The answer my friends is blowing in the wind

This has got to be the first time I have actually kept up with this blog. There have been several big events in my life lately, so I figured I better

get them on the blog before I forget. Here it goes.

The first big happening is actually not a very happy one by any means. This past weekend I discovered that one of my good friends had passed away. Initially, I was quite shocked, and sort of in a state of denial. It did not really hit home until I attended the funeral services a couple days later. It turns out that at 25 years old, nobody is really ready to say goodbye to a friend. This has been my first experience with losing somebody unexpectedly, and so I find myself dealing with a wide array of emotions. The most prominent being that I think a lot of times I take my friends and family for granted. When you have great friends, they are always there for you, and supporting you. Nobody has to ask them to be there. For that reason, it is so easy to forget that their being a part of your life is really a gift. Along with that comes the finding on my part that sometimes you don’t realize how big of a role other people play in your life until they are no longer a part of it.

I have decided to make an effort to let more of my friends know how much I enjoy their company and that I am truly thankful for all they have done for me in life. I can honestly say I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family, as well as a wonderful wife that I know cares the world for me.

The only bright spot to come out of the funeral is that a good portion of my college friends whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time all managed to get to Milwaukee to honor the life of our buddy. After the services, it was nice to gather together and share memories and stories over a few pints of Guinness. It was a great moment in my life where for a short time life slowed down, and everything seemed calm again.

Sorry to start the post on a down note, but it was something that hit me pretty hard. However, there is some better news as of late. I have made the decision that I want to attend chiropractic school. I am currently in the process of applying. This past weekend, Gina and I went to visit National University of Health Sciences just outside Chicago. I absolutely fell in love with it. I did not know what to expect going there, but by the time we left, I knew this is the place I am supposed to be. Now, I just have to sit here and hope that they feel the same way about me.

My hope as of now is that I am able to start school this coming May. The biggest challenge to arise from that scenario is that Gina would still be in dental school for one more year. That would put her in school in Milwaukee, and me in school outside Chicago. Our leading option is to relocate to a middle point between the two cities and split the distance commuting. For one year, we would be spending far more time on the road than either one of us would like to, but it would be for a good cause, and again, it is only one year.

So this post has taken me longer than I had anticipated, so I will just leave it at that. I have plenty more to say, but it should give me incentive to get back on much sooner.

Other thoughts, interests, etc…

Favorite beer of recent days:

Pressing 78 Porter (Milwaukee Ale House)

A rich mahagony ale with warm malt flavors and hints of raisins

6% ABV

Favorite Movie:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Recent Restaurant adventure:

Water Buffalo in Milwaukee’s third ward

If I were a food critic, I would give it 3.75 out of 5 stars. I went with the spicy black bean burger…it was pretty delicious.

Book I am currently reading:

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Book I am currently reading in secret:

Are you there Vodka? It’s me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

Note: Photo up top is the Walleye I caught over Memorial Day weekend

There you are blog

Well, since I am not very good at maintaining this blog, I have a lot of ground to make up. I am going to try and give the abbreviated version of where my life is at now since my most recent post. It is very likely this will be spread out over several posts, but that should give me incentive to finally blog with some sort of regularity.

The most obvious change to my life has certainly been my new marriage. That’s right folks, Gina is now my wife! We were married last August in Wausau, WI. The wedding turned out fantastic, and it was wonderful to spend the day with so many special friends and family members we’ve grown with throughout our lives. Gina was absolutely gorgeous, and I truly felt like the luckiest man in the world being able to stand up at the altar as she walked down the aisle to take my hand in marriage.

We have been living in Milwaukee now for the past 2 years. The more time I spend in Milwaukee, the more I absolutely love it. I thought it was going to be hard to leave our lives in Madison behind. However, we have made such great friends here, and we are always busy due to all the neat things there are to see and do. To give you an idea, I have created a short list of activities along with brief descriptions of why they are awesome:

Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Games – Although Brewers games are not new to us, it has been so much fun being able to attend them on a regular basis. The great thing about Brewers games is that it is about more than just the baseball. There is of course tailgating! On several occasions this has been more fun than the game itself. Think Brats, Beer, Bags, Friends, and the occasional dance party.

Milwaukee Bucks Basketball – I know many of you are surprised that I would be putting this on my list. However, I have recently pledged my loyalty to this young, fun and exciting team. Milwaukee has a savior in town, and his name is BJ3 (Brandon Jennings). Oh, and don’t forget one of the top centers in the league…Andrew Bogut. I had to opportunity to attend a couple really amazing games this year with my buddy Zac. We first attended a Bucks vs. Lakers matchup. Kobe Bryant ripped our hearts out with an OT buzzer beater, but the stadium was rocking…well worth our hard earned $10. Secondly, as you know, the Bucks made the playoffs, and I was able to attend Game 4 of the series. The Bucks took it to the Hawks knotting the series up at 2 games a piece. Not bad for a team that was supposed to get swept. FEAR THE DEER! Got a glimpse of the 2012 NBA Champions!

Marquette Basketball – I know many of you are even more surprised that I would be putting this on my list. Don’t panic, my loyalty is still tied to my Wisconsin Badgers. We got a season ticket package, and we definitely got a great deal. It was fun to watch Big East basketball, which is very different from the Big Ten basketball we are used to. Marquette fans are very passionate about their Golden Eagles. Who says a guy can’t root for two teams?

Milwaukee Brewery Tours – How could this be anything but fun? We have done several brewery tours since our arrival. Most notably is the Lakefront Brewery tour. Costs a few bucks but is guided by some people who are truly passionate about their brews, and you get a fair amount of samples along with a souvenir pint glass. We have also been to the Rock Bottom Brewery, Milwaukee Ale House, and of course Miller. The Miller tour is FREE, and comes with 3 glasses of Beer!

Summerfest – The World’s Largest Music Festival. 11 days, 11 stages, and over 800 bands. Held at the Summerfest grounds on Milwaukee’s lakefront. The lakefront itself is a great place to spend your time with sandy beaches and plenty of space to take in the sunshine!

Cultural Festivals – Festa Italiana, Polish Fest, Irish Fest, Bastille days (French), German Fest…the list goes on. Food, music, beer, and great times a plenty.

That is just a small sample of what has been occupying our free time when we have it. Now it is time for the extremely fast run through of other thoughts, interests, etc…

Favorite shows I’m currently watching and loving: Modern Family, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, No Reservations, and most of the HGTV programming.

Favorite Activity: Biking! Gina and I got new road bikes, and now cycling has completely consumed me. I love it!

Favorite Beer: It’s a 3-way tie. Beer #1: Naughty Scot Scotch Ale from Rock Bottom Brewery. Beer #2: Louie’s Demise Ale from Milwaukee Ale House. Beer #3 Tripel Nova from Ale Asylum.

Favorite Pastime: The Milwaukee Brewers winning games

Book I am reading: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan. Great read, and very informational.

Best advice I have received lately: How to run a marathon: “Step one, start running. Step two, there is no step two.” -Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)

That’s it for now, I hope to get back to you soon.

Hold on to your Lugnuts!

Let's see...where's a good place to start?  Well, I learned a very valuable lesson a few months back.  If you are ever going to go skinny dipping at Lake Wingra in Madison, Wisconsin in August beware of mosquitoes!  Those bastards are relentless, and if you are dumb enough to go to the lake in just a pair of shorts (or less) you will be in the price.  (note photo to the left)

Ok, on to the serious stuff.  This year has been a whole new adventure for me altogether.  I live in a new house with two new roommates.  It wasn't that hard to get used to because they are long time friends of mine from back home, but there were a few things to get used to right away.  I do often times miss the old college life, but is is nice being able to lounge on the couch all day on Sundays if I wish.  We have been having our fair share of fun though.  As you may recall skinny dipping in Wingra, but we have also done tons of other things such as making a Turducken, which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  I am in the process of uploading a bunch of photos online, and the Turducken photos are already up, so feel free to take a look.

I have been spending my week days working in the core laboratory at UW Hospital here in Madison since August.  The position I have is not always the most stimulating, but it pays the bills, and I am getting good experience for later on.  We recently got very awesome news...Gina was accepted to the Marquette School of Dentistry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  We are both very excited about that.  The current plan is to relocate to the Milwaukee area sometime next summer.  The apartments we have looked into seem pretty nice.  One of the places has a pool and sundeck on the roof of a 20 story building overlooking downtown Milwaukee.  It is a little pricey but we might do it anyway.  Once Gina gets rolling in school, the plan is for me to get back in school also.  I think I am going to get into an accelerated nursing program and finish that up in about 20 months.  Then I can either work as an RN or pursue further training to reach my final goal of a nurse anesthetist.  With that said, life has been going great, and the future looks even brighter.  Maybe in a few years I will actually have enough money to come visit all of you.  

Anyway, that's long enough for now.  I hope to get linked up to all of my old friends through the blogosphere soon.  I have noticed many of you have blogs, so get in touch with me so I can link up  (something like Captain Planet).  That's about it.

Peace, 

Deezy  

Do you believe in magic?

Last night was amazing!!! I went to my first Milwaukee Brewers game of the season. It took a long time to finally get there, but the wait was well worth it. I saw a half inning of baseball that was probably one of the greatest I will ever see. It was the bottom of the sixth inning and the Crew were trailing the Houston Astros 4-2. This score made me especially unhappy because they got the lead by ex-brewer Carlos Lee belting a 2 run homer earlier in the game. However, all this would change in the bottom of the sixth. The Brewers came out and loaded the bases right away for Rickie Weeks. He hit a triple that would clear the bases and give the Crew the 5-4 lead. Eventually the triple would be counted as a single with an error, which I think is total bogus because the outfielder did not error…he simply missed the ball completely. Anyway, that was very exciting and would have been sufficient for the Brewer faithful. At this time Tony Graffanino came into the game to relieve the current pitcher. Graffanino ended up going yard for a 2 run shot giving the Brewers the 7-4 lead. The story gets even more amazing yet. The Brewers would then load the bases again and Johnny Estrada would come to the plate. After a couple swings I asked my friend next to me if Estrada had ever hit a Grand Slam. His response was, “No”. So I looked over at Estrada at the plate and I said, “what a perfect time to hit your first grand slam”. The next pitch sailed across the plate and Estrada got a hold of it, and it was back, back, way back, going, GONE!!!! GRAND SLAM!!!! All of this in one inning, and still the Brewers had only 1 out. However, the magic would end there, but the Crew would hold on to an 11-5 victory and made my $20 ticket well worth it. Another piece of exciting info was that Brewer rookie Ryan Braun managed to go 3-4 with a first inning HR to get the game started. The future is looking bright for Milwaukee.

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken

Well, my world has changed some since the last blog post, and I have a whole new set of things I need/want to do and accomplish. Anyway, this is what is going on in my life currently…

1. I recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
2. Actually, I sort of graduated from the UW…I walked in the graduation ceremony, but I am still slightly short of the credits I need for my degree to be valid, which leads me to number 3.
3. I just started a 3 credit Wildlife Ecology course about extinction of species. I think it should be fun. The course only lasts 4 weeks, and when that is complete I will be finished with school for at least a year.
4. I am currently job searching. I need to find a job to occupy my time for the next year, and not to mention I NEED $$$. I have kept my job search really narrow. I am looking into several jobs at different hospitals around the Madison area, and I am also looking into a couple research positions as well. The problem with that is I have no specific area of research I would like to study so I don’t really know what to look for at all.
5. My girlfriend Gina moved into my house with my 3 other roommates since spring semester ended. That is a whole new adventure for me, and I sure living with 4 guys has been even more of an adventure for her. The change has been going great so far, and it really helps a lot that she gets along with my roommates well…sometimes better than with me. Even though we share a tiny room together we still get a lot of space from one another. Gina is currently working a full time job over the summer for a dental clinic. In the meantime, she is busy applying to dental school. I am really excited because she is applying to schools all over the country, so in a year or so, I will most likely be moving to a new location that I have never lived before. Now that school's out for summer, we actually have a little bit of free time to hang out. The terrace has definitely become a favorite of ours (see photo at the bottom).
6. Since my roommates have been pretty busy with their summer jobs, and I have lots of extra time when I am not at class, I have really gotten back to my true passion…COOKING! I have cooked a meal nearly every day since graduation. My favorite thing to do in this beautiful weather is grilling. The other day Gina and I got ostrich burgers from the farmers market, and gave them a try. They are fantastic. Ostrich burgers are like red meat, and have half the fat of chicken. Also, the farmers market (check out the slide show) here in Madison is unbelievable, and gives me a reason to wake up on Saturday mornings.
7. I have been working out on a regular basis for over a month now. It feels really good to be active again. I have been lifting weights, running, biking, and playing Ultimate Frisbee games with my roommates and girlfriend in the Madison Ultimate Frisbee League. That has turned out to be a lot of fun. I have finally gotten to the point where I am seeing results from working out. The results are nice because they make the previous work worth it, but also give me incentive to keep up with the workouts. I actually look forward to workouts now rather than dread them…most likely because I am in good enough shape where I don’t feel like I am going to die every time I go for a run.
8. The last big thing I have been up to lately is catching up on my Blockbuster Online Queue. I recently switched over to Blockbuster from Netflix. I love it. I get twice the movies for the same price. Recently I viewed Syriana, Luck Number Slevin, Smokin’ Aces, The Queen, and The Da Vinci Code. I enjoyed all of them except for The Queen. After the awards it won, I really had higher expectations of The Queen, and it definitely fell short. Some items I am waiting to see are Breach, Hannibal Rising, Children of Men, Delicatessen, Hotel Rwanda, and Northern Exposure Season 1. I also should be getting Adaptation in the mail today, so I know what I’ll be doing tonight.

That is pretty much what I am up to these days. I’ll try and keep this blog up to date a little more.

“If the facts don’t fit the theory…change the facts” - Albert Einstein

Still Kickin'

Well, it’s really been a while since I last used this blog. The Intermediate Composition class I was in, which required me to use this blog has come to an end. However, I would like to see if I can actually continue to post on occasion. I would recommend to anybody who is enrolled as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and needs to take English 201 as a requirement, to try and get into Scot Barnett’s section if he is still teaching. The course was great, and the information learned in that class was actually useful in today’s communications. Besides gaining useful information in the course, the class meetings were almost always enjoyable since it was set up in a discussion format. Therefore, we were able to learn, as well as the occasional BSing which was good for the learning soul, I guess you could say.

So anywho, I have moved onto my 8th and final semester here at the UW, and I am pretty excited. I have an insane schedule, and I am definitely in way over my head, but it’s all good. I would like to get good grades, but passing my classes is goal #1. Since I will be graduating in May I have really been looking ahead into my future, and it is really fun to think about. I will be taking some time off after graduation to move on to the working world for about a year. My goal is to make as much money as I can in one year as possible, and during that time my girlfriend Gina will be finishing up her undergrad here as well, since she is a year behind me. She is going to move on to dental school, and I am simply waiting to find out which school she gets accepted to. My goal is to be engaged at that time, and then start looking forward to a wedding. Once we know where we will be living, we will move there, and I will either continue to work, or continue my education, but it really comes down to what we can afford at the time. I will continue my education at some point though. The part of this whole situation that is really exciting to me is that I have no idea where I am going to be in a little over a year from now. My life is going to be very different, and taking place somewhere I have never been. That’s all I got for you now. Adios Amigos!

Software Training

Yesterday, I went through the online STS class for PowerPoint 2003. The reason I chose this class was because I was nearly done with the course so Dreamweaver courses were no longer necessary, and I had never used PowerPoint before. I did the introductory part of the course which was very helpful. It covered things such as how to use basic tools such as using already designed templates and color schemes as well as autocontent which the computer has already saved to help save time. The class was very effective as well because it had quizzes as you went along to make sure you were catching on to important concepts. I can now design a basic presentation for any occasion. NICE!