Time for a beer.

As many of my friends know, I've dove headfirst into brewing my own beer in the last few months. I've even gone so far as to acquire a kegerator and have started kegging my home brew rather than bottling it. The mess and frustration that builds from filling and capping 55 individual bottles is something that I truly won't miss.
My amazing wife first bought me the brew kit a few years back for my birthday, and I immediately brewed the ingredients it came with. I was happy with the results, but for some reason or another I didn't touch my new toy for quite some time.
I'd really like to get to the point where I no longer need to visit Carl at my local liquor store to fill my needs for beer. I can brew an infinite variety of flavors and styles for around the same cost per bottle as buying a case of Bud Light (cheaper in some cases) and get the same satisfaction of drinking the pricey micro brew or seasonal beers.
I had previously mentioned my amazing wife. Much to my surprise, she has not condemned me to hell for my lack of organization with my new hobby (which I fully intend to fix!) or the fact that for a few hours during the initial brewing process, the house smells like a brewery. I'm fully aware that part of the reason she puts up with this is the fact that she also gets to enjoy the product of my hard work.
I have noticed that my activities have sparked some interest from my friends. For those of you who that think it would be really cool to do the same... IT IS! It's also rather simple as long as you follow directions and (this is the hard part for me) be patient. The soonest you will be able to pop the top of one of your home brew bottles is almost a full month after you've started the batch (this time will vary depending on the size of the batch and type of beer). The initial cost isn't as bad as you would think, you can get everything you need plus the ingredients for your first batch for under $125 and you can brew 5 gallon batches for as little as $30 each time after that (less than $30 if you buy in bulk of course). If that price still scares you, there's another option. I bought my brother-in-law a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas this year. It's basically a mini-micro brew kit. Everything you need (minus the large pot) to make 2 gallons of beer. The Mr. Beer kit can be found online for as little as $25 depending on the kit.
Enough of me shamelessly plugging a product that is not paying me to do so. I've currently brewed and drank and Amber Ale, Wheat, Honey Wheat, Oatmeal Stout, and currently brewing is a Belgian Ale. The first few batches I brewed were from kits (you can buy a box with all of the ingredients included and an instruction page making it very east) but I've started piecing the ingredients together based loosely on different recipes I've found online and from a handy app I downloaded on my phone (yes, I'm 8 years out of college and have a beer app on my phone, hell, I have a whole beer folder on my phone).
Anyhow, there's a rundown of my current (and future) hobby. It's not extremely time consuming or expensive, but you may have to share the results once word gets out.

Cheers!

Oh how I lovthe you...

I'm about to discuss a topic that hits a sore spot for most people I know. In fact, they'll do anything they can to avoid it.

Wal~Mart

There, I said it. Now personally, I hold no ill thoughts (save for one, but we'll get to that later) towards the aforementioned place of ill repute. In fact, I enjoy it. I don't mind the masses of people, the crowded aisles, having to creep around corners with your cart to avoid a disastrous head on collision with another. I will sometimes even venture to Wal~Mart just to stroll around, with no list, nothing to intentionally buy, but just to see if they have something at a price that I just must have. Even then, I'll often leave the store empty handed after an hour of walking around for fear of buyers remorse.
Wal~Mart has almost everything I could possibly need, so why avoid it? It's become a staple to everyday life, why not enjoy it's existence?

There is one thing I dislike, nae hate. It tears at the very fabric that is my soul. When it happens (oh, and it does all too often) I curse under my breath, grind my teeth, and secretly wish the most heinous death to all other shoppers that aren't suffering the same fate.

The cart with a divot in the wheel. I feel it's a curse for some wrong-doing I have done sometime in my life. Every time I walk in and need a cart, I stare at the hundreds of carts carefully choosing the best looking one, the one that will roll ever so smoothly along the expansive concrete floors that are Wal~Mart. The choice is very important, because you don't know if you've made the right one until you get through the doors and past the point of no return. The decision makers at Wal~Mart tiled the entry way so the wheels make that dreaded "clack" "clack" noise whether they are smooth or not. You don't know until you hit the smooth concrete past the doors if you got a good one or not.
Sure enough, a few steps past the doors and there it is. SHIT!!! I can't very well turn around and grab another cart whilst returning the old one. For one, there is usually a steady line of people entering and exiting the store, and you'd be damned to get in their way and impede their progress. Second, what happens if the next cart does the same thing, or it's worse? You'd have to bring it back as well and keep doing that until you find one that suits your needs! By that time, the door greeter has noticed you obviously have and OCD disorder or has assumed that you are completely crazy and will call security.
Commence the grinding of the teeth. If you need a cart, then it isn't a short trip. You have to push that clanky SOB all over the store and every step makes you hate the world more. I will only ever grab a cart if I NEED it. If I think I might need a cart, I'll grab a basket instead. I don't care if the thing weighs 50 pounds when I'm done shopping as long as it all fits.
I do what I do to avoid a cart because for me, it's like the lottery. I have the same chance of getting a good cart as I do winning millions of dollars. As I said, it's a curse I'm sure.

Fight to the finish!

This week, my boss and I got new phones. He went out on Wednsday and bought himself the HTC Evo. I had previously ordered a new Apple iPhone and received it yesterday. Knowing the hype that exists and the maliciousness between the two phones, we saw it fitting to pit the against eachother. We knew that one phone probably wouldn't come out alive, but we had to see who was right, which phone was better and stronger. As they said in Highlander, there can be only one.

After some deliberation, we finally sat them next to eachother on my desk. We were astounded by what we saw.


At first, they just sat there... not really doing much of anything. But then, they.... joined hands?!?

The phones then proceded to talk about the weather like old men that had known eachother for eternity.

They got down from the desk and went to a childlike state and played for what seemed like hours with some toys.

They even decided to show their patronage to our fair country even though neither was born here.

To say the least, we were surprised. There was no bloody fight to the finish, no fanciful display of processing power and abilities. Turns out these phones don't hate eachother like many of their owners hate the other for owning the "enemy phone". This experience was inspirational.

Cheater!

My wife has found a new love. She's fallen in love with Summer Vacation. It's not that I don't understand... I myself had a great deal of admiration and appreciation for Summer Vacation during my school years. We have since grown apart and I've had a greater gratitude for Holidays and my elected vacation time from work.
The part that upsets me, however, is that she isn't even hiding it. She is practically flaunting her love affair in my face. She's recently even become friends with Summer Vacation on Facebook and has posted public love letters for all of her friends to see.
My only solice is the knowledge that Summer Vacation will eventually run out of steam. Fall will shove him out and the love affair will be forced to an end. In the meantime, I can only endure it.

The fish have started to bite...

My newest project...

My projects... probably one of the main reasons my wife hates me. I recently decided I wanted a boat. I had one before... but that's another story, and a sore subject with the wife.

Anyhow... I bought an old used paddleboat for a measly $75 delivered (the low price is probably the only reason my wife gave me permission). I plan on motorizing the boat and making it possibly the fastest paddle boat on earth!!! Muah ha ha ha! As long as like 10 mph is the fastest paddle boat ever. Anyhow, I've started scrubbing and cleaning it up. I'll keep up to date as it progresses.

My morning

So, I get up at the crack of dawn for a fishing tournament. I had forgotten to get a provisional license need for the tournament, so I ran to walmart at 4:30 in the morning to get it. I then proceeded to my friend's house. On the interstate, I noticed an suv in front of me (it was far enough ahead that I could only see the tail lights) waiver back and forth and then swerve severly to the left and slam head-on into the median. I pulled over right away and called 911. The guy driving the suv stumbled out and over to my car. I managed to get him out of the road and was helping him stand while the ambulance arrived. I could only decipher that he had injured his leg from him pointing at it and groaning in pain (he was a hispanic man that didn't speak a lick of english). When the ambulance and "authorities" arrived I had to give a statement since I was the only witness.

All before 5:30 in the morning.

We easily lost the fishing tournament by the way. I managed to only catch ineligible fish and couldn't weigh a single one.

Just another day...