Author: Andy

Food poisoning is weird. I awoke around midnight last night in heavy sweats and nauseating spins. Something was inside me and wanted out. I camped out with the toilet (note to self, vacuum bathroom floor) for nearly an hour before the worst had passed. Then I returned to bed with a glass bowl and didn’t wake up until the morning. It came and went so quickly.

It was kind of funny though; my mind was racing trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Food poisoning? Punctured intestines? War wounds? Alien Probe? For some reason, they all seemed somewhat plausible at one point or another, but I figured it was probably just food poisoning. Then I remembered the frozen enchilada, black beans, and corn (I won’t say how I remembered them…) I had left out for several hours before eating. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the “keep frozen” warning.

I’ve just settled down after getting back from a weekend with friends north of Seattle. We spent a day with Meghan and Troy (finally) and hit the lake thanks again to Joe’s dad. Not as many photos this year, but some that a few of you might enjoy.

Last night I came to the realization that I don’t really like fireworks. At least, I don’t like not being the one setting them off. I haven’t set off any for some time, but I imagine it’s still just as fun as I remember it. But when you’re nearly hit with a roman candle by the kid across the street and the burning shell barley misses going in your front door, you loose some of that enjoyment. Also, it seems that the people in our neighborhood decided to buy only fireworks with whistlers and repeaters. It was incredibly loud, and I’m not sure how Barley wasn’t a wreck.

The kids across the street have been setting things off for a week now, and I’ve gone to the door several times as a bumblebee slides under my car, or a roman candle bounces off the van and lands in the lavender or other dry plants in the yard. I asked them to be a little more careful once, and while I realize that the kids are just having fun, the roman candle bolt that seared between Michelle and my faces seemed almost personal.

Maybe I should set off some fireworks. Maybe that would make me feel better. All I did this weekend was begrudgingly throw some snap pops. And swim. The swimming was great. And so were the cheddar wursts.

There are several places in our neighborhood that are just a tad too far to walk to in a timely fashion. In those cases, a bike comes in really handy. I’ve been riding to New Seasons with some frequency for this or that and love the flat and easy access.

Sunday Michelle and I rode over to New Seasons and Walgreens to run some errands and Michelle mentioned that it really was a nice, easy ride, but she could really some better handlebars or something. So while she was out, I rode down to community cycling center and picked up some slick tires, a sloped handlebar, and a rack. Now we can grocery shop in style.

Chris (Lolly) came down to see our new place and to see Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet play on Saturday. Even though he’d just seen them in Bellingham 2 nights before (at the Nitelite, which he raved about), he was up for another show. But before we could see the show we had to find something to do.

we walked Alberta to show him the neighborhood then sat puzzled, unable to think of what to do, or what was happening. It was the first time we had any leisure time. Luckily Chris was able to find a snipped about the Multnomah County Bike Fair, so we had to see that. It was awesome. Bikes galore. And we may have been the preppiest folks there, but it was fun. Almost as fun as Tour de Fat back in 2003.

Finally, after some food, we hit up the Goodfoot for the show. We arrived a little late for a change which worked out well. We got corner booth seats and were able to watch from comfort for most of the show. Towards the end, as the crowd finally started gravitating towards the band, we had to climb up onto the seat backs, but it worked fairly well.

Chris has probably seen Skerik in one incarnation or another around Seattle some 50 times. This was only my second in as many groups. The septet was a little more mellow than I expected and almost traditional (music-wise) in a good way. A cover of Mingus’ Moanin’ was excellent, and finished with a great insistent hardness that I expected from more of the songs. The show was great, but at one point I looked over and both Michelle and Chris had their eye’s closed – so I offered to leave a bit early.

Barley started spazzing out last night just before an attractive couple carrying chips and dip entered our front door. They asked where we wanted the food, and apparently the blank stares from Michelle and I, lounging, made them realize they were in the wrong home. While it was hard to turn away chips and dip, we weren’t really in the entertaining mood. “…Uh, I think you have the wrong house.”