I saw an eight foot snowman in some ones yard today. That’s impressive. I’m sure that took a lot of work to make. The most troubling part is there’s enough snow to make an eight foot snow man. And it’s still falling. And there’s more coming this way. I shouldn’t complain too much, I could live in the Baltimore area where they have something like 8 feet of snow. At least my little Scion will climb a 8 inch snow berm. I know this because that’s the approximate height the plow piled it up when they scraped my street. One of the disadvantages to living on a snow emergency route. At least my road gets scraped.
I keep thinking ahead to lying on a sandy beach looking out onto the Gulf of Thailand. In about a month I'll be winging my way towards that goal. I'm very much looking forward to warmth and sun and sand and Thai food and a massage. And then there's the opportunity to visit Adam and his new found harem. I'm still working on how I'm getting there. I don't think I'm going to take the Sydney route and instead spend more time venturing around someplace I've never been before.
So I'm looking forward to that. otherwise, it's been cold and dreary about. I spent the last couple days off down south in the Atlanta area. It was good to see everyone, and I was quite saddened to leave. The mood didn't improved when I had to scrape a few inches of snow off my car.
On the flight back, there were a few military personnel who were coming home for their 2 weeks of RnR. The young lady behind me had just spent 4 days flying from Bagram Airbase in Kabul to Louisville via Al Udeid (Qatar), Kuwait, Shannon, and Atlanta. IN the conversation we had, I learned that she wanted to see "green". I felt kind of bad when we busted out pf the clouds and Kentucky was covered in snow, and probably will be for the duration of her visit. She was coming home to a house she had never seen before (her husband had been transferred from Ft Hood TX to Ft Knox while she was deployed). Hopefully over the next couple weeks she can road trip southward and find some greenery.
The other soldier on board took up the role of a babysitter. He didn't seem to mind though. There were a couple of mothers traveling solo with their children, both of which were "laps". The soldier had the fortune to be seated next to one and across the aisle from the other. He was actually playing with one of the little ones while the mom was situating the paraphernalia that comes with shuffling a small child through the skies. Luckily, the flight was pretty empty and mom and baby took up residence behind the GI in an empty row. But he still held and played with the baby for taxi-out, and most the flight.
The on arrival he was met by his own wife and child, who was about the same age as the kids on the plane. Very touching reunion. A small reminder of how good most of us have it, and how much some people are sacrificing to keep us that good.
So, now I feel like I shouldn't bitch about work, but I will anyway. It's been snowy here which totally confuses us. Still nothing new really on me not taking a pay cut. There's some options being presented that will help keep all of us employed (hopefully), but it's hard to feel like saving a company money that comes out and says "we have a surplus of cash on hand." But in other news, I'm still keeping my eyes open for self help options. I'm amazed at the encouragement from others to keep looking (and not just friends, but co-workers). I firmly don't believe you have to love your job, but you shouldn't loathe it.
I'm off to do some research on southeast Asia. Hope everyone is doing well and I encourage everyone to take a vacation soon. Just thinking about getting away will make you feel better. Later!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Again the morings comes, again he's on the run.
It's a rainy day in Georgia. At least it's not snowing. I suppose that the fine folks of Georgia would probably welcome snow, as it means a day off work and school. Well for most of the citizens. However, I'm tired of snow. I can't imagine living further north of Louisville where it starts snowing some time round November and doesn't really stop until March or so. I poor car sits in parking lot covered in road salt, which is corroding away the undercarraige as we speak. Not to mention it just looks bad. But with more snow in the forecast for the coming weekend, no real reason to wash it just yet.
But enough of that. I'm happily occupying a room at the stately TanJoe manor on the fringes of New-Nan Georgia for a few days. After making the questionable decision to give up sleep on Tuesday in the name of fitness and hair care, I flew down to Atlanta where I was happily plucked from the airport by my mother.
But first things, I subjected myself to an experiment Tuesday morning in the form of allowing some one new to touch my hair. After having the same person cut my hair for roughly 30 years, it's hard to go out and find new barbers. I have found an acceptable place for hairstyling in Louisville, but I was lured away by a hot bartender who is going through training to be a hairstylist. And really, it's apparently intensive training. After a minimum 1800 hours of class time followed by a 6 month apprenticeship, she will be allowed to touch some one's hair unsupervised. I didn;t have that much training to get my dispatch license. But, she did a good job, even if it took over an hour. And it was a free haircut!
Now, down in Georgia.. I am driving mom's car on a borrowed status. It's not my kind of car really, s I don;t feel young and cool cruising in the '87 oldsmobile (or whatever year, I'm sure it was produced prior to me being able to legally drive). It's the typical "little old lady" car. Which my mother is not a little old lady, but she bought the car from one. And really, who has a car for over a decade and drives it 30,000 miles??
But mom is gracious enough to loan it out so I can visit my hoodlum friends. I feel kind of bad sometimes that I come to town and see none of my family. I feel a bit disjointed from most of them, my interests and opinions seem to lie along a path that runs parallel to most of them (I'm not the settle down with kids and wives and horses and be a responsible adult kind of guy). PLus I tend to keep myself busy with all the friend visits when I'm in town. I guess having had the ability to choose my friends, its no wonder I would ratehr spend time with them. I guess Christmas and Thanxgiving has fulfilled my my family time quota of late (except for Darci, since we seem to be on the same non-converging path compared to the rest of the immediate family types). Of course, the same line of "when r u going to..." line of questioning gets a bit old. Some one suggested I pay an actress to play the part of a wife type, and fake wedding photos and a relationship history to bring an end to that line of questioning... seems a lot of work when I can just not answer the phone.
On the other hand, they do love me and just worry about my well being. SO I can't complain too much.
I also observed brewmaster Roberts crafting a homemade concoction that's currently fermenting under the stairs. It was interesting and seemed really simple to make one's own personal batch of beer. The only hard part is waiting the 6 weeks or so for it to be ready. I'm not known for my patience. I am however planning to be there for the initial tastes of the Newnan Black Chocolate Stout (based on the recipe of the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout). I think Joe got a little sad when I told him I'd had the original and it was good... but then I found him a sample at Brick Store (more on that later). I think he is looking forward to the 50 or so high gravity home brews that will emerge from under the stairs in a few weeks.
Yes i drug yet another friend to the scenic Decatur square for some Brick Store fun. Joe and I were joined by Grace, Jonathan, Matt, and Travis. We really revel in the fact that it's a Wednesday afternoon and we have nothing better to than to slack off and drink beer. It was actually a very nice day, warm and sunny, for slacking and drinking beer. We then departed Brick Store for Ri Ra's in midtown, to be joined by the people who weren't able to be slackers all afternoon (namely Molly, Tanya, and Elissa). I think it's so nice that the wives are willing to work all day so their husbands can entertain me in the afternoons. We also discovered that Ri Ra's, in attempts to really bring the authentic Irish pub experience to America, actually imports Irishmen (and women) to work here. Seriously, James (not me) was brought in from his home near Cork just to serve us beer with an authentic accent. It's still not he same as a small pub in Limerick, though.
Otherwise, my life of luxury seems to continue for the moment. I have another month of being well paid before I'm downgraded. I am happy to see that management raises have been re-instated. I'm happy my coworkers and I can take pay cuts (some up to 100%) to make this happen. But hey, we're lucky to have jobs!
A woman just walked into the New-Nan B&N with the most hideous red and blond hair style.. I should send her to my student stylist to help her out... I'm hoping she didn't pay for her hair color... sadness. I digress.
Anyways, I also this week resigned the lease on my apartment. I feel kind of bad about not moving in with Jon Charles, but he was most understanding... considering that my landlords were nice enough to drop my rent by 25% and I'm taking on a roommate. So looks like another year on Duker Ave.... well.. maybe.
That's about it... I have some emails to send out and contacts to make. I met a fine lady who works for Qantas on my last flight to SDF I'm going to make sure to keep in touch with. And there's vacation planning to do before taco mac tonight. Later!
But enough of that. I'm happily occupying a room at the stately TanJoe manor on the fringes of New-Nan Georgia for a few days. After making the questionable decision to give up sleep on Tuesday in the name of fitness and hair care, I flew down to Atlanta where I was happily plucked from the airport by my mother.
But first things, I subjected myself to an experiment Tuesday morning in the form of allowing some one new to touch my hair. After having the same person cut my hair for roughly 30 years, it's hard to go out and find new barbers. I have found an acceptable place for hairstyling in Louisville, but I was lured away by a hot bartender who is going through training to be a hairstylist. And really, it's apparently intensive training. After a minimum 1800 hours of class time followed by a 6 month apprenticeship, she will be allowed to touch some one's hair unsupervised. I didn;t have that much training to get my dispatch license. But, she did a good job, even if it took over an hour. And it was a free haircut!
Now, down in Georgia.. I am driving mom's car on a borrowed status. It's not my kind of car really, s I don;t feel young and cool cruising in the '87 oldsmobile (or whatever year, I'm sure it was produced prior to me being able to legally drive). It's the typical "little old lady" car. Which my mother is not a little old lady, but she bought the car from one. And really, who has a car for over a decade and drives it 30,000 miles??
But mom is gracious enough to loan it out so I can visit my hoodlum friends. I feel kind of bad sometimes that I come to town and see none of my family. I feel a bit disjointed from most of them, my interests and opinions seem to lie along a path that runs parallel to most of them (I'm not the settle down with kids and wives and horses and be a responsible adult kind of guy). PLus I tend to keep myself busy with all the friend visits when I'm in town. I guess having had the ability to choose my friends, its no wonder I would ratehr spend time with them. I guess Christmas and Thanxgiving has fulfilled my my family time quota of late (except for Darci, since we seem to be on the same non-converging path compared to the rest of the immediate family types). Of course, the same line of "when r u going to..." line of questioning gets a bit old. Some one suggested I pay an actress to play the part of a wife type, and fake wedding photos and a relationship history to bring an end to that line of questioning... seems a lot of work when I can just not answer the phone.
On the other hand, they do love me and just worry about my well being. SO I can't complain too much.
I also observed brewmaster Roberts crafting a homemade concoction that's currently fermenting under the stairs. It was interesting and seemed really simple to make one's own personal batch of beer. The only hard part is waiting the 6 weeks or so for it to be ready. I'm not known for my patience. I am however planning to be there for the initial tastes of the Newnan Black Chocolate Stout (based on the recipe of the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout). I think Joe got a little sad when I told him I'd had the original and it was good... but then I found him a sample at Brick Store (more on that later). I think he is looking forward to the 50 or so high gravity home brews that will emerge from under the stairs in a few weeks.
Yes i drug yet another friend to the scenic Decatur square for some Brick Store fun. Joe and I were joined by Grace, Jonathan, Matt, and Travis. We really revel in the fact that it's a Wednesday afternoon and we have nothing better to than to slack off and drink beer. It was actually a very nice day, warm and sunny, for slacking and drinking beer. We then departed Brick Store for Ri Ra's in midtown, to be joined by the people who weren't able to be slackers all afternoon (namely Molly, Tanya, and Elissa). I think it's so nice that the wives are willing to work all day so their husbands can entertain me in the afternoons. We also discovered that Ri Ra's, in attempts to really bring the authentic Irish pub experience to America, actually imports Irishmen (and women) to work here. Seriously, James (not me) was brought in from his home near Cork just to serve us beer with an authentic accent. It's still not he same as a small pub in Limerick, though.
Otherwise, my life of luxury seems to continue for the moment. I have another month of being well paid before I'm downgraded. I am happy to see that management raises have been re-instated. I'm happy my coworkers and I can take pay cuts (some up to 100%) to make this happen. But hey, we're lucky to have jobs!
A woman just walked into the New-Nan B&N with the most hideous red and blond hair style.. I should send her to my student stylist to help her out... I'm hoping she didn't pay for her hair color... sadness. I digress.
Anyways, I also this week resigned the lease on my apartment. I feel kind of bad about not moving in with Jon Charles, but he was most understanding... considering that my landlords were nice enough to drop my rent by 25% and I'm taking on a roommate. So looks like another year on Duker Ave.... well.. maybe.
That's about it... I have some emails to send out and contacts to make. I met a fine lady who works for Qantas on my last flight to SDF I'm going to make sure to keep in touch with. And there's vacation planning to do before taco mac tonight. Later!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
i'm tired of cold weather, bring on the spring time
I seem to have gotten out of Louisville just in time. The snow was falling as I boarded the 737 to head west. Because I have a jb with a horrible schedule and I'm was too stupid to not call in sick, I went out to Oklahoma (where apparently te wind comes sweeping down the plains) to have late birthday fun with Grace. And fun we had, maybe too much! I would post pictures but the iPhone doesn't take good ones in the dark
SO my first time in Oklahoma was memorable, and I made a much needed return to COyote Ugly saloon. The bartenders as always were charming and entertaining (and by the ned of the night only wearing bra's... love bar top slip and slide!). After that we were led to an Oklahoma style gay bar. As always, they provide amusing entertainment and conversation. Even while still mentally picturing bartenders dancing and sliding on a bar in skimpy clothes. Yup, definitely straight.
The last week or so has been trying. I have imbibed more than probably is healthy, just due to timing and circumstances. I had a lot of fun and it was nice to get out, if only to feel a bit craptastic in the morning. But I don't mind that much, I was able to function and managed to find time for elipticals, treadmills, and gym machines. Speaking of gym, people who slam down the weights to hear the loud clang are annoying. I know it's not your equipment, but don't abuse it. I bet it's same people who get pissed when their favorite machine has the out of service tag on it... wonder why???
Work is... well. I feel like I'm getting to one fo those points where I may be looking for a change. Sometimes I ponder moving to another career field, but I don;t have a lot of skills to draw on. Then I thought today as I was flying from Oklahoma how much my life would be impacted without out flying privileges. I suppose that's the trade off I have to weigh. EVen the possibility of moving to another job doesn't seem all that thrilling. Well some might be fun but I don't see Qantas hiring me and paying for a relocation down under. But I can dream right?
There's some talk being discussed about possibly doing some things to save jobs and keep me from taking a pay cut. So, we'll see how that works out. Lately though I've become overly apathetic about the whole situation. Not a mindset I relish, but I'm pretty much just over the whole thing. I'm, unfortunately, not in an optimistic state of mind.
In other news, I just finished a really delicious salad from Mellow Mushroom. That makes me a little happier just having food in my belly. Ad I'm in Atlant just releaxing and recovering from last nights festivities. I'm hoping to see the usual suspects over the next couple days. It always helps my mood. ANd now, time to sleep.
Later.
SO my first time in Oklahoma was memorable, and I made a much needed return to COyote Ugly saloon. The bartenders as always were charming and entertaining (and by the ned of the night only wearing bra's... love bar top slip and slide!). After that we were led to an Oklahoma style gay bar. As always, they provide amusing entertainment and conversation. Even while still mentally picturing bartenders dancing and sliding on a bar in skimpy clothes. Yup, definitely straight.
The last week or so has been trying. I have imbibed more than probably is healthy, just due to timing and circumstances. I had a lot of fun and it was nice to get out, if only to feel a bit craptastic in the morning. But I don't mind that much, I was able to function and managed to find time for elipticals, treadmills, and gym machines. Speaking of gym, people who slam down the weights to hear the loud clang are annoying. I know it's not your equipment, but don't abuse it. I bet it's same people who get pissed when their favorite machine has the out of service tag on it... wonder why???
Work is... well. I feel like I'm getting to one fo those points where I may be looking for a change. Sometimes I ponder moving to another career field, but I don;t have a lot of skills to draw on. Then I thought today as I was flying from Oklahoma how much my life would be impacted without out flying privileges. I suppose that's the trade off I have to weigh. EVen the possibility of moving to another job doesn't seem all that thrilling. Well some might be fun but I don't see Qantas hiring me and paying for a relocation down under. But I can dream right?
There's some talk being discussed about possibly doing some things to save jobs and keep me from taking a pay cut. So, we'll see how that works out. Lately though I've become overly apathetic about the whole situation. Not a mindset I relish, but I'm pretty much just over the whole thing. I'm, unfortunately, not in an optimistic state of mind.
In other news, I just finished a really delicious salad from Mellow Mushroom. That makes me a little happier just having food in my belly. Ad I'm in Atlant just releaxing and recovering from last nights festivities. I'm hoping to see the usual suspects over the next couple days. It always helps my mood. ANd now, time to sleep.
Later.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
They're crossing their fingers, they pay the truth makers, the balance sheet is breaking up the sky
You know what bugs me? People telling me how lucky I am to have a job. And it's usually management types or people much higher on the seniority list. It's such a bad thought to purvey. I mean, yes some people are lucky to have a job based on their skill set (and usually they are the same people who are telling me I'm lucky to work here). I'm not lucky to have a job, I worked pretty damn hard over the last decade or so to have my job. You're lucky to have me working here. That may sound a little arrogant, and I'll admit I do have a bit of an ego when it comes to what I do... but it's not completely unjustified. I'm not perfect (hence the ASAP and forthcoming letter the FAA is writing me... it's not a "hello how are you? Wanna be pen pals?" letter), but I'm pretty damn good.
So quit telling me I'm lucky to be here. There's a reason you have to pay us so much to stay.
That being said, I hate that three others who are just as competent and proficient as I am, probably more so, are potentially being sent off to fend for themselves. I have every confidence they'll get snapped up by anyone hiring, but it'll come with the added frustration of relocating (for the second time in 2 years) their whole family. That sucks. I hope the efforts are fruitful for maybe mitigating the situation.
So, back to assistanting I go, and the days of being assigned projects from 4 managers and 12ish supervisors return. (Yes, I got the memo about the new cover sheets for the TPS reports). I'm pretty much over it, and have been for a while. I think stressing about it for most the month of December has kind of numbed me to the whole work situation. Or maybe its the ridiculous cold. At any rate, that's all I'm gonna say about that (very "Tao of the Gump"-ish).
Speaking of numb, how about this weather??? I think maybe we may be starting a new ice age. Yesterday it got above freezing for the first time this year I think. There's still snow littering the ground. Snow is really kind of pretty and fun when it's first falling, but after a week or so it starts looking very clumpy (at best) or black and disgusting (at worst). No one ever paints pictures of week old snow in an urban area for a reason, it's kind of depressing.
The other thing about snow is it tends to neutralize the colors of an area. Add the grey clouds, I feel I'm living in a black and white movie. The road salt covers the cars and dulls all the brilliant paint schemes, really greying them down. Makes you long for a little bit of color. Luckily today, the sky is blue, the sun is warm and glowing yellow, and the light is reflecting brilliantly of red bricks and recently uncovered green grass. I don't know how people can live in a place that's covered by snow for months on end, but I guess that explains why people who live there are rarely found inside during the warm months.
I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I have a new personal trainer. His name is Kevin and he's a ninja in his spare time. Apparently ninja-ing isn't quite paying the bills so he takes this personal training job to supplement his income. He's different from my last trainer (who was promoted and moved to another location) in both personality and technique. It's different, but still painful and fun. I think I may be a bit of a masochist these days, which works since he seems to be a bit of a sadist. We have a good non-sexual S&M relationship. (Yes I had this same conversation while he had me standing on one hand, doing a push up, with my left leg was parallel to the ground and the right leg perpendicular, a 100lbs weight strapped to each ankle, as I tried to lift the the weight across the gym with my mind). Eight months to go.
I'm embarking on an exploration of new music. Of late all I've been listening to is DMB with U2 accompaniment. Not that those aren't both fantastic bands, but I think I need to branch out some these days. The idea came from picking up my first copy of Paste magazine. Having met the editor on a recent trip to Atlanta, and having a fun night and interesting conversation over his homemade Limoncello sort of made me want to check out the publication. It is good reading, and I've got the music sampler playing in my ear. There's a few on here I like and may be looking to explore more of their work. If you haven't heard of Paste (like me before meeting the editor), check them out.
Now if I can only fun into the editor of Playboy or Maxim somewhere, maybe I could meet some of the models... who seemingly want some one who can make them laugh. I can be that guy! That's it I'm done. I'm gonna star out the window an long for Spring before hiking back home through the cold. At least it's above freezing out today.
So quit telling me I'm lucky to be here. There's a reason you have to pay us so much to stay.
That being said, I hate that three others who are just as competent and proficient as I am, probably more so, are potentially being sent off to fend for themselves. I have every confidence they'll get snapped up by anyone hiring, but it'll come with the added frustration of relocating (for the second time in 2 years) their whole family. That sucks. I hope the efforts are fruitful for maybe mitigating the situation.
So, back to assistanting I go, and the days of being assigned projects from 4 managers and 12ish supervisors return. (Yes, I got the memo about the new cover sheets for the TPS reports). I'm pretty much over it, and have been for a while. I think stressing about it for most the month of December has kind of numbed me to the whole work situation. Or maybe its the ridiculous cold. At any rate, that's all I'm gonna say about that (very "Tao of the Gump"-ish).
Speaking of numb, how about this weather??? I think maybe we may be starting a new ice age. Yesterday it got above freezing for the first time this year I think. There's still snow littering the ground. Snow is really kind of pretty and fun when it's first falling, but after a week or so it starts looking very clumpy (at best) or black and disgusting (at worst). No one ever paints pictures of week old snow in an urban area for a reason, it's kind of depressing.
The other thing about snow is it tends to neutralize the colors of an area. Add the grey clouds, I feel I'm living in a black and white movie. The road salt covers the cars and dulls all the brilliant paint schemes, really greying them down. Makes you long for a little bit of color. Luckily today, the sky is blue, the sun is warm and glowing yellow, and the light is reflecting brilliantly of red bricks and recently uncovered green grass. I don't know how people can live in a place that's covered by snow for months on end, but I guess that explains why people who live there are rarely found inside during the warm months.
I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I have a new personal trainer. His name is Kevin and he's a ninja in his spare time. Apparently ninja-ing isn't quite paying the bills so he takes this personal training job to supplement his income. He's different from my last trainer (who was promoted and moved to another location) in both personality and technique. It's different, but still painful and fun. I think I may be a bit of a masochist these days, which works since he seems to be a bit of a sadist. We have a good non-sexual S&M relationship. (Yes I had this same conversation while he had me standing on one hand, doing a push up, with my left leg was parallel to the ground and the right leg perpendicular, a 100lbs weight strapped to each ankle, as I tried to lift the the weight across the gym with my mind). Eight months to go.
I'm embarking on an exploration of new music. Of late all I've been listening to is DMB with U2 accompaniment. Not that those aren't both fantastic bands, but I think I need to branch out some these days. The idea came from picking up my first copy of Paste magazine. Having met the editor on a recent trip to Atlanta, and having a fun night and interesting conversation over his homemade Limoncello sort of made me want to check out the publication. It is good reading, and I've got the music sampler playing in my ear. There's a few on here I like and may be looking to explore more of their work. If you haven't heard of Paste (like me before meeting the editor), check them out.
Now if I can only fun into the editor of Playboy or Maxim somewhere, maybe I could meet some of the models... who seemingly want some one who can make them laugh. I can be that guy! That's it I'm done. I'm gonna star out the window an long for Spring before hiking back home through the cold. At least it's above freezing out today.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I still have it better than most can dream.
Happy New Year!
And while we all know that it's not officially a new decade, I'm going to pretend it is. If only because I like starting things on nice multiples of '10'. So, happy new decade. I was thinking earlier today that instead of doing the inevitable looking back and analyzing the past year, it'd be more fun to go all the way back to the beginning of the last decade (or at least what I'm going to pretend is the beginning). But thinking about it, I don't really remember everything, so... Just gonna hit some of the highlights. Incidentally, who remembers all the big hoopla of the Y2K bug??? Possibly the biggest non-event ever.
So here we go... Ushered in 2000 in Montgomery, AL, at Big Dave Bryan's house with Scott, Chad, Jennie, and others I don't quite remember. Still great friends. 2 days later, left on my first expedition down under (10 years ago today). Discovered VB and winter sun. Came home... worked. We elected (maybe) G.W. Bush the first time. Occasional GT classes. Summer Sunday afternoons at Fellini's. Heart broken. Happy 2001 by the harbour in Sydney,Australia... The Mercantile Hotel!! Mended the heart. Jumped off a 150 ft tower with a rubber cord around my ankles.. 3 times. Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Got a dispatcher license. Was woke up by a phone call and turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit... the world changed in an instant. WAR!! Sex scandal at FedEx ATL. Saw U2. New Job at Transmeridian. Met Ed, best boss ever, Charles, and Chandra... New Orleans!!! Angel and Bourbon street balcony love. Desert Storm part 2!!! Met Grace (in person). NYC Partying!! World Airways here i come. VEGAS!!! Ireland!!! Started my own harem. A came back. Life in the VA Highlands! Moved to AMLI. Met Jersey... BFF! Sunny afternoons Delta Wife watching in PTC. GW Bush redux. Goodbye Jamie K, gone too soon... love ya Shelley. Daytona Bike Week! Hand house painting. Hooker Dees and Trick Livermore. Taco Mac Beerslayers! Glasgow and Loch Ness. Met A2. Bahrain and Qatar. Saw DMB a lot... 3 days on the Gorge with Marianne! Saw U2 again.. live in Chicago DVD with MB. Kuwait. Saw U2 again. Cologne. 29th birthday madness... Coyote Ugly!!! Back to TMA... Back to World. Summer fun at the pool. Roomies with J and Joe.. then Adam. Cruises. Back to Australia! Susan. More DMB. TanJoe Manor parties. Love. Bye bye World, Hello Brown. Lived in SDF, BHM, and ATL simultaneously. Obama in office. Recession!!! Vegas again! No more love. Australia round 4. Trade in the Honda... it got me through a decade. AROUND THE WORLD... Dubai, Hong Kong, Macau! Stressing... furlough??? Still got Grace, J, Tanjoe, Scott, Chad, Jennie, Chandra, Jersey... so many great friends! Mom moved... "home" is going away :-(. Lost over a decades worth of weight. Brick Store night... Moving on, getting over it.. It's gonna be a good new year!!!!
I think that just about covers it. Well, not really. There's so much more with so many people it's astounding. A lot of the memories are a little fuzzy. There's been ups and downs. I think the ups have out numbered the downs by far (why does that remind me of the song from Disney's Robin Hood?). For my new years resolution... I want to see more of the people that mean a lot to me. The last 10 years of living, working, traveling, and unraveling have made it tough to see them all. Coming soon to a couch in your house... me!
And while we all know that it's not officially a new decade, I'm going to pretend it is. If only because I like starting things on nice multiples of '10'. So, happy new decade. I was thinking earlier today that instead of doing the inevitable looking back and analyzing the past year, it'd be more fun to go all the way back to the beginning of the last decade (or at least what I'm going to pretend is the beginning). But thinking about it, I don't really remember everything, so... Just gonna hit some of the highlights. Incidentally, who remembers all the big hoopla of the Y2K bug??? Possibly the biggest non-event ever.
So here we go... Ushered in 2000 in Montgomery, AL, at Big Dave Bryan's house with Scott, Chad, Jennie, and others I don't quite remember. Still great friends. 2 days later, left on my first expedition down under (10 years ago today). Discovered VB and winter sun. Came home... worked. We elected (maybe) G.W. Bush the first time. Occasional GT classes. Summer Sunday afternoons at Fellini's. Heart broken. Happy 2001 by the harbour in Sydney,Australia... The Mercantile Hotel!! Mended the heart. Jumped off a 150 ft tower with a rubber cord around my ankles.. 3 times. Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Got a dispatcher license. Was woke up by a phone call and turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit... the world changed in an instant. WAR!! Sex scandal at FedEx ATL. Saw U2. New Job at Transmeridian. Met Ed, best boss ever, Charles, and Chandra... New Orleans!!! Angel and Bourbon street balcony love. Desert Storm part 2!!! Met Grace (in person). NYC Partying!! World Airways here i come. VEGAS!!! Ireland!!! Started my own harem. A came back. Life in the VA Highlands! Moved to AMLI. Met Jersey... BFF! Sunny afternoons Delta Wife watching in PTC. GW Bush redux. Goodbye Jamie K, gone too soon... love ya Shelley. Daytona Bike Week! Hand house painting. Hooker Dees and Trick Livermore. Taco Mac Beerslayers! Glasgow and Loch Ness. Met A2. Bahrain and Qatar. Saw DMB a lot... 3 days on the Gorge with Marianne! Saw U2 again.. live in Chicago DVD with MB. Kuwait. Saw U2 again. Cologne. 29th birthday madness... Coyote Ugly!!! Back to TMA... Back to World. Summer fun at the pool. Roomies with J and Joe.. then Adam. Cruises. Back to Australia! Susan. More DMB. TanJoe Manor parties. Love. Bye bye World, Hello Brown. Lived in SDF, BHM, and ATL simultaneously. Obama in office. Recession!!! Vegas again! No more love. Australia round 4. Trade in the Honda... it got me through a decade. AROUND THE WORLD... Dubai, Hong Kong, Macau! Stressing... furlough??? Still got Grace, J, Tanjoe, Scott, Chad, Jennie, Chandra, Jersey... so many great friends! Mom moved... "home" is going away :-(. Lost over a decades worth of weight. Brick Store night... Moving on, getting over it.. It's gonna be a good new year!!!!
I think that just about covers it. Well, not really. There's so much more with so many people it's astounding. A lot of the memories are a little fuzzy. There's been ups and downs. I think the ups have out numbered the downs by far (why does that remind me of the song from Disney's Robin Hood?). For my new years resolution... I want to see more of the people that mean a lot to me. The last 10 years of living, working, traveling, and unraveling have made it tough to see them all. Coming soon to a couch in your house... me!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Let the bells ring out for Christmas at the closing of the year
The couple in line behind me to buy coffee look nice and normal enough, then I noticed he (yes he) was wearing a jean mini skirt, tights, and high heeled boots. That's the sort of randomness that really is the mark of the past week. And it also makes me think I may be a bit too... well I was going to say normal but I don't think that's the right word, maybe mainstream... for my neighborhood. Then a man who I can identify as a pilot just walked in. How can I make such an inference you ask?? Was he wearing wings on his shirt??? Nope. In a uniform??? Well, or sorts I guess yes. Is he carrying a bunch of manuals that have "For Reference Only" or "Boeing" on the front?? Nada. He's decked out in the universal costume for off duty pilots... knit shirt with a collar, tucked into jeans, and the real indicator... bright white sneakers.
That's enough distraction from what I actually came to write about, this past week. I normally feel kind of blah and indifferent about Christmas for most the month of December. The shopping throngs and bombardment of Christmas sales doesn't help. Add to that, most my adult life has been spent working in an industry that does the heaviest business by far this time of year. That brings with it longer hours, less days off, and general chaos and confusion at the office. Given my current feelings about my current employment situation, I'm not terrible thrilled to be spending more time with over stressing managers.
When an opportunity came up to take an extra day off during the busiest, and most stressful, week of the year. I jumped on it. It would have been a bargain had it cost me 3 times the price. And armed with my extra day off, I whisked off to the south. I'm not a big fan of the drive, especially the Tennessee part. There always seems to be a interstate closure for an accident when I roll through. And not that I don;t enjoy spending extra time in the Nashville area, I would rather be at my destination so much more.
I rolled into Atlanta about 7:30 PM Monday night. I left Louisville in a flurry of activity after only a couple hours of sleep. And it was this week really when i started feeling a bit Christmas-y. If only because gifts were being dropped off by various delivery companies or I got to do my version of wrapping, which involves a lot of irregular folds and copious amounts of tape. I rolled into Grace's apartment and was we began working on what was to be my Christmas present. I thought it was an odd request to bring with my pin collection, gathered from around the world. Mostly of the Hard Rock Variety, I've quite quite the collection. Most I picked up but a few friends have been very kind to make a point to bring me pins back. For most of the 90's these pins resided on my Southwind member jacket, only to relegated to a short lived and ill conceived display at my last apartment before being banished to a Crown Royal bag. Now, thanx to Grace's skill at making things, I have a more fitting and fabulous display case for them. She rocks! And if that wasn't enough, it was accompanied by a scarf for the the hash Louisville winters.
After shopping around for some additional items to complete TanJoe's gift basket and Jonathan's gift from Grace, we spent the evening drinking beer, arranging pins, and waiting for the last Holby to arrive. Well, she's not the LAST Holby per see, just the last one I had yet to meet. The rest of the night was spent conversing and being sociable with Christine and Scott, lasting until about 4 AM. I also made my first Gin Martini. I specialize in vodka, but I'm branching out. Thinking of a career change maybe :-). It seemed well received, so maybe there's a future for me.
The next day, grace and I began scouring the city for a specific coffee mug from Starbuck's. I think we hit 8 or 9 on Wednesday, and they all seemed to look at us as if we were asking for the Holy Grail itself. We knew the mug existed, as we had seen it before, not in a vision but at the Starbuck's in concourse A at the airport. We eventually gave up the quest (it was 9 pm after all) and met Christine and Scott for drinks with some acquaintances of theirs.
That led to one of the most random and interesting nights in recent memory. At least in this country. The setting is a well appointed and friendly feeling pub on the square of Decatur. We walked in to a packed house and found Christine and Scott, who then found their friend at a table in a back corner upstairs. The Brick Store pub has taken a new approach to being a pub. Well, it's more of an old approach. No TV's or neon. No lite beers, no domestic big label beers. You're not going to find Budweiser or Coors light here. What they do have is a wide variety of foreign (including a huge selection of Belgians) and microbrew beers. The feeling in the place was definitely old Europe, especially back in our corner. Not at all like you were in an imitation pub some one tried to mimic. They pulled it off.
More interesting than the wide variety of tasty beverages and charming decor were the cast of characters squeezed around the table. I'm not sure what occupation they came from. I know some one was in marketing research. there was a Magazine editor (Josh), and author/actress/waitress/chief happiness officer (Mary Jane), and Jim and John and Jim and other people I just can;t remember. I should really learn to be better with names. Of course, there was Grace, Christine, Scott, and I. Roughly 8 or 9 of us around a table made to comfortably seat four.
And this is how we celebrated Festivus. There was a pole, feats of strength, and many airing of grievances. But the conversation was just great. It didn't center around airplanes or work or holiday frustrations. Before the end of the night, through conversations with the group, I was feeling much happier about life in general. Work issues have been weighing on my mind a lot lately, but I'm feeling much better about it now. If i lose my job, then I'll find another. Maybe it's time for a new beginning anyway. Change can be scary, but it can be invigorating at the same time. And meeting and talking to such positive people over fantastic beers really brought it into focus that I can be down about this crap.
Mary Jane had recently published a book about the very establishment we were occupying. And after the conversations with her and the others, I felt it was a book I would want to read. Luckily, they had copies for sale. And being at the table with such a celebrity as the author, I had to purchase one and get it autographed. One day I think she'll be famous and get tired of people asking for her to sign the book while she's trying to enjoy a cold beer, so I felt I should get mine personalized while I could. I just started reading last night at work, and I'm enjoying the story thus far.
Grace and I ended the night at Josh's house with Mary Jane, discussing family and kids and travel over homemade Limoncello. (FYI, before anyone makes a crack, "discussing with Mary Jane" is not a euphemism for doing something a random drug test would reveal). After a variety of topics and a few drinks of limoncello (it's like drinking a lemonhead candy... yum), we headed home.. again at 4 AM.
The next day we continued the quest for the Holy Grail. And resolved that the only place the mug would be found was at the airport. The followed a trying day of attempting to locate a shipping center and get the item off to make the journey to California by Christmas. Grace decided a nap was in order, and I agreed completely. That night was going to interesting too.
Grace took off to her family lands in New-Nan. I headed to Taco Mac. I was informed last week that I would have plans Wednesday night. My ladies had spoken and I was obliged to attend. And I was to finally meet the person known as Genevieve. Until this point I had only heard tales of this person. Prior occasions when a meeting was to occur, something happened to prevent it. I was beginning to think she was shunning me or, far more likely, she was an imaginary friend of the harem. Turns out she does exist. I was told by Charity, who was running late, to look for her at Taco Mac. Fantastic... I'm searching for some one I've never met with the description of "she's blonde to the shoulders with blue eyes about my height". Turns out, that attractive blonde's are sort of few and far between in New-Nan. It also turned out I got there first and she walked in with Jersey so I didn't have to search her out... and risk being pummeled by a redneck for making a move on his woman should I have chosen the wrong blonde. A serious risk in New-Nan, and I have a history of choosing the wrong blonde.
And shortly, Jersey, Genevieve (who, due to my problem with spelling words with more than one syllable, will be referred to from now on as Jenna or OG.. she claims to be the Original G to Grace's more recent G), and I were joined by Tanya, Charity, and Grace. And that's how I ended up being the only man at a table with New-Nan's 5 most gorgeous women. We adjourned this meeting of the harem and reconvened back at the TanJoe manor, where the drinks are already paid for. The alcohol flowed like... alcohol. And Tanya produced some snacks of chocolaty goodness of which I ate the equivalent of my body weight. And at about 4 AM, it was time to sleep again. Another great night of friends and fun.
(ok, as a side note, there's now a pilot in his uniform sans wings and shoulder boards in here... I may have to leave if another shows up. This neighborhood is going downhill fast.)
Thursday found me waking in a hangover haze, probably sweating Jack Daniels and Jameson. After the mornings first cup of coffee, and a surprise homecoming by Joe, I gathered my self up and took off for some Christmas Eve shopping. I'm proud that this year no gifts were purchased on credit. This could be a first since 1995. After a brief shopping expedition in the New-Nan/PTC area, it was up to Grace's to prepare the gift bags and try to feel more human. We took a quick expedition to Target at Atlantic Station and discovered that they carried the same Starbuck's mug we have trekked about the city looking for... only 5 minutes from G's house. I think would have been better off not knowing that.
Afterward, I was able to meet NoTAC (short for No Talent Ass Clown, or more commonly known as Ryan) and his lady for dinner, then crossed the city to join Charity, TanJoe, and some of the Pollard family for an evening of Glubwien and Wii. It was then that the realization that I had to come back to Louisville soon began to set in. The next morning, very early, I awoke to discover that once again Santa did not leave me a bar of gold or deed to a tropical island in my stocking. Maybe I've been to naughty again. I whisked off to mom's house for Christmas breakfast. I could practically smell the bacon cooking miles away. I was struck by an eerie feeling driving through Atlanta when I realized I was the only person moving on Spring Street. it was like one of those movies where everyone in the world has disappeared but some hapless person who was lucky enough to be sleeping in an iron box or something. Just when I began to wonder if Grace's apartment was indeed built of iron, I saw another car driving. That was close, I was almost the last person on earth.
Christmas morning was the typical flurry of presents, kids, breakfast foods, and lateness. The little ones continue to get more stuff then they could possibly ever play with in a year. I think the best reaction was to the toothbrushes... it was a sort of half-hearted "yay! it's a toothbrush." In all fairness to the kids, I would feel the same way. The challenge of the morning came in the form of an electrical outage. And with perfect timing, this happened before the biscuits were made and the eggs were cooked. At least we had 3 pounds of bacon (yes, there was really three pounds of bacon) and a plate of sausage to occupy us until we could get the generator rigged up to finish the cooking. And then the presents were distributed. I scored a bottle of Grey Goose form Darci... which is kind of repayment for the years of me contributing her delinquency. Mom also tired force a cake and pie on me. I love my mother very much, but I always am confused by the "You look so great, keep up the weight loss... here's a cake".
All too soon I had to leave. The journey back to Louisville loomed ahead. Luckily traffic was light, and there were plenty of places to provide me with sugar-free Red Bull for the caffeine requirements of the trip.
There is more to say about the week, but my hands are tired and I'm fairly sure everyone has stopped reading about 3 pages back. I enjoyed the time I spent with all my friends, and most of the unexpected surprises in meeting some wildly interesting people, finding a new watering hole, discovering how impressive my pin collection looks when displayed properly, and generally enjoying the company of family. I can't thank Grace enough for letting me once again interrupt her life and sleep on her couch. One day she's gonna take my key away I'm sure. I wish I could have spent more time with everyone, and that's the real downside to Christmas. So much busyness and rushing around that we don't usually get to spend time just being around fun people. And often your thrust into the company of annoying people who push in front of you in line to checkout. I enjoyed giving out some gifts, and the look when i get something they really like. Usually by complete luck.
Now, I'm looking ahead to New Years. I'm hoping that everyone will be around (though I know some won't but that's OK, I'll have to harass Jersey more in 2010). Coming soon will be the inevitable reflection blog, so look forward to that. I'll try and keep it shorter :-). Until next time, I hope everyone continues to enjoy their holiday revelry and has safe journey's.
That's enough distraction from what I actually came to write about, this past week. I normally feel kind of blah and indifferent about Christmas for most the month of December. The shopping throngs and bombardment of Christmas sales doesn't help. Add to that, most my adult life has been spent working in an industry that does the heaviest business by far this time of year. That brings with it longer hours, less days off, and general chaos and confusion at the office. Given my current feelings about my current employment situation, I'm not terrible thrilled to be spending more time with over stressing managers.
When an opportunity came up to take an extra day off during the busiest, and most stressful, week of the year. I jumped on it. It would have been a bargain had it cost me 3 times the price. And armed with my extra day off, I whisked off to the south. I'm not a big fan of the drive, especially the Tennessee part. There always seems to be a interstate closure for an accident when I roll through. And not that I don;t enjoy spending extra time in the Nashville area, I would rather be at my destination so much more.
I rolled into Atlanta about 7:30 PM Monday night. I left Louisville in a flurry of activity after only a couple hours of sleep. And it was this week really when i started feeling a bit Christmas-y. If only because gifts were being dropped off by various delivery companies or I got to do my version of wrapping, which involves a lot of irregular folds and copious amounts of tape. I rolled into Grace's apartment and was we began working on what was to be my Christmas present. I thought it was an odd request to bring with my pin collection, gathered from around the world. Mostly of the Hard Rock Variety, I've quite quite the collection. Most I picked up but a few friends have been very kind to make a point to bring me pins back. For most of the 90's these pins resided on my Southwind member jacket, only to relegated to a short lived and ill conceived display at my last apartment before being banished to a Crown Royal bag. Now, thanx to Grace's skill at making things, I have a more fitting and fabulous display case for them. She rocks! And if that wasn't enough, it was accompanied by a scarf for the the hash Louisville winters.
After shopping around for some additional items to complete TanJoe's gift basket and Jonathan's gift from Grace, we spent the evening drinking beer, arranging pins, and waiting for the last Holby to arrive. Well, she's not the LAST Holby per see, just the last one I had yet to meet. The rest of the night was spent conversing and being sociable with Christine and Scott, lasting until about 4 AM. I also made my first Gin Martini. I specialize in vodka, but I'm branching out. Thinking of a career change maybe :-). It seemed well received, so maybe there's a future for me.
The next day, grace and I began scouring the city for a specific coffee mug from Starbuck's. I think we hit 8 or 9 on Wednesday, and they all seemed to look at us as if we were asking for the Holy Grail itself. We knew the mug existed, as we had seen it before, not in a vision but at the Starbuck's in concourse A at the airport. We eventually gave up the quest (it was 9 pm after all) and met Christine and Scott for drinks with some acquaintances of theirs.
That led to one of the most random and interesting nights in recent memory. At least in this country. The setting is a well appointed and friendly feeling pub on the square of Decatur. We walked in to a packed house and found Christine and Scott, who then found their friend at a table in a back corner upstairs. The Brick Store pub has taken a new approach to being a pub. Well, it's more of an old approach. No TV's or neon. No lite beers, no domestic big label beers. You're not going to find Budweiser or Coors light here. What they do have is a wide variety of foreign (including a huge selection of Belgians) and microbrew beers. The feeling in the place was definitely old Europe, especially back in our corner. Not at all like you were in an imitation pub some one tried to mimic. They pulled it off.
More interesting than the wide variety of tasty beverages and charming decor were the cast of characters squeezed around the table. I'm not sure what occupation they came from. I know some one was in marketing research. there was a Magazine editor (Josh), and author/actress/waitress/chief happiness officer (Mary Jane), and Jim and John and Jim and other people I just can;t remember. I should really learn to be better with names. Of course, there was Grace, Christine, Scott, and I. Roughly 8 or 9 of us around a table made to comfortably seat four.
And this is how we celebrated Festivus. There was a pole, feats of strength, and many airing of grievances. But the conversation was just great. It didn't center around airplanes or work or holiday frustrations. Before the end of the night, through conversations with the group, I was feeling much happier about life in general. Work issues have been weighing on my mind a lot lately, but I'm feeling much better about it now. If i lose my job, then I'll find another. Maybe it's time for a new beginning anyway. Change can be scary, but it can be invigorating at the same time. And meeting and talking to such positive people over fantastic beers really brought it into focus that I can be down about this crap.
Mary Jane had recently published a book about the very establishment we were occupying. And after the conversations with her and the others, I felt it was a book I would want to read. Luckily, they had copies for sale. And being at the table with such a celebrity as the author, I had to purchase one and get it autographed. One day I think she'll be famous and get tired of people asking for her to sign the book while she's trying to enjoy a cold beer, so I felt I should get mine personalized while I could. I just started reading last night at work, and I'm enjoying the story thus far.
Grace and I ended the night at Josh's house with Mary Jane, discussing family and kids and travel over homemade Limoncello. (FYI, before anyone makes a crack, "discussing with Mary Jane" is not a euphemism for doing something a random drug test would reveal). After a variety of topics and a few drinks of limoncello (it's like drinking a lemonhead candy... yum), we headed home.. again at 4 AM.
The next day we continued the quest for the Holy Grail. And resolved that the only place the mug would be found was at the airport. The followed a trying day of attempting to locate a shipping center and get the item off to make the journey to California by Christmas. Grace decided a nap was in order, and I agreed completely. That night was going to interesting too.
Grace took off to her family lands in New-Nan. I headed to Taco Mac. I was informed last week that I would have plans Wednesday night. My ladies had spoken and I was obliged to attend. And I was to finally meet the person known as Genevieve. Until this point I had only heard tales of this person. Prior occasions when a meeting was to occur, something happened to prevent it. I was beginning to think she was shunning me or, far more likely, she was an imaginary friend of the harem. Turns out she does exist. I was told by Charity, who was running late, to look for her at Taco Mac. Fantastic... I'm searching for some one I've never met with the description of "she's blonde to the shoulders with blue eyes about my height". Turns out, that attractive blonde's are sort of few and far between in New-Nan. It also turned out I got there first and she walked in with Jersey so I didn't have to search her out... and risk being pummeled by a redneck for making a move on his woman should I have chosen the wrong blonde. A serious risk in New-Nan, and I have a history of choosing the wrong blonde.
And shortly, Jersey, Genevieve (who, due to my problem with spelling words with more than one syllable, will be referred to from now on as Jenna or OG.. she claims to be the Original G to Grace's more recent G), and I were joined by Tanya, Charity, and Grace. And that's how I ended up being the only man at a table with New-Nan's 5 most gorgeous women. We adjourned this meeting of the harem and reconvened back at the TanJoe manor, where the drinks are already paid for. The alcohol flowed like... alcohol. And Tanya produced some snacks of chocolaty goodness of which I ate the equivalent of my body weight. And at about 4 AM, it was time to sleep again. Another great night of friends and fun.
(ok, as a side note, there's now a pilot in his uniform sans wings and shoulder boards in here... I may have to leave if another shows up. This neighborhood is going downhill fast.)
Thursday found me waking in a hangover haze, probably sweating Jack Daniels and Jameson. After the mornings first cup of coffee, and a surprise homecoming by Joe, I gathered my self up and took off for some Christmas Eve shopping. I'm proud that this year no gifts were purchased on credit. This could be a first since 1995. After a brief shopping expedition in the New-Nan/PTC area, it was up to Grace's to prepare the gift bags and try to feel more human. We took a quick expedition to Target at Atlantic Station and discovered that they carried the same Starbuck's mug we have trekked about the city looking for... only 5 minutes from G's house. I think would have been better off not knowing that.
Afterward, I was able to meet NoTAC (short for No Talent Ass Clown, or more commonly known as Ryan) and his lady for dinner, then crossed the city to join Charity, TanJoe, and some of the Pollard family for an evening of Glubwien and Wii. It was then that the realization that I had to come back to Louisville soon began to set in. The next morning, very early, I awoke to discover that once again Santa did not leave me a bar of gold or deed to a tropical island in my stocking. Maybe I've been to naughty again. I whisked off to mom's house for Christmas breakfast. I could practically smell the bacon cooking miles away. I was struck by an eerie feeling driving through Atlanta when I realized I was the only person moving on Spring Street. it was like one of those movies where everyone in the world has disappeared but some hapless person who was lucky enough to be sleeping in an iron box or something. Just when I began to wonder if Grace's apartment was indeed built of iron, I saw another car driving. That was close, I was almost the last person on earth.
Christmas morning was the typical flurry of presents, kids, breakfast foods, and lateness. The little ones continue to get more stuff then they could possibly ever play with in a year. I think the best reaction was to the toothbrushes... it was a sort of half-hearted "yay! it's a toothbrush." In all fairness to the kids, I would feel the same way. The challenge of the morning came in the form of an electrical outage. And with perfect timing, this happened before the biscuits were made and the eggs were cooked. At least we had 3 pounds of bacon (yes, there was really three pounds of bacon) and a plate of sausage to occupy us until we could get the generator rigged up to finish the cooking. And then the presents were distributed. I scored a bottle of Grey Goose form Darci... which is kind of repayment for the years of me contributing her delinquency. Mom also tired force a cake and pie on me. I love my mother very much, but I always am confused by the "You look so great, keep up the weight loss... here's a cake".
All too soon I had to leave. The journey back to Louisville loomed ahead. Luckily traffic was light, and there were plenty of places to provide me with sugar-free Red Bull for the caffeine requirements of the trip.
There is more to say about the week, but my hands are tired and I'm fairly sure everyone has stopped reading about 3 pages back. I enjoyed the time I spent with all my friends, and most of the unexpected surprises in meeting some wildly interesting people, finding a new watering hole, discovering how impressive my pin collection looks when displayed properly, and generally enjoying the company of family. I can't thank Grace enough for letting me once again interrupt her life and sleep on her couch. One day she's gonna take my key away I'm sure. I wish I could have spent more time with everyone, and that's the real downside to Christmas. So much busyness and rushing around that we don't usually get to spend time just being around fun people. And often your thrust into the company of annoying people who push in front of you in line to checkout. I enjoyed giving out some gifts, and the look when i get something they really like. Usually by complete luck.
Now, I'm looking ahead to New Years. I'm hoping that everyone will be around (though I know some won't but that's OK, I'll have to harass Jersey more in 2010). Coming soon will be the inevitable reflection blog, so look forward to that. I'll try and keep it shorter :-). Until next time, I hope everyone continues to enjoy their holiday revelry and has safe journey's.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The weather outside is frightful... or just insanely cold.
Once again, I find myself in Rao's Coffee in downtown Amherst, MA. I will forever abbreviate this state because I cannot spell it. Too bad, it's really very scenic here. This is my third visit to Adri's home town. Fall is amazingly colorful, winter is amazingly cold. It's still scenic though, the snow making it all very wintery. As snow tends to do.
This was a quickly laid on trip tog et away from Louisville for a couple days. Otherwise, it'd end up with me dwelling on some things. I like the distraction of Amherst, and the vibe of the town. I could maybe even immigrate here... I say maybe because I'm not sure I react well to the cold. Unfortunately, Adri has been working these few days and I've only had limited time to spend with her. But lunch, and dinners have been very nice. SHe's a great host.
Yesterday, I spent the time in the morning around Amherst meandering. Well, most of it was spent insde the coffee house as meandering outside was almost painful. There's a nice little local bookstore on the square that, while 1/4 the size of a standard Barnes & Nobles, has an incredible selection of books I've never seen in the local B&N. It is a college town and I suppose people here are well read??
After fetching Adri for lunch yesterday, I ventured down to Holyoke and searched for a local brewery I was told about. I must have circled the same block 5 times looking for the place. The GPS/google maps on the phone got me almost exactly not there. I mean I was withing a mile so I suppose that helped narrow it down. Eventually I pulled up beside a large abandon-looking brick factory and asked a delivery driver if he knew where I could find Paper City Brewery. He responded "You're looking at it". It's the kind of place you would never find unless you knew where it was. No signs or adds. Nothing but a grey door with no number or markings. This should be interesting. The owner (Jay) decided to install the brewery on the 5th floor of the building... and up the stairs I went. I walked into a room that had a very old early 1900's feel about it. Not much organization. Boxes and cases of beer stacked all over, except the one wall that was roped off to guard a collection of vintage motorcycles.
I was greeted by a older lady with a cheerful "Are you here to work?" To which I responded "No, I'm here to drink and take a tour if it's available." Well, turns out that even though the website said tours were available Monday through Friday during the day, the omitted that Wednesday was not exactly considered to be between Monday and Friday. I did learn that Wednesday nights are bottling night, and should you feel inclined to come help them with the bottling process you will be paid in a case of beer and fed pizza. If I lived here, guess what I'd be doing on most Wednesdays. It's very brilliant ploy by the owner, especially with the high volume of broke college students in the area. Imagine being able to get a free case of good microbrewery beer as a poor college student. Beats the hell out of drinking Natty Light.
At any rate, the staff (all three of them) were busy getting ready for the night's bottling operation. So no real tour was given, but they did offer to let me sample whatever they had on tap. And since they were busy, I was to just go behind the bar there and help myself. So I did. The lady who initially greeted was waited on something to be delivered, so she kept me company. In the times where she had to actually go do something, I occupied myself with the collection of bikes. For future reference, I'm not a fan of watermelon beer, but they had a wonderful blueberry beer and an excellent winter dark.
The owner was very much into vintage Harley-Davidson's and Indian motocycles (that's the correct spelling). I've been very much into getting back into bikes lately. I'm even thinking that should this airline thing go south, going to motorcycle mechanics school. At the very least I could save myself $70 by doing my own oil changes.
After more than a few samples and a conversation with the owner, I headed back to Amherst to wait for Adri to get off work. She had planned dinner and the Amherst family was coming over. I haven't seen many of them since the infamous birthday party with the missing Grey Goose. I love that hanging at Adri's is like a meeting of the United Nations. Represented were the nations of South Africa, Colombia, Pakistan, and Russia. And unusually I was not the only native born American, but the other American was currently living in SwitzerFrance... I'll explain later.
The other thing about Adri's friends is that when we're hanging out I feel like I'm the dumbest person in the room. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person, but when the company are either workin on Ph.D's in Psychology (that's how it's spelled Katya, I looked it up), or engineers, or working at CERN (which is on the border of France and Switzerland... hence SwitzerFrance) creating black holes that are going to destroy the earth. Well, maybe the black hole part is not true, but how often to meet a physicist that's working on discovering the smallest particles of the universe. I think it's cool. And she was cute too. I also learned that Stephen Hawking is an asshole.
That pretty much brings us up to now, where I sit at Rao's again typing this. I feel so studious here aongst the other people typing and studying away. It almost makes me want to go back to college. Except I have no desire to actually do the school work.
I fly back to Louisville tonight, and back again to being in he real world. It's only a three day work week before I head home for Christmas. And i still have much shopping to do! I would like to thank Adri for hosting me. And Mo, Katya, Susya, Razzi, and Elane (not sure that was her name, but I'll call her that for now) for the enjoyable evening. Later.
This was a quickly laid on trip tog et away from Louisville for a couple days. Otherwise, it'd end up with me dwelling on some things. I like the distraction of Amherst, and the vibe of the town. I could maybe even immigrate here... I say maybe because I'm not sure I react well to the cold. Unfortunately, Adri has been working these few days and I've only had limited time to spend with her. But lunch, and dinners have been very nice. SHe's a great host.
Yesterday, I spent the time in the morning around Amherst meandering. Well, most of it was spent insde the coffee house as meandering outside was almost painful. There's a nice little local bookstore on the square that, while 1/4 the size of a standard Barnes & Nobles, has an incredible selection of books I've never seen in the local B&N. It is a college town and I suppose people here are well read??
After fetching Adri for lunch yesterday, I ventured down to Holyoke and searched for a local brewery I was told about. I must have circled the same block 5 times looking for the place. The GPS/google maps on the phone got me almost exactly not there. I mean I was withing a mile so I suppose that helped narrow it down. Eventually I pulled up beside a large abandon-looking brick factory and asked a delivery driver if he knew where I could find Paper City Brewery. He responded "You're looking at it". It's the kind of place you would never find unless you knew where it was. No signs or adds. Nothing but a grey door with no number or markings. This should be interesting. The owner (Jay) decided to install the brewery on the 5th floor of the building... and up the stairs I went. I walked into a room that had a very old early 1900's feel about it. Not much organization. Boxes and cases of beer stacked all over, except the one wall that was roped off to guard a collection of vintage motorcycles.
I was greeted by a older lady with a cheerful "Are you here to work?" To which I responded "No, I'm here to drink and take a tour if it's available." Well, turns out that even though the website said tours were available Monday through Friday during the day, the omitted that Wednesday was not exactly considered to be between Monday and Friday. I did learn that Wednesday nights are bottling night, and should you feel inclined to come help them with the bottling process you will be paid in a case of beer and fed pizza. If I lived here, guess what I'd be doing on most Wednesdays. It's very brilliant ploy by the owner, especially with the high volume of broke college students in the area. Imagine being able to get a free case of good microbrewery beer as a poor college student. Beats the hell out of drinking Natty Light.
At any rate, the staff (all three of them) were busy getting ready for the night's bottling operation. So no real tour was given, but they did offer to let me sample whatever they had on tap. And since they were busy, I was to just go behind the bar there and help myself. So I did. The lady who initially greeted was waited on something to be delivered, so she kept me company. In the times where she had to actually go do something, I occupied myself with the collection of bikes. For future reference, I'm not a fan of watermelon beer, but they had a wonderful blueberry beer and an excellent winter dark.
The owner was very much into vintage Harley-Davidson's and Indian motocycles (that's the correct spelling). I've been very much into getting back into bikes lately. I'm even thinking that should this airline thing go south, going to motorcycle mechanics school. At the very least I could save myself $70 by doing my own oil changes.
After more than a few samples and a conversation with the owner, I headed back to Amherst to wait for Adri to get off work. She had planned dinner and the Amherst family was coming over. I haven't seen many of them since the infamous birthday party with the missing Grey Goose. I love that hanging at Adri's is like a meeting of the United Nations. Represented were the nations of South Africa, Colombia, Pakistan, and Russia. And unusually I was not the only native born American, but the other American was currently living in SwitzerFrance... I'll explain later.
The other thing about Adri's friends is that when we're hanging out I feel like I'm the dumbest person in the room. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person, but when the company are either workin on Ph.D's in Psychology (that's how it's spelled Katya, I looked it up), or engineers, or working at CERN (which is on the border of France and Switzerland... hence SwitzerFrance) creating black holes that are going to destroy the earth. Well, maybe the black hole part is not true, but how often to meet a physicist that's working on discovering the smallest particles of the universe. I think it's cool. And she was cute too. I also learned that Stephen Hawking is an asshole.
That pretty much brings us up to now, where I sit at Rao's again typing this. I feel so studious here aongst the other people typing and studying away. It almost makes me want to go back to college. Except I have no desire to actually do the school work.
I fly back to Louisville tonight, and back again to being in he real world. It's only a three day work week before I head home for Christmas. And i still have much shopping to do! I would like to thank Adri for hosting me. And Mo, Katya, Susya, Razzi, and Elane (not sure that was her name, but I'll call her that for now) for the enjoyable evening. Later.
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