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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Sun
12
Jun '11

Uncle Markie Explores The City.

Fernando Explores The Mountains.

Nothing like sleeping in until 10am… those extra REM cycles you need when sharing a small bed with someone else.

That put brunch at 11am… bacon, toast, sunny-side up eggs, orange juice.

Fernando is headed off to do one of the zip-line tours. He would have combined that with the Peak-To-Peak, but we got a late start to the day. I guess that means he’ll have to come back to Whistler!

As for me, my day was spent exploring the city (well, the village, Whistler Village that is).

Fernando got on the earlier tour than he’s booked, so his lunch was a burger and a beer, mine, at a different place, the fish and chips. And then there is dinner:

Marinated chicken breasts on a bed of spinach, salad, bread, more wine. Life is good.

And the hot tub after dinner wasn’t bad either.

[? ? ?]

Fri
14
Mar '14

Trip Report: Overnight In Boston With Friends.

Tuesday found me at the airport again, back to Boston for the second trip this month. At least this time I’m spending the night.

In the Board Room before my flight… it’s a mid-morning flight so it wasn’t too ugly to get up and out this morning.

My seat for this trip – no upgrade in either direction is Exit Row window, not my favorite but not the worst. Here is the view as they deice the plane:

I was late getting to the gate so I have no idea how far down the upgrade list I was – I assume at least a half a First Class cabin. This is the down side of the during the normal days flights that Alaska has between Seattle and Boston. If you want to take the crappy red-eye or the early morning return it turns out it’s easy to get an upgrade because none of the guys/gals who fly WAY more than I do hate those flights as much as I do.

Here is a shot of me over what I think is either Minnesota or Wisconsin judging from all the lakes:

Got to Boston a little after 6PM and Fernando came to the airport to meet me. Such a sweetheart.

Off to dinner we go at Christopher’s in Porter Square. A little wait for a table (30 minutes) which we killed in the bar – beer for Fernando, Manhattans for me.

Got to our table – ordered more drinks and an appetizer – a Summer Roll (non-deep-fried Spring Roll) that seemed to have been prepared last night. For dinner, I broke my diet and had the Fish and Chips (good), and Fernando had the chicken, green bean special – it looked good and I’m sure it had a better name. I’m amazed that when I looked at their site today they had their Daily Specials for TODAY. Now THAT is good website management.

By 9:30 Pucci and Aisling joined us for cocktails (Martini for Pucci, Prosecco for Aisling) – lucky we had a four-top! I’m going to their wedding in July in Wicklow (20km south of Dublin), Ireland.

Apparently when Fernando chose Christopher’s he didn’t realize that it was a block from Aisling’s gym and easy for Pucci to park at – god going Fernando!

After a couple of rounds of drinks and good conversation it was time for us to all head back to our mattresses – walking distance for Fernando and I.

Slept in late, late, late, we both did… we didn’t get out of the house until a little after noon – first stop Starbucks for lattes. Which held me over for the one “T” stop until we got to the Russell House for lunch.

Here are shots of the two of us at lunch…

And here is my lovely lunch of the steamed mussels in a fennel heavy (think a jar of seeds) broth that was surprisingly good. I like that the fact that they served bottles of either still or fizzy water – wish I’d gotten the fizzy, but the glass of Bonny Doon Vin Gris Rosè was damn fine with those mussels.

After lunch Fernando and I parted ways – him for the office, me for my office – the Delta Sky Room. I had about three hours to catch up on email, drink cocktails, liberate biscotti, have some snacks, read a bunch of papers before my flight back to Seattle – number 7 on the upgrade list, but at least I’m in 6D… just behind First Class, close enough to smell the freshly baking cookies.

Bought the Rueben Hot Meal ($6), they comped me my second free drink (one free with MVP Gold), bought several more. For airplane food, that Rueben was stuffed with meat and really good. On the way out I passed on the Pulled Pork Sandwich, but the guy next to me had it and it looked good (and smelled divine).

Back at the house by 11 – time to clean out the rollaboard of all the Biscoff I popped from the Delta Sky Room – mostly because they are really good, and Roxy needs more carbs before I can get dinner prepared. I love that the Biscoff have the Delta logo imprinted on them.

Next up, TURKEY.

That trip report might have to be split into:

  • Istanbul, Turkey (3 nights) Part One
  • Budapest, Romania (2 nights)
  • Istanbul, Turkey (2 nights) Part Two

If there was another day, I’d try and squeeze Bulgaria into the trip, but I like to have a “buffer” before I get back for my departing flight.

Worked today, working, tomorrow and Sunday, off early Monday to either Europe or Asia, depending on which side of the Bosporus that I’m on.

[209.2]

Mon
13
Jun '11

Whistler – Border – South Park – Airport.

As all you reader know, I dislike early days, but a boy has to do what a boy has to do to have a good time.

Bailed on the bed at 3am to get some serious REM sleep before TWO long days.

Thank you Fernando for making coffee in the morning that eased me back into the day well before I’d like to be up.

Luckily I’d prepped all the breakfast materials (eggs cracked, mixed with the cubed chicken and cubed goat cheese) so it was ready to warm the pan and fry, popping toast into the oven.

We were out of the house at 8:30am, half an hour before my self-imposed deadline. Suddenly we have dinner plans for CaddyDaddy before Fernando goes to the airport. I also packed sandwiches last night for the road, and Fernando’s bananas (with STRICT instructions that they were to be EATEN BEFORE the border).

The signs at the border said 60 minutes at the Peace Arch and 40 at the Truck Crossing. As much as I wanted to show Fernando the Peace Arch (much prettier crossing) off to the Tuck Crossing we went. And they give me a 10% off as a Nexus Card holder (except on sale combos, like the two Weiser Whiskey liters I bought).

Border was actually a half hour when we skipped the line (which you get to do with a Duty Free purchase) and off to lovely Bellevue for a taco run, a bank deposit, then a short tour of the Microsoft Campus (he’s a MAC guy), and then home to start cooking dinner for now three.

Here’s a great shot of Fernando and I before dinner:

I’m guessing I should put a shot of last week’s guest in the same location, but that will have to wait until I remember.

Tonight’s dinner is a slab of ribs that I put on the grill/smoker, a loaf of rosemary challah out of the oven, some roasted potatoes and onions, a massive salad, a little Gruet Rose method de champagne from New Mexico and a ton of good conversation.

And then after dinner….

Next year, Boston?

To bed early as tomorrow is an early gnarly day.

[? ? ?]

Mon
9
Jan '12

18 Hour Day

Or At Least It Feels Like That.

Up at 5am and out the condo door at 5:30, butt on light rail at 5:48am, and off to the airport.

Considering the crush at security I was surprised at how quickly the lines started moving once they shut down the damn full body scanner. What a boondoggle that is.

I really must have been still asleep… got to the Board Room only to find I was missing my Driver’s License and Board Room card.

Back to security. As I’m close, a TSA guy says, “Mark?” Yes — go see the guy up that set of stairs, the guy on the phone. They were in the process of paging me. I thanked everybody repeatedly and headed back to the club. Had I not needed to check in at the club, I would have been in Boston before I realized. I travel with my Nexus Card and Passport Card so it wouldn’t have been a huge thing trying to get back on the plane in Boston.

Uneventful flight — 14D, the non-reclining exit row. After the long night last night, I probably slept half of the 4.5 hour flight. I did get most of a digital edition of the New Yorker finished on the trip. So much for low-carb with the bagel and cream cheese in the Board Room and the half a slice of French Toast and the cinnamon apples (the eggs and sausage were fine) on the plane. Hitting 205.0 yesterday morning is sort of a milestone since I started back on the low-carb stuff when I’d inched back up to 232 (which is still down from my all-time high of 242).

Flight arrived 20+ minutes early and Fernando was still in meetings when I texted him. The plan was that he’d come to the airport and meet me and we’d go to Harvard Square for dinner and a long business talk about creating a win-win situation with regards to Studio 403 and Libboo. It looks like at the end of a 3 hour plus dinner at Daedalus that Studio 403 is going to be a test case for backlist publishing on the Libboo royalties’ engine. One of the positive outcomes will be all the Sign of the Times individual issues and anthology, along with the Piglettè and Bobo series will be available as eBooks on Libboo and Amazon, possibly Barnes and Noble as well.

As for dinner, I had the steamed mussel appetizer (huge, could have been an entrèe) and the haddock stuffed with crab, Fernando had the soy marinated steak bits over a tomato risotto, which looked good as well. Add a likable bottle of Sangiovese (Italian) which was light enough to go with my fish, but not too light as to be overpowered by risotto. Good food — entrees in the high teens, low 20’s, great service, hot long-haired food runner.

After dinner it was more talk and more cocktails. It was amazing how three and a half hours passed until Pucci was due to show up. It looks like I’m going to be busy for the next couple of weeks prepping materials for Libboo along with redo (once again) the Studio 403 website to reflect getting back into the publishing business. Fernando is a big fan of Sign of the Times and even brought up re-launching the magazine as an eZine using the Libboo engine. Interesting concept. The Libboo engine would solve one of the problems with the old engine, how to track rights and payments (not that it ever made of profit unless you consider a “tax-loss” as a profit).

Pucci showed up at 9:15, but with his best (and most expensive) bass in the car, he wasn’t about to leave it parked on the street to come up for a drink. It was back to his house to settle in for the rest of the night, chatting and drinking whiskey.

[? ? ?]

Wed
24
Jan '18

Trip Report: Boston For The Rare Weekend Plus

Normally my domestic trips I don’t do weekends, as to not annoy my business partner in the wine shop. Made an exception to see Pucci. His schedule is freer on the weekends as he teaches most afternoon/evenings during the week.

Got the rare upgrade to first on the Seattle-Boston run – rare because Seattle is the major Alaska hub with LOTS of 75K fliers who spend way more for their ticket than I ever do. A rare upgrade, but a lovely one:

I love going to visit Pucci – he LOVES to cook (and I brought wine).

We had a lovely Garzon Albarino from Uruguay to go with the chicken.

The next afternoon found us at MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) for a Dutch Masters exhibit that ends in a couple of days:

And a couple of Gaugin’s in another wing – including one from his Japanese phase (just at Van Gogh had):

And with art, you have to have food….

My pork belly steamed buns:

 

And Pucci’s mussels (in a lovely broth):

It was time for a little quick nap before heading over to have dinner with Netta and Joel (and occasionally Max):

We did a couple of racks of lamb (well, Netta did), using a Le Creuset that Julia Child gave her when she was her archivist…

A damn fine meal for the four of us (Pucci’s Caeser Salad not pictured):

And the self-proclaimed “picky eater”, Max, did make an appearance after dinner:

Monday’s big adventure for me since Pucci had Winchester Community Music School recitals to play in with his students was to meet up with my buddy Fernando and finally meet his husband at Christopher’s in Porter Square:

My first drink was…

Not bad – as was the blue cheese burger with tater tots:

And Fernando got the chicken pot pie which looked great as well.

Total forgotten what Fernado’s husband, Steve had – he was a bit camera-shy.

Suddenly, this post is all about food, because for Tuesday’s lunch, we (Pucci and I) met up with Jill at the Red House for Manhattans and oysters:

The first dozen was $6, the second (and beyond), $12. Still an expensive lunch considering we each had two dozen (and a couple of cocktails for me), and I was still hungry in an hour or so – which meant I hit up Pucci’s Noodles from lunch the other day:

Here is the recipe:

Delicious hot, or just from the fridge.

The Tuesday night adventure was for a recital at the Winchester Community Music School with one of Pucci’s groups – the Mo-Town group. This was during the sound check:

And the Beatles group up after Pucci:

And Pucci’s group:

It was great to see him play – though piano isn’t his best instrument – that would be the Bass. Would love to see him in a “gig” environment (a.k.a. bar).

My final day in Boston I was greeted with snow:

But Pucci had a student move his lesson so he gave me a ride to the “T”:

And after one transfer, I was in the Admirals Club lounge having a little lunch:

That was just the starter – fresh house-made guacamole – several rounds of soup followed. And then it was on to the plane, sadly, in back, but at least I was in the free booze section:

And soon, I was home…for twelve hours before the next adventure.

[? ? ?]

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Thu
9
Jun '11

Hello Discovery Bay.

Nice to sleep in a bit. We don’t have to leave for Discovery Bay until early afternoon, so the morning is of conference calls and breakfast. Unfortunately both happened at the same time, but when Boltive calls, Uncle Markie answers.

Scramble eggs and toast for breakfast and lunch was a fast food drive-through in lovely Bremerton — we took the southerly route rather than the ferry — we’ll take the ferry tomorrow on the way home. Destination? The WorldMark Discovery Bay which is between Port Townsend and Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula.

Top down day the whole way with me slightly worried about the sun on the very pale Fernando.

While I took a nap after we settled in, Fernando took a walk around the grounds and grabbed some shots:

Those two are my favorites.

Dinner was grilled corn on the cob, veal chops, salad, and a little wine. Not bad for roughing it.

To bed comparatively early as opposed to last night.

[228.4]

Sat
11
Jun '11

Seattle – Border – Whistler, British Columbia

Surprisingly (for me) we made it out of the house and onto the road at 10am. That even included a full breakfast service.

At Duty-Free, picked up two bottles of wine (yes, I know, wine) and a bottle of Bacardi Reserve Rum — seems that my house/road guest being from Puerto Rico originally means he likes his rum. The reason for the wine (two bottle limit) is that we are only up here for two days and that’s a bottle for each night, and drinks before and after. The goal is to have nothing left.

NO ONE in front of me in the regular (non-Nexus) lane which was a shocker. The traffic coming back into the states looked like about an hour delay. My guess is that with the hockey finals and a soccer match last night that there was extra traffic for a Saturday.

Made a pleasant discovery in the first town over the border… a reasonably priced sit down lunch place, a chain, but good. Boston Pizza would be the name. Fernando had a small pizza with a pint of beer, I had the bacon wrapped steak chunks with a small amount of onion straw fries with a Cosmopolitan. It was just the right sized meal rather than something to put me into a food coma.

The reason the discovery is so important is that when headed to Whistler, it’s just at about the perfect lunch time since once you get on to the still-torn-up Highway 1 there isn’t much of an easy-on easy-off area.

The weather turned nice enough that it was top down for the rest of the way to Whistler.

Needless to say, this was taken by Fernando from the co-pilot’s seat.

A quick stop for the final groceries in Squamish (wasn’t I just here a couple of weeks ago?) and off to the WorldMark Cascade Lodge at Whistler Village. Here is a cute shot of the 2010 Winter Olympics Stone God:

After checking in and setting up the wireless node, I flopped on the couch and crashed for an hour. I love driving, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take something out of me.

Dinner was a pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and a big salad with a lovely Greg Norman Cabernet Syrah from Australia.

Add dip in the hot tub after dinner and you have a fine day.

[228.0]

Fri
3
Feb '17

Trip Report: Boston Mileage Run Number Two

Time for Boston Mileage Run Number Two!

Again, no upgrade on the way to Boston (which is supposed to be easier!), though I was the next one in line. Sigh.

BUT – there was another HORSE in the security line – I mean Great Dane…with another service dog barking at it:

Yep, that’s a dog pillow to go with it. Geez!

On arrival, I tried out the other Admiral’s Club at the Boston’s Logan Airport for my morning nap. Bigger, nicer, quieter, and warmer. I’ll have to get a picture on the next run (yes, there is another one).

One of the nice things about flying into Boston is that your first ride on the “T” is free, IF you take the Silver Line to South Station – it dumps you behind the fare booths. Go to where you need to go – no ticket required for exit. I continued onto Park Station to meet Fernando.

Sunny, but cold waiting by the fountain for him to show up.

Heading to lunch had to snap a pic of a local wine shop for my records…Gordons, since 1934 – Madrona Wine Merchants is since 2011.

Off to lunch at the Back Deck – a couple of blocks from the “T” stop… Chicken skewer for Fernando, Rueben for me – and, yes, that is a Manhattan.

Across the street from the restaurant was the Brattle Book Shop – been there forever – indoors AND outdoors unless it’s snowing or raining. Courtney would love this:

Walking back to the station I saw these two post-it notes on an ESL (English As A Second Language) School:

Back at the airport and into the lounge by B30 (the other is byB4), it’s time to get some work (and play) done:

All sorts of vegies, couple of kinds of soup:

And yes, there was work….taxes – going through a ream of statements with a highlighter. And MORE on the plane:

The drinks and table were courtesy of another unexpected upgrade to first on the return home…this time I was NUMBER TEN on the list (out of sixteen First Class seats).

Which meant MORE food:

I went with the Ravioli – having had the Cod last week…

Another week, another mileage run, at least for the next couple of weeks – well, along with some holidays.

[220.4]

Tue
1
Oct '13

Sightseeing Day.

Today Fernando and I are off sightseeing… even with the Federal Government shutdown:

Luckily the boat to Spectacle Island is run by a private firm and the Rangers on the island are State financed.

On the boat:

Great view of planes coming into Logan Airport:

We didn’t do too much walking on the island, though we did do most of the interpretive center stuff.

Next up was the top of the Prudential Building for appetizers and drinks:

And the view:

And a Ruby Manhattan – bourbon and ruby port with a twist of lemon in it – quite tasty:

Fernando fixed us steaks at his place before we headed off to meet Pucci for cocktails at 9:30pm. Looks like it’s another last night.

[? ? ?]

Tue
10
Jan '12

Settling In Beantown.

Or Belmont.

Take Your Choice.

Pucci was up and to the gym early. I was not.

Between the lingering cold and the long day I slept in until 10, peed, checked email, and went back to bed until 1. Nothing like having breakfast at 3pm. Guess that means it’s a two meal day.

Work in the afternoon — didn’t leave the flat even though Fernando gave me a 7-day Charlie Card. So sweet. Websites to revise, proposals to submit, blogs to update. No rest for the wicked.

As the sun went down, it is winter, which means early, it was time to think of dinner… raid the fridge/freezer.

Defrost two chicken breast pieces, chop up some shallots, green onions, bell peppers, a little coppa salami, get some butter in a pan… lay down a bed of arugula and green onion tops, fry up all the rest, top the salad, add the dressing, pour a glass of the “refrigerator white wine used for cooking”, call it a meal.

Pucci got back early so plans are laid for tomorrow during the day and for dinner tomorrow night.

All is good.

But there is no scale in the house, so [? ? ?]

Wed
22
Feb '17

Trip Report: Bye Bye San Juan

Time to head back to work. Time to say goodbye to Old San Juan. Since I had luggage, I used the ancient elevator, which moves at the pace of a very old man.

Yep – it has an inner folding closet door that must be closed for it to work.

Breakfast back at Caldera, this time actual breakfast. Two eggs, ham, toast:

But soon enough, it was time for me to call Uber and get a ride to the airport:

Basically, it was $11 – that would be almost exactly half of what the taxi from the airport cost. Fernando had warned me about tension between Taxi and Uber drivers – this was confirmed by my driver when he had to pick me up a block away since there was a cab stand across the street from my hotel.

Got checked in and just past security (yes, there was a TSApre line) was duty free. Wait. Duty free? You can have duty free without having customs and immigration first? Yep. So I ask at the counter what the limit was on the number of bottles of booze I could legally purchase. “How much can you carry?” She was talking about WEIGHT, not quantity.

Yep, this is what I picked up:

That would be (4) Liter Jim Beam (2 for $24), a Don Q Anejo ($18) and a Don Q single barrel bottling from 2007 (on sale, was $100, now $40). Thankfully they packed them in security bags –

Had a little lunch and got some work done at the airport bar:

Didn’t eat many of the fries – if I’d known I’d have had them hold them.

The airport is nice enough – but no lounge, sadly.

No upgrades on this leg, still holding out hope for the Chicago to Seattle leg.

But speaking of lounges – I noticed that my boarding pass had INTL in big letters – meaning United considers this to be an international flight, meaning I get lounge access because I’m Premier Gold. WooHoo!

And it’s one of their remodeled lounges!

Where they make “fancy” drinks at the bar (if you are willing to pay):

As for me, in my hour layover I had three cocktails, two bowls of chicken corn chowder, a helping of 5-cheese lasagna and a spinach salad.

And grabbed some cookies to zip lock for the flight.

So far it was a smooth flight day…until I got to the gate. It was time to board when the captain came out and announced there was a mechanical problem with the engine deicer – which flying into Seattle is a critical piece of equipment. The minute he stopped talking, all of us in line just sat down where we were”

Yep – we are all on the floor.

O’Hare has this cart that I haven’t seen anywhere else, it’s a mobile food stall that just drives around from gate to gate:

Thought that was really cool!

The delay was long enough that I probably should have gone to the lounge that was a gate away. But I was still pretty stuffed, and just a little buzzed.

We loaded up about two hours after we were supposed to and off we went. Sadly, no upgrade, and no middle seat open – at least I was in the bulkhead with a smallish women in the center.

Got into Seattle only an hour late, but it was almost midnight with doesn’t bode well for Roxy sleeping though texts/phone calls for a ride home. He keeps his phone on silent since he has so many message boards he’s on that it would be non-stop bleep, bing, gong, etc.

Time for another Uber!

Basically $23, but I’m home and can wind down from the trip.

[214.6]

Wed
15
Feb '17

Trip Report: Puerto Rico Bound

Why Puerto Rico? When I was bumped off a flight in October in Columbia, South Carolina I was given a $600 voucher. When I was looking at the calendar – February sounded like a great time to go someplace warm.

Roxy was around so I got a ride to the airport in my own car — $20 savings right there – with time for a goodbye hug:

Got my bag checked and headed to the Alaska Lounge – with a pit stop along the way. I was coming out of the bathroom when I spotted these two guys that looked interesting…and looked like they could use free food and free drinks. Dragged them into the Lounge with me since I’m allowed two guests:

That would me myself, Jeff (I think):

And Payton:

Both from Bend, Oregon, I hope these boys don’t end up dead – they are on their way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on the spur of the moment. Basically $2,000 dollars in airfare. For that, they probably could have flown first but I doubt they thought of that. They have an overnight layover at Sea-Tac so it’s probably a good thing I got them into the lounge for some food. Lounge closes at midnight, so hopefully they won’t burn it down in that time. I do worry a little since they seem to be out of a Cheech & Chong movie. Peyton is sporting a black eye from “falling down a couple of times”.

My guess that Payton is the wild one and Jeff the hapless tagalong was confirmed by this mugshot:

Seems that when he was 20 he got popped for DUI at 3:30am. Let this be a reminder – ALL sorts of stuff ends up on the web. (http://oregon.arrests.org/Arrests/Payton_Hill_22889703/) Had he not given me his business card with his full name on it…..

That was my airport excitement. One of the nice (and few) things about flying United is that in the waiting area they have a seat map of what’s still open – meaning that when I saw my bulkhead row was full, I had them move me to the exit row where the seat next to me was open:

A note to fliers – that bulkhead seat is also directly across the aisle from a bathroom door, so don’t expect to get much sleep.

Up in the air and it’s time for drinks, even though it’s a red-eye (which means I’ll pay for it upon arrival in San Juan):

Just as Alaska Air has added more premium liquor to the in-flight service (Crown Royal & Woodford Reserve), United has added Jim Beam Devil’s Cut (90 proof, which might not be a good idea) and for a dollar more, Buffalo Trace (both are Bourbons).

Spent too much of the flight reading and drinking, with not enough time sleeping, so my arrival at IAD (Washington, DC) was a little on the hungry/groggy side. Grabbed a quick bite – didn’t seem like enough time to make good value out of my United Lounge pass in my current state.

I’d gotten upgraded to First on the IAD to San Juan leg a couple of days ago (I was number one on the upgrade list for the SEA-IAD flight), so I have a little more room on this leg:

And pre-takeoff drinks…..

I was not hungry from my snack earlier, but I can’t turn down free food. I also realized I’d be starving by the time I hit San Juan at 1:30.

I really should have slept more on the flight to Washington – that way I could have drank more free whiskey on the way to San Juan. After that second breakfast I was OUT until we landed. Live and maybe learn.

Upon landing in San Juan I almost thought I was in Vegas!

Contrary to what Fernando told me, Uber doesn’t service the airport for arrivals – but the cabs are flat rate, with a “quote sheet” with the “base fare” of $19 and the “extra” $1 per bag, $1 airport fee, $2 fuel surcharge. Not that bad.

Got checked into the Hotel Plaza De Armas after a little delay – I showed up at 1:45 and check-in is at 3 – but they got me in at 2:30 with no extra charges. I’d wanted to stay in the heart of Old San Jose, which means, nothing is cheap. Even the non-fancy stuff is not cheap, hence, my $90 a night for a monastic windowless cell.

Plus side is very tall ceilings, down side is that wi-fi doesn’t reach the room, and cell service barely does, no coffee maker, no clock. Clean but a little on the tatty side.

I should add that there is a HUGE, for the size of this hotel, atrium that does have decent wi-fi (though I could never get the laptop to connect, the phone did) and plenty of comfortable places to sit.

As you can see, I’ve taken up residence on one of the walkways outside my room – FYI, this furniture wasn’t here when I checked in.

This spot is less than 20 feet from their routers wired third-world style:

What I wish they’d do is take a sander/buffer to the floor tiles, which would really POP. When this building was built, this was an open-air atrium.

My first priority was taking a three-hour nap.

Next up, exploring Old San Juan.

[? ? ?]

Mon
13
Jan '14

LA Bound.

9:30am flight to LAX – First Class upgrade number two on the list – but really no hope since they are all checked in. So I settled into the Board Room for a little breakfast:

A funny thing happed as we were boarding the jet – ran into my friend Natasha who was escorting her little brother to LAX for his return to Russia. That’s one of the advantages of boarding early – you get to see everyone else board – hard to do when they are all spread out over a waiting area:

Flight was running a little late – and it didn’t help that when I sent to fetch my bag after checking in with the Princess Representative that I found my bag had arrived – MINUS both wheels and the axle that held them.

I brought along Mr. Lobster to amuse Fernando back in Boston and was extra room in the case. Found out why there was extra room – I forgot:

The battery charger for the camera

Shorts (but did bring two pairs of Speedos)

And a couple of things that I’ve already for forgotten so they can’t be that important.

Mr. Lobster and I got settled into our solo balcony cabin and made ourselves a little ship launch cocktail:

When I posted this photo on FaceBook it was with the caption “Uncle Markie, Mr. Lobster and Mr. Cocktail” to which one wag responded… “and only two of them are coming home.”

Went to the mandatory LGBT cocktail hour at the Explore Lounge. I say mandatory because if no one shows up on the first night – it isn’t in the schedule for the rest of the trip. About 20-25 people came through – not bad but not record breaking. We’ll see what the numbers are tomorrow.

Chatted until after 7:30, then it was time for dinner – that would be a late enough sitting that I could get a table by myself and read in peace.

I had the sushi-like appetizer which was very pretty with its faux-bird’s nest exterior – painfully bland on the palette though:

Then a Caesar with an anchovies, and then onto the TWO main courses – the 5-spice duck breast in the back and the prime rib is in the front – I was tempted by the Cajan stew in a puff pastry shell but I held out for the Crème Brule for dessert:

It was a late night even without going to see any of the shows…

Tomorrow I wake up in Ensenada.

[209.2]

Wed
2
Oct '13

Headed Home.

My quick trip to Boston is over – a mileage run with lots of fun added.

About 12:30 Fernando and I headed off on the Red Line – him to work and me to connect to the Silver Line and back to the airport for lunch and then a flight. No first on the Dinner flight Boston to Houston leg, but First on the Snack flight Houston to Seattle so food is in order… and there is a Legal Seafoods Test Kitchen in the airport:

Oysters on the half shell with an Old Fashion (in honor of DancingBear) in the background, and the lump crab cake with seasonal greens salad.

Food was good but the service was spotty – think I had several different servers, some of which appeared to be not very well seasoned.

Got home around 12:30 in the morning and a little wound up – used the time to update the wine shops website.

[? ? ?]

Mon
30
Sep '13

Boston Here I Come

An 8:30am flight to Houston, continuing onto Boston. All is on-time and I used miles to upgrade to First so at least I’m comfortable for the two four hour flights.

Breakfast (Seattle-Houston):

Dinner (Houston-Boston):

Fernando met me at the airport and we took the Silver Line to the Red Line to his place in Sommerville. Didn’t get in until 9, stayed up talking until well after midnight.

Long day for me.

[207.8]

Sat
21
Jan '12

Full Work Day.

My first Saturday working the shop along except during the wine tasting. Got the Wall Street Journal read and some of Popular Mechanics, but that’s about as far as I got. Too many good distractions like selling wine.

Jill came in for a bit. Bought a split of Gruet Champagne to go with the 18 oysters she bought in the International District — sounds like a damn fine meal to me for someone having trouble chewing! Flo came whizzing in about 6:30 needing half a case of the Spanish wines we were tasting this afternoon. In and out in under ten minutes without even tasting — he was headed over to Greg and Patsys two blocks away for dinner and was late. Hope he likes the wine. Should I have told him Greg isn’t drinking this month? Should I have told him they are on part of the Madrona Wines Monthly Wine Club and they are well stocked? The only other odd customer was the guy who runs an underground restaurant in his house once a month (for 35 people) looking for wines to pair with a really wild menu so he could send people in for wine. I’ll try and dig up the menu and post tomorrow. Wish I’d gotten his email address as he invited me over to join them for dinner (but I’ll be beat after work tomorrow).

Got home a little before 8 and fired up the ice maker and the convection oven. Tonight’s meal is chicken thighs with a lemon grass marinade. By 8:30 the thighs (well, two of them) were on a bed of greens and on their way into my stomach.

Today’s picture is actually from Friday — Ken (the maintenance guru at the apartment) is installing the new Swanda sized toilet. As you can see (though the angle is a little disconcerting) the counter top has already been raised 7 inches. Thanks Ken, nice job. Must remember to take him a bottle of wine.

Didn’t get squat done on the eBook project to convert all of the issues of Sign of the Times — A Chronicle of Decadence in the Atomic Age. Working with Fernando on in-book graphics (I want the back cover to be included). One issue that has been resolved is that I don’t think the original photographs and artwork will be in the eBooks. At least not the photographs, the quality of them once they are rescanned just isn’t there. Maybe the next eBook I should be working on is the Anthology as there were no graphics other than the front/back cover.

Off to bed.

[211.8]

Thu
7
Jul '11

I Actually Turned Down A Deal.

My Inbox this morning brought a good deal. $129 round-trip (including taxes!) Seattle to San Francisco. I even got as far as choosing dates and seats before I pulled the plug. I’ll be seeing Mark and Onyx in mid-August at the gathering, and am hoping that by early September I’m booked with work because later in September I’m gone for a couple of weeks.

Today’s happy picture, Mr. Lobster, a gift from Fernando.

And no, he isn’t dinner, nor is anymore chicken. Tonight it’s a boneless blade cut of pork and a bunch of spinach.

The evening was data entry correcting the last of the 200+ bounced emails from the last Gathering campaign.

[229.4]

Fri
10
Jun '11

Discovery Bay — Bainbridge Island — Seattle.

A leisurely morning in the condo with eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast before heading back to Seattle via Bainbridge Island.

Here is a great shot of me on the ferry with the skyline in the gloomy background:

Yeah ¯ showing Fernando the truly grey Seattle summers.

After an afternoon snack at the taco wagon here in South Park, it was back to work for me. I arrived home to a several inch thick stack of registration forms for the gathering. Luckily DancingBear called about a dinner date, which I couldn’t do, but he did swing by and pick up about $8K worth of checks for the gathering.

Dinner tonight was a local feast of Copper River Salmon and Kumumoto Oysters, both done on the grill along with some baby bok choy (also grilled) and some cole slaw (not grilled). I spaced out and forgot to bake bread so I did some roasted potatoes and onions as a substitute.

A little hot tub soak after dinner and off to be we went.

[? ? ?]

Mon
9
May '11

Train To Portland

Not enough sleep last night. Something about to bed at 2am, and up at 6:30 for a 9:30am train that leaves one a little groggy.

Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a 9:30am train — by the time we left the station, it was 10:30… something about an engine inspection that ran a little longer than expected.

On the upside, that gave me more time to enjoy a lunch in the dining car after my red baron courtesy of Amtrak and having booked a roomette for the four hour trip. It was an additional $51 dollars, but includes champagne when you get on, pretty much as much champagne after that, lunch in either the Parlour Car or the Dining Car, and, of course, your roomette with two seats, a table, and an outlet.

That has to be the worst graphic for explaining a roomette, but it’s what the Amtrak site has.

It’s a pretty trip south of Tacoma, which I think by 2012 they are going to cut this chunk out to shorten the Seattle to Portland run by 15 minutes, so check it out while you can.

It was actually a little clearer than the picture would suggest, but between the cell phone camera shot and the tinted train window, it makes it look pretty dreary. I took the picture to send to my friend Fernando who is coming to visit Seattle in about a month.

Leave an hour late, get in an hour late, that’s how the train usually works, and did this time. The light rail connection is about a block from the train station, and it’s a straight shot to Julian’s house. Got the ticket, got hit up by a couple of street urchins who were looking for a couple of bucks “to get a bus ticket to Virginia” which I doubted since they had two straggly dogs in tow… no cash, but I did give them one of the splits of champagne that I snagged from the train — I do believe it made their day.

Spent the rest of the afternoon hanging with Julian while working on getting us a dinner put together — veal chops and grilled zucchini, with a roasted garlic bread/gorgonzola/paté plate to begin with. By the time we were ready to grill, two of his friends showed up. I knew there was a reason to have brought down four of the chops.

It was an early night for me… by 10pm I was in bed. The half-an-hour nap on the train wasn’t enough to make up for last night’s lack of sleep.

[228.5]

Mon
25
Apr '11

Run Little Fat Man, Run.

No time for a nap today:

  • Up early today, running, running, running.

  • Load of laundry

  • Breakfast, luckily there was some from before the trip

  • Boltage meeting prep

  • Letter to Prison Steve

  • Lunch with meager leftovers

  • Post office to drop a letter to Prison Steve, the Colonels, and Alaska airlines for credit

  • Check to bank

  • Trader Joes for dressing, wine and live basil plants

  • Safeway for a meat run, also found some 50% off wine, which means I got another 10% off since I was buying over 6 bottles. Between all the discount wine and meat, saved $115.13 on a $170.39 bill which made me the winner in the checker’s eyes for the day

  • Lowes for outlet strips for the office, I’m tired of the squirrels nest under my desk

  • Home to seal the meat for the freezer

  • Plant the basil
  • Do the quarterly taxes
  • Pay the end of month bills

  • Another load of laundry

  • Dinner of crusted Ling Cod over a bed of greens

  • Chat with Fernando about BOS-SEA airline ticket this summer

  • Work on dinner for tomorrow night after tracking down recipe

  • Rewrite recipe to make it fit what I actually did

  • One load of dishes

  • Watch PBS special and cry (remembering chasing off fag-bashers at the Liberty Memorial park in Kansas City:

    WGBH American Experience . Stonewall Uprising | PBS

    www.pbs.org

    The Stonewall Uprising is a documentary from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE that tells the dramatic story of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, NYC in 1969. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City

Take a sleeping pill.

Go to bed.

[231.6] Not as bad as I was expecting for two weeks on the road.