damn i love this town!!

took a great bike ride this morning (my new favorite form of exercise) down to golden gate park, and decided my turn around/break point would be at the little band shell in the area between the academy of sciences and the under construction de young museum. i haven't spent a sunday in the park in a while, and of course forgot that the roads where closed to car traffic - perfect for a sunday afternoon workout. as i headed closer to the band shell, i thought i heard music, which soon turned into hearing some rockin' swing music. as the shell came into view i saw a large group of people doing their thing and dancing some killer swing on the stage. i grabbed a bottle of water, had a seat, and watched the swing for a bit - the sun started poking out, the intensity of the music picked up, and i was loving it. where else but here would this be a common occurance?? i've been talking about moving to various places over the past few months, but where would i go that would be like here? i know that is a stupid thing to say, but this town is in a league of it's own - it operates on a different level. i know in my heart if i ever left san francisco, it would never be a permanent move - at some point i would come back home to san francisco.

speaking of how much this town has to offer, one of the things i know best and enjoy to no end is the plethora of dive bars this city has to offer. tonight is the 3rd annual 'San Francisco Dive Bar Pub Crawl.' i put it together a few years ago when i realized i wouldn't be able to make it to burning man (curerently in progress). after going to festival the years before, i realized i needed to do something somewhat debachorous over the labor day weekend, and this came to mind. looks to be a crowd of about ten, and we will make our way from north beach to the polk gulch area - i've been training intensely since may, and i think i am ready for what may lay ahead. and who knows what may lay ahead - the last two years have had there moments, like being thrown out of a korean karoake bar and have a chinese whisky drinking contest which lead to the 2nd annual DBPC losing a few members early on - who knows what this year will hold, but i'm about to find out.

something different

i'm so used to going out and raising hell on saturday night, and after having to many drinks last night, the idea of grabbing a soothing cup of tea (orange ginger mint. . .mmmm) and sharing a nice piece of carrot cake with my friend willo seemed like the way to go. and, it was! after an exhausting and stressful week, it was just what the doctor ordered. ended up hitting quetzal which is this neat little coffee shop/cafe in my hood. it was nice to just sit back, relax, and chat about life and love and family and art and whatever came to mind with someone who shares many of the same views about those subjects as i do - it's great to be a liberated mind. what could be better?

the pot of tea i drank has got me getting ready to drift away to dreamland - before i go, i must leave you with a quote that had me on the floor laughing when i read it the other day - it's from Irving Welsh's Glue which i am in the midst of reading: "Guilt and shaggin, they go tegither like fish n chips. Guilt and good shaggin. In Scotland ye goat Catholic guilt and Calvinist Guilt. Maybe that's why Ecstasy really took oaf here."

to much, to funny, to true. . .

no luck

well, yesterdays fishing expedition ended with nada - no one damn fish!! it was a good time though, apart from some technical difficulties, like my line snapping as i was in full cast mode - i watched the cast fly and fly and fly, and thought, 'damn i'm good!' then i looked up and saw that it wasn't attached - jesus! but, i am prepared for the next time - i made friends with the park ranger on the way out and he told me rubber worms are the answer - so simple . .

spent the evening knocking a few (to many) with my roommate and watching a movie. spent all day today at golden gate park with my sister sarah - we went on a nice little bike ride so she could test her new wheels- rode down to the beach and checked out a competitive kite flying contest - very, very cool - the stuff they make those kites do is amazing. spent the rest of the day lazing around my parents house - just shooting the shit with my mom. shared a meal with them and just relaxed - ah, very nice.

now i'm off - meeting a friend for a spot of tea - i'm a wild saturday night animal!!

full swing

camp brendan was in full swing today - after a rousing morning at the playground we headed to novato for some fishing. our first stop was the bait store, where the main attraction was the guns and slingshots. after procurring my two day fishing licensce, we headed out to stafford lake (with my step-father paul in tow). let the fishing begin!!! i was the only one to catch any fish, being the expert fisher that i am. . . i caught some bass, and showed the boys how to clean a fish. definitely their favorite part. they all decided that as an offering to the fish we caught, we should return their heads to the lake. you can imagine four nine your old boys chucking fish heads into the lake - in a word, priceless. it was such a success that we have decided to spend the last day of camp brendan fishing again - the deal was that i can't make them eat the fish they caught like i did today (satueed with a little garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and ginger. . .yumm).

needless to say, i be exhausted - had some dinner at my parents house - got pulled over for expired tags on the way home - no ticket though - and had a nice conversation with my good friend/ex-girlfriend julie - we discussed how crazy our respective families are - i think i outdid her though - hmm. . . is that a good thing?? then chatted it up with my friend willo for a bit - she's starting a new bussiness - check it out.

you know, for someone who hates the phone, i spent a lot of time chatting tonight. . .i used to warn people i first met that they shouldn't expect anything more than a two minute conversation from me - once i make plans to see someone in person, i can't wait to get off the phone - much rather say anything i have to say face to face. the exception being folks who live far away, but besides that, i tend to get off the phone as quick as possible, which some people take as being rude - but it's not, i swear - i just can't to see their smiling face!

ok - off to do some reading (very much engrossed in irving welsh's "glue") and get some sleep - need to be in top form for more fishing adventures - think i could get away with putting a sign on my door that says gone fishin'?

camp brendan

these past few days have been so much fun, as well as extremely exhausting - this is the last week of 'camp brendan' for the kids i've been taking care of this summer. school starts next week, so this is the last week of fun for them, and for me - i'm just a big kid. yesterday we took our daily trip to the children's playground at golden gate park - such a cool place - i still love going on the huge concrete slides. in the afternoon we headed out to the marina green and did some serious kite flying - it was great - i don't remember the last time i flew a kite, but i will surely not forget this time.

today we hit the playground again today, and then went out the hyde st. pier and went on all the old bats there - the favorite being the eureka ferry since it was full of old cars and had two huge engines with cool looking gears and stuff. buys will be boys, and i was ohhing and ahhing with the best of 'em.

tomorrow we're going fishing in marin - got to give those kids a great week before school starts.

by the way, i'm sure everyone saw the latest installment of the 'o.c.' last night - for those of you who missed it, you missed another incredible television event and i feel sorry for you. . . for those of you who did see it, well, i need not explain myself - there is an unwritten communication that flows between the 'o.c' faithful. . . :)

well, it's time to turn in - got to have energy for fishing tomorrow, and i'm going to catch a big one, and if not, i'll still tell you that i did!

i'm baaaack!!!

suddenly it's been 5 day since i've posted a blog! i be sorry, i be sorry - it has been a long 5 days, with much goings on - mostly family stuff i won't get into. . .thanks to those who have been keeping tabs on me, seeing how i'm doing - you know you who are, and i appreciate all of you more than you know!!

not to much going on otherwise - had a rockin' interview last friday and a second interview with three other folks at the same company today - awesome company, awesome job, i will say no more, don't want to jinx it - i'll keep everyone posted . . .

went to the zoo with my sister sarah on saturday - hadn't been for a while - i love the zoo!! got to see the new lion cubs - they're really cute looking, but just big enough to still look like they could do some damage!

what else, hmmm - ah, i went and saw 'open range', which was pretty good - i'm a big fan of westerns, but i still think 'unforgiven' is the best western to come out in the past 15 years or so, and of course nothing compares to the best western ever, 'once upon a time in the west', which i of course own - anyone up for a movie night?

i guess that is the short, sweet, and condensed version - now that i'm back in the fold, i'll try to keep up on things a bit better - lucky for everyone who just can't get enough of my misadventures!

walk off!

the giants finally ended their six game skid last night agianst the hated braves - barry bonds hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th to win the game - fantastic!! thank god last nights installment of the 'o.c." had ended so i could fully enjoy the action. by the way, the 'o.c' was again fantastic - full of twists none of us could ever guess . . . i watched it with my cousin nicola, and we sat around predicting every next sequence of events with great accuracy - what's not to love!!

very excited also that hot hot heat is coming to sf (thanks to willo for the heads up) on sept 25th - same week as grandaddy, should be a good week!

family

there is always drama in families, and the eternal struggle for me is when to keep your mouth shut and when to clear the air. no matter how strongly you feel, and no matter how blaringly obvious the problem is, a blind eye is turned and pretended ignorance takes the main stage. this is true not just with families i realize, but when it involves family it seems that much more pressing an issue, that much more important to be dealt with, and if at all possible, solved. it amazes me that after people turn away from things for so long, how easy it is to keep a straight face and a nonchalant air - it's like the idea of the 'big lie,' you tell it long enough and it becomes true. the problem for me is that when you let something fester for so long, thinking it will never blow up, it is a much bigger explosion than if it had been dealt with swiftly, and at an earlier time. there is always the family member that wants the exterior to look pristine, pure, and perfect. in most cases the opposite it true. what it comes down to is the reflection of the self - 'my family is screwed up, it's my fault, people will look poorly on me.' when in realty, we all have free will, none of us has some predetermined outcome for our life that was placed with us at birth. except in the most extreme cases (child abuse, molestation, etc.), we all have the chance to move past whatever problems we have, or feel that our parents gave us, flourish and prosper, and to be successful. not monetarily successful, but successful with your self and who you are and how you treat others. obviously none of us is perfect in this regard, we all fall short - i do on many occasions - but it is the process of continually striving to improve that makes us great, and who else but our family should be there to help us along, instead of coddling us, and letting us fall continually short? so your parents were divorced, or your dad was never there, or your mom heaps tons of guilt upon you and tries to run your life - join the club, get over it (with therapy if need be), and move on - develop the person that you are, as opposed to the person who you think everyone made you, because in the end, it is you who is responsible for you, and not everyone else. dennis leary said in one of his stand-up routines, "I thought I was going to be the starting center fielder for the Boston Red Socks. Life sucks, get a fucking helmet, allright?!" a bit crude, but straight to the point - life is not going to always deal you a full house, but who says getting three of a kind isn't all that bad? it's the people who don't get the full house all the time, but keep anteing up for the next hand, that are the ones i admire - the people who realize that life isn't always going to be exactly what they wanted it to be, but accept how it is, and are still trying to improve it, always working toward making it better, but also happy with where they are. these are the ones that figured it out, these are the ones that will die with no regrets and a big smile on their face - find these people, and you'll find happiness.

exerpt

from yesterday's chronicle: "The novelist James Baldwin once likened the experience of channel surfing American television to looking inside the mind of a mentally ill person." this has never made more sense than now. . .

ah, the weekend . . .

the weekend is slowly drawing to a close - and i must say, it was not all that bad. took it pretty easy on friday night - did get a chance to see 'gangs of new york," which was okay - not as good as i expected it to be - leonardo dicaprio wa of course crap, as was cameron diaz - the lone saving grace was daniel day-lewis, who gave his usual steller performance. it was a scorsese film, so of course it was shot beautifully - just wish they had gotten some better actors.

saturday i headed out to marin to my auntie dal's (actually a 1st cousin twice removed) 85thish (she's not revealing her true age) birthday. it was great - got to see some family and friends, enjoy some beautiful weather, as well as some great food. toward the end of the evening the allergies started kicking in, and i headed back to the city, popped a couple of allergy pills and was out by 11pm - which was good since i needed all the energy i could muster for today.

today i headed up to mount tam for a hike with my friend willo (who posted this map on her site) and her friend michelle. we drove up to boot jack, parked, walked half a mile to pan toll, then caught the dipse trail and ended up taking it all the way to stinson beach, where we sat down on the beach to rest our weary bones. it was a gorgeous day, both on the mountain and at the beach. now it was time for the return trip - 95% of it uphill!!! we headed back up the dipse trail - caught the steep ravine trail (it was aptly named, trust me) and finally got back up to pan toll for another deserved rest. we took the last 1/2 mile back to boot jack in stride - mostly because it was downhill, took a wrong turn somewhere, and ended up about 500 feet above the trail we needed to be on - i could see the car though, so that was a good sign. being the trooperd we were, we walked straight down to the trail, were in the car (after a nice round of high fives!) and out of there. all told we figured it was about 7 miles - whew! we rewarded our selves by making our first stop on the way home 7-11, where we all got slurpees. ummm.....slurpee. . . it was an awesome hike, and i had two great hiking buds - hopefully we get to do it again soon.

i will say that i was one grimey boy when i got home, but magic of the hot shower saved me (is there anything a hot shower can't cure), and now it's time to lounge with my sunday paper, and watch the weekend slowly slip away.

by the way, a friend of willo's told her that el cerito is the new oakland - i almost fell out of my chair laughing - thought i would share.

later dayz. . .

you've go to be kidding me. . .

funny, but scary at the same time - you've got to check this out!

amazing days

we've just had the most amazing summer here in sf. i never remember it being this nice - usually it's foggy and cold, which i don't mind at all, but this summer has been sunny and 70 everyday!! this of course perpetuates the misconception that the summers here are incredible, so when this years batch of tourists go back home and tell all their friends how nice it is here, their friends will come next summer packing nothing but shorts and t-shirts. you see them toddling through the city, and during a usual summer, freezing their asses off! but not to worry, because for $40 they can get the essential sf tourist garb - the san francisco pullover which comes in yellow, red, and blue. but i digress - it's time to go enjoy the wonderful day - off to the park i go!

we think we've got it bad

ran across this story - we've really got nothing to complain about . . .

i have a question?

this whole blackout situation is incredible - hard to believe that all that energy flows through one place. really shows you hove delicate our infrastructure is and how reliant we are on electricity. i was glued to the coverage for a bit last night, and i have to say that the people in the media are getting less and less intelligent as each day passes. i know the important role they play in society and the service they provide, and i'm all for very broad 1st amendment rights, but i am very much against stupidity. i was watching a news conference with mayor bloomberg and i wanted to pull my hair out:

mayor: "the blackout was not caused by terrorists, there was a breakdown in niagra."
reporter: "i heard a rumor that this was caused by terrorists, is this true?"
mayor: "the blackout was not caused by terrorists, there was a breakdown in niagra."
reporter: "there are some reports that al-queda was involved, is there any truth to that?"
mayor: "the blackout was not caused by terrorists, there was a breakdown in niagra."
reporter: "i heard from a source that this caused by 12 midgets from canada that broke into the power station, is this true?"
mayor: "the blackout was not caused by terrorists, there was a breakdown in niagra."

it was amazing - i couldn't believe it. it reminds me of when i was in advertising, and learned the long and drawn out process that takes place between coming up with a concept and then actually seeing the ad on tv. knowing how the long the process is, i'd see crappy ads on tv and think, if this i what they are showing, i wonder what didn't make it. the same holds true with these reporters - if these are the guys that are asking the questions, what kind of idiot is running the show?

oh well, all become good last night when i got to watch 'supertroopers' for the hundreth time. it is hilarious! it was one of those films that was in the theater for 3 days and that when the trailer came on, we all joked about how awful it would be. i'm the first to admit, i was wrong. it's one of the funniest movies i've ever seen - the best part is that all the actors are part of the same comedy troupe called broken lizard, so there timing is right on - it's a must see.

no power

wow!

ever want to dance a mean polka?

i live across the street from this cool little cathedral which of course has a huge community room, and every thursday there is a mass migration of elderly asian couples to the community room. then, the fun begins, and by fun i mean the great polka sound streaming out of the cathedral, through the window, and into my ears - ah, who doesn't love a good polka?

i had a great lunch today with two of my old buds from finebrand, willo and lizzie (willo and i have actually become buds post finebrand, and have a mean hike planned for the weekend). it was good to cruise down to the old workplace and have lunch at the jolt 'n bolt (us regulars call it the j&b). as usual the food was excellent and the company was even better. lizzie is five months pregnant and looks awesome - that office is like a baby factory! i only worked there for 3 months, and by the time i left, there were three pregnant women, when there had only been one at the begining. htat might not sound like a big deal, except that there are only 6 women in the office! those of you close to me know this has been a bit of rough week for me - my dad is going through some things i would wish upon no man, so hooking up with some good people for a nice lunch did the trick!

well, i am now listening to the happy birthday polka - i think it's time to move to another room!

flaming piles of love

i've been groovin' on a lot of good music lately - really loving the stuff that has been coming out, but i must say, mostly i've been loving the flaming lips. i've always been a fan, but am really loving their stuff now. i've mostly been listening to 'yoshimi battles the pink robot,' and as i was laying wide awake in bed last night, unable to sleep (probably cause i was still on a high after watching the latest installment of the 'oc'), i popped in 'yoshimi battles the pink robot,' popped on the headphones, and grooved baby! i had never listened to it with headphones before, and i was blown away - it was fantastic - i'm not sure i can ever listen to it sans headphones again.

i hate eathlink

so i thought i would put in my two cents on this california recall craziness, but that was before it took me 20 minutes to get connected to my new worst enemy, earthlink dsl. it's been like this for a month or so now, and numurous calls to customer service have some how planted the blame for the bad service on me, on the phone company, or anyone else but them. ah, corporate america - gotta love it. the best part of course is the customer service reps who are talking to you after an intensive 4 day course on how dsl works. so of course, when they talk to you, it is like you are an idiot who has never had a computer - the first questions always being, 'is is plugged in?' and 'is it connected to your computer?' i guess the sad thing is that this is the most common problem - what happened to darwin's 'survival of the fittest theory'? all i can say is that when this year long contract is up, earthlink is gone and it will be time to move on to better things - anyone got any suggestions?

on a completely different note, i found out yesterday that the exploratorium, one of my favorite sf places ever, will be moving at some point next year. i was shocked! something to do with lease problems - which is usually the case. i just can't imagine why the company managing that space wouldn't want them there?! secondly, how are they going to get some of that stuff out of there? i encourage everyone to get out there in that picturesque palace of fine arts spot before it moves - 'tis not to be missed.

by the way, after not listening to it for a bit now, i've really been grooving on the new grandaddy cd, 'sumday.' their last cd is still my favorite, but this one is gaining ground. i gave it to my friend willo for her birthday, and she just gave them some nice blog face time, and it got me grooving to them again. they are playing next month with the super furry animals - i can't wait.

well, off to enjoy the morning with a run around the block, cuz' you know me, i'm just brendan from the block.

oh yeah, my two cents: vote against the recall, as my friend from boston said, 'it creates a wicked bad precedent."

doonesbury

well, i have been quite lax keeping up with things these past few days - actually, check out yesterdays doonesbury - that should help explain it. . .

my weekend consisted of me drinking to much, which i hadn't done in a while, and now realize why - my body hurts!!! went to all the usual spots, saw all the usual people, spent to much money, blah, blah, blah. . . :)

did get a chance to go check out a cool film with my step-father yesterday - we checked out '28 days later,' which not for the faint of heart or week of stomach. i really enjoyed it though - it has some pretty intense and pretty scary scenes - as paul said after the fact, 'well that was a weird movie.' i definitely reccomend it though, and fyi, they show an alternate ending (which apparently was the original ending) after the credits are done rolling.

on a random note - i've got it into my head the past days that it might be time for me to take a break from san francisco for a little while. who knows how serious i really, or whether it's just a phase, but i've been having the strangest urge to move to hawaii. hmmm. . . this urge lessened a but today when i was checking out jobs in oahu - and i thought it was bad here?! stay tuned . .

the morning after

for some reason it seemed like a good idea to hang out with lauren at the house and have a bunch of drinks while watching my new favorite show, the 'oc.' you'd think i'd be embaressed to admit that, but i'm not - it may have been the drinks or our green friend, but it was pretty good in a campy, 90210 kind of way - you know what i mean. so the show was over, we were out of liquor, and it seemed as if the night would quietly dwindle away.

enter the roommate at 10pm stage right with a bottle of vodka and a fresh infusion of energy. it gets a bit hazy after that - i eventually made it to my room and woke up with a cut on my finger and a really sore elbow. . .hmmm

on another note, i was driving east on market (coming from twin peaks) and saw this great new absolut billboard (link and photo courtesy of my rockin' friend willo). it read 'absolut out' and was filled with all kinds of different open closet doors - it was great - if you get a chance, check it out.

well, i need to rest a bit if i plan to rally tonight, and of course, i plan to.

wanna dance

some of the most original lines i've seen so far - check 'em out

another sign of the apocolypse???

Now it's total recall / Schwarzenegger shocks state pols and pundits, joining race to replace Davis -- Feinstein won't

you're published

had a nice chat with my uncle gene tonight - he was telling me about proposed highway name change in the great state of kentucky (of which he is a resident). he decided to write a letter to the eidtor, and damned if they didn't publish(have to scroll down a bit) it!

had a nice dinner with my little sister tonight - she is finally turning into the the surly 13 year old i hoped she would - i guess she has decided to take after he older brother. my family moved back here almost a year ago, and i can't begin to tell you how nice it is - of course, as with all families, things are strained at times, but having them here has been fantrastic, especially watching my little sister slowly become a woman. this of course means i get to be the scary, tattoed older brother when she starts to date, heh heh heh. . .

friday the 13th

i remember checking out 'friday the 13th' when i was about 9 or so, and caught it again last night - first of all, that movie rocks! secondly, i didn't realize that one of the cast members was kevin bacon. seriously, what movies hasn't he been in??

spent the evening with roommate, both of us imbibing our poison of choice. got a chance to catch 'welcome to the dollhouse', which i haven't seen for a bit and my roommate has never seen. it's a great movie and everytime i see it it moves up another notch on my list of favorite movies.

well, my mind is blocked - i feel like i have things to say but am lacking the capacity right now - more later then. . .

tv for the masses

it has never ceased to amaze me to what ends people will go to put anyting on tv and make it 'entertaining.' i found myself reading the sunday paper and watching golf, then the championship of a bass fishing tournament (congratulations to michael iaconelli by the way). the quote of the tournament came from one of the announcers, who said of iaconelli, "you can never give up in bass fishing." words to live by.

done and done

the 24/7 childcare spree is almost at an end - 4 1/2 hours to go, then it is home for a very, very stiff drink. i make it seem worse than it is - the little guy i've been tending to is actually a neat kid, as are most kids - he's quick on the uptake, has a smart mouth (which i chastize hime him for but secretly respect), and doesn't take shit from anyone - what's not to love?

yesterday i dragged my sister and him out for a combined hike and goecaching adventure. we headed up to mt. tam and hiked for a few hours. the kids bitched and moan throughout, and i actually caught myself turning around and saying, "when i was your age. . . " i then stopped, slapped myself in the face, and kept on hiking. the quip of thje day actaully came from sarah who said, "at least on the oregon trail they had wagons!" damn straight, that's my sister - if anyone can turn her into the smartass my mother has been trying to quash, i can.

today was some more geocaching, but this time in the city - went to some great spots and the weather was great all over town. it's really a great activity to do in general, but kids seem to love it - who wouldn't love being a modern day explorer?

i will say that i am looking forward to tomorrow, where i will do absolutely nothing. . . well, not totally true, i am planning on watching the giants, doing the crossword, and taking a nap - that's something i guess.