Nothing like getting drunk with Pops

Like I had mentioned before, I went to Wal-Mart a little before midnight on Monday to get the new Madden game for the Wii. I went probably 15 minutes early, and showed up with a line of 8 people already waiting. So I joined them, and made some idle chit-chat with the other members of the line as it grew. When 12 rolled around (it was actually more like 12:03 or 12:04), the employees started handing out the games. I asked for one for the Wii. The guy said "huh?" And I repeated that I wanted the Wii version of Madden '08. He looked around, then said, "uhh, we don't have it."

I replied, "what? Why not?"

"I don't know. It's supposed to be here right now, but we can't find it."

"Well when do you expect to get it?"

"I don't know. . . Either today or tomorrow."

And with that I walked off. I did pick up a copy of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (after waiting about 20 minutes for someone to find the keys to open the case) and a movie for my mom. I'm hoping that those will be my last purchases ever at a Wal-Mart. I try to avoid them as much as possible, but living in Muscatine for the time being doesn't give me much options. For a town of around 23,000 people could have something else. Guess not. Anyways, I'll go someplace next time I'm in Iowa City or Cedar Rapids and get Madden eventually. But I'm having an awesome time with Zelda.

***

Last night was spent at a going away party for a girl that I used to work with here in town, who was currently a pharmacy tech at Hy-Vee with my dad. (the Hy-Vee I worked at in Muscatine, not to be confused with the Hy-Vee I worked at in Iowa City.) My dad was all excited since the place where the party was held had $3 pitchers of beer until 6, so we had to hurry down, and made it just in time. He ordered two, handed one to me, and took one for himself. Now, a pitcher of beer is no problem for me, but it's probably more beer than I've seen my dad drink, ever. He's not a huge drinker, as far as I know. He'll have the occasional glass of wine, sometimes a cocktail, and a wine cooler every now and then, but I don't know if I've ever seen a can of beer in his fridge. So I finish mine up, and he's a little less than 1/3 of the way through his. So, like any good son would do, I helped him out. I was feeling a little buzz, and I'm pretty sure my dad was too. What a lightweight. It was a good time, I met a guy that's going golfing with a few guys that I used to work and occasionally hang out with here in town, so I may join them. Then I was looking forward to making a drunk post here, but by the time I got home (my dad put off leaving for a little while, I'm pretty sure so he could sober up. But we were having a good time, so why leave?), I was basically sober, but tired. And I needed to play Zelda. So sorry about that. Maybe next time.

Hopefully today it won't rain so I can move my stuff up to my bro's place for storing. If I do go, I'll try to take some pictures of my brother's place, or maybe some more of "Chico", or maybe an updated "Brothers Flenker" photo. Until then, I need to go save Hyrule. (And yes, there will be a post in the future about how much the Legend of Zelda video game franchise means to me.)

Flenker has some new shoes!

I am now the proud owner of a new pair of shoes, the adidas Viper Cushion. I feel that these shoes are the right ones for me, and will make me run much faster for the Bix 7, coming up in 2 weeks. I should probably start training. Now that I have the shoes in which I will be running, I can start breaking them in while training. I even bought a couple of pairs of socks that are supposed to provide air flow for the foot, while wicking away sweat. Neato!

My trip to Arkansas was a success, my grandpa got moved up to the Quad-Cities! Although his stuff will remain in Mountain Home, AR, for the time being. There was a little snag in the plan for getting a moving van, but really, it worked out for the best, we didn't have to worry about moving everything, which allowed for a quicker trip. His stuff is being delivered sometime next week, in the meantime he's staying in a furnished apartment at Lighthouse in Silvis. It's a super nice place, with a bunch of really nice people. He seemed to like it from the start, hopefully that'll continue.

This past week and the future months will be a busy time for the Flenkers on the move. My brother just had his offer accepted for a house in Cedar Rapids, so he will be moving in August to his new home. Very exciting for him, he'll be graduating in a few weeks, then moving and starting his full-time job. Then, I found out tonight that my dad and step-mom may be getting a condo in Davenport, IA, the town in which I was born and the city my dad lived in for most of his life. So that's pretty awesome, it sounds like an amazing place, hopefully it'll all work out for them, getting their current house sold and whatnot. Then of course, I'll be making the move to Austin in September.

Much to my relief, I was able to watch almost all of the All-Star Game on Tuesday night! We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and made it to the room in the 4th inning. Which means I was able to see Ichiro's historic inside-the-park home run (the first homer of the sort in an All-Star game), saw the NL's attempt to come back, and best of all, saw Eric Byrnes' dog swim out to sea. For those of you who missed it, have no fear, it is all captured on youtube! At least two of the three things mentioned are in this video, so check it out. It's seriously worth it, just for the dog.


Watching this happen live was hilarious, even my mom was cracking up. Just ignore the commentating (especially the stuff about 300), Joe Buck and Tim McCarver shouldn't be allowed near microphones.

Also, I'm starting to think Tony LaRussa shouldn't be allowed near a baseball field anymore, the Cardinals are sinking and he threw away his chance at winning this game. Why would he not pinch-hit Poo-Holes in the bottom of the ninth? And that's just the most obvious mistake (I think) he made. Maybe he realized that the outcome of the game (home-field advantage for the Wold Series) won't have anything at all to do with him, since the Cardinals won't be anywhere near the post season.

One last thing, it has been decided that the Flenker Bros Going Away/Graduation party will be taking place in Iowa City on July 21. Anyone and everyone is invited, and more than welcome to come to the festivities. I'm pretty excited for it, now I just need to get the night off for work. . .

Just a tease

This is just going to be a quick update, I feel like I've been rushing around all day, not doing anything important... It started with the Flenker Bowl, the game in our NCAA Football video game dynasty where the Brothers Flenker face off. I lost by 6 points. Upsetting, to say the least. Then I took a walk, to cool down and just to enjoy the day. After that, I headed home and fired up the grill for some grilled onions (in butter, with salt and pepper) and cheddarwurst. Delicious! And while all of that was going on, I had people calling me, emailing me, and texting me. Mr. Popular! I don't know how it always happens, but I never will just receive one phone call in any given time. It's either none or 5.

Anyways, I wanted to take the few moments I have before I have to start getting ready for work to give people hints about what's to come in the near future of The Politics of Lonely.

Soon (maybe tonight after work): The Rules for Marrying Flenker (this may or may not involve a hoe-down) and my next contribution to As the Coffee Brews (I've been slacking pretty badly there. Sorry H.)
The next few days: the breakdown of some music, including my current favorite song, mix CD's, the introduction of "Vital Flenker" tunes, and more! Also, the next couple of installments in the Unified Theory of Flenker should be coming soon (including observations on couples and why I "fall in love" all the time), my new and improved reading list, and I confess my love for the Boob Lady
On the mind, in the future: more Unified Theory, more music, more sports plans (going to Milwaukee and KC), more awesome. Believe me, I will bring the awesome hard. Watch out

Will the real Flenker please stand up

So I guess this was a little easier than I thought. My little brother, the other Flenker pictured, is indeed Possible Flenker E.

Flenker For Sure

(Lucy was the first response, so maybe she'll get a little treat sent her way...) The other guys are all friends of mine. Possible Flenker A is Jeff, a friend I met through Bill and H; B is Curt, a one-time roommate now living in Thailand with his wife and kid; C is Stover, we were once in a ska band together, he played trombone, and also holds a few records in the state of Iowa for a high school quarterback; D is my roommate Daniel; E is Das Trivas; F is my brother's roommate Jake.

So what I want to know is this: how could you people, people who have never met any Flenker (that I know of), so easily pick out my brother, just based on a few pictures? I'm impressed, I must say. (And H, don't say that we look exactly alike. I'm calling you out on that one right now!)

Here's one last photo. It's one that I posted before, but it's the only picture I can find right now that has both of the Brothers Flenker. I think any other photos were just too hot for the camera to handle.




New people that we meet or people that don't know us that well always seem to think he is the older brother. I don't get it. Maybe it's my boyish good looks. I don't know.

Undercover Brother?

Minty gave me this idea earlier in the week, and since I've mentioned the Brothers Flenker a couple of times, I might as well put a face to the name. Now I did put a picture of my bro a little while ago, so please, no cheating and looking that up again. But, which one of these fine young men is my brother?!? First person to guess correctly will get mad props. Maybe I'll figure out some sort of prize, but chances are I won't... You'll just have to accept my appreciation on this one. Also, if you know me in "real life," you cannot guess. Where's the fun in that?

First up, is Possible Flenker A












A dark an mysterious picture, indeed, but would a Flenker give such a menacing look?

Possible Flenker B is next












He's got the baseball cap going, but would a Flenker be able to pull off a shirt like that?

Possible Flenker C












Flenkers have been all over. Has a Flenker (besides me) been to the top of the Empire State Building?

Possible Flenker D












Quite the charming fellow, with a nice wink. Both Flenker qualities. But are we related??

Possible Flenker E












The beautiful man hair is flowing with this gent, but is it beautiful Flenker man hair?

Possible Flenker F












Dashing good looks always accompany a Flenker. But would a Flenker drink something like this?


So there you go. Spot the Real Flenker! I will post tomorrow with the answers. . .

It's anything but trivial to me

Generally, I'm a nice, laid-back, easy-going guy, I really am. Once the board comes out, and the pie pieces are lined up, however, the gloves come off, and I am a cold-blooded killer. I of course am referring to the wondrous game that is Trivial Pursuit. I will yell, I will throw things, I will make people cry. I will show no mercy. If my brother and I team up, we are a nearly unstoppable force, spewing knowledge left and right, occasionally pulling an educated guess out of our collective ass, and usually nailing it. Who's listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most claps? Vanna White. On what two NBA teams did Kareem Abdul Jabbar play? Milwaukee Bucks and the LA Lakers. (oddly enough a movie question, not sports & games.) Who wrote Last of the Mohicans? Come on, anyone from Iowa should know this, especially any Hawkeye. James Fenimore Cooper. (our state nickname "The Hawkeye State" is from this book.) What rodeo even used to be called "Bull Dogging"? Steer wrestling. These are all actual questions from tonight's game, all correctly answered by the Brothers Flenker. We rule.

One thing that always seems to happen, no matter how hard I try to stop it, is a team giving hints to another team. Or people answering when it's not their turn. I cannot stand this. I don't know if there's one thing in this world that gets me as riled up as these actions. Seriously. Like tonight, there were a couple of people in the room that weren't really playing, but when they would hear a question they knew, they would either blurt out the answer or give clues to the correct answer. Oh, and people talking over the one asking the questions. I've never dropped the f-bomb so often, directed at a person. (that's not true. I swear quite often, but I've been good on here so far, I'd like to keep it that way for at least a little while longer. But I do have my moments or whole days when I say the "f word" as a noun. Or adjective. Or adverb. Or a period. I kind of like those days.)

Really, it all depends on who is playing. I've had many a game that was all good and fun. But I've also had games where I thought I was going to flip out and just totally scissor-kick someone right in the head.

The most frustrating, but also one of the funniest games I've been involved in happened a few years ago on the 4th of July. Some friends (Bill, Jim, Jody, Charczuk, and Heinricy) were all down in Muscatine for the holiday, cause that's what we did. We had all just gotten out of the hot tub and had a few Coronas, and decided we could get a game of the Pursuit in before bed. Bill and Heinricy ended up on a team together, much to Bill's chagrin. If there's one thing people should know about Adam is that he can fall asleep at any moment if he's laying down, there have been a few instances of him falling asleep in the middle of a conversation. And of course Adam is laying down during the game, only to be nudged whenever it was their turn. Then someone would read the question, Adam would come up with some answer with logic that was anything but logical to the question, and get it correct. The prime example of this involved a question asking for an American Indian tribe, I can't remember what it was exactly. Anyways, Heinricy wakes up, is told the question, and says, "well I had a 'Navajo taco' for lunch today, so let's go with Navajo." And it was correct. Bill and Adam ended up winning the game. I was displeased at the time. I think it's hilarious now.