Thursday, June 29, 2006

CNTD

My previous post “je suis en peine” is simply “I am in pain” in French. I feel I must elaborate. I also know that I have neglected to write here often. For that I am sorry, I have been elusive, or evasive, or simply off the grid.

I have been experiencing existential pain. I have graduated from college, and then from there I do not know where to go existentially. At my parent’s I feel that I am “at my parent’s” not “home.” I am a man without a home, living off of his fat from hibernation. Almost as if I am backpacking through Europe, without hostels, great table wine, simple food, and the joys of foreign beer and currency.

I am stuck with trying to marry the life with what I have, and what I want to have. I am lost with the feeling with that which I want, does not requite. I am existentially lonely at the moment, my close friends that entertained my spirit, and nourished my soul have stayed, and I have ventured from the sun. I fear that like Pluto, I risk becoming a frozen orb with a sun so far away that I never thaw.

I am faced with two options (my 4th glass of wine is telling me that there are more, but for now there are simply two). Find a new sun, but I hate the idea of me being co-dependent. Or be my own sun, fucking easier said than done. As you can see I have isolated the root of my problem, the difficulty is I am in a hole, and the top-light is yet so far away.

SO I guess there is a new set of choices, do I dig away from the light, and head towards China, or do I start digging up.

All my life I have dug towards China, I think it’s time to start digging up.
Je suis en peine

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Microbrews

So. Microbrews. There was an explosion of varieties in the late 80s early 90s of these tasty concoctions. Some of them became as ubiquitous as Sam Adams (technically a microbrew) others have taken on regional flare like New Belgium’s Fat Tire or Brooklyn Lager. And then there are those that are just plain awful (Chelsea Brewery’s Cherry Wheat seriously tastes like the dirty diaper full of post-Indian-food waste.)

In the middle of deep conversation the other night we were talking about our relationship to the microbrew, the danger of trying a new one, if I love this beer, am I ever going to be able to find it again? If it tastes like ass am I ever going to want to drink beer again? Let us draw the parallel of dating and microbrews. I go into a relationship hoping for a long term commitment. I go into microbrew drinking hoping for a long term commitment. There are few greater things than finding a beer that tastes like you want and believe a great beer to taste with flavor and spice that you truly appreciate. It should be a beer that never asks you to compromise what you are looking for in a beer. You should never have to say, mmm, this beer is great except…. You must value its flaws as ‘character’ and its consistency as ‘local flavor.’ And lets not lie, there is nothing greater than being able to say, “yeh, the only place that I have been able to find this on tap is my brother’s bar on broadway and 94th, but the deli-bodega on Madison and 23rd keeps it in their beer chiller pretty regularly.” It is your one and only your exclusive beer that is you. Just like in a relationship it’s good to be able to say to your partner, “I know you, I love and respect your quirks and flaws.”

Now of course there are some rules for microbrews. And for shit’s sake, let’s give them some numbers.

1. A bar is a good place to try a new brew. It is your approach to the lady in the dim bar, the risk of seeing if she is going to be a disastrous one night stand ending with a stab wound and a stolen wallet, or years and years of post matrimonial bliss.
2. In the event that you see a beer that in your late night stumblings you have not been able to find in a bar, the six-pack is the next viable situation. Now, keep in mind, this is like taking a first date to a pretty nice dinner, and maybe a movie. This is a pretty serious investment and should seriously be hedged. This option gains serious viability if a friend recommends the beer, or if you are familiar with some of the breweries other varieties. If you go into a six-pack purchase flying blind and solo, the investment is higher, and the reward is potentially the same.
3. Microbrew Kegs. A man (or woman) who decides to try a new microbrew in keg form has some serious neuticles. I mean, would I show up to a first date with an engagement ring in my pocket and a pre-nup with a fill in the blank line ready to go. That’s some serious commitment that you are talking about. That’s not to say that I have anything against kegs of microbrews, I can think of many that should be consumed in irresponsible quantities, but come on man, no wedding rings on first dates.