Hola Amigos!

I know it's been a while since I rapped at ya here. You're gonna have to excuse me as I was on maternity leave, having recently given birth to a large and globulous fecal mass that took shape as a 13-month long period of life encompassing no less than five different roommates, two job changes (and those always enjoyable stretches of "in-between job" time), a long and drawn out relationship with a woman I hated (and to be fair, who likely hated me even worse than I did her), and finally -- the defining feature of this gigantic poopcake offspring of mine -- a levy placed on my bank account by the IRS, freezing access to my entire life's savings. And really, I'm fairly certain there's a lesson or two to be taken from all this -- something pertaining to appropriate roommate screening, job hunting, or paying your taxes anytime in the past 12 years -- though I’ve never been big on learning life’s lessons. And on the plus side, I did manage to dislodge a ridiculously annoying chunk of loose skin that had become lodged off the roof of my mouth for like a month. And the Blazers are looking like legitimate playoff contenders for the first time in years! Well shit then, let's focus on the good things.

I mean, I'm still not sure where this team stacks up amongst the Western Conference elite. I'd probably even bet against them to take the Northwest division at this point, owing primarily to the franchise savior's propensity for picking up cheap fouls early in games and/or his injury prone nature, as well as the streaky nature of teams so reliant on perimeter play, such as they are. Nevertheless, they're fun as hell to watch and could certainly be expected to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, something I've not witnessed in my relatively short time here in town.

And speaking of watching games, I'd like to finally and formally begin discussing where it is exactly that I enjoy doing so (since, as you may recall, that was going to be sort of the "focus" of this stupid blog back at it's initial launch, all those months ago.) I've been recently spending a fair amount of time up at “The Gladstone Pub” at 39^th/Gladstone and can declare my unabashed fondness for the place.

It might be my favorite spot in Portland , to be honest. Just a perfect spot with perfect neighborhoody ambience. With three TV’s facing the bar and a couple more scattered throughout the seating area, there’s enough of an engaging game atmosphere to suck you in, but it’s not obnoxious to the point where you're anticipating a post-game frat-mosphere and brawl. There's also a friendly & personable crowd of regulars, at least some of whom couldn't seem to really give a flea's dick about the happenings & outcome of any game (and yet they show up to drink still -- always a good indicator of a place's general hospitality I've thought.) And among those who DO show up to watch the game, I've had at least a couple engaging debates and/or conversations about the goings-on, should you care to talk dirt. There's also the oft-present bartender/owner, a knowledgeable and dedicated Cleveland native who no doubt deserves your patronage and sympathy for his remaining loyal to such a comically sad-sack excuse for a town.

The place is small, but not suffocating, with 7 or 8 beers on tap and booze. Genuinely delicious sandwiches and burgers prepared out on the barbecue (that sadly, aren't accompanied by things deep fried, giving the menu a somewhat deli-like vibe), homemade soups & slaws, and even an occasional "Blazer Special" on the menu board. Fuck yeah! I dig the “Blazer specials” and would gladly eat a quesadilla stuffed with nad-sweat, were such an item offered on a game day discount.

I’ve really got nothing bad to say about the place. Well, maybe one kinda weird thing. When they play the volume for games it seems to play at a level just loud enough that you can hear the announcers talking, but not anything that they’re actually saying (when seated at the bar at least. And I’ve only heard TV volume during Blazer games thusfar, but suspect important/playoff games for other sports & events will warrant the same.) Otherwise you can brace yourself for an enjoyable barrage of classic rock heavy jukebox fare that’ll make you want to go bald on top, then tie your remaining hair into a flowing ponytail.

Finally, they’ve got a bunch of premium sports channels including the NHL, NBA and mostly useless NFL network, I know for certain. And I know I’ve seen out of market baseball games there in the past, though am not sure when or through what medium. I’ve asked on a couple different occasions what exactly they’ve got, so as to include that information here, but then every time I’m there I find myself getting stupefyingly drunk and blacking out on any attempts to recollect the evening’s activity (another fine indicator of a place’s hospitality, or so I’ve always thought.)