Last weekend we trucked it down to Nashville for my friend Matt’s bachelor party. I didn’t really know what to expect since Nashville had gone through some really bad flooding the week before. Also I hadn’t seen Matt get super drunk since our trip to Austin in early 2009 so I wasn’t sure if he would survive.
On Friday we loaded up the family truckster (in this case a rented Jeep Commander) and braved bad storms and traffic for the 5 hour drive to Nashville. Once we got there it seemed the flooding had virtually disappeared. There was some dirt on a few buildings and Hooters was closed but beyond that there wasn’t really any noticeable damage. We were ready to party.
Our first stop: Layla’s Bluegrass Inn to see my favorite local band Jypsi. After watching their set and swilling some $1 PBR we went to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge which was fairly insane. There was a competing bachelor party full of fratboy douche which I was sure would cause a fist fight. Luckily it didn’t happen. We closed the night out dancing to some country jams at The Stage.
On Saturday morning I woke up feeling like I had been kicked in the head by a mule. The room was destroyed from a late night White Castle run that I barely remember. I didn’t get out of bed until after noon then stumbled to a bar for some greasy food and little hair of the dog. That evening was more of the same: a mediocre Stout at Big River Brewing, dancing/shuffling at Decades, the Skynyrd/Nugent cover band at Big Shotz, then closing it out at The Stage. We waited until 5am for a pizza delivery then woke up 4 hours later for the drive home. Awesome.
Overall it was a successful weekend. Nobody died and nobody pulled a Mario Lopez.
May 17th, 2010
This past fall I bought a home. I bought it in a “gentrifying” area of St. Louis (read: only 50% sketchy). Why would I do this? I couldn’t help it! It’s #73 on Stuff White People Like!
I love my house but there is the occasional disturbance that does occur mainly in the form of loud neighbors and speeding cars. Those are things I can deal with. Now maybe it’s the spring weather but in the past month there have been some extra sketchy things going on in the alley behind my house. My backyard opens directly to the alley. No fence, no garage, nothing. Sketchy.
Here’s the summary:
-
I come home for lunch one day to let my dog out. As I walk outside I see an abandoned car, crime scene tape, and about 30 police officers standing around. Not the most encouraging scene. After talking to a detective I determined that the guy who caused this accident which killed a police officer decided to ditch his car in my backyard. In MY backyard. Why? What are the odds? I’m in the middle of the block! Luckily the guy was caught and will probably be serving 25 years for 2nd degree murder.
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Last Wednesday I came home around 9pm and once again let the dog out. This time there’s a police car in the alley directly behind my home and 4-5 officers with flashlights and guns drawn searching around. Looking in dumpsters, behind fences, under decks, etc. Apparently looking for a “black male with dreadlocks.” A police helicopter hovered over my neighborhood for at least 30 minutes. I haven’t 100% been able to determine what was going on but I think a woman was robbed about a mile away and the guy must’ve somehow found his way to my ‘hood. And my alley apparently!
-
Jump to yesterday. Sunday. This is much less scandalous but still not something I would see living in the suburbs. I was sitting in my kitchen enjoying my weekly Mimosa when I look outside to see a firefighter at the home diagonal to mine across the alley. I take a walk outside and I guess there was some kind of small kitchen fire because there are firefighters on a ladder breaking out windows for ventilation and smoke billowing (ok not quite billowing) into the air.
Needless to say my top priority this spring/summer is garage and fence. I already have the bids in I just need to secure some financing. City living at it’s finest! Now where’s that gentrification?
April 19th, 2010
No not the kind of Daddy that has to raise his genetic offspring, or the kind that has to worry about schooling, or my child becoming the town skank. Because this isn’t the type of child that started as a twinkle in my eye (balls). It’s the kind that has 4 legs and is covered in fur. We got a new puppy!
Trying to think of a name I was looking toward naming him after a famous figure in literature or music. Somebody that I would be proud of naming my pooch after. After many (MANY!) ideas I decided to go the simple route and name him after a key ingredient in one of my favorite drinks. So here he is —- Barley!
So far owning this dog hasn’t been much different that raising a human child (I imagine). There have been too many 5am whining wake up calls and some epic dumps on the living room floor. But we’re working on it. He’s only 8 weeks old right now and he just got his first puppy shots. Soon we’ll start leash training and taking him to Tower Grove Park for his walks.
He is 3/4 Chocolate Lab and 1/4 German Shepard (I think) so he could grow to be a big ‘un. All the more reason to spend my evenings trying to train this little monster.
Here’s a few more pictures:
March 11th, 2010
Wow I haven’t written a post since Nov 17th. Definitely not meeting the Project 52 challenge. At least I finally have something interesting enough to write about: This weekend I’m making my 6th trip to Las Vegas.
It’s hard to explain why but Vegas has always been my favorite place to visit. Maybe it’s because out of all the times I’ve been there this is the only photo that even approaches work safe:
That picture was taken in The Centrifuge at MGM. She was our bartender and in a quote I’ll always remember stated: “You guys need to move your beers; I’m going to dance up here.” Talk about awesome.
But that’s not my favorite Vegas moment. Oh no. How could it be? With stories like this to choose from:
- The time my brother was picked up by a Hooker at Tao
- The time I saw the Pledgemaster from Sorority Life at New York, New York (yes, this was a very popular MTV show at the time).
- After a night of drinking meeting two coeds at Studio 54 and coining the phrase “Two 4’s equals an 8!” (I had to wash my balls in boiling water the next day)
- Winning $250 in the Pleasure Pit with half a rod on.
- The time my brother and I spent 6 hours sitting drinking Everclear punch just because the bartender was hot. We passed out watching Everybody Loves Raymond at 11pm that night.
- The helicopter ride with the drunken redneck. The next morning – some 11 hours later – we saw him wandering the floor of the Rio with the same denim Austin jumpsuit he was wearing the night before.
- Spending some amount of money – $40/$60? – at an O2 bar with the Oldanis. Seriously who does that?
Sure I’ve gotten into plenty of ridiculous situations here at home but nothing like Vegas. And that’s why I love it.
This will be my first Super Bowl weekend in Vegas so we’re looking for a good place to party. Maybe all you can eat buffet/drinks. Anybody have any good places?
February 2nd, 2010
Well I finally did it. Spurred on by the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit and a desire to stop having the police called on me everytime I have people over, I’ve purchased my first home.
But this is no ordinary home. Located in the Shaw Neigborhood, this home is a Queen Anne-style Victorian era home of 2200 square feet, modern amenities, and historic charm. Or something. I just know it’s pretty cool.
The neighborhood is cool too. I can walk to Tower Grove Park and the Missouri Botanical Garden or go drinking in the CWE, South Grand, or Morgan Ford Strip.
This house was built in 1897 so it’s a little different than the vinyl siding builder’s grade houses I lived while I was growing up in the suburbs.
Here’s a few pictures (Note: not my furniture):
Updated Kitchen:
Master Suite:
Updated Bathroom:
Basement Mancave:
Dining Room:
So far I feel OK. I’ve been watching a lot more DIY, HGTV, and The Food Network than before and I’m worried about mowing the grass but for the most part I’ve been a lot less stressed out than I figured I would be.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think of my new digs!
September 29th, 2009
Well I’ve been back in town for 2 weeks now and I still haven’t written about my trip to California. I’ll get to covering the whole trip next week but first I want to address something specific – the toast I gave to Laef and Allison at their wedding.
I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily bad at public speaking. I mean I give presentations all the time but this was different. This one involved me saying something nice about people. I’m pretty much dead inside so that makes it difficult for me. I was actually nervous. That was surprising. I haven’t felt like that since college and I had to give a presentation on Strategic Management and Lean Operations after not cracking the book for an entire semester.
I think these pictures speak volumes.
Before the toast:
Rocking the mic:
After the toast:
I followed the basic template — introduce yourself, say something funny, tell a story about the groom, thank everyone, and wish the couple well. It went over OK I think. I managed to get through it without any F-bombs or tales of binge drinking and promiscuity (and that was just about the bride!).
Reflecting on my toast there are I few things I meant to say that I didn’t remember to. I think the next time I give a toast I’ll be better prepared and maybe not write it in the limo ride before the ceremony!
August 7th, 2009
Well I’ve taken one more step towards adulthood/death. After 9 years of living in various dorm rooms and apartments I’m shopping for my first house. I have to say it’s not without a little trepidation either. In fact if it wasn’t for Obama’s First Time Homebuyer’s tax credit I probably wouldn’t even be putting myself through this. I don’t even care if this will send us into an inflation death spiral at least my mortgage will be $8000 less than you suckas!
My two biggest fears are:
1) I’m not exactly sold on St. Louis being my forever home. Hell 40% of me thinks I should just pack up and move to LA, or Italy, or Australia, or anything else. I’ve always viewed home ownership as cementing (i.e. trapping) yourself into one place for an extended period of time.
2) I don’t want to live in a shithole. In St. Louis you can get a very nice apartment for $900 a month in almost any neighborhood you want. I’ve lived in UCity, CWE, Clayton, and Maplewood. All because I wanted to. Buying a house is not the same. If I want a nice house I can afford I won’t be able to live in the “hip” neighborhoods or I can get a nice neighborhood and a POS house. Not a favorable situation.
The other big decision I need to make is Suburban or City. With a suburban house you get a bigger yard and less crime but also less activities in your neighborhood. With a city house you’ll have a slightly higher chance of being shot in the head on your way to your car in the morning but all the bars and restaurants are right there.
I think I’m leaning more city. St. Louis has some freaking sweet rehabs in the city. I mean imagine I lived here:
or here even:
The coolest place I’ve looked at is at the top of my price range but a completely rehabbed 3 story house. This sucker is 115 years old! I think that is really cool. Imagine living in a place that is older than every human on the face of the Earth (ok except for one).
I’m going out looking again this weekend (in 110° heat no less) and I’ll hopefully have a better idea of the neighborhood and type of house I want. Either that or I’m moving to Mexico to open a dive shop. I could go either way really.
June 26th, 2009
This weekend I was tasked with hosting a bachelor party for my friend Laef. Now I’ve attended many bachelor parties in my time with varying degrees of debauchery but I’ve never had to plan one myself. I can have fun doing anything but making sure somebody is doing something they enjoy is not something I’m used to (I’m selfish like that). Laef opted for a chilled out weekend at Lake Tahoe – a place I’d never been but was looking forward to.
The trip to Reno took about 6 hours. This was complicated by the fact that I was seated next to a giant who needed a seat belt extension just to fit into his seat. He was ON me all flight. Awful. By the time I got a rental, drove the hour to Tahoe, and checked into the cabin I was ready for a beer. In fact it’s safe to say I’ve never been more ready for a beer in my entire life.
The first night we stayed in the Cabin. Drinking, playing Wii, smoking cigars, and relaxing in the hot tub. It was great.
The next day was even better. After waking with a blistering headache I still managed to drink a few beers with my eggs (Blue Moon truly is a breakfast beer). We played some Hold ‘em, BBQ’d lunch, smoked more cigars, and hit the Tub again before getting ready to head out.
We hit the Montbleau casino in Stateline first. This was based on a recommendation by our cab driver (who was either a millionaire or a compulsive liar). We hit the sportsbook and for the first time in my life every bet I placed came in. I took the Lakers and the Under and also bet on the Padres to beat the Cubs which they did. My winnings went a long way since they had drink specials of $7 pitchers and $3 Jäger Bombs.
Later that night Mike was DEALT this hand (there’s a reason this picture is blurry):
which paid for dinner and a round of beers.
…Skipping over some things for privacy/survival reasons (there’s a reason there aren’t more pictures)…..
Then we played blackjack until 4am. We headed back to the cabin played a little Wii and tried to choke down some Jalapeno Poppers (which were Nast!) then crashed out. Because I was with a few dipshits we had to wake up at 7am and drive the hour to Reno to catch their flight. 2 hours of sleep was not good times. I spent an additional 3 hours in the airport waiting for my flight then spent 6 hours on a plane until I made it home safely to STL.
All in all a good weekend. Fun was had, beer was consumed, and Laef had a good time. Now I’ll be spending the next week drinking water and eating vegetables.
May 26th, 2009
On Saturday I hosted what will hopefully become an annual tradition – the STL BreweryFest. In the 5 years that I’ve been back in St. Louis I’d never taken the Anheuser-Busch tour. That had to end. After mapping out a plan to hit some of the microbreweries in the area (3 at least, 9 at most) we were set.
Layla and I woke up early and rode down to AB with the Oldangerouses to take in some Clydesdales, Beechwood Aging, and free samples. I was a little surprised to see that Stella Artois was on tap but I guess it’s all part of the InBev family now. I had an American Ale and a Shocktop. Both were delicious.
The second stop was Square One Brewery in Lafayette Square. I hadn’t been here before since I never hang out in that neighborhood. We were joined by my cousin, his friend, and a very hungover Matt Smith. Now the party could start. The beer was actually very good. The Oatmeal Stout and Irish Red in particular were good. Some of the other participants recommended the Spicy Blonde but it wasn’t for me. Square One is also a distillery and they make their own Agave. TJ suggested we do a shot but I didn’t want to take a midday nap so we passed.
After some debate we decided to skip Morgan Street, The Stable, and Mattingly and head to a new place near SLU – Buffalo Brewing (nevermind that their website is terrible). I know bartenders hate making samplers but that’s what we were there for! We ordered 6 for the table. Even Matt sacked up and had a few. The Buffalo Gold was the lightest beer I’ve ever had and the Imperial IPA tasted like gasoline (100 IBU!) but the Belgian Dubbel and Extra Stout were holy delicious.
Our final stop was a place that I am all too familiar with – Schlafly Bottleworks. Considering I can walk there from my house it’s pretty safe to say I spend a significant amount of time there. The No. 15 and Kolsch did not disappoint. TJ managed to dump an entire beer on his wife and somehow my cousin got into a shouting match with a hippie while I wasn’t looking. Considering we’d been going for about 8 hours that was almost expected.
Next time we’ll have to hit Alandale, Trailhead, and Ofallon. St. Louis truly is Beer City, USA!
Special thanks to Mrs. Oldani for getting herself knocked up so she could be our Designated Dave all day long.
April 15th, 2009
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