Revelations from a kiln
October 9, 2007
When I start writing a post, the first thing I think about is the title–probably because “Title” is the first field I’m presented with–and my first inclination is to use a lyric from the last song I was listening to, in tonight’s case “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse. I usually wait until I’m done writing to title it, obviously. There wasn’t really a point to that, merely just another cog in the twisted machine that is my head.
Once again I find myself writing over a beer (or next to, depending on how literal you wish to be), though I’m back at the Green Dragon enjoying my first full mug in my super-special Founder’s Mug. I was here on Saturday having a beer with a friend from my previous employer and her husband, and the mugs arrived, fresh from the maker. See, for the “Mug Club,” members get special glass mugs as opposed to the regular bullet-shaped pint glasses (which on their own are pretty different), and until the Founders’ mugs came in we Founders were relegated to using the Mug Club glasses.
The Founders’ mugs, however, are pottery. Glazed on the inside, branded on the outside with the Green Dragon logo and “Founder,” and my name on the bottom. They’re quite a piece of art.
Oh yeah, and they’re a quart. Two pints at a time. Good thing the first one is always free–sometimes I don’t think I’d need more than one. If I do order more than one, however, I’m not entirely certain if they’re going to charge me the price for one pint or two. Either way, I have my own mug, and it’s pretty killer.
I took this afternoon from work off, which I find greatly improves my constitution after working without any breaks or time off. With my free afternoon, I ate soup and fresh bread, I went for a longish run (~5 miles or so), and as my reward, I find myself sitting here drinking a (big) beer. Stone 11th Anniversary ale, I might add.
My own beer is coming along quite well. I have a batch ready to taste in about a week and a half, a batch ready to bottle around the same time, and for the moment, that’s all I have. I’m sort of at a stopping point in my own homebrewing, waiting for the temperature to drop so that I can make a lager as opposed to an ale, but also because I want to move to the next step of brewing and I don’t have the money to buy the equipment I need. Sure, I got a gift certificate to the homebrew shop for my birthday as well as a check from my grandmother, but I spent her money on a new pair of running shoes. Those were more desperately needed than brewing equipment, that’s for certain–I bought my last pair in April or so, and they were hurting my calves and starting to squeak. I know I haven’t been running as much as I did last year, but I remember both of those as symptoms of needing new shoes.
Maybe for Christmas….
I had a lovely time with Hanne last weekend. Hanne left Friday night’s plans up to me as long as we went somewhere that wasn’t McMenamins to sit and play cards or something for awhile, so I chose to go to Roots Brewing to try their new seasonal, dinner at Lucky Lab across the street, and then parking ourselves at the Green Dragon for cards. All in all, it was a lovely evening, even if I did partake in a fair amount of the malty bubbly stuff.
Of course, we found ourselves back at the Green Dragon the next afternoon for beers as I mentioned earlier, but we were on our way up to the Bagdad Theater to catch an evening showing of Transformers. Ah yes, a movie produced by one of the best directors in Hollywood, directed by one of the worst directors in Hollywood, and featuring robots based off a TV show that was based off a line of children’s toys from 20 years ago. Life was good.
My impression? It was one of the most ridiculous movies I’ve ever seen in my life…and yet I couldn’t look away. I did get up to get more beer a couple of times, but that movie practically screamed for alcohol while viewing. I needed it just to get my mind around the plot, to say nothing of vehicles transforming into sentient beings. My willing suspension of disbelief extends that far…but not to Michael Bay plotlines. I guess I could say I enjoyed it. I doubt I’ll be buying it, but I wouldn’t say no to seeing it again at some point in the future.
I’m still waiting for G.I.J.O.E.: The Movie and Gobots: We Couldn’t Think of Other 80’s Franchises to Exploit since I’ve read that Thundercats and Robotech are both in the works. Seriously–Hollywood? Start making new shit.
I do love the Bagdad, though. It was Hanne’s first time there, so we sat in the balcony and ate our pizza and drank our beer. As I said, a lovely weekend. The rest of the weekend was largely spent putzing around on the computer by myself, studying by Hanne.
This weekend I’m having a party at my apartment that serves three purposes. One, I haven’t held a party since my Halloween party two years ago. Two, I get to show off my homebrew. And three, I need the bottles and cases from my other batches of homebrew back so I can bottle my next batch. I’m rapidly running out of room, so it’s time to clear my stock out. I’m looking forward to it, with Hanne’s help, of course. I’m still not entirely certain what food to serve at a party. In college, Dan and I used to have people over all the time and we’d just pour liquor into them. Problem solved. For havng people to my apartment, though, theres an expectation of food and entertainment. I can handle that with my 30 GB of music and 300 movies, but for food? Yeah, Hanne’s helping me. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
At least I have a hobby I’m proud to show off.
Yeah. The title made sense when I thought of it, but my quart-sized beer if halfway gone and I can’t think of much else. I did, however, manage to combine a song and content. Yay for me.
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