There, There

Throwing rocks as a wee boy is as good as it gets. If you have a little bit of country in ya, that’s universally known (so says my Tuesday running group). Until, you smash the neighbors’ glass table, but that is just a blimp in what was otherwise a stellar career.

I miss my five weeks of vacation I had when I was working in Europe. To be honest, I felt like I got just as much done and was never sick during those 5+ years.

More on that…when I was living in Europe, I felt like I could turn up the volume (work, fun, etc) and have the option to turn it down, whenever. Living in the US, I feel like, the volume is turned up and somebody has kicked the knob off…forever stuck in the high position.

Why do I always feel ripped off when I go to the car dealership?

Crying about your ex on the first date is commonly agreed to be a poor 1st (or 20th in my book) date move. If it does happen, however, hope for the end of the entrée and not appetizers/first drink.

I’m not much for white wine but the Mason 2004 Sauvignon Blanc is right up my alley; grass and fruit flavors, no oak, well made, clean finish, and cheap.

Down...set...

I'm impressed with today's Pop Warner football. I've been to a few of John's practices and it is clear sports science has caught up. What I have seen so far, those practices are highly technical and disciplined. And, they play on what appears to be fairway grass. More to do with it being in Marin County than anything else I bet. I hate to sound old, but we were lucky to have a continuous line of grass any where on our practice (or playing) field. I find it hard not to think about my days playing midget for Leon's (the local grocery store that sponsored us) in south LNK. Compared to what I have seen with Pop Warner, we were just playing smear the queer for two hours. I still remember a few pops from Hesse.

"Tackle the man with the football" just doesn't sound as good.

Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

I have passed more people on the right than on the left while driving on the California highway. I hate to say it but it’s a lot of AWD who are the culprits. Camping in the left lane wouldn't fly in Germany!

Last night, I went to see Spoon and Death Cab for Cutie at the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley. Great outdoor venue and entertaining show! I wasn't expecting much having seen DCFC in a sub par performance on SNL a few months back and was pleasantly surprised. They, along with Spoon, were on top of their game. All the camera phones in the audience looked like a field full of fireflies on a warm Nebraska summer night.

I could be described as rangy (RAYN-jee) adjective.

1 Slim and long-limbed.
2. Inclined to roaming.

[From Middle English range (row), from Old French rangier (to arrange).Ultimately from Indo-European root sker- (to turn or bend), the source of ranch, rank, shrink, circle, crisp, search, ring, curb, ridge, and curve.]

Go 'skers!

What ever happened to “Take your Sons to Work” day?

I’ve been running during my lunch hour on Fridays to the nearby levee. The five mile run is an excellent way to forget about work for 45 minutes and be around nature. What I also enjoy is the constant smell of licorice. Wild fennel grows all along the levee trail and is literally baked in the 90F plus temps. This heady elixir makes me think of Good & Plenty (I’m the only person my age still buying it as told to me by the Long’s Drugs check out clerk) or Stomach Ease Tea from Yogi Tea. Great stuff, both of ‘em.

Wouldn’t a child from one black parent and one white parent also be half white?

Sure glad I didn’t buy anything fancy for my nephews when my sister and her family came recently. The 4 X 4 box my chair came in and the bag of 40 clothes pins (for the chips) were a HUGE hit. Who knew?

I’m looking forward to another season of Hus (and college) football. That is one thing I missed when I was living in Europe. The Blackshirts are going to be tight with the return of Carriker, McKeon, and Moore. Now, if the O line can cowboy up and Taylor rounds the learning curve, we could be in for some fun (especially with Kenny Wilson at I-Back and Terrence Nunn returning punts). And, it looks like I’ll be spending some time at the Final Final, the NE bar in SF, as I won’t be getting a TV anytime soon. I’m blaming the stereo on that one.

No longer a virgin

Earlier this evening, I experienced my first quake. Crazy! I later read the epicenter was up near Santa Rosa (40 miles from the city) with an estimated magnitude of 4.4 to 4.6. I was drinking a beer with an old friend Billy and his son Cole (apple juice for him) at his parents place when it went off. It was quickly followed with laughs and high fives. It was the first quake for the three of us.