kerewin's whine cellar

05/05/05

how could one NOT post on such a perfect date?

Laguiole is French for Snob

About 8 years ago I was in a wine shop and I was immediately drawn to this beautiful wine key. I asked the guy who worked there about this piece of artistry. Turns out it was handmade by a famous French cutlery house, Laguiole. Beauty like this has a price and the thing ran about $125. I couldn't afford it so I told myself that the first "real" wine job I got I would buy myself one as a reward. Each of my last three jobs were wine-related yet when it came time to buy, I couldn't justify the expense.

Last week we were in a group meeting and everyone else at the table had a Laguiole except me! One girl found one in a box that had been lying around her house for over a year. She received it as a gift from a supplier and didn't think it was a Laguiole and just tossed it aside. I think it was at this point that I said, "Man! I would do almost ANYTHING for one of those!"

The guy sitting next to me asked, "Anything?"

His job previous to our little group was working supplier side for a well known wine group. Turns out he had a couple of branded ones just hanging around at his house. If I didn't mind getting one with the name of a winery on it, I could have it.

Of course I told him to stick his branded wine key up his ass. YEAH RIGHT, the beautiful thing has been with me all weekend. I might sleep with it under my pillow tonight. Best part, it was free! Good thing, too, since they seem to have gone up in price.

And Everyone's Coming!

Tonight a Vendor took my all of my team (and significant others) out to dinner. One of my teammates just moved here from New Jersey and had to search for a date (because we taunted him endlessly and of COURSE the Hub ended up not being able to go due to a previous engagement). She was a nice enough girl but towards the end of the dinner she was telling a story about how she learned to appreciate wine.

She said, "I never really liked red wine but my parents were really into wine and since I couldn't ever afford anything I would just drink whatever they were pouring. One night I tried this red wine and it was LIKE A PARTY IN MY MOUTH!"

A party in my mouth?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

There was some stunned silence around the table and I just started laughing. I kept waiting for her to say the punch line to round out the joke. But. She. Never. Did. She didn't know the joke!

All I could think about was the Simpons episode where they got by the censors when Moe said, "There's a party in mouth and everyone's invited!"

Good times.

Everything always gets back to the Simpsons.

Off With Her Panties

I did the weirdest thing last night in the middle of the night. I woke up and I wasn't falling back asleep and I realized my unders were bugging me. So I got out of bed, took them off, and then got back into bed. As I lay there, about to fall back asleep, I wondered why I risked waking up the Hub when I could have just taken them off while IN bed.

Odd.

The Hub didn't wake up, btw.

holy side note – I was looking for a cute image of panties laying on a white background and made the mistake of doing a google image search for "panties." I even refuse to post the link, although you all are more than welcome to check it on your own, if that is what you are into.

Ching Ching!

Just what are we celebrating? After 12 years in the Hospitality industry I have networked enough to have found a new job in 2 weeks, after just a handful of phone calls. Even more exciting, the last day of the current job is the day before my 34th birthday. The new job doesn't start until 2 days after that birthday. Party weekend???? Only if you insist!

Even better is that I will be selling wine to restaurants. Is there a more perfect job?

p.s. N.E.D. I *so* totally stole your champagne idea. Congrats to NEW beginnings!

Going for the Goal

So, I got my ass in gear this week and started working out for walking the half-marathon in Vancouver, B.C. in May. I am going to try to follow a Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun walking schedule. So far I am totally on track but I have a breakfast get-together on Friday and then work and after that. Who wants to walk for 40 minutes after 8pm in the Winter? On the other hand, I would have to get up at 6am to do everything in a timely manner. Sna.

In other news, I made up a new word: ass.hole

Anyone else have any new words they made up? (kerewin at gmail dot com)

You Heard It Here, First

Yesterday at work I was talking with my friend Michael. Michael is the effin' funniest guy I have ever met. He's so fabulous (and SO gay, in the good way). So we were talking about our current word obsessions.

I told him how back in '96 I was pushing for the word, "gay" to come back into fashion*. I mean how we all used it in 3rd grade, as in lame. I was a bit sensitive about telling Michael this story, since a former work colleague told me that he was offended by my use of the term. Well good ole Mikey uses the term GAY all the time! Whew!

*By the way, I have to tell you all that I hear the term "gay" used on the television All. The. Time. Now. You thieves! I did it, it was all me. I have the power to make words fashionable.

Then he told me about a new word he made up, and you are going to spit all over your computer monitor when you read this.

GAYTARDED.

Then he said to me, "you are SUCH a gaytard", and I swear I almost spit water through my nose (except that I wasn't drinking any at the time).

There you have it, now in a couple of years when you hear this word used on TV you know where the credit lies.

Birds flying high, you know how I feel

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me...........

and I'm feelin' good.

You know how they say that things happen for a reason and then when all is said and done, it was a sign for you to move on? They are ALWAYS right. So I have to take this latest setback as an opportunity to change something about myself that hasn't been that great.

Was that rather vague? Good, now you know how I have felt the last 4 months. Trust me, clarity sucks.

Freedom is mine, and I know how I feel. It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I'm feelin' good.

Are We There, Yet?

A picture the Hub took last year of my hyacinths. How I wish Spring was here now.

N.E.D.'s response

Quetzlcoatl

So when we had Fatbody we had another cat, Quetzlcoatl. Also a beautiful, loving kitty. We adopted him from some people who just didn't want him anymore. He was 9 months old and spraying their apartment. So we got him fixed and never had a moment's trouble out of him. Since I had been digging through old cat photos, I ran into a lot of the supermodel Q and thought I would post them.

I'll get the sad side note out of the way, a month after we put Fatbody down, Q was hit by a car, thus proving that we lived on far too busy a street to ever let our pets outside again. Because they were wonderful kitties and because we were in deep mourning, we waited about 7 months before we adopted two homeless kitties that had been found wandering the streets together, a little posse. Oso and Ixtapa can never replace FB and Q, but they are fantastic in their own right, especially in the winter when they get on the bed and curl up into each other.

This was his standard supermodel pose, I think he must have known when we had the camera out.

He loved to lay on his back, just hanging out. He was the least spooked cat we ever had.

Just your typical Summer day.

It was around Christmas time and we were babysitting some friends' child so they could go to a work party. Of course, since we are responsible adults, we thought a little Powerpuff Girls was exactly what 9 month old Maddie needed! When we came to the episode with the evil cat, Q just stood in front of the television watching, and occasionally reaching up to try to touch the other kitty on the screen.

She was a day tripper, one way ticket, yeah

So I was reading about a curious flea cure for dogs and it reminded me of the time my cat Fatbody had fleas. So I wrote out the story, and then emailed it to the person in question. Now, I assume this person gets a LOT of internet traffic and consequently a lot of emails. So you could say that I was:

1. A total Star Fucker
2. Psychotic Internet Stalker
3. Seriously interested in sharing my funny story
4. All of the above minus C.

However it IS a really good story, so I just copied and pasted it here for everyone else's entertainment. Although the dog story might be a tad funnier, since you can't hear the VERY IMPORTANT sound effects required for a complete telling of the story. That doesn't stop me from telling it, however.

Here is Fatbody on the "kitty chair" the styrofoam chair the Hub once drug home from a garage sale. Good ole FB took it right over.

Oh the things we do to our animals in the name of science. Your story about poor Chuck reminded me of something I did once to our lovely cat, named Fatbody. Yes, Fatbody. When my husband (then not even an acquaintance) adopted the poor, homeless stray, he and his roommate at the time did a cursory exam and decided it was a girl and named it/her Nelly. Then they took it to the vet and found out (oops, didn't look hard enough!) it was a boy. For some really really stupid reason they decided a good male cat's name would be Scoop. Well, having previously been homeless this cat wouldn't turn down a full bowl of food even if he was gorged, and the boys didn't know to portion his meals and he got chunky, rather quickly. This was around the time that they had an unhealthy fascination with Full Metal Jacket and started calling him Fatbody, as in, "You are a disgusting Fat body, Fatbody!" and the name stuck.

What does this have to do with the pet story? Not much, I just got sidetracked by the funny name story.

So a couple of years later, the man and I moved in together into this cute little house that was turned into apartments and everyone around had tons of cats and lots of yard space so we let the cat roam where he may. Of course, the area was CRAZY with fleas. Turns out Fatbody was allergic to fleas and they bothered him so much that he would chew his fur off, so he got all these sad patches on his flank. And yes, fleas. GROSS, right?

Fatbody also had these amazing claws of death and the FASTEST reflexes of any animal I have ever seen. We used to sit on either side of him and toss a ball back and forth as FAST as possible and he usually was able to intercept it. Then there was the time he started pushing the ball back to us, as if to play catch with us. It wasn't a fluke because he did it over and over and over until you wanted to burst with joy. There I go getting all sidetracky again. Anyway, a good old flea bath was out, unless you wanted to lose a limb or something, so I went to the pet store. The ORGANIC pet store, of course. They sold me this spray that comes along with a little comb. You spray, flea death, you comb the flea death out. Sounds charming, doesn't it?

This is when we were moving from the apartment to the house, Fatbody laying on, what else? a food box.

The spray wasn't supposed to harm the cat in any way and compared to the flea bath stuff they tried to sell me, it seemed like a good compromise, if a little more work. Stupid, stupid me, I forgot that at that time we were using a spray bottle (filled with water, of course) to help discipline the cat from clawing things to pieces, or jumping on the table. So I sit on the floor with my legs out in a V and park the cat in the middle and put an arm around him to keep him from running away and start spraying. NOT a friendly response. Yes, lots of fleas were losing their lives in the valiant war, but HOLY MOLY, the amount of fleas that poor kitty had on him. Then Fatbody started this deep, deep growling that I could FEEL. MrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRooooooewwwwwwww. Shit. Could the death claws be far behind? Did I mention I decided to undertake this task on a day that 'then boyfriend' was at work, and I was all alone and self-sufficient? I tell you, the ways in which I am incomparably stupid are too numerous to count.

"Okay" I tell myself in my head, "just take it easy and you can both get out of this alive." So I continue to lightly spray the poor kitty, who just hunches down and takes it like he knows he is getting punished for something he didn't do. Then the hissing starts. The turned head, looking at you, ears down, full out, "HHHHHHHSSSSSSSS." Birds for miles started to fly South.

What's the solution? His name wasn't Fatbody for nothing, so I went and got a bowl of food and got us back in our V formation but I plopped the bowl of food in front of him and went back to work. At this point I didn't really even need to hold him since the lure of food was good enough. Still, all the while I was spraying him, (spray, comb, wipe, spray, comb, wipe...at this point we were both rather soaked with this environmental spray shit I bought) he was growling that deep deep growl. However, he was also eating, punctuated by a turned head hiss. I can't even recreate the sound here in type, let me just say it is a big hit at parties and I have friends who to this day still make the noise when we are hanging out. Something like, "MMMnnmmm grrrr MMMMnnmmm grrrrr HHHHHHSSSSSS." Nope, you have to hear it.

Here he is, before the flea incident, laying on our back dech, the lazy head resting on the doorframe.

I finally just gave up, we were both soaking wet, unhappy and on my side a huge degree of guilt from using a flea death method that echoed the punishment we were giving him when he was bad. When The Hub came home from work (then boyfriend, of course) we came to a better solution, we went to the vet's and got him some of those drops that work for 3 months at a time. Poor, poor Fatbody.

That cat had many adventures, jumping out a 2nd story window, losing an eye, getting diabetes, hypoglycemic shock trips, hypothyroid radiation, a couple of trips to the emergency vet.....yet everytime he bounced back all fat and sassy. [Funny side note: Whenever he had a surgery, or a hypoglycemic episode and had to hang out at the vets for a couple of days I would call and check up on him. The nurses would always say, "Oh he seems to be doing great, he's just eating a ton!" I never realized until the cats we have now that when an animal isn't feeling good it doesn't eat. Good ole Fatbody, always eating.

This is Fatbody and half of the Hub's old roommate, the one who guessed the sex wrong. Man that cat was loooong and he so loved that chair.

He was so, so sweet and in February of '02 when we had to put him down, I cried hard for hours. I miss you darling Fatbody, you were SUCH a lover. We were really lucky to have you in our lives.

Food for thought

Got an email comment on my list of potential Presidential candidates for 2008 and I thought it was interesting and funny so I am printing it here:

Geeze, Kere

Don't include Pataki on your list. ...Unless you, in
Washington, would also like to see him out of New
York! The only way I would want him as Prez is to
share the grief with the rest of the country.

Our wonderful NY legislature has failed to approve a
budget on time for at least a decade. I'm not talking
a few days... rather months! Fun for the whole
country! The Gov hasn't lifted a finger to force them
to do their job! Not sure if there is even a budget
for 2004 yet, and the deadline was April 1. Figures ?
April fools day for our budget ? it does live up to
it. Meanwhile school districts have to borrow to keep
afloat ? and go deeper in debt. The budget timeline is
here:
http://www.nysenior.org/Advocacy/nys_timeline.html
but I think they are optimistic to think it might be
done by July any year.

Alternatively, Hilary rocks! She has shown grace under
pressure and has been very attentive to the dilemas of
rural NY while still embracing the cities. So I do
agree on her incluson.

Peace.

Med

Thanks Medusa! Good to know. How in the world can you not have a budget in November for the current year??????????

Dear friend, whom I haven't spoken to in much too long

Hey Amanda! I did google your name and you were dead wrong, there is lots of stuff for you. Of course, it is all job related, but what can you do? You were however right about your sister's name, she's all over the net, politically speaking.

Nothing could have been better than getting to talk to you, we need to do that again, soon!

[Side note: my old HS prom date emailed me back yesterday, too! So, kiddies, call your old friends, Google old High School buddies, send the message out!]

[Double side note to Amanda, I google'd good ole E.H. check your email!]

***** Edited add-on everyone go, go now to TMGAIHAA I would have laughed a lot harder if I wasn't gaspsing in recognition.

Bloody goddamn miracle

Dear [Completely un-named Wine Distributer Who Took Me and the Hub to Dinner Last Night],
I never thought it would happen. We have been together for eight years and I always thought I would have to keep my passion in the dark, never to be understood by my truly beloved. Yet, the miracle happened at our eye-opening dinner. I haven't ever felt such ecstasy as I did with our intimate group of four: you and your girlfriend, me and my Hub. All these years of patient waiting have been rewarded, my husband ACTUALLY picked up a bottle of wine (red wine, at that!) and poured himself some more saying, "Wow, that was really good!"

How can I ever repay your generosity? My first child? Benefactor of my will? A 20-case stack of wine in the store I work in? (Isn't job-specific lingo bizarre?)

All I can say is that tonight when he came home from drinks and dinner with a friend he tasted the wine I was drinking and actually CONSIDERED having a full glass of said wine. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUPLEDOM. I had truly given up and hoped that while he would understand my passion and was grateful that he was at least was tolerant of my disease. And, to be honest, if you have seen my wine storage thingee-that-I-refuse-to-call-a-cellar-but-is-more-than-a-closet, you would have to say he is more than tolerant. Still, if you saw all of the Hub's pinball machines you would look upon me in nothing but awe and pity for my tolerance. But now, oh the building power I feel......he is trapped, he will belong only to me and my wine-buying tendencies. Darling Wine Distributer, how can I thank you enough? We shall all reap the benefits of this thing.......amen and hallelujah.

kerewin
Praise be to Oregon Wineries and all other purveyors of the grape

While I was away

Sorry about the delay, what with friends visiting, sister having baby and work being terribly busy, I haven't had much time to be online, much less update. Still for your viewing pleasure I leave you with this:

Special thanks to Vajrabelle for the great evening. Side note to stalker lady, take that!

Garden State

You gotta see this one thing, it'll change your life I promise you

We left the theater with a buzz.....and just talked about it and life and the different ways it spoke to us.

World Wrestling Federation

If the world operated on the WWF premise, then today I would have been the Rock, and all the wine reps would be whomever it is that The Rock is always cooking.

or something like that

major league smack down today at work

and it ROCKED

oh yeah, I said that

and OMG!

I am totally published.

Five doll hairs to the first person to guess which trick of the trade I offered!

*snort* Remember saying doll hairs to friends when making dubious 5-year-old bets????????

Going for the Gold

Very addictive, annoying game (via kjm, via Bondi)

On the menu tonight

Had a friend come over for dinner tonight and since I had the whole day off I decided to make use of everything in my kitchen, including the chicken stock I made a week ago.

So, on the menu this evening:

Garden green salad with carrots, celery, tomato, and a housemade balsamic vinaigrette
• Pesto risotto (using the basil grown here at the house)
• Beef tips marinated in olive oil, kosher salt, and balsamic vinegar. Then, lightly sautéed and served with a red wine reduction (pan drippings, chicken demi-glace, fresh thyme, onion, red wine, and butter)
• Chocolate pots de créme for dessert
• All of this paired fabulously with some cheap semi-local beer

I am not bragging (ok well a little) but I am tired and can't think of anything funny to update. On the other hand, all this time I have had off, I have really gotten to hone my cooking skills. All of that is about to go away, so I am a bit sad.

OHHHHHHHHHHH.......how silly of me to forget the fresh pasta I made with the leftover egg whites from the pots de créme! Now I have lunch for the week.

Superstitious much?

When I was a kid my parents would get a bayberry candle for Christmas, or sometime in December. Then they would burn it day and night so that it would be melted before the New Year. They believed that if you didn't get it burned all the way through, you would have bad luck for the upcoming year. As we (the sibs) got older we always thought it a hoot to get the HUGEST bayberry candle we could find and see if the parents could burn it in time.

I thought about that this morning when I opened up a bayberry scented soap. Has anyone else heard about this superstition? I found this which is close, but not exactly the same thing. Also some other thoughts on the history of Catholic Church witch hunts and the saying "Bell, book, and candle."

So just what were they thinking? How did they hear of such a thing?

Just a little bit of sorry will do

A lady came in today and was perusing the Sauvignon Blanc section. I went over to help her and she said she was looking at either the St. Supéry (Meritage blend) or the Charles Krug. Having only tasted the SS, I could basically just guess what the CK would taste like. However, they both have great reputations and similar prices, so I knew she would end up being happy with either.

So, I explained to her what each would be like. She asked me which was better and I had to be honest and say that I thought the St. Supéry. Then she asked me the killer. "Which would one would you probably buy?" so I said, "Well, the Charles Krug."

"Why?" she asked.

"Um, well, the sales guy for S.S. once spilled red wine all over my clean, white shirt."

"Did he apologize?"

"Not really."

With a smile she grabbed the Charles Krug, "We can't reward that kind of behavior now, can we?"

1. Talked about the several acres of contiguous property and then felt the need to define "contiguous" for me. This is after I told him that he used such a nice S.A.T. word.
• 2. Told me about the seven natural lakes (damn I have a good memory, I had that by heart) on the property, following it up with "That is, not man-made." I almost spit in my glass while tasting, thinking, "How else would they be natural?"
• 3. Corrected my pronunciation of Meritage. Which, OF COURSE, rhymes with heritage and not Dodge.
• 4. After knocking a glass of wine out of my hand and breaking it, he not only didn't help clean up, he didn't offer to pay for my dry cleaning. This after I said, "Oh man, I JUST picked this up at the dry cleaner." (Instead, he responsed, "Well it is a good thing the most of it landed on me" [his dark slacks])
• 5. Even though he reacted with shock, "Oh my god, I've never done that before!" he never seemed actually apologetic, nor even said, "I'm sorry."
• 6. After tasting me on their most expensive wine, he proposed a special deal. "If you order three cases we can make a fourth case a special price, bringing the whole thing down to a point where you could pour this by the glass. [Yeah, at like $18/glass jackass.] At this point, I just laughed in his face, "We have 17 tables, I don't order four cases of ANYTHING"

1. He got back to Cali and Fed Ex'd me a box of winery t-shirts, posters, and Wine Away with a card suggesting that while I didn't have it to use when I most needed it, I would definitely have it the next time he came in to town.

The box contained neither payment for my dry cleaning, nor free wine. Either one would have worked wonders, with the free wine being, of course, the best option.

In a year and a half of buying wine for the restaurant, I had only 2 bad experiences when my reps brought winery reps with them. This is numero úno. Remind me someday to tell you about numero dos.

life changes create blog changes

Take a quick look around, things are slightly different. New standard picture. New description under the title. Who knows, one day I might even make my own banner or something.

When I first started this, I knew I wanted to gab a bit about my family and my work, and I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, or lose my job. Consequently, I kinda went out of my way to not have my real name appear on this site, or be linked with it, so that google couldn't catch me out when I wasn't looking. I have recently changed my mind about this so I had to wade through old entries and delete the few that I thought might get me in trouble. Speaking of me, that "about" page on my other website is fairly outdated. I am no longer a vegetarian, for instance.

Now I can put the link back up to my personal website that I haven't updated in over 2 years.....*yawn* I have to renew it this year, so if I do, look for some changes. Chances are pretty good that I will just take it down entirely.

In other news, I have officially worked as the Wine Steward at the upscale grocery store for two whole weeks. It is waaaaaAAAAaaaaay different work than the old restaurant, but that is why I changed jobs, right? The second week was better than the first and here's to the third week being even better!

Oh, all those funny extra links you see? I am officially admitting to being addicted to reading blogs. The ones I read with a fairly religious zeal are all there, but in no particular order. (If I told you I read them in a very very very strict order, would you laugh at me? I suspected as much which is why I varied their listing.) As some of you know, I am completely addicted to quotes, and I have a bunch of food ones saved up, so I might routintely change what is listed up there in the description. Or I might just end each post with a quote...........we shall see.

I made a resolution to try and post SOMETHING each day. If just a quote, or a link, or a picture or an idea.........because I am incredibly lazy I resist posting all the funny things that happen to me each and every day. I have to break that cycle.

So, here's to changes! *ching ching*

“Three be the things I shall never attain: Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.” –Dorothy Parker, Inventory

M.P.Qs. 11 & 13

Number 11

1. What is your favorite color?
• I go through phases. When I was a kid my parents gave my sister and me the same gifts (because we were only 14 months apart) but in different colors. H-star always got red and I always got blue. However, I can tell that I am going through a red phase at the moment, because everything I buy in clothing is red these days. This follows on the heels of baby blue, before that it was khaki green, and before that basic black.
• 2. What is your favorite thing about your home?


• Probably the wine closet.
• 3. Things: collect, or throw out?


• Genetically both the Hub and I are packrats. However we are really trying to fight this urge by general purging of shit via eBay and donations to charities (suckers).
• 4. What was the first car you ever owned?


• An '87 burgundy Volkswagen Golf GTI, that we bought in the Fall of '01. Hot little baby, man it could run.

• 5. Do you balance your checkbook on a regular basis?


• No. I used to be incredibly anal about it, taking hours to balance it down to the penny. Now, I just go online and check the balance and vaguely balance it in my head against checks written. Luckily, in this day and age, I write VERY few checks and mostly use online payment or debit card, so you see fairly instantly how much you have left.

Number 13

1. When you purchase wine, what do you look for? (i.e. aside from price, do you look at labels? do you go by wine magazine suggestions?)
• 2. What magazines do you subscribe to?


• 3. What is your favorite thing to cook for parties?


• 4. You've had your new car for awhile, what are your thoughts on it now? (and this question could very easily apply to my car as well, so I am not too worried about having to answer it)


• 5. What is the last book you read and would you recommend it?

The New News That Isn't So New

For the second time in my life I am quitting the restaurant industry. I am making a lateral move into grocery. That is, the WINE portion of grocery. This is something I tried before. The quitting, not the grocery. The last time I quit waiting tables, I said I would never be back. However, when I was looking for work and a management/wine buyer position opened, I thought it would be a good opportunity. At least for a little while. So, I am here to tell you that it has been a good opportunity, but only for the littlest while.

So, since in a few short (i.e. much too long) weeks I will once again be thinking of my halcyon days in the industry, rather than living them, let me give you a few pieces of advice:

Don't call to see if you need to make a reservation, just make one. I mean, you already went to the hassle of dialing.
• Please, if you are a couple and sitting across from each other, don't move your chair next to your darling one, so that you can eat whilst your thighs are touching. Restaurants are set up to seat the maximum diners, so if you screw with the schematics, you will likely make it hard on the people around you. Plus, it is just gross. People who tend to do it fall into two categories: the young and the cheaters. P.S. We call you side-sitters and you are well hated, we probably "accidently" drop water out of the pitcher on you.
• Newsflash! If I seat you at the table nearest the door, it isn't a test to see if I can make you take the punishment, it means that every other table is full, or booked.
• Patios suck ass. That fact will never change.
• If a friend passes by and sees you, and comes into talk, do not take a chair from another table without asking, first. That shit doesn't belong to you. Since you asked, yes, it does belong to me. Same goes double for you putting your empty plate on another table.
• If you are using one of those god forsaken discount-from-hell cards, and there are exceptions, like "not usable Fridays and Saturdays," then don't call me up and bargain with me. We fill those seats with full-paying guests and I won't turn one away to seat your cheezy two-for-one ass down. And for god's-sake, be sure to tip on the before total, rather than the after.
• What you might do with that discount is use it to allow you to get an extra appetizer you always wanted, or that cocktail you always found interesting.
• Mr Jackass, we are wise to you. We know you fill out your credit card slips and take both copies on purpose, so that it would appear you tip, but really you don't since we aren't psychic and can't guess what total you wrote in. We caught you at it the last time you tried. You haven't been back, but when you do slime your way in, we'll remember.
• Guess what? Just cause you spend money here, doesn't mean I am your best friend. If I really like you, I will come by your table on my own.
• If you don't like your food, please let us take it away and either fix what was wrong with it, or give you something that makes you happy. People don't return to restaurants after a bad experience. Therefore, we want you to be happy.
• Don't expect us to serve your underage kid wine at the table. We want to, we really do. Except that we could lose our liquor license. Let them drink at home if you are so gung-ho for them to experience underage drinking.
• Another news tidbit for you, wine vintages change. More or less, the wine rep never bothers to let you know when that happens. We would never intentionally give you the wrong year, but really, if you care that much, go home and drink from your goddamn cellar.
• Don't tell me that a $15 corkage fee is a bit steep. I don't make the prices. If you would rather not pay it, then buy a bottle off the list.
• Because waiters make their money mostly via gratuity, they are very rarely ever rude. You might be reading something into it, or they might be extremely busy. They try to be patient with you, please be patient, as well.
• There is no such thing as verbal gratuity. If you tell me you enjoyed your meal, but don't leave me a tip, I can't spend what you said at the coffee shop.
• You and your Atkins diet is a major pain in the ass.
• It is really annoying that you don't want ice in your water. We have to make a special trip back and forth each time. If your teeth are sensitive, ask for a STRAW.
• If we serve our bread with a special butter, don't ask for oil. If we make a special oil, don't ask for butter.
• At my place, we serve the bread AFTER you order. This is because it is very easy to spend over $50,000 a year on "free" bread and oil. Therefore, we let you order when you know how much you will need to fill your tummy.
• For those of you that get only one course, no drinks (not even tea or coffee!), and no dessert, then ask for endless bread refills, well, we all think you are just remarkably cheap.
• Lastly, when I tell you I work(ed) in a restaurant, please, PLEASE, PLEASE, don't tell me every restaurant horror story you ever participated in, and then ask me if it was ok for you to not leave gratuity. Chances are good that I won't be on your side.

Now that I have scared you all to bits and you are slowly walking away from the computer, eyes on the screen.....let me tell you this. I am leaving the industry not because I am irreperably bitter, I am not. I am trying to leave while I am still happy. I am want to leave while they still want me to stay. As I told a friend, after I had to fire someone, (and it wasn't very pleasant) it is always better to choose to leave.

M.P.Qs. #7 & 8

I meant to do these earlier, really.

Okay, set number 7:

1. As a child, what was your (or your family's) first pet ever?
• 2. What is the scariest movie you ever remember seeing, as a kid?
• 3. What do you think of long finger nails?
• 4. If you had to go and look for a new job today, what would you be looking for?
• 5. What was the first country outside of the United States of America that you travelled to, and why?

And just so you don't call me a slacker.........

1. What's your favorite appliance?
• I suppose it depends on the use. For daily stuff, of course the hair dryer over the iron. However do I love my pasta roller more than my Kitchen Aid? Realistically, because I was just dodging before, the Kitchen Aid mixer rules it. First, it is just beautiful. Two, everyone who sees it exclaims how they always wanted one, or how they never got one on their wedding registry. Three, it fucking rocks. However, how do I compare that to my sander? I am a tool girl, amazingly enough, so it is hard for me to pick just one.
• 2. Hardwood or carpet?


• Hardwood, everytime. Do you know what shit lurks in your carpet? Aside from that wood is so lovely.
• 3. White walls or saturated color?


• Saturated color, preferably something intense. I have plans for the ktichen and living room, care to come and help??????????
• 4. Modernist or Traditional tendencies?


• To live in, Traditionalist. To view, as in an arty facility, Modernist.
• 5. Name two things in your dream house.


• Gigantic kitchen with meat block and glass cabinets (I know that sounds like more than one thing, but it isn't.) and a professional gas stove with huge hood fan. I am one of those annoying foodies. I mean, I picked my Kitchen Aid as my favorite appliance, how more Betty can I be?

I have a brain in here, somewhere

I forgot to answer my own set of M.P.Qs. #5 that I sent to SQ. So here they are in all their glory:

1. If you had to move to another city, what would be your dream city?
• Since the Hub and I are both looking for new work, we haven't kept it strictly in the Seattle boundaries. Austin was looking good for awhile as was Salt Lake City. Say what you like about Utah, but it is gorgeous, with tons to do and see. Also, strangely it is the one place where I had the most drunken weekend of my life.
• 2. What's your favorite commercial on television?


• "I don't really watch television," she says snottily. However, I am a sucker for a really good commercial. There was this really funny one for AM/PM convenience stores. This guy in shorts and a T-shirt is sitting on the sidewalk outside of an AM/PM chowing on a hot dog and slugging some soda. This woman walks by, all legs, nylons, and heels. She stops at the guy on the sidewalk and crosses her arms, "I thought you went jogging?" He replies, "I got HOT!" (although the way he says it is more like "I gawt hawt.") So she says back, in this withering tone, "In THREE blocks?" Or the Aiwa sound commercial where this guy is driving down the road listening to Another One Bites the Dust. People passing him giving him weird looks. He just smiles and waves and plays it even louder. Turns out it is a hearse he is driving. In a funeral procession.
• 3. What day of the week do you most look forward to?


• There really isn't any certain day. I look forward to vacations, or visiting friends and family. Saturday isn't so bad as that is the day I don't have to stay at work until the end, I get to go home early. Makes the day somewhat bearable.
• 4. When you go into a book store do you steer towards fiction or non-fiction?


• Fiction, baby, always fiction.
• 5. How old were you when you first tried coffee?


• Probably 8 or 9 and I hated it. I never really got into coffee until college. It weirds me out to see all these high school kids, or younger, hanging out at Starbucks. Once I got into 'the coffee', though, I dove in headfirst. Hooray coffee! But not at Starbucks, never ever. I mean, unless you are somewhere outside of either Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and surprisingly Napa and there isn't any good coffee. Please, people, drive thru coffee is always gross. When will you ever learn?

M.P.Qs. #4

This one is hard for me, because as much as I have talked about my bikini wax, the loss of my virginity, and (lack of) sex with my husband, I try not to get too political, online, or off. Still, you can't just pick and choose to play a game. So Ms. SuzyQ, turn about is fair play.

How do you feel about the death penalty?
• I think that killing people is wrong, and that it is illogical to choose a punishment that in any other scenario would be considered illegal. However my pro-dealth penalty parents have totally different feelings. I was raised to believe that the death penalty was the best deterrent for murder. After I moved away, I started thinking on my own, and leaned more and more away from that. This book helped to clarify my feelings on the matter.
• How do you feel about the war in Iraq?
• I have so many layers of feelings about this war. I found it strange that we attacked Iraq because of the World Trade Center, and even stranger that our White House was putting out the spin that Saddam Hussein was more responsible than Osama bin Laden. I was disgusted by our rejection of the findings that the United Nation had in regards to the W.M.D (and come ON, weapons of MASS DESTRUCTION?????? what cartoon writer came up with that phrase? Probably the guy who came up with "click it, or ticket"). Currently I am appalled by the violence going on in Iraq under the name of the United States of America, and say to friends, just about every day, "No wonder everyone in the world hates our guts."
• How do you feel about a woman's right to choose? How do you feel about abortion?
• I am pro-choice. Neither I, nor my husband want children, so, if we ever got pregnant, that would more than likely be the avenue we would travel. I feel very lucky that I haven't had to deal with that issue, and send out all my heart to anyone who has.
• Which political party do you identify with?
• I find it interesting that in the '00 election, I remember seeing, and saying, "the Democratic party doesn't represent my vote, they are far too centrist. I am going to vote Green to send them a message." There was a message, unfortunately, it wasn't, "Wow, we need to change our tactics." Rather it was, "It is all your fault we have an asshole for president." Although, I think it was a lot more Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, and a bunch of republican spin doctors. I want to start a new party, the feminist party. Maybe, they would represent me a lot more than anything that currently exists.
• What is the first political moment that you remember?
• It was the 1976 election, and we were driving home from somewhere, it was dark and my parents were listening to the election results as we drove home. I remember they were rooting for Carter. I was 5.

This Monkey's Gone to Heaven

Strange links and personal questions? Search no farther, kiddies, because I worked so hard last week that I don't want to do anything meaningful in my free hours. Instead I surf, and pass on links to friends, who then pass them on to others.

Remy and I were chatting just after my *brilliant* question idea, about how men are always capable of sexualizing things that aren't necessarily so (because he thought that "five finger discount" was a leading question). Then he sent me a link that was thoroughly enjoyable, while being completely un-sexual. At least as far as I know.

Man vs. Grizzly

Which then led me to this hole. I highly recommend following the link to the hole before reading the commentary.

All this talk of firing Rumsfeld had me worried that Bush might win back the popular vote if he acted timely. Luckily, this proves that Bush is, indeed, one of the stupidest Presidents in history.

Urge your senators and representatives to Dump Rumsfeld!

Is it funny, sad, or just ironic that we call my brother Uncle Cracker, to his face?

And now what you have been waiting for.........ok, maybe not. (I am including my answers along with the questions, merely because I am procrastinating getting ready for work.)

1) What was the first concert you ever attended?

Pat Benatar, in the 8th grade.

• 2) What was your favorite band back in High School that is completely cringe worthy now?

  Huey Lewis and the News, which also happens to be the second concert I ever attended.

• 3) Do you have a guilty television pleasure?

  Sex and the City DVDs, otherwise, she says snottily, I don't really watch much tv. This is likely more symptomatic of working nights and being addicted to the net, than anything else.

• 4) Ferris Bueller was a sprite, inventive (and maybe annoying), but driven to make those around him enjoy life. Who is your Ferris?

  The friend who made this game always swore I was his Ferris, but I think he was mine. One of the most unique, inventive (and maybe annoying), people I ever met.

• 5) When you are blocked in your job, or personal life, what do you do?

  Take a bath, watch SatC on dvd, or play cards online.

Back when I was creative

SuzieQ,
Way back when, like 5 years ago, a friend and I used to exchange emails. Not your everyday, boring, family email. Rather, it was a lot like Friday Five, but personal. It started like this: He sent me an email with five questions, which I then answered, and also added five questions of my own.

Since you were just getting into the FF, and it went down, I thought you and I could just play my friend's game. Posted. You post your answers and your questions on your blog, and then I will answer.....blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. Perhaps, people who want to answer them as well, can post their answers in the comments section.

So, are you in? If so, here's your first five (I am making it a theme this time, but that won't normally happen):

• 1) When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?


• 2) What are the five least essential, yet most mentally important things to you, in your place?


• 3) If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your five-year-old self?


• 4) What is your favorite number? And why? (This only fits the theme because, five happens to be my favorite number.)


• 5) When you were young, did you ever give yourself a "five finger discount"?

This is why you shouldn't go back

So I scanned in all the photos I got from Idaho, and they are just sitting here BEGGING me to post them. I should mention a few things about myself in High School. The first being that Mom gave me a perm each fall right before school started. Also, it isn't like I was forced. Lastly, ugh, I hate my teeth in these pictures. Thank GOD they don't look like that anymore, and hooray for braces! I think I might look like one of the people from the The Big Book of British Smiles in the Simpsons.

For your amusement, I present my horrible teen-hood on film:

That would be me in the 8th grade, with an Almost Mullet.
Apparently I discovered peroxide the summer before my Freshman year. LOVE the earrings, darling, did you kill a moose for those?
This is probably my favorite, especially the eyeshadow that matches the shirt. I am not completely certain, but this might actually be my 7th grade photo and not my Sophomore year photo. I could look in a yearbook or something, but I swear I burned those all years ago.
Oh god that NOSE, could it be any more red? Also, could it be any cuter? I think I must have used the hairspray of a small country to get my hair up like that. Crinkly perm helps, too, I suppose. This could actually be the last time my hair was its natural color.
All. Those. Freckles. My God! N.E.D calls this my Go Gos picture. Vacation all I ever wanted, vacation have to get away.

Vacation makes me feel special love (at least, I think that is how it goes).

Laughing yourself crosseyed can now commence.

I-D-A-H-O, Idaho! Idaho! Go, Go, Go!

That's me back in second grade, nice shirt, eh?

So I went to Idaho and I survived to tell the tale. The funeral ended up being Wednesday, so I worked Tuesday evening and then drove to Spokane after. Luckily, my sister decided she could go along as well and I had company. A major side bonus is that she has the same music fetish as I do, which is to play a favorite song some fifty times in a row, while singing along. The next morning we got up and followed my brother to Sandpoint. I haven't ever driven there on my own before, but we as a family we went there a lot. So it was a little surreal seeing all those same places I had seen many times before, yet with fresh eyes, like it was the first time.

Grandma was actually cremated so it wasn't a funeral, but more of a service, I am just using the handy term because it clarifies so much. There isn't a ton of money to rub together on that side of the family so they held it at the local VFW because apparently Gma was involved somehow with them way back when. We got there and let me tell you, I haven't seen so many sweater dresses since the '80s. A large room, with lots of long cafeteria-style tables and metal fold-up chairs, I wondered if we were at a local AA meeting.

And the relatives, oh the relatives! Cousins upon cousins, with passel-loads of children. The aforementioned sweater dresses, not to mention lots of bad perms, there were many a home dye-job as well, why does it always have to be blonde? The men went out of their way to dress up in style. If by style you mean khaki pants, short sleeve dress shirts, white tube socks, black dress "tennies" and polyester ties. If they were handing out best dressed awards, it would have been me, my sister, and our cousin Mary in first, second, and third. Everyone else would have tied for last.

I should mention that my cousins Mary and Tina, who are daughters of the Aunt who is not-to-be-named in my mother's presence, live over on this side of the state and have kept in touch. They are really cool, and we all get along fabulously. We have all worked really hard in our lives to not fall into the trap of our forefathers. No out-of-wedlock kids for us, no divorces, ok, ok divorces, but not the 4 or more of others.

Since there had been the whole family falling-out thing between Mom and her sisters, I was amazed at the friendly welcome I received from my Aunts. All the grandkids (and Daughters) that lived in Sandpoint were passing around roses, to signify being immediate family and I felt rather slighted that no one thought about giving any to the family that travelled the distance. Then I looked at their bad shoes and passel-loads of kids, and let it go. The $100 an event pastor started it out, read the obituary that was printed in the paper (little piece of advice: try a practise run through before you do it in front of a crowd), sang Amazing Grace, and let the floor open up for commentary.

The Grandma these people talked about never existed in my life, and I have to guess that it was equal parts rose-colored glasses, and part and parcel of my grandma treating all of her kids differently. I was just about to get up and talk about all the old times at the lake, all the card games, the fishing, the walks, the snails we found, the old inner tubes, sifting the sand at the beach to get rid of the rocks......and then the pastor ended commentary. I have it all in my heart, though. It still exists there.

Then we got down to the nitty gritty. We all went back to Gma's place and were looking through photos. Now I know you can surmise from all my description before, that there weren't a lot of expensive things to fight over, there was no fat bank account. Turns out it doesn't matter. My Grandma collected a lot of shit in her life and apparently people were willing to fight over it. I say, throw that crap in a pile and start a fire, or have a yard sale, but noooooooooo. It came down to winning one last time and it was rather sickening to see. We all had to make the sojourn to the little apartment, and receive our special item. This is what I received:

The best part is that it had candy in it, which they tossed out, but never washed! Ewwwwwwwwwwww. Unfortunately, I washed it before I took the pictures. You can still see the dirt residue that I tried to wash off. Those crevices are tricky!

All the cousins sat around and made fun of the Aunts and all the crap we were forced to take home. It was lovely to see that as adults, we can toss off our parents' baggage, and get along. Despite their shite taste in clothes, they turn out to be funny, nice people. Who knew? The real motherload that I got to take home were all the school pics my Grandmother had of all of us kids. My mom already has copies so now they are mine! Well, H-star gets to keep hers, of course, but I have them for now because I have the scanner.

Now the dirt to dish. You wonder if it could get any worse, and of course, it can. One cousin, we'll call her .....hell, I dunno, Cousin #1. Cousin #1 had a child when she was 15, then another one at 16, and one last one at around......oh, 18. All different fathers. Never married. Horribly sad. Well, her oldest daughter who is all of 18 just had her own little girl. Now my cousin is a grandmother at 34. Thirty-FOUR. My sister will have her first child in September, when she is 34. Her child will be younger than our cousin's grandchild! Gross detail, cousin #1 has a mouth full of blackened teeth. All together now, "Ewwwwwwwww."

Since we haven't exactly been exchanging letters, some cousins were surprised to find out I was married. Cousin #2 asked me why I would want to do such a thing as he had tried it twice before and never found it to work out. He's 28 and has 2 kids 8 and 7, each from different moms. So he apparently got married had a kid, divorced, remarried, had a kid and got divorced in little over 2 YEARS. Hello? What are they putting in the water over in Idaho, anyway?

After the funeral, we drove home, and had a nice family meal together and then played games until bedtime. I guess when people die, you can make happy memories.

Bend It Like Beckham

Penguin baseball

The Big "V"

I am a virgin.

Yes, I understand that I already explained to you my first sexual experience, but this is much scarier. Today, I am going to go get a bikini wax. Holy Shit! I have decided that since we are going to Mexico on Sunday that I ought to be as hair-free in that area as possible.

I was at the salon yesterday getting my hair cut, and was talking about it with my hairdresser. I was talking over the options, so she got me a price sheet. They have something called the "almost" Brazil. Almost? This was Erika's explanation, "Yeah, they do the butt crack, but not the lips." Je-Heee-Sus, just what am I getting myself into, here?

So I am going with the basic, for first timers apparently, that is a good way to start. So she also asked me how trimmed I was down there, and when I replied "not at all, currently" she asked me if I had some clippers. So we are less than 2 hours away from the big deed, hopefully it won't hurt too much.

I *wanted* to call this Freaks and Geeks but.......

Freaks (please tell me that's a joke, especially the Third Testament stuff) and more freaks.

Extra special thanks to MsF for the creepy links!

Whenever I fall at your feet

The Hub left me this week. Somehow, Boston is more of a draw. Still, I think the paycheck he receives has a lot to do with his motivation. Whenever he goes away I take this illicit opportunity to sleep with my favorite guy and gal. It upsets The Hub to no end, I just can't help myself, they are *SO* cute. More than likely, they are the only two whose real names I can post without getting into big trouble.

They wake me up early to feed them, but it is almost forgiveable.

darling Oso

Wiggle Worm Ixtapa

They are so fabulous that I even let them sneak under the blankets when Kevo isn't home. Who wouldn't?

I would gladly live in sin and sleep with Oso, Ixtapa, AND the Hub, but he will have none of it. Of course, when he is gone, we go with the Navy on a strict, Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy.

I had a much longer post in mind, but so little time

Just call me a copycat. I don't forward jokes (more or less), I don't fill out those get-to-know-you things (anymore), I don't take email quizzes based on which dessert I like best (they never have the right dessert, anyway), AND I wasn't even going to do this. But then I Step 1: Opened my mp3 player; Step 2: Put it on random play (I seriously never do this); and my next most logical Step 3 would have been to look at the list and laugh and say, "No effin' WAY am I posting this!"

Yet......when I looked at the list, I thought it was....well,hilarious and a little embarrassing and it fits into my "able to post a message time slot" So here, officially, is Step 3: List the first ten songs it plays, no matter how embarrassing.

1. Black Eyed Peas & (GASP!) Justin Timberlake - Where Is The Love? (guilty pleasure, sometimes I turn this on repeat and listen to it 10 or 20 times in a row)
2. Feature Cast - Channel Surfing (Remix) (damn you Peter Cohen)
3. Train - Your Every Color (Ewwwwww, I ended up buying this when I also got the "Calling all Angels, another very guilty pleasure..but really, I HATE THEM!)
4. The Roches - Mr. Sellack (finally, a little Indie cred, now that I have killed all credibility anyway)
5. Annie Lennox- Honestly (you know, it is cheaper to buy the WHOLE album)
6. Annie Lennox- Loneliness (isn't this supposed to be random?)
7. Elliott Smith - Needle In The Hay (repeat 5,000 times)
8. Neil Finn - Fall At Your Feet
9. Alison Krause & Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away
10. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs- Maps

Honorable Mention: The Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey (Because I live, eat, drink, sleep, and think about "Lost In Translation" and this song was in my head for a week after the movie.)

Confession - I got halfway through my list and realized I was on the "purchased music" section rather than the whole list, so I went to the whole list and tried to sort it....and it DIDN'T WORK, dammit. So I just finished the list with a random assortment of my "top 25 played" because I can't be bothered to re-type this.

Lastly, as a manager (and let's just be honest, my entire career as a waiter, too) I have to stay on top of all the details. I notice when people don't refill the things they ought to, or put things away like they should, and the sheer repetition of stupidity makes me cranky. In fact, it makes me bitchy. I am hard on people, but much harder on myself. Perfection isn't unattainable, people. However, for sheer badassness, I bow my head to this girl. I blame her for my total lack of sleep today, those archives are KILLERS!

Oh! oh, I almost forgot pornolize your favorite site! I porno'd my ""About" section of Norton Ink and laughed my big fat ass off.

Sigh, so much for a short post, now I am not only sleep deprived, but more than likely late for work!

My kitchen would be incomplete without these 2 things

Take one good helping of this:

Add a dose of this:

3 hours later, take out of the oven:

Baked brie with honey and almonds Spinach salad with spicy pecans, dried cranberries, and bleu cheese with a sherry vinaigrette Homemade ravioli with an herbed cheese filling, and a leek, garlic, white wine, lemon, and butter sauce Chocolate pots de creme

provecho!

Your Own Personal Jesus

Freaking your shit out for 80 years

My Mom's crazy too, but not like THIS!

Just get a Nuk, would you?!?!?!

Amateur Weekend

Amateur adj.

• 1. Of or performed by an amateur.
• 2. Made up of amateurs: an amateur cast.
• 3. Not professional; unskillful.

This might be you if:

• You are calling today for dinner reservations for this weekend (yes, including Friday and Sunday)
If you are dining out this weekend.......at all

So, you say you don't want to be an amateur? (Or, you just forgot to make rezzies and you are shut out.) Here's a relationship saving technique. Get your ass to Blockbuster NOW - that's why they have 5 day rentals - and rent the gooiest chick flick you can get your hands on.

Next, buy a bottle of wine (this is where you know if your honey likes red or white...heck splurge on some Champagne!). Some chocolate wouldn't hurt either, and I am not talking Hershey's.

Last, cook for your honey! Barring that, call up a *NICE* restaurant and at least order pickup. Domino's is a definite deal-breaker.

What, you ask, am I doing with the Hub for Vday? Working. The. Whole. Frickin'. Weekend. Thank you, Hallmark! However, I have worked in the industry for a long time now, 12 years, thank you very much. This isn't new news to me, or the Hub.

When we had our first together/nottogether Valentine's Day Kevo asked me if I minded being apart, and this is what I said:

"Screw Romance......always go for the MONEY!"

So with a fat wad of cash on Monday, I am taking my honey to dinner.

Posted by kerewin at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Moving on up...to the eastside

Ok, here I am in the new digs. Posts will be moving. Someday I will figure out how to change colors and add pictures, etc but for now, I will just busy myself with moving all the entries from the old place. Sigh.....moving sucks. *wink*

I'd like to give a shout out to all my homes.......oh wait, this isn't a concert. Thanks Remy for the space to screw myself in print much easier.

And a quick birthday recap:

food bites were:

• mango/cantaloupe salsa (with tortilla chips, of course)
• pico de gallo
• guacamole
• cheese and black bean quesadillas
• chocolate fondue (green apples, bananas, and pound cake)
• cheese fondue (totally screwed it up because the damn sterno was too hot)
• baked brie with honey and almonds
• caesar salad
• pesto marinated baked chicken breast

Hmmm, the list looks a lot smaller than I thought it would, it did take me 4 hours + to make everything. The caesar and the salsas/guacamole rocked, the chocolate fondue was pretty damn easy and good. I didn't have any of the brie but it pretty much disappeared in 10 minutes. The chicken was overcooked, dammit.

Gifts were pretty rocking (mostly wine) and fun pinball times were had by all.

Until I have more water and coffee that's about as much as you are going to get out of me.

A lot to be grateful for

I was bored and leafing through different bloggers's links of other bloggers, and one in particular was saying something to the effect of, "there's a lot of unhappy people (bloggers) out there." Well, in general I agree with that, but specifically I think, unhappy gets a lot more press than happy. It just reads better, so people use it more. However for what it is worth.....I had a damn good week. Mostly.

San Francisco is a fabulous city. I love going there, it is full of great shopping, good friends, beautiful sights, and a very moderate climate. What more could be better? Making money while you are there, that's what!

Now before you get all suspicious, I was working MacWorld for Freeverse. I can't think why they would ask one of their users to work the booth but I didn't want to turn down the chance to help the company.

So Sunday, January 4, 2004, bright and early I boarded a plane for the "City by the Bay." Not a lot to be thankful for in a flight that leaves at 6am, Sunday morning. Except for sleeping the entire flight due to sleep deprivation, and an airport pickup by a *VERY* good friend. We went to Target, had a blast and found everything on Miss Susie Q's list and then went back dropped off stuff, made bed and crashed while she worked. The rest of the week was a bunch of work in the daytime, and a lot of social activity in the evening. So instead of giving my 3 readers a long story I am going to break it down into the great vs. good vs. not so good list.

Great

Hanging out with Susie Q, Placebo, and sometimes Richard, all week (especially reading out loud the log that I saved from that nutcase on GS)
Meeting Remy, Swabbie, FV Ian, Merlina (and Jasper!), and John
Playing/demo-ing ToySight - I think even Remy will admit that I did pretty damn good, having first played it on Tuesday (oh yeah, and just TRY to kick my 71k best score at Volcano God!)
Sushi every other meal or so
the J. Otto bagel at the Last Laugh Café
TWO, count 'em, two "Best of Show" for Freeverse with ToySight, and BumperCar
Dinner at the Zuní Café
Meeting up with Ernie and his Significant Other (but come on....her name is CHER???)*
Meeting up with Paul and Virginie and Dino and Bella

*small side note: on meeting up with Ernie, whom I mentioned in another post, it went better than expected, although I wasn't as thin, tall, and rich as I wanted to be, and Ernie looked pretty good (bastard). His gf is gorgeous, funny, and smart....wouldn't mind having them come up to Seattle and hang - who would have thought?

Good

the Sushi at No-Name (holy shit those portions were huge and the price was small!)
wireless at SQ's
big sales at the FV booth
Being mistaken for someone "in charge" at the booth by the simple option of wearing my management clothes

Not So Good

VERY sore arms from demo-ing ToySight
Hangover after hanging out with the old Marketwavers
The extremely cold shower in the Hotel Cosmo the one night I stayed in a hotel
The long and frustrating round of diagnostics done to see if either power adaptor or battery were hosed*
Fighting with the Hub via mobile phone because of lack of sleep and possible dead laptop battery
The service at the No Name sushi place - have you ever been served by someone talking on their cell phone?
Having to get up in time to be at the Moscone Center in time for the show - UGH don't these people know I usually work until midnight?????
Having to work the restaurant about 3 hours after getting off of the plane Saturday morning
Colin not coming to San Fran due to some psychosomatic flu thing
SCB seemed on his worst behavior

*side note: both were fine, yay for resetting the power manager....umm, three frickin' times

Okay, I have bored you all long enough.....more some other day.

This frickin rocks

http://www.rockstargames.com/upload/swf/winners/multimedia/drewcope.html