Article of the Day - H Town What?!

Prep boys hockey preview: Hermantown has big expectations

Hermantown has a chance to contend for a state boys hockey championship.

By: Rick Weegman, Duluth News Tribune

Perfection is a tough act to follow.

That’s what Hermantown’s boys hockey team found out the past two years in following up on the school’s undefeated, Class A title-winning season in 2006-07.

This season’s team, however, has a chance at a championship sequel.

Led by high-scoring senior center Adam Krause, a future Minnesota Duluth player, the Hawks hope to contend for a second state title. (more)

Photo of the Day - Operation Trainwreck

in T-minus three days...

Photo of the Day

Halloween. Brothers and Barley (even though he looked away from the camera)


And, yes, I did flag Tania for dressing that poor defenseless animal in a costume. Repeatedly.

Toph's BDay Weekend in the IE

Brief Summaries:

Topher:

• kegs and eggs
• bbq
• drinking games
• girl on girl action
• Simpler Times
• "We Built this City"
• Journey
• Cawlfield and Matney outed (DL: twice)
  
• blondes
• vial shots
• Jager bomb
• dance mania
• lap dance
• brawl
• Breakfast Jack!
• strawberry shake
• papsan down

DL:

• Yard House
• trotting out a four starter against staff aces and #2's
• Datsun is
• silver bullets
• Bitch U Ride the MARTA Bus
• knee to the spine

Yas:

• regular ID (DL: racial profiling)
  
• lemon drop martinis
• "Shit...they're at my car now."
• baseball
• side beef
• crazy bitches
• cougars

Jordty:
"Don't forget about our discussion of the importance of diversifying the rotation behind a clear-cut staff ace. Lincecum stuff...backing the hammer with 97+. Then running out a solid Cain-esque #2 and a #3."

Datsun is...Datsun is...

Holding my car hostage right now. Not only are they violating me for four bills for the two-year service, they are not even being couteous enough to do it quickly.

This blows but is, of course, necessary with the Humboldt trip pending. This is also a test to see if the number of characters mandating this to be sent in multiple texts also means it will be multiple posts on the blog. It's an experiment. If it sucks, sorry and I'll take it down as soon as possible.

ADDENDUM: It worked, so I edited it, and it's staying. Thanks for the comment, Toph. Word.

Viva Las Vegas

So as you my loyal readers know, Toph and I went to Vegas with mom and dad this past weekend. Mom and dad were headed to see a show that is related to one they saw on their recent Hawaiian cruise, so they offered to take us to Vegas, split the hotel cost and let us do whatever the hell we wanted when we got there.

Mom, dad and I rolled out of Burbank at 8, picked Toph up at 9, and we were on the way. Our first stop, was a common one on the way to Vegas. I unilaterally made the decision that it was time for tall boys.

Next stop was Primm, where mom went to feed the slots a bit while Toph and I wandered off to the smoke shop and met the first of what would turn out to be many fascinating people on this trip. We sought out some cigars, since those are Toph and my newest thing for kickback time. The smoke shop owner was a total cougar, but had this weird and disorienting speech pattern that was part the crazy chick from Misery and part Lurch. Pretty sure this chick had smoked everything possible and some things that others wouldn't think were possible. We got our cigars and got out as quickly as possible. Back to the bar at the casino for a pair of silver bullets and then back onto the road.

Just when we thought we were headed downhill to Vegas, we fell victim benefitted from one of those giant road signs in hell Jean. $1 beer, $1 hot dogs. The good people of Nevada benefited from some more of my mom's money on the slot machines, and Toph and I benefited from multiple $1 hot dogs and multiple $1 Blue Moons. Yes...it was dollar drafts and they had freaking Blue Moon. Amazing!

So then, it came time to carry our buzz on to our destination: Vegas. We got to the hotel, kicked back for a bit and then went to dinner with the folks at Famous Dave's...after we got lost an impromptu tour of Las Vegas. After grabbing a 12-pack (of Blue Moon), we headed back to the hotel. Mom and dad got ready for their show. Toph and I got ready to catch the shuttle to the strip. After a brief pregame session, we hit the shuttle and rolled to the strip. Nothing too notable except talking to a gentleman who was from Atlanta and didn't believe Toph and I were brothers. His bad.

The shuttle dropped us off at the Tropicana, and I said goodbye to my friend Brett from Atlanta and Toph and I began our journey. I figured Margaritaville was the most logical place to start a night of drunken shenanigans--except I didn't realize that it was essentially on the opposite end of the strip. So, we stopped by a Corona vendor and got a little something to tide us over until we got there. You'd think that since it was Vegas and it's effing hot, they might have something to circulate the air in bars there? Not the case, as even at the top bar, there was no airflow, so we took our beers to go and went back down the strip.

After wandering for a while, a handful of "Haaaaaaave you met Gabe?" calls, offering an assist to some young ladies trying to all three cram into a picture and catching the water show at the Bellagio, we rolled into Diablos, where we would post up for the rest of the night. We grabbed a couple empty seats at the bar and then went into observation mode.

Across the bar from us were a blonde and a brunette surrounded by guys. Five of them were talking to the blonde. One was talking to the brunette, who had a very clear "seen it all, done it all, not interested" look on her face that I could see plainly across the bar. The one guy in her ear was not deterred. She went to the phone. Not deterred. She poured herself a drink. Not deterred. Because of the setup, Toph and I were looking straight at this and seeing it all.

It was only a matter of time before this girl looked up and I made eye contact with her, glancing from her to him and then back to her with a quizzical look of, "Really? That guy?" She rolls her eyes, shrugs and then laughs and goes back to the phone. The guy stops for a second because she laughed but then gets right back in her ear after she's on the phone. This time when she looks up and I see her, I give a disapproving head shake. She returns with the sad face. I glanced back in his direction, looked back at her and resumed shaking my head.

Now she's intrigued and we proceed to have a 20 minute "conversation" via facial expressions, breaking down everything within our line of sight. Finally the guy figures it out and bails. She grabs her blonde companion, smiles at me and they make a break for it. I had just rained out some guy's game without saying a word. Win.

Once my brunette friend across the bar had left, Toph and I decided to relocate closer to the dance floor. We'd noticed a tall, striking blond (with a very prominent franchise tag) at the bar earlier, and we spotted her again on the dance floor but this time in a large group of girls. She was very clearly the mother hen of the group trying to organize everyone for a picture, so I offered to take it for her so everyone--including her--could crowd around the girl in the tiara and sash and be in it. This, of course, worked perfectly, and Toph and I spent the rest of our outing with the bachelorette party...of girls who were in town from Minnesota.

After a couple drunk calls, the shuttle back to the hotel finally gets there (greatly improving my night, apparently, right Grant?), and we decide it's time to hit the room for a couple more beers to smuggle into the 24-hour bowling alley in our hotel. Once we smuggle our beers past the security guard (who was awesome and had to know we had them but didn't care), we get our lane, get the beers out and realize that we don't have my keys (which contain the bottle opener).

I nominated myself to go back and get them but was unable to find the elevators in my drunken stupor. As I wandered around the casino (all ends of which look EXACTLY the same), I called Toph from my dying phone and told him to keep bowling. Apparently he did and was legit. I finally found the elevators, grabbed a couple more beers and took them down. We crushed all beer involved and split the first two games. Apparently I won the third one. I don't really remember, but Toph was unhappy. We then went out to the casino to smoke our cigars and hit the slots, where I nearly passed out...and lost my hat. Time to stumble up to the room and crash.

Checkout time was noon, so my parents woke us up about 11:45 and we put our stuff together and left. It was only now that I realized I'd lost my hat. Toph and I hit Jack in the Box for some breakfast while mom fed the slots some more. It was puke and rally time, but I can assure you all, J in the B breakfast had never tasted so good. We rolled back to the casino, backtracked our steps and found my hat. And just like that, it was time to go home. Vegas, baby. What a town.

Blast from the Past

Here is the text of the essay that got me into college. All you teachers among my readership, have a look. OK, really just you, Sarah...since this was written when I was in the demographic you now teach. Comments welcome from all, though. Note: this is before I met my brother.

A leaded glass angel with a baseball glove may be a knick-knack for some, but for me it represents love. Love for a game I’ve played nearly all of my life and love for my own “guardian angels”—my family. I believe that the family is the absolute base unit of society, and I am fortunate enough to be able to say that I have been blessed with a family that sets a good example for me to follow.

My father’s words become that little voice in the back of my head telling me that I can conquer the world. He has taught me the virtues of self-motivation and self-reliance. My mother has shown a type of unconditional love that I cannot imagine living without. She is always there for me, and I, in turn, always try to be there for anyone who needs me. I take pride in being able to help others, and I can attribute this quality to the example my mother has set for me. I credit my family environment with making me the person I am today. Together, my ever-supportive parents have taught me innumerable lessons and my angel serves as a constant reminder of them and the impression they have had on me. Every time I look at it, one specific experience stands out in my mind.

The most valuable lesson my family taught me was also the most difficult one for all of us. When I was eight years old, my baseball team was a disaster. Coach Dad was beside himself trying to figure out what we had to do as a team to scratch out our first win of the season, and Mom was growing tired of continually keeping scores of us losing. One Friday night, toward the end of the season, we had our opportunity to snag that elusive win. However, the coach and the scorekeeper had just had a meeting with my third grade teacher in which they were told that I was showing a trend of frequently becoming a “distraction” in class.

Consequently, I was benched for the game. As the late innings approached, I sat there, watching “ball four” and “E6” in an increasingly close game. I, along with my teammates and everyone in the stands, waited for coach dad to put me in, but my name stayed on the bottom of that line-up card—alienated from those of my teammates. The questions, “Why?” and, “What did you do?” came from my friends on the team and hurt more and more each time they were asked. My team lost the game, but that was trivial when put in the context that I wasn’t there for them. I had let the entire team down because of my individual actions.

My parents have succeeded in teaching me many lessons, but this one was, by far, the most effective. By taking away the very thing I loved the most, baseball, they taught me who I am. In watching my dad try to coach a game without a shortstop, I learned how to improvise and adjust to a difficult situation.

In seeing what others thought of his decision not to put me in the game and my dad’s lack of response, I learned how to be determined and stick to a decision, irrespective of outside influence. In watching my team struggle, but never give up, I learned perseverance. Finally, and most importantly, looking back on the situation, I learned that my parents did this out of love—tough love, and, I honestly believe that I am a better person for it.

Two Years Ago...

A lot can change in a couple years. Friends get married. Other friends graduate from school. The first African American president in our nation's history is elected and sworn into office. The freaking Arizona Cardinals make the Super Bowl. You move once twice three times (with a fourth pending). You gain people. You lose people.

Things aren't necessarily better...but they aren't necessarily worse. They're just different.

Living
Two years ago, I lived in an apartment in Reseda with ARob. We'd pretty much just moved out of the house on Lanark, and he already had an eye toward purchasing another house (which, of course, would turn out to be the one on Cohasset). A few months later, we moved into that house, and for a year and a half, it was game on. The keg flowed. The grill sizzled. The music room blasted. It was the party house. Parties, hookups, illegal fireworks, magic shows...it was a little bit of everything.

Then Tania moved back to SoCal, which was awesome, but it was also clearly the beginning of the end of an era.

I love them both to death and am happy that they have each other and are able to share their lives together...but at the same time, once it was time for a ring, it was an implicit eviction notice for me. So the first great craigslist hunt began, and it led me to the apartment in Woodland Hills with my first random roommate. All who know me, know how well I fit in there. So after a month and a half of not being able to freaking stand it, the second great craigslist hunt began. This one led me to the much more amicable living situation (at least for the time being) with Annette and Spuds Frankie. W

Friends
One major driving factor in my decision to move out to Ventura, though, was the fact that I was not going to be on an island out there. I had, of course, the C-Squad. Previous trips I'd made to the VC had been fun adventures, and I figured, 'Why would a move out there be any different?' The one obvious drawback was moving further away from the fam and my valley friends, but as it's turned out, they've been more than happy to follow me out here for weekend shenanigans. And in one case, the follow resulted in a relationship and a desire to take the added step of a complete relocation. Worlds colliding...can be a beautiful thing.

Speaking of serendipitous meetings, there is the random occurrence that led to this friend and I wandering back into each other's lives. Who knew a game at CSUN would become a key turning point in life? Jordt and I had gone over there to see Ollie play and ran into Nick Grant. After a short discussion, we realized that all three of us were living in the valley and had no further plans for later that day. That's how it all started. None of this existed two years ago. W

Family
Nor did anyone at Wade Stadium have any idea that life existed without my brother working there for the summer in some fashion, but then he took the LSAT and moved out west for law school. Now he's "Looking California" but still has days of "Feelin' Minnesota." It's not the ideal close option that we had hoped for, and he'd always been an IM or a phone call away, but now it's coming from the same time zone. Furthermore, for adventures this summer, it's a two hour drive--without the three hour flight in front of it. Love it. Also, while mom and dad are further away (boo), they do love Ventura, so they'll visit (yay). WW <--like sweeping a double header

Work
Another thing my readers know about me is that I spend inordinate amounts of time in my office. With the account shuffling, it's been a struggle to keep up, and I've been on the fringe of burnout for...oh...about four months now. This is the same four months that I've been a Sr. AE. I've been in a constant state of chasing and feeling like I'm drowning. While I haven't caught up per se, I haven't drowned either. I still have the same great guidance and help coming from my superiors at the agency. I do need every day of vacation that I'm taking in the next two months, though. All of it non wedding-related. Thank God. W

So, here you have what are essentially the dimensions in my life. The one gaping void, of course, is a relationship (L). It's just something you just can't chase. You can drive yourself crazy worrying about it, or you can just let it ride. Maybe I'm too laissez faire or overly cynical by approaching it this way, but even when you think you've found the right one and you've got it all figured out, sometimes the rug gets pulled out from under you and its gone. The people who are most important stick around. That's what i found out...two years ago.

Happy...

...Birthday to Michelle Moshy! Looking forward to drinks tomorrow night!

...Canada Day!

This is not meant to detract from the great Mosh's birthday festivities, but the DL would be remiss not to post some love for our neighbors to the north on this historic day. I derived this inspiration from my brother's blog, "Looking California, Feeling Canada South Minnesota."

Special shout-out to Adam Hussein, coming at ya live from Edmonton, Alberta. You all know him as "The Hoser" or the continuous victim of racial profiling at Dave & Busters.

¡Viva Canadi!

Wavering...

It's getting to that point in the day where I start to do some deep thinking...about lunch. I'm kind of feeling like I want a chicken burrito. Why must I be so weak?? TRRRRRRRRIBLE!

Photo Tag

PICTURE TAG!! (courtesy of Catherine Anne Ann Wilson Kruska)

The object of picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Halloween 2007: The Blues Brothers meet Cheech and Chong
(comment if you want/need an explanation of this caption)

and now I tag:

1. Toph

2. Magic Show

3. Crissy

4. Hirsh