26 December 2006
I had to laugh. I laughed pretty hard, actually. Today is the first day off I've had since before the election. Well, it's the first day off on a scheduled day off. Sure, I get holidays and leave, and most Sundays, but not days off. So, when I thought about me working all those days off, I had to laugh.
I got off the overtime list at work. I plan on staying off until next year. I had to laugh about that too. But, I did decide to take more days off next year. And that's no laughing matter.
I deserve it. I really do! I've been on the 'big' overtime list at work for over a decade. That's got to get old after awhile. And it did. Like me. So, rather than huff and puff and get angry at myself and the taxman, I figured I owed it to me and mine a few extra days off next year.
I'm looking forward to it.
Only 8 more days until Christmas and I'm still trying to figure out how to squeeze a Happy Hour appetizer into my budget. Between last minute dashes to buy presents and going out to eat with friends and neighbor parties, there hasn't been much left on the plate this year to finance my true passion, the cheap 2 dollar hors doeurvres.
The west side of town is growing a bit. At least possible happy hour sites seem to be multiplying. Last I heard, right down on Main Street in Tigard, one of Portland's famous brewers is slated to open up a new brew pub. Dunno how I'll ever be able to leave Tigard after that place opens up.
Another year seems to have gone bye. At my age, time seems to go by at an astonishing rate. Only two weeks until another Christmas goose is cooked, cookies baked, and then it's on to New Year's parties.
At least this year I'll have gotten most of my Christmas shopping out of the way so I can enjoy the Holiday without worrying about who still needs what gift at the last minute.
I was impressed with the NV House in Tigard. It is a restaurant that I almost didn't want to try. I drive by it every day, and as it occupies an old Godfather's Pizza Restaurant building, I had no interest in trying. Then I found out they have a happy hour and I thought, well, what the hell, I'll go in and try it out. I was very pleased with the results.
Another place we've tried in the last few weeks (once again) is Bugatti's, in Beaverton. Having been there before, we were surprised when we noticed they didn't have their signature 10 inch pizza on the Happy Hour menu, and instead had three different slices of pizza for an inexpensive price.
When I get around to it, I'll bang out recon reports on both these establishments.
This year will bring some changes in the way this page does business. I hope to expand the recon section to include subsections split up into categories, such as listing brew pubs, neighborhoods, and for the first time including places on the east side. We think we've been to pretty much most of the places on the west side, and want to get out a bit more. I'm always looking for recon reports from you the stalwart happy hour investigator, and would welcome your reviews of the localities you find, whether they are good or bad.
26th November 2006
OK, rather than sit around and lament my misfortune at not having been first in line at the local Best Buy or Fry's or Comprebate USA, we decided to spend the weekend at the beach in search of the perfect storm watching. We are lucky enough to live close to Oregon's rugged coastline and scored three nights at one of Depot Bay's trendier resorts. Took along the old binoculars and made sandwiches to save a few dollars from the coastal economy. Had a great time drinking twist off wine and finishing off a case of microbrew. Monday it is back to the old grind...
24th November 2006
I'm sorry but Black Friday this year totally sucked. There were no deals to be had, that I already had not bought years earlier. I can't understand for the life of me why some idiots choose to stand in line at some Best Buy stores for 24 hours in the hopes of getting some low priced (249 dollars) lap top computer when they know Best Buy will have maybe 18 in each store, and of those 18, 19 are already sold to the employees. Right? I'm shocked that more people don't blow each other away in desperation upon learning that they were not one of the lucky few to have gotten a PS3 at the low low price of over a thousand dollars. Go figure!
23rd November 2006
Ahhh... Turkey day at last... Just had a small gathering at my house, with the in-laws and some neighbors for dessert. Didn't even eat too much.
5 November 2006
About this time last year quite a few things happened. Over this period of time, the two founding members of the Happy Hour Tribe split, found other mates, married them and moved on with their lives.
As you can imagine, this created quite a rift in our tribe. Certain people are no longer friends, others won't hang out like they used to for their own reasons, and others, tired of the drama have moved along as well.
Because of all this, I stopped updating the site, and considered removing it. But after careful consideration, I've decided to keep on with the site. However, there will be slight changes that you will notice over time.
The website will change from a club web site to either a database of Happy Hour establishments, with reviews and write-ups, or a review site, with input from anyone. I've not made up me mind yet.
Rest assured, the web site will continue to exist, as I've decided to maintain my skills albeit slight, of publishing a web page.
I'm sorry for the stagnation of this page over time, and look forward to fresh reports and future fun times.