10/31/05, 8:19 p.m. --
Happy Halloween!
I remember a time when this day actually used to mean something, but of course now
that I'm OLD I am SOOO past that stage in my life where'd I'd do anything for
some free food... or perhaps not =\ So Happy Halloween to anyone who is doing
anything fun tonight.
At some point earlier this fall, it came to my attention that in the shuffle of moving half a block down the street this summer, I lost my BELOVED fishin' hat. Yes, the same hat I bought at WalMart probably something like 6 years ago for $3.96 + tax; the hat that has come to be as much a part of being 'Ben' as probably anything else (see Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc.) Alas, after many fruitless searches, the hat could not be found. "No!" cried the masses, "you CAN'T lose that hat! It's so ... Ben!" But I gave up hope that I would find the hat in my possession, figuring it to be tucked away in some forgotten corner of the Miller's Clear Lake home or my grandparents' place up north. That is... (dramatic pause) ...until today! For some reason at lunch today I got the sudden inspiration that in my haste to move I might have stuck it in one of my many 'junk' boxes -- and sure enough, I located my favorite hat in an old printer box! (wtf.) So once again, balance has been restored to the Force, and the world is whole again. (Or at least as whole as it's ever been.)
At some point earlier this fall, it came to my attention that in the shuffle of moving half a block down the street this summer, I lost my BELOVED fishin' hat. Yes, the same hat I bought at WalMart probably something like 6 years ago for $3.96 + tax; the hat that has come to be as much a part of being 'Ben' as probably anything else (see Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc.) Alas, after many fruitless searches, the hat could not be found. "No!" cried the masses, "you CAN'T lose that hat! It's so ... Ben!" But I gave up hope that I would find the hat in my possession, figuring it to be tucked away in some forgotten corner of the Miller's Clear Lake home or my grandparents' place up north. That is... (dramatic pause) ...until today! For some reason at lunch today I got the sudden inspiration that in my haste to move I might have stuck it in one of my many 'junk' boxes -- and sure enough, I located my favorite hat in an old printer box! (wtf.) So once again, balance has been restored to the Force, and the world is whole again. (Or at least as whole as it's ever been.)
10/16/05, 8:10 p.m. --
...well, he's the man for his time and place.
Been a busy weekend! Although I didn't do much of anything on Friday, yesterday was
about the busiest Saturday I've had in awhile. Started the day off by going
to the Gopher-Badger football game, which was pretty crazy. It's a big rivalry
game here, so there were tons of people (the Metrodome was nearly sold out) and lots
of general rowdiness. Unfortunately, I had to leave after the third quarter so I could
make it to intramural soccer at 2:15. At that point, the Gophers were still up by
3, and evidently still were with about 30 seconds left in the game, but pulled
an Iowa State and managed to lose it somehow... so maybe it was best I left when I did.
The soccer game didn't go so well either, as we suffered our first defeat, 4-1, to
a much better team. I did manage to score our only goal on a pretty lucky volley from
a loose ball in the box, so that was pretty cool I suppose.
Jess was up here to visit this weekend (woo), and after soccer we spent the evening at the Town Hall Brewery (my favorite spot in Mpls, I think) and walked around the Cedar-Riverside area, which I've never really explored. The highlight of the weekend, however, was seeing Cirque du Soleil this afternoon with him and Jory. You can laugh at me if you want, but I thought it was pretty damn sweet -- way more impressive in person than it is when you see the recorded shows on TV. Some of the feats the performers pull off are amazing; balancing on upright ladders, juggling with people balanced on other people's heads, people being tossed around on suspended platforms, and of course the trademark bizarre & elaborate costumes. But the thing that struck me most in the live performance was how integral a part the music played -- at some points the musicians were even on stage, and involved with the skits. It was a lot of fun, and my only real complaint was that the last part of the show seemed too short =( I would definitely go see it again.
Finally, and I realize this is pretty old news (as usual I'm behind the times), but the new coolest site on the internet can be found at kylepoorman.blogspot.com: the blog of one Kyle Poorman. Fighting republicanism and taking it easy for all us sinners out there -- now at a webpage near you! Check it out, I guarantee it's more interesting than anything I've ever posted.
Jess was up here to visit this weekend (woo), and after soccer we spent the evening at the Town Hall Brewery (my favorite spot in Mpls, I think) and walked around the Cedar-Riverside area, which I've never really explored. The highlight of the weekend, however, was seeing Cirque du Soleil this afternoon with him and Jory. You can laugh at me if you want, but I thought it was pretty damn sweet -- way more impressive in person than it is when you see the recorded shows on TV. Some of the feats the performers pull off are amazing; balancing on upright ladders, juggling with people balanced on other people's heads, people being tossed around on suspended platforms, and of course the trademark bizarre & elaborate costumes. But the thing that struck me most in the live performance was how integral a part the music played -- at some points the musicians were even on stage, and involved with the skits. It was a lot of fun, and my only real complaint was that the last part of the show seemed too short =( I would definitely go see it again.
Finally, and I realize this is pretty old news (as usual I'm behind the times), but the new coolest site on the internet can be found at kylepoorman.blogspot.com: the blog of one Kyle Poorman. Fighting republicanism and taking it easy for all us sinners out there -- now at a webpage near you! Check it out, I guarantee it's more interesting than anything I've ever posted.
10/9/05, 10:31 p.m. --
Pubmosey.
So this weekend I completed (mostly) my first ever Nordeast
"PubMosey." A friend from work
(whose buddy first started the tradition 7 years ago) convinced me it
would be a good time, and I'm glad I went. I guess the big difference between this and
a bar crawl is that a mosey occurs at a much more leisurely pace; there's no pressure to
hit up every bar or get to the end first. The other fun part of it is that it goes through
northeast Minneapolis, or 'Nordeast' as the locals call it -- it's a pretty blue-collar
area with an Eastern European influence. Most of the bars I'd never been to or heard of,
and many were pretty small but cozy (think Thumbs), but the regulars were friendly
and the beer (usually) pretty cheap =)
We started at 1:00 in the afternoon, and managed to hit up 4 of the stops before we took a 'break' for our intramural soccer match. Needless to say, playing a game like that with 4 beers sloshing around is not much fun. We played a good team too, but somehow mustered a 2-2 tie. Sadly, those two goals were the first we'd given up in four games, but at least we had an excuse =| Afterwards we recruited a couple more to come back for the remainder of the mosey, which ended around midnight when we were too tired to stand. Good times all around, and I think I found a couple places I'd love to go back to (including a spot with the best burgers I've had in a long time.) Woot.
We started at 1:00 in the afternoon, and managed to hit up 4 of the stops before we took a 'break' for our intramural soccer match. Needless to say, playing a game like that with 4 beers sloshing around is not much fun. We played a good team too, but somehow mustered a 2-2 tie. Sadly, those two goals were the first we'd given up in four games, but at least we had an excuse =| Afterwards we recruited a couple more to come back for the remainder of the mosey, which ended around midnight when we were too tired to stand. Good times all around, and I think I found a couple places I'd love to go back to (including a spot with the best burgers I've had in a long time.) Woot.