Monday, February 28, 2005

Yippee!! But In Black!

Speedgoat Bicycles e-mailed me to let me know that they don't actually have the frame I want in dark red. Not a problem. I'll just build it up in black (not me, Freewheel). Debbie and I can ride our black Surly's together. Our gang of two. Of course mine will be cooler!

Rode 20 miles in the slush ( found enough ice to almost put it on the deck) yesterday morning to bring the February total to 306 miles. 617 for the year so far. I've ridden 97 miles since I got back from Chicago. That makes me feel good. No riding tonight. We have a birthday party at the Buca in Burnsville tonight. Carb loading at it's finest.

End of season fantasy football party at Tailgate's was somewhat subdued. We usually start at noon and keep it going till 8 or 10. We were home by 5. I've had my fill of white russians for a while. It may be time to have the draft party in August at our house again. We've had some wild affairs at our house. Swords, cars on fire, people falling in to the shower- stuff like that. Debbie is cringing right now.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Yippee!!!!

Just ordered my frame for my Red Trek replacement from Speedgoat Bicycles. I'll be even happier when it gets delivered. It's a deep red Surly Crosscheck. This will be my everyday bike. I want as many black components as possible. And mustache bars. When I get the frame, I'm going to take it to Freewheel so we can build it up. Can't wait. I may even keep it next to the bed one night. Yeah, I'm weird.

Sounds like Gilby and Darkling Child had a great time on the Critical Mass Ride. I would've gone but I had told Mom I was stopping by Friday evening. After Ma's, Debbie and I went to the Poodle Club. The band was pretty good. They played blues standards. Awesome.

Rode 25 miles today. What a beautiful sunny day. Debbie went to a baby shower. No alcohol? The Richfield boys wouldn't hear of that. A quiet evening of a movie rental and couch snuggling is planned. Sound good. It does to me.

Friday, February 25, 2005

It'll Rust Off Before It Wears Off

Sometimes I think my right knee is held together mainly by the skin. It's already been operated on twice and according my orthopedic surgeon, a full knee replacement is on the horizon. Usually, they make you wait until you're in excruciating pain for that. I rode 52 miles between Wednesday and Thursday which has created a general aching in my knee today. I'm starting to really be ready for warmer weather biking too. It's not so much the cold as it is getting it all together to go riding. Picking the right clothes, hooking up the headlight and other assorted stuff like that get to be a pain sometimes. At least there's more daylight these days. Right now I'm looking out the window and the sun is shining. I feel like faking some illness and going home to ride. To hell with my knee. It's going to be replaced some day anyway.

Debbie and I plan on a stop at Mother's tonight. I need to hear about all the new shit that's been stolen from her apartment. I'll need a slight attitude adjustment before I head over there.

I need to stop at Freewheel tomorrow to see if they can still get me a 60cm Surly Crosscheck frame in the blood red color from Quality. I'm leaning towards building a replacement for Red Trek rather than fix it. That bike's been ridden 8500 miles and is starting to get tired. I like the Crosscheck frame because it's all set up for fenders and 700cc wheels. Still not sure if I want it as a single-speed. If I can't get the frame from them, I've got an angle on one online. Debbie has the same frame in black. Hers is a 42cm frame. I think bike storage may be a problem at my house some day. We may have to get rid of the car.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

So On And So Forth

Bolstad called me at 3:30 am today to inform me that it was 31 years to the minute that he was born. I kind of wish he'd of been born at 6 pm.

I forgot to mention yesterday how good it was to see my niece Liz. Brian found a lovely girl. Liz is pregnant so pretty soon we'll have a new Wroblewski in the family. I still need to learn Spanish so I can call Liz for Spanish only conversations.

I almost pancaked a walker at Lake Harriet and a runner on the River Parkway. Walkers, when you're walking on the left side of the trail and you hear, "I'm going to pass you on the right", don't move over to your right. Runners, pick your head up occasionally so you can see that really bright headlight coming your way. Remember, Force=Mass X Acceleration.

Debbie, be careful or you'll mount so much shit on you're new bike that it will weigh as much as that 200 lb Diamondback it's replacing. Still, I like the stuffed animal you bought as your mascot.

Back to pedestrians on the Minneapolis Parkway trail system. That sound you hear is the bell on my bike. You didn't just drop $22 in quarters.

I don't talk about my job in my blog too often because winters around here are spent doing paperwork. Summers are more fun. Then I'm outside doing tree inspections and talking to people about their trees. I really like that.

Will the bastard that stole Mother's calendar please bring it back. She's obsessing about it. And stop messing with the toilet.

I sometimes forget to change the time-stamp on my posts. Yes, I am one of the world's great insomniacs, but I'm not up at 1:30 in the morning writing this crap.

Snowy was in the process of chewing up my Chicago Sun Times when Debbie got home from work yesterday. It's nice to see the girl hasn't lost her spunk. I did a whole post on her bad girl exploits but forgot to mention that she once chewed up two remote controls.

Finally, the Freewheel gang needs to post to their blog more than once a weekish. I especially enjoyed Tyler's post about the blind lady's seeing eye dog who is trying to get her whacked by Tyler on his bike.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Time To Get Up Already

Well I made my flight Monday night and returned home. Sleeping in your own bed that first night after a trip is always great. I slept till almost 9 yesterday which is really late at my house. Usually, the dogs don't let you sleep that late. As predicted before I came home I was able to talk Debbie in to calling in sick. I really didn't want to be alone yesterday. We went to lunch and a movie. We saw Hitch with Will Smith and Kevin James. It was pretty good. Debbie bought a pair of shoes which always makes her happy. I also saw my jewelry connection at Penney's (Barbara). Barbara asked why she didn't see me for Valentine's jewelry. I told her I bought Debbie bike stuff for Valentine's Day. Barbara just didn't understand. Gwen, you understand right. What woman-biker wouldn't want a pair of bike socks with YOUR BIKE SUCKS on them.

The 4:45 am alarm was a stark reminder this morning. A reminder of how early we get up on weekdays and that I'm still employed. So I sleepwalked my way to work for a short week. Really glad of that. Plan on riding tonight. It's nice that the days are getting longer which will cut down on the night riding after work.

Thanks again to my Chicago family for taking such good care of me. I already miss hanging out with Carol, John, Brian and Paul.

Also thanks for the links to my blog from Darkling Child, Gwen and Nathan. I'll have links to your pages when I figure out how to do it. I'm still pretty computer challenged. You know I once screwed up the Central Missouri State University main frame computer bad enough to where the kid running the lab had to call in for help.

Monday, February 21, 2005

Almost Time To Go Home

Sadly, today is my last day in Chicago with my family. Maxwell Street was as good as always. My day once every six months with my brother and my nephews is one of the highlights of my life. I wish we could do it once a month. I guess the infrequency makes it so special. The weather yesterday was shitty. Snow, sleet, rain and wind. A perfect day for Maxwell Street. I bought 2 stocking caps to have a souvenir from the day. Lunch at Sowa's Old Warsaw was great. My brother even took me past Al Capone's grave on the way home. Debbie gets a blinkie (a rear taillight for you non-bikers) and a charm bracelet as her gifts from my trip. My flight is at 8 pm tonight. I think my brother plans on dropping me off at 5ish. He really is his mother's son. Debbie will pick me up at the 46th Street light rail station at about 10. I plan on talking her in to calling in sick tomorrow. I have that talent. I know I'll be back here in six months but that doesn't really help the way I feel right now.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Haven't You Guys Been Down That Aisle Three Times?

Rode 12 miles yesterday and went with my former co-workers for beers. Got home at 9 which was 12 hours earlier than my sister-in-law expected. Where does this reputation come from? Today my brother and I went out to my nephew Brian's house. A trip to a Polish buffet was followed by a stop at a place called Harbor Freight. The boys love Harbor Freight because every tool imaginable is available there. I have a hammer and two screwdrivers. I'm not handy. I have trouble getting air in the tires of my bike. The boys took mercy on me and we were only at Harbor Freight for a little over an hour. They pick up almost every item in the store. They're a study in ass-dragging. And they're worse on Maxwell Street which is tomorrow. Maxwell Street is an outside flea market that is every Sunday from 6 am to about 2 pm. This isn't the kind of place you buy electronics items. No warranties or instruction books come with stuff here. The Maxwell Street experience will be heightened by an expected snowfall tomorrow. Lunch will be at another Polish buffet. Debbie, see if you can get me in to see a cardioligist. These two meals should move my cholesterol over 4 digits.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Sweet Home Chicago

I rode my brother's bike 15 miles this afternoon. The temperature was like 26 degrees. Not bad at all. It was a little tough riding into about a 20 mph wind, but who cares. It beats the hell out of going to work. This bike has a few accessories on it. Cell phone holder, frame pump, bell/compass, headlight, kick stand, old-time speedometer and seat bag. I know I forgot something, but I think you get the picture. I'm really glad he lets me ride it. I stopped at the Village of Carol Stream maintenance facility to see if any of my old buddies still worked there. I worked there for 3 years and left 23 years ago. There's still 5 or 6 guys I used to work with there. It was fun to catch up and talk about the old days. I'd like to meet those guys for cocktails tomorrow after they get off work. I'll also make time for more biking. It's great to just go out exploring with no particular destination in mind.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Pretzels? No Thank You

Who the hell wants a bag of 8 airline pretzels at 8 o'clock in the morning? I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that the whole flying/airport experience blows. As Debbie says, it's a hurry up and wait kind of thing. Bust your ass to get to the airport 2 hours before your flight so you can sit on your ass. Not to mention the whole strip search deal with security. Take off your shoes? Put all your shit in this basket, sir. What a crock! The highlight of the flight (besides that vodka on the rocks) was a flyover out in to Lake Michigan. I think traffic was backed up at O'Hare so he had to kill some time. It was pretty cool. Even the guy next to me who flies to Chicago all the time was impressed. Great to be back home. Pizza tonight. Maybe some biking tomorrow. Maybe not. I forgot a jacket to bike in. I pretty much have the rest of my wardrobe. I could ride in my leather jacket and look like a hard-ass.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

They May Not Notice I Left

To say I have no interest in being at work today is an understatement. I'd rather just go home, go for a nice long bike ride and then pick Debbie up for lunch. Still haven't piled anything up for the trip to Chicago. The hardest part of the packing will be picking out clothes to ride my brother's bike in. I'll figure it out. The first time I rode it last August, the chain fell off 2 blocks from his house when I shifted gears for the first time. I just rode it like a single-speed the rest of the time. You have to be careful riding in Chicago because the drivers are pretty aggressive. I look forward to not driving a car for 5 days. I hate driving.

Speaking of cars, I had to endure some needling from some of the people on the Saturday Night Ride. Especially Burnsy. Hey gang, we have one car. We don't have 3 cars for 2 people or anything like that. I drove it 11,000 miles last year and rode my fleet of bikes 5200. This year I may drive it less because Debbie want to start riding her bike to work when the weather warms up. I don't know if I'll ever make a full-blown winter rider out of her.

It's only 10:30 am and it seems like I've been here about 12 hours.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Happy Valentines Day, Sweetheart

Doll, can it already be 25 years since I proposed to you? What a romantic bastard. Thanks for loving and tolerating me for over half our lives. I'm glad I tore up my knee or I'd never of met you. By now I'd of been married to 3 or 4 Chicago girls. You're one in a million. You didn't marry "safe". You married the wild MF and boy am I lucky.

Love always,

Ray

PS- You still need an all-black outfit to ride your new bike in.

This Ain't No Hotel

The title of this post is what our favorite waitress (Dawn) at the Poodle Club told some young lady who had passed out at 8 am Sunday morning. Dawn's cool because she doesn't take shit from anyone. I got home from the Saturday Night Ride at about 6. It's hard to find a place in Minneapolis to get breakfast at 5 am on Sunday. I was in pretty good shape. I know this because I played in the neighborhood for a while before calling it a night. The ride itself was really fun. There were 8 of us, which is actually a nice sized group. I thought there would be a bigger group because the weather was so warm. We stopped in the alley by my garage for a beer stop (what ambiance) and then headed to the Legion in Richfield at 64th and Portland. We then rode to Josh's at 31st and 12th. I must say the riding portion was at a spirited pace. I kind of dragged ass. I'd already ridden 20 miles earlier in the day with Debbie so I was already worn out from trying to keep up with her. Josh and Cip escorted me home. We had a nightcap. I fell asleep and woke up to see Snowy laying on the couch between the fellas. That dog has no intimacy problems. Which leads us back to the fruitless search for breakfast.

Should probably think soon about getting some shit piled up for my Chicago trip. Debbie packs my suitcase. I'd need 10 bags to pack what she gets in one.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Hide The Women And Children

WARNING TO THE CITIZENS OF MINNEAPOLIS:

Rumor has it around our house that a certain 4'11", 110 pound maniac will be out on her sweet, black Surly Crosscheck on Saturday. She looks cool, rides fast, drinks PBR and has a bad-ass attitude. Get out of her way or she'll put her cigarette out on your head. She makes the Great Santini look like Leo Buscaglia.

I'm somewhat better today than yesterday. My friend called me twice yesterday after his doctor's visit. He has to go in on Monday for a biopsy. I just try to make him laugh when I can. I should've known something was up in my circle of friends when Snowy refused to eat for a 24 hour period this week. She's a very sensitive girl.

Rode 25 miles last night on Red Trek. Average speed of 14 mph. I'll take that for a Thursday night in February. The falling snow and the solitude of the empty Cedar Lake Trail were what I needed. Riding at night with your headlight illuminating the falling snow is one of the highlights of winter riding. A good rain ride in the summer is pretty cool too. If you ever hear of me getting a trainer (device for riding your bike inside to you non-cyclists), find me and kill me. I'm riding my bike to the mortuary when it's my time. If only that could be true.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

I'm Afraid

My friend may have cancer. Please God, let it not be so. I had to go home at lunch for some unconditional love from the dogs and a drink. Only God can judge me. I want to leave work and go ride my bike. Ride it far and fast. Out to Hopkins or further. It always helps my mind. Life's fucking short. Forgive, forget, remind those close to you that you love them.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Larry, Can I Borrow Your Truck?

I've got 4 bikes and 3 of them need some attention. Red Trek needs the most attention. I thought the front wheel was going to fall apart on my ride last night. So, I stopped at Freewheel where Josh and Megan tightened the spokes up into a rideable condition. Red Trek's drivetrain is shot and now I'm told it needs a front wheel. The bell works good.

The Specialized Rockhopper has 2 broken spokes on the back wheel and no seat. Other than that, it's in pretty good shape. I haven't crashed with that one yet.

My green Giant 870X is in ok shape if you're OK not being able to use all the gears. You also can't stop very quickly with that bike. But as I've often said, stopping is way over-rated.

It shouldn't cost more than $200-300 to get everything fixed.

Debbie says she's had her new Surly up to 17 mph on flat ground. Awesome baby! Wait till you take that thing down the hill into Fort Snelling State Park. You should be able to hit 30 mph, at least. Don't be scared. You've got good health insurance.

My boss is going to Arizona the same days I'll be in Chicago. Major bullshit. I wish he'd of gone a week sooner or a week later so we wouldn't of seen each other for like 2 weeks.

Ink Night '05 is March 15th. Big Daddy, Stroth, Cindy and me are all going out for tattoos. Still not sure what I'm getting. The Terminator? Teddy bear blowing its brains out? No, not that one. Last Supper in credit card size? Black Santa? HMM, Black Santa. Maybe that'll be the one.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Better Sleep Through Modern Pharmaceuticals

For about 20 years I thought everybody got up in the middle of the night for a snack of some kind. I was always a light sleeper. Used to stay up till 3 every night in high school and still not have a problem getting up. My doctor now has me on a pill to help me sleep. So now every night I take a fistfull of sleeping pills with a shot of Crown Royal. Just kidding. Judy Garland just rolled over in her grave. Not sure if there's a connection, but the violent dreams are back. You know, people shooting at me, bombs exploding, cars trying to run me over. Oh wait, the cars trying to run me over are on 42nd Street when I'm trying to get across with my bike. That's in real life.

Debbie wants to take a yoga class. She wants to improve her strength and flexibility. I wonder if the people at Evil Cycling use yoga for the same purpose. Oh no, all those 4th graders who read my page will be exposed to the outlaws of bicycling if they click on that link. They better filter the link to my page at the elementary schools and at Mother's assisted living building. Mother knows about my biking and my drinking. I just don't think she's aware that sometimes they occur together.

Angie Has A Job, WTF !

Just wanted congratulate my friend Angie in front of the thousands of faithful readers of this piece of shit. See girl, I told you. What's even better is that she'll be working in my neighborhood. Now we can go to lunch on some of the millions of days I take off from work. And yes, we'll load up the fridge. Good job girl.

Love Uncle Ray

Monday, February 07, 2005

Ramblings

Debbie, you should consider a flask holder for your Surly instead of a mirror. Soon you'll be riding so GD fast you won't have to worry about anyone coming up behind you.

Debbie thinks we should burn the Christmas tree on my birthday (April 2nd) with the lights still on it. Burning plastic. Hmm.

I'm starting to piss off my neighbors with the firecrackers that Zito gives me. Oh, so parking my car in your front yards is acceptable.

Maybe Mother just needs some medicinal marijuana to keep her mind off the thieving bastards who keep stealing her address book. But then we'd have to get her a shitload of Doritos.

Good news Josh. I've arranged for a tanker truck of ketchup to be delivered to your apartment for you and Cip.

My red Trek is going to someday just fall apart like the Blues Brother's car did at the end of the movie.

We need shitty weather for next year's Stupor Bowl. Those out of towner's need to know what we're up against in the winter here.

I'm eating $100 worth of Mexican food on Maxwell Street when I go to Chicago next week. This post should act as a warning to my nephew Paul. YOU'RE GOING. I'll pay for any parking tickets.

If Angie gets that job in the neighborhood that she interviews for today, we'll give her a key to the house so she can raid the refrigerator.

I'm not to be held accountable for run-on sentences, sentence fragments, bad spelling or the use of profanity on this piece of crap. If you need quality writing then go to Border's and get a magazine. Once I have the ability to put pictures on this thing you'll forget about the shitty writing.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

19.86 miles!

I should've gone around the block to make it an even 20 miles. Actually, I should've called for a ride home from Grumpy's after the Stupor Bowl on Saturday. Next year I'm riding it with Josh. It looked like way too much fun. I rode to Sportsmen's on Como yesterday at noon and stayed for a couple of beers. From there I rode to Psycho Suzie's in Northeast for a beer and some carbs. I hit Elsie's on the way back toward downtown and ran into my longtime friends, Bruce and Barb. It was nice to see them and Bruce gave me a ticket to Wednesday's Gopher basketball game. The gin train started rolling at Elsie's. On the way to Grumpy's I rode up a ramp and into a moving truck. The truck was parked at the time. I hit the ramp at about 18 mph. So childish sometimes. Runners don't have this much fun.

I think I stayed at Grumpy's for maybe 45 minutes too long. I did meet a nice kid from NYC. Jay was his name and he told me where to rent a bike when we go to NYC in October for our 25th anniversary. I need to ride a bike there even if I get killed by some cabby with a turban (spelling?).

Going to Poodle Club today to watch the Super Bowl. New England will win. But what the hell do I know. I paint orange rings around trees for a living.

Friday, February 04, 2005

Ain't Life Grand

Wow! What a couple of days I've had. After lunch yesterday with Angie and Danielle I could only stand being at work till 2 pm. I rode red Trek to the 46th St LRT station to say hello to Debbie. We didn't connect so I rode back home to catch her. Her and I rode The Dragger to Freewheel. It was pretty dark on the way home and since I had shorts on I was marginally cold.

The dentist visit this morning was OK. My dentist wasn't there so all we had done was teeth cleaning. He's on a cruise. Probably doing fillings for beer money. Our hygenist Diane is pregnant. This is kid #4. This one was unexpected. I asked her if she understood how this kind of thing happened. It's cool. She's the most gentile hygenist in the whole world and I'm sure she's a wonderful mother.

After the dentist I took Debbie to Elsie's for a cocktail to help cleanse the whole dental experience away. From Elsie's I took her to One On One for coffee. It was really cool because Hurl was there. Can there be anything cooler than a bike shop/coffee shop/art gallery. I only saw 3 or 4 bikes I need to have. I bought Debbie a pair of biking socks with YOUR BIKE SUCKS on the side. It's one of her Valentine's Day presents.

After sliders (White Castles) we rode to Freewheel. I had the honor of riding with Debbie on the maiden voyage of her Surly Crosscheck. Tyler installed a pair of fenders and a computer. Tyler, find her the red saddle cover. It will make her really happy. We had cocktails and a lovely dinner after the ride home.

Today is Josh from Freewheel's 21st birhthday. Aah 21, it's a distant memory for me. We're meetin him at Town Hall at 9 pm. God bless you son. May the rest of this life hold everything for you that you dream of. If that sounds corny, then I have a 2 word phrase for you that I'm really fond of using.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Too Nice Outside To Stay At Work

It's 1:46 pm at it's 46 degrees. I'm going to get the hell out of here and go ride my bike in the sunshine. I think I'm going to wear shorts. Bike to die baby.

The Only Way To Catch Tiger Cubs Is To Go Into The Tiger's Den

The title of today's post was the fortune inside my cookie from lunch today. I met Angie and her friend Danielle at New Century Buffet. The ladies were at Augsburg Library studying for their boards in Occupational Therapy and needed a study break. Less bullshitting and more studying, girls. Good Luck in Arkansas, Danielle. Also, I can wait to eat sushi again.

I am now the unofficial garbage cop for the City. I have to make sure that the waste haulers pick up in the correct section on the proper day. If I find any violations I'm to call Tony Soprano immediately. He'll take care of the problem. I seem to have all kind of little chickenshit duties handed down to me. Maybe they have confidence in my abilities. What fools! My boss Randy says he used to get these jobs assigned to him. Now he runs the place. I don't want his job when he retires even though it pays like $80,000 a year. I love the role of the instigator. Actually, I'm the peacemaker at times too.

Rode 21 miles last night on my Salsa Las Cruces. What a dream that bike is to ride. It weighs a little over 22 pounds and accelerates so quickly. I really love that bike. Can never thank Tyler and Derrick enough for picking out the components for it. And of course Sammy, for building it. I think I'll ride red Trek tonight. I don't want to get my Salsa slopped up with road sand too often.

Debbie and I have the dentist tomorrow morning. Then I'm going to get her out on the tandem aka The Princess Dragger (Debbie's name for it). I'd also like to get her out on her Surly Crosscheck. It was one of her Christmas presents. Don't worry doll, we'll take it to the dry cleaners if it gets dirty. I'll have to put the bell on first. I couldn't ride a bike that didn't have a bell on it. Of course I'm from Chicago where we drive a car with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on the horn.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Groundhog Day

No, I not talking about some GD rodent in Pennsylvania. I'm talking about the movie with Bill Murray. Does it seem like the days of the workweek all kind of blend in to one big rut. I guess I'm really talking about winter. A typical day might be:

4:45 am - Alarm goes off - not for me - for Debbie
5:20 am - Debbie coaxes me out of bed with the promise of coffee - I hid under the bed once to avoid her.
5:30-5:50 am - We sit and have coffee - I talk to mother in this time period too.
5:50-6:10 am - After getting dressed, I take Snowy for her morning walk. Maggie no longer goes with because she's too much of an ass dragger. She is taken out in front of the house by her Mommy.
6:12 am - We leave for work. Debbie gets dropped off at Fairview Riverside Hospital at about 6:25.
6:58 am - I arrive at work. I take the slowest way possible to work. I'm numb during this time period.
7 am-4:30 pm - Another fabulous day at the City. Somebody please call with a tree for me to look at.
4:45 pm - Home from work - Time to get dressed for the bike ride - Always looking for that one article of clothing that I misplaced.
5:05-7 pm'ish - The ride. It's always great. Even when you're freezing your ass off or avoiding getting hit by a car.
7-9 pm - Dinner, a shower and maybe 1 tv show. You can't miss House on Tuesday nights.
9 pm - Typically, this is bed time. I can't stay up till midnight and get up at 5:30 am.

Pretty boring isn't it? Throw in 9 minutes of sex every once in a while and there you have it. Don't worry, no children are reading this crap. I broke the cycle of the rut by not biking last night and laying around like an old dog. I left the car out for Debbie to go grocery shopping but my laziness must of rubbed off. I put the car in the garage with my jammies on. I halfway wanted to go to Cedar Inn for a beer dressed like that. Next time.

Stashe Bash '05 Pictures. A nice Catholic boy riding with known hooligans.

I've had enough problems publishing this post to warrant a drink with lunch today.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

I Hope You Didn't Wake That Baby

Went to Jillian's at the Mall of America last night after paying on our Sears Mastercard. Pizza and cocktails put the skids to any grocery shopping. Debbie will go tonight and save $30 because I'm not with. I shot off my two packs of firecrackers Zito gave me when I got home. I hope that didn't wake the baby next door. My Maggie dog used to get all stressed out from fireworks. I think her hearing is so bad now that fireworks no longer bother her. As Debbie says about her hearing loss, 'she doesn't care either'. I don't think dogs give a shit about their weight either. They have an expandable fur coat.

Ran into Derrick at 76th and Upton on his way to work at Quality. Stashe Bash '05 was a ball. I won't soon forget Derrick's version of These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things. Bob Goulet would've been proud of you. And my major award of the pink saddle cover. As the Dude would say, 'it really pulls the room together'. I'll grow a stash for Stashe Bash '06. Something Harry Reemsish is what I have in mind.

I have to go look at a tree some weenie ran over with his car. Drunk, drunk, drunk. Hey Chicago family, get out your rosaries. The eagle lands in 15 days.