About Mark

Mark Blogging by Susan Dorf

Mark sits on the couch watching cooking shows on his computer, one hand dipping into a bag of pretzels perched on his belly, and the other wrapped around a tall glass of homebrewed beer. After a while he will get up and do something, like throw a few shirts onto the overflowing pile on top of his suitcase, or organize some of his beer paraphernalia. Then, overwhelmed by the enormity of these tasks, he will return to the couch and the comfort of his vices.

We are leaving for Mexico tomorrow, and though I know he wants to go to Mexico as much as I do, the idea of travel and the uncertainty of change are way out of his comfort zone, and the effort required to actually prepare for a trip that will take him a few thousand miles away from his couch is daunting, to say the least.

Mark is kind and generous, patient and loyal, cynical, cantankerous, and funny. He is also a junk food junkie, a couch potato, and a self admitted sloth, always seeking the path of least resistance, the easy way out. He likes to do things slowly, take his time, and rest a lot in between.

All of these traits magically transform, however, when it comes to his one true passion: Beer. Making beer, drinking beer, talking and reading about beer, teaching others how to make beer, and collecting and constructing gizmos to make better beer. In this endeavor he is suddenly efficient and tireless. You can read more about this obsession on his blog, Beer Diary...

Somehow, eventually, his bags get packed. Plastic tubing, thermometers and packets of yeast and dried hop pellets are nestled amongst his underwear and socks, and he is ready to hit the road. But meanwhile, there is still some IPA left in the keg, half a bag of pretzels to consume, and several hours of cop show reruns to watch....


- posted by Susan