Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Good Times!

What do you get when you combine a Social Worker, a political consultant, a stay at home mom, an attorney, and two people-who-do-computer-stuff-that-my-old-ass-can't-even-begin-to-give-a-title-to?

What do you get when these people range from 25 to 45 in age?

What do you get when these people are black, white, Asian, & Latina (I hope I didn't leave out a demographic)?

What do you get when you inject alcohol (and a really stupid, inattentive waitress) into that mix?

Before I tell you what you get, I'll give you a hint.  The answer isn't: "a diversity training class"  No, the true answer is:  You get a whole lot of fun!

Last night, I got together with several of my blogging pals from around the DC metropolitan area, at a cool bar called The Continental, in Rosslyn, Virginia.  In attendance were the bloggers behind Unquiet Heart, Parentopia, A Daily Dose of Zen, Lawyer Mama, and Mammaloves.

Before you roll your eyes about a bunch of bloggers who sat around and talked about their blogs and blah, blah, boredom, blah... trust me it was nothing like that.  The subjects of discussion ranged from DUI traffic stops, to Internet porn, to breaking bones, kids, sex, music, and God only knows what else (those that were there can help me out), there were drinks, music, a new cast with no markers to sign it with, drinks, Crackberries, lots of pictures (which I imagine will start showing up online within the next 24-48 hours), and drinks. 

We all had a good time, and those who missed... if you feel bad about it... well, you should, so next time we do this, plan to be there.

GF

Post Happy Hour Haiku (11)

Drinks and merriment
Ugly hats and awful tights
Good times, dude.  Good times!

Happy Hour!!!

For some of you, it may be too soon to begin contemplating that blessed event, known throughout North America, as Happy Hour.  For some of you, perhaps, but not me!

That's right, Happy Hour!, that lovely little event that many of us parental fuddy duddies don't get to participate in often enough.  Happy Hour; a brief time to make merry with chums old and new!; Happy Hour... why, the very name makes you smile, doesn't it?  Good. It should!

So... since we are talking about Happy Hour, this might be a good time to remind those of you already in the know, that some of my readers and I will be gathering in Northern Virginia, just across the bridge from DC (and less than 50 yards from a Metro station!), this Friday evening @ 7 P.M. for drinks and socializing.  If you are reading this and are interested in attending, please email me for details.

Several folks who read this blog and others that I read or contribute to are planning to attend, so don't  be the kid who gets left out! 

Please note:  Don't feel constrained by your age, race, marital status, orientation, number of children or childlessness, we are an eclectic group of people.  Some are mommybloggers, some have no children, some are married, some are single, some are guys, some (most) are women.

As usual, spouses, S.O.'s, life-partners, wingmen/women, chaperones, etc...  are more than welcome .  We are a community of friends, let's have a little fun.

See you there!

GF

Bloggers Night Out.

To make along story short, we had a fine time last night.

We gathered at popular Capitol Hill watering hole, the Hawk 'n Dove, which was a favorite place of mine when I was a much younger man, living on The Hill back in the late 80's and early '90s.

It is always a great time when you get to meet such nice, like-minded, fellow bloggers.

Here are the great folks I got to meet last night... some for the very first time:

Mamalikey
Kim
Devra Renner
Unquiet Heart (and cool dude, Chris!)
Mamma Loves
Flower Child
Madame Meow

I would go on at great length, but I spent all day at a soccer tournament, and I am friggin' beat.

Must sleep.

Cheers,

GF

Happy Hour 3.0

Hey!  Do you know what today is?

Of course you do. 

Today is Friday!

Fridays are special to us, aren’t they?  Special because it signals the beginning of the weekend… that blessed time where we get to sleep late, relax, and do whatever we want to do, right?

Ha.

No, the weekends tend to be about getting things done around the house, working in the yard, doing laundry, and soccer, soccer, SOCCER! (how many of you just read that in your Jan Brady voice?).

Well, this post isn’t a complaint piece… not this time.  This post is a reminder that this Friday, some of us in the Washington, DC area are meeting for libations at Happy Hour!

That’s right.  Happy Hour(s).

If you are reading this and didn’t get the emails that have been going out, and you live in the DC area, or are willing to travel to DC to join us, please get in touch with me and I will tell you where we will be gathering.

So far, there are 9 or ten of your fellow bloggers that have indicated that they plan to attend.  So if you can, or if you are willing, come on down!

Good times... good times.

Happy Hour

Hello all! Your pal Gunfighter is here to talk about Happy Hour. Not just some random Happy Hour, mind you. No, no.... I'm talking about a specific Happy Hour. As a matter of fact it was a Happy Hour that lasted for several happy hours.

Last Friday evening, several readers of this particular blog, gathered in Rosslyn, Virginia at a cool bar called "The Continental" for drinks and general mirth-making. It was a lovely group of people, and much mirth was made. In addition to the general merriment that comes from meeting people whom you only knew previously from words or a few pictures on a screen, adult beverages of varying sorts were consumed, as were a few orders of fried pickles.

You heard me.

Fried pickles.

Oh, gag if you like, but they were gooood!

While we were consuming the aforementioned beverages, and fried pickles, the conversation(s) flowed across many subjects, while really good music flowed from the speakers, which were connected to a really good jukebox.

I won't "out" any of the attendees... they can identify themselves in the comments section, if they wish, but I'll tell all of you that read this, that we had a really good time, and yours truly was honored to be in their company.

I had fun, y'all! Let's start planning the next event!

(...and next time, I'll wear a kilt)

Oh... by the way... do any of you know what this is?

No? I'll tell you: It's a Dirty Martini. That's right. A Dirty Martini. Only one was consumed on Friday night, much to the disappointment of all of the rest of us.

GF

PS: I mentioned that it was several happy hours, didn't I? Well, let's just say that I didn't get home until after 1 a.m. ... I haven't been out that late in many years.

Thoughts On A Saturday Night

** Goodbye, and thank you, Senator Craig. I guess you couldn't bullshit your way out of this one, eh? You are a criminal. A stain on society. An additional stain on an already dirty GOP (and Senate). Oh, and good riddance, too.

** Michael Vick, I don't care how sorry you are. I don't care that you now acknowledge your "immaturity. Get thee hence, you miserable wretch, to a federal penitentiary and repay your debpt to society. You just can't go araound killing
"Man's Best Friend" and get away with it, once you had been discovered.

** To the lady pushing the wheel chair at Epcot a few days ago, that crashed the wheel chair into the back of soccergirls legs: If you weren't old and a woman, I would have punched you right in the f***ing face.

** To the parents who let your no-older-than-ten year old daughter wear a bare midriff T-shirt that read: "Hot Lover": I wish it wasn't unlawful to punch parents in the face for doing stupid shit like this. What were you thinking? Why? In what kind of world is this sort of thing, OK?

** To the ladies wearing four-inch heels at Disney World... what kind of chemicals have you been indulging in?

Friends,

I will be on my way home tomorrow morning. I suppose it'll take us about 12 hours to get there, unless we decide to stop for the night.

We have had a great vacation. Between Disney World, Sea World, and other fun places, we have had a good time together, which is what our vacations are all about.

Next week, I will send you my vacation report. ... and get back to blogging on a few more serious issues.

In the meantime, DC area readers, prepare for happy hour next friday... if you are still available.

GF

Not-So-Happy-Hour

Hey kids, it looks like this Friday is bad for a lot of you, so we are going to postpone our little Happy Hour gathering for a few Weeks while everyone gets vacations and so forth out of the way.

From what I am hearing from many of you, sometime soon after Labor Day might work best. I'll be in touch.

In the meantime, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you that barring any unforeseen technical issues, this week's edition of "Shoot 'Em Up Friday" will be done in video!

Watch this space!

GF

Happy Hour?

OK, Northern Virginia/DC area bloggers.... Are we on for Happy Hour Friday night?

There are three people who have expressed interest, but I would like to have a better read on this. If this weekend is no good, should we plan for a few weeks down the line?

From what I can tell of most of you folks, Old Town Alexandria is our likely spot, and I have a couple of tentative places to gather.

What say you?

Email me with your thoughts.

Friday Night At The Mall

Mrs G's car is in the shop... we are having a new evaporator installed for the Air Conditioner, because summer in Virginia is no place to be with AC that doesn't work. The chap in the shop told me that the car would be finished right around closing time... they were almost done with it.

Because we were going to have to be on the other side of I-95 towards the end of rush-hour, and those of you in Northern Virginia know exactly what I am talking about, we figured that we would make an afternoon of it. After picking up soccergirl from the baby-sitter's house, we went to the public library, where sg was able to check out several books and enroll in the summer reading program. After leaving the library, we went to the mall (Potomac Mills) just to kill some more time, while the car was finished (the shop was across the street from the mall)... which brings us to the title of this post.

I can't speak for the malls where many of you might live, but I wouldn't be shocked to find that your malls, like ours, have become the new town centers. The place where people go to just walk around or shop, eat, browse, watch people, and if you are a teenager, to date, see, and be seen. It is the latter group that I want to talk about.

Mrs G and I often call Friday/Saturday nights "Date Night At The Mall" because of all of the teenagers, in knots of four and five that stroll around the mall, all hugged-up like no tomorrow. You see them in the various groups. From the popular ones in their carefully selected, too-provocative-for-their-age, clothing, to the pasty looking Goths in their black clothes and dyed-black hair.

These groups hang together, swirling around the mall having the time of their young lives. One of the things that you can't help but note in these groups is that they tend to be, with the exception of the Goths) almost completely racially and ethnically mixed. Amazing.

Again, I can't speak for where you live, but what I see here, in my little world, is that these kids tend to mix quite well together. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked, or even surprised, considering the demographics of where we live. I am pleased to see it, because you sure as hell didn't see it where/when I was in high school.

When I was in high school, the black kids and the white kids got along just fine, but at 3 o'clock, when the last bell rang, everyone went home to "their own" neighborhoods. There was very little social interaction.

I digress... anyway, while we are in the mall on a Friday or Saturday evening, we see/hear some of the funniest or most interesting things: Like the kid at the bookstore telling his friends that eh is enlisting in the Marines, while his friends and teary-eyed girlfriend try to convince him not to; or the really er... voluptuous girl who looks like she is just about to explode out of her clothes; the Goth kid talking to a non-Goth girl, while her friends snicker; the boys doing their gangly best to look strong and manly, the girls teetering about in ridiculously high heels just to traipse through the mall (some of them just look like strippers!)

All of this activity starts around 6:30... and makes for some really fun entertainment. Our Mall adventure ended right around seven last night, and we went to the shop to get the car... which wasn't finished... but that is another story, my friends. I have to end now, because I have to cut the grass and do all of the other stuff I need to get done before I run out of time today (my first no-soccer Saturday in months!).

Cheers,

GF