sofa no more

so..the tale of the couch takes an unexpected turn....
fullhouse has decided they don't want to sell me the floor model either now, not because they don't like me, they have lost confidence in the company, steven anthony, that makes the couch and don't want me to have a bad sofa. they have had a little trouble recently with his couches and would rather have me have my money back and find a couch i will like and be happy with rather than have me return in a few months complaining about my sofa...and i respect that. i like that they are being upfront and honest. i still have no couch and now have to go back to looking around to try and find one i like and then...
anyhow. they have told me they will give me a couch to sit on while i find one i like - be it from them or elsewhere...that's very nice of them.
so...away we go.

g.

hello boston! hello new york city!

hey, didn't i just come back from the east coast? (the long way....) but yes i did. well, i'm going back. ailsa's brother is getting married in new york on the 21st of april and i am going to do my hair and put on a clean shirt and watch it all unfold.
years ago, so many, i decided i wanted to see every baseball team play at home and i have done pretty well but still have a few to go - including the boston red sox so, with the great help of cam and jess, i have tickets to the rangers/sox game on the 17th, so one more park will be taken care of.
i have also booked some tickets to the yankees game - hate the yankees but the mets are out of town - for the 19th with ailsa and fiona. i have been to a few yankees games but have not been to the new stadium so that's cool.
i am contemplating going to washingtion d.c. as well to see the nationals but we'll see how that goes...i was going to take a train to washington and then fly back to seattle from there. i'll let that one unfold as it does.

ok. i have a coffee date with mr. mushet at 9 am and then i egt to go get my new glasses at eyes on twelfth and then....a meeting with the owner of fullhouse about my couch and what's going to be done about mine...they have offered me the floor model, which i am cool with, but a discount should be in order. more details as this unfolds as well. lunch and art show with garvie and fiona....big day.

ok. have fun today.

g. xo

Señor sofa...gonzo

Well, after discovering a few too many things I don't like about the sofa - and we're talking manufacturing errors not me just not liking the thing... I'm now in discussions with Fullhouse about what is to be done. And it wasn't just me...the Garbs weighed in on the problems as did he who can not be named on the blog. And better yet, a friend of he who can not be named on the blog is a professional interior decorator and buyer of very high end furniture and she came over to have a look and gave it the thumbs down.
So...we'll see what happens but that couch ain't staying'.
I am bummed but want a piece like the one I fell in love with at the store - which may be the one I get in the end...some discounts may have to be applied..
Details as they come.

g. xo

i thought...

... i was just kinda bummed about the broken wood and less than perfect finishing on my new couch but...i just realized after sitting on it, in one basic position, for about an hour now....it's not comfortable.
i better learn to get used to this...

fuck.

g. xo

raiding trader joe's and the couch comes home....

damaged.
yes.
after all the waiting and the delays, the couch i ordered from fullhouse on fourth ave. - who i am really not so impressed with right now but that could change...maybe not.
anyways.
mishi and i decided to drive to bellingham today and make the rounds - which includes a trip to her favorite junk store, a little value village, la gloria for lunch and a huge run at trader joe's...some great crap in my pantry now. yup.
just as we were leaving bellingham, fullhouse called to say that i could pick-up the couch at their warehouse over near main street...sure. ok.
then they called to say i needed to pay them the balance before i could take it home. i told them i kinda thought i should look at it and make sure it was ok before i forked over the cash. makes sense right? could be damaged? or green instead of blue or?....i came home, dropped off my shit and went over to fullhouse and told them i wanted to put the while deal on my debit not my credit card but that they could take a swipe of my credit card and once i knew the couch was ok i would come over and pay them with my debit...nope, they were having none of that.
they came up with some other scenarios that were retarded and in the end i left my debit and credit card there along with my driver's licence so that i could go get the garbs and then go pick-up the couch, go back to fullhouse and pay for the couch.
when we got to the warehouse the couch was still completely covered in the plastic and foam and whatever else with a small part exposed so you could see the top fabric. so we just took it and told them we would inspect it at my place after we paid back at fullhouse.

which we did. both things. though, sidebar....the woman who owns fullhouse, who told me that a credit card imprint expires the next day - which is a load of shit since i had already used the same procedure to take a carpet home from their store less than a week previous and i told her so - was still at the store when we got back there to pay and she was on her cell phone talking shit with someone. she didn't so much as move, look at me, or say a word upon our return. no, 'how's the couch?', 'thanks for understanding about the money...', 'i hope you love the couch'....nothing. i'd say it's very unlikely i will be buying anything for fullhouse again....nice stuff...kinda shitty communication with the customer...and i'll tell you right now, i was at my most polite ever. just sayin'.

anyhow...we got it back to my place..
and low and behold...damage. the wood trim that was an option looked like someone took a a small hammer to it...so, a phone call was made and then an email was sent with pictures attached...(there are a couple of other things i'm not stoked about but i know i'm just being super fussy so i'm gonna let them go....)
the rest...not sure. but something.
then the garbs and i went to pronto on cambie street for some pork. that place is good. we'll be back....good stuff...more of a report on this joint later...but enough to say that it's garbs approved.

g. xo

issy birthday pics...

issy wanted a steak and a nice salad. i reminded her that she had loved the triple mushroom demi-glace reduction steak thingy at the cactus club - the food is very good there now since rob and elizabeth took over .... so...away we went...the garbs and mishi met us there and it was on.

(issy pulled out her camera a few times - a camera i bought her after i saw the old camera she was using one day - and when i saw it and tried to make it work and couldn't, decided after dinner we would all head to london drugs and get her a new one, which we did....pretty exciting!)

anyhow...nice dinner....(sadly ailsa and fiona couldn't be there with us ....then it would have been a party...!)

g. xo

The waiting.

Yesterday was a barnburner to be sure. A morning spent working on my coffee table - refinishing it, weeding in my garden, general tidying getting ready for the new couch that they said I could pick up today FOR SURE, but when I called them today they say it's now tomorrow and is that ok?
Well, it kinda has to be.
Then there was a bomber game at 3:30 followed by a cowboys game at 6:00. Then, after dropping Corie off at home I had to run out to port Coquitlam to pick up a part and deliver it to another shop in Burnaby...I didn't have any dinner between games so I was some hungry I tell you, so I stopped in at Roma for a quick snack before heading home...nice.
Today has been a bit if a bust, though a plumber did manage to get my place in gastown sorted. I still have to put a new handle on but that's it. Nice to have that squared away.
Otherwise not much has gotten done today - the couch remains out there somewhere, an ignitor for ailsa's BBQ remains unfound, etc... Maybe tomorrow.
Ok. Chiro soon followed by dinner with Issy....that'll be nice.

g. xo

happy birthday issy!!!!

look who's 29 today!

issy!

have a great day kid!

g. xo

closed.

garvie and i went for a very nice dinner at roma tonight, it was like a date night...nice. garvie thought that maybe there was a chance, a good chance, she ate too much but sometimes when the food is good you just have to...tonight was also the last night of food and good times at refuel. i told ailsa i may go by there later tonight for a last drink...and when i was driving home i just couldn't stop myself.

i wanted to say good-bye to a place that was my local, even just for a short time. great people, really great people - the glue of any restaurant - good honest food, a place to take friends, a place that made a burger that the garbs and i loved more than we really should have, a Margarita made by jessie that was second to none, a place guys could sit at the bar - corie, he who can not be named on the blog and the garbs - and share some laughs and be fed like kings, a place i could go for a dinner after being away for six weeks with ailsa and feel like i was home and happy to be so. a place i could go after cutting grass and feel like i wasn't pissing them off for being there with grass on my shoes.
thank-you katharine, jane, paulus, sugar, crystal, jessie, teran, et all....thank-you. i mean it.

ok.

g. xo

To the rescue

I'll say this. If you think you may need a plumber in the next week to ten days, call one now. Seriously.
After much stress and times close to tears, I have booked a plumber, Hillcrest plumbing, and they will be going to the gastown garnyard to fix the problems there.
Ok. Back to the regular programming.

g

not always the way we want it to be.

today wasn't and hasn't been a banner day.
nope.
it started off ok. a few errands and then...it began raining. literally and figuratively.
the rain came and made a mess of my table. tony called and needed something from bill's shop out in poco. my tenant called and told me the shower is fucked. i went and had a look. it is. and i can't find a plumber who can help me right now - they're all too busy. the guys i ordered my couch from seem less and less like they actually know when my couch will be delivered. and the noise from the no-frills grocery store downstairs is, maybe, making me insane.
and there's more...small shit but holy cow. it all adds up.
i am, however, putting that all aside for now and getting down to getting dinner on the go for ailsa and myself...tacos carne garnsada. make some nice salsas, some pico de gallo, some guacamole, grill up some veggies...
all good. and then back to the world of movie magic tomorrow around 5 a.m.

i'm working for the weekend.

g. xo

snow. wind. rain.

ok.

so it looks as though i will be waiting a little longer for my couch - i kinda feel like i have bad couch ju-ju or whatever. but i will make it ok...it's just a couch. why should i expect them to know when it's coming in...? even though they said it left california over ten days ago.
anyhow.
and right after i put the first coat on my table outside it began raining and then snowing...so there will be more sanding and coating and...
and then my tenant just sent me a text and said there's something wrong with the shower in gastown, it's leaking, or something...so i have to go and have a look at that. should be awesome.
and tony just called and needs something from bill's shop....in poco.
nice day off...

moving on.

g.

lead legs, sanding and hopes of a couch...

oh man, i'll tell you, i did not play like a champ last night. i kinda knew i didn't have it in me last night but i really wanted to get on the ice...i don't think i was completely useless out there - somehow got two assists on goals - but, wow...i felt like i had exactly no jump. my legs felt so tired right off the bat, in warm-up even. i'm hoping the next game i play with the bombers doesn't find me there after being up since four a.m. and the game being at ten at night...but in the end, we won the game and i went to bed.

before...and at top of the page, after...same but different...

i have on my list getting my deck table sanded and ready for the spilling of sauces and drinks and garvie pointed out that it was nice enough out today that i may be able to get that done....pretty good idea..so after i ran some stuff over to north vam, dropped by the shop and picked up some meat for tonight's dinner, i gave the table a sand and put one coat of varathane on it. i know i'm maybe not going to get the coats on before it rains or it may be too cold but i'm giv'ner anyways...and i like what the table has and is becoming. sure, i could sand it for hours and get it all back to how it was when it was first out there, but that's not the deal. it's a picnic table essentially and i like the scars and discoloration. it just needs a little protection and clean up. so...that's what it's getting. it will look the same in the end but with a smooth finish once again.
nice.
almost two weeks ago i checked on my couch and they said it would be around ten days to get it here...we're passed that so i'm gonna take a walk across the street and see what's what. as much as i love my chairs, i want to have a couch once again. fingers crossed.
also, i'm having some hacking done by a friend of friend today that will, hopefully, bring me once step closer to having a VPN set-up in my place and one step close to ditching my cable...
more fingers crossed.

have fun!

g. xo

With the bears

After a couple of days helping prep the trailer and such I've now found myself on set for the first time in a while. I think the last time may have been on the epic award winning 2012. Exciting stuff and I've gone right back to my fx roots - smoke guy - good stuff.
We are out in deep maple ridge with a small crew and having a great time.
Up at 4:30 each day to get here fit a 6:30 am start... Love it. Don hoven and I are driving together, carpooling, you know saving the planet...
Bomber hockey tonight with a chance to slide into first and secure a decent first round of the playoffs...
Have fun today!

g. xo

refuel closing...why i give a shit.

this morning at work i was sent an email by ailsa's mom. she was hoping that she wasn't the bearer of bad news, but she was. she had heard that refuel was closing.
and, it's true. it will be closing at the end of the month and replaced by a new diner run by top chef contestant somebody Bird...i care not. not right now anyways.
i am a creature of habit. it's true. and when i find something i like, or love, i stick with it. i practically lived at topanga cafe for over 25 years. and, when things there changed, and i won't get into any of those details of that right now...or maybe ever. so....
don't ask.
i don't remember my first meal at refuel but i do know that i must have loved it. i loved the casual feel of a restaurant that served medium to high end food and was a comfortable place to be. i welcomed back into my life a restaurant that would cook a burger correctly, in my estimation. not scared of e-coli because they cooked it rare. that's the fuckin' way it should be. i loved that they made their own bacon, ground their own chuck, made bread, sauces from scratch, used all parts of the pig, tail to snout. the rib-eye there was, and still is for a week, fantastic. but over and above the food was the staff. and i won't name names here because if i forget one i will feel badly. (maybe they can bring back the sugar pie for the last week...)
refuel was the place where they knew my name. and the garbs' name. and corie's...it was our cheers. and to name one name, jesse made the best margarita - perhaps in town. (i haven't had one by rob in a long time but his are legendary in my mind as well...next in line the congress hotel in tucson and range in san francisco.)
and so it is. my local is closing and i feel a little burned by it, and will soon set-up shop in the mr. shwarma down the street next to the noodlebox as my new haunt. i think.
i sense rambling coming on...if not already.
i'll miss it. them. the food.the drinks. the sitting at the bar having meals with the garbs and corie and 'he who can not be named'...dinners at their real tables with garvie...and one time an extravaganza with 'he who can not be named on the blog', garbs and mishi (ailsa mentioned today that she had never actually had one of their burgers so this weekend she will...) there was something there for everyone...
ok.
it's going. it's gone in my head already...i will have at least two more meals there. then i will search for a new local.
i don't know if any of this made any sense but...fuck it. i'll miss refuel.

g. xo

bullshit.

this is bullshit.

g. xo

and so....

well, that went well. after the ferry fiasco, the moving of the couch to tracey's place in victoria - with floyd helping out - was a easy as pie. so in the end tracey has a new couch and i have room for my new one - whenever it shows up...should be soon.
this morning, after a nice coffee, i got my shot together and got to work on my list of things to do. (i like lists, it helps to make sense of my days...when i'm not working on a show i can flounder if i don't keep myself busy...) today's action was kinda laid out for me but i added one thing i didn't have planned in advance - getting rid of my living room carpet. so, as much as i have a love/hate thing with facebook, it's good for getting rid of stuff - like craigslist is. except with facebook you're giving it to friends or at least facebook friends. today that's how it went...though i do consider the person, sheri - a friend and as it turned out she needed a carpet for her studio - she's a painter doncha know.. wicked. so i rolled it up and threw it in the element to take to her...
then...it was of to ailsa's to get shit done there. today it was fixing a GFI plug in her bathroom, caulking the spout on her bathtub, pressure washing her deck and seeing why her bbq wasn't working...all done. all good. (thanks to my uncle glen for lending me his small electric pressure washer...nice unit dude.)
then it was time for lunch. i called mishi and went down and we hossed down on some burgers - hers salmon, mine real meat - at the market on granville island...nice.
after lunch i decided, while it's still a ways off, i should take one of my mowers in to shima's to get it tuned up and ready to go once the day came...the snow today tells me that it's still a ways off ....but you never know...i was looking at corie's lawn the other day and within a few weeks i'll be cutting it.
now a little relaxo. tonight dinner at ailsa's and then bomber hockey. a couple more regular season games and then we're into the playoffs...then a couple days after that, the spring/summer league starts...

have fun.

g. xo

Timing is everything

I am on my way to the ferry - i am delivering a couch.
There was an accident in the Massey tunnel northbound...no biggie for me...then there was one southbound...shitty. Now they say there's at least a one sailing wait once I do make it to the ferry.

Good times

g. xo

showdown.

after pressure washing my deck to within an inch of its life, i took my show on the road to issy's. there was some green grime out there that needed washing off so it was done in a quick and furious manner. then as i am able bodied, somewhat, i broke out the ladder and started in on the eaves - it had been a while since anyone had cleaned them out and having done them as a kid i figured today, or that day, was as good as any to be up on a ladder, in the rain, cleaning crap out of gutters.
it started out badly when the grape arbor i had put my ladder up against - one that has never given an ounce of grapes worth eating - decided that it had had enough, broke and sent my ladder going one way and me the other...it's kinda funny how as your falling you have to decide, and quickly, where and how you're gonna land.
it worked out. but the grape arbor is now done. and really, it's day was done a long time ago.
in the end, a clean green free house at issy's. good stuff.
last night it was my first visit back to refuel since being back from the world trip and i was ready for some snacks - as were corie and the garbs. i have nothing really new to add about a visit to refuel except that last night the garbs and i, corie passed on the opportunity, tried the roasted bone marrow for the first time....i'm pretty sure there will be a second and third time for that. good. really good. the burgers and dry ribs were awesome as well...and the margs.
today i have been senor domestic and cleaned the yard. lots of dust here lately...like you give a shit...anyhow..i have bigger fish to fry that my dust anyways...
i have a grocery store below me now (beware i am about to make some overly dramatic statements but right now i feel them...for reals...) it's a no-frills. not that the type matters, because it doesn't. but. for the last six months they have been doing construction down there and making a fucking racket every day. drilling, building of an elevator, tons of contractors..and that's the way that goes. i get it. you're building something. but now, i get to hear the daily goings on down there. the loading bay doesn't seem to be a huge deal with the trucks and trailers doing deliveries in the mornings - though last night at 7 pm a huge semi was backing to do a delivery...nice. but what i hear is some sort of system they have in place for moving shit around down there. things with steels wheels, i assume, that make a hell of a racket. and it's every day. not all day. but every day. and early.
sure, i'm an early riser but, i'm not a fan of this noise. and while i understand that i am living in a city and living with others, etc...this shit sucks.
i am going to try and see what they've got going on in the back that's making all the noise and scraping sounds, and i have heard that the guy who owns the store - alphie, is a good guy. so....we'll see if something can be done. if not...well, we'll see then but....i may have to think about moving.
seriously.
the increased traffic in my alley, the trucks bringing deliveries, the scraping and moving noises, etc...i don't know, honestly, if i'll be able to take it...i never thought a grocery store would make me wanna move but, maybe...just maybe.
i think the garbs was right last night when he said it was an age thing...and not that i'm a geezer but, i see the city differently now that i did when i was younger. i need the things the city offers less and less every year. i don't need the night clubs, i don't need all the sports teams, i'm not looking to make the scene...i'm here for a few reasons really...my life is here. but my life really is a small part of the whole city. my relationship with garvie, issy, a handful of close friends, and my job. that's it. that's why i am here.
my reality is i need a couple of good places to eat, a movie theatre, my job or a job, a team to play hockey with and decent internet. i don't need 90% of the stores on fourth or main street. and i don't need all the traffic...sadly, the work is here so i'll stay....but if i win the lotto ever, all bets are off...

g. xo

busy bee...

since coming back i have been slacking a little...and why not? we, the gang at the BOC have no project on the go, i have time to sit and look out the window at the day each morning and relax a little...
ok. i need to get going.
i have made a list of things that need doing and today i'm starting in on it. yesterday i went for lunch with issy and saw all the work she has done in her basement - wow! and it looks great and i'm glad i could help a little here and there...the garbs too. i put a few more things on craigslist and they are now the way out. nice. soon that basement will look great and when it comes time for issy to sell it won't be a huge deal getting shit out of there...years away but still great to get shit done now.
i just swept my deck in prep. for the power washing i'm gonna do later today and then i'll pack everything up and take the whole show out to issy's and get rid of some green out there. power washing is very satisfying...you just have to be careful not to get too close to shit or it becomes a paint removal tool and a concrete fucker upper.
but i'm happy to have the list now to guide me each day....because i find it very easy to sit on the couch and drink coffee and just think about doing things...

g. xo

maybe....

....there's something you want....

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/zip/2890587582.html

g. xo

If I ever....

...am talking on a cell phone in a coffee shop talking with headphones on and have a suit that's tight and a briefcase full of bullshit...
Kill me.

G.

home is where the heart is.

yup.
i made it.
many states and planes rides later. i am here.
garvie is here and is making me dinner and i am very happy about that... both for dinner but more that i get to see her.

more later.

g. xo

hello santa cruz, hello san francisco...hello I-5

after a nice sleep at the old motel 6 i was ready to go - as usual at the old man time of 5 a.m. good lord. my sleep on this trip has been nothing short of weird. and fucked. yet i seem to be making it ok.
got into santa cruz around nine am this morning and decided i needed to do some laundry as my car was getting a little smelly...not terrible but...and it worked out well because one of the stores i wanted to go to wasn't open until ten am so...all good.

 

after i picked up a new pair of sunglasses - same drill as the last three times i have been there, it was off to do a little walk around and then get some lunch...and my friends, we have a new top dog in the world of mexican food in santa cruz.

los pericos taqueria is fucking amazing. i had driven by it many times before but had always gone to my mainstays but today i decided to give it a go....good lord! as i said the other day i wondered if i would ever find something as good as little poca cosa again....well, today i did. totally different, but amazing. it made my day. next time i'm in santa cruz there won't be any doubt about where i'm getting my lunch...and maybe my dinner.

then it was off to the surfer statue to drop off some shoes. a while ago i dropped off a well worn pair of shoes and left some change in them hoping one of the dudes in santa cruz that needs a pair of shoes would take them. of course i have no idea who got the shoes but i have always hoped it was a homeless guy who could use them. today i put another pair there that i was done with. hopefully tonight a guy there is wearing a new pair of nikes.

 i left santa cruz and headed into san francisco for a couple hours...i wasn't going to there at all as garvie and i were just there a couple of months ago but i remembered a couple of things i wanted to pick up so i went downtown and, since it was several hours later i needed a little pick me up before i hit the road towards portland.....so i dropped by pancho villa for a couple little tacos...not as good as santa cruz but still great....and then it was get out of town time...
so here i am in weed, california and tomorrow i will be in portland and then home...in my own bed...i look forward to it...

see you soon...

g. xo

stories in LA, sandstorms and back tracking to austin.

ok...

i have to say that yesterday in tucson was about as perfect a day in that town as can be had. lunch at little poca cosa, coffee at epic coffee, a very nice visit with renee's parents - george and nancy - then a margarita at the cup cafe inside the congress hotel and then, the topper, before leaving town a short trip to the vacant lot at stone and 22nd where a couple of guys make sonoran hot dogs. perfect.
then it was off towards phoenix, actually just west of phoenix, and then to bed. so good. i wanted to get on the other side of town so in the morning i was not going to have to deal with the morning traffic.

and it worked...but what was interesting was the wind. and the sand. and then the two together. my arms are actually kinda sore tonight and tired from keeping my hands hard on the wheel as the gusts of wind were so hard that they would force the car sideways at times...not un-nerving at all. and i got to see and be in my first sandstorm. it was small but it gave me a very good idea what a big one would be like. the pictures i took don't really do it justice. it's like being in a fog on the highway except it's sand and super sandy. super cool.

i rolled into town and made my way to see libby at her shop ranch-n-roll. her birthday was yesterday so it was nice to be able to give her a visit as my birthday present to her. libby is awesome and has had, to say the least, an interesting life since moving to LA three years ago. (she had moved there to be with her boyfriend of eight years - they had been dating long distance all that time...) and then after she came south it kinda all went south. and the story of how it all did fall apart os insane...it will be repeated in select company but not here.
we took her dog tango for a walk and had some tacos and talked and it was awesome to see her. she's very happy despite all that's gone on and i think things are gonna go her way from now on.

i then got i my stinky ride and drove down to the area of town that shauna is now living with, with the her new man, and after a short look at her place - an old store front - we went and got some coffee and a coupe treats...the sun and such seems to be agreeing with her and she, like libby, seems happy with life in LA...
then it was time to get on the highway and make my way north. i can only stay in LA for so long and right now any city and all the traffic after being out on the road with no traffic is hard to take.

oh...ok...so austin texas. here's my thoughts on that town.
great looking city and the people i met there, just a few but, were all very nice and happy to help and give directions and...but i think unless you're there for a specific purpose - like south by southwest (music festival) or to run the restaurants every night, and see the shops on south congress street...it's like most other cities. i'd say that portland actually is a city i'd prefer to spend more time in. i think to really enjoy auatin i'd need to drink more. and then even more. i'd definitely go back, but not alone. i think being there with someone and doing things together is more austin style.
ok...
there.

i'm actually shacked up in a motel 6 and am a little annoyed that for the second time at a hotel on this trip i have to pay extra for wi-fi.
bullshit...

ok. bed time...below a bunch of pics for the last while...

g. xo

 i had bbq at this place. doggy 'hood. and the place had no windows.

 night in the middle of texas.

 i wanted to try the chicken here but they were closed.

 libby's shop in LA.

 sandstorm action.

 tacos in LA.

a nice drink at the congress.