Where Did The Weekend Go?

It was a fun weekend all around for the most part. It started a little earlier than normal, thanks to the ice storm that the weather forecasters once again miscalled. I ended up leaving work at 1:30 p.m., and thankfully I did, because not long after that, the blue route was stifled because of multiple accidents. So, I was home safe and sound by 2:30, and was able to get the chores that I normally do on Friday evening done much earlier. Of course, I got a frantic phone call from my wife – she was at the train station and her car wasn’t starting … I later found out that the reason behind this was because my wife, bless her soul, left the lights on … again … the second time in two weeks.

After we got her car started (she said she was going to ask someone at the train station to “jump-her,” to which I responded, “maybe you can phrase that a little differently.”), we came home, made some dinner, and hung out in the basement, watching some of the basketball games (at least, I was), throwing darts, and just relaxing … we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday.

Well, Saturday morning comes, and I realize that I have to shovel 2-3 inches of thick ice from my driveway and sidewalk … oh the joys. My back, shoulders, arms, and legs are throbbing more than 24-hours later. It took about 2 hours to fully shovel … normally, it may take up to ½ hour, but for special icy occasions (ones we’ve had all to much this year), I get to “work out” a little longer.

Then, it was time for our inaugural “public transportation St. Patty’s Day bar tour,” which had to be changed slightly, thanks to said icy conditions. We started off by hitting two Irish bars – R.P. McMurphy’s and Haggarty’s. Then, we decided to eat some Irish dinner at the …. Italian Delight pizza shop (we were already a few beers in … and besides, I HATE ham and cabbage). We ended up going to a few not-so-Irish bars – Walt’s Red Rose and the Frontier Saloon, pissed a few people off with our group intoxication, and then finally too the bus to our final destination – The Milmont Inn.

The Milmonster, as we like to call it, is the classic description of a dive bar … with an unfortunate Notre Dame fighting Irish logo to go with it. But, since I was already hammered, I decided to ignore the logo and have a good time anyway. I’ve only been to this bar maybe 3 times in my life, and the first two times were pretty non-descript. But, for one reason or other, we had an absolute blast this last time – sometimes a perfect storm of alcohol, friends, and good music can make any bar fun (this, I’ve learned on a number of occasions). We spend more than 4 hours there prior to calling it a night (at the request of my liver).

So, Sunday was mainly a lazy, relaxing, recovery day – one in which I watched both The Money Pit, AND Animal House. I’ve also watched some of the basketball games, but since my basketball pool now has more holes in it than Swiss cheese, I’ve rapidly lost interest (hey, at least Duke was ousted … speaking of which, I made an interesting comparison … Duke Basketball = Notre Dame football). I’m sure I’ll go for the trifecta and find a third silly/funny movie to watch before the day is out (helps me keep my mind off of Mondays).