Mountaineering Is Not As Fun As Spelunking

This weekend actually involved some travel. Friday night we didn’t do anything because on Saturday morning we caught a flight to Tucson for Jocelyn’s grandmother’s eightieth birthday. Our flight Saturday morning was delayed an hour due to the fact that our fresh water supply on the plane had frozen. They were unable to fix the problem so our flight wasn’t able to server hot coffee or tea and there was no water in the bathroom. Before we took off we also had to stop or a fifteen minute deicing, thank heavens we were going to AZ to escape this miserable cold. We flew Frontier airlines and it was pretty sweet because each seat gets their own LCD screen with twenty-six channels of DirectTV. This was very cool and made the flight go fast. We switched planes at Denver and literally sprinted to our connecting flight and made the flight with less than thirty seconds to spare. It was amazing that something actually worked out while traveling. The second flight was smooth and we arrived at about eleven to the 85 degrees of Tucson goodness. J’s mom was there to pick us up and drive us to her grandparents’ house. We stopped at Subway on the way and also at a grocery store to pick up some delicious Fat Tire Ale (great beer which you can only seem to find in the West). From there we arrived at the house and I greeted all the relatives and inhaled my sandwich. Our plan for the day was to meet Jeff DeBruin and his lady Kelly and go to a Brewers’ spring training game. So I called J&K, who were already on their way, with the directions to where we were. They picked us up and we drove to the Rockies’ training facility. It took us a little longer to get there than we wanted but we found a place to park and went to the game. On our way in I heard a “heads up” and looked up to see a ball. The ball was bouncing in the parking lot and I ran to pick it up. This was actually turning out to be a great day. The day really was perfect. I got to see a spring game where Brewers killed the Rockies, tickets were $2, we talked to some folk from WI who were sitting in front of us, had a couple Fat Tires from the tap at the game, I got to hang with my boy Jeff, and we enjoyed the high 80 heat. We couldn’t stay the whole game and had to leave in the fifth inning to go back to the hotel to change for dinner. J&K dropped us off and headed back to Phoenix. It was great to see them and I’m very glad they came down to see us. That night we went to dinner at a Mexican place. Before dinner we had a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and some fresh table made guacamole, the best. For dinner I had a chicken and baked cheese dish. The restaurant had a mariachi band and they sang songs to the birthday girl, much fun. After dinner we went back to the grandparents’ house and had some dessert in the desert. When that wrapped up we were all pretty much shot. We tried to watch Napoleon Dynamite but I fell asleep. We woke up and headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Sunday we woke up early and got dressed for the birthday brunch. We went to the grandparents’ country club. J’s family had some professional pictures taken and I was forced to be in a few so I’m officially in the family now. I made sure to stay pretty close to the end so I can be cropped out in case of an emergency. After the pictures we had some delicious brunch and enjoyed the scenery with some mimosas and bloody marys. When the pictures were done we went back to the abode and watched Illinois beat the Badgers for the Big Ten championship. I was surrounded by Illini fans so my gloom was further enhanced but I am confident that we’ll get them in the real tourney. After the game we sat around and watched more TV and NCAA bracket selection show. Later that night we headed to the community courts and played some b-ball. It was a great four on four game with a bunch of the family and I knew I was going to pay the price the next day. After that we went back and ordered some pizza. We gobbled that up and headed back to the hotel to shower and call it a night.

Monday I woke up as expected, sore. Those atrophied basketball muscles were barking something fierce. We got everything together and checked out early. We dropped our gear off at the grandparents’ house and J, her mom, and I went to Catalina Mountain state park. We didn’t have much time but I did enjoy the hour and a half hike up the trail. We hiked to a set of pools and while we were there we ran into a guy that went to college with Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets. The guy also used to play for the Beloit Snappers. He saw our Brewers shirts so we talked with him a bit. We finished up our hike and when we headed out we ran into another Brewers fan from WI, we’re everywhere people! The mountains are very beautiful and we plan on doing the whole eight hour hike to the top next year. When that was through we relaxed the rest of the day in the sun at the house. Finally it was time to head back to reality so J’s mom who left on a different flight at the same time drove us to the airport. We hopped on our plane and made it back safely to MKE and the reality of cold.

You Take The Good You Take The Bad

These past couple weeks haven’t had that much going on. Last weekend I didn’t go out all weekend and just lounged, rested, and worked on my new Media Center PC (which kicks butt by the way).

Saturday Jocelyn’s mom came up for a visit. She took us out to a late lunch at the Ale House. I had a couple of my favs, Sheepshead Stout, and delicious mushroom burger. The burger really hit the spot because I don’t get my weekly Friday lunch burger fix anymore due to lent. The Ale House trip is pretty much the only thing that happened last weekend.

This weekend didn’t start out so hot. The week in general was pretty crappy. My aunt Joanie died. The funeral was Friday morning so that is a downer way to start out a weekend. I was close with my aunt Joanie. My mom and I did a lot with her on the weekends when I was growing up. So Friday morning we headed to Sheboygan. The funeral was obviously sad and after the funeral we had lunch with the family and headed back to Milwaukee. I wasn’t planning on doing much that night but it was Matzek’s birthday so I headed out to Mo’s to meet up with the clan. J had stuff to do on Saturday so she stayed home. I went out at ten which seemed like two days later in this long day. I stayed at Mo’s and then went to My Office with the newly engaged Adam and Stacey. We closed that place down and I went to Mykano’s for a gyro and headed home.

Saturday Jocelyn’s dad came into town and we went to Joey Buona’s to over eat. If you plan on doing anything Saturday night, do not eat here. Whenever I eat here it puts me into satisfied, deep sleep mode and I just lay. So I laid the rest of the night and did nothing but watch a movie. Sunday J’s dad came over to watch his beloved Illini lose to the Buckeyes to ruin their undefeated season. After that we went to brunch with Jocelyn’s dad at the Pfister. After we finished eating J went to show her dad her office so I went home. It was a beautiful day so I decided to go for a run. The lakefront was packed with people enjoying the rare 50 degree weather. It turns out Mother Nature was just teasing us because this week has been cold and snowy.

A very big positive event is going to happen this Friday. After years of struggling to get my credit cards paid off this week will be the week. This week’s check will officially put me credit card debt free. I will have paid off Spring Break ’98, ’00, and ’01 as well as countless other frivolous items I purchased when I was given the financial power of plastic. What a joy this is and a word to the kiddies getting credit cards now. Don’t get them! And if you do make sure the limit is somewhere around $300. I’m also off to AZ this weekend so I should have some good stories for you next week.

Pack It Up… It’s Over

This past weekend I can describe quite quickly. Friday I stayed in and did nothing. Saturday Schwenker came over and we watched the playoff games. We went out later that night to Flannery’s and My Office. We got some gyros on the way home. We ate them then called it a night. Sunday Schwenker was still hanging around. Todd and Steph came over. We got some pizza and we all watched the Packers tear our hearts out once again. It wasn’t so unexpected this year though. That’s it.

Whoa is Me, Badgers!

On Friday J and I went to eat at Zyang Asian Grill here in downtown Milwaukee. The food was very good and I recommend it to all. The prices were very reasonable and the sake was very good. Not much more to discuss on Friday. We went home after that and vegged out on the couch.

Saturday I was going to watch the Badger game at my place but I called Luedke and found out that a bunch of my peeps were going to be watching the game at the Miller Time Pub. During the walk to the pub I was feeling really good. There was a nice football crisp in the air and Ohio State had just beat Michigan so a win by Bucky and we were heading to the Rose Bowl. Well the optimism faded as soon as the ball was kicked. For the second week in a row the Badgers got it handed to them. They looked like a high school team and ruined what could have been one of the best years in Wisconsin football history. The not having had a bite to eat all night really turned me into a mess. We left Miller Time and headed to a friends house where I met up with Jocelyn. From there we went to a bar called Lava. I would elaborate on the night but to tell you they truth I don’t really know what happened after we left Miller Time Pub. It’s been a long time since I have been in a state like this. I guess we all had a good time because my wallet was empty and I had mysterious charges on my bank card from that night. Badgers disappoint!

Sunday we didn’t do much. I usually just skip the Sunday entry because it involves sitting around watching football. But this Sunday I took a little time from watching football and went to see Jocelyn’s new place of work. For those of you that don’t know, Jocelyn started a new job this week with Stark Investment. It’s kind of the same thing she was doing in NY but she’s on the other side of the business, I don’t know, have her explain. Her building is in St. Francis and is very modern and fancy. They get their own gourmet chef who cooks for them every day. Their lunch is paid pretax for get this, $2 a fancy gourmet lunch. Cheaper than my damn microwaved Smart Ones. The whole place was super nice. On the lake, has a full gym, and that chef in Le Cafe. So props to my woman, wish her luck at her new job.

The Packers won another barn burner Sunday night with a yet another Favre comeback and another Longwell field goal. The Pack is back! Happy Turkey Day!

The End Of An Era.. The Start Of A New One

This weekend was my last wedding of a very long eight wedding season. This wedding was a special finale though because my very own brother was getting married *gasp*. Friday I drove up after work and drove to the church for the rehearsal. This rehearsal was nothing like Jeff’s the week before. This one the priest was a slave driver and the rehearsal took about as long as Jeff’s wedding and rehearsal combined. I managed to power through it and we headed off to a pizza joint for the rehearsal dinner. The pizza was very good and the pumpkin ale was flowing. We ate and then sat around and smoked cigars and had some more pumpkin ale. From there we went to a couple bars to have the final “single man” drinks. I stayed at Rich’s that night and once again braced myself for a long day.

Saturday I was going to sleep in a bit but I was literally drug out of bed by one of the other groomsman and told I had to go to breakfast. I didn’t want breakfast so once he was out of the room I locked the door. Once I was back in bed there was no way that I could get back to sleep so I showered up and started primping for the wedding. Rich got home and we started to get ready when he noticed that one of the groomsmen and took his tux instead of his. I was practically dressed and Rich had the other guy’s pants and shirt on but we had to leave and get dressed at the other guy’s house. So we gathered everything we needed and got in Rich’s Mustang. There was one problem though, the battery was dead. So Rich and I had to jump the car with our tuxes on. We got to the other groomsman’s house and Rich got his jacket and vest and we finished getting ready. For the second week the wedding forecast was rainy and it seemed to pour most when we were outside. From there we headed to the church for pictures. Once again it was nice that we did all the pictures before the wedding. While the pictures were going on we had a couple radios to listen to another victory for the Badgers, go Bucky! After pictures we had the wedding. The wedding was nice. There was a full Catholic ceremony so the wedding was pretty long. I think it’s impossible to have a bad wedding. After the wedding was over it cleared up a bit so we decided to have a couple outdoor pictures in a park in Plymouth. Once we got there we snapped a couple pictures and it started to rain again. I rolled up the Mustang’s windows but in the process I must’ve accidentally locked the doors. The keys were in the car and there was no way to get in so I had to run back to Sheboygan and get the spare set. It took about an hour out of my time with the wedding party but the only thing I really missed was an hour of drinking so it was no big deal. So once I got back to the car in Plymouth I met up with the rest of the wedding party at the O in Falls. From there we headed to Horse & Plow in Kohler for a yard of brew and then headed to the reception for the real fun to begin. Once we got to the reception I did a lot of schmoozing. There were a lot of relatives and friends to talk to and it seemed like I had a second to talk to each. Once dinner started we sat down and did the toast thing. I had one plate of food and then got up and started talking to everyone again. I brought some of my cousin’s baseball cards and he was a good sport and signed them for the kiddies. Once the dancing part started the wedding party had to sit in chairs on the dance floor and two people dressed up as a miniature bride and groom put on a comedy skit that was very funny. Then we danced and I caught the garder. Then my godmother Terri got yelled at because she brought hundreds of jell-o shots into the dance hall. Then I decided to go martini for martini with my gin loving uncle Tommy. The last I saw him he was saying something about me being mister clean and he had to go home only because my aunt wanted to leave, thus declaring Ryan the martini drinking champion. I had a fancy blue light up martini glass and I think Tommy was intimidated by it. The night was so much fun but it went by so fast because I was bouncing from person to person talking. It was good to see everyone from my dad’s side of the family together as well as my mom’s side. We took some big family pictures to remember the moment. Like I said the night went by so fast and before I knew it it was time to go. Everyone headed down to the O for a couple night caps and we went back to Rich’s to get some sleep for Sunday’s gift opening.

Sunday I woke up feeling fine. Rich on the other hand looked like a steamroller ran over him. He was wearing his tux with a t-shirt and stunk to high heaven. I drove him to pick up the rental car for the honeymoon and he kept his tux on to go get it, classy. Once we got back he finally changed and everyone started to arrive for the gift opening. The whole afternoon the women sat in the house and the men sat in the garage, watched the Packer game and drank our collective hangovers away. After another Packer victory we gathered our things and headed back. The end of an era for my brother, the end of a long wedding season for me. Congratulations to Rich and Billie and I’d like to welcome the Stranz family into our fold. I think Billie knew what she was getting into but I don’t know why anyone would willingly want to be a part of the Rich Rau faction. Either way, all the love in the world to my brother and his new wife and good luck in the future! Some more love to all my family that was at the wedding and those who couldn’t join us.