Earthquake

Hola,

A few photos and the stories behind them. The dark and stormy picture is what's been titled "The Dark and Stormy." This was taken last Wednesday evening from the patio of La Zie Restaurant. Shortly after it poured rain, let loose some thunder and blew up a storm. Made for a refreshing dinner outside!

Ah, and then today (Saturday) Scotty Earthy was in the big apple with Carolyn. She's here for a wedding shower, and Scott's here to see Rmac, why else. So we spent part of the afternoon going for a quick walk to Whole Foods at Columbus Circle, and then back to their apartment which in hindsight I wish I took a few photos! Amazing, and wonderful views of all of New York. Anyhoo, a couple shots of Chan and Scott from 57th and 6th Ave.

Scott and I then called Travis in Vancouver and basically harassed him. I wish I had pictures!

Other than that, school is status quo,...just getting ready with my group for our graduation 'Friday Nt. Dinner' plans. Doing the city as usual with plans up and coming for 4th of July,...perhaps a rooftop party, fireworks etc,...or a Brooklyn backyard BBQ with my friend Roman and peeps. Other news,...July 31st Sharon Janzen and Gargee will be staying chez Rmac in the west Village for a couple nights. Something about an FDA surprize vitamin inpection of my apartment.

Cheers all

more pics for earlier post...

Desserts!

Here's a few pics of a dessert I had to do in class today. If you're just seeing this blog in a long time,...make sure you scroll down to see Sharon's wedding pic in the park and Mark Chan's first pedicure.

oh hey, while we're goin here,...just recently come across some new photos,...some from class, some of the New York Rangers Stanley Cup playoffs game at Madison Sq. Garden (which we won 2nd overtime!),...one of a guy on the street carrying beer in his child stroller,...and well,...you know.

Cheers!

weddings and pedicures

Hi Folks,

Well a couple updates are in order. Mr. and Mrs. Sharon Janzen finally tied the not! OohRah! Haha,...I gave her a bone there cause she's decided to keep her last name- Ballbreaker to the alter,...keeping with Shar styles, nice. Ok, ok....so onto the wedding. Despite all the weather forecasts calling for rain,...rain and more rain,...the respectfully quaint and peaceful ceramony was under a dry sky at jericho! The ducks made a few complimentary quacks in the background while Pike-ah most gracefully showed his true feelings to Sharon while saying 'i do.' Translation,...he shed a couple tears,...kinda Coldplay, "The Scientist" styles. Sharon lapped it up,...and knew for certain, now 100% that it was on like donkey kong.

Oh yeah,...just a quickie to our boy CT upstairs,...I knew his wonderfully skilled hands, and eye coordination would assist in keeping the clouds at bay at the raindrops on hold just until the ceremony was done,...and the groom, bride and whole crew had enough time to get in the Trolley bus and head over to Main St. for the reception. I, on the other hand had driven in a wonderfully powered S-Class Mercedes Benz and trolleyed myself,...equally fun,...because newly employed New York City cab driving skills were employed to bust German steel rage on Vancouver drivers caught in the Twilight zone of: I think i'm still from the old school driving in 1952, or wait,...is this 2007 and time to haul ass. Ah, bravado in Daddy's car,...yer f'in rights!

The wedding ceremony was superb,...nick monohan and gargee gave exceptional speeches respectively to the groom and bride,...and Jeff mccracken and i (wellllll lets face it, Jeff M) kept the MC clean and we managed to make it through the evening without making Sharon cry. I've done enought Psyche in my life,...not the class at Uvic i skipped relentlessly,...but in my own readings in the last decade,....and one thing i've learned is that people secretly bring drama into their lives,....why? because they want the action dodo,...why else? So in true form,....after travelling to buck-ah luck,...and living in somalia and sudan,...sharon hires Jeff McCracken,...and her secretly admired Republican advocate, McCleery to MC her wedding. Hahahahaha.....yes, she rides the edge,...because she can,...and with skill. Cracko, much more so than me,...pulled off a decent MC performance and kept the show clean.

Oh yeah,...back to the ceremony,...I have one picture taken from my cell phone which i anticipate will show well on the interenet,....here goes!

And now, for another topic,....today was gay pride parade, day in NYC. No big thing, unless of course your peno and piller. haha, kidding,....ahhhh bout kidding. Ok,...no big thing,...but how funny that today mark chan says to me today (after doing the Modern Museum of Art no doubt),....hey Ryan,....have you ever had a pedicure before? I gotta say,...this is kinda my earlier wiseguy life,....but keeping to honesty i said,...yeah mark,...of course,....and massage and facials and manicures etc. Whoa, he said,....just one thing at a time,....but Ryan,,...i think i want to get a pedicure today. Dont ask,...what will be will be. So we walk one block from his house and i'm warming mark up to the experience. Like for instance,...you'll have some mags to read while sitting in massive lazy boy chairs that have built in massagers. Not like some radioshak stiff brand either,...but i mean massagers. The kind so strong with rolling balls that you thing they have a little person inside using the balls of their feet for real!

We round the corner and true to form we see a salon with exactly the picture i just implanted in chan's mind. And ladies and gents,...pictures to prove it. Here all, here all,....witness mark chan getting his firts pedicure. An awesome man to man experience,....all done with our masculenity in check on gay pride day in Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Yawwwwwwwk city. Oh,...he's goin back next week. loves it.

Me,...im a chef now,...that shyte is for pusssies.

Hmmm, on the cooking front,.....i wont bore you, .....i'll dial it up when in person,....lets just say for starters that i made an apple galette and gluten free chocolate cake last week that made the instructors feel a little nervous. then i was like eh! ...you know the trick about using a cold bowl and cold blender blades for making whipped cream! sort of like a really obvious statement just to bust their balls. The give me a look of like,....damn you are a funny son of a bittch slash,....im desperately going to fail your next assignment you snooty prick. All in fun,...Love is the name of the game. Wow, now that sounded a little pedicure'ish.

ciao all

Vegas

So first off,...hoorah to Scotty Earthy for having a stag! Yeehaw!!!!! And a second hats off to Mark Chan for getting his action together very last minute to make Scott's stag. I mean it's Deeeeek,...and what else you gonna do. So Mark and I borded Delta Airlines flight 95 on a foggy New York afternoon. Yup, tarmack for 2 hours prior to departure,...so we sat patiently,...acted pretty wierd,...whacked back a couple beers and then boom,...Vegas!

Vegas was to be sweet, cause it was gonna have everyone from Travis, aka Peno. A few people asked on the trip,....eh! why's his name Peno. Well lets' begin. Playboy Club 1st night. Chan (ironically enough,...the first guy to ask why he's called Peno) comes up to me,...actually quite pissed off with a bleeding hand and says,....what the Faaaaaa,...Travis is such an idiot. he just shoved me into that wall. So i looked at Peno and saw a guy with his hair standing straight up,...a huge grin,...bouncing off his beer glass and Earthy's shoulder looking like,....well looking like I dunno,....but i'm pretty sure he didnt remember Mark and the wall,...but it was all from good intentions and love. Mark meet Peno, Peno meet mark.

Ok, back to vegas,...so who else was there,....for starters, our organizer craig watson. Craig was the first to greet me there starting with a call to my cell phone while i was in a cab from the airport to the Hard Rock Hotel where we were staying....something along the lines of, "Rmac,...hey,....ok, where the fcuk are you,...idiot. We joke this way (really)...its a saints thing, quasi lord of the flies. Anyhoo,....McCleery where are you, hurry up we got a limo waiting out front with everyone in it. But I gotta shower Craig,.... "no, screw that,...upstairs,....Irish Shower, brush your teeth and pants,....go hurry." Ok. Done. Waddy and I meet in the lobby, hug,....whats up etc then make our way to the limo.

It's bout as long as a winnebago with a guy named 'Truck' standing out front who Craig intros to me immediately. Truck is an ex U.S. Armed forces soldier,....now Nick LeShay's main man for security slash straightening out whatever you need from bar hosting,....to walking us through clubs and ensuring a good time,....meaning a good booth for bottle service,....and then broads. Yes, really. Things looking a little empty,...no sweat, Truck gets on the go, and finds anything blonde, hot brunette or just overall bubbly and high heeled that enjoys a booth full of Veuve and 900 dollar grey goose, ....meaning, chicks. Boom.

Ah, ok....so Playboy Club. Long story short we overall just have a boozy time. i bumped into laylands friend,...the tall blonde guy that plays on the l.a. lakers starting team that we met at new years. fluke. I should have told him that i'm in love with his friends girlfriend,...the dancer for the hollywood fame and perhaps he could hook that up. money.

Peno and I nailed the dancefloor and had 3 african american chicks rockin. After about a half a song and being exposed to peno and the rmac tornado they took a moment to talk to one another. Peno looks at me and says,....okay, any minute now and they're like totally all over us. I totally agreed and was like,...yyyeahhh. We both shoulder check and without hesitation all 3 of these booty-licious brawds scurried away off the dance floor. We RRRRRRR so hip.

Ah, i'm trying to remember the rest right now. Bed at 6am and that was that. ZZZZzzzzz,...ready for day one,...poolside hardrock cafe hotel.

I'm rambling so here comes the speedy. Ok, day at the pool, cabana etc. Peno was peno. Colby was colby and quasi peno after dumping water and beer on me twice. I filled the champagne bucked with water and ice and nailed colby superbowl celebration styles. It looked like the incredible hulk getting angry, dying, laughing all at the same time. Colby wasnt sure if he should kill me,...slip into one of his nerd rages or laugh and be nice. He was mostly nice, but i saw the green eyese and was wary.

Ok....that night we rock the Wynn Hotel. Steakhouse first and then on to Tryst, the most hip bar right now in Vegas. Ok,...at dinner we saw Steve Wynn himself sitting 2 tables away from us. Very cool. I always found it interesting to look at him and wonder his thoughts. Like,....hey,...im sitting in this joint,....eating a steak dinner,...and all this shhiit around here i helped create. Cool.

Then a table away from there the lady who plays the wife of harrison ford in Patriot Games was dining,....she's also the wife to micheal douglas in Fatal Attraction. She's very cool. I dont know her,....she's just cool.

Ah,....on to Tryst. K, the quick name drop to get in over with and satisfy the "Us Magazine" in all of us. Keyshaun Johnshon,...football player,....and then a bunch of basketball players,....oh,...and then me. Ok,....this place is action central and like all the top bars there everyone wants to get in and theres huge lines. Watson had us dialed all the way,....and Truck was there for the intel and muscle. We walked in easier than,...than,....well i dont know. Just no,....i mean zero agro. Those little red ropes and vip lines to bust everyones balls were like dental floss and we were twin diesel hummvies blasting through. Escorted straight to our vip booth and bottle service which included a blonde girl,...doing quite well up front,....pouring us drinks etc. Truck stands at the opening of the booth to scurry away any rif-raf that's like,.....oh,....i was just looking for..... Beat it says truck,.....they smiling and shaking his head,....all the while being so friendly,....but just kinda being our guy making sure,....our booze is our booze,....and all those blonde chicas that just entered, are OUR blonde girls bilking our booze for entertainment. haha. anyhoo.

Oops, forgot something. back to night one. Chan After enduring 2 hours on the tarmack at jfk and then a 6 hour flight partied with us for 5 hours then rushing back to the airport to get home to his wife and kids. Quote un-quote: I only have the weekends to be with the kids so i gotta get home. Mark, print this out and save for some dark and strormy get out of jail free pass. That being said, Em is the nicest gal i've ever met,....really. Mark doesnt need no get outta jail cards. Well hang on,...yes he does,...ive seen it first hand, but Mark deserved the shame. Ok kids,...we're at Bergdorf Goodmans in new york. Fanciest mall in the world. We all have brunch and then are leaving. Chan gets the elevator. Elevator arrives. Mark gets in and little Aggie,...his daughter stares kinda interested and then the doors start to close. Mark kinda goes,....Doh! panick,...doors almost take off little aggies fingers,...i mean little Aggie! I saw a different Em! haha,....still nice, but kinda like,....mark.......if you pull one of those again.....haha

Hmmm, ok.....last day of Vegas,...the boys all did Rehab at hard rock. For those who need a filling in,....Rehab is the most desired thing in all of nevada, and perhaps the US of A to do on a Sunday. Imagine a poolside where every square inch of space is rocking,....I MEAN rocking! with boom boom boom,....and chicks,...and booze,....and dental floss, and cabanas full of champagne. You get the drill.

While it was a tough decision,....i let the boys have this victory to themselves,...and after partying straight through the night went to the airport for my 730am flight home to nyc. i had cooking class the next day! You know when u go to the airport and there's and the waiting area at the gate is pure,....clean,....and empty and you're like,.....ahhh,...im just gonna lay down here on the ground and wait for my flight. Well i did this. Fell asleep,....and then boom,....flight 96 to jfk is about to board blah blah,.....then u have a spud moment from trainspotting where you go,.....Uhhh! Wake up, look around,...and you got middle america with kids, hats, decks of cards with holes in them,....and slot machines nearby going,...."WWWWheel Offf Fortune!" Scrape yourself off the floor, stay calm like no big thing, which it really wasnt,....in that shape who really cares right. Then put on your shades and sorta walk up to the gate. Burp.

New York! Arrived,....took in the subway and ended up chatting to this really cute black gal at the subway station. She was married but james bond prefers this so me too. Anyhoo,....i just wrote this so i'd remember that. She kinda woke me up because she had a nice smile,...and my thoughts, well my thoughts...... Well the subway arrived. Ended up chatting now with this guy who was killing some time before his flight to Jordan. I have to admit,....i was totally like Bauer from 24 all,....whaever. Anyhoo,....he was a really cool dude, and lives in Austin Texas doing his ph d in neurology. We talked about mri's and i explained chiari malformations to him. yeah! Ok, now im' rambling.

Ah back home,....slept for 13 hours.

Next day, got my midterm back,....84 percent written, 94 pecent practical,....where i made a carrot soup, poaced pear with reduction and a salad. My soup btw was totally money and was the creamiest of them all. Now, some credit here to my mother cause she taught me how to do this a year or two ago. Basically what you do is....... not. you're on your own with Campbells. Hehehehehe.

Um, been hitting the gym here in nyc,....4 times now in a week. Cool. Erin Brenner stiffed me for a cocktail last night,...and i'm just writing this here to break her balls. Ha! So went to one of my favorite joints,....and in fact the first meal i had in new york upon arrival back on april 10 to a place called Daddy'o. It's like a corner pub, but nicer. Think pub playing jimi hendrix etc,....but with the program service,....and casual with a touch of wedgewood hotel. Guisness beer, in bed by 9pm. How's that.

I'm sure you're all rubbing your eyes now, going what the.....and so goodbye.

oh,...maybe some pics to come of Veeeeegas.

late