Day of Detox II

It's only Wednesday?

• Maryhill Red 2006 wine - home
  
• 1 Vanilla Sex - home
  

Day of Detox

• 0 drinks

Yeah, really. Kind of sux to break my streak of 23 days.

i want to tell you how much i love you....

• deux Sexes of the Vanilla variety - home
  
• un Bushmill's and Baileys* - home
  

I'm partially drunk and it's 9:58 and I probably should go to sleep now being that it's a school night; let alone a Monday. I'm hoping that it will snow, but I know it won't. Fuckin' snow is a tease. I just downloaded the Juno soundtrack and I'm rocking out to that. I'm facetious in the fact that I'm rocking out to the soundtrack, because you can't really rock out to it, unless classical music is your idea of Metallica. It sounds more like a bunch of amateur singers with a guitar. So there you go. iTunes has it for $9.98. But Sonic Youth singing Superstar IS pretty cool. And Cat Power performing Sea of Love, of course.

LRob, I love ya cuz you commented for me! And don't tell me you didn't rock the HS because I know you did. The college was just an encore, I'm sure. Thanks for dinner last night too; it was dee-lish.

*Again, not using Bailey's, but St. Brendan's. St. Brendan's and Bushmill's doesn't sound quite the same; although it does sound fairly holy and maybe I could drink more and not go to Hell if that was the case.

Superbad.

• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
• 2 White Russians - Lisa's house

I saw Juno tonight and really enjoyed it. I had at first been hesitant to see it many weeks ago because I thought, "Why do I want to see a movie about a pregnant 16 - year old? What does that have to offer me?" But many of my friends have seen it since and all raved, "It's great!" "It's terrific!" "It's wonderful!" "It's funny!" and since Kevin & Donna were scheduled to see it on Sunday, I called them up and invited Susan and myself. Luckily Kevin & Donna are not picky with their quality of company and opted to let us join them.

I am certainly not qualified to write movie reviews (nor album reviews), but let me indulge you of this movie. First of all, I knew Susan would like it because it stars Jason Bateman, who she had and still has a mean crush on. I had to sit through three seasons of Arrested Development because of it...but that was a brilliant show anyway. That's okay though, because I have a crush on Michael Cera, who, coincidentally also starred in Arrested Development, so it really wasn't a sacrifice to sit through three seasons. The reason I have a crush on M.C. (not totally serious here) is because he starred as ME in Superbad, a badass funny film about a night of life in high school. And, I am totally serious here....I was Evan in high school and my fat friend was Seth (Jonah Hill). I was always the quiet, back seat guy to my loudmouth overweight friend who always talked about wanting to get laid. So, I have an interest to anything Michael Cera is starring in, because; he is, like I was. Anyway, Juno....

was endearing and funny. So many great lines, so many great songs; and, I really liked the titles too. Simple and illustrative. But, it got me thinking...

how awkward high school was for me. I'm not really sure how to elaborate here, but I do know that most of you know exactly what I mean (except for maybe Lisa, cuz she rocked the HS) so I'll stop here.

Which brings me to the music. Mott the Hoople: my roommate (who was also my best man) and I used to listen to them in between the blending of margaritas. Sonic Youth: My sister has a few albums of theirs, but I never really got into them. And - it was very funny that in the movie theater an audience member began clapping when (Junebug?) said that SY just made a lot of noise. Iggy Pop: One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The guy is 60+ years old and rocks hard, as does his music. In fact, I'm listening to Raw Power right now. It's cool how fresh but rough it still sounds. Thanks Constance for going with me to the concert, even though I didn't see you after the first song because I ran off into the pit. You shoulda been up there with me. Cat Power: What can you say about the beautiful Chan Marshall? Her concert was unexpected. (Have you ever been asked by the performer to sit on the floor at Neumos for 1 1/2 hours ? Yeh.) Her voice........................listen to We Are Free and tell me that you haven't broken down and not been able to speak. *sigh* The Velvet Underground: Nico. wow.

So anyway; Juno. Endearing and Lovely. Do high schoolers really talk that way? Who knows? Maybe my sister could best answer that (she's a high school teacher (but mostly ESL students I believe)), but the important thing is that Michael Cera, for me, brought all the uncomfortableness and awkwardness of being a high schooler back to my memory. Knowing what I know now, I would probably love going back to HS, but it would still be a tough time, not something I would wish on anyone (or most anyone.)

So go watch Superbad and go see Juno. I would say Juno is better than Superbad because Juno is sort of a Napoleon Dynamite type-thang, which, btw, was an incredible movie, although the song, The Rose, which is featured in ND, (and as kind of a significant role), (Helping Hands) was the song that came on the radio in 1980 right after when my sister and I told my brother that my parents were getting divorced. So, I've got that going for me. Anyway, thanks for enduring the longish post. I'll try to get some pictures of something up soon so that it's all viz-u-hell and not so text-u-hell.

And why don't you all leave some comments?! I'm lonely out here! Just a simple "J - you suck, but I read ya anyway because you look at my pictures." would suffice ya know?

Ryan Adams Kicks Ass

• 1 pint Stone Winter Ale - Beveridge Place Pub
  
• 1 Imperial pint of some beer I don't remember. It was strong though. - Beveridge Place Pub
• 1 White Russian - Talarico's Pizza

Ryan Adams. Fuck.

Chicks for Free

• 1 margarita - home
  

Last weekend while drinking in "The Grotto", the Brothers In Arms album by Dire Straits began playing. Whenever I hear this album - which isn't often, and I still own it too. It was one of the first cd's I bought. In fact, the cd was made in Japan because it was before they had cd replication companies in the US. This was in 1985 and my cd player cost $250. I used all my Burger King working money to buy it. When I moved to California after graduating six months later it was the only thing stolen out of my 20 or so boxes when I had it shipped. Don't ever use the original box to ship in when something is technologically new like that. - Anyway, whenever I hear this album it reminds me of high school because it was there, in the Generals' Journal, that my first ever Album Review was published in the school newspaper. Unfortunately I don't tend to throw this evidence away, and so I managed to find the review stored away in our basement. So, there it is, printed in it's entirety above. Can you believe I used the word "brilliant"? How brilliant was that? Brilliant is such a brilliant word too. Click on the pic for a larger view. As a bonus you'll see my review of Motley Crue's Theater of Pain as well! Do I have a career at The Stranger?

Trader Joes

• 1 Basil Hayden's - home
  

It totally makes sense that a woman wearing some sort of "stitch 'n embroider by numbers" cat vest would use a checkbook at Trader Joes. That should have been my first clue that I was in the wrong line. When she asked the cashier if she could use the "sticker" and the cashier had no idea what she was talking about until Cat Vest said "The thing to put your name down." and the cashier said "Oh, it's a stamp you need, not a sticker." that's when I knew I should have jumped to the alternate line when I had a chance. I was too tired to be irritated and decided to be amused. Hand stitched cat vests and Check Using Grannies. Ya gotta love'em. And just as she was leaving, the cashier asks, "So WHEN do you go into your surgery?" It was just too perfect.

• 1 margarita - home
• 1 pint hand-pulled ale - Elliott Bay Brewing Company
  

• 1 Vanilla Sex - home
  

Jim Beam and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• 1 pint Paulanger - Leavenworth
  
• 1 shot Jim Beam - home
  

This was the drive home from Leavenworth day. I had the shot of Jim Beam later that night, while looking at pictures of the weekend. The pictures above are not from this weekend, but of my trip to Atlanta in August. Here I am at Martin's tomb with my eyes closed and below I'm at Ebenezer Baptist Church where MLK Sr. preached, followed by his son, MLK Jr. There is actually a newer, more modern Ebenezer across the street which I didn't go in to. I did go in the original Ebenezer however. It was......really something. It's great to have experiences like this to share with students.

Sunday Skiing

• 1 airplane bottle Chivas
  
• 1 airplane bottle Rum
• Jim Beam from flask
• few sips of Jose Cuervo
• airplane bottle of Jack Daniels single barrel
• 2 glasses of wine
• 1 glass of Paulanger
• 3 or 4 bottles of Rolling Rock
• random assembly of other drinks throughout the day

I'm not an experienced cross-country skier - this was only my second time ever in seven years or so - but I was still better than the guy in front of me who was much like a large bear searching for food in the snow. He had fallen and was crawling around in the snow and had decided that the best time for him to merge into my fate was right as I was descending a hill and making a turn. He had semi-cautiously stepped onto the trail without looking behind him when I realized what he was attempting. I blurted the words "Behind you!" as I was quickly closing in on him and, instead of slowly turning around to check out the voice (like most people would), he miraculously realized what was about to happen and began to step off the trail immediately. I still managed to slide over his right ski, but I continued upright and I'm sure he was quite proud of himself for realizing what "Behind you!" meant.

The pictures above are some of the sights on the trail. The snow fell most of the day, and even though the sky was gray, it was a beautiful time. Small bottles of alcohol are nice to have when in the snow.

Leavenworth here we come!

• 3 bottles of Rolling Rock
• 1 pint Hofbrau
• 1 pint Warsteiner
• 1 White Russian
• 1 Bailey's & Bushmills
• A menagerie of other drinks throughout the day.

Today Susan and I left for Leavenworth for a weekend trip with some friends. The drive was beautiful through Snoqualmie Pass and Blewitt Pass. It was snowing when we arrived at the Sleeping Lady, a beautiful cabin filled area nestled peacefully among tall trees and gravel paths. We had been there in September for Susan's cousin's wedding and it was surprising how different it looked when covered in 3-4 feet of snow...and how much colder it was. We unpacked our cars and drove the two miles into the village for some lunch and Bavarian nostalgia. We found it at an open air braut haus that sold vegetarian brauts and German beer on tap. Ya can't beat a veggie braut, so we settled in near the underpowered heat lamps and munched happily on brauts, pretzels, and bier.

The night "brought" (haha) other adventures as we ventured into "The Grotto"... Sleeping Lady's equivalent to Hugh Hefner's hidden water paradise, except this had no water and no naked bodies, however, what it did have was a nicely stacked, er, stocked bar with a brightly lit fire that kept the whole place glowing in warmth. After a round of Nine Hole we blearily departed the Grotto and headed back to our Fountain Cluster, to find some sleep.

Pictured above is the snowy bridge that had to be crossed to get up to the hot tub which is also pictured. The snow surrounding the hot tub is quite practical for storing bottles of beer.

• 2 pints PBR - Admiral Pub
• 2 Vanilla Sex - home
• 1 shot Patron - home

Everything happens for a reason.

• A coupla margaritas - home

It was a Sunday morning and I was eating wheat toast with berry jam when I answered the phone call from my step-dad. Jim had always been straightforward and he said right away, "Um, your mother passed away this morning.", and that's all I remember him saying. I still had a piece of toast in my mouth and it sat there, damp and dead on my tongue. She was 54 years old and that was nine years ago today. My mom, Yvonne - pronounced "e-vonn" - a beautiful name - had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier and it had been removed and she had led what she thought to be a changed life for a few years, but in September 1999 it returned. My mom and Jim were in the process of moving from Orange County, CA to Oceanside, CA where they had planned to retire. In December 1999 Susan and I; my brother, Ken; and my sister, Michelle spent Christmas at their new house. My mom sat restricted to a reclining living room chair where she ate and slept the entire time we visited. We watched a lot of TV together and it was the first time I remember watching Emeril Lagasse, because she enjoyed watching it and mimicking the way he talked.

She was only able to eat ice chips, and I remember the freezer being full of bags of liquid that she would take intravenously. She wasn't able to enjoy Ken's "24 hour lasagna" which I named on the spot because it literally took him 24 hours to make it. The whole time he was preparing it he talked about how much everyone liked it, but I never understood why it took him so long to make it.

I don't think at any time during the trip I was thinking that she would not survive. I know that when we all went to Mass on Christmas Day we were all praying for her. I think she had wanted to go down to the waterfront on Christmas Day, but she was too tired by the time we got to do it. Maybe we all did go down. I'm not sure if we did or not, and these are the details I wish I could remember.

I remember Jim pulling us aside and telling us, in his straightforward, almost uncomfortable way, "The doctor says your mom has three months to live. I'd like her to have a picture of all of you." This declaration caught us all off-guard because, as bad as she looked, we all had faith that she would live, but we took the money and drove to Wal-Mart where he'd told us to go. The photographer was a large Hispanic woman who we all thought had just been released from prison because she had tattoos on her fingers and hands that looked suspiciously like inmate tattoos. The picture she took is shown above. I think you'd never know that thirty minutes prior we'd been told our mom had less than three months to live.

Even though we refused to believe it.

There are many dates to her death. The date I last saw her alive...a few days after Christmas when I had to fly back to Seattle and I said goodbye to her as she sat in that recliner, and I said "I'll see you later." but I'm not sure if I believed it. The date that I last talked to her on the phone...a few days before she died. Nine years ago today when she died at 4:30 am. The date of her funeral....in Hughson, CA where she had grown up. The date when we spread her ashes....six months later when Ken, Michelle, Jim and I rented a powerboat and sped out into the Pacific Ocean off the Oceanside coast. We each spread her ashes and then Jim dropped the urn into the ocean. I'm not sure why it surprised me that it sunk so fast. My aunt spread some of her ashes in Maui, Hawaii, where she was born. I have some of her ashes in a film canister, of all places, as do Ken and Michelle.

I was 31 years old and it was the first funeral I had ever been to.

I'm still struggling to figure out the reason.

1-16-08

• 1 margarita - Cactus
• 1 Bushmill's & Bailey's* - home

*I'm not actually using Bailey's, but St. Brendan's instead because it's cheaper.

Tuesday

• 1 Vanilla Sex - home
• 1 glass 2005 Rosemount Shiraz - home

Nice marmot.

• 3 glasses 2005 Rosemount Shiraz - home

I've been pouring the wine into the decanter that Susan bought me for Christmas, and I must say that it tastes pretty awesome when decanted. The two bottles that I've had recently, I've decanted and it's tasted delicious, even though I wasn't expecting much from it...$8-$10 bottles. 

My brother found out that I watched "The Big Lebowski" last week and he's all over it...quoting lines from it and sharing information. He's so funny and he's reminded me of some really good lines as well. I think one of my favorite parts is when The Dude is driving back from Lebowski's and you can sense that he's so happy with his freedom and Creedance is playing in the background and The Dude is singing along "dooo dooo doooo lookin' out my back door" and he's smoking a roach and hitting the ceiling of his car, but then the roach drops in his lap and he's trying to put it out and he veers off the road and into a hydrant. That's high comedy there. "This aggression will not stand....man." Fucking hilarious. I want to watch it again. "Nice marmot." Goodnight....

Grits and Gravy

• 2 Imperial pints Tetley's Ale - Celtic Swell

An absolutely beautiful day. Walked to Mass at 8 am and the air was clear and still, there was no one on the road - much different than when I walk to work during the weekday. So peaceful and it felt warm too..the bank thermometer read 40 degrees, but it felt warmer than that. It continued to warm up throughout the day, so much that all I wore on a walk to Alki was a thin, long sleeve t-shirt and a wool cardigan. Susan and I stayed at Alki for a few hours, walking up and down the beach and stopping for lunch at the Celtic Swell. There were these two guys there, and they were probably with two other people that I saw who I could tell weren't from around here. It might have had something to do with the cargo shorts they were wearing with the running shoes...an altogether bad look. One guy was wearing a baseball cap backwards, the other was wearing a baseball cap forwards. Backwards Cap Guy was wearing a shirt that said "Celtic" on the back, and Frontwards Cap Guy was wearing a shirt that said "Grits and Gravy" on the back. That was the one who interested me. Were they from the south? What were they doing here? What was with the shorts? They toasted a shot of something (whiskey?), drank it and followed it with a beer. Then they took a picture of themselves by holding the camera out in front of them. They weren't rowdy, but I was wondering what they were toasting. Then they squeezed in with the other two people while the bartender took a picture of them. Minutes later the bartender was motioning with her hands as if she was sharing her topographical knowledge of the area. I always kind of feel sorry for bartenders because they must get shit like that all the time.

I took the above picture at an apartment complex today because I like old apartment names like this.

Cheeseheads

• 1 bottle Alaskan Amber - D & K's house
• 1 bottle Samuel Adams Winter ale - D & K's house
• 2 glasses Lockwood Cabernet Sauvignon - home
  

Ended up at D & K's house after picking up some things at Home Depot. Watched the entire Seahawk's game, which really was a disappointment. Even though I'm not a "fan" of football, it sucks to see your city's team lose and in the way in which they did. After the game, came home, ate dinner, watched some FLIP shows and fell asleep. Day flew by.

Silver Gelatin

• 6 pints Bud Light - Admiral Pub
• 1 White Russian - Mike's Chili Parlor

So tonight Susan and I went to the Essential Baking Company to check out a photo exhibit by Pat's sister Cara. The photos were about Poloroid size, done in gelatin print, which is really cool looking. The pictures were taken in La Jolla, which is outside of San Diego, and some taken around Palm Springs. They had a very 50's-60's look to them even though they were just taken a year or two ago. They were done that way on purpose and apparently she got the effect by a lot of work in the darkroom. I was starving by the time we got to the bakery because I hadn't eaten since noon and it was already about 7 or 7:30. Luckily there were hors d'oeuvres and such because the beer I had drunk earlier was really taking effect. I wolfed down about 3 or 4 cheese sandwiches with multiple carrot sticks and broccoli florets. About 8:30 we left and met up with Gretchen and Mitch at Mike's Chili Parlor and hung out for a bit and Penelope even stopped by on her way home from Fred Meyer, so that was a nice surprise. Susan drove home and I fell asleep in the car (just like when I was a kid) and crashed when we got home, about 10 pm I think.

Thursday

• 1 pint Guinness - home
• 2 glasses Lockwood Cabernet Sauvignon - home

Running!

• 1 bottle Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale - home

Walking home from work today it was so calm and clear, unlike the walk TO work this morning when it was biting cold with wind, I decided it was time to put on the running shoes and head out, even if I could do only 15 minutes or so. It was a nice run and lasted 30 minutes which was great.

I learned today that the owner of the drive-thru espresso stand was the woman killed in the car crash on I-5 the other day. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt, hit the divider or something and flew through the window. My partner teacher had just seen her on Friday when she got some coffee that morning. She was 36. Sometimes I hear these stories and also those of people who are in their 50's, dying of cancer or going through operations and stuff like that and I don't want to have to go through that. I realize that I might not have much of a choice, but in some ways I do. God gave me this one life and I have to be careful how I use it, and my body. Am I abusing myself when I drink or eat a lot? I don't know and I'm not sure if I want to know. After coming back from Africa I realized that they had such a love of life and were lucky to get food, etc. and here I was not taking care of myself by eating/drinking too much, not exercising, not helping others, etc. I am fortunate enough to have my life and I want to abuse it? Turning 40 I thought was really cool and I still feel young, but it is frightening to hear about people dying in their 40's and 50's. It seems so close. It is close. My mom died at 54. Anyway, don't mean to be morbid, but I think thoughts like these keep me going, or at least motivate me when I don't feel motivated.

Don't fuck with the Jesus.

• 1 bottle Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale - home
• 2 pints PBR - Rendezvous
• 2 White Russians - Rendezvous

Stopped by PCC yesterday to pick up some organic bananas (which are sooo good by the way. Definitely a taste difference there) and ended up getting a 6-pack of the Ebenezer holiday ale and a 750 ml of Stone Brewery's IPA, which Christopher highly recommended. The Ebenezer was really good and the three bottles went down pretty fast and easy.

So tonight (Tuesday) was the SUCK film fest and The Big Lebowski was awesome. I had forgotten how many funny lines are in it and how it really doesn't make any sense, but how much of a Coen Brothers film it really is. Susan and I had just seen No Country for Old Men a few weeks ago and there really are a lot of parallels there, so it was cool seeing the similarities. I even won a bowling pin AND a $15 gift certificate to the Sunset Bowl, but I'll have to use it before April when they close down. :( 

So, that's it for now. It's a quarter til 11, I'm tired, and I have to work tomorrow...

moon-day

• 3 bottles Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale

So, it was Moon Day (say it from Office Space). Made it through.

0 (Zero) drinks!

• 0 bottles, glasses, shots, hits, milliliters of anything!

The following was written on Monday night and that will be the format henceforth. Consumption will be listed for the day the blog is posted; comments will be "live" on the day they are typed (that means one day later to you my brother.)

It was probably because my body was saturated with alcohol and I just didn't feel like having any more. I didn't succumb to the luscious bottles of silky red bloody mary mix either. Of course, right now I'm on my 3rd Ebenezer Ale, which will be listed AND posted on tomorrow's blog. I'm in a fairly happy mood right now. It feels good to write, which I've always wanted to do in one way or another. I have no patience for the act of writing, however, and enjoy typing much more...it's gets the thoughts out quicker. There was something that, oh yeah, now I remember: So I've been driving around the past few days and it seems like EVERYONE is running, or walking, or exercising. I'm like, (to myself), what the hell? Maybe there is something to this New Year's resolution thing?! People are actually out RUNNING in this barren, cold-ass weather! I've always thought of the NYR thing as not serious. I mean, ya think about it, but do ya really do it? Apparently yes. And, it's really pissing me off! These runners seem to be mocking me, so smug in their high-stepping, light-as-a-feather running shoes. They're prancing actually. They really are. Look at them the next time you pass them by. And, the thing is, I have the shit to compete. I mean, I've got the shoes, the warm running bottoms, the long-sleeve fleece with overthethumbbutstickoutyourhand sleeves, AND, the wool running cap, so famously worn by Brian for five seconds at Long Beach but infamously immortalized by having his picture taken in it and blown up to poster-sized proportions and exhibited in Jeff's kitchen wall. Anyway,  the quarter-sized iPod, the watch, etc. etc. etc. What I DON'T have right now is: MOTIVATION. I just don't feel like running. Yet, it makes me feel so good when I do. I know I'll take it up again...I'm just not sure when.

I watched Shaun of the Dead last night (Sunday). Very f'in funny! But I love Brit comedy, for the most part. It was by the same people who did Hot Fuzz, which was also very funny. I've recently delighted in rating movies on Netflix. Who knew what happiness procrastination could bring?! I've rated over 500 movies, and about 300 of them I did in a period of 30 minutes as I was trying to put off going up to school over Christmas Break. And it worked! My movies got rated...I received numerous recommendations, AND, I didn't get up to school until many hours later. The fruits of my frenetic film rating have paid off well as I'm getting numerous suggestions on how I should spend my time; wasting my time. It's a wonderful thing really.

Speaking of films, tomorrow is the SUCK FILM FESTIVAL and I'm looking forward to it! I wish it were on a Friday, however, as they are serving up the most tastiest winter drink of all (other than winter ales, scotch, wine, and whiskey), the White Russian, which is really a drink in contrast: vodka (clear and clean) mixed with Kahlua (dirty and coffee-beany) mixed with cream (like angel milk). It is surely a delicious and potent drink. Why my friend from LA gasped when I ordered one in her presence last year! "A White Russian!? I haven't had one of those in I don't know how many years!" She was drinking a martini.

So, maybe I'll see you at the Rendezvous tomorrow.

Donna's party

• 600 ml of Thelonius Monk Belgium Ale - home
  
• 1 Jello shot - Donna's party
  
• 1 bottle Alaskan Amber - DP
  
• 3 vanilla rums with some limeade stuff (very tasty!) - DP
  
• 1 slice Champagne cake (quite potent actually) - DP
  
• 1 nice hit of weed - DP
  

This weather is really starting to get to me. I might say this every year, but for some reason this year it feels particularly bad. I hate when it's so overcast that it could be 10 am or 3 pm. I don't think I'm depressed or sad, but more of a feeling of being trapped and not being able to do anything about it. Of course, this is exacerbated by the parent situation that occurred on Friday. I thought I could forget about it, but obviously have not been able to. And I looked at the assignment in question today and you know what? It's really not any better than several of the other students. So whaddya do, you know? I really wanted to go into today without a drink, and I'm not really craving one, but I do have bloody mary mix in the fridge; and margarita mix. And a margarita sounds really good right now. But, I don't want to get all woozy and lazy either. I'm working on the landing at the bottom of the stairs and I would like to get that done today. I've also starting demolishing some of the walls in the basement, and that feels really good actually - tearing things down.

I'm still trying to work on the format of this blog, because for some reason, things like that are important to me. Do I list the drinks first or last? Do I list them vertically or horizontally? Do I write about what I'm doing/feeling/experiencing today or the previous day? I think this is what I want to do....list the previous day's consumption first, then, write about experiences/thoughts/whatever today. But, it probably doesn't matter at all, really.

Donna's party was pretty fun, even though I OD'ed on tortilla chips, of course. Can't stop eating tortilla chips, ever. And I'm glad I went. I hadn't been feeling up to it the whole day, but it was good to see everyone and there was some funny stuff going on.

Okay, well that's enough shit for one day.

Parent and Child

• 1 can of Rainier - Pogie Tavern
  
• 1 bottle of Full Sale ESB - M & T's
  
• 1 bottle of New Belgium Fat Tire - M & T's
  
• 1 shot of Jameson - M & T's
  
• 3 pints of Stella Artois - Zeek's Pizza
  
• 1 bottle of Corona - M & M's
  

I was accosted in my classroom after school today by a parent and her daughter, attacking the way I graded one of her daughter's assignment. It's not the first time it has happened, but it really riled me up. Twenty+ minutes of going back and forth didn't solve anything because they are relentless. Sometimes I wonder if I should just give in and agree and not defend myself and not deal with the hassle, or compromise my grading for this student. I didn't want it to get me down, but I haven't stopped thinking about it most of the day.

First Day Back at School

• 1 glass of Zinfandel - Black Bottle
  
• 1 pint of beer - Black Bottle
  

The first day back at school actually went really well. The kids were pretty mellow and things just kind of moved along. We shared what we did/what we got over break and many students received Wii's for Christmas. I'd bet over 60% of the school families now have Wii's. Incredible.
After work it was a nice departure from going home to go to Black Bottle. We met Gilles and Lisa and Earl and Doreen, and that was really cool, unlike the weather, which was shit. Fat rain and sideways wind made Jon a drenched boy. Anyway, it was about a two hour affair with some really good risotto and also the flat bread. I had a tasty Zinfandel, but not as good as the Malbec-Shiraz I'd had there a month or so ago. Susan didn't really drink.

The Day After

• 2 glasses Dona Paula Malbec - home

This was a pretty low-key day. I was actually feeling quite good, even though I had a lot of alcohol in my system from the night before. Interesting night...I fell asleep on the first about 9 pm and awoke at 1 am, feeling and thinking that it was about 6 am the next morning. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I took to the living room couch and watched Tivo'd episodes of "Flip This House", "Flip That House", "Flip Back", etc. It was about 5 am when I started getting sleepy again, so I returned to the bedroom and went to sleep until about 9 am. I went up to school later in the day to work in my classroom for several hours and get prepared for the first day back at school, which I wasn't really looking forward to.

1.1.08 at home

• 3 or 4 bottles (can't remember exactly) Milller High Life - home
  
• 3 Bloody Marys - home
  
• 3 glasses Costco champagne - home
  
• 2 glasses Dona Paula 2006 Malbec - home
  
• 1 shot Patron - home

Susan and I had a New Year's Day get-together, which was really fun. I cooked and served black-eyed peas, corn bread, and mustard & collard greens; all home made. It was pretty good tasting food and I think I'd like for this to become a tradition; as it was the second year I've done this. I'd heard that b.e.p. are eaten in the south on NYD for good luck, and I do really have an affinity for southern food, even though I probably can only eat a small percentage of it because I don't eat meat. Most of it contains bacon grease, or hamhocks or chitlin's or something along those lines, but what I can eat (grits, etc.) I really do enjoy. Southern livin' baby!