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
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
I got this idea for a post from Eric. Fittingly much of these can be found on Stuff White People Like but here is my list of goals/dreams for the next 5 years.
Travel
- Travel to Europe. I’ve been to every major US city (except Boston but fuck that place) but I’ve yet to go to Europe. All of my out of the country traveling has been to the Caribbean and Canada so I’ve yet to leave the continent. I plan to accomplish this goal soon maybe in the Fall.
- Hit all the major parties across the world. I’ve been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but that one was easy. I’d like to go to Brazil for Carnivale and Germany for Oktoberfest.
- Attend a major sporting event overseas. I’m thinking the Olympics in London in 2012 or the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
- Go to Wacken Open Air in Germany. I like metal. Deal with it.
- Become an Expat. I’d love to live abroad for a year or two. Although I haven’t really been anywhere this seems like a great adventure. Living in a totally new place where you don’t speak the language or really know anyone appeals to me.
- Keep up the tradition of “mancations”. I’d like to continue the annual trip to Chicago with my friends. I’m thinking this will become harder as people start to get married and have children.
Edumacation
- Get my MBA. I’ve been putting this one off for a long time because I really think the MBA is valueless. But I do like school and learning things. Plus my GMAT results are about to expire and I’ve scored high enough to go to Stanford or something.
- Learn to Sail. I’ve had a lot of fun boating in the Gulf of Mexico in my life but never on a sailboat. I’d love to learn how to do this and maybe do some sailing through the caribbean.
- Learn a foreign language. I’m decent at speaking German but I need to sharpen my skills. I’m thinking French as my next language. In any case I’d like to go to a foreign country and not sound like a complete dumbass.
Adult Stuff
- Buy a House. I have the money I just haven’t had the desire. To me buying a house always seemed like you were forcing yourself to be stuck in one location. I like change. I’ve lived in 8 apartments in the past 9 years. Recently my desire to own a grill and play my Wii without fear of being evicted have convinced me that a house might be a good investment. That and the first time home buyer’s tax credit.
- Get Married. It may be toward the end of 5 years but shockingly this is a goal of mine.
- Own a dog. The goal here is to prove to myself that I can have a pet without killing it. Next step: children.
- Build some shit. My Dad finished our basement, built a deck, built a retaining wall, installed hardwood floors, remodeled the bathroom, and installed a satellite dish. For God’s sake I can barely hang a shelf! The desire to buy a house will probably force me to learn some of this stuff.
- Do some more charity work. While my experience has been semi-limited it’s always felt rewarding. Plus one on karma for this one.
- Do a better job investing. So far I’ve acted like a complete rube. All those cute little phrases you hear are true. “Buy on the rumor sell on the news.” Truer words have never been spoken.
Stuff I never want to do (no matter how old I get)
- Wear a sweater vest to work. It’s a proven fact wearing a sweater vest to work makes you age 15 years in a split second.
- Become the kind of person who has nothing else to talk about but my kids. So annoying.
- Stop being awesome. I’m a pretty fun dude. If you’ve met me you can’t deny it. I want to be a fun 30 something too. I don’t want to turn into some crotchety old man when I grow up.
What about you? I’m ready to hear about your goals too. I’ve never tagged anybody in a post but here goes: Layla, Allison, Matt, Melody, Simpson and Scott what are your 5 year goals?
February 18th, 2009
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