Love Bavarian Style

Chris and I went to Munich on our honeymoon. Aside from the fact that Oktoberfest was originally a post-wedding celebration, I insisted we go to Bavaria for our honeymoon because I knew Chris would fall in love with it. He’s German and his love for encased meats is only slightly superceded by his love for beer.

So, when I decided recently that I needed to do something really nice for Chris simply because he’s so freaking awesome, I decided that the best way to say “I love you” was “sauerkraut, spatzle and dunkel weiss.”

So last night, we went here. I found the place after a quick Google search for German restaurants in Chicago. From the outside, it totally looks like a hole in the wall, which in our view, is one of the best compliments we can bestow upon a restaurant. In general, unassuming exterior = amazing interior. This assumption is even more pronounced in bars. The more it looks like a dive, the better the bar. In fact, our favorite bar fits this profile. It’s within stumbling distance of our apartment (which is a major plus), and it’s connected to and owned by the liquor store next door. So, when the bar runs out of Red Stripe, they just go next door and grab a new case out of the cooler. But the best part is, just about everything they serve is $2. On more than one occasion, we’ve spent a few hours at this bar, gotten fairly blitz, and left paying less than 20 bucks.

Anyway, back to Bavaria. The restaurant’s hole-in-the-wall exterior did not disappoint. Inside we found great food, great décor and great beer. I entered with a serious craving for German food that only an unpronounceable pork dish could satisfy. I found it in their Jaegerpfandl. Yum.

While at dinner, Chris and I realized that neither of us grew up eating German food. In fact, I can’t think of one kid I knew growing up that ever had “German night.” Like, there was always “Italian night” or “Mexican night” and definitely “pizza night.” But no “German night.” So, in the spirit of planning my children’s futures before they’ve even been conceived, I’ve decided that I need to learn how to cook German food. The schnitzles, the sauerbratens, the strudels. If any of you out there have some good German recipes, please pass them along. Future generations will thank you, or, Künftig Generationen Wille danke.

Progress Report

Last October, I made an early New-Year’s-Resolutions list. Now that it's December, I thought I’d assess how I did. Overall, pretty bad on the important stuff, OK elsewhere. Let’s take a look.

To Do in 2007:

1. Start freelancing.
Totally didn’t happen. Not even remotely. This resolution did push me toward setting up my own Web site though, which ultimately helped me land a new job, so let’s just say I broke even.

2. Keep working out. (Number of times I’ve been to the gym since saying “I Do” – zero.)
This area tends to come and go. I’ll get all gung-ho and work out a ton. Then I’ll take six weeks off.

3. Eat more vegetables. Except asparagus, because no matter how many different ways Chris prepares it, even served cold in an awesome strawberry salad, asparagus is still gross. Sorry.
I’m still having trouble seeing beyond carrots, broccoli, green peppers, lettuce and veggies not covered in cheese. Does hummus count?

4. Speaking of eating, try to go out to some new restaurants other the same two every month.
Done and done. Some of my favorites from the past year include Coco Pazzo, Carnivale, Think, Spring, Le Lan, Ras Dashen and Nobu (Las Vegas). Unfortunately, I didn’t pay much attention to item No. 5

5. However, don’t blow a bunch of cash on dining out, either. Save money and put it into…
I didn’t save squat or….

6. A condo fund. Start one so you can buy one someday.
Start squat.

7. Do something musical. Take out your trumpet and join a municipal band, or buy an electronic piano. Music used to be your one constant in life. So don’t forget your roots.
My new apartment came with a piano. However, I don’t play nearly enough.

8. Speaking of your roots, try to go to church more often. Yeah, the Protestants might not totally jive with your current lifestyle, but it’s nice to believe in something, even if you don’t agree with everything.
Didn’t happen. Motivating myself to try new things on Sunday mornings is difficult, apparently even when my eternal salvation in on the line.

9. Spend more time with the baby.
I sort of did this one. Rosie went on vacation with us to Michigan (which, for Rosie, included three sun-filled days swimming in Lake Michigan, running up and down the beach, and attempting to chase kayaks and speedboats) Missouri and North Carolina (which included a stop at a national park in Kentucky just to take her hiking), and we took her to the dog beach a few times. But overall, our quality Rosie time has taken a major hit since we moved to a place featuring a back yard. She used to get two to three walks a day. Now we just let her out the back door intermittently throughout the morning and night. So, although she gets some exercise patrolling the back yard, we now spend less time with her. Before we moved, I used to think that she got so excited when we came home because she needed to go out. But now I’ve realized that she also was excited to see us. The first few times we let her out in the new backyard, she would just stand at the door looking at us, all “Hey, aren’t you coming with?” If there was such as a thing as doggie DCFS, they would totally be knocking on our door.

10. Start baking bread because it makes the husband happy.
Totally did this one. But I’ve cut back because the ingredients are more expensive than a loaf.

11. Be more social. Make new friends but keep the old, and all that.
This one also falls into the “sorta” category. By getting a new job, my former co-workers are now friends. But outside of work, I still really struggle to be social.

12. Lose weight.
Since the beginning of 2007, I’ve gained two pounds. See No. 4.

13. Pay off credit card debt.
I’ve paid off 40 percent of my debt. But considering my salary has increased by 60 percent over the past year, that’s not so good. See No. 4.

According to last year's list, I posted the resolutions here so you all could kick my ass in case I slacked off. Seeing as how I haven't had a good ass kicking in a while ... this is all your fault. Geez, no wonder I quit blogging for a few months: you people suck.

*** um, totally kidding. I love you all. Especially You, sitting at your computer, thinking about how much time you've just wasted at work by reading my blog. And You, dude who accidentally found my blog by Googling "doggie DCFS." I totally love you, too. In fact, I'm adding "expressing my love for random weirdos online" to my 2008 resolution list.

Sarah’s Sexiest Men Alive

I’m a day late with this, but look at all the hotness I’ve compiled! Totally worth it.

So, I think this list requires a little disclaimer. My tastes are a bit different than conventional. I’m much more attracted to personality than looks. And I don’t mean to come across all, “I shall see your Brad Pitt and raise you a Holden Caulfield because I’m so freaking deep and self-actualized that sometimes I just spend hours lying in a grass field during rain storms writing in my journal about my deepness until the rain soaks through the paper and the ink bleeds and then I realize that journal writing outside in the rain probably wasn’t a good idea. But you know what, fuck you. I’m deep.”

No, what I mean is, actors in general play so many different roles that it’s impossible to be attracted to all their personalities. Hence, you’ll find a few characters on this list, as opposed to actors. And you’ll find a lot of talk show hosts because, well, I’d like to assume that their quirky personalities isn’t the result of acting, but how they are ALL THE TIME. Like if I ran into one in the grocery store, they would flirt with me, ask me tons of questions about myself and occasionally make self-deprecating yet adorable jokes about themselves.

Which leads me to my first list entry, who is the master of adorable self-deprecating humor: Conan O’Brien.


He has a hilarious talk show, he used to be a writer for SNL and The Simpsons, he’s really tall, and he occasionally gets to hang out with a masturbating bear. In other words, he’s pretty much to perfect man.

In keeping with the talk-show theme, we have Jimmy Kimmel, circa “Win Ben Stein’s Money.”


These were the good years for Jimmy, before the degrading yet sometimes funny “The Man Show” and before starting his own talk show, which I rarely can get through. But back during his Ben Stein days, he was cute, funny and cruel to nerdy contestants. No wonder Sarah Silverman fell for him (who, by the way, would be on Chris’ sexiest women alive list if he were to make one, along with Maya Rudolf, Amy Poehler, Sweet Dee from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and Natalie Portman. This is why I married him).

Taking it old skool, there’s Anthony Kiedis, circa Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good photo of him back in the day, with his beautiful mane of hair, so we’ll have to settle for this blondie pic, which is pretty cute, too.


I used to have the “Fright Like a Brave’ poster on my ceiling in high school. That would be the poster that features the Peppers in nothing but socks. My room was at the top of the stairs in my parents’ house, so coming up the stairs, the first thing you’d see was that poster. Combined with my GnR posters and giant Trent Reznor poster next to my antique dresser, I’m amazed when I of all the stuff my parents had to deal with back in the day. But hey, at least I got good grades.

Going back to the ’80s, we have two of the sexiest characters of all time: Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy) in “St. Elmo’s Fire,” and Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) in “Say Anything.”



Both of these choices require very little explanation. Kevin Dolenz was a lovelorn journalist with a coffin in his apartment. Dreamboat! And Lloyd Dobler was … Lloyd Dobler. If you don’t understand, you have no heart. Or a brain. Or my friendship. Go away.

In keeping with the “character = totally hot, actor = eh, sometimes” theme, there’s Chandler Bing during the could-Matthew-Perry-BE-any-more-addicted-to-drugs? years. Sorry folks, he was just so much cuter before he got all pudgy and sober.


The final two on my list are of the talk-show-host variety. First, there’s Anthony Bourdain.


This one took a little while to ferment for me. I was quite intrigued after listening to “Kitchen Confidential,” but it wasn’t until a recent episode of “No Reservations” when I found myself incredibly jealous of his Korean female tour guide that I realized I had a thing for Bourdain.

And finally, there’s Hal Sparks circa Talk Soup.


Before his days on “Queer as Folk,” Hal Sparks kept me company the summer I was home recuperating in college. Everyday, via Talk Soup, Hal would come into my living room, entertain me, make me laugh, and show me only the best, most deplorable moments of Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer so I didn’t actually have to watch them myself. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

It's blog, it's blog, it's better than bad, it's good!

I really need to start blogging again. I've been writing them in my head, but just can't seem to find the time to put them to keyboard.

There's that, and then the problem of trying to figure out where to begin. I've done a lot over the past few months. There was the whole moving thing. Then the party. Then getting a new job. And going to Vegas. And let's not forget the in-law's-dog-eating-our-couch incident, and most recently the road trips to Columbia and North Carolina and flights to New York and Philly, and then our upcoming trip to Aruba. And oh yeah, Mizzou's No. 1. Holy crap.

So much stuff going on. But I think I'm going to start with the really important stuff: People's Sexiest Man Alive rankings. I whole-heartedly agree with their top spot (Oh Jason Bourne, er Matt Damon, so forgetful, so dreamy...), but there are many, many others that People has unjustly ignored over the years. I shall compile my own list. Tomorrow. I've got plans tonight that include a former co-worker, Mahi Mahi and a case of beer.

Official News

Within the next two weeks, I will:

Visit Las Vegas
Celebrate my first anniversary
Start a new job

So, I'm pretty darn excited about life right now. I'll post about the details of the new job and the Vegas trip one of these days. In the meantime, check out two of my favorite (and quite belated) photos from the Cinco de Mayo party:

Uncle Gerry, the one and only Pat Smillie and my dad show the effects of tequila

Jack is not amused

My First 5K

I did my first* 5K yesterday as part of an annual triathlon relay I do with my mom and sister. Usually, I do the bike portion, but this year I swapped with my sis and ran. It took me 33 minutes, which is about what I expected. Deep down inside, I hoped I would break 30 minutes, but that's OK.

Right before my run, I got the idea that maybe I'd try a tri, specifically this one. Then, about 10 minutes into my run, I was like... um, no.

But we'll see. At least it would give me something to work toward, which is apparently what keeps me happy. You know that line in Annie Hall about how a shark needs to keep moving forward in order to live? "What we have is a dead shark." I sort of feel the same way. If I'm not planning something or working toward something, I feel kinda lost. With the wedding, the move and our first big party behind me, I'm looking for that next to-do item on the great checklist of life. And since the usual next steps (house-buying and baby-making) aren't quite in the works yet, maybe a triathlon can help me pass the time.


*Technically, I did a 5K with my mom and sister on mother's day, but due to the crowds, we were forced to walk the first two miles, so it don't count none.

Brain Empty

Since moving, I feel like I've run out of things to blog about. I used to write blog entries in my head while sitting on the bus or walking the dog. Nowadays, I spend my commutes trying to keep my face out of some other dude's armpit on the super-crowded Blue Line, and trying to avoid being flattened by taxis on my 10-minute walk to the office.

There's that, and then there's the whole cable issue. We finally got it. Between the History Channel, The Colbert Report and the Shear Genius marathon on Bravo, I've lost all ability to think intelligently, or even coherently. And did I mention the new season of So You Think You Can Dance has started up? Let's just forget about any brain activity at all.

I've read that the key to a successful blog is frequent updates. That would make my blog about as successful as William Shatner's singing career. I'm not sure if I should just call it quits, or keep posting half-assed until something exciting happens in my life that constitutes frequent updates, such as buying a house or getting pregnant (both of which are probably a way's off. Sorry Mom!)

I'm guessing I'll go with option number 2, although by the time those exciting things happen, no one will read this anymore. Oh well.

I heart Mr. Ad Report Card

I'm officially in love with Seth Stevenson, author of Slate.com's Ad Report Card. Like most folks from the editorial side, I'm not a huge fan of advertising (even if it is the fuel of a free press, as the foyer of the Missourian liked to remind me every day of j-school). But despite my disdain for advertising, I am obsessed with Ad Report Card, mostly because Mr. Stevenson is freaking hilarious, especially when he digresses into something unrelated.

For example, consider this week's post. The fact that he manages to work a Ricky Williams "Pass the bong" joke into his assessment of the Clio awards is amazing.

Or take his review of ads for The Gap. In one of his classic asides, Seth talks about how Monica Lewinsky's famous blue dress was from The Gap, but that these days, the company is no longer fancy enough for White House interns. He then sums this up with one of the funniest sentences of all time: "It's just a sign of how badly things have gone for the brand: They can't even get world leaders to ejaculate on their clothes anymore."

There are many, many more . If you've got an afternoon to waste at work, I suggest reading all of them. And then you, too, will fall in love with Seth Stevenson.

SPC: On the street, at a bar, under the L

It's been a while since I've done Self-Portrait Challenge. Probably because I haven't been able to find my camera charger since the move. But this month's topic — on the street — was just too good to pass up for a second week. I guess I'll have to make due with my camera phone until I find/replace that missing cord.

Anyway, here's a pic taken at this bar by my new place that's right at the bottom of the L platform. Like, if you get off the train after work, and you can't fathom the idea of taking another step without a drink, this is where you go. It's got a nice outdoor area and a pretty sweet beer selection, too.

Cheers!

La Fiesta

Chris and I had our big Cinco de Mayo bash on Saturday. There was food, there was tequila, there was music, there was puking.

Overall, I'd say it was a success — especially because I wasn't one of pukers for a change. Once I get some pics from the party, I'll post 'em, along with a story or two.

Until then, you can find me in my new favorite room, trying to get vomit stains out of my shower curtain.