Beer! It kicks Ass!

There isnt much better on a hot summer day..than a nice cold beer..especially something with plenty of hops..good taste..something original..and being surrounded by 10,000 other people with the same idea. Yes..I was introduced to the Oregon Brewer's Festival yesterday, and the place was a madhouse. It was hot, the camraderie was definitely there with random chants every 10 minutes or so that started and ended with "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!".

So, for those who do not know, Portland, Oregon is now the beer capital of the WORLD. I am not lying. Supposedly, Portland has passed Cologne, Germany, as having the most breweries..etc. I knew Oregon was the micro-brew capital of the USA..which is cool by me, because give me a Deschutes or Full Sail anyday of the week over a Coors piece of crap. But capital of the world?! Well, at the festival, there were people and vendors/breweries from all over the world, and apparently everyone was having a blast, as I could count the number of sober people on one hand. The beers were mighty tasty too. People were really friendly, and I met some girl in line for my first beer who was obviously lit up, and either wanted more information about the beer I was getting, or my number..or both. Didn't matter the order either. She did not see my wedding ring apparently (or care perhaps). But she was cool and we toasted our first mug together, before heading our seperate ways. So my first brew was the Boulder Beer Co.'s "Hazed and Infused". Not a bad beer by any stretch, but I was soon on to other things. After plopping down by my friends Darby and Dawn and enjoying watching them slur their words and people watching in general, I polished my beer off and made my way up to the taps again. I saw some guy with a nice looking mug and asked him what he was drinking. "Chocolate Porter" he replied. I found that line and got the Siletz Brewery's "Chocolate Porter". It ended up being my favorite beer of the day. A nice dark beer with definite hints of chocolate..I know it sounds a tad..gross, for beer, but it was excellent. I came back to my friends, and enjoyed people watching the trim and busty ladies in clothes that didnt hide a thing, but for every nice looking lady I ogled, I seem to find 12 that were on the near side of 350 pounds or more, and well, not exactly what I wanted to see on a hot summer day if you get my drift. Guess it served me right for checking out girls while my wife slaved away at work!

For my third beer, I tried the Big time Brewing Co. "Kolsch 45", which was a great mild beer. A nice light one that would work well after work or with a nice Sunday afternoon BBQ. My wife finally arrived after her work shift ended, while I was drinking my fourth brew, the "Smuttynose IPA", which had a great flavor. She enjoyed the taste of it too, and we polished it off quickly. Obviously, the wife wanted to partake in the festivities, and with my last beer tokens, we got her the Flying Fish Brewing Company's "Dubbel Trubbel", which was probably my second favorite beer of the day. All in all, it was a wonderful event, something that was a lot of fun, with tons of great beers..and I need to get there earlier next time so I can enjoy tasters of all 36 brewing companies..and have my wife along as the designated driver.

While at the office...

This aptly summarizes my day at work today:



Truly..honestly..thank God its Friday...

What happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas

Well..usually when people think of that slogan, we think of strippers, a few too many drinks, perhaps a joint even. Well..for me, and the last few days..it took on a completely different meaning.

On Monday, I flew from Portland to Vegas and then caught a flight to Minneapolis for business. I landed Monday afternoon, it was about 90 degrees and thunderstorming and severe winds. I normally wear contacts, but on airplanes, my contacts dry up in about .03 seconds, so I try to wear glasses. When I stepped into my rental car and out of it..they fogged up in .02 seconds. I got to my hotel, which wasnt a bad hotel or in a bad neighborhood..but the lady at the front desk asked me if I was "staying overnight"?...I'll let that sink in for a moment. I looked around..did not see any hookers..didnt see any signs for room rates by the hour..but I replied "Yes..I am". Odd.

Anyways, so my meeting was Tuesday at General Mills. I saw the fabulously infamous "Betty Crocker kitchen" while on a mini tour there after meeting with my client. My flight wasnt until 11pm that night (or so I thought), so I thought I'd go check out the Mall of America for the second time that day (I had cruised around there for an hour or so earlier to kill time as well). I went again, saw a movie, marveled at the hugeness of the place, ate some sushi there, and left about 8:15pm for the airport (which as next door). I realized my flight was actually departing at 9:17pm, so I figured I'd just squeak by...but I still floored my rented Neon, didnt fill up (wtf..work is paying for it) and parked, ran to the gate and there was a massive line. Now understand, I was flying America West. United, Delta, Southwest..etc..all the other gates were deserted. It was 8:35pm. But there was a nice line at America West. it was the last flight out of the day. Well..I start hearing rumblings the flight is delayed until 11pm. Great..if it leaves at 11..and my connecting flight in vegas is at 11:50pm..Ill never make it. Turns out there was some mechanical problem (great thing to hear when you are about to fly) and the plane actually landed in Minny at 11:50 and we left for Vegas at 12:30am...landing at 2:15am. No hotels for us. No cots. No place to shower. So I call customer service and they cannot guarantee America West will reimburse me for a hotel. They also dont officially open until 7am, so I cannot call and ask, or see if theres a voucher for anything I can get, so even try to get some sort of compensation..etc.
Good thing I stole/kept the blanket from the flight, so I attempt to curl up on the chairs and sleep..since the next available flight to Portland is at 11:40am!..and they cannot send me on another airline, nor on a flight earlier to say, LA, San Diego, SF, Oakland..and then up to Portland..thats right..I am stuck in Vegas at the airport for 9 1/2 hours. Not so bad some may think..but with no friends, no shower, no gambling tables...no fun.



Anyways, trying to sleep at an airport is trickier than you may think. First off, theres only about 1000 flourescent lights on. Secondly, at 2:30am or so..the cleanup and maintenance crews come around, vacuum, change trash bags..etc. Third..the time of day surely doesnt stop the public announcements for "Ines Cunejo, please call 01 from the courtesy phone..Ines Cunjeno..." Well, after the 7 times I counted (unless I actually dozed off), I wanted to call the operator and say "Ines is obviously not here". They also run emergency broadcast testing beeps and messages at 3am. that was fun. Oh, and then there are the slot machines that whistle and ding-ding-ding to attract your attention and loosen your wallet.

I sat up. I tried to read an old newspaper. Someone had left behind a cowboy novel. I was saving my ipod battery for morning and flight. I got bored. I tried to sleep again..and must have dozed for about an hour..because I woke up, it was about 5:45 or 6..and the airport was teeming with people. I checked which gate I was supposed to be at for my flight. B17. I was parked at B21, so I moved my crap and then tried to sleep again. I got up..saw I could eat breakfast at Taco Bell or Starbucks. I walked over to Starbucks and got an orange juice and terrible tasting bagel and cream cheese. I decided to call customer service again..the agent was friendly and is giving me $150 voucher to use on a future flight. Not bad. Not great. Enough for now. I check the arriving/deaprting flight signs again..they moved my gate to another terminal. I book on over there..which sucks, because those moving sidewalk things (I call them slidewalks..) dont work..so with my bag, its a little less than pleasant considering the lack of sleep and emotional energy I have at the moment..but the least of my issues honestly. I finally get there, I plop down and read magazines and listened to my ipod until my flight at 11:40am.

Yeah...great trip. Did I mention that because my car was rented for just over 1 day, they charge you $15/hr so a 1 day (plus 3 hours) car rental came to $173? I cannot wait to put that on my expense report.

Josh, meet your virtual self

So, I saw this odd link on someone else's blog, thought I'd give it a go. You put in your height, weight, hair color, eyes, etc..dress it..and then it builds a vague resemblance of what you look like. I'd say mines close, close enough to get the idea..but not really a great representation of me.
You can try it for yourself here

The need for speed

Ok..ok..yes I am back.
Where were you?
Well..first off..I had no internet connection at home..Verizon (if you have read my blog since that start with my initial rants about these a-holes) never hooked up my dsl..so I got fed up, called comcast and it took them all of 2 days to install a cable modem..so its up and running at home..and with a wireless network too :)
Secondly, I was in the San Juan Islands (about 1 hour NW of Seattle) for a few days with the family and wife for a nice restful weekend.
Pictures will be developed shortly.
Third..people have asked for photos of the house..yes yes..I know..I dont have a digital cam as I said..so its a bit of a pain to scan pics and waste film..etc. especially since half the rooms look like crap now with boxes there, or no shelves or artwork on the walls..etc. So thats slowly coming together.
Plus..stuff has to be fixed in the house still..I just found out we need a new water heater. Yes, we had an inspection..and the heater still has a couple years left..but its only 40 gallons and our shwoers are good fro about 7 min of hot water only before it slowly gets colder and colder..and we want to run gas lines to the stove and outside for a bbq..etc...so thats needs replacing..etc..so my time is spent on the house and not blogging at all.
Lastly..my friend that does have a digital cam..who took a bunch of pics of various things (like a good trip to Seattle..) well..she hasnt exactly been..speedy..with sending me the pics. In her favor, she does travel ALOT for work and fun.
So..needless to say..you may have to wait a bit for all my photos..but stuff is getting done.
I am sorry for not posting...or commenting.
Ill get back to it! :)
Thanks for being patient!

MIT & House

Saw this on a couple blogs, but I only remember BigDubb's.
Anyways..




Ok..as far as house pics go..I stupidly DID NOT take photos while painting. I also do not own a digital camera..though my wife has a lil piece of shite one. So, Ill take some pics of the house in its extremely unfinished state and post some. I did post a pic or two way back in March or so..of the front door.
Needless to say, we will be paiting the trim of the house, yanking out 1-2 trees/bushes in ther front and another 1-2 in the back, redoing the plants, moving stuff, getting new fixtures, adding shelves, buying a dining room table and chairs, getting a BBQ, getting bedroom walls conces, redoing the kitchen and bathrooms, painting the kitchen..etc etc..basically, that just means spending lots and lots and lots of money in thre next few years.

There goes my midlife crisis Porsche :(

2 albums

I admit it. I download a lot of cds. I dont really share them often, but I definitely download a bunch of mp3s..I do also buy cds, and buy mp3s..but sometimes, I simply snag em for free. So, that aside, 2 cds I actually bought (USED) a few months ago, have been just..playing almost non-stop in my car.

The first is Interpol - Antics. I had heard "NYC" of their first cd a while ago and liked it. And then "Slow Hands" was being overplayed of course. I also tend look at music from tv shows and movies I like and download a song or two from the film. The tv show, Grey's Anatomy, is not only a good show my wife and I like to watch, but it happens to have great music. On their website they actually list the songs they use by episode..very cool. I have not been able to find the theme song on any legal or "questionable" file sharing services. Anyways.."Evil" by Slow Hands was in an episode there, during a party scene..and its been in my head ever since. I listened to the cd at Rhino Records in LA in Westwood, and bought it. Its fantastic.

The other cd I bought, also at the same time, is Jem - Finally Woken. Again, a great album. Many of her songs have been on the radio here (speaking of which, Portland's 94.7 fm is TEN times the radio station LA's KROQ has been in the last 10 years). Coincidentally, she has been featured in Grey's Anatomy as well. Give em both a listen..

On a side note..when my DSL is up this weekend, Ill go back to posting more frequently. Meanwhile..the house is slowly coming together..very slowly.

We will return after these messages

First off, let me apologize for not updating soon.er I just moved into my house, and had 3 days to prep 3 rooms (taping, cleaning walls), then putting 2 coats of primer on, and then painting (2 coats in 2 rooms and 3 in another). Needless to say, my wife and I are beat. Her friend Kyle bailed on helping us. My friend Brian went out of town. Our friend Dawn had never painted before and we just sorta let her be excused. Anyways..to sum up..the move went well, everything is in our house and only internet access isnt working. The walls are painted and looking good, and we unpacked most of the kitchen, office, living room and clothes for the bedroom, and need to finish up the bathroom, office, other 2 bedrooms..etc. So..I am a bit tired, and unhappily back at work. Ill update more soon. Thanks for your patience.

PS - click the letters above to change the image ;)

It's not that I'm lazy it's just that I don't care...

Ah yes..such a great line from "Office Space" to get out of work and do nothing...
And on that topic, I need excuses to get out work early today, so I can take more boxes to our new home from our old apartment, and also perhaps do a little prep work for the painting that shall commence tomorrow morning. See, the movers come Tuesday. And we have to take the fragile stuff over, tape the floorboards and so forth..the masking..prime the dang walls..and paint. The must haves are the master bedroom, the living room and the office. The kitchen is the next priority and the downstairs bathroom is the bottom priority. That is a lot of work...and all before Tuesday. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off to help the UN-packing, but not anytime before.

So..whats it going to be? How do I leave early..when they know I do not have any client meetings..and using the "family emergency" excuse at 2pm on a Friday might be..just a wee bit bogus. Hmmm..I suppose I could be honest.."I just need to work on my house before the movers come..." but that might be a little too honest.

So..I plead to you, oh faithful reader or two that I have..give me a non-bunk excuse!