Manic Monday

• 1 can Natural Light - home
• 1 bottle Fishtale Ale Organic Ale - home

Not really a manic Monday...I just needed a good title. Thanks Bangles!

Haircuts, Hot Tubs, Hoochies (and Herencia)

• 4, maybe 5, cans of the High Life - home
• 1 shot tequila Herencia - home
• 1 glass Mt. St. Michelle merlot (delishy) - home

Hair was cut, hot tub gotten in place, hoochies were hollerin' and Herencia was shootin'.

Really, the big event of my summer was/is the hot tub I got for free! You can't beat free! (Unless it doesn't work, but still....) even if it doesn't work, things can be replaced...motors can be replaced, tubes can be replaced, heaters can be replaced, filters can be replaced, excitement can be replaced. So, this week:

• get an electrician in...
• get it filled with water...
• turn on the jets...
• check for workedness...
• call a hot tub specialist to assess...

Thanks to everyone who helped move that sucker.

FAQ

• 0 drinks
  

Q: Why are you keeping a list of your drinks?
A: I guess I thought that it would be interesting. I've heard of other people keeping track of their food online, or keeping and tallying their garbage, or taking a picture a day. I like alcohol, so I thought a list would be interesting.

Q: How do you remember what you drank? Sometimes it seems like you drink a lot, so how do you remember all that?
A: Most of the time I just remember and make a mental note as I get a new drink. Each time I get a new drink, I review what I've had before that. Kind of like that game you played in school where a student would start with "A = aardvark" and then the next kid would be like "A = aardvark and, uhmmm, B = bronco" and then the next kid would repeat A, B and then add a C, and so on. So it's kind of like that. And I also use my phone. Some people think I'm texting, but I'm really typing a list on my phone's notepad.

Q: Do you think you drink more or less now that you keep a list?
A: I'm not really sure. I do know that I try to get out to more places to try a drink so that I can post the location. But really, if I was to search back through the past 8 months, there probably are very few new places that I've been.

Q: Do you list every drink?
A: Yes.

Q: C'mon, eVeRY one?
A: To the best of my knowledge that I can remember, yes. There are only two times that I can think of that I've left a drink or two off the list.

Q: Ooohhhh, what are they?
A: Not saying. There's a reason I didn't list them. :)

Q: What's your favorite drink?
A: I don't have a favorite, but I have been drinking much more beer over the past few months than I used to. It's kind of funny - I love cheaper beers...Pabst, Rainier, Oly, Miller High Life; but I love the stronger, well-made beers too like IPA's, summer brews, winter brews, Belgians, etc. I first remember tasting Miller High Life at Noc-Noc back in December or January. I bought it because it was only $1 a bottle or something like that and it tasted sooo good and refreshing. So I had another one. It's my favorite macro-brew right now. I especially love the bottles; the shape of the neck isn't that of a typical bottle. Plus, the glass is clear. I like that.

Also, I tend to drink heavier drinks in the colder weather, like whisky and wine and higher-alcohol beers. I was also drinking a lot of tequila in the spring. It might have been my trip to California that got me all excited about tequila, but I really haven't had as much this summer as I thought I would.

Q: What's your favorite bar?
A: Hmmm....? I tend to like more of the divey places...those with pool tables (even though I can't shoot worth sheet), dart boards, video games, pull tabs, remnant cigarette smell, carpet on the floor, karaoke, cobwebs, etc. Places that are broken in. The Cloud Room on top of the Camlin was awesome. A piano bar. To go out on the rooftop at night and look at the moon, or the array of clouds reflected off the Camlin's neon, was unforgettable. That's not to say I don't like the swankier bars either, cuz I enjoy those as well, although they're usually not the places I end up going back to.

LA has/had some really cool bars, both divey and swanky. I was in one a few years ago called the "Little Cave". It was designed to look like a bat cave on the inside - it was very dark and black with little coves and hideouts within. Check it out. It was cool because it felt divey, but actually it was very designed and planned. Tacoma also has/had some really cool bars. Magoos was a tiny bar around the corner from where Susan used to live and they served beer and wine and had a few places to sit and one video game. And if you tired of just drinking beer, you could walk next door and get a cocktail at a *really* divey bar.

Anyway, if I had to name a bar that I really like, it's Shorty's. They have tons of cheap beer, awesome video games and pinball, a swanky seating area in the very far back, a few seats on the sidewalk for outdoor looky-loo'ing, but the clincher is, it's the only place I can get a veggie chili cheese dog with my Hamms. I usually only get down there once or twice a year.

Q: What's the worst hangover you've ever had?
A: I can't think of any absolute killer ones I've had lately...usually I'm just tired the next day because I didn't sleep well the night before. I do remember one I had about 6-7 years ago. I went to the West Seattle Street Fair with a good friend, Matt L. whom I used to work with. I hadn't had anything to eat most of the day and we went to the beer garden and we drank a lot of beer; and that might have been all we had to drink, but I had a lot. A LOT. We were out most of the night and he dropped me off on my front porch with my pants around my ankles (not sure how THAT happened) and Susan pulled me into the house, or maybe I stumbled. Anyway, I was hung over for two days. Two days! The. Worst. Ever.

Q: Speaking of hangovers, what do you do to prevent one?
A: Well obviously drinking less isn't usually an option, but I try to drink A LOT of water (when I remember), eat a good amount of food, take ibuprofen before bed (I've been doing less of this lately because it's not good for your stomach), take a vitamin before bed, sleep with a damp, folded washcloth on my forehead, eat a good breakfast with protein, and also drink tomato juice, or V8 or something like that. I heard somewhere that tomatos can be good for hangovers, and I love tomatos anyway, so there you go.

Q: Bud Light Lime. Really?
A: Have you tried it? That's real lime in there my friend.

Q: One last question...can I drink with you?
A: Love to! Know of a good place?

tgif!

• 4, 5, maybe 6(!?) cans High Life - MnM's house
• 1 Creamsicle (deelish!) - MnM's
  
• 1 shot Cazadores - MnM's
  
• 1 shot Herencia with Squirt - MnM's
• 2 bottles Bud Light - Yen Wor Village

Sooooo, I'm currently not working and all the days run into one another, and a weekend really isn't any different than a weekday, BUT, going to a TGIF party is the best! Everyone's happy, everyone's looking forward to the weekend, and everyone's reflecting and telling stories of the week's adventures. It was so great getting to hang out with the teachers and hearing about their week, even though I wasn't part of it - at least in person. :)

Thursday

• 2 Cazadores & Rose's Lime Juice - home
• 1 bottle Deschutes Twilight Ale - home
  

Wednesday

• 1 can mhl - home
  

Tuesday

• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 Mike's Hard Lemonade (hey, there was one sitting around...) - home
• 1 margarita - home
  

Laborious Day

• 1 imperial pint Tetley's Cream Ale - Celtic Swell
  

Funny in the Sunny

• 1 shot Milagro Silver tequila - The Jeffs
• 1 24 oz. Rainier - The Jeffs
• 1 Deschutes Twilight Ale - The Jeffs
• 1 can Natural Light (my first one evah!) - The Jeffs
• 1-2 glasses red wine - The Jeffs

Pubs & Taverns

• 12 oz. Avery Ale to the Chief - UBER TAVERN
• 1 pint Dick's Best Bitter - Beveridge Place Pub
• 1 pint Manny's Ale - Beveridge Place Pub
• 1 pint Pabst Blue Ribbon - Poggie Tavern

I made an impromptu stop at the UBER Tavern (which could really be a pub....tavern to me implies that it's old. The UBER is a few years new and pretty nice. They specialize in specialty beers. It's very small, which was pretty cool, but off the 99, which isn't so cool (loud traffic).

The Siren

• 1 bottle Bud Light Lime - Siren Tavern (and Cocktails!)
• 1 pint PBR - Siren Tavern

Today I had a few drinks at a place I'd never been before, but had always wanted to go...the Siren on 4th Avenue. It always looked a little sketchy from the outside, but Brian assured me it probably wasn't that bad. Plus, we were in desperate need of (a few) drinks. So, we stopped in, had a few drinks, had a few baskets of fried food, and marveled at the amount of dart boards, darts, and dart paraphernalia that occupied the space. The place was cool. In fact, the whole building where it exists is cool. I've always liked the Kwik E Mart next door for it's bars-on-the-windows. I'm not sure if the area is *really* that dangerous, but it certainly adds a bit of verisimilitude. The 50's neon sign is also an original.

Oh yeah, Bud Light Lime - it's lost it's allure for me. Ugh.

Thursday

• 1 glass El Felino malbec - home
  

Wednesday

• 1 bottle Mike's Hard Lime - home
  
• 12+ oz. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye - home
• 12+ oz. Stone Brewing Chocolate Oatmeal Stout - home
• 1 glass El Felino Malbec - home
  

Tuesday

• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 pint 400 lb. monkey ipa, Left Hand Brewing - Beveridge Place Pub
  

Monday

• 1 can mhl - home
  

The Closer

• 2 bottles Bud Light - home

Getting a baby to go to sleep can be an ordeal. It's only three weeks in and we already know this. I like to think of myself as "The Closer". The bedroom lights are dimmed, the tv is turned off, the cats are prodded out, and the shades are lowered. When Susan is done feeding London, he is handed off to me. He is newly diaper changed, given a short, oily massage with Burt's Bees apricot scented oil, swaddled (such a fun, satisfying word; kind of like 'bundled') tightly and then either rocked, held closely, or put directly into his bassinet if he is already nodding off. White noise is turned on near his sleeping quarters and he is gently rocked asleep. Sometimes I hum to him and other times I sing (he hasn't cringed yet). If all goes well, he falls soundly asleep. I am "The Closer".

just another weekend

• 1 pint Lagunitas IPA - Ama Ama Oyster Bar

yardwork

• 1 busch tallboy - home

Sun was out and the temperature was warm. Pulled some grass today where it didn't belong and reloaded the bark. Mowed and edged the grass. Felt so good.

8-21-08

• 0
  

Rain

• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 Cazadores & lime - casa de LRobb
  

Red Rocket

• 1 bomber Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale - home
  

Blue Monday

• 12 oz. Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA - home

Today I was getting anxious about not going back to work. I am excited about taking the next few months off, but today it really hit me what it will be like to not go back to work. There's always an excitement and freshness about beginning the school year. There's a rhythm to it....preparing the classroom, meeting with the staff for the first time after summer and going through inservices (everyone seems so familiar, but 'new' at the same time), doing last minute details before the first day of school, seeing your new students come down the hall, seeing your old students pass you by, facing your class for the first time and seeing all their faces as a whole, the first staff meeting after the Tuesday half day ("Share one thing about your day!"), Parent's Night and meeting all the parents, happy hour after Parent's Night, the magazine drive assembly, feeling exhausted but overwhelmingly excited about your year after the first week. There are so many emotions I go through over the next few weeks, but they won't be a part of me this year; or rather, I'll feel some very different emotions this year. How will it feel returning to my classroom in three months? Everything will be new to me, yet old to everyone else. I'm the type of person who likes to be in on everything....I don't like to miss anything, and it will be strange "missing" the students, the staff, the day-to-day ups and downs, and my friends over the next few months.

I am excited and thrilled to be staying home with my child - my son - and Susan, but I know I will have to get out of the house and live some of my "former" life once in awhile to keep from going crazy. Maybe my thoughts on this will be short-lived and I'm sure I will look back in December and know that it was the best thing I could have ever done, but for now; it's an adjustment.

I've always prided myself in my ability to adapt. I think it is most apparent when I travel. Going to Europe, Africa, California, Colorado, Hawaii, or wherever, I seem to make the transistion from one place to the other smoothly and I'm always ready to start activities NOW. I remember going to Africa and feeling nervous before and during the flight, but once there, I calmed down and though everything was so different and new, I thought I took it in well. "So we're sleeping on this cot with a mosquito net and no running water in the toilet or sink? Okay, cool." I love when I go to visit Christopher and from the minute I'm picked up from the airport, we're off to do something. I don't have to go to my home base to unpack, or rest, or get settled - I'm ready for adventure right away, and he's the same way when he visits here. I'm not sure why I'm this way, but I think it might have something to do with my moving around a lot as a kid. We moved from Washington to California to Kansas to Georgia and then to Ohio and back to California and I was never nervous or scared to do this. We were always exposed to new things and new places and were constantly going. I do wonder however if this has made me restless, and if I stay to long in one place or idea or situation, I need to move on, or try something different, or escape.

How does this relate to having a child? Staying at home with my child will bring a new surprise(s) everyday, but I'm not sure if this is enough to 'pacify' (haha) me. I know that I won't be moving London around as much as I moved as a kid, but I do look forward to taking him out on new adventures, and maybe this is my comfort and happiness.

ink

• 12 oz. Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA - home
  

I've been thinking a lot about tattoos lately. Well really, I've never stopped thinking about tattoos. You'd never know it by looking at me...I only have one and it's on my leg; not the most apparent spot. I got it 15 years ago at Sunset Strip Tattoo in West Hollywood. It seemed like the place to get one. In 1993, tattoo's weren't really common, although people were starting to get them. I was inspired by Anthony Kiedis' many tattoos and that's what prompted me to get one. I wasn't sure what to get - the tribal's were popular, as were the geckos and lizards (never really sure why on that one) - but those weren't my style. I've always liked cats and I was in a cat store one day and their business card had a simple cat design on it. When I went in for my tat, I took the business card and the RHCP CD of Blood Sugar Sex Magic because it showcases a lot of the band's tattoos. My tattoo artist liked the cat and redesigned it to what I have. The reason I got it on the side of my calf is that I wanted it to go in a place that would always have toned muscle and I figured that was a pretty good place. I also wanted it just lower than a length of shorts, but higher than where my rollerblades (I used to rollerblade constantly) fit.

It did hurt, but not writhingly painfully so. It took just over an hour. It cost $125 and a scan of the receipt is below - I've kept it. My artist had done one of Lenny Kravitz's tattoos and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm not sure which one, but I've always thought it was the cross on his upper right arm. Afterwards I went to Church's Fried Chicken with my girlfriend at the time. Some people mistake the design for "coathangers" and others call them "panthers". I just call them cats and I still love the simplicity of the design.

Once you get one tattoo, you invariably want more. I've wanted another one for a long time now. Before I left LA, I wanted a Japanese woodblock style tattoo because the woodblock style is a beautiful form of art. Lately I've seen an almost watercolory look to tattoos which I love. One thing has kept me from getting more however and that's what I want. I've been wanting my mom's name tattooed somewhere on my arm with a flowery design; maybe spelling in Hawaiian, which would be Iwone. Now that London is born, I think a large LONDON inked in Old English font would be cool, but maybe it's too gangster. I've played with the idea of having a picture of Susan done in the Varga's style on my shoulder. I even thought it would be cool if she designed a tattoo for me. I've come up with another idea that I'm going to think about for awhile as well. I like Johnny Depp's tattoos. They're not flashy, but each one has meaning. I think I'm more that kind of person.

What I've noticed in the past 15 years is that tattoos have become more common and aren't as "alternative" as they used to be. Practically everyone has a tattoo now, whether it be a tiny flower by an ankle, a sleeve-type tattoo that runs up and down the arm, or elaborate designs inked on the small of a woman's back. I definitely think Seattle has the largest per capita tattoo-wearing population out of anywhere in the United States. Even going back to LA and the OC this past spring, where many people did have them 15 years ago, not as many people seem to have them. Maybe because it's summer and more skin is being exposed, but go to any public event, or outside restaurant, or club, or beach, or sidewalky neighborhood, or coffee shop, or park, or bar, and you will be surrounded by tatted-up Seattleites. It's really hard not to be.

The Taste of Wine

• 1 glass Harlequin Cuvee Alexander 02 - The Tasting Room
• red wine flight - The Tasting Room
• 1 bottle BLL (bud light lime) - home

The Real Due Date

• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 bottle Longboard Ale - home
• 1 pint Full Sail Limited 2 lager - Beveridge Place Pub

Today was London's original due date. Some of the places we had planned on going before this date was the Olympic Sculpture Garden (totally doable in a stroller however), the New Orleans restaurant in Pioneer Square, and The Saint tequila bar in Capitol Hill. I think there were a few others...it wasn't a very extensive list, and of course there were some bars I wanted to hit as well.

Tonight Susan's parents watched London as we ran off to B.P.P. for an hour. It was strange not having baby there as he's been a constant presence these 10 days. It definitely gives you a new perspective on life. What that perspective is, I don't know right now, or maybe I'm just not motivated to write about it. Or, just too tired. :)

Art Walk with Easy Street Stop

• 1 can mhl - home
• few glasses of wine - West Seattle Art Walk
  

Alki

• 1 bottle Bud Light Lime - home

So in the past I've kind of made fun of Bud Light Lime. But you know...it ain't that bad...in fact, it's fairly darn refreshing.

It's places like this that drive me to drink...

• 1 can mhl - home
• 1 pint Manny's - Duke's
• 1 bottle Bud Light - Duke's

I'll just leave him here. Sign says 'CHILDREN'S STORAGE'.

Monday

• 12 oz. Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA - home
  

Sunday

• 12 oz. Laughing Dog Dogzilla Black IPA - home

pArTY!

• 1 mhl tallboy - The Jeffs' birthday party at D & K's
• 1/2 a bottle of MGD Light (never had that before) - D & K's

We'd been looking forward to going to the Jeffs' birthday parties for a few weeks now. Little did we know at the time we'd have a new addition. We were excited to get out of the house and bring London along and he handled it fairly well, I suppose. It was a good time, even though we were attending to London throughout the night. His first party and he was only four days old! Already a Socialite.

Vito's

• 1 can mhl - home

Today I was thinking about what a great day our last day of "DINK-dom" was. The morning started with the concrete cutter cutting an egress window space from the foundation. Susan and I bolted some plywood over the situation and then left for Greenlake to eat at Taqueria Guaymas. It was such a beautiful day. After lunch, we walked to the lake, I waded in the swimming area, and then we walked a bit; talking about our plans for the next few days. For Wednesday, we were going to start the morning off at Pike Place Market for breakfast (before the tourists), then go to the Olympic Sculpture Garden, and then up to Greenlake for swimming and/or walking. We left Greenlake and went home to relax. Later, Jeff invited us to Vito's for karaoke, so we got dressed up and headed out about 8:30 and met the gang at the Hideout for a drink. Then we walked back down to Vito's (Susan thinks it was the hill climb from Vito's up to the Hideout that might have started things moving) for a few hours of karaoke. It was fun singing and hanging out with everyone; much better than if we had stayed at home watching a movie or something. It will definitely make a memorable story. Funny how things happen.

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.