Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Author: Jamez

  • Breakfast and a Beacon of Overpriced Eggs

    This past Sunday we went to the Beacon Bar and Restaurant in our quest to find the elusive good breakfast place.

    We were seated immediately (it was 8:15 so no big surprise there) and asked almost immediately what we wanted to drink. The coffee (which came in a pot all for me) and the tea arrived fairly quickly.

    We ordered our breakfast fairly quickly as well, Mark ordered eggs benedict, Robert ordered the French Toast and I ordered 2 eggs over easy. Both my meal and Roberts came with sausage, but they appeared to be two different types of sausage, mine was not bad and I’m not sure what Robert thought of his.

    The table was large enough for us to read our morning papers, it was not overly noisy nor were we parked next to anyone (especially anyone reeking of cigarettes).

    Robert didn’t particularly care for his French Toast, I didn’t particularly care for my potatoes. I found the prices to be a bit much ($4 for a cup of coffee).

    With improved food and a little cheaper prices it might have made the cut. We may return to the Beacon, but not this week.

  • This Weekend

    I took the train up to BWI and was picked up by my best friend from high school, Eric. He lives up in Hamstead, MD very close to Boring, MD… no really.

    We drove Friday night into Baltimore to attend a comedy club where one obnoxious drunk guy almost ruined the night for everyone… to be honest the three other drunks with him were also a bit distracting as well, not just to the audience but also to the comedians. The first two comedians were a bit thrown off by the heckler – for lack of a better word – and weren’t that funny, the last guy did manage to have us in stitches.

    Saturday morning we woke early and headed to the Renaissance Festival. It has been several years since I’ve been to the Renaissance Festival, and that one was in MN and I was stoned or drunk I’m pretty sure. This was a nice large place with lots to look at and some good entertainment.

    Then Eric and I stopped in Arrundel Mills and had lunch and then back to his house for some Battlestar Galactica.

    It was nice to spend time with him. He’s finally retired from the Air Force and last time he was in the area for 3 years we saw one another maybe twice, so we’ll try to keep the friendship more active this time.

  • Hunt for Breakfast Continues

    The second week of our quest it was just me and Mark, Robert had had oral surgery and wasn’t up for solid foods at that point. I had suggested the week before that we go to the Diner, Mark thought that was a good idea so when he showed up on Sunday we headed that way. When we reached 18th street he headed left and I said “No, it’s to the right here”, seems we both meant different diners.

    The one Mark was thinking of was actually not open so we headed down to Dupont Circle to eat at Kramerbooks. We stopped at the Grille to look at their menu before taking our seats in Kramerbooks. We knew the waiter so it was a nice sign. We sat outside, it was damp out and our table was rickety.

    The food was not bad, but I think overall Kramerbooks lacked the ambiance that we’re used to and the table wasn’t very conductive to reading the newspaper.

    The next week Robert was better and we headed up to the Diner that I thought of had a minimum 30 minute wait for a table of three and the line outside leading into the place had several children that looked like they might scream frequently (to be fair, I think most children look that way).

    So we headed to the Grille on Dupont Circle. We all three ordered the buffett when the waitress finally came to talk to us. I found the Grille to be a bit expensive for what we got and the service was less than what we are hoping for. It may be a different story if we were to order something other than the buffett, but I don’t know… I had to motion for waitstaff to take our check 3 times before one of them actually did more than nod at me.

  • Open Letter to releasers of TV Shows

    So I’ve recently started to watch Battlestar Galactica (the new one) and Entourage and found I really like both of them.

    I downloaded Entourage on my ITunes as it’s nice to be able to watch that show on my Ipod, but BSG with it’s special effects I want to watch on my TV.

    The issue I encountered was the 1/2 season releases… Season 3 of Entourage was released as 2 separate packages and Season 2 of BSG has 2.0 and 2.5… I don’t want to buy half a product, I want the whole thing… A few years ago Warner Bros was releasing only some episodes of Justice League and Batman and Superman cartoons… no one was interested then, no one is interested now.

    I don’t know anyone that wants half a product… for the love all all good TV shows go balls deep already and only release full seasons.

  • The Quest for the Sunday Breakfast – Week 1

    Since Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse in Dupont Circle has removed my favorite salad and refuses to bring it back – my friends Mark and Robert and I have begun our search for a new Sunday morning breakfast place.

    Our first stop, yesterday September 21st, was at La Madelline in Georgetown.

    We found parking immediately – it was 8:30 in the morning so you’d expect to… but Georgetown can be tricky for parking.

    It was confusing for us, we’re used to being waited on by a good gay waiter, this place didn’t appear to have anyone gay, french or american citizen… but I digress. So we stood in line, looking at the menu, pressured by women behind the counter to choose and move… even though at the time there were no patrons behind us.

    I saw the fresh fruit in separate bowls that the woman was willing to serve out: strawberries, grapes, musk melon, water melon, pineapple. So I said I wanted some fruit, I pointed to the water melon and she started to dish out the musk melon, which I didn’t want… she finally understood and gave me the water melon an pineapple. I also pointed to the strawberries… she said “No, buy bowl” I stated quite clearly that I didn’t want an entire bowl of strawberries, just some in my mixed fruit… she would not give me any… so I wonder why they had the large bowl of strawberries with the rest of the large bowls of fruit if I couldn’t have any. I then ordered scrambled eggs and bacon (everything in this place comes with a croissant, if you just came in to use the restroom you’d likely leave with a croissant) and a coffee. The total for my meal was $14.53

    Mark and Robert both had similar experiences and they knew better than to ask for separate strawberries as I had gone first.

    The meal, when it was delivered was ok… not a very large portion and it certainly did not help that the luke warm coffee and luke warm orange juice were bland in taste.

    After we had been sitting for only a few minute the place filled up with people and it was loud and crowded. Lots of tourists and we did hear some people speaking French, but I think they too were tourists and likely thought this was just like meals back home…

    So La Madelline is out of contention for place to have breakfast, perhaps next week at The Diner, we’ll find our new home.

  • Bailouts

    I really hope that the Senate actually reads these bills before they pass it… I can think of several bills during the Bush Administration that they wish they didn’t sign … or at least I wish.

    READ THE BILL before giving him another 700 Billion dollars.

  • Federal Financing Recap

    Ok, several “smart”, old, rich, (lets assume) white men made several bad decisions and gambles that have led their companies (AIA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns) into serious financial trouble…

    And you’re going to use my tax payer money in billion… oh wait trillions of dollars to fix what rich old white rich men wrought? This is gonna help the economy how exactly?

  • R.I.P. Chuck Komperud

    My sisters ex-husband died yesterday, his kidneys and liver finally failed. Chuck was a practicing alcoholic and a living example of how horrible life can get if you let alcohol ravage your life and your body.

    Reports over the years have shown him rarely sober, always a yellow tint to his skin and a distended liver. His disposition was never a nice one, even to the two sons he raised.

    It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve even seen this guy, about 10 years since my sister and he divorced and she sobered up. The way they drank its a wonder he lived 10 years.

    I sincerely hope he finds in death what he lacked in life: Peace

  • Home is Where the Soul is

    John’s parents apparently are taking his body back to Michigan, something his closest friends say he would never have wanted. This was such an odd thing John didn’t have anything written down to contradict that wish and grieving parents can be irrational. I’m not actually sure if he and his parents were close or not.

    I’ve always said, since I moved here that I don’t want my body to go back to the arctic wasteland (known as Wisconsin) and I really mean it.

    Burn me up and sprinkle me in the Royal Palms Resort vegetation if they’ll let me. I had a good time or two there.

  • Leftovers

    At lunch on Friday, Mark and Robert joked about inheriting two more cats (John had two cats). I don’t actually know what’s going to happen to the two felines, but I hope they find a loving home. When I go, if Q and Mouse are still alive, I think Gary will likely take care of them – unless I’ve moved out cause I found a boyfriend and my cats are terrorizing him now. They only ever liked me and Gary, though Mouse did eat sour cream from a spoon when Jean-Pierre was here feeding it to her.

    My friend Pat, has always wanted my comic book collection. Its not a good collection, just a bunch of comics that I’ve never taken care of. Most of them are not even bagged up. When I sold my comics a long time ago for beer money I decided they weren’t that important to save for financial reasons. I collect them for the stories. I know Pat will read them and be very happy… Brenda (Pat’s wife) will wish they were put away and not just all over the place… lol

    I don’t know what I have that Suzanne might want. She would likely find the cards she’s given me over the last 14 years to be a wonderful thing to have in remembrance of me, and the pictures if I have kept any (I tend to toss things out if I’m spring cleaning – which I do every three months or so). She gave me one card when I first moved out here to DC that still makes me want to cry each and every time I think about it.

    If my Ma and Pa or Rhonda want anything, I wouldn’t know what that would be … but they should be given that opportunity. Well… not Pa, as he’s come up with a scheme to do something with everything and it would sit in the shed for 10 years as a dust collecting experience… lol

    That’s really it, I don’t have much else… I would hope that if there is any money at all left that everyone that knew and loved me made sure no one in my biological family got any of it. Pay for my funeral, make sure Gary has some money to take care of the cats and then donate the rest to a good cause. (A good cause is helping HIV/Breast Cancer, starving folks in the US, R.I.F., or something that gives something back and keeps giving – that would be most important of all).

    I am not being cruel about my family, I just know how they are. The money would go to drugs or alcohol and not for a damn thing that matters.