BOTH BOTH

first weekend in Oakland started off with an implied bang. Steve and Lindsey were hungry but didn't want to go to a BBQ with me. so i rolled over to my friend Carl's house solo for a rooftop grill n' chill. Carl lives right next to the giant new Kaiser building currently under construction. i knew from a Facebook update that Carl had a giant cooler full of Miller High Life (he's really into Americana), i wasn't disappointed when i got there. so Americana in hand i made my way out to the roof where i was introduced to a "Mike" and then another "Mike" and then a "Micah" and then a "Mick" and 2 "Neals"...i'm not kidding at all. those were really their names; it was difficult at first but i pretty much ignored Mike #2, Micah was too hammered to worry about, i'm not sure if Mick ever existed and thankfully one of the "Neils" was asian. so i ate an amazing meal of BBQ chicken slathered in Kinders marinade (Concord, CA's finest BBQ sauce!), pork loin, grilled asparagus, hot potatoes, home made chili and more Americana. first BBQ of the warm seasons always tastes best. Carl then told me about how the old Kaiser building was going to be destroyed by explosives as soon as construction wrapped up on the new building, oh hooray and huzzah! i told him that he should have a detonation party, he told me that he was already planning on it...youtube video forthcoming. and then i saw that Albert Brown's Mortuary was also right next to Carl's apartment (photo below) which cracked me up. i used to rock an old Dose One Albert Brown Mortuary t-shirt...black and pink. here's a link to a photo with me rocking the shirt in Munich. so anyway, i started singing that old song "come on down to Albert Brown/ come on/ come on/ come on down to Albert Brown/ come on/ come one..." which got fools looking at me sideways...after that the dice were pulled out and many people quickly lost many dollars to Carl, he's kind of a dice-shark, he carries dice in his pocket, nuff said. so then i called Steve and Lindsey a million times because it was getting time to head out to the Art Murmer and we had plans to mash to the event together as Art Murmer virgins. but those dudes weren't picking up the phone. so i just texted them something like "on the way to pick you up!"...and then i heard back pretty quick "we're cooking dinner, we'll meet you there in a bit..." and i thought to myself, yeah they ain't making it, bummer...so me and the dude-crew headed out in cars and cabs...first stop "Can't Remember The Name Of The Tattoo Shop That Mike Works At On 24th And Broadway" for beers and billiards. then onwards to Mama Buzz in the midst of the block party (i had no idea Oakland went off like that by the way), and then over to Stork Club for a breather, then over to Kroswork Gallery, which i only realized was the venue i had read at for the 'Lectric event after hanging out in their parking for like 20 minutes (i'm still getting really turned around in Oakland, lot to learn)...and then it was just me and Carl and his lady friend traipsing around bumping into people talking about how trippy "schwas" are. i faded pretty quick after that though and wanted to be fresh for my Dad's 72nd birthday the next day, so i bid farewell and headed home buzzing on what an amazing night i just had. such a great first weekend in Oakland. can't really convey how excited i am about the move, my beautiful apartment, the weather, my neighborhood, and all the new and exciting friends and experiences that are headed my way. hi Oakland, i think i'm falling in love...

i spent the day today at my parent's house in Concord for my Dad's 72nd birthday. my Mom cooked roast lamb, spanakopita, yellow rice, meat dolmathas, horiateki salata, garlic bread and roast green peppers in olive oil...i watched the Giants destroy the Dodgers 10-0 making up for those 2 first games...finished the night out playing Portes bumping Rembetiko with my Dad and Brother and Sister...

tomorrow morning i'm heading to the track for dollar Sundays to bet on the ponies with my brother and the gang...