The club and its wi-fi beckoned, so I stayed there for a
while sipping my soft drink of choice here, Hi-C vanilla,
with its supposed 100% of your vitamin C needs in each cup.
Then off to the subway. The BART trip to Berkeley took about
an hour, and there was a 3/4 mile walk back into Oakland to
my friends John and Kandy's house (they lost their firstborn
to breast cancer this summer, and it's been tearing up the
family, so I'd decided to wade into that mare's nest to
give some meaning to this year's 9/11 ritual).

On the way some guy named Mark commiserated with my
precarious stacking of carryon and computer bag, which
periodically became disarranged, and we chatted for a while
about life in Oakland, which made the quarter hour seem
like just a couple minutes.

Ringing the bell I was greeted by Oso's menacing bark
and was comforted by that Kandy and John always
remembered to keep a door between me and him.

John was talking with an old colleague at the kitchen
table, a retired chemist also named Mark. Mark was a
legitimate chemist, while John was an illegitimate
one (he went to prison for it).

I noted with dismay, though, that Oso, one of the few
dogs I hate and perhaps am a little afraid of, had been
let loose. This small but mean beast is the one who a
decade ago shredded my upgrade shirt - whenever I wore
that rather sexy silk garment I got put in first class;
since then it's been more hit-or-miss. Now Oso is
getting on in years, and I can dodge him easily, as did
the parrot whom he tried to attack and eat an hour before
I wrote these words. The parrot cleverly led the dog into
a barrier, where the dog mashed his nose, and I cheered
interiorly. I suggested to John yet again that he get
the thing euthanized.

John was extremely eager to take me to Trader Joe's to
get beer. I didn't figure that out until later.

The store was offering craft brews from a company that
I hadn't heard of, Josephsbrau, at an advantageous price,
so I got a couple six-packs to try.

I tasted the Oktoberfest, and it was strangely familiar
- a solidly made brew, just a little too sweet but
pleasantly malty and more than okay to drink.

Plznr Czech-style pilsener was less familiar and not very
Pilsener-like. The hopping was right, the body was right,
but the aroma and flavor were way floral, and I found it a
bit cloying overall. Possibly would be good with sausages,
but by itself unattractive.

I did just the tiniest bit of digging and found that, no
surprise, this is an offshoot of Gordon Biersch, which
does produce decent but uninspired product.

John got a couple big bottles of Paper City products,
including the Denogginator double IPA, a surprising choice
given what I know of his past tastes. Turns out he chose
this because of the high alcohol content - 7.3%. In the
couple hours before Kandy got home he finished both of
his - the equivalent of a six-pack of normal beer - and
started off on mine, during which I managed to down one.
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