I think I just waited for poop in my pants...

So my special lady had an excellent idea this weekend, let's toss the kids in the car and take a ride up to Hill Farmstead.  We had a few growlers we wanted to return or exchange and why not grab a beer while there? Perfect. So we got everyone ready and headed up late morning. Well, it takes almost 2 hrs to get there and it is in the middle of no where. No problem. It was a nice day on Saturday, and the kids were in a good mood. We get there and the line is long. Real long. Ok, well, there is a long line for a tasting, $5 for 4 small beers and a super long line to fill growlers. Ok, kids in the front packs... it's tasting time! Well, the line went ok. Time to get in the longer one. An hour in and we were not really close. But once you are that deep you are committed right? Lady went to the bathroom (2 port-o-sans) to pee and wash her hands. No TP. Or way to wash up. Ok, so it is like a frat party. No problem. People in line were friendly, kids were still in a good mood, and the sun was still shining. Well, just as we get to the opening of the brewery my son starts to lose his shit. We are about 1hr 45min in so it is understandable, I was about to lose mine as well.  We finally get in and they inform us that they do not take back growlers. So those 3 we have at $10 each are ours forever? Really?  Sure, well, only one of them is clean can we just trade out for some clean ones. Oh, you don't clean out bottles either? F*** you Hill Farmstead. Listen, I understand your beer is really good and you want to run your business like the bathroom of a dive bar but jeez... Well, if you can be a dick I guess you have to do it. Needless to say as our kids lost it all together we had no choice but to stop for a cheeseburger and feed the kids at a McDonald's.  That was fun.  At least they had toilet paper. A good day turned pretty ugly. We will not be going back, at least not on a weekend.

This is also fun. We stopped by the Whiskey Room yesterday for a quick beer and wanted to sit outside as it was a sunny day. I swear I am not embellishing this story. The bartender hands us a whiskey menu, and one for bottled beer and wine.  She says the waiter will tell us the draft list. There are only 2 other people in the entire bar.  After waiting for a pretty long time the waiter comes out. He informs us there are too many beers for him to remember and that they change frequently so we will have to go in to look at the board. Well, this is contrary to what the bartender said and what... you can't remember 10 beers? It is your f*ing job!!! No problem we remembered a few. One co-worker ordered a Heady Topper, one a 6 Point Resin, and ordered a Peeper, As in the Maine Beer Co. Peeper Ale. After another long period the waiter comes back w/ just the Topper. They are out of the Resin. Ok, 2 Toppers. He comes back w/ the second Topper and asks me what I ordered again.  Peeper Ale.  He goes back in and then comes back. What beer was that, we change them out a lot, when did you last have it?  Peeper Ale.  I just saw it inside on your current draft list.  Just now?! Plleeper Ale?  Peeper Ale!  Peeper Ale?  Yeah, form the Maine Beer Co. Oh, the Maine Beer Co. I did not understand your lingo, I am from Ireland. What?!?!?! It is the name of the beer not lingo.  I did not ask for the Peeps, The Peep Hole, the Peeperdoodle.  I asked for a Peeper Ale... the name of the f***ing beer!!!!  And you are Irish?  What does that have to do with anything?  We were both speaking English? I was not giving you hand signals!!!!  Anyway, I finally got my beer. And then had to go home... it had been 1 hour. I needed to carve out an additional 6 to get an Edward from Hill Farmstead and figure out how to wipe my ass w/ a sock.

I need more sleep.

I am a mess today

So after working from 9:30AM until 6PM with a brief break for lunch my mother asks me if I think my father has slowed a bit. I thought maybe she was crazy?  My back was seizing up and I was about to pass out. My dad is 20 odd years older and was tired but fine. I hope I slow down like that. We did a bunch of demo and rebuild work on a shed and then I loaded wood and did some more clean up on Sunday. I have not done manual labor like that in years and I was already a mess heading into last night. We went to bed early and I looked forward to just resting my body. My kids had a different interpretation on how the evening would play out. My son started fussing at 10:30 or so. He had taken a huge shit. Oh well, no problem. Changed him and back to bed. Except he was back up around 11:30 and woke up his sister. Awesome. Around 1 or so is when he really ramped up, screaming his guts out. We struggled to get him calmed down as he began to wake his sister who A) was seeming to be coming down w/ a cold and B) is really tough to settle once she wakes up. Well, we got them back down, by bringing him into our bed. His sister woke up about an hour later screaming like a horror movie was being filmed in her room.  Into bed where they both squirmed and fussed. I got the boy a little settled and took him back to his own bed. This backfired when an hour or so later he went absolute bat shit.  I am not sure how often we got up and down but needless to say I woke up on a sliver of bed w/ my son's head firmly jammed into my spine and having gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep. I tried to sneak down to get ahead of the morning while my special lady took a shower. I heard fussing.  F***! Back upstairs I ran w/ bottles for breakfast. Wife gets out of the shower and here are two smiling laughing babies. Little shits. Nice to be able to lounge about and nap all day.

When Folino's first opened we thought the pizza was ok at best and the service sucked balls. The Fiddlehead Brewery next store was not very good either.  Well, several months later service is a bit better and the pizza is really quite edible to good at times.  The brewery is also getting better and their flagship IPA's is one of the more drinkable things going. So there you go... time heals many wounds. Not my lack of sleep but other ones.

I Am Thinking About A New Business

So if you want in on the ground floor of Jay About Mugs!, Well, let me know.  I had an idea for one w/ Alf and a totally inappropriate comment about how he liked to eat cats but thought maybe that was going too far?

Well I am baffled

WTF w/ Syria?! We somehow have a uber liberal President who is very hawkish in matters of national defense?  Ok, that is odd but whatever.  So he makes a play to bomb Syria even though we don't really like either their current administration or the rebels that are fighting them. What happens?  Republicans tell him to hold on, that is not the right way to do things (what about Iraq?). So he waits.  And then there is an even more obvious chemical weapon attack (if you believe Obama or some guy's smart phone in Damascus). Ok, so now it's go time right? Well, hold on say the Republicans... we need more evidence. So Obama waits and goes to Congress for a vote. During the voting lull the conservatives attack Obama for not making a strong case, not being a leader and dithering. He says there is clear evidence and we are going to bomb. Even Republican leadership in Congress gets on board. Now the members of Congress seem unwilling to follow their own leadership or even their own advice and will not vote for to support. Meanwhile Russia is making us look like ineffectual pussies. Seriously Congress... get your shit together.

I managed to attend my first fantasy football draft the other night and I hate my team. I usually miss the draft and get my team auto-picked.  I have done well the last few years. This year? Well, my hand picked team would have dominated... in 2007!!! F***!! To make matters worse I ran into a opponent who had Peyton Manning in week 1. Guy has a f*ing career game in week 1. Shit.

I gave my son a new rattle I just bought for him. He promptly puked on it.

Just had a quite nice meatball sandwich from the Guild Meat Market. The sandwich unfortunately has made it known to me in no uncertain terms that we will not be going for a run this afternoon.

Why does the stock market like bad economic data, poor job growth and a potential war?

Late review, but I have gotten my hair cut at Bugatti down on Battery Street twice now. $15 for an easy cut and they do a good job. Also trimmed my beard and eyebrows.  A little chatty for my taste but overall has been a solid place to get groomed.  You can see my glamour shot above. Yeah, on the left... they did a nice job w/ the beard right?