panagarbs

g. xo

bullock.

RIP.

brian bullock.

g. xo

here comes the fawnz

yup.
it happened.
and she looked awesome in her beautiful wedding dress. and her man dave looked very handsome in his suit and fresh shave. nice.
last saturday ailsa and i went out - along with approx. 60 others - to fawn and dave's place in north delta to catch the wedding vows in their backyard.
the food was great, the rain held off and everyone had a great piece of poundcake at the end. awesome.
congrats to you fawn and dave - honeymoon to follow in november...drinks by the pool i can only assume.

g.xx

a new car...

...not for me. for pete. my long time hockey/music/etc pal (he's a fuckin' bomber so...that kinda says it all) bought a car in portland - it was quite a process with more than a little back and forth - and yesterday was the day to go and grab it and bring it home. sure, he coulda taken a plane or a bus or a donkey but once i found out, i offered to drive him. fun right? two guys on a little road trip to portland to get a car.
lovely. sign me up.
and it was. lovely.

i grabbed pete at seven am yesterday morning and we were off. i'd like to regale you with stories of idiot border guards and flat tires and such, but i can't. i just can't. it all went very well. the border was easy - though there was a moment in the questioning process that i wondered how many more the guard with the lack of dental plan would ask us, but it soon ended and we were outta there.

some trader joe's snacks for the road, a quick stop in olympia for some coffee at cafe vita - that also turned into a quick visit to the local taco truck (decent, pretty decent) and we were back on the road and in portland by 1 pm. all good. more wandering around, coffee at stumptown and then - the experiment i've always wanted to try - levi's shrink to fit jeans. i finally bought myself a pair. for those who don't know, here's the deal. levi's make a jean - the 501 - that can be bought in a preshrunk or a shrink to fit. i have, for most of my life, bought the pre-shrunk. in recent years i have heard stories of people buying the shrink to fit and what it takes to make them yours - the idea being that by buying the shrink to fit you get jeans that fit you. just you. and after a while they are the best jeans you've ever worn. that's the idea. and they shrink a lot. you need to buy up in size - two sizes up in the waist and up to four sizes in the length. so i did that - i actually went a little over in the waist because the math didn't work correctly. no biggie. 

and now. the process is this. you put the jeans in the bath in warm water for about an hour. after the hour you take them out and roll the jeans up trying to squeeze out as much of the excess water as you can. then you put them on until they are dry. sounds good huh? and as they dry they shrink to your uniquer body shape. also, you try and wash them as little as possible over the next six months. (if they get skanky there are a couple things you can do - wash them but do not put them in the dryer in fact maybe do the dry on you thingy again, or you can hang them outside for a day or two and some even put them in the freezer - a famous newscaster does this.
so in the next little bit i will be doing this when i have a few hours to burn. stay tuned.
we had to meet the car dude at 3 pm and then after we'd have some time to get a burrito or tacos or both. i had thought of staying over but was leaning towards just heading home, but a meal at la bonita had to be in the works before i headed back. i love that joint.
even though i didn't have a ton of time, i did want to see mishi and garb's pal, tara, who had moved there in december. (we're pals as well but i met her through them) she awesome. she lives down there with her son, max and her man kevin - he's a big wig in portland at their version of science world. i suspect he's a smarty pants. so we invited max and tara to come to la bonita with us - they accepted. it was a great time - i had a lovely shrimp chimichanga (i can't remember the last time i had one of those...and it was great.) pete loves the mexican goodness and i think his veggie burrito made the grade. max had a little of tara's food and some of his own. it was great to see her.
the car dude was perhaps the straightest man in the world and in the end, i think, just wanted us outta there. as i said, it had been a long process and he just wanted the cash in the bank and us headed north.i went to shake his hand as we were getting ready to split and he turned away and said, 'see ya...' so be it.
after we dinner we went back to tara and max's, used the facilities and we were away. well, pete was away and i was headed to trader joe's for some goods and then i would be heading north. somehow i ended up ahead of pete and had been thinking of staying in a hotel if i got tired but after mount vernon i hit a second wind and made my way to the border, through, and home. left at 6:45 am and home at 1:15 am the next day.
perfect.
pete had to stay over night in bellingham and then took care of the paperwork this morning, and now has a new car in his garage.
nice work pete. nice work.

g. xo

oh the weekend that was

as i sit here now i can not imagine ever walking again without sore legs.really sore legs. 
after mega lawns during the last week, a bomber game friday night (win), five ball hockey games saturday (2-2-1) and another bomber game last night (win) i am a little tuckered out.

i was the goaltender in the all-day ball hockey tourney and used muscles in my thighs i don't use that much. good lord i am sore. our team, TEAM ODDS, raised $7000.00 so that's pretty cool. thanks to everyone who contributed.

and now, the rain. it's back and it's gonna be autumn soon and we better just start getting used to it - though i am praying for rain next saturday as it's fawn and dave's wedding and some sun would be great! and if i'm gonna wear my outfit, i'd rather be doing that in dry weather rather than wet.

sometimes you just have to hang your pants out the window.

it's true.
i think i have, on other occasions, had pieces of my clothing attached to parts of my car in order to dry them out while i drive. yesterday was just such a day.
mishi and i decided to go to bellingham and seattle yesterday and as was well until i got a coffee in a defective cup at Woods coffee just outside of blaine. the lid just would not stay on and the paper cup seemed flimsy. i spilt a little when i first got into the car but figured out - or so i thought - how to make it work.
when we got to bellingham i dropped mishi off at the crazy, make me lose my mind, antique shop and went to look for something else to do while she rummaged through piles of crap. i was holding the coffee in my right hand as i slowly pulled into a parking spacer when the cup gave way and the top popped off and before i knew it i was wearing the contents of the cup in my lap.
so great.
hot coffee, now turning cold and seeping into my gonch and through to my seat. love it. i was surprisingly, for me, not that upset but more in the thought process of, 'what the fuck now?' how do i make this right? buy new pants for the day? buy some shorts?
i went to a parking lot where i could take off my pants and see the real wetness and what i needed dry out to make things right. i ran the car heater for a bit, while mishi was still combing though piles of shit, and that worked a little. but when it came time to pick her up, the pants were still very wet, so we put them through the back window of the truck and away down the highway we went - pants flapping in the wind. air-drier.
by the time we got to seattle they were reasonably dry and away we went.

the details of the day in seattle are the usual.
mexican food. and more mexican food. and a little shopping. nothing of any great note to, well, note but it was a great day down there, the weather was great, the food was decent and we killed it at trader joe's so both of our shelves are now well stocked.
i'm having a domestic, stay at home - so far - kind of day. recycling, laundry, eating, etc. i'm gonna go out and see what's what but less is more today.

g. xo

plugging away

i really haven't taken that much time off since the end of godzilla - sure i had a great weekend with garvie driving around washington and oregon and went to see some baseball in washing d.c, philly and houston (and i know that sounds like a lot) - but consider years previous.
after a show i would typically hop in my car - in recent years the element but for years the comet (larry) and go for a drive. sometimes that drive would take me up and down the coast and a few other sidebars, but more often that not, i was in for a real drive. sometimes circumnavigating the united states, sleeping in my car, showering at truck stops, crashing with friends when i could. watching baseball games - knocking off parks, eating burritos and tacos at places i had heard about or just came across. cups of coffee with truckers at crappy little side of the road diners.
all that.
now it seems, due to my work schedule, i work then take a flight to whatever games i want to see. last year it was cinncinatti, pittsburgh and cleveland. great games. and this years, the philly, washington, houston games. the difference this year was that due to the weather - it was suppose to rain the whole way and rainout all the games - it was so humid and hot that i basically went to games and looked for a/c afterwards - be it in a hotel or restaurant. not awesome. great games, but nit what you want when you're wanting to truck around and watch a few games. i was sweating most of the time like i'd been cutting lawns all day. like a freak.
anyhow..what's my point?
oh. ok.
i am still thinking of seeing more baseball. or...i dunno. driving down to get a burrito in santa cruz. or something.
i have, though, been keeping busy. rain and all. i have been cutting some lawns. the usual there. i have also been doing some days on set. cool. keeps my hour bank up for my medical and dental. super cool. and i have also been doing stuff that i hadn't anticipated, but that i am super down with. odds and ends. odd jobs. kinda. i was cutting the other day and a neighbour next to the lawn i was doing asked me if i could do some pruning of some trees for her. um, sure. it became apparent that she wanted the whole tree gone so in the end i had a truck full of branches and a good job done. the problem is, christine, who i was doing the job for, is starting to lose it and a few times during the job asked me a few questions that made exactly no sense. at all.
loopy.
anyhow. i'll give her the bill and see what happens. i am a little scared but know i will get paid eventually.
and today, after the rain stopped, i made my way over to billy's place - a client i have who calls me here and there and gets me to cut the grass at a place he's renovating. and sometimes he gets me to take stuff away - dirt mainly but today it was dirt and garbage. so, again, my truck was filled with garbage and dirt and i was on my way to the dump. i love it. i like the solitary work. things look better once i am done - today both the lawn and the bags of crap gone. good stuff. if i could do shit like this every day i'd be happy. not as much dough as film but i think it's ok.
i may be heading to portland tomorrow or saturday or sunday to drive my man pete down there to get a car he is buying. i'm happy to spend a few hours in the car with pete. great guy, bomber brother, and great film technician.
ok. i have managed to down a couple sausages i bought bosa today and now need a little something sweet...

g. xo

decisions, decisions.

oh lordy.
it has been a week i'll tell you. i'd be cryptic but i don't even have the time or energy for that. i find life hard and right now, it is. it's not fatal, i am not dying - i don't think, but just plain hard. i'll figure it out.
on the other hand...

i am thinking, once again, about selling my motorcycle as i have only ridden it three times in the last two years and while it's a great bike and beautiful, like so many other things - if you're not using it, why keep it. so, once again, i am thinking. i was on it last night and sure, it's great to be on it, it's fun, it's great to feel the wind, etc. but, i dunno. it's hard to let something go that you've had for over 20 years.

craig send me this pic of him wearing a nixon lawn order shirt - such a great guy. i am lucky to have him around.
ok. it's labour day and i don't have a job...lol. so is it still labour day? a day off from my job?

g. xx

if i'm gonna...

..then i better.
post. i have to post if i am to bring this thing, this blog, back to life. i am making ketchup, and just ate a few too many scoops of ice cream and am thinking about how, how i need to keep up on this thing.
but i am fading a little.
when i finished this off last year i felt like it was time. it was time to give it a rest. and i did. there were various reasons why i did - some i mentioned then, and some i did not - and will not mention now. it was just time. i don't have as much to say, i don't think. i have stopped taking as many pictures - i think people got tired of me pointing the lens at them - so i stopped. i also wondered about me needing to document everything. everything i did. you did. all of it. leave a little to the imagination.
but i am going to try and keep this up and running and make it fun again.
this week has been a test of sorts.
i was, after finishing the last big film project, taken back to working on set again. and i have to say, i was kinda stoked to find out i was working on a project matt dillon was involved in. pretty cool. i was not as stoked to be in the woods in the GVRD watershed until early in the morning from the night before in the pouring rain. but i was. there. doing that. and really, it's a paycheque. and i was there with guys i really like, who i have worked with or known for years. so it was all good.
i made my annual pilgrimage over to hornby to visit with ailsa and fiona as they set up camp there for a couple weeks. it's always a short visit but i like doing it - ailsa's parents tom and dorothy were there as well and i like having time with them as well. it was beginning to rain as i left yesterday morning but i know they had enough books and games to keep themselves occupied.
before i went to hornby i stopped in at floyd and janine's to see them. my dad was in bed as he had done 'something' that made his back and left leg very sore -  a nerve issue i believe. i have had word since that he is on the mend so that's good. i also, while in victoria, met-up with muc and jenn and the new one there - august jackson. he's a good lookin' kid that one - not a lot of crying but a lot of smiling for sure.
marc and i had dinner at bin 4 - victoria's best burger apparently - and had a nice visit. it's nice having him back in this neck of the woods as i get to see he and jenn more. and now i get to see jackson grow-up and become a mini-muc.
today was all about cleaning. so very exciting. i have to cut tomorrow and go pay my corp. taxes - so that'll be great. oh and i get to write a cheque to my security alarm company as well. oh it'll all be so great. handing out cheques.
and now, now i am making ketchup from the few tomatoes i did manage to get from my 'crop' this year. i want to make the most of what i did get out of the crappy crop. i have made decent ketchup before so i am hopeful.
ok. i know i need to get back in shape here and i am working on it. the insults, the rants, the raves, the pissed-off garn. don't worry, i'll get it back.

g. xo

matt f'ing dillon, bullshit margs and a fixed doinker.

i have said this before and i'm saying it again - i don't often get too juiced up about seeing celebs. at work i see a lot of them - actors - and i used to meet a few here and there when i did radio - musicians mainly - and i have seen a few sports dudes here and there. but today i was taken aback when i, all of a sudden, found myself standing next to matt dillon. pretty fuckin' cool. he of The Outsiders, Rumblefish, Drugstore Cowboy, etc...great. so great. i am putting in a few days on set on a little thing and i didn't know he was in it. now i know.
last night the garbs, mishi and i went to cuchillo, a new mexican inspired/latin joint on powell street. a friend of mine did the graphics for it and it sounded like a place i would like so i wanted to try it. so. we did. and very shortly into our dinner i knew that, maybe, things may go more south than we were hoping. we ordered three margaritas and they came in martini glasses with no rocks/ice.
now that's bullshit.
we asked about it and our server said that traditionally that's how they came - um...no. (even though she admitted that she preferred them on the rocks. and that they don't like to add ice as it dilutes the drink. there would be no way that shaking a drink over ice that the ice may get crushed and broken and add water to the drink already. nope. couldn't happen. we didn't order any more margs.
the food there is very good but the entrees could be 3 bucks each cheaper i think. the tacos are well priced and tasty. the cornbread is a complete rip-off - delicious. but for what you get - a rip. will i go back. yes, but i'd just saddle up to the bar - eat a couple tacos and order a marg on the rocks and then get the hell out. (the crowd was surprising as well...lots of yaletown sorts and west vancouver ' the real housewives' sort...it comes off as more of a bar than a restaurant.)

my bbq suddenly stopped working and after some investigation i figured out that the quick connect had lost - how i do not know - a little 'doinker' that sits inside that allows the gas to flow one the bbq hose is attached. (the hose has a little tab that sits 'proud' that pushes the ball in the 'doinker' and allows the gas to flow...) i asked the asked the building manager where the gas shut-off was and after my third attempt, took the old fitting off and while the gas was free flowing into the air, re-taped the threads and put on my new fitting. presto. fixo.

ok...tomorrow i don't start on set until 4 pm so it'll be a long day/night...

g. xo

an end to the pain.

this year's crop was shit. no two ways about it. everything in my garden was a bust. sure, i had a few decent potatoes, a few tomatoes but really, it sucked. i am, of course due to my nature in such matters, thinking of not planting anything next year but i probably will anyways. such a glutton for punishment. i will, however, try and really sweeten the pot over the winter - manure, compost, etc. hopefully that will help.

and so it was today that i decided i'd had enough and tore out the tomatoes and what were my dreadful examples of onions. i did leave the zucchini but only to see if something happens - i am pretty sure it will amount to exactly zero but i still have a little hope. but i do expect to be tearing it out very soon as well.

these are the good times.

g. xx

not too old, but maybe too old for this/that.

the bombers played last night. we were into the second round of the playoffs in the spring/summer league on the north shore.
i am sore this morning.
i generally feel fine after hockey, minor bumps and such, but i got knocked around a bit last night and took three pretty good shots from the 'kids' we were playing. and i do mean kids. and that may be the problem now. they're young, fast and full of piss and vinegar and i may not be anymore. i know that, in the world, i am not old, but i may be too old now to be playing with and against these guys. i'm 49 they're anywhere from 18 - 30 last night...maybe not even 30. and sure, we hold our own - some much better than others - against them but i am starting to get even slower and i think the worst part, or just a natural reaction to hockey as i get older, care less and have less fire in me to play at that level.
i have signed on for the winter session but am thinking it may be my farewell season with the bombers and i will just spare or play part time after that - shit, i may just sit out games this season when i'm not feeling it.
i love being a bomber and was trying last night to get it done but felt a little over my head. i was drenched in sweat at the end - always a good thing - and i went out every shift trying to make something happen...but not much did.
there are new guys playing winter this year too. new guys, guys who we grabbed for the spring/summer session. and i look at them as the new skaters, a changing of the guard maybe - a couple older players leave, new guys come on board - it's happened on every team i have ever been on. i welcome them.
ok. that's it. old, fat, out of shape. classic beer league player. i just may need to find a team with more guys like me on it, playing against more guys like me.

g. xo

you dropped what where?

when you open a can of paint with a knife make sure you haven't left a sharp edge anywhere.

last night at dinner at roma, my pal juliet mentioned that she and her (ex) mark had gone to a house where they were to pick-up a hard drive, that had been 'hidden' for them and they now had a little problem. the hard drive - that had been left for them by an artist he does wed/graphic work for - had been left on the top of a column at the top of some stairs at her, the artist's, house and when they went to grab it, it fell inside the column. so...now the hard drive, in an envelope, was inside the column and he needed it to do the work for her. no hard drive, no work done.
so after dinner we drove up to the house and had a look at the column and then figure out what could be done.
i told juliet that there were a few options and that i would get it out - i just wasn't sure which option would work. i said i'd have a look in the morning.

i didn't wait until the morning as it was in my head and i had to go and see what i could do. i first tried a weighted piece of cutting line with double sided tape, trying to get the envelope to stick to it - but that didn't so i went to plan B - opening up the column.
after removing the quarter round moulding i pried apart the wood and presto - look it's a hard drive. now the fixing of the column - i decided to do that today when i could actually see what i was doing. so this morning i went to the shop, did some lawn mower maintenance, washed and cleaned my truck and then headed to do some nailing, sanding and painting - i am not much of a painter.

in the end i think it turned out ok. the main problem was the wood being so old - it splintered and cracked so i had to try and make it all a-ok again. a few nails, some wood filler, a little sanding and paint and wham. a nice column once again - the paint will need to weather a bit to blend in but it's good. and mark can do the work needed. and somehow i ended-up with a bottle of tequila for my efforts - thanks!! 
working for booze works from time to time.
i met up with 'he who can not be named on the blog' and had a nice visit with him and juliet and then it was time to get home and get ready for my dinner tonight with the lovely fawn - who's marriage is only a month away now. (pretty exciting stuff....) - at bao bei on keefer street - home of the wildly popular chinatown night market...something i can not get my head wrapped around. we had a great mix of food and it was great to see fawn and shoot the breeze - cool cat that fawn. thanks for dinner fawnzie!

off to bed soon...more wrap fun tomorrow.

g. xo

red devils

i am home again. back in my own bed, sleeping like a giant baby - minus the crapping my pants part and the crying. i think.
i hate hotel beds. and truth be known, i don't sleep well, not really well, anywhere but my own bed. so i am happy to see my own sheets.
it's back to work for the time being - we're just wrapping up what was, for me, one of the hardest shows i've ever done. it was very hard on my brain. but, it is coming to a close. and, unless things change, may be my last show for a while - never say never but all signs at the moment point to the BOC shop not having a show out of there for quite a while. like perhaps a couple of years (something i was preparing for, at least in my brain.) and even when you know something's coming, it's hard when it finally happens. sure, i guess i could go work somewhere else, maybe i could but it wouldn't be doing what i do now. it would be back to set work - something most people i work with have never seen me do - or maybe helping out in another shop.
i dunno. am i nervous? sure i am. a little pissed off? you bet.
so, i am looking ahead. not right away - i do need time to think. but i am thinking, and i have before but now more seriously, of looking for a job outside of the film biz.
maybe turn lawn order into a full time, full service gig - add pressure washing, eave cleaning, etc. take the rest of the bookkeeping course i started and see where that takes me. sell fireworks - i'm not kidding.
maybe become a butcher. shit, a baker. why not?
maybe i'll finally finish my novel. i know there's no money in it, but maybe i'll actually finish it. then you can read it.
if you have any ideas, not for the novel but for my, possible, new career, let me know. i am a curious fella.
for now i am home, wrapping up this show, cutting grass, playing some playoff hockey, hanging out with garvie - garvie and fiona last night for a lovely summer dinner at roma - and thinking. but not too hard yet.
and, oh, thinking of clearing out the garden. it may be done. kinda early but this year, i think, maybe, needs to be taken away from my sight. even the pot is not doing well this year - it may produce something but i am not holding my breath. and really, i do it for fun, but it's not as fun when things - anything - grows so poorly after you give it all you think it needs to succeed. oh well. always next year. (i am going to really give the garden an overhaul in terms of making the soil uber rich with poop and compost over the winter.)
and so it is. i'll finish up my coffee and head in. and then tonight, after work, i'll cut judy's lawn and then head to the rink to do battle with a bunch of 18-25 year olds on the ice.
good times.

g. xx

texas taco two-step

i lounged around today until 12:30 pm to take advantage of the late checkout time at the hotel. (1 pm) i read a little, watched some bad food network tv, walked over to get a coffee near one of the hospitals and organized my bags and such so i'd be ready when the shuttle service comes and gets me at 4:45 to take me to the airport.
as a side note - a correction to my info yesterday about the number of hospitals in the area. the city of houston, after i did a little research, has the world's biggest concentration of medical research and healthcare facilities. and it makes sense now, or more sense, there are many people staying at my hotel who are here for medical reasons - i have overheard many conversations and seen many in wheelchairs and such in the building.



i decided to skip the game today and instead go find a taco truck i had read about online. (some top ten taco list for the city of houston) it was great - or it was great because of the general lack of food in my area. no. it was great. i had hoped for a simple truck that served great tacos and i got one. though i had heard that the place across the street - the alabama ice house - was cool with you bringing your food over there to eat it...so i did. i also thought the icehouse was a place that would have an indoor area that was equipped with A/C. i was wrong. it's one main building that the staff house and serve up food (i think) and beer (i know) to patrons who sit outside at picnic type benches. there are old rusty fans that blow air and misted water on you - if it reaches you that is.
so after i grabbed my tacos i headed across the street and ordered up a modelo and started in on my lunch. pretty good stuff. but as i sat there i got hotter and hotter - suppose to be a cooler than yesterday 94 degrees today. so when i was done, i was kinda done.

i headed over to the trader joe's to get a few snacks for the plane and then waited in the sun outside, for longer than i had expected to, to flag a taxi to take me back to the hotel to wait, as i am doing now, for the shuttle.
sure, two taxi rides to get some tacos and a beer is an expensive way to get lunch but, it was well worth it.
now...a 7:45 pm flight to seattle and then a drive home. and work tomorrow.

g. xo

the heat and the stupidity.

after a little snack across the street from my hotel - which seems to be in the centre of anything even remotely medical (several medical training centres, at least three hospitals, universities, etc.) - i came back to the hotel, once again sweating like a freak and had a little rest and then headed out to the astros game. it was a inter-state game as they played the texas rangers and it seemed like there were more rangers fans than astros fans (everyone loves a winner...the astros have the worst record in the league and the rangers are a top tier team)

good back and forth game with the rangers coming out on top in the end.
they are doing construction on the lightrail line i was told to take to the game so i had to transfer to a bus with a grumpy driver on it who really didn't know where i should get off to get to the park and made it kinda clear he didn't care either.
and then after the game, as i was walking looking for either a taxi or a bus to get to the lightrail again, i got on the same bus. literally the same bus. same driver. and after i put in my money i asked for a transfer for the train once i got to it, he told me if i had used a 'blah-blah' card, then i would and could use it as a transfer, but because i used cash i don't get one and would have to pay again once i got on the train.
oh, i don't think so.

i would have to say that houston is probably a 'one and done' city. (above - the view from my hotel window.) from what i saw and from various reports, there's no reason to come back on a vacation or...but i am very happy i came and saw one more team on my quest to see every team play at home. i now have three more teams to go - the twins, the marlins and the rays.
i am happy to be back at the hotel and able to have a shower and relax.
see you soon.

g.xo

 this guy was happy to be at the game

we'll pick you up at 3:44 am.

when i got into washington, d.c. yesterday i checked, before i left the train station, on what train i would get to the airport this morning. i had read on-line, as i was leaving from a baltimore airport, that it left when i needed it to. but on saturdays, apparently, it doesn't travel as often. to make my 6:44 am flight i would have to leave on the 3:15 am train. nice. and what that meant was i would have to leave my hotel at 2:15 am. the math on when i'd actually have to get up just didn't work for me. i enquired at the hotel about how much a taxi would be ($100.00) and then found out there was a shuttle that took people from different hotels to the airport - and i could be picked up at 3:44 am. the best they could do.
so. up i was at 3:00 am and at the airport by 5:00 am.

i had a connection in charlotte, north carolina and then was away to houston - where i am now. where it's raining. the one city that has a covered stadium so it's all ok. all good. the game is at 7:05 pm and i am a tad hungry so i am gonna go out and find some snacks. the woman at the front counter suggested a bbq place but i am suspect of it - i think it's a chain. we'll see.

yesterday in washington, d.c. i did manage to walk as far as the white house but was so soaked with sweat i had to make my way back to the hotel and re-group. it was a heavy heat yesterday. as soon as i would step out of the hotel or any air-conditioned place it just hit me. and when i would see a group of office dudes in full suits without a bead of sweat on them, it somehow made it worse.

the subway was an easy go - and mainly because i had ridden it before when i was here after gavin's nyc wedding and ended-up at the capital/bruins game - and i got to the game quickly and was able to take in batting practice, chat with a cool old usher and eat a wicked sausage with all the goods on it.

it was my third time seeing the phillies play in three days - and they got clocked by the nationals last night - much they way they took it to chicago the night before in philadelphia. the rain threatened but held off thankfully. then it was off to bed after i got back off the very crowded subway - which is also super great when it's muggy out.
now. food. then the astros game.

g.xo

overcast with a chance of 'holy crap i can't stop sweating'

there was rain, finally after much talk of it coming and wreaking havoc. but it was short lived and the game was back on thirty or so minutes later. 

it's the truth.
the east has humidity like no other place i have ever been to. one time in st. louis i didn't stop or at least kinda get a handle on my sweating until the 4th inning at a cards game. and when it rains just before a game - lots of thundershowers out here - it's worse.
the weather in philly is both hot and humid. and it rained in the night too. both nights.

i opted for the train to the game today and while a cheaper option, it's a sweatier one. really, really sweaty one. and once at the game the sun came out and made it even hotter. i stayed in the shade for an inning before going to my actual seat and once in it i, of course paranoid sort that i am, felt like everyone around me was looking at the sweaty canadian guy. i went back into the shaded area where the wind seemed to pass through nicely and things got much better before i headed back to my seat - nice that you can see the game clearly from all over the park.

the phillies, after losing the night before to the cubs, came back and assaulted the cubs 12-2. nice - on the day phillies second baseman, chase utley, signed his new two year deal worth way too much. but for some reason i don't care as much as i do with assholes like A-Rod, utley is a classy player, a hard player (he had a collision at home plate the night before that was hard enough to send the cubs catcher to hospital for x-rays. ), and skilled even is his so-called 'later' years as a player.
after the game i headed over to Talk of the Town for a philly cheesesteak - a well deserved after game snack..though truthfully i didn't eat again until this morning it was so filling.

a friend from high school, donna shier, moved here 24 years ago after meeting the love of her life. they married and they have been here ever since - four kids! wow. we managed to get together last night and the three of us, her husband mike who i got to finally meet, and walked around south philly a bit, had a drink and then they took me home well past my bed time. so great to see her.
it was a short sleep, four hours, and i was up and away to catch one train to the amtrak station and am now waiting for my 7:45 am train to washington, d.c.
i think there may be some shut eye on the train.
bye philadelphia.
thanks.

g. xo

 every game needs a kid in a chicken outfit.

 this guy reminded me of george from seinfeld. he was a superfan.

more from yesterday.