It's been a while so I have a lot to cover. Lets see how much of it I forget...
SEATTLE SNOW STORM!!! That's been the big thing lately. It started during the Ho-down and didn't really let up for a couple weeks. Yesterday is when the big melt began. I couldn't be happier...
During our winter event I didn't really do too much. Worked pretty much everyday, which led to some interesting, or should I just say packed, bus rides. David was a champion and drove me home most of the days...
While holed away in my house we cooked like crazy. Here's some of the foods that were made: lime squares, chex mix (twice), cookies, roast, chicken soup, chili, etc. It was good, we pretty much just spent the whole weekend of the 20th at home baking and trying to stave off cabin fever as best we could...
There has also been a rash of puzzles going on. It started with the creek puzzle. Which led to the boat puzzle. Then the monkey puzzle (damn the monkey). Just when I thought we'd done all the puzzles I have Elizabeth came over last night with a Last Supper puzzle. It's over 3 feet long!!! I may add pictures to this later, but my camera is at home...
The indoor garden is taking shape nicely. I got a bunch of seeds planted, effectively starting phase two. The big light is out now and they're loving it. Well, those that aren't getting burned. I have to look into it a little more. Some of them are thriving, like the jalapenos have double in size, while others aren't doing so well, the Peruvians haven't done anything. In time I'll get it all figured out and we should be able to start the continual harvest around March or April...
Christmas was good. I went out to my Dad's for the eve. It was really pleasant. My sister, brother in law, Joe and I played the game of Life. Joe won because he decided not to go to college. The irony of that game will never get old. We ate chili and tomato soup. It was fabulous. Then my brother and Joe came down and spent the night at my place. Christmas morning my brother made breakfast, which was great, and I put up the indoor garden light with a little help from my friends. That evening I went down to Claudia's with Matt and we ate dinner. She made Cornish Game Hens. So good. Then we just dinked around for a while playing Dangerous Hunts on the wii. All in all a good holiday...
Not much else going on in my life. Now for a couple other things...
Dear Seahawks, As if this year wasn't bad enough for Seattle sports fans, we had to watch you. Step up your game next year...
Larry Craig tourists now is the time. They're beginning to see a slow in bathroom tourism at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport so now is your chance to get out and see where it all went down!....
The garbage is pilling up. It's pretty gross. I just want them to finally take it all away...
Israel is bombing Gaza, again...
And one last thing for all you out there that believe teaching abstinence and not responsiblity in school is the way to go, click here. I personally don't understand why the current administration has taken the course they have. It's like sending our troops in Iraq into heavy fire without body armor because they took a pledge to not get shot...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
What the Pho?
So from the title you can probably guess this blog is about Pho. The title is actually the name of a place in Bellevue. Pho restaurants have some of the best names ever. Just a few that stand out to me: What the Pho?, Tic Tac Pho, and my personal favorite name Pho 88, which is strangely common.
But lets get into the meat of this (raw beef for me), what makes pho so good? And it's not just that it's good. It's magical. I've been sick for the last few days. I thought nothing could help me and then I remembered pho. So I went and got some pho at the place near my work, which isn't even that good, and now I feel like a new person. I can breath again! I can feel the broth running through my veins curing all my aches and pains. I actually feel human again, as opposed to the muscussy shell i've felt like recently.
I'm rambling again though, which is easy to do when I talk about pho. What I really want to know is if any of you out there have ever successfully managed to make a magical pho at home. I've tried before and it never turns out, so I'm looking for a good recipe. Even better, if any of you know someone, preferrably a lil old vietnamese woman who's been making it all her life, who can teach me hands on how to do it, let me know. Nothing would make me happier than to have a vat of pho broth brewing in my kitchen all winter long.
But lets get into the meat of this (raw beef for me), what makes pho so good? And it's not just that it's good. It's magical. I've been sick for the last few days. I thought nothing could help me and then I remembered pho. So I went and got some pho at the place near my work, which isn't even that good, and now I feel like a new person. I can breath again! I can feel the broth running through my veins curing all my aches and pains. I actually feel human again, as opposed to the muscussy shell i've felt like recently.
I'm rambling again though, which is easy to do when I talk about pho. What I really want to know is if any of you out there have ever successfully managed to make a magical pho at home. I've tried before and it never turns out, so I'm looking for a good recipe. Even better, if any of you know someone, preferrably a lil old vietnamese woman who's been making it all her life, who can teach me hands on how to do it, let me know. Nothing would make me happier than to have a vat of pho broth brewing in my kitchen all winter long.
Monday, December 15, 2008
You're all wonderful
Saturday was the Holiday Ho-down. It was a great time. Good people, good food and good drinks. Here's some of my favorite pics from the night.
Thanks to everyone for coming. If you're interested in seeing more pictures they can be found at the following places:
Lucile's Holiday Ho Ho Ho-Down 2008 - Courtesy of Rebecca Jeanne - Photographer
Lucile Street X-mas - Courtesy of Morganelle
Lucile Street Christmas Party - Courtesy of Raybies
Next up Chili Cook Off...
Thanks to everyone for coming. If you're interested in seeing more pictures they can be found at the following places:
Lucile's Holiday Ho Ho Ho-Down 2008 - Courtesy of Rebecca Jeanne - Photographer
Lucile Street X-mas - Courtesy of Morganelle
Lucile Street Christmas Party - Courtesy of Raybies
Next up Chili Cook Off...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Haunting dreams...
So I had some extremely disturbing dreams last night. I don't remember much of what happened except the parts when someone died. I guess I should also point out that I can't say for sure if these were all different dreams or one in the same. But I woke up after each person died...
The first took place in a warehouse. I was working with a large wall of wooden sticks, each probably 30 feet tall. I was using a saw blade at the bottom of the pile to cut each piece of wood into small splinters. At this point my boss showed up and told me that I was doing it all wrong. She then brought in 4 people I've never seen before, all men. The largest of these men brought with him a bushwhacker, a large radial saw blade on the end of machine like a weed whacker. This bushwhacker was unusually large. He looked at me and fired up the machine. He then took one large swing and cut all of the sticks in half, but then didn't stop his motion. The blade came full circle, nearly hitting his comrades, and heading straight for me. I was incapable of moving as the saw blade cut through my right temple. I could almost feel it tearing the tender tissues of my brain. Blood began spraying from my wound. I screamed for help but no one could hear me over the sound of the bushwhacker. I put my hand to the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding. Blood was flowing everywhere. For a moment I was more concerned about drowning in it then from the fatal blow to my head. Finally someone noticed that I was dying and began to rush to my aide from about 50 yards away. This was the last thing I saw before my vision went white. And I woke up...
The second part begins at a busy intersection. Everything I remember suggests that I was in LA, or a city exactly like it in a parallel world. My friend Joe and I had just finished dinner with a group of people and had decided to go to the intersection and take some photos. There was definitely a paparazzi element to it. I had the camera and he had all the lens, which we seemed to change with every shot. Then we saw a celebrity, I'm not sure who or if they are even real, and got extremely excited. This man moved faster than everyone else and Joe decided our only chance at the picture was with the biggest lens we had, which was about 12 inches in diameter. He struggled to get it out of the bag, which was only half the size, and once getting it out we couldn't figure out how it attached to the camera base. Out of nowhere a man appeared and assaulted our potential model. He then assaulted another man. Then a woman. He attacked everyone in the area, before noticing the two of us. He came running in our direction. I handed Joe the giant lens in hopes that he could use it in his defense. I moved in for a preemptive attack but without any warning the man pulled a large samurai sword out and skewered Joe where he stood. Immediately Joe began vomiting blood. His stomach and other organs were exposed. The attacker then began to carve his body. I was completely horrified. I remember the large pool of blood spilling over into a river that cascaded down to a nearby storm drain. And I woke up...
The final dream took place in a movie theater. My brother and I were seeing a movie. It seemed that I knew almost everyone in the theater. There were coworkers, both current and previous, old friends from school, relatives. Before we got into the actual theater we were waiting in line and the man in front of us was being beyond disrespectful to his female companion. I don't remember what was said but it made both of us uneasy. As we made our way into the theater. There was a security guard outside the entrance. We entered and noticed where this man sat. My brother wanted to sit near him to make sure he didn't get out of line. A coworker of mine was sitting behind him so I asked if I could switch him seats. The angry man took notice of this and then started a confrontation. Everything started happening very fast. The man left with his girlfriend. We then went to follow them. When we got back into the foyer the security guard was the only one left. He told us that they'd left. But they would be back just after him, and he left. Many things happened here, none of which I remember. The only thing that I remember happened just before the security guard returned. My brother looked over at me and said, "Whatever happens remember that this is my fight. Don't try to help me. Even if it looks like I'm going to lose." The security guard then came back and said, "I hope you're ready for this." Then the man entered the foyer. But it was no longer the man I remembered from earlier. He was now over 15 feet tall and loomed over all of us. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be doing some kind of pre-battle ritual. My brother ran up quickly and jumped on both of his feet simultaneously causing the giant to let out a chilling shriek. The giant then looked down at my brother and grabbed both of his arms. With one single movement he removed my brothers arms from their sockets. This is when the blood started flowing again, like a fountain. The giant laughed and the room shook with the booming sound. He then looked down at me and smiled, before raising a single massive leg and crushing my brother into a pile of guts and gore. And I woke up...
Now I don't know what any of this means. It has had me greatly disturbed all day. I've read some stuff that suggested that death in dream often represents a change. I just hope that it's a good change...
The first took place in a warehouse. I was working with a large wall of wooden sticks, each probably 30 feet tall. I was using a saw blade at the bottom of the pile to cut each piece of wood into small splinters. At this point my boss showed up and told me that I was doing it all wrong. She then brought in 4 people I've never seen before, all men. The largest of these men brought with him a bushwhacker, a large radial saw blade on the end of machine like a weed whacker. This bushwhacker was unusually large. He looked at me and fired up the machine. He then took one large swing and cut all of the sticks in half, but then didn't stop his motion. The blade came full circle, nearly hitting his comrades, and heading straight for me. I was incapable of moving as the saw blade cut through my right temple. I could almost feel it tearing the tender tissues of my brain. Blood began spraying from my wound. I screamed for help but no one could hear me over the sound of the bushwhacker. I put my hand to the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding. Blood was flowing everywhere. For a moment I was more concerned about drowning in it then from the fatal blow to my head. Finally someone noticed that I was dying and began to rush to my aide from about 50 yards away. This was the last thing I saw before my vision went white. And I woke up...
The second part begins at a busy intersection. Everything I remember suggests that I was in LA, or a city exactly like it in a parallel world. My friend Joe and I had just finished dinner with a group of people and had decided to go to the intersection and take some photos. There was definitely a paparazzi element to it. I had the camera and he had all the lens, which we seemed to change with every shot. Then we saw a celebrity, I'm not sure who or if they are even real, and got extremely excited. This man moved faster than everyone else and Joe decided our only chance at the picture was with the biggest lens we had, which was about 12 inches in diameter. He struggled to get it out of the bag, which was only half the size, and once getting it out we couldn't figure out how it attached to the camera base. Out of nowhere a man appeared and assaulted our potential model. He then assaulted another man. Then a woman. He attacked everyone in the area, before noticing the two of us. He came running in our direction. I handed Joe the giant lens in hopes that he could use it in his defense. I moved in for a preemptive attack but without any warning the man pulled a large samurai sword out and skewered Joe where he stood. Immediately Joe began vomiting blood. His stomach and other organs were exposed. The attacker then began to carve his body. I was completely horrified. I remember the large pool of blood spilling over into a river that cascaded down to a nearby storm drain. And I woke up...
The final dream took place in a movie theater. My brother and I were seeing a movie. It seemed that I knew almost everyone in the theater. There were coworkers, both current and previous, old friends from school, relatives. Before we got into the actual theater we were waiting in line and the man in front of us was being beyond disrespectful to his female companion. I don't remember what was said but it made both of us uneasy. As we made our way into the theater. There was a security guard outside the entrance. We entered and noticed where this man sat. My brother wanted to sit near him to make sure he didn't get out of line. A coworker of mine was sitting behind him so I asked if I could switch him seats. The angry man took notice of this and then started a confrontation. Everything started happening very fast. The man left with his girlfriend. We then went to follow them. When we got back into the foyer the security guard was the only one left. He told us that they'd left. But they would be back just after him, and he left. Many things happened here, none of which I remember. The only thing that I remember happened just before the security guard returned. My brother looked over at me and said, "Whatever happens remember that this is my fight. Don't try to help me. Even if it looks like I'm going to lose." The security guard then came back and said, "I hope you're ready for this." Then the man entered the foyer. But it was no longer the man I remembered from earlier. He was now over 15 feet tall and loomed over all of us. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be doing some kind of pre-battle ritual. My brother ran up quickly and jumped on both of his feet simultaneously causing the giant to let out a chilling shriek. The giant then looked down at my brother and grabbed both of his arms. With one single movement he removed my brothers arms from their sockets. This is when the blood started flowing again, like a fountain. The giant laughed and the room shook with the booming sound. He then looked down at me and smiled, before raising a single massive leg and crushing my brother into a pile of guts and gore. And I woke up...
Now I don't know what any of this means. It has had me greatly disturbed all day. I've read some stuff that suggested that death in dream often represents a change. I just hope that it's a good change...
Monday, December 8, 2008
All we are saying...
Today is the 28th anniversary of the untimely passing of John Lennon. I encourage you all to spend some time thinking about the legacy that he has left us.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A couple of quick political points..
I think that Carolyn Kennedy would be a great replacement for Hillary Clinton. The last thing that I want to see is Bill take over her seat. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me...
A little rant about Sarah Palin and the Big 3. Its come to light that Palin's stylists earned $165,000. That's just in nine weeks!!! That's over $2600 a day! This is just as bad as the Big 3 executive all flying their private jets to washington with their hand out. Personally I'd like to see all this money thats being wasted in American turned over to reputable non profits. I know Sarah's hair might look flat and the execs are going to have to drive themselves to DC, but think of the good that could come from that kind of money. Homeless shelters, job training, education, just to name a few...
Just one more. As for our current budget defeicit in Washington State, I have the perfect idea to help. Legalize Marijuana. I know I know, it's hippie bullshit, but here me out. Illegal marijuana is our state's 6th largest cash crop, above cherries. And that's just what they find! Now if we legalize it and control in the same way we control our liquor there is a fortune to be made by the state. Sales alone would be huge, not to mention the reduction in costs of trials and jailing for misdemeanor crimes. Just a thought...
A little rant about Sarah Palin and the Big 3. Its come to light that Palin's stylists earned $165,000. That's just in nine weeks!!! That's over $2600 a day! This is just as bad as the Big 3 executive all flying their private jets to washington with their hand out. Personally I'd like to see all this money thats being wasted in American turned over to reputable non profits. I know Sarah's hair might look flat and the execs are going to have to drive themselves to DC, but think of the good that could come from that kind of money. Homeless shelters, job training, education, just to name a few...
Just one more. As for our current budget defeicit in Washington State, I have the perfect idea to help. Legalize Marijuana. I know I know, it's hippie bullshit, but here me out. Illegal marijuana is our state's 6th largest cash crop, above cherries. And that's just what they find! Now if we legalize it and control in the same way we control our liquor there is a fortune to be made by the state. Sales alone would be huge, not to mention the reduction in costs of trials and jailing for misdemeanor crimes. Just a thought...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Dear Asshole
Someone stole the atheist sign from the Washington State Capitol. Now personally I wasn't a huge fan of the sign. I think that they could have gotten their message across without being so negative. However. This is America. You don't go around stealing fucking signs from a state building because you don't like what it says. Now I don't know about these asshole theives, but I'd rather not turn our great country into a fascist haven where all our rights are oppressed and you're nothing more than a battery for the state. The atheists have just as much right as every other religious group represented in our state capitol.
So to the person who committed this shamefully cowardice act I say, you're an asshole. And beyond that you are a threat to our freedom. I hope you're arrested and deported to some fucked up country. Like Burma. Where they do things to you that I won't mention in this forum.
So to the person who committed this shamefully cowardice act I say, you're an asshole. And beyond that you are a threat to our freedom. I hope you're arrested and deported to some fucked up country. Like Burma. Where they do things to you that I won't mention in this forum.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Photoshop Challenge!!!!
Alright all you photoshoppers out there we've got a challenge for you. So I would like you to take the image above and photoshop my head on to both of the bodies. I'm leaving this one up to artistic impression. I don't care what you do with the text, but I'm sure you'll all find something good. If you need some inspiration or media to work with you can find a bunch of pictures of me at www.flickr.com/desomniac
Who ever comes up with the best one is going to get a special surprise from me. You'll just have to win to find out what it is!
Send all entries to desolatesorrows@gmail.com
Monday, December 1, 2008
You're so pretty when you're unfaithful to me...
This is the 50th blog post. Yeah me, I guess...
...I think that all of you should know that I make a mean turkey soup. So if you ever find yourself with a turkey carcass and don't know what to do with it give me a call. I can give you the run down...
...I recently checked out the bowling alley between work and my house, Imperial Lanes. It's awesome. I expecting a very thug life atmosphere. Not the case at all. I recommend that any of you bowlers check it out...
...I feel bad about the people in Thailand. I don't really understand the situation fully. But it's horrible out there. However I feel worse for the people of Mumbai. I hope that there is some greater force (God, Allah, Brahma, whatever you want to call it) watching over the situation that can instill an unseen sense of reason. Without it all I can forsee is a nuclear war...
...Finally got the holiday invites out. What a scene. I missed a few people, because i don't have the email addresses. But at least I got something out...
...Listen to more Pixies. It's good like that. I recommend Surfer Rosa or Doolittle. You can't go wrong with either of them...
...We're officially in a recession. Doesn't it feel good? Lets all go out and buy flat screen televisions...
...I guess now all we have to look forward to is Christmas. I hope that you all soak up as much of the festive environment as you can while it's still around, because after that it's just 3 cold months of winter...
...I have to shut this down...
...I think that all of you should know that I make a mean turkey soup. So if you ever find yourself with a turkey carcass and don't know what to do with it give me a call. I can give you the run down...
...I recently checked out the bowling alley between work and my house, Imperial Lanes. It's awesome. I expecting a very thug life atmosphere. Not the case at all. I recommend that any of you bowlers check it out...
...I feel bad about the people in Thailand. I don't really understand the situation fully. But it's horrible out there. However I feel worse for the people of Mumbai. I hope that there is some greater force (God, Allah, Brahma, whatever you want to call it) watching over the situation that can instill an unseen sense of reason. Without it all I can forsee is a nuclear war...
...Finally got the holiday invites out. What a scene. I missed a few people, because i don't have the email addresses. But at least I got something out...
...Listen to more Pixies. It's good like that. I recommend Surfer Rosa or Doolittle. You can't go wrong with either of them...
...We're officially in a recession. Doesn't it feel good? Lets all go out and buy flat screen televisions...
...I guess now all we have to look forward to is Christmas. I hope that you all soak up as much of the festive environment as you can while it's still around, because after that it's just 3 cold months of winter...
...I have to shut this down...
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