I Hath Returned

OK, I really did mean to attempt to blog while on my road trip, but due to the fact I passed out most evenings when we got back to our hotel (humidity + walking for miles makes me tired), this did not happen. Aside from that, we had multiple issues with internet access: one motel's idea of wi-fi was like a 28.8 modem and another hotel was equipped with only an Ethernet cord that Amy's laptop did not like. We also encountered, unbeknown to us, we were going to incur "International Roaming Charges" on our iPhones while in Canada (Fuck you AT&T) so checking the net for three days was verboten unless we could get wi-fi on the smart phones.

But aside from that, it was a fun trip and I'm sad to see it end. I have 1200+ photos to go through. I am only on Day Two of posting them to Flickr so this may take awhile. I will also put up a summary here once I have some time - hopefully this week. In the meantime, here's a list of all of the places we stayed/stopped at during our eight days:

Chicago-South Bend, IN-Bryan, OH-Toledo-Cleveland-Ashtabula, OH-Conneaut, OH-Erie, PA-Silver Creek, NY-Buffalo, NY-Niagara Falls, NY-Niagara Falls, ONT-Toronto-London, ONT-Southfield, MI-Detroit-Hamtramck, MI-Ann Arbor, MI-Chicago

Needless to say I put over 1,200 miles on my car. He performed admirably.

And now it's to bed as I'm sure there are various disasters I must fix when I'm back at work tomorrow. HUGE SIGH

Vacation Time!

So I fully intended to do an in-depth and informative post, as you will always receive here on afoui (*snort*), regaling you of vacations of days past and a preview of what is to come this week. Unfortunately work kicked my ass all week, resulting in long hours and most evenings spent falling asleep in front of the TV - I am turning into my father. So seeing as it's past midnight and we're getting up at 7am in order to hit the road early, a scant paragraph or two is just gonna have to do.

Saturday: Cleveland
Sunday/Monday: Niagara Falls/Buffalo
Tuesday-Thursday: Toronto
Friday: Detroit
Saturday: HOME!

We don't have too much planned for certain. We're doing the Rock and Roll HOF in Cleveland, Niagara Falls of course, and the Hockey HOF in Toronto - I've already bought my tickets for that bitches! Expect a lot of photos of old signs and the other off beat shit I like to take pictures of. I predict I will get at least two blisters, sun burnt once and probably eat something that won't agree with me. But I don't care - I love vacations, and I am increasingly loving going on road trips - there's just so many cool and strange things to see when you drive.

I'll attempt to make a post or two on here during our time on the road, but I will be tweeting and probably throwing pictures on flickr too. So if you're so inclined, check out the links on the right.

Later!

Saving the Worst For Last

[Goodbye Nemo *wails*]

We all knew that the moves the Hawks were going to have to make in the offseason would be painful. But if you had told me earlier that this would mean we'd lose no fewer than *10* players, including our Cup winning goalie, I would have thought you were on crack and proceeded to either get drunk or jump off my porch (I live on the second floor). 

I had been dreading the impending Antti Niemi arbitration hearing and was hoping against hope the two sides could hammer something out beforehand. Alas, that did not happen, so I crossed my fingers that the arbitrator would award Nemo something in the 2 mildo range: that would be the only way he'd fit in a cap tighter than my thighs in spandex (please note I have never owned any spandex. Go away fashion police!).

He was awarded a one year-$2.75 million dollar contract.

That was that - no more Nemo. Within 24 hours, the Hawks had signed Marty "C-3P0" Turco, and Antti Claus (because he can give up rebounds like it's Christmas) was no longer a Hawk. On a selfish note, I can state I'm happy I didn't invest in a jersey (but I might still get a Niemi T-Shirt) but I really, really grew to like Nemo as the season wore on. He seems like an unassuming, hard working, goofy guy. And he is cute in that dorky way I find so endearing.

It's not fair that a Stanley Cup winning goalie is out of a job, mostly due to the fact that the Blackhawks were punished for their success in terms of bonuses counting against next year's salary cap. The poor guy was a Cinderella story - Zamboni driver to hoisting the sports' greatest prize in a few short years. I will have to lay some of this blame on Niemi's agent, Bill Zito. I know his job is to get the best deal for his client, and of course his value will never be higher having just backstopped the team to the top. But any idiot could tell you that this was a shit year for goalie free agents (just ask Jose Theodore and Evgeni Nabokov). Everyone knew of the Hawks' cap issues - you'd think perhaps you'd take a one year deal at a reasonable price with the promise of a multi-year deal for bigger bucks in the wings. I guess money talks - yet here we are, several days after the decision and Niemi's gone nowhere. Sure Zito's boasting that several teams are now interested, but I can't see any NHL team right now signing Niemi to that $2.75 mildo price tag - especially since unless a team changes its current roster, Nemo would only be needed in a 1A or backup role. I get the feeling Zito was filling Nemo's head with Halak-type numbers, only to see that idea fly out the window. Reportedly Niemi asked Zito "Now What?" after the decision was rendered. Now what indeed - poor Nemo could legitimately be out of the NHL or playing at a price less than what the Hawks probably offered him come the start of the regular season. 

Antti Niemi, you captured my heart in the midst of the journey that brought me to tears at the end, the journey that culminated in something no logical Chicago sports fan ever expects to see: a championship. Wherever your career takes you, I wish you nothing but the best. Just remember not to lose the puck in your pants again.

I wonder if Turco will sport red sparkling pads. I may have to wear sunglasses to the UC.

It's Not Easy Being Green

 [Day 23: Garden View]

As you recall (or perhaps not, here's a friendly reminder), Amy and I are tending a raised bed garden in a former vacant lot. It's been almost a month now, but I am happy to report that not only did we not kill off everything, we actually have ate things from it (and didn't get food poisoning)! Below is a summary of the growings on (ha - bad pun!), mostly in pictures of course.

I Am Sheeple, Hear Me Bleat

When the iPhones came out several years ago, Amy and I took great delight in mocking those who rushed right out to get one. "Fucking Hipsters," we'd sneer. Like sheep, folks flocked to Apple Stores every time a upgrade happened, and then they'd seemingly gloat they were cool enough to own one as they'd fiddle with it on the train, walking down the street, in the public bathroom.

Two years ago, it was time for Amy and I to get our phone upgrades as the contract was up.  Scoffing at the thought of needing a smart phone, I settled for a simple flip top model, seen above. We lovingly named it my Jitterbug. Amy opted for a Motorola, which was a cheap imitation of a Blackberry (she hates Blackberries). I was content with it for a time, but as I got more and more involved with social media, I longed for a smart phone. I'd use Amy's when I could, but the web browser was slow, and most webpages looked horrible on it. I'd sit at Hawks games this season and wish I had a phone I could check other scores on, and look at the Twitter feeds of fellow fans.

[self portrait using the Hipstamatic app - I'm a tad obsessed with this at the moment]

Finally our contracts were up again. Both of us ate a little crow. Amy got her iPhone 4 a week after they came out. I got mine last night - I had to wait an extra month due to some bullshit AT&T policy.

I spent most of last night playing with it and downloading (mostly) free apps and putting some music on it. I'm like a kid in a candy store - a nerdy one of course. So let me just say it: I have an iPhone. And I am not ashamed.

My Personal Academy Award

I rarely talk about work on here, for several reasons - a) I try not to give away too much information about my real life persona, even though I'm sure almost everyone who reads this knows me personally anyway, b) blogging about work can be tricky - I would never say anything remotely controversial about my workplace, knowing I could could get in trouble if I did. Which I have issues with in general, but that's not a topic for here nor there, c) I know I bore everyone enough as it is, so I don't need to wax poetic about the place I spend 50 hours a week at.

That being said, something important today that I should share - not to brag or boast, but more to put my memories and feelings down before the moment has passed. But first, I feel the need to tell everyone about all the jobs I've worked. So if you're sleepy, this should work better than an Ambien.

Finding Hockey Amongst Pierogis

OK, so I wrote that long diatribe how I'm going to update the blog and do other things and yet I've waited nearly a week to write anything of substance. *sigh* Well I did upload probably close to a 100 photos on Flickr since then so I'm not totally useless. Or something. Anyway...

No, no, no, don't run away screaming! Dead raccoon is just welcoming you to a story about my visit to the Annual Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana over the weekend. As you will see shortly, Mr Raccoon is just a sample of the weird ass shit (and in this case frightening) you could see and/or purchase in between stuffing your face. For those not in the know, pierogis are Polish dumplings often stuffed with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut and other tasty things. Sadly, I didn't start eating them regularly until fairly recently. Which is surprising considering I grew up in an area of Chicago with a large Polish population (Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw), and went to school with many folks with Polish and Slavic heritage. Aside from eating so much you feel like you need a defibrillator, there were many booths with crafts, knick-knacks and well, shit. Of course I had to capture such things with a Blackhawks theme!