Regular ‘ol Weekend

I am posting this entry from the comfort of my couch because this past week it got a new laptop. I got a Dell 700m and I absolutely love it. I’ve had a pretty low key month with the exception of Wertz coming in from NY. Friday we went to Mequon to pick up Jocelyn’s dress for Todd’s wedding. While we were out there we went to Milli’s Spaghetti Factory. This place used to be a regular stop for my mom, aunt Joanie and me when we made our trips to Northridge Mall (which is no longer open). The food was good and I got what I always got as a kid, linguine in red clam sauce, yum. After that we headed back downtown and went by Luedke’s for a bit. We had a beer there and after that Jocelyn went home because she was doing the Urban Frog race the next day. I on the other hand was able to have a couple more beers. So I joined the L, Adam and Stacy for a couple beers across the street at Halliday’s. I had a couple beers and headed home before midnight. On my walk home I got buzzed by a couple on a crotch rocket. They were being followed by four others also on bikes. The second group passed two cars using the white divider line as a lane so they weren’t the safest of riders. At that moment I had one of those, “Those people are going to kill themselves,” or “Someday something bad is going to happen to them moments.” I kept on walking and got about 100 yards from the upcoming intersection when I heard the screeching and crashing. The guy and girl got hit broadside and thrown a good 20+ yards into the little park that was by the intersection. There was a white Celica with four hysterical girls in it that had the front end smashed in and the bumper half off. I was one of the first people on the scene but could already hear sirens coming so I didn’t need to call 911. I stood and watched the melee for about 20 minutes and the guy didn’t move once. The bike had a v contour to it so I’d imagine they both had at least one crushed leg. Shows you what unsafe riding can do I guess.

Saturday I had a little list of things to do. Jocelyn was doing her adventure race so I was going solo. I took her car to the mechanic to get the air conditioning checked. I dropped the car off and took my bike out of the back of the Montero and biked around downtown for a bit. There were people running around doing the race but I didn’t see J anywhere. One of my errands was exchanging my bike seat. It had a hole in it when I bought it and they said I could just take it in to Wheel & Sprocket for an exchange. It was a good fifteen miles roundtrip so it took me a little over an hour. I got the seat exchanged, biked to the mechanic to pick up the Montero and headed home. Jocelyn got home about four or five and took a nap. Around seven we went to Elsa’s with Adam and Stacy to get some grub. The food there is very good. Their menu is mostly gourmet hamburgers and pork chops. When you walk into the place it seems like a swanky joint but they serve mostly burgers. The place is owned by the same people who own the Kopp’s hamburger places so you know the burger is going to be good, and it was. I had an APV II which had some blue cheese and onions fried in Cabernet sauvignon, delicious. The meal was very good but the drinks added a lot of money to the bill and we spent more than expected. My suggestion is just get the burgers there. They’re about $8 and well worth it. Save the drinks for My Office. So after dinner we went to of all places, My Office. We had a couple drinks there and chatted it up with the bartender. After that we went and met Adam’s friends at County Claire for one last beer and then headed home, again before the stroke of midnight.

Sunday I woke up and did what will be my normal Sunday morning routine for the next 18 weeks. I started training for the Chicago marathon so I do my long runs on Sundays, 11 miles this week. After that Jocelyn and I went to the mall in Brookfield. We shopped around and then went and ate at a place called the Char House. I had to get a suit coat for an event this coming weekend so we went to Men’s Warehouse after that and low and behold Todd and Steph were there. Todd was getting his tux fitted for the big day. It was a quite the coincidence because I will probably die in this suit coat and don’t venture to Brookfield very much. After that run in I got my coat, a steal by the way, and we headed home to sit on the couch and watch the end of the U.S. Open.

Showing the East How the (Mid)West Was Won

Holy cow what a week this was. The Yankees came to town to play the Brewers this week and I had bought tickets to go to all three games. Monday I went with Jocelyn. The weather was nice and the roof was open for a night game which seems to be a rarity. The Brewers did great and took the first game from the Spankies, one of my least favorite teams in the world.

Tuesday I went with Luedke to the game. Since I get out of work at four and he is taking the summer off we got to the park early for some tailgating. We had a few more beers than I was expecting but it was worth it because the Brewers won again.

Wednesday is when this already crazy week went into overdrive. My friend Chris from our old hangout The Blind Tiger in NY decided to fly in for a couple games before going to see his beloved Red Sox take on the Cubs in Chicago. This was Chris’s furthest trip West in the US. The furthest he had been before this trip was Pennsylvania. He isn’t a NY city hermit refusing to leave the “friendly” confines of Manhattan Island. Many New Yorkers are like this. He lived in Austria and Europe for a bit. So I took off about noon and met Chris at my apartment. After I got changed we headed to the Milwaukee Ale House to get a bite to eat and take in the city of Milwaukee’s ambiance. We walked in and took a seat and low and low and behold Tyler was there. He was waiting for his girlfriend Angela so we had him join us. Chris also knew a group of guys from the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES). They were a group of people doing a reality TV show for the station. A group of 4 people get to follow around the Yankees to all 162 games. Chris was their tour guide when they went to Boston so he already had a rapport with them. A couple of them met us at the Ale House and we set up a tailgate for them. We headed to the park after the Ale House. We started up the tailgate and got the party rolling. These NY people don’t understand what a real tailgate is all about so I was under pressure to show them a good time. The tailgate went over well. I had plenty of beer and brats for everyone including the cast and crew of the show. It appeared that they had a good time and I was even civil to the Yankees fans. We shut down the tailgate and headed into the park. Chris knows another guy named Paul from Pewaukee. Paul was one of the nicest guys I’ve met and I’m not saying that just because he got us third row tickets behind the plate. The seats were some of the greatest seats I’ve ever had. We were able to heckle the Yankee players (Bostonian Chris especially like this) and Jocelyn almost got killed by a flying bat. One of the players let go of his bat and it came right at us. It hit J in the back but she didn’t get to keep the bat because it hit the guy behind us in the nose. Not only were we able to sit in these great seats but Paul also had access to a suite! So in the seventh inning we headed up to suite and had some free drinks and some sandwiches, what a perfect baseball game experience. The YES network people met us in the suite and we had a great time. It would have been a perfect experience but the Brewers lost. They still took 2 of 3 from the Yankees so all was not lost. After the game I showed Chris the Safehouse. We had a drink there, watched the magician bartender and headed home, some of us have to work in the morning. Thursday wasn’t quite as crazy but still fun. I met Chris for lunch at Potbelly’s. Chris was looking for a souvenir and ended up buying a pipe from the Milwaukee’s historic downtown smoke shop Uhle’s. After work we went to Jazz in the Park and had a couple bottles of wine and smoke our pipes. The weather remained gorgeous throughout the night. After JitP we went to the Lodge and got a couple pitchers of beer and a couple pizzas (Pizza and a pitcher $10 on Thursdays). After that we went to the Harp and had a beer and headed home. Chris left Friday when we went to work. It was great seeing him again. We had a great time and it was well worth the lack of sleep.

Friday after work we drove down to Peoria for the 4 mile Steamboat Classic race. We were pooped so once we arrived in Peoria we fell asleep as soon as we were horizontal. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for the race. The start was at 7:45 so it was another early morning. It was my first race of the season and also the kick off to my marathon training. There are a couple thousand people that run this race each year. There are Olympians and Boston marathon winners, it’s quite the event. I started in the eight minute mile grouping because I didn’t know what kind of pace I could sustain. I finished the four mile race in 28:31 which is about 7:09 mile pace. Not a bad start but I still have a ways to go to get to 17 minutes to compete with the three Kenyans that swept the podium. Jocelyn’s aunt and uncle did very well. Her uncle took third in his age group but her aunt showed everyone up by taking first in her group. It was a lot of fun and a good start to the summer’s race season. Aside from completing a marathon I also want to get my 5k time under 20 minutes, stay tuned. After the race we headed back to J’s dad’s apartment, watched some tube, and got caught up on this week’s lack of sleep. We headed over to J’s grandparent’s house at about two to sit with the family. At about five we went to have dinner with the family. After dinner we had dessert back at the house. The dessert and craziness of this week caught up with me. J wanted to go out but I was paralyzed and forced to call it a night. We headed back to her dad’s place and called it a night.

Sunday we woke up early again and met with J’s mom’s family and went for a hike on a really nice path. The path used to be an old train track bed so it was really the ideal surface for walking on. After the latest physical activity was complete we went to lunch with J’s dad’s family and then headed back to Milwaukee. This was quite the dyslexic weekend. I had all the partying and fun during the week and the fitness and physical exertion on the weekend. Either way the whole week turned out to be a fun one, even with the exhaustion.

Another Fun Wedding, Ain’t No Bull

This weekend was the wedding of one and only Mr. Greg Neerhoff. After work on Friday I drove up to Sheboygan Falls to go to the rehearsal. I was a little late because traffic in Milwaukee was awful and I had to stop and pick up my tux in Sheboygan. I made it to the church about five minutes late but it wasn’t a big deal. The rehearsal took less then an hour which was nice. The rehearsal dinner was held at The Villager in Falls and was the typical Falls dinner, fried chicken, ham, mashed potatoes and all the fixings. I can’t count how many times in my life I have had this meal but it has to be nearing a hundred. Don’t get me wrong, this meal is very tasty and I could probably eat it every day if I had to. The Villager and Rangeline are neck and neck for the best chicken in the county too so I always request extra skin at these establishments. After dinner all the groomsmen received nice grilling sets, perfect for tailgating. Once that was done a handful of us went over to The O for a couple more drinks. Most people took off after one drink but Chad and I stayed out until just before midnight and headed home to rest up for tomorrow’s festivities.

Saturday a bunch of the guys woke up early and went golfing at Riverdale. I was lucky enough to get matched up in the first foursome with Greg, the groom, and the other more docile people in the bunch. We shot nine holes and I did pretty well. I got my first legit birdie on a par four and things were off to a good start. After golf we all went home to change. We got to the church at 11:30 which was WAY too early. There was a lot of sitting around time waiting for pictures. Once we got some of the pics out of the way it was show time. The wedding was very quick and this in turn constitutes a nice wedding. Badda boom badda bang you’re married. After the wedding there were more pictures and then we headed to the Bull for the reception and more pictures. We got a couple of quick pictures at the Bull when the rain started to come down in buckets. So off to the open bar we went. We sat there and waited for the reception to start. The reception was fancy and nicely done. There were two main courses for the meal, one, a choice of pastas and the second swordfish or pork tenderloin. The food was delicious and got me ready for the rest of the night. The rest of the night was your regular dancing and other wedding festivities. When the wedding ended I walked to the O and spent the remainder of the night there with Chad. It was a nice wedding. Congrats to Greg and Trisha!

Enjoying “the Offical” Summer Weather

I had a very fun weekend this week. On Saturday I had Greg’s bachelor party. I took it easy Friday night and cruised to Sheboygan on Saturday morning. I spent most of the morning driving around Sheboygan with Rich trying to find a place that could lathe the Montero’s rotors so I could get the brakes fixed. We were finally able to find a guy to do it so we had the brakes fixed by noon. After that I went to Randy’s and played with the nephew for a bit. Then it was time for the party. The party was held at Rochester Park in Falls. We had some beers and some brats and played yard games. I dominated the basketball court taking 5 of 6 games of 21. I also did well in the bean bag toss and the nut toss. I pretty much dominated all the games. After the festivities we headed up to the O and spent the night pinballing between there and big Jimmy’s. We got Greg pretty shined up and it’s always a good time watching him when he’s a wet noodle. After some world famous root beer shots we called it a night.

I woke up early Sunday to take advantage of the holiday weekend. I drove back early to get ready for the mini tailgate party I had planned. We got all the gear together and headed to the park early. We had a tailgate crew of about fifteen so there was lots of fun to be had. We had a gorgeous day and plenty of food to grill. We enjoyed the parking lot and then headed into the game. The outcome was a 2-1 loss v. Houston but the day was going great so we weren’t about to let a loss pull us down. After the game we went to Kelly’s Bleachers for a little post game Golden Tee. I did ok but it wasn’t my best GT showing. After that we headed downtown the Eastpoint Pub. We spent the remainder of the afternoon and part of the evening being rowdy at the EP. We headed home, had a bite to eat, and went to bed early. It was one of the more fun days that I’ve had in a while. Everyone was in a good mood and everyone was happy and just having a good time.

Sunday we woke up, went on a bike ride, and relaxed the rest of the holiday away to get the batteries recharged.

Unexpected Chaos

Crazy weekend this week. Friday I went to go see my old boss Chad DJ at Mr. G’s in Kenosha. There was an unexpected cover charge when we got there but the drinks were cheap so that made up for it. Plus I was there to check out Chad spin some phat beats. I met another one of my ex-colleagues Jordan there. Jordan quit ASQ and is getting his masters in a wilderness program. Jordan and I are eerily similar in many ways and we always have stuff to joke around about. He is also one of the few people in my life I am able to let loose with and talk some true geek speak. So J, Jordan, his girlfriend and fellow ASQ employee Kristen, and some other ASQ folk spent most of the night at Mr. G’s. I don’t know how to describe Mr. G’s. I could see it fitting in in the Sheboygan area but there was a weird hick ghetto folk feel to the people there. There were way too many stretchy cloths for the way to much body mass there. We were having a good time but we had to get back to Milwaukee so we headed out about midnight. J had a meeting in the morning so I went with Jordan and Kristen to the Metro. We spent the rest of the night there bitching about ASQ and trying to practice separation of work talk and weekend. Once we got off that subject we had a great time and I got to anoint some new folk into my Metro fold.

On Saturday I called Adam to see if he wanted to go to the Javon Walker Celebrity Softball Game. He and Stacy had said they planned on going so I tagged along with them. They were nice enough to pick me up some gourmet brats from the Metro Market and we went to the park and tailgated. It was a beautiful sunny day and I got pretty sunburn on my arms. We went into the game in the third but it really wasn’t anything special. It was a bunch of third string Packers playing some other no name people. All the celebrities that were supposed to come canceled. Ethan from Survivor and Tara Reid were the only real “celebrities”. So all the hype was for not. Drew Rosenhaus who is Javon Walker’s agent was allowed an at bat. This guy got booed like I have never heard someone get booed before. You know how some people get so many cheers they have to come back for an encore or a curtain call. This guy got the complete opposite of that. It was like Elton John at Harley fest. Javon Walker got his fair share of boos as well but that was really the only thing worth mentioning at the game. Someone, I’m blaming Adam, had the bright idea to go to My Office post game to have some beers. So we went there and played some Golden Tee and talked with the bartender. I left around seven and went back home. I had something to eat and drank a ton of water and we watched Jersey Girl which was surprisingly a good movie. Jocelyn wanted to go out so I went along and we spent the rest of the night at the Metro. It was a long unnecessary day of drinking and I really paid the price for it on Sunday. Next weekend I’m going sober Sally.