Easter Weekend

Easter weekend has been rather un-Easter-ish for my wife and I this year. We didn't go to church, we didn't have the family dinner, we didn't hunt Easter eggs, and so on and so forth. Yesterday I had to go in to work for a planning session for the upcoming fiscal year. I know, who really schedules a Saturday meeting on Easter weekend. My boss does. The good news was that it was only a few hours long, and the 'significant others' were invited to lunch at a great local spot afterwards. We made the most of it with the daily special of Rainbow Trout.

So the weekend update goes as follows...

Friday being the day it was, the first round of the NCAA tournament, and me being the Vols fan that I am, turned into a half day of 'work from home.' I did actually do a little bit of work, but a couple of hours there were fully devoted to the Tennessee Vols beating American. Good job Vols. Later that afternoon we headed over to the beer drinking spot and guzzled a few suds. Then we came home, grilled hamburgers for a couple of friends who came over, and watched more basketball. I fell asleep about 10 minutes into the game.

Saturday morning as I mentioned earlier was a work day. Then we dined for lunch. It was a pretty awkward lunch overall. There's always a little bit of that any time you the spouses lunch with all the people you work with every day. They're the ones we all come home and tell horror stories to about the same people. I always amuse myself by wondering what is really going through their heads. On the way back from lunch I get a call from another work friend (not part of the meeting) who was requesting I play golf with him and yet another work friend. By the time I was able to get there they were at the turn, and I was able to get in the back nine. What a great end to a work day. Saturday night I joined in on a neighbor's poker game and lost twenty bucks. Hell, it's less money than I'd have spent going out to eat. The wife went to a movie with girlfriends.

On to today - yet another Vols win. We're now bound for the sweet 16 and we will be playing a great Louisville team. This morning I woke up, watched the end of a movie on HBO, and decided to not have a completely lazy day. I recently purchased some peg board to hang in the garage. That was a week ago. Now it is on the wall and tons of tools are hanging on it. It gives our garage such a more organized look. Of course this afternoon was consumed by Vols basketball, then Memphis basketball (unfortunately they won), and now I'm posting. I think I'll have pasta for dinner (because that is what wife is making) and watch the new series on HBO, John Adams.

Til next time..

St. Patty Has Left the Building

You know how for a few years there St. Patty's day really kicked ass? It was the holiday of the year that you could have an excuse to celebrate - nothing. At least for most of us anyway that was the case. It was sort of fun to wear green, drink beer, and have a day to just be a holiday for no reason.

What's with all the past tense you ask? After last night I realized that's all gone away. I went to a local "Irish" bar and was absolutely bummed. First, I was charged 10 bucks to get in this bar. The band was a flute with a few other instruments playing Irish music. They took more breaks than they did songs. Then, where the ATM used to be so suckers like me could get cash out to pay the stupid cover, were four bolts sticking out of the floor. After that, I was forced to go to the over-crowded bar, and wait 20 minutes to pay 5 dollars for a dixie cup of Guinness. Arrrgh. As I was waiting I looked around at all the jackasses in the place wearing green hats, green leis, green shoes, wifebeaters, watches, jewelry, sunglasses, green everything. After the 20 minute wait for my Guiness in a dixie cup, I went back to the table where our group was sitting. My wife still hadn't even gotten her beers from our server by the time I got back from the search for 10 dollars in cash from the bar. When the server did come by about five minutes later she brought her the wrong beer. Then she went back and got the right beer, but she brought two of them out at once - and no that was not to make up for the long wait and incorrect order.

Long story short, after all that crap, the server put two beers we don't even drink on our tab, then argued there was no way she could have made a mistake. After a smart-ass comment about one of the girls at our table only leaving her a dollar tip, I asked to speak to the manager. In the end everything was resolved, but I was left with a negative impression of a holiday I used to love.

I heard a friend say St. Patty's day has become amateur night for beer drinking. I think I'm beginning to agree. It seems it's become amateur night for service too.