Keeping Up with Noorie James

Keeping Up with Noorie James

Whew that was a busy weekend! On Friday night, John and I headed into the city for dinner and a 10pm show at Cobb’s Comedy Club. Yes, the late show really was a far stretch for us, but we figured that would give us plenty of time to drive up 101 and then grab a nice, relaxed dinner. We hit John’s usual downtown fave Houstons. The bastards told us the wait would be 25-35 minutes. Ended up being 90 minutes AND the hostess seated the wrong party before us. By the time we sat down, we were beyond pissy, and we were all about making up for lost time. Fortunately, the place redeemed itself somewhat. We were seated at 8:30, food came out at 8:40, and then we were done by 9. Yup, we ate dinner at Houston’s like we were going through the drive-in at In-N-Out. Bubbey style. Whatever man, that’s the way it ought to be. In and out.

The comedy show that evening was Joe Rogan doing stand up. Yeah, the dude from Fear Factor. And apparently now he’s the announcer for ultimate fighting or whatever. The guy was decent but my god, did he ramble at the end. There was this weird Q&A session after his run that lasted for fucking ever. I don’t really give a shit about his thoughts on Mencia and Scientology and blah, blah. Who the hell cares? I just want the funny bits. This wasn’t a frickin’ “get to know you” session. Irritating. And he was on something because the dude was wired. Then again, the people behind us in line were smoking up too. Stunk up my air and burned my nose hairs. Nights like that really get me thinking: I’m not made for the city. Get me back to my boring, manicured, sheltered suburbs.

On Saturday, we got our asses up at the crack of dawn to participate in the Bay Area Ridge Trail Cruzathon, co-sponsored by my peeps. Originally, I had planned for us to walk the 8-mile hike at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, there was this elderly couple (with their walking poles) who booked ass the entire fucking time. And well naturally, John and I felt threatened or something. Our competitive bug kicked into high gear, and we refused to eat the dust of senior citizens. I’m telling you, grandma was tiny too! She was like a lil’ Nancy Reagan crossed with Noorie James (nickname for my maternal grandmother). But Jesus Christ, she was a fighter. Tough as nails. And we were huffing and puffing trying to keep pace. She was so hardcore. Her old man stopped off to take a piss, and she didn’t even wait for him. Later, he commented on the beauty of these moss-colored rocks, and she didn’t even turn her head. She was on such an intense mission, I thought for sure she had to get to the port-a-pot or something. And I’m a fast walker even! Well anyway, we came in second and third, not that it was a race or anything. And John actually insists that he was first, but out of politeness he didn’t want to overtake Nancy (even though he could have) on the homestretch. Whatever. All I know is, we could have done another four miles after lunch, but we packed up and schlepped our tired asses home. All in all, we did eight miles in less than three hours. Doesn’t sound impressive but there was a lot of uphill action. We must have burned like 1500 calories, or so Bub says. I’m just happy we finished top three. Not too shabby for out-of-shape geezers like us.

Obviously, Sunday was a bust. We were both too sore for anything. Unfortunately, my masseuse was booked through Thursday. Sigh. Oh well.

Save for the Sunday day of rest, I think we’re ready to kick things up a notch. I just registered for a rock climbing class (4 weeks) at an indoor climbing gym. That starts next Monday. Tuesdays are riding, and Wednesday I’m going to check out the inline skate night at Stanford. Absolutely cannot wait.

Sure is awesome getting out of work by 5:30 everyday. I’m digging life right about now.

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