My Waist Is Size XX-XL

Not much doing this weekend. Friday low key and Saturday we ran up to Sheboygan to get Jocelyn’s car fixed at my brother’s. We didn’t stay overnight though and after a stop at the Golden Chopsticks buffet and Piggly Wiggly we were back in MKE by seven. Sunday was action packed with my third annual Super Bowl party. Chappy, Katie, Adam, Stacy, Todd and Steph were the party goers at Apt 54’s XL party. I spent Saturday night doing some of the food prep work. Sunday morning I woke up early to get all the food made. This year’s menu included BBQ Pork on Sheboygan hard rolls, chicken wings, potato skins, cole slaw, taco dip, French onion dip, and black bean dip. As is tradition I made way too much food. Everyone rolled in right before kickoff and I immediately started shoving food down their throats. The game was probably the most boring Super Bowl that I have ever seen in my life. The Steelers beat the Seahawks by a final score of something to something. Even though the game stunk we had a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed the food and it’s always fun to get together with friends for some revelry. Steph made a Steelers football cake that looked very professional. I wouldn’t allow anyone to stop eating after the cake though, I had wings to get rid of. Even after the force feeding of my guests I still had a ton left overs. After the game everyone headed home and we cleaned up. It was another good time to add to the book of good times.

He’s An Island Boy

Another wonderful vacation in a tropical paradise. This Tuesday we left for St. Thomas to spend the week. We flew out of O’Hare at seven in the morning so we woke at four to drive from Milwaukee. We flew from Chicago to Charlotte to St. Thomas. St. Thomas is two hours ahead so we ended up getting in at about four in the afternoon. Jocleyn’s sister Marissa lives on the island so she came to pick us up at the airport. The airport was pretty rickety but they really know how to welcome you. In Hawaii you may get a lei but in St. Thomas you get Cruzan rum punch, what a welcome. We collected our bags and got in the car for my first death defying introduction to the roadways of the islands. They drive on the left side of the road in the VI so that is the first thing that that you need to get used to. The second is that the roads are a lane and half wide without emergency lanes. If you go off the side of the road you’re pretty much going to roll down the mountain. Well, the only way I can put it is all the drivers are nuts and the roads are nuts. The inclines are somewhere in thirty plus degree range with convenient stops on the tops of these hills. Then from the stop you have to navigate the one hundred eighty degree switchbacks and ninety degree turns that are one lane wide with two cars trying to use the turn. An explanation really doesn’t do it justice. It’s something that you really have to experience to fully understand the craziness. After a forty-five minute roller coaster ride we made it to the Ritz where we were staying. One of the reasons that we went to St. Thomas is because we got free lodging at the Ritz thanks to Jocelyn’s mom and her fiancé Craig. Not only did we get a free place to stay but the place was absolutely amazing. Boats and RainbowIt was a three bedroom, four bath condo with an amazing view and great amenities. We really were extremely spoiled and can’t thank Craig and Jenni enough for letting us stay with them. We weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the lodging situation. Jocelyn’s aunt and uncle were also on vacation and staying in the condo as well. It was cloudy when we got into St. Thomas but as soon as we sat on the balcony overlooking the bay the sun came out and two gorgeous rainbows came out. It was a sign that this would be a great vacation. We sat on the balcony, had some rum, and enjoyed the weather. Once dinner rolled around we motivated ourselves to get ready and get some food. We went to Duffy’s Love Shack the first night. When they say shack, they mean shack. This bar and grill was nothing more than a garage in the middle of a parking lot. I had a burger and some local drinks and all was good with the world at that point. After that we went back to the condo and had some more rum drinks and enjoyed the night’s ocean breeze. We went to bed pretty early because we were wiped our from the day of travel.

On Wednesday morning we awoke to a gorgeous sunny day. The plan for the day was to take the ferry over to St. John to see some of the flare of that island. St. John has about 4200 people living on it where St. Thomas has 50k. St. J it more laid back, nicer, and is solely a tourist island. We took the ferry over in the morning and rented a car in Cruz Bay. Jocelyn’s uncle Jeff got suckered into the driving duties. We got into the Jeep Liberty and started off on a tour of the island. We started off by driving to Cinnamon Bay. It was a gorgeous beach that had a huge castle/house overlooking it in the distance. While we were there we got a little sun and did some snorkeling. The snorkeling wasn’t as good as Mexico but its still fun to swim around and see the life under the sea. We were swimming around for about an hour and I started to get tired so I headed back in. At about eleven we got back in the Liberty and drove to Coral Bay on the other side of St. John. We stopped at another shack type place called Skinny Legs. It’s called Skinny Legs because the owners of the place have skinny legs. I was in love with the place. It was a dumpy shack that had a canvas roof and a bar. I had another burger and some Virgin Islands Pale Ales (which is a delicious beer). We sat at Skinny Legs and ate our lunch. I could’ve stayed there all vacation, it was great. The sun worshipers wanted to get back to the beach though so we headed to Jumbie Bay. Jumbie is a word that you hear all the time down in the VI and it means malevolent ghost or zombie. This particular beach had a crazy story behind the name. The beach used to hold bowling matches. Not regular bowling matches though. Slave owners would bury slaves in the sand up to their necks and then roll balls at their heads. The ghosts of these slaves are jumbies and hence the name. So after a couple hours of lying on the beach that was once a bowling alley we headed back to Cruz bay to return the Jeep. We had a couple beers at The Beach Bar before catching the ferry back to St. Thomas. Once back at the condo we sat on the balcony until it was time for dinner. This night we went to Agave terrace. It was a fancier place and it was the typical open air eating type of dinning. Their signature attractions were a fabulous view as well as hermit crabs walking all around their decorative areas. For dinner I had lobster and scallops and loved every morsel. After dinner it was back to the condo for more lounging before we went to bed.

It was a pretty busy day on Wednesday so we hung around the resort on Thursday. I walked around the entire place and snapped some pictures of the iguanas and vegetation. Everyone was lying on the beach but I’m not the beach layer so I skipped some stones, playing some pool on the outdoor pool table and built a sand castle. After doing that I had worked up quite an appetite so J and I went to eat at one of the little restaurants on the resort. I had a jerk chicken sandwich with some fries. That was just he fuel I need for a long day of lounging on a deck chair. I was getting sunburn so after eating I traded the beach lounging for deck lounging. I spent the rest of the day there drinking some Cruzan and coke and staring into the blue distance. For dinner that night we went to pizza place across from Duffy’s called Sop Choppy’s. The pizza was great and I ate way too much. After the pizza it was back to the balcony to breathe in that warm ocean breeze and relax the night away.

What would a vacation in a tropical paradise be without a trip to the local tourist trap bazaar? We went to the St. Thomas market area on Friday which is right by where all the cruise ships dock. There was one ship docked and every time I see those massive ships I am in awe how such a huge structure can float. This market place is strategically placed and caters to the tourists and docked ships. If you’ve ever been to Mexico or any other tropical destination the markets in St. Thomas are identical. Jocelyn and I got bought our wedding bands from a little jeweler called Ballerina II. Talk about some high pressure sales tactics. The shop salesmen started out by offering me a beer while I waited for the ladies to look around. Talk about catering to your clientele. If more jewelry stores gave the men beers I have a feeling men wouldn’t be as reluctant to go browse the local jeweler’s shop. So the shop lackey went in the back and got me a cold can of Budweiser. What started off as a complimentary beer turned into “What are you looking for buddy, something nice for you?” So I started looking and ended up buying my ring and Jocelyn found one for herself. After the jewelry store we went to a couple more shops. For lunch we had a VI Pale Ale at The Happy Buzzard and at some authentic island food at Cuzzin’s. From there we headed back to the resort. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging until evening. That night we went to a gallery night type of event. There were a bunch of local artists and they were serving champagne and hors’dovres. We looked around and met up with a couple people that Craig and Jenni knew from the island. While we were in the gallery a torrential down pour started outside. We ran through the drenching rain to the car and drove off to the Toad and Tart to have dinner. This place doesn’t even rank as a dive bar on my scale. It was a flat out dump. The food we had was pretty good and a drink is a drink but the atmosphere was somewhere between garbage dump and homeless shelter. The TT is a fantasic place! After dinner we went back to the resort. Once we got back we sat in the car and waited for the rain to let up but it wasn’t so I made a dash for it. Everyone got soaked to the bone but we were safely in for the night. We listened to music, had some rum drinks and talked the night away.

On Saturday I wanted to head to St. John early so I could explore Cruz Bay. J and I packed up our stuff and headed to Marissa’s place to spend the last day because Craig and Jenni had already checked out and were on their way home. Conveniently Marissa lives only a block away so we wheeled our stuff over there. I dropped off my stuff and Chad and I took the ferry over to St. John. Once on St. John we headed to a little bar called The Quiet Mon. It’s a tiny little place up some steps. Kenny Chesney is a hero in St. John and this bar is in one of his songs. We had some beers there and then headed to Woody’s to get some lunch. We got a bunch of appetizers including spicy shark bites which were very good. After lunch we went to another bar and shot some pool and waited for J and Marissa to come over from St. Thomas. Once they arrived we shot a little more pool, went to Joe’s Rum Hut, Cap’s Place and then back to The Quiet Mon. Chad took a little nap on the bar while we had some VI Pales. After Chad rallied we went to the Beach to get some food and see a band that was playing. I was a little bored with the band and went to a place called Lizard’s that is actually owned by a Sheboyganite. The bartenders were cool guys and I talked to them the rest of the night and waited for the band to get done and others to come over to meet me. They finally made it over to Lizard’s and we had a few final drinks before we jumped on the ferry and headed back. Once back on St. Thomas we went back to Duffy’s Love Shack. I was completely fine going to the place but we got a fish bowl drink called the Shark Tank and it killed me. Once we left Duffy’s and got back to Marissa and Chad’s I was feeling a little under the weather. This “sickness” lasted throughout the night and took me into the next day.

My final day was a hurtful one. I couldn’t move. The drinking and lack of hydration had made me quite sick. I managed to power through it and was able to take the forty-five minute roller coaster ride to the airport. We caught our flight at about one and headed back to the states. We flew to Philadelphia and then to Chicago. We got in about nine thirty and made it home about eleven, the end of our vacation.

It was TONS of fun and a great vacation, even with the last day. I would highly suggest St. John. It is gorgeous and a lot of fun. A huge “thank you” to Craig and Jenni for letting us stay at the resort with them as well as Marissa and Chad for their hospitality. Thanks everyone!

Too Much Weekend Work

I skipped last week’s entry because I did absolutely nothing. Nada, zip, zero. The only thing I did is watch a lot of football.

This weekend was a little more exciting but not much. Friday I went out after work for a going away party at the Ale House. I stayed there for a couple hours and then headed home. Once at home I ate and watched some movies.

Saturday I had to wake up early to go work on L’s network. I should have stayed home because I messed up some of the network permissions. I got a little accomplished but not nearly as much as I wanted to get done. I got home about one, at a burrito and watch the next playoff game. After that game was over it was time to get ready for the ASQ holiday party. I probably wouldn’t have gone but it was two blocks away from here at the Astor hotel. I figured why stay home and have frozen pizza when I can go a block and get a real meal for free. J and I headed over there a little before seven for the cocktail hour. We had our free drink and mingled with some of my colleagues. At 7:30 it was time for dinner. For dinner we both had the sun dried tomato chicken. The food was pretty good, nothing overly special. I was probably the first one done and the first one out of the ballroom and to the bar. The second football game was on and there was no way I was going to miss it for a work related function. After a couple minutes some other people started to trickle out to the bar. I sat and watched the game with J and some work folk. After the game was over the place started to clear out. A couple of the friendlier people from work were going to County Claire for a couple more drinks. So we went the block to the CC. J was pretty tired so she headed home after about ten minutes. I was having a good time so I stayed out a bit longer. I had another Guinness and headed home about midnight. Pretty low key year up to this point. No drama thus far though so that a bonus. Next weekend probably won’t be too special either but next week I head off to St. Thomas! Oh yea!

Not A Productive Year, So Far

Happy New Year all! This was a wild New Year. This past week I had that nasty cold/flu bug that has been going around. I tried my hardest to get rid of it in time for the New Year weekend. Friday I took it easy and started to get things ready for the New Year dinner that I was throwing. I was feeling significantly better so that was a good thing. A couple people asked if I wanted to go out but I didn’t want to have a relapse. So Friday night I took it easy and got ready for the last day of the year.

Saturday I woke up feeling about 85% to 90%. That was enough healing to get excited to have a good time. Jocelyn and I didn’t feel like standing around at a party so we decided to have Todd and Steph over for a nice dinner and then go out after that if we felt like it. I spent almost all day Saturday cooking. The menu was bruschetta, salt and horseradish encrusted prime rib with horseradish sauce, quintessential roasted vegetables, roasted potatoes, creamed spinach, champagne Jell-O, and tapioca pudding. Todd and Steph arrived at about five. We had some drinks and the bruschetta and waited for the prime rib to finish up. We dug into the good stuff at about seven. Everything turned out great. The prime rib ended up being a little salty due to the salt paste that was rubbed on it but it meat inside was wonderful. After dinner we had our champagne Jell-O which ended up having a little more kick too it then we expected. Due to that little kick things started picking up and getting fun. Luedke and Anna came over to join us in our celebration. We turned on the tunes and played Cranium. It was the first time I played the game but it was very fun. It’s a cross between Pictionary, charades and Trivial Pursuit. Jocelyn and I ended up having beginner’s luck and pulling out the victory. After that we watched a bit of the New Year’s celebrations on TV and waited for our countdown. The New Year came in with some picture on the Canon and some more champagne. After that we got a call from a motley crew coming downtown from the other party. They stopped in by us and we managed to find room for ten more people in our little place. The tunes were pumping and we were having a great time. The party started to thin out as people headed home. There was a pretty good size core group left though that wanted to head out. So some time after two we headed to the bars. We went to My Office and spent a good amount of time there. At about four thirty we decided that we had had enough and headed home. On the way home were needlessly sidetracked and ended up going to another bar. We went to a place called Brio Trattoria. The group had thinned down significantly but J and I were still kicking. We ended up getting home about six thirty which was very late/very early and a little ridiculous. It was very fun but I ended up paying the price.

I woke up at noon on Sunday for the Packers’ last game of the year. I was able to watch the first half through one eye but I was not in the best of shape. I watched the second half in the bedroom and struggled through the game. The Packers beat half a Seahawks team to finish a dismal 4-12. I really hope Favre comes back. I don’t want him to go out like this. Todd and Steph had stayed at are place to watch the game and they headed home after the game. I drifted in and out of consciousness the whole day and wasted the very first day of the year. Not a good start.

I had off Monday as well but didn’t do much. J and I watched TV and wasted the second day of the year. I’m two for two. Happy New Year everyone! May it be more productive than mine is thus far.

Ba Hum-flu-bug

Ah, Christmas vacation. My mom came to down to Milwaukee to pick me up on the 23rd. Jocelyn went to Illinois to spend the holidays with her family and since she took the car I had to get a ride. On the way home we stopped by my Aunt Linda’s to drop off an iPod I had to pick up for her. We were there for a couple hours and sampled some of the holiday food that she was making. After that I dropped my mom off and headed to Falls. I stopped by Randy before going out to drop off all the Christmas presents. I got a hold of Marti and met him and Pyrek and their significant others at The Other Place. We were there for a drink and then we headed back over to the O. I spent the rest of the night there. I ran in to Kotnik who I hadn’t seen in a while so I talk to him for the remainder of the night.

Christmas Eve day was on the couch by Rich’s. About five I was finally able to pry myself off the couch and get ready. It was the usual Christmas Eve routine this year. We headed over to my uncle Jimmy’s for a little Christmas Eve festivities. My godmother Terri gave me my usual gift of Bloody Mary mix. I used to love drinking the stuff as a kid, and I still do, so Terri makes sure I get my yearly fix. She also bought me a very nice baseball display case for the foul balls that I caught. The rack is huge though so I’m going to need to get about fifteen more balls somehow. I guess I’ll have to go to forty Brewers games this year. After watching some Christmas Story, eating some dips and meatballs it was time for midnight mass. Mass was nice as usual and it really gets you in the spirit of the holidays. After church my mom dropped me off at Rich’s and I got to bed immediately so Santa would come and visit.

I didn’t do much on Christmas day. I had Randy pick me up at about three for our family gathering. I must have been a bad boy this year because I got a lump of coal in the form of an awful Green Bay Packer team losing yet another game. After the bitter loss I washed the taste away with some Christmas wine. Dinner was very good. We had prime rib and a whole bunch of other side dishes. After that we exchanged gifts. It was the normal craziness of paper flying everywhere and toys being strewn all over the living room. After the gifts we headed home. It was pretty early, about ten, but I needed some sleep so I decided to just call it a night instead of find something to do.

The day after Christmas I had some work to do so I had to get back to Milwaukee. My mom, Randy and nephew brought me back. We stopped by Kopp’s on the way down so I added to my holiday weight gain with a burger and some ice cream. Once I arrived home I did my work so I wouldn’t have to worry about it the rest of the week. Adam and Stacey didn’t have to work the next day so they called and asked if I was up to anything. The came over and we watched the tube and had a couple beers. Jocelyn got home about nine but because she had to work she really just wanted to relax. So Adam and I got out of her hair and headed to Flannery’s. Stacey didn’t want to go so it was just the two of us. We sat there for a bit and they headed over to My Office to close out the night.

It ended up being a big mistake going out because some mongrel gave me the nasty cold bug that has been going around. I could’ve gotten it at Kopp’s or at home and it was just incubating but either way I was now sick for my week off. I planned on doing a whole bunch of stuff but Tuesday through Friday I didn’t do anything. My week off was super boring because I couldn’t do anything. I ran a couple errands to get some fresh air but for the most part I just kept my butt planted on the couch. I watched about two movies a day because daytime TV is so awful. All these channels and there is not one thing on that I would even think of watching. So, boring week off, and a wasted week off.