Over the Top (OTT)

Saturday June 16, 2007 Revere, MA
Evan's Apartment

WOD: Imprecation: The act of calling down a curse that usually invokes evil (an usually serves as an insult)

The Brazilian food that we had the night before was a carnivore's wet dream. Midwest Grill is OVER THE TOP, which would be a recurring theme for the first part of the trip (also a great Powertime movie). Again, we kicked off the day with a game of Puerto Rico. Already I was feeling worn down by the heavy drinking so held off the first part of the day, plus I wanted to focus and play the game well. Finally, I was beginning to get the game a little more intuitively. Graham and Evan (especially Evan)were naturals, probably because they were brothers, and played 1000s of similar games in their youth. Damn them!
After about 3-4 games, I wanted to head downtown again to Newbury Comics to buy cds. Newbury is THE local mega-media place filled with comics, music, movies, and crappy plastic consumer goods. More music would be essential for the road trip.
Also, a good friend and Michigan-native Justin (aka Black Metal Justin/BMJ) had moved to Boston a few months prior. He had many of his material possessions like his cds and car, to live on a houseboat at Constitution Marina. I gave him a call to see if he wanted to meet up later or party down.
So we went to Newbury, not sure which location; I had been there before in 2002 when I last visited Graham. Record stores to me are like laxatives, for some reason everytime I go into one I have to crap up a crap storm. So, if this isn't personal enough, you can guess what happened next: I shit all over the cd racks, I shit all over the cashier's face, I shit all over the dvds and customers. This is what would have happened if I didn't go to the bathroom in the next business over. I did pick up 6 excellent cds, of them 3 Nordic artists, and all I had not heard yet:

Jaga Jazzist - A Living Room Hush
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden (8 Hymns for the Wolf in Man)
Dodheimsgard - Supervillain Outcast
King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon
Neuraxis - Trilateral Progression
Ozric Tentacles - The Floor's too Far Away

And the Curb Your Enthusiasm DVD set.

Earlier that day we had talked about going out to get Ethiopian food, another ethnic food I had not eaten, I was anxious for that shit too. I had gotten ahold of BMJ, which was great because he and his girlfriend Jenny could then meet us. Chris, the other guy who would be questing with Graham and I in RTOTF would also be meeting us there.
The restaurant we were going to was the Asmara, in Cambridge. Boyd, Evan, Graham, and I took Graham's car to meet BMJ and Jenny and pick them up near a PetCo store. When we neared the block, Graham and I got out to walk and meet them. A few blocks of walking we were walking behind some couple; the man was wearing a fedora similar to Indiana Jones. Immediately I knew it was Justin, as he is going for archaeological studies at Harvard. Also the difference in height between his girlfriend and him clued me in. We picked them up to head a few more blocks down the street.
The Asmara Restaurant was small and minimal. At 2-3 foot intervals small objects such as masks and paintings were placed on the background of a white wall. Still it was drab and a bit mysterious. The tables were very communal which helped us order a large sampler for multiple diners. Food is brought out on a giant circular tray in piles on top of porous, rubbery flatbread called injera. Some of our piles included shrimp, lamb and chicken with curry, cauliflower, and chickpeas. It reminded me a little of the curry and spice-laden Indian food my dad makes. Instead of utensils, the diner eats with his hands using the injera, tearing off pieces and clamping whatever curry pile you want. Again, I ate my fill and complimented the meal with the house beer, aptly named Asmara (where do they get their ideas?). It should be noted I was in hysterics over the meal Evan usually orders: Zil-Zil Tybsy Zil-Zil Tybs.

Primitive, delicious, but most importantly: Over the Top.

Our bellies heavy with the melange (not the spice), we piled 7 of us into Boyd's car to Justin's new house boat. I was anxious to see this thing, and I had been feeling very boisterous since I had been hanging out with Graham, Evan, and everyone else, it's usually nonstop laughs when we talk. As mentioned earlier, to achieve his nautical goal, Justin sold almost all of his possessions including his car and most of the music, save his house to rent out for income. The cost of his houseboat near the Boston Harbor Islands was marginal compared to his house. Not only that, but he did not have to pay home association fees, taxes, or any other BS fee that comes with a house. Simplifiiiiiied man.
We walked past the entrance with a giant wood-carved sign that read "Constitution Marina." A pier led us down to the throngs of boats. The water was a putrid green color, it wasn't appealing enough to want to jump in or at least drink it, which is what I do when I visit new marinas. Every boat has a name, most of them are cheesy names like "Purr Fection" or "Gnarlin' Marlin", the second one isn't real. Justin's boat is THE FITZCARRALDO—the best name on the docks. For those who don't know, Fitzcarraldo is taken from a Werner Herzog movie starring the actor, Klaus Kinski (more like megalomaniac-tor). Naturally, Kinski's character is an opera-loving megalomaniac who wants to build an opera house in the middle of the Peruvian Jungle, which is exactly what it needs- a fucking opera house! Kinski and his team have to carry a large riverboat OVER A MOUNTAIN first. Great boat name though...
The time was about 6 or 7, the sun was on the horizon giving us enough light to hang out. Justin was fairly new to boating. He said he bought the boat with no knowledge about boats, boat maintenance, or driving a boat. His neighbor instructed him on how to take it out for a drive on the Atlantic. We lounged and chatted on the "first floor" of the boat, which was similar to a living room setting. A cat was sauntering about, I cannot remember its name at the moment. Justin had a little bit of alcohol for us (Black Label beer and a wine box) and some sugary pastries with fruit goo in the middle. I always appreciate this because I feel hospitality is a good quality in a person. He also had a retractable set of shot glasses, which is something I had never seen before. We imbibed a shot of gin or whiskey. We had talked about his recent move to Boston from Michigan, and our plans for the road trip. I had remembered seeing a HUGE ship on the pier walk. That was the USS Constitution—a wooden hulled, three-masted frigate. This was one of the most famous ship in US history. Construction was mandated under the 1794 Naval Act to eventually form the first Navy and destroy any thing British and swimming. Every Friday and Saturday, cannons are fired from it at 8pm. Not real ones of course.
All the while on the boat, Motorhead-Ace of Spades was playing in the background, a dreadnaught of rock and roll history.