The Nightmare After Christmas

My Christmas could have been better. Thursday after work J and I drove to Peoria. We got into town just in time to eat at a Chinese restaurant with her family. After the buffet we went to her uncle's house and had some dessert. The whole family was there in preparation for Christmas. After we were done we went to J's house for the night. The afternoon of Christmas Eve we had lunch with Jocelyn's grandparents from her dad's side. After that was over we went back to her house to get ready for the big Christmas dinner at her other grandparents house. We went to dinner and I must say the food was excellent. J's uncle had made some unbelievably good, perfectly cooked, tenderloins. With that we had some twice baked potatoes and countless other goodies. After dinner we relaxed, the family exchanged a couple gifts, and we drank a little wine and enjoyed the night and the holidays. After we finished at her grandparent's we made a stop at her dad's house so the family could exchange gifts while Marissa was still around (she had to fly back to St. Thomas in the morning). Mr. P got me a cool mountable bottle opener and some ZipZap mini remote control cars to race, awesome. When we finished we headed home and waited for Santa. Christmas day we woke up and J, her sister Arianne and her mom exchanged gifts. Marissa had left for her tropical home and I guess had quite the adventure in the process but still made it back. Arianne bought me a Lambeau Field glass and some "Ryan's Bar" items. J bought me a Swiss Army card and a moosh pillow. J's mom bought J and I a Miracle Blade knife set, more on this later. After we finished opening our gifts we headed to her grandparent's/mom house to exchange some more gifts. J's grandparents bought me some very cool salt and pepper mills and I got a travel kit from her aunt and uncle. After we were done exchanging gifts we took our booty and went to J's dad's house for Christmas dinner. We had the best store bought shrimp I've ever had and some dips as apps. For the main course we had the usual ham with some tater salad. When we finished eating we enjoyed the Christmas spirit with some spirits. Every beer I drank had something to do with the holidays. One was had noel in the name, one had a picture of Santa on the label and one had holiday in the name. The rest of the night we watched movies and I played with my ZipZaps. The day after Christmas, a day that will live in infamy. We gathered up all our stuff, said our goodbyes and headed back to Milwaukee. We ended up getting back about seven at night. We unloaded the car and unpacked our suitcases. Then we started to put all our presents away. I started to…

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…

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…

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!

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.