Big E

Last night was a big one at the graduation party for The Hotelier's son. Their family mirrors ours, a description which they might not find flattering. We both have 20 year old college boys spending our money out of state and 17 year old girls spending our money right here in California. We each also have a younger son with Down Syndrome, which was the first bond between the wives. This celebration was for their younger son, Big E, who became a high school graduate this week. The majority of a very proud village was at the luau themed event to celebrate with the family, friends and dedicated teachers.

We met up with #1 and family in the parking lot and got our leis at the entrance to the party, which is quite fitting as we'll be flying to Hawaii together next weekend. As usual, I was at my wife's beck and call, ready to procure her a cocktail immediately. She wanted a martini and I was hoping they had Gilbey's in a plastic jug. Unfortunately only top shelf booze was available so her choices were Tanqueray Ten or Bombay Sapphire. I got a Grey Goose and we were off.

The appetizers were a fine array of salumi and fromage. You know, what we used to call cold cuts, just much more high end. Since the host is the GM of the hotel where the event was held, I figured I'd have the run of the place. After a couple pops we sat down to dinner. Unfortunately The Exec was back in Pittsburgh, so we could not enjoy his company, but we were seated at the same table as his wife, daughter and her boyfriend. The daughter's boyfriend, not the wife's. The boyfriend sat by #1, TCG and myself. On behalf of The Exec, we grilled him relentlessly.

Dinner was burgers and fries for the kids and me. The adults got salmon, roast beef, herbed wild rice and asparagus. Two thumbs up. After the meal dancing erupted. It took me a while to warm up but I eventually flew the freak flag. I had a romantic cheek to cheek with my wife and then the upbeat tunes came on. At one point, the aged back had a momentary lapse and I ended up on my butt. But I am a determined, albeit awkward, dancer, and I was back on my feet in no time, doing my best to Beyonce's Single Ladies. I had numerous opportunities to dance over to my daughter, to her unending mortification.

We also had a break for a Big E slide show. The pictures brought back memories for all. At one point I glanced over at his siblings, whose pride and love for their bro was written all over their faces. I've seen that look before. Priceless.

Cineaste

4M sent me this link to put me hip to the fact that SATC2 is a must see. I'm rounding up the village people for a Sunday matinee. Actually a few of them may be hung over then so if I was a true friend, I would not add to their misery. There's a big high school graduation luau tonight for The Hotelier's Sonny Boy 2. I'll be letting my freak flag fly. A good time is guaranteed for all. Big congrats to the grad!

http://tinyurl.com/38jxyqv

Light Me

Its one of those days when I really got nothing to say but I'm going to say it anyway.

There's a 2 year old kid in Sumatra that smokes two packs of butts a day. Reprehensible. I waited until I was 13 and kept it under a pack a day.

They're working on the top kill as we speak. Bill Nye explains it for my readers.

http://tinyurl.com/3x86cbg

My buddy Unc came over Sunday to help me patch a wall. He was 20 minutes late but I didn't give him any crap. He knows I use him for his handyman skills but he doesn't mind because he's so desperate for my friendship. We went up to the big city for a bar mitzvah reception at the Italian Athletic Club Saturday night. It was an open bar so Unc and I took full advantage of that. We ran into an old bud of ours from the Wolverine/Unc/DJ days of yore that we hadn't see for a few decades. An overall good weekend.

It sounds like my girl aced her exams so she earned the dinner at Celia's tonight that she talked me into at some point. She and SB2 wrapped up school today. I usually work from home on Fridays but I'll be heading down to the valley about 6am tomorrow.

I can't take it. Why did Christina Aguilera cancel her summer tour? Why?

Curb Your Enthusiast

After a tough day of cube jockeying and paper shuffling, I arrived home. Glistening in the late afternoon sun to welcome me was a fresh, medium sized dog turd on my front sidewalk. It gets better. Once I get in the house, wifey tells me that Sonny Boy 2 just did the same thing to his bedroom carpet that that cur did to my sidewalk. Fortunately it was on SB1's watch, so he dealt with it. Then my wife slipped him a $20 so he could go to In N' Out Burger with #1's SB1. I guess he worked up an appetite during his hazmat duty. Lastly, my wife heads to the gym so I can attend to dinner chores.

And after a day like that, I have to hear the news that Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato have split up.

Kentucky Kernel

It's annual review time at work. I'm hoping for the best but I'm a little nervous. They've recently moved me down to the basement and taken away my stapler.

The FC boys are really bored because they are reminding me of the SLA.
#1 will be coming home from his Asian sojourn this weekend. We'll be heading to his house for a group hug. We're not letting #2 join in since he dissed us and went against our restaurant recommendation.

Rand Paul has apparently opened his mouth and inserted his foot. He's opposed to parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. How smart can any politician be that says something like that. He's also calling Obama's criticism of BP "really un-American". Gosh, accidents just happen. Dr. Paul is an accident and we can crank up Elvis Costello's Accidents Will Happen as we watch his candidacy implode.

I got some big news yesterday from The Wig. His oldest boy just got into med school. Now I've got somebody lined up for when my doctor retires in 10 or 15 years. Congrats T!

Blame People

I had planned to make a cynical crack about the BP cabal being in as much trouble as the Goldman Sachs boys. The actual consequences will probably be minimal, but it sure as hell feels good to see Obama railing against the farcical blame game that played out earlier this week. When push comes to shove, the weenies in the corporate corner offices will turn on each other in a heartbeat.

I was going to take advantage of the fact that my pal #1 was in Mumbai and Singapore to try to evade my SLA, but my conscience got the best of me.

#2 was looking for a good restaurant for his anniversary but it had to be in San Carlos. We all gave him a load of shit before recommending the Village Pub in Woodside.

The big boy came home Wednesday. I figured he deserved a good steak dinner after college food for the last four months. We have a full house for the next three months. He's already mowed the lawn. Good kid!

Your Special Day

I have a few mothers that are readers so I'd like to get ahead of the curve and wish you a Happy Mother's Day now. I am of the mind that a single day is not enough. It should at least be a weekend. There's only one thing that is keeping me from turning this entire weekend into an extravaganza for my wife. I fear the swift and fierce retribution of Hallmark.

I went for a quick swim during my lunch hour yesterday, not that lunch hours really exist anymore. Fortunately, there was one lane open. All the rest were occupied by humans, except one. A duck had decided to alight and was doing laps for about 10 minutes before taking off.

I was on my way home from a relatively uneventful trip to Safeway today. From afar I saw someone with what appeared to be a Superman costume over their shoulder. As I got closer I realized it was a graduation gown. The colors were spot on, a blue gown with a red sash. No graduations for us this year but one each in 2011 and 2012, hopefully. My bud The Wig is having two pretty soon. Congrats to both J and D.

Big Fun, Big Thanks

The boys of suburbia took me up to the city by the bay Saturday night for birthday 53. We stayed at #1's new pied–à–terre in Corona Heights, above the Castro. Once the high end renters move in, we'll be personae non gratae, so we needed to take advantage of the situation posthaste.

TCG, The Exec and #2 rode up with me in the Volvo on a beautiful late afternoon. I assured them that the hand brake worked 80% of the time, which put them immediately at ease. #1 had been up there all day toiling, so he was ready for our arrival. After a quick tour of the two units, he mixed up a heap of what is quickly becoming the village's new cocktail: The Vesper.

DJ says give one a try.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink/views/Vesper-350784

Our dinner destination was North Beach. We called a few cab companies but the mini-van we were hoping for was non-existent, so we got two cabs, after wandering up and down the hill a few times trying to decide if we wanted to hop the 37 Corbett. “Don't forget to ask for a transfer” I was a fan of public transport in my 80's SF days, but now I'm soft and I like cabs.

We put our name in at Tony's Pizza and headed out for a drink, because the wait is always an hour. #1 told me this place beats Amici's, which is the only decent choice for pizza in my neck of the woods. He is correct. Tony's serves serious pie.


http://www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com/index.php

So we had time and a thirst to to kill. We sauntered up Stockton. #1 found us a bar while the other guys decided to do some hat shopping. Two guys walked out with new hats. Thankfully there was not a shoe shop on the block. I hang out with ladies.

http://www.goorin.com/hat-shops/san-francisco-north-beach

We ended up at Joey and Eddie's for our pre-dinner snort. It was a ghost town. I checked the Chron review and they said the chow was pretty good, so I'm not sure why this North Beach haunt is going south. Regardless, there was plenty of room at the bar for the Foster City Five. We all took a stool face front until TCG figured out that we could gaze into each others eyes if we some of us occupied the bend in the bar. Thanks for that moment TCG.

The numbers and TGC continued with Vespers and the Pittsburgh born and bred Exec switched to beer, although he would have preferred Iron City to Stella. Since it was Kentucky Derby Day, I had the barkeep pour me a Knob Creek.

Dinner at Tony's was a slice, so to speak. We got a couple salads to start and three pies for the table. We could have easily polished off a fourth but opted for a tiramisu and some after dinner drinks. We chatted up the pastry chef, who was a former commodities trader in NY. He followed his passion and came out here to cook. I followed my passion and ordered a grappa. The Exec was kind enough to buy a few shots for the wait staff, on us. Or at least on him and the other three, because the boys were not taking my dough that night.

We spent about half an hour trying to flag down a couple hacks. We were at a disadvantage as the competition was significantly younger and prettier than us. We hit the rack about midnight.

The next day The Belgian joined us. He doesn't get out much so it was a special treat. We had a fine brunch at Zazie. 12 thumbs up. We were first on the list so we got a prime table on the back patio. TCG had a bowl of latte and #2 eschewed the Bloody Marys so he wouldn't nod out on us. After the chow down, we packed up and headed back to the burbs.

http://www.zaziesf.com/zaziesf/home.html

Molto grazie amici!!