It's Hot!

Back from the wedding. It was great, but I'm quite exhausted, so I'll write more later.

It's really hot. Too hot.
Oh, and she said yes.

Urusai Baka ro! (In a mean voice)

I've been waiting for this day a while:
It's one of my best friends, Trever Santora's Last Supper. He's getting married this weekend, and the guys are going out for a blow-out, no holds barred Sushi with a capital "S" dinner in a tatami room at Maneki.

I'm eating all of the restaurants yellowtail. They don't even know!

One might ask: Are there going to be strippers, hoochies or just general shenanigans going on?
No women planned, because I realized that there's those guys, and then there's us.
Games/Plans: Read the same thing above. We are so used to making up our own fun off the cuff that we're just gonna roll- with our shit off safety as they say...

I am planning on getting drunk and shouting like a Yakuza thug while wearing a Hanshin Tigers baseball club headband. The same one I'm wearing in this old picture. Trever is the one standing next to me, Aki below.


Yes, my shirt said "callipygian"

Genghis Khan Likes Butter

This last weekend had some good moments.
Fri PM, house party at my friend Kenji's house, drinking margaritas and meeting a real life Kazak! Yakemash!
Sat, a day at the market, using the van. Afterwards, my dad came up, my brother came over and we went to the pitch 'n putt at Greenlake. I played fine, considering I hadn't swung a golf club in a few years. We then went to a pub for dinner, then to another pub to play darts, where, in the 1st game of cricket, I won in 9 turns! It was amazing. We then went to a place I thought was going to be quiet to play some cribbage with those guys, but I instead ended up talking to 2 girls.
Best part of the conversation: When they mentioned the Genghis Khan movie coming up, I mention I loved a movie that came out about him in 1989: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Ta-Dow!

Sunday was again spent at the market, and the evening was spent cursing after I mowed the extension cord for the lawn mower.  That is why YOU GET A GAS ONE (to my landlord).

And last night, there was trouble at the ice cream factory when the batter Dustin made last week that didn't have any sugar in it got run unbeknownst to me, producing butter.

I then spent 45 minutes cleaning the machine out.  When I corrected the rest of the batter that I found sugarless, by adding more sugar into it, I ran it.

It made more butter.

Seriously.

Van-sanity. Ok, that's really pushing it....

Well, it's been a regular week for me, until the last few hours of running around dealing with our new van.
It started at 2:30, when I left work, fought to get a cab, and when I got one 15 minutes later, the driver said he didn't want to take me there- it was too far! I guess he didn't have time. Then from the repair shop to the emissions place, where it failed, but got an exemption. I then fought a sunny Friday's rush to the licensing office, and got it sorted out there.
Now I am waiting for a call back from the insurance broker so we can use it this weekend. And only a few minutes before the end of the business week.

What's a boy to do with a Friday evening?

Ramble On

We had an actually nice weekend weather wise here in Seattle. The 1st half of June had been the worst on record, with the local paper reporting that we were actually colder than Siberia!
But the sun came, we sold well (Unless we go home with nothing, I probably will never say we destroyed) selling out of all but 2 of our flavors.
Ahh...what else of note. Cooked a graduation dinner on Sat night for 350 kids. I've never seen such consumption of food. They ate everything!
And last night, I watched the NBA finals for the 1st time this year. I haven't even really seen any other NBA games this season, what with the no cable/tv antennae....which is probably a good thing!

Ice Cream Doings

It's been very low excitement round these parts.
We did make more ice cream than we ever have made this week, with the new machine. It was in one 8.5 hour shift of insanity!
And we got a used van, and I drove it around a bit.
It's sad to say that a '91 Dodge Van with a 6 cylinder engine is fast. But it is compared to my car (which has the pre-curser of the van's engine in it....)
Who can come up with a good custom plate?

Alone in the Wild

I will start by saying it's been a very hard week for me. I'm not writing about why it's been difficult, but I will write about my experience of trying to get some clarity.

I went camping, alone in as remote as a place I could get to. I went into the Cascades, and ended up halfway between Hwy 2 and I-90. I took my car, the Dart, down a 15 mile, pot-hole filled, gravel road. It took me nearly an hour to do so. There wasn't anyone else out there.
I fortunately have a friend who lives in "that general direction" who I had conferred with before going out. I think he was doing some recon for me, and he went out that direction in the morning before I went. He called, and said that I'd need waders to get into the lake I was going for. I could borrow some from him.
So with waders, and my pack, and bear spray, I left the trailhead and went into Forest Service land. First I crossed a 100 yard bog, then went through old growth forest, then (I just found out) I went the wrong way. I hit a river I had anticipated, and crossed it, downstream from where I should've been. I then couldn't find the trail. All there were were beavers and their pond. I figured that they'd come in and covered the trail. It was getting late in the day, and so I struck camp in a spot that had been camp for someone else before.
I was right on the river on a small peninsula, or rather, an isthmus. I pitched my tent, built a fire, had dinner, and it was 10:30 before I knew it. The stars came out. I was alone. Very alone.
I awoke this morning to the sound of rain, and due to the poor soil of said isthmus, my fly wasn't as tight as it could've been. I packed some things away wet, ate an energy bar, and crossed the river, getting up to nearly my waist. Back through the woods and to my car, getting to do that crazy drive again. I listened to my dad's new album on the ride back.
I felt I got some clarity I was looking for. It was nice to be able to think without distraction. I think that is rarely attained in our lives nowadays. It's a shame really...
Oh, yes, and no sasquatch sightings either!

Ice Cream Awesomeness

I was just trolling the web for news on Empire Ice Cream, and over at the Seattle Weekly, I found this.

"The Empire guys start with the the milk, no ice cream mix for them, and you can taste it in the goods."

Time & Enchiladas

So the long story short is this:

We made ice cream in 35 minutes.  What would've taken us an estimated 6 or 7 hours of time in the old machines took us 35 minutes.

If time equals money, we're r-i-c-h.

Aaron likey.  I also likey enchiladas.

Sorry Kiwis.

I had to get my phone's codes updated- the one I bought in NZ.  I called T-Mobile, and when I explained the story to the woman at customer "care," she said, "you lived in New Zealand?  ....You know I have no idea where that is.....it sounds like it's in Europe somewhere."

I was in disbelief. I told her it's in the South Pacific.  She replied, "Really?  I am so bad with geography."  No you're ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.

I don't know which is worse, to be un-locatable or a dumb American- oh wait, I think I do.

True story.

Also, Dubya is col' chillin' these days.

Mi Vida Loca

So we got our new machine, but have yet to use it.  That's due to the fact it was actually delivered late, and then had to wait for the electrician.  And when it came time to make some ice cream, we only needed to do a small amount....so Tuesday night we'll be rockin' it.

It's been a good/busy/tiring last few days.

Fri: 12 hours of cooking at the club for the Copper River Salmon winemaker's dinner.  Then I drank too much champagne, and got little sleep.

Sat: Woke up feeling bad, for previously mentioned reasons.  Worked the U-District market, which is vary lame for us.  We're trying to change some things about that, but it's not in our hands ultimately.  I then went to the club to do inventory, and after that the Brazil vs Canada soccer friendly.  It was such a great game with Brazil's obvious talent, and Canada playing as well as they could (in fact they almost beat them!). 3-2 Brazil.  Then a big sushi dinner.  And a late to bed night.

Today: Woke up early, but feeling fine.  At the market at 9, and had a pretty good day, interviewing with a food critic for the P-I (paper).  Now I'm done, and am sitting here exhausted.  But I'm going for a run before I pass out!

Life is good.

Cuts and Cream

Here I sit, typing with one hand at work, due to the fact I just cut myself. I'm waiting for the thing to close up....I should probably go to the hospital, but I don't want to wait for 5 stitches.
I must've learned this attitude from my mom, who forgot to tell me my lil sister had broken her arm-over a week ago. It apparently took her a few hours to get Sophie to the hospital, because it didn't "seem so bad." When Sophie didn't want to go into the store to get a treat, that's when she really got worried.

My mom is going to be angry at me telling this tale.
Ice cream went pretty well last weekend- it was excellent to be out there. I knew that's where I belonged.
Our new machine is being delivered this very moment! Hazah!

Online Licks

We're online at EmpireIceCream.net

"Local Ice Cream For Local People"

Does that mean no Californians?

It has begun...

We moved some stuff into the factory last night, and I'll be going in to make the 1st batters this year in a little bit.
I'm excited!

Down there in West Virginia

Ahhhh.......America.



Thanks.

Best Player of the 1990's

I forgot to mention this:

I got the card I never obtained as a child, a MOST coveted Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie card from '89 Donruss (they were $.50 a pack back then!) from a pack my step-dad gave me.

I hope he gets traded back. Except they won't be calling him "the kid" anymore.

I loved this one:

Camping to Zeppelin

Man!
I slept in- I am off today. Nice to catch up on sleep. I put on Zeppelin II, sip strong coffee, have my "Korean Farmer's Breakfast." That consists of rice, kim-chee, and a lightly scrambled egg mixed with soy sauce and chili sauce.
The record is loud.
I bought a tent last week, a solo, ultra lightweight one. I had it set up in my room, but didn't take any pics. I've been putting together a gear list of light solo equipment. I think I have it all now. I filled my pack to the Lemon Song- the lighter, smaller pack (40L), instead of the bigger one (85L) I got from Trever that he used on his Siberia trek.
I fit it all in/on. Biggest thing/luxury: A nice sleeping pad. One cannot skimp on that I think. It will keep you comfortable, rested and most importantly, warm.
Here are pics of me all kitted up:

Call sign: Hammerhead.

History has taught us NOTHING.

I have a subscription to the New Yorker magazine (thanks to Paul). There was an article I just read about Herodotus' Histories. He's the guy that invented history- as a genre. He wrote a massive 9 volume series on the history of the Greek-Persian wars. Half of the series is about the back-stories of the various peoples involved. And the other half is about the actual wars between the various Greek city states and Persia. Xerxes was nuts, but if you saw 300, then you already knew that right?....
Anyways, the article ends with this:

Then, there is the story itself. A great power sets its sights on a smaller, strange, and faraway land—an easy target, or so it would seem. Led first by a father and then, a decade later, by his son, this great power invades the lesser country twice. The father, so people say, is a bland and bureaucratic man, far more temperate than the son; and, indeed, it is the second invasion that will seize the imagination of history for many years to come. For although it is far larger and more aggressive than the first, it leads to unexpected disaster. Many commentators ascribe this disaster to the flawed decisions of the son: a man whose bluster competes with, or perhaps covers for, a certain hollowness at the center; a leader who is at once hobbled by personal demons (among which, it seems, is an Oedipal conflict) and given to grandiose gestures, who at best seems incapable of comprehending, and at worst is simply incurious about, how different or foreign his enemy really is. Although he himself is unscathed by the disaster he has wreaked, the fortunes and the reputation of the country he rules are seriously damaged. A great power has stumbled badly, against all expectations.
Except, of course, the expectations of those who have read the Histories. If a hundred generations of men, from the Athenians to ourselves, have learned nothing from this work, whose apparent wide-eyed naïveté conceals, in the end, an irresistible vision of the way things always seem to work out, that is their fault and not the author’s. Time always tells, as he himself knew so well. However silly he may once have looked, Herodotus, it seems, has had the last laugh.

See? I told you no one learns anything from the past. Life is cyclical. Turn!

Amber Alert

Alert! Due to events out of my control, the BBQ/Sarlacc pit was not finished.

I did eat some great sushi late Sat night, after work (which became an unfunny joke with me as the punch line), go for 2 good runs, and attended a BBQ.

Next saturday I hope. Or else.

Pit

I've been pretty distracted & unfocused this week, but on Sunday I have big plans:

I am making a BBQ pit.  In my backyard.  It's gonna be sweet.

I'll be using an old Weber grill for a few components and bricks for the bottom part.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough to have it done in time to do some pork shoulder all afternoon....

Now that's what I call a BBQ Pit!