Halfway to 50!

So, Thursday, October 23rd, somewhere around lunchtime I turned 25. Yep, that's a whopping halfway to 50 marker. My dad wasted no time in making sure that I knew from here on out I would only catch up with him as far our percentile of age differences. Something about me being half of his age would change to being less than half next year - ex-farm boys and their logic games. I didn't understand it either, but I could also say that I was still extremely drunk when I read his email.

The day of my birthday... okay, let's be honest, I am celebrating all weekend, but whatev... began with drinks with Ronda at Bills off Broadway on the Wednesday night before my the official day. Yeah, drinks are cool and so are less than spectacular strip shows at Rplace but that's pretty much a common happening in the great ol' Capitol Hill of Seattle.

The real meat of my birthday happened Thursday night with an experience I never would have expected. Cole surprised the hell out of with one of the most awesome birthday experiences I've ever had. He had planned, designed, and detailed an entire of evening of everything that gains a person access to my heart: alcohol and food!

Cole's plan: A food crawl of restaurants in Capitol Hill. He guest writes for a blog dedicated to Capitol Hill shenanigans and surprisingly, blogged about the experience. I don't know how popular Cap To The Hill is, but I'm sure that it gets a lot more reads than my two readers, Abbie and Joel. It's a bit crazy to have my birthday on something so out of my league, haha! If you want to read the real version, the important one, here's the link: http://captothehill.com/ just scroll down and you'll see a fantastic picture of me. Take a look, he likes the internet validation thing.

Stop one: Via Tribunali and pizza plus a free drink from a bartender that was ridiculously interested in Cole and I's night. Pizza was very good but I agree with Cole, I need pizza with substance, thickness, uhh, you could call it girth, haha. The drink was a margarita gift from the bartender. I liked the restaurant it was really dark, but cool looking. I kept thinking I had visitors while using the restroom, but who doesn't like to pee with an audience? Well, me actually, yay for being pee shy.

Stop two: Quinn's was next. Oi, this place was an experience. First off, Dirty Little Secrets are best left to something other than drinks. I guess if you like the taste of leaves and pickles then feel free to order one of these, but if you're like me, a meat and potatoes guy, you won't enjoy the experience. I'm not saying I didn't finish the thing, because I did, alcohol and I get along really well most nights, but it wasn't all enjoyable. The food item here was something way different: bone marrow! And not like any bone marrow just in a dish or something mundane but inside of two halves of what looked like, and bartender confirmed, leg bones of a cow. One side seemed to be garlic flavored and the other cranberry. The marrow was still attached to the bone and needed to be peeled off if it was to be eaten. It wasn't bad tasting. The marrow instead felt like the fat that is often taken off of steaks. I probably won't ever get it again, but I am really glad for the experience. Now I can say that I've eaten marrow. Yeah, bone marrow, you know, RBCs!

Stop three: Three was something I never thought I would do but I think was necessary. I don't want to explain it out here but I am definitely going to remember it always. Probably to use as ammunition later on in life when I have my own kids.

Stop four: Bleu Bistro was awesome! I've never been in a restaurant where you can separate yourself from everyone else by closing a curtain. I was instantly in love with this aspect of the place. My Piece of Ass drink was fantastic and even more so: the Wasabi Grilled Cheese. Oh. My. God. I loved this sandwich and its three different sauces (wasabi is only one of them but the other two are also fantastic). So, this might be a spoiler but the Grilled Cheese was my favorite food item of the entire night.

Stop five: Table 219. Is it possible for food to get better the more you drink? Yeah, duh, that's the plight of every drinking night of mine. I always end up wanting food when I'm gone mentally. The nachos here, and my drink (it apparently disappeared in my memory, but I know I liked it), were very very nice. I think the nachos were duck nachos or something. They were definitely a good way to curb the current drunken state. I liked this place as well and it's food. I'm pretty easy to please but I also have high standards on locations where I feel comfortable and this one was one of them.

Stop six: Tango near the bottom of Capitol Hill. We had two different deserts here to wrap up the night and each of them was fantastic. Especially El Diablo. Our coffee flavored drinks were also a really nice way to cap the experience. Most of the time I don't like coffee. Combine it with Kahlua or Bailey's and I swear it will become my right arm.

Stop seven: Can I call Piecora's stop seven? It wasn't planned and wasn't a part of the night's original intentions but it held value to me. The pizza (real, thick slices) and the hot wings went straight to my drunken night's satisfaction ratio.

We crashed amidst pizza, hot wings, and Entourage. This is what I missed most about what Cole and I used to have, the end of the night. It's a bit home-ish but that's cool. That's me and I'm cool with that. My party side is only tempered by my desire to be something more like... I don't even know the emotion or the word. I don't know if I really want to know! As far as birthdays go, this one of, if the, best ever. But let's just keep that between us.

Friday was another dedication. Kim and Ronda took me to dinner at The Islander. We had loads of food and drinks off of the happy hour menu and from there went to a chocolate shop in Westlake Center. I love these two gals. I'm glad that both of them stayed in Seattle. If only because I would be lost without them. Okay, maybe not lost, but definitely a bit more lonely. Quite a bit.

Ronda and I ended up meeting up with a lot of City Year folks for one of their birthdays. It sucked a little to hear that Tai and Katie didn't know about my birthday being the day before but I think I can survive. Belltown bars are only cushioned by drinks by the name of Zombie. A rum drink that I can totally begin to love. Especially when in the downtown north end.

Saturday morning was punctuated by brunch (is that an uppity word? it sounds such to me and I really don't like saying it) at The Saint with Cole. If you go there, get the yuca frita and some dish that involves choosing a meat and some sort of tortilla chip dish. Yes to the max on both. Oh, hay-sus, yes to the max on both.

We followed that up with a gut spilling viewing of Saw V. Wow, how much gore can we as viewers live through until this series ends? Will there be a VI? Oh, they definitely leave it open for this. Who is the next villain? Whoa, maybe it will be the previously thought dead child of Jigsaw! But, what's this? A new Underworld movie trailer? And it tells the tale of how the entire war between the vampires and the lycans began? Ohhhhh, sheeeeet. I am so excited about this movie, no joke. It will be a bit different without Kate Beckinsdale (totally go straight for her) but I think the actress playing Sonya, or Sonja or however it's spelled, can totally make my life a happier place.

I finished my Saturday daylight with playing soccer with another team and enjoying almost all of it.

I'm here now, writing this, although it won't be up until later because our internet is stupid, debating on what I'm going to do for the night. I promised myself that this weekend was mine. I haven't been going out as often but really wanted to treat myself this weekend.

I think I may have just been dumb. Or stupid, or fuck, I don't know. I thought Cole and I had a moment or two that would have maybe meant things were different or on the repair or the up, or hell, I don't know. I am writing like I am wounded or stupid. aogoiagoahsghagagh haosfhouihg yeah, all of that.

I am now sitting here on this last night of going out I am allowing myself and I am at a loss. Cole's possibility of hanging out seems to be null and Art, who said we would celebrate my birthday this weekend is not venturing out.

This coming winter promises a lot of different things. Changes. I will miss what I had for awhile and wasted my chances on. I guess everyone learns from their mistakes. I shouldn't have taken Cole for granted, I'm ashamed and an idiot proven. I love the guy and hope that New Orleans, and eventually Australia, treats him how he deserves. As for me, I'm going to do as George Michael does and venture out into the night in the absence of security. It's Josh, just Josh, and about time that I reminded myself of that.

What's that saying that Cody and Dan always admonished? Ahh, that's it: In the end, you is all you've got. I've got to focus on what I want and how I want my life to end up. It's time to write two more essays and pay an application fee instead of staying in this stupid waiting mode. I'm a wave maker and it's time to drown an entire city.

Haha, I will settle for nothing less than world domination and that begins here, in Seattle.