MORE COWBELL...

Hey!  My friend Tim sent me this video he put together for the Tour of PA...I thought it was worth a watch. By the way the cowbell you hear is my daughter Hazel...future member of B.O.C.????  Speaking of videos...I found this gem while perusing bike vids...Who needs professional sound and video? Maybe wardrobe (not sure about those sweet weightlifter pants?!)...If you ever get run over by a truck yer safe...I guess... 

Dreamweaver...

Been having alot of weird dreams lately...all of which seem to include many of the people I work with and at some point involve being at work (in one incarnation or another), or cooking somewhere. Last nights dream was no exception...I'll try to recount what I remember...I was riding through the Southside when I ran into Kevin and Jonah...for some reason it started pouring down rain...we found cover under the roof of some old strip mall in front of a thrift store. Long story short Kevin found a raincoat in the donation bin and started laughing at us...dick. Then I was carrying the leftovers of a pizza when I decided to stop for a candybar. I remember I walked into an old school K Mart (before they became "super")grabbed p-nut butter cups and went to the checkout. noone was there...some dude came up and said he needed to wait for a manager...so he just stood there looking at me. It felt like an eternity...so I walked away and bitched to the first person I saw in a uniform. They gave me two candybars for free...sweet. When I walked back out the streets were overrun with weird clawless lobsters with huge triangle shaped heads. They had no means to attack, but were still a bit frightning and huge. Just then I remembered that I left my pizza, so I went back to get it. I ran into Tim and he said he was going back to his old culinary school, and that I should go along and sit in on some classes. When we got there I was the only one in uniform and everyone else looked like a complete scumbag...thats the only part that made any sense...with dreams like this who needs drugs. 

bust out yer dream books (I know you have 'em, dorks), and analize that one!! 

just add booze...

Cooks are simple folks...I've recently been paid two compliments. Someone I haven't seen in a while told me I looked thinner, and tim told me I looked less salty. Since I've made the big move to the Red Room, I've really felt good. I've had the good fortune to spend some time with cooks outside of the kitchen. Some are old friends, and some are people I've bumped into (mostly while "unwinding" after work)...Being a bike messenger was very similar to cooking...You meet people from all walks of life that are drawn to this lifestyle for whatever reason...but thankfully they are. Dare I say...salt of the earth? Please to enjoy synergasmic bliss...

Hey...Check out my brine

Delicious brine makes belly more delicious...I like to do dumb things and make them dumber...

A textbook carry...

Somebody hates being filmed...Is it wrong to like that?!

Stock...

The making of a stock is an art. Done correctly you can achieve What, in the "industry", is known as a textbook product. A flavorful, clear stock is achieved only by properly simmering, not boiling, a stock...Bones must be roasted (but not over roasted), a mirepoix is added, and slowly a stock is made...textbook.

"textbook"

When something is done to perfection it is said to be "textbook"...and so begins our journey. Please to enjoy Jonah "singing"...textbook.

lets eat these mushrooms...

Sometimes its worth it...Thinking about what I gave up? Money, benefits...I don't know...I'm in a position to really step it up and make a name for myself. If nothing else, I help move things in a positive direction. I really like the place I'm in. Working for Kevin is a good deal. We get to cook some dope food & have a few laughs in the process...I feel like my input is valued. Hanging out with Jonah and discussing potential veggie dishes makes sense...maybe moneys overrated...I wish my landlord felt that way!

Nerdin' the fuck out...

I don't take any pleasure in the realm of reality tv...I don't give a fuck about these stupid millionaire, truth or dare, suck my balls game shows...I just don't give a shit. People are obsessed with watching other people live useless mundane existence's (as long as its happening on tv)...They want to watch Brett Michaels cry to some slut about his diabetes, or see rednecks get married, or simply watch a terribly old and fucked up Flavor Flav say a bunch of dumb shit...its kinda sick, and I really thought I'd never get sucked into that world (my only weakness to that point was The Soup), but when the reality craze hit the kitchen there was a bit of curiosity. I tried to watch Hell's Kitchen, but I got enough of Ramsey yelling on the old BBC Kitchen Nightmare series. I had given up when I found myself in front of a tv that was playing a marathon of Top Chef. It was actually interesting, and I found myself pulling for certain cooks and really interested by the challenges. It's a pretty freakin, good show. I don't have cable, but I do have a computer complete with free internet (thanks random neighbor!)...I-Tunes had the first season, and was right in the middle of the second. I bought both and couldn't wait for three...I waited every week for them to post the newest epesode...avoided any contact with geek websites so as to not spoil it...I was indeed a total fucking geek. For some reason I-Tunes stopped carrying Bravo, so I only got to watch a few random episodes of season four. Much like everything else of that genre they seem to lose the reality and it becomes more tv. The characters seem like they are cast specifically to add a douche element to the show...I'm pretty sure It's gonna lose me somewhere. I found out that Top Chef the Tour was just in town, and when I went to the site to find out just how you create a tour out of a show It seems as if it's just an excuse to see the losers of the show who couldn't seem to parlay mediocre celebrity status into a good cooking gig and also a place to sell crap like knives and t-shirts and whatnot...All in all I think they did it right. The list of chef judges is pretty impressive...Dufresne, Ripert, Portale,Boulud, Van Aken, to name a few...nothin' to sneeze at! I guess when they do Top Chef On Ice I'll be there...

broken hearts & broken faces,,,

Lately things have been a bit dodgy. I've been trying to not be a useless piece of shit. I don't want to sleep late and go straight to work...I also don't want to go out and drink every night after work, but I've got some shit to work out. I decided tonight that I would take a nice late night ride in case I happen to resort back to my shitty ways tomorrow...I know that my track record for late night (slightly beer fueled) rides is not too shiny, but tonight I made an exception...threw caution to the wind and just tore off into the muggy Pittsburgh night. Right now...things are all right with the world...well, almost. If anyone out there is down for late night (slightly beer fueled) rides lemme know!!!!!! Fuck. 

Speakin' of rides...

Finally put the pix on my computer from the tour of pennsylvania. I met my buddy Glenn downtown on Sunday for the last leg of the race. We were both fairly excited. It brought back memories of the old thrift drug classic race from years ago. We both looked forward to that race every year. Being bike messengers at the time, it was always cool to ride though town and pass support vehicles & teams all decked out training for the race. I really miss that race and hope that Pittsburgh gets behind this and maybe it'll open the door for more cycling action in the 'Burgh. 

She's covered in vomit & french martinis...

I woke up today and surprise...wait for it...wait for it...IT'S FUCKING OVERCAST AND SHITTY OUTSIDE!!! I don't know about you, but I'm fuckin tired of rain. I guess I can either watch that fucking Al Gore movie, or go for a ride and hope mamma earth doesn't shit acid rain on me...hey! at least I didn't wake up to the thought that I vomited all over myself while my friends watched...sorry lady. Go for a ride.

They hate our freedom! (or "days off" part 2)...

Ahhh the 4th of July! One of the best holidays for people who like drinking and eating...Usually you do that outside with friends, but this year there seemed to be an inordinate amount of people who wanted to sit inside and eat with us. Thats a nice feeling, but its hard not to be a bit salty about being at work not getting drunk, and not watching things blow up! Also, Why are all the chinese restaurants in town closed on the 4th?!?!? All I wanted was LuLu's!!! I did get to eat a couple of dawgs and we managed to make the most of it with our own fireworks "show". I also crammed in a whole days worth of drinking into a few hours after work...Please to enjoy the video that I believe sums it all up quite nicely...

days off (both real and imaginary)...

I'll be the last person to complain...I've been afforded a pretty sweet schedule for a cook. Kevins been real cool about trying to work with me so that I can have time to see my daughter...It's nice to have Sundays off with Hazel. When it comes to holidays you start to think about beer and cookouts. So far the two great summer holidays have been strange to say the least. Memorial day is a classic beer and bbq fest. This year was pretty low key...front porch, $10 grill, 6 pack, good food, Hazel. I busted out the camping chair, and the "sound system" (an i-pod and computer speakers in the window). Kick back open a beer get out the huge bottle of bubbles light the grill and enjoy...Hazel & I blew bubbles, looked for rolly-pollies and just enjoyed a day with no worries. I was kinda salty at first about not having plans, but that quickly faded as I just enjoyed life at its simplest. So next year grab your ghettoblaster, dust off an old mixtape and set up camp on your porch (or stoop)!

An earth with no salt...

Its hard to break routine. I usually check out a few blogs on a daily basis. Thankfully there are lots of folks who have things to say on a daily basis (instead of updating once a month, like me!)... When I found out that Kevin "scoops" Sousa was going away to Chicago I was excited for him. I also couldn't wait for the "on the road" blogs...My heart sank when he informed me that he would not be updating from the road. Whats this?! A world without salt! Thats when I decided to pick up the gauntlet and fill the void. So here it is...my blog about nothing to blog about...