Plumb Bob aka Robt Wheat…birthday celebration kicked off early…will he find his way home tonight? will he care?..and thanks,Dan of A Robot!..joined the ranks of the select few distributors and got some collector’s editions…1 of 5 of the 2nd edition to be printed stateside..of the half dozen outlets(so far)everyone is selling the bookette..

Jean-Marc hovering outside the old Reilly’s…dude, they’re closed..i did see them hauling a load of bricks this morning and i don’t think they’re meant for the shithouse..a hotel or another spanish academy/travel agency?

Mario B and bride(she’s gorgeous!)at O’lot…sundowners…’says that Johnny’s Place isn’t going to be a ‘party hotel’ any longer..family -oriented…is this what marriage does to a guy?

yeah, my name problems…like thinking that Maite was Maggie(thanks Peter the G)…look, i’m old and deaf in the left ear and the right one is kinda screwed also..next week, the white cane probably…’once for yes, twice for no’…it was that damned swimming pool event with she of the infectious laugh’…dos mundos, christ…three years? /’09…Brendan B and lady at O’lot and El Caz was as far as i got…too nice an evening to be inside…unless she was really….fill in the blanks cuz that’s as much as i can do…’blanks’…yeah, i got spayed…

no word from or about the VMB….there were photographers but…i dunno nuthin’..typical…i have a strong feeling that this years was/will be the last such event…it’s about the $$..the church costs $700 to rent and then there’s the ‘support groups’…printing, music, cha cha cha..100 tickets at 300q equals 30000q..do the math…san jose el viejo only holds so many..fill in the space with tables/chairs/stage…it was a valium..no, valiant effort..the space next to Fusion is being totally buffed out…’victorian’ decor..ready for a soft opening next month, per Alex Long Bell…

right…the First Edition is pretty much gonzo…2nd Edition, the locally printed version, hits the streets/alleys next week..’even gave away a copy to a lost-looking couple of tourists tonight…(karma) and when i see Plumb Bob, I’ve promised him a copy as a present…

good gawd…another email from Wife-O # 3/4…some kinda link to a site that ends in .ru

right..as if…at least i know/surmise that she’s still in Vegas and somewhat alive..so to speak..and without a current passport..and thank you Ryan, Plumb Bob and all who’ve given me great comments on the bookette..i think(sic)that i found my target audience…short words, two syllables and the short attention span crowd..it can only get better…look for the 2nd Edition around town in a week or so..I love this town and it’s ‘home’…thank you, one and all.

some busy places tonight…Weldon, getting a bus load of turistas…Fusion packed, lo mismo with Bistro Cinq…El Caz? quiet but doing  a few tables..dos Reilly’s lo mismo..Da Vinci? a dead zone as was Red’s..Angies’? a few tables…great talks with Brian/Glenn Wilson of C21 outside of Cafe No Se…never knew just how much Brian had written about the foibles of  Guatemala…expect more from the ‘bookette’..

thanks to all for the great comments about ‘our man’…plumb bob, ryan et al….ah..Carla B has a new job!…Fusion!…a good addition,i say..and thanks, Peter the G, for pointing out the differences between maggie and what’s her face..i obviously didn’t get it..but what else is new?

La Casa de Jade doing major remod work on their interior…improving the ‘show’ quite a bit..Alex of Sobremesa and bride Rita taking a week off…honeymoon time..where? dunno..didn’t ask and they didn’t say…the wedding was great and i passed on the reception..too whipped from the previous night of the VMB…

Joe’s Grill, out by Ciudad Vieja and the American Legion doing a combined ‘thing’ this weekend..saturday…25% goes to the Legion’s local charity projects..feeding kids, scholarships and so on…if i didn’t believe in ‘em, i wouldn’t have joined and they do good works..free van rides from the edge of the park, by el portal, starting 11′ish on saturday..ribs, chicken, corn, potato..100q..no dishes to wash, no shopping..

wonder who/what’s going into the old Deliciosa space on 3rd calle? gotta be another deli…that block already has more toilet paper/nachos outlets than one could imagine..and thanks, Bull..the pork chops were larger than ever..i’m getting spoiled by the quality and the dogs are loving the bones..which means that they lick me rather than bite me when i come home late(a biggie)..almost sounds like being married again, eh?

where the hell is Miss M? I get used to seeing her at El Portal for my late morning injection of caffeine via the oral route and she disappears? us older guys need our ‘visuals’..cuz that’s about as far as it gets..yeah, the ‘bookette’ is disappearing off shelves here and there..one at a time but…it’s selling…gotta incoming shipment via ship..this week, maybe next…’feel like i’m in the dope biz…distribute, get the $$ and vanish..expect to see the thing in Nim Pot this week and the latest version is up on Amazon.com in case you want to send a copy to someone..

‘saw a local big guy in his birthday suit last night, at the Venetian Masked Ball…The Big U, whose birthday party was held at San Jose El Viejo in June of ’09..drum roll: he wore the same outfit last night as he wore for his birthday…the King of Prussia suit…hey, get mileage  outa these outfits…not only do I still have the long black velvet cape/cloak but now I have a tasty brown wig, with ringlets/curls…and a damned good thing i real the small print on the hair dye package…’permanente’….screw that..brown shoepolish for the  ‘stache and beard..the mask? not sure what/where it’ll be appropriate but that’s never been my middle name anyway..

and i did get home in time to partake of the last of the curry dinner here on the ranch…damned good stuff..a few locals here, lapping up the wine and the Jim Beam Black that J finally pulled outa the cabinet..because i was a good boy, cleaned my plate and finished the wine, i gotta splash..and i wonder why i was hungover this morning?

the VMB? lotta new faces, some  old…it was a production, with trumpets, strumpets and crumpets…well, buffalo wings, ok? ‘looked to me to be about the same # as last year, altho many of the older gringo antiguenos had other plans(places to go)..

a new place to go? someone/something is moving into the old Deliciosa spot on 3rd calle…saw stainless steel stuff..tables and such…

ah…my first Gautemalan/Catholic wedding today…started on time at noon and was still going strong at 1:30 or so…gotta have those photo ops..i ditched the reception: the bloody mary at Angies pre ceremony only took care of the more immediate whim-whams..it was a helluva production in the San Francisco church (hermano wierd brother pedro’s place)..music, flowers, singer..Rita showed up in a green Model A Ford convertible and looked terrrific…but the priest? gotta give him points for remembering all his lines but…it went on and on..and on..no mas por me, por favor: i could be a bit  jaded, having said ‘I do” four times…and ‘adios’ 4X…well, more than that, if you include the various ladies here and there..

and Bodegona? WTF? outta limes for the 2nd day inna row? and I’m outa time on the TIGO and there’s voicemail waiting, i’m in the ranch and not going out until tomorrow?…hey, i’ve got charcoal and two of Bull’s famous porkchops to worry about first…if you see Bull with a dreamy smile, there’s a story but I’m not going there…ask him…tis a beautiful afternoon..got the shorts on for the first time: no, not my underwear…shorts…over the underwear..speaking of…Miss E…no, can’t go there either as she’d whup me upside the head the next time she sees me…hmm, might be ‘fun’…red light, green light stuff..

ah..the Venetian Masked Ball? whew…there’s a ‘production’ goin’ on…stage, sound systems, costumes/masks for rent and a swirl of activity…yep, got my mask…no need for the brown paper bag as feared..

coming next weekend on Satuday the 25th…a charity thing at Joe’s Grill..on the way to Ciudad Vieja..starts at 11:30, 25% of gross goes to Charity..no, not her…ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, baked potato…the American Legion will provide free transportation from the Condesa by the park, starting at 11:15…tickets? 100q and call Bill @ 7934-6576 for same..or buy ‘em on the way..Fabrizio must’ve got Da Mayor to do something about the road repairs out there..and thanks, Frank, for pointing out the proper spelling of  La Antigua Galeria de Arte…hey, i’m only hooman…well, maybe..the changes will go up/out into cyberspace to amazon.com for the latest version of the bookette..

wierd night, restaurant-wise…some local faves doin’ tables, some not…El Cazadore Italiano taking the nightly prize for biz..other’s slow/quiet…tres strange how the diners flow one night and then the other..B5 doing fine, Fusion dead..go figure..

Whisky Den, under the watchful eye of Karla doing brewskis..Braulio’s, the reinvented version of Pangea? half a dozen beer drinkers..Lava? quiet…guate’s checking their cell phones for messages..

Riki’s? dead…Red’s? lo mismo…Angies? quiet…not quite dead..but quiet..Ricardo’s Tabacos y Vinos? only the staff there..lotta turistas walking 5ta norte..o shit..’just remembered that i promised Victoria of Cafe Flor that i’d come hear her sing…damn…gotta get another notebook for writin’ stuff down…if i can remember to buy the notebook..CRS is me…mental pause, i guess..

Nelson and Ron Fortin at Cafe No Se earlier…two of our better musicians in town..Carla Berryhill back in town…’had it with West End/Roatan and Rio Dulce…gotta job for her? she’d probably take it…knows her stuff, bar-wise…so..the VMB tomorrow night? gotta feeling its gonna be totally different this year…how, i’m not sure…Gabi is amazing, to say the least..Alex and Rita’s wedding on Saturday…his folks are in town and met ‘em at Sobremesa..’haven’t been to a wedding since the early 2000′s…daughter #1, in Carmel..’been the kinda things i shy away from, given my track record..

got no plans for tomorrow night? go do the VMB…weirdness personified, folks in costumes, masks and acting out..if Panza Verde’s 25th was any measure of fun, this might be in the same category..