BrockLi Soup

Up until a version or two ago, I would just keep hitting Command+W as I finished reading tabs in Firefox, and when I closed the last one, the window would go away. I’m not sure why this doesn’t work anymore, but I just found out that Command+Shift+W will close the current window. It’s not as fluid as it used to be, but it makes me a lot happier than having to use the mouse or just using Command+H to hide the window until I need Firefox again. I figured I’d share, because I can’t be the only one who hadn’t figured this out.

My two weeks in San Francisco were not as exciting as I’d hoped, because I was working most of my waking hours. Even so, I had a good time, saw friends from college, and managed to meet some cool people. A quick summary:

• Met “the most helpful hobo in San Francisco!” as soon as I got off the BART. He suggested it would be easier to catch a cab at a nearby hotel, so I gave him two dollars.
• Met a bartender who saw my Street Dogs shirt and told me to catch Damon and the Heathens while I was in town. I looked them up on MySpace, but they didn’t have any shows listed.
• Spent my first Saturday in town on Ryan and Sarah’s laptop, doing work, chatting about life, and drinking fancy beer. Then we ate a boat load of sushi, and went to a farmer’s market and ate lamb naan wraps (delicious).
• Did dinner and drinks with Brady
• Met Wayne, a father of two and a fisherman. He’s from Alaska and used to fish for King Crab there - he even trained one of the skippers on Deadliest Catch. Not long ago, he walked from Alaska to San Francisco, and has won a number of flat-track motorcycle races in California, and several snow machine races in Alaska. His children are grown - a girl who earned her Master’s at 21 and a boy who’s still in college and “knee-deep in pussy.” His wife was as tough as a sailor and as beautiful as a model, until her death a few years ago. I’m still not sure if he’s lived an incredible life, or just really good at making shit up.
• Tried to rent a motorcycle, but it was broke.
• Had dinner with several CSHers and an old Tech Crew buddy in Tenderloin. Dinner was so-so, neighborhood was sketchy, but we had fun and got gelatto after.
• Finally found Bushman on Sunday. Ate lunch at a table on the sidewalk across the street and watched him scare the crap out of tourists.
• Saw the sea lions. There’s a lot of them, and they’re noisy.
• Met Darwin Coon, one of the last inmates to leave Alcatraz when it closed. He’s a regular at this awesome little bar in North Point. They sell his book; I bought a copy. He told me the story about the time he and a buddy stole a truckload of tires right after World War II, when they cost a fortune. His buddy broke his leg when he forgot to tie off the rope before lowering himself through the two-story high skylight, and the tires wound up on police cars (not because they got caught, because the cops bought them).
• Got drinks with some folks from the company I was working for, and learned that they’re all a lot of fun to hang out with.
• Sat next to a cute indie chick for my flight from San Francisco to St. Louis.
• Finish Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke on the flight. Wasn’t impressed.

And now, I’m back in DC and moved into a new apartment. More on that later.

Barely feels like home, though, since Jym and Mel are mostly moved out. It sort of feels like my last apartment did just as I started moving in - random crap strewn about, some half-packed boxes, and no clear idea where the dishes are, or if there are dishes.

I’ve been back less than half an hour, but already I’ve ordered a pizza, took pictures of a few things I’m trying to sell on Craigslist, packed up some books, and threw out some stuff. This move has to happen pretty quickly, so I’m going to force myself to part with disposables: that $14 coffee machine I haven’t used in four months? Gone. Half-empty boxes of cereal? Gone. Pretty much any other food I find? Gone. DVD player I thought I could fix? Gone. I need to simplify my material life.

Great news, non-believers! The Atheist Alliance International Conference is being held in Crystal City - the neighborhood where I live and work - in September! Granted, I won’t live there by then, since I’m moving next weekend, but that’s not the point.

The point is that this is wonderful news, because I definitely wouldn’t go to it if it would require any travel, but now it’s a viable option. Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens will be there, among others, and it’s unlikely that such an event will be so conveniently located in the near future. I’m not registering yet, but hopefully I’ll know soon whether or not I can go. For you out-of-town folks that are interested, I can house a few people; the place I’m moving into is smaller than my current place, but it’s better than paying for a hotel, right?

On the way home from work, I ran into Justin.tv. I knew I should have made my Internet Celebrity Bingo sheet before coming out here.

Then I talked to my brother, and he asked me to be his best man. That means I’m best-manning twice next summer, so I think that makes me Bestest Man, even though I have no idea what I have to do. But, no one else seems to know what they have to do either, so I guess we’ll all figure it out.

Does anyone know where I can get a Best Man patch like the one Owen Wilson had in You Me and Dupree?

I was told to grab a taxi from the airport to my hotel, up by Fisherman’s Wharf, which would run something like $60. But I’m an economical young man, so I took the BART to Powell St and got a cab there. Grand total: $21 with tip. Someone should just give me the $40 remainder for being so awesome.

My hotel is just a couple blocks from Fisherman’s Wharf. I kinda figured I’d find a dozen sushi places over there, but no such luck - not on the main drag, anyway. I stopped into Lou’s, a blues joint, and got salmon stuffed with crab and shrimp. Want to know what heaven tastes like? It tastes like salmon stuffed with crab and shrimp.

It’s only 9:30 here but I’m exhausted. I took off my belt when I got back to the hotel and walked right out of my jeans. I’m not sure if I bought jeans that are too big or if I lost weight, but I’m going to assume that the heavenly salmon took off 10 or 15 pounds.

Tomorrow and Friday I actually have to work. On Saturday, there’s this KFOG concert literally blocks away from where I am. It’s like my very own welcoming party with fireworks.

Before I go to bed, I need to do some ironing. I’m not good at ironing, but I think it will be worth it - these khakis I brought make my ass look like salmon stuffed with crab and shrimp: heavenly.

So check it out, I’m going to San Francisco for two weeks. I found out at about 9 this evening that I’ll be flying out there tomorrow at noon. Yeah, we don’t waste no time round these parts.

I don’t really know any specifics yet - right now, I’m more concerned with getting packed and working out the logistics. For example, I’ll be flying back here two days before I move, on the day I was supposed to be picking up keys, and at the tail end of the week that I intended to spend packing and selling off crap I don’t need. Not really sure how all that’s going to work out, yet.

Friends in SF, please get in touch so I have your cell number (e-mail and AIM on the About page). I’ll be working normal hours during the week at a client’s office, but I’d like to get together with everyone during the two weekends I’ll be there for.

I’m pretty psyched. It won’t be as relaxing as my last trip there, and I certainly don’t have as much time to make plans with people, but it will be a nice change of pace nonetheless.

I really need to start packing. SF folks, make sure I’ve got your number, and I’ll see you soon.

UPDATE: Just so we’re all on the same page: I am not moving to San Francisco. I will be there for two weeks for work. Shortly after returning to the DC area, I’ll be moving into a new apartment here. Sorry for the confusion.

After work yesterday, I went up to the place I’ll be moving into to sign the lease and all the other paperwork that comes with it. It was quick and dirty, and now I just need to get the key from the guy who’s moving out.

Once I took care of that stuff, I wandered around the area for a little while, looking for some coffee shops. I had no idea at the time, but I was totally spoiled by Java Wally’s while I was at RIT. As it turns out, most coffee shops (by which I mean Starbucks and Caribou) DON’T have a bunch of couches and big tables that encourage sharing when the place is crowded. I didn’t go there often, but every time I did, I’d wind up chatting with some stranger and running into a handful of people I knew. I’ve never really found another place like that, but I hope to find a place like that near the new place.

I had no luck with the coffee shops, but that’s not the point. The point is that the city is a cool place to wander in the evening. Crystal City - the neighborhood I live in now - is nice enough, with lots of restaurants and things, but it is absolutely dead by about 6 on weekdays. A lot of people pass through the area on their way to and from DoD offices, but once they go home, it’s like a ghost town.

So for that reason, I’m psyched to be moving into the city. I’ll need to take the Metro to work, but the apartment and my office are both on the yellow line, so I’ll only spend about 15 minutes on the train and maybe 10 minutes walking to and from (I’ll get some reading done, if nothing else). I’ll be five blocks from Chinatown, and about eight from Dupont Circle, so I’ll be within walking distance of a lot of cool bars and such. I’m planning to get a cheap bicycle once I move, so I’ll can get around the city without waiting for a train or bus. And, with a cheap bike, I won’t have to worry much about thieves, because I can replace a $10 bike with no problems.

This move should be good for me. The lease there is up at the end of August, and it’s month-to-month from there, so I’ll have some flexibility. What more could a guy ask for? Maybe a harem on the first floor, but let’s be realistic: that would be out of my price range anyway.

Dear NBC,

Thank God You’re Here would be about twelve times funnier if you got rid of the host and the judge - who, incidentally, are far more irritating than entertaining - and gave the time to the four guest stars, who are usually hilarious. The final sketch, with all four of them, is the funniest part, and every time that Canadian dude hits the buzzer, I just want to drop a deuce on the floor of his green room.

Hearts, Brock

Friends in DC: I’m moving. Again.

Our lease here at Brockstone Manor will be up at the end of May, and Jym and Mel (understandably) want a place of their own, and I can’t afford the place on my own, so we’re all heading out. My new place is up near Mt. Vernon Square - I found a guy on Craigslist that was looking for a roomate.

The problem is the moving bit, particularly the way the scheduling worked out. I’m going to be packing up a truck here on Sunday the 27th - I’ve got the freight elevator 5-8pm. I’ve got the elevator at the new place until noon on Monday - which is, unfortunately, Memorial Day. This all worked out a lot better last time, when I did it all in one day before the holiday, but things got a little screwy this time around.

So, I’m imploring you, dear friends, for a little help. I’m planning on selling off some crap, I’m getting rid of some furniture, and I’ll be taking smaller stuff over on Saturday, but I’m looking for a few people to help load up Sunday evening and a few to help unload Monday morning. I know that moving the morning of a holiday Monday totally sucks, but please please please consider giving me a hand for a couple hours. Folks that pitch in will be compensated somehow - I’m not how, yet, since the usual beer-and-pizza deal doesn’t make much sense at noon on a Monday. A Memorial Day BBQ/Moving Extravaganza would be great, but the new place doesn’t have any grills. But, we DO have the old place until later in the week, so maybe we could move stuff to the new place, have a quick shower, then go back to the old place to BBQ and make friends with everyone else who’s doing a Memorial Day BBQ (of course, there won’t be any furniture or dishes left in the apartment, but we’ll be down on the patio anyway).

Anyone who’d be willing to help out, please drop me a note, and let me know how you feel about the beer ‘n pizza vs. afternoon BBQ issue. Thanks!