First weekend of summer

It's finally summer. This weekend proves it. I know it's not officially summer, but 70's and sunny is summer by my standards.

Before I get into the story I want to apologise to JB for canceling the trip at the last second. I didn't feel like driving to Portland on Saturday morning so I douchebagged out. I could put forth various arguments in my defense -- not wanting to sit in a car with 3 screaming kids for as many hours, JB has a cat, etc -- but in the end it was just me pulling shit I don't much tolerate in other people. My bad.

I'm especially annoyed because I didn't drink on Friday so I would have no problems getting up. I mean, if I was going to miss the trip anyway, I may as well have gotten drunk instead. But nope.

Ok, so I lied. I drank a little. I went over to The Bar early on Friday night, grabbed a copy of The Stranger, and enjoyed the hummus dinner with a pitcher of beer. One pitcher of beer doesn't count. The Tigers were beating the Mariners on the TV and the place was dead. I was ready to call it a night.

I paid up and was on my way out when I encountered a friend on the way in. I've got friends here, but I'm not overburdened with them, so I like to take time to foster better friendships.

It didn't hurt that they were both girls.

They're both pretty cool, though at times I had to inwardly laugh when their various insanities manifested. I guess we all have peculiarities, but women wear their hearts on their sleeves. It's amusing. I'm not sure it's possible for most women to conceal their emotions.

After briefly considering a career in psychiatry, I just enjoyed their company. I like one of them alot more than the other, and I don't mean in a sexual way, though she is the prettier one. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but let's just say I had to reject one of them and I drank alot of water (still planning on getting up and going to Portland).

I ended up closing the bar, faithfully sticking to water. Except for one beer that another girl I know was ditching. In honor of Earth Day, I stepped up to the plate and drank the beer. Hey, we all make sacrifices.

I muttered the PC equivalent of "I'd rather masturbate" to the one girl, and went home. But I couldn't sleep. I read a book and got to sleep sometime around 4am.

The next morning I woke up at 8-9am, the sun was beaming in, and the view of Lake Union was spectacular. I shuffled out to the balcony, basked in the early morning sun, and spread my arms while taking a huge satisfying breath. The distant mountains were crystal clear. Yachts and skulls seemed to not notice each other as they moved about the water. I felt great and wanted nothing more than to get outside and do something. My buddy Bob called and I mentioned that I didn't care what I did today, as long as it was outside. "Ooh! You can help me work in the yard."

Bob has a huge yard with lots of potential, so I said sure. Plus I hadn't seen his new son yet (or met his wife). I don't mind yardwork, especially when a crew of undocumented workers have already done the hard part. We weeded and raked and spread mulch. I'm a little disturbed by how much I liked it. He paid me in lunch and a soldering iron.

And that's how I skipped the Portland trip. I had a good weekend, but I shouldn't douche out on my bro and friends. I wish I had known JB was going to be busy for the next few weeks. Having an open schedule makes one think everyone does.

I hope all of you got a chance to get outside this weekend and enjoy the outstanding weather. It gives one the urge to sell all of their possessions and travel the countryside, it does.