Naturally, after spotting this, I polished up my resume and wrote a concise, spirited cover letter and sent it off through the tubes for consideration.

Afterwards, I sent a tweet to @PBR_USA, the official Twitter for Pabst Blue Ribbon, the company’s flagship brand, letting them know I applied and was excited for the opportunity.

Then, a couple days later I thought, wait, I should really push this through social media channels. I avidly use Facebook and Twitter, in both my private life — which ends up being populated by goofy things I think about, or chronicles of what my beautiful wife Sarah is watching on TV behind me — and as an ambassador for Ice Cream Man. Within minutes I had set up a Facebook page encouraging people to support my quest for this job, started using a custom hashtag #Gooch4PBR on Twitter and registered Gooch4PBR.com to redirect to the Facebook page.

My thoughts were simple: If this is a job managing social media, why not use social media to show how eminently qualified I was?

Well, here I am, hopefully things will work out, it absolutely is a perfect fit for myself and for Pabst, a brand I absolutely love and can attest for.

Note: I never finished this post but I’m uploading it anyway

I’ve lived in Long Beach for over eleven years now. I feel like I’ve done a bit of exploring and know a thing or two about the town. The convention center is a great building and there are parts of downtown that are quite nice, but, as most conventioneers know, there is usually better stuff off the beaten path. I’ll do what I can to highlight things near, but not too near. I’ve also done my best to break these into geek categories.

Beer geeks:

• The number one suggestion, and possibly the best in this entire list is Congregation Ale House. It’s not only the best beer bar in Long Beach, it’s probably one of the top five in Southern California. Plus, it’s walking distance from the convention center. Sunday night is their Saints & Sinners Ball featuring 32 ‘themed’ beers on tap plus prizes for best costume. It should be crowded, but a good time (they also have some pretty great food).
• Another great bar, but a bit of a ways from downtown is Alex’s Bar. It’s a punkish bar that also has a bunch of great beers on tap. Added bonus for geeks: they have done filming there for True Blood as the show’s vampire bar Fangtasia. Friday night they have Dammit Janet, a live band tribute to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Saturday is Phil Shane and his Undead Orchestra, which is too much to try to explain here.
• Way off the beaten path, but excellent nonetheless is Beachwood BBQ. It’s been consistently rated one of the best beer bars in the world (yes, THE WORLD). The downside: it’s in Seal Beach, probably a fifteen minute drive. But if you’re going to be out and about at all, it’s some great BBQ and great beer.
• I would say it’s almost necessary if you’re in Long Beach to hit up the oldest bar in LB – Joe Jost’s. Again, it’s not near the convention center, but it is near Alex’s, so you can always do a twofer. It’s just a cool old bar with icy cold beer on tap, pickled eggs and “Joe’s Special”: a hotdog on rye bread with a pickle spear, cheese and mustard. They’ve been making them the same for 100 years (I didn’t fact check that last statement).
• You might be tempted to hit up Rockbottom Brewery on Pine and Ocean. Don’t. That place is awful.
• If you’re just into doing some barhopping in town, you can always try the likes of House of Hayden, The V Room, The Red Room or The Prospector – which hosts some local bands covering The Clash, The Misfits, Cock Sparrer and The Buzzcocks on Saturday night. With the possible exception of HoH, none of these are particularly walking distance from downtown, but all are a fairly short cab ride and all are different shades of divey.
• Of course, there are plenty of chain establishments to drink at, but c’mon, you can go anywhere for those. Who wants to spend Friday night of Halloween weekend at Chili’s?

Wine geeks:

• Honestly, I don’t know much about wine, but I know there are a few places.
• District Wine: I haven’t been here, but I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews. It is near downtown, so it’s not too far to get to.
• Art du Vin. This place I have been to. It’s a delight. The place is a bit small, but it’s very charming and next to a great old theater, the Art Theater (more on that later).
• 4th St. Vine: practically across the street from Art du Vin, they have a ‘Day of the Dead’ themed art opening on Saturday that I encourage you go to.

Food geeks:

• There really aren’t that many great eateries in Long Beach, I’m afraid to say, and I’m not a huge expert on which are the best, but I’ll try to give a quick breakdown.
• Near the convention center – I know that I never want to delve too far when I’m at a convention. You’re tired and just want something easy. That’s how they get you. But you can find a few gems. Again, avoid Rockbottom. On Pine Ave the best food is probably George’s Greek Cafe. Otherwise you’re on your own on that street.
• A bit further is Creme de la Crepe, a fine crepe place that is in the heart of the “East Village Arts District.”
• For solid Mexican without too much traveling, try out Super Mex. It’s not the best in the world, but I’ve never been disappointed.
• If you’re willing to travel a bit, here’s some highlights:
• Tacos – for my money, La Revancha has the best tacos in town. You don’t necessarily want to get anything else there though. Also: Taqueria #2, Hole Mole.
• Burgers – Sadly, two of the best burgers in town recently departed. But there’s still MVP’s, Bake n Broil, and a slew of places like Jim’s Charbroiler, Joe’s Char-broiled, etc.
• Pizza – Long Beach is not a big pizza town, especially if you’re visiting from somewhere that makes great pizza. But try out New York Pizza (I haven’t tried it, so I can’t vouch for it), La Parolaccia (one of the best restaurants in town), Domenico’s, Pizza Pi. For delivery, the surprisingly titled Canadian Pizza is probably your best bet.
• Thai – Now, on the other hand, Long Beach IS a big Thai town. My favorites are May’s and Sophy’s, but you can generally do no wrong with Thai around here.
• Chinese – On the other hand, surprisingly not big for Chinese. Chen’s is OK and has huge portions and delivers. I’m not even sure if there is a Chinese place downtown though.
• All others – At Last Cafe is the one place everybody raves about. It’s really small inside, so you might have trouble getting seated. I went there once and it was ok, but what do I know? If you’re vegetarian/vegan you’ll want to check out Zephyr, which to my knowledge is the only vegetarian based restaurant in town.

General geeks:

• There’s plenty of other interesting stuff in town. A lot of it you probably know of, so I’ll try to keep this short.
• Of course, the Queen Mary. 1. You can go unofficially ghost hunting. If you’re on the boat late at night, you’re welcome to roam the halls and decks as much as you like. As long as you aren’t disturbing anything they’re all right with it. Go explore! 2. It’s a pretty fun place to stay the night. The rooms are small, not very comfortable and you can hear your neighbors through the wall, but it’s fun! 3. The Observation Bar is one of the best bars in Long Beach. You have to check it out.
• Shoreline Village is a little touristy spot near downtown. There’s not much to say about it except that it’s often used as a location in Dexter. Yes, Long Beach is Miami of the West.
• Another location, but an old one, Long Beach Public Library and Long Beach City Hall were used as Caprica City in the original Battlestar Galactica. You too can be Serina!
• Over on 4th St. is a great old theater that was recently renovated. The Art Theatre is beautiful and has some great stuff happening. Saturday night starting at 8:30 is the Long Beach Zombie Walk on 4th St. followed by a showing of Shaun of the Dead. They’re also playing It’s Kind of a Funny Story during regular hours. In addition, it’s just a cool strip full of vintage shops, some good food and wine bars. Worth the stop if you have time or just want to get away for a bit
• The bus system is pretty good. The Passport (you’ll see the red buses) goes around downtown and down to the Queen Mary & Shoreline village for free and goes across town to Belmont Shore for $1.25. There’s even a bus that heads to Seal Beach, you just have to time it right. Also, the Aqualink is a water bus that cruises through the ocean to get across town. Added bonus – they serve alcohol on board.

Hopefully some of these tips help you out. I know I’d appreciate some of this when visiting a strange town. It’s always good to get some local ideas. Again, if you have anything specific you’re looking for or want to add tips, or just want to say hi. Tweet me @davegooch or email dave@davegooch.com. Also, I’ll try to update as I can with any other suggestions, tips or ideas. I know I’ve left out breakfast and coffee which are two huge ones. I’ll get to that, I swear.

The line moved forward, meanwhile the kid moved backward. This time to the next set of cupboards and now practically right next to me. Curly opens the cupboards and finds that there are ceramic mugs inside. He grabs one and I begin to make a move to grab it out of his slimy little hands, but he bangs it on the shelf and puts it back. Not interesting enough. Next, he spots a fairly large Moka pot on the counter. As he’s grabbing this, the line moves forward again and the woman is ordering. Then, suddenly, the man that was in front of her, who also had paid zero attention to the child, calls out to him. “Hey, come here,” he says. Curly then toddles over to the man, still carrying the coffee pot. This is when I expect, finally, even a slight reprimand. Maybe, “don’t touch things” or even, “hey kiddo, that’s not yours, put it back.” But no, instead he kneels down, takes the pot and opens it up, showing the maybe two year old kid how it works. Now, if this was his, or something he just bought, this could be a fun (or boring) demonstration. But it was something the kid just grabbed off the shelf in a coffee shop after opening all the cupboards and banging a ceramic mug.

Granted, I don’t have any kids, but really, is this OK?

I wish I had taken a video of it. I’m sure the parent wouldn’t have noticed.

I have to resist the urge to automaticall type gooch@icecreamman.com

Wow. Even being a little drunk doesn’t prepare for the ridiculousness here.

1. There’s an 80′s hair band cover band. Yes.

2. A ton of drunk bros. Someone get them an ice.

3. Drunk ex-cheerleader doing cartwheels.

I mean… I… I don’t know how to explain.