sorry. . . i have a call. . .

i used to think it would be so cool to tell someone i couldn't meet for drinks or dinner because i had a call with singapore - now that i actually have them a couple of times a week, it's not as cool - especially since they come at the end of the day and the folks in signapore are bright eyed and bushy tailed and starting their day, and i'm at the end of my day - tired, stressed, and in serious need of a cocktail. . . now if i could figure out a way to make it necessary for me to go to singapore. . .well. . . that would be a different story. . .

besides my late night calls to asia, the week has gone fairly smooth - albeit quite busy - wall to wall meetings during the day, and then playing catch up at night. . .it is what it is. . . they pay me for it, so that is good...

i will say i am looking forward to the weekend though - ewa comes home tomorrow morning from her east coast swing, and in the afternoon we are leaving the city behind for the weekend and heading out to pt. reyes for a weekend of relaxation, hiking, cheese eating, and generally basking in each others presence. . . .how can you beat that?

that one month

there is about a total of one month throughout the entire year in san francisco when the weather is 'knock your socks off, gimme a beer, cuz it's hot and i don't own shorts and i'm sitting in my boxers' good - this was one of those weekends. it happened to coincide wit the clocks going back to 'standard' time, so it was touted by all of us as the last great weekend of the season - of course it is now monday and it is still incredible out and promises to be so for the next few days - so what do i know?

as friday afternoon approached and i was leaving work to begin housesitting duties at the house on the hill, i felt the warm late afternoon hit my face, and knew i would be spending my weekend outside - preferably on the rooftop deck with a beer in one hand and a refreshing vodka drink in another. friday went according to plan - a few drinks and some dinner at the parents house with ewa and her roommate bridgette, followed by some late night hot tubbing with ewa, and the weekend was in full swing.

saturday morning of course came way to quickly and too early, and after i unsuccessfully tried to convince ewa that all the clocks in the house were set three hours ahead and that it was actually 5am and not 8am, we went for a bike ride to pac bell along the embarcadero and stopped off at the farmers market where we sat by the water and ate fresh french bread, goat cheese, and plums (anyone who likes fresh french bread, goat cheese, and plums, click here.). we headed back to the house on the hill, made a quick trip to costco, which is a story unto itself, and were back home and ready to bbq.

we started the grill around 3pm and grilled straight through until around 11pm. when ewa asked, 'are we going to be eating every two hours?!' and gary replied, 'what, do you want us to starve?", i knew it would be a good night. people came and went all night, including some of the indian posse - sanjog, the founding member, after a few cocktails, told her husband as he was making a refill that she wanted a gin with some vodka and not to much tonic. the night ended shortly after. . .

sunday was even warmer - ewa and i had breakfast with my young cousin and her friend at mama's, then cleaned and lazed around the house all day, before it was finally time for us to pack up and move out. . . i guess two days in paradise is ok. . .

the weekend ended with me taking ewa to the airport to catch her red-eye to new york, and me heading home knowing that something would be missing on monday that was there on sunday, and that something about the day just wont be the same. . . i was right. . .

amazing

i was cruising the blog of someone i ran into last night at the rock 'n roll spelling bee, and she posted a link to amazon.com talking about a new 'search in book feature.' basically you go to the books section and enter in a sentence or some words and will search all the books in their database and actually return you results that tell you the sentence and page from the book it came from, as well as the book title - it's awesome - check it out. . .

two in a row

well, in my attempt to update my blog more regularly, i am writing my second blog in two days - let it never be said that brendan does not aim to please the people . . .

ewa and i had dinner with mom last night at washington st. bar and grill - food was spot on but the service was spotty, due to our waitress who was a bit. . . off. a good time was had by all - mom likes ewa and ewa likes mom, so all seems to be right with the world.

we headed out to el rio next to meet a few folks - there were having a benefit there for the national novel writing month, as well as to benefit a music in schools program - the event for the night was a 'rock 'n roll spelling bee - the premise being that everyone who was a contestant had a local rock affiliation or a local writing affiliation. it was quite a set up, the event being emceed by a guy calling himself 'wink' who had the 70's game show host persona in full swing, right down to the mustache - he was joined by his comedic straight man who was the wordsmith - reading the words to the contestants, giving definitions, etc - he was perfect, down to the blue blazer with a crest on the pocket. we didn't stay for the end, but the highlight of the night for me was when one of the rockers was asked to spell the word 'Bourgeois,' which he butchered, and as he left the stage, 'wink' leaned into the mic and said, 'before we can smash them, we must spell them.' i almost fell over. . . .

before i head out for some much needed lunch, i want to congratulate my buddy mike in kentucky who just graduated from the kentucky state highway patrol academy (check out the pictures) with fairly high honors i must say - mike is a great guy and a good bud and new roommate of my uncle gene - if the cops in kentucky are all like mike, we are in good shape. . . just don't try to grab his ass.

people are strange

ok, ok, ok - a few people (gene, ewa, chris) have been on my ass about updating the blog - i guess when you are used to a daily dose of the comings and goings of brendan, not having that info at your fingertips makes your day incomplete. . . who knew. . .

so, i'll try to give everyone a quick update and make a concerted effort to update a little more often. . . .there, is everyone happy? if not you can email me with your gripes, and i will read them and promptly delete them.

hmm, now what should i tell you, well, as most of you know, i have entered relationship land and couldn't be happier. . . those of you who know about ewa, know about ewa - those of you who don't, well, you're not going to find all the details here - i find the whole blog format to be a bit impersonal for these sorts of things - you'll have to call, or better yet, met us for a drink. sufficive to say, she is great, i am happy, need i really say more?

i must say though (watch out, this may turn into a rant), that it is funny how different people react to their friends getting into relationships - especially the beginning "i'm spending every waking moment with the new person in my life" phase. my friends who are in relationships and who have been for a while sort of look at me, then at each other, smile, and say, ' i remember when we were like that.' they do it with fondness as well - they remember the time then there was no one else in their life they wanted to be with more, than that person. they also don't get pissed that you are in that phase - they don't get pissed that you don't hang out as much, because at some, that phase. . . well. . .is phased out. you are still lost in each others eyes, but you survive (barely) a night without each other, and are instead devoted to some friends whom you haven't seen a lot of lately, but who understand why, and know it's not personal, it's life. . .

then there are the others, those who are pissed - who on the outside are smiling and happy for you, but on the inside are pissed because suddenly, you aren't there as often, you don't have the time you used too - you choose to spend it with someone else, and some people don't understand why, and take it as a personal attack. i guess it all falls into the realm of short sightedness - the worst thing you can be in life is myopic and only looking at what is right in front of you. if you have never been in a relationship, then i understand the short sidedness, but if you have, then you know, and you can't be pissed, because whether we admit it or not, we've all done it, some to more degrees than others, but it doesn't matter. that is how the connection is made, that is how the discovery is made, that's how you know. . . and when you know, you know, because, well. . .you just know. . .

hmm. . . .that was a rant. . . oh well, it has been a while - thanks to jim m. for the title, the man was right.

what next

and my mother wonders why i have issues with the catholic church.

sweet jesus

i havent been to good about blogging lately, and don't really have time to go into a full blown update, but ran across this and had to share - make sure you read the label - scarey scary (thanks ewa) . . .

the week in review

hmm. . . i know my blogs have been lacking in the way of . . . well, substance to exact. but do you really want to hear about how i worked all day, then went to hang out with ewa, then went to bed?

of course i did more than that, but not enough for me to write about it all day. . . so here it is, my week in review. . .

i worked. a lot. everyday. that's what i did most of the time.

my roommates official b'day was on monday, so a group of us took him out to aux delices (which is really good) on polk for dinner, and then a few drinks at the royal oak (also on polk - also a good palce for drinks, put a bit pricey).

i did manage to listen to the giants games work - very incognito with my $20 radioshack am/fm radio - besides a few shouts and some fist pumping, i think it went unnoticed. . .

wednesday i cooked for ewa - i must say it was pretty damn good - and yes, i am tooting my own horn. we were eventually joined by her friend michelle, my roommate jb, and her roommate bridgette - we stayed up to late, drank to much wine, and smoked to many ciggarettes.

last night was a chill night - watched 'bowling for columbine,' which i enjoyed - especially for the honesty with which moore protrays his uber left leanings - may not agree with all his presumptions, but have to respect him for staying to true to his vision, and having a sense of humor about it. . .

and here we are today. . .it's friday - who know what the weekend has in store - actually i do, but i have to get back to work - i can't be sitting around blogging all day. . . .