You Busy?

White Course at Haines Point

2009-10-11T19:53:00.003-04:00

I played a 9-hole round today with woman about my age, her teenage son, and a mentor that was playing with them. The mentor has been playing about 15 years and I thought I'd get the chance to learn a few tricks.

Sadly, I played just as well as the mentor on the long drives. But she did get me on the short game. I'm still figuring out my distances with the new irons. And my pw is still a bit of a mystery. I played fairly well, though, and am quite proud of my <1 vs. her 15 years.

Did tweek my back on a 7 wood shot. Back to advil and heating pad.

Golf back in the picture

2009-10-09T10:37:00.003-04:00

I went to the driving range yesterday for the first time in nearly a month. Glad to say that going cold turkey helped my back. No pain or soreness. Yeah.

Didn't do too badly. Trying to get to know my new #5 hybrid.

Tee time booked for Sunday. Trying to squeeze out every drop of decent weather before that nasty winter business arrives.

Hacienda. Alejandro Escovedo. Los Loney Boys.

2009-10-06T10:53:00.003-04:00

What a triple play. G-man suprised me with Los Loney Boys tickets at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia last night. We've tried to see LLB several times before, but this is the first time both entities made it to the show.

The first time was several years ago when LLB were fairly new on the scene. They were scheduled to open for Bruce Hornsby at Wolf Trap. I had grabbed 4 lawn tickets and had planned to treat my friends, Tony, Rebecca and Dave for a quick show. Then we were going to bail on Hornsby and grab a nice dinner. When we got to the venue, we sadly found a sign that announced that LLB had cancelled and that Hornsby would go on at 8pm. Damn. They only give refunds when the headliner cancels – not the opening act. Damn. We decide to sit through Hornsby and give him and his band a chance. I have to admit that it certainly was nice to hear a blast from the not so distant past. But he was no Ringo, Henry and Jojo.

Another time, Greg and I had tickets to see them in Albuquerque. This time our plans got derailed by a family event. Oh well.

Last nights show was all acoustic. Three bands starting at 7:30 p.m. Hacienda opened. They're a four man team, 2 guitars, 1 organ, and 1 tiny little drum. They have some potential. Would love the see them in a few years when they've got more experience.

Second up was Alejandro Escovedo. He really wowed us. I remember him from my youth when he was first in the the Nuns then Rank & File. I have to say he looks and sounds amazing. Glad to see him back on track after his health crisis a few years back.

LLB took the stage on stools and acoustic guitars. A little weird but a perfect setting for a small room like the Birchmere. Sadly the place was only about half full. The demographics surprised me in that I fit it perfectly. I had expected a younger and more diverse crowd. But the audience loved them.

Great show last night. Looking forward to watching their career over the next few decades. They credit their dad a great deal with teaching and guiding them as musicians. I certainly would love to see Ringo Garza Sr. play a set.

Dang CSS

2009-09-29T21:36:00.003-04:00

Just saw how crappy my blog looks. Will do something about it. Someday.

Back to You Busy. Update. Ali's Bar.

2009-09-29T21:25:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd revive this blog. No worries, I"ll still be contributing to G-mans & my blog over there somewhere. But thought I'd come back here and blog about life when he's not around. Perhaps I'll double up on and duplicate some blog posts here and there.

I've been the leading bartender at a local theatre's bar. And the other night while I was winding up and closing down I got the amazing chance to listen to John Kander, of Kander and Ebb, tinkle around on the piano while some of our local entertainers were listening and singing as well. It was a small party after the show. He was here to shut down the run of First I Dream. I got to listen to him play while some amazing voices sang. Amazing.

A couple of nights before that, I was cleaning up the bar and was serenaded by a few National Symphony musicians who had stopped by to see a few friends. I had an amazing soundtrack while cleaning and closing the bar.

Damn, I've got an amazing second job. Not to downplay the fun I have during the day.

Jaleo Puked!

2008-11-15T20:22:00.002-05:00

Yeah. Came home to little present left in my newly clean sheets:

After six weeks he finally gave up the squeaky toy he swallowed at the park. It's still has some shape but it is real gelatinous. Kinda like a jelly fish.

Now who's gonna call the vet and tell him I'm not crazy.

Meh.

October 2008 Fill Up

2008-10-30T21:43:00.004-04:00

$37.00 for 13.966 gallons at $2.64/gallon. Good to see prices going down. Here's hoping for a better economic future with a blue crew.

I do have to admit just one thing. I ran out of petrol a couple of days ago! I thought I had enough and wasn't keeping an eye on the tank level gauge. Then boom. While going up a hill about 10 blocks away the poor dub sputtered and sputtered then pooped out. I called my friend Lisa who lives a few blocks away and usually goes home for lunch. She laughed and laughed. Unfortunately she was at work. Walked a few blocks and got a couple of gallons. Then walked back. good thing I keep an empty gas can in the trunk.

Beautiful Day in D.C.

2008-10-13T18:44:00.003-04:00

Today was an especially beautiful fall day here in the Mid-Atlantic. And like so many North Easteners, I took advantage of every minute I could outdoors. Because tomorrow may be cold and there may not be a nice day again for a long, long time.

I can't deny that I hate winter here in the D.C. area. It's a wet, damp cold. I can't wait to be farther left from here.

The picture above is a shot from one of the local dog parks in the area. It's about 99% fenced in and meanders along the East bank of Four Mile Run. The dogs can get down to the water through a gate. Today was warm and beautiful and a number of stay at home employees took advantage of that.

Happy Birthday Brian

2008-10-07T22:37:00.001-04:00

We celebrated our friend Brian's birthday at President Bush's favorite Mexican resturaunt in the area. Clearly, he hasn't eaten at my place.

September 2008 Fill Up

2008-09-24T16:06:00.002-04:00

$51.57 for 13.98 gallons at $3.68/gallon. Very happy to see prices going down with out going up again.

Birchmere: Sonny Landreth

2008-09-14T01:17:00.002-04:00

Delta Moon opened the show tonight at the Birchmere. Good sound.

August fill up

2008-08-25T20:56:00.000-04:00

Filled up the car today. It's been 32 days since my last fill. Yeah, prices are coming down.

Philadelphia and Back

2008-08-14T21:51:00.001-04:00

Tony C. and I celebrated his birthday by taking the day off and going to Philadelphia. We visited the Barnes Foundation in the morning, spending several hours is their small museum. Then we took a walk around the gardens. It's a lovely place. And the weather today was perfect – California perfect. Here's a picture of a lovely little tea house,

And here's a shot of the coi in the pond just beyond:

Afterwards, we headed downtown and had lunch at Reading Terminal Market. I had offered to treat Tony to a nice lunch somewhere, but Reading Terminal was were he wanted to go.

Oh, and it was good. On the way home, however, I did not feel that good. Tony thinks it may have been something I ate. Let's see... Started with a couple of pieces of sushi. Then we split a brisket sandwich with peppers and provolone. Then there was this apple dumpling thing from an Amish stall. I couldn't resist the pickled green beans a few stalls away. Then we had ice cream. And on the way back to the car I bought some black licorice. Hmmm. Maybe it was the licorice.

All in all, is was a peaceful day. And I was able to get this portrait of us from my crappy palm treo phone camera:

"I Hit My Eye on a Door Knob"

2008-08-12T11:34:00.003-04:00

Yeah, you've heard dumb excuses on tv from the stereotypical female who's being abused. But, it really does happen.

Last night, I got up to go. I didn't turn on any lights. I thought I had pushed the door of the bathroom completely open. As I walked in I stepped on a shirt or something. Bent down to pick it up and BANG. Hit my left eye smack on the door knob. Banged the bone of the eye socket pretty bad and now have a shiner.

So, it can happen. Really.

Klutz.

Moving On

2008-08-11T12:35:00.003-04:00

I've been bartending a couple of nights a week at a dive bar down near the Pentegon. Last week I said my goodbyes and worked my last shift. I like many of the customers and will miss seeing them regularly. I seem to run into most of them since they are all neighbors, so to speak. I'm taking the rest of August off bartending-wise. Still have plenty of work in my day gig. And trying to squeeze in some vacation time. Then I'll look for a new place to work – sane hours, smoke-free, better class of digs.

Zoom. How Time Flies.

2008-08-10T00:32:00.005-04:00

I've known Casey and his wife, since 1986 when I started working at Writers Guild. He and his wife and I became good friends. They weren't that much older than I (guessing about 15 years), so they always took a kind of older sister and brother attitude towards me. But there was a little bit of fatherly and motherly advice too. I really think that they were more distraught than I was when I broke off with Henry (circa 1996). "But heeees a dooooctor!." was Casey's lament when I told him. He couldn't understand why a good Jewish girl would break if off with a doctor. Okay, I'm still scratching my head about that one, too. Life goes on.

This week Casey sent me the some current photos of his kids, Max & Zoe. Max was the first baby I ever held. I was always afraid of him. Holding him was excruciating. So small. So fragile. For some reason Casey and Vickie kept putting him in my arms. Then when Zoe came along, I was much more comfortable holding a baby by then – still a bit nervous though. This is a photo of her and I back around 1990.

Here's a current photo of the wonderful children of my good friends, Vickie & Casey:

Max is at Berkeley. Yeah. Zoe has just announced that she's going to UC San Diego. Oooh, wee. I'm pretty sure that her thinking is how to get away from Mom & Dad and big Brother while staying with in-State tuition. San Diego. I can't even count how many Bay Area friends went to San Diego.

Poop Serenade

2008-08-02T01:49:00.001-04:00

Just took Jaleo for his final walk. It's actually just a step out the door so he can lift his leg. Tonight, he had the peeing pleasure of listening to beautiful Spanish guitar. My neighbor was enjoying the August Summer evening with two buddies. All playing beautiful acoustic guitars.

When I said, "Jaleo, go." They started playing music appropriate for a bull fight. Very cool since I finished reading James Michner's Mexico a few days ago. Olé.

This reminds me of living on Larrabee. There used to be a guy living across the street who played a beautiful accoustic guitar in the middle of the night on his door stoop. It was wonderful to listen to as I fell asleep. Especially how the vibration of the strings was amplified as it ricochet against the buildings. Usually it was fairly early, around Mid-night to 1am. The perfect time to lay your head down and listen.

But one night, around 3 or 4 am, he must of had a fight with someone. And it was loud. Angry and loud. I quietly whispered out, "Love the guitar, but not so late." I heard back a soft "sorry".

I never heard him again. I really didn't want him to stop altogether. I just needed to get some sleep that night.

Sorry.

P.S. Happy Birthday to JG (belated)

Quick Paced Week, Sad News

2008-07-25T10:56:00.002-04:00

My image and post on 16 July was from the Birchmere in Arlington, VA. My friend Brian called that morning and said he plus one were on the guest list for the 1964 show. Free show. Cool.

The show was tedious and the musicians were out of tune on two guitars and out of sync much of the time. At one point, I think the drummer was playing one thing, two of the performers were playing some thing else, and the the fourth was working on altogether a third song. Gosh, if I had to play the same songs over and over again for 24 years I think I go nuts. Alas, it was nice to get out for the evening which ended with dinner at a Starlight cafe on Mt. Vernon.

Sadly, got home to a phone call from Greg that his father passed away. I left the next morning on a 5-something flight to get out to New Mexico for the service the next day. And then turned around 36 hours later and returned to DC with Greg. Greg is now holed up in his place in the Village. I'll head up next week to coax the bear out of the cave.

Walter ended his journey loved and well respected. He had a wicked sense of humor and he and I shared many private jokes. I did play a mean one on him several years ago at thanksgiving. He got me back finally by making me co-executor of his private art collection with Greg's ex-wife! Fortunately, we have remained friends since college and she's been the biggest supporter of my relationship with G, weird as it is. Come to think of it, Cheryl was part of the practical joke that I played on Walt. Yeah, he's good. He also had a lot of fun with the rest of the Greg's extended family.

Petrol Partial Fill 24 July 2008

2008-07-24T16:47:00.001-04:00

Thought I'd do a mid-tank fill up after 17 days. 7.372 gallons @ $4.069/gallon, $30.

Get Me Out of Here

2008-07-16T20:27:00.002-04:00

God help me now
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

1964 concert....

Heaven, I'm in Heaven

2008-07-16T14:42:00.001-04:00

Heaven, I'm in Heaven
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

At least for used books. Five paperbacks = $3.24.

30th Annual Mooning of Amtrak

2008-07-15T02:19:00.005-04:00

I just received an email from a friend who I used to join in this event. I had totally forgot about this. I think I've done it a least 5 or six times over the years. But, then I've also been in a Spencer Tunik photo too.

From NBC11.com in San Franciso:

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- More than 8,000 people participated in a Southern California tradition involving mooning passing Amtrak trains on Saturday.

Go to article and photos.

This even took place in Orange County, California where I spent a good portion of my childhood. The OC, as it is called today (yuck), was one of the most conservative counties in California when I was a kid. This event started in 1979. Visit moonamtrak.org for more information about next years event.

See you there?

Baby Oak Trees

2008-07-15T02:02:00.006-04:00

Was at another park today and noticed these infant oak trees growing at the base of a fence just under the big brute pictured above. Little baby oak trees, all about 5 months old.

I'm guessing these sprouted when spring hit. They more than likely dropped to the ground last fall. Then they were covered up by all the mulch and dirt that washes down the hill above it. Perfect conditions for an oak tree nursery. They line up about 20 to 30 feet along the fence.

As for the little bird I saw yesterday, still trying to identify it. It was definitely off course. I've never seen anything in the area remotely close. I would guess that it could be up from the Caribbean, or South America. Perhaps even from Africa. I'm trying to identify the correct terminology for the whisker characteristics. I would guess googling the correct term will get me closer to identifying the little booger.

Accidental Birder

2008-07-13T18:55:00.003-04:00

I was at the park today and noticed a little yellow bird in the shadow of a nearby tree. What caught me eye was that it appeared to a have a number of leaves of grass in it's mouth as it pecked at the dirt. On closer exam those leaves were whisker-like feathers protruding from it cheeks.

It was small – about the size of a finch. I couldn't clearly see its marking since it was facing me and saw only its face with the moustache and it's yellow chest. It looked like it might be predominately yellow. The check feathers looked like they could have been yellow as well. And they were stacked like a window blind that is down but has been adjusted to let in light – about five or six on each side.

I'd love to identify it. Can't seem to find anything on the net so far. I've emailed Marty Neilsen, an eastern cruncher here in Arlington. He might be able to identify it or point me to someone who can.

My Tribe...

2008-07-09T18:10:00.003-04:00

A group of Califorians is trying to get a local sewage treatment facility named after George W. Bush. Here! Here!

Quoted from presidentialmemorial.wordpress.com:

As we near the end of George W Bush’s presidency, we think it is important to select a fitting monument to this president’s work. On matters ranging from foreign relations to fiscal and environmental stewardship, no other president in American history has accomplished so much in such a short time.

To honor George W Bush for his eight years of honorable public service, the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is sponsoring a ballot initiative this November to rename The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W Bush Sewage Plan.

We believe this is an appropriate honor for a truly unique president. If you think so too, join this grassroots movement to rename this important and iconic landmark in his honor.