in

I do love barista babes. God bless all of them. Heck, Katrine's even made a career out of being a barista babe. Despite my affections, I have never stopped for coffee because of the girl working in the window... until today.

I woke up this morning and brewed a large pot of coffee and drank a cup before Matt insisted that we swing by McDonald's to pick up some breakfast sandwiches. After picking up the food, we drove across the strip mall parking lot and past a small coffee stand. Both our heads turned like owls as we caught sight of a Stunning Blonde handing coffee out of the drive-thru window. Like a siren of caffeine, she lured us.

"I need to make a stop for coffee," I said in knee-jerk reaction.

"Um... yeah... uh huh," Matt replied, unable to remember English.

I pulled a Starsky and Hutch u-turn and headed toward the small stand bearing a sign that said "Coffee Cave."

With a car ahead of us in line, Matt and I reaffirmed how neither of us wanted coffee. We looked at the menu. Nothing stood out. We had a hot pot of coffee waiting back at home. Even though I had to select something from the menu, I knew that all I was really paying for was attention.

We pulled up to the window and were greeted by Stunning Blonde, who may have been 18 or 28 years old. I'd recap the following interaction if I could remember any of it, but all I really remember though is Matt fidgeting for paper to write down my phone number to pass to Stunning Blonde and my small talk with her, which went something the lines of:

"Hi guys, what can I get you?" she asks.

"Hey, how you doin'? A small mocha would be great," I reply, while slapping Matt's hand as he writes caveman symbols for numerals.

"Whipped cream on me?" is what I hear, but she actually asks, "Would you like whipped cream?"

To both questions I answer, "Yes."

Three dollars and an unnecessary mocha later, I demonstrated terrible game but was completely satisfied to have stopped to see Stunning Blonde. For some girls, often barista babes, the time and money wasted is totally worth it.

in

Whoever said that Evergreen State College is loaded with a bunch of peaceful, treehugging hippies was proven wrong last night, sort of.

According to the AP, "A campus police officer responded at about 1:30 a.m. after a report of a fight inside the College Recreation Center, where the hip-hop group Dead Prez was performing... The officer arrested a man for investigation of misdemeanor assault..."

In The Olympian, a state trooper who responded to the scene said a member of the Dead Prez reportedly told the crowd, “They’re taking one of our people. Go take care of it.”

A crowd of about 200 surrounded the campus officer's car, demanding that the man be let go, so the campus officer called for backup. Sheriff's deputies arrived and the campus officer and car were safely removed, but when a back-up deputy's car wouldn't start, the crowd turned it over. Damages to the wrecked patrol car is estimated at about $25,000, and cumulative damage to all of the cars will likely be more that $30,000, according to The Olympian.

Now who's ready wreak havoc with me after The Roots show at WWU on March 1?

in

I've had a Valentine's Day epiphany.

The reason why couples are so happy and singles are so unhappy on Valentine's Day is because the extreme sugar highs and sugar lows, caused by intensive candy and cookie consumption, magnify emotion.

Genius.

I've got way too much sugar in my system today. I've been on more sugar highs and lows than a Six Flags roller coaster.

in

Happy Valentine's Day!

I thought this would be an appropriate time to repost the "10 Rules of Dating" that the Bend girls said I should follow as I begin "breaking hearts all over Seattle."

Rule 1: Always get a kiss on the first date.
Rule 2: Always trust your gut feelings about somebody.
Rule 3: No chasing her after three dates.
Rule 4: No shagging on the first date. If you don't get any after at most 10 dates, she's probably a transvestite.
Rule 5: Never take anyone's advice on dating, especially from married people.
Rule 6: Only go out with people who are already happy and only go out when you are happy.
Rule 7: Protect yourself at all costs. Never let yourself be a punching bag, a soccer ball or a shoulder to cry on. When she's done, you'll get the "you're nice, let's be friends" line as she walks out the door.
Rule 8: Always play by your own rules and play like a champion.
Rule 9: Always make eye contact and show interest.
Rule 10: Make sure she likes to dance and go dancing.