The 4th and Beyond

Hope everyone had a good 4th weekend.

Friday I actually didn't do anything (well, I was lucky enough to work all day!). But my allergies were bothering me and I'm not so excited about fireworks, so I just spent some quality time on the couch and watched the Mets blow a 2-0 9th inning lead and lost to the Philthies.

Saturday I finished up Season 2 of Weeds. Holy crap what an AWESOME season finale!!! Then headed over to Courtney & Mike's place for a BBQ and festivities. It was fun. They're big into the game cornhole. Which, I thought they made up, but apparently its popular enough to have its own wikipedia page! They make their own boards and equipment, involving the college team colors of choice. For Mike and his friend Adam, they've got Auburn colors, Courtney gets one LSU board. I may need to get me an FSU set...I think my patio is big enough to handle it! So anyways, we setup a Cornhole tournament (complete with dry-eraser-board brackets!). I teamed up with Will, but we lost in round two to Mike and Adam. We definitely got a raw deal in that setup! Courtney and Mike are also the proud new owners of a Wii. And more importantly, the game Rock Band. Which, I'd never experienced before. I've played Guitar Hero before, but Rock Band includes a drum set and a microphone! If I was ever gonna play any instrument, I'd always wanted to be a drummer. Back to the days when I was a kid, going into a music store and grabbing some drum sticks in a side room only to have some a-hole working there yell at me that I was holding the sticks wrong. I ran off crying and it crushed my hopes and dreams forever. I'm pretty sure my parents told him to do that so that they wouldn't have to deal with me playing the drums in their house :) Anyways, we went through a couple of songs, turns out I'm a good singer???? well, it helps when the "singing" is actually a Beastie Boys song! I spent most of the night trying out the drums. And it was A LOT tougher that you'd think. Especially because they incorporate a foot pedal. That makes it tough, and eventually by about 2:30am, after Courtney was long asleep and Mike was passed out on the couch, it was just me and Nooga, we decided we were ready to call it a night.

On Sunday, without really anything to do, I talked Lauren into a double-feature, which we'd been talking about doing for a while now. We both wanted to see The Love Guru, but we couldn't fit it in. We wound up seeing Get Smart (with Steve Carell) first. It was pretty good...but you've really gotta appreciate Steve Carell to really like it. I think he'd be perfect to play a real life Inspector Gadget movie. Next up was Hancock (with Will Smith). I hadn't really heard a whole lot about it, but I definitely wanted to give it a shot. We originally got seats pretty close to the screen, but after staring at the Rock Band screen all night the night before and with it being the 2nd half of a double feature, I asked Lauren if she would be cool with moving towards the back of the theatre. WORST. DECISION. EVER. Turns out we sat right in front of a family with a 2yr old wondering and chatting with himself throughout the aisle behind us. It's bad enough that I already generally don't have a lot of patience for annoying kids, but this was a movie theatre. You just don't let that happen. It's not like this was a kids movie. Without giving much away, Will Smith plays the role of a guy with super powers, but, well, he's kind of an asshole. There's a lot of cursing and drinking in the movie. Not that I claim to know anything about parenting, but this is not something I'd think a 2yr old should be subject to. This kid was sooooooooooooooo annoying, eventually, about halfway through the movie, we moved back down to the bottom closer to the screen again. I was sure to make sure they heard me use the word "obnoxious" as we left our seats, I also made sure to say "fucking" first but not TOO loud. Once we got to our new seats they did take the kid outside, so I feel like I made a positive difference in the lives of everyone in that theatre :) Unfortunately, it was temporary, the kid was back, and even way down at the bottom of the theatre, everyone can still hear this kid. With all that said, Hancock was an AWESOME movie. I absolutely loved it, and whenever it comes on DVD, Mitsa will be providing a movie night viewing party.

Last night was the return of Sports Trivia to a new bar since Frankies is no more. It was at a little hole in the wall kind of place called Charlie Mopps. It's hard to find, I will admit to one U-Turn. I met up with a coworker, Cintron and he needed at least 3 U-Turns I believe. The place was pretty cool, it had tons of beers to choose from. Anyways, for trivia, where half the fun is coming up with funny team names, we went with the recently demoted Braves outfielder, Jeff Francoeur as our target. "Jeff Francoeur, AA [minor league] All Star Game MVP". At first when I got there, our waitress, who was wearing a Sweetwater T-Shirt (a good sign, I was actually wearing mine too) took my order and I ordered a sweetwater and asked if they could turn the Mets game on one of the TV's. Well, they turned it on about 6 TV's! wow!!!! what service :) and the Mets were winning 5-0 before they even got it on! For my 2nd beer I asked the waitress to recommend something to me. She did one better. Actually three better. She brought me 3 samples of beers to try. Hell, after the samples I was kind of thinking I didn't need anymore beer, but since she went through all that I wasn't about to say no thanks, I'm good! So I got a 2nd beer and that was gonna be it. Well, as luck would have it, throughout trivia, they randomly pick team names and award a free pitcher of beer to two teams. Yep, we "won". Cintron isn't really a big drinker and I had to drive, so as sad and tragic as it was, the pitcher pretty much went to waste. I was tempted to offer it to the table next to us, but I'm not so sure they were even 21. There were too many straws in their drinks anyways. Well, me and Cintron wound up finishing in 2nd place and went off with $30 of gift certificates to spend there next time we go back. Which we most definitely will. Hopefully we get the same waitress too!

And in typical Mets fashion, after being ahead 8-0 and 10-1...they had to make things interesting, and wound up winning 10-9. Ughhhhh.

Operation Believe in Tankland!

Well, as you may have realized by now, I've become a big Atlanta Thrashers fan now that I've lived in Atlanta for a few years. But it took some time. I grew up in NYC and was a big Rangers fan. I still remember where I was when the Rangers won the Cup in 1994! (Ok, even if it was just in the extra bedroom of my parents house in Roanoke, VA...I still remember being so excited but everyone was asleep so I had to be quiet!) Soon after, I started FSU in the fall of 1994 and for my birthday, I got my first hockey jersey (aka - "sweater"). It was a dark blue Rangers jersey. Up until about 2003 or so, I would wear it to Thrashers games and even root against em (which I still do the Braves, as a Mets fan...that one will NEVER change). But something happened that year. I realized how much fun the games were. The team was on the "cusp". Later on, maybe 2005, the Thrashers provided an opportunity to trade in any NHL team's jersey for a brand new Thrashers jersey. I traded my 11 year old Rangers jersey for a Thrashers jersey. You've probably seen me in it in many pictures since! And I've been a die-hard Thrashers fan since. Beginning with last season, my company actually started advertising in Philips arena, and as part of a contract they now have a suite in one corner (figures!) of the arena. Not frequently, but I've gotten to sit in the suite several times. Now this year, I've managed to (through Erica) become friends with a guy who actually works on the ice at Philips. He even gets to drive the zamboni occasionally (which apparently is a bottom feeder job that isn't as cool as it sounds). He's gotten me and some friends a bunch of free tickets. So, between him and work, I've gotten to go to A LOT of these games for FREE. With the NHL All Star Game in Atlanta this year, a couple of my friends decided to buy a season ticket package (all Saturday games) in order to have a shot at ($200) All Star Tickets. See, it all evens out. The All Star Game Weekend Festivities were worth it. And to date, I've been to all but 3 home games this season, all for good reason.

Dec 12 vs Boston - doctor's apt & parents in town

Jan 4 vs Carolina - My friend Courtney & Mike's wedding

Jan 6 vs Buffalo - My Super Bowl XLII Champion N.Y. Giants had their first playoff game at the same time as the Thrashers game. Priorities! But I haven't missed a game since.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm a big fan. About a month ago, February 15th, the Thrashers won a 10 round shootout in New Jersey. That win put them a mere 2 games over .500 and into first place in the South(L)east Division. They've one just one game since. The playoffs aren't a realistic goal anymore. Beginning with last season, the Thrashers PR department (or whoever thinks up these things) came up with the slogan "Believe in Blueland". With "Blueland" being Philips Arena. I didn't really like it at first, thought it was kinda lame. But it grew on me. I approve. Now, fast forward to current day. My thoughts are, with the playoffs out of reach, the more games they lose, the better draft pick they'll get. Introducing "Operation Believe in Tankland". Thats right. I hope the team tanks and losing as many games as possible. If they manage to finish with the worst record, they'll have the best shot at the #1 overall draft pick, where a kid named Steven Stamkos would probably help out immediately.

Now, for the bad idea segment. Last night the Thrashers attempted to have a "White-Out" at Blueland. With the idea being, everyone wears a white shirt. As you can see by the picture, there are TONS more empty seats than people in white shirts. Even better, the Thrashers were supposed to wear their white jerseys too. Well, someone forgot to tell the Colorado Avalanche (the Thrashers opponent on White-Out Night) and they just happened to forget their non-white jerseys. Oops. First of all, the whole "white-out" thing has been done. Why not have a "blue-out" aka a "smurf out"? (credit given to Divya for thinking of that one). Instead they had us all wear shirts the same color as the opponent. BRILLIANT! Well, the Thrashers lost 5-2. As if that mattered, hell, they haven't won a home game, in regulation since January 30th!

The highlight for me was this Avalanche jersey. I know its a bad picture, but the back says "Redwings Suck". The Red Wings and Avalanche have one of the best rivalries in hockey. Especially in the late 90, early 0's (did I just name it that?)

So thats about it. Does it make me a bad fan since I'm basically rooting against my favorite team the rest of the season? I don't think so. It's whats best for their future! Right?

The Week in Review

First things first, Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!

This past Tuesday there were some pretty powerful strong storms around 6am or so. I woke up, turned on the TV to see if I'm supposed to be hiding in a bathroom or something. Luckily, I was perfectly safe in my bed. During the weather reports there were talks of power outages in Kennesaw (where I work). I had the brilliant idea of calling my extension to see if voicemail was working. It was not! A busy signal! I went back to sleep.

About 7:30 I called a coworker (Monica) to get an update. Stuck in traffic, but she'd update me when she got there. Eventually I got word that there was officially no power in the office and that everyone was to go home and check back around noon. I sent an email to my boss and back to sleep I went!

Slept all the way til 9:30! (sarcasm). Then I remembered it was NHL trade deadline day! Which was to be a big deal for the Thrashers. They had several soon to be free agents to trade, including Marian Hossa who is probably the most coveted impending free agent. I was glued to the internet, waiting for the Thrashers to do something when all of a sudden it was after noon already! I had just spoken to another coworker (JOAN!) who said that the power was back but nothing was working. So I stayed on the couch. Ooops! Got an email from the boss asking where I was. No one told me!!!!! Anyways, went to work. After expecting Hossa to get traded to Montreal all along, out of nowhere came the Pittsburgh Penguins. We gave up Hossa and one of my favorites, Pascal Dupuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, a prospect (Angelo Esposito) and a 1st round draft pick in 2008. That's A LOT! Unfortunately they didn't trade any of the other upcoming free agents. Oh well. The Thrashers are now 0-0-3 since the trade. And Hossa is out with an injured knee. Oops!

Wednesday was another wacky day. Oh, I forgot to do my rant on everyone being pregnant. My good friend and coworker, Beth (the one who actually trained me when I first got to Aarons) had her baby on Feb 19 (Claire Elizabeth Robinson - aka - E-Claire). She was a few weeks early. Another coworker, Lakeisha was due before Beth and didn't have her baby until Tuesday (Feb 26 (Stephen Champion Moore). Then on Wednesday, it was my friend Jill's birthday. She was, what looked like about 2 years pregnant. Met up with her at some Italian restaurant called Il Localino. I had no idea what kind of place it was, I just showed up in my Thrashers hoody and jeans. Apparently it's a somewhat fancy place. Oh well, the owner had a good time with us. He actually told me that a few guys from the team are regulars! I'll never understand the lifestyle of spending $100 on a meal, but amongst about 10 of us, we racked up a $700+ bill! Hooray beer! A lot of that was wine, which, luckily I'm not a fan of. It was a good time, Josh (Jill's husband) has some wacky friends. Josh was wearing a crab? hat the whole time. Another girl (Bonnie?) had a Viking hat. Very strange. But it was a fun time.

Thursday I had my first episode of Beth withdrawal. Usually I make her come with me whenever I have to buy anything at lunch. Well, I needed new work-shoes. I'm a guy, what the hell do I know? I had to somehow choose between brown and black shoes. Beth was nowhere to be found. I called Lauren and she talked me into the brown ones - actually, I eventually realized they didn't have the black ones in my size. My newest problem is, they come with light brown and dark brown shoelaces! What do I do? (Seriously, I'm clueless here)

Thursday night was the first Thrashers home game in over 2 weeks. And it was a mess. Traffic was terrible. I got there in time for the traditional pregame 44oz beer. Met up with Pat and Jeremy. I was waiting on Divya with my ticket, but she was stuck in traffic. And it turned out that the tickets that were supposed to be waiting for her never showed up! Matt couldn't get off work til about 6:45. Erica got there right around 7:00 and happened to have an extra ticket. So in with them I went. I had all kinds of friends there. I stayed with Erica and Peter for the first period (in the good seats). My friend Jason was there for "guys' night" so I told them I'd hang out with them for a bit. Went upstairs in between periods, hung out with Jason, Mike, Adam, Seth and some others. With a few minutes left in the 2nd period (and with the Thrashers losing 3-0) I finally heard from Matt, who was apparently sitting nearby. He called and said to come over, he ran into our favorite usher...Millie! So I ran over. I don't remember if I ever mentioned Millie on here, but she's hooked me and Matt up numerous times, including getting us lower level seats for the 3rd period of the all star game. Anyways, Millie had us follow her. Usually this involves going down lots of stairs. Well, not this time. She had us sit in the very last row of the upper deck. In her defense, apparently she said "wait here, I'll be back". Well, she came back, but we wound up staying there the rest of the game. Oh, as an added bonus of sitting in the last row, I had the bright idea of jumping over the back of the seat and landed flat on my ass. Oops. Oh, the Thrashers came back to tie the game, but lost in OT. Like you care.

Friday, Violet Louise Reiter was born (that's Josh & Jill's). That thing was almost 10 pounds!!!!!
Friday night began my Family Guy marathon. I'd managed to avoid Family Guy for years. Everyone said that I would love the show, but I just always thought there is no way it could live up to expectations. Well, it has. Jeremy got a hold of the first two seasons on DVD. Started watching it right away. Love it!

Saturday, me and Matt went to go visit Jill & Josh & Violet in the hospital. We parked at what we thought was the right place. Oops. Walked around a building that seemed like a hospital for a while. Walked through a parking garage for a while. Finally found the front door of what looks like what used to be a hospital? Still not sure but it became obvious we were in the WRONG building. We managed to get directions from a security guard and jumped back in the car and found the right place. The only thing I wonder about this whole baby thing, both Beth & Jill have cats. How do they know their kids aren't gonna be allergic????? (Cats suck)

After the hospital Matt introduced me to this place called Raging Burrito. It was REALLY good but I found out a little later why I think they call it that. Ok, sorry, that was gross. But the burrito was really good. Two words - Pineapple salsa!

That's about it. This week is spring break. Yippee. Doesn't exactly mean the same now that i'm working. All it means is that I don't have to be awake for an 8am class (which I'm consistently 15 minutes late for, hell, I'm consistently 15 minutes late for anything AM related) Any advice is appreciated!

Another trip to Jacksonville

Lots of interesting stuff to report from this weekend. I'll try my best to make it brief. (HA!)

(Nurse) Kim met up with me in Atlanta and rode with me to Jacksonville Friday. Got into town and met up with Tracy & Stacey and others at the local Mellow Mushroom. Some people know of Mellow Mushroom as a pizza place (some may not know it at all) but the version in Jacksonville is more like a bar it seemed. Still pretty cool. Tracy was being a party pooper and wanted to go home, but me and Kim stayed and hung out at "The Shroom" (I just came up with that! I'm sure i'm the first too). Right about at last call time, I went back to the bar to get a last beer ( a Newcastle - draught, of course) and was rejected. The taps were cleaned and closed out. I went back to Kim to give her the bad news, she went up there and next thing I know, here comes Kim with 2 very very dark glasses of beers? What the???? Well, apparently the bartender liked her boobs better than mine, so she got us beer. Oh well, whatever. After the bar we went back to Tracy's place and popped in Talladega Nights. Kim was asleep within 10 minutes. Funny movie!!!!

Saturday I got tricked into going to a shoe store with Kim & Tracy..THATS not gonna happen again!!!! After that we went to this place called CRAZY Sushi. It didn't seem too crazy, but I'm not a sushi guy. Later that afternoon me and Tracy drove up to Jekyll Island for my friends' Jill & Josh's wedding. Before I left I got the address for the hotel and got directions from google. As we're headed towards the island the directions took us in a different direction than the signs for Jekyll Island. I definitely got suspicious, but stuck with the directions. Shouldn't have! We wound up in Saint Simon's Island. the street name is apparently on both islands, and google maps screwed me over. Finally we got to the hotel and to the wedding. Oh, on our way to the wedding, I found out my friends Mike & Courtney got engaged. So thats pretty cool. No one seems to listen to my "stay single" advice that my Grandpa gave me!!! Anyways, the wedding was pretty cool. I tried to get drunk enough to dance, but it just didn't happen. They actually had a cool idea for the music at the wedding - they emailed a select few of the guests and took song requests. They had a band for the first part of the reception when we were eating, but after that they just setup Josh's ipod. I thought that was a pretty neat idea. Anyways, I, of course, requested "Get Low" (you know, the sweat drop down my balls song). At the wedding Jill kept telling me it was coming up next, but it never came!

Sunday morning just as we were getting back on the interstate, I was passing a truck who decided to shower poor little Vickie with oil. It was ALL over my windshield, my hood, my bumper and just everywhere. A couple exits later I finally decided to stop at a gas station to make sure it wasn't coming from my car, and it wasn't. I really wish I took a picture, but I didn't. It really was everywhere. We grabbed 2 squeegee's at the gas station and just completely wiped my car off. Not fun. But it wouldn't be a road trip with Tracy if bizarre stuff like this didn't happen!

Sunday we drove back to Atlanta. Then this morning after I woke up, my TV in my bedroom (not Mitsa) was on Sportscenter just like its supposed to be. I walked into the living room for a minute and I heard the sound from the TV go off and heard some odd noises. I went into my room and smelled smoke. Something inside my TV blew up!!!! I couldn't do anything with the remote, so I wound up just unplugging it. Looking inside the TV you can see a bright orange glow...not quite a flame, but something was definitely burning in there! So...now I need a new TV. And since Mitsa has spoiled me, I'll probably have to spend a good bit of cash on a new TV now. Nothing huge, but definitely something HD compatible.

Thats a pretty eventful weekend, huh?