Week Forty-One: Austin and Kristin

Having left Seattle to visit Minneapolis for our friends Mike and Claire's Wedding, Erica and I needed to squeeze in a date in the middle of the week. The Wedding was incredible and we had a great time. Both of us needed a vacation badly. We were coming back directly into a work week and it was date time already. Luckily it was a good friend from my past, Austin from my old crap crew, and his awesome lady Krisin.



I've been buddies with Austin since my senior year at Roosevelt. He was close with my bestfriend Aaron (Week 4) and he also lived with us in the infamous 8-1-9 in 2004. We would make beats, rap and record there. And we continued to do music together off and on until around 2006.

I remember being at the house party where Austin met Kristin. We all thought she was pretty cool. I think that was 2005ish. But for once, this date did not include the typical exchange of how we met each other, which was refreshing! Also refreshing: no Table Topics! Kristin even brought a game of her own for us to play.

Austin and Kristin are fun and comfortable people. I was excited to see my old friend and have over a couple Erica is familiar with (they were at our Wedding, Kristin gave Erica a memorable gift: a remote control spider). Nothing like good folks and, hopefully, good food.



After last week's disaster in the kitchen, I decided to play it safe with the food. I couldn't think of anything easier than sloppy joes! So I got some ground beef, an onion, a green pepper, seeded rolls and some red potatoes. I mixed the ground beef up in a bowl with garlic, salt and pepper, some olive oil, paprika, a little mustard and a lot of ketchup. Then I tossed the mix in a skillet to heat it up. I cut the red potatoes into homestyle fries and baked them in butter, lemon and garlic. It was all simple and straight forward.



The food was tasty, but I must admit, the sloppy joes turned out more like beef on a bun. Good beef on the bun, but it was NOT a traditional tasting "joe" by any means. The next date, I'm going to really have to come with it.

Speaking of coming with stuff, Austin and Kristin came with a cake. And it said "Happy Birthday Austin" on it, which is hilarious because his birthday is June 6th. It was good too! And after drinking the wine they brought us, we starting playing Kristin's game...



She brought along Truth or Dare Jenga, complete with blank blocks for us to write our own suggestions on. Aaron came up stairs to join the fun and we had a lively run before he eventually knocked the tower over. Highlights included Kristin singing R. Kelly, Erica pretending to take a dump and Aaron walking on a fake tightrope.



With early morning work for both Erica and Austin, Kristin and I decided to go to Yen Wor with Aaron and sing some karaoke. Yen Wor is by far my favorite bar in Seattle. I've been there at least 20 times, and at a 100% rate, I have the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. Yen Wor with Kristin and Aaron was business as usual. Good times and Kristin knocked it out of the park with her performance of a song from the musical Chicago.



I always dreamed every date we would have on 52DD would end at Yen Wor. This was the first! I almost would crown it champion, but the bobbled sloppy joes and the split couples to end the night put this right in the mix with the other good ones. The readers will just have to get through these next 11 to finally get the Top 12. I won't ruin it with any spoilers, but I will leak this: next week's couple to take a shot at the thrown is my friend from the cheese shop in Melrose Market Katelyn and her boyfriend Kyle. The race to the end begins!

Week Forty: Rob and Nicole w/Molly

Erica and I are officially headed into the last quarter of dates. The final three months of the year. It's been a grueling season of ups and downs. The hardest part was scheduling, fitting people in and what not, getting on the same page with four different agendas. Everybody asked if we knew enough people to fill 52 dates. The truth of the matter is, I don't think we have enough time or slots to get over all the people we would like to invite! The couple who came over for our 40th date definitely should have been invited much earlier in the year. So I was extremely pumped up to have over my good buddy Rob and his gorgeous wife Nicole.



I met Rob via the hip hop scene. He was a promoter at my current favorite venue Nectar Lounge and hooked Ben (Week 1)and I up with our first few decent gigs. It was Rob's introduction of me to the Nectar guys that started the foundation I have there now. I play there nearly once a month, and the shows are always fun and well attended. In fact, the next one coming up is the day after Thanksgiving, and tickets are on sale HERE for just $5. It will be a massive reunion of good friends, so order today!

Rob also helped to develope my other professional relationship: the one I have with Homegrown. Although I am branch manager of the Capitol Hill store now, but I was, at one point (three years ago), a newly hired, minimum wager with part-time hours. Rob was about to move up to head chef in the company, and he put in a good word for me. I was employed after a brief and honestly not-so-impressive (on my end) interview. So I owe this connection to Rob as well. Based on those two hookups alone, he has been a very solid friend.



Speaking of solid friends, Nicole and Rob both have one they decided to include on the date: their adorable little 2 year-old Boston Terrier Molly. Cola (Week 35) paved the way for a double doggie date. And Lola loved it. Naturally, our little runt was all fired up to see another canine on the spot. Molly was far more energetic and nimble than her, but the pair had a great time running around and nibbling at each other. It was pretty awesome.



The food terrified me. I must admit, I dropped the ball big time! I was so nervous about cooking for a great chef, that I crumbled under the pressure. I attempted to make shrimp tacos. I wanted a challenge, since I don't do shrimp and cooked it for the first time last week. That was a mistake, and I ended up preparing own of my least favorite meals to date.



Fortunately, the company was outstanding. I hadn't seen Rob in too long, and it was great catching up. Rob and Nicole described life in Columbia City, their Wedding and dog ownership. For a small time, Erica and I were freaking out that Lola might be lonely so we considered getting a second dog. It was nice to find out that is a common thought between folks with puppies. We also discovered a few more commonalities through a game of Table Topics.

Rob and Nicole are a super sweet couple and a very good match for one another. I'm sure we will cross paths again very soon, hopefully Rob will be cooking and not me! Just as he shares the same passion for hip hop, Rob also loves standup comedy. And I know for sure we will be hitting some stages up together and working on our material. I appreciate that guy and I look forward to that.

Next week I have someone coming over who is -surprise- connected to me via rap music. This time, however, it was one of my oldest crew members, Austin, and his longtime lady friend Kristin. Time to finish up this year of dates strong!

Week Thirty-Nine: Susan and Sano

It's been a minute since I've updated the blog, but 52 DD is still alive and well. Our most recent date really got us back on track and I think Erica and I are ready to finish the final run of 13 dates. Our 39th date was with my friend from Roosevelt High School, Susan, and her boyfriend Sano.



Rejuvenated and ready to play host again, I prepped the household for a proper dinner. Susan said she liked Italian food, and pasta is in my wheelhouse, but I decided to branch out a little and cook something with shrimp. I rarely eat shrimp, in fact, I tried it for the first time this summer, but I found a recipe for a New Orleans/Cajun style pasta with shrimp and andouille sausage that I had to try.



Directions for the dish are here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grants-special-mardi-gras-pasta/detail.aspx and I fully suggest checking it out and trying to make it yourself. It was easy and it turned out great. On the side I did a simple green salad and some fruit. Susan and Sano brought cookies for dessert and some wine and beers.



This wasn't only a special date because it got me back in the kitchen and ready to follow through with my plans, it was also particularly significant because Susan and Sano decided to date the night Erica and I were married, after she returned home from our Wedding. At the time, Sano was just a roommate. But they both had crushes and Susan spilled her guts after our emotionally charged reception, full of teary-eyed speeches. So in a small way, Erica and I are connected to the beginning of their relationship.



In High School, Susan was a good friend of mine during senior year. I was eager to meet Sano, because I hadn't seen or heard much from Susan essentially since the Wedding (04/18/2009). Susan is a busy woman, with a highly successful position at Microsoft. Now with her new Prince Charming around, I wanted to see the man who was taking up all her time.



Sano is freaking awesome. I was not let down. He met our group of friends while attending Western in Bellingham. He lived with Josh Callahan, who is a crew legend for being the nice guy blueprint. And Sano fits the bill: social, friendly, caring and comfortable. It made Erica and I very happy to see Susan with a man who clearly adores her and treats her well. I couldn't possibly approve more. He's great.



So we ate dinner, had drinks, did some Table Topics (of course) and then ate dessert. Susan mentioned that a co-worker was celebrating her birthday at King's Hardware in Ballard, a bar I used to work for. So we hopped in Erica's car and drove down there to check out the scene. It was crowded and loud, like usual, so we grabbed one drink and then made an exit. When we returned to the Castle, Susan and Sano parted ways with us.

It was a pleasant dinner and I think Susan was one of Erica's favorite guests. They have since made plans to go watch horror movies, an activity both Sano and I pass on and thus they are deprived of. Their company was awesome and this was definitely a top shelf date.

Next week, now that I am back in the right mindset and cooking again, I am having over the best chef I know, Rob Milliron, and his lovely wife Nicole. Rob and I have a deep history, as he is one of the city's only successful hip hop promoters. Not only did he give me a shot as a rapper early in my career, he also got me hired at Homegrown. So I owe him a lot, but I will start with my best effort at a home cooked meal. STAY TUNED.

Week Thirty-Eight: Michelle and Mike

It feels like I have revealed too much about the rollercoaster of a human being I am. I haven't looked back, but I'm sure, every other week, I talk about how stressed out I am and how everything is falling apart. This week really took 52 DD to its limits. I was stretched so thin by my weekend, that I would not cook. There would be no pictures of food. But there was a date. And it was a fun one, with Michelle and Mike.



Erica and I have several times discussed shutting down the blog. Just cancelling the rest of our dates and having a quiet weekend, free of hosting duties. And Table Topics. Talks this week became serious, but we reconsidered. This is our thing. No rules to it. At minimum it just has to be a date, one of 52 in the calendar year. So we decided to take Michelle and Mike out for dinner.

Michelle and Mike said they'd be down for some pizza, so Erica and I suggested we drive up to The Rock. The one we typically go to is in Lynnwood, right by Erica's work, so we hopped in the car and drove up there together. Unfortunately, the wait was 45 minutes to an hour. We turned the car around and headed towards Northgate, and ended up at The Ram, a common dining experience for Erica and I when we can't decide what we really want.



At the Ram, I ordered my usual Thai Chicken salad, Erica had a Cobb Salad and Michelle and Mike split a veggie burger. The conversation was light and upbeat. They told us about how they met and what they were currently up to. They are both very pleasant people and very fun company.

After the meal, we came back to Tune Castle for a shot a Table Topics. We had some laughs and called it a night. After they left, I felt a little guilty I didn't go the whole nine yards and actually cook something. I definitely will attempt to stick to my guns for the final run of 14. And I will probably even invite Michelle and Mike over for a meal after the dust settles on our weekly events. Michelle has been a big supporter of my music and she's a really sweet person.



Part of the reason I considered my week so difficult is my job. Specifically, my schedule is now altered so that I can no longer record music. So, without any desire on my end to stop... I've kind of... quit music. At least temporarily. It's embarassing because I already have pre-orders for an album I was going to finish with studio time I had scheduled. Which is now cancelled. And now I'm just some loser that works at a sandwich shop.

The only way I can approach life now is half full. I do have Erica, Lola and our house. I need to get through these dates and my musical hiatus with my head up and stop being so dramatic about it. Eventually, I will be back in the studio. I just don't know when. And I feel at my lowest when I realize I've been taking my wife for granted and not worrying about her feelings, and how to make her happy. These posts have become far too internalized, less entertaining and unfocused on the dates. Next week, I will turn that around, when Susan and Sano will show up to a nice homecooked meal. Cheers.

Week Thirty-Seven: Theo and Wakako

To commit to doing something once a week will really segment your time. My days off are carefully placed in conjunction with the dinner parties and studio sessions. When we have a great date and the couple offers to have Erica and I over to their place, we're like "...sure! See you next year!" Because we already have plans until 2013! On the flip side, I have gotten to see tons of friends I really like that I don't see often. This week, Erica and I had the pleasure of hosting our friends Theo and Wakako.




Theo went to Roosevelt High School with me, and was part of the Evan (Week 10) and Danny (Week 11) circle of friends. When I moved to Colorado to go to college, Theo actually moved to Japan. He ended up meeting Wakako and dating her for five years, then marrying her and moving back to the United States. If I remember correctly, Wakako introduced Evan to Mariko (Week 10).

Although Theo was at our Wedding, I was on tour and missed their's. However, Erica and I have had to pleasure of hanging out with Theo and Wakako multiple times, including one 4th of July at their old Fremont apartment. I even think we ran into them on our date with Chad and Ellie (Week 18) that ended up at Danny's condo. We have socialized with them enough that Erica and I felt very comfortable about this date. We like their company.

Theo and Wakako pulled a "make whatever you like, we are easy" on us. So I did the unthinkable... I decided to make the most commonly requested meal: TACOS. For whatever reason, I had a bad hankering for fish tacos that night. So, for the first time on taco night, the meat selection came from the sea! I did a simple and effective recipe: Alaskan cod, marinated for an hour before being grilled, with sour cream and peach-pineapple salsa. I also fried up some squash, zucchini, and red onions for some veggies on the side. We had some baked french rolls and white wine to accompany the meal as well.



The fish tacos were delicious, and the key was the marinade. I took a pan and poured in some veggie oil, soy sauce, a chopped onion, two diced fresh jalapenos, some green onions, minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, cilantro and cayenne pepper. When I fried the fish in the skillet, I pulled it out of the mix, but added the non-liquid aspects of the mix into the fry. I heated up the small flour tortillas and then added the fish and fixings. Done deal. No appetizers, no dessert.



There was the home tour, the dinner, and that was it. It was quick and pleasant, but brief before the roommates invaded the scene. Theo and I went from talking about High School, to discussing Toby (Week 21) and I doing comedy, to Griff (Week 28)showing off some Hoarders scenes he had edited.

Aside from adding a Grade C level celebrity persona to the mix (editor of the show Hoarders, c'mon!), Griff has also contributed the most wonderful miracle to our family that Tune Castle has seen (other than Lola): the Relaxation Station. An octagon of inflatable fun for four, the Relaxation Station has floated on Green Lake many a time this summer, providing some of the best memories for our friends in the hour or so before self-deflating because of leakage.

The floats have made me think of the future. Although I often write about the past, about the history of who is visiting, or the present, how I am currently feeling... I now bring you the future! To those wondering what the followup to 52 DD will be, I can tell you now, next summer... will be... THE SUMMER OF 52 FLOATS.



But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before next year, there is next week. Next week, we welcome one of the Earth's brightest shining stars... the unique spirit the people in Seattle, WA know as "Shada" or, as her ID card says, Michelle. Michelle is tons of fun and finally landed an awesome boyfriend, Mike, so it was time to call them up to the ranks of 52 DD. This will be a must read, trust me.

Week Thirty-Six: Mike and Priya

It was a week full of house guests, as my friends from Brookln Jonny October and PackFM came to town on tour and crashed at Tune Castle for three nights. We love our buddies, but at the end of their visit, everyone in the household was happy to have things back to normal. But Erica and I had our date scheduled, and thus, more guests were on their way. Could our shattered host attitudes be flipped around in time to put on a good dinner for Mike and Priya? The answer to that question, as proved on our 36th date, was up to them...



The dinner request was steaks, which makes it the second most requested food under tacos. With two minutes left before Mike and Priya arrived, I had all the food plated. I cut open my steak to check and to my horror, it was too pink in the middle. I started flipping out and cursing at Erica. My soul was broken. Not exclusively over my cooking, mainly over work and the busy week, but the was the last straw.

Then the doorbell rang. I snapped at her to answer it. At some point in my scramble to get all four steaks back onto the skillet and finish them up, I believe the phrase "this is the worst day of my life" was used. I used that at least once a week, no need for alarm. But with guests at the door, my crappy attitude had already chosen for me that I was not going to have fun. It was wrong.

Mike and Priya greeted us with a rap. A back and forth, trade off, thanks for having us over for dinner rap. This is real. This happened. It really switched my tone. It was so goofy and cute. I just couldn't drag my feet and mope around. Erica and I burst into applause and we sat down to eat our food.



The meal was, as mentioned, rare-cooked New York steak strips, with potato salad and stir fry veggies on the side, as well as a fresh melon medley. To accompany the food, we had a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. There was also a twelve-pack of Newcastle in the fridge. Dinner went by quick as we caught up on lost time.

I knew Mike from the local Seattle rap scene (shocker, right?). He has participated in various ways, releasing albums as a rapper, taking pictures of rappers, designing flyers for rappers and making music videos for rappers. A little over a year ago, he realized the authenticity of his talent with cameras, design and editing, and opened his own business called Mike Folden Productions. All of us who have know Mike since around 2006 and watched his progression in every field he works in are now super proud and impressed. He has truly became a professional.

We talked a lot about his transition into his business, our feelings about the local music scene and about Erica and I living with Mike's sometime collaborator Griff (Week 28). Mike hires Griff on occasionally for freelance work when he is overbooked or needs help. He expressed his deep respect for Griff and a desire to have him join his company as an employee.

For the first time on a date, we did the tour of the house post-dinner. It ended in the backyard and somehow I was commenting on Lola's bowel movement habits. Lola is a very particular lady. She will only poop in our backyard, specifically, behind a bush where she is hidden from our view. It has gotten to the point that Erica and I no longer carry plastic bags on walks, because Lola simply refuses to poop anywhere else. The best part of her peculiar mannerisms is the celebration dance. After emerging from the bush, Lola stomps her front paws on the ground several times, pauses and repeats the action, then jogs in a semi-circle sprint back to the porch. I once caught her in the act and posted it to YouTube.



An example of how fun a couple Mike and Priya are is the destination they chose to take the group picture at: in front of Lola's poop bush, squatting. They continued to be fun inside as well, attacking Table Topics with vibrant enthusiasm and adding more off the wall questions. The are really excellent guests. They both had positive attitudes and they both seemed excited to be there.

I was having so much fun that our allotted time passed way too quickly for me. I knew there was an expiration date on how long we would get to be in the Castle, because we planned the date based around the fact both Mike and I were going to attend Kublakai's Noisemaker Fest at Nectar Lounge that night. We chatted our way right up until the last possible moment before we would nearly miss Ian's (Week 33) set and it made me feel like Cinderella on the stairs at midnight. I wanted more Mike and Priya!



Instead of losing our glass slippers, we put on our dancing shoes and headed down to Fremont. Nectar had a sizable crowd when we arrived, and there were a lot of familiar faces from the rap scene, including two of my favorites, Oldominion vets Barfly and JFK. Mike graciously picked up our drink tab, and we hit the dance floor to enjoy the show and mingle with friends.



Kublakai went up and put on an inspiring performance. He has been sober over a year and it was the best I've seen him play in a long time. It was sharp and he didn't miss a step during his complex rhyme schemes. He seemed comfortable and it felt natural. It was great to see my former groupmate doing well.

Mike and Priya took off shortly after Ian's set ended. Erica and I stayed behind to hang out with Brianne and Aaron (Week 3) who came to see The Chicharones. And that was the end to a really fantastic date. They are definitely a couple Erica and I will go out of our way to see again. We might even have to couple battle rap them!

Next week, my buddy from high school Theo brings over his wife Wakako for dinner and drinks. All I know for sure is I'm cooking then I'm writing! Let's see what happens...

Week Thirty-Five: John and Lauren w/Cola

Our French Bulldog Lola has been a mainstay of the dates ever since she began her residency in Tune Castle. Though several children have been guests at our dinners to keep her company, not a single canine has made the trip. That is, until John and Lauren brought their adorable French-English Bulldog mix over on Week 35. This was definitely a date with bark.



I have know John since Sophomore year of high school at Roosevelt. I have made music with him in several different capacities since we met, namely in a punk band (The Duplos) and our rap crew. We even lived together in a party house for a small amount of time. Basically, we've been good buddies for nearly a decade and a half.



John said he wanted "something Mexican" to eat, because he and Lauren were not only bringing over their Bulldog Cola, but also a bottle of Tequila and a case of Pacifico. I opted to cook some traditional beef and bean burritos, as I hadn't done this before. I heated up some seasoned ground beef with a chopped onion, smeared refried beans on a large tortilla, added the beef on top, a cut of cheese, a dab of sour cream, then I rolled 'em and baked 'em. They didn't look like a "traditional" burrito, but they were damn tasty!



The recipe was for six, and that was lucky, because both roommates ended up joining the party, so I had some extra food to pass around. Aaron (Week 4)was in The Duplos with John and I. It was a matter of time before our old album was busted out. We sat there blasting our old archives for a hot minute until we realized there was much more interesting things to pay attention to. Namely, Cola and Lola.



Cola is 5 and Lola is 1 year 2 months. Thus, Cola is much more mature than our goofy daughter. And though the battle of the cuteness seemed promising, one party was not too interested in getting wild. Lola bounced around and did her trademark shoulder lean, attempting to entice play time. Cola was simply more interested in the new surrounds and dog toys.



After some minimal badgering by our spunky little pup, Cola gracefully engaged and was very gentle with Lola. We captured the bout on film and posted it to YouTube. It's pretty adorable. So are John and Lauren. They were awesome guests and Erica and I had a blast hanging out with them and Cola.



Next week, Erica and I are headed over to Kublakai's Noisemaker Fest at Nectar Lounge after steaks at our place with one of the event's sponsors, a professional photographer named Mike Folden, and his lovely lady Priya. Rumor has it yours truly will be hopping on stage to rock a few of The Let Go's old tracks. Until then, enjoy the sun and watch your step while you are outdoors!