is this thing on?

[rone]

There's been a ton of shit i've been meaning to mention.  Let's see if i can remember most of it...

Just over a year ago, i got a T-shirt addressed to 'rone'.  Then about a year after that, i received an envelope addressed to Ron 'Tron Guy' Echeverri, with a PO Box in San Luis Obispo as its return address, containing a ten-dollar bill.  The "Tron Guy" is an amusing touch given my antipathy towards jmaynard.  I don't mind getting random stuff, although i suppose i would prefer getting stuff off my Amazon wishlist.

Speaking of Maynard, lammah mentioned that Maynard James Keenan and his winemaker, Eric Glomski, would be signing bottles of their wine at the Whole Foods in Cupertino.  Kim and i showed up about 75 minutes early and there were already about 100 people in front of us (Kim heard someone inside mention that some clowns got in line at 06:00, eight hours early).  Keenan isn't very comfortable as a celebrity, which showed as he barely looked at us when we came up, but Glomski was engaging and while they signed our bottles, i got to talk to him about the pinot noir that Kim, Kim's mom, and i are making.  If you feel like you missed out, he'll be at Fresno's Whole Foods on February 17, Petaluma the 18th, and Sacramento the 19th, all starting at 16:30.

Speaking of wine, i passed Viticulture for Winemakers, which was the final class towards my Certificate in Winemaking from UC Davis Extension.  So as soon as i cough up the certificate fee, i should be receiving my first academic certificate since my high school diploma in a week or two.  I'm a bit excited about it, but i'm only getting started with figuring out if i can make this wine thing go.

peglegpete moved from Dallas to Seattle, and stopped by our humble home for room and board.

I got to go back to playing soccer last month.  This Thursday marked the first time i won a game while on the field since... i dunno, last summer.  A last minute squeaker, too, thanks to my teammates losing their minds in the final minutes of the game and leaving me defenseless.  It felt good to win, and i feel like i've finally gotten back into playing shape.

I picked out a bottle of shochu at our local sushi joint, but it turned out to be not shochu, but awamori.  It smelled like tequila a bit, and was quite tasty.