I'm usually good with shoes...

OK, so I think I mentioned awhile back that the soles of my Ecco hiking boots had some sort of chemical reaction meltdown and as a result I have a $150.00 gift certificate from Ecco. Seems a shame to let THAT go to waste, but turns out I don't really "get" the Ecco style. Seeking your help.
I could go a few ways: A) replace hiking boots with other hiking boots or shoes - which might be nice for...hiking. B) take the opportunity to get a cute pair of casual "sneakers" to wear with jeans or C) use my $150 as a down payment to invest in some really nice tall boots.

OK hipster boy, what do you think? (and it's OK to say, um, none.)

These would just be a flat out replacement for my current winter boots - which are old and do leak.

For hiking. Will we hike? Link

Another option for hiking. Link

with jeans for hangin' out? Link



with jeans...I'm not sure I'm hip enough for these. But I love the name. It's called the Jogga. Link



with jeans...I'm not even sure I like these other than the lime soles. Link

Link


I like these for with jeans...because I'm a dork, and apparently have the footwear taste of a 60 year old. Link 

Mmmmm. boots. These come in black and brown and after my $150.00 I would still owe $80.00. Link 

Short Bus

So apparently Drew has never told you about the yewwow sink in our wittow baffwomb. He has a pretty significant issue with his l's and th's - that should be corrected by now. It was great that they were able to get him in the speech program because even though he scored poorly on the standardized test he was given, normally they have to prove that it is effecting his academic performance in some way - which it isn't. And they also look at whether it is causing a social issue because people can't understand him and/or they ask him to repeat himself - which is also not happening. It seems to me they might have pushed the boundaries just a little bit and got him in based on the likelihood that he might run into issues in the future because he sounds less mature than his same-age peers.

I'm super happy about it. He just needs that one-on-one practice and attention to focus his brain on what he's doing. We know he can physically make the sounds, he's just used to saying them incorrectly and then doesn't want to be bothered by correcting them when he's busy reading or talking. My guess is that with this extra attention he'll have it corrected by the end of the school year. I love that the speech therapist and his teacher didn't just blow it off.

You don't seem to scare easily

I am wondering if all the future talk last night scared you even one little bit. It scares the bejeezes out of me (whatever that is). At one point you were like, "um, it's been 4 months." lol. I didn't really mean for it to get all "futury" I was just verbalizing this nervous energy about being in love with you and what that means. I wish I was just so patient to let it be and let it unfold as it will. That's so dreamy don't you think?

That's probably not the way it's going to be though - because I'm not wired that way...and I don't do nearly enough yoga, or any yoga at all for that matter.

But here's what I want to work on - and maybe you can help if I get off track. I want to recognize the unknown between us not as anxiety but as something wonderful and exciting. I don't want to predetermine the destination. I think maybe because we both seem to be planner type people, we might even have to try to be a little reckless. I'll help you if you help me, deal?

Oops

Ok, I'm a sucker for discounted food. The sandwich I brought from home will have to wait until tomorrow. In my defense, I was driving right past it on my way back from a client meeting. And really, who can pass up a $5.00 burger and fries (with Siracha mayo!)? The hardest part was eating there without have a delicious beer.

Ok, that is all. Just my lunch confession.

GP

Grace Potter needs better management.  Or something.  Every time I've seen her in concert, I'm left with the same thoughts - she has good music, a great band, puts on an awesome live show, and she's hot.  How is she not a huge star?

Tonight they played for two solid hours.  Maybe two ballads in there.  The rest were just straight up rock songs.  One odd song choice, and I say this as someone who loves cover songs at concerts.  They played "White Rabbit."  Now, I would probably argue that everything is better with a little Grace Slick involved, but this was, um, not the best cover.  Anyway, we were near the front.  At one point near the end of the show, I turned around to check out the rest of the crowd, since 80% of is was either behind us or in the two balconies above us.  The entire first floor was standing, singing & generally rocking.  The third floor (of which I could only see the first couple of rows) looked to be the party deck.  I think I saw people making out amongst the hair flying.  The people in the second deck looked like they were watching a separate concert.  Sitting, not moving, not clapping, nothing.  It was odd.

As an added bonus the opening act was good as well, which I think is rare.  It was Langhorne Slim.  They got off to a shaky start.  The lead singer came out and said "Hello.  It's so great to be back in ... town tonight."  Yeah dude, you're in Milwaukee.  But they recovered enough to make me want to check out some of there stuff. 

Ok, must go to bed.  I have a half-day work conference to sit through on my day off tomorrow.  And I learned today that my boss isn't going to be able to be there, so I get to present something.  This should be fun.

Being the little sister

I just realized that my sister never calls me. I think for the most part I'm OK with that - I know she's very busy and I believe she has good friends that she can chat with. And of course she gets to talk to Eric each night. So she has a lot of people to talk to and most times feel secure enough in our relationship that I'm not offended or worried. I don't call her all that often either - but if something is troubling me or if I want to share something, she's my first option - so I guess I feel like it's a little more often then I hear from her. I wonder if she just doesn't need to talk as much as I do or if she just talks to other people. Selfishly, I wish she would call me more often. That's all.

Over the tapas

So last night Marcia had gotten to the restaurant before I did and she was at the bar and there was an empty seat next to her and then two gentlemen seated together. I sat in the empty seat. Shortly thereafter, the man to my right passed us a plate of Moroccan olives for us to try. We laughed a little because it became instantly obvious that he probably wasn't just a patron of the restaurant - as it would be little odd for another group of diners to just pass a plate over to share their food, right? So it turns out he's the owner. And the Moroccan olives are great, although I realize that's lost on you.

When we decide to move to a table we strike up another quick conversation with him to ask what we should order - his recommendations, you know? About seven seconds after arriving at our table, a plate of paella arrives, complements of the owner. Very nice. Our server was also very attentive and fun to talk to - knowledgeable about ingredients and the way things were prepared. Plates were cleared promptly, water refilled, whole nine yards. The interior decor was great, BTW. Very cozy. So then we are contemplating what to order - and we have a Living Social voucher - so we want to make sure the things we choose are included in the offer, because it's a specific offer, not just money. But before we can order, the chef brings out another plate - chorizo and potatoes. And then another plate - crochettas. Then more plates - one of spicy shrimp, one of short ribs, one of scallops. More sangria. More food. Goat-cheese stuffed dates wrapped in some sort of cured meat. AND dessert. Not just one dessert - a sampling platter of three full sized desserts.

So this is all so very nice, everyone is nice. But there comes a time - or an amount/a quantity - at which it's TOO MUCH and starts to get weird. Perhaps you would have come to this conclusion somewhere around complimentary dish #3, which we did too actually - but there was just no stopping it. The unfortunate consequence of their excessive generosity is that while all the plates were individually good, after eating it ALL (seriously, I have no limit), you are left with a very disgusted feeling.  I'm STILL disgusted. I'm not sure I can go back. Not because their hospitality wasn't much appreciated. But because I am not sure when I will feel that I can eat any of their food again.

One Million Bats

As we were talking about possible vacation spots the other night, we briefly talked about Austin.  This, of course, got me thinking about just how awesome Austin is. 

I've been there twice.  Once in roughly 2003 when I worked for Accunet.  We were just starting to explore radio advertising (which clearly worked, as they're still on the radio all the time) and our ad agency was in Austin.  This guy.  I was there with four other people, most of which were considerably older than mid-20s Brian.  We discovered that there were two entertainment districts - one that was low-key jazz-type clubs and one that was the place all the University of Texas kids hung out.  We went low key, then two of us decided to stay out until the wee hours.  Not low key.

Nearly every bar in Austin takes the same shape - three stories, with the third being some version of a roof top deck.  Live music on every floor.  Yep, three bands in EVERY BAR.  

We did manage to get some actual work done on that trip.  We also checked out the LBJ Presidential Library.  Fully admitting I'm a nerd, I think the concept of a presidential library is cool.  It's half museum and half archives that you can just pick through.  Want to search through boxes of benign presidential memo?  Go ahead.  While LBJ wasn't a great president (and I say that as a Democrat!), and was an even worse person, he served during a pretty interesting time.  A huge part of the museum is dedicated to 60s culture.  Add in the Vietnam wing and the JFK assassination story and you've filled an afternoon.

So I had this great impression of Austin, but no real reason or opportunity to go back.  Until last year.  

Backstory:  My friend Austin (yep, I see the humor) is a big fan of the University of Oregon football team.  Labor Day weekend 2011, they played LSU in Dallas.  Austin's dad is an Oregon season ticket holder and was able to get tickets so Austin, his dad, Greg, Greg's wife Lisa and I headed to Dallas, with a side trip to Austin on the schedule.  Side note - Yep, Greg brought his wife.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but doesn't a college football weekend with three of your buddies kind of scream "guy's weekend?"

I was excited about the trip, but wondered if my memories of Austin had been exaggerated in my own mind over the years.  

Turns out they had not.  Bar and restaurant scene had actually gotten better (even though we ate at essentially an Applebee's), music was awesome, weather was perfect, somehow the beer was cheaper.

One thing I didn't see on the first trip.  There is a bridge over the river that runs through Austin.  Under this bridge is a colony of bats.  Every night at dusk they all fly out to do whatever bats do all night (I assume is some version of fighting crime).  I had heard there were one million bats.  I figured this was an overstatement.  Until, with camera luckily rolling....

Yeah, that's a million bats.  See the black "clouds" on the horizon?  Those aren't clouds.  Those are the bats that had already come out from under the bridge.  Also, see the tour boats in the water below?  Not a chance I'm getting on one of those.  Bats stink.  The whole area around the bridge stinks.  I figure the odds of getting crapped on are pretty high with 1,000,000 of them flying directly overhead.  No thanks.

So there it is.  Two trips to Austin, two good times, neither of which involved one of the big music festivals.  And to top it all off, the JFK museum / assassination site / grassy knoll, which is the best museum I've ever seen is in Dallas.  Definitely on my list of places to visit again.

Seriously.

I'm also excited for this blog. And actually, I'm kind of shocked that I thought of it. Creativity, not exactly my strong suit. But here we go.

My lunch today was interesting. Do you ever eat at a restaurant and feel like the people preparing the food have never actually eaten the food they’re serving? Today, I was eating with a client. We were at your standard soup and sandwich-type place. In these situations, I generally try to pick something that will be easy to eat in the midst of a conversation. I had both a sandwich and soup today. Sammich was fine. But the salad was served in a miniature bowl and it was heaping over the top.

Overflowing salad? I can deal with that. But an inch-deep layer of croutons on top of giant pieces of lettuce? Come on. One fork full turns into a tennis ball-sized hunk of garden. How do you eat that without getting French dressing all over your face (which I think we can both agree is not a professional look)?

At the end of the day, business was transacted, and I still have a completely white shirt.

Brian-1. Loaf & Jug salad guy-0.

Maybe I should have just had tortilla chips

I absolutely adore this idea of having our own blog. I adore the idea and I adore you for having the idea that checks off so many boxes on my Qualification for Adorable checklist. Nice work.

Today I had celery for lunch that was absolutely tasty. Full of taste. Which I think is rare for celery. Most of the time I think celery just tastes like fresh, crisp water - like iceberg lettuce except in an easier-to-eat package. (And not only easier, but more socially acceptable I think. If I saw someone walking down the hall at work taking a bite out of a wedge of iceberg lettuce I would definitely assume they were on a diet "kick" and imagine they are a bit insane - but it's not that way with a celery stick even though I imagine nutrition-wise they are quite identical. Sorry, sidebar.) But today's celery - or rather, the whole bunch I cut up to snack on this past Sunday - has a certain...flowery flavor - maybe herbal would be a better way to put it. Just a smidge peppery and an even smaller smidge salty. Maybe just a little bit like the plant had been spritzed with perfume when it was young. I try to think about how it might be the dirt from wherever the plant grew - and isn't that cool to wonder about the dirt that the vegetables you are eating grew in? Where was it and why does it taste like that? Dole actually has a farm finder website http://www.doleorganic.com/ where you can type in the code on your (organic) veggie and find out where it was grown. But this celery is not Dole - it's Roundy's...and it's not organic. Which brings me to what is maybe the icky side of this too...wait, why does this celery have a taste? I kind of like it, but maybe I shouldn't like it (?).

I have hopes that our blog will not be just random ramblings (like this), but I didn't want to start off with anything too deep. I kind of just feel like I got a really exceptional bunch of celery and I wanted to share that mini joy with you.