Girl Scout Cookies

Oh, and I just got my girl scout cookies delivered to me. I'm almost certain that I'll eat a box after lunch...and then vomit everywhere...

Shortbread, here I come.

Weekend

This weekend we're going up to Door County with a bunch of friends at a timeshare. 12 of us actually. It may be pretty tight. We're staying in a 2 bedroom condo in Egg Harbor. I'm sure the weekend will be filled intense games of "Ticket To Ride", snowshoeing, cross country skiing, great food and good company. There is also this indoor aquatic center which we will be taking major advantage of.

Today is also payday which is sweet and I also woke up to find that our federal tax return found it's way into our account. Time to break the bank once again!

Misc.

On Monday night I saw U23D with Amber. I definitely wanted to see it because I'm a big U2 fan. I heard from friends that it was really good. The bad part about it is that it cost $14/ticket because there was a $4 3-D glasses rental fee which I thought was ridiculous; and the movie was only 1:20. The 3-D look was amazing, although I think the 3-D previews before U23D which more impressive than the show itself. I don't think U2 performed that great, actually I was surprised that they included "The Fly" which is a deep track off of "Acthung Baby" but they totally messed up the intro twice. It was great to hear a bunch of their hits in front of a crazy-fanatical audience, though. I think I'm more of a fan of live shows that are smaller and more intimate. I connect with the music much more in those cases. Nonetheless it is a must-see for any U2 fan so I'm glad I saw it.

This week I've been at training just down the road from my house. It's a long 3 days of lectures, hands-on training and tons of coffee. We get a nice catered lunch everyday but there are no windows in the room to distract me. Oh well, I'll be back in the office tomorrow.

I've noticed that everyday at 10:30 everybody goes into the bathroom to take a piss. I think it's because everybody has coffee and that is the magic hour when the coffee finishes working it's way through your system. It's a like clockwork, though! So avoid, going the bathroom at 10:30. Got it?

Piano!

Amber and I went home this weekend to visit her parents and see some of her friends. On Friday night we went to this fancy restaurant on College Ave. called "Black and Tan"....it was crazy nice...perhaps a little too nice. It broke the bank. But it was worth it because Amber's parents have been so hospitable to us with staying at their place and fixing our cars for no money at all. It was the least we could do. And we also saw her brother's apartment and he has a bird that flew on all of our shoulders. It was pretty sweet. I felt like a pirate!

On Saturday we went shopping with Amber's mom and bought her a curio cabinet so we can take the piano (that was the deal). And it was a pretty good deal. Can't wait to rock out! I'm sure I'll be keeping Amber up in the wee hours of the night.

More snow on Monday. Bring it on.

Kona

Last night, Amber and I had dinner with our friends Mark and Bethany at their house. They made us this incredible dinner, we played some games, watched "LOST" had some cheesecake that Amber made; great times had by all. They have this little dog named "Kona" and she is the most perfect dog ever. She never barks...ever! And she is small, adorable and loves to play games with you. I was terrorizing it before we left by chasing it around and freaking her out. I'm certain she never wants to see me again. It had a look of terror on it's face before I left (if a dog's face can have a look of terror) Anyway, it would be fun to babysit Kona someday because she behaves so well. Our friends love to travel and they just got back from a Caribbean cruise. We may go with them on one next February! I'm sure I'll get very seasick. Oh well...

After work today, Amber and I are heading back to the promised land (Neenah) to vi st her family and some friends. We're taking her parents and her brother out to dinner at this nice restaurant in Appleton. Should be a great time. Then on Saturday we're going to go shopping to look for Curio cabinets with Amber's mom because they are going to sell us their piano but before we can get it, they need to buy a piece of furniture to put in it's spot. On Sat. evening we're going to hang with Amber's friends in Green Bay and grab some dinner and drinks.

I'm hoping for no snow this weekend. Enough is enough.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi

When I have a few spare moments in my day I like to look up info on certain bands that I am interested in. Yesterday I was checking out some info on R.E.M. on Wikipedia and checking out reviews on some of their albums. Their 1996 album "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" sounds like an incredible album. Many fans say that it is one of their very favorite. Many people may not have heard of it because albums like "Out of Time" or "Automatic For the People" from 1991 and 1992, respectively, have overshadowed it. "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" was recorded during their 1995 tour to support their previous 3 albums (the previous two plus "Monster" (1994)) I was listening to it a bit last night and I do like it very much. Songs like "Leave", "E-bow the Letter" and "How the West Was One and Where It Got Us" impressed me quite a bit. There wasn't a big single off of the album and the bands popularity was sinking in the US at the time because of the commercial failure of "Monster" so I don't think "New Adventures..." got the respect it deserved. I think I may go out and buy it! R.E.M. is playing at the United Center in Chicago in June and I really want to go. Anyone want to go with??

Also, last night we had our first Book Group of the semester. We are discussing "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer. It is a very deep theorlogical book but incredibley insightful and it generates great discussion. Our group is great, everybody is a lot of fun and we all get along well. There is 10 of us in the group.

Alright, back to work!

Crazy Guy Waving at People

Every once in a while on my way to work I see this guy waving at people as they drive by. He stands up on top of this huge snow bank with a coffee in his band and waves at every car with a huge smile and such sincerity. I always give him a wave back and so do most other people. It doesn't seem as if he's crazy, I just think he's really nice and wants to make people's mornings a bit brighter. It makes me feel nice! So thanks to "Mr. Crazy Waving Guy" for making my day!!

Half-Marathon Training

I officially begin my half marathon training today. Although I'm off to a bad start because I was supposed to run this morning at 6, but somehow I didn't wake up so now I have to run after work which I hate to do.

My first one is on Saturday, May 3rd. It's the 2nd annual Prairie Du Chien Half Marathon. Shawn and I did it last year. It was great fun. It was sooo flat. I PR'd by 10 min!

After that I have the Green Bay Half Marathon on May 18th. Then I have the Madison half the following Sunday. I think my uncle is going to do that one so I hope to run it with him. I'll also be doing some random 5k/10ks here and there throughout the summer. I like to get my long runs in during the early spring because I'm not a fan of running long distances in hot weather.

We have lifegroup tonight...it's been a while!

Colonoscopy

Well I just got home from my colonoscopy and to tell the truth it was not bad at all. The facility was brand new and state-of-the-art and the nurses were fun and friendly. We got there about an hour late because the roads were so slippery from the night before but that wasn't a problem. Soon after I arrived, I went into this room where I took off my clothes, put on some garments and they put an IV in my right hand. I signed the consent forms and soon I was rolled to the procedure room that had all of these cool gadgets in it. I was hooked up to an EKG and then they started to pump me full of cool meds. I felt really relaxed and spacey, but I never fell asleep. I think I talked to the doctors too but I had no idea what I was saying. I remember watching the colonoscopy on the TV, it was neat. Not really gross at all. The whole procedure took about 20 min. Then I was wheeled back to my little room and relaxed for a while and then Amber came in and we talked for a little bit (I think) I don't remember much. The doctor can in and gave us the results which were good so no worries. After a little while I put my clothes on and then we were off. Time to just chill for the rest of the day, read a bit, take a nap. I recommend colonoscopies for anyone!

Lazy Sunday

I'm feeling much better today...although I won't be in a few hours when I'm sitting on the toilet "cleansing" out my system. I'm not as nervous as I was last week for my colonoscopy tomorrow. I'll be fine.

Man, more snow today. Like 12 inches they are saying. It was crazy icy this morning and still is. Church services were cancelled today. Can't wait to shovel again! We have to park one of our cars in the street in case they don't plow our carriage lane. Which they usually don't.

So, this weekend, 105.5 Triple M has this thing called "Songs I Love" You submit three songs online with a dedication to someone. It's kind of a Valentines thingy. Well I submited one on Thursday thinking it wouldn't get played because I'm sure thousands of people submit them. On Saturday I was driving to Radio Shack to pick up some parts to hook the VCR to our TV. On the way I heard the Triple M DJ say "Up Next, a tribute from Mike to Amber"! I couldn't believe it! So I sat parked in the mall parking lot looking like a freak but they played my dedication and my three songs I picked. In order they were: "Bruce Springsteen - All That Heaven Will Allow", "The Wallflowers - Closer to You" and "Tom Petty - Wildflowers" It was amazing! I was shocked, too bad Amber couldn't hear it since she was at the jewelry store getting her ring fixed. But it was still cool. I was in the car at the right time I tell ya.

Today I'm trying to keep busy, trying to keep the boredom away. I've been getting caught up on reading. I'm reading "Brave New World" by Adous Huxley for a book group I'm in. Also trying to read the bible a little bit every day. I got this "Daily Bible" which breaks down the bible into daily segments to read which is really helpful.

Can't wait to start running again! It's been a week since my last run cuz I've been sick. Time to start officially training for my half marathons!

Xanga

What the heck ever happened to posting on Xanga?? I remember doing it a lot in 2005/2006, but then everyone stopped. Was it because of Facebook?

I am very sick, with the flu. I was delirious all day Wednesday. I went home sick and slept from 1:30-4:30 and then from 8pm - 7am...14 hours! I still don't feel right.

I'm one of the lucky people that gets to have a colonoscopy on Monday. It's nothing serious but I've given doctors some reasons that they should perform one. Which means that on Sunday I need to flush out my system by drinking a gallon of this sick tasting liquid which will cause me to have diarrea. Sick. Then on Monday I get to have a needle in my wrist for the IV. Fun.

Valentine's Day was yesterday and I was sick but I was still able to make Amber a nice dinner from things bought from Trader Joes (which is an amazing store, I recommend it) I made Creme brule which was very tasty.

Tonight we have our church dance at the Monona Terrace. It'll be sweet. They have great desserts and good music. We have to dress up too. Beforehand we're going to eat dinner at Eldorado Grill which is good but I don't have much of an appetite today.

Opening Day in about 6 weeks!