Go Giants!!!!!

who knew

bling bling bling - friday was a typical kathyrn party - good food, good people, and lots and lots of booze. got to see some familiar faces, as well as some people i hadn't seen in quite a while - including a guy from my old high school who owns a bar down the street from my house - who knew. . . the party turned into a scavenger hunt, which had me, ewa, and bridgette stumbling down polk street until we realized it was 11:30pm, we were all lit, and it was time to go . . .

saturday morning came like a kick to the head - sharp and quick. had a late breakfast/early lunch downtown with ewa and bridgette, and then took ewa up to fairfield for big family event - after a few beers, the hangover faded - it was a good time - good to see all the family, etc. . . got back to the city - had a few drinks at the brazenhead, and i was done in.

sunday was football at gary's and then my roommates birthday party at buca di beppo, which is always fun - and here we are - it's monday - another week - it's started out pretty damn good i must say - if it's any indication of things to come, it should be a good week. . . .

the ways and means

it's been a while since i have been consistent in my 'blogging,' but i hope to fix that a bit. with the new job taking up a lot of my time and a new girl as well, my free time has been spotty at best, and honestly, i'd much rather spend those free moments relaxing with a book or crossword than sitting in front of a computer - how selfish of me. . . :)

so what has been going on - well, work, work, work is what's going on - i've been basically spending all my time there - getting caught up, learning the rope, etc. i did get a chance to go see the radiohead show on tuesday at shoreline - it was a good show, but shoreline is a shite venue - not sure i will ever go back again...

today i am nursing a nasty hangover - last night was a kathyrn pelligrini birthday bash - the theme being bling bling, and me getting drunk drunk. . . a good time had by all.

i need to eat. . . more later. . .

good bye friend

one of my favorites, one of the great at what he did - rest in peace my friend.

the show

the show last night was, in a word, phenomenal!!! it was at the fillmore and featured grandaddy, with opening band, super fury animals. i must say it was easily one of the best shows i've been to this year. i went with my friend willo, who had an extra ticket for me when my original plans fell through, and her friend matt. we got to the fillmore 8ish or so, had some cocktails and food, and i was nice and sauced up in time to catch the super fury animals - they played a wicked set and had everyone pumped up. then grandaddy came out and brought the house down - this was the opening of their us tour, and being northern california natives, repeatedly told the audience how excited they were to be there, and how much it meant to them, and it showed in the insane energy they brought to thier music. they played a good selection of tunes from their new album as well as a few from 'the sophtware slump,' including a feroucious encore of 'crystal lake'. i ended up having one or two more drinks than i should have, so the morning was a bit wicked, but no pain, no gain. if they are going to be hitting your town, you need to check them out. . .

my secret love affair

it's been going on, on and off for a while now - pretty much for the past twenty years or so. a few months ago, things started to fizzle, but suddenly things started to get better again - i was definitely feeling the love. it blossomed again last night as i was sitting in the lounge at the fillmore, enjoying a latke and a vodka drink, listening to someone cover a john lennon song, and waiting to go downstairs and hear grandaddy. i looked out the windows, toward pacific heights and suddenly the sky was full of light - an amazing fireworks show to rival the 4th. it seemed to last forever - at least through four more songs. the love swelled again - where else do these things happen - where else but san francisco? she can be a harsh mistress at times, but sometimes, pain is good. . .

all good

it seems that that jack kerouac has come up in my conversations the past few weeks - i thas come up a few times with my friend eva, to the point that i loaned her my favorite kerouac book, "the dharma bums.' i even quoted the last paragraph of 'on the road' in my last blog - although you've never really heard it until you've heard him read it, which is on disc three of the beat generation box set, which of course, i own.

tonight i was checking out 'nip/tuck' with my cousin - the quote of the day coming from one male doctor to another, speaking about their female psychologist on staff, " I don't want her here. She's a trouble maker and her shoes are cheap." my god, how can you not love that line. . .

unfortunate

well, i feel like i need to add a blog for the day, but i really have nothing to say - so instead, i'll let my friend jack kerouac say something:

"So in america when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coadt, and all that road going, all the people dreaming and the immensity of of it, and in Iowa I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."

i had a milkshake today. . .

i was talking with my friend ewa today about blogs as we were driving through seacliff and drinking milkshakes - basically that everyone has them and talks about what they did that day, like say, driving through seacliff and drinking milkshakes, and how that's not a very appealing reason to read a blog on a daily basis. now if i had been drinking that milkshake while riding naked in the bitch seat of a motorcycle driven by a monkey, that would be interesting - i'd read about that. now change the monkey to santa clause and make it the middle of july (i'm still naked on back drinking my milkshake - hey, it's hot out, what do you want from me??), and you'd have me begging for more - at least a picture, a taste.

now change santa to jesus and suddenly you have a blog of biblical proportions - i'd probably become a cult figure - "the church of brendan" - services would include vodka shots and scathing sarcasm with a side order of self effacement for balance. you would have to read the blog then - daily doses of wisdom doled out by the leader of the church (me), like how to make the perfect bloody mary for the morning after 'mass' runs late into the night (the secret ingredient is lemon pepper), or when is the right and wrong time to hit on a girl by talking about what kind of makeup she should wear or commenting on how unflattering her attire is (answer: never and never, unless you're my roommate, but he's from oklahoma, so we talk reeeaaallll slooooow around him).

these and many more spiritual mysteries would be answered in my blog on a daily basis - i don't know about you, but i'd be checking that out at least 3 or 4 times a day, of course i'm a very lonely man - normal people would probably only check it out once a day. so, all i need to do is find a motorcycle, a guy who looks like jesus, and work out for a bit so i'd at least look good riding naked behind jesus on a motorcyle. until then, i'll have to stick to the norm - it will happen someday - you'll see, you'll all see, and then you'll be sorry!!

for now though:

i had a banana and butterscotch milkshake today. it was very good. i enjoyed it and would have one again soon.

ummm. . . booze

this is now day two of the 'monkeys are smarter than brendan and i can drink all night and don't need sleep and who do you think you are you don't know me' marathon. once again the morning arrives much to early, especially for a saturday - who makes a hair appointment at 9am on saturday!? but i digress. . .

struggled through work yesterday, aided only by my ability to crawl under my desk for quick naps here and again. ended up having sushi with my new friend ewa at ginger and wasabi on van ness and vallejo - it was quite good. we went out and rented 'raising victor vargas' and watched it with her roommate - by the way, the movie was fantastic - funny, edgy, eye-opening - a must see.

i was suppossed to have gone to a birthday party for jee, a friend of willo's that i finally got a chance to hang out with last weekend, which earned me an e-vite to the party - after a few calls from willo, we all motivated and headed down to the 'public restaurant' on 11th and folsom for a few cocktails. seeing as how the weather here has been phenomenal lately, it was great to get out. after a drink or two, and the commotion of one of jee's friends falling off her bike and dislocating her knee cap (happy thoughts to you, whoever you are), we headed back to ewa's.

so it's 2am, and there is a crucial intersection in front of me - do i have more drinks and end up getting no sleep and being terribly hungover or go home, sleep, and wake up fresh in the morning. . . what do you think i did?? her new neighbors were having a small get together, and after pounding on the door for a while, ewa got us access, which was immediately followed by vodka shots and another hour or so of drinking. we all headed up to the roof at one point, and the view of the golden gate on a clear, warm evening was a sight to see. luckily, the night ended shortly after that, but still, five hours of sleep is not cutting it. . .

i'm planning on hitting the beach today for a picnic of sorts - enjoy the beautiful day and the people and weekend, because some of us have to work on monday. by the way, i must retract a statement i said to my friend willo about a cd she gave me that i basically told her was crap. she told me to listen to it again and i've resisted, but for some reason i thought it would be the perfect music for an early, hungover saturday morning, and it is. it's a cd by david hopkins and i don't know the title because i'm to lazy to look, so tough. but right now, at this moment, there is nothing else i would rather be listening to. . . i'm feeling less hungover by the moment - i think a bloody mary would really help me kick it into gear.

finally, the man in black - rest in peace my friend. . .

monkeys are smarter than me

i say this because monkeys actually learn as they get older - touch the hot stove and it burns, damned if that monkey will stay the hell away from the stove. i say this as i sit here at 7:30am, having just returned from a night out with friends, where i drank to much and caroused with the best of them. now of course i'm facing the prospect of dragging myself into work - at some point between college and now i should have learned this lesson . . . i guess spending the last 2 years traveling, freelancing, and working with kids has left me a bit spoiled - oh, here it comes, i feel mr. hangover finally creeping up on me - hopefully a hot shower and a drink - i mean coffee, yeah coffee - will cure me.

ahh. . .september

september in san francisco . . . damn it was hot today!!! i was a bit sad because this is the first time in almost two years that i haven't been freelancing or working with kids - two things that allowed me to enjoy those beautiful san francisco days when you wake up at 9am, go out for the paper, and you know, you just know, it's going to be a nice day.

today was one of those, but of course i spent it in an office building in brisbane, plugging away. i felt like the kid who breaks his leg right before the summer, and has to watch from his window as all the kids are swimming and splashing in the pool (a la bart simpson). well, i did survive and kept on plugging away - it's much easier to repress it than think about it. . .

tonight i'm planning to unwind with some friends by listening to some smooth blues music and having a few cool drinks - i think a nice vodka tonic might be in order - not to many though, some of us have to work in the morning . . .

leaving your mark

saying good-bye is always difficult, especially when it is to a person or situation that means so much to you. it was with a heavy heart yesterday that i let my young charges know that i would be leaving them in two weeks - they were not happy, and neither was i, but i feel it is the right thing to do for now - it is something i can always revist. after telling them all, we set a one night a week 'playdate' - basically once a week i'm going to go and hang out with them - i've grown pretty close to those kids over the past 9 months, and hopefully in ten years i'll know where they are, what they are doing, and what kind of young men they have become.

that being said, i've really gotten into my new job, learning the in's and out's as well as readjusting to the corporate world. i'm loving the company i work for and learning something new everyday about them that excites me even more. i can already tell this is going to be a balls to the wall, high stress environment - i dig it - i'm a big fan of working hard and playing hard - it's what keeps me sane.

staying sane is a good thing, right? stayed sane tonight by going to see my friend willo, listening to some tunes, talking about life, and having a killer cup of tea - what better way to end a tuesday in the city?

the color of money

with the cats away, the mice will play - or more appropriately, when the parents are away and brendan is house sitting, there will probably be a bbq that turns into a north beach bar hopping drinking fest. good lord - it's almost 11pm on sunday, and the haze that i have been walking around in since 9am this morning in finally lifting. . .

in celebration of my house sitting duties, and the major life change of going 'legit,' and leaving the freelance world behind, i decided a small bbq was in order. as with most of them, they went in waves - the first wave started around 12:30pm yesterday and involved the college football boys, who stayed until around 5 or so. it was at this point, the second wave appeared, which consisted of willo and a few friends (jee and amy), with a few more showing up over the next few hours (eva ewa and renee) - a few other friends stopped by, as well as my roommate, and as we watched the sun set behind the golden gate bridge and enjoyed our various drinks of choice, for a moment, all was right with the world. as the sun left us, so did the little warmth we had, and we headed to the kitchen area, where we continued to drink and get sillier, until we finally decided it was time to leave the confines of the house and head out to north beach - we hit a few different bars, and unded up at specs, which is a cool little place next to tosca - at this point it was mysef, jb, willo, ava ewa, amy, and renee. we ended up meeting this very interesting couple from chico, anastathia and dennis, she being in her mid 30's and dressed to kill, and he being in his mid 50's. we sat and talked about books and art and music, and i tried to sound halfway intelligent as i tried to paw my way through the vodka haze.

at this point, we all sort of broke up into little groups of two, myself and eva, willo and renee, and amy and jb (who was very, very drunk by now!!). 2am eventually rolled around, and left to our own devices, we all choose our paths - except jb who was too drunk to choose anything - he was laid to rest in the guest room in the basement of the lombard house. i must say it was a great day and night - eveyone just clicked and had a great time - luckily willo came armed with a camera, so there should be pictures posted soon, and since the events of the evening are hazy at best past 12:30am or so, i am exicted to see them!!

well, i must get to bed - big day tomorrow - first day at the new job - i'm thinking shorts, flip flops, and a wife beater - they won't know what 'em.

change of plans

well, after a year and a half of freelance work and working with the kiddies, i ahve switched gears and am going to be starting monday working full time for a company called informative. they have hired me on to be their program manager - it's a new position in their client services department, and it will be my job to create what the position does, then hire and manage people in that position. i am really looking forward to, and have been on a high the last two days thinking about the prospect of working my ass off again - it feels good!!

to celebrate, my roommate and i had many, many vodka drinks, and then i thought it would be a good idea to watch 'seven days in september,' a documentary about 9/11 and the days that followed - i figured i had already seen enough of those films to not get weepy, but i was wrong - i made it through about 30 minutes and then toddled off to bed.

this morning rushed in pretty quickly - was up early and watched a good flick in bed - it was 'the good girl' with jennifer anniston, and it was pretty good - i had heard all the buzz about it last year and that anniston had turned in a great performance, and i must say she did - i definitely reccomend checking it out. her husband is played by john c. reily who has become a favorite of mine of the past few years, and this was solidified for me after his performance in 'chicago.'

so the day started out well - and has been chugging along - i'm house sitting for the parents this weekend, which is always fun, and having a nice little bbq tomorrow - it's also the opening weekend of football season - ah, everything is right with the world - at least for right now anyway . . .

oh, and before i forget - for those of you (like my roommate) who were freaking out about the big 3.9! quake we had yesterday (which i had no idea about), don't worry, everything will be ok . . .

make my day

i was heading home this evening and was listening to 'fresh air' on npr and was laughing my ass off. the interview was with al franken about his new book, if you get a chance, listen to it. not only is it hilarious and pokes fun at the right, but it really shows you how politically adept franken is.

had a fairly busy day - spent the morning interviewing in san carlos and the afternoon doing the same in the brisbane - they both went well off of course, but then, most of my interviews do - lets keep out fingers crossed. looking forward to the weekend - the parents are leaving town and i'm in charge of the house on the hill - let the games begin!!

the shuffle

well, to say the pub crawl was a rousing success wouldn't be totally true, but it was fun none the less. we (there were 5 of us to start, with many dropping out at the last second. . .) started at the hawaii west, then went to li po, then hopped into gary's car (it broke the rule of the crawl, but there were only five of us, and one of us in their 70's) and headed into the tenderloin. our first stop was the ha ra - one of my favorite dive bars in the city - instead of happy hour they feature a daily sad hour - what can be better than that?

we soon left the ha ra, and this is where we lost our first member, gary who left to go see his girlfriend - understandable. we headed out to katie's, which is a real shit hole, so perfect for our purposes - we were the only ones in the bar, which made it even better. it was here that we lost my roommate who had to work the next day. i must give him credit though, he did get very drunk! it went downhill from here - our oldest member, bill, invited a street hustler of sorts, sparkle, to join us, and then he became infatuated with an isreali man at the end of the bar (to bill's credit, he was a pretty looking guy). it was at this point that bill stumbled off to the bathroom, and with a quick nod to the bartender, bill's drink dissapeared, and a cab showed up, and bill was off - now that's good service!

it was now about 1am and it was down to me and my friend kati. we headed off to our final stop, the route 101, my neighborhood hangout, and the final stop on the crawl. katie and i had a drink, played some pool, and were sadly informed by our friendly bartender hobie that the route 101 has finally banned smoking - one of the last bastions of freedom in the city is gone!! oh well, the law is the law. last call was sounded, i walked kati home, then crawled into bed. overall the night was fun, but i was the least drunk in the end, which was hard for me to believe, and i'm sure the same rings true for those who know me. we ended up missing out on a few bars, and missing out on a few people, but in the end, it was a good night. . .

i can sum up yesterday pretty quickly - returned my step-fathers bike by riding over to their house (good hangover cure apparently), raided their fridge, got a ride home, and then laid on the couch, ate, and enjoyed a herbal remedy - hmmmm. . . labor day!!

well, off to bed - big day tomorrow - have a bunch of meetings and stuff - will be spending the morning in beautiful san carlos - i'm so excited i'm not sure i'll be able to sleep tonight!!

the crawl?

well, i must say the crawl was quite disapointing - we were six strong to start and had many last minute cancellations via cell phone (you know who you are. . . feel guilty!!!). we lost many along the way, and the last stop on the the crawl ended up just being me and my friend kati - we had a rousing game of pool to end the night (i won) and i walked her home then stumbled home myself. overall, it was an okay night - more stories to follow, but now it is time to pass out. . .