Hospital Leave

• 1/2 glass of Cabernet - home
  

Post-Partum

• 0 drinks

London - We've always liked the name and the city.
Wesley - Susan's dad's middle name. A great name too.
Stewart - My mom's maiden name. The perfect middle name
Lamb - Susan's last name
Barker - My last name

The First Day

• 0 drinks

...at 4 am this morning Susan wakes me up, "My water broke." I wasn't hungover, although I did want, and need, more sleep. After it registered that this is it, I packed the car and we were out the door about 5, (it was so beautiful with the sun just coming up over the Eastside.), checked into triage at 5:30 and admitted into the birthing suite (sweet!) about 7:00 am.

It's funny because at Vito's I was giving everyone shit about having to leave "early" because they had to get up to go to work. Little did I know....

Susan had a smooth labor and a fast delivery. As Susan would get contractions, I held one leg, the nurse held the other leg, and Susan pushed. And baby appeared. A boy! What a surprise! 8:06 pm:18 inches:7.52 pounds. I rush out to tell Susan's parents who come in to visit. About an hour later when I go out again, Donna, Danielle & Jeff, Lisa, Constance, and Brian were all excitedly waiting to see baby. It was overwhelming and terribly flattering. Over the next few days we changed the name and configuration of it several times and finally settled on: London Wesley Stewart Lamb Barker.

The Last Day

• 12 oz. Old Viscosity Ale - home
• 1 pint of some Weiss beer - the Hideout
  
• 3 Maker's and soda - Vito's

Susan and I karaoked tonight with JRobb, LRobb, Dan, Brian, and Martha at Vito's until about 1:00(?) or so. We stopped by Jack in the Box for some food, but their shake machine wasn't working, so Susan didn't get the shake she wanted. Went to sleep about 1:30ish. The rest is history...

Re-coop-E-LATED!

• 12 oz. Port Brewing Old Viscosity - home

Feels so good to be 100%! This beer was delicious, although heavy.

Finally!

• 1 pint New Belgium Mighty Arrow - Tour de Fat festival, Gasworks

Finally back on my feet after being sick for four days, but still a little shaky. Managed to get down to the New Belgium Tour de Fat and saw some really cool bikes. This is one of them. How cool is that? Very cool!

Still!?

• o drinks
  

Sick Day II

• 0 drinks
  

Being sick sucks. It's the absence of energy that I think I hate the most; or at least the second most. I'm usually a person who bounces around, runs my mouth, and moves until I drop; so when I suddenly don't have the energy, or desire, to walk across the house, or even talk out loud; it's a foreign feeling. The past two days have been a timewarp, where I've left the house once, but otherwise have been secluded in front of the tv as the day slowly goes by.

I rarely get sick and I haven't been sick like this for a few years. I've wondered these past few days if it's a reminder, or a suggestion, that slowing down could be a good thing. Maybe it's a suggestion for me to get a little healthier; start running regularly again. Regardless, it's the third day without a drink, and that has to be a good thing.

Sick Day

• 0 drinks (2 shots of Nyquil?)
  

Flu-Like Symptoms

• 0 drinks.

Too much late night partying these past few weeks. Tired and achy. Must get rest.

Corson Avenue/Michigan Street

• 3 pints Lagunitas IPA - Stellar Pizza
• 1 pint Roger's Pilsner - home
• 1 margarita - home
• 1 can MHL - home

The Corson Avenue S/Michigan Street exit is my favorite freeway exit! Driving north towards Seattle, it exits on the LEFT, where you get to drive on a narrow offramp at highway speeds before before warning you of a 25 mph speed limit for an approaching tight turn to the left. It's easy to notice the multiple skid marks on the road right before the turn. Awesome, dude.

Recoup

• 0
  

"I lost weight last weekend, I was in jail."

• 2 bottles MHL - Corner Pocket
• 1 bottle Rainier - Maharaja
• 1 margarita - Puerta Vallarta
• 1 Rainier tallboy - Poggie Tavern

Quote heard at Puerta Vallarta upon walking in.

it was that kind of night...

Capitol Hill Block Party:

• 2 mini-margaritas - B's house
• 1 m2go (margarita to go) - streets of Capitol Hill
• 2 plastic pints MHL - CHBP beer garden
• 1 plastic pint Mirror Pond Ale - CHBP beer garden
• 1 PBR tallboy - Cha-Cha Lounge
• 1 Busch tallboy - Wildrose
• 2 Dick's Danger Ale - Chop Suey

mix the TJ's margarita mix with the tequila. throw in some ice cubes. quick, swallow. One for the road? Sure, why not. make another one. take it to the sidewalk. ten minutes...where's the entrance? found it; line not bad...crowd is. quick! retreat to beer garden. under 21's dancing to dj on stage. "Can I help you?" "HIGH LIFE! HIGH LIIIIFE!" She got the point, and I got the beer. Against fence, up front. (Molly) Shannon from Detroit. Kick your ass.


Les Savy Fav! Here he comes! Loud, don't remember much. Finish beer. Thirsty. Brian brings a pint. Whew! Les Savy Fav est ecouter.

Into Cha-Cha lounge. Cool, basement! Photo machine! Where to now? Wildrose!
Dancing. Small crowd. Women on women. Who cares? Sidewalk patio for fresh air. Spyed by former student. "So glad you said 'Hi'." Further...

Chop Suey: Cock Party?! How was I to know? Hott Summertime Action inside. Many more beers. Climb on stage. Dance nonstop. So many people. Such great music. Keeps going, and going, and going, and going....


2 am. Everyone out. Hot and hungry. IHOP! Famished - veggie omelet, pancakes, coffee - finished. Stumble to Brian's. 3:09 text to Susan: "Staying on brians couch call u tomorrow".

H2O saved me.

twenty-fourth

• 1 Busch tallboy - home
  

twenty-third

• small Fosters
  

Bonfire

• 5 or 6 cans of mhl - Alki Beach
  

I love fires. I always have. It's mesmerizing watching orange/red/blue flames appear from wood or paper or FireStarter or briquets or marshmallows...

I love the warmth that fires bring. On a cold night or day, it's kind of remarkable how close you can get to a fire without burning yourself.

I love stoking. I wonder why it's called stoking, because really it's just poking with a long stick or something. And maybe that's how it came about - a combo of poking and stick (or something).

I love the burning. When the fire has gone on a while and the flames have died down and all that's left is the wood resembling tiny blocks of glowing cubes.

"Fire is Life"

Memorable fires:

• Bonfire in Gonzales, Louisiana with my cousins and other relatives. It was a true bonfire; tremendous in size and heat; burning all day and all night.
• All of the Long Beach fires we've had - both on the beach and in the yard.
• Fire in Sleeping Lady's bar.
• Fires in our fireplace in Garden City, KS. The fireplace took up the whole wall and was made of brick.
• Fire in the room at Salish Lodge Inn.
• Campfire in Eastern Washington with good friends from the MAT program.

twenty-first

• 1 mhl tb - home
  

twentieth

• 2 bottles Corona - MnM's nH
  
• 1 22 oz. bottle Bear Republic Racer 5 I.P.A. (delicious!) - home
  

nineteenth

• 1 bottle ice cold Pacifico - Slices Pizza, Alki
  
• 1 bottle Henry Weinhard's Blue Boar Pale Ale - Villa de Rosier
• 1 bottle Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - Villa de Rosier
• some frozen blue concoction with tequila and gelato - Villa de Rosier
  

eighteenth

• 1 herencia & rlj - home
  

seventeenth

• 1 Busch tallboy - home
• 2 Smithwicks - Celtic Swell
• 1 Manny's Pale Ale - Mission
  

sixteenth

• 1 bottle Widmer Hefeweizen - Slices Pizza, Alki
• 1 25 oz. mug Bud Light - Bamboo Bar and Grill, Alki
• 1 pint Manny's - Ballard Loft
  

fifteenth

• 1 bottle Bud Light - M&M's new house!
• 1 bottle Corona - M&M's new house!
• 1 bottle Bud Light - home
• 1 bottle Bud Light - Lake Washington Ship Canal (heh heh heh)
  
• 1 Foster's Oil Can - M&M's nh
• 1 MHL tallboy - M&M's nh
  

fourteenth

• 1 Pina Colada - home
• 1 MHL tallboy - home
  

thirteenth

• 1 Busch tallboy - home
  

Baby Daddy

• Vodka-spiked punch
• MHL tallboys
  

blue and pink napkins, forks, clothing, balloons, posters, stir sticks, cups, plates, cake. Mario Kart. ADORABLE PARTY!

Summer Olympics

• 1 pint Pale Ale on nitro - Olympic Club, Centralia
• 2 bottles Rainier - Olympic Club
• 1 pint IPA - Olympic Club

The Olympic Club in Centralia is a very cool old bar that has been around since the early 1900's. About 10 years ago, the McMenamin brothers took it over and reopened it as a hotel and bar, but the best thing is that they hardly changed it at all. It still has the original tile floor, bathrooms (a man could fall and lose himself in the urinals they're so huge), skylights, bar, backbar, pool room, and cast iron stove (which is great in the winter as it heats the entire bar). It used to be a prime spot for bootlegging during Prohibition and the "secret" tunnels below the bar are proof. The Olympic Club even smells old, not necessarily of cigarette smoke, but of aged leather, worn wood, brick, dirt, and hard alcohol. It's not hard to imagine it being 1940 and setting yourself down on the brass bar stool, lighting a cigarette and downing a shot of whiskey followed by a beer, then hanging out and telling everyone about your day working in the nearby dairy. My grandpa John, (my mom's dad and my namesake) might have actually done this. They lived in Centralia for awhile - Aunt Janice was even born there and my great grandfather is buried there - and grandpa worked at the dairy. Their house is most likely gone now, but I like thinking about what it was like for them when they lived there. I also like thinking about how Susan's grandma lived there and how her parent's live in Chehalis, four miles away. That I've moved all over the United States, and my mom's side of the family retired in California, but that our relatives may have crossed paths a long time ago.

The Forest Through the Trees

• 1 Fishtale Organic IPA - Quinault Lodge
• 1 Pyramid Hefeweizen - Quinault Lodge
• 1 Dynamite Cabernet - Quinault Lodge

Today Susan and I visited Olympic National Forest and stayed overnight at Lake Quinault Lodge - "The Rest Is Easy" (haha, clever people they are). Two hikes took us through an amazing section of the rain forest and through a peaceful path of old growth forest. I forget how much I miss nature until I'm back in it. I loved the enormity of trees and it really only occurred to me on this trip that even the tallest, most solid tree in the forest, is still growing; that each day it's slowly getting wider and taller. And they're already so big! It's almost eerie, these massive wooden towers growing straight out of the ground into the sky for no other reason than to exist. I guess I've never thought of it that way before because urban trees are surrounded by buildings and there are so few of them in comparison. Trees in a forest stand together and they become the forest - they are the forest. And when you're standing at the bottom of them, at the point they come out of the earth, it's overwhelming.

The rain forest trail had many downed trees caused by last winter's storm. This gave a more personal look at the trees in the forest because I could walk along the length of trees that were hundreds of feet tall. The one pictured above was about three feet wide and easily a few hundred feet long, and it had to be cut at one point because it had crossed the trail. I walked along some of these trees and thought about the day they came down. What storm was powerful enough to take it down; after all, it had been here for a few hundred years already. Did it cause others to fall? Could anyone hear it when it hit? What will it look like a decade, or a century from now, after it's covered with moss, other trees, and other forestry things?

The Olympic National Park is home to six of the world's largest trees. The world's largest! No other tree of this type is larger! We visited the WL Sitka Spruce and the WL Red Cedar. The Spruce was easy to get to; it was more of an RV side-of-the-road attraction that was set out in the open. It was about 1000 years old(!) and was at the end of it's life and had started to decay. The Red Cedar involved more of a steep hike to get to and was definitely at the end of it's life. The inside was open so you could walk into the center and look straight up and into the sky. I wondered how it was found originally. Hunters? Hikers? High school students from the 1600's? Much to wonder...

Riding and Swimming

• 1 bottle Hale's Kolsch - Canal Street Cafe/Fremont
• 1 bottle Miller High Life - Ballard Loft
• 1 pint Olympia - Ballard Loft
• 1 pint Hale's Mongoose IPA - Anthony's
• 1 Mint Julep - Talarico's Pizzeria
  

There are a few things that I can do now that directly remind me of being a kid; riding bikes and swimming in rivers. Riding a bike reminds me of the true freedom that I had as a kid. I would just hop on my bike - no helmet, no special shoes, no "gear" - and pedal. The faster the wind hit my face, the better I felt. Riding no-hands also brings that feeling of freedom and just a small sense of not being in total control, which is important. Swimming in rivers is another special feeling - summer is here and I gots nothing to do! In Georgia, where I went to high school, there was a river about 20 minutes or so through the woods behind my neighborhood. When the days got warmer and the air more humid, neighborhood friends and I would walk the secluded and shaded leaf-covered jeep trail to the river. Not only was there a perfect swimming hole complete with a rope for hanging and jumping, but a gathering of boulders spaced perfectly so that it sent water shooting down river - a rock flume. We'd position ourselves above the flume and let the current catch us as we maneuvered in between the giant stones and let the powerful jets launch us through the narrow passage. When we'd had enough of this, we'd retreat to the rope and jump off the dirt edge, hanging on tightly and staring down at the cool pool of water at least ten feet below. Getting in a few swings back and forth we'd drop easily into the waiting water.

Today I did both of these things: rode a bike and swam in a river. A perfect summer day as a kid.

the eighth

• 1 pint Dos Equis - Cactus
  

July 7

• 1 Busch tallboy - home

Nothing happened today. Nothing ever happens on a Monday.

Part II or is it III?

• Zero drinks

Part II of yesterday's adventure:

After re-reading my earlier post, I realized I was more full of alcohol than I may have originally thought, so sorry about all the f-bombs there. Part 2:

So JeffF and I cabbed it back to West Seattle because sometime during the night I convinced him to go to the Yen Wor Village for karaoke. He agreed and I remember rambling and complaining pretty much the entire cab ride back. We get dumped off in front of Young Whore and enter and find that the place is pretty empty for a Saturday night. I managed to stumble through a few songs and I'm pretty sure that Leslie (I think that's her name - she has a beautiful voice btw) the host tolerates me, but is secretly filming me and if you do a search for drunken karaoke on YouTube, I'll be the first to come up. We stayed there until closing, but it someone's wise idea (mine) to go Jack in the Box for some food. The dining room is closed, so the only way to access the food is walking and ordering through drive thru. I've only done this a few times before, at other fast food places, in various states of disillusionment, but I've never been turned away. When we stepped up to the menu board, the drive-thru crew looked aghast that we were attempting said stunt. We were told that we couldn't walk through and I think I was telling them that I forgot my car at home and we were really hungry. Then JeffF goes on a rampage! "You mean to tell me that you'd rather me drive through here drunk than order like we are now!?" or something along those lines. About then a car pulled up behind us and we were still arguing with the menu board until Drive-Thru Crew ordered us up to the window, took our order, took the ATM card and promptly (and I do mean promptly - I think that's the fastest I've ever been helped there.) gave us our food - me with medium curly fries and Jeff with a Jumbo Jack. Satisfied, we walked home along California Avenue recalling the events of the day and the injustices of having your beer program notes confiscated, being reprimanded at drive-thru, being told to "get your ass up to the bar to order a drink (that's my favorite), the slow-bus to China, the off-key karaoke; but also thinking about the day's successes - just barely making the Scotch and ale keg tasting, two pints of Pilsner Urquell, the cab ride back to the Westside, pizza at the Seattle Center, many fine tasting beers, the music at the festival, getting into two bars without having any ID, enjoying Maker's and ginger ale, the jukebox at the Mecca, among others.

So about those stupid Washington State Liquor Laws: Why can't a parent bring in a kid if he/she obviously isn't going to drink? And those places that have a brass bar separating the bar from the restaurant? - what good is that? Silly, I say. Silly.

Beer! Part II

Today I returned to the Seattle International Beerfest because one full day of drinking beer simply isn't enough. Jeff decided to go with me because one day of drinking beer is better than no days drinking beer. It was a very long and eventful day probably best summed up by Post Number I; doggedly typed up at 2:47 am after a very full day of drinking, karaoking, taxi'ing, and bus'sing. As you will be able to tell after reading it, I was really worked up. Post Number II will come tomorrow. And here we go:

Okay, so much crazy shit today...and as you can see by the post time, it's 2:47 my time on Sunday morning, so this is genuine:

As posted earlier, Fisher and I went to the SIB via bus, and that was a hoot and a half. Took us 50 minutes to get from West Seattle to the Space Needle and we immediately got in line to taste the 4 oz of golden nectar known as ale soaked in oak Scotch barrels. The line was so long that we doubted we'd have a chance at it, but we waited anyway and low and behold, we made it just in time. The beer was delicious; a combination of scotch and beer. I was marking these down on my beer program that I had since Friday (more on this later).

Fisher and I stayed at the SIB the whole afternoon - children were not allowed, but dogs were - which really didn't bother me, except I've never had a child lick me on the leg, but many of these dogs did just that. Why is that okay? Not that I mind; but why allow dogs in so that they can lick legs, yet children are kept out? Fucking WA liquor laws (more on this later).

Around 5 or so we left and went to the Mecca Cafe for I don't know what reason other than I wanted to go there. We were sitting at the booth for awhile just hanging out not really desiring anything until the bartender guy comes around and tells us: "you want anything, get your ass up to the bar and order it." That was cool though because at least we knew where things stood. Not that we were expecting anyone to wait on us; we were just hanging out. Anyway, I went and ordered a mhl and a manny's, I believe, and then put some good shit on the jukebox (Pixies, Jane's Addiction, QOTSA, Ramones) and settled in. After an hour or so, we left and went to

Ozzies. Which is where I discovered I didn't have a spec of ID on me. No license, no credit card, no debit card, nothing. And it really pisses me off that I forgot all that shit at home too. I can't believe I did. But,

they let me in. I told them I was 40 and I showed them my SIB wristband. I didn't even have to show any leg. Fisher gets a beer and I order a Maker's and ginger ale (thanks Kevin) and then discover that karaoke starts at 9:00. It was 9:02. I down the Maker's and somehow another one appears while I'm off scoping out the giant encyclopedia of music, but can't find any Journey. Before the Ozzie's adventure is over, I sing "In My Life" and "Rebel Yell" to a small crowd in the bar, but many humans are filing in. Fisher pays the bill, but I hadn't quite finished my Maker's/Ginger and for some reason I wrap it in my SIB booklet in which I had taken all my notes in for the weekend. As I exit, bouncer guy deftly takes my booklet, looks at my somewhat filled glass (apparently this isn't Vegas), says "What do we have here?", takes it and dumps the glass, but TAKES MY BOOKLET! I protest to no avail as he throws the booklet in the trash! MOTHERFUCKER! Fisher goes back to get in to retrieve it but motherfucker doesn't let him in and says, "You're with that guy!" (Like I'm a negative example for barfly humanity.) and that's that. All my precious notes are gone! I was really wound up and for that reason thought it best to just leave. So many thoughts came to mind. I was so motherfucking pissed because this guy held all the supposed power and I couldn't do anything about it. here I am a 40 year old and this stupid ^&*%(#&()&# took away my notes! I wanted to go back and tell him off, but the sad thing is is that I knew he was just doing his job and they shouldn't have let me in in the first place without ID, but still. Urrrggghghghghghghhgh. Jeff and I hailed a taxi to WS and I complained the whole way there and we ended up at the Yen Wor Village and I'll tell you about that adventure (along with Jack in the Box) tomorrow. Good night: JON

Beer!

Today I went to the Seattle International Beerfest; a celebration of all things hoppy. It was a delicious affair in which I toured the grounds of the Seattle Center with my 4 oz. taster glass enjoying the hard work of brewery laborers. Some of the beers I tasted were: Port Brewing Hop 15, Dogfish Head 120 IPA (20% alcohol!), Stone Brewing Double Bastard 2005, Full Sail Top Sail Bourbon Aged Imperial Porter (awesome!), Port Brewing Judgement Day, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, something called "reissdor", a Kolsch, Rogue 2007 Brewer, Oska Blues Ten Fidy, Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard, and a Busch Tallboy (this was consumed after the Beerfest at a 4th of July party. btw, it tasted terrible).

Drinks on the Links

• 1 pint Roger's Pilsner - Foster Golf Course
• 1 PBR tallboy - FGC
• 1 MHL tallboy -FGC
• 1 bottle Henry's Summer Ale - FGC
• 1 bottle Bud Light Lime (yes!) - Admiral Pub
• 1 pint Coors Light (a mispour, so I got it for free) - Admiral Pub

I lost so many balls today, (but I only broke one tee!) Bad golf, bad.

'Cause I gotta have faith...

• 2 pints Rainier - Solo Bar
• 1 Maker's and ginger ale - Solo Bar

I had always been a WHAM! fan in high school; I had all three of their albums, including Fantastic, which was their first. George was 19 and Andrew Ridgely was 17 (if I remember correctly) when it was released. The music wasn't that great, but it was fun to listen and sing along to. Later, after I moved to California, my sister and I memorized "Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)" and would trade lines back and forth with each other. If I had known about karaoke back then, I would've been dangerous. So then Make It Big came out and that was a bigger than big album. I listened to "Careless Whisper" over and over and was impressed when I read that George had written it when he was 15. When Music From The Edge Of Heaven came out, I was a little confused because it sounded as if it were for a movie soundtrack. "What is this "Edge of Heaven" movie?" I thought, "I've never heard of it." I was already in California and working at Licorice Pizza/Sam Goody when this album came out and one of my friends, Craig Keipp, and I, would obnoxiously yell the lyrics to "I'm Your Man" whenever we'd go out and hear this song, whether at a club or in the car together. I was 19. "Last Christmas" was a beautiful song, as was "A Different Corner" and it really showed another side to George Michael. Edge of Heaven was pretty much a George Michael album, as Andrew wasn't really a part of it even though he was given credit on the album. WHAM! was huge at this time and Craig and I daydreamed of creating a pop duo much like WHAM!

Faith was released in 1987. It's remarkable to think how closely the three WHAM! albums and then Faith were recorded - four albums in four years. I was working at the record store, back when CD's were really gaining in popularity and they were packaged in the long boxes. We listened to Faith every day while in the store, if not two or three times. Faith was H U G E. It was everywhere and George was loved by everyone, especially me. I bought most every CD single that was available - I have a "One More Try" picture CD (who does these anymore?), "I Want Your Sex" special remix in three parts, a 3 1/2" CD single (these aren't even made anymore) of 3 versions of "Monkey", and a few singles he did with Queen and Elton John. Since I worked at Sam Goody, I was able to keep many of the cardboard squares with pictures of the album cover and I had about 10 and kept them for the longest time, even taking them to UCLA with me and hanging them in my room. I even had a GM poster! Back then, people were OPEN to liking George Michael. Needless to say, I knew all the lyrics to all the songs on the Faith album. Zodiac boots were big back then and I had a pair with silver tips, just like, of course, GM.

I saw George during his Faith tour at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, an outdoor concert venue in lovely Irvine, California. Unfortunately I can't find my ticket stub, but I'm pretty sure I bought the program too. I wore faded jeans, my Zodiac boots, grew three days of stubbly beard, and wore a large gold cross earring in my right ear. I'm even embarrassed to admit all this now. The final piece of clothing was a white t-shirt that Craig had labeled with "I Want Your Sex" in large black iron on letters on the back and given to me. Remarkably, I was not shy (or smart enough to think better of it) to wear it. (Craig and I went to the concert together. Years later when I visited him at his new home in Honolulu, we went to see Ozzy Osbourne. Ironically, we both wore the same boots that we had worn to George Michael.) Anyway, the concert was great even though I don't remember details. That was about 1988.

Tonight George was in Seattle for his 25Live tour. It was his 25th year in the music business and this is supposedly his last tour. He's only 44! I didn't originally have tickets because they were expensive and I also haven't really listened or bought any of his recent albums, although I do listen to his songs on occasion. A week before the concert a certain number of $25 tickets (I know!) went on sale and I was fortunate enough to get some. And I'm so glad I did. The concert was incredible. There were images and videos playing on the gigantic video screen. The pictures above were taken by Susan's friend Karla who was in the 9th row. George has an incredible voice and the production was awesome. I had forgotten how many great songs he had and how easily the words came back to me as he sang them. I felt like a teenage girl singing the songs and yelling the choruses. Wonderful. *sigh*

Gaussian Blur

• 2 pina coladas - home
• 1 bottle Carlsberg - Celtic Swell
• 1 pint Stella Artois - Celtic Swell

First place in trivia! We each went home with 15 extra dollars AND I got me a Carlsberg soccer jersey. Wayyyy cool. Our team name was Gaussian Blur which Danielle, Jeff, Lisa, and Susan know what it is, but all I know is that it's some tool in Photoshop.

Monday

• 1 Herradura and rlj - home
• 1 High Life tallboy - home
• 1 Birra Moretti - Talarico's
  

Sunday

• 1 can Bud Light
  

Hula Pride

• 1 pint Roger's Pilsner - Luna Park Cafe
• 2 Miller High Life tallboys - BGBBQFSPATGF (see below)
• 1 sangria - BGBBQFSPATGF
• 1 bottle Redhook Sunrye - BGBBQFSPATGF
• 1 Jello shot (who still does these??) - BGBBQFSPATGF

Today was Brian's Gay BBQ For Straight People And Their Gay Friends. It was a great time, and not only because we got to watch the small collection of dykes parade past his house during the inauguratory Pride march, but because the sun was sweltering, everyone was drinking and relaxing, and a hula hoop was pulled out of nowhere! I remember hula'ing in grade school for PE. You can't not have a good time with anything made by Wham-O (hula hoops, frisbees, and wasn't Jarts made by them too before they were outlawed?)

Friday

• 1 Herencia Mexicana reposado - home

It's hard to believe that two Friday's ago I was golfing and celebrating the end of the school year. It seems so much longer than that!

Thursday

• No drinks.
  

Wednesday

• No drinks.
  

Drinks on the Links

• 2 Rainier tallboys - Interbay Golf Course
• 2 pints High Life (on tap!) - Mike's Chili Parlor
  
• 1 sangria - Ocho
• 1 pint Rainier - The Viking

So this is why a golf course is sometimes called the links. I guess it's a special type of course in Scotland?

the OG at SC

• 1 bottle Peroni - Olive Garden
• 1 glass red wine - Olive Garden
  

Peenya Coladuz!

• 2 pina coladas (one virgin and one not so virgin) - home

...made with Coca Lopez cream of coconut! Ya gotta check out their website. It's totally old-skool html.

Solstice

• 1 can Bud Light - home
• 2 glasses Stella Artois - M & K's wedding reception - DAR
  
• 3(?) glasses Bud Light - M & K's w.r.
• 1 champagne - M & K's w.r.
• 1 bottle Modelo Especial - Galerias
  
• 1 Malibu & pineapple juice (really?!) - K's birthday - Madison Pub
• 1 pint Stella - Madison Pub

Water Taxi'ing

• 2 pints Hale's Kolsch - Red Lion rooftop
• 1 Imperial pint Stone IPA - Elephant & Castle
• 1 bottle Corona - K's house

The Elliott Bay Water Taxi is the best! Where else can you get a 15 minute ride on the water for $3? I know! It's such a cool name too; even though when I think of a taxi, I think of multiple stops, requesting where you want to go, and interesting chats with the driver; of which the Water Taxi has none of these. But (!), it does offer the most wonderful views of the Seattle skyline, the waterfront, Mt. Rainier, Elliott Bay, close-ups of container ships - if you're lucky, (yesterday I saw a ship loaded with containers, and at the very top were mobile homes; it was a pretty cool sight. Imagine living up there! A container ship colony! Families would have their own mobile home (a truly mobile home, haha!) and there could be parks and common areas and you would have the greatest view from your mobile home; and the residents would be looking at the Water Taxi saying "Hey Water Taxi, make a stop over here!")), and cruise ships.

Eavesdropping on the Water Taxi is quite entertaining as well. Tourists for example: "Lookit Andrew! Look at Seattle! This is just beautiful, Mary. Imagine living here. I would ride this every day. Boise doesn't have anything like this. This is beautiful...just beautiful." or the West Seattle-ites talking between themselves: "Well, it is amaaazing that this became so popular. Remember when it first started? People didn't think it would last. People didn't ride it, and now, look. Look at all these people on this boat. I think they should run it year round. I really do. People would ride it. They would. And if that viaduct ever comes down, we're really going to need something like this. Yes we are." and then there's the local showing the tourist around: "Look at that woman over there. (pointing not so inconspicuously to the woman) She's a co-mmu-ter. She rides this to work and back. (then to the woman) EXCUSE ME?! Do you work in Seattle? You do?! You must love going to work this way. Do you ride it every day?"

Like I said, the Water Taxi is the best. :)

Day 4

• 1 pint Manny's - Conor Byrne
• 2 pints Rainier - Conor Byrne
  

Day 3

• Fat Tire Ale - L & J's house
  

Day 2

• 1 16 oz. can PBR - MnM's house
• 2 Imperial pints Guinness - Celtic Swell

Second place at trivia!

Day 1

• 1 16 oz can High Life - home

Brewer's Festival!

• 13 4 oz. tasters - Washington Brewer's Festival
  
• 1 small frozen margarita - home
  
• 1 16 oz can PBR - home

So today I went to my first ever real beer fest! It was a perfect day at St. Ed's Park - the sun was out, the air was warm, the grass smelled good, and there was plenty of great beer to be tasted. These are the beers I tried:

• 2 Summer Solstice Cream Ales (one of my favorites!) and 1 Hop Otten IPA - Anderson Valley Brewing
  
• 1 Industrial IPA - Diamond Knot Brewing
  
• 1 Festina Peche - Dogfish Head Brewery
  
• 1 White Knuckle IPA - Gallaghers' Where U Brew
• 1 Hop Diggidy IPA - Port Townsend Brewing Co.
• 1 Brookside (German Style Pale Lager) - Roslyn Brewing
• 1 3 Grid IPA - Schooner Exact Brewing
• 1 Woody's Oak - Skookum Brewery
• 1 Spring Seasonal - Snipes Mountain Brewing
• 1 Arrogant Bastard Ale, 1 Stone Pale Ale - Stone Brewing
• 1 20:20 Blonde Ale - Two Beers Brewing

Satahday

• 1 bottle Rainier - Shorty's
• 1 bottle miller high life - Rendezvous
• 1 bottle Pacifico - home
  

0!

• twomudslidestwofostersoilcansfourtequilashotsthreepbrsixteensonebottle
  millerhighlifeandthatsalliremember.

Today was the last day of school. There is no better feeling than saying goodbye to your students and suddenly realizing that there is no work to be done for the next two months. It's top shelf Pure Bliss. It's a true high and in the past six or seven years, the last day of school has been one of my favorite days ever. The staff has a golf and lunch party and it's such a fun and relaxing way to end the school year; it's almost a mini-vacation in itself.

Inevitably after every high, there is a low, and typically my first and second week after "The Last Day" I hit a low. To suddenly be faced with all this free time is a wonderful thing, but I'm not one that can relax easily, nor make a decision. I always feel that I should be doing something productive (the "not-able-to-relax" part), and when I determine that I should do something, I can't decide what it's going to be (the "not-able-to-make-a-decision" part). Decisions would be made much easier if, say, I lived in an apartment, or I lived in a house that needed no upkeep, or I had a yard that groomed itself; but I don't, and that's the problem. For me to stay sane, there are many things that need to get done in and around the house, and I feel that I should use my time to do them.

Many years ago, I was more of a free person. I spent summers mountain biking all over Washington and even Oregon, I drove to California to visit my sister, I would travel, I would read a dozen books, I would go to bars, I would ride my bike around Seattle, I would Rollerblade, and I would truly relax. I haven't done that as much in the past few years. I did have a great summer last year however. I rode my cruiser along Alki, I ran every day and I visited friends. It was a good summer, in between some housework here and there. And this brings up point two. Friends.

I miss seeing my teacher friends in the summer. It's nice to go to work and talk (when you can) and laugh and go out and have that daily camaraderie that work life brings. When you're home alone all day, it gets lonely and depressing. There's an adjustment period and mine is usually the first few weeks. Most everyone else works so it's not like you can call them and ask to go out. It doesn't happen that way.

It sounds like I'm complaining. I'm not. (am i?) I love my vacation and I wish that everyone could have extended time off. It seems that it would lead to greater job satisfaction, more creativity, and less stress. At least now, after several years, I know that my "low" is coming, so I try make it as smooth a transition as possible. And the sunshine usually helps.

1...

• 2 1/2 pints PBR - Luna Park Cafe
  
• 1 16 oz can high life - home
  
• Mudslide tasters - home
  

2...

• 1 bottle Kona Longboard Lager - home
• 1 Knob Creek rocks - home
  

The Final Countdown...

• 1 large kick-ass bottle Corona - home
• 1 small rocks-glass Knob Creek - home

Only ten more report card comments to go.

Last week

• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
  

sound & vision

• a bottle of some Merlot from Chile by way of Trader Joes given to us by Susan's aunt from Olympia - home

Remember that scene from "Risky Business" where Tom Cruise dances in his underwear to Bob Segar's Old Time Rock and Roll? Even though I do not dance in my underwear (most of the time anyway) I love to listen to music loudly when I am home alone. And I love to listen loudly when it's least expected. In the morning before work when I'm the only person in the house I can turn it up so loud and be surrounded by sound, or at night (not a Friday or Saturday when it might be expected) after dark when the neighborhood is asleep.

I absolutely love my speakers. I've had them since UCLA when I bought them in a stereo shop (before there were Circuit City's and Best Buys). I traded in a large pair of Cerwin-Vega's (which were rockin' too) for the JBL's I have now, because they allowed that. When it was Final's Week (which is probably the equivalent of the stress-inducing "Report Card Week" that I'm suffering through now), everyone in Westwood would make as much noise as they could at midnight each night throughout the week. I would turn up my stereo as loud as I could and play a fitting song for the Final's Week occasion. Some I remember playing were It's The End of the World (As We Know It) - REM and Where Is My Mind? - Pixies. I'm not sure if my roommates appreciated it, but it was fun and now it's a great memory.

I've hauled these damn speakers around for about 20 years now. They are heavy and fairly large, compared to today's typically smaller speakers, but I just can't seem to give them up. Susan tolerates them, and I think about when we're "with child" and how easy it will be for him/her to knock them over and I think, "What am I to do about them?" And to make matters worse, my dad gave me his surround sound speakers a few years ago, and I love the subwoofer, which takes up even more space in the living room. Anyway, the JBL's sound so good and I don't think I can part with them.

"Risky Business" is one of my favorite all-time movies. I think it's actually one of my first favorite movies. I saw it with my mom when I was under 18 years old (it's rated R) and then saw it again with my dad and step-mom (who were very embarrassed to see it with me and swore they would never take me to see another R rated movie), but I loved it right from the beginning when it was released. I bought the soundtrack and loved that too. I think I love the movie so much because Tom Cruise wasn't well known at this time (and I still think it's his best movie ever...I don't like him as much now) and the movie just flows.....it's one scene after another of dark, sexual, comedic intensity. *"What the fuck" gives you freedom.*

So, if you haven't already guessed, that's me in my underwear above listening to my dad's reel-to-reel in a rental in Lakewood, WA; back in '68. I've always loved and listened to music. My earliest memories of music were singing along to Don McLean's "American Pie" and listening to The Door's "Light My Fire". In fact, my mom has "Light My Fire" listed as my favorite song in my baby book! We also listened to Simon & Garfunkel, Elton John, Carly Simon, The Beatles, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, The Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, and CCR. There were undoubtedly more too. I suppose my dad is my main electronic geekness influence. He always had hundreds of records, and now he has as many CD's too. I don't think he's gotten into digital downloads, but I'm amazed at how many records he still has. And, he does love his electronics.

So, it's late and I need to sign off. My cd is over, the bottle is gone and I need to get some sleep.

Au Revoir,

cheshire

Happy Birthday Kevin!

• 5 plastic pints Heineken (fuck that shit!) from a Heineken mini-keg (fun!) - Kevin & Donna's
• 2 tablespoons Absinthe (mmmm, 150 proof licoricey delight) - Kevin & Donna's
  

FRIDAY!

• 0 drinks
  

Terrible Twos

• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
• 2 Bartender Margs - Mission
• 2 cans Rainier - Young Whore Village
  
• 2 songs sung - Yen Wor Village (Faith & Sweet Baby James)
  

Animal Drinks

• 1 Wild Turkey bourbon rocks - home
• 1/2 bottle Dancing Bull zinfandel - Duke's
  

"Ah, you know....another day, another dollar."

• 2 bottles High Life - Alki Tavern

- Overheard.

Talarico's

• 1 pint Birra Moretti - Talarico's
  

stratus

• 1 bottle Modelo Especial

I hate the gloom and gray like today was. There is no sense of time because the sun can't be seen. It feels and looks the same at 9 am as it does at 6 pm.

Looking at pictures of sunny days and blue sky brighten my mood just a bit.

Brazil vs. Canada

• 2 cans PBR - Donna & Kevin's
• 1 shot Conmemorativo anejo - home
• 1 can Bud Light - Patrick & Kamila's
• 2 caipirinhas - Patrick & Kamila's
• 3 bottles Corona - Qwest Field parking lot
• 1 pint Bud Light - Qwest Field

Brasssssiiiiiiil!

Schemin'

• 2 cans PBR - the Jeffs
  

- with a Mario Kart chaser!

Zoiks!

• 1 mug Manny's Ale - Zeek's Pizza
  

Bomb-Ass Specials

• 4 super pints PBR - Redline Music and Sports, West Seattle

$2 a pint x 4 = $8
$1 Cheese Blocks x 1 = $1
$1 Jalapeno Checkers x 1 = $1
$1 something else i can't remember = $1
$1.50 Big Buck Hunter Pro x 5 = $7.50

$18.50
Priceless

Tequila!

• 1 Herencia Mexicana reposado - home

Memorial Day

• 2 bottles Budwieser (The King Of Beers!) - home
• 1 mini-margarita - home
  

Rocky Mountain High

• 2 pints IPA (nitro) - Ken's & Laurie's
• 1 Jack Daniels rocks - Rock Bottom Brewery, Denver Airport

Today was my last day, so we took a leisurely drive around the Fort Collins area and up into the surrounding foothills. It's a beautiful area. While the area around Fort Collins is hilly, much of Colorado is flat, that is, until you get to the Rocky Mountains.

Ken and Laurie have three cats and two dogs, all more or less living together in a tolerable relationship - kind of like Ken, Michelle, and I....hahahahahaaha!

This is Showna and Bluema (my spelling is probably incorrect)

This is Chloe ("She's a bitch." says Ken.") I found her quite cuddly.

And I forget which one this is! But she was friendly.

And my favorite....Kazoo. I could never be in a sour mood around Kazoo. Her tongue always looks like this, her legs are half as short as a normal cat's legs, so her belly nearly drags the floor when she walks, and she has a round little rump. She is adorable.

This is me and Ken. He's a big Lebowski fan (pun intended), hence the shirt (which I bought him many years ago. Glad to see it doesn't have paint on it.)

And this is Laurie and Ken.

It was a great visit.

It has always bothered me that when I ask Ken what I thought was a simple yes or no question, he would never answer it that way. He gives me some roundabout answer that I never fully understand and I end up asking him other questions to fill in my blanks. He'd get frustrated because he thought that he did answer my questions, but I was still confused and I'd get angry and things would get bitter. This happened a few times during this trip, but then, in the middle of a conversation, I realized something. He's a lawyer. This is what he does. This is what he's good at. He doesn't do it on purpose; it's just the way he answers. And then I began to wonder, does he answer questions this way because he IS a lawyer, or did he become a lawyer because he answers questions this way? What I realized on this visit, however, is that it doesn't matter. What matters is that I now understand that, and so instead of getting frustrated and argumentative, I just smile and laugh and know that it's all good...whether I understand his answer or not. :)

Hanging at the House

• 1 pint IPA (nitro) - Odells Brewing
  
• 2 Imperial pints Albert Damm Bitter - Coopersmith's Pub and Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
• 1 pints IPA (nitro) - Ken & Laurie's home
  

Saturday we hung out at Ken & Laurie's house, which is a 1914(?) 4 Square shown below. It has a beautiful yard with a lot of room and character on the inside.

The back yard has lots of room for their two Border Collies, Bluema and Showna, to run around. The carriage house on the left is where hay and horses were kept (Clydesdales, perhaps?).

People in Fort Collins bike everywhere! Here I am fixing Ken's bike so that he and Laurie can join their fellow neighbors in keeping Fort Collins green and clean.

Ken has been orderly ever since he was a kid ("I can tell you moved that clock on my dresser!") but I had completely forgotten that when I went to visit. When I opened his refrigerator, I was immediately reminded.

It gets better...

And the freezer...

I love it!

We finished the day by going to another brewery, Coopersmiths, where I had some delicious British Bitter. It was as if I was in England.

Beer, Beer, Beer

• 1 glass Bud Light Lime - Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Fort Collins, CO
• 1 glass Budweiser Select - ABB
• 1 glass Budweiser - ABB
• 30 ounces various taster - Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
• 32 ounces various taster - New Belgium Brewing, FC, CO
• 2 glasses 7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel - Bisetti's, Fort Collins
• 1 bottle PBR - Vault, Fort Collins

I arrived in Denver last night at 10:30. After Ken and I drove the hour to his home in Fort Collins and toured his house, I didn't get to sleep until 2 am this morning. We were up by 8 however (the promise of beer!) and drove down the freeway a few miles to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery(!) which is pictured below. It's one of the 12 Anheuser-Busch Breweries in America, and only one of five that allow tours. Lucky us!

The Can Filler. This whizzing wonder can fill 30 cans a second.

The Lager Cellar. These giants were meant to ferment. There are about 30 containers this size housed in this cellar.

This is Darth. He's a genuine Clydesdale and is used for hauling cases of Bud to neighboring communities through the Colorado snow. Recently Darth delivered Bud Light Lime to victims of the tornado. What a horse.

After our fill of sub-par beer, we headed to the New Belgium Brewery, a model of renewable brewing practices, not to mention tasty suds. You'll notice right away that it's a much different building from the A-B plant. Also, it's a mile down the road from where Ken lives. That's Ken in the lower left hand corner trying to get away from the tourist in me.

This is Ken. He's flashing a pretty healthy smile. Maybe it's because he's standing next to the fermenting tanks and the smell of hops is in the air.

Because two breweries just isn't enough in a day, we hopped on over to Odell Brewing which is right down the street from New Belgium. Fort Collins means "heaven" in Coloradian.

These are the Odell flights. Unfortunately Ken couldn't drink any, but an older brother is always willing to help out the younger.

Sitting on the deck at Odells.

After a day of brewery tours and samples, we ended it with wine and dinner at Bisetti's and then a stop at a dim and dirty bar, The Vault, for some PBR and Photo Match. The Vault used to be a bank, back in the day. Seriously.

Thursday

• 1 bottle Kona Longboard Lager - home
• 1 Jack Daniels rocks - Chili's SeaTac

To Tally or Not To Tally?

• 1 bottle O'Doul's (I feel like I should count this because of it's beer-like taste and it's beer-like bottle and it's beer-like label. What do you all think?) - home
• 1 bottle Kona Longboard Lager - home
  

Heineken!? Fuck that shit!

• 1 pint Pabst Blue Ribbon - Corner Pocket
  

O'Douls

• 1 bottle O'Doul's - home
  

This stuff ain't bad, really.

Into the Wild

• 1 bottle Kona Longboard lager - home

One of the reasons I enjoyed mountain biking so much was that I was removed from the city and most everything about it. I loved riding on the trail; surrounded solely by nature. The quiet sounds of the forest, pure and organic, were comforting. My wheels returned to me the sounds of crackling twigs, the suck of mud, the grinding of dry pebble-grit, and the hush of pine needles. My chain tapping the frame and the hub bearings clicking were the only reminders from the city.

I often rode alone. I loved riding out near Mt. Rainier, where there is spectacular views and challenging singletrack. I would think about how I might be the only person out there, surrounded by not one thing that was human-made; and I liked those thoughts. Everything was natural. Returning to the car to load up after a ride, I was slowly re-introduced to humanity; the steel car, the paved road, the concrete retaining wall. And as I drove further away from Rainier and closer to Seattle, more engineering emerged; the freeways, the billboards, the malls, the skyscrapers; the explicit structure of everything. It just seemed, well, unnatural.

Watching Into The Wild tonight made me think of my riding days and how relaxing it felt being among dirt and trees and streams. I was never in search of anything deeper than a temporary escape, but Christopher McCandless was, and I thought that was cool. I think we all like to dream about doing something complete like he did. I know I do.

Things...

• 2 margaritas - home
• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 can mhl - J & D's house
• 1 can bud light - J & D's house

Cruisin'

• 1 Cazadores blanco with lime - Cactus
• 2 mojitos - Cactus
• 1 Corona - T & M's

...push...left...swerve...in...right...stand...speed!...down...up...swoop...miss...
...ring...turn...up...bob...right...down...sit...move!...lean...brake...slowwww...push...more...

I love riding my cruiser on Alki, especially when the sky is clear and blue and the sun is hot. When it's crowded, I love weaving in and out of the obstacles, whether it be people, pets, bikes, boards, blades, curbs, cars or concrete; it's all exciting. When it's deserted, I love easing back and forth across the path, taking my time, feeling the wind, watching the water. I love riding with one hand on the handlebar and the other on my leg, in the air, behind my back, holding my phone, spinning my iPod, indicating my turn.

I could ride for hours....

Thursday

• 1 bottle modelo especial - home
• 1 margarita - home
  

One Can High Life

• 1 can high life
  

Trivia

• 2 bottles Rolling Rock - a house in Des Moines
• 1 Imperial pint Guinness - Celtic Swell

"What word means 'using few words?'"

Click here.

Monday

• 0 drinks
  

Yvonne Patricia Wisemiller

• 1 bottle Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - home
• 1 bottle Belgium Ale - home
• 1 pint Scotch Ale - Elliott Bay Brewery

My mom loved to talk. A lot. She would get on a roll and never shut up! (some might say I take after her) It would get to the point where Michelle, Ken, and I would tune her out and add our "Yes"es, "Oh"s, and "Ummm, I can't remember."s whenever there was a pause in the "conversation." Sometimes she would catch on and she'd say "You're not listening are you?" in a somewhat irritated way, and then she'd get really quiet.

One story I love sharing with Ken and Michelle is the time that mom and I road-tripped to Yosemite National Park to do some camping. She had "just wanted to get out of the house", and thought it would be nice to do some hiking and sight seeing in Yosemite for a few days. I was in my early 20's, so I was past the age where being with your mother was an embarrassment, (for the most part), and we hadn't been to Yosemite in a long time, so it seemed like a perfect getaway. We drove the six hours up to her sister's house in Oakdale, CA (where the other Hershey's plant is located!), stayed overnight and then drove the few hours into Yosemite the next morning. Mom pretty much talked the entire time! I had planned to do some reading on the drive and had a book open and ready in my lap, but whenever I would begin to read it, she would start talking! I would listen intently and wait for her to take a break and after a few minutes of silence, I would think it was safe for me to try again, but no! As soon as I brought the book up and read a few sentences, she would start talking again! I really think she was doing this on purpose! It was like this for most of the drive into Yosemite - silence, "read", talk....silence, "read", talk...silence, "read", talk.

Talking was one of my mom's most memorable qualities; but driving was her most infamous. (Her brother-in-law even reminisced of her "speeding up and down the dusty back roads of fruit orchards as a teenager" at her funeral.) Driving up the twisty two-lane mountain roads to Yosemite, mom was tailgating a tour bus with the anger usually reserved for hornets. "WHY DOESN'T THIS BUS GO ANY FASTER!" "WHY DOESN'T IT PULL OVER!?" "CAN'T IT SEE THAT I'M RIGHT BEHIND IT!" These were blasted in between her bits of conversation directed toward interrupting my reading. At one point I got frustrated and said, "Why don't you just slow down? You're not going to pass and it's going the speed limit anyway." And she spurted, "I CAN'T slow down….this car doesn't GO any slower! If I don’t keep the pedal at this position the car will STOP!" She had a way of saying the most ridiculous and unbelievable things. I can't even remember if we ever got past that bus.

The way she talked was also comedy. She went through a stage where she over-enunciated every letter, especially 't's and 's's. She would say "fajitas" as "fa-hee-TAZ". Ken, Michelle, and I mimicked her by creating this phrase: "I have eaten (ea-TEN) fajitas (fa-hee-TAZ) in Santa Ana." (SAN-TAH Ana.) While she was busy over-enunciating some letters, she was busy dropping others altogether, such as the "g" from most verbs. "C'mon, let's get movin'!" or "Look at those guys over there...they're cruisin'. Yep, that's what they're doin'; cruisin'." or "Why are they ridin' in the middle of the street? They shouldn't be ridin' in the middle; this is HUN-TING-Ton!"

My mom had many ridiculous and unbelievable quotes, but some of my favorites are:

• When Michelle - California-tanned, blonde, and runner-thin - failed to get a loading-dock worker's attention when the three of us pulled up to the dock, mom sent her back telling her, "GET UP THERE AND SHOW SOME LEG!!"
  

• The time she let Ken, Michelle, and I know that since she'd gotten braces, Jim was a little nervous in, uh, bed.

• The perfect example of how two of her qualities crossed paths: We were driving back from LA one night and she's in the carpool lane cruisin' at about 80 mph and she's tailgatin' the car in front of us like it's Mark Harmon (one of her faves) and says seriously, "Yeah, I have nightblindness.....I can't see very well at night. Everything's real fuzzy..…..I don't need glasses, you know; because it's a night thing……I can see fine during the day, but.…....like right now, I can't see very well……I'm nightblind…..it's just real hard to see at night." and this goes on for about fifteen minutes; she's still doin' 80, she's still tailgatin'. I'm pushed as far back into my seat as I can go - foot stomped into the floor trying to hit that imaginary brake hoping we don't die.

The quality I admire most in my mom, however (other than her absolute love of all things chocolate), is her independence. It was she that drove alone through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio in search of a graduate school that she could attend to get her teaching degree. She had always wanted to be a teacher. It was she that initiated the divorce and took two of her children and moved to Columbus, Ohio; a place she'd only been once. It was she that flew alone to Italy for her first time in Europe to meet a friend, only to miss her connection in New York and have to catch the next flight; all her luggage was lost and she had to borrow and buy clothes in Italy for a six-week trip. It was she that loaded up Ken and Michelle in March of one year to drive a barely-running Volvo station wagon from Columbus to Atlanta to visit me over spring break, only to have to turn around in Cincinnati because of snow. It was she that wanted to drive the U-Haul from Orange County to Tacoma when I moved here in 1994. I followed in my Tercel.

And it was she that suggested the trip to Yosemite. We had been to Yosemite several times and she had been many times as a child, but this was the first time it was just the two of us. We decided to day-hike one of the trails that would take us to one of the falls. We hiked together most of the way and when we reached the falls, I decided to continue on to the top of Half-Dome and she decided to go in a different direction towards another falls. Later that night after finding each other back at camp, she told me that she had met another solo woman hiker on the way and they had reached the falls; higher than she'd ever climbed and a falls she'd always wanted to see.

I still remember the joy she had in her voice when she told me.

Happy Mother's Day, mom.

Mother To Son

• 2 pints Rainier - Poggie Tavern

There's a hilarious scene in Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon performs Bette Midler's "The Rose" as a member of the Helping Hands team. It's tender, it's funny, it's endearing. It was a great song choice for the movie and I laughed so hard during that scene. But whenever I hear "The Rose", it reminds me of my parent's divorce. It was the song that came on the radio right after Michelle and I told Ken that my mom and dad were ending their marriage of 13 years, and I've never forgotten that moment. Ken thought Michelle and I were playing a joke on him and to this day it pains me that he thought that this was in the league of the jokes we did play on him. He started crying and I don't remember what happened after that. Ken had just turned 10 years old, Michelle had been 8 for a couple of months, and I would be 13 in about four months. I know I was the first to be told about the divorce and Michelle was second. I'm not sure why Ken was third and I'm not sure why it was me and Michelle that told him.

Last week I watched "The Squid and the Whale" and I really enjoyed it, even though it was depressing. It was real, and that's what I liked about it. The parents separated and had joint custody of their kids. My parents never had joint custody. My mom took Michelle and Ken and moved to Columbus, Ohio where she went to OSU for her teaching degree. I stayed with my dad in Lawrenceville, Georgia until we sold the house and moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia. Ken, Michelle and I really had no choice about who we were going to live with. My mom wanted all three of us, but my dad wanted me to stay with him. The whole situation was fucked, really. My mom was left with so little and now looking back at it I realize how unfair it was to her. I always felt guilty visiting them because they were on food stamps and had to really watch their money, while my dad, not well off by any standards, seemed to at least have some freedom financially.

Even though money was tight, Ken, Michelle, and I used to have so much fun during the summers when I would visit. My mom worked at OSU and we would sometimes go visit her on campus. During the day we would play around the apartment complex, go swimming, create our own adventures, and go to the nearby grocery store and eat the free samples. One summer we wanted to start a business, and I thought the best way would be to deliver food and drinks to the various apartments. Even though Coke is my cola of choice, Pepsi was cheaper to buy, so I hand-wrote "Ice cold Pepsi delivered to your apt." on numerous index cards and dropped them into the mail slots of the neighboring buildings. Not one person responded, to my bewilderment; I thought it was a for sure tactic! Ken and Michelle still to this day laugh and yell at me, "ICE COLD PEPSI DELIVERED TO YOUR APT." They love that I abbreviated apartment and they love pronouncing it "apt". And they love even more that I didn't get one damn customer.

When I think of my parent's divorce, I hate (and that's not a strong enough word right now) that those six years I spent living separately from Ken, Michelle, and my mom, I will never, ever get back. That time was stolen from me. It was stolen from my brother, my sister, and my mom and there is nothing I can do about it. It's gone and I feel cheated out of my time with them. When my mom died I felt that I never had enough time with her. I was 31, she was 54 and there were so many things we could have done, could have experienced, could have shared. But I know this is always the case, no matter how old it is when someone dies. ...... The ironic piece is (and I just realized this in the past week) that if my parents hadn't gotten divorced, I wouldn't have the pictures and letters from my mom that I have now. Would I rather have had those six years, or the pictures and letters and notes and cards that will live eternally?

The first Christmas after the divorce was final, my mom gave me a copy of The Way, a Catholic Bible. On the first page she copied the below poem for me and I have never failed to read it without tears, but it has never failed to give me strength. "Well, son, I'll tell you:"

the non-shower baby-shower

• 1 Tres Generaciones Anejo w/rlj - home
• 1 shot Sauza - M & T's
• 1 shot Jack Daniels - M & T's
• 2 margaritas -M & T's
• 4-5 cans mhl - M & T's

Thirst-day

• 2 pints Rainier - West 5
• 2 red wines - Capers
• 1 champagne - Clementine

Art Walk: 'Nuff Said.

-----

• 0 drinks
  

SUCK films

• 1 shot Jim Beam - Rendezvous
• 2 pints PBR - Rendezvous
• 1 Dark Side (Ketel 1 vodka & grenadine) - Rendezvous

The Phantom Menace was made less bad; but it was still bad.

Cinco de Mayo

• 1 shot Aha Toro blanco w/lime - Matatdor
• 1 pint Dos Equis - Matador
• 1 Herradura Margarita - Matador
  

Sunday

• 1 bottle Pacifico - Casa Feliz (Alki)
  

Saturdaze

• 1 can High Life - home
• 2 bottles Rainier - Admiral Pub
  

The Squid and the Whale

• 2 bottles Corona - HRS4B

Susan and I watched The Squid and the Whale tonight. I'm going to write about this later in the week, I'm sure, but it was a collision of memories for a few reasons: divorce and separation. Separation specifically meaning the separateness of myself from Ken, Michelle, and my mom. I was in Atlanta, Georgia and they were in Columbus, Ohio. One of the ways we kept in touch was

writing.

I have every letter my mom sent me during that time and I have every letter that Ken and Michelle sent me during that time. E-mail didn't exist and phone calls were expensive, so, we wrote. And I'm glad we did, because it's the best thing my mom left with me. I have her thoughts and experiences that were written exclusively to me. It was a journal of her life at that time and it's the most personal thing she could ever leave me. I also have her tiny, green Holly Hobbie plan book from 1966 - a year before I was born. She was at Fresno State and many of her notes relate to college. I sometimes feel like I'm intruding when I read it, although there was nothing she would be embarrassed about.

Later, when e-mail was popular and phone calls were less expensive, I resorted to this type of communication. Fortunately I printed out some of my mom's e-mails and I have those. Michelle and I would e-mail a lot, and most of those e-mails were so hilarious - Michelle is pure comedy! - that I kept them. And I'm glad I did. They're still on my online mail folder and the earliest one I have is from April 26th, 1998 - just over ten years to the day.

So, even though my hook is "How much is that guy drinking?", the most important aspect is that I'm getting my thoughts down. And I'm glad I am. I think I'm gonna start that baby blog after all...

~ ~ SUN! ~ ~

• 3 pints Olympia - Ballard Loft
• 1 pint PBR - Hattie's Hat

The Spring Break journal - they're really more like notes - was one of the the first journals that I ever kept. I'm not sure what provoked me to write about my trip, but I'm glad I did. Reading about my experiences and thoughts that I had back then is a bit embarrassing, a bit funny, and a bit sad. I thought it was funny that on the two or three occasions that I described girls, I wrote awesome girls, (underlined awesome). Like, they were so awesome that I even have to underline it to make that point! That I used the word "awesome" in the first place was even funnier. I still use the word awesome though. How dull is that?!

Although I don't journal regularly - stop>>Wait! But this is a journal. Well, I suppose so. I don't have the patience for handwriting, nor the strength to do it for long periods of time (I'm serious!), but I've always enjoyed typing. It was one of the skills I had in high school. 2 things: I used to type my friend Ted's typing homework for $2 lesson (waaaay undercharged him), and I represented my school in a typing championship. I didn't win. Anyway, maybe part of the reason I didn't journal regularly was because of the handwriting handicap. I think that I was just waiting for the technology to catch up. :) So, although I don't journal regularly, I've kept notes, journals, and writings for many trips and vacations. They're stashed in the basement and I've recently found them, along with a lot of other writing that I have. I even found a children's poem that I wrote in 1989; I'm thinking about framing it for the kid's room.

Christopher has kept journals his whole life. They are all handwritten and I know he has filled up dozens of journals. He first talked about them when I met him over 20 years ago and he still refers to them now on occasion. I can't imagine journaling that consistently, but I would love to have the opportunity to go back and read about my life.

I have a baby due in mid-August. Some friends have recommended that I keep a journal of my thoughts about the baby and the preparation and other things. "Hmmm....I think I'll call it 'Baby-Blog'...." j/k. This is something I would like to do, however I'm not sure how I'm going to go about it. Do I write in a book? (hate handwriting). Do I blog? (don't want to make those thoughts public. could make it a private blog tho'. I'm already overwhelmed with the blogs I have!) Do I type it in Word and save it on the computer? (probably what I'll end up doing, but I tend to write more (ugh) when I'm set free on the keyboard.)

And so with that; I'm out.