Tuesday Morning Hangover
So last night I left work and went climbing up in Tacoma. Following that, I headed back down south for "trivia night" at the Steilacom pub (aka Steli Deli). There's a group of residents who do a weekly trivia night there on Monday nights. I'd been there two or three times before, and its fun so I went back again last night.
And drank too much.
After the trivia "match" was over (we ended up only in fourth, sadly), we headed to Pete's taint's house and decided to play some beer pong. Normally I wouldn't be doing this on a weeknight (I only rarely drink on nights before working these days - it's really just too much to walk into a hospital with a hangover), but we just changed rotations. I'm off the hospitalist gig and into a research month (see sidebar). This is one of our sweetest months, and I can essentially make my own hours on most days, as long as I produce something substantial at the end of the month.
Today I worked zero hours.
That's because of the beer pong. We must have played until midnight, and then about four of us slept vs. passed out on Pete's various couches and chairs. I woke up this morning with a hangover and absolutely no desire to go to work. So I didn't. And that's kind of a nice feeling, because nearly every other day I simply have to go and there's nothing I can do about it.
Beer pong is a fun game, especially battleship beer pong. The rules are thus:
Each team (you play doubles) has nine cups of beer on their side per game. These nine cups are divided into "ships" of four cups, three cups, and two cups. The "ships" are then spread around the table anywhere on your side (a la the boardgame Battleship). Beer pong commences, and the goal is to hit the other team's cups and "sink" their ships. If a ball hits the rim of a cup and bounces off, then half that cup must be drunk (drank?). If the ball sinks in the cup, then the whole cup goes. Ships get smaller as the game goes on, and if you sink either cup of a two cup ship that has only one and half beers left in it, then the whole thing is sunk.
All shots must go UP off the paddle (i.e no slams). The exceptions to this are if the ball hits a cup, then you can do anything (including slams) to save the shot. It's a good game, and its sure to get you buzzing/drunk pretty fast. It's best played withl Lite (Tm) beer, for obvious reasons.
The game reminds me of medical school, as many of our "big nights out" after test blocks were started with some crazy beer pong games before pouring ourselves into the french quarter. Out of control.
My mission for today is to find a Halloween costume. There is an "80's themed" party I'm going to on Saturday night, and hence the costume must be fixed appropriately. George, Pete, and I are working on something. Perhaps we should rehash our smurf costumes from Cabo last year (great costumes), but we sort of feeling like doing something different. They want to do Ghostbusters, but my San Diego boys (*pats chest like Sammy Sosa*) have been doing that for years and I don't really want to copy. We've also toyed with the A-team (we'd need a fourth) and the Three Amigos, both of which could work. As a solo project, I've considered being Rambo, Hulk Hogan, and also Ivan Drago of Rocky 4 fame. (Sadly, you need some muscle for all those characters). I'll let you know how it turns out.
I'm reading the second book in the Riverworld Series (see sidebar). I'm really digging it, sort of fantasy/historical fiction stuff that's really getting good. For some reason, I really think Norm would like these books.
Out.
YET ANOTHER SOURCE OF GUILT
....is what this blog has become. I come home, tired after work, numbed slightly by my 50 minute commute, and walk in to the apartment. I toss my bag on the table, slump down in the computer chair, and start my day's surfing. (Some days I can surf a little at work. Some days I can't.) And always, that "blogger link" beckons.
"When are you going to update me?" asks my blog.
"Soon," I promise, emptily and with a sigh...
So much has happened in the past three weeks. My friend Cameron and his girlfriend Chassidy (note the correct spelling - unlike in an earlier post) were here. We had a lot of fun going out and hanging around the city. I think I averaged like 40 dollars per night (minimum) on dinner while Cameron was here. One night he and I went to sushi and dropped 130 bones for the two of us. Not bad, eh? (I had some Uni that night - good Uni too. And yes, you read that right)
Cameron and I's "move" is to go ahead and break down philosophically two things. The first thing is the concept of being physicians. For hours we talk about the job, what we think of it, how it affects are lives, how different it really is vs. what we thought it would be, did we make the right choice, what did life used to be like, etc. We'll sit over beers and Cameron with his cigarettes (yes, many doctors smoke) and we get into a lot of "what is it REALLY all about?" type of conversations while some Zeppelin song (oh, let's say "Over the Hills and Far Away") blares on the local bar jukebox. Then, about 4 beers in, we have a revelation or two, and maybe, just maybe, share a moment regarding the whole thing. Sometimes Cameron is down on the job, and sometimes I am. Sometimes we're both up, or sometimes, of course, both in different directions. Regardless, I'm glad I have him to bounce stuff off in this regard. We used to do the same thing regarding "being a med student" back in the day in New Orleans as well. I find that I incredibly enjoy our conversations, and am prone to try and find succint meanings in the whole concept of being a doctor. Good stuff.
The second thing Cameron and I talk about is relationships. Oh, sweet, sweet relationships. We all have 'em. Cameron and I are very similar in our views on that stuff. We have similar committment issues as well. And, we're in pretty similar situations currently, all of which made his trip timely as well as fun. Cameron is 34 years old and has stories upon stories about relationships and about women he's dated and such. I suppose, that if I don't settle down, I may have the same sorts of stories at his age as well. But part of me definitely doesn't want to be "that guy" who dates and dates and is wise and such but also fundamentally unhappy and alone. I don't think Cameron is either of those things, but I do think he teeters close to that edge sometimes. Hell, I do it myself. And I'm only 28, dammit.
So during Cameron's trip, he and I found this bar called Shorty's in Belltown, Seattle. It's a smoky old bar whose schtick is that its full of 1980's stand up arcade games (plus a few modern ones). The line up includes Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pac Man, Robotron, Space Invaders, Qix, a few others, multiple pinball machines and best of all JOUST. Cameron was some sort of Joust legend back in his day, and during his time here he graciously apprenticed me to this classic gem. Much like Rude Dog did with the original Donkey Kong back at our laundromat in New Orleans, Cam showed me the ropes and then we went to town. We'd buy a pitchter, then a second, and we'd stand there, drink, and play Joust all the while talking about being doctors, having relationships, and deciding that in some crazy way life was like a winged warrior who was merely trying to be above the other guy when he collided. Or something like that. Anyway - good times with old Cam.
(And for the record, Joust is a great game. It's a two player team work game, but if you're not careful you can kill your buddy (and thereby destroy trust). Cameron is pretty effin' good at it, which I find hilarious. I remember when I was young, I was always enamored with the mystique of the "older kid" who rocked at this game or that game when I was but a wee lad cruising around the arcade at the mall, barely high enough to see the screen. Now I'm good friends with that "older kid", and somehow that means something. Somehow - it's important. Oh, and there's always Rude Dog and Donkey Kong, yet another master and his masterpiece - some day I'll have to tell that story as well.)
So it was good to see old Cam again. And I liked his girlfriend. Someday I hope I live near him again.
More this week.
....is what this blog has become. I come home, tired after work, numbed slightly by my 50 minute commute, and walk in to the apartment. I toss my bag on the table, slump down in the computer chair, and start my day's surfing. (Some days I can surf a little at work. Some days I can't.) And always, that "blogger link" beckons.
"When are you going to update me?" asks my blog.
"Soon," I promise, emptily and with a sigh...
So much has happened in the past three weeks. My friend Cameron and his girlfriend Chassidy (note the correct spelling - unlike in an earlier post) were here. We had a lot of fun going out and hanging around the city. I think I averaged like 40 dollars per night (minimum) on dinner while Cameron was here. One night he and I went to sushi and dropped 130 bones for the two of us. Not bad, eh? (I had some Uni that night - good Uni too. And yes, you read that right)
Cameron and I's "move" is to go ahead and break down philosophically two things. The first thing is the concept of being physicians. For hours we talk about the job, what we think of it, how it affects are lives, how different it really is vs. what we thought it would be, did we make the right choice, what did life used to be like, etc. We'll sit over beers and Cameron with his cigarettes (yes, many doctors smoke) and we get into a lot of "what is it REALLY all about?" type of conversations while some Zeppelin song (oh, let's say "Over the Hills and Far Away") blares on the local bar jukebox. Then, about 4 beers in, we have a revelation or two, and maybe, just maybe, share a moment regarding the whole thing. Sometimes Cameron is down on the job, and sometimes I am. Sometimes we're both up, or sometimes, of course, both in different directions. Regardless, I'm glad I have him to bounce stuff off in this regard. We used to do the same thing regarding "being a med student" back in the day in New Orleans as well. I find that I incredibly enjoy our conversations, and am prone to try and find succint meanings in the whole concept of being a doctor. Good stuff.
The second thing Cameron and I talk about is relationships. Oh, sweet, sweet relationships. We all have 'em. Cameron and I are very similar in our views on that stuff. We have similar committment issues as well. And, we're in pretty similar situations currently, all of which made his trip timely as well as fun. Cameron is 34 years old and has stories upon stories about relationships and about women he's dated and such. I suppose, that if I don't settle down, I may have the same sorts of stories at his age as well. But part of me definitely doesn't want to be "that guy" who dates and dates and is wise and such but also fundamentally unhappy and alone. I don't think Cameron is either of those things, but I do think he teeters close to that edge sometimes. Hell, I do it myself. And I'm only 28, dammit.
So during Cameron's trip, he and I found this bar called Shorty's in Belltown, Seattle. It's a smoky old bar whose schtick is that its full of 1980's stand up arcade games (plus a few modern ones). The line up includes Asteroids, Galaga, Ms. Pac Man, Robotron, Space Invaders, Qix, a few others, multiple pinball machines and best of all JOUST. Cameron was some sort of Joust legend back in his day, and during his time here he graciously apprenticed me to this classic gem. Much like Rude Dog did with the original Donkey Kong back at our laundromat in New Orleans, Cam showed me the ropes and then we went to town. We'd buy a pitchter, then a second, and we'd stand there, drink, and play Joust all the while talking about being doctors, having relationships, and deciding that in some crazy way life was like a winged warrior who was merely trying to be above the other guy when he collided. Or something like that. Anyway - good times with old Cam.
(And for the record, Joust is a great game. It's a two player team work game, but if you're not careful you can kill your buddy (and thereby destroy trust). Cameron is pretty effin' good at it, which I find hilarious. I remember when I was young, I was always enamored with the mystique of the "older kid" who rocked at this game or that game when I was but a wee lad cruising around the arcade at the mall, barely high enough to see the screen. Now I'm good friends with that "older kid", and somehow that means something. Somehow - it's important. Oh, and there's always Rude Dog and Donkey Kong, yet another master and his masterpiece - some day I'll have to tell that story as well.)
So it was good to see old Cam again. And I liked his girlfriend. Someday I hope I live near him again.
More this week.
I promised a lot of updates but dammit - I'm just not delivering. We'll see how tomorrow night goes. It's 11 pm and I need to get my ass to bed - I have to get up and be at the hospital by 6:45 in the morning. Chronic sleep deprivation is getting old.
On a lighter note I went climbing at a climbing gym in Tacoma night with some boys. It was the first time I'd been on a wall in about a year. My forearms have turned to mush but it was still a blast. Definitely something I love to do. I'm thinking about getting back into it. Great work out and problem solving all while feeling like Spider-man. What's not to love?
Till next time.
On a lighter note I went climbing at a climbing gym in Tacoma night with some boys. It was the first time I'd been on a wall in about a year. My forearms have turned to mush but it was still a blast. Definitely something I love to do. I'm thinking about getting back into it. Great work out and problem solving all while feeling like Spider-man. What's not to love?
Till next time.
Untitled
It’s been a while. Even so, I’d be a fool to try and catch up on the last week and a half worth of info in one post. (Plus, no one would read the whole thing given it’s probable length). So I’ll see if I can break it up a little over this week and get some things down here. A lot has happened and I’ve been busy.
(Aside: On the TV behind me the Red Sox just won game 4 of the ACLS with a home run in extra innings (the 12th?) Boo. I hate the Sox.)
It’s been a long and drudging football Sunday. I hit the sports bar this morning at 9:30 – it’s become harder to get a seat at the bar now that the Seahawks are actually a decent team. The Giants were off today, but I watched all the morning games regardless. I can’t believe how time much I dedicate to watching football. I watch nearly every game every week, give or take some of the afternoon games and the Sunday night game. It’s like a second job (especially this month given that Sunday is my only day off each week). But I find that watching football is only really fun when my teams (Giants and fantasy teams) are winning. At least the Giants are playing well…
My fantasy teams are in the toilet (combined record 3-9). I can’t remember having a year this bad. It’s frustrating – given how much I know about and like football you’d think I would be better at it. I think that the competition has grown over the years. I lost a Madden game online earlier tonight, which only made things worse. It was an overtime game. Boo.
My last week and a half has been filled with a lot of my friend Cameron and I hanging out. Another friend from med school came and stayed with me as well, though only briefly and because he was interviewing for a radiology residency at my hospital. What makes his visit interesting, however, is that he is currently stationed (in the Army) in Germany and actually spent 6 months in Baghdad. Given the ever increasing likelihood that I end up spending some time in Iraq over the next couple of years, I was very interested in what he had to say. So more on that in a later post.
Seriously, though, I would say my chances of going to Iraq in the next two years for at least some time (6 or greater months) is about 85% right now. I’m trying not think about it. Ugh.
Gwen and I saw “Team America – World Police” on Saturday. The film had me in absolute stitches. More on that later, as well. (And hopefully in Mick Flicks).
Oh, and there’s an election coming up. I think I missed the registration deadline. Bad citizen, I guess. Perhaps I’ll kidnap a Bush supporter and hold him at gunpoint until the election is over, thus canceling out both of our votes. More likely, I’ll just sit on the couch and scream at the TV as the results come in.
More to come as the week progresses.
It’s been a while. Even so, I’d be a fool to try and catch up on the last week and a half worth of info in one post. (Plus, no one would read the whole thing given it’s probable length). So I’ll see if I can break it up a little over this week and get some things down here. A lot has happened and I’ve been busy.
(Aside: On the TV behind me the Red Sox just won game 4 of the ACLS with a home run in extra innings (the 12th?) Boo. I hate the Sox.)
It’s been a long and drudging football Sunday. I hit the sports bar this morning at 9:30 – it’s become harder to get a seat at the bar now that the Seahawks are actually a decent team. The Giants were off today, but I watched all the morning games regardless. I can’t believe how time much I dedicate to watching football. I watch nearly every game every week, give or take some of the afternoon games and the Sunday night game. It’s like a second job (especially this month given that Sunday is my only day off each week). But I find that watching football is only really fun when my teams (Giants and fantasy teams) are winning. At least the Giants are playing well…
My fantasy teams are in the toilet (combined record 3-9). I can’t remember having a year this bad. It’s frustrating – given how much I know about and like football you’d think I would be better at it. I think that the competition has grown over the years. I lost a Madden game online earlier tonight, which only made things worse. It was an overtime game. Boo.
My last week and a half has been filled with a lot of my friend Cameron and I hanging out. Another friend from med school came and stayed with me as well, though only briefly and because he was interviewing for a radiology residency at my hospital. What makes his visit interesting, however, is that he is currently stationed (in the Army) in Germany and actually spent 6 months in Baghdad. Given the ever increasing likelihood that I end up spending some time in Iraq over the next couple of years, I was very interested in what he had to say. So more on that in a later post.
Seriously, though, I would say my chances of going to Iraq in the next two years for at least some time (6 or greater months) is about 85% right now. I’m trying not think about it. Ugh.
Gwen and I saw “Team America – World Police” on Saturday. The film had me in absolute stitches. More on that later, as well. (And hopefully in Mick Flicks).
Oh, and there’s an election coming up. I think I missed the registration deadline. Bad citizen, I guess. Perhaps I’ll kidnap a Bush supporter and hold him at gunpoint until the election is over, thus canceling out both of our votes. More likely, I’ll just sit on the couch and scream at the TV as the results come in.
More to come as the week progresses.
MORE WORK DAY BLOGGIN’
It’s Tuesday afternoon and I’m stuck at work. I’m actually finding it peaceful to slip into the library and do a little work-day blogging each day (as long as work remains relatively slow, like yesterday and today). Not much to report today. I watched some Monday night football last night. Decent game. Both my fantasy teams lost this week, however, and that bums me out. I’m still waiting for the "trifecta" to occur, meaning that the Giants and both fantasy teams pull out a win all in the same week. So far no luck.
On Sunday I finished “Bringing Down the House”, which was a great read. Not exceptionally well written, mind you, but it was hard to put down and the fact that it was more or less true made it completely enthralling. Given the number of times that I and my crew (*flashes gang sign*) have been to Vegas, and have played blackjack, and have discussed counting, I found it to be pretty damn entertaining. I wonder if we were there during some of those weekends when the MIT team was in action. We must have been .
That said, I wonder how much of the story was true. If you read the beginning disclaimer of the book (which I did), the author states that the character’s names and descriptions have been changed. He also states that some of the events have been “combined” or something like that. The gist of the story is obviously true, and a counting team from MIT certainly existed, but I wonder if the “key moments” as described by the author (like the chip on the kitchen table, and others) are actually real, or exaggerated just a tad for effect. Regardless, a great read. Check it out.
Back to work.
It’s Tuesday afternoon and I’m stuck at work. I’m actually finding it peaceful to slip into the library and do a little work-day blogging each day (as long as work remains relatively slow, like yesterday and today). Not much to report today. I watched some Monday night football last night. Decent game. Both my fantasy teams lost this week, however, and that bums me out. I’m still waiting for the "trifecta" to occur, meaning that the Giants and both fantasy teams pull out a win all in the same week. So far no luck.
On Sunday I finished “Bringing Down the House”, which was a great read. Not exceptionally well written, mind you, but it was hard to put down and the fact that it was more or less true made it completely enthralling. Given the number of times that I and my crew (*flashes gang sign*) have been to Vegas, and have played blackjack, and have discussed counting, I found it to be pretty damn entertaining. I wonder if we were there during some of those weekends when the MIT team was in action. We must have been .
That said, I wonder how much of the story was true. If you read the beginning disclaimer of the book (which I did), the author states that the character’s names and descriptions have been changed. He also states that some of the events have been “combined” or something like that. The gist of the story is obviously true, and a counting team from MIT certainly existed, but I wonder if the “key moments” as described by the author (like the chip on the kitchen table, and others) are actually real, or exaggerated just a tad for effect. Regardless, a great read. Check it out.
Back to work.
MAN-TASTIC
Another weekend here and gone. This weekend was a little different, however, because my old boy Cameron rolled into town. On his heels was his girlfriend Chastity, whom I had never met before. It was good to see old Cam, whom I hadn't seen since June of 2003, when he visited me for a week back when I still lived in Tacoma.
Cameron and I were coincidental roommates during our first year of med school. He and I both applied for housing long distance (he from San Francisco, I from San Diego). The third guy in that apartment, who had lived there the year prior, was a student who was a year ahead of us. He had two rooms to rent in the place. Cam got one, I got the other. Cam and I hit off immediately. I think he’s one of the easiest people to get along with that I’ve ever met in my life.
The other guy in that house (Rob) was kind of a train wreck. (We both should have figured that given his other roommates moved out after their first year with him). But overall, first year of med school was a good, if grueling year, and I enjoyed getting to know Cameron. He quickly became my best friend in New Orleans. (With rude dog a close second of course... :)
After that year, Cam and I both realized we had to get out of that duplex and Cam found a place by himself and I moved in with my super obsessive compulsive roommates (to include one mini Hurt) where I remained for the last three years at Tulane.
Cam and I remained good friends. I suppose one could expect to possibly see him in my wedding party one day. We have a lot of good memories going back, from our repeated outings on the New Orleans nightlife to long talks about female problems. I miss the days when we used to meet up at one of our various greasy spoon breakfast places (Bluebird Café, Riccobonos) on weekend mornings (er, early afternoons) back in New Orleans.
So it was good to see him. Friday night he rolled in with his girlfriend and the three of us, along with my friend John, had some drinks at a local bar near my house and caught up. Following that we rolled to this Irish bar on the corner by my house called “Kincora’s” It’s a cool bar, but WAY too damn smoky. I mean it was seriously like having a drink in a chimney – we all smelled horrible afterwards. The bar had this “heavy metal DJ” who was spinning discs of old Aerosmith, Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest (rocks!), and the like. He put on the Scorpions at one point. I asked him if he had heard of the Hurricane 2000 supermix. He said he hadn’t. After that, I rolled my eyes and we quickly left. “Heavy Metal DJ” - my ass.
Saturday I had to come into the hospital for a few hours – after that I drove back home and we had a nice breakfast at a place called Rosebud, also right near my house.
(TANGENT: I’ve realized that one of the elements to my personal happiness is having a good breakfast place near where I live. I suppose I can trace this concept back to my Camelot days with “JR’s”. Though not a great place (besides the infamous Hobo Scramble), I think I realized how cool it is to have a good place close to go eat breakfast, get some coffee, nurse hangovers, etc. In New Orleans I fell in love with Bluebird Café and the Riccobono’s, the latter of which was within walking distance (4 blocks) of my apartment. I settled many a hangover, had many a “next-day-conversation”, and read many a book over those sweet fried egg sandwhiches, omelets, and other assorted breakfast foods.
The first two years here in Washington, I was missing that. There was a good place in Tacoma I would go occasionally after work on weekends, post-call, or in the morning if I was so lucky as to have the day off. It was called “The Harvester”, but it was a good 15 minute drive from my apartment, making it less than convenient. Then, when I moved up into the city, I discovered Rosebud, which is possibly the best place of them all. Good coffee, great menu, and only 3 blocks away – I really feel at peace when I roll down there on Saturday mornings with a paper, book, or friend and start the day at a leisurely pace.)
On Saturday afternoon Cam, girlfriend, and I rolled out to Pike’s Market and had ourselves a day in Seattle. We cruised around the market and some other downtown sites (the second time in successive weekends that I have acted like a tourist). On the way back we bought a dungeness crab at the market. We had it pre-cracked, then took it up to my roof and ate the thing as an appetizer, dipping it in butter between bites while taking in the sunset. It was pretty cool. The weather had been absolutely gorgeous and sunny all day – a good time.
A little later we headed out to the old Wasabi Bistro in Belltown (one of downtown Seattle’s districts) for some sushi and drinks. Good sushi. But not cheap. Afterward we discovered this really cool bar on second street that had a bunch of 1980’s video arcades and pinball machines in it. Cam and I bought a pitcher and then went to town on Joust. Shortly following that, I set a new high score record (for the night) on an Asteroids machine, circa 1978. Then we headed in the back and played some pinball and Galaga. I
We cabbed back to my neighborhood at about 1:00 am and on a lark we decided to check out the Manray. That’s right. Cam, HIS GIRLFRIEND, and I all cruised into the gay bar – mostly because we were drunk and Cam’s girlfriend talked us into it. We were fairly giggily, but there wasn’t actually much to see. Basically a lot of gay dudes standing around chatting it up. Some looked flaming, some didn’t. Cam, his girl, and I basically stood around, chatted, had a drink, and then left. And that was that. First experience at a gay bar – done. (On the next one I plan to hook up.) I was a little miffed I didn’t get hit on, but I certainly wasn’t presenting myself in any inviting fashion. Oh well, back to the Banana Republic dressing rooms for me. (That’s where the flaming gay staff watch me try on jeans and tell me how sweet I look. What an ego boost!)
That night we got to bed late. I woke up early, only mildly hungover (YAY!) and headed out to the Fox Sports Grill to watch some football. The old Fox Sports Grill is right in the heart of downtown Seattle – it’s a pretty sweet place with multiple plasma screens. It’s become my new regular sports bar. Warren Moon actually runs a show on Fox Sports West out of it on Monday nights after the game. (We saw him after the Eagles/Vikings game a few weeks back).
So I spent Sunday watching football (very new and exciting, I know). Cam and Chastity met me down there later but they were in worse shape (hangover wise) by far than I was (oh shit, am I building a tolerance?!?) and they chose to walk around the city and get some fresh air while I dutifully remained and continued to watch every NFL game.
Last night we went out to have some Thai food. The afternoon was filled with naps. Today, I got up early and came to work, which is thankfully pretty slow. Cam and Chastity are heading out today to Olympic National park for a half week or so of camping. I’ll see them when they get back some time later in the week.
Gwen flies back in tonight from a conference in Toronto, where she was all weekend. She claims it was a neurology conference, but I suspect she’s scoping out places to flea to if Bush gets re-elected. So tonight Gwen and I will have and some dinner and chill out. I’m still tired from Saturday.
And there’s always Monday night football. Out.
Another weekend here and gone. This weekend was a little different, however, because my old boy Cameron rolled into town. On his heels was his girlfriend Chastity, whom I had never met before. It was good to see old Cam, whom I hadn't seen since June of 2003, when he visited me for a week back when I still lived in Tacoma.
Cameron and I were coincidental roommates during our first year of med school. He and I both applied for housing long distance (he from San Francisco, I from San Diego). The third guy in that apartment, who had lived there the year prior, was a student who was a year ahead of us. He had two rooms to rent in the place. Cam got one, I got the other. Cam and I hit off immediately. I think he’s one of the easiest people to get along with that I’ve ever met in my life.
The other guy in that house (Rob) was kind of a train wreck. (We both should have figured that given his other roommates moved out after their first year with him). But overall, first year of med school was a good, if grueling year, and I enjoyed getting to know Cameron. He quickly became my best friend in New Orleans. (With rude dog a close second of course... :)
After that year, Cam and I both realized we had to get out of that duplex and Cam found a place by himself and I moved in with my super obsessive compulsive roommates (to include one mini Hurt) where I remained for the last three years at Tulane.
Cam and I remained good friends. I suppose one could expect to possibly see him in my wedding party one day. We have a lot of good memories going back, from our repeated outings on the New Orleans nightlife to long talks about female problems. I miss the days when we used to meet up at one of our various greasy spoon breakfast places (Bluebird Café, Riccobonos) on weekend mornings (er, early afternoons) back in New Orleans.
So it was good to see him. Friday night he rolled in with his girlfriend and the three of us, along with my friend John, had some drinks at a local bar near my house and caught up. Following that we rolled to this Irish bar on the corner by my house called “Kincora’s” It’s a cool bar, but WAY too damn smoky. I mean it was seriously like having a drink in a chimney – we all smelled horrible afterwards. The bar had this “heavy metal DJ” who was spinning discs of old Aerosmith, Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest (rocks!), and the like. He put on the Scorpions at one point. I asked him if he had heard of the Hurricane 2000 supermix. He said he hadn’t. After that, I rolled my eyes and we quickly left. “Heavy Metal DJ” - my ass.
Saturday I had to come into the hospital for a few hours – after that I drove back home and we had a nice breakfast at a place called Rosebud, also right near my house.
(TANGENT: I’ve realized that one of the elements to my personal happiness is having a good breakfast place near where I live. I suppose I can trace this concept back to my Camelot days with “JR’s”. Though not a great place (besides the infamous Hobo Scramble), I think I realized how cool it is to have a good place close to go eat breakfast, get some coffee, nurse hangovers, etc. In New Orleans I fell in love with Bluebird Café and the Riccobono’s, the latter of which was within walking distance (4 blocks) of my apartment. I settled many a hangover, had many a “next-day-conversation”, and read many a book over those sweet fried egg sandwhiches, omelets, and other assorted breakfast foods.
The first two years here in Washington, I was missing that. There was a good place in Tacoma I would go occasionally after work on weekends, post-call, or in the morning if I was so lucky as to have the day off. It was called “The Harvester”, but it was a good 15 minute drive from my apartment, making it less than convenient. Then, when I moved up into the city, I discovered Rosebud, which is possibly the best place of them all. Good coffee, great menu, and only 3 blocks away – I really feel at peace when I roll down there on Saturday mornings with a paper, book, or friend and start the day at a leisurely pace.)
On Saturday afternoon Cam, girlfriend, and I rolled out to Pike’s Market and had ourselves a day in Seattle. We cruised around the market and some other downtown sites (the second time in successive weekends that I have acted like a tourist). On the way back we bought a dungeness crab at the market. We had it pre-cracked, then took it up to my roof and ate the thing as an appetizer, dipping it in butter between bites while taking in the sunset. It was pretty cool. The weather had been absolutely gorgeous and sunny all day – a good time.
A little later we headed out to the old Wasabi Bistro in Belltown (one of downtown Seattle’s districts) for some sushi and drinks. Good sushi. But not cheap. Afterward we discovered this really cool bar on second street that had a bunch of 1980’s video arcades and pinball machines in it. Cam and I bought a pitcher and then went to town on Joust. Shortly following that, I set a new high score record (for the night) on an Asteroids machine, circa 1978. Then we headed in the back and played some pinball and Galaga. I
We cabbed back to my neighborhood at about 1:00 am and on a lark we decided to check out the Manray. That’s right. Cam, HIS GIRLFRIEND, and I all cruised into the gay bar – mostly because we were drunk and Cam’s girlfriend talked us into it. We were fairly giggily, but there wasn’t actually much to see. Basically a lot of gay dudes standing around chatting it up. Some looked flaming, some didn’t. Cam, his girl, and I basically stood around, chatted, had a drink, and then left. And that was that. First experience at a gay bar – done. (On the next one I plan to hook up.) I was a little miffed I didn’t get hit on, but I certainly wasn’t presenting myself in any inviting fashion. Oh well, back to the Banana Republic dressing rooms for me. (That’s where the flaming gay staff watch me try on jeans and tell me how sweet I look. What an ego boost!)
That night we got to bed late. I woke up early, only mildly hungover (YAY!) and headed out to the Fox Sports Grill to watch some football. The old Fox Sports Grill is right in the heart of downtown Seattle – it’s a pretty sweet place with multiple plasma screens. It’s become my new regular sports bar. Warren Moon actually runs a show on Fox Sports West out of it on Monday nights after the game. (We saw him after the Eagles/Vikings game a few weeks back).
So I spent Sunday watching football (very new and exciting, I know). Cam and Chastity met me down there later but they were in worse shape (hangover wise) by far than I was (oh shit, am I building a tolerance?!?) and they chose to walk around the city and get some fresh air while I dutifully remained and continued to watch every NFL game.
Last night we went out to have some Thai food. The afternoon was filled with naps. Today, I got up early and came to work, which is thankfully pretty slow. Cam and Chastity are heading out today to Olympic National park for a half week or so of camping. I’ll see them when they get back some time later in the week.
Gwen flies back in tonight from a conference in Toronto, where she was all weekend. She claims it was a neurology conference, but I suspect she’s scoping out places to flea to if Bush gets re-elected. So tonight Gwen and I will have and some dinner and chill out. I’m still tired from Saturday.
And there’s always Monday night football. Out.
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