The Return to Pattison's West

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Pattison's West is much more than the Federal Way, WA, skating rink where Apolo Ohno got his start. When I attended St. Vinnie's Catholic elementary and junior high, Pattison's West was the social refuge where I donned the silk shirt, roller blades and exorbitant amounts of cologne to get my game on. Social history was made and broken at this rink, so were Scott's teeth.

During one fateful night, Scott crashed and landed on his face, knocking out his two front teeth right there on the rink. He later had them replaced with porcelain teeth, which is why we called him "potty mouth" or "toilet teeth" for a period of time.

I don't know why Kenna chose this location for her 28th birthday, and especially during spring break, but I was nostalgically excited to return onFriday night. Amanda and I walked up to the ticket booth and the old guy at the counter only said, "I hope you like teenagers."

Only one thing has changed since I last stepped foot in Pattison's West 16 years ago -- I've gotten older. NOTHING has changed inside the place: same carpet, same stained-glass decor around the signage, same all-sugar menu. The hardwood rink hasn't changed either and is probably in the best shape of the whole facility. I wish my floors looked that good at my own house. Man, I am an old dude making a statement like that.

The place stunk with hormones of the hundreds of young teenagers who flooded the rink. There were really three sets of audiences at Pattison's West: young kids aged 10-13, their parents and Kenna's birthday party of late 20-somethings. Our group put on the old school rental skates and hit the floor with some hesitation. We had the advantage of towering over most everyone else in the rink, but we were also likely to make roadkill out of the many kids in our path.

I was a little rusty on the four wheels, having preferred inlines back in my heyday. In contrast, Kenna, Beard and Tyler looked like they were out of some disco music video, swerving in between groups, crossing over skates to take turns and even showing dance moves as they were skating. It was like watching a disco music video with those three. Kenna, I'm going to have to call you "Rollergirl" from here on out. It was a great party!

Tattoos Romanticized

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Once again, the time has come for a new tattoo. (Catch up on tattoos 1 and 2, if need be). I reached a goal - earning the master's degree - so I'd like to mark it with ink.

Now this is the part where I describe the tattoo, you pass judgement and then I go and do it anyway.

I'm not the most diehard Husky sports fan, that's reserved for undergraduates, but I found this to be the perfect opportunity to merge my accomplishments with my love for geography. (Amanda just bought me a sweet map of Puget Sound for my birthday, btw).

I saw this New Era hat image months ago, which combines the outline of my home state (I've threatened to get the outline of it already for years) and that Husky W.

My vision for the tattoo is just that with some color tweaks to emphasize the state and minimize the color fill for the W. My Photoshop skills lead me to something like...

Now imagine that on my right shoulder. Wait, you don't have to! Photoshop skills again!

Now that I'm married, I did the responsible thing and discussed this action with my wife. I pitched her this Washington tattoo as well as ideas for a couple other future tattoos that may bloom on my skin in coming years.

I have a romantic notion about tattoos and broached the issue as such, even introducing to Amanda the idea of getting matching tattoos one day. She constantly identifies us a pair of owls, so I thought it'd be cool if we each got one. Just small, little tattoos. John Cusack-movie sweet, right?! Here's how I recall the conversation:

Me: "Hey Amanda, remember that image of the pair of owls on our wedding invitations? What if after this Washington tattoo we get matching owls for each other?"

Her: "Yeah, no. I'm not going to do that."

Me: "Why? That's a great idea! Very romantic."

Her: "I don't want a tattoo. When did I say I wanted a tattoo?"

Me: "Well, I just thought --"

Her: "Nope, but you have fun with coloring your arm up. I'll stick to scrapbooking."

So the romantic angle fell flat. I still think it's a good idea, and I'll have redress my request at a later date. After all, how many times did Tom Hanks get turned down at auditions before he became Forrest Gump and the guy who Saved Private Ryan? How many times did JK Rowling get rejected before Harry Potter got picked up by a publisher? How many times did Kendra have to sleep with Hugh Hefner before she got a reality TV show on E!? Rejection is just an opportunity to hone the pitch.

All that aside, we're still a go for the Washington tattoo. I took the "have fun coloring up your arm" as confirmation. It's something I'd like to do in the next few months. I'm really happy with the concept of having lineage and sport represented on my left shoulder and home and accomplishment on my right. I like to carry a lot of weight on my shoulders. It's time to show it.

Adventures in Teeth Whitening

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Amanda and I bought a package of teeth whitening trays/mouthguards, but the problem with them is you have to keep them in your mouth for 30 minutes each session. Who has 30 minutes of time in the day when you don't need to eat, drink or talk? We happen to have that time period three-fold during our commute! So, we tried teeth whitening in the car. We also tried communicating during the experiment. Here's what happened.

Also, I will never do that again without the luxury of a spit jar or something I can use so that I don't have to swallow the gel that falls out of the tray. All that laughing made my mouth foam.

Are we the nerdiest couple alive? Yes. Will future (and current) generations of Mottola's be embarrassed by this video? Yes. Are our teeth whiter? Yes. It's all worth it.

Amanda's Road Rage List

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Let's be honest, commuting sucks whether you're driving 15 minutes or 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to work (we're in the later boat). I caught Amanda in a fit (honestly, this is as wily as my calm-as-a-nun wife gets) earlier in the week and told her that I would take note of her issues on my phone. I lied. I videotaped it. Enjoy.