Windy (and Frozen) City

My weekend started Thursday because I took Friday off. Thursday night I went to see my coworker Roman’s band One Drum at the Jazz Estate up by North Ave. It was a good time and the music was kicking. The small place was packed and alive with fun. I was going to head home at midnight but it was such a good time I stuck around until the end. When the show was over I helped Roman break down some of the band gear. He was a kind soul and gave me a ride home sparing me from the winter elements. When all was said and done I ended up getting to bed around four in the morning.

Friday I had the day off so I spent it doing absolutely nothing. I did go meet Roman for lunch and hung out at our normal Friday lunch stop, the Ardor. Since I wasn’t working I was able to enjoy a beer with my lunch. Once Roman headed back I stayed and talked with the patrons a bit. On my way home I was stopped by three limos of drunken people in Santa hats. They were on a scavenger hunt and had all arrived at the same place at once. I had to take their pictures by a statue in Cathedral Square. Once I finished taking their pictures they all started running around tackling each other, one person got tackled in the street. I guess if you steal the other teams Santa hats you get extra points or something. This was too much craziness for my day off so I walked home. Friday night we just relaxed and got ready for the weekend. This weekend was Jocelyn’s dad’s second annual holiday gathering/celebration of her sister Arianne’s birthday in Chicago. Saturday we drove to Chicago and dropped our stuff off by our hotel about noon. I was starving so J and I headed to Miller’s Pub and got a bite to eat and a beer. While we were there the waitress told us about a German festival going on up the street so we figured we’d hit that once we were done. Once we finished we set off to find the outdoor German festival. We got a block and then decided to stop at the Berghoff Tavern. It looked like a historic place so we went there and had a Berghoff. From there we walked up and found the festival. Once we were there we both regretted eating because the food smelt delicious. We made it to one of the heated tents and got a little cup of glog. We sat in the tent a bit and then walked around and looked at some of the German crafts. Upon finishing there I went and showed Jocelyn the hotel that I stayed at when I was in Chicago. From there we headed back to our hotel with a brief stop at the new Millennium Park. Back at the hotel I took a nap for about two hours and watched some TV while J talked with her dad and sister. Then we decided to go eat a Giordano’s pizza that we saw on our way to Miller’s Pub. Once we got there we found out that it was closed. Never fear, Ryan is here! I remembered where another one was at. I ate at this one when I was down in Chi the last time, not to mention it wasn’t too hard to find because it’s right next to the Sears Tower which is kind of hard to miss. We then ate too much. We took a cab home because the snow was really starting to come down. We got to the hotel and called it a night.

Sunday we all woke up and put on our best thermal underwear for the Bears v. Texans game. The temp was in the single digits with wind chills in the negatives, it was cold. We all got bundled up and walked to the stadium which was a mile or so away. The walk wasn’t bad but once we got to our seats things really started to get cold. The not moving around made things pretty bad and the Picl family was frozen to the bone. To make things worse the first half of the game was utterly boring. Once the first half was over we left and went back to the hotel to warm up at an Irish Pub. We warmed up there and got our cars and headed to the ESPNZone to watch the Packers game and the Illinois game for J’s dad. It turned out the Illinois game wasn’t on in the state of Illinois so we didn’t want to stay there because it was too crowded. We went to Pizzeria Due, which is down from Pizzeria Uno. I called my cousin Steve and he met us there and we all talked, drank, ate and watched the Packers lose to Jacksonville (but they still clinched a playoff berth). Once we finished there we went to pick up Jocelyn’s other sister from O’Hare. We got her and went to Gibson’s Steak house to eat. I had the porterhouse and the food was good. Schwarz’s steaks are still the best but this was good. We were stuffed once again thanks to J’s dad, thanks. After dinner we all said our goodbyes and headed home. We got lost on the way home because we couldn’t find N. 294. We saw a hundred S. 294 but no N. Finally we got on and I drove home so J could sleep. End of weekend.

I Give Thanks For This Alternator

This Thanksgiving wasn’t that wild and crazy Thanksgiving weekend that I’m used to. J and I drove up to Falls after work to take part in the biggest bar night of the year. I could really care less how big of a bar night that it is I just like hanging out with all my old cronies. We hit up the Osthelder and the normal crowd was there. The thing is I’m used to seeing the “normal” crowd. Usually on Thanksgiving there are a couple people that you run in to that you haven’t seen in a while. This Thanksgiving that didn’t happen. So we did the “normal” circuit instead. Went to the Other Place and hit up Big Jimmy’s. I did a little karaoke action at the OP and that was probably the highlight of what turned out to be a below average Thanksgiving-eve night.

Thanksgiving we did the normal Thanksgiving thing. We went over by my brother Randy and had dinner. We ate late this year which was a little different than our normal mid-afternoon time. We drank a couple bottles of wine and I played with my nephew. Once the food was ready we dug in and it was delicious, how could it not be. After dinner we laid around and got tired. We headed home and gave in to the tryptophan.

The day after Thanksgiving I had some things that I had to buy. I know the stores are crazy packed but I really didn’t have any other time to do my errands. I headed to TJ Maxx to look for some dress pants. They didn’t have any pants but I did find a great deal on an acoustic guitar. I have wanted one for so long so I finally bought one and am going to learn how to play the axe. If you aren’t on my good side right now you might want to start sucking up because I might just forget you when I’m a rock star in a couple years. We went to a couple other stores but I rushed through them so I could get back to my brothers and start jamming on my guitar. Once we got back to my brothers house my jam session was further delayed by a quick burger from On the House bar down the street. Finally, I was able to start living my dream. I quickly noticed that my dream would take a long time because it was extremely hard to play the guitar without a tuner or a pick. I figured I would get a tuner on eBay but I could buy some picks now. So I hopped in the hoopty and drove to the music store to buy some picks. On my way to the store I noticed instantly there was something wrong with the car. Whenever I stopped at a stoplight the radio would turn off and the lights would dim. I knew I had some power problems but I would not let this sidetrack my rock star dreams. Hoping that I could complete my trip I parked at the music store and got my picks. When I got back to the car the thing was dead as a doornail. I had to call Jocelyn and Billie to come jump me so I could at least get the car back to my brothers. Risking electrocution in the rain I jumped the car and drove back to my brothers. It ended up being the alternator. This situation was mixed. If this would have happened in MKE it would have cost us at least double. On the other hand we had really had enough of ‘boygan and wanted to get back. So we called AutoZone and luckily they had an alternator for us. So we told them to hold it and we would pick it up the next morning. Now that we knew where we stood we continued with our actual plans. J and I were going to take my brother and his wife to Schwarz’s for some steak to pay him back for all the work he has done on J’s cars (oh the irony). Since our car was dead we took their ride. My porterhouse at dinner was delicious as usual, still the best steak in the world. From there my bro dropped us off at the microbrewery in Sheboygan and Jocelyn and I sat there and wasted the night away. We went to a couple other bars after that and then took a cab home.

Saturday we woke up and headed to our most frequented store in Sheboygan, AutoZone. We went there and asked for our alternator and to our surprise the delinquent that was working the phones last night didn’t have the part. It turns out they couldn’t find the part. So we proceeded to call every mechanic in the area to track down the part. We ended up finding one in Fond Du Lac. Once again we got extremely lucky because Billie was shopping in Fond Du Lac and she was able to pick the part up for us. We got the part around five and had it in within an hour. Another thanks to the bro and now we have another reason to go to Schwarz’s for another steak. I got washed up and we headed back to MKE. That night Chappy was having a party to I cruised over there solo because J was shot. I hung out with the boys and grooved until about midnight and then went home. The end to an exhausting weekend.

Journey to the Holy Land

Friday after work J and I headed up to Rich Rau’s Auto body in Sheboygan to do some work on her car. We had to replace the brakes and rotors. Once there, we worked on the car until nine. We were obviously famished at this point so we ordered a fish fry from Ziggy’s Bar. When we went there to pick it up we ran into one of my cousins and her husband. We sat there and ate our fish fry and had a couple beers. Right when we were about to leave my uncle Tommy strolled in true Tommy fashion and we were forced to have one more beer. After we were done with that we said we had to get going. J and I drove back to Milwaukee that night because she had some things to do on Saturday.

Saturday I woke up ready to watch the Badgers destroy yet another opponent. To my surprise they looked terrible and lost. My dreams of a national championship contender were shattered. That night Jocelyn and I hung out together and had some drinks at the Metro. It was just us two and we had a great night.

Sunday I made the trip to the holy land to see the Packers v. Vikings. My good buddy Chad Marti gives me the privilege of tagging along with him to one game a year. Chad’s brother Paul picked me up and I drove up to Lambeau with Paul and his buddies. We had a good time being stupid on the way up. Once at the game we did the normal tailgating stuff. We ate chili and chips and then I passed out some cigars and gave people some Rau Brau. Once it was time for the game everyone was in a party mood. During the national anthem three Tomcats flew over and really gave me a shiver, it was awesome. Of course the game was awesome as well. The Pack were kicking butt all game but then at the end of the fourth they self destructed and allowed the Vikings to tie the game. But the ‘queens made the fatal mistake of leaving over zero seconds for ol’ 4. After a great return the Pack fumbled the ball but somehow managed to recover it. Then Brett took over and got the Pack into field goal range. Longwell hit the 33 yarder with no time left and we won 34-31. After the game we stuck around for the WI marching band’s fifth quarter. After that was done we went to the parking lot and tailgated for another hour or so and then drove home. A mega-thanks to Chad, nothing beats a Packer game.

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.

I Shake My Leinie On The Catwalk

On Friday after work we headed up to Eau Claire for a fashion show that Jocelyn was going to be in and her aunt was putting on. The show was for the Make a Wish Foundation. Friday was pretty much shot because it took us a good amount of time to get up there. I think we actually arrived somewhere around ten. We stopped at Pizza Hut in Tomah to get some grub. Once we checked in to our hotel we just hit the hay. Saturday was one of the more eventful days that I’ve had in a long time. I woke up about nine and cleaned myself up a bit. Then I headed to the mall to get a haircut. One thing about Milwaukee is there is no place to get a haircut for under $20 in the downtown area, so I was forced to travel four hours to get one. I got my haircut and hung out at the mall for a bit. When I was done there I did some browsing and wishing at Best Buy and then picked up my teriyaki beef jerky and Dr. Pepper lunch from Wal-Mart. Then the day started to get fun. I cruised up to Chippewa Falls and took the Leinie Brewery tour. It was a perfect fall day and the tour goes outdoors so I could enjoy the weather. The tour was your average brewery tour, not quite as small as Lakefront’s yet not nearly as big as Miller’s. The tour also ends like all other tours too. You get a couple glasses of Leinie’s. I would’ve be pretty upset that you only get two 7 oz. glasses to sample but I had an in. It was a huge coincidence that Kirk Leinenkugel (Jake’s son) was working the Lodge’s bar. I had hung out with Kirk a couple times in college and he surprisingly remembered who I was. He was supposed to be working a group outing but they canceled on him so he was behind the bar. So we caught up with what each other was up to and I got more than two oz. Leinie’s, a big thanks to Kirk. At about two I took off from the Lodge so I could watch the Badger game. Kirk suggested a place called Boston’s in Eau Claire. Jocelyn and fam had just finished their fashion show practice so we met there to watch the Badgers and have some Oktoberfests. We stayed there until half time when we had to leave so the ladies could get ready for their fashion show. I dropped the girls off at the hotel and went to another cool place called the Northwoods. It was a small microbrew restaurant by our hotel. I bought a beer sampler and watched the second half of the game with some other Badgers fans. The second half flew by and Bucky kicked some serious behind. It’s good to see we at least have one good team in WI. After the game I flew back to the hotel to change and get to the fashion show. I was on time and looking good so I thought I would be having a good time at this show in a matter of minutes, boy was I wrong. I proceeded to get totally lost and when I stopped and asked directions the stupid lady working at the gas station gave me directions to drive the complete opposite way to the countryside. I drove for about thirty-five minutes when I decided to turn around and go back. I called Jocelyn and got the right directions and arrived technically still on time but hour later than I was planning. The fashion show was nice. There were a couple corny moments but the food was fabulous as were the martinis. When dinner was over we danced for a bit and headed home.

Sunday morning we did the long drive back to Milwaukee via Sheboygan so we could get J’s car fixed, again. The color up north was beautiful and was almost as good in Sheboygan. We went to Parnell Tower in the Kettles. Parnell is a tall tower on a hill that allows you to see for miles and miles in every direction. The tower is in the middle of nowhere and usually when you go there you are the only one on the tower. Well this last weekend there were hundreds of people there to see the fall colors. There were rangers there directing traffic and we had park a ways down from the actual park and take a trail in. The hike was worth it. The color was great and Sunday was a perfect day. The normally baron back roads in the Kettles where packed with motorists and Harley riders. When J and I were on our way out of the Kettle we got passed by a Lamborghini Diablo and we saw a couple Ferraris and nice restored cars, it was another perfect day at my favorite time of the year.