Monday, March 31, 2008

ein vollkommenes Radler


Mike and I have been working feverishly between illness and lazy habits to perfect a Radler for the summer. We had a great one during the party for his aunt in Germany, and it is a great drink for the summer. Our first attempt was 50% Sprite, 50% Beer (Bitburger, a good German Pilsner). Pretty close, but not quite there. We then tried 50% lemonade, but it was too sweet. I liked the version I made with 1/2 beer and one cup of Sprite (pretty damn close and good). We decided to try Natural Italian Lemon Soda yesterday (50% lemon soda which is more like a lemonade diluted by mineral water). I think we have a winner. It is really good, and that type of soda is not too sweet so it had a perfect balance. So I included a picture of EuroMike and a perfect Radler!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

We be illin'

I was home sick until Tuesday. Wed night, Mike developed cold symptoms. He had to work through it due to important stuff he had to do at work. This is the first time we have transmitted an illness to each other. We are really good about treating the sick one like a leper and avoiding various bugs. Mike suggested the other night we need to update our quarantine policy. He was thinking now we need to get a hotel room when somebody comes home sick.

On another note, I could not watch my Spartans last night (due to regional coverage friggin' CBS). That spared me significant pain.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sold Out 2

So I marked my calender to sign up for the Westchester Tri. As I said before, I have not done the race since 2004 since it keeps selling out. I used to sign up for the race the week before (and that was in 2002, 2003 which is not ancient history).

So I grabbed my sleeping bag and headed outside to spend the night near the cyber ticketmaster. It really felt like getting tickets to a rock concert that was expected to sell out quickly.

I asked Mike to get them, but he can not access these types of things at work. So I rushed home between school and my home care cases to buy them. I checked at 1:50 and discovered the entry fee was $175. WTF!!!! That was almost triple the fee we paid 4 years ago! I called Mike to confer, and he called me back at 2. When I logged back in, THE EVENT WAS SOLD OUT :(

They really need a lottery, or at least open registration on a Sat so everyone would have a fair chance entering the race. I sent a whiny email to the race director, and now we are on a waiting list. Oh wait, I could have signed up and paid $300 for a charity slot. They also had $500 slots selling a training program. I wonder how many of those they reserved. It is so crazy. What are they, Golden circle entries? I think for $300 I should get a message on the run every mile (or a push).
So enough of my whining, at least I saved us 350 dollars!

Good excuse

passive-aggressive (and just plain aggressive) notes — painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Yes, Running Can Make You High - New York Times

Yes, Running Can Make You High - New York Times
Yeah, sometimes running can make me wolf down a pizza too.
See more funny videos at CollegeHumor


This one's for Pat. I could not get it to download from Youtube. I think little J needs to add this one to his repetiore.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Cure for the common cold

Killepitsch
As you all know I missed the Easter celebration yesterday. Mike arrived home last night from his parents house with a care package that included something for my cold. A few years ago, I got into a discussion about Jaegermeister with his family. The discussion ended when my father-in-law appeared with a bottle of it and began pouring shots for everyone. This has escaleted to doing shots of Jaeger when we are visiting and somebody has a cold (like taking Nyquil). In the last couple of years, this product has also appeared. It is just like Jaeger, and they stock it at the German club. So we have all been forced to take a shot of Killepitsch too (including my mother-in-law). I think my mom and John did shots of Jaeger or Killepitsch the last time we visited! So bottoms up for my health!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Beaster

Of course, since I made it through both Christmas and New Years without getting sick, I have a cold. I went to church this AM, and I have been lying around the house ever since. I watched the Enron documentary and read half my book. I went out to get some soup, and I thought, "The steering wheel feels a little mushy". Pulled into a parking lot, and my right front tire was really low! Drove slowly to a gas station, filled up the tire, and heard air rushing out. I realized the rubber by the stem had a hole since I could make it stop. I went into the gas station mini mart and bought flat fixer and electrical tape. I was able to make it home using the electrical tape. I figured if the hole was in the stem, I may waste the 8 dollars I paid for the flat fixer. Soo, I have to deal with that one tomorrow.

Last night we went to a club that is in a hotel by us to watch the State game. Sometimes the local UM alumni club gathers there to watch games, and we figured it would be quiet. They had a DJ blasting really crappy music the whole time! It is a dead place, and the DJ is really incongruous. At one point, the DJ started singing in a super deep voice (like Lou Rawls or Barry White) to a backing track! The song was really cheesy. So I lost a year of hearing off my life to crappy music. Oh well, at least my team won!

Friday, March 21, 2008

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Einstein


Smooth move of the week:

Leaving keys in car with ignition switch on and radio on all night long. Say goodbye to a year of battery life!

I felt like a bonehead about this until a woman I know shared that she left a car in reverse. She was confused about why her car was in the center island of the cul-de-sac where they live!

Besides working, here are my weekly pursuits:

1. Attempting to make a Radler as good as the one we had in Schweinfurt! We were close, but no cigar yet!
2. Cruising real estate listings like a stalker.
3. Struggling through guitar practice.
4. Nearly buying Radiohead tickets, but stopping. The tickets are 90 dollars with a 12 dollar service charge. It is a music festival with some other good bands. Then I wondered how long they would play. That is who I really want to see. I am not sure if I should see them when they are just plain touring.
5. Bought a new game for work called Hypertag. Mike thinks it is a recipe for me popping my knee out. I plan to be lazy and make the kids play it!
6. Letting you all see a picture I find scary. That is a photo of what is called "Einstein Hair". There is nothing like when your husband says your hair looks just like Einstein's.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Brownies anyone??

We continued the open house ritual this weekend. We may be waiting a few months longer than we really want to, because the economic reality still has not hit our local market as hard as we need it to. Things may change with all of the banks taking a hit on the subprime market.

Anyhoo, we did see some good stuff, but among the bad was a common theme. Never mind the insane prices. Never mind the realtors and their BS. We wandered into this one open house, because it was next door to another we wanted to see (which actually was reasonable in price and beautiful!). The house we stumbled upon was 150,000 more, but as far as I am concerned, the cheaper house was way better (restored farm house, owner is an architect and it had a modern layout which you do not see in old buildings, replaced the wiring as well). The more expensive house had finished part of the attic. In the unfinished section of the attic, there was a full bath. So imagine a typical attic (boards from the roof with nails sticking through the wood, ceiling shaped like the roof, etc) which you could use to get ready for work. They had a claw foot tub under the window. In a pathetic (possible part of a staging) attempt to make this seem pleasant, a book entitled, The Art of Bathing rested nearby. The attic bathroom also had a sink and toilet. I am going to make it a point for now on to ask if they have an attic bathroom when a realtor is bothering me! In the same house, they also had a full bath that opened into the kitchen. That resulted in a reprise of inappropriate jokes. It is a common theme that we ran across weeks ago.

Flashback to another renovated farm house. This particular house we looked at did not have a ground floor bathroom. I am sure renovating old houses is tough and you have more limitations. The kitchen in the house we saw a few weeks ago was tiny, and they put the fridge right next to the back door. There was a minuscule dining nook with windows on one side of the kitchen (I am sure Mike and I would not fit in that nook with a table). The realtor suggested we could put the powder room in the nook (which is essentially the heart of the tiny kitchen). I do like a good potty joke (I think it may be genetic) and we riffed off each other for about 10 minutes on that one. "What are you making for dinner?" We thought about awkward moments while hosting a holiday meal. The kitchen bathroom is just not a plus. I would rather walk upstairs personally. The full bath right off the kitchen was weird. Could you imagine cooking when a wet person walks by in a towel? You would have to ban #2 in the kitchen bathroom for sure.

The worst part is these houses are all over 800,000!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

How about this one?


I liked it until I realized the pool is not 25 yards.

Smarty Pants

I just found out my nephew Jim received a prestigious scholarship to Purdue. It is a full ride through the doctoral level! It is great to see scholarship and intelligence rewarded! What an amazing opportunity!

Sold Out

I am sitting here this morning trying to find out when all of the races we like are scheduled. There is a tri in Rye that we like, but the last 2 years we have not done it, because it has sold out in HOURS (that's right, hours!). Not too many years ago we signed up the week of the race so we could make sure the weather would be good (after all, they are getting more and more expensive!).

There was a new race last year in CT that I found out about too late. I just checked on it, and it is sold out (WTF!!!!!). I suppose you have to plan more than 3 months in advance of a sprint triathlon! Timberman (not that I want to do that one again!) has been sold out for a while, and the race is the end of August (but at least it makes more sense since it is a 1/2 ironman). Tri is just getting really popular and expensive.

Last year, my knee was bad and we got really lazy. We now have decided a 2-3 races would be fun and really keep us on track for getting out and moving our fat arses! That is if they do not all sell out. It just seems ridiculous to actually plan out our summer now. We are thinking about doing Montauk Century this year too, but the new one with my favorite ride leader, Glen. Glen is a typical New Yorker. He used to run a bike tour run by a local club to Montauk, but they started fighting and he broke away from the club. The club ran the ride the next year, and they totally sucked. For example, Glen had pizza at the 50 mile mark (along with the expected bananas and power bar sort of fare). They had ice cream at mile 75. The next year when the club ran it, there was no food, water, or bathrooms at the 50 mile rest stop. When you do an organized ride, you never bring food or extra water since it is provided. So that was a major issue for those riding 100 miles.

We met Glen a couple of times, and we really like him. Before the first Montauk Century we did, he would send all sorts of emails about the event and FAQs. He was a little blunt to say the least in those emails, but they were hilarious too. He would basically request that nobody would ask him dumb questions like, "How long does it take to ride to Montauk?" His answer, "Depends on how fast you can pedal". He told us some people would complain about the awesome food. I think there are just some prickly and anal bike people personally. Anyhoo, we are thinking about this ride if anyone would like to join us. It is a great flat and beautiful ride. I think the hilarious thing about this year is the slogan on the jerseys, "We ride for Pie". I think he organized a ride to a bunch of bakeries around NYC too.

http://www.ridetomontauk.com/

Another thing that sells out immediately are concerts. I just found out Radiohead are coming and there are tickets! I want to buy them immediately, but I think I will ask Mike when he wakes up. I have wanted to see them for a long time, and they are always sold out once I figure it out.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Optimum Triple Play Reggaeton Beach Commercial Ad

Does this ad play anywhere else? I figured it was local. I have to admit I know the phone number.

Cali Kids

Here is a video that Nicky and Anthony are in for Heinz, the commercial with the most hits will be put on TV, so give them a lot of hits!

It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job - New York Times

It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job - New York Times
This is a familiar to me.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Mature?

I am a ready to buy a house when I just engaged in a 30 minute mini-marshmallow fight?

I am sure I will be sorry I asked. When it comes to who is perceived as more mature in my marriage, I usually get voted #2.

Drop and give me 10!

An Enduring Measure of Fitness: The Simple Push-Up - New York Times
I have always been OK with push-ups, but even when I was in top form years ago, I could never do more than 4 pull ups! I suppose it is due to my lax ligaments, but it still makes me feel like a wimp. Mike and I plan on testing ourselves, and I will get back to you to report the findings.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Weekend in Review

Since it rained all day Saturday, I was able to read Musicophilia (Oliver Sacks) in almost its entirety. It is my kinda geeky read about music and the brain. It also gave a a new set a maladies to worry about. It is like the medical students developing every disease they study. In the back of my mind I worried that I would develop music hallucinations like the case studies in the book!

I also just heard a major flashback on the radio(Six Different Ways, by the Cure). Man, that takes me back to the school bus with a walkman in high school. I am pretty sure it was not a hallucination, because Mike acknowledged hearing it too.

Hit some open houses today. There was another house in our area that needs work (price not bad for 'round here), but has really good potential. I really dug a house we saw in Rye, but Mike was not on board for that one. We also did drivebys in the pouring rain to assess neighborhood flooding and check out some alternate areas. I swear we get more confused the more we look. We are both wishy washy and would be cool with a lot of options 'round here. Before we see a house in our town, we agree on a story about where we live. I have determined that there is common type of woman from this area (typically in her 50s-70s) who is abnormally nosy. For example, they ask where we live. They then want full addressess, who we bought the house from, etc. I have no idea why they even give a shit frankly. They just tend to fluster me with the third degree. Why should I give a shit where they grew up or why would they care which street exactly we live on? It is like saying, "How are you?" and following up with "Why do you feel fine? Is is your love life? Is it your career? Did you just have a satifying meal?

This one's for Ann




Here's a little something to smile about, and I hope your week is much better than the last.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Rain!!

I am jealous of all of the Michiganders, because you all have snow! We just get rain now.
We went to see Oscar animated Shorts last night, and they were fun. My favorite was Peter and the Wolf (I think it won too).
Otherwise trying to get rainy day stuff done!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

School of Rock

Tonight we learned "Back in Black", "Sedated", and "Sweet Home Alabama" on the guitar tonight. It was funny to see a bunch of middle aged folks try to hammer these out.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Demographic shift


I have no idea how I got on this mailing list.

Mobile Desktop

I just love this stuff.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Nada Mas

I swear I really do not have much to say lately. Just working mostly and trying to enjoy free time. There is a lot that I am putting off (yearly business taxes, annual paperwork for work, etc). I can kill a day so quickly. All I accomplished today was the following:
1. Go to Whole Foods (before all of White Plains)
2. Wash my toys
3. Straighten up the house a little
4. Put away our ski stuff (only out of guilt since Mike was working on tax planning)
5. Played guitar twice
6. Made some scheduling calls for work
7. Printed paperwork that I need signed this week
8. Cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner
9. Worked out at the Y
10. Went to an open house
11. Drove by 4 houses nearby for a look
12. Watched Breaking Bad (pretty damn good little show)

Yesterday was similarly eventful, except we got to cross country ski for a while. I also went shopping for a classical guitar which is complicated since stores do not ever have any lefty classical guitars. I think I know which one I want, but I need to find out if it can be switched without messing up the guitar. We also did some drive-bys yesterday, and it left us more on the depressed side. Today was more uplifting. I need a good book. My last book was depressing, but I just want a good book that I can not put down. The last one I read like that was before Christmas, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Ohh, the Horror!

We drove up to Fahnstock to ski today, and we passed a sign that said,

Donald Trump State Park