Brad's Birthday Weekend 09

This past weekend we celebrated the birth of my best friend, Brad Webster.  His birthday is auspicious in that it is the first day of spring as well as being the day after my dad's birthday.  So, friday night finally rolls around and we head over to Phil's apt. to do what Brad wants to do . . . get wasted playing a board game.  But not just any board game, a game that he has been toting around for years.  Its called Pass-out and he is psyched.  We head over to Phil's bearing a cake that Addy has made for Brad and our favorite appetizer, jalepeno poppers.  The cake is incredible and hilarious, because it is decorated as a Four Loko can.  For those of you not in the know (unhipsters), Four Loko is a malt liquor energy drink that tastes like Hawaiian Punch.  It is 11% ABV and is Brad's new drink of choice.  This was probably the secondary theme of the night, as when we showed up, we found a case, literally, of Four Loko in Phil's fridge procured by the host and Brent, new friend and Palio employee.  

Shortly after we arrived, I got a call from Andrew letting me know that he and Tyler were at the train station.  I went and retrieved them quickly, so we could get this party started.  When we got back to Phil's, we started the game.  It is basically a monopoly board, but instead of properties on every square, there are directions on who needed to take a drink (ie. green team, blue team, all drink).  The squares where you draw cards were of 2 types, just like in Monopoly.  Either say a tongue twister correctly the first time (the object of the game was to do this correctly and collect 10 of these cards) or some kind of choice card (ie. everybody smoke, get out of bar free, take 7 drinks and go straight to the bar).  It was a fun game and we had great teams.  The teams and game changed a little throughout the night as some other friends came by and took the place of other friends (Faith, Red, Donald and Krista).  I was the first to follow the literal direction of the game and passed the f out on phil's rug in the other room.  Apparently, gameplay continued for a while and much fun ensued.  There aren't many pictures, but the ones I have are not PG, so you'll just have to imagine.

Sunday we met up for breakfast at the Cricket, one of my favorite breakfast spots in Portland.  The wait for a table of 5 sucked, but we stayed and I felt bad for the ones that were hung-over.  The food made it worth it, though.  May I recommend the Saint's Hash, a bowl of diced potatoes, cajun seasoned, with 3 eggs, peppers, onions, and hollandaise sauce over the top.  The flavors all combine delightfully to create a somewhat creamy, spicy taste.  The portion is perfect and the flavors keep me coming back.  After breakfast, Andrew, Tyler, Addy and I went back to our house to get cleaned up and just hang out for a little bit.  Once we were all feeling a little restless, we headed to Powell's.  We all found something and then decided we wanted to spend a little more time out and about and enjoy the sun.  We ended up on NW 23rd, people watching, shopping, and enjoying the weather.  We grabbed lunch at Laurelwood.  I really like their beer and the food is good.  Plus it is really nice, but laid back.  Once we got a taste of good beer, we wanted another, so we went to the Horse Brass to play some darts, while having great beer.  They always have some of the best and most varied taps in town.  We stayed there getting beat by Tyler at darts for a while, just talking and having a good time.  It got late and we got hungry, so we ended the evening at Dots.  Their food is awesome if you are looking for some greasy, gut filling, mouthwatering grub.  Especially if you enjoy said food in a hipster diner with low lights and a staff of hipsters who are convinced they are the coolest kids in town.  

It was a great weekend and it had been way too long since we had seen andrew and tyler.  We all made plans to see each other again soon.  Hopefully we actually follow through.  

Portland Shamrock Run 2009

This past weekend (March 14th, 15th), Addy's parents came up to Portland to visit.  The is the first time her parents have seen the house.  It was nice to have them up, I always enjoy hanging out with them.  The occasion was the Shamrock run on the waterfront on Sunday.  Addy, me, her dad, her aunt and uncle were all registered to run.  

Saturday I had to work, but Addy and her folks got to go thrifting together at a few goodwills before I was off.  Addy made out (she always does) with a couple pair of jeans and hand-bags.  When I got home, we sat around for a while and talked until we got hungry and decided it was time to get some food.  Last time we were in Grant's Pass, they took us out to a new pizza joint called Circle J.  They had some great pizza and good beer on tap.  So we decided to return the favor and get them some good pizza and, of course, some portland microbrew.  So, we went to HUB (Hopworks Urban Brewery).  If you haven't had the Cascade Mountain Range, it is AMAZING!  

Sunday Morning!  Time to race.  The weather was absolutely crummy.  40 degrees, overcast, and raining.  Man, it was cold!  We got there almost 2 hours before the race started.  It was dark and cold and I parked too far away.  The volunteers were still setting up the tents when we got there.  We went to pick up our t-shirts and of course, they were already out of small T-shirts for Addy.  The cool thing is we all got free tees from last year, because they had a bunch left.  After we got our race bibs, we went to find a warm, dry place to spend the next hour.  Unfortunately, Addy and I still don't know downtown that well.  So, the only place we could find was a Starbucks.  Also unfortunately, it was tiny and also full of people already.  So, we ended up standing outside in a doorway for most of the time.  This did nothing to help our warm-up for the race.  Addy's dad and aunt and uncle were all running the 5K so they started 30 minutes before us.  It was so windy out that the finish line actually blew down before the start of their race.  Addy's mom was awesome and stood at the finish line, holding our stuff.  She was a sport for standing in the rain the whole time.  Thank you, Kim!  

Soon it was time for Addy and I to line up.  There were SO MANY people!  The announcer said that there were a total of 20,000 people running in the different races!  The line went as far as I could see in both directions.  The horn blew and we were off!  Our first 15K race.  The first 2 miles or so were through downtown and it was pretty cool to run through downtown with so many people and the streets blocked off for us.  We ran south past PSU and up the hill toward OSHU.  This was the beginning of the 2.5 mile climb up Terwilliger.  Addy's uncle had run the 15K before in past years and said that the view was great on the run.  I believe that if the weather was nice, it would have been gorgeous.  But it was terrible out, so I was really just focused on getting through it.  As we climbed, the rain actually turned into freezing rain because of the altitude change.  That's right, we ran through freezing rain and up a f-ing hill for 9 miles, for fun.  Anyway, the top of the climb was at the half way mark and I had to stop the portalet.  Five minutes later and five pounds lighter, I felt much better and started on the decline.  I knew I had to make up some time because of my pit stop, so I tried to lengthen my stride and focus on passing people while keeping my pace steady.  The view of the Willamette while running down Barbur with 8,000 other runners was pretty cool and made up for the crappy weather a little bit.  According to the Garmin, I run the last couple of miles at a pace closer to 6 min/mile instead of the 7:30 min/mile I was aiming for.  I was glad to finish and found a place to wait for Addy, so I could see her finish.  I didn't have to wait long and saw her finish strong and ran over to give her a kiss.  

As we were making our way back to where Addy's family was waiting, we ran into our friends and teammates for Hood to Coast, Faith and Krista (Donald was with them for encouragement). They had run the 8K and finished with good times.  We introduced them to Addy's dad since he is running Hood to Coast with us as well.  It was awesome to see them and get part of the team to meet before we all run together in August.   

After the run, we went to get a big breakfast at Macadam's in John's Landing.  We had a good time talking with the Vials and hanging out.  We played Tripoley the rest of the day back at our place and bbq'd a big dinner.  Mark and I kept checking the time till we could check our times on the race website.  Finally, halfway through Amazing Race (best show, ever), they finally posted the times.  Mark and Addy did great, but I was not able to make up the time I lost in the portopotty on the second half of the race.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to post good numbers at the Pear Blossom in a month.  

All in all, it was great to have Addy's parents up and I'm glad we ran, even in the terrible weather.  

Daytrip to Bloomington w/Mom and Dad

On Monday, we got up and drove Zane to the airport, since he had to get back for his wine exam (tough life, huh?).  Then we kept heading south and took a little trip to the town of my alma mater, Indiana University.  I really only have one family of friends (the Shackey's) that still live in Bloomington, but I love them, so I try to make it down whenever I visit my parents.  First place we stopped was Oliver winery.  I was really pleased to see how well they are doing and how they have evolved.  When I used to go there during college, they had only about a dozen wines and specialized in semi-sweet, "picnic" wines.  Now they have many more varietals and even some reserve wines.  The quality of all of their wines have increased and I enjoyed this tasting more than any of the other times I've visited.  From there, we headed into town and met Eric for lunch at Upland Brewery's brewpub near the square.  Similarly to Oliver, their beer has evolved since I lived in B-town.   I remember their Wheat being good, but it is GREAT now.  And all the beers I tried were good, as was the food.  

After lunch, I gave a driving tour of the campus and some off-campus things that we part of my life when I lived there: apartments, parks, restaurants, etc.  We got out and walked around a little, too.  I wanted to show Addy the building where I spent the vast majority of my undergrad career, the Chemistry building.  It didn't have the effect on her that I somehow expected, but she reminded me that I am a big nerd and she didn't even have to take any chemistry courses in college.  We snapped a couple of photos, enjoyed the weather and then headed out to Amy and Eric's house to meet up with them.

It was great to be able to see them and hang out for a while.  It is great to see such good, nice people prospering and having such a good life.  I'm sure they are plagued with their own day to day struggles, but they are both healthy and have a beautiful boy that they are proud of and raising to be a good person.  We got pizza from my 2, that's right 2, favorite pizza places from college.  For those of you in the know, Pizza Express breadsticks are still amazing and they are still using Que Bueno.   But I have to say that Aver's is actually making better pizza's now.  The Cream and Crimson was WAY better than the supreme we got from Express.  But it was all good and exactly what I wanted to eat when I was visiting.  And of course, Amy had to make brownies for me.  If you haven't guessed already, I gained 10 lbs on this vacation, even with the 10K!

Vacation home to Brett's parents' house in Indiana 03/09

Torkelson graciously drove me, Addy, and Zane to my parents house.  Along the way, Addy got to experience the true boredom that comes with being in Indiana (IN) for more than a day.  It was the worst time of the year to be "sight"-seeing, since there is no snow and no green.  It is a flat, brown wasteland.  As you can tell, I miss it.  The only thing I miss from IN is my friends and family.  If you haven't noticed yet, almost all the pics from this trip are of people, there are almost none of the countryside or buildings.  Those of you from IN know why, and for those of you not from there, if you ever drive thru (I don't say visit, because there is no reason to) you'll understand.  

After hugs, the weather was so great, we wanted to be outside, so we all took a walk around my old grade school campus (which is in my parents' backyard).  The constant thing in life is change, right?  Well that was bore out in that walk.  The campus looks completely different than from when I went there, and I realized that I don't know anyone currently enrolled there.  Just to top things off, I saw one of my swimming teammates and was grateful that I had the support to move away.  After the walk, we went out to get a beer at Kokomo's microbrewpub, Half-moon.  Then went to see my grandma in her new apartment.  I hope I get to live in a place like that when I get older.  She's got a cafe, bar, soda shop, home theater, spa, gym, pretty much all you need in one building.  Plus a pool of friends that you get to see everyday.  I hope she really likes it.  In her apartment she has a plaque that has a message from my grandpa to those he left behind.  It made me weep.  I've still got some feelings of guilt about not being at the funeral or having seen him for a while before he died, but more than that, the words just reminded me of how selfless and refreshingly honest he was.  I hope that I live my life in a way that would make him proud.  

For dinner, Dad treated us with "Dad's Famous Ribs and Chicken" of course with mashed potatoes.  This is one of my favorite meals at home and I think he just keeps perfecting the recipe.  After dinner, we gave Mom and Dad their birthday gifts, which included a Wii Fit.  That occupied us for the rest of the evening.  

The next day we got to have my mom's famous egg casserole that is my favorite breakfast at home.  Zane and her had prepared it the night before and it was great! (as always)   In the afternoon a bunch of my extend family came over to visit and it was so great to see everyone.  This is without a doubt the thing that I miss the most, since I haven't lived in Indiana.  I have a big family on my mom's side and I grew up spending a lot of time hanging out with them.  Either in a big get-together setting like this or just spending the night with my cousins.  I'm so lucky to have such a great, supportive family and hardly get to see them.  The upshot is that is that the time I do get to see them carries that much more weight for its being rare.  I love and miss you all.

10K with Torkelson(s) and lunch with "the boys"

Saturday morning Addy and I got up early and went for a run.  Nothing to blog about, right?  But then I say that we were on vacation in Indiana and it was a 10K (6.2 miles) that people ran to train for the 500 mini-marathon and there were 1,778 running with us and it gets a little more interesting, right?  So, now your probably asking, "why?".  Well this was the best opportunity we had to run with our friend Torkelson.  He is a good friend of mine from high school and one of our teammates for the Hood to Coast relay this fall and we don't get to run together often, since he lives in Wisconsin (just north of Chicago).  Torkelson just started running this past fall, but has taken to it like a duck to water.  We have always been competitive and this is a great outlet for our long-distance shit-talk.  We are constantly pushing each other to run faster and further.  Torkelson's youngest brother, Tim, also came up to run from Bloomington.  

The weather could not have been much more perfect: cool, little windy, and sunny.  The course did a figure 8 around the canal and by IUPUI campus.  Pretty flat, too (duh, it was in Indiana).  Addy and I started at the back of the pack and passed people the whole race.  All of us had great personal times.

Brett           time 46:56  avg mile 7:33  overall finish 193rd  division finish 35th

Addy          time 54:45  avg mile 8:48  overall finish 565th  division finish 40th

Torkelson  time 1:01:08  avg mile 9:50  overall finish 950th  division finish 110th

Tim            time 1:11:29  avg mile 11:30  overall finish 1343  division finish 31st

The race was fun and it was great to see Tim.  After we cooled-off and took some pics, Tim left to head back south and Torkelson, Addy, and I headed north to pick up my brother, Zane, on the way to my parents' house.  We met up with Zane and his friends ("the boys") for brunch at Lincoln Square.  I've seen these guys grow up since they've been friends since grade school and then lived together in college.  They crack me up constantly and are way too entertaining.  This time it was Mike, Colin, and Garret.  Suffice it to say that the company was better than the food and I'm so glad that I got to see them on this trip.

Visiting Anderson in INdy 03/09

I think I saw almost everyone that looks at this blog while I was on vacation, but not everyone, so here are some pics and notes.  I'm going to break it up in sections, so its easier for me.  

Addy and I flew Frontier, which I like, and arrived in Indianapolis (INdy to me) on Friday afternoon.  Josh Anderson, my good friend from high school, was there shortly to pick us up.  He took us downtown to Massachussetts Avenue, which is a cool part of downtown that is undergoing rejuvenation.  There are a bunch of boutique shops and cool restaurants and bars.  We grabbed a quick bite at a creole spot called Yats.  They serve a few types of creole "stew" that they serve over rice.  We each got something different and shared because they were all great!  Very simple really, but the flavors were great and the price was right.  We walked down to The Best Chocolate in Town shop after that to satisfy our sweet teeth.  It is not just a clever name, either.  Josh had an Irish cream truffle, I had a cayenne pepper truffle, and Addy got a caramel.  We then spent a little time in the local music shop, where I picked up the new Ray LaMontange.  By that time we needed to pick up little Iris from daycare.  Man, she is cute and was the center of attention as soon as we picked her up.  We went to Josh's house to hang out for a little and get Iris home.  He has a cool 1920's bungalow in an established neighborhood with a park nearby on the east side of INdy.  

Later that night Josh took Addy and I out to Brugge, a new microbrewery/brewpub, in Broad Ripple.  They are all about Belgian style.  Only 3 beers to choose from: White, Black, and the Ripple Trippel (which was amazing).  Their specialty was frites (fries), which came with up to 12 different dipping sauces.  The blue cheese, syrup and mustard, and garlic aoli were all great.  Josh and I shared a pot of steamed mussels and finished it off with a delicious dessert crepe.  Over dinner we talked about all the cool stuff Josh is doing at work and with his group of super-creative Midwestern urbanists.  His group's newest project is installing sculpture bike racks on the new cultural walkway through downtown.  Josh always gets me all jazzed about making YOUR neighborhood a better place and getting involved.  He's an action-oriented hipster!  They do exist!  It was a great end to a great day hanging out with a good friend that I don't get to see enough.

The next morning Addy and I had our run that will be in a different post, but some of the other Anderson family came down to take care of Iris for the day and it was a pleasure to get to see them.  Just wanted to throw in a pic of all of them, cause I liked the luckful happenstance.