Week #21: Additional Photos

I was very tempted to eat some oyster mushrooms right off the tree. Picture of my mutilated legs. I was unaware of the extreme danger involved in this hunt. Two of my three "animal graveyard pics". Final picture is of me buying fishing bait for the first time ever from a vending machine. I did not know that was even possible.

Week #20: May the Lord be with you

And also with you. I was honored to be asked, by my nephew, a few weeks ago to be his confirmation sponsor. I took immediately to the task of representing his future religious upbringing. While writing this, my nephew called and said he was reading the bible as we spoke. I am happy to hear such things. If he continues on this course, I will be forever satisfied.

The photos above include : the Bishop of Milwaukee and my nephew and I at church and with the chocolate crosses I presented to him when he finished his confirmation.

Week #19: Don't you think it is getting a little Hot in here?

Holy S#@$! This Hot Yoga thing is Hard! A couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of hot yoga (or the the term it goes by Bikram Yoga). A friend of mine mentioned that he did this and I should give it a try. I called Christine (pictured above, who has become a hot yoga junkie) and she joined me for an one and half hour session.





Bikram Yoga is conducted in a room of 105 degree heat with 50 percent humidity. It feels like 205 degree heat with 150 percent humidity. You are sweating like you are in a monsoon immediately when you walk in the room. I was the only first timer (out of 30 of us) and was called out by our instructor. He kept talking only to me the entire time. Are you o.k....you are doing fine...hold that cobra pose better...nice camel pose, etc. I (uncomfortably) felt like the only one in the room. Halfway through the routine, I was exhausted. Then the instructor told me that the "real yoga" was about to start. Are you kidding me!! I was ready to pass out! An hour and half later, I got through the lotus, snakes, camels, scorpions and many other exhausting and painful stances. Hot Yoga is a great way way to lose a quick five pounds of water weight while trying your best not to pass out due to sheer exhaustion. I don't know how Christine does it, but good for her. The most awkward moment of the night happened in the men's locker room. I asked another yoga guy to take a picture. He asked, "Of what?" I quickly explained - me (not of the locker room guys!). His photo is the first one posted. It'll take some time before I try this torturous yoga again.





Below is the link to my Hot Yoga place. There is a great informative two minute video showing the torture I went threw.



http://www.bikramyoga-milwaukee.com/

Week #19: Part 2 ... Pasta anyone???

This is technically not a new thing, but since I already completed hot yoga for this week, I decided to comment on this also. For the third straight year, I helped out by manning the spaghetti station (along with Jerry) for the Messmer spaghetti dinner. Messmer is an inner city high school where the majority of the families live below the poverty line. Three years ago during a business class, their teacher brought up an article about Waukesha West's academic decathlons team. They couldn't afford to send the team to the nationals that year, which was held in Hawaii. They decided to do something about it! After long discussions, Messmer decided to host a fundraiser for the suburban school's decathletes, so they could go to the national finals. I was recruited by my friend, Jeff to help out with the pasta duty. The first year, I scalded myself trying to move the spaghetti around with my hands (sterilized, of course!) before it cooled down (ouch!!). I learned my lesson, lots of cold water first. The first year, we had over a thousand people show up and had some national press. It was reported that this could be the first time nationally that an inner city school came to the aid of a suburban school for a fundraiser. The kids at Messmer are unbelievable, very kind, nice, smart, and personable. I am happy to do my small part along with the rest of the volunteer kitchen staff. It is a long day of cooking and cleaning, but well worth it. I am glad to help out and hope to be asked back next year. Jerry and I got the pasta down. Just don't call it noodles!

Week #18: Off to see the Oracle ... my trip to the "Financial Woodstock"

I went to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting this week. It took a looong time to get there, but was worth it. I left in the early afternoon on Friday and got back home Sunday early evening. The solo drive took about nine hours each way.

My wife's sister and husband live in Omaha and were nice enough to let me stay with them. My mother-in-law also has caught the Warren Buffett bug and flew in for the event. On Saturday morning, we arrived about an hour early and quickly proceeded to find some seats. Not easy! We ended up in the upper deck about ten rows from the top. Approximately 35,000 people showed up this year. People travel from all around the world and keep coming back year after year for this meeting. It has become kind of like a Financial Woodstock. Everyone comes to see and learn from the "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett and his right hand man Charlie Munger.




They started by introducing the board of directors that were in attendance, which included Bill Gates. The both of them work well with each other and form an economic comedy team. Warren Buffett doesn't use a computer or a calculator. He said, "If you need a calculator to decide whether to buy a company or not, Don't buy it! It should be shouting at you ... Buy me!" Charlie Munger was asked about the upper management at some the world's larger companies and he commented that the stupidity of most management and CEO's will keep a competent company like Berkshire going good for years to come. It was an interesting day and my MIL and I had a really good time.




While in Omaha, my brother-in-law showed me the home Buffett grew up in and the home where he currently lives (very unassuming). We even had lunch and a beer at Dundee Dell where Warren Buffett took Lebron James when Lebron came to town to ask for his advice. Besides all the driving, I had a rewarding weekend and would like to thank my brother and sister-in-law, my MIL, and my considerate wife for the opportunity for this weekend.




Pictures above are from the meeting: me with Warren, MIL, and various mascots from Berkshire Hathaway companies and you can never be too safe with the swine flu floating around. The video below is Buffett cracking up the crowd while answering a succession question.

Week #18: Photos of the Road Trip

Scenes from the seventeen hour (round trip) drive. Top picture is of Buffett and Munger (they are the two dots in the spotlight bottom left). The next three are in Mount Vernon, Iowa (population 3390) and the following at University of Iowa.

I was driving on a small county highway and stumbled upon Mt. Vernon, they were having their "Chalk the Walk 2009" event. I had a long way to go, but I stopped for about five minutes. It was a great small town event. In the middle of the closed off street there were two girls about 8 and 10 playing the cello and violin to the tune of "What a wonderful world" and everywhere around were artist making beautiful chalk drawings on the street. It was neat.

On the way there, I stopped at the U. of Iowa for the first time and ate a sandwich called the conglomeration at Micky's Irish Pub (the bar is originally from 1870). Notice the safe and secure door handle in the bathroom. While on the Ped Mall walking back to my car, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the latest issue of The Militant (really cheery socialist newsweekly). In fact, I think this may have been the first time I have been in the state of Iowa.

One last new thing this week, I ate Kangaroo for the first time (please don't tell my vegan friends).

Week #17: Rollin' through the City

I was in Chicago for a work conference this week and was able to extend my stay one additional night. My wife decided to join me for the last two days. She took the train into town for a fun weekend. We read an article a short time ago about architectural tours in Chicago. My wife thought I needed some culture and researched various walking tours. I decided to ratchet it up a notch and do the tour on a Segway. It turned out to be a great decision.





After a brief ten minute crash coarse on how to operate a Segway, we hit the road. Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes to get the hang of it. Even though our tour lasted two and a half hours, it seemed to go by too fast. We spent most of the time by Lake Michigan zooming by the museums (Shedd, Field, Adler, etc.), sculptures, Soldier Field, and various 1920's era buildings. Our guides were very nice and informative (even though one of them was the exact clone of my wife's Father and sounded like him to). Cool dude.





We learned a little about architecture and a lot about Segways. By the time our tour was over, our entire group was cruising around like veterans. Those things are amazing. To move forward, backward, or side-to-side you just shift your weight around. There is some balance "thingy" in the machine that prevents you from falling. They go up to 12 mph and become very easy to handle. Next time you are in the windy city (apparently many cities do these tours) give the "Segway Architectural Tour" a try. You won't regret it.

Week #16: Rollergirls

I always wanted to make it to the Derby, but I assumed it would be of the Kentucky variety. Yet this week, I found myself at a Roller Derby competition. I went with a good friend of mine who attended one of their matches last year. He and I were surprised by how many people were there. We should have known this was coming when we stopped at a restaurant fifteen minutes away and saw a couple of guys with "Brew City Bruisers" t-shirts on. I couldn't believe how many people were into this.

All of the seats were taken when we arrived, so we did the "standing room only" option. I had to learn some of the rules of the game: 5 players each side, 1 jammer (who scores all the points), and 1 pivot. They skate around a flat track and score points whenever the jammer passes someone from the opposing team. We struck up a conversation with a very nice woman. She happened to be the mother of two of the skaters. I got the back story on why one daughter went by the name of "Milwaukee's Breast". Apparently, she wanted to be called Milwaukee's Beast but the local paper misspelled her name to be breast instead of beast, so she decided to run with it. Good choice. Her other daughter goes by the name " The Other White Meat" and I questioned what does the family call her on Thanksgiving. The comment surprisingly fell flat. Overall, the women were very athletic and put on an entertaining show.

The Rushin' Rollettes ran right over the Shevil Knevils in the first match. The next few games were much closer. The women gave themselves great names. In the pictures above, I am being given a headlock by "Servin' Justice", had an awkward moment with "The Sea Hag", an interesting moment with the woman (?) in red, and got angry with the "Termiskater". After the Derby we had a great talk with Servin' Justice and Termiskater. In fact, Termiskater invited us to the "after party" when they closed down. As fun as that sounded, we had to be on our way and sadly had to decline the invitation. All and all, it was a fun night and I recommend anyone to give the Roller Derby a try. For those of you who do, here are the official fan rules (from the program) ... 1) No spitting on anyone you're not related to 2)No swearing around kids or old people 3) Wear deodorant at all times 4) No dying in the stands during a bout. How can anyone go wrong by following these practical simple rules? You can't! Mark your calenders for when the next Roller Derby event is in town.

Week #16: Photos

Dave and the "Termiskater" and apparently the roller derby fans weren't feeling charitable on this night (unless you count a nice comb donation).

Week #15: Extra Photos

A blurry picture of the action and dinner before going to the big fight with my brothers.

Week #15: The Sweet Science

I had never been to a boxing match until this week. I was reading an article in the paper last week about a promising up and coming young boxer named Luis Arias. It went on to say that he was fighting the next week about an hour south of me. I mentioned it to my wife and she said I should give it a shot. I called my two brothers and the night was on.

We met for a great dinner beforehand and then were on our way. We were going to the Wisconsin Golden Gloves semifinals. When we arrived, we had to use the restroom and found a victorious fighter (Daniel Rivera 141 lb. weight class) cleaning himself up after the fight. I talked to him and challenged him to a fight (you can see the pre-fight picture above), but was denied. He was a real cool dude. We proceeded to see about fourteen fights in all. Our sight lines were very good (the third row). We saw many knockouts and a lot of beat downs. A couple guys were definitely bleeders (see picture above). Towards the end of the evening, the more seasoned heavyweights came up. The matches became more even and the fights were very exciting. Our boy, Luis Arias, won a closer than expected fight and I look forward to hearing a lot about him in the future. It was so entertaining that my brothers want to do it again next week for the statewide finals. I had a lot of fun and would recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach. It definitely wasn't Las Vegas, but the fights were still a good time and a nice night out with my brothers. I can see now why boxing is called "the sweet science".

Week #14: No Meat, No Chicken, No Fish, No Dairy ... Make Goldie Go Crazy!!

Don't let the smiling face (you see above) fool you. I was a full-fledged Vegan this week. I have learned now that vegetarians are WIMPS! I spent the entire week eating like a vegan. This means that you can't eat anything that had a face or a family. I almost messed up my first morning by trying a handful of dry honey nut cheerios (I didn't). I noticed the smiling bee on the cover of the breakfast cereal. I googled Vegan and found out that not only milk but honey was also off limits.

I had lunches of wheat berry salad, Garden Burgers, cashew nuts or a salad with no cheese, eggs, or ranch-like dressing. I learned that Tofurkey is incredibly edible when you add spicy organic salsa (and are extremely hungry). To Vegans, tofu is a miracle food!! With the proper spices and sauces, it can be a meat, pork, or a chicken-like food.

The hardest part was going out to restaurants. I don't know how us vegans do it. Me and my Hackey Sack people have it rough. We are overlooked!! I was supposed to go out with a client for a steak dinner this week and I had to postpone. I checked the menu online and called up the restaurant, but they had no real vegan options for me. On my fifth day, my wife found the only certified green restaurant in the State of Wisconsin.

http://www.cafemanna.com/index.html

It was my vegan paradise! I could be myself without feeling ostracized. Bring on the Falafel with Citrus Tahini and the Baba Ghanouj, but I was warned about the Green Juice. Our waitress read us the "Vegan Miranda Rights" for this drink: I must drink it within thirty minutes, my face may become flush (it did), and I may feel a little woozy after drinking this. It is made of kale, swiss chard, bok choy, cucumber, romaine, ginger, etc. Loaded with vitamins and minerals to help detoxify. It was probably the healthiest drink I have ever had, but it tasted like drinking fresh-cut grass in a blender. You can see the misleading smile on my face above, while drinking this concoction.

This week was a lot more difficult then I thought it would be. Lots of cous cous, tofurkey, garden burgers, oranges, pickles, and water make a man hunger for a HAMBURGER!! 12:01 a.m. this Monday, that is what i am going to do (the alarm is set).