14 Things About Me For 2014

So I figured I would give you a list of 14 things you may not know about me. 14 things, 2014, you see the concept. Some are pretty plain but others may be a surprise. Enjoy!!

1) I was born in Hawaii. We moved before very long so I have no actual memories of it but I do get to say I was born there.

2) I'm left handed. All the best people are.

3) I have run a half marathon. Doing another this March.

4) I love owls. I have them everywhere.

5) I still read comic books. Don't plan to stop.

6) I play World of Warcraft. I definitely have a life outside the game though.

7) I love craft beer. Breweries and amazing beers have been my thing this year. I can definitely still pound back the Natty Lite, but I really enjoy flavorful beer now. STOUT!!

8) I have a window full of orchids. Have 9, need more. Once you get the hang of them, they are really quite easy to grow.

9) I met Steven King in an elevator. I was in junior high and in Minneapolis for a Final Four game and we were both staying in the same hotel. I read all of his books back then and I was so star struck that I couldn't say anything. He asked me how I was and I told him it was an honor to meet him. My prepubescent self couldn't think of anything else to say. Oh well, still got to talk to him. Pretty sweet!

10) I work for the #1 Greek Yogurt in the nation!

11) I am a white knuckle flier. My rational brain knows that nothing is going to happen, but takeoffs and landings fuck me up. I usually self medicate these days. It makes flying more enjoyable for everyone involved.

12) I had a HUGE obsession with Beanie Babies back when they were first popular. I have tons of them. If I was smart, I would have sold them years ago when there was a demand and at least made a little money. Now I just take up storage closet space with them. I need someone to restart the craze so I can make a quick buck.

13) Public speaking scares me to death. It has never gotten any easier for me.

14) I left my phone at home today and didn't turn around on the way to work. I am a little embarrassed by how disconnected I felt all day. I distinctly remember surviving before smart phones, but now clearly, I can't be without it by my side. Damn you Apple. Damn me too.

Thanks for reading. I will post again soon.

2013, What a Year.

On this 1st day of 2014, I find myself like most people, looking back on the year that was 2013. I scoured my pics and posts and found my favorites and thought why not share them with all of you. So here we go, hope you enjoy.

 Let us begin with forays into the adult beverage category. As my dad pointed out recently, he was pretty certain we had been to every bar in DFW due to my MANY alcohol related pics and posts. This is far from true, but he wasn't wrong about my posts. It was a great year for mostly responsible drinking (the irresponsible drinking involves taxi cabs). Tons of breweries and brunches and beer bars. Big shout outs to BBC, Ginger Man and Strangeways! When in Dallas, I highly recommend them. We dipped our toes into the home brew thing and had a blast doing it. It requires patience. But the end result is beer so it is worth the wait. I think we will save up and get a better kit and better supplies before attempting it again. Then there was Brewvolution, talk about a beer lovers dream. A never ending field of breweries just begging you to taste their wares. The swag is pretty awesome too. The best score of the day was this sweet hat from La Chouffe. I saw people wearing them and since I have a bizarre hat fetish, I had to have one. Sadly, they only gave them out to the VIPS. We talked to this lady who had one and Richard did his best to convince her to give it to me. She declined on TWO separate occasions but as she was leaving she offered it up. I felt very bonded to my craft beer people. I was then approached by a rep from the Beer Drinkers Society and their winner of tickets to Brewvolution. The winner's wife was unable to attend and he had generously given her VIP ticket to a stranger waiting in the non VIP line.  All his wife wanted was one of these amazing hats. They offered to buy it from me, but I felt this was one of those "pay it forward" moments so I gave him the hat. I am pretty sure I got some karma points.

 In an attempt to keep this pic heavy post from lagging your computer I put in a page break so click the read more button just below here for the rest of the story.