Who didn't get the black shirt memo??
Pranqster served in a Chimay glass.....an awesome combination!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Pizza Crew
Who didn't get the black shirt memo??
Pranqster served in a Chimay glass.....an awesome combination!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Busy Saturday
Not golfing on Sunday morning turned out to be the best thing ever for me. OK, well, not the best thing EVER, but a pretty good decision. Softball on Saturday ran long, no big surprise, but I was home in time to shower, eat and go see Nick Offerman at The Vic. His show actually wasn't all that good and we didn't get to bed until about 1. If I were to golf at 8:15 in Naperville, I would have gotten about 5 hours of sleep. Instead I got almost 8 hours and then made crepes for LL. This time the selection was blueberries, bananas and Nutella. They were delicious. Throw in some coffee and it was a pretty great, lazy Sunday morning.
Saturday was a much different story though. I was up before 6 and on the road by 6:30 to get to Rockford by 8 a.m. for batting practice. Our first game was at 9 and started on time, but the rain started mid-game and caused a 2 hour delay before the 7th inning could be started. After we played the last inning (and won the game!), we had another 2 hour break. Our next two games were back to back, but by the time I left the complex, it was about 6:30, so I got home around 8. It was 13 1/2 hours away from home. A long day and it wasn't near being over. LL had made delicious stuffed peppers, so after showering, I wolfed down a few of those and then it was off to see Offerman.
The tournament in which we played was a state tournament for teams a level above us in USSSA. There were four teams in the tournament at our level, which was half the field, so in the first game they matched up a higher level team against a lower level team. We screwed things up by winning the game though 16-14! One of our better players had to leave after that first game (because of all the delays he only played the one game instead of at least 2 and possibly 3) and we were missing some other folks not to mention some injuries which limited our crew, so we ended up dropping the next two games, though both games were one run affairs through at least 5 innings. I played pretty well hitting a robust .850 (11-13) and making some good plays at third. One interesting note (to me at least) was that I don't think I walked at all! Nor did I have any extra base hits. All singles. Odd.
Saturday was a much different story though. I was up before 6 and on the road by 6:30 to get to Rockford by 8 a.m. for batting practice. Our first game was at 9 and started on time, but the rain started mid-game and caused a 2 hour delay before the 7th inning could be started. After we played the last inning (and won the game!), we had another 2 hour break. Our next two games were back to back, but by the time I left the complex, it was about 6:30, so I got home around 8. It was 13 1/2 hours away from home. A long day and it wasn't near being over. LL had made delicious stuffed peppers, so after showering, I wolfed down a few of those and then it was off to see Offerman.
The tournament in which we played was a state tournament for teams a level above us in USSSA. There were four teams in the tournament at our level, which was half the field, so in the first game they matched up a higher level team against a lower level team. We screwed things up by winning the game though 16-14! One of our better players had to leave after that first game (because of all the delays he only played the one game instead of at least 2 and possibly 3) and we were missing some other folks not to mention some injuries which limited our crew, so we ended up dropping the next two games, though both games were one run affairs through at least 5 innings. I played pretty well hitting a robust .850 (11-13) and making some good plays at third. One interesting note (to me at least) was that I don't think I walked at all! Nor did I have any extra base hits. All singles. Odd.
Friday, June 15, 2012
A rarity
Since when does Joe bail on golf? Until now, it pretty much had to be due to a LOT of rain or really cold temperatures. Sunday though I had to bail on my buddy JC for other reasons. Saturday morning I have to get out to Rockford by 8 a.m. for a softball tournament and then we're seeing Nick Offerman at his 10:00 p.m. show. JC wanted me to golf with him at 8:15 at a course that's close to an hour away. So that would mean two days in a row of getting up at 6 a.m., followed up with only 5-6 hours of sleep after a day in the sun. Probably not a recipe for success at golf on Sunday and I'd probably just not really enjoy it as much as I'd like to, so JC and I are going to try and hit the links another day.
Last night we saw Patton Oswalt perform and he was pretty funny. Tell you what though, the guy that opened for him was hysterical! His name is Kyle Kinane and he actually headlined his own show earlier in the week! It was like getting a two-fer! The show was at The Vic Theater, which is known best me as the venue for Brew-n-View, where we bought quarter beers and watched classic movies in a very boisterous environment. When we walked into the general admission seating first floor, the center seats were pretty full and most of what was available was along the sides. So we decided to head upstairs to the balcony and we got second row center!! Nice! The show on Saturday is at the same venue, so we'll probably try to get the same seats.
Here we are at Park West getting ready for Amy Shumer.
Outside Park West and inside The Vic.
Last night we saw Patton Oswalt perform and he was pretty funny. Tell you what though, the guy that opened for him was hysterical! His name is Kyle Kinane and he actually headlined his own show earlier in the week! It was like getting a two-fer! The show was at The Vic Theater, which is known best me as the venue for Brew-n-View, where we bought quarter beers and watched classic movies in a very boisterous environment. When we walked into the general admission seating first floor, the center seats were pretty full and most of what was available was along the sides. So we decided to head upstairs to the balcony and we got second row center!! Nice! The show on Saturday is at the same venue, so we'll probably try to get the same seats.
Here we are at Park West getting ready for Amy Shumer.
Outside Park West and inside The Vic.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Credit Card Payback
Last week sometime, I called my credit card company to question a charge on my account. They could only tell me exactly what I could already see online: it was a charge from a company with whom I have not done business and it was for "periodicals or printing". Neither made any sense to me and the fact that it was a Wisconsin company made it even more odd. They couldn't give me a vendor phone number, physical address..nothing! WTH?? How can they not have that information readily available? So, finally, one of the people with whom I spoke said I could Google the name and maybe I'd find more information that way. It was a shot in the dark since the company name was "Ram", which seemed pretty general to me. Combined with the bit of data with them being from Wisconsin though gave me enough information to remember the charge and that it was valid: it was for jerseys for the softball team (I'm the team treasurer) and the company I dealt with was Shirts and Logos, Inc. Weird.
The bank asked me to fill out a questionnaire based on my experience and I basically tore them a new one because I thought it was ridiculous that they couldn't give me any useful information about the charge. Yesterday I got an envelope from the bank, which I opened today. In it was a new credit card because they believed my information "had been compromised" and the new card was in the name of security. Hmmmm, on the surface, they want me to think they are looking out for me. The reality? I have to call/go to no fewer than eight companies for which I have automatic billing to change my account number. It seems to me that the person whom I ripped on the phone probably just pushed a button labeled "send new card" and thought we were even now. Unfortunately, they actually came out ahead. Payback's a bitch.
Last night kicked off our week of busy nights of entertainment with the Cubs/Tigers game. Tony Campana is one of the Cubs' lead-off hitters and is super fast. Going to the game is a little more fun watching him wheel around the bases and haul ass down the first base line. He's fun to watch!! And yes, we're wearing Bears gear as it got a little chilly when the sun went down.
The bank asked me to fill out a questionnaire based on my experience and I basically tore them a new one because I thought it was ridiculous that they couldn't give me any useful information about the charge. Yesterday I got an envelope from the bank, which I opened today. In it was a new credit card because they believed my information "had been compromised" and the new card was in the name of security. Hmmmm, on the surface, they want me to think they are looking out for me. The reality? I have to call/go to no fewer than eight companies for which I have automatic billing to change my account number. It seems to me that the person whom I ripped on the phone probably just pushed a button labeled "send new card" and thought we were even now. Unfortunately, they actually came out ahead. Payback's a bitch.
Last night kicked off our week of busy nights of entertainment with the Cubs/Tigers game. Tony Campana is one of the Cubs' lead-off hitters and is super fast. Going to the game is a little more fun watching him wheel around the bases and haul ass down the first base line. He's fun to watch!! And yes, we're wearing Bears gear as it got a little chilly when the sun went down.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Comedy Galore!
Tonight, LL and I are going to the Cubs/Tigers game. Should be fun. We didn't have any tickets in May, so this is the first game in a while and it was the first game I chose at our ticket draft back in March. Since Detroit is in the American League, they don't play here very often (2006 was the last time) and it's a rematch of the the 1945, 1935, 1907 and 1908 World Series. The Tigers won the two former while the Cubs won the two latter.
Wednesday we are going to see Amy Shumer. She's a pretty funny comedian and is here as part of Justforlaughschicago, which is an event sponsored in some way by TBS while Conan is doing his show from Chicago. Thursday we are going to see Patton Oswalt and then Saturday we're going to see Nick Offerman. There are so many good comedians that we could see two performers a night easily. They are performing all over town, so it'll be interesting going to the different venues as well.
And we'll probably be going out to eat before the shows as our refrigerator has conked out! Yep, it just stopped working last night. I didn't notice that it was no longer cooling anything, but I did notice that the ice dispenser wasn't working. I thought that was the only problem, but obviously not. The compressor is still under warranty so if that's the problem, at least it won't be a ton of money to get it fixed. Until it's fixed, we have a cooler filled with ice to keep some refrigerator stuff cool and some ice to use for drinks. Just like a tailgate....only in our kitchen.
Wednesday we are going to see Amy Shumer. She's a pretty funny comedian and is here as part of Justforlaughschicago, which is an event sponsored in some way by TBS while Conan is doing his show from Chicago. Thursday we are going to see Patton Oswalt and then Saturday we're going to see Nick Offerman. There are so many good comedians that we could see two performers a night easily. They are performing all over town, so it'll be interesting going to the different venues as well.
And we'll probably be going out to eat before the shows as our refrigerator has conked out! Yep, it just stopped working last night. I didn't notice that it was no longer cooling anything, but I did notice that the ice dispenser wasn't working. I thought that was the only problem, but obviously not. The compressor is still under warranty so if that's the problem, at least it won't be a ton of money to get it fixed. Until it's fixed, we have a cooler filled with ice to keep some refrigerator stuff cool and some ice to use for drinks. Just like a tailgate....only in our kitchen.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Dinner with Joe (not me Joe, another Joe...though I was there too)
Everything went pretty well this weekend with the many events going on. The ribs we had for dinner on Thursday and Friday were delicious. Saturday we hit the Ribfest on Lincoln avenue and then Nick Markakis' apartment for a party celebrating the arrival of his new roommate. After a few hours there, it was off to dinner with Joe and Kendra from Highland Park, a northern burb. We met them up in Evanston at a place called Stained Glass. It's a ritzy place, but interesting because the "stained glass" wasn't like church stained glass. Nope, it was like WINE stained glass. Very cool logo of a glass stain on a napkin or table and they made sure to just slightly miss-pour their wine so that it left a circular stain on your table paper/linen. Very cool. The food was VERY good, but like I said, not inexpensive.
Here's Joe and Kendra! Joe got the Tuna, Tuna, Tuna dish which, as the name implies, serves you tuna three ways. Kendra got the barramundi. I forgot to ask her how it was. We had grilled calamari (good), bacon and eggs (delicious) and salad with smoked trout (awesome) as appetizers. You need to check out the menu for the descriptions.
We love Joe and Kendra dearly, so it was a great way to finish off a very fun day!!
Friday, June 08, 2012
Ribs and more ribs
Yesterday I decided it was time to finally make ribs, which I hadn't made in I don't know how long. The plan was to make enough ribs for dinner tonight as well, which I did. Unfortunately, I found out later that this weekend was a rib festival just down the street a bit. Shoot. So either we're going to have ribs three days straight, or take a pass on the festival. Not sure which at this point!
Saturday night we have dinner plans AND a party to go to, so that's going to require some juggling as well. Also on Saturday night, unfortunately, is a naked bike. That's right, a naked bike ride. All these people, men and women, get on bikes, naked, and ride around until about midnight. Of course NONE of the people are people that you would WANT to see naked, but even if they were, it's tough to look good naked on a bike. A few years back, I got stuck driving in the middle of it. Ugh. I'm hoping to avoid that fiasco this year.
Sunday has a double-header in the burbs with my 40 and over softball team. The games are early, noon and one I think, so the rest of the day will be free.....maybe to go get more ribs!
Saturday night we have dinner plans AND a party to go to, so that's going to require some juggling as well. Also on Saturday night, unfortunately, is a naked bike. That's right, a naked bike ride. All these people, men and women, get on bikes, naked, and ride around until about midnight. Of course NONE of the people are people that you would WANT to see naked, but even if they were, it's tough to look good naked on a bike. A few years back, I got stuck driving in the middle of it. Ugh. I'm hoping to avoid that fiasco this year.
Sunday has a double-header in the burbs with my 40 and over softball team. The games are early, noon and one I think, so the rest of the day will be free.....maybe to go get more ribs!
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Round and Round
As I mentioned yesterday, I was at Halas Hall for my second Advisory Group meeting on Monday. We discussed a bunch of topics: a kids' club (the benefits, how much it would cost, one time or renewal, etc), a womens' club (same topics), the benefits of our stadium club seats, some marketing stuff....it was good. All except for one....small.....event.
First, some history: about 7 years ago the Bears drafted Cedric Benson with the fourth pick of the first round. My buddy, Mike, who has since moved to New Jersey, and I went to Soldier Field to watch a practice. At the time, Benson still had not signed his contract and was holding out for more money. At the draft he stated he wouldn't hold out, so it was pretty annoying. The Bears had been notoriously cheap with their players and many fans, myself included, were upset with them for not signing him to a contract to get him ready for the regular season. He held out and missed all of training camp before eventually signing a 5 year deal worth $35M.
So at this practice, I was VERY audible about the Bears paying Benson his money and to stop being cheap. During one of my public rants, a Bears employee pipes up from behind me that "maybe Benson doesn't WANT to sign!" Well of course he doesn't want to sign, I snorted, the Bears are too cheap to pay the market rate he wants. "Their current offer is for $17M guaranteed, which is more than what the fourth pick got last year." At this point he seemed very unhappy with my arguing, so I let it go (I didn't want to jeopardize my relatively new season tickets).
Back to Monday night at Halas Hall. They showed us the images on the tickets which had a different player on every ticket. The first ticket was of Henry Melton, a defensive tackle that started 15 games last year, but is really just a rotational guy with three or four other guys. "So what do you think of the look?" we were asked. "Well, is that Melton on the opening day ticket?" From behind me came a voice saying, "Yeah, what's wrong with Melton? He's starting." So I turn around and say, "Well maybe he is starting for us, but I don't know about an NFL starter." And then I get the feeling that I've met this guy, a Bears employee, before. Yep, it's the same dude from 7 years ago. His name is Adam and he's been with the Bears since 2000.
When we went to our breakout session I asked him if he remembered our "discussion" from 2005. He did not as apparently he's pretty opinionated himself and it surprised nobody with the Bears that I would have had such a conversation with him. Too funny how stuff comes around like that.
First, some history: about 7 years ago the Bears drafted Cedric Benson with the fourth pick of the first round. My buddy, Mike, who has since moved to New Jersey, and I went to Soldier Field to watch a practice. At the time, Benson still had not signed his contract and was holding out for more money. At the draft he stated he wouldn't hold out, so it was pretty annoying. The Bears had been notoriously cheap with their players and many fans, myself included, were upset with them for not signing him to a contract to get him ready for the regular season. He held out and missed all of training camp before eventually signing a 5 year deal worth $35M.
So at this practice, I was VERY audible about the Bears paying Benson his money and to stop being cheap. During one of my public rants, a Bears employee pipes up from behind me that "maybe Benson doesn't WANT to sign!" Well of course he doesn't want to sign, I snorted, the Bears are too cheap to pay the market rate he wants. "Their current offer is for $17M guaranteed, which is more than what the fourth pick got last year." At this point he seemed very unhappy with my arguing, so I let it go (I didn't want to jeopardize my relatively new season tickets).
Back to Monday night at Halas Hall. They showed us the images on the tickets which had a different player on every ticket. The first ticket was of Henry Melton, a defensive tackle that started 15 games last year, but is really just a rotational guy with three or four other guys. "So what do you think of the look?" we were asked. "Well, is that Melton on the opening day ticket?" From behind me came a voice saying, "Yeah, what's wrong with Melton? He's starting." So I turn around and say, "Well maybe he is starting for us, but I don't know about an NFL starter." And then I get the feeling that I've met this guy, a Bears employee, before. Yep, it's the same dude from 7 years ago. His name is Adam and he's been with the Bears since 2000.
When we went to our breakout session I asked him if he remembered our "discussion" from 2005. He did not as apparently he's pretty opinionated himself and it surprised nobody with the Bears that I would have had such a conversation with him. Too funny how stuff comes around like that.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Halas Hall Visit #2
Monday was our second Season Ticket Holder Advisory Group meeting. It's a haul up to Lake Forest for the 5:45 meeting, but they provide dinner...and it's fun! This time we talked about various marketing plans and even got to see the ticket design for this year (Bears confidential: What's up with Henry Melton on the opening day ticket??). Once again they seemed to really like various ideas I and the group provided. We were split into two groups based on where our seats are located: Club Section and non-Club. There was only 5 or 6 of us out of the 20 that sit in the Club section, so the discussion was pretty involved. Good stuff.
Here's the nice sign outside the hall in which we were meeting.
Here's the uniform for the Bears through the ages.....
You can blow these up to see the players.....
Same here.....
Here's the nice sign outside the hall in which we were meeting.
Here's the uniform for the Bears through the ages.....
You can blow these up to see the players.....
Same here.....
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Work Continues and Neck Update
Work on the bathroom continues and MLM is starting to tile today (I believe). Over the weekend, LL and I went up to Wheeling to a bagel place that makes great bagels as well as bagel, egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches. Just delicious. Right down the street from the restaurant is ABT Electronics, where I usually go to make electronic purchases. On the list for Sunday was a TV for the bedroom and a wall mounting bracket. Also was a wireless receiver for the TV that would hook into our DVR so we can operate the TV by remote control and have the DVR in the closet instead of under the TV or out on display. It's a pretty clean solution for not much money. The product is call an IR Repeater, so check it out if you want to hide your DVR.
As a side note, I'm watching the Transit of Venus on two different feeds online....just amazing what technology allows. If you get this soon, you can check it out here or here.
I don't want this to get lost either. My softball team is ranked 4th in the country in one organization! Here's the link. We're team Next.
Today I had my six week follow up with my cervical spine specialist at the University of Chicago. My first visit was somewhat disturbing as his resident was pretty gung-ho on surgery. The visit was so disturbing that I sought out a second opinion for the first time in my life to my knowledge. That second opinion, at Northwestern University, confirmed the need for surgery if recovery wasn't coming relatively quickly. Fortunately, we stepped up my physical therapy sessions (the work during the session) and some progress has been made! The doctor today verified that I was indeed stronger, but not where I need to be though strong enough to avoid surgery for the next six weeks as long as I have no pain. So that's where I am physically, though mentally I'm prepared for surgery. LL may not be though!
Here are two pictures of the same flower in our front "yard". It bloomed, then closed up, then shriveled, so I got it at its peak!
As a side note, I'm watching the Transit of Venus on two different feeds online....just amazing what technology allows. If you get this soon, you can check it out here or here.
I don't want this to get lost either. My softball team is ranked 4th in the country in one organization! Here's the link. We're team Next.
Today I had my six week follow up with my cervical spine specialist at the University of Chicago. My first visit was somewhat disturbing as his resident was pretty gung-ho on surgery. The visit was so disturbing that I sought out a second opinion for the first time in my life to my knowledge. That second opinion, at Northwestern University, confirmed the need for surgery if recovery wasn't coming relatively quickly. Fortunately, we stepped up my physical therapy sessions (the work during the session) and some progress has been made! The doctor today verified that I was indeed stronger, but not where I need to be though strong enough to avoid surgery for the next six weeks as long as I have no pain. So that's where I am physically, though mentally I'm prepared for surgery. LL may not be though!
Here are two pictures of the same flower in our front "yard". It bloomed, then closed up, then shriveled, so I got it at its peak!
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Some Sushi
Saturday was a pretty relaxing day that ended with LL's parents coming into town for a belated Mother's Day meal of sushi at Rollapalooza with Minnie and Eric. Minnie....she's Korean, as is Eric....I wonder what her REAL name is? It's not Minnie is it? Probably not. Eric's probably not Eric either. Interesting. Sorry, I digress. We had a better than usual meal there on Saturday. "How can the be?" you say as we always have great food there? I don't know. LL doesn't either, but for some reason the mixture of food we have was just better. And maybe it's because we had four people so we ordered a variety of things as opposed to just a few, that all of our tastebuds were being stimulated. Interesting.
Today was a double-header in my over 40 league in the suburbs that takes over an hour for me to get to, even on a Sunday afternoon. That part was frustrating. Another frustrating part is that since I play with people in their 20's and early 30's in tournaments all the time, I feel like I should dominate this league. But I don't. At least not the way I envision myself dominating. Am I faster than most of the guys? Yes. That's not a problem. Do I field better than most of the guys? Yeah, probably. Do I have a stronger throw than virtually everyone? Yes. But I just don't dominate in the hitting arena. Really I shouldn't think that I should since I'm a high on base percentage guy and don't kill the ball in my regular tournaments, there's nothing to indicate that I would dominate hitting here either. But I tell you what; I do try to have as much fun as possible while I'm out there. And the double header today was pretty fun. My buddy, Fedor, joined for the first week and I haven't seen him since a tailgate during the Bears season. He had a rough day of it (and playing catcher of all things) and took a header on his way to first that was absolutely hysterical to watch, mostly because I did essentially the same thing in my first at bat last year in the league. Too funny. I think we both were just trying to hard and ended up with similar results. Ha!
Today was a double-header in my over 40 league in the suburbs that takes over an hour for me to get to, even on a Sunday afternoon. That part was frustrating. Another frustrating part is that since I play with people in their 20's and early 30's in tournaments all the time, I feel like I should dominate this league. But I don't. At least not the way I envision myself dominating. Am I faster than most of the guys? Yes. That's not a problem. Do I field better than most of the guys? Yeah, probably. Do I have a stronger throw than virtually everyone? Yes. But I just don't dominate in the hitting arena. Really I shouldn't think that I should since I'm a high on base percentage guy and don't kill the ball in my regular tournaments, there's nothing to indicate that I would dominate hitting here either. But I tell you what; I do try to have as much fun as possible while I'm out there. And the double header today was pretty fun. My buddy, Fedor, joined for the first week and I haven't seen him since a tailgate during the Bears season. He had a rough day of it (and playing catcher of all things) and took a header on his way to first that was absolutely hysterical to watch, mostly because I did essentially the same thing in my first at bat last year in the league. Too funny. I think we both were just trying to hard and ended up with similar results. Ha!
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Friday night softball
Thursday night we really wanted to go to the local Maifest, a German outdoor festival filled with the typical German delights: beer, sausage and pretzels. However the weather did not cooperate as the temperature plunged and it rained. They do have a huge tent where much of the action takes place, but it can often be difficult to grab a table. So LL and I opted to get some carryout and hang out in the warmth of our home. In the end, it was probably a good call as I was playing softball late on Friday, so no need to overdue it.
Friday night came and we had an unusual tournament, yes tournament. There were only four teams in the tournament because it was a C level tournament, whereas we play D. We were the only D team of the four and there aren't many C teams actually in Illinois. The higher up you go in competition, the fewer the teams, as you might expect. But we won our first game anyway, and pretty decidedly, and were leading in our last game by four runs in the bottom of the last inning. The first guy up for them lined one up the middle and our shortstop dove and had it tip off his glove. Just missed. A few batters later, they hit a routine fly ball to center where our outfielder camped under it and promptly dropped it. Ugh. They scored a run and then we finally got a few outs (one on a dropped fly ball by our right fielder who then threw home and got the guy at the plate). A few batters later, their pitcher was up to bat and took what was a very obvious third strike which the umpire did not call. He eventually got a hit and they eventually went on to win the game, all with two outs. So we had a chance to win, but didn't get it done. It definitely bodes well for us though to play so well against teams a level above us.
Friday night came and we had an unusual tournament, yes tournament. There were only four teams in the tournament because it was a C level tournament, whereas we play D. We were the only D team of the four and there aren't many C teams actually in Illinois. The higher up you go in competition, the fewer the teams, as you might expect. But we won our first game anyway, and pretty decidedly, and were leading in our last game by four runs in the bottom of the last inning. The first guy up for them lined one up the middle and our shortstop dove and had it tip off his glove. Just missed. A few batters later, they hit a routine fly ball to center where our outfielder camped under it and promptly dropped it. Ugh. They scored a run and then we finally got a few outs (one on a dropped fly ball by our right fielder who then threw home and got the guy at the plate). A few batters later, their pitcher was up to bat and took what was a very obvious third strike which the umpire did not call. He eventually got a hit and they eventually went on to win the game, all with two outs. So we had a chance to win, but didn't get it done. It definitely bodes well for us though to play so well against teams a level above us.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Had some issues signing into my blog tonight and now it's getting late so I'm sure this will be short. Tomorrow morning I actually have to go into a client's office to work with a new accountant they hired. We'll see how it's going to work out as the guy is a college student home for the summer and they'll want him to do the work remotely when he goes back to school. Could be tough.
Anyway, it was a busy day with physical therapy again and arranging carpet cleaners to come in and clean up the pipe leak as well as organize with MLM about next steps in the master bath. I think I'll take a picture this weekend to document the process. It's going pretty well and hopefully will be done in two weeks. Next week the tiling starts in earnest. This week, not as much got done because of Memorial Day and calls from other clients of his that distracted him.
It actually feels like my left triceps is getting stronger! That's the good news. The question is will it be good enough to avoid surgery? I find out next Tuesday, as well as what rehab would be like if I did have to have surgery.
Went golfing on Wednesday night instead of Thursday with Bill the Bear and Nick Markakis. It's always fun to see them, but it's more fun when I shoot well. While I did ok for 8-9 holes, I struggled on the back nine. Not sure if I just got tired or if something else was going on (like neck irritation or something). Regardless, I wasn't able to execute some pretty basic shots and that was terribly annoying.
Softball tournament on Friday night! Single elimination though and only four teams.
Anyway, it was a busy day with physical therapy again and arranging carpet cleaners to come in and clean up the pipe leak as well as organize with MLM about next steps in the master bath. I think I'll take a picture this weekend to document the process. It's going pretty well and hopefully will be done in two weeks. Next week the tiling starts in earnest. This week, not as much got done because of Memorial Day and calls from other clients of his that distracted him.
It actually feels like my left triceps is getting stronger! That's the good news. The question is will it be good enough to avoid surgery? I find out next Tuesday, as well as what rehab would be like if I did have to have surgery.
Went golfing on Wednesday night instead of Thursday with Bill the Bear and Nick Markakis. It's always fun to see them, but it's more fun when I shoot well. While I did ok for 8-9 holes, I struggled on the back nine. Not sure if I just got tired or if something else was going on (like neck irritation or something). Regardless, I wasn't able to execute some pretty basic shots and that was terribly annoying.
Softball tournament on Friday night! Single elimination though and only four teams.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Pictorial post
With all the plumbing issues, I just did a phone picture dump (and added this first one) for my entry today.
Looks like this was a pretty good swing, though I'm concerned about the trajectory of the ball off the bat here. I didn't make many outs though, so it was probably a hit! Our team went 5-0 and nominated me for the all tournament team (one of four players on our team). Good stuff!
Just on a whim, I decided to take a picture of the brackets. We are team Next, waiting for the championship game.
After the three games on Saturday, we had a team bbq over at the house where three of the players and the manager live. This was the nice little fire that we actually needed because it got a little chilly after a pretty warm day.
They also have a swimming pool and this cute as hell pooch who loves to run around the edge and then jump onto the raft! Too freaking funny.
After the games on Sunday, we showered and headed to Terry and Sandie's annual Memorial Day party. It was awesome as always and I tried to get a picture of just SOME of the food, without even the desserts!!
I think these are the appetizers, but I'm not sure. There was soooo much food. We could only stay until 9 (that was after about 5 hours) because we were so tired from being outside for two days straight and Sunday was getting near 100 degrees. Yowza.
This picture I took just because it was such a simple, effective garden. Very pretty in it's simplicity I thought.
Here's our front yard garden. We're getting lots of people stopping by and smelling the multitude of roses.
Here's another picture of those roses and some purple flowers. Very pretty.
Finally, a progress report on the bathroom. Actually now the room is all insulated and backer board is up around the bathtub. What I like about this is that Manual Labor Mike secured all of the pipes so that don't rattle or anything crazy. The old pipes were just tossed in there. Those two shut-off valves are pretty useless, except for when initially working on the piping, but MLM likes to use them. Tiling starts this week! Hoping to have it done the week after next I think.
Looks like this was a pretty good swing, though I'm concerned about the trajectory of the ball off the bat here. I didn't make many outs though, so it was probably a hit! Our team went 5-0 and nominated me for the all tournament team (one of four players on our team). Good stuff!
Just on a whim, I decided to take a picture of the brackets. We are team Next, waiting for the championship game.
After the three games on Saturday, we had a team bbq over at the house where three of the players and the manager live. This was the nice little fire that we actually needed because it got a little chilly after a pretty warm day.
They also have a swimming pool and this cute as hell pooch who loves to run around the edge and then jump onto the raft! Too freaking funny.
After the games on Sunday, we showered and headed to Terry and Sandie's annual Memorial Day party. It was awesome as always and I tried to get a picture of just SOME of the food, without even the desserts!!
I think these are the appetizers, but I'm not sure. There was soooo much food. We could only stay until 9 (that was after about 5 hours) because we were so tired from being outside for two days straight and Sunday was getting near 100 degrees. Yowza.
This picture I took just because it was such a simple, effective garden. Very pretty in it's simplicity I thought.
Here's our front yard garden. We're getting lots of people stopping by and smelling the multitude of roses.
Here's another picture of those roses and some purple flowers. Very pretty.
Finally, a progress report on the bathroom. Actually now the room is all insulated and backer board is up around the bathtub. What I like about this is that Manual Labor Mike secured all of the pipes so that don't rattle or anything crazy. The old pipes were just tossed in there. Those two shut-off valves are pretty useless, except for when initially working on the piping, but MLM likes to use them. Tiling starts this week! Hoping to have it done the week after next I think.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Well that changes things.....
...so I had a fine blog post scheduled for tonight, but we had....sort of a plumbing issue. Actually it was exactly a plumbing issue. Each side of our building has three main "stacks" that are pipes that run from the top floor to the main pipe that runs to the sewer. Previously, not sure how long ago now...maybe 9 months or a year, we had a stack back up. So what happens when a stack backs up is that the water will follow the path of least resistance as it backs up under pressure. In theory, if all of the pipe openings are sealed on the first and second floors (tubs, toilets, sinks) the water would back up to the third floor and come out either a sink or toilet or tub. However, since OUR toilet and tub on the first floor are not sealed, waste water came into the master bath tub and toilet.
"But wait", you say, "you're renovating your master bath right?" Well aren't you a smart cookie! Yes I am, however I'm not replacing the tub, so it did indeed gather some "unpleasantness". The toilet however was completely removed and was stuffed with towels, which was not enough to keep the waste from overflowing straight to the ceiling in the basement back in LL's dressing area and closets. Fortunately it hit mainly the middle of the room except for LL's travel bag. We were literally 5' away from the area that got leaked on but in the other room when it happened (by my desk). LL said she heard something like rain and we are expecting storms so I said it could be the storm hitting. Then we opened the door to the back room and panic ensued. We caught it pretty quickly and were lucky to even be home!
There were several lucky things: 1) we were home 2) we were downstairs 3) the toilet in the master bath was not hooked up; if it was, the waste would have spread all through the master bedroom instead of falling straight through to the ground floor. So it sucks and it's dirty and it's going to cost the condo building some money to fix, but it all could have been worse.
Tomorrow, I'll get to the much happier post about the weekend and such.
"But wait", you say, "you're renovating your master bath right?" Well aren't you a smart cookie! Yes I am, however I'm not replacing the tub, so it did indeed gather some "unpleasantness". The toilet however was completely removed and was stuffed with towels, which was not enough to keep the waste from overflowing straight to the ceiling in the basement back in LL's dressing area and closets. Fortunately it hit mainly the middle of the room except for LL's travel bag. We were literally 5' away from the area that got leaked on but in the other room when it happened (by my desk). LL said she heard something like rain and we are expecting storms so I said it could be the storm hitting. Then we opened the door to the back room and panic ensued. We caught it pretty quickly and were lucky to even be home!
There were several lucky things: 1) we were home 2) we were downstairs 3) the toilet in the master bath was not hooked up; if it was, the waste would have spread all through the master bedroom instead of falling straight through to the ground floor. So it sucks and it's dirty and it's going to cost the condo building some money to fix, but it all could have been worse.
Tomorrow, I'll get to the much happier post about the weekend and such.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Missed some posts!
Wow, sorry about that future self. Just a busy couple of days that caused me to miss some posts. Wednesday we went to dinner with an Indian friend of LL's (probably the friend of hers I like the best) at our favorite Indian place, Hema's Kitchen. It's always good food there and with the Indian guidance on hand, we tried some new dishes. Afterwards we went back to her place (she's apartment sitting for a friend for a few weeks and has since returned to her home down by St. Louis) and she made us chai tea from scratch. Good stuff and nothing like Starbuck's chai.
Thursday was physical therapy day and golf day. As I found out around the sixth hole, those two things don't mix all that well. After executing shots and playing ok, I really fell off the table and lost all control of the ball. That was unfortunate. It's always fun with Bill the Bear and Nick Markakis though.
After golf, I told the story about a mother and daughter in Punta Cana who thought I resembled Paul Giamatti. What?? How is that not an insult? Mind you, I LIKE Giamatti, but I don't want to look like him. Then Bill pulls out that he thinks I closer resemble Ben Stein. What?!?!? What the hell? So now I hate Bill.
I'm at the bottom (with goatee) and on the lower right with JK Simmons next to me on the left. Now, I'm pretty sure I don't resemble Stein and I'm hoping I'm not as puffy as Giamatti!!
Thursday was physical therapy day and golf day. As I found out around the sixth hole, those two things don't mix all that well. After executing shots and playing ok, I really fell off the table and lost all control of the ball. That was unfortunate. It's always fun with Bill the Bear and Nick Markakis though.
After golf, I told the story about a mother and daughter in Punta Cana who thought I resembled Paul Giamatti. What?? How is that not an insult? Mind you, I LIKE Giamatti, but I don't want to look like him. Then Bill pulls out that he thinks I closer resemble Ben Stein. What?!?!? What the hell? So now I hate Bill.
I'm at the bottom (with goatee) and on the lower right with JK Simmons next to me on the left. Now, I'm pretty sure I don't resemble Stein and I'm hoping I'm not as puffy as Giamatti!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Surf and Turf??
So tonight I decided to make dinner since tomorrow we're going out for Indian food and Thursday I'm going golfing which means dinner on the golf course. Plus I really just had a hankering for burgers! Fortunately so did LL. While buying the hamburger though, I decided to take a shot and buy......smelt! Yep, smelt. So I'm not sure if it counts as surf and turf since it's a fresh water fish, but I think it does. I only bought a half pound of smelt because I wanted it to be an appetizer, but even that amount was more than we really needed. It's a good amount for 3-4 people for an appetizer though.
Cooking the smelt was pretty easy as I just followed this recipe. They were really just delicious with a little ketchup. In the future maybe I'll have some cocktail sauce that isn't from 1999 on hand. Yeah, it was another one of THOSE finds that irritates LL and with good reason. Sigh. Speaking of LL, she really liked the smelt and was complimentary of me and my ability to experiment, but really it's only because she's willing to try things like this that allow me to cook them. It's all good.
I also tried a new technique when cooking the hamburgers. As a veteran Wendy's grill man of two years+, I know how to cook burgers, but the grills they use are flat and not like your grill at home. Some of my skills and ideas about cooking them have been influenced by flat grilling, despite owning a normal grill for 15 years. So today I decided to research what the experts say and just do it that way. You know what? The burgers turned out pretty damn good. The two changes were: after forming the patty, make an indentation in the top of the patties. This indentation will keep the burger from bloating up and becoming a "meat ball" of sorts. The second thing was to only flip the burgers once and no pressing. Because of the indentation, the temptation to press was greatly reduced. I only flipped them once, after about 5 minutes, and then actually checked the internal temperature to make sure they were done. Good stuff. You're never too old to learn!
Cooking the smelt was pretty easy as I just followed this recipe. They were really just delicious with a little ketchup. In the future maybe I'll have some cocktail sauce that isn't from 1999 on hand. Yeah, it was another one of THOSE finds that irritates LL and with good reason. Sigh. Speaking of LL, she really liked the smelt and was complimentary of me and my ability to experiment, but really it's only because she's willing to try things like this that allow me to cook them. It's all good.
I also tried a new technique when cooking the hamburgers. As a veteran Wendy's grill man of two years+, I know how to cook burgers, but the grills they use are flat and not like your grill at home. Some of my skills and ideas about cooking them have been influenced by flat grilling, despite owning a normal grill for 15 years. So today I decided to research what the experts say and just do it that way. You know what? The burgers turned out pretty damn good. The two changes were: after forming the patty, make an indentation in the top of the patties. This indentation will keep the burger from bloating up and becoming a "meat ball" of sorts. The second thing was to only flip the burgers once and no pressing. Because of the indentation, the temptation to press was greatly reduced. I only flipped them once, after about 5 minutes, and then actually checked the internal temperature to make sure they were done. Good stuff. You're never too old to learn!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Productive Sunday
With the long day of softball on Saturday, Sunday had little chance of being productive. I didn't get to bed until 2 and the hour plus drive home didn't relax me enough to get to sleep before 3. Still, I was up before 9. So maybe I was just running on adrenaline still, but boy did I get a lot accomplished during the day.
It started off with cooking breakfast (an omelet for me and scrambled eggs for LL) and was followed up with:
-getting DirecTv synced up after one of the DVR's wasn't being recognized
-washed my filthy softball uniform
-paid my bills and condo bills (I'm the treasurer)
-bought new sunglasses
-bought new t-shirts
-rented a movie to watch later
-changed the filter on the Shop-Vac
-bagged up and took out the recycling
-did my therapy exercises
-put away a bunch of things that gathered by the pool table
-ironed two shirts
-took apart and fixed my car's remote starter
-made caramelized plantains for desert after LL made a great dinner.
Not a bad day!
It started off with cooking breakfast (an omelet for me and scrambled eggs for LL) and was followed up with:
-getting DirecTv synced up after one of the DVR's wasn't being recognized
-washed my filthy softball uniform
-paid my bills and condo bills (I'm the treasurer)
-bought new sunglasses
-bought new t-shirts
-rented a movie to watch later
-changed the filter on the Shop-Vac
-bagged up and took out the recycling
-did my therapy exercises
-put away a bunch of things that gathered by the pool table
-ironed two shirts
-took apart and fixed my car's remote starter
-made caramelized plantains for desert after LL made a great dinner.
Not a bad day!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Long Day of Softball
Had a really long Saturday playing softball. Our team was in Kankakee, which is about 90 minutes away and our first game was at 1:00....or at least it was SCHEDULED for 1:00. We had batting practice at 11:30 so I had to leave at 10. Everything was fine until we got to the fields and found out our field was delayed about 2 hours!! Crazy. I also noticed that while I thought our last game would be at either 4:30 or 5, it turns out that if we were to lose either of the first two games, we would play at 9 or 9:30. Yikes. What REALLY happened was that we didn't play until after 3, lost that game and then played on another field at about 4:45. We won that game and then had a break scheduled until 9:30, but we really didn't play until almost 11!! That last game ended at 12:00 or so, which means I didn't get home until 1:30 a.m. and not to bed until 2. Since we lost our last game, I didn't have to get up Sunday morning, but if we had won it, our next game was at 10 a.m. Ugh. That would have been tough to make.
So this tournament was an NSA tournament which has slightly different rules that favor the hitters and is the organization with which our team struggles. We do much better at USSSA, which we have coming up next weekend.
How did the herniated disc hold up? Pretty well. It doesn't impact my swing much, other than that without the injury, my swing would be better due to the strength I had built up during the off season. Still, my OBA was .777 (7-9). Interestingly, I came up with the bases loaded three times in the first game and was 2-3, but we still lost.
As you know, our team is the merger of two teams from last year. The season is still young, but players from my team last year are becoming a bit unhappy with the arguing and intensity with which some members of the other part of the team play/manage. To explain, we have generally played with intensity, but we try not to get too out of hand when the umps blow a call or the other team is doing something illegal. We'll certainly voice our opinion, but if it doesn't go our way, we drop it and move on. What can you do really? Well, apparently you can continue to harp on it for the rest of the game, goad the other team/umps and generally act like babies. We don't want to be known for whining and complaining. That's just not the way to play. The length of the day didn't help, but it's a trend that needs to be nipped, or we may be looking for another merging partner next year!
So this tournament was an NSA tournament which has slightly different rules that favor the hitters and is the organization with which our team struggles. We do much better at USSSA, which we have coming up next weekend.
How did the herniated disc hold up? Pretty well. It doesn't impact my swing much, other than that without the injury, my swing would be better due to the strength I had built up during the off season. Still, my OBA was .777 (7-9). Interestingly, I came up with the bases loaded three times in the first game and was 2-3, but we still lost.
As you know, our team is the merger of two teams from last year. The season is still young, but players from my team last year are becoming a bit unhappy with the arguing and intensity with which some members of the other part of the team play/manage. To explain, we have generally played with intensity, but we try not to get too out of hand when the umps blow a call or the other team is doing something illegal. We'll certainly voice our opinion, but if it doesn't go our way, we drop it and move on. What can you do really? Well, apparently you can continue to harp on it for the rest of the game, goad the other team/umps and generally act like babies. We don't want to be known for whining and complaining. That's just not the way to play. The length of the day didn't help, but it's a trend that needs to be nipped, or we may be looking for another merging partner next year!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Second opinions
Yesterday I went to Northwestern Medical Center for a second opinion from a cervical spine specialist. Unfortunately, he confirmed the original diagnosis of a herniated disc. More importantly, and unfortunately, he also confirmed that if there is not significant strengthening of my triceps muscle in relatively short order, I'll need to have surgery to repair the disc or there could be permanent damage to the affected areas of the nerve. Ugh. The surgery is relatively uncomplicated and I would go home that day, but the recovery process would eliminate golf and softball for the rest of the year. So, I'm going to re-double my PT efforts at home to work on getting better over the next few weeks. We'll see.
Ugh, that's all I can write about today.
Ugh, that's all I can write about today.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Bathroom pictures
Here's the "before demo" pic. This bathroom was last renovated in the '70's and it looks like it! Since no one other than LL and I, would see this room, we made it the last one to actually tackle.
Boy am I happy to see this tile go. As you can see, I had started tearing it up before remembering to take pictures!
And this is where the vanity was, just below the medicine cabinet.
This picture is of the wall next to the tub, which we are not replacing. It's fine, so why bother? As in the guest shower, we're putting in permanent shelves (really a niche) in the wall so you don't have to hang anything from the shower head. The shelves are 17" wide by 12" tall.
Here's the shower piping. It's going to be raised about a foot or two. I like having the shower head higher and it has worked well in the guest bathroom.
That's it for now. More pictures as progress is being made.
Monday, May 14, 2012
More Pics
What a busy last week it's been....although I guess a week ago we were in the Dominican still and I was golfing....so maybe it's only been a busy last five days.
What's going on? Well there's the bathroom renovation for one. Here's a picture of what we bought Sunday, it includes: a vanity, medicine cabinet, storage shelves, vanity top and three faucets (needed one for the kitchen too). Unfortunately the vanity was in one piece and didn't fit in the car, so Manual Labor Mike had to go pick it up in his Jeep on today.
Guess I could have just looked at this picture and realized it wasn't all going to fit into the car!
No matter how busy you are, you have to stop and smell the flowers...or at least take a picture of them. This one was in our front yard.
This is my dad and my mom's sister out to dinner last Thursday. My Mother's Day gift was picking up my aunt and uncle and driving them from downtown to Naperville, during rush hour....90 minutes. Ugh.
My very happy mom and my uncle. She really was happy that the whole family could get together before they left town.
How about some more Dominican pictures?? This pic was on the beach. Soooooo nice.
Our last day was spent with this view: under a cabana with a view of the pool. Ahhh, the blue sky.
Here's a great golf course shot. This is the round that I played well, hitting 12 of 14 fairways.
LL underneath the MOON light. Yep, that's the moon! It was that bright moon night last week.
This didn't turn out great, but it was cool glass pieces hanging from a tree in the Asian restaurant.
What's going on? Well there's the bathroom renovation for one. Here's a picture of what we bought Sunday, it includes: a vanity, medicine cabinet, storage shelves, vanity top and three faucets (needed one for the kitchen too). Unfortunately the vanity was in one piece and didn't fit in the car, so Manual Labor Mike had to go pick it up in his Jeep on today.
Guess I could have just looked at this picture and realized it wasn't all going to fit into the car!
No matter how busy you are, you have to stop and smell the flowers...or at least take a picture of them. This one was in our front yard.
This is my dad and my mom's sister out to dinner last Thursday. My Mother's Day gift was picking up my aunt and uncle and driving them from downtown to Naperville, during rush hour....90 minutes. Ugh.
My very happy mom and my uncle. She really was happy that the whole family could get together before they left town.
How about some more Dominican pictures?? This pic was on the beach. Soooooo nice.
Our last day was spent with this view: under a cabana with a view of the pool. Ahhh, the blue sky.
Here's a great golf course shot. This is the round that I played well, hitting 12 of 14 fairways.
LL underneath the MOON light. Yep, that's the moon! It was that bright moon night last week.This didn't turn out great, but it was cool glass pieces hanging from a tree in the Asian restaurant.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Finally!
Wow, sorry to my future self for not posting over the last few days. It really has been crazy busy since returning from the Dominican. There always seems to be something to do and yesterday I had a crazy long list of to-do's, all of which were accomplished and then some. I still have to run our snorkel stuff to the storage unit and iron my cabana wear (Seinfeld reference for those familiar).
With the bathroom renovation going on, there's always SOMETHING to do; it's just a matter of where it is in the priority list. I'll upload some pictures of the demolished room so there's a before reference point. We're down to the studs for the most part and the tile is up off the floor. Today we're going to try and find a good vanity/shelving/mirror combo. Normally I'd have this picked out before I start demo, but this time we have to use standard sized pieces and don't have much leeway in that regard, so it shouldn't be tough to find something we like, plus we have a color scheme to go off of from the guest bathroom that isn't far away.
So my herniated disc is still a problem. It's been 10 weeks since the injury, so I should be significantly better and while I feel like I am better, I'm not back 100%. My left arm is still weak, though I am just starting to be able to do push-ups again. Still, it feels sometimes like some muscles in my arm and chest are going out of place and overlapping other muscles when I make certain motions. That can't be good right? Well, it is what is and I imagine some of the muscles have atrophied while muscles next to them have not and the size difference causes issues. Normally you'd grow or shrink at relatively the same pace. However the muscles controlled by this particular nerve have been relatively inactive for almost 3 months as they haven't been engaged very much (except for my PT sessions). I'll know I'm getting better when that is no longer the case.
With the bathroom renovation going on, there's always SOMETHING to do; it's just a matter of where it is in the priority list. I'll upload some pictures of the demolished room so there's a before reference point. We're down to the studs for the most part and the tile is up off the floor. Today we're going to try and find a good vanity/shelving/mirror combo. Normally I'd have this picked out before I start demo, but this time we have to use standard sized pieces and don't have much leeway in that regard, so it shouldn't be tough to find something we like, plus we have a color scheme to go off of from the guest bathroom that isn't far away.
So my herniated disc is still a problem. It's been 10 weeks since the injury, so I should be significantly better and while I feel like I am better, I'm not back 100%. My left arm is still weak, though I am just starting to be able to do push-ups again. Still, it feels sometimes like some muscles in my arm and chest are going out of place and overlapping other muscles when I make certain motions. That can't be good right? Well, it is what is and I imagine some of the muscles have atrophied while muscles next to them have not and the size difference causes issues. Normally you'd grow or shrink at relatively the same pace. However the muscles controlled by this particular nerve have been relatively inactive for almost 3 months as they haven't been engaged very much (except for my PT sessions). I'll know I'm getting better when that is no longer the case.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Technology vacation
Our last day in Punta Cana has arrived. It's sad, but going home is always great too, if you have a great home life! This trip, more than anything, showed we can travel and still have a fair amount of internet connection and electronic fun. It's sounds a bit weird I guess, but really, we enjoy the heck out of our life at home, so traveling can be fun, but still needs to alllow for some of the basics in our electronic life to keep us happy.
For instance, with our iPhones, we can use FaceTime to call friends and not only talk to them, but show them our surroundings. With Sling Box, we can watch our TV at home, even down on the beach like we did last night. How cool is that? With our iPads, we can also use FaceTime, more easily check emails and write blogs as well as play games for entertainment. It's a great time to be alive and not afraid of technology (or looking stupid trying to use it!).
I tell ya, being able to stay connected electronically like this is going to make traveling in the future even more palatable to me.
A final comment on the Dreams chain down here: they have it right. They know what they are doing. They are constantly lookng for feedback and by they I mean almost all of the employees. If you tell them something is bothering you or didn't go right, they fix it or make note of it to fix it asap. We told a host at breakfast that our dinner the night before wasn't great because our server was gumpy, and he made a note of the time and the restaurant and booked us at the place of our choice for that night right there. I messed up the combo to our safe and couldn't open it and the security guy was waiting for me outside our room less than5 minutes later. He beat me back to the room from 200 yards away!! Almost all of the staff is very friendly and happy, and it makes a difference! So if you're going to the Caribbean, you have my recommendation that your Dreams Resort stay will be as good as any other place in that locale.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Hola!
Hello again from the Dominican! The mornings here have been awesome (posted a few pics on Facebook but harder to get them to the blog), while the afternoons have brought clouds and rain (except for today). It's probably for the best in some sort of responsible way, as it gets us out of the sun during what would be the most devastating time of day. As it is, we mostly stay in the palm tree provided partial shade with the sea breeze blowing on us while we either read or play word games on our phones (Word W.E.L.D. is our current addiction). It's tough to start drinking booze in the morning, but somehow we manage.
They have shows and things in the evenings here and even a casino, but the first few nights we've opted for retiring to the room early and watching our TV. Not THE television. OUR television. Our television at home! That's right, through the wonders of modern internet connections, we're able to watch either live or recorded shows from our TV at home. It's outstanding. It would be better if we were somewhere with a slightly more robust internet connection, but it still is pretty amazing. The channels they get down here are pretty lame...ok, not lame, but in Spanish, so a rainy afternoon or being tired and going to the room would be not great for us normally. But on Tuesday before we left, I headed to the store and bought a Sling Box. You hook it up to your DVR and the internet and BAM! You can access your own TV, your own recorded shows, from anywhere. Awesome! A little remote control pops up on your screen just like you have at home (the exact model!) and you control the DVR with a very slight delay (due to the internet here I'm sure). It's pretty freaking awesome. We'll hook it up now anytime we travel. Even if we travel separately, we'll be able to watch the same show at the same time and use FaceTime at the same time and it will be like we're watching together. Good stuff!
We paid up (a little in retrospect) for the "preferred" guest package. If you ever come to Mexico or the Caribbean and are faced with this decision, do it!! Twice now we've done it and couldn't imagine how we wouldn't. Here the membership gives you free wifi anywhere, which is like $25 a day without the membership. That alone more than covers the initial outlay. Plus we have our own pool, computers to use and bartender. Not to mention we get to have breakfast and lunch away from the commoners. Excellent!!
Hey, I'm able to copy and paste images! Yay!
They have shows and things in the evenings here and even a casino, but the first few nights we've opted for retiring to the room early and watching our TV. Not THE television. OUR television. Our television at home! That's right, through the wonders of modern internet connections, we're able to watch either live or recorded shows from our TV at home. It's outstanding. It would be better if we were somewhere with a slightly more robust internet connection, but it still is pretty amazing. The channels they get down here are pretty lame...ok, not lame, but in Spanish, so a rainy afternoon or being tired and going to the room would be not great for us normally. But on Tuesday before we left, I headed to the store and bought a Sling Box. You hook it up to your DVR and the internet and BAM! You can access your own TV, your own recorded shows, from anywhere. Awesome! A little remote control pops up on your screen just like you have at home (the exact model!) and you control the DVR with a very slight delay (due to the internet here I'm sure). It's pretty freaking awesome. We'll hook it up now anytime we travel. Even if we travel separately, we'll be able to watch the same show at the same time and use FaceTime at the same time and it will be like we're watching together. Good stuff!
We paid up (a little in retrospect) for the "preferred" guest package. If you ever come to Mexico or the Caribbean and are faced with this decision, do it!! Twice now we've done it and couldn't imagine how we wouldn't. Here the membership gives you free wifi anywhere, which is like $25 a day without the membership. That alone more than covers the initial outlay. Plus we have our own pool, computers to use and bartender. Not to mention we get to have breakfast and lunch away from the commoners. Excellent!!
Hey, I'm able to copy and paste images! Yay!
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Quick post from the Dominican
LL is getting ready for dinner, so this is my blog time! Our trip down was fine and while the weather isn't awesome, it's pretty good. We spent some time outside and waded in the ocean and the pool. After my first glass of welcome champaign, I had a "sammy sosa" which had 3 kinds of booze and hopefully no steroids. That was followed with coffee and baileys. Nice start.
ok, the power JUST went off! Not good. It's back on now, but that could have caused problems. LL is ready to go, so I'm off. Much technology to talk about, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
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