Day 7 - Beehive For The Win

Moment of truth: I'd wanted to title this blog post "Beehive Hairdos and Really Fantastic Boobies" but I just didn't think it would do Taneesha any justice.

So I'll focus instead on the only-time-I'll-see-such-a-thing-all-day nature of her hair, and leave her other charms and her tattoos for you dear reader to discover on your own on your next trip to Jack's Bar & Lounge here in San Jose.

If you should visit, the cardinal rules apply: be nice, be respectful and above all else please be sure to tip. Taneesha, like all the other bartenders at Jack's, will take good care of you if you take care of her.

Thursday found me standing at Der Wienerschnitzel (speed bump - I've even trained my computer to think "Der Wienerschnitzel" is a not a misspelling of any kind) prior to walking next door to Jack's. Extremely fake hot dogs with even more fake cheese (just this side of plastic, really) and hot dog buns that look like they'd make good, long lasting foam cushions for seats or arm rests if you baked them just a bit longer was what appealed to me and gave me the strength to stand in line in the cold after an exceptionally long day prowling the stacks at the library.

While waiting for my food I ran into Gary, which is to say he was walking by and I said, "Hello." We resolved to go in to (in to/into - when to use which?....Help!) Jack's together.

Food in hand, we found ourselves amongst a surprisingly large number of people. I wouldn't call it a sausage fest; the men were a bit more well dressed and put together than that moniker implies, but a gender count would confirm the men outnumbered the ladies, 17 to 4.

Taneesha was working behind the bar and greeted us both with a warm, friendly smile and hellos as we walked in. And -as previously mentioned- Taneesha wore her hair up in a beehive style which I find to be quite cool and always demands I spend a few brain cycles wondering how she'd look with all that hair let down to cover her shoulders and frame her face. Stunning, no doubt about it.

Gary commented that Taneesha's look is very "old fashioned" ....well, he might have said "old school" but I really can't remember. Either way, it was spoken with a tone of appreciation that I am sure mirrored my own internal ruminations.

It's quite easy to stop and think about Taneesha for as long as one wants, but my stomach asserted itself at that moment so I quickly ordered myself a drink, then sat and ate my food in the normal way while Gary and I talked about Taneesha, work, travel to Vegas, travel to other places (that Gary goes; you could put a wall up around the Bay Area and not impact my travel schedule at all) and the practicalities of finding side-work or a true second job.

I heard a rumor earlier in the day that Cirque Du Soleil is hiring. If they set up shop again just up the street from Jack's on Taylor right off the highway exit (and quite near my light rail stop) all the better.

I should very much like to say, "Why yes, during the day I work for Google at Stanford while in the evenings some nights I work at 'The Cirque', and I don't even have to drive to do it."

I could leave out all the messy details about being a contract employee, too, just to sound more cool.

Soon enough the wonderfully tasting fake food was gone, my beer was drank (I'd written "drunk" initially, but I don't think beer can technically get drunk) I was dead as dead can be tired and it was time for me to go.

Chris Burckhardt stopped in as I was preparing to leave and saying my farewells to Gary . But for a few more dollars in hand I'd have loved to stay and talk with him; I've questions about how he learned music and just how he found his steel guitar that I want to ask him. He mentioned he's due to meet George tonight so they can work on picking some songs to record. I can't wait to see what they do!

That same few dollars would have bought me some time to talk to Ed, too (Ed is EPIC, by the way, and another reason you, dear reader, should come to Jack's and hang out) who was sitting at the center of the bar, being awesome just by being there.

The bus showed up in its usual timely manner and off I went, to home.

If you've noticed a change in tone and/or the writing style of this particular blog post, you can blame Neil Gaiman. I've been listening to him read aloud the audiobook version of his book "Fragile Things" on my iPod for a couple days now at work and I'm afraid he's reprogrammed the writing part of my brain when I wasn't looking.

When I write this, the writing voice in my head is his and not mine. I wonder if that's a unique skill I could get paid well to utilize? That way I could spend more time at Jack's, with less missed opportunities to talk with interesting people.