January 15, 2010 - Day 15

Quote of the day: It was very temtatuous.
-Justin James John Grady

My visit after work to Jack's Bar & Lounge found me happy to be out of the post-rain chill and surrounded on a Friday night by eighteen or so people, eleven of them men and seven women, with Taneesha behind the bar.

My time there was punctuated by many moments of activity; some were small, some lengthy and most of them worth noting. Thus, in no particular order:

Taneesha insta-served me a beer as I walked in. That's so awesome, I'll never get tired of that.

Unfortunately she forgot the shot of whiskey I ordered (I was going to quietly toast Jeff with it). In her defense she knew many of the customers in the bar and was chatting with all of them as she bussed tables and restocked. When I asked for the shot again when I ordered my second beer, she realized her error and apologized and said it's OK to holler for her if next time.

The vibrations of a phone on the bar travel at least the length of five bar stools. So much for quelling the sound of a cell phone ringing.

I saw a guy with a thick black horseshoe moustache that bent around his mouth and down to his chin where it got so bushy it looked like a pair of sasquatch legs trying to grow feet and run away.

Three days in a row I've brought in a copy of the latest Metro. Three days in a row I've failed to leave with said copy, as pretty women keep taking them. Good conversation starter, that Metro.

No Dean at the bar. I think he's away on business.

Taneesha's happy hour customers were the first to doodle on the mini-clipboards used to deliver up credit card receipts at Jack's. In Taneesha's words, "These boards aren't new, but my customers were the first to write their names on them. Now they're all covered." I suggested those would make good pieces of artwork. Taneesha thought Aimee could probably take good pictures of them.

Robert (the cause of last Friday's smart phone envy) has in the past fallen asleep across three bar stools (not at Jack's, mind) at a local San Jose bar and woken up groggy and hung over the next morning to find the cleaning crew silently working around his prostrate form.

Man-I-Do-Not-Know has a name: John. Unfortunately, I've met John before, I just forgot it was him --I do that a lot, it seems-- thus the blog. ;) Anyway, John is in the business of independent commercial real estate financing and is quite knowledgeable about finding and taping sources of funds outside of the regular banking system in order to make such available to people in need. I can't help but think "modern gangster" but perhaps I'm projecting more than a little. He has a buddy named Jeremy (super name, Jeremy) who services computers for local school districts.

Charlie the bartender rolled in for a bit, as did Jordan, both saying hi to the many patrons before they departed. There's a raw coolness about Charlie that I haven't quite figured out. When I do, I'll write about it.

Kevin Bacon is getting old. Saw him on MTV on one of the flat screens; he looked like a cross between Bill Nighy and any one of the all-teeth characters Jim Carrey played on In Living Color years ago. Unlike Mr. Six Degrees From Everyone, Sandra Bullock --also at the MTV show-- is apparently made of wax and is entirely immune from aging.

The ebb and flow of the bar population led to the departure of the lawyer crowd and the arrival of Shannon, Lisa, Tod, Mark (a sturdy man-beard on that Mark, also known as Devito, though he's a half-body taller than the actor of the same name), Mark's buddy Justin and Dave, who was moving with the swiftness of a man in need of a restroom.

Justin James John Grady is local to the Bay Area. Born and raised in Oakland, the "John" in his name is his confirmation name. Justin is part white, part black, part native American and wrapped out spoken word style the essence of the Bay Area and how the best ethnic mix to be found is in Oakland; it's like a fine mix of incense, according to Justin. He strikes me as a man with a big heart. He also knows how to do battle with Campbell's Towing and win, by means of a water hose and a getaway vehicle.

Mark of The Beard has an extensive history playing roller hockey. He's competed all over the country and in Canada. I did not know that hard checking was all but banned in roller hockey. Teamwork and precision thus become major factors for success, according to Mark.

The wise sages Doug and Tim were at the short end of the bar, closest to the door. Doug told me that he's been in San Jose for 62 years, less six months spent in San Diego and eight months in Orange County. He grew up on South 9th street and remembers when that part of town was considered "south San Jose". Further south from where he lived, "there were orchards everywhere."

Poor Tim was sick and looked miserable, but that didn't keep him from ordering up kamikaze shots for everyone. Thank you Tim I hope you get to felling better over the weekend!

I think Friday's visit best matches the album Tiger Army III: Ghost Tiger's Rise. Especially the song Through The Darkness (My Love Shines).

See you tomorrow night at Jack's and thanks for reading!