RES Class of ‘89 Reunion

A couple of fellow alumni of Roosevelt elementary school showed up in San Diego this weekend, giving me a rare opportunity to get drunk with people I’ve known over 20 years. They brought along a handful of Northwesterners looking to escape the gloom and get really, really drunk.

Thursday

The weekend didn’t start out too eventful, I picked up the first arrival at the airport and showed him a few SD happy hour’s before the rest of the crew arrived. Once they did we hit up some pizza spot were the waitress was harassed for not serving us beer just because their liquor license wouldn’t allow it. She was a good sport. I showed them to the first bar before heading home, as I had to work in the morning.

Friday

After an argument over fifth grade teachers names, and their brothers names (Mr. Storms name really was North American, his brother’s was Bob) we left the Catamaran Resort where my friends may not be welcome. We ended up at Moondoggies happy hour, which lasts until 10, and made me realize I’m under-utilzing happy hours. Cheap food, cheap drinks. After asking me were we should go next, I was ignored because two random girls walking down the street mentioned they were going to Bub’s, were we stayed until another random girl talked someone into going to Johnny V’s and everyone followed. Bub’s is okay (I’d like the place if they didn’t charge a cover, it isn’t the kind of bar one should pay to drink at), Johnny V’s is not. At some point some grab ass got started that landed someone in an ambulance, but besides being really pissed off he was okay.

One of the rooms that I was not in Friday night also apparently had security standing outside, knocking every few minutes to tell them to quite down.

Saturday

After one of the grayest days I can remember in SD (sorry disappointed visitors) we headed to the Gaslamp. The crew had been to Stingaree on a previous trip and for some reason wanted to go back. We got bottle service, which was a first for us here at WFS. When I think bottle service I think a nice little table with a robe to separate the important people from the ‘normals’ while that was going on, we must have put down for the cheap ass bottle service, as we got a bench that was way to small for the group and were surrounded by all the regular schmucks who hadn’t payed $350 for a $30 bottle of booze. The service was bad to boot, two girls trying to cover 4 or 5 ‘VIP’ groups. On top of that, the scene at the club was unfortunately what I would have expected. Way too many dudes with orange tans spending their gym paychecks to try and impress the few attractive girls in the club.

The high point in the night was when we had a bouncer fake kick out one of our own. Shortly after he  was shown the VIP exit anyway, strait to a cab. I guess there’s at least one advantage to bottle service.

Ale Fests, Vikings and the Rest of Saturday

Having rejoined the workforce, yesterday was my first Saturday where I needed to Enjoy Life because I’m confined to a sad, sad cubicle the rest of the week. I started my day with a train ride up the coast. The Coaster, which connects America’s Finest City to what is fondly creatively referred to around these parts as the North County provides some nice views of the ocean, beaches and the Del Mar racetrack. I don’t ride trains very often, but apparently I find them soothing. Maybe I should move to Europe.

When I got to Carlsbad I met up with a friend for the 12th Annual Real Ale Fest at the local Pizza Port. They had 50 kegs of beer (supposedly, some were tapped out when we got there at 1:30) from micro brews across the western U.S. A tried plenty of good but not great beer, 4 ounces at a time. A fellow beer taster couldn’t handle his four ounces, and vomitted on the ground right next to me. No attempt to go to a bathroom or away from the large crowd, just look at the ground and let it fly. I was in the splatter zone.

After getting our fill of barley pop’s, we moved on to the Pizza Port for some food. While waiting in line, a former drinking/basketball buddy from my undergraduate days saw me and came over to chat. This was surprising because he lives in Oregon. After that chat I got another call from another alumnus of the Harvard of Directional Schools, or my phone said it was. In fact it was some girl who didn’t identify herself who was letting me know that Dave (name removed to protect identity) was standing naked in a puddle with a viking helmet on. Go Vikings! I told her to take a picture, no word on whether or not she did.

The day was finished off by swinging by a small get together a friend was having were I met the most obnoxious person I can remember talking to. At various points in the conversation she asked me and a friend if we had jobs in an accusing fashion, then followed that up with “But do you have real jobs?” And several times mentioned for some reason that she had taken business statistics, like that made her an authority on something, I’m not sure what (I didn’t mention my academic background). She also complained that San Diego men don’t have proper drive like Orange County men, an odd statement from a person living in Eastlake (not exactly Laguna Beach or La Jolla).

Do I Look Like I’d Know?

Stopped at a red light, a fellow motorist rolled down his window and indicated he wanted to chat. “Where the gentlemans clubs at?” Is that really something to ask a stranger? I told him they were mostly on Midway Drive.

Brett-O on His Back-O

I hurt my back lifting weights last Monday. Since then I’ve been lying on my back reading and watching DVD’s. Once I’m feeling better I hope to do something more interesting, and until that day posts will be sparce.

If You Can Get Past the Uber-Hipsterness

After a couple of pitchers of margaritas, I found myself at an open mic night for storytellers named after a Battlestar Galacta* catch phrase Saturday night. One of my fellow students of the statistical sciences had promised me it was a good time, “if you can get past the uber-hipsterness” of the whole thing. The (weekly?) event features people in ironic t-shirts telling true stories that somehow related to the nights theme, ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.’ Judges scored the storytellers, and I’m assuming clapping,  a small trophy and a gift certificate for very tight jeans went to the champion.

At intermission we decided our time would be better spent at a bar, but the contestants up until then fell into three categories.

1. Guys who got up and did a reasonably good job telling funny stories. Poop stories seemed to get the most laughs.
2. People who told emotional stories poorly. This seemed to be the route to high scores.
3. The guy who was drawn from the crowd to tell a story. Unlike the rest of the storytellers, who had been practicing for an unknown length of time, this fellow had to wing it. He opted to not so much tell a story, but make bad Seinfeld like observations about things not mentioned in polite company, like anal sex, masterbation and poop. The poop was thrown in because it had worked for the previous guy.

While I don’t think I’ll become a regular, and I wouldn’t drop the $5 suggested donation on the event, it was a good change of pace from standing in a bar or going to a movie on a saturday night.

*There was no mention of Battlestar Galactica, but my roommates are big fans so I know a BSG reference when I hear it.

Free Advertising For WWU Alums

I think I’ve pimped Death Cab for Cutie’s music before on this site, but there aren’t very many rock starts I went to school with*. Anyway, Amazon’s mp3 site is selling The Open Door EP for 99 cents. I have no idea how long the sale will last, but it’s worth the price.

*I’m not sure whether or not we were actually at WWU at the same time, I think they were there in the mid to late 90’s, and I stepped on campus in the fall of 98.

What I’ve Been Doing With My Free Time

Schools done, I might be working like a sucker soon, but for the last 9 days I’ve been left entirely to my own devices. Here’s the rundown.

Drinking.

• Statisticians are better at beer pong than basketball.
• If you give a friend $5 to get himself a drink at a bar with $2 you-call-it’s and tell him you DO NOT want a shot, you’re probably going to get a shot.
• Flip cup should be played by teams of four, give or take. If you have significantly more people multiple teams should be formed that rotate in.
• 39 year old’s birthday parties are pretty much the same as 29 year old’s, which is very different than 19 year old’s and even more different than 9 year old’s. I find that comforting.

Movies.

• The new Star Trek is good, but not as good as everyone says it is.
• The new Terminator is bad but not as bad as everyone says it is.
• Valkerye was pretty good. Tom Cruise played a cocky Nazi, which was a nice change of pace from his normal cocky American character. Actually it was the cocky American character with an eye patch.
• The Wrestler was good, but I got tired of the camera following characters from behind as they went about their business. Sure, Marissa Tomei and Mickey Rourke have nice backs, especially for their advanced ages, but I got tired of looking at them. Worst Darren Aronofsky movie I’ve seen, but he makes good movies so that isn’t so bad.

Family. I made my annual pilgrimage north of LA with my sister to visit Grandma, as well as various cousins, Aunts, Uncles and second cousins.

• Anyone know how to convince one’s grandma it’s time for a wheelchair? Maybe send her video’s on how great a rascal is? She’s too proud to admit it, but I’m pretty sure her life would be greatly improved if she could travel at a speed greater than 5 ft and hour. And she’d annoy a lot fewer motorists.
• Family is cool and all, but I’m not sure mine is worth spending 12 hours in a car over a 3 day period to hang out with. Sorry gang, but I can’t stand that LA traffic. Maybe if there was some bribes I’d feel differently.

I’m hoping to get some beach time in soon but we’ve got June gloom greying up the skies. I’m looking for other ’staycation’ activities to stay busy, but realistically I’ll probably just watch some movies and drink cheap beer.

Drugs Are Bad, mmkay

Along with eliminating the penny, decriminalizing drug use is one of the most obviously beneficial public policy decisions this country refuses to make. My regular reader probably agrees with me, if you happened on this through random internet clickings you might be thinking drugs ruin peoples lives and decriminalization will turn the U.S. into a rotting hell hole. And if you are thinking that you probably haven’t been to Holland or Portugal.

Spooky Quiet

A classmate who transfered here (San Diego State) fromm UCSD once commented to me regarding the designated quiet rooms in the library that all of UCSD’s library is a quiet room. It hadn’t occured to me but the same was true at the school kind enough to give me an undergraduate education, WWU (the Harvard of directional schools).

I can tell the semester is pretty much over because State’s library is now quiet outside of the quiet rooms. It feels weird.

WFS On Grammer

Marginal Revolution lead me on a series of clicks around the interweb. The kind of people who I assume think they will be better liked (respected?) for pointing out grammatical flaws were jumping on Google for the following:

Over 28,000 children drew doodles for our homepage.

Vote for the one that will appear here!

Here’s whats wrong with those two sentences that are clear and easy to understand:

The AP Stylebook says “over” is a way to move—a preposition. And “more than” must precede a number. Also, if you are voting for one, specific doodle, then the AP Stylebook tells you to use “which” rather than “that.”

I would like to point out that the person who wrote that (second link above) was arguing in her post that conveying ideas clearly is important and grammer isn’t. I think there is more to it than that. By taking the AP Stylebook, or any other ‘authority’ as the One True Source of grammer your treating writing as a process of following a set in stone list of rules. It isn’t. Well it is to a few people, who are missing the point of why we write and speak to one another. This is from the MR comments:

I was, misguidedly, a linguistics major as an undergraduate and the notion that language should be described as it is spoken, which is, “prescriptivism,” and not judged by a rigid set of rules, which is, “prescriptivism,” was a chief tenet of the discipline.

Language changes, it would be ridiculous to try and use the AP Stylebook in England in the 1700’s. It would tell me I’m completely wrong for saying I LOL’d so hard I lizzed myself last night. But everyone not living in a cave will understand. Well, lizzed may not be in the common vernacular yet, but it will be. I would argue that the ‘incorrect’ use of over on the Google page isn’t just okay because everyone knows what they mean. It’s correct because everyone who isn’t a grammar asshole uses ‘over’ that way. That makes it correct. Or does a guy who landed a job editing the AP Stylebook get to tell the rest of the world they’re wrong?

At this point, if Google says it’s okay doesn’t that pretty much make it right? Rant over.