Gluten Free Meetup #1...

Went into the city early before work today to, first, pick up the payment from Mohammad for the film score and, second, go to my first gluten free celiac disease meetup.  I've been putting that last one off for too long.  We were to meet at a Vietnamese restaurant in the Union Square area called L'Annam.   10 people RSVP'ed to the event and 9 showed up.  We were only short the organizer who was sick and couldn't make it. 

Overall, it was a great experience.  The menu itself was a designated gluten free menu that even had instructions on how to order certain dishes gluten free (i.e. "request no soy sauce," or "request Nouc Cham sauce"). One of the people in our group, I learned, was responsible for getting this establishment to write up the gluten free menu. On the table, as well, were bottles of gluten free tamari soy sauce.The food was great and came out piping hot in most cases, and I was able to enjoy a hot sake with my meal along with some pretty classic Asian menu typos (which always set me laughing).  In fact, one such typo motivated the decision for my entree...the red chile sauce on my beef was sold to me as "red child sauce."  Love it!  It was down to that and the "Steamed Grandma recipe."

What was more memorable than good food and even better typos, was actually, for once, getting to meet real Celiacs.  Ever since I've been diagnosed I have yet to meet someone with my disease, save for my new doctor at Columbia University.  Only people who I wind up talking to about it seem to have a wheat allergy or a wheat intolerance to some degree.  The implications of such things are similar but some of these people can still have spelt or slip up and not have to worry necessarily about destroying their body's ability to absorb nutrients.  I can't even describe the feeling I'm getting now, knowing that I have friends now who know exactly what I'm going through.  Conversations throughout the evening, while not always about the disease and its effects, often centered on how we were diagnosed, how we adjusted and how we were doing now.  And of course, where to find good gluten free food and imbibement. 

After the meetup, I took one of my new friends to Risotteria for a gluten free Bard's beer.  It feels good to be able to share something like that with someone who can appreciate it on the level that I do. 

So, feeling pretty stoked about life in general, I'm sitting here at work, having just finished my first "final" mix for Mohammad of the trailer music.  I think we're both pretty satisfied with it and if he approves it should be up on imdb.com by the end of this week.  Look for it!  I'll most likely inform via the blog when this actually happens.  For now, I'm going to go and take care of some work.