Seriously.

I saw "A Serious Man," by the Coen Brothers last night, and I have to say, I left confounded. I felt like I watched someone's life unravelling, without answer, and then credits.

When I go to the movies, I am accustomed to leaving with, well not necessarily a plot summed up in a neat little package, but at least a directive.

This was a good movie, depressing in what life can become. I won't say more.

I am going up to Vancouver tomorrow to do the wedding weekend thing, so there won't be more blogging for a few days. Enjoy yourself.

Demon.

I was talking about the movie Demons with my housemates, or more specifically, this scene:

It's so ridiculous. But props to Pearce for instilling this movie into my Halloween story back catalog.

But in my search I came across this, from another creepy movie, Moonwalker, by Michael Jackson.

It's an insane 2 parter if you dare:

Pumpkin Points.

Ahoy mateys. Avast you scurvy dawgs!

Last night I went to a pumpkin carving party, and I carved out a Drunken, shouting seas capn'n. But not this one. And definitely not this one. Or this one (worst of all! Don't get me started on the diatribe about getting a ring that gives you the power of "heart!")

Anyways. I did good. At the pumpkin thingy which I lost track of....

But I made a pretty sweet dish, which I sampled when Beth came to Seattle at the little Szechuan place in the I.D. - Gingered Pumpkin with Salted Chicken.

Basically, you:

Cut a pumpkin up into big cubes. Boil it and drain. Mash it slightly (still want chunks in it) with sesame oil, dried mustard powder, garlic, soy sauce, green onions, and a fuck-off amount of ginger. Also, the roasted, heavily salted chicken thigh meat you've shredded for this dish goes in to add some salty bits. It's some nice fall, earthy goodness.

Enjoy.

Assorted Seattle Fun.

Beth came to Seattle.

It's over. She's gone. I'm exhausted; playing host takes a lot of energy.

We went to Ballard, ate Mexican food, drank at a tapas bar, and then went to the Viking Tavern, a bar that's been open since 1950. And it's the same, pretty much. We also played shuffleboard, the short form.

Tuesday was chocka, as they say in NZ. From gasworks, to the sculpture garden, to the Theo Chocolate factory tour (I got sick from too much chocolate, she could've eaten far more!), to discovery park to carving pumpkins. Lots of action.

Wednesday was downtown stuff: Pike Place Market, the waterfront, Pioneer Square, an epic lunch in Chinatown, the library. And an amazing dinner party at Dustin and Jackie's.

We had:

-Oxtail and Jimmy Nardello pepper pizza

-Masa Harina crusted halibut with a Venezuelan chimichurri

-Open faced biscuit sandwiches with a hash of potatoes, apple, Brussels sprout leaves and manchego with Mexican braised beef flap meat.

-Assorted adult beverages

She left today, after I had gone to work. We had a grand time, and I'll get to see her next week when I go up to Vancouver for the wedding of CP&LaLa.

Alright, now I have to rid my bike of the fenders that I spent a gazillion hours putting on. I went for a ride tonight, and realized that I need to have the shop do it, as the fender moved and began to make a rubbing noise. Anger is what I felt.

Serenity now!

(Also, got the 2nd season of Flight of the Conchords music, which was released on Sub Pop on the 20th. Too many dicks on the dancefloor!)

Oof-Dah, Tea.

Bef comes to Seattle tomorrow. What a treat she's in for.

We'll be: paintballing, salmon fishing, going to the shooting range, eating Ethiopian in the Central District (aka "Crackton."), visiting the Lusty Lady, playing poker on Aurora, and spitting off the top of the Space Needle.

And that's just Tuesday.

Ok. She reads this blog, so I have to make her a little nervous. I think Ballard is in store for Monday night. Nothing says, "Welcome to Seattle" like a little lutefisk! Oof-dah indeed!

Anyways, I've been listening to some choice Flight of the Conchords tracks that I regained recently via the library selection, which were forever lost in the great Tea Incident of Aught Nine, which was a actually a protest against the Immigration department of New Zealand, not an idiotic, random spillage.

Dream.

My new bike got picked up today.

I wrestled with the fenders for a while, then gave up. I needed to ride the thing- rain be damned! So I did, and it was a dream....

Salisbury.

Oh it's oh so late, but I had a fun night with my dad.

We went to the Hudson alehouse neat the house; ate lamb and potato hash with a duck egg, and a very fine salad with Estrella dairy blue cheese. And great beer. Dad: drink more Scotch.

Then, to the mountaineers club for a talk from a guy who took used air canisters and turned them into pieces of art that sell for thousands. Interesting, but the dude was not very engaging. Kinda Ned Flander-ish.....

And then the Wedgewood Broiler, the coolest place I've never been. Old school dive. Dark, and cheap drinks, and I broke down and had a pretty nice Salisbury Steak (my favorite TV dinner of all time!)

We chatted to this girl who was in my age range, and she was more interested in him than I! (Pretty blatantly too!) Awesome. Love it.

Picking up my bike in the morning! Stoked. Maybe I'll go to the broiler......

I Got Girls That Can Cook.

I got taken down to SeaTac last night for an experience. A karaoke experience. Let's just say that all my rowdy friends, did indeed come over (for a pig in the ground a some beer on ice).

It wasn't my idea, but I had more fun than I thought I would. But to drive that distance is pretty dumb.....

(also dropped Strokin'.)

New Work.

I've started my new job, which is pretty great. The hours are a little early for me- I have to wake up at 7! Can you believe how much of a wimp I am for that? Sad really.

But the post is exactly like I thought it'd be, which is to say, comfortable. My past experiences have made this pretty chill and low-stress. I got to take today at my own pace, and got a lot done, as I do. The boss doesn't seem to meddle. At all.

And he loved that I loved grated pickles on my sandwiches. (Best ever.)

Debuted my musical-listening style today to the kitchen crew. Various genres were hit upon:

-Van Morrison, His Band and the Street Choir

-Kasabian, The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum

-Jerry Lee Lewis, Greatest Hits

-Sam Cooke, Live at Harlem Square

-The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America

-Los Lobos, La Pistola y El Corazon

-The Budos Band, The Budos Band II

-Various Artists, The Funk Box

Now, catching up on some odds and ends around the house. Enjoy this interesting thing which investigates the idea that "fun" can get people to use stairs instead:

!!!

What a whirl-wind of excitement around these parts.

Went to Vancouver to pick up Beth/see the Davie Parental Unit/get slightly detained at the Canadian border. Everyone is grand, Beth will settle into her new life once she stops telling me "whatever," and learns that it's "to-go" now, not "take-away," etc, etc.....

I got a job today. Interview to offer: 3 hours. Had a cool practical interview. Food identification, omelet making, fundamental sauce making. Buffet salads, and apps as well. Crew good, hours normal-ish (some 9-5 days for sure), pay better than last position, benefits, opportunity to take things in the direction I desire (priceless).

I could write more, but I once learned the adage, "leave 'em wanting more!"

So, there's secrets to save for me.

Chicanery.

The next week is going to be hectic; I sense it already.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I am going to Oly for a family day/tuna roast (harvest?) dinner.

And Sunday, I will be heading to the larger nation to the north, to greet the Youngest of the Davie family. Then on Monday, I will greet the parents.

And then chicanery will follow until Wednesday when I return to Seattle, to more job searching, working, possibly a trail at Lark later in the week, plus some requested social engagements.

I am in demand. Why does it sometimes feel as if everything happens at once? But I've found that's when things come together, so in the end, you've accomplished tons, and have a moment of retrospective.

I marvel constantly at the way this lifetime on our planet plays out....

Spy Games.

I love that youtubes. You can find ANYTHING.

Such as, last night when I sang karaoke at Bush Gardens and had an awesome backing video:

So there's two things to note:

Firstly, the spy game aspect is awesome. I did some nice ad-lib, but you had to be there. It was about how this was CIA vs KGB....

And secondly, and more bizarrely, there's a FUCKING PLANE FLYING AROUND THE TWIN TOWERS. seriously. SERIOUSLY.