I’ve been in a bit of a funk this week – work has been kicking my arse, and I’ve just been feeling rather glum. So….time to combat that! Here’s a few things I’ve been loving lately:
1) This video:
My dear friend (who knows me and my twisted sense of haha well) sent me this little gem about a bear – love it! 
Speaking of bears, I was recently reminded of the classic Canadian humor song about bears by Uncle Smokey (funny, eh?)- the chorus goes: “Oh boy, do I love bears, You can bet your life that I do! There ain’t nothing anywhere like a big black bear, As long as he’s a mile away from you!” This song also features the line “I was running through the trees with my pants around my knees and I never ever went back there!” That’s one of my favorite lines in a song EVER – kills me every time Apparently you can take the girl outta Canada, but you’ll never take Canada out of this girl!! **Note: That video of the bear song isn’t by the original artist, but…it’s still AWESOME! **Another Note: A great big mother of a bear – heeheehee!
Because bear puppets are always a good idea :)
2) My new glasses!
The frames aren’t new – I got them a year ago – but the prescription is new. I injured my eye a couple months ago, and have had two shitty months of trying to take care of things and get my eyes feeling better. The good news is that I’ve become really adept at putting drops in (woohoo!), but the crappy news is that my vision has changed and I needed new lenses…and my eyes are still not all better! Anyway, I got my glasses made today, and I’m looking forward to trying them tomorrow. I really, REALLY hate how I look in glasses, but….I’m rather fond of vision, so I will give it a shot. At my eye appointment yesterday, the doctor had to dilate my eyes, which I wasn’t expecting. After a harrowing drive, I made it back to work (I could hardly see) and was basically useless all day due to my craptastic vision. I was sitting beside a student trying to help him with some work, when I noticed him staring at my crazy-looking eyes. Before I had the chance to explain, he quietly whispered, “It’s okay, Miss, I’ve come to school stoned, too…I’m not telling anybody. I got your back, Miss. It’s all good.” I started laughing and explained what had happened to me, and he got all embarrassed and tried to backtrack…it was cute.
I look fifty shades of fugly in glasses, so I won’t put a picture of me wearing them (I love you too much, friends)…but here’s the frames! :)
3) This New Book:
This book – released last week – looks awesome! I just downloaded it, and I’m planning to dig into it this weekend – here’s the Amazon synopsis:A vivid, funny, and poignant memoir that celebrates the distinct lure of the camaraderie and community one finds drinking in bars. Rosie Schaap has always loved bars: the wood and brass and jukeboxes, the knowing bartenders, and especially the sometimes surprising but always comforting company of regulars. Starting with her misspent youth in the bar car of a regional railroad, where at fifteen she told commuters’ fortunes in exchange for beer, and continuing today as she slings cocktails at a neighborhood joint in Brooklyn, Schaap has learned her way around both sides of a bar and come to realize how powerful the fellowship among regular patrons can be.
In Drinking with Men, Schaap shares her unending quest for the perfect local haunt, which takes her from a dive outside Los Angeles to a Dublin pub full of poets, and from small-town New England taverns to a character-filled bar in Manhattan’s TriBeCa. Drinking alongside artists and expats, ironworkers and soccer fanatics, she finds these places offer a safe haven, a respite, and a place to feel most like herself. In rich, colorful prose, Schaap brings to life these seedy, warm, and wonderful rooms. Drinking with Men is a love letter to the bars, pubs, and taverns that have been Schaap’s refuge, and a celebration of the uniquely civilizing source of community that is bar culture at its best.
I’m fairly certain that I’m going to love it! I have ALWAYS loved the act of going in to small bars and hanging out, getting to meet the locals, and taking in the color and feel of the place. I had SO many happy memories in my local watering hole in my hometown (there was a time when I could walk in the door and the owners would have my two preferred drinks waiting by the time I got up to the counter…one for each hand!) – and it wasn’t the drinks (although they were fine), it was the chance to be with other people. Our local pub had some seriously colorful patrons – the gentleman who found God after a botched suicide attempt and was one of the sweetest, if most amorous, people you could ever hope to meet; the fellow who used to make his way into the men’s room and nap on the pot, only to re-emerge an hour later fresh as a daisy and seeking hydration…the characters were never-ending, and each one was more wonderful than the one before. One of the best things about this place was that the regulars looked after you – one evening, some men who were working in the area (and therefore strangers to all of us ‘townies’) came in and began harassing the shit out of me. Within minutes, a couple of local patrons and the owner had not-so-gracefully shown them the door, defended my honor, and bought me a beer or two to make sure I was okay. Now, tell me…can you think of a better place than that? Me neither.
I have favorite watering holes all over the place – I’m very much a creature of habit, so once I find a place I like, I do my utter best to stick with it. I’m not in to big dance clubs or overly crowded establishments…they make me nervous. I like grungy, dive bars…if they have live music, even better. One of my favorites here in San Antonio is a biker bar called Hills and Dales – they serve Canadian beer (woohoo!), and the people are super-friendly. Here are a few pictures from some of my favorite places:
This is from a place called Lester’s in Helotes, Texas – this bar is TINY, pretty much a dive…but it has a bench and a lending library in it. Tell me…is there anything better than that? I doubt it! :)
I only had one drink in this place, but I instantly loved it…because they are drinking CONSULTANTS. Heehee! :)
One of my all-time favorites, Manitoba’s (which shares a name with my home province in Canada, eh) is in the East Village in NYC – they have fine Molson Canadian beer (woohoo!), and I love it! :)
I had this beer in a wee pub near St. Mark’s Place in New York – I loved the pub both times I’ve been there, but apparently I have a brain fart of some sort because I can NEVER remember the name! :(
Where is your favorite watering hole, my darlings?
What have you got planned for the weekend, friends? I’m spending Friday night out with some friends, running errands and hopefully seeing some peeps on Saturday, and then going over to a friend from work’s house for a Superb Owl party on Sunday (it’ll be a hoot! Get it??!)! For one like me who usually doesn’t have a lot to do of the fun variety on weekends, I’m so excited! Yaaa! I hope you have a great weekend, mes amis – love you!!!
xxx