It was a fairly uneventful week at work. It’s still rather “hot or cold”– nothing for me to do then some big project getting rushed through to meet a deadline. My first reaction is to get stressed out, but I think I’m getting better at staying calm and riding it out. I guess what’s seemed like a lot of work in the past has ultimately panned out well. Next up is some updates to one of Adobe’s products– perhaps more challenging, but also more interesting than the credit card company XML crap I’ve been slugging away at for the last few weeks.

The weekend arrived not a moment too soon. I’m fucking spent. Tuesday found us at the Sandy hut for beers with Hernan and Nate from my band. The Sandy Hut (”Handy Slut” to the locals) reminds me a good deal of a classic Wisconsin bar: well-aged interior still clinging on to some 70s charm, shuffleboard, a shit-ton of video poker and greasy foodstuffs fried to heart-stopping perfection. I’d forgone dinner for band practice and didn’t anticipate going out, so we ordered a huge tray of french fries and fried zucchini. Lisa noticed the lil’ tub of ranch dressing was a little thin… and at that moment we realized it was actually clam sauce (the Hut is also known for its clam dishes). Ooops! We detoured to Billy Ray’s Neighborhood Dive on the way home for PBRs, pinball and 80s metal videos on late-night TV. Turns out Dokken was a pretty faggy metal band!

We went out again on Thursday night. The Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie was at Kennedy School for three bucks, so the price was right. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy it that much. But then again: I wasn’t stoned. And I’d ceased drinking copious amounts of whiskey some minutes before. So I really can’t recommend it as a good movie for sobering one’s self up. Not at all.

A side trip to Concordia Ale House ensued, where we met Tim, Anna and friends for a couple of drinks. It’s a weird bar: something like twenty microbrews on tap, plus a huge assortment of bottles bigger than the size of a convenience store’s entire selection of watery domestics. And yet the place has sort of a crappy atmosphere. Toward the bar itself, high walls and wood paneling make it feel like a bank lobby. The two side rooms are sparse, deserted and lacking any sort of real furniture or character. But I guess the pool’s free.

I was more than ready for the weekend. I took Friday night off from booze consumption and instead worked on one of my various ongoing bike projects. Lisa and I toured the “Alberta Art Hop” (yet another artists-with-tables-selling-shit-on-the-sidewalks event) and didn’t find a whole lot interesting. Then I did a little thrifting, out of sheer boredom alone. I guess the only notable find was a greatest hits collection by The Sons Of The Pioneers. They’re the cowboy singin’ group responsible for “Tumbling Tumbleweed“, as featured in The Big Lebowski. A welcome addition to my record collection!