Meetings make you dumber

Its true. And science has finally proven it.

Of course, to anyone who has ever worked in an corporate environment knows this already based on their own experience. If there is anything more dreadful than staring at a staff meeting scheduled for the next 2 hours, I don’t know what it is.

According to this article, group think can cloud alternative solutions. When an option gets brought up in a meeting, that option is usually discussed. The more times that option is said aloud, the harder it is to remember other options. Not to mention the fact that some people, like myself, are disinclined to speak up during big meetings no matter how good our ideas might be. Damn introversion.

Maybe some manager one of you work for will see this and you can eliminate one meeting from your normal week. If so, I hope its mine!

I am reminded of one of my favorite things… Demotivators. Everyone has seen those uplifting posters with a chipper saying and a picture of a soaring eagle or something. These are the exact opposite. And they speak the truth. You can find more of them at Despair.com

meetings

Flickr Theft

I’m browsing the web this morning when I come across a link to a blog about Boise State’s possible sale of the movie rights to the story of the Fiesta Bowl, when I notice the picture.

Gee… that kinda looks familiar…

Sure enough. Someone has stolen one of my images I placed on Flickr.com and used it without my permission or consent. They didn’t even give me a credit for having taken the picture.

That sucks hard. Here is the evidence.

First, my image posted on Flickr.com

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And here is a screen capture of the blog in question
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I’ve sent him a removal notice so we’ll see what happens… I’ll keep you posted.

Update: I got an email back from the owner of the blog who has since removed the picture. Alls well that ends well, I suppose.

Cinnamon Roll Weekend

This was a crazy weekend. Really busy but I still had a great time.

Friday night we went to the Boise State basketball game vs Albany. The game was really close, I think the lead changed something like 30 times during the game. Just a lot of fun. The crowd at the Pavilion… er… Taco Bell Arena was really into it and making some good noise. That sort of energy hasn’t been in that building much this season. We escaped with a 1 point win in the end. Very thrilling.

Jess and I then headed over to the Tavern at Bown Crossing (from here on out just to be known as “The Tavern”) for a few drinks. Yes, this was the same place as the Bump In-To, but dammit no way in hell she is going to scare me away from this place.

We get there and saw a few friends of Jess’ and then got a couple beers at the bar. That is when old friends from the Ha’ Penny days started pouring in. First, it was Bobby BoSox. A Penny regular whom I’ve not seen in quite some time. He’s married with a kid on the way. Amazing how time flies.

Then came my buddy Adam (who I share my basketball tickets with, but wasn’t at the game). I had sent him a text that we were there, wondering if he was in town. Turns out, he was on his way down there. He had company in from out of town, Coach Riddle who was a Boise State football coach but went to Colorado with Hawk. It was great to see him again… terrific guy.

Even head basketball coach Greg Graham came in with his family. He was nice enough to stop by and chat with me for a few minutes. Talked about how tight the game was and how the outcome was much better. He even gave Jess a little grief for being a Vandal.

There were others around and all in all it was just like old times… specifically the GOOD old times. I had an amazing night. We’re definitely going back there.

Saturday was pretty low key after the crazy night before. I made beef stroganoff that night for dinner. It didn’t turn out great I thought, but Jess said she liked it. Maybe she was just being nice…

Sunday, Jess cracked the whip and got me to completely clean out my closet. I have a walk in closet in my apartment, that had become much of a storage spot. She prodded me to go through that crap and throw/give a bunch away and take the rest to storage. The end result was that my closet hasn’t been that organized since I moved in. She deserves all the credit, cause I would have stopped about a dozen different times, but she wouldn’t let me.

In the midst of all this, I took the time to whip up some of Alton Brown’s Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. I’ve never made them before, but the bread recipe was the same as I used for the super bowl sausage bread. After the dough had finally risen (why it always takes longer in my apartment I’ll never know) I assembled and put in the fridge for Monday morning (since we were both off work for Presidents Day).

I pulled them out first thing and got them preped to bake, threw them in the oven and made up a little cream cheese icing.

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They turned out awesome. I highly recommend them. (Update: in fact, they might be better this morning out of the microwave as they were extra gooey!)

Monday afternoon we decided to go for a walk around the MK Nature Center along the river here in Boise. I hadn’t been there for a long time. It was a nice day and I took the camera along to take some snaps…

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That evening we caught an early showing of Music and Lyrics (which was amusing, but pretty average) and a late dinner at Cafe’ Ole.

All in all, it was a quality holiday weekend. Just about as good as you can get without actually going out of town.

Now back to the grind.

Don’t go to Kuna

Seriously… just don’t do it.

In retrospect, we should have just stayed home.

So, for Valentine’s Day we wanted to hit a steakhouse for some good steaks. I had been owed a good steak dinner since our plan in Bend, Oregon went belly up (so to speak). Jess had heard things about “Peregrine Steaks & Spirits” in Kuna. So, what the hell. I made a last minute reservation for 8:30 on V-day (Wednesday).

We spent the first part of the evening at the apartment, with a few beers and Mythbusters on the tube. Not exactly the most romantic thing I could think of (hey, I did have some candles lit!) but it seemed to fit us just fine. Then came time to head out to the restaurant. We left the house a little after 8 figuring we’d have plenty of time to make it.

Not so fast, smart guy.

I was smart enough to print off a Google map of where the hell this place was, since I hadn’t been to Kuna for years. Actually, the last time I was in Kuna was when I worked at Nu Look Car Wash back in high school (13+ years ago). After work one night, some people were going out to Kuna Caves to have a party. In all actuality, these “caves” are more like “holes in the ground”. After driving around for about 30 minutes, getting lost from a crappy hand drawn map we find the place. It was really out in the middle of nowhere and took many dirt road trips to find. But we did, and hung out for a little while. Then came time to leave. There were three of us piled into my ’78 Datsun pickup and we headed home. About 5 minutes down the dirt road, still in the middle of nowhere, my headlights went out. Oh shit. What do we do now? John, in is infinite wisdom, decides he’s going to sit on the hood and try to navigate this dirt road by voice commands. Ingenious, but not functional. Finally, I remember that I might have some additional fuses somewhere in my truck, and after 20 minutes of searching every nook and cranny in the pitch dark, I finally found some. Voila’ the lights were back on, and we could get home.

Why do I tell you that story? Well, I was at the restaurant’s website and got their address from the banner image they had top and center. 414 W Main, Kuna ID. Which is what my Google map was pointing me to. Simple right?

Well, it would be, IF THAT WAS ACTUALLY THEIR ADDRESS!!!

We drove down this ‘main’ street about 6 times, never seeing anything that resembled a steak house. Back and forth. Tried side streets thinking maybe its down there somewhere. Nothing. We even drove further down Main in both directions thinking “ok, maybe its EAST main or something”. No dice. Son of a bitch! The second time in my life I’m in Kuna and I’m lost… AGAIN! I was about 20 seconds from throwing in the rather angry towel and leaving for a pizza when Jess spots something that looks like a restaurant.

(editors note, checking today, the website is updated with the correct address… maybe they could read my thoughts as I sat there fuming)

Sure enough, we found the place. Only the address on the building is 751 W. 4th. I was about to blow a gasket in my head. But, it’s almost 9 and I’m hungry. So, we headed inside.

I tell the hostess that I have a reservation (I did call in, I swear). She looks down at her ever-so-professional sheet of college-ruled notebook paper with more scribbles than an 8th grade cheerleader’s trapper keeper and says, “maybe you made your reservation for the bar?”. Hell if I know. This is YOUR restaurant, shouldn’t YOU know that? So, we walk outside and to the other door for the bar. Upon entry, we are immediately punched in the face by the combined force of a fog cigarette smoke and live country music at about 110 db. We look at each other and instantly decide, “uh, let’s see if they can fit us in on the restaurant side”.

We go back, and sure enough, since it’s now 9:10, they can get us a table. Finally.

This place was nice enough, until we get to the table. “We’re out of linens, we’ve been really busy” the hostess tells us. So, on our table we have paper placemats. Classy. We also had an oil candle but it wasn’t lit. The table itself was a bit wobbly, but after investigation, it wasn’t something a shim would fix… it was loose bolts. Very nice. There were cloth napkins, so at least we wouldn’t have to use our sleeves or anything.

The decor was, shall we say, fairly pedestrian. It kinda reminds you of your grandma’s house. Wide open spaces, fake plants and oldish looking furniture. The light fixtures were new though, and kinda swanky I suppose.

I will say this however… the people were all very friendly.

We ordered a bottle of wine (Ravenswood Cab $20, which is a good price) and perused the menu. I settled on the 10 oz. fillet mignon (Jess had the 6 oz. fillet, or as their menu called it ‘filet’), but did notice that they have a ‘ground beef steak’ on the menu. Uh… fellas? That would be a hamburger without the bun. Should have been our first clue. This same menu also includes in their “lighter fare” section, Cheeseburgers and Finger Steaks. “I’m watching my weight, I think I’ll just have the battered and deep fat fried strips of beef… with fries.”

Jess ordered a green salad as her starter, and asked for the “house dressing” to which the waitress replied, “ranch?”. Guess so. I had the beef vegetable soup. We both got potatoes au gratin as our side.

Jess ate her salad, which they tried to take away from her when there was still about 60% of it left, and I had the soup. They did give us a nice little loaf of bread, though it was served on a coffee cup saucer. After a while, the waitress came back and apologized that the meal was taking a bit longer than it should. “No worries, we’ve got wine” I replied, which we were drinking out of the exact same glasses as the water glasses.

Just then, the dinner came out. Served on the same sort of plates you used to get at Bonanza (anyone remember that place?), the oblong metal plate with plastic rim for handling. The fillets were bacon-wrapped (which didn’t say so on the menu) and Jess doesn’t like bacon, but no matter. Easy fix. What couldn’t be as easily fixed was that my “fillet” looked a lot more like a bacon-wrapped round sirloin steak, and a rather unattractive one at that. And although I ordered it medium rare and it was cooked medium rare, it was quite a bit like a hunk of shoe leather and just about as tasty. Their menu touted this as their “most tender steak”. If that is the case, I dare not attempt anything else without a good teeth sharping from the horse dentist. As I tried to cut this meat frisbee, the table was moving so much water was sloshing from our glasses and I was afraid that it might collapse. Let’s be nice and just say, that was certainly not a fillet mignon, and if it was, it might have come from an escaped circus animal or something. I guess I should have known that you don’t get a good steak for $22.95.

We spent the meal remembering the best steaks we have had in our lives… though I don’t know if that was really helping this meal out or not. We also enjoyed the Enya and Neil Diamond piped in over the din. For the record, the finest piece of beef I have had in my life was at Beverly’s in the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. I would drive 300 miles just to eat that again. Unfortunately, C’DA is 450 miles away. (if you’re ever there, get the “Prime Tenderloin of Beef – flown from Chicago, corn-fed, USDA prime center cut with our accoutrement tray”. Trust me on this.)

We finished our meal and they brought the check, which they would “take care of up front”. No desert for us, thanks. So, we coated up and headed for the door. Grand total, with the bottle of wine, was 60 bones. Frankly, I would imagine, though I haven’t been to a Sizzler in a number of years, you could get that exact same meal there for about half the price.

As soon as I got out the door, I told Jess… at very least I’m going to get a good blog post out of this. So, the night wasn’t a total loss. We made the long drive back to civilization laughing about the whole thing. You might think we had a horrible Valentines Night, but all in all, we still had a good time together. At least it was worth a laugh.

Basically, what I’m telling you is this. If you are in the Boise area, or ever come to visit, avoid a joint called Peregrine Steaks and Spirits. If you can even find it, that is.

The Bump In-To

It was inevitable. Remarkable that it hadn’t happened sooner, really. It finally happened. The Bump In-To. I wouldn’t say I was dreading it, since it hadn’t happened for so long. But now that I have run into her, I can say it wasn’t something I enjoyed.

This evening my friend Barry was apparently having an open house type party for his new bar/restaurant. His old place was where we always used to go together, but since Barry had sold it, I hadn’t been back more than once. I haven’t actually spoken to Barry in a while, but I heard through the grapevine that his place was opening this week.

Anyway, Jess and I went to the Boise State basketball game tonight which, by the way, was terrible. We were playing some horrible NAIA team and we put in a piss poor effort. So, after the game, I thought we might swing by to the new joint to see if it was, indeed, open.

We got out there and sure enough, there were people inside. We go inside just to take a peek around. It is a beautiful place. It was just like old times… I saw 10 or 12 familiar faces from the old Ha’ Penny days. With Barry not having a joint open, all these people spread out all over town for the past 6 months. But now that he’s back in business, the gathering place is also back.

We saw the sushi area, and walked into the bar. Everything was great. I did see the husband of one of G’s friends and talked to him for a sec, but it still didn’t register that she would be there. The lesson, as always, is I’m a dumbass.

We headed upstairs to look at the balcony and party room. Boom. There she was. Not 10 feet away. We saw each other and I think I waved like a jackass. She turned away pretty quickly. I didn’t approach and we didn’t speak. Jess and I stood around for a few moments as the waitress tried to push some of the remaining buffet items on us.

Then we made a graceful exit. Well… as graceful as could be expected.

It’s remarkable. It was so simple. So innocuous. And of course, it set my brain afire. I can honestly say that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about something related to her, the relationship, the break up, etc. It has been 10 months since ‘black monday’. Sometimes it feels like 2 years, sometimes it feels like 2 weeks.

In all actuality, this crossing of paths doesn’t really change anything. Since it’s not like I’ve successfully put it out of my mind or anything, I’ve got nothing to lose having seen her again. Whether that is healthy or not remains to be seen.

I will say this. I have been thinking lately. I remember thinking that there could be nothing worse than the death of a spouse. That had to be just about as horrible as it could get. Well, I can think of one thing. How about being rejected by a spouse and being stripped of just about everything you’ve got? Wife, best friend, house, friends, family, dogs, and possessions too numerous to count. When a spouse dies in a car accident or something you’re really only out the first two.

Having watched a little of the Westminster Dog Show this week, I still miss the boys terribly. Coming home to Frank and Dino every day was just the best. Oh well…

Just another day In The World.

Baked Ziti Recipe

ZitiAfter a full day of running around town, including a Costco run, Jess and I needed a little dinner. I had already decided it was time to whip up my famous baked ziti. Needless to say, it turned out amazing. Even better than the last time I made it. I don’t use a recipe, but just use bits and pieces of things I’ve picked up along the way.

Now, I’m giving away my secrets to you. Free of charge. Play your cards right, I might even make it for you one day. (I’m thinkin on the Coast, Kim) It’s actually quite simple. Plus, this will probably make 8 to 10 servings, which for me means lunch all week!

What you’ll need.

  • 1 lb. ground italian sausage (I like a little spice in mine)
  • 1 lb. block mozzarella cheese (I suppose you could use fresh too)
  • 2 cup Shredded mozzarella
  • 2 can Hunt’s Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (or whatever sauce you like)
  • 1 box Penne Pasta
  • 1 med Onion
  • Garlic
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Parmigiano Reggiano

First, brown the sausage in a pan. Dice the onion and toss that in with the sausage to cook through. Season with a little salt and pepper. With that on the heat, open the sauces and get them in a pan to simmer a bit. Throw in a bunch of Italian Seasoning and crush some fresh garlic in there. You can even toss a little wine in the sauce if you’re so inclined. Yes, one could make their own spaghetti sauce, but I’m not THAT into it. Plus, with a little help, the store bought canned stuff can be pretty damn good.

While everything is cooking, take the block of mozzarella and cut it into cubes. Maybe about half inch size.

Once the sausage is cooked, pull it off the heat to cool a bit, and you can remove the sauce after it has simmered for a while.

Cook about 3/4 of the pasta according to the instructions on the box. No, I don’t have an accurate measure of how much to use. Don’t be afraid to ball park it. Just dump in enough to make you feel good. Hell, cook it all if you want. You might want to make sure it’s still at least a little al dente since you will continue to cook it later in the oven. Drain the pasta (but don’t rinse it with water, otherwise the sauce won’t stick!)

Dump the sausage (and onion) into a large mixing bowl with the pasta and cheese cubes. Spoon in about 2/3 of the sauce and stir gently to mix everything together. Once mixed, dump that whole mess into a 9×13 baking dish (you might want to first hit that bad boy with a shot of Pam to keep things from sticking).

Press it into a nice level shape and use the rest of the sauce to cover the exposed surface. Make sure you get it all covered, since anything that isn’t covered by sauce will burn. Cover the sauce with the shredded moz, and throw on some of the Parmigiano Reggiano (sorry… I think I’m channeling Rachel Ray). Use as much cheese as you like. This will brown in the oven and make a real nice crust on the top.

Oh yeah, did I tell you to preheat your oven? No? Well, you should have. Throw the dish into the oven set about 375 or so. Leave it in there for a half an hour, 40 min or until the cheese is browned on top.

When its done, pull it out and dig in. Actually, you might want to let it sit for a few minutes otherwise you will be greeted with a mouthful of molten cheese.

Feel free to mix this thing up too. If you want mushrooms, do it. Olives? Eeewww, but go ahead. Throw some ricotta cheese in the mix. Go crazy.

This stuff is the best. Simple to make and a crowd pleaser. Serve with a green salad, a hunk of fresh baked french bread and a glass of wine. Voila’!

Enjoy!

Is it really a rivalry?

Sorry Jess… but I gotta do it… Stop reading now.

I have a question. More of an observation I suppose, but indulge me.

Last night I went to the Boise State vs. University of Idaho basketball game. It was pretty much a ‘game’ in name only. Idaho actually led 19-14 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Boise State then went on a 46 to 6 run lasting the rest of the first half and the first 6 minutes of the second half. And that was with Boise State missing 16 of their first 21 shots. This game could have been 108 to 40, but we ended with a final of 86-63.

That makes it twelve consecutive wins for Boise State basketball over the U of I. Their last win in the series was in 2001. In this time, it is safe to say that BSU has not been exactly lighting the basketball world on fire either. We have been a .500 team just about the whole time. But we still always seem to beat Idaho. Even the womens team (who also played Idaho last night) won 70-40.

I haven’t even gotten into football yet… the sport that really matters. There, Idaho has not beaten Boise State since winning by 1 in overtime in 1998, a string of 8 straight games. Some of those games include scores of 66-24, 64-7, and 70-35.

There are multiple classes of athletes who have come to BSU, played and graduated without ever losing to Idaho.

Granted, I lived through “The Streak” of 12 straight wins by Idaho in the 80’s & 90’s. Back then, that was a rivalry. Easily without question the biggest game every year was the Idaho game. Bar none, end of discussion. I remember being young and seeing ESPN or someone detailing the biggest rivalries in the country and listing Ohio State v. Michigan or Alabama v. Auburn. I could never understand how Boise State v. Idaho didn’t get into those lists! I mean, how could there be a bigger rivalry? Not in the mind of a 14 year old kid.

Now? Now you’ve got a 3-19 Idaho basketball team playing a .500 Bronco team in front of 4,000 fans. Ho-hum. There is still some venom left in the football meetings, but many of the newcomers to Boise in the past 10 years couldn’t give two shits about the Idaho game. They get geared up for Fresno or Hawaii.

Basically, what I’m wondering is can such a one sided series continue to be a rivalry? I mean, you can’t call “hammer vs. nail” a rivalry now can you? When one side always wins, the rivalry dies.

Now, would I trade some of the wins to get the rivalry back? Of course not. I could go on beating them every year for the rest of my life and I would be a very happy man. When Erickson came back, I was thinking that in a couple years, we could have a rivalry again! Well, he bailed out 10 months later and now who knows if it will ever come back.

Sorry Vandies… I long for the days when there was passion between us.

Under Pressure

This is an email I just got from my good buddy George. Some of you know ol’ Jorge. Here is how he’s been doing in the past couple days. To wish him the best, deckroid@gmail.com
———————————

A’ight here is a recap of the last 48 hours:

Sunday morning – 9am
I checked my blood pressure, as I was told to do by my doc 3 times a
week. J checks hers. It is alarmingly high, off to the hospital we go.
They hook her up to machines for an hour or so then tell us to go
home and for her to be off her feet unless going potty. During this
time, she has to do a 24 hour pee gathering thing for some test.

Monday morning – 11am
Results of the 24 hour pee thing: SHITTY. Oh oh, take J to Boise to
the NeoNatal ICU for her to be monitored, baby to be monitored
overnight.

Monday evening – 7pm
Pressure is building within me. I feel like I am about to freakin explode.

Tuesday Morning – 9am
Getting ready to get to Boise to see J, the tree guys show up and
start taking out the 3 trees in front, and they get into an argument
with the contractor who is trying to get his shit into the house to
work on the bathroom. More pressure…. this time, my vision blurrs
and a massive headache… fuck, I am having the early warning signs of
a heart attack. Fuck.

Tuesday Afternoon – 1pm
Get results of J’s overnight stay. Baby is coming out March 2nd or
before. Depends on J’s condition. Original Due Date: March 23. J is
going to have to be extra careful from now until baby time, feet up,
no stress. We have no fucking bathroom. We are staying at her parents.
No stress? Aw fuck!

J is also going to have to go to the hospital twice a week to hook up
to machines to ensure baby is fine and momma is fine.

Dude, I dont know if I am going to live to see my child. Back when I
was single and had no real worries, I would breathe and let Bad Shit
flow through me. No Stress was my motto: My Montra, if you will.
Fuck, now I got to worry about all this crap… will the bathroom be
done in time to bring the new baby home? Is J and Baby going to be ok
with 3 weeks early delivery? Will I kill my In-Laws? Why does the
front of my house STILL look like a warzone? (Plumbing pieces, wall
bits, insulation and other bathroom crap mixed with huge tree parts
sawdust and bark and twigs and GAAA!)

I think a blood vessle just broke in my eye.

I am really going to need a beer night out this week. What you got
going on? You booked solid?

Lemme know. Oh, yeah, feel free to pass along this sorrowful saga to yer fam.

Paging Dr. Spaceman

I want to use this space to implore any of you who might still be reading this to watch a new show. I think it has taken over as one of the funniest sitcoms to come around in years. If you miss Seinfeld, you might like this show.  It is different, but equally as funny.

The show is “30 Rock” on NBC.

I can’t even describe how funny this show is. It is very well written (much like Seinfeld), and the characters are tremendous.

The premise of the show is behind the scenes of an SNL type sketch comedy show. One thing that is great about it, is that they are using “NBC” as NBC.  Usually when you have a TV show about a TV show, they use some made up network (like in Studio 60) so they don’t step on any toes. But here, they are able to crack jokes about current NBC shows, jokes about GE owning the network, etc etc. It really adds something to the show. You might not notice at first, but it is refreshing when they make reference to something you already know about NBC.

The series began as the show within the show gets a new boss (Alec Baldwin) who brings in an insane movie actor (Tracy Morgan) to be the new star. The characters are so snappy and funny that the situations they get in are absolutely hilarious.

For example, in one episode, Tracy forgets to take his med (which apparently keep him somewhat sane). They are trying to get the name of his doctor from him, but he keeps babbling about “Doctor Spaceman”. Naturally, they throw up their hands and figure he is too far gone to help them. But, once they find one of his empty perscription bottles, his doctor, is in fact, “Dr. Spaceman”. Of course, it is pronounced Dr. “spah-CHEM-in”.

There are lots of little things like that in every episode.

But, the very best part of this entire show is Alec Baldwin. I know a lot of you out there (I’m looking at you Mom) don’t like him at all, but he is absolutely pitch-perfect in this show. I can’t even describe just how funny he really is as network boss Jack Donaghy. Here are some vids instead.

Basically, what I’m saying is give this show a shot. I laugh out loud multiple times an episode. Seriously. To top it off, NBC finally got smart and is running their 4 funniest shows back to back to back to back. Scrubs, My Name is Earl, The Office and 30 Rock. That is some quality entertainment on Thursday nights. Almost like the days of Seinfeld or Cheers. Besides, if you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back. But seeing as it’s a free show on a free network and you’re paying nothing to read this blog…

I hate the Colts

I hate the Colts. Hate them. Before, I was only mildly displeased with them, but now, I full on hate them. Allow me to explain.

Before, I just hated Peyton Manning. Nothing against the Colts as an organization or anything. I just hated that gigantic head having, country bumpkin sounding, sell everything that isn’t tied down schmuck. That opening weekend of NFL games I think I saw a Manning commercial every single break. It got to the point where I really really wanted him to get hit by a truck. And it only got worse from there.

But, it started well before that. I’ve NEVER liked Peyton Manning. Ever. Not even when he was in college. I hate his huge head. I hate his bobbing at the line of scrimmage. I hate the way he talks in that ‘aww shucks’ Forrest Gump sorta way. I think he’s a phony. And when he showed up on every single commercial for 17 weeks, my hatred only grew.

But now, the Colts have actually cost me money. In the office pool I was in, I had terrible numbers (the type of pool where you buy squares). However, at the end of the game, it was all set for me to pull down $75 bucks. All they had to do was kick the field goal and it’s mine. Well, what do they do? They instead go for it on 4th down. They don’t make it, and win the game, but dammit… If they just kick the damn field goal… $75 bucks. It was as good as mine.

Now granted… we’re not exactly talking big bucks here. A few years ago when Fresno State played Virginia in the MPC Computers Bowl here in Boise, I stood to win $300. But, Fresno had to go and score with less than a minute left to win the game and take my money away. It’s just the principle of the thing.

Oh well.

I did have a pretty good Super Bowl Sunday anyway. Super Bowls usually aren’t that interesting to me in that I don’t really have a favorite pro team. Growing up in Boise, I just never fell in love with that one team for life. So, as big a football fan as I am, I usually just enjoy watching the game. I wish Chicago would have won, but I didn’t really expect that they would.

I really went all out with my contribution to the fare at the party at my sisters place. I decided to make a sausage bread. But, I didn’t have an exact recipe I liked, so I just winged it. I made the dough from an Alton Brown recipe (find it here). Then I cooked up some sausage and cut up some bell peppers. Layered it all out, rolled it up and baked that bad boy. If you’re interested in a more detailed description of what I put together, let me know.

Sausage Bread Sausage Bread

Me n' my breadFor my first attempt at it, it turned out quite well. Everyone seemed to really like it. Maybe they were just being polite, but I don’t care. I like to cook, and to get compliments on your efforts is great.

Cross SectionI think I used a little too much filling, but live and learn. Next time it will be much better.

Anyway, football is over. It is the worst time of year. I get no NHL on TV. I don’t really care about NBA at all. College basketball is OK, but BSU is mediocre at best. Baseball doesn’t start for 2 months.

We do have an Arena league team starting here in a month… Maybe that will be enough to quench my football thirst until late summer when we get it all cranked up again.

Or, I can just watch the Fiesta Bowl again…and again… and again… and again… and again…