"Howdy, Pilgrim!"

I had to fly to Orange County this morning. One of the things I like about coming to the 'O.C.' is John Wayne airport. The place is clean, rental cars are on-site and the lounge has decent beer. And it's not LAX. Whatever. So I'm sitting in the lounge and start thinking the deep thoughts that come along with the two Sam Adams drafts. Do people who fly once or twice a year actually look forward to the whole airport/airplane experience? Pontificating from the depths of the lounge, I tried to pick out anybody who looked like they were actually going someplace for "fun". All I saw were different versions of me. Lots of suits, laptops and briefcases. And not a happy looking face to be found. Bummer.

Anyway, the reason I was in L.A. was I had a meeting at a hospital at 9:00. Lucky for me, I stopped for a soda on the way and was running a little late. One of the "patients" took his shoes off in the lobby and the smell made two employees vomit. I can't imagine what kind of stench could cause two seasoned hospital employees (who are used to some nasty things) to get sick. Just REALLY glad I wasn't there. I caught the tail end and it was a tad funky. Thinking of the doctor who actually had to treat the dude put my whole professional world in perspective. Probably 200 people taking their shoes off near me on the way through security, and nobody was foul enough to cause a mass case of the heebie-jeebies. Also, I have yet to visit a hospital that has a decent bar.

Movie Review: "Smokin' Aces"

Just got back from checking out "Smokin' Aces". Pretty good story, lots of great actors, LOTS of blood and gore. Well done blood and gore, but LOTS of it. And just a dash of gratuitous nudity. (Sidenote: Is cinematic nudity ever truly "gratuitous"? I could find a way to justify nudity in a movie about nuns in a leper colony. Nuns come home after a long day helping the sick, need a hot bath, possibly a massage. Maybe some flash-back sequences to when the really hot, young nun was working as a stripper to pay the bills. You know, before she found god, became a nun, moved to the leper colony. I see this as a Russ Meyer movie, but he's dead. Too bad. He could make this work. Think "Mondo Topless" meets "Supervixens" meets "The Flying Nun".) Anyway, I mostly enjoyed the movie, but would not recommend it to anybody who's the least bit squeamish about blood, shootings, stabbings, etc. Tarantino fan, this might work for you. "Apple Dumpling Gang" fan, not so much.

Bo & Lucy go to Costco...

OK, so they don't actually know they went to Costco, but I don't think they care. All they know is they got to go for a ride and there were treats for everybody. I was looking at this picture and I couldn't believe how big Lucy has gotten. I seem to remember bringing home a little puppy who would hide from Bo under the end table. Now she can't even fit her head under the end table to get her Kong. Still thinks she's a lap-dog, though. I can guaran-freakin'-tee you that La-Z-Boy won't honor their warranty if my chair breaks and they find out a 200-ish pound dude was sitting with his 80-ish pound dog in his lap. Shhhhhh!

Several fancy downtown restaurants are offering a special deal this week, so Rachelle and I decided to load up the xA and give Mason's a shot. Good place, but a very strange crowd/atmoshpere. And I knew I was WAY out of my league when the waiter asked if we wanted water and gave us four choices. I didn't know there were four different types of water. I know "tap" and "bottled". What the hell else is there? I'd have to give the restaurant 4 stars out of 5, but Rachelle said the dessert was the best she'd ever had. Some sort of chocolate volcano cake with ice cream on top. A little too rich for me, but she loved it. Anyway, the only reason I'm mentioning this place is the bathroom. The men's and women's rooms are separated by a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. It's only by the sinks, but it's really distracting. You're standing there washing your hands and you're face-to-face with some chick on the other side. I guarantee that dudes are much more diligent in their hand washing when they know women are watching them. Lots more soap usage than I normally see in the men's room. I'm not 100% sure I'm comfortable with the whole set-up, but I'm sure it gets a lot more interesting as the night goes on. We left around 10:00pm and the fake tits and injected lips were out in full force. Shocking!

Big Girl & Scrappy Dude

So Lucy turned 38 weeks today. Based on my sketchy math, that is actually about 9 1/2 months. Woof. She's 75+ pounds and I can scratch her ears without bending down. Good God, I hope she stops growing soon. I'm not sure Rachelle knew what she was getting into when she said, "So you've got some extra great dane/chocolate lab puppies? Sure, I'd love to take one home!" At least Lucy was the "smallest". FYI, I don't know that I'd recommend a great dane mix for anybody living in a small home. Hell, the lab part ain't so great, either. We went out for New Year's Eve and came home to find Lucy had torn her bed to shreds. Again. We've gone through more beds in the past nine months than we did in Bo's first five years. Speaking of which, January 1st was the fifth anniversary of Bo's adoption. Five years ago last Monday, we drove to the parking lot at the Folsom Petco and slipped Irmgard a check for $100 and took Bo home. It was like a drug deal, but with more fur and slobber. And barking. Life has been nothing but happiness and roses ever since. Ha! OK, so it's been mostly happy, but a lot less "clean" than the pre-pet days.

So Rachelle and I met up with Ken for "Pint Night" at Yager's tonight. $5 for the first pint and you get to keep the glass. Pretty sure it's $3 per pint after that, but I'm a little fuzzy on the true "Pint Night" rules. Regardless, you get a raffle ticket for each pint you drink and you get entered in a drawing for beer-related prizes. Until Ken showed up, Rachelle and I were the only ticket holders and were basically a 100% lock for said beer-related prizes. Bastard! Anyway, worked out OK since I won both an XL Lagunitas Brewing Company t-shirt and two (2) Lagunitas pint glasses. Just what I needed! Too bad Christmas is already over. I smell re-gift!