Today was a good day.
We met up with our friend Chris at McMenamin’s Grand Lodge in Forest Grove in the morning. It had been a few months since we last saw her, so we had a lot of drinking catching up to do. OK, fine: drinking, too. What can I say? Their Bloody Marys are the best in town.
We always have a great time when we hang out with Chris; I wish we got to do it more often. As usual we ate and drank and laughed, but mostly just talked each other’s ears off. Chris wanted to hear about my novel, so I gave her a detailed summary of the plot – not just what I’ve written so far, but also some upcoming scenes and my planned ending. She was intrigued by the whole concept, and a discussion ensued regarding the twist I’m throwing in. Chris and Tara were both super helpful, and gave me some insight and advice that I believe will benefit the book. Eventually we moved from the courtyard restaurant to the bar downstairs for a change of scenery (and alcohol – I switched to whiskey on the rocks, which I never order but really enjoyed). We played some shuffleboard and also – because Fate has a sense of humor – pinball. How could we not?
Given the nature of my novel, I can’t help but see the pinball machine as a sign.
We finally parted ways around 5:30, a full seven hours after meeting up. Told ya we always have fun! Tara and I drove through Portland on the way home, stopping at Marukin Ramen for a bowl of miso ramen that I’d been raving over since first trying last month. Tara agreed that it was every bit as delicious as I’d made it out to sound. Then we stopped in Pix Patisserie and splurged on a couple of macaroons. They were, in the words of my Millennial coworkers, bombdotcom. I never crave sugar and do not miss sweets, but every once in a while I’ll treat myself, and tonight I was extra glad I did. So, so good!
We didn’t get home until after 8 p.m. so I didn’t get as much writing done as I’d hoped, but I was still able to knock out another 1,000 words before we left this morning. I’ll make up for that tomorrow.
Word Count Today: 1,003.
Total Word Count: 31,209.
Mark My Words 
That pinball machine is surely some sort of sign!
And for me, the holidays = day drinking!
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Thanksgiving is all about the day drinking! That’s the one holiday where I figure, it’s 8 a.m. somewhere!
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Sounds like you had a AWESOME Saturday, Mark! Don’t ya love a day when you can just hang out and go with the flow of whatever happens. It’s so enjoyable!
Love the pic of the pinball machine!!! Even to this day, I LOVE playing pinball!!!
Have a super Sunday, buddy!
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I love playing pinball too, Ron.
Sadly, I am not good at it. In the least. But I have a blast during those 30 seconds where I can actually keep all the balls in play!
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