The drink I won't drink..

Now if you know me, I really won't turn down many drinks. If there was a Kamikaze in front of me now I would drink it, but I can't say I would choose this drink and here is the story behind it.
The wonderful summer of 1993. I was just coming into my own in the drinking world. Heading into college in the fall, this summer was like my spring training. It was a house party in Juniata where beers were the drink of choice for most of the night and I had my fill. In the back of my mind was that 9am banquet I had to receive a scholarship from the Polish Benefical Association. It must have been way back in my mind when we decided to make pitchers of kamikaze(in Japanses it means 'divine wind') and play drinking games. How it started..I'm not sure. How it ended I remember like it was yesterday. There were four of us left. Dana had went back to her house ( three houses away) at maybe midnight and I said I would be home real soon. I am pretty sure we ended up just daring each other to do the crazier thing. I have a problem taking things too far sometimes. This may or may not have been one of those times. I decided it was a good idea to offer room service to the next door neighbor. With only a towel around my arm. At around 3 am. The old lady didn't answer her door, but Dana was able to catch me in action at the door. What a proud moment that must have been for her. Wow...My boyfriend of 4 months is such a nice guy offering kamikazes and beer to my neighboor he doesn't even know at 3 in the morning. Well that's not exactly how it went, but it's how I like to remember it. I made a vow to try and not curse on my blog and if I told the ending how it really happened..there would only be a few non curse words. I did get to the banquet and I did smell like booze.
Most drinkers have a few no-no drinks that they overdid at one time or another. To this day everytime I drink lemonade it makes me think of my night with the kamikazes....and my trusty room service towel. So I try to refrain from lemonade also. Offer your comments..what is your no no drink??

I figure a week off would do a blog good...

I was at my parent's house and went to pick up our food at Gina's down the street. The name was the same, the number was the same. and the address was the same. I walked in and realized what did change. I remember when Gina used to work and own Gina's.When there was a Super Punch Out and Pinball machine. When there was a side door you could only use if you knew someone. My best friend worked there..my brother had his first job there. When I walked in I realized how much actually had changed(well the equipment and food was the same). I was sad, nostalgic, and removed. Sad because I have only been gone 4 years but it seemed like forever. Nostalgic of those Monday nights when I would have a 12 pack of High Life and Rob would make a pie for us and then close up the shop and we would talk about the good ole days even though we were only 18. Removed because I didn't know anyone who worked there anymore and they didn't know me. We would get food there once a week. The 'cool' side door was blocked by boxes and I couldn't walk in that way like Henry Hill walked in the kitchen entrance of the Copa in Goodfellas. I am not sure I even want to venture into the Frontenac Bar...and not because if they card me they will say ' Your ID said you were 30 fifteen years ago!'. But because I want to remember that place the way it was. I knew a guy would come in and try to sell meat he just stole from the supermarket and get thrown out. I knew we would have to duck atleast once a month from a flying barstool when a fight ensued and I knew Jerry would have a High Life draft and a shot of Jameson waiting for me before I came in and sat down. Add that to the list of things cool: Drinking Miller High Life on tap at the local bar....where everyone knew your name.

The good and the bad

I went to Chili's for the first time today and it was great. I just never went there before because they hired my college roommate once in 1994. He was a great guy and loved to drink beers..I just questioned their hiring practices because he was always drunk. Blackberry brandy is also good. The Andy Milonakis show was good for the first two shows, but this past show bit. I was told my last story about the clown was good, but it seemed like I was above everyone else and was prententious. This was a fair evaluation, but I was trying to convey the feeling that me and my friend were the underdogs and won out even though we were shunned by the establishment. I guess I have to work on that. The Phils won today in the twelfth inning, which was a good way to end before the all star break. I had a book in high school I used to write poetry in and am going to look for it so I can post some of my work from it. It may have sucked, but I feel it shows the angst almost all teens felt. Things like 'Death is a friend, because death is a whole lot easier than life.' To add to the list of things that are cool: Having seen The Monkees in concert more than any other live act. Yuengling makes a beer called Lord Chesterfield Ale. It is the worst beer I ever had. I mean I hated it and still finished it. I have this kind of superstition that I will always finish my drink no matter what. I finished it alright, but one was enough. I then moved on to the aforementioned Blackberry brandy. Listening to Doo Wop is also cool. I think Doo Wop is the quintessential music to listen to down the shore, late at night, having a Miller High Life...falling asleep to the sound of the ocean or passing out.....Today the thoughts were a bit random, so you have Leroux Blackberry Brandy to thank for that...

Clowning Around

So you can put a picture to the story

Gotta step up the output

I was never sure if I was going to tell too many people about me writing a blog. I am not writing for a specific reason or a specific person or group of friends..but I have told quite a few people about it and I am wondering who will actually read, care, comment, etc. I figured I could use it as part diary, part memoir, collection of random thoughts, ideas, commentaries...

So I am going to re-tell for all posterity the infamous story that took place sometime in 1988.....

Boys will be boys as they say and in 1988 Bill and I were 14 and 13 respectively. I figure you may need some background information before we get into the meat of the story. We went to a small school and had small eighth grade class of 19 students, 11 boys and 8 girls. There were only a few of us who were not from the surrounding neighborhood; a neighborhood that was very cliquey. Bill and I were two of the 3 non-local guys in our class and often just did not want to befriend the locals. Maybe it was us feeling left out, or maybe it was us not wanting to fit in with the usual crowd doing the usual things. Now I have to preface this with saying Bill and I were way above normal intelligence and quite frankly were bored with the classwork and lack of challenge offered. The idle mind is in fact the devil's workshop, which you will soon see in action. Now Bill and I both liked and appreciated our teacher and what we would do had nothing to do with her lack of care. The girls in our room were prototypical suck-up girls that would be a teacher's pet, tell the teacher if you made a face behind her back, and give the teacher a gift 'just because'. A gift such as a clown puppet that was hung above the blackboard by the teacher. Looking at us each day. Smiling. Scoffing at us. Reminding Bill and I about the suck-ups and girls in the class. Now we were both far from saints, but we were smart enough never to get caught, even though the teacher knew we were the masterminds behind most pranks. So one day we both cooked up the idea to take the clown hostage and write a ransom note. Taking the clown was easy after school one day when the room was empty. We then took the clown to our house and put him in a small rocking chair, bound him with rope, and put tape over his mouth. We then proceeded to take a Polaroid of the clown and write the ransom note. I am ambidexterous and can write with both hands, so I wrote the note left-handed so it was not recognizable as my own normal right-handed cursive. The body of the note read:

We have your clown
If you want to see him again
you will give the entire class a 100
on the next test you give
or we will send him back piece by piece

We then put the picture along with the note in an envelope and put the envelope under the teacher's windshield wiper of her car. She did not notice the missing clown that morning. We knew the teacher went to her car during lunch to grab a smoke, so while coming back in for lunch we made sure the envelope was gone and it was. The first class that afternoon came and went with no mention of the note or picture. Next period was the first test since our ultimatum. Bill and I were Science whizzes, so a 100 by us both was no sweat. Next day the test were handed back and we both noticed a few non-100 scores quietly and to ourselves without making it obvious we were looking and give ourselves away in the process. We got back to our house and the dismemberment had begun. A lighter to the face, a snip here, a slice there and voila! Teacher was getting a clown ear in an envelope with a reiterative note stating:

100's for all
or you will get your clown back
piece by piece

This went on for about a week or two....test given...envelope given.....until it all came to a head one day. The teacher had a talk with entire class. First she told the story of the clown and how long it had gone on for. Of course all the suck-up's and oblivous were 'horrified' at such an act. Then the teacher said she knew who was behind it and wanted the guilty to come to her before clas the next day with her clown in it's entirety, or this issue would be forwarded to the principal.
Now Bill and I hated the principal like the Red Sox hate the Yankees. There was no love loss at all between us and the feeling was mutual. The only problem is that the principal was a woman of God who showed favoritism to the local students and shunned Bill and I like the outsiders we were. So we lived up to the outsider persona and tried to make her life as miserable as possible in payback for how she treated not only Bill and I, but all the other students she looked down upon.
We both went to the teacher at the end of the day and admitted our guilt, apologized about the clown, and then explained the clown she got in the envelopes was in fact her clown. The real deal, not some stand in clown. What we were amazed by is the laughter that came from our teacher about the whole incident and that she was not mad about the whole ordeal, but did want us to get a new clown for the one we destroyed. She never sold us out. We got a new clown at the local Spain's Card and Gift Shop. We pleaded our case and asked that he clown not be given as prominent a position as the previous. The teacher conceded with our wishes and he was never seen again.

A Bit of a Letdown..

Hot Dogs, Beers, Lemonade, Funnel Cake all were had tonight, but the funnel cake battered and then deep fried Oreo's and Peppermint Patties were missing in action. It's quite the disappointment I must say. The Phil's got beat today also 2-1...we had our chance to beat Jose Mesa at the end and failed to put the tying run across in the 9th. We watched Waking Ned Devine tonight..very good movie with a nice couple of twists at the end. I was thinking of making up a list of the top 5 best and worst movies made in Philadelphia.
The Top 5

1. Rocky I
2. Philadelphia
3. Sixth Sense
4. 12 Monkeys
5. Trading Places

The Bottom 5

1. Mannequin
2. The Village
3. Rocky III
4. Unbreakable
5. Rocky II

Mannequin was so bad, yet I may have seen that one more than any of the other bottom 5. It just aggravates me everytime I see Wanamaker's in the film and think of whatever they call it now..Lord & Taylor's I think. You knew it was Christmas time when I was a child when you got to go see the Light Show at Wannamaker's. They still have the show..but it's not the same. So add that to the List of things that are cool..The Wannamaker's Light Show....

A Classic of modern film..

The eloquent Patrick Bateman and some of my favorite quotes:
~ You are a f'ing ugly bitch and I want to stab you to death and play with your blood.
~ I like to dissect women. Did you know I'm totally insane?
~ Sabrina, don't just stare at it. Eat it!
~ I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

Things that are cool...

I am going to a school carnival tomorrow. What is cool about carnivals is the food available...as well as the drinks. I look forward to whacking back 2-3 hot dogs, funnel cake, and fried Oreo's and Peppermint Patties. There will also be beer available which I will partake in of course. Today I wanted to try some new liquors..so I went to the State store and picked up a bottle of Watermelon pucker and a bottle of Yellow Tail wine (Shariza and Merlot mixture). I went to Bennigan's for lunch today and banged back a Mango Mojito..it is choice if you have the means I highly reccommend picking one up. When I got home and before the Phils game, which they won 5-0, I made a Watermelon martini:
1 shot watermelon pucker
1 shot Vox vodka
splash of grenadine
dash of sugar
I have to say it is not bad at all...a bit fruity..but it is all alcohol and goes down real nice. I was then poking aound on the internet for more drinks recipes that I had the ingredients for and came across The Watermelon Pucker Fucker:
1 shot Mailbu Coconut rum
1 shot Watermelon pucker
splash of grenadine
fill rest of cup with pineapple juice
This is a great drink for all types! It can get you whacked...the ladies will dig the sweetness of the drink..and you can have 4-5 and write your first blog entry. I am looking forward to tomorrow and delving into the Red Stripe beer. Look for more on the carnival scene!