I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,
Oh I'm gonna try with a little help from my friens.

'With a Little Help from My Friends' - The Beatles


Ok, first off....I'm fine. Last night was the result of, well who the hell knows, but I'm fine now. As has happened many times before, I went to work, and as the title states, got by with a little help from my friends. I think some venting was all I needed, and perhaps a little perspective. I recieved both, and from those that didn't know the story, still got at the very minimum them doing what they could to make me smile. It is those moments that remind me why I won't go to Bellevue. And Mr. Stalker, I owe you a drink, maybe a couple if it all works. Even if you were only partly right, the point was well taken. If you were completely right, well then this is gonna be fun.

So as I said, past three weeks have been amazing. If you plan on reading this all, I recommend grabbing a drink, perhaps stretch a bit so you aren't as stiff when you stand up at a much later time.

Like true Americans, Aaron, Brian and I wanted to do something special for Memorial Day. What better way to show our patriotism than a trip to Canada. Wait...that makes no sense...which is good because neither did any of the planning that went into this. We headed up Friday evening with absolutely no idea what we were doing. We had one birth certificate (mine) between the three of us, one out of state driver's license (Aaron's), and no hotel reservations. As we found out upon reaching the border, customs was not amused. After being questioned by a Canadian border patrol officer, she allowed us through and told us not to pull a stunt like this again without a bit more planning or identification. So with that out of the way, we continued northward.

We reached Vancouver fairly quickly, but found ourselves in one of the more seedy parts of the city, made obvious by the fact that the first hotel we saw had a big flashing sign saying "Girls, Girls, Girls." So we debated the positives and negatives of the place (positives = well....girls, obviously, negatives = probably getting knived before, during, and/or after). This debate lasted approximately 3/4 of a second, so we continued on. Next place looked more reputable but had no rooms. Next place was downtown....four stars, and way the hell more money than we were prepared to spend. Hell, when we finally found a room it still ran us CDN$250 (which is like US$12,000.....stupid metric dollars). Also of note was the residential house across the street. Odd place for a house, in the middle of downtown....more odd is that it looked like the house from Fight Club...also odd was the massive party going on there. Passed on party, chose sleep instead.

Saturday took us to Granville Island (public market and a brewery), EAT! Vancouver (giant food and drink festival) at BC Arena, Earl's (best restaurant ever, but mostly due to the...scenery), an attempt at night clubs (failed miserably), and the Richmond Night Market. Specifics of note...Aaron judged an international Chili championship event, and we discovered some amazing alcohol at EAT!...found Canada's version of Rockstar 21, which is vastly superior...spent 1/2 hr searching for night market, which is apparently hidden.

Sunday's most important event was going to a pub downtown called the Irish Heather. Absofuckinglutely amazing. Perhaps the best corned beef and cabbage I've ever had, along with some good pints and an amazing atmosphere. We stayed there two hours and didn't realize it. Stopped off at duty-free store on the way back, but was horribly disappointed. Then came the grand attempt at reentering the country. Now I should probably mention here that there is a strange piece of trivia about me. EVERY time I've left the country, the people accompanying me only been allowed into the country due to the benevolence of the officers interrogating us, generally after some sort of egregious rule violation. However I've never come so close to not being able to come home. We obviously ran into the same problem as going in, two people's lack of 2nd ID. I can sum up the confrontation in one quote, stated by the burly immigrations guy..."How are you going to satisfy me." Well, we made it home, thankfully.

The following weekend found Bret, Josh, and I going to see Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) speak at the Qwest Field Event Center, or whatever its called. Damned amazing speaker, and definitely stands a helluva shot...should be a fun race. Afterward we stopped as F.X. McRory's for some beers, then to Dante's for more beers with Kevin, Travis, Adam, Tavis, and another guy whose name eludes me. Much debate, much yelling, and much, much, drinking. Also the horrifying lesson that Tavis can't read, which cost me more money than I'd have liked. Also inadvertantely made plans for the next day after having a text messaging war with Tavis, Adam and I on one side, and Alex on the other. So the next day Matt, Alex and I had lunch, walked Greenlake, and just hung out. Also built Gir's new desktop. Then this past weekend was running errands with Gir, re-building Steve's computer, and hanging out with Alex Saturday (lunch, and then dinner and 'Knocked Up' with Caleb, Adam, and Ross). Found out that mixing drinks while sitting in a theater is awesome. Then Sunday was Alex's 21st B-Day party/Danielle's Graduation party. Pickleball, Basketball, Corona's and Margeritas...pretty much sums up the day (that and being able to use the phrase "Alex' Mom got us liquored up).

So no matter how bad I made things out to be last night...that was temporary, because damn, the past three weeks have been so much fun.