The Daily Log: #368
Thursday, June 5, 2008

Alex Gets Married!
I decided to take a week off from writing the Daily Log in order to have a relaxing weekend back on the farm and get back in the swing of things at work and the house.  Sorry for the wait!

I think about the only time I really get actually depressed and completely down on life is immediately after returning from a pleasant trip or vacation. It usually takes about 24 hours to shake, and then I accept that I have to return to my everyday grind. Same went for this time, after returning home from three days and three nights of hanging out in the Carpenter/Willow Lake vicinity to take in the Alex/Ann wedding. Other than gas I really didn't spend any money. I had all these meals prepared for me. I slept in late. I didn't have to work and just spent all my time hanging out with Lauren, Jason, and the family. I barely even tuned into the Twins. But a couple days went by and now I'm back to my old self!

I don't think I'll recount every minute detail of the weekend trip. The pictures I took pretty much tell the story themselves. But I will touch a little on each day.

Thursday after work, Lauren, Jason, and I made the drive from the Twin Cities to Carpenter through dense fog most of the way. We arrived to the farm around midnight, where we were shown the new improvements to the basement of the new house. I'd have to say it was a job very well done by the Glanzers getting all that work done since the last time I was home!

Friday we slept late and hung around the house most of the afternoon. Later in the day, Lauren, Jason, and I went to the Willow Lake Lounge for a few drinks and mingled with the locals before heading out to the church to meet up with everyone for rehearsal. Everyone came back to the farm for rehearsal dinner, which was Famous Dave's BBQ. Plans of staying up late and partying were quickly dismissed when everyone overate and fell asleep early.

Saturday was the big day for Alex and Ann. We had a big brunch to complement the big supper the night before, and early in the afternoon I headed down to the church for pictures. The wedding started at 5, and I damn near passed out in the insanely hot church. The church was tiny and packed with a hundred people with no fan, and I was standing for a half hour in my tuxedo. I was sweating so profusely that I garnered most of the congregation's attention. Everyone afterwards told me they feared for my life.

The wedding reception was a lot of fun with giant tents were set up in the grass. I definitely liked the idea of having the reception outside. Mr. Ehrke and his band performed dinner music for an hour or so. My personal highlight of the whole weekend was jumping in on lead vocals for a couple songs—"Sharp Dressed Man" and "Louie Louie." If I must say so myself, I thought the songs were pretty good, and I received some rave reviews from the crowd. American Idol next year? Hmm...

It seemed as the night went on, all the adults other than the parents left until it was just a bunch of younger people left. My recollection of the night is a little foggy, but from what I do remember I had a great time! Way to go Alex and Ann for throwing a kick-ass reception!

Sunday we slept late again and stopped at the church one last time for the gift opening, then drove back to Minneapolis. We didn't get home till 7:30 due to our stop in Watertown at the Knit Nook, where Lauren purchased some purple yarn. We also stopped at the Shell station, where Jason purchased two pickled eggs.

Notes from the Old Ball Field
• The EP softball team lost 16-6 Monday night to R U Blind. I pitched and had a shaky start, walking two batters in the first inning, but settled down after that. At the plate, I went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
• The Mpls softball team lost 14-4 Tuesday night to Sporty's Pub. I pitched three innings, walking two on very close pitches. At the plate, I went 1-for-2 with a long 3-run home run in the fourth inning, scoring Lauren and Christian. It was my first home run in softball since college, and the team's first of the year. I also caught a screaming line drive back to the mound.
• In softball games I've played this season for EP and Mpls. teams, we've been outscored by a total of 107-37. On average, that's about 14-5, but we have squeaked out a win in there.
• Staggering MLB Stat of the Day: Heading into action Tuesday, the Twins were tied for 11th in the majors in runs scored this season. I was shocked when I read that stat! It seemed like they were at or near the very bottom for a very long time, but they've scored five or more runs in a game nine times in the last two weeks.

Season Batting Stats
12-for-19, .632, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 3 2B

Season Pitching Stats
1-7, 34 IP, 5 BB, 5 K

Pants, Spreadsheets, and Freebies Highlight Wednesday
I had a run of bad luck Wednesday. At least it was of the semi-humorous variety. I ripped my pants wide open immediately after sitting down in my chair in the morning. The rip got bigger and bigger until I decided it needed to be rectified and went into the bathroom with a stapler. Needless to say, staples didn't hold, and when I sat down, I got a butt full of staples. I held my pants together and made a run over break to JC Penneys in EP where I bought some shorts to get me through the day, since of course they don't carry my size of pants.

Another funny thing that happened at the office Wednesday... Over a year ago, I wrote my Top 100 TV Shows of All-Time list.  Well, I actually pieced the list together over the course of the day at work.  To hide what I was doing, I typed it all up in an actual Excel document I used for trade shows.  At one point last year, I accidentally sent that to Aaron, and he distributed it to dozens of resellers and partners.  Only today did we learn that no one has been taking us seriously because our big trade show document contained a sheet for the top TV shows, including Little House on the Prairie and Kenan & Kel.  Luckily, trouble was averted.

After work, Luke Katuin invited Lauren and I out to his classy restaurant at The Depot in downtown.  Luke finagled a job as the restaurant manager and commutes from Mankato.  He treated us to a steak dinner, fully comp'd!  Our server was upset that I couldn't finish the ridiculous Oreo sundae.  Thanks Luke for the free meal!  It was filling and delicious!

That's all for Wednesday evening!

Ryan

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Archived Daily Logs - Today's Log

2003
11.12.03 11.13.03 11.14.03 11.16.03 11.17.03 11.18.03 11.19.03 11.21.03 11.23.03 12.01.03 12.02.03 12.05.03 12.09.03 12.15.03 12.17.03

2004
01.08.04 01.12.04 01.21.04 01.28.04 02.02.04 02.04.04 02.05.04 02.13.04 02.13.04 02.17.04 02.20.04 02.23.04 02.24.04 02.25.04 02.27.04 03.01.04 03.04.04 03.15.04 03.17.04 03.22.04 03.24.04 03.29.04 04.01.04 04.02.04 04.08.04 04.13.04 04.16.04 04.19.04 04.26.04 04.29.04 05.01.04 05.04.04 05.07.04 08.30.04 09.01.04 09.05.04 09.10.04 09.14.04 09.17.04 09.20.04 09.24.04 09.29.04 10.04.04 10.11.04 10.15.04 10.20.04 10.24.04 10.30.04 11.02.04 11.06.04 11.11.04 11.17.04 11.22.04 11.24.04 12.02.04 12.09.04 12.10.04 12.13.04 12.17.04 12.20.04 12.30.04

2005
01.10.05 01.16.05 01.18.05 01.24.05 01.28.05 01.31.05 02.02.05 02.07.05 02.11.05 02.12.05 02.15.05 02.16.05 02.17.05 02.18.05 02.19.05 02.20.05 02.21.05 02.23.05 02.24.05 02.26.05 02.28.05 03.02.05 03.10.05 03.14.05 03.15.05 03.17.05 03.21.05 03.23.05 03.24.05 03.28.05 03.31.05 04.05.05 04.07.05 04.10.05 04.13.05 04.15.05 04.18.05 04.21.05 04.25.05 04.30.05 05.03.05 05.06.05 05.16.05 05.25.05 06.02.05 06.12.05 06.18.05 06.23.05 06.29.05 07.03.05 07.07.05 07.11.05 07.16.05 07.21.05 07.25.05 07.30.05 08.05.05 08.08.05 08.14.05 08.20.05 08.29.05 09.01.05 09.06.05 09.11.05 09.13.05 09.20.05 09.23.05 09.27.05 10.02.05 10.07.05 10.11.05 10.14.05 10.19.05 10.25.05 10.26.05 10.30.05 11.03.05 11.08.05 11.11.05 11.14.05 11.18.05 11.22.05 11.28.05 12.02.05 12.05.05 12.08.05 12.12.05 12.15.05 12.18.05 12.20.05 12.24.05 12.26.05 12.29.05

2006
01.07.06 01.12.06 01.17.06 01.22.06 01.27.06 01.31.06 02.03.06 02.07.06 02.14.06 02.21.06 02.23.06 02.26.06 03.02.06 03.05.06 03.09.06 03.12.06 03.17.06 03.21.06 03.25.06 03.30.06 04.02.06 04.07.06 04.10.06 04.16.06 04.22.06 04.26.06 04.30.06 05.05.06 05.10.06 05.16.06 05.22.06 05.26.06 05.30.06 06.06.06 06.09.06 06.12.06 06.14.06 06.18.06 06.22.06 06.26.06 06.30.06 07.05.06 07.09.06 07.13.06 07.18.06 07.21.06 07.24.06 07.27.06 07.30.06 08.07.06 08.11.06 08.15.06 08.18.06 08.21.06 08.28.06 08.31.06 09.05.06 09.08.06 09.11.06 09.15.06 09.19.06 09.23.06 09.28.06 10.03.06 10.05.06 10.10.06 10.13.06 10.17.06 10.19.06 10.22.06 10.25.06 10.29.06 11.02.06 11.05.06 11.08.06 11.10.06 11.14.06 11.17.06 11.21.06 11.26.06 11.29.06 12.04.06 12.08.06 12.12.06 12.15.06 12.20.06 12.27.06 12.29.06

2007
01.01.07 01.07.07 01.13.07 01.18.07 01.21.07 01.26.07 01.29.07 02.02.07 02.06.07 02.10.07 02.14.07 02.19.07 02.24.07 02.27.07 03.03.07 03.07.07 03.11.07 03.16.07 03.19.07 03.27.07 04.01.07 04.06.07 04.07.07 04.14.07 04.21.07 04.24.07 04.29.07 05.07.07 05.11.07 05.13.07 05.16.07 05.21.07 05.25.07 05.28.07 06.02.07 06.07.07 06.11.07 06.15.07 06.17.07 06.22.07 06.25.07 06.29.07 07.10.07 07.15.07 07.19.07 07.24.07 07.27.07 08.01.07 08.05.07 08.11.07 08.15.07 08.23.07 08.29.07 09.05.07 09.07.07 09.12.07 09.15.07 09.19.07 09.23.07 09.27.07 10.02.07 10.07.07 10.11.07 10.15.07 10.18.07 10.22.07 10.25.07 10.30.07 11.04.07 11.11.07 11.16.07 11.20.07 11.27.07 11.30.07 12.04.07 12.10.07 12.16.07 12.21.07 12.27.07

2008
01.03.08 01.10.08 01.15.08 01.22.08 01.23.08 01.29.08 02.05.08 02.11.08 02.15.08 02.21.08 02.26.08 02.28.08 03.03.08 03.07.08 03.14.08 03.18.08 03.21.08 03.28.08 04.01.08 04.04.08 04.09.08 04.11.08 04.14.08 04.18.08 04.21.08 04.24.08 04.28.08 05.02.08 05.05.08 05.08.08 05.12.08 05.16.08 05.19.08 05.22.08 05.27.08