Notes from Milwaukee So Far
by Scott Hardie on October 2, 2006
Bad flight Friday. Late dinner at the local 24-hour Greek diner, first pasta I've had in a week and so good. Matt thought the waitress was ignoring us; I thought she was attentive. Two flights of stairs up to Matt's place reminded me why I gave up my third-floor apartment. Stayed up till 5am watching The Simpsons and discussing old times, including some of my semi-embarrassing bedroom secrets, and looking at great vacaction photos of Matt and Kevin Fiore from over the years.
Saturday morning, barely slept, I was about to reach second base with Kirstie Alley until the neighbor's shower startled me awake. Two-hour drive to our Illinois hometown of Saint Charles across backroads, so much more pleasant than the interstate. If Florida had more Chinese restaurants like East Troy's China City I'd be in heaven. You get what you pay for with Country Inn & Suites but at least you can check in and check out in 15 seconds each. We drove around town with old friend Ryan Orsucci, revisiting old haunts (the mall is a grass field now? it's about time) and catching up on old friendships. Ryan and I lost touch due to lack of common interests, but he's still a hell of a guy, lots of fun to hang out with, and I'm glad to know him. The woman who ditched Matt at prom still tends register at the Target where he met her eleven years ago. The appeal of Portillo's Hot Dogs still mystifies me. Fell asleep at 2am after finally getting Matt to admit that while Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley are hotter than Angelina Jolie, Angelina dressed as Slave Leia beats them both. For my part, Angelina beats Scarlett Johansson if both women are Ginger, but nobody beats Scarlett as Maryann. (Believe it or not, we did discuss socialism and Catholic doctrine and Mark Foley and other issues of sophistication, but not at 2am.)
Szechwan in downtown St. Charles is still the best Chinese restaurant I've ever enjoyed, without contest. Filled up my memory card with photos around our hometown before driving back and grooving to Stadium Arcadium the whole drive. We watched Robot Chicken and Bears-Seahawks too late and wound up again at the Greek place. This time I felt ignored while Matt thought the waitress did a great job. I overate badly and my diaphragm has been very sore since; if it's still this painful when I get back I'll need to see a doctor. Dreamed about having two bitches who used to tease me in high school working for me and continuing to tease me and this time I could FIRE THEM, and it felt GOOD.
Currently we're waiting for our third Chinese meal in three days and psyching ourselves up for Packers-Eagles tonight. Go Green Bay!
Six Replies to Notes from Milwaukee So Far
Lori Lancaster | October 2, 2006
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Aaron Shurtleff | October 3, 2006
I second that, Scott. You're incredibly weird! :P
I guess I am the third to say that. ;)
Jackie Mason | October 3, 2006
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Scott Hardie | October 4, 2006
Hehe, thanks. I wasn't sure if I should mention that Matt and I talked about women like that, because it could give the false impression that it's the only thing we discussed (or that I/we talk about that all the time). It was one topic among many, but the topic I thought would best make for a quick joke here.
I do miss the midwest, Jackie. It's the little things, like the smell of burning leaves in the air in a neighborhood, or the small-town whose welcome sign proudly declares them the 1956 high-school football state champions, and you get the sense the game is still fondly discussed at the barber shop. My own hometown had just a taste of Sarasota in that there was a brand-new Walgreens every thirty feet, but I suspect that's only because the chain's strategy for beating CVS is to saturate the market, not because Chicago's far-west suburbs have become geriatric overnight. Anyway, it was a good feeling to revisit the midwest. I totally understand why snowbirds (rich Sarasotans) live there for nine months and here for three.
Jackie Mason | October 5, 2006
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Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
Wests Take Southwest to Southeast
As Steve West mentioned, he and Brenda recently visited Sarasota for a week of fun. In advance, we rented an AirBNB (cat allergies prevented staying at my place) and kicked around some ideas for what to do, but we were concerned about unpredictable fatigue and other medical complications and knew that we had to take it one day at a time. The trip had a bumpy start, with Kelly taken by ambulance to the ER the night before (she recovered quickly) and a difficult Southwest flight and Uber pickup for the Wests, but that all quickly felt like it was behind us as soon as the fun began. Go »Powerless
Going without electricity in Florida can be a miserable affair. You sweat non-stop. You sleep fitfully at best, waking up in pools of your own body fluid. Go »No Disrespect
One of my pet peeves is people saying, "Have you ever noticed that the phrase 'no disrespect' is immediately followed by something disrespectful?" Well, YEAH. That's the point of the phrase. Go »The Time Has Come
My kingdom for an alarm clock that beeps once, gently, 60 seconds before it really begins going off. That way you're woken up comfortably and given a chance to turn it off, instead of being startled awake by loud shrieking and having to scramble for it. Go »WLW: No Payin', No Gain
My weight loss plan – which has become our weight loss plan, since Kelly intends to do just about everything I do – is on hold until I can recover from the move, which took my last penny and then some. On the bright side, I've been eating less since getting together with Kelly, and I burned what felt like a week's worth of calories during that move. We should start walking soon before we settle into a daily routine. Go »
Lori Lancaster | October 2, 2006
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