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VamosTigres
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Country: United States
State: Louisiana
Metro: Slidell
Birthday: 4/1/1978
Gender: Male
Interests: golf, listening to music, frisbee!, clemson football/basketball/golf, going to concerts
Message: message me
Member Since:
9/3/2002
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| cold beer and a colder night This entry was originally published at Bringing the Drama it's no secret that i love Abita beer. they are not only local, but awesome. last week at work one of my friends advised a group of us that there was going to be an official pub crawl in the Warehouse district of NOLA, $1 beers at each stop. usually their pub crawls are in the Quarter, and spread out, so i've never gone. Friday's crawl involved two bars i like, and it was in the Warehouse district. it was double bonus because it'd be easier to get free parking AND the bars were close together. i'd never done a pub crawl of any kind in college (apparently other people in my group had done plenty), so this was a first for me. we met up at my friend Jim's apartment and headed downtown. we got our wristbands and shirts (FREE!) at the first stop then went to one of the future stops to get something to eat. we had to sit outside to eat, which wasn't the best because it was cold. despite the portable heaters, it was still cold, and we made a good effort to finish eating and head off. we went back to the first stop and got our first beers. the beer of choice was the Pecan Harvest, which i like. the other people i was with hated it when they learned what it was. too bad for them. i drank Jim's since he took one sip and hated it. obviously i was not rolling with people used to drinking something other than PBR. (not that there's anything wrong with that) the 2nd stop was Lucy's, which i have visited many times. the pub crawl was directed to the 2nd floor, which was nice, because it was inside AND warm. the beer was flowing out of two taps, Amber and Jockamo (an IPA that i don't like). i made sure not to be getting the Jockamo, but the bartender assured me "it doesn't matter, they're both Pecan". my friends seemed to enjoy the beer at the 2nd location, even though it was the SAME BEER. it was kind of like one of those social experiment where someone's given a placebo, and they think they're getting something great, but they're really not. the third stop was called Vic's, and was somehow related to Australia. they had a Koala bear surfing on a wire above the bar. anyway, they were serving the beer in smaller non Abita cups than the previous stops, so the $1 was not worth as much there. cheap way to participate i thought, and we only stayed there for one drink. the last two stops were right across the street from each other, and we returned to the standard Abita cups. both bars had ample room inside, so we were able to finally sit down in the final stop and enjoy warmth and conversation. it was kind of cool, because we were able to walk around, see a bunch of people, even go to the Miracle on Fulton Street. what was also great was to talk to people who i'd only see in meetings, and we even saw one of our managers out there. it was an excellent evening, even if it included me living a real life episode of HIMYM, but that's for another time. Leave / read comments | | |
| coming through under pressure
This entry was originally published at Bringing the Drama
so that whole presentation i made up for White Shoes for his meeting that was supposed to be a couple of weeks ago, finally were presented today. i had to talk them. i've never talked anything in a meeting before, at least not something like analysis. i was really nervous, not because i'd have to talk, but of the questions that i thought would follow. could i answer them correctly? could i represent my team well? one of the guys from Denver sent me an email with questions before the meeting that i answered. it's weird, all these engineers you would think have a sense of when to ask questions and when to trust someone's judgment, or maybe at least think before they ask a question. i know i may not have the expert judgment yet, but i do have common sense for what i'm doing. the guy's email questions were asked from a position of him not doing what i do, so they were kind of outsider questions. i answered them before the meeting, and didn't get a response. in the meeting, i did get some real questions, but my managers were able to back me up if i couldn't answer right away. they also helped me explain things a little better, because i guess there are some terms i was not familiar with. i was proud for having to explain the slides, and finally got some exposure in one of those meetings.
on my way home i stopped at the gym to run. i hate running on treadmills now, but it's been really cold here the past couple of days, so running in 40 something degree weather wouldn't be the smartest thing. in front of the treadmills (and other cardio stuff) there are 5 big tvs. i was able to get one of them changed to ESPN2 so i was able to watch the beginning of the Clemson game. i was able to watch the rest after i got home. watching the last few minutes i got hoarse from yelling. it was such an exciting finish. Illinois had the ball down 2 and were going to shoot the final shot. i've seen that finish happen before, and the other team usually hits a 3 to win or at least ties the game then wins in OT. i was completely expecting the heartbreak and disappointment. tonight though, Illinois didn't get a shot off. Clemson won by 2! then i was able to catch up with a couple of old college friends, and be excited about the game, and also about Dabo. it was a great night.
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| our WR coach beat your Legend This entry was originally published at Bringing the Drama
this year's Clemson football season has had some MAJOR ups and downs. it started off with such a high degree of anticipation, and then came crashing down almost immediately after the first half against Alabama. i still haven't really talked about that game very much, because it was so disappointing. let's just say i now have a hatred for some Alabama fans, and that i knowingly let a Clemson fan walk past me on the way out to go fight an Alabama fan in the walkway. nothing really happened, just some missed punches and hollering.
anyway, when Tommy Bowden got let go, i didn't really like it very much. i didn't like the timing, and i didn't like our QB and his dad basically throwing him under the bus. i thought after such high expectations, and then it becoming obvious that we were not even going to win the division much less the conference, maybe it would be time for a change, but at the END of the season.
the first thing the new interim coach Dabo Swinney did was fire the offensive coordinator, which was awesome. i thought the playcalling (on both sides of the ball) was a lot of the reason for the Alabama fiasco, and other games, and i thought if they were getting rid of the head coach, might as well get rid of the OC too. the first game Dabo coached was the GT game, and we lost. i didn't like that, because we definitely had our chances to win, but our arrogant QB couldn't get the job done. the last 5 weeks of the season though were fantastic (except for the FSU game where again our QB made a STUPID play to totally shift momentum).
on Saturday the entire season came down to the game against our archenemies from south carolina. i know we only play them once a year in football, and we usually beat them, but i still detest the thought of them winning anything. the whole coaching change would come to a head and Dabo would either get the job or he wouldn't, and i think the entire decision was based on the last game. my friend Scott called me Saturday morning to talk football, and i told him i'd be okay with Dabo getting the job IF they won. they did, and they won in dominating fashion. it was awesome. i still wanted them to score when they were up by 17 with 2 minutes to play. James Davis ran for 3 TDs, even our stupid QB made a couple of good throws, and Dabo was carried off the field. the game for me was so great to watch, because it was such a culmination of the sacrifice the team had gone through, and now even if they were not going to win the conference, they were going to a bowl game. today Dabo was officially given the job, and i'm totally in support of the decision. the emotion he shows on the field and in his press conferences is amazing. i'm stoked for the bowl game, but what i've really wanted to see is Dabo working with a different QB. the season opener for next season can't come fast enough! and you know what's funny? Dabo is a former Alabama player, but i can forgive him for that.
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| an exhausting Thanksgiving, part 2 This entry was originally published at Bringing the Drama
so after i got home from the race, and got ready, i made the salad. i actually used my cutting board for cutting for one of the first times i can remember. i usually just use it as a big platter to bring stuff out to the grill. the cutting board and my knife set (also being used for one of the first times legitimately) proved to be no match for the lettuce or green onions. maybe i should start getting heads of lettuce instead of buying the bag salads from now on since cutting everything up was easier and less trouble than i thought.
i had to chop nuts AGAIN and combine with the Ramen noodles once i was done with the lettuce, onions, and broccoli. the browning of the walnuts and Ramen would have been easier had i crushed up the Ramen before putting it in the pot, but that's a lesson for next time. i thought the browning would also permanently stain my pot, but meticulous cleaning has prevented that.
i got out the ingredients i'd need for the dressing and whisked them together. i don't really need a balsamic vinegar bottle to be wrapped like a wine bottle, but that's what i had. it said it was organic, so i guess they figure they need to be extra fancy. at least it was not corked. i subbed in olive oil for vegetable oil because i had it on hand and i know olive oil is healthier. i had no idea if that would work, but i hoped it would. the whisking did not take long, and once i got that finished, i was done. the counter i used was the small patch in my kitchen that didn't have something on it. i kind of keep a cluttered kitchen, but i did have about 3 feet of counter space to work.
i got to my aunt and uncle's at 12:58, with 2 minutes to spare. the salad went over big, much bigger than i thought. i hadn't tasted any of what i made before, so it was pretty unknown what the reaction would be. when i told everyone about the cheesecake, they were amazed again. when the desserts were finally cut, it became apparent that my cheesecake would have done better had i greased the bottom of the pan before i put the crust on. once a few pieces had been taken though, it was easier to get the crust off. the cheesecake was also a huge hit. after i got home, i was exhausted and fell asleep before the Hornets tipped off, so i completely missed a big win in Denver. i slept 12 hours, so i missed the whole shopping experience on Friday morning too, which is just as well, because i don't really need a new 32" LCD tv for $500 right now. i think what i do need is a food processor.
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| an exhasuing thanksgiving, part 1 This entry was originally published at Bringing the Drama
my aunt called me Wednesday morning at work, and told me she was going to make her pineapple upside down cake, and i told her i was going to make the salad and another dessert. we were going to make more food than was probably needed but it was Thanksgiving, people could take food home.
in light of an audible needing to be called for the Thanksgiving dessert, i had kind of decided on a chocolate/hazelnut tart, but then my friend Brandi let me know about this caramel pumpkin cheesecake. i looked at the pictures and the recipe, and thought it looked really good. the tart, from the reviews i read, seemed like a love it or hate it recipe, and the cheesecake looked more difficult. i went ahead with plans to make the cheesecake (FROM SCRATCH!). i left work a little early on Wednesday so i could go to the gym (no CGG!) and then go to the store and get home in time to make at least the cheesecake. i had plans to run in the Turkey Day Race in NOLA on Thursday morning, but i was going to make it home with enough time to throw the salad together. my dad called me about the race, and asked if he could go, so i told him to meet me at my house at 7:15 figuring i'd be getting to bed by midnight.
i went to the store after the gym and after going to walmart the previous day, i wanted to get all of my ingredients for both dishes at Rouses, without having to go to walmart. i was able to find almost everything, including the same brands on the gingersnaps and pumpkin, i was on a roll. i called Brandi (she was also making the cheesecake) to get her opinion on using fat free cream cheese (we thought using half FF half regular would be okay). all i had left to get was the caramel sauce and green onions. THERE WAS NO CARAMEL SAUCE! all i could find was the shell stuff, which was not going to work for a cheesecake. i went to the other store (same chain) in town to get the green onions for the salad, and hoped they had caramel sauce. they did not. i was going to have to go to walmart.
i went home and dropped off all my stuff, then grabbed some 20% coupons to BBB and headed off. the caramel sauce at walmart was right where it was supposed to be, with the chocolate syrups. i again called Brandi to get advice on sugar free caramel and then probably said other things but the 2nd call was a blur but i do remember talking to her as i searched in vain for a hand mixer (i could not find any, i'm sure they had some, but i didn't have time). i went over to BBB and got a mixer and a springform pan set. i finally got home about 8:45 pm i think, ate dinner, and the cheesecake making was going to commence.
the cheesecake called for crushing 3/4 of the bag of gingersnaps, however, for me that proved to be more difficult. i have no food processor, so my first course of action was to step on the bag of gingersnaps. that didn't really work as well, so i got out my ice cream scoop and pounded the bag. again, not exactly working. then i thought i could use my blender, unfortunately 30 min after i started. the blender worked like a champ.
i failed to think of the blender also after chopping the pecans. chopping nuts is one of the most maddening things to do and i had to do it TWICE, once for the cheesecake and once for the salad. i tried to combine all of the ingredients for the crust in the blender, but the blender did not work for that. it's a cheap blender and probably decided after the gingersnap performance that the crust was going to be too much work. so i used a bowl and a spoon to make the crust. that worked out fine, and then i molded the crust into the springform pan. at first i dumped all of the crust into the pan, but then after realizing that would not work, i added crust as i needed it to mold to the pan. i didn't get the crust as high up on the sides as i would have liked, but hoped that wouldn't matter.
once the crust was done it was onto the filling. i got out the new mixer and the biggest pyrex bowl i had. in went the sugar and cream cheese. mix mix mix. i mixed at the slowest setting possible and still managed to fling cream cheese onto my shirt. the cream cheese got to light and fluffy.
in went the pumpkin. the canned pumpkin was pretty dry in the can, which was a little unexpected, however, it was good because it didn't add anything to the already rising level of filling in the bowl. mix mix mix.
in go the eggs one at a time with mixing in between. mix mix mix. in goes the heavy cream.
mix mix mix. thankfully i didn't have to add anything more to the filling because it was almost overflowing the bowl. i poured the filling into the crust and put it in the oven about midnight. i was thinking i may have to call my dad in the morning and tell him i wasn't doing the Turkey Day run. i was going to try though to do EVERYTHING, so i ended up setting my phone to go off 70 or so minutes later so i could sleep while the cheesecake was in the oven. i grabbed a blanket and slept on the couch. the phone went off about 1:20 and i got up and took the cheesecake out. the cracks did not bother me, because Pioneer Woman's (where the recipe came from) cracked also, so i figured i was doing everything right.
i had to let it cool for 30 min, so i set the phone again and slept on the couch. phone went off and i kind of hit the snooze. i got up about 2:30 or so and put the caramel sauce on, then put it in the fridge. i actually got in my bed a little before 3 am. i got up around 6:45 for the run, and was ready for 7:15. my dad was of course early getting to my house, but we were able to leave in time to make it down to the race. there were so many people there, way more than the race i ran the day after Halloween. i heard someone say on the loudspeaker than over 1000 people signed up the day of the race (including my dad and i). i ran the race in 48:16, which was good considering all that had happened in the previous 12 hours. i waited on my dad to finish, and we left. i got home about 11 and had 2 hours to shower, make the salad, and get over to my aunt and uncle's for Thanksgiving.
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