photobooth

A seductive shot from Chop Suey the other night.

whats not

I'm dragging a bit today, went for a long sunny walk after work Friday, ran into my pal Thad and we walked and talked all the way to Capitol Hill, catching up on life, rhymes, shows. What a nice way to end a workday and begin the weekend. I met some besties at a new-ish diner for tots and cocktails, then took the pre-game over to Lobby for drinks overlooking busy Pike Street, then finally to Chop Suey where Glitterbang opened (solid portland duo) followed by one of my fave bands Dont Talk to the Cops. They still got it, we danced and goofed around in a photo booth and called it a night mid-way through the main act.
This video makes me happy: DTTTC + b-boys! what's not to love.

phraseology

Scenes from a weekend: I rented a car after work Thursday and caught a ferry to the coast. Friday morning picked up an electric lawnmower at Sears and drove through a sudden downpour out to Ram Hill. I had big plans to work outside all day but using an electric mower in the rain didn't seem like a great idea. The sun returned and by then I had assembled the mower--a super easy snap-n-tighten task thanks to Remington--plugged it in and I was mowing.
Call me melodramatic but it hurts me to cut grass, especially this grass, knee-high and lush and billowy and deeply green, dotted with daisies and some dandelions and wildflowers. But, in the interest of crowd control I flipped the lever to the highest setting and mowed away. I pulled weeds, swept the patio, used the push mower on the driveway, cleared branches, and when I was done, the air smelled rich and sweet, and didn't have that heavy petroleum tinge a gas mower leaves behind, fart-like.
I built a fire Friday evening, sat on the patio with beer and snacks and read and looked up at the sky, listened to the wind in the trees and birds chattering and wet wood crackling.
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Yesterday was a friend's birthday and a bunch of us gathered at her place to celebrate with tacos and a pinata stuffed with candy and lil nippers. Later I had long island iced teas at sunset on the deck at Pony with a charming friend. When I mentioned how sexy his confidence was, he lowered his sunglasses and said, well thank you but is anyone confident? we're all faking it, right? I had to agree. The night ended with whiskey at another friend's, and a belligerent guy ranting at a Ballard bus stop at 1 a.m., screaming about Africa and injustice until a vet, just back from Afghanistan, regulated.

hbd Sid

Birthday happies to my little sis today.
She has a lot of nicknames--Yula, Sid, Binky Bear--and wears a lot of hats: mom, wife, Senior HR Vice Directorial Professional, co-conspirator, sister, friend.
The past year was an ass of a year, and saying this for a family on close terms with all the baddies (death, abandonment, betrayal, you get me right?)--well, that's saying a lot.
Kind of like saying the ocean is deep or Johnny Depp is hot (hott--hawttt!).
Anyway.
My sis has come through the year with grace, endurance, tenacity, and her signature dry wit. The forecast for the upcoming year still ain't so great but I'm holding out hope and wishing her peace, love and happies.

doomed

How many times have I danced to this song and never peeped the video before today?


Reading this GQ article, however, makes me hate this dj kid a little.
Not as much as reading *this* GQ article made me hate *this* guy.
A snowboarder friend and I were e-mailing about Dubai today, and when I sent him the link to Ski Dubai (d00d wtf?!), he said he thought we were doomed as a civilization.
Word.

j'arrive

All this travel finally caught up with me. I didn't make it out of bed until noon today, and 2 hours (and 2 cups of coffee) later I'm still dragging.
Even though it was relatively easy travel, good flights, a comfy bus, excellent company, sufficient sleep--maybe the miles add up, physically, psychologically?
Over the past 20 days: Seattle-->New York-->Dubai-->Addis Ababa-->Debre Birhan-->Addis Ababa-->Dubai-->New York-->Seattle-->Vancouver-->Seattle
Today: Seattle
But, I'm already thinking about the next trip (look out Hays America).
And the one after that.

flying the coop

Its my last day in the USA for about 10 days. Today I'm hanging out in one of the most expensive cities in America (holla NYC) where some people spend more in a month on pet food than others make in a year. I'll arrive a day later in one of the poorest places in the world (wassup Addis Ababa).

Its gonna be a fun trip. I get to meet/work with 11 new friends, build houses and hang out with east Africans. Also, I'm ready to fly the coop for a few days. Between work, readings, family, and love-life drama, its been a pressure cooker of a year.

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So whatsup with nyc flakesters? I got blown off 3x in the past 2 days, a record even for me. Eff-why-eye, the ol' "dude I'm sick" is getting tired. If you don't wanna hang out, say you don't wanna hang out. Kay? Kk.

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See y'all on the flip!