Got Haggis?

Last night after working a long and busy day, exhausted from an antibiotic I took (for a cough that won't quit), I went to the pub for a scotch whiskey.  And not for just a drink.  A drink to commemorate Scotland's Robert Burns' Birthday.

He wrote many poems in a uniquely Scottish voice, and until I met Morgan, had really no idea of the guy.  I like the idea that he wrote odes to food and drink.  He must have been a passionate, passionate man.....

Address to a Haggis, with the modern translation.

Man, the haggis I had in Edinburgh was great.  I can taste and visualize that night well!

I make you jealous

Currently I'm sitting at the library, and have found the complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles 1968-1971.

It is 9 Discs!

I can't wait to listen to all that sweet soul music.

Wacky Mackers.

I was looking for a reference to something called, "spicy berries."  They apparently do not exhist, which is what I figured from the start.

But what I did come across is this:  McDonald's' International Menu Items.

I was intrigued by the India section- Maharaja Mac?

Other notables: All meat served in McDonald's in Israel is kosher, something called a McChutney Burger, meatballs as a side for Happy Meals in Sweden.  Pineapple as one in Hawaii.  The beer in France.  And why was I never told about Pasta Zoo?

Golden Sunrise

Man what a morning!

I wish I had a camera with me, as the Olympics were a real treat this morning with the golden sunrise on their snow-capped peaks.  Normally I don't drive so slow to enjoy them, but I was behind a cop, so I slowed my roll....

I can't believe the Packers lost at home to the Giants.

In -4 degrees no less! (-24 with the windchill)

Now You Have Seen It All.

When was the last time you were on a Japanese Celebrity's Blog?

Bet you didn't know the Alligator was famous-su in Japan.

The only thing better than that of course is to translate it!

True Insanity

This post really doesn't merit a title.

Not much is really happening this week.

I bought a camp stove after an excruciating amount of thought and comparison, as well as being offered different opinions and perspectives from REI staff.  And I ended up leaving the store after 1.5 hours of this game, empty handed.  I did, like I said, buy one used at Second Ascent.

I'll be using it this weekend when I go sledding at the Summit with my girlfriend.  We might snow-camp too.

Man, what a Seahawks game.  Good luck with the Packers on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.

Captain Nemo vs. Vampires!

I recently finished reading Jules Vernes' classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."  I can't recommend it highly enough, even if you've read it a long time ago, it's such a great adventure/interesting view of the future.  I like the ideas of getting all your power from seas water, and that the south pole is a mountain in an open sea surrounded by miles of icebergs in an impassible wall.  Then I thought it would be a grand idea to watch the movie, made by 

Disney (starring a young Kirk Douglas- in 1954!).

What a crock!

Disney really messed it up!  The movie rushed through many parts, skipped others, and re-arranged the order of others.  The ending is completely different too- an invading army?!? 

WTF?!?

And most importantly, they made Captain Nemo meaner; more villianesque than in the book.  Vernes' Nemo is a melancholy character you're suppose to dislike, but pity I feel as well....

Also, I've been turning up this band that's been playing on KEXP, Vampire Weekend.  They're from Brooklyn, and you can catch some of their songs on their myspace.

They were also KEXP's 22nd best album of the top 90.3 albums of 2007.  I hate Radiohead.

HNY 2008

Happy New Year everyone.  I hope you had a great time on the eve, and on the 1st.

My new evening was working until about 10:45, and then I raced to a party in Crown Hill.  It was alright, but they did have the greatest record collection I've seen to date....

Yesterday, over at Dustin's house, we had a traditional Southern New Year's day menu:

Fried Chicken and Hoppin' John.  That's black eyed peas and rice basically.  We also made banana margaritas, which cannot be consumed fast enough, as delicious as they are.

2007 is gone, but it was probably the most amazing year of my life.  From having a wonderful girlfriend, to starting up the business, to going on the South Island road trip, it was an epic year indeed.  May 2008 be just as great, or hopefully, better!

Band Names

Wow!  What a holiday time.  I usually don't get into the holiday spirit like others, but when you have friends and family like mine, one can come around.

I received so many great gifts, some highly practical (down slippers which feel like a sleeping bag on your foot), some odd (an ancient coin of the Magi), and a few that are one of a kind.

Those included:

A sequence of pictures of me doing the Haka, then jumping into the cold-as pond on a camping trip last summer (and me running out)

A song composed and performed by The Brothers Ulmer (They need a better band name, like Wani's Ulmers, perhaps?) about me and my adventures. Kenji has come along way in his guitar playing.

And a Guru Josh calendar done by Morgan, with help from the "Cream of the Hutt."  (Another good band name!)  All the months accompany a portrait of people from NZ with the Guru Josh record I stole from the Pacific Inn Pub/Gave to Morgan.  Add to that the fact that all the individuals have the same stupid pose, and include some appropriate frame of reference to how I knew them in a former life.  Excellent.

I love you all, thank you very much.  I feel loved and that's the greatest thing.

Speaking of love, I'm working the breakfast shift at work (6am start) and my soups this week rock 'em hard:

Wed- SW Black Bean with Cilantro Crema

Thurs- Braised Pork with White Beans, Fennel, Mustard Greens and Smoke Spanish Paprika.

Fri- Matzoh Ball.  I've made my own matzoh.  Really.

Too bad there's no one around to eat them....

X-Mas.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays (don't forget boxing day either)

I'll be in Olympia for the majority of the next few days.

Have fun!

GeoSkillz

I was listening to PRI/BBC world's show "The World" and this was on there:

A Traveller IQ Challenge.

See how good your geography skills are.  I got to level 10.

I'm going to......Memphis?!?

I had a date last night with Angie where we went to the used bookstore down the way, and looked at travel guides to gain a better sense of what we wanted to do.

So I went straight for The Onion's Atlas. I figured it would be a fine place to start to appreciate the lesser known factoids of a prospective country of terminus. Not really, but Peru's sub-header was "Always with the damn pan-flutes!" I think it genius for some reason.

Then I had the great idea of just going to the airport on the 1st day of our vacation off. We could go to the ticket counter, and tell them we'd be willing to fill in available seats for cheap. 2 tickets to Memphis, Egypt?! No, Memphis, Tennessee. Errrr.....

We made a choice, and it's secret. I will tell you this: It's not Memphis. (damn)

And then we had Italian food at Bizzaro. It was bizzare indeed. It was an oddly decorated hole in the wall that specializes in fresh pasta, and it was fine. It hit all my pre-conceived expectations.

I leave you with this:
Apparently, there's to be a nails feature at a party in NZ, and all I have to say is this: No costumes or using "tournament of death" to describe it. Those ideas are patent pending!

Sunnier Climes

Hey, my tough holiday season is over.  It was really quite a breeze- mostly just showing up was what was required of the alligator.

I'm going to wrap presents now, then run, then I have a date with Angie to look at possible vacation destinations.  A truly sad statement of mine: we cannot make it to New Zealand in the spring of 2008.  It's too far to go/too much money spent on the ticket for only a couple weeks' time....

I do get to go someplace new, tropical and sandy though....that's not bad.

And there won't be any sandflies.

Crazy like a Fox.

I hurt my back tonight at work, and can't figure when it happened. I was going to run, but now I want to sit. And even that feels moderately uncomfortable.

I have a story from the other night I want to share:
I had picked Angie and her friend up from the airport late (back from Costa Rica). Dropped off said friend, and was near her house by the fisherman's terminal, when we got flagged down by a guy. He ran over to the car, visibly upset, and said, "call the cops! My mom has been kidnapped!"
I called 911, and the explained my position to the dispatcher, who wanted to talk to the dude. He was right by the car, telling his story, which kinda was convoluted, and then when the dispatcher asked him where he was, he ran away with my phone. So I ran after him, leaving Angie in the car, in the road with the flashers on. After a couple more minutes of him talking to the dispatcher, I got the phone back, and the 1t thing she asked was "is this guy a little off his rocker?"
I replied, "perhaps, but the cops need to come here regardless." He was a little crazy....

So they were on there way and so were we.....

____
How do I keep Angie blocked from commenting? The Calery kids really have bad netiquette.

Gone Bottling

I'm busy right now!

Super secret project stuff!

WTF

uh....Mister Splashy Pants? Really? Come on.

Surprise Pockets (Not as tasty as Hot Pockets)

I got woken up this morning by someone calling, then as soon as I answered, they hung up. I think that's the worst. The only thing that got them off the hook, was that even if I had remembered to turn off my cell phone, I would've been woken by the recycle trucks lumbering through the alley below my house. Glass breaking is the best alarm clock.....

I might be in the thick of the work/holiday calendar, but it's emerged it's quite easy this year. It's like we didn't get tons of parties booked- a sign of the downward economy? I think it might be, since not going out is one of the things I do when I'm short on cash. Anyways, it's really a matter of showing up and trying to fit all the food into our closet/walk-in fridge.

And lastly for this post, I surprised myself last night, when I was watching a DVD. Apparently, there was an episode of SG-1 I hadn't seen yet. It was like wearing a jacket you haven't worn in a while, and finding $10 in the pocket.

I'm gonna go check my pockets!

Adults Like Snow-Based Beverages!

It snowed today. A whiteout, which is pretty rare here in Seattle.

It all started shortly after I arrived at work, staring down a day of sprinting to get things done. We did get things done, but then as soon as food needed to go out, shite hit the fan, so to speak. Too many new people in the front of house, and too few in the kitchen....always the problem.

But the snow- I was really bummed I wasn't outside sledding with the Snow Dogz. I think I have to take a trip to the pass and sled this winter.
And by the time I left, at 11, it was raining/melting. On my lawn, I collected snow for a few snowballs, and a glassful. I now am having a cocktail, Whiskey and Snow. It's like shaved ice, with bourbon flavour!

Are you High!?!

hey everyone. I commence my re-telling of my Thanksgiving weekend here:

Saturday mid-day I drove down to Olympia with Angie, and we joined my family for the proper dinner. I roasted the bird, made stuffing, mashers, gravy, a green bean casserole (but not the nasty kind), and cornbread. Added to the mix by family: Cranberry sauce and this Jello/fruit mold, which is my favorite Andrews family food tradition. Seriously, it's AMAZING.

After rocking the Trivial Pursuit power hour, we went with my brother downtown to meet my friends Chris and Trever for drinks and shuffleboard at the Brotherhood. Outside the bar there's a Gyro cart called "gimpy's gyros." Apparently, the guy got in a bike accident, and used the money to do that....

Sunday was brunch at my momma's, and then Angie and I went for a walk with my dad. It was kind of crazy and structured now that I think about it....hmmmm.....it's quite difficult to split my time up when I go to Oly for only one night- so many people request my lovely company.

Well, it begins this week- the holiday madness. From Friday to the 16th of Dec, it will be work, work, work. Good thing for Angie she's going to Costa Rica. When I asked for the time off, I figured there would be a 1% chance I would get it. It was less than that: I got a reply of "Are you high!?!"