A trip to Cedar Rapids!

I went to a Cedar Rapids Kernels game last night with Jeff, a newer friend of mine. I met him through H and Bill. They actually met each other (H and B) through Jeff. Jeff met his (now) ex-wife through H. I think Haley got the better end of the deal so far, out of that group. Overall, I got the better end, because I met them all. (Aww Chris, you're such a sweetheart, you're too nice, blah blah blah. I know. I'm awesome.)

Anyways, Jeff and I hit up CiCi's Pizza, a buffet that was cheap and pretty good. They had a macaroni and cheese pizza!! I had to get a slice. It tasted like macaroni and cheese on top of a slice of pizza (there wasn't tomato sauce, I think it was an alfredo-esque sauce). Kind of different, but worth trying. The desserts were the best thing on the buffet: cinnamon rolls, dessert pizza (always a favorite of mine), and brownies. Yum!

After stuffed myself silly, we headed to the game. There was some sort of mix-up with the tickets that Jeff had purchased ahead of time, so we had to stand at the Will-Call desk for a few minutes while the people working tried to figure it out. For those of you not in the Midwest, it's been warm here (mid- to upper-90's), with a ridiculous humidity (80-plus percent). While we were waiting, we were standing directly in the sun at the same time as being sheltered from the breeze. Nothing like sweating profusely while standing still. Eventually it all got sorted out, we found our seats, and thankfully they were in the shade. Still sheltered from the breeze, but out of the blazing sun.

The game went well, the Peoria Chiefs were in town, managed by former Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg. To us, it seemed like the Kernels should have been getting pounded, the Chiefs were hitting pretty well and getting walked, but a few good plays defensively kept Cedar Rapids in the game. The final score ended up being 4-1 with the Chiefs winning, but it didn't feel that close. It was a fun game, the Kernels' 2nd baseman made a few really nice plays, including throwing a runner out at the plate with a perfectly-thrown ball. It was beautiful. The rest of the team, however, wasn't really making great plays. There was one inning in which two runs were scored without a hit, on a walk and a couple of errors. Single-A baseball, you gotta love it! There was a pretty solid fireworks display after the game, so that was pretty awesome.

Jeff and I had a good time, it was a bonding experience, sharing stories and whatnot. Earlier in the day we had talked about maybe hitting the town and stopping at a bar or two, but we were both too worn out from the day to do too much. I had been up since about 5:45 and worked most of the day, so I really wasn't feeling it. I know, I know, that's weak, I should've drank like a champion. I just didn't have it in me. Besides, I had to save myself for tonight, it's a friend's birthday. Nothing says summer like drinking on a Sunday night!

It's a celebration bitches!

Happy 4th of July, my fellow Americans! I hope everyone's weather is as beautiful in their cities as it is here. I just finished up grilling some sweet corn and a few Johnsonville brats (hot and spicy ones, if you're a fan of food you should try them), and have the whole afternoon ahead of me. I'm really looking forward to the fireworks tonight. I don't know why, but I love me some fireworks. I'm like a little kid when it comes to these sort of things. Last year, I was in Washington DC for the 4th, and, as you may imagine, they put on a pretty decent show. Watching the fireworks from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as they are being shot off over the Washington Monument is almost overwhelming. Especially with an estimated 500,000 people watching in the Mall. It's quite the scene, if you ever have the chance to go, do it!

(this is footage from last year's fireworks in DC. Not taken by me, this guy's a little closer than we were, but it was still impressive)

Apologies to my Canadian readers for not wishing them a joyous Canada Day, I hope all went well!

Speaking of Canadians, congratulations to Jad for surpassing 10,000 hits! I know I've supplied my fair share of those ticks on the counter, but that is a rather impressive stat! Keep it up man, and everyone keep his counter rolling!

And also a hearty congrats to Joey Chestnut, winner of this year's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition. Chestnut ate an astounding 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. 66! He takes the crown from Takeru Kobayashi, who had won the past 6 years' competitions. Mad props Joey, mad props.

Well, that's it for me! I hope everyone has a fun and safe celebration, we don't need any missing fingers or eyes put out or parts of thumbs cut off, and we don't want anyone to try to tackle 67 hot dogs in 12 minutes. That would not end well.

Happy 4th everybody!

4th of June?

Why does the 4th of July have to fall on a Wednesday this year? Doesn't it know that having a holiday in the middle of the week just makes it that much harder to make plans with people who have "real jobs"?

You see, almost every year for the past 6 or 7 years or so, some of my friends from my days at Iowa State get together for a few days of having fun. Last year it didn't happen, because I went to DC during that week. (And let me tell you, if you ever have the chance, to go the fireworks in DC. Marin and I watched them being shot off over the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Pretty incredible scene.) We also play home run derby every year, and last time we played the Trivial Pursuit game that I referred to in the last paragraph here. (It was also when Heinricy came up with the line "We're sleeping in teams!" about our sleeping arrangements. Good times!) This year I'm going to have to figure out when we're getting together, either the weekend before or the weekend after. The weekend before has the Iowa City Jazz Festival. Both weekends have home games by the Swing of the Quad Cities. I guess we'll have to see which works out better for everyone. H has already said that she and Bill won't be able to make it the weekend before, so that may necessitate a move to the weekend after the 4th. It all depends on Jimbo and Charczuk. We'll have to start planning this now, though, since people will be traveling from all around. Hopefully it'll all come together and we'll have a good time. I'm optimistic.