Speaking of dirtbags....

I really hate Clay Bennet.

And I really cleaned up the title by using "dirt."

Dubya vs Cheeseburgers

A couple of things:

It's amazing how little press Dubya is getting these days. He really has dissapeared into the mists of the media. I realized yesterday on the radio that I was hearing his voice for the 1st time in days, but I constantly hear McCain, Hillary and Obama on NPR. Also, for the 1st time, I read a story where the quote of Bush was ACTUALLY WHAT HE SAID. With all the stammering! For years, the white house had cleaned up his speech for press quotes, but now.....who cares? (Really, who does?)

Also, a taste test of a cheeseburger in a can.

Curse of the Colonel!

Today, on the Bus, we passed a guy with a Hanshin Tigers Jersey on.  Not only that, but it was a Randy Bass Jersey.

Now I didn't get excited you see, since I didn't grow up in Japan.  But the Hanshin Tigers are, for my friend Aki, the best team EVER.  And guess who his favorite player of all time is?  Randy Bass.

I called him to let him know what I had seen, and he went a little crazy, reminiscing about Bass' great past, and the Hanshin wins of years ago (Hanshin was good in the mid 80's.....).

But reading the wiki of Bass was pretty interesting.  Have you ever heard of the Curse of the Colonel? (As in Sanders, my friend.)

I'm back.

So I was criticized last weekend for going a week without posting on my blog.  It's because perhaps these days, it seems I'm rarely at my computer, and if I am, I'm doing other things, like watching episodes of Lost or SGA....

Anyways, I got my new iPod today.  It's so much smaller than my last one, but I suppose there needs to be some advancement.  One thing to add:  It's really nice to be in Amazon's neighborhood, since my free 5 day shipping was delivered overnight, once it left the warehouse.

I needed to get one (which is 8 gigs) since my old one (4 gigs) freaked out and froze once it was filled with 700 mb.  So long Wani-san Jr!  All hail Wani-san Jr.  the 2nd!

I am now officially the Sous Chef of the Seattle Harbor Club.  I work in the city now, whic is immensely better in terms of commute via the bus.  I have myriad busses to choose from, as opposed  to 1 an hour (to home at night).  I am finally on salary, and making more the the US average per year for the 1st time in my life.  Yeah me.

I'm going to go run now.  I promise I have more to say this week, and I really hope to get the pics up this week of my party as well.  Have fun y'all.

Oh! I got a Jew's Harp!

Get Ready

Lots to do today.....

get ready for the Banditos.

Alligator's Birthday

It's my birthday today!

I am 26 years old.  It seems like a big number to me.

But I know it's not that big.

I've already had been treated to a wonderful breakfast at Señor Moose by my girlfriend Angie.  And they gave me a piece of cake too.  Cake for breakfast dessert is reserved for special occasions truly.

I have a party planned for tomorrow night, and will fill y'all in with the details in the aftermath!

My Morning Jacket

My winter jacket problem has (I hope) come to an end.  I wonder which will end 1st, my prob or winter?

Anyways, I had a hard time finding a heavy coat- I didn't have one, since I missed last winter, and I can't remember now what I did before (fleece and a rain coat I think) I left for NZ- and I decided I was done being cold.  So I looked and looked, then decided on getting a down jacket from REI.  It seemed a wise move, being in a sleeping bag jacket.  But it ripped 3 days after I got it, and I retuned it.  My 2nd one lasted longer, but it split it's seems.  The one great thing about REI is that you can take things back for whatever reason.  2 years of shoe wearing, and they break- you can take them back, and get your money back.

So I took 2nd coat back, got credit, and it turns out, they've gotten rid of all their winter coats.  There was nearly nothing.  And I was there a month ago, and they had tons.

So I left angrily, went to 2nd ascent, and payed less for a coat that's sold for waaaaay more elsewhere.  It's a GoLite.  I like in the "uses" description it reads:

• Alpinism
  
• Ice climbing
  
• Backcountry skiing/snowboarding
  
• Around town
  
• Skiing
  

Guess which one I use it for?

Catching Up

So it's been a little while since I posted, but it's been a lot going on for me, so here it is:
I went to Kentucky, with my girlfriend to see her family (I met her dad!). It was my 1st time to the south, even though many people consider Louisville (properly pronounced "Lew-vull")
to be elsewhere, like the Ohio River valley....but I noticed a stereotypical southern experience. The accent, the large & noticeable Baptist presence, the twisters, the drinkin', the rebellin' and such....
We had fun. We ate some damn good BBQ (The elusive Owensborough black sauce on chopped mutton or pork). We drank fine bourbon. We shopped at Wal-Mart. We played nails, and had the cops called on us.
I got a shirt that says, "gettin' lucky in Kentucky." It's green, and I'm wearing it right now.

It appears my work is in Seattle now. I will become the Sous Chef in Seattle. We still need to settle on salary, a big issue I know, but I think it will be good. It's a better bus ride to there, that's for sure. And it will be more flexible in the hours.....I'll keep ya posted.

On Monday, Empire Ice Cream awakened from our winter hibernation to represent at the 3rd Annual Seattle Farmer-Chef Collaborative. It was basically us networking with local producers and chefs, eating and drinking fine things, talking with the guy who was single-handedly responsible for bringing Belgian beer to the USA in the late 70's, and stealing 2/3rds of a suckling pig that had been poorly butchered.
One of the afternoon demos was "how to break down a whole pig." The chef who did it, did a shoddy job (not that I'd do much better, but she's giving CLASS), and when the end of the day came, I heard one of the organizers say to someone, "that pig is still upstairs, and the janitors don't know what to do with it." I sprinted up the stairs to get a garbage bag, and stuffed 2 fresh hams (the rear legs) and the 2 ribs (with loins attached) into said bag.

We ate a good meal that night.