Boring Winter Months

Not much has been happening these last couple weeks. Last weekend I went home to Falls for my brothers birthday. We just had a little get together. I spent Saturday in Falls drinking at the various establishments in bustling downtown Falls. This week I’ve had a little hope on the job front. I actually had an interview with a non-profit company in downtown Milwaukee. The job would be pretty much doing the same thing I did at he Primate Center at Madison. It’s close and it’s something it’d actually love to do. So everyone wish me luck. I’m excited for the Super Bowl this weekend. I could care less about the game and the boring ass teams that are playing. I am excited about my party though. I got a couple of friends coming over to watch the game and the food is gonna be fabulous. I’ll talk to ya all next week after my eating binge and 5 lb. weight gain.

Ease My Broken Heart

This weekend was full of euphoric excitement and gut wrenching disappointment. Not only did both of these emotions come into play on the same weekend, they both happened on Sunday. First I need to mention that I had dinner at Giovanni’s on Brady St. and the meal was ok. I had the Sicilian stuffed tenderloin. The prices there are a little steep but I found out why the hard way. If you go there you really don’t need to order an appetizer because the dinners come with a large soup or salad. That combined with the good bread led to me taking some of my tenderloin home, and those of you who know me know I don’t take food home. Some good eats at G’s.

On Sunday I had to get up early because I had to go with J to Oconomowoc for her masters swim meet. The meet lasted about five hours and J tore it up. She took first place in all of her individual events and broke the state masters record in the 100 yd. freestyle. That was my excitement for the day because it was great to see her kick some serious booty. After the meet we went to the Delafield Brewhaus, another great place to eat. Then the day took a serious turn for the worse. I had to rush home to see the Packers v. Eagles game. I really don’t even need to describe why the day took a turn for the worse. It can be summed up in 4th and 26, come on! Disappointing. There’s my Sunday journey from excitement (good job J), to disgust (damn you Packers)!

2004, the Year of Ryan

Happy new year everyone! I had a great new year. I spent it with a bunch of my closest friends at Luedke’s new year’s party. The bubbly was flowing and the shot slide was meandering, tons of fun. We partied like it was 1999 (that’s stupid) until the wee hours of the morning. There were some cool fireworks in downtown Milwaukee at 12 so that was an added bonus. Since most of you reading this were there you know how much of a good time it was. This past year was quite an adventurous one. I started it out living on the East coast and ended up back here in Wisconsin. I can’t say that my luck has been that good since I have come back to the state as far as jobs go, but it is good to be back around my friends and family. I know that things will all work out in the end just because I’m around so many great people. I hope you all have a prosperous and fulfilling 2004! Cheers!

Adventures In The Second City

Jocelyn and I went to Chicago for the weekend with her dad and sisters. We stayed at The Drake hotel right next to the John Hancock building. The hotel was VERY nice. We checked in on Saturday night and then went up to the executive lounge and had a couple cocktails while we waited for Jocelyn’s dad to arrive. I have to say that this was probably the best time I’ve ever had waiting for someone. The executive lounge overlooks Lake Michigan and also has free drinks and hors d’oeuvres so I could have actually waited all weekend if I had to. After Jocelyn’s dad arrived we had a fabulous dinner at The Cape Cod in The Drake. Delicious seafood. I quelled my oyster craving which I’ve had since I was out East. Oysters, and surf and turf, need I say more. After dinner we headed upstairs to one of their fancy lounges and had a couple drinks and listened to the piano and bass players. They were good and we got a seat right next to them so it just made it that much better. From there we headed down to yet another bar in the hotel. There we pretty much conversed the night away until we decided to call it a night.

Getting up for our Sunday morning festivities wasn’t the easiest thing in the world due to our schmoozing into the early morning. I finally managed to get going and we headed to Soldier Field to watch the Bears vs. Washington. The new Soldier Field is actually very nice. It took a while to get to our seats due to the lack of signage (or maybe the overabundance of hangover) but once we got there I was quite impressed with the place. I don’t want to confuse anyone here because the place doesn’t compare to Lambeau field and the team doesn’t compare to the Packers, now with that said – it was a good time. The Bears won on a last second field goal and all the Bears fans were happy with their mediocre team. When the game was over we headed back to the hotel and relaxed for about 15 minutes and hopped in a cab to the United Center. We watched the Blackhawks vs. New Jersey. The game ended up in a 2 – 2 tie and from what I heard there were a lot of fights. I wouldn’t know because I missed half of the game. I was in the lobby most of the time lying down on the couch. Once again I don’t know if this exhaustion came from the schmoozing the night before or the footlong Chicago dog I ate at the game that had somewhere around 30 jalapenos on it, and of course I had to eat them all and drink any little bit of juice that ended up in the container. Overall though the day was TONS of fun, I have to thank Jocelyn’s dad again for it all. Monday we woke up and checked out. We walked around Michigan Ave for a little bit and then ate at Ditka’s Chop Shop. I had the “Fridge” burger which was tasty. After that we got the car and headed home. Back home safe and sound in the Badger State where I belong.

Ho Ho Holidays!

I had a great weekend this week. I got to hang out with a bunch of my friends thanks to my good buddy Luedke. Nothing is better than hanging out with your friends during the holidays. Our holidays are in full swing and it’s finally starting to feel a little like Christmas. We got a little dusting of snow here and the weather is actually winter-like so why not bake some cookies. Yes, I baked my first Christmas cookies and they all turned out just like mom used to make. The big news of the week, the Christmas shopping is DONE! Another big weekend coming up for me in Chicago with Jocelyn’s family so I should have more to report on next week. Until then.