Squire Room

From squire and stuff

SQUIRE ROOM

Redding, ca

1336 Tehama St
Redding, CA 96001

Quiet, red, and dark are the best ways to describe the first time I stepped foot into the squire room in Redding, ca. After a few years of build up from my over 21 friends, I had finally had my opportunity to enjoy this magical place of strong drinks that got cheaper the longer you stayed. I walked into the downtown dive to find a medium size bar with three or four forty somethings nursing their well drinks talking to the iconic bartender known to all as frank. We decided to take a seat at a small table surrounded by red suede wrap-around chairs. We sat and enjoyed each others company as we sipped our drinks one at a time, as we told our worn out drinking stories we had compiled over the years. When I finally walked out of the bar late that night enjoying my buzz and cool air, I knew this was my kinda place.

Its one of best feelings walking into a local establishment and enjoying that "cheers" feeling. Walking into squire on any given evening I was greeted by Frank " Hey Mike, gin and tonic right?". Whether I wanted a G and T or not how could you say no to that? Frank is a great guy who always looked out for my friends and I. Whether it was some guy trying to scam us on liars dice, or just making sure we weren't going to drive as he is serving us another free round at the end of a long night of G and T's. Frank was born in Iran and still carried somewhat of an accent even though he had owned the establishment longer then I have been alive. He was probably sixty five and looked it, with his gray curly short hair and his baggy slacks and a button up shirt, with a few buttons missing up top to show off some of that gray hamburger meat. Some nights Frank looked like he had just had enough serving drunks and hipsters, but other nights he looked like he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I moved away from Redding about a year and could not have been more excited to see my Sam Malone behind the bar. A couple close friends and I stepped in to see a full bar of people chatting away and watching a new plasma TV mounted right above the bar. I was thrown off by the amount of people and the new television investment. When we found a table in the back of the bar seating area I was shocked to see another giant plasma recapping baseball game highlights. This was not the place I had grown to love. For some reason when I saw Frank I was expecting some sort of a Prodigal son procession to unfold. But instead of a kiss on the cheek and the the servants killing the fattened calf for the feast, I was met with a blank stare.

Squire still holds a special place in my heart, and I will still pop in from time to time when I visit friends and family. I recommend it to everyone that might stroll through Redding that has a dry throat, friends, and their own worn out drinking stories.

Yelp reviews http://www.yelp.com/biz/squire-room-redding

From squire and stuff

From squire and stuff

From squire and stuff

3-30-10

Had a chance to get the camera out to help a friend with an exciting new project. Here are a few pictures that are somewhat of a behind the scenes. Enjoy and DWYBO.

From 2010-04-30

From 2010-04-30

From 2010-04-30

From 2010-04-30

From 2010-04-30

1/29/10 12pm Tokyo

I didn't realize how scared I was of flying. Maybe it was the crazy flight to Bali, but now when I get on a plane i start to panic like I never have before. I never used to do that. Maybe i am passing that young guy feeling on invincibility. But with a few beer in me the turbulence doesn't through me off kilter too much. I was able to catch about an hour of sleep before some security guy wanted to search my bag and pat me down. I got up and got something to eat a grabbed a few beers to get me to sleep before my flight. It was unsuccessfully, I was pretty much a walking zombie for the next five hours. I stumbled on the plane where i listened to music and watched some movies. Japan Airlines is so fantastic with their customer service. They offered me a few more beers through out the flight that still didn't get me to sleep. 11 hours later I landed in SFO safely. Travis picked me up and I talked his ear off for about an hour. I continued to stay up for another 10 hours before I crashed for about 15 hours. I believe I stayed up for around 38 hours.

1/29/10 3:53 AM Tokyo Time

Spent the rest of the day people watching and reading a book I picked up at the store called "Smile when your lying" by Chuck Thompson. The book is pretty good. its about a travel writer who is published in all the crappy travel magazines and books. He exposes the whole industry to the reader. Probably not the best description of a book but I'm tired. I couldn't fall asleep in a flight full of people snoring away. I tried unsuccessfully to fall asleep with my drinking beer method. Through out this diary I feel like i have come off as bitter or unhappy when this is really not the way I always felt. This is just a way to relieve some tension from my surrounding and what I was feeling at the moment. In a lot of ways I had an amazing time meeting some great people, seeing things I have always wanted to experience. I traveled by myself discovering things at its purest and most difficult or somewhat difficult at least. Plus I did it all on my own which is exactly what I wanted from this trip. I had to make all the decisions about the destinations, how long to stay and pay at each hotel, where to eat, who to talk to, when to take risks. I feel Like I learned a bit more about self reliance. This whole last year has made me grow so much. Building my own business, moving to a new area and all the challenges that are involved in that. 35000 feet in the air and 4 beer later with little sleep is making me reflect on the whole year?! So what am I missing the most right this second you ask? 1. Bed 2.Dog 3.Friends and family. Wow that's it?

Day 21 1/28/10

My Last day in Indonesia. Woke up early. I think my window is next to the kitchen, I heard breakfast being made. Went and enjoyed what I heard was being prepared. Had some fried eggs, cold rice, cold tea, Hot crappy coffee. I could only get about half of it down before I gave up. Went outside and sat on the curb and watch people head to work on the moto bikes. I'm just trying to conserve some energy cause i know the next 36 hours are going to suck. i am excited to arrive in the extreme cleanliness of japan. Its almost the exact opposite of where I have been the last three weeks. headed out for a walk before i checked out. Oh wow the smell was pretty bad. The stink of sewer and piss was horrendous along with the smog and dry dirt. I walked along this cannal for a bit and saw the source of the stench. It was full of gray water and trash. I stoped to just watch the traffic go by when some lady started yelling at me and doing an "backward wave" which signaled me to get out of here. So I did, not too sure how safe of an area I am in. I saw a sign for a store i an failure with so I headed that way and saw a women doing the laundry in the gray water. This mad me wonder where my laundry was cleaned the two times I paid to have it cleaned. Later I checked out and made it to the airport after a nice conversation with a guy who works for a cruseship. Sitting in the airport i saw a Muslim guy wearing all while along with a pure white baseball cap which had embroidered on the back of it a etnies skateboarding logo. WAITING WAITING WAITING!...........

Day 20 1/27/10

Slept great. Woke up and talked to Travis on the Internet before breakfast. Went down to the beach then back to the pool, then had to pack my things. When I started to get my act together some guy that I had asked about a price to the airport showed up at my door asking when i wanted to leave. I then had a back and forth about how his priced was too high. He made it seem like I made an agreement with him. It pissed me off that I constantly feel bad for not just giving people money. I got all packed up while waiting Juno. Then the cab that I actually ordered showed up. The drive went by quick and quite, which is fine by me. When we arrived I asked what the total was for the ride. He said it was 100,000 Rph. I had already seen the meter which read 60,000 rph. So I told him that the meter says 60,000 Rph. He tells me that He will give me a special price of 60,000 Rph. I give him a pissed off face and give him the 60,000 Rph. A couple jumped into the cab while I was paying him so I told them to watch the meter. Its just exhausting trying to relax when everyone is ripping you off. I was pretty freaked out about getting on the plane. The gate number that was printed on the ticket was wrong, by the time I figured it out the plane was about to take off. The flight was pretty smooth back to Jakarta. I grabbed my luggage and headed out to grab a taxi. Everyone was yelling Blue bird when it was obvious they were working for another company. I ignored the 100 people looking to scam me and headed straight for the blue bird taxi. Got in one and headed to a hotel that is cheap and close. The room is pretty run down but its to be expected. Got some dinner then hit the sack.

Day 19 1/26/10

Woke up a little later today. Slept super great. Probably from the bintang. The power came back on at about 11:30pm which was a great feeling considering I didn't have a ceiling fan and I am in the tropics. I just laid in bed for about an hour as I realized that it was my last day in Bali. Its a little odd but I think 3 weeks was as long as you would need for this place. There is only so many beach town you can go to with the same hawkers trying to sell the same bracelets. So I got some coffee and breakfast after that I kinda just laid around before i headed down to the beach. Its a fantastic swimming beach because it is surrounded by reef protecting it from the waves. I spent a few hours chilling out and rejecting hawkers. I did buy a bracelet from some guy who wouldn't leave me alone. It was a buck so it wasn't that much of a loss. Had a good Lunch for about a buck. Went back to the hotel to swim at the pool and take a nap. After that I just lazed around for the rest of the night.

Day 18 1/25/10

Woke up with the same dream that I can't seem to get back to sleep after. So I was up early again. Went and had the breakfast that was free with the room. Decided to not waste all of today on my new found fascination of TV. The beach is pretty great, a bunch of docked boats on the teal ocean. White sand is perfect along with the 80 degree water. I laid out for a while while I read. At lunch I ate at a nice restaurant on the beach. Went back and swam in the pool for a bit then watched some TV. Next I hit the town to kill some time. When I got back i chatted with an English girl for a bit. It was nice listening to someone speaking English that I could understand. We talked for a while then the lights cut out, she went to bed and I stayed up writing and enjoying the bintang.

Day 17 1/24/10

Woke up ready to leave this morning in some what of a bad mood. I keep having a annoying dream. I was wide awake at 6am so i started packing. I'm all ready to go at about 7am but I don't leave until about 10am so i decide to get some coffee. the creepy guy I was talking to all week popped out of his door to engage me in his awkward style of talking. So I play along for a while then tell him I'm gonna get some breakfast. He asked if he can come along so I say sure and we head for the restaurant I have been eating at for a few days now. I ended up talking a bunch and he listened and answered some questions when I would ask. After breakfast I told him I would see him back at the hotel because I had to check the Internet for a bit. around 930am I headed back to the hotel to catch the taxi to Sanur, Bali. I'm kinda tired of talking to taxi drivers about the same things so I pretty much stayed quite. About an hour later i made it to Sanur. Its just another beach town but its nice enough. The place I wanted to stay at is full so I had to go to a more expensive hotel. Its about $35 a night, but I only have 3 more nights so I'm willing to pay it. Its nice to watch a bit of TV and have a pool. I walked to the beach and hung out at the pool for a while then pretty much watched TV and napped away the rest of the day.

Day 16 1/23/10

I was able to sleep much better then last night which put me in a much better mood. Got on the scooter and headed to get some crappy french toast and iced coffee. The sun is so intense today. I feel it burning my face every time I peak my head out. Decided to go to the big temple that is close to my hotel. I wasn't expecting much which was probably a good thing, because I was pretty impressed with what i found. It was perched at the edge of the cliff and made for some amazing pictures. There were a bunch of monkeys trying to get some food out of the peoples. I don't know where some of these tourist come from. They are not staying or eating or eating anywhere I am, but as soon as i show up at the biggest tourist attractions I am surrounded by them. So loud and out of place, coated with white sun screen. Its pretty interesting watching them walk from photo-op to photo op taking the same pictures with the same pose. I don't understand it but I'm not as upset as I was the first week I was here. I was only there for about 45min. The sun was too hot to stay in it. I started driving down a few road I haven't driven down before and relaxed I had driven in a giant loop. So I headed back to the hotel to lay down a bit. Ended up having dinner and watching a movie at a warang which was a nice change of pace.

Day 15 1/22/10

Slept terrible last night. The room is so hot and I kept freaking out about the giant spider I saw but couldn't get to it before it took off. Started thinking about getting back home to sleep in my bed and bundling up because its so cold. Went to find a place fro breakfast which is difficult this time of the year in ulu Watu. It was really good and about $2. Then I headed to town about 15 minutes away to find a bank where i could get a bit more cash for the rest of the trip. i grabbed 1.25 million Rph which is about $150. That should get me home. I think I did fairly well considering I had to buy an extra plane ticket to Bali. So I think the total cost is about $1300 for the entire three weeks. I headed to the beach to check out the surf and swim. The sand was white and the water was fairly clean. Got a pretty good sunburn on my chest and face. Went back to the hotel to grab my camera and head to ulu watu beach. I sat in the same place i did the day before and started reading. A few minutes later the finish girls I met at the Gili's showed up. It was so strange. They just happened to drive from kuta beach for the day and I just happened to be in that one restaurant. It was kinda nice talking with people that I half know. Since I did half know them i decided to take pictures of there eyes and a few other peoples that were willing to go along with it. A couple hours later they decided to head back to kuta, Leaving me to finish the repetitive Henry Rollins book. I'm glad I finished it because it was driving me crazy to read on and on about his life. I listed to all of his spoken word and thought it was great but that book was ridiculously repetitive. But unfortunately I'm out of books. On the way home from the beach I grabbed some cup-o-noodle and some chips and beer for dinner. I'm getting tired of throwing money away at restaurants. i never eat out at home so it just seems wasteful for some reason. Saw the sunset and it was absolutely fascinating. Blood red through the clouds. now I'm sitting on the porch listening to some music drinking another bintang dreading falling asleep in this blood stained place.

Day 14 1/21/10

I feel like I have been here much longer then 14 days. Its no longer foreign or frightening. Woke up to some guy yelling "you will always **** me!" I opened the door and stepped out to hear what was going on but I think I scared him off. Had a hard time getting back to sleep after that, trying to think what that idiot was trying to convey. Not sure if I would have yelled at the guy to shut up. Is it really worth it to get shanked for some dumb chick that is stupid enough to get involved with a roided up freak? Eventually got back to sleep and was out until 930am. I had to be out of there by 11am so I packed my things and headed out for breakfast. Brought my own instead coffee and gave it to the women to make for me. the coffee at the hotel restaurant is such a shot in the dark I was tired o pulling the trigger. Gobbled down the food and jumped on the scooter to send off a couple emails. I ran into the awesome coffee place to grab a great coffee before I headed to Ulu Watu. I know the place is pretty bare bones and I wont have the luxuries I have in Ubud. I enjoyed the iced coffee while I read the depressing news paper about the giant earthquake in Haiti. Sounds like its pretty big news. I jumped in the van with the driver and headed out to Ulu Watu. The drive was a pretty good time. I try to ask odd ball questions to mix it up a bit. Turns out the guy spends $7 a month for a his cell phone. When I told him I spend $90 he almost crapped a brick. Found a hotel for $12 a night and a scooter for $4 a day.. So I jumped on the scooter to find out the town pretty much shuts down in the rainy season. only a few restaurants open before 4pm. Looks like I am going to be eating some Cup-O-Noodle for a while. I found a beach area where the surfing is pretty amazing. The walk down to the surf is pretty exciting. The cliff is essentially covered in shops and restaurants for all the surfers getting in and out of the water. I finally made it to the surf entry point to take a look and its pretty hairy. I found a nice little restaurant that had dug itself into the cliff side. I had a milkshake and started reading when the hawkers crept out of the cliff to offer me an amazing amount of garbage i would never want including 20 minute massage from a toothless smiling women. She just started rubbing my shoulders.I told her no thank you about 30 times before she gave up on me. They came in and out every 15 minutes until the sun started going down. After the sunset I went to the mini store for a beer and some noodles then back to my room, where i spoke to this Japanese man that lived in LA. He kinda looked like someone you might pop up on an amber alert or a newscast warning people about a new serial killer. It was so awkward I cant stand talking to him. I was reading on the porch and he approached me for a little chat. after i rambled on for minutes I purposely waited for him to respond with something, just to hear what would come out of his mouth. An amazing amount of time went by before he could say something. he is a nice enough guy but I had to see what I was dealing with. I usually am a bit more easy going when it comes to peoples awkwardness but this place is making me bitter i think. The constant rejecting of people selling me things makes me have less feeling for people who need sympathy. I cant say its a good things but it is what it is.

Day 13 1/20/10

Had an idea when I woke up to take close pictures of only peoples eyes. Not sure if i will actually do it but it sounds interesting. I like that I am waking up to that thought rather then what supplies I need to do that job I am late to. Had the same breakfast as yesterday and then jumped on the scooter, which i am falling in love with, and went for coffee at the great place name Kafe. I read the newspaper and then looked at a map to plot my route to the next cattle grazing area, aka the Goa Gatah. Its another "Sacred temple for both Buddhist and Hindu, both having their own temple on the grounds. There was some great structures to see so it was worth the 20 minutes trip and the 60 cent entrance fee. I strapped on the helmet and circa survive and headed back to the hotel. That's where I spoke to the hotel manager for a bit about the Bali and Java relationship which is not goin all that great by the way. In the same conversation i arranged my ride to Ulu watu for tomorrow. i really sunk my teeth into the Henry Rollins book by the pool to the demise of the skin on my back. Everything read was hypocritical yet enjoyable. 3 hours later I was taking a shower and feeling the pain of the entrancing repetitiveness. I read a bit more the decided to go to the big shopping area I had seen out of town to pick up some top ramen and chips for later. I found a bookshop and checked out a few things while enjoying the air con until I realized I had to go #2 which is terrifying in a public place in Bali. This being because all bathrooms are "squat only"I was reminded of this when I oped the door to a hole in the ground. I would have gone for it if it had some toilet paper, but unfortunately I had hold out till I could get back to the hotel. I guess they just wipe with the left hand and then wash after. But there is no soap to be seen. I bought a few things at the store including some whisky for a change, then headed back to the hotel. I grabbed a cold coke and a glass and enjoyed a drink by the pool with the writing of predictable Rollins. I continued writing on the balcony as the sunset. I took a few pictures but a sunset never really translates to picture.

Day 12 1/19/10

Woke up at about 8am. I have officially become accustom to this time change. Had a good breakfast of banana pancake, aka banana crepe and some java tea. The weather was pretty terrible during breakfasts, so as soon as it broke i jumped on the scooter to see what i could find. Turns out I found those famous rice patties from the pictures you see when you google Bali. They are actually amazing. I took a bunch of photos and kept moving. I saw a great photo I wanted to take across from a Hindu Temple so I stopped, but as soon as I did it started pouring rain again. So i ran ran to the temple performance area where there were men carving what looked like intricate flowers into wood trim. The locals were extremely inviting and told me to take pictures of them. It was so genuinely nice of them. They told me to go up on the stage an play the instruments. One of them showed me a few things and i tried to follow his lead. One of them told me to check out the temple next door, so i followed a women who was willing to give me a tour. She spoke almost no English so we just traded sounds and smiles for a bit. Eventually i ventured off on my own. All of a sudden the weather turned and i was stuck under some holy offering area. My tour guide was on the other side of the property. We exchanged smiles for about 20 minutes as I took pictures of what I could. When the rain finally stopped we met and she offered to take pictures of me ringing a giant bell or giving some sort of a offering to a god. I humbly refused and motioned for the exit. She removed my sarong. I was planing on giving her some money for her time, but before i could get the wallet out of my pocket she asked for Rupiah(Dollars). I gave her about $5 and took off. What I thought was an offer to show me something close to her heart was only a way to buy some rice. That is when i realized that this whole culture is being sold to us $5 at a time. Its almost like they keep nothing sacred for themselves. Its actually really sad. There temples are photo ops for giant buses of western cattle that treat it like it is something unique. it is unique to us, but for how long until we find something else we can find to exploit. But who really is doing the exploiting? If it wasn't for sale we couldn't be able to buy it. But if we wernt offering millions they wouldn't feel the pressure to sell it. Who knows who's fault it is I just know I don't like it. From there I rode back into Ubud and had an Iced coffee and a sandwich. Both were great. i spent a few hours by the pool and finished a book by David Sedaris. His style of writing is refreshingly dry and sarcastic. Later I woke up for dinner and a great show at the biggest temple in Bali, the Ubud palace. About 100 cattle and I enjoyed a show that ended at 9pm. For some reason i was able to drink a Bintang. It felt wrong but i didn't really care. Rode my scooter home with a three beer buzz to start a Henry Rollins book before I fell asleep.

Day 11 1/18/10

Woke up to an amazing view from my window. I came in late so I never saw the veranda. Went and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant. I decided the hotel was a bit too far out of town so i switched hotels which involved riding a scooted with my 60lbs of luggage, which was pretty exciting. i got to my new hotel and bargained a air conditioned room and scooter of my own for three days for $25 a night with free breakfast. So I jumped on the scooter to check out the city. I found a nice coffee place called Kafe. I had a great iced americano that made me amazingly happy. Then three people Sat next to me, two from Santa Cruz and one from Alaska. They were very Santa Cruz like. One worked at a hydroponics shop and the other trimmed weed. But they were super friendly, and it was nice to talk about home. Pretty much spent the rest of the day napping and swimming and hanging by the pool. I have the next three days here so I'm not too worried about waisting time.

Day7-10 1/14/10 - Day 10 1/17/10

Spent the next few days in somewhat of a relaxed Coma, swimming, eating, drinking, repeat. I met a few finish people that were very inviting. So much so that they offered me mushrooms and weed over a few beers. i didn't spend much time with them after that. I had a great discussion with a few locasl from Gili air. they were very thoughtful and nice. I asked what they thought about the guest that stay there. He told me that every was was great except most Russians. I actually got that a lot through out this trip.

1/17/10

I got up at about 630am to catch the small boat to Lombok so I could catch the ferry back to Bali so I could reach Ubud tonight. I made it to the ferry that took about 5 hours to get to Bali. Then for some reason we were stuck anchored 500 yards from the dock. I survived on cup-o-noodle and water for 8 hours. absolutely miserable. Once we all made it off the ferry, all the westerners were treated like cattle, all moving to there safe buses. Everyone was being pointed to the buses that went to differing city's. But for some reason I was pointed to the back of a scooter. So i did like a scared little westerner should. I jumped on the back of the scooter, holding tight to the mans shoulders remembering the whole family that fell of the scooter on the first day I was in Indonesia. I just figured he was taking me the hour it took to get to Ubud. But instead he drove me a few blocks to another bus that was already full of cattle. I introduced myself to a response of silence. It was a bunch of "adventurous" 30 somethings. The driver tried to lighten everyones mood by playing some terrible Balinese music. Some Douchbag yelled to the front of the mini bus "The music is beautiful But I cant here the conversation I'm having". This American Guy continued on with his "amazing" conversation about his job as a book critic. I felt like I was about to explode with frustration, exhaustion and anger............It was a long Day. after an hour I jumped on the back of another scooter for a short ride to the Hotel. Once again way over priced but I had to get some rest.