Back by popular (?) demand

First off, the main reason for my writing today (other than the fact that I can't sleep) is that someone actually asked why I haven't updated my blog in a while. You like me! You really like me! Anyway....

Today started off on kind of a bad note. I texted mom to see when xmas #1 was. It's usually the Sunday before the 25th, but sometimes it changes if regular xmas is on a weekend like it is this year. So mom informed me that it was today, and also that she already told Grandma I wasn't coming. Except she forgot to inform me. Until that point, of course, which was an hour before the party started. And given that it was a 2 hour drive and I was still in bed, well, you can see why this is becoming less and less possible by the minute. So I was bummed that I missed out, but me and sis can go see Grandma next weekend.

But then, as I continued to stumble through my Sunday routine (i.e. drag myself out of bed and move to the couch), my friend and former (x2) coworker Andy made a wonderful suggestion: SNOWBOARDING! I know by this point that if you're reading my blog and are unaware of the fact that I love snowboarding, you must be lost. I suggest you navigate away from this page immediately, or better yet, just walk away from your computer and find a book go read. You'd be much better off.

Anyway. Yes. Snowboarding. We went to Cascade. It wasn't too full, which was nice. And here's a fun tip: If you get there after 3:30 (which we did), lift tix are only $26! Since Andy and I both love being cheap, this was truly a wondrous discovery. So we bought our tickets and took a couple of pulls of Jamo out of the flask on the lift on the way up and had a grand old time. Conditions were pretty good, and all the runs were open. I also would like to point out that I haven't been to the gym in a week, and I haven't been lifting nearly as much as I have in years past to prep for snowboarding, but I still think I did pretty well. I only actually fell once, and it wasn't even from catching an edge... it was from going too slow! hah!

And so, for today, I have declared myself the winner.

Other updates: work... is work. I'm excited for our white elephant exchange tomorrow. I usually suck at these coworker gift things quite terribly, but I think that at least part of my gift will be appreciated, in some strange demented way. I'm also looking forward to New Year's so I can start on my resolutions. I'm sure I'll have another meaningful blubbering post about those come 1/1/11, because I usually do. I suppose if you're looking for something regular about this blog, you can always count on a new years resolution post, and another one for lent complaining about how I've been sucking at my new year's resolutions for the last 3 months and i'm giving myself a do-over.

ALSO. Since I think I'm far enough away from Halloween to be out of the woods: I have gone the entire length of the Halloween season WITHOUT CONSUMING CANDY CORN! Not a single one! I'm really proud of myself because said corn is usually responsible for about 2 lbs of life-ruining "holiday cheer." So go me on that.

I would also like to tell you that I had an all-Milwaukee dining weekend. Dinner Friday was the Lakefront Fish Fry with Jason, which was delicious as usual. Our server, Max, was quite awesome and deserving of 3 high-5s. Saturday's dinner was Cafe La Scala at the Italian Community Center, which I had heard rumors of but had never witnessed until this day, and let me tell you, it was AMAZING. Definitely undervalued within the city of Milwaukee. Thanks to Tony and Ross for being my hott dates. I will surely be back. (And stop calling me Shirley!)

Other stuff: I don't deal well with change, but some of it seems to be looming on the horizon. Does anybody have a "how to suck it up and deal with change for dummies" book I can borrow? And no, it's not the fun exciting new car type of change either... grr...

Anyway, it's an hour after I got in bed and I'm still pretty much wide awake. I suppose falling asleep might be more easily facilitated if I'd actually close my laptop and turn out the light, but I'm not sure that will work, given how last week went. Oh well.... here goes nothing!

DC Trip and Other Interesting Tidbits

As some of you may know, I went to DC last weekend. I saw an awesome Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. Norman Rockwell has always been one of my favorite artists and it was really great to see some of his work up close, and without 3,000 of my closest friends (we went about 90 mins before close on a Friday, so the crowd was pretty sparse).

On Saturday morning we went to visit the National Cathedral. The place was huge. I did not realize that it took almost a century from concept to completion. The main reason was financing - no public money was used for the cathedral, it was financed entirely by donations. Kind of blows my mind that so much money can be raised in this day and age to construct something that benefits everyone. On a related note, I don't believe in taking pictures in churches. Or really in any places where it says no photography, even though 98% of tourists don't respect those signs. Rude!

After that we hit up the Newseum, which I have been fantasizing about since it opened 5 years ago. Long story short, it was AMAZING. The staff was great and incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. And there was SO MUCH TO SEE! A ticket is good for two days, and we definitely used it both days. There are so may great artifacts that tell both the story of news and the story of America, and it's really amazing to see how development of the news influenced the course of history. Definitely worth the trip, and totally worth the $20 ticket price that some folks complain about. If you ever make it there, be sure to check out one of the best views of Washington on the 6th floor terrace.

After Newseum round 2 on Sunday, I checked out the National Museum of American History. I had about 90 mins to kill before my train so I caught a few exhibits. The ones I enjoyed the most were the First Ladies exhibit and the Apollo Theatre exhibit. There were a ton of people at the museum and most of them were in line for the Star Spangled Banner and the American Pop Culture exhibits (I skipped them as this was my third visit to this museum in 5 years). While I enjoyed everything I saw at this museum, the experience was slightly less than pleasant. There were a lot of people that day and everyone seemed to be aggravated - cutting in line/being cut off in line, grumbling about lines, kids running everywhere, fingerprint smudges on all the glass and just a general bad mood in the museum. Kind of sad. I felt that a lot of the guests were being disrespectful of what the stuff was and where they were; that they saw it more as "stuff" than as something that has been so instrumental in what our nation is about. Or maybe I just have a different idea of what museums should be.

At any rate, I'm back now. The return flight was good, and my scotch on the rocks was DELICIOUS. Plans are stacking up for this week, which is good and bad. I just can never seem to catch up on sleep! Also, I'm seeking topics for further blog posts. Maybe like reader questions or something like that. So feel free to ask away, or send in questions that you've always wondered the answer to.

First up: Sasquatch: Fact or Fiction?

Stay tuned...

Zombie Target

To put an end to an already excessive weekend, JB and I stopped by the Target on Miller Park Way in hopes of acquiring a pair of galoshes (for me, not for him). Mainly because they're so fun to say, and also they will be great for walking to work in the spring/summer rain.

We parked and were confronted by a security guard on a three-wheeled Segway-esque thinger with flashy lights. He told us that the store had lost power so they were closed.

So, to continue with the weekend-long theme of bad decision making, we stopped by the Chili's that was nearby and were seated with a waitress named Rozy who had a squirrel nest atop her head, and so much makeup on her face it could probably be scraped off with a spatula.

After going over 3 different menus (one 'regular' menu and two 'special' menus), and noting that everything was 'fried to perfection,' JB ordered a crispy-chicken-glazed-crisper thing and I got these buffalo chicken burger bite things. (I just pointed at the picture when I ordered.) After 4 or 5 soda refills and a serious discussion about dessert, we left. When we were in the parking lot, we noticed that folks were once again entering and leaving Target, so we ventured back....

The three-wheeled cop was now standing at the door with his Segway thinger parked nearby (flashing lights still on) and told patrons that all of the power was on except for the lights. Associates were posted every 20 feet or so with flashlights, and if you wanted to venture down and aisle, they escorted you and were actually quite helpful and pleasant. I located some galoshes (that are pink and plaid) and then wandered down to camping supplies (because, after all, spring is in the air). After attempting to look at the little mini tents, we decided it wasn't working well and started to head out.

AND THEN!!

THE LIGHTS MAGICALLY CAME BACK ON!!!

So we ran back to camping supplies! And saw a lovely pink camouflage sleeping bag. (Can it really be called camouflage if it's bright pink???) Anyway, we went through camping supplies and a few other sections and then the lights clicked off again. It was at that point that we were in the very far back corner of the store, where it was the darkest. JB ever-so-kindly pointed out that this would be the perfect setting for a zombie movie, and proceeded to attempt to freak me out every possible chance he got. (I hate zombies.) So I decided it was time to leave.

This was probably the strangest and most surreal Target experience I have ever had (and, honestly, that I ever hope to have). I give them props for triaging the situation and helping customers, but SO much could have gone wrong at that point (looting, pillaging, people finding ways to hurt themselves, people hurting other people, etc...). If you don't have lights in a giant warehouse with no natural light, just take the loss for the day and close your doors. And stock up on anti-zombie apparati (whatever that may be).

The Weekend In Review

The past 2 days have been relaxing, but I'm still not ready for work tomorrow.

On Friday I went snowboarding at Tyrol Basin. They have $12.50 lift tix on Friday nights, which is a welcome change compared to the rest of places around here. It was quite a hike, but worth it, especially after 9pm when the school groups cleared out (they're open till midnite). Greg let me borrow a pair of his strap bindings to try out instead of my Flows. They were a lot lighter and I liked the way they they held my ankles in place compared to the Flows. I think I'll probably get a pair of those soon. Also, it was snowing, which was super nice. The snow was kind of loose, but overall it was enjoyable. And I went off some jumps! I'll be cool yet! I got a sweet new pair of pants, they're brown with pin stripes. And it only cost me a 6er of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale!

On Saturday, I met up with 10 other folks for breakfast at The Red Dot. While I recognize that we were a large group, there is no reason that it should have taken 2.5 hours for us to get our food. The quality was also lacking severely. I think I'll go back to the Red Dot, but probably just for drinks and not for food.

After that, I met up with Nikos my Grecian Valentine for a romantic trip to Target. Then we went to Alterra and had Valentine's coffee, and then we went to Whole Foods to buy Valentine's spices so Nikos could make me Valentine's Curried Chicken. Then I took a Valentine's nap and went to see Cynthia, my other Valentine. We ate Valentine's puppy chow and drank Valentine's riesling. Then we watched some Valentine's bad movies, followed by some Valentine's YouTube clips, and then I went home. I had a good time with my wonderful Valentines.

I would also like to say that I'm glad that Valentine's Day is over, and I'm quite excited that we won't have to worry about any more of those lame commercials for jewelery for another year.

As for this week, work is going to be rough. I'm not really looking forward to it. I'm going to see my sister's basketball game tomorrow - the first one this whole season (I'm a bad sister this year), and on Tuesday I'm having dinner with JT. Wednesday is Team Trivia night and Thursday is the Ad2 Birthday party. It should be a good time! Hopefully I'll find time to update with something slightly more insightful than how I've spent the last 48 hours. Hopefully.