fortune cookies.  My "mile long" fortune:

I have to say that this has indeed been my experience.  Ones to always regret what could have done.  My only hope is that ones do in fact remember for next time.

Oh, and one more thing..."mile long."

In case you don't remember what MXFC stands for, here's a little reminder:

Recently, I've visited three different, very different Chinese restaurants.  Yes, you know all about China Buffet and Grace's, but also I recently went to SoHo Bistro.  We were in Charlotte for the American Idol concert and it was the first place we came to that was open and didn't have a 45 minute wait.

I was doing a little research, and I found out, thanks to Urban Dictionary, that SoHo is an overpriced area of Manhattan. Elsewhere I found that a bistro is a small european restaurant specializing in moderately priced meals.  I believe that SoHo Bistro may be the first oxymoron in which I've ever dined.

While there, I got the Kung Pao Shrimp.  I eat Chinese food all the time.  That's why I have so many fortune cookie fortunes in my desk.  I quite often get the meals either labeled in red or with the little pepper icon next to them.  You know, the hot stuff!  Well, I think this may have been my last little adventure with spicy food because this one really kung pao'd me!  I was really having a Maalox moment, I tell you what.  That, followed by a migraine really made for quite the unpleasant evening.  It was even worse because I had hoped to check out the hotel swimming pool. 

Anyways, this is bordering on absolute randomness, and I'm sure you came here for an extreme fortune cookie fortune, so here we go!

From the SoHo Bistro:

This one proved true, as Shane honored me by paying for our supper. 

From Grace's:

Actually, the physician prescribes medicine.  I prefer the nature when possible. 

From China Buffet:

Okay, this isn't really a fortune.  This is an old saying.  I realize that putting all of your eggs in one basket could be a bad thing, but really...why not?  Well, I can't tell you why not, but Mr. B. J. Herbison sure can.  Clicky the linky. (Opens in a new winder.)

Oh, and for less randomness and more extremities, Shanda gave me her cookie to eat.  Apparently the folding machine had a backup and it was three fortune cookies stacked and folded together into one cookie.  There was only one fortune, though...unfortunately.

We went to Grace's yesterday...so you know what that means?  It means that it's time for: 

I was in the mood for something different yesterday, so I had the hunan chicken.  I don't like total surprise, so I do ask what's in it before I order it.  I would hate to order something and it come out with a live fish swimming in a soup bowl or something.  That would just be too weird for me.  I'm a little less leery of the specials at Shanghai because they're usually popular dishes that they don't always serve for lunch.

Anyways, my fortune:

So yeah, this is a fortune that I had gotten at least once in the past.  I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere, man.  Okay, so really, I'm not a world traveler.  I don't think I've ever left our time zone.  I have crossed the Eastern Continental Divide, but not by much.  I've been to Tennessee and every state from Maryland to Florida on the East Coast.  I've also been to the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and to Jamaica.  (I don't have photographic proof as our camera broke sonewhere on our honeymoon, but I do have my memories...)  I mean, how many is many?  I've done four already!  (Maybe more if you want to count some of those states as separate entities...)

Yesterday afternoon, I met with one of our doctors who has been trying to commission one of us for building a database for some charity work he had been doing.  He would like for me to come along with him when the database is implemented in case there are any bugs that need to be worked out, changes to make the database more efficient, etc.  Yeah, did I mention that this is in Ghana?  As in Africa?

The soil of many countries indeed...

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and those who don't fit into the categories above, it's time for another webisode of:

[insert kung fu sfx here...] 

Today we went to China Buffet.  China Buffet is home of the "Mile Long" buffet.  They put it in quotation marks because it's not really a mile long.  I mean, you may possibly be able to add up the circumference of all the sides of each tub on the steam bath buffet thing (or whatever it's called...), on each of the four buffet sections...and do the same for all the rest of the China Buffet locations (Kannapolis, Wilmington, Monroe, Pineville, and Salisbury), then yes, perhaps you would get a half of a mile or so.  They do feature all you can eat, sushi, seafood, steak, and Chinese.  I've seen at least two of these when dining there.  Besides, nothing tops off a good chinese buffet any better than the soft serve ice cream.  You'd think that they would advertise that a little bit better.

Anyhow, today's fortune:

I have a potential urge and the ability for accomplishment.  We never really made it to diagramming sentences in any of my English classes because how the heck are you supposed to fill that out on an standardized test?  The best of my English language ability tells me that I definitely have the ability for accomplishment, but that I only potentially have an urge.  For instance, maybe I would like to go home this evening and complete my shelves. I definitely have the ability to do so.  Eh, ya know what?  The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.  I mean, I guess if they had added a second "for" in there...as in:  "You have a potential urge for and the ability for accomplishment," then I think that would be more grammatically correct.  I think...I guess.  I don't know.  It's been too long since I've had an English class.  If you don't know, pick "C."

On the flip side, at least I now know how to say moustache in Chinese... 

[insert applause and more kung-fu sfx] 

We went to Grace's today for lunch.  Grace has some excellent oriental cuisine.  I see asian students every time I go down there, and they've ordered something that I'm not even sure was on the menu.

Grace also serves "breakfast anytime" as well as other American staples such as BLTs and burgers.  I like to get the cheeseburger.  No, it's not the best cheeseburger in the world, though it is big, tasty, and filling.  The fries, however, are great!  They're some of the best crinkle-cut fries I you can find, and they almost fill the plate!

The best thing about getting american food at a chinese restaurant is you still get your fortune cookie!  The best thing about getting a fortune cookie, is...well, you get a fortune cookie!  The second best thing about getting a fortune cookie is:  you get a fortune!  On many fortune cookies, your fortune also allows you the opportunity to win a fortune with your daily numbers.

Anyhow, today's fortune:

Well, there's a lot I've desired for a lot of times, but I'm having trouble thinking of something I've always desired...oxygen, food, etc., but nothing out of the ordinary that I wouldn't have gained anyway.

Oh well.  Todays numbers are:

13, 7, 28, 37, 45, 15

Check your ticket and see what you've won! 

I've been on the blog for quite some time now and one thing I've always wanted to do was to share my fortunes with anyone who takes the time to read what I have to say.  Of course, if we were talking about the fortunes that I've made in my tenure at Duke, then I think I have already shared my fortunes with 2/3 of my blog's readership (taking into account that I do read my own blog occasionally).

Fortunately (a word whose root word is "fortune"), I'm not planning on expanding the sharing of those fortunes.  People would be like "Hey, thirty bucks!  Thanks, Stephen, what is this, my gas tax holiday advance, you cheap sonofagun?"  No, the fortunes I plan on sharing are those from fortune cookies.  Anyone who knows me well knows that my top visited restaurants are Grace's Cafe, China Buffet, and Shanghai.  So, today, I share my fortunes with you.

Yesterday, we went to Grace's and I got the Kung Pao Shrimp.  As spicy as it was, I somehow managed to keep my large colon.  The fortune was:

Well, if I'm going to take a chance in the near future and win, I'm definitely going to play the numbers on the back (14, 10, 30, 31, 22, and 8).  The one thing I like about Grace's is that you can have a cheeseburger, fries, and top it off with a fortune cookie.

Today, we went to China Buffet, as it was Richard's turn to buy.  Generally, it is Richard's turn to buy considering he usually makes a combined total of Ken and my salaries.  Today's fortune:

Again, another one speaking of making money.  More numbers to play!  WOO!  OH, and hey...on the back, it says "receipt" for learning Chinese.  (I don't have the chinese keyboard to share it with y'all...sorry!) 

Honestly, I'm expecting my next fortune to say something along the lines of "Go ahead and waste a dollar with this:  Lucky numbers 3, 6, 11, 13, 15, 21"

I told Ken that my plan is to have a restaurant with fortune cookies that also sells lottery tickets.  Talk about saving a step!!!