Brain Drain in Columbus, OH

About a month ago, I was asked if I wanted to go to a seminar on airfield lighting design in Columbus, OH. Since I'm still relatively new to the game, I thought it would be great for me to do... little did I know... let's just say that I had to take a 2-hr test on the last day!

Despite the intense conference, my coworkers and I did get away for a bit on a couple of the evenings. Everyone we knew suggested going to Short North, which is this cultural strip of galleries and restaurants just north of downtown. So we did. The first night we were in town, we hit a little place called the Northstar Cafe. They seemed to specialize in vegan dishes, but had other relatively healthy options for others. And HUGE portions! We hit another restaurant a couple of nights later called Haiku. If not obvious from the name, it was Japanese. It, too, was pretty good. That same night we went to an ice cream joint that had the craziest flavors... sweet corn and raspberry?? But it was wildly popular, with a line out the door. So these crazy flavors must not be all that bad!

In general, I was pleasantly surprised with Columbus! This was my first time stopping in the City (I've driven through, before, on my way to PA). I kind of wish I could've explored their downtown some more, as well as German Village just south of downtown. I'm guessing they have other areas worth exploring, too. Next time, I guess...

The conference itself, as I said, was intense! I kid you not when I say it was basically a college course, complete with final, crammed into 3 days! I don't think the Airport Design Senior Project went into this much electrical detail (for civils, anyway)! Not that I can say that from experience since I did a different senior project... but I can't imagine they delved this much into the electrical side. And of course, my boss wants me to pass along this knowledge (in a much more brief format) during a lunch meeting. That'll be fun.

Oh well. I shouldn't complain about being sent to learn something like this. In the long run, it is good for me. But I know for next time to read the seminar description much more carefully!

A Weekend of R & R

It seems a weekend of no plans comes rarely, especially during the summer months. This weekend was one of those rarities, and it was quite nice... though we still managed to keep pretty busy.

Friday night, Eric and I managed to get together just long enough for some steak on the grill at my house. Work had me running all over the state on Friday, all while trying to get a set of plans out to bid back at the office. I was beat. Eric was trying to get some things done at his house after work, so got to my house kind of later than I like for sinner, but it worked out great with my schedule this particular night. After dinner, we took a walk through my neighborhood - it was an awesome night!

Saturday consisted of Eric and I doing some shopping and lunch before parting ways until later in the evening. We did a progressive dinner with his neighbors, Dave and Amber (and some of their friends), starting with appetizers and drinks at their house and dinner at Eric's. I made my lasagna and it came out awesome! I FINALLY figured out the right amount to up the proportions in my 'lasagna dish' my sister got me years ago!! It's bigger than normal, so I've always known the typical 'recipe' isn't enough to fill it. I'd always come up short on one of the ingredients. But I managed to have a thick, meaty, cheesy lasagna that was just right Saturday night. I was too excited and it was a hit!

Sunday consisted of sleeping in and having a late breakfast of this version of french toast (croissants) that Eric learned. It was so good! Then I headed home to mow, do laundry, and pack for the week ahead. I'll be in Columbus, OH for a good part of the week for a seminar. It'll be nice to be out of the office, but it's going to make for a long week, I think! We'll see!

Birthday Weekend in Chicago

Part of my birthday present from Eric was a trip to Chicago over the weekend (the bulk of the present was what he bought me at one of the places we went - keep reading!). We decided to just do an overnight trip (instead of a two-nighter) and left really early on Saturday morning and started heading up I-65.

Our first stop (not counting breakfast) was the Museum of Science and Industry. That place was awesome!! We arrived shortly after they opened (in hopes of beating the crowds) and walked around for a bit before heading to the U-505 exhibit. For those who don’t know, this is an actual U-Boat captured in World War II (right before D-Day). We took the actual tour of the sub and got to hear the story of its capture, what they found on board, and what it led to. Definitely a ‘something you should do before…’ next time you’re in Chicago. We walked around a bit more before going to the Coal Mine exhibit, where they take you down into a “coal mine” deep below the museum (it’s actually in the basement). With some coal mining in my family history, this was interesting to learn how things really were in the mines. There really is a lot more to it than one would think!

We hit a few more exhibits before taking a walk under Lakeshore Drive and checking out the view on this gorgeous day (weather wise). We walked out to one of the points and enjoyed the view of the water and the skyline for a bit, and then headed back to the car. On to the hotel to freshen up!!

We got to the hotel and checked in. Eric used his points to get us a room at the Conrad downtown, which if that wasn’t nice enough, they upgraded us because our room wasn’t ready when we went to check in! So we had this huge corner suite overlooking north Michigan Avenue with a great view of the Hancock

Tower (that's what the picture is of - our view). It was amazing! And all we had to pay for was parking!

So after a little freshening up, we hopped on the ‘L’ and headed up to the Lincoln Park area. This is where the big gift was to be! Eric had read an article in one of his retail magazines about this new ‘top retailer’ in the nation called The Blues Jean Bar. Is a really simple, yet genius concept! Most girls out there know how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans that actually fit the way they are supposed to fit. Well, this store caters to that fact. You walk in and tell them a style, wash, and size, and they just keep loading you up with jeans and actually tell you how they fit and if it’s a good/proper fit as you try each pair on. Unlike most stores, they have, like, 30 different brands! So you could potentially spend hours there if you went in without any idea of what you wanted! We were there for about an hour as it was, and I tried on about 12 pairs of jeans before finding ‘the right pair’ for me. And that was my big gift – a really good pair of jeans. It may not sound like much, but if you ever get to one of these places, you’ll understand how great this was! They even do the tailoring for you to get the right length and make it look like the original hem.

After my shopping experience, we went out to eat at a Tapas Bar called Ba Ba Reeda, which was just up the road. They had awesome paella and a great mango sangria! It was a great way to wind down the day.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. It wasn’t all that late, but we were both beat! We talked about getting a drink somewhere, but neither of us could get enough motivation to even do that. So we chilled for a bit before heading to bed… and sleeping like rocks!

The next morning, we got up early, had a good breakfast at the hotel, and then did a little sight seeing downtown. I was wanting to take some pictures of some buildings and some of the art we saw the previous day when we were driving around. So we drove around and then we’d park, and walk around a bit. Unfortunately, the sun disappeared behind the clouds, but I still got some good shots.

We went back to the hotel and packed up our bags to check out. Instead of leaving right away, though, we decided to do a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. Not too much actual buying, but since we were right there… I did buy a few things, of course.

One last stop in Chicago before we headed back to the car to finally head home was the Billy Goat Tavern. Anyone from Chicago knows this place... they may not have been there, but they know of it... espcailly if you're a Cubs fan! The current location has been there since the 60's (under a bridge) and I don't think they've touched the decor or the menu since then. Truly a sight to see!

Of course on our way home (when we finally got out of town), we hit our normal stop at Fair Oaks Farms. For some reason, it was packed!! So even though a milkshake would’ve been nice, we passed and just bought our milk and went home. Though I was excited to learn that they’ve started to market it in local grocery stores… so now I can buy it at my Marsh! Oberweis has some competition, now!

So all in all, I had a great birthday weekend! I didn’t want to come back to Indy, that's for sure. But I guess it had to end sometime. Until next year…

You can see more pictures on my Fotki page. Enjoy!!

The Good, the Bad, and the REAL Ugly!

This has been a week of nothing but, well... hard to say, actually. it's just been crazy!!! And it's only Wednesday!!

I knew it was going to be a long week with work (The Bad). Lots of meetings, mainly board meetings, which are in the evening. Which get me home later than usual. Plus just lot of work (little things) on my plate to get done this week. I already have well over 30 hours in this week.

But I barely had a chance to get into the week before it got worse (here comes The Ugly). I was driving home from Monticello on Monday evening (my first board meeting) and I had just gotten off the phone with my mom, talking about how lucky I've been with my car. Well... I jinxed myself, apparently. Not five minutes after I hung up with her, my 'Service Engine Soon' light started blinking at me. Not a steady light, mind you, but FLASHING! Well, I've never once in my 9 years of owning Bleu have seen that light come on, so I wasn't sure if it was supposed to blink or not. I took note of things... seems to be driving okay... no smoke or smell... the engine wasn't overheating... So I took it for what it was - a warning - and kept driving. I didn't want to pull over on I-65 that far north of home!

I obviously kept an eye on things until my exit. When I got off the interstate, THAT'S when I realized something was really wrong - she was running pretty rough. Uh oh... so I called Eric, of course, and instead of driving home, I met him at the dealer and did a night drop of my car at the service department. While I was waiting for Eric, I pulled out my owners manual and learned that the flashing light actually means something different than a steady light... Emission Problem. Not good. But may not be too bad. Eric and I scoped it out a little and though it may be my muffler. That wouldn't be too bad. But we'll see.

When I talked to the guy the next day, he told me they were pretty booked with appointments, but they'd slip it in as soon as possible. It wasn't until today that I got a call with the diagnosis. He started the conversation off with, "I hate making this phone call..." I just put my head down and prepared for the worst! Well... I blew my intake gasket. I guess I didn't blow it, per say, but it's age caught up to it, and other things were affected by it. So now I have a hefty little chunk of change to dish out when Bleu's ready. After work, I went to grab some things out of her, and I felt like I was visiting a sick friend in the hospital... all these wires and tubes hooked up to her... of course, the spotlessness of the garage helped that effect. Man, dealers keep those places nice nowadays! But with how the week's been, this wasn't pleasant news, obviously.

But then I remembered... my friends, Jen & Tony, had their baby boy last night (The Good)!!!! Isaac Anthony, born July 14, 2009 at 6:40pm, 20 inches long and 8lbs, 8oz. Time to go see him - and I did. He's absolutely adorable!! There was no way I could leave that hospital NOT in a good mood - how can a baby NOT cheer you up and make you forget everything else. The miracle of this small person coming into the world just makes everything else insignificant! It was a good way to wind down and end the day for me. I needed that.

A Wedding...

Last night, one of Eric's fraternity brothers got married to a once lost love. They has a nice and simple ceremony and reception at Jone's Crossing down in Mooresville, IN. It was very focused on friends and family, which was nice. But if you were late, you probably would've missed the ceremony... they kept it all short and sweet, with just enough emphasis on the reason we were all there - to witness two hearts joining together.

Since it was one of Eric's fraternity brothers from Rose-Hulman, it was a bit of a reunion, though most of the guys that were there still get together and hang out in Indy. But one of the guys came in from CO with his wife and little girl. So the reunion aspect was there. Regardless, still had to be sure to note the moment in time with a picture... the boys all with the groom. The ones that were there, anyway...

And speaking of pictures, this was a 'You are our photographer' wedding, where they didn't hire a professional in hopes to get many more good ones from friends and family. You know I had fun with that. I took about 130 pictures, but I didn't even upload half of them. You can see some of what I took on my Fotki page, though. Some good ones...

After all was said and done with the wedding, it was still early, so a group of us went and grabbed a drink at a bar nearby. And then, just like the days of college, we went and chowed down on some greasy breakfast. It was just Denny's, though... not like Tiger Time or even Waffle House. But the same thought was there.

All in all, we had a good time. I had a better time than I even thought I would... I just don't think I knew what to expect is all, though. This was the first wedding I went to that I didn't know the couple all that well... but I guess it doesn't matter if you have others around that you know well.

Jimmy Buffett Day (at work??)

I've never really gone too much into the company I work for now. The company seems to be a really good company when it comes to taking care of their employees, which is very

rare this day and age. It's nice to know there are still companies like that out there.

Today was a good case for that... we had our annual Jimmy Buffett Day, complete with lunch pitch-in and entertainment even Jimmy would be proud of. The entire office is decorated by some of the staff and they encourage employees to even decorate their own workspace (which I did, of course). I can honestly say I've never been somewhere that celebrates Buffett this way... or ANY way! Even the owners get into and sing (and even PLAY) along! And in the end, they gave away four packages, which included VIP tickets to the concert and a half-day of vacation among other things. I didn't win, but it was still pretty cool. It's such a great way to wind down the week.

They do pitch-ins on a fairly regular basis - at least once a quarter, sometime more near the more commercialized holidays. Each department gets aside a type of dish to bring in and of course not everyone brings stuff, but there's always plenty of food! We have 'grillmasters' that start grilling first thing in the morning so there's plenty of 'main dish' ready by noon. The only downside to it all is that the company has grown so big that the table get pretty tight in the common area. But it's still a lot of fun.

4th of July Weekend Wrap-Up

It's the Monday after the 4th, and I bet you're wondering what I did all weekend. Well, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway.

Most of the day was a bust, not just because Eric and I were recovering from the night before (see previous post), but more so because it rained... all... day... long. Eric's neighbors were supposed to have a big all day party, and they did have a lot of people over, but there was no cornhole of whiffle ball game. I just had trouble getting moving in the morning - I was completely content being a bum watching a TV in my PJ's. But Eric finally drug me out the door to run some errands in preparation for the night - the actual 4th of July.

We got home just in time to get food prepped and the family started showing up for the evening festivities. Unfortunately, it was still raining at this point. So we decided to eat - the weather channel said it was supposed to clear up in time for fireworks. So we ate, and Dave, Eric, and I took turns lighting some of the small ground fireworks off and the kids had their sparklers. Well, the weather channel kept pushing back their stop time for the rain. But the big downtown fireworks were supposed to happen, rain or shine. Hmmm... a half hour after the start time, they postponed them until Sunday. Too windy and, more importantly, the ceiling was too low and the fireworks would almost all be above the cloud cover (so we would just see fuzzy glows). So everyone went their own way, and Eric and I just went to bed. Neither of us had any energy to stay up any longer.

Sunday comes along and it finally stopped raining. It was cloudy when we woke up, but at least it wasn't raining. After breakfast and being lazy for a bit, Eric and I took a short bike ride around downtown. We ended up stopping at the Indiana War Memorial and went inside. First of all, I thought the building itself was the memorial - I had no idea it had the big shrine inside of the main building. It was very cool and I wish I would've had my camera - the detail in the architecture is amazing!! I will have to go back with a camera one day. On top of the amazing building and memorial inside the building, there's a museum with artifacts from all the wars the US has been involved in, as recent as Desert Storm! It was very cool - and surprisingly free! Well worth the time if you ever find yourself in downtown Indy with some time on your hands.

After we got home, we bummed around a bit before deciding to run some errands and grab some food. I was going to go home at this point, but I figured if I did that, I would just continue being a bum on the couch. Since the sun finally came out, it seemed like it'd be better to enjoy a little bit more of the day. So we ran around in Eric's old truck and ended up getting some food at Jockamo's Pizza (awesome food, if you've never been there). It hit the spot!! But after all that, it was time to go home - I would just have to miss the fireworks this year. But I was too beat and just wanted to go home to my bed. It was a long weekend.

It's just an All American house, isn't it?

Good Beer - Bad Beer

This year, as a pre-celebration of the 4th of July, Eric held a Good Beer - Bad Beer party at his house, where everyone brought what they thought to be a really good beer and one they thought was a really bad beer for sampling and judging by all. From the initial murmurings of it, everyone loved the theme! And being that it was a day off for most people (since most companies observed the 4th on the Friday before), it made it real easy to start a little early and keep it kid friendly. So that was the goal - a simple family friendly gathering where everyone could just relax and taste a bunch of different beers, all while having a little fun with it.

The day turned out perfect, weather wise. I don't think we could've asked for better weather - perfect temp, enough cloud cover to keep things cool, and just enough of a breeze to be refreshing. We got everything set up in the backyard in plenty of time. This was also to be the christening of Eric's backyard - it's never been used before because it was a construction zone of sorts. He's been working on it since late fall (to improve the grass/weed ratio) to make it usable this year - and he did an awesome job!

People started showing up and listing their beers on the good and bad beer whiteboards. there was quite an array of beers, from the basic bad beers you'd expect (Stroh's) to beers with names you couldn't even pronounce (those got nicknames on the boards). There was only one duplicate in all the beers - Stroh's, as a bad beer.

Everyone seemed to have a good time tasting and getting people to taste their beer. All the while, the kids entertained themselves with dogs and building a fort out of cardboard boxes Eric brought home (he brought them for this reason - kids love boxes!). In the end, Carl won with his Kriek Lambic, a cherry flavored brew (this surprised me, actually), and Barry 'lost' with his Bud and Clamato they package now. I've heard that's a hangover cure, but it just does not even sound appealing. Amber found this German beer that tasted like beef jerky - I thought that should've won. It was a close second, but we had some home brewers at the party that even said they had brewed something similar themselves, so maybe it's not all that unusual.

So the party pretty much went off without a hitch. Most agreed that it should become an annual thing. Which I'm sure will happen. It's just a good party to have this time of year - relaxed and easy with some good beer and food.