| Saturday, June 27, 2009 (all times Pacific)
2:00 PM - I'd better get ready to leave soon. Have to shower, dress, etc.
Ooooh, something shiny!
2:45 - I'd better get ready to leave soon. Have to shower, dress, etc.
Ooooh, something shiny!
3:15 - I'd better get ready to leave soon. Have to shower, dress, etc.
Ooooh, something shiny!
3:16 - Okay, shower...
3:26 - Dressed...
3:50 - If I don't leave in 3 minutes, I'm gonna miss the bus...
3:54 - If I don't leave one minute ago, I'm gonna miss the bus...
3:57 - I missed the bus.
3:58 - Who needed the 75, anyways? I'm walking up 39th, and I'll catch the 9 out to Milwaukie Avenue. The 9 will be at 39th and Powell at 4:05
4:03 - Okay, the 9 was there at 4:02. Nice...
4:07 - (Jay walking down Powell, will do the 22 blocks to Milwaukie Avenue, and stop for coffee at Southeast Grind along the way)
4:08 - It's really f'ing hot. (Jay continues walking)
4:28 - Jay is walking under the railroad tracks at Powell & 14th-ish. The next 9 zips by, but Jay smiles smugly, knowing that this particular 9 doesn't stop until Milwaukie, and I will hit the coffee spot earlier than I would have, had I waited for said bus and had to walk back to coffee shop. (Jay sticks tongue out at TriMet. Take that, budget-cutting bastards!)
4:31 - Jay has coffee, and is happy.
4:34 - Jay is at Powell & Milwaukie, and waiting for the 70 bus up to the MAX.
4:40 - Where is the bus? It is 2 minutes late...
4:43 - Ah, here it is.
4:56 - Jay gets off bus at Lloyd Center MAX stop, and watches Blue Line train go away. Missed it by about 10 seconds. Gee, that doesn't happen every f'ing time!
4:57 - Jay is walking down Holladay...
5:04 - Jay caught a Red line train at 7th, and gets off at Rose Quarter Transit Center.
5:07 - Jay is at Interstate Rose Quarter, waiting for Yellow Line MAX to Overlook Park.
5:10 - w00t! Train here, will take me to beer!
5:11 - Cattle. F'ing. Car. 2 stops, 6 minutes. Jay struggles to find room on train to even breathe...
5:18 - Phew! Here we are. South entrance, Overlook Park. Find Volunteer Entrance. There it is!!! :)
5:21 - Jay finds himself walking amongst punk-rock gang (or is this a bunch of zombies? Jay cannot tell. The undead, after all, smell much better...)
5:25 - Checked in, t-shirt on! Let's. pour. beer.
5:35 - Okay, not yet. Gotta listen to this guy talk. And talk. And talk.
5:39 - And talk. And talk...
5:45 - Found spot, and I'm pouring! Whoo!
5:49 - Who the hell am I pouring for, anyways? Reggae Junkie? Wtf is that?
5:59 - Still pouring beer I've never tried before. Q: How is this beer? A: Here, you tell me! I am not allowed to even smell it, or OLCC will hit me with a $947,000 fine...
6:04 - One token, a sample. Four tokens, a full cup. No, we can not do two or three. You've been told this 14 times already, I'm sure. The answer is the same as last time. No. I will not risk a $673,000 personal fine and 96 years in prison from OLCC to make you "like me". Who the f* are you, anyways?
6:07 - This girl likes my accent. No, I am not from New York. I am from New Jersey, even though I will tell you I am from Barbados. You will say, "no way!". I will say, "Way!". I will be lying, but you will never know...
6:15 - New keg is up! "Who wants it?" I do!
6:19 - I am now pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I tell them "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
6:23 - I am now pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I tell them "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
6:27 - I am now pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I tell them "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
6:30 - "Dude! Are you from Santa Cruz?!" I say, "No, I am from Southeast Portland". He walks away extremely disappointed. I am not the beer I pour.
6:33 - I am still pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign still says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I (still) tell them "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
6:59 - I am still pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign still says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I (still) tell them "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
7:14 - I am still pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign still says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. People ask me, "what do you have?" I tell them 7-Up. They look at me odd. I tell them, no. I am kidding. I am pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. They rejoice, and ask for a taste, or a glass. Depending on how many tokens they wish to spend.
7:30 - Okay, I just poured more beer than will fit in one cup. Not good. But, the first time I did that. They say, "no problem!". I say, "I am sorry". They say "no problem!". I don't know whether to apologize again, or end the cycle. I choose to smile, and end the cycle. After all, there is more beer to pour. And we are accomplishing nothing by smiling at each other, and apologizing / accepting each others' apologies. Oregonians are disarmingly sweet and genuinely friendly.
7:31 - I am still pouring Santa Cruz Pale Ale. The sign still says Santa Cruz Pale Ale. It has not changed. It does not blink, nor does it do tricks. Yet, people still ask me, "what do you have?" I still tell them I have "Santa Cruz Pale Ale".
7:50 - One hour to go. My voice is going. I can only say "Hi!" (to girls), "Ay, howyadooon'" (to guys), or "Don't I know you?" (to random people I feel like confusing, or seeing who will lie and say yes), so many times before the voice goes. The voice is a horse, of course of course. Or hoarse. Whatever...
8:10 - Now I smile. No verbal greeting. I would suck ass as a telemarketer. Good to know...
8:20 - Now I'm trying to amuse myself. I am trying to see how many ways I can use to pour foam from one pitcher to another. Would it work better if I did it standing on my head? I will not find out today. That would most likely be inefficient.
8:30 - My tap is extremely foamy. Is it angry at me, or is it just running out?
8:37 - Yes, it's running out. I have two pitchers of Santa Cruz Pale Ale (and a third of mostly foam), but my keg is pretty much tapped. Dude.
8:41 - "Dazed & Confused" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Now I can emulate a scene from that movie. I put a cup upside down over my tap, as it is done. Stick a fork in it! It just farted at me, I think - and spewed foam all over me and my pitcher.
8:44 - I make the "we're out!" sign to those in my line (sorry, y'all!), which oddly enough is also the "safe!" sign Major League Baseball umpires make on close home plate calls.
8:45 - The gentleman to whom I've made said sign decides he has to tell me "that sucks, man." I know, my friend. I know. It certainly does...
8:55 - Cleaned up and ready, 5 minutes before my shift was to end. Now, we wait for stragglers to leave before our volunteer drinking party.
8:56 - Leave, stragglers. We want to drink, too!
8:58 - O. M. G. In about 7 minutes (after these stragglers leave!), we (about 3 dozen of us) will head across the park to our own little tent area, and drink massive quantities of organic beer.
9:03 - I will get my 3.5 hours worth!
9:06 - Ooooh! There's free pizza, too!
9:07 - Shit, the boxes are empty, though. Bastards...
9:08 - Well, I'm a temporary vegan, I tell myself.
9:09 - But I'm still fucking hungry as shit.
9:10 - Okay, just beer'll do. I will get my 3.5 hours worth.
9:27 - Yeah, I'm pretty close now to having my 3.5 hours worth, even if I am drinking it out of a 4-oz. paper cup...
9:31 - Wish I knew what I was drinking, but it's like a pot luck beer party. Pick a pitcher, pour and drink. I've had a hard cider, a hef, a coffee stout, an IPA, and about 4 unidentifiable things. All of which were good, as free beer always is. And of course, this ain't no Coors or whatever. These are free organic microbrews from all over the world!
9:55 - Okay, time to clear the park. Our time is up tonight. About 2 dozen of us are heading a couple blocks up Interstate Avenue to "The Alibi" for more drinks and fun. What is "The Alibi"? Sounds familiar...
9:59 - Okay, got my works' worth in beer, and then some. Ah! I know "The Alibi". It's a bar along the MAX Yellow Line, which I used to pass all the time two years ago on the way to a temp job I had on Swan Island back then.
10:05 - 11:30 - Alibi. Drinking. Beer not free, but good. Amnesia. Portland brew. Mississippi Avenue. North Portland...
11:39 - Okay, time to head back home. SE, here I come! First, need to catch a Yellow Line MAX.
11:42 - I missed a Yellow Line MAX by one block (30 seconds). I ran, it did not wait. I swear it laughed at me, but I can not be sure. 15 minutes to wait for next one...
11:58 - Yellow Line. Caught this one. Ride to Interstate Rose Quarter.
12:15 or so (AM, Sunday June 28) - Catch 4 Division bus from Rose Quarter Transit Center. Starving. Get off at SE Hawthorne & 6th, and walk to Potato Champion at SE Hawthorne & 12th for some Belgian Fries.
12:45 - Munching happily on fries, while walking down Hawthorne, 27 blocks to 39th to catch a 75 bus home. Since the 14 bus is lazy, and only runs down Hawthorne once an hour after midnight on weekends. Wtf?! Yeah, because nobody is out at the bars (and the food cart block at Hawthorne & 12th), and needing a ride then! Pfffftttt...
12:46 - I'm being sarcastic there, TriMet. Run frequent buses in Inner SE late on weekends. We need them. Thanks...
1:20 - 39th & Hawthorne. Sit on bench. Read book. Wait for bus.
1:26 - The 75 is here! The 75 is here!
1:34 - Home sweet home. Roast a potato, and check email and blogs. Have another beer. Type ridiculously long diary. Preview, post... |
