Gender Diversity at 7502

It's not often that girls stay at 7502. David doesn't let anyone sleep with him (believe me, I've asked).

As for me, well, something about getting back to 7502 makes the girls I date suddenly feel sleepy, notice a sharp pain in their back, or remember some early meeting they have tomorrow.

But Jason McDonald, he is holding high the banner of masculine hostelry for all of us.

His charming, beautiful, brilliant girlfriend Saira (rhymes with "Tyra") is visiting for the weekend. Supposedly she's looking at applying to the UW for grad school. Of course her real mission is to install shelving in our living room.

We had breakfast this morning, the four of us. You can probably guess what happened: David and I made a series of incomprehensible jokes based on an obscene premise while Jason and Saira smiled politely. Yes, Jason's happy he took that upstairs bedroom now. Not as happy as Saira is.

Jeff bleeping Blum

The 2003 MLB playoffs had Steve Bartman. In 2004, we all had fun watching the New York Yankees choke. Around 11pm tonight, we got our very own goat--Seth. After watching a game for five and a half hours and 13 innings of very little action our dear roommate managed to fast forward through the game-winning home run by Jeff Blum.

Watching Hawks game now, World Series later

We're watching the Hawks perform horribly on offense right now, and are looking forward to watching the World Series Game Two in a couple of hours. David's entire family is, apparently, coming over.

Swidler Note: Only my brother is coming over with his special friend "Carrie." My parents spend Sunday nights watching "All Shades of Fine" on BET.

Great Party Saturday

We had 18 people at the house on Saturday to watch Game One of the World Series. Foosball, darts and pin the tail on the virgin were played (my ass still stings). But the Randels Sisters, in true Randels form, did not leave their house. Little known fact: you guys suck.

Highlights of the party included:

My beef stew ("wonderful"--Jason)
Karaoke
Dickel (thanks to Epstein--we finished more than half the bottle)

In what confirms David and my commitment to never get within puking distance of a relationship again, Mark's girlfriend made him leave in the 7th inning...and Mark is from Chicago.

Oh, and the White Sox won da game dere.

Hoooray Fall

Fall is my favorite season, and not just because I’m freakishly tall. So you can imagine how f-ing thrilled I am about all of the fall like activities happening at the house. On Tuesday evening Seth and I went to our backyard (Green Lake) and threw around the football as the yellow and orange leaves fell around us. Jason then joined us and read us something he calls poetry.

On Wednesday night Jason and I went to the store to buy our house pumpkin. It is, and I know I say this all the time, one hell of a gourd. Tomorrow night is our World Series party, and during the day we’ll be attending the UW/USC ass-kicking with two lovely ladies from Occidental, oh and one of them will be bringing her fiancé...oh and it's Carrie Liston.

Party Prep

As we speak, Jason is getting the beer, hot dogs and beef for the party. Should be a perfect day for Guinness Beef Stew.

Guests slated to appear on Saturday include:
A recently-married man
Someone who spent the summer in New Mexico
Several girls (assuming Jason's check clears).

Introducing 7502's Third Wheel

After 15 days of bliss reading the musings of my roommates from Southeast Asia, it's time for me to throw my hat in the ring.

October 16th was a busy day at la casa. Early in the day, newlyweds Epstein and Stacey, just back from their honeymoon, came over to taunt us with their nascent connubial bliss and offer home decorating tips. Incidentally, feedback such as, "You guys should put a lamp, a couch, or some kind of furniture in the living room," has already been considered. Thanks for the input.

It was a good day for free stuff. Margaret made a gift of coffee and my lovely and talented girlfriend, Saira, sent a care package of teas, candies, and other sundries she was sure we would neglect to pick up for ourselves. We also scored a set of chairs, a coffee table (possibly for use with the aforementioned coffee), and a lamp for our formerly unfurnished living room.

Even my arrival wasn't enough to derail a very pleasant evening of sports and neighborhood reunions. After a post-flight power nap I headed over to check out my new digs. I found my roommates in the basement with David's parents watching the NLCS. They were soon joined by Meredith, making a large crowd of Corliss alums. By the time the Seahawks started throttling the Texans, Josh and my dad joined us. It was a jolly old time of watching the #1 offense in the NFL on TiVO-enhanced digital cable and consuming a delicious dinner prepared by Seth. Joining us for dinner were Seth's dad and stepmother who came bearing the furniture mentioned above.

I can't be sure which parts of the evening were real and which were imagined during jet lag-induced bouts of unconsciousness. Either way, it was a great introduction to the house.

You Complete Me

7502 Winona finally becomes whole this weekend when Jason McDonald returns from Southeast Asia, where he spent three weeks tending to sick chickens. He says he has "the sniffles" but it's probably just all the travel.

We celebrate his return by watching the Seattle Washingtonians play the Houston Texans on Sunday night football. The game's at 5pm, please join us for football, beer, and travel stories that were too hot for email blasting.

We Watch as A-Rod Makes the Yankees Lose

Seth and I write for the smash run away box office hit website Seattlest. Here, from that very same website, is his entry on our adventure of watching last night's glorious Yankee loss, in which Alex Rodriguez became the most hated man in New York. Read it here, or just go to the site...dude, whatever.

Sweet, Sweet Schadenfreude

Last night, Alex Rodriguez, Seattle's most-hated former P-I Sports Star of the Year, came to the plate in the 9th inning of the Yankees' must-win game against the Angels. Derek Jeter, the anti A-Rod, had singled to lead off the inning.

"What if he grounded into a double play," we asked our roommate. "Wouldn't that be perfect?"

His eyes grew like a Las Vegas phone book, then he cursed me for potentially jinxing the moment. We frantically knocked on wood to remove the stain of my ill-advised comment. And on the next pitch, Rodriguez grounded a ball sharply to 3rd. 5...4...3. Double play.

We like music, we like television, and we like food. But we've never jumped into the arms of our roommate, ran screaming around the basement, and performed a ridiculous dance (as we did last night when A-Rod grounded into that double play) after hearing a perfect David Sanchez sax solo, watching William Peterson solve a murder mystery, or eating an exquisitely-prepared stuffed artichoke.

Sports fandom grants these rare but unequalled moments of euphoria. Don't knock it.

The Angels will now face the White Sox (whose last World Series championship was the same year as Seattle's last Stanley Cup championship) in the American League Championship Series, beginning tonight.

Posted by Seth in Sports

Home Alone 2: Weekend...2

Last weekend Seth was home alone, this weekend it was my turn. With Jason continuing to spread his infectious smile to the people of South East Asia, and Seth risking his life in New York for the Epstein-Herron wedding, an affair that for financial reasons I was unable to attend (I’ll get you Jet Blue), it was up to me to make sure that the cable got installed.

Mission Motherfucking Accomplished!

Even though the cable guy made fun of our “car-port” I felt I was able to hang with him as he explained the intricacies of our new DVR. I have already set the most beautiful invention ever (sit down Polio vaccine) to record a season’s worth of West Wing, The Daily Show, Meet the Press, and of course the greatest show on TV, Arrested Development. I am considering adding Real World Austin and Laguna Beach. I’ll keep you posted.

Hot Dogs and Game 5 tonight (on delay)

Since we have shit to do, we won't be able to watch Game 5 of the Yankees Angels ALDS live. But--we are Tivoing it on our new cable setup and watching it at around 8pm tonight. Also, we will enjoy hot dogs. Sauerkraut will be provided. Come on over as long as you promise to bring your own chair and not tell us who won.

Family Visit

Last night, after I had ginger/garlic sauteed spinach (topped with mushrooms) and Mexican-style pinto beans over couscous, my mom, stepdad, and my grandparents (that Grandma Linda and Poppa Don to you) came over. They brought a much needed donation--plates, bowls, and knives. This is the set of plates my mom and stepdad got when they were married--finally that's paying off for me. The manufacturer of the plates is Sasaki. Nice.

Poppa Don particularly liked the foosball table. Grandma Linda approved generally of the entire place, and opined that, if money got tight, we could easily rent out the basement. My mom was excited that she'll get to pick out paint for my room, and my stepdad enjoyed the organic apple juice I bought. It's damn good juice--come over and try it sometime.

First Cup of Tea

Last night at 6pm I had my first cup of tea at 7502. Seth had purchased a kettle at IKEA, however, since he had not returned from his mis-adventures trying to find a quicker rout home via East Marginal and 99. I was forced to boil the water in a small pot.

Since it was a special occasion I was tempted to use the tea that Renee and Kevin had brought back from England, or even the tea that Erika had brought back from India. In the end I decided to dance with who brung me: Red Rose. It was delicious.

Then I huffed glue in the bathroom for like eight hours.

New House--First Night

We welcomed our first visitors yesterday--my sister, Meredith, and her dog Riley. Riley is a Rottweiller-German Shepard. He, like all of his kind, is not permitted inside. It's one of the first house rules we agreed on--no Germans allowed.