Day 64 - Beer Flavored Gatorade for Golfers

Friday, March 5th

Part 1: Cheesesteaks and Derby Errands

A dead day at work today. Nice timing since yesterday's found-money hangover is in full effect.

With no work, I stay home. If you're home, than perhaps you can -like me- find your way to Jack's Bar & Lounge around lunch time for a Cheese Steak and a beer.

My walk to Jack's took place under a completely overcast, grey sky. The sun shown through the clouds like a single headlight in the fog, all pure wight light and fuzzy around the edges.

The wightwash grey of the overcast sky provided an odd contrast to the fluffy clouds lurking over the hills towards Santa Cruz. The clouds were illuminated a brilliant white on top by the sun, but were lined in dark, almost about-to-rain black underneath. The rest was taken up by a grey only slightly darker than the sky overhead.

The cloud under cloud contrast was was pleasing to the eye and a big clue about the elevations of the different cloud types.

With all the rain that's been falling everything is absatively green. Even with the overcast sky the colors were somehow more vivid, more full and -strange as it might sound- almost swollen, as though color alone could fill a plant up and fill it in.  The greens were green, like as in the movie Avatar, the reds and purples were plump like the color of heart flesh and raw, red steak.

Some of the trees are starting to show buds. The persimmon tree out back of my house is too.

My walk down Taylor was thankfully construction noise free. I can see yellow spraypaint marks on the concrete around 5th and Taylor that dot and dash around like writing on a treasure map. They also look to me like the marks of a plastic surgeon, seemingly meant as instructions for men with jackhammer scalpels who are bent on giving the sidewalk a concrete facelift.

Those PG&E guys always seem to be working hard. Tax dollars well spent, I hope.

Inside the bar Travis was working (on Farmville). He'd just sold out of his first batch of Cheese Steaks and had to pull some more frozen bread to get my order started. I said hello to Ed while Travis was in back grabbing up more food.

Travis kindly offered me some pizza from Pizza My Heart as an appetizer. Good gawd that alone almost filled me up. I love multi-meat-pepperoni madness pizza (not the official name, but it works for now).

Would you believe I didn't have a beer? Soda -and lots of it- ftw!

While Travis worked on my food he chatted with me and Ed about the plans for some sort of new Italian community thing to go up near the Shark Tank. We chatted about that and the plans for San Pedro Square.

Travis talked about his idea for Beer Flavored Gatorade (for golfers), beer shoes, and mentioned that "I didn't get this way by exercising" as he rubbed his belly. I'm so stealing that line.

Let me tell you, Dear Reader, that the cheese steak was delicious! Oh so good, so tasty and so almost sweet with flavor! Mmm....

In the men's bathroom, the headless green lady sticker is still gone. The hole above the urinal has expanded too. The hole is longer and runs vertically up and down, with pink insulation exposed like raw muscle the color of Jupiter's clouds. Gypsum particles from the sheetrock dust the urinal like wet clumps of flour.

I exited the bathroom and saw what I thought to be leftover lunch customers hanging out on the back patio.

Wrong!

Two of those people came in, one of which happened to be a mom of one of the Silicon Valley Roller Girls. She and the man she was with were running "derby errands" for the day. She would be at the match tomorrow (Saturday) too, working a counter of some kind.

She and I talked about how energetic the roller girls get after a game and why it's good they come to Jack's after to cut loose with that extra energy. She told me about living in Las Vegas, where nothing ever seems to close, then moving to Texas and experiencing "we don't sell beer before 12 noon on Sundays" culture shock, complete with eyes being rolled at you and a side to side head motion for emphasis, even though she'd told the employee that she just moved to Texas from LV and was still getting acclimated.

This has led me to conclude that Wal Mart employees have memories like goldfish (with apologies to any who might read this blog -- but don't worry, you'll forget what I wrote in a few seconds anyway).

Travis added that Wisconsin was the last state to go from 18 to 21 on minimum drinking age. If not for the threat of lost highway funds, they might never have changed over.

Charlie stopped by around 2:43 pm and said "What's up, gorgeous?" to me as we shook hands. Then he asked Travis, "Where'd you guys get the fucking hot air balloon?" They chatted a bit about Farmville and making upgrades to their farm. I mentioned to them I used to be the banker for the player owned corporation I was a part of for EVE Online.

A little later outside and a guy rides by on a pink bike with a top hat. Now this bike was like two bike frames welded together and he had to easily be sitting at least six feet up in the air.

At 3:37 Tanisha rolled in and I figured it was about time for me to go. As I made to leave Charlie asked me what I was doing tonight.

"Going to Jack's" I told him.

Part 2: Fuck Jay Cutler

Sugi, so beautiful. Always a pleasure to head out to Jack's with her on a Friday night.

There we met Starbuck, with blond hair like liquid gold and such pretty eyes. Also Jason, handsome as ever. Jason was down, but not out. I don't think I'd ever count him out, actually. He's too smart.

Gary visited with his lovely girlfriend Patty (she's so damn tall, with a huge smile and a laugh that can't be faked). When I rubbed my belly and told her, "I didn't get this way by exercising" she hooted and hollered. Thanks, Travis. ;)

Shannon and Lisa came in for a rare late night visit, having just come from Campbell. Lisa asked me out of the blue where Stephanie was at, because she was cool and Lisa missed her. I replied I haven't seen her in about a week. Never did get the courage up to ask for her number.

Out back we ran into Robert, his name pronounced like the robe you wear and the air you breathe. He has a buzz to his voice like Charlie (who was working the bar tonight) and in fact the two of them look the same to me, as though Robert could be Charlie's uncle or older brother, though Charlie is much taller.

I can't remember if Matt or Jordan were working in tandem with Charlie. I'm guessing Jordan.

Speaking of can't remembers: I can't remember which woman at the bar said, "Fuck Jay Cutler!" but I'm glad she did. Traitor to the (Denver Broncos) cause, that Cutler.

I didn't take any phone notes for the 2nd part of today's visit, so that will have to do.

However, if you were there, dear reader, feel free to comment below. No reason you can't add to the blog same as me. ;)

See you Saturday at Jack's!