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It has been a pretty awesome past few weeks, folks. Last weekend we headed to Madison for our first visit to Camp Randall this season against San Diego State. Dan and Ryan were in town for the game so there was debauchery aplenty. State Street Brats, Wando’s, and the Stadium Bar lighted our path to the game. I did not make it into the game until halftime, which was a little disappointing, but the glass was half full is the way I will look at it. Yesterday we had a really fun “tailgate” for the Michigan game at Gabe’s by the Park in St. Paul. We rented out about half of the bar and had around 200 people show up. Alumnus of the Badger Band played all of our favorites throughout the game and Erasmus James even made an appearance. As for the football game, well, let us just try to forget about that. The Badgers were actually leading through a good part of the first half and the game was tied at 10 by halftime. The Badgers defense, while prolific, just could not keep up through the second half. They just wore us down. We had poor field position through the second half and the defense was time after time put into tough spots. If the Badgers could have scored first in the second half the momentum may have swung in our favor. I think this team still has a good shot at going 10-2. We played well enough against Michigan, in the first half at least, to beat Penn State and Iowa. Boy do I want a national championship for this program. I was curious as to how many NCAA championships we have as a school and it turns out it is 23. Not the highest by any means, but nothing to scoff at either. This Saturday we are at Indiana and I think I will attend the Michigan at Minnesota game later in the day. Oh, and the Packers picked up their first win of the season against the Lions. This time of the year is all about football for me.

8/19

Irish Fest (the largest Irish festival in the world) was August 19th so we made the trip home in order to attend. It was a lot of fun and I am glad I made it back to the Milwaukee lakefront at least once this summer. I really wanted Cindy to see what one of the ethnic festivals is like since she has only been to Summerfest. I took some pictures, which have been posted.

8/26

On the Wednesday the 23rd we headed to the cabin. The weather was not on our side, however, as we had severe storms the first two nights. We even lost power for twelve hours. The rain and clouds never really went away until Sunday afternoon when we had to head back to the Twin Cities. Laura T, Laura B, and Gina met us there over the weekend so at least we were in good company even though the weather was bad. We brought Bucky to the cabin with us and he really seemed to enjoy himself.

9/2

The first Badger game of the season! We headed over to Gabe’s by the Park to watch the Badgers take on Bowling Green. They won 35-14, which is not too much of a shock considering the opponent. I liked watching the game there and will definitely go back for other non-televised games. On Sunday I felt like doing some hiking so we went to Afton State Park. We have been having bad luck with weather lately because just as soon as we parked the car it started to pour. We sat in the car for a half hour before driving home.

9/9

Cindy’s friend Alysha was married on Saturday in Milwaukee so we had to miss the first home Badger game of the season. The wedding was at 1pm, but the reception was not until 5:30 so we met Garrett downtown to watch the game at Hooligan’s where I had one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. The Badgers beat Western Illinois 34-10, also not much of a surprise there as Western is a 1AA school. Seriously, could the Badgers have a more pathetic non-conference schedule? Anyway, the wedding reception was a lot of fun and I was able to socialize with some friends that I have not seen for a long time. The Packers started off their season with a 26-0 loss to Chicago at home. The Pack looked weak in just about every way. Let’s hope this young team can pull it together.

After a lot of work I finally have all of my old blog entries posted. Now you can check out what I was rambling about back in 2000. I need to tweak some of the formatting, but all of the content is there.

I posted some new pictures tonight. Have a good week people. Irish Fest is this weekend!

I am getting so excited for college football to start! The Badgers definitely have some holes to fill going into this season, but for me anything less than 10-2 will be a disappointment. I think people need to start expecting more out of this program if we are going to move up to the next level, which means being in the hunt for a national championship. It is great if we beat Michigan or Ohio State during a season, but it should not be something special. We should expect to beat those teams. Wisconsin football has cranked out more draft picks, 31, over the past six years than any other program. We have been to three Rose Bowls in the past fifteen years along with a lot of other bowls. Oh, and we did have a Heisman winning running back in 1999 who also happens to hold the NCAA record for career rushing. It is time to start expecting more from the Badgers if we are going to contend for BCS bowl games and a national championship.

This season is marred by question and uncertainty. A new head coach. Nearly all of the starting offense of last season missing. A largely untested and unknown running back named PJ Hill. Oh, and do not forget that John Stocco just had knee surgery this past week. Yes, this season does have the potential to turn ugly, but there is always a silver, I mean red, lining to be found. The first break the Badgers catch is with their schedule. No Ohio State and Penn is at home. We play at Michigan and Iowa, but the rest of the schedule should be cake. As I previously mentioned, there is no reason this team cannot go 10-2 if they stay healthy. Our defense is very solid, especially on the line. They will have to force more turnovers since our high-powered offense of last year is largely absent. Hopefully Coach Bielema will be able to do good things with the defense and since it is solid it should allow him to focus more on the offense. I hear good things about PJ Hill, but I have yet to see him play. Durability could be an issue as he broke his leg last year and had some neck problems during spring ball. Randle El has the potential to be a big playmaker and I do not mean to turn the pressure on, but he will have to be. The kicking game will be solid with DeBauche and Mehlhaff returning and let’s hope Randle El can light it up on kick returns.

I am really excited for next season since the Badgers have Josh Oglesby committed to the program. He is one of the top recruits from his class, a massive OT from the Milwaukee area. One of the top running backs from that class is also from Wisconsin. Racine’s John Clay has can run the 40 in 4.45 and weighs in at 220 pounds. Time in a college weight room would undoubtedly help him add on some muscle weight. Clay has a lot of schools interested in him, however, such as Ohio State and Tennessee. He could really excel with a running-focused program like Wisconsin especially with Oglesby on the offensive line. Wisconsin needs to retain instate talent like Clay and to let him slip away would be unbearable. After Stocco leaves this year we will be left without a quarterback that has started a college football game. Allan Evridge of Kansas State recently announced his intention to transfer to either Wisconsin or TCU. He saw a lot of playing time last year as a freshman, starting six games and throwing nearly 1,400 yards for six touchdowns. He would have to sit out this season, but could be ready to fill Stocco’s shoes for next year.

I have season tickets in the student section this season, which I am incredibly excited about as I did not get to be in the student section at all last year. I will probably have to miss two home games because of weddings, but I hope to make up for it by going to the Iowa game. Only twenty more days until kickoff! GO BADGERS!

6/12 – 6/17

John had a cookout at his new condo on the 15th. A bunch of us showed up so it was good times, although it was a Thursday night so everyone but me had to work the next day, which made it an earlier night than I would have liked. Jenny brought one of her friends with who was a news anchor in Duluth and just transferred to a station in West Virginia. He was a cool guy and it turns out that he interned with John Croman who I see around the Minnesota Capitol all of the time during session.

6/18 – 6/24

On Thursday the 22nd we headed down to the cabin. Cindy’s cousins from California were already at their cabin, which is next to the one that Cindy’s grandma owns. I wish there was more to say, but all we did is relax, which is all we ever do at the cabin. On Saturday we headed to Madison for the night with Cindy’s cousins in tow. They had never been to Madison before so we thought they needed to see what a good time is really like. I got to hang out on the terrace and eat at the Nitty and Ian’s so it was a perfect night for me. Right now they have a bunch of life-size painted cows all over the downtown to celebrate Wisconsin’s dairy heritage. When I say all over I am not exaggerating; they are as ubiquitous as street lamps. On Sunday morning we headed to Batavia, a far west Chicago suburb for Cindy’s family reunion. It was a pretty good time, but I didn’t really know that many people there. That night I stayed in Union Grove and on Monday we were back on the road. When we stopped in Madison on Monday I picked up some awesome stuff on sale at the bookstore. I bought a Jim Leonhard jersey for $18, red/white overalls for $12, and a Wisconsin Official Tailgater shirt for a couple of bucks. I also grabbed a sweet Mifflin Street Block Party 06 t-shirt from Ian’s for $10. It was a very good weekend, indeed.

6/25 – 7/1

On Tuesday it was our five-year anniversary. Cindy was just officially placed in a department, going from a Business Analyst in Training to a full-fledged Business Analyst. Her new department is Trim the Tree, which I think is very cool. Who does not like Christmas? Anyway, the people in her old department scheduled a dinner for her at Buca on Tuesday night so we did not get a chance to have a real date.

On Friday the Brewers were in town so I went to the game at the Metrodome to watch them get annihilated by the Twins. It was my first time watching baseball up here and probably my last. I suppose I could see myself paying to watch the Brewers again, but the Metrodome just is not a very fun place to watch baseball.

On Saturday we went on our belated anniversary date. We went to Biaggi’s for dinner and saw Superman afterwards. Cindy really liked and I thought it was just ok. I did not like the way the ending went back and forth back and forth and I also did not like the fact that Superman now has an out of wedlock child with Lois Lane. Not that I am really opposed to people having kids out of wedlock. I just do not think it fits with Superman’s wholesome and virtuous image.

7/2 – 7/8

On Sunday we finally went to the humane society to adopt a kitten. I say finally because I have wanted a cat since I moved here. His name is Bucky and I have a video of him posted; pictures will be up soon.

On Monday night we went out to the bars, mostly on First Ave. We sat outside in Champp’s alleyway and although it was really crowded it was nice to be outside. We stopped at the Lodge on our way back even though all of the girls hate that place. It may have been my idea, I do not remember. A very exciting description of the night’s activities, I know.

On the 4th we walked to the river to watch a mildly disappointing fireworks show. I was really tired and did not even want to go in the first place, but I was coerced into attending. What can I say; fireworks just do not excite me as much as they do for some people.

Friday night we hit up the Basilica Block Party, which was another big disappointment. Admission was $25, a beer was $5, and something as simple as onion rings was also $5. At least Guster and The Fray were there because they are pretty good bands, right? WRONG. There was a stupid sound booth about one hundred feet from the stage, dead center, blocking everything in sight.

Saturday night was a marked improvement as we found ourselves at the Corner Bar watching stand up. Four comedians performed, each one doing a half hour set. I was sitting five feet from the stage so I was able to get some good interaction in with the comics. Afterwards we stopped back at One Ten Grant and then made our way to Brit’s. I was feeling the need to diversify my drinking that night so I ordered a white Russian, a tequila sunrise, and a mojito.

It must be getting warm outside because it has been nearly a month since my last post. The pool is open here and I have been spending the majority of my weekends engaged in littoral activities of the chlorinated variety (with a mojito never far from reach). Something special about this summer is the fact that I have Fridays off. I have to work ten-hour days Monday through Thursday, but I think it is worth it. The Minnesota Senate has been kind enough to keep me around as an Assistant Network Specialist, which basically just means that I work on computer stuff. I am really excited about the position as it combines two things that I really enjoy a lot and relieves me of incessant job-hunting. Otherwise I am just looking forward to the Fourth of July, the cabin, and studying for the LSAT and GRE. Actually, I would not say I am looking forward to the latter, but it is something that needs to get done. I am going to need to take some new pictures soon; it has been a while since I had some new ones to post.

The Mifflin Street Block Party began many years ago as a means of protesting the Vietnam War. (A more substantial synopsis can be found on the Badger Herald’s website). Nowadays the party is more closely related to having fun one last time before finals begin than to anything of a political nature. I suppose it is a shame that the reason for its existence is most likely lost on many students, but it is still a lot of fun nonetheless. Three of our Michigan alumni friends made the trip to Madison with us to see what the #1 Party School is all about. Yes, that is an official title that has been bestowed upon the UW by the Princeton Review and Playboy. (Wisconsin is also one of the top public universities in the nation). Upon arriving at our Best Western across the street from the Capitol we were presented with an unpleasant surprise. Our double queen room turned out to be some type of meeting room with nothing but a Murphy bed. They claimed they could not switch our room that night so we had a cot brought up to our room; Cindy and I took the Murphy bed, Betsy slept on the tiny couch, Carol took the cot, and Ben slept on the floor. After talking to the manager the next morning we were able to get our room switched. On Saturday we spent some time at the farmers’ market around the Capitol before heading over to my brother’s place on Mifflin Street. The day started off ok, but by early afternoon it started to pour and did not stop so that kind of ruined a lot of the day. The awesome Madhatters concert at the Overture Center, Ian’s, and the Nitty Gritty made up for the weather, however.

The past two weekends have been somewhat uneventful compared to the two before them. For Cinco de Mayo Lauren and Nick had a fun party at their apartment. This past weekend my dad was up here to move Rob home for the summer and I finally got around to setting up his campaign website. Other than that I did a little shopping and not much else because the weather was terrible.

As many of you may know, my job with the Minnesota Legislature is temporary and will end when session is finished. I have been interviewing for jobs so hopefully I will have some good news to post soon.

I have finally broken my “no supplements” rule by taking whey protein before and after my workouts. I have not seen any significant gains in size or strength for a long time and I decided supplementing with protein would be closer to bending my rule rather than breaking it. I am also trying to lose some body fat right now so it might be hard to tell what effect the whey protein is having, if any.

Cindy and I decided to stay up here for Easter; I had Good Friday off and she did not. It actually turned out to be a really good Easter. We had seven of our friends come over and everyone brought a dish to pass. We even did an Easter egg hunt in the lobby of our building. It was also Lilly’s birthday that weekend so we went to Uptown on Saturday night and it was a lot of fun. They have free popcorn at Williams bar and at some point in the night Carol and I decided to have a popcorn fight. The same day Ben and I went to a liquor store called Blue Max in Burnsville. They have an awesome selection of hard to find import beers, such as my favorite, Wexford Irish Cream Ale. All in all a very good weekend.

This past weekend we found ourselves heading for Madison to attend the UW Spring Band Concert. We made it into town a little bit early so we met up with a bunch of our friends at FAC (Friday After Class – $2 pitchers – Madhatters bar). Johnny K and Roal were also in town so it was the same group of people that usually went to FAC when all of us were still in school. Needless to say it was nice to see people and pretend that I was still in college. The band concert was as awesome as it is every year. If anyone ever wants to borrow one of my DVDs of the show let me know. On Saturday we headed to Miller Park to watch the Brewers decimate the Reds 11-0. The Crew hit five homeruns in one inning. It was the first time a team had hit that many homeruns in one inning in 40 years. Miller Park has a really cool addition this year in the right field. A large part of the wall is glass and contains a bar behind it so it provides for a really interesting view of the outfield and the game. I guess part of the warning track even comes inside of the glass. I definitely want to get tickets for it sometime. Garrett and Mark met Cindy, my brother, and myself for the game, which was cool because I had not seen either of them for a while. After the game I was able to spend some time downtown at the Milwaukee Ale House.

The Bucks made the playoffs and I just watched them drop their second game to the Pistons. At least I have the Mifflin Street Block Party to look forward to this weekend! I think it might be the best one yet…

I’m trying to fix some things with Gallery so it might be down for a while.

I decided last weekend to turn down my job offer in Madison in order to stay here with Cindy. It was a really tough decision because I really want to go back to Madison. Speaking of which, I’ll be there the last two weekends in April for the band concert and Mifflin. I also just ordered my student section football tickets. Some people think I’m crazy because I want to move back there so badly, but there is a reason Money Magazine has ranked it the best place to live in America. IT RULES!

This entry is named “Gunshots” for a reason. On Friday night I happened to be at the Imperial Room on 1st Ave crammed around a table near the window. Out of nowhere we saw police running down the sidewalk with their guns drawn. If you missed the news someone was randomly shot and killed near Block E. Apparently the shooter had been involved in some type of altercation and started shooting randomly into a crowd of people.

I haven’t been up to much lately so I haven’t had any new pictures to post. I’m still working on getting my videos incorporated into the Gallery. I’m also toying with the idea of setting up a south downtown/Loring Park webcam. That’s all for now….it’s almost bedtime.