Uncle Bri Bri is coming to town!

So Uncle Bri Bri was in town from Seattle. Brian, AKA, Kirk, Bli, Blian, was one of the three Brians I lived with at Cal Poly. We called him Kirk (his last name)... Brian's Jones and Mayerle were respectively Jonesy and Brian, hence a three syllable last name won out for use of the name Brian. Brian and I have been friends for 22 years now. We were second floor residents of Fremont Hall our first year at Cal Poly. We pretty much lived together throughout school. You can actually see some dorm pics of Bri and I in the slide show in the right hand blog column. I also hooked Brian up with two roommates post Cal Poly, Derek, AKA Dman, and an Ex Girlfriend, Jen for a short stint. Derek and Bri lived together 6 years and I was beginning to think they may have been gay or something, not that there is anything wrong with that but they were almost common law married... Anywayz I went to the Kirk abode to pic Brian up before our outing in the Mountain View downtown. Check out this beautiful surprise low angle shot of Bli!! So to start off the night we drove to a friend of Bri's house, and it was there Bri pulled out his Wii. I was quite impressed to see it on the big screen. Wii is quite possibly the most awesome video game ever!! I am not a gamer by any means and we bowled like The Dude himself... Mark it an 8 dude. Brian bowls a bit like a pederass but hey, that is ok...
We then went to the fabulous MollyMcGee's in Mountain View on Castro street. The other Castro. I have not been out in this Silicon Valley (5 guys to 1 girl ratio) in a while, but it really puts the "guys night" in guys night out... I have kind of stopped going out except where good friends are involved, so I must say dancing around with Bri and his buds, and talking about all the girls we could woo, one if there were girls, two if he were not taken, and three if I was not on a self imposed girl probation, made for most of the entertainment. There was some unexpected excitement when I feigned touching the Disco ball and the DJ decided to yell at me over the PA.

Most of the excitement for the night happened back in the front room while most of the crew, besides me, engaged in some sort of MMA (mixed martial arts) and told some old war stories. This went on until about 4 am then Bri and I got the couches. I put on some ridiculous 3d specs and Bri acted like he was texting his girl Jess... Actually, he really was texting her some goodnight sweet nuthins and stuffages... how sweet.

The next day we got out of their by 11 I believe, after the roommate we probably kept up between 2 and 4 am decided to get us back with 20 minutes of loud car engine revving NASCAR style right outside the window. Needless to say Bli and I made it back to his Childhood home where we hugged (in a manly car seat leaning kind of way) and said later dude.

I took advantage of the trip to the South Bay to eat at Peninsula Creamery in Palo Alto, Yummy! They make everything from scratch there, including my Corned Beef Hash, Yummier! You will pay a little more here for food, but there is an old world meets foodie vibe here. They don't serve the dog food-esque canned hash here, it is really carved corned beef. Anyway they missed my order so Bfast was comped even!! Yummiest!
The only thing that could have made this whole less than 24 hr excursion better is if our Lil Dman could have made it! More pics of the trip can be found in the slide show at the end...

Somewhere fair to middling

She said, “I’m cold, roll up the window please!” Mike, can you roll down the window? We still say ROLL do we not, even though 99% of the population has power windows? I know that I am the only person that I know that still has windows that you haveta manually grab a handle and turn baby turn. The reason being contained in another story all together. Anyway, this Roll up the window saying makes me wonder if kids will at some point forget why we say roll up the window. I am guessing the generation du jour, is it generation Y or Z or ZZ, has probably gone their whole lives without ever seeing a manual window roller handle thingy. Dealers call them Power windows, but does anyone say Power down the window? So back to my point, if there ever was one, if you observe old sayings, “fair to middling, or the whole 9 yards” you will notice that the origins are sometimes unsure. You may also notice that changes in technology are the reason the origins of these sayings may be in question, yet the sayings live on. I think I will place roll up the window on Wiki so future generations will know where it came from.

Here is a great article further backing my weird ass story. CLICK ME!

Current location: My wonderful Couch, aka Sectional

Last night as I sat there doing this kind of stuff, facebooking, reading info on adult dyslexia, etc. I noticed the rain continued to fall in the ever so silent garden-backyard and quad area beyond. OK I am not sure what a quad is but if they are good enough to go streakin' in, then I can have one nearby. BTW, that quote by Will is my second favorite from the movie, not the part everyone says, but this part, "Sorry, we're goin'... We're Going streaking up through the quad and into the gymnasium! Come on everybody, come on! Snoop, Snoop-a-loop! No, it's cool, it's cool, I'm cool. Bring... Bring your green hat. Let's go, come on everybody we're goin". I love how he uses Gymnasium and not Gym and tells Snoop to bring the green hat.
So anyway the rain, back to the rain. I decided to crack the window open, grab my comforter, and sleep on my wonderful Sphere Designs Sectional (which you too could own) and listen to the rain until I fell asleep, and in this case when I woke up as well. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it sometime so you can break free of your normal routine.

Current location: Emailz

You know with all the new spam filters out there I forgot what it was like to get those emails EnL8arge My M3mber, #1 P 6E N I S G 1ROUTH P 6ILLS, P A 7 T C H, or the ever special P 7 E N I S / E X T 1 ENDER, although that is not my bag baby, it's not my bag. So anyway a spam email happen to make it through to my inbox from none other then a contact named Colon Cleanse (maybe since Colon Powell and I are tight my filter let it slide) with the subject line, Clean your Body of Toxins. Hmm, yes I am 40 now and I don't (thank God) need any of the aforementioned products, however cleansing my body of toxins sounded quite appealing. I mean heck, if at 40 you are not happy with the size of your P 6E N I S, will you ever be? And hopefully you know it is better to go for the optical inch with some manscaping, than to waste that retirement $ on the snake oil of the 21st century. Anyway, back to the Cleanse thing, (I will leave the word Colon out from now on it gives me the heebs) I am starting to think a cleanse may be a good idea. I have done a few 10day detox deals with pills and water and no booze, but I am thinking I need to go a little more hard core. David Spade joked about finding a 10 year old Doritos in his first calonic session, and everyone that has gone to a clinic somehow meets that one person, who knows the person, who found a Barbie doll foot during their, umm archeological expedition, I mean cleanse, or whatever. Joe B says the Barbie doll story is told by every person who gets cleansed, so I dunno but if you can get rid of/ clear out that mystery meat you ate at Seoul Korea Olympics and/or some Fruitcake from Aunt June in 1972, I am all for it.

Current location: Old Roomie Sunday...

So I am not sure what got into me or did not get into me on Sunday, but with the gloomy weather I felt like taking a drive. I have also been thinking about moving so I figured I would take back a room dehumidifier to Allison & Jaime. They loaned it 2+ years ago when I lived in the mold palace. You would not believe how much water that thing would suck out of the air. Anyway I just happen to catch them in time to share dinner and take their kids to the Christmas tree lane in RWC. This was a blast. Mary Courtney (almost 3) loved it. I will probably hold a memory of her walking in front of me holding her daddy's hand with one hand, and a flashlight waving in the other, forever. The flashlight was key to her experience. I included two pics in my most recent Album. Allison and I became roommates right before the dot com bomb, and I was so fortunate to find her as a roomie since her place allowed pets, aka my Beloved Bernie.
My Next stop was to see Mike Stacy, roommate extraordinaire . Mike and I had matching OCD's and were both party guys, so we made great roommates. One exception I had just started drinking that year at 28, and he was a PRO. Mike still to this day is responsible for 4 out of the 5 times I have been sick from Alcohol. I gave Mike a bottle opener to add to his collection and we watched Spiderman 3 in is home theater. I have never seen a home theater this nice. The house is 3500 sq ft so you get the picture. I also got to meet his youngest boy and see Mike change a diaper... boy how times have changed. So here is a pic with Mike in it at my Bday in 2001 he is Blond guy in back on the left, just so happens Jaime and Allison are across from him. Two of my best friends I had just shaved their heads on a drunken night and numerous other friends and roommates.
Yay, found another pic of Mike and I in Bangkok 2001!

Current location: Homeward Bound

I went to my hometown twice in consecutive weekends to Officiate another wedding and then for American Thanksgiving day. I always add the American now, so my Canadian friendz can be quite clear on when and where I am celebrating. Which in turn makes me think of Boxing day, and that we should have American Boxing day. What a great under appreciated holiday that is. The Canadians embrace the day of the Box, Wiki says a lot but this is one of my favorite lines, Boxing Day dinner is, in many ways, just as much a part of many families traditions as Christmas dinner itself. The wedding went really well and I felt like I was in a time warp, as I often do when I go home. I met up with three old friends at The Fruit Yard. It was filled with your typical real cowboys, a few fake cowboys, some white trash, country cougars, and me and my buddies. I have been friends with two of the guys since I was 4 and one since I was 10. For some reason in my head I think of Bill as the new guy since we were not in Kindergarten together, 30 years and he is still the new guy. We all had lots of classes together over the years and lots of days fishing, hunting, playing Football, Basketball, Baseball, Car Accidents, Dating the same girls (small town thing), boat accidents, helping repair beer bottles gashes to the head, etc. We mostly see each other at weddings and funerals now. Last time Bill, Marc and I were together it was for the wedding of a Girl we had all dated. The last time Bill, Marc, Kevin and I were together it was for the Funeral of her brother who was run over by a tractor. Boy that class took it hard, 3 other guys from that class of the brother in the tractor accident had died in what I call classic country deaths. One was hit by a train, one drowned in the irrigation canal, and the other ran his car off the road into an Irrigation Culvert. The Tractor, Culvert, Canal, and Train deaths in these parts are pretty common place, but I doubt ya city folk can really understand. Ciao

Snack Blog...

So I went to work today and I had a snack, or two, or three... but
this snack was the only one that made the blog. I made two hard boiled eggs last night. I put the eggs in cold water, brought them to a boil with the lid on. It boiled about a min, and I turned off the heat. Now my stove top is glass so the burner stays hot a long time so I let the
residual heat cook them gently. I just let them sit in the water at least 12 min. and they are perfect. And I mean perfect. You can mess up hard boiled eggs you know. I had today's egg with some Tapatio.

I can't begin to tell you how much this snack hit the spot. Have an egg tomorrow... it is easy and healthy. The high amounts of good cholesterol offset the bad cholesterol.

Ciao,
Mike

Current location: Home Office

Yes from the home office as David Letterman likes to say and now I am the proud owner of one, albeit is a 4'x3.5' space in my living room, gotta love SF living. So anywayz, I was working and listening to KCSM, (great listener supported jazz can be found on Itunes radio but also real radio in SF) and I hear this jazz version of a song I know that I know but can't put my finger on (or why would i want to put my finger on) when it finally dawns on me it is Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tear for Fears!!! Usually the Jazz is rare and great, but they do have sessions that are like muzac or prozac... needles to say I had to look up the song on the wiki because this version was great. Wiki says: The song has since become the pinnacle of Tears for Fears' chart success, its endurance allowing it to accumulate over two million radio broadcasts by 1994, according to BMI. Along with "Shout" from Songs from the Big Chair. Is it just me or when you read the Wiki info it reads in Kasey Kasem's voice in your head. So there you have it! and by the by I don't want to rule the world.

I always get involved

Current location: Coffee talk
So I was not minding my own business sitting in the front windows of Starbucks as night fell, and fell fast... when I look out to see perhaps the longest legal length for a single trailer behind a Mack Truck or Peterbilt Big Rig ( Ten four good buddy) WITH a sleeper cab, so anywayz this whole rig is super long. I see the guy try and make the turn from Union heading West, to Laguna North. He stops, goes forward, moves ahead, (it's not too late, to whip it) again he turns wheels, goes forward, back... hmm cars begin to pull up behind him. I decide to run out and keep the cars at bay and then I give him arm motions from 50ft away like I am guiding a Jet on the tarmac to the gate, bringing him closer to the cars, who are now backing up... as they back up, some of them are honking (10 cars back), I keep backing him up. A lady then gets out of the passenger side of the Rig wearing a Roots sweatshirt. I begin relaying the distances to her and asking if he is going to back up and go straight or try again... He backs up and goes straight... but as he is doing this, I see the angry faces in the cars now passing on his left, and going around the first few cars that are backing up and into the other cars that are equally as pissed because he is blocking them too. I am sure the angry passer guy in the Range Rover and wearing a suit had to get to the Gymnasium so he was not late for his spin class perhaps, totally justifying his disregard for oncoming traffic right-of-way, as well as the spirit of the other cars and me trying to get this guy out of a bind.
The roots sweatshirt now comes into explanation for you 'Mericans... so my synopsis was that this driver, who probably should not have had this Rig on this Narrow street in SF is more than likely Canadian. The only people that wear Roots brand in America are Canadians and Winter Olympic Athletes, Right Sue?? Damn Canadian Drivers should not be Oot and aboot on this street, eh?

An Odd day

Joe and I started off with some Taqueria Cancun Burrito Mojados. I ordered the Mexican Coke too. Made with real sugar not high fructose corn syrup. The thimble of water is free.

We later went to this crazy party with some ballet dancers and just some nutty SF stock characters. There was a 4 piece string (like orchestra) band playing on a catwalk over the dance floor. We got to see some crazy moves and I put some movies on You Tube to check out. This kind of unfolded rather strangely as I sat there drinking my water at this benefit. It reminded me of some sort of scary childhood dream of sorts... you know when the Edward Scissorshands guy wraps his, uh scissors around the suit guy with half normal face and half zombie face and then Curious George starts applauding while Boy Wonder appears to be on mushrooms... Here is the next little dance number... I am not sure if dude really hits the nail on the head for this dancer- artist... I am starting to think more and more men in the arts just might be gay... I know its a stretch based on stereotypes on my part.


Next on the agenda, we were on to Amnesia to perhaps my favorite picture this year... I snapped this over my shoulder not looking, Joe saw the camera coming but I am not sure what is going on with the guy behind him, did he poop his pants or or I will stop there. I will end the blog there as well, I left some stuff out like the foam and rubber room with the 4.5' ceiling at the previous party and such and bizarre conversations and me seeing a girl I made dinner for a year before and then decided to not talk to, and da beat goes on. Peace.

Current location: Clean and Cook and Coffee

I got up late as I do when I am not working. I stayed up late watching 7 years in Tibet then got crazing googling the facts of the movie. Pretty cool!
I mopped the kitchen and dinning 'area' and used stainless steel cleaner on the appliances in need. Then I vacuumed (is that not the weirdest looking word ever) even used the dusting wand and the little brush thing to get between the bed slats and on base boards...
Got on the bike on this foggy afternoon and went to Starbucks and was ever so delighted watching numerous people pull on the door that is hard to budge; it has a motor for disabled so unless you push the button you can tear a rotator cuff trying to open it. A funny couple sat across from me. When they came in he went about saving seats while she went to order. He said nonfat mocha... then she turned around and he said make sure it is nonfat. She then asked if he wanted whipped cream. He said, now that would kind of defeat the purpose of the nonfat don't you think.. I thought it was funny. He looked like a funny guy. I think you have to have a funny guy look to deliver some lines. He looked like a cross between Rich Hall and Tim Robbins, so yes. As they were getting ready to leave he asked his HOT girlfriend if she knew who the old lady was walking by the window. She said no. He said i will tell you outside, she said just tell me now. He said, the first major or accredited stripper in the US. She said in shock, HOW do you know this and went on. He said um I just know... I then bailed him out and said I knew who she was too. If you pay attention in this City someone will point her out to you someday. Her name is Carol Doda.

(Current location: Here)

Do you feel like this?
You get up every morning
From your alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty

And if your train's on time
You can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay
If you ever get annoyed
Look at me I'm self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day

And I'll be...
{Refrain}
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I've been taking care of business, it's all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Work out!

I feel like it in the first person because I am working at nothing all day. But those of you working may identify with the first few lines of the song. Ah yes this is one of Bachman - Turner, Overdrives (BTO) two hits. The other one is Ain't seen nothin yet. I understand who Bachman is and Turner, but I am not sure who Overdrive is... Maybe Overdrive is like Motion from Dance fever.

Current location: The Farmers Market and Beyond

Current location: SF Ferry Building Farmers Market
If you follow my did todayz you know that I fixed my bicycle. SO I had me a wonderful double latte this AM then headed for the Farmers Market. I picked up some Grapes in the front of the market, they had Thompson seedless, Red Flame, and Muscat. I got the Muscat, and the guy said they were his favorite, and that he LOVED them. I resisted, with all my might, like numerous times, from saying, oh do you have Muscat Love? He may have been too young to know the song Captain & Tennille made famous on their weekly show that I believe filled the void when Sonny and Cher went off the air. Wiki says: Muskrat Love is a 1972 song by Willis Ramsey. It was covered by the band America in 1973 and then by Captain & Tennille in 1976 where it reached #4 in the charts. The 1976 recording features sound effects created with a synthesizer to evoke the imagined sound of muskrats courting. I put that all in just for that last line about the courting!! Damn people were tripping in the 70s. I got Tomatoes, Shepards Raw milk Goat cheese, Three chilies, cilantro, and Red and Yellow onion. Then I picked up something like an Apple Brown Betty, with berries added, and a Blue Bottle Drip Coffee. I polished off the last two in our beautiful October sunshine. Next I Rode out to Nicks furniture store to talk about some part-time work, made dinner Plans with Teddy and Bob, and headed home. Now it is time for some more Crispy Taco Love for dinner. Yeah Baby. After Tacos I dropped off Teddy and Bob and went to my old College roomies Hotel downtown (he and his wife and kids are in town for a wedding) I saw his wife in the lobby of the King George and then Anna their 6 year old saw me from the back lounge and came running across for a big Hug. The hug made my day. A few years earlier Ana slipped off the pool steps when nobody was looking. She was between two large floating toys and nobody could see her. It was really a freak thing, there were at least 7 adults out there... I just happened to be the one to see and grab her from the water. Another reason this hug made my day.... The grandparents kept the kids, and I took them and their friend Nicole out to dinner, my second dinner, I just tasted stuff. I ran into 5 people that I knew coming, going, and at, just one restaurant. Once again I say this is a small town within a big town.

Current location: China Town

I went to China Town, bought some Nips.
Butter Rum Nips.
You can really taste the Nip.

The logo looks like this, although this is Peanut Butter
The Nestle website says:

For people who need a break from life's little irritations, NIPS® is the rich and creamy hard candy that provides a soothing diversion. Each NIPS candy has its own distinct and truly satisfying flavor. This hard candy is known for its smooth, creamy texture and bite-size eat with an unmistakable hint or "nip" of flavor – hence the name "NIPS".

NIPS were introduced more than 70 years ago and known as Pearson NIPS since the early 1920's. Nestlé purchased NIPS in 1989. The "Pearson" name was dropped in Fall 2000. NIPS are different from most other hard sugar candies because NIPS are a milk-based hard caramel. The dairy ingredients make NIPS' texture exceptionally smooth and creamy.

Current location: Starbucks Coffee Talk

I was sitting next to this cute gal in Starbucks and she slaps out this India travel book. I said don't do it, just kidding. Then I said are you going for work or yoga? She said work; she is a nurse working with a plastic surgery unit for kids. I was like, oh that is great, wanting to show my knowledge of kid plastic surgery I say, like harelip surgery... She (holds back a cringe quite like just one fingernail hits the chalkboard) musters out a yes.. cleft lip and palate surgery. I ask, oh is that no longer PC? I really did not know. She said YES! Oops. I told her I did not say Retarded anymore (did I just say that), she smiled and said, That is really good, you know, like you would be proud of a kid... I told her I was from a small town and that my parents still think Oriental is PC but I was working on them... Side note: Wikipedia does not have a Harelip page, this is what it says. Cleft lip and Palate From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Harelip)
So really when older people say something that makes you cringe they may really mean in their hearts something way better than what they grew up hearing and they think they are PC, I do believe that. It is just that somewhere along the line they stopped getting the news of what was PC, just like they stopped buying fashionable clothes or like they keep getting that shampoo-set every-single-w eek at the beauty shop where my mom has worked for the last 33 years. As for me I am not sure what happened, why I never got the, Do not say Harelip anymore memo after all these years. I have no excuse like being old or unfashionable, do I?
Back to India I warned her that she should go in with an open mind, but to expect some lemons along the way, and it would be up to her to turn them into lemonade... although that lemonade may deliver acute infectious bacteria to your intestinal tract... And let me tell you there is nothing cute about acute infectious bacteria!

Current location: Home again, back from Ukraine

I like Mexican food.
Thursday and Friday I was flying to Ukraine.
Saturday I thought about Mexican food, we had borscht.
Sunday I thought about Mexican food, we had potatoes.
Monday I thought about Mexican food, we had borscht.
Tuesday I thought about Mexican food, we had potatoes.
Wednesday I thought about Mexican food, we had borscht.
Thursday I thought about Mexican food, we had potatoes.
Friday I thought about Mexican food, we had borscht.
Saturday I thought about Mexican food, we had potatoes.
Sunday I thought about opening a Taqueria in Ukraine.



Top pick borscht and mashed potatoes, this pic, potatoes in a pot sticker like thing.

Current location: Home

Worked today from home, did a webex for 5 people, and finished some overdue expense reports. I finally went to A16 and was not disappointed with the our choice of 2 Pizzas, a 3 Prosciutto plate sampler and a Romaine and Chicory salad with just lemon juice and Olive Oil. Now I am relaxing watching The Maltese Falcon, great movie filmed here in San Francisco, the Bay Bridge was just completed and still bright and Shiny. Accompanying me and my movie is a cup of Peet's Garuda Blend, a full flavored Nutty Coffee, with some wine notes as well... I also enjoyed a 71% Cocoa Dark Chocolate made with Forastero Arriba Cocoa from Ecuador. A mildly bitter taste with candied citrus, floral tones, with a honey character. And that is the cocoa bean flavor, the final chocolate bar is flavor is listed as an aroma perfumed with acid fruity notes and floral notes of acacia, with dairy and exotic wood tones.

Current location: Coffee Shop Redemption Hartford, CT

So I thought I would give some props back to the universal Barista after my slam of the New Guy at Starbuckus.. I went into Borders / Seattle's Best Coffee here in Hartford CT. I asked the Girl for a double latte, not really knowing their size terminology. She said Large or Small? I said, Which has 2 shots, both? She said Yes, smiles. I said the Medium please, smiling back, with 2% Milk. Oh, and extra hot please. The paying commenced with smiles and all the pleases and thank yous of people that care about verbalizing them... when a rude lady barged in squawking over us about where her coffee was then realizing it was down the counter started demanding a lid and they kindly mentioned they were behind her. Barista girl informed me my drink would be down the counter, I acknowledged I gathered that. Smiling I then ask what temperature do you do extra hot to, without a hesitation she said 180. I smile and resist saying sweeeet! Knowing she new that temp meant she knew coffee and my order would be crafted. It was good.

Current location: Starbucks Dude

So I ordered a medium coffee instead of Grande just to mess with Starbucks and not use their terms. Little did I know it would go this far. The guy was new, a girl got the coffee based off my Medium request and gave it to the new guy. He turned to me and asked me what size it was... and he was looking at it. I said medium, he said, "like what does that mean?" I said I don't know, so he looked at me with the shocker of the day, I am new. I said that's cool man... I ordered medium from the girl, he said is that a Grande? I said sure! Soooo, it's not over yet!! Then he says what's that? Pointing to my pastry on a plate. I said, a - - chocolate -- croissant -(it was a damn croissant and there was chocolate all over it...) now I am thinking dude are you new, or just stupid!

Patti's roof top

From Patti's roof we hung out braving the cold with a bottle of australian chardonay...I am normally not a chardonay fan but this was really good and paired nicely with the chocolate and almonds.

Jimmy in town

A day at the beach with Beers and cigars...

D and me Chillin' on the Beach wall

I am giving Jimmy the vulcan neck squeeze...

Toronado Barley wine festival

Yo this was dope! I went and had a blast. Here is my spreadsheet as of the third day of tasting numerous barley wines were out. You may notice as I got toward the end I was fricken drunk. And when I mention that the one English one is F*ing sweet it was like sugar syrup candy crap.

Got a new Job

Well what can I say, but my life of leisure (minus working for Nick's furniture company and a short contract gig with Echo-Lane.) is coming to an end again... In October I was laid off from Visage Mobile and I start work with Bluewolf on Monday the 26th of February. I will be working at 100 Spear Street, from home, and traveling a lot!