Q: What does daylight-saving time mean in Seattle?

A: An extra hour of rain.

I guess someone was preparing for that extra rain Friday night when s/he stole my windshield wipers. You heard right. Windshield wipers. Really. Not the radio. Not the wheels. Not the alternator. The windshield wipers. Only in Seattle.

Be Jealous

Especially if you like snow. Here's where I'll be for NYE: www.scottishlakes.com/Home.shtml

If I'm not around for a couple of days. . .

. . . it's 'cause I'm here: www.goodreads.com/profile/jmgthatsme, trying to make myself look well read. Ha!

Gobble Gobble Hey!

Have a Ramones-worthy Turkey Day!

Reporting Live from Philadelphia. . . .

1. Where were you 3 hours ago?
Sitting in the exact spot I'm in now, doing almost the exact same thing (avoiding work)

2. Who are you in love with?
My G-thang.

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?
I would say that it was more of a taste.

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
An sticker from an organic apple.

5. When is the last time you went to the mall?
Last December.

6. Are you wearing socks right now?
yes

7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000?
It's probably just shy of $2k.

8. When was the last time you drove out of town?
How far out of town?

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
I have not been to a movie theater in the last five days.

10. Are you hot?
When it's cold I feel cold
When it's hot I feel ambitious (anyone know the song reference?)

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
agua

12. What are you wearing right now?
Something sexy.

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?
I haven't been to a car wash in years. Maybe it's time.

14. Last food that you ate?
wasabi peas.

15. Where were you last week at this time?
Get a hotel today. Before the idea slips away. Get a hotel. (another song reference)


16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
No.

17. When is the last time you ran?
Wednesday for soccer. If elliptical machines count, then last night.

18. What's the last sporting event you watched?
Oddly, I was at the Seahawks/Niners game on Monday.
The most exciting part was when they announced Seattle's new pro soccer team.

19. What is your favorite animal?
Doggies.

20. Your dream vacation?
It's more of a concept than a locale.

21. Last person's house you were in?
G-thang.

22. Worst injury you've ever had?
I guess my broken leg in 1975.

23. Have you been in love?
Isn't this question redundant with #2?

24. Do you miss anyone right now?
I've missed Joy since the day she died.

25. Last play you saw?
Oh, one of them Shake-a-speare things. There were twins and confusion and hilarity. I think it was one of his tragedies.

26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
Persistence.

27. What are your plans for tonight?
My girlfriend said it best in a text message:
Get some take out, so we have more time to make out. Woo hoo!

28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment?
Erica.

29. Next trip you are going to take?
Portland for Turkey Day. Walla Walla the week after that.

30. Ever go to camp?
Camp Wallowa, BSA.

31. Were you an honor roll student in school?
Just barely.

32. What do you want to know about the future?
Don't think I want to know. The anticipation is half the fun.

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
never

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit?
Aren't we all s'posed to go once a year?

35. Where is your best friend?
At work.

36. How is your best friend?
So good.

37. Do you have a tan?
I think the lines have faded and the veins have re-appeared.

38. What are you listening to right now?
The latest Wilco.

39. Do you collect anything?
MP3 players. Mr. Potato Heads. CDs.

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know?
Julie.

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?
The night of my 20th high school re-union. I was ripped. He told me my headlight was out and sent me on my way.

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?
Uh, sure.

43. What does your last text message say?
See #27.

44. Do you like hot sauce?
In moderation.

45. Last time you took a shower?
7:45 a.m.

46. Do you need to do laundry?
Generally, yes.

47. What is your heritage?
I'm 1/8 Native Mexican and Euro-mutt.

48. Are you someone's best friend?
Yeah.

49. Are you rich?
Like cheesecake.

50. What were you doing at 12AM saturday night.
BZZZZZZZ. 12a.m. cannot be Saturday night.
But to answer your question, I feel like I was doing something social, but don't remember what it was.

Sounds of Science

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. The fresh raspberry vinaigrette

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Than Brother Pho

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Not sure I have a favorite. There are too many restaurants to keep going to the same one

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. sandwiches

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. pepperoni

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. Butter. Not too much though.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. At work, the 2007 USL1 Champion Seattle Sounders. On my laptop, a crazy ice circle

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 1

Q. What color is your iPod?
A. orange

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. A fair amount of blood. (I'm in the two gallon club at the local blood bank!)

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. It's been years.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. Weights. At the gym.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. Yes. Third grade PE. A kid tripped me and I hit my head on a tree root.

RANDOMOLOGY, pt 1

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. Sure. Then I'll know when to start traveling.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. Diego Maradona

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. I choose green a lot. But people tell me I look good in red.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Sure.

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. I don't think so

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. I don't think so

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. one hundred dollars? Depends on the guy (and his cleanliness.)

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. My little finger? two hundred thousand. Yes. (assuming I can get prompt medical attention.)

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Could I still post comments on other people blogs? How 'bout on picture on my flickr account? If the answer to both is yes, then yes.

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. Don't imagine anyone would buy the magazine, so sure.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A. Depends on the size of the bottle and the type of hot sauce.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. No.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?
A: My wallet. Check it out: www.thejimi.com/wallet/index.php (mine is blue.)

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. I'm not convinced.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: Both. Hard wood in the bedroom (bow chka bow bow) and carpet in the living room)

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. I stand. Why would you sit?

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A: I've lived alone for less than three months of my life.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A: zero

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A: When I was speeding through Yakima. No ticket though.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Still trying to decide

Q: Who is number 1 on your top 8?
A: On myspace? Hope Solo. She deserves everyone's support.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Friend you talked to?
A: G

Q: Last person to call you?
A: G

Q: Person you hugged?
A: G

FAVORITOLOGY

Q: Number?
A: 9

Q: Season?
A: It used to be autumn, but I'm more excited about winter this year. I got new skis, you know.

Q: Book?
A: Cross Country Ski Trails in Washington

Q. Website?
A. soccernet.com Or this one.

Q. Month?
A. None.

Q. Alcohol?
A. Bourbon and ginger (please see: tribes.tribe.net/grrranima...203c75157)

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?
A: Not especially

Q: Mood?
A: Neutral

Q: Listening to?
A: A lot of The Cure lately

Q: Watching?
A. 'Allo 'Allo

Q: Worrying about?
A: Wait 'til I get my money right

RANDOMOLOGY, pt 2

Q: First place you went this morning?
A: Home. Ha!

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A. Try out my new skis.

Q: What's the last movie you saw?
A: Outsourced. Cute, but trite.

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Often. Like most of the time.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: Yeah.

Q: Someone you wish you never met?
A: Former boss (can we go back to the $1,000,000 question?)

Harvest

I seem to struggle with the fall harvest. I love being outside in the early spring -- late winter even -- turning over the soil, deciding where to plant, adding the compost, clearing away the weeds and debris, setting up the irrigation. Later, as seeds start to germinate, and the starts start starting, the weather get warmer and it's even more fun to be outside. When summer rolls around it's all about maintenance. It takes way less time to keep the garden growing and I actually start reaping lettuce and carrots. -- easy crops to harvest, clean and enjoy. At the same time, I'm getting the tomatoes in their cages, turn on the drip lines a couple times a week and spend the rest of the beautiful summer days out hiking, playing soccer and going to BBQs. The garden flourishes (in the good years, anyway) without a lot of attention.

The hint of red on the tomatoes is exciting. There's something ceremonial about plucking that first cherry tomato -- but there is too little time between the plucking and the popping of it into my mouth followed by the exclamation "ohmygodthat'sgood" for there to be any ceremony. The next week is bliss. Every time I step into the garden, I harvest a handful of tomatoes. If I need some potatoes, I just dig 'em up. The sunflower stops following the sun because the stock can't support the weight anymore. The second planting of lettuce is getting ready to eat. Heck, I even harvested strawberries this month.

But I tell ya, I was pretty damned overwhelmed when I returned from a week's vacation and tried to catch up with the harvest. It took me two days to get all the fruit off the cherry tomato plant. And the heirloom tomato is almost as prolific (if I could only beat the slugs to the ripe ones.) With the nights getting shorter, I just don't have the time to get everything done after I get home from work. I get a little overwhelmed, frankly.

You know what makes it all okay? The fresh blt. Toasted whole wheat bread with a little bit of mustard, two or three thick slices bacon, a mix of romaine and red leaf lettuce that just got plucked and big slabs of tomato fresh off the plant. I go sit on the stoop with a bottle of beer and savor every bite. It usually takes about two minutes to finish. Then I go make another.

It gives me the inspiration to figure out what to do with two gallons of cherry tomatoes (dehydrate them) and pounds and pounds of herilooms (make spaghetti sauce). It's a tough job, I know.

Sandwich Chronicles -- The Great Outdoors

Everything tastes better in the backcountry. That's a phrase my best hiking buddies (aka The Crack o' Noon Crew or CroNC (pronounced: Chronic, get it?)) use often. Dehydrated chicken? After six miles and 1,800 ft elevation with a 40+ lb pack, yummers! Especially when you cook it up with some mixed vegetables (also dehydrated), chicken bullion with mushroom gravy and top it off with real dumplings. That was the last dinner G and I cooked on the trail for the six person party that went to the Eagle Cap Wilderness last week. Eight days of backcountry bliss. I've been back in "civilization" for hardly a day, and I miss the rocks and trees and hills already.

Lunch is always the easiest of meals. If you've planned your day, everything is sitting at or near the top of your pack and all you have to do is plop yourself down on a soft rock. On day five of the jaunt, a peppered turkey stick with some oily sharp white cheddar wrapped up together in some New Zealand flat bread satisfies as well as any Dagwood-type sandwich can on a one-hour lunch break from work. Strike that. There is something especially satisfying in having your greatest worries of the day being 1) where you will sleep and 2) what you will eat. And since you have the answer to both of those worries on your back already, there isn't much to sweat. At least not emotional/intellectual sweat. I was washing out my hiking clothes every stinkin' 'cause, well, they stunk. (They don't call it poly-pew for nothing.) I usually spend more mental energy on when we'll break so I can have a peanut butter and dried banana sandwich (in the same flat bread, and note: the bananas are dried ~whole~ bananas and not those fried banana chips). Stupendously yummy.

CroNC does food right on the trail. Our menu included tamale pie with black been soup and a fruit crisp for dessert; chicken masala with seaweed salad, rice and peas with tapioca pudding; curried lentils with mixed vegetables and brown rice topped off with boil-in-a-bag smores (since I know you'll ask, you put mini marshmallows, (dark) chocolate chips and graham crackers in a zip lock freezer bag, throw it in boiling water for a few minutes and presto! smorie goodness without the campfire); I could go on, but it all seems so long ago now.

-*Sigh*-

I thought my lunch today -- turkey and swiss on real leavened bread with the works -- would make me forget about the Wallowa Mountains and Eagle Cap (pictured). Instead, it made that peppered turkey seem all the more enjoyable.

The Sandwich Chronicles -- Part IV

The on-going saga of my effort to eat a sandwich per day for an entire week. Which really isn't that much of a challenge when you get right down to it, so I try to through in little bits of life experience to make it more fun and exciting.
---------------
My girlfriend and I have very different morning routines. In almost two years of couple-dom we have found something of a middle ground, but the truth of the matter is still this: I like to sleep 'til the last possible moment then hit the snooze button one more time. When I realize I'm late, I jump out of bed and into the shower, throw on some clothes and (hopefully) snag some food on my way out the door. I can usually make it to work before the positive effects of the shower wear off. Then I get my first cup of coffee and try not to talk to anyone for the first hour of my work day.

On the other hand, G gets up 90 minutes before she needs to leave, she takes a looooong shower, makes herself a simple but nutritious breakfast and reads the newspaper before getting dressed and heading out the door for her (fairly) long commute. She's always bright eyed and cheerful in the morning, which only makes my pre-verbal condition all the more frustrating. She also has to be to work earlier than I do, so it's rare that we have any meaning conversation in the morning.

Today's breakfast was a perfect example. She was going in late to the office and I need to be in early, so we had the same target departure time. A rarity. I listened to NPR while she was showering, dressing and cooking herself a couple of eggs. She was just sitting down to eat when I hit the shower. She was cleaning up breakfast dishes when I made my way into the kitchen. Five minutes later we were both heading out the door, she with a travel mug of tea in her hand, I with a lovely open-faced toasted peanut butter sandwich with just a hint of honey. I ate in the car on the way to the office. It made my commute much more enjoyable. In fact, I even looked forward to the red lights when I would get to enjoy my sandwich without swerving all over the road.