Crasymaker

Some friends of ours started a “Brown Bag Wine Club” and last night marked the beginning of what is hopefully an on-going, monthly event.

From the eVite: “The goal is to create a very casual, non-pretentious environment for people to learn a little about wines. We will try to balance giving people an opportunity to go through the “5 S’s” of wine tasting (see, swirl, smell, sip, and spit) or to just chug what is in the glass.”

Last night’s focus was on Champagne/Sparkling wine. We tasted 8 different types and took notes without knowing what we were drinking. I had a feeling that I’d probably end up liking the cheap stuff more than the fancy stuff. I was right. I gave the highest score to the cheapest brand. No surprises there.

More photos here.

Last weekend was a blast. My friends organized the perfect bachelor party for me and it was so much fun. To go along with our upcoming non-traditional wedding, we had an equally non-traditional bachelor party. Instead of tossing dollar bills to a bunch of strippers while getting wasted, we shot paintballs at each other…and then got wasted.

We went out to Wild World Paintball in Tontitown after work on Friday and basically had the place to ourselves. It was fairly inexpensive (especially for me since everyone chipped in for my share) and incredibly exciting. They had 7 or 8 courses to choose from. Our favorites were “The Town” which had a bunch of makeshift buildings and “Vietnam” which was in the woods. We each got 500 paintballs, masks and of course, guns. Half of us were dressed in camoflage so we played “Camo vs. Wimps” and shot at each other for a few hours before the sun went down.

I managed to make it out with only one injury to the stomache but not all of us were so lucky. Those things friggin’ hurt like hell when they hit you and those who sustained the closest-range injuries are still showing their marks today. Ouch.

I only took about a dozen photos or so but you can check them all out over at my Flickr page if ya wanna.

There are a ton of December birthdays in our group of friends. To celebrate them all, Sarah and Laura rented out a roller rink in Sprindgale and we had the place all to ourselves. Somehow it turned into not only a skating party but also a costume party. Some of the costumes were hot (the girls) and some of them were gross as hell (the guys).

I’m not sure exactly what the staff of teenagers thought of us because they didn’t laugh but they didn’t exactly seem freaked out either. What does that say about the regulars at Roller City?

Wanna see some photos? Cool. Here they are. Enjoy.

Leaving work an hour early on a Thursday is sweet but not as sweet as leaving work an hour early on a Thursday when you also have Friday off as well. Playing a show out of town is sweet but not as sweet as playing a show out of town with The American Princes the night of their CD release party. Playing at Juanita’s is sweet but not as sweet as playing at Juanita’s the same night that Southern Bitch is playing at Sticky Fingers which means you get to drive over there and call them and get into their sold-out show and watch 5 or 6 songs for free beforehand. Getting a hotel instead of driving home at 3am from Little Rock is sweet but not as sweet as getting two rooms at the Holiday Inn Presidential with 10 of your best friends and having a Busch Light 30-pack party mixed with a drunken Chi iron hair-straightening party all in one night. Getting home on Friday evening, going to bed early and still having Saturday night to hang out is sweet but not as sweet as getting home on a Friday evevning, going to bed early and having a kick-ass cookout at your house in the best weather you’ve had in 9 months. Still having an entire Sunday is sweet but not as sweet as spending that Sunday with your favorite lady at thrift shops and then starting the Deadwood Season 1 DVDs later that night. Beat that.

Photos here and here.

First of all, I’d like to thank Eric and Laura for throwing us one hell of an engagement party. That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for us. You guys rule.

Also, huge props to Michelle, Sage and everyone else who brought/cooked food. The food was so good and plentiful that I am absolutely positive I gained a few extra pounds that night (aside from the beer pounds I most certainly racked up as well). Speaking of the food, I would like someone to please tell me who brought the macaroni sandwiches because they were certainly the highlight of my night.

The music was sweet, the dancing was sweet, the moustaches/rings were sweet, the company was sweet and of course my lady was looking mighty sweet as well. Hell, we even managed to attract the local police department THREE different times.

Finally, thanks to everyone who showed up from near and from as far away as Memphis and Kansas City. If you wanna see some photos, head on over to Sarah’s site.