Another wedding of a college buddy on March 21st. Here's the breakdown:
Fly into Pittsburgh International from SLC via O'Hare. Between Chicago and Pittsburgh, my foot begins to get sore. It looks like my gout has waited until I was well out of reach of my meds to start acting up. After I touch down, I find a voicemail on my phone. Looks like yet ANOTHER buddy is getting married... in May. And I'm invited. This is right after I forbid anyone else to get married until after October, so I politely decline the invite.
The next day, I wake up, and my foot is worse, so I spend the day limping around between the Groom's parents' house, the church, and the hotel where the reception is. Pretty nice service, a brief little sermon about tolerating and accepting all of the stupid little things that your spouse may do, even when he/she is in the wrong.
They threw one of the best receptions I've seen at a wedding. on top of the the usual dinner/dancing, Ryan and Jill hired the DJ to do Karaoke as well, as both Jill and Ryan are Karaoke enthusists. When Ryand and Jill had the first dance as husband and wife, Ryan sang as they danced. Then both of them performed Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf.
Let my point out, that Paradise is the most difficult song to perfom by one of the most difficult artists to sing. And they both nailed it. That is no small feat.
What follows here, is the tale of the worst travel day of my life.
Sunday morning, my foot was not getting any better, and so began the most wretched travel day of my life. The one highlight of my day was having lunch with the parents at Cracker Barrel for my Dad's birthday. At the airport I decided to check my little duffel bag, and just pay United's outlandish fee for the first checked bag. Then I had people wheel me around place to place.
Airports are BIG, especially Denver, which is crowded and has a few design flaws. Like the hallway pinches narrow where the departure/arrival screens are, so people stop in a crowded corridor to see where their next flight is, adding to the congestion. It doesn't help any that United doesn't believe in printing the Gate number on the boarding pass, so checking these screens is manditory.
Also, the Arport is built so it can move around, say, 100,000 people, but the restrooms are built with only 50,000 people in line. As a Male, it is my god given right to not have to wait in line to pee, and curse anyone who would deny that right!
By the time I'm on the plane to SLC, I just want to get home as fast as possible, and I'm not looking forward to the two hour drive that will follow this flight. Oh, and the woman in seat 4C who was kind enough to share her Advil? Lady, you're alright by me!
I got off the plane, to find no one at the counters of the United Gates, so I asked the woman at the Delta Counter if she would summon some Cripple-Mobility assistance for me. She said she would, but as soon as I sat down, she had to help another couple switch filghts, ask for passengers on an overbooked flight to accept tickets/comps to give up their seats, and I think she forgot. After she mysteriously disspaears for about five minutes, I decided that SLC isn't has large as Denver, so I'd just limp over to baggage claim myself.
Emboldened by the Advil from Ms. 4C, I hobble over, grab my bag, and take the shuttle to the parking lot. Then I drive home in a growning snowstorm, and have my first experience going over the Sisters in icey condidtions. (The Sisters are what the locals call the two big hills between Evanston and the Valley, known for causing a lot of accidents in winter weather).
Hobbling inside, I grab the pills that I was wishing for all weekend, pop one, wash it down with a a few ounces of Cherry Juice, and crash into bed, thankful that it's over.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Irritability
Ever have one of those days when you need to punch something stupid, and everywhere you look there's Opportunity Targets?
No, I didn't do anything rash, it was just more of the usual piling up, on the day before what is probably going to be a stressful weekend.
It doesn't help that Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh have no direct flights going back and forth. My apologies in advance for all of those people that I'll be within 15 miles of, and not be able to visit. My paltry vacation time is spread thin this year due to two weddings, my jaunt down south, and some badly needed Me Time. Seriously, nobody else I know is allowed to get married until after October. I forbid it!
No, I didn't do anything rash, it was just more of the usual piling up, on the day before what is probably going to be a stressful weekend.
It doesn't help that Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh have no direct flights going back and forth. My apologies in advance for all of those people that I'll be within 15 miles of, and not be able to visit. My paltry vacation time is spread thin this year due to two weddings, my jaunt down south, and some badly needed Me Time. Seriously, nobody else I know is allowed to get married until after October. I forbid it!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Gonna run all night, Gonna run all day...
That promise I made about having the results from the Barroom Banter post will most likely be broken, as the person in question has had a slight medical emergency, and I wasn't able to get that list to him until today.
So in the meantime, here's My Top 10 in no particular order:
Offspring
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Franz Ferdinand
Reel Big Fish
Green Day
Spin Doctors
Five Iron Frenzy
"Weird" Al Yankovic
Gin Blossoms
Evanescence
And as an added bonus, here's my cadindate for best song EVAR:
So in the meantime, here's My Top 10 in no particular order:
Offspring
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Franz Ferdinand
Reel Big Fish
Green Day
Spin Doctors
Five Iron Frenzy
"Weird" Al Yankovic
Gin Blossoms
Evanescence
And as an added bonus, here's my cadindate for best song EVAR:
Enjoy!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Off the Wagon
I've mentioned here before that I'm a recovered Video Game Junkie. I could park in front of the Tube with a controller in hand to the point where I would start growing moss. I've spent Summers with friends playing Mario Kart and Super Bomberman almost every day.
A year ago, I finally picked up my first video game console that was made in the 21st Centrury. I've also picked up a PlayStation 2 to match it, because Sony decided not to make the 40GB console backwards compatable with PS2 games. I was surprised how little I played these things after I purchased them. an hour or two here, part of a Saturday Afternoon there, but I didn't log more than one or two hours in any one day that I played. I still have about four games that I purchased that Still haven't seen the inside of my PS3. I thought I had left that part of me behind.
Then, late one night there's a knock on the Door. I open it. There's a familiar looking monkey standing there, and he's holding something.
"Whadya have there, little friend?" I ask him. He hands it to me. It's a Playstation 2 game called Persona 4.
I look over the cover. One of those new Japanese RPGs that features a menu based combat system, and also features a kind of high school social networking mechanic, a popular recent addition to these kinds of games from Japan.
While I was distracted, the Monkey which gave me the game pounced. He put me in a full nelson, and triumphantly climbed onto my back, chattering all the way. That was when I remembered where I saw this back-dwelling monkey. I sent him packing after I replaced Video Games with Magic: The Gathering as my timesink of choice. And now he has returned.
Anyway, this monkey used a game to get his foot back in the door, so I decided to play it, in the hopes that I could finish it, and then concentrate on ditching him like I had done 8 years ago. Ah... JRPGs... Almost 40 hours of game play, and I still feel like I'm only about halfway through, if that far.
Here's the plot (if not so deep in Gameplay, JRPGs Overcompensate this shortcoming with Plot, if your lucky it might remotely makes sense). You're a 2nd year high school student in Japan who's parents take a contract job overseas. You are sent to live with your uncle, who is a Detective in Inaba, a little rural town in Japan. Hmm... The protagonist moves away from the Big City, to live in nowhere-ville. Already, I can relate to him!
The day you arrive, there's a local news personality is murdered, shortly after the Affair she's been having with a local polititian has been uncovered. A few days later, a local school student is murdered, and her body is found the same way as the first; draped over a rooftop TV Antenna. You and a few of your new schoolmates find another world after going through the TV Poltergeist style, and find a connection to that world and the recent murders. The rest of the game is spent social networking with your school mates, which give you combat powers when fighting monsters in the TV World.
As odd as this sounds, it's still more logical than some Anime and JRPGs I've seen.
Anyway, the monotonoius menu combat is broken up nicely by the social networking sim, where you make friends and strengthen those bonds by spending time with them after school, or sharing lunch with them. Also, you'll be asked to converse in some delicate situations so you'll need to boost attributes like courage, understanding, dilligence, expression and knowledge to be better able to deal with them.
It's kinda like somebody accidentally spilled Final Fantasy on The Sims, then tried to mop it up with pages torn from Manga.
I've spent the better part of the past two Saturdays playing it. When I was a kid, I'd get kicked off the TV if I would have spent even one third of that time playing games. Now, I can get all day marathons in. Such are the advantages of being a single adult.
I'll probably go back to my orginal schedule of maybe 6-8 hours of game time the per week after I finish this, but for right now, me and the Monkey are catching up on old times.
A year ago, I finally picked up my first video game console that was made in the 21st Centrury. I've also picked up a PlayStation 2 to match it, because Sony decided not to make the 40GB console backwards compatable with PS2 games. I was surprised how little I played these things after I purchased them. an hour or two here, part of a Saturday Afternoon there, but I didn't log more than one or two hours in any one day that I played. I still have about four games that I purchased that Still haven't seen the inside of my PS3. I thought I had left that part of me behind.
Then, late one night there's a knock on the Door. I open it. There's a familiar looking monkey standing there, and he's holding something.
"Whadya have there, little friend?" I ask him. He hands it to me. It's a Playstation 2 game called Persona 4.
I look over the cover. One of those new Japanese RPGs that features a menu based combat system, and also features a kind of high school social networking mechanic, a popular recent addition to these kinds of games from Japan.
While I was distracted, the Monkey which gave me the game pounced. He put me in a full nelson, and triumphantly climbed onto my back, chattering all the way. That was when I remembered where I saw this back-dwelling monkey. I sent him packing after I replaced Video Games with Magic: The Gathering as my timesink of choice. And now he has returned.
Anyway, this monkey used a game to get his foot back in the door, so I decided to play it, in the hopes that I could finish it, and then concentrate on ditching him like I had done 8 years ago. Ah... JRPGs... Almost 40 hours of game play, and I still feel like I'm only about halfway through, if that far.
Here's the plot (if not so deep in Gameplay, JRPGs Overcompensate this shortcoming with Plot, if your lucky it might remotely makes sense). You're a 2nd year high school student in Japan who's parents take a contract job overseas. You are sent to live with your uncle, who is a Detective in Inaba, a little rural town in Japan. Hmm... The protagonist moves away from the Big City, to live in nowhere-ville. Already, I can relate to him!
The day you arrive, there's a local news personality is murdered, shortly after the Affair she's been having with a local polititian has been uncovered. A few days later, a local school student is murdered, and her body is found the same way as the first; draped over a rooftop TV Antenna. You and a few of your new schoolmates find another world after going through the TV Poltergeist style, and find a connection to that world and the recent murders. The rest of the game is spent social networking with your school mates, which give you combat powers when fighting monsters in the TV World.
As odd as this sounds, it's still more logical than some Anime and JRPGs I've seen.
Anyway, the monotonoius menu combat is broken up nicely by the social networking sim, where you make friends and strengthen those bonds by spending time with them after school, or sharing lunch with them. Also, you'll be asked to converse in some delicate situations so you'll need to boost attributes like courage, understanding, dilligence, expression and knowledge to be better able to deal with them.
It's kinda like somebody accidentally spilled Final Fantasy on The Sims, then tried to mop it up with pages torn from Manga.
I've spent the better part of the past two Saturdays playing it. When I was a kid, I'd get kicked off the TV if I would have spent even one third of that time playing games. Now, I can get all day marathons in. Such are the advantages of being a single adult.
I'll probably go back to my orginal schedule of maybe 6-8 hours of game time the per week after I finish this, but for right now, me and the Monkey are catching up on old times.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Barroom Banter
UPDATE: I'll try and have my friends music derived profiles up by March 14th if I can. Thanks to all who participated!
The Fiance of one of my Coworkers and I were discussing music at the Barling Alley (the Bar in the Bowling Alley), and he told me that he could profile people based on their ten most favorite bands. I called BS and demanded proof.
He demonstrated this ability with people around the bar using only 5 bands, but he only gave details about them that he would already know about them. Small town life means you pretty much know everyone around, so he asked me to get lists of bands from people that I know whom he has never met.
So, folks, start posting your list of 10 bands in the comments. I'll try and have his results back in a week or two. Let's see how well the amateur Rock n' Roll Psychologist does!
The Fiance of one of my Coworkers and I were discussing music at the Barling Alley (the Bar in the Bowling Alley), and he told me that he could profile people based on their ten most favorite bands. I called BS and demanded proof.
He demonstrated this ability with people around the bar using only 5 bands, but he only gave details about them that he would already know about them. Small town life means you pretty much know everyone around, so he asked me to get lists of bands from people that I know whom he has never met.
So, folks, start posting your list of 10 bands in the comments. I'll try and have his results back in a week or two. Let's see how well the amateur Rock n' Roll Psychologist does!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Old School Addictions
It's about time someone put this together: It's a Dual NES/SNES console and it only costs 50 bucks. So if you're having trouble finding an old nintendo console that actually worked (like I did) This is you're chance!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Who's Hungry?
This is why you're fat.
Badly as these pictures clash with any bit of gastronomical moderation and health sense I have... most of it makes my mouth water.
Badly as these pictures clash with any bit of gastronomical moderation and health sense I have... most of it makes my mouth water.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Road Trip
So, after we get the kids all married off, (on Friday the 13th, for extra style points!) we head down to Yuma, AZ. The desert is pretty, in a hostile, oppressive kinda way. All the flora is pointy, and the fauna is venomous or carnivorous.
We met up with Jim's wife at the local chapter of the Elk's Lodge and met some of his old time friends. Fun crowd. A lot of older folks with a laid back attitude, a quick wit, and in many cases, own large swaths of the town.
The next day, we parked at the boarder, and strolled into Algodones, Mexico. The town is one part tourist trap, one part trading post, one part Optical and Dental capital of Mexico.
The last day was a 14 hour drive back to Cold Country. We had lunch at a little cafe on an Indian Reservation. Part of the advantage to doing shopping in a place that the government doesn't tread is Tax Free Cigarettes and Liquor. Not to mention picking up a bottle of something difficult to find...
We met up with Jim's wife at the local chapter of the Elk's Lodge and met some of his old time friends. Fun crowd. A lot of older folks with a laid back attitude, a quick wit, and in many cases, own large swaths of the town.
The next day, we parked at the boarder, and strolled into Algodones, Mexico. The town is one part tourist trap, one part trading post, one part Optical and Dental capital of Mexico.
After a few Margaritas and some shopping, we took off for the day. I looked for some authentic trinket of Mexican culture that I could bring home. Meaning not a refrigerator magnet, and not a trunk full of guys who'll paint my house for 5 bucks. So what did I find?
Awesomeness. THAT'S what I found.
Also, Jim's wife, Cheri, picked up a wedding cake for the newlyweds. There was indeed smeary frosting action, as is tradition.
Sunday, We went on a driving tour of Yuma, and I learned how to play a Dart Game called 301. Quick Rules: You start with 301 points, and have to reduce that score to exactly zero, by landing darts on the marked scoring area. Aside from the difficultly of getting your score exact, you need to hit the doubling ring (a narrow area, if you've ever seen a dart board) on both your first score and your last.Awesomeness. THAT'S what I found.
Also, Jim's wife, Cheri, picked up a wedding cake for the newlyweds. There was indeed smeary frosting action, as is tradition.
The last day was a 14 hour drive back to Cold Country. We had lunch at a little cafe on an Indian Reservation. Part of the advantage to doing shopping in a place that the government doesn't tread is Tax Free Cigarettes and Liquor. Not to mention picking up a bottle of something difficult to find...
And that's about it. You can view the pictures at your leisure.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Road Trip Day One: Wyoming to Las Vegas
We left Thursday at Noon, and headed south on I-15. Winter attempted to hinder our driving, as did the Utards. As the snow started to stick to the roads, we blew past the folks in the slow lane, going 70-80 MPH in the snow. By what authority? The Wyoming License plates we were sporting. By what means? By the super grippy snow tires on Jim's truck.
About 10:30 local time, we pulled into Vegas and crashed at Sam's Town. Becuase our rooms were so cheap, we decied to donate a little money to them via the casino. I played a few table games, scratching one more line item off of the list of things I always wanted to do.
I just don't like slots. I think it's the thought of feeding money into a machine waiting for it to run it's calulation of when it's allowed to maybe give you an astronomical chance of getting paying out. I like to gamble on things that I can kinda sorta affect the outcome of. Even if it's as simple as choosing whether or not to taking a hit on a hand of blackjack. I'll put a little money into a Video poker machine as a time waster, but that's about it for electronic gambling.
Anyway, the following morning, we got my coworkers Johnny and Meagan all dressed up and to the Chapel of the Flowers for their nuptial.
More tomorrow, I spend most of the night tagging, titling and captioning my pictures.
About 10:30 local time, we pulled into Vegas and crashed at Sam's Town. Becuase our rooms were so cheap, we decied to donate a little money to them via the casino. I played a few table games, scratching one more line item off of the list of things I always wanted to do.
I just don't like slots. I think it's the thought of feeding money into a machine waiting for it to run it's calulation of when it's allowed to maybe give you an astronomical chance of getting paying out. I like to gamble on things that I can kinda sorta affect the outcome of. Even if it's as simple as choosing whether or not to taking a hit on a hand of blackjack. I'll put a little money into a Video poker machine as a time waster, but that's about it for electronic gambling.
Anyway, the following morning, we got my coworkers Johnny and Meagan all dressed up and to the Chapel of the Flowers for their nuptial.
They asked us not to take photographs during the ceremony, mostly to avoid getting in the way of their professionals, so for more pictures, you'll have to go to the chapels website.
Before we left Sam's Town, one of my friends back home asked me to pick up some of those iconic red dice for him, so I made a fast run to the gift shop. Hope you like them.
Before we left Sam's Town, one of my friends back home asked me to pick up some of those iconic red dice for him, so I made a fast run to the gift shop. Hope you like them.
More tomorrow, I spend most of the night tagging, titling and captioning my pictures.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Random Encounter: Level 6 Road Trip
As many of you know via random text messages I've been sending to all of you, I spend the weekend in the southwest. First a night in Las Vegas, then onward to Yuma. I would have sent you a text from the third leg of the journey, but I couldn't seem to get a signal in Mexico.
I just got back from a long drive, so I'll not expound tonight, but check back either late night Tuesday or early Wednesday for a lengthy post (might be broken up into several posts) and a massive Flickr dump. (Between hitting the 200 picture limit and close to a half gig of pictures to upload, I'll be upgrading to a pro account very soon.)
I just got back from a long drive, so I'll not expound tonight, but check back either late night Tuesday or early Wednesday for a lengthy post (might be broken up into several posts) and a massive Flickr dump. (Between hitting the 200 picture limit and close to a half gig of pictures to upload, I'll be upgrading to a pro account very soon.)
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