So has December gone by, 2005 gone by and its been over a month since my last post?! Wow that was a quick month. Well it was a fun filled, party filled month! I definitely had my share of food and drink the past few weeks.
Much like the last month we spent New Years Eve rocking out with Guitar Hero, getting full on food, and drinking a few too many alcoholic drinks. We went out for a nice dinner at Montarro's in Algonquin on Randall Rd. It was a really nice restaurant and had great food, even if it is located in a strip mall. After getting filled up on Fish we drove to my Bro's house and made some after dinner drinks and started rocking!
This was the first time we actually showed someone else the game, and needless to say, another one is hooked. He doesn't even have a PS2, yet he was willing to go out and by one, JUST FOR THIS GAME. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Guitar Hero is pretty much sold out at all the local electronics and/or video game stores in the west suburbs. He would have to order it online to get it, and every day that he doesn't get it, I'm afraid he's forgetting how much fun it can be.
Turned on the TV at ten to midnight to see what was going on downtown Chicago. Flipped back and forth between what looked like the Aragon and House of Blues beside ending up on HOB to watch the countdown and fireworks at Navy Pier. After a toast of some champagne and wonderful New Years Kisses to Mrs. Waj, it was back to more games. After a highly spirited and heated game of Taboo, we went back to the video games. This time we tried Mario Party 7, which my bro had bought me for Christmas. It came with a microphone, and we had no idea what it was going to be used for. After the first round, it became apparent that this was going to be a 3 player game, as Mrs. Waj had informed us she HATED this game and would not be playing. I was defeated, and after the game, it was back to more Guitar Hero. Mrs. Waj woke up to join us at around 4:00AM until we were just too tired to play around 5:30.
Sunday was a joke, woke up to watch the last 45 minutes of Zoolander on TBS, then drove home. Tried to watch a pathetic Bears game, where the defense sat out pretty much after the 1st quarter. Not much else went on this day, which I would expect most of the other New Years Eve party goers went through as well.
Looks like I might have to backdate some future posts to describe December, especially an amazing show at the Metro - the Academy Is...
Waj
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Keep on Rockin in a Free World
So thanks to my earlier post about Guitar Hero, I received it for my birthday, which was yesterday (Thanks AmyMom!). That's right, so after a wonderful steak at Al Capone's Hideaway spent a few hours with Mrs Waj rocking out with my sweet new guitar. It even came with stickers to create your own punk rock weapon. No thanks, I've got plenty of stickers saved up to make mine way cooler and different than anyone else's. Don't worry their will be pictures... Let me just say that I hope this controller is sturdy enough, because I am totally going to destroy this game. It is so much fun, and I haven't even started. I'm really going to miss sleeping 7 hours a night.
Waj
On a side note, I just realized that I went to Al Capone's for my birthday dinner and dressed up as a gangster the same year...
[Edit] - picture updated for all to see with stickers.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Destination Success
Wow over a week back from vacation and no Spain Trip post. Man I probably forgot most everything about the trip, and I didn't take any notes. Unfortunately this post will not be about our European Vacation, but the more recent trip to the city of Chicago to see the Smoking Popes last Friday night.
The show was sold out, 36 minutes according to the Smoking Popes website. Since the show didn't start until 11:00, we decided to eat before the show at the Wrigleyville Goose Island Restaurant a few blocks from the Metro. I absolutely love Goose Island Honker's Ale along with most of the beers that they make. The restaurant also has beer choices that aren't available in the liquor dept of the local Jewel Osco, so I had to try the Red they had, I can't remember the name, but it was delicious. The fish and chips were OK, not as exciting as I thought they would be, but they also weren't too pricey, average for a Bar and Grill. I really wanted another Red, but didn't want to fill up and get tired for the show. We decided to head to the Full Shilling, next door to the Metro. It used to be called Fuel and was more of a Rock/Punk Bar until they recently redecorated to be more attune to the sports fans which pile in during the baseball season before, during and after Cubs games at nearby Wrigley Field.
A few PBRs later, it was time to head to the show. We didn't want to get there early as we had never heard of Bella Lea. Wow was the line long. I couldn't see the end of it, and the Tribune reported it being around the block - and its a long block. Luckily we had our tickets mailed to us - and a high school friend of Mrs Waj was pretty close to the front of the line. I noticed that two lines were forming near the doors, one for Will Call and the other for people that already had tickets. Most people (not sure why) decided to get Will Call tickets, even though the show went on sale a few months ahead of time so there was plenty of time to get your tickets. After finally catching up on recent events, I tried to persuade my group that we could go to the front, since we had tickets in hand (it was pretty windy and cold). They didn't want to lose our place in line, and a few minutes later a Metro rep yells out that people with tickets could come to the front. Finally we could get it.
We walk in and try to go to the balcony for some good seats, but somehow the seats were reserved, and the standing room wouldn't allow us to see the stage, so we headed back downstairs. We decided to take our normal spot stage left, although a little closer than normal, since it a heavy crowd (even with half the people still not in the theater yet). By the time we made it to our spot, Bella Lea was finishing up their set. Barely 20 minutes, great! I thought, the Popes will have plenty of time for a good set. Unfortunately they didn't start until 40 minutes later, to let more of the crowd in I believe.
Finally the lights go out, and the show begins. An amazing set, spanning all three original full length albums. Of course there was the obligatory tall/annoying/distracting people that always seem to be in front of you, which took away from the show. Also from the side angle we couldn't really see the drummer and barely see the 2nd guitarist Eli, even though he was right in front of use (damn tall people and beams!). The sound wasn't as full as it could have been, since we were pretty much right in front of the stage left speakers. Overall it was really great to see them again, and I hope they follow through with their announcement to play more shows!
And for Dave... the ride home was pretty nice as well...
Waj
[edit] so I decided to publish this a few weeks after I started, which is why I kind of ended it so quickly.
The show was sold out, 36 minutes according to the Smoking Popes website. Since the show didn't start until 11:00, we decided to eat before the show at the Wrigleyville Goose Island Restaurant a few blocks from the Metro. I absolutely love Goose Island Honker's Ale along with most of the beers that they make. The restaurant also has beer choices that aren't available in the liquor dept of the local Jewel Osco, so I had to try the Red they had, I can't remember the name, but it was delicious. The fish and chips were OK, not as exciting as I thought they would be, but they also weren't too pricey, average for a Bar and Grill. I really wanted another Red, but didn't want to fill up and get tired for the show. We decided to head to the Full Shilling, next door to the Metro. It used to be called Fuel and was more of a Rock/Punk Bar until they recently redecorated to be more attune to the sports fans which pile in during the baseball season before, during and after Cubs games at nearby Wrigley Field.
A few PBRs later, it was time to head to the show. We didn't want to get there early as we had never heard of Bella Lea. Wow was the line long. I couldn't see the end of it, and the Tribune reported it being around the block - and its a long block. Luckily we had our tickets mailed to us - and a high school friend of Mrs Waj was pretty close to the front of the line. I noticed that two lines were forming near the doors, one for Will Call and the other for people that already had tickets. Most people (not sure why) decided to get Will Call tickets, even though the show went on sale a few months ahead of time so there was plenty of time to get your tickets. After finally catching up on recent events, I tried to persuade my group that we could go to the front, since we had tickets in hand (it was pretty windy and cold). They didn't want to lose our place in line, and a few minutes later a Metro rep yells out that people with tickets could come to the front. Finally we could get it.
We walk in and try to go to the balcony for some good seats, but somehow the seats were reserved, and the standing room wouldn't allow us to see the stage, so we headed back downstairs. We decided to take our normal spot stage left, although a little closer than normal, since it a heavy crowd (even with half the people still not in the theater yet). By the time we made it to our spot, Bella Lea was finishing up their set. Barely 20 minutes, great! I thought, the Popes will have plenty of time for a good set. Unfortunately they didn't start until 40 minutes later, to let more of the crowd in I believe.
Finally the lights go out, and the show begins. An amazing set, spanning all three original full length albums. Of course there was the obligatory tall/annoying/distracting people that always seem to be in front of you, which took away from the show. Also from the side angle we couldn't really see the drummer and barely see the 2nd guitarist Eli, even though he was right in front of use (damn tall people and beams!). The sound wasn't as full as it could have been, since we were pretty much right in front of the stage left speakers. Overall it was really great to see them again, and I hope they follow through with their announcement to play more shows!
And for Dave... the ride home was pretty nice as well...
Waj
[edit] so I decided to publish this a few weeks after I started, which is why I kind of ended it so quickly.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Welcome Back Kotter
Well I'm finally back to online civilization. Amazing what 8 days without looking at a monitor can do for you. More about the trip later, but while catching up on some of my emails while gone, I read this funny article about Guitar Hero - a video game with a guitar controller. Its something I'm definitely putting on my Christmas List this year. Along with Eyetoy Play 2; these are 2 things I really want for my playstation 2. Not only for myself, but these look like super fun party games. I'm really bad at making my Christmas list...
Waj
Waj
Friday, October 28, 2005
International Traveler
We will be leaving to Palma de Mallorca tomorrow! We’ve had this trip planned for months and I’m so glad it is tomorrow, it’s been a long summer and I am ready for a vacation. We’ll be back Sunday November 6th, so don’t expect an update for at least a few months.
In the meantime I have to put my fantasy football team on Autopilot and have made my Pick-Em picks for next week without even seeing the spread. Not that it matters when you use the “What city would you rather visit?” method to pick the team. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of work when I get back, plenty of bloglines, and emails as well. Fortunately I also have Smoking Popes on Friday at 11:00 PM of Nov 11th to look forward to upon my return. I’ll probably still be on Spain time by then anyway, so it should out pretty well.
Until I return, keep me updated on what I have missed with those blogs! I may be without a computer for a whole week (unless I happen to stumble into a web café). It should be interesting…
Waj
In the meantime I have to put my fantasy football team on Autopilot and have made my Pick-Em picks for next week without even seeing the spread. Not that it matters when you use the “What city would you rather visit?” method to pick the team. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of work when I get back, plenty of bloglines, and emails as well. Fortunately I also have Smoking Popes on Friday at 11:00 PM of Nov 11th to look forward to upon my return. I’ll probably still be on Spain time by then anyway, so it should out pretty well.
Until I return, keep me updated on what I have missed with those blogs! I may be without a computer for a whole week (unless I happen to stumble into a web café). It should be interesting…
Waj
The old bastard left his ties and his suit
Mrs Waj and I went the the infamous "Chicago Theatre" last night to see Ben Folds in concert. It was a sold out show - roughly 1300 people fit into this classic downtown Chicago entertainment venue. It was my first time visiting the the place, although I have seen the very famous "Chicago" sign in the heart of the Loop shopping district on State ST, mostly from going to countless shows at the quality House of Blues a few blocks away. We broke our new rule for concerts - "Drove to the city on a weekday after work when we have to work the next day", which was broken faster than a New Years Resolution.
Strangely enough, this is the second "seated" concert I've been to in as many months. While Duvall wasn't assigned seats, it did have rows of immobile chairs, which I don't normally see at the "smaller" shows I attend (HOB, Metro). The design of the place was immacullate - huge paintings above the stage and all around the seating area, framing every doorway and the stage were intricately carved trim, gigantic chandeliers and strange "faces" all around. Some of the faces were angelic, while others were very sinister (if you look at the celiing there is a row of jeering jester-ish faces looking down at you). Kind of creepy in a way, but very cool. I haven't been to any "newer" theaters (do they even make them anymore?) but the crazy amount of detail in this place was amazing.
We arrived almost exactly at 7:30 - after quickly grabbing a bite to eat at Cosi - a sandwich shop a block and a half away. After finding out the opening band was The Fray - whom I'd never heard of, and checked out their website for only a sec, I decided that I didn't really care if we saw their entire set. Turned out there was an opening act before the opening act, and the show was a part of the Yellow Umbrella Tour. Google it if you want, but unless you are a female, I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not going to say much about the opening acts, they really didn't impress me, so if you have nothing good to say - "I was glad when they were both done playing". I really shouldn't be that hard on them, they artists seemed like good musicians - but a little too slow for me. If my 16 year old self were to see that my 26 year old self was at a concert with 3 bands that could be played on Mix 96 (old local soft rock radio) I probably would have kicked my own ass. And I don't like to fight.
As the title of this blog represents my favorite song of the latest album, it coincidentally was the 1st song he played (and 1st song on the disc). Ben Folds sounds really good live - I'm sure you've heard the Ben Folds Live album, if not pick it up (or the new album bundled with a different live album). While we sat down after the first 30 seconds of the song with most of the balcony audience, the group of 8 teenage girls in front of us decided they were going to continue standing through the song. OK I thought, they will just stand for the 1st song, then sit down. The next song came and went, meanwhile the clan in front of us were still standing. I felt like I had Deja Vu - then I remembered an old Saturday Night Live skit with Melanie Hutsell as a teen girl standing through a seated concert. Man I felt old asking them to please sit down - for a few songs. The girl I asked in front of me immediately did, while tugging on the girl next to her to sit as well. It wasn't until the "Leader" of the group sat down that the rest of them did as well. Throughout the show this went on - they would all look at each other at the beginning of a song - waiting to decide whether or not to sit or stand. Until the "leader" either stood up or sat down nothing would happen. It was pretty funny actually, but really took away from the Chicago Theater "intimate" experience. It also shows the wide range of audience that Ben Folds has - from our group of mid-late twentysomethings, the teens in front of us, to the gray haired woman and bald man couple in front of them. Also for the first few songs - the girl behind me clapped her hands so loud to the beat in her head and sang louder than Ben playing through the speakers - I was really annoyed. Good thing she decided to take the first row of seats in our section 10 feet closer - enough so that I couldn't hear the singing - although the clapping was still pounding in my head.
Overally the show was good - not quite worth the $42 paid because of the annoyances around me interrupting the view - we were dead center of the balcony, amazing view when standing (just didn't feel like standing the 2 hours Ben Folds played). He did play for almost 2 hours - I would say the "girls" stood for at least an hour of it, which for a few songs, I decided to stand, simply becuase I am still young enough to be able to and wanted to see. The lighting was really cool - they had some high-powered lights going on the stage that was reminicent of 70's club (or the Austin Powers version anyway). Once in a while the 2 backlights would be directed to the balcony and were blinding, I've never seen such powerful beams, almost laser like, but white/blue instead of red. Also the $6/12 oz bottle of beer price was pretty crazy and considering they didn't take debit/credit cards, I imagine 75% of those sales weren't being accounted for. Another rant for another day.
If I knew when I ordered the tickets what I know now - I would have definitely purchased them again - but maybe tried for the first row instead of 4th row. I don't know if I would see him again for that price and venue, but it was a very cool theater, and cool to "see" him perform. The last 2 times I've seen him it was at Ravinia - nowhere close to the stage to see anything (or just catch his last 2 songs the 1st time). The time before that was the first time - at Horde Festival in '97, the year Whatever & Ever Amen was released, but before "Brick" really caught on. There was only like 30-40 people watching them, but it was really cool to see. Through the next few years of college, I listened to my roommates Ben Folds Five albums, but never really thought about seeing them again. Until recently, after getting a hold of the last few solo albums and actually listening to them, did I really want to see him play. Ravinia was fun, but less a chance to "experience" the music and more of a chance to picnic and hang out to live music.
The drive home was great, I kind of actually know my way around the loop somewhat and was able to get on 290 with no problems. Traffic was very light (it was around midnight) and there were no lane closures on the west bound 290-88 highway, not true for Eastbound - cut down to one lane between Naperville RD and 53 - so glad I was not going in that direction!
Waj
Strangely enough, this is the second "seated" concert I've been to in as many months. While Duvall wasn't assigned seats, it did have rows of immobile chairs, which I don't normally see at the "smaller" shows I attend (HOB, Metro). The design of the place was immacullate - huge paintings above the stage and all around the seating area, framing every doorway and the stage were intricately carved trim, gigantic chandeliers and strange "faces" all around. Some of the faces were angelic, while others were very sinister (if you look at the celiing there is a row of jeering jester-ish faces looking down at you). Kind of creepy in a way, but very cool. I haven't been to any "newer" theaters (do they even make them anymore?) but the crazy amount of detail in this place was amazing.
We arrived almost exactly at 7:30 - after quickly grabbing a bite to eat at Cosi - a sandwich shop a block and a half away. After finding out the opening band was The Fray - whom I'd never heard of, and checked out their website for only a sec, I decided that I didn't really care if we saw their entire set. Turned out there was an opening act before the opening act, and the show was a part of the Yellow Umbrella Tour. Google it if you want, but unless you are a female, I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not going to say much about the opening acts, they really didn't impress me, so if you have nothing good to say - "I was glad when they were both done playing". I really shouldn't be that hard on them, they artists seemed like good musicians - but a little too slow for me. If my 16 year old self were to see that my 26 year old self was at a concert with 3 bands that could be played on Mix 96 (old local soft rock radio) I probably would have kicked my own ass. And I don't like to fight.
As the title of this blog represents my favorite song of the latest album, it coincidentally was the 1st song he played (and 1st song on the disc). Ben Folds sounds really good live - I'm sure you've heard the Ben Folds Live album, if not pick it up (or the new album bundled with a different live album). While we sat down after the first 30 seconds of the song with most of the balcony audience, the group of 8 teenage girls in front of us decided they were going to continue standing through the song. OK I thought, they will just stand for the 1st song, then sit down. The next song came and went, meanwhile the clan in front of us were still standing. I felt like I had Deja Vu - then I remembered an old Saturday Night Live skit with Melanie Hutsell as a teen girl standing through a seated concert. Man I felt old asking them to please sit down - for a few songs. The girl I asked in front of me immediately did, while tugging on the girl next to her to sit as well. It wasn't until the "Leader" of the group sat down that the rest of them did as well. Throughout the show this went on - they would all look at each other at the beginning of a song - waiting to decide whether or not to sit or stand. Until the "leader" either stood up or sat down nothing would happen. It was pretty funny actually, but really took away from the Chicago Theater "intimate" experience. It also shows the wide range of audience that Ben Folds has - from our group of mid-late twentysomethings, the teens in front of us, to the gray haired woman and bald man couple in front of them. Also for the first few songs - the girl behind me clapped her hands so loud to the beat in her head and sang louder than Ben playing through the speakers - I was really annoyed. Good thing she decided to take the first row of seats in our section 10 feet closer - enough so that I couldn't hear the singing - although the clapping was still pounding in my head.
Overally the show was good - not quite worth the $42 paid because of the annoyances around me interrupting the view - we were dead center of the balcony, amazing view when standing (just didn't feel like standing the 2 hours Ben Folds played). He did play for almost 2 hours - I would say the "girls" stood for at least an hour of it, which for a few songs, I decided to stand, simply becuase I am still young enough to be able to and wanted to see. The lighting was really cool - they had some high-powered lights going on the stage that was reminicent of 70's club (or the Austin Powers version anyway). Once in a while the 2 backlights would be directed to the balcony and were blinding, I've never seen such powerful beams, almost laser like, but white/blue instead of red. Also the $6/12 oz bottle of beer price was pretty crazy and considering they didn't take debit/credit cards, I imagine 75% of those sales weren't being accounted for. Another rant for another day.
If I knew when I ordered the tickets what I know now - I would have definitely purchased them again - but maybe tried for the first row instead of 4th row. I don't know if I would see him again for that price and venue, but it was a very cool theater, and cool to "see" him perform. The last 2 times I've seen him it was at Ravinia - nowhere close to the stage to see anything (or just catch his last 2 songs the 1st time). The time before that was the first time - at Horde Festival in '97, the year Whatever & Ever Amen was released, but before "Brick" really caught on. There was only like 30-40 people watching them, but it was really cool to see. Through the next few years of college, I listened to my roommates Ben Folds Five albums, but never really thought about seeing them again. Until recently, after getting a hold of the last few solo albums and actually listening to them, did I really want to see him play. Ravinia was fun, but less a chance to "experience" the music and more of a chance to picnic and hang out to live music.
The drive home was great, I kind of actually know my way around the loop somewhat and was able to get on 290 with no problems. Traffic was very light (it was around midnight) and there were no lane closures on the west bound 290-88 highway, not true for Eastbound - cut down to one lane between Naperville RD and 53 - so glad I was not going in that direction!
Waj
Friday, October 21, 2005
Allergy Update
I guess I should update the finals of my allergy testing. The last round of testing was for food allergys. Only slight reactions on all the popular allergens (wheat, egg, soy...).
So the doc prescribed Zyrtec, one pill daily and suggested immunology (allergy shots). Luckily immunology is covered 100% by insurance, not so much for Zyrtec. $50 a month! You know what I could do with $50 a month? We've been saving our money paying off student loans and equity loans and any other loans we have accumulated over the years, and now, instead of using that $50 for something fun, I get to use it for medicine. GAH! Either that or somehow avoid my cat, dust, mold, and pretty much every other common outdoor allergen in the world.
I'll probably start the allergy shots after we get back from our "Holiday" in Spain. Woo Hoo, one more week until we leave!
Waj
So the doc prescribed Zyrtec, one pill daily and suggested immunology (allergy shots). Luckily immunology is covered 100% by insurance, not so much for Zyrtec. $50 a month! You know what I could do with $50 a month? We've been saving our money paying off student loans and equity loans and any other loans we have accumulated over the years, and now, instead of using that $50 for something fun, I get to use it for medicine. GAH! Either that or somehow avoid my cat, dust, mold, and pretty much every other common outdoor allergen in the world.
I'll probably start the allergy shots after we get back from our "Holiday" in Spain. Woo Hoo, one more week until we leave!
Waj
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