HANGOVER

Friday night Chris and I went out with Amber and ended up at the Movie Tavern to see The Hangover. We'd already seen it, but Amber hadn't. It's awesome. Even better was the fact that Chris discovered the "Tanker", 32 ounces of premium beer. You can hardly hold it with one hand. In fact, you're not allowed to order two at the counter because they don't think you can carry it to the theater alone. I didn't partake because I could never hold that much beer without having to pee several thousand times. It was a good thing because I ended up having to drive home. Turns out that Chris got drunk. And guess what he was the next morning. That's right, HUNGOVER. Except he didn't steal a police car or Mike Tyson's tiger.

By the way, Chris, who HATES going to the movies is so excited about this new theater because he can drink beer. Now I have a movie date, but I have to see a movie in an office chair that doesn't recline. It's all about compromises.

The Parking Situation at Ukrops

Dad, Mötley Crüe and the End of Summer

It’s been a long two weeks, but time has just flown by. Last week Dad was in town, and it was our only time off for summer vacation this year. We had planned on taking him out of town for a day trip or two, but he had plans of his own. Chris managed to capture some it with his new camera. I'm going to be citing his blog entries because he's already posted the pictures.

Chris got us all (me, dad and Margie) on the guest list for a tour of NASA Langley Research Center. We got to see planes up close, planes taking off and other planes landing. It was great to meet all of Chris’ superiors at his internship on what was to be his last day. They really like him there and were very vocal about their desire to see him back next year. Fingers crossed.

We hated our oak built-in book case and entertainment center. Dad encouraged the project (to remove, sand, prime, paint and re-install) and was a great foreman. After all the dust, smoke and sweat we put all of ourselves into it and after three days we were very pleased with the results. Turns out that the biggest pain was sanding the doors, and at the end of it all we decided it looked better without them. Good to know.

We hit up a couple of really cool restaurants in Williamsburg. Shackelfords, Pierce’s, the Marina at Kingsmill, Nawab and the Fat Canary. Turns out Dad is a simple dinner kind of guy. He didn’t like his meal at the Fat Canary, but loved his burger from Shackleford’s and his pulled pork barbecue sandwich at Pierce’s. Also good to know.

We dropped Dad off at 6:15 am on Wednesday at Richmond International Airport and drove back home to sleep in on what would be our last day of summer. Chris started school again on Thursday and I went back to work.

Come Friday we were exhausted from the week but managed to muster up some energy to accompany Amber, Breeze and Dennis to Crüe Fest 2. I loved Mötley Crüe growing up, but managed to never see them. Turns out they’re not that good. I was excited to fulfill a childhood concert though. I think it would have been better if Tommy Lee wasn’t injured because he didn't play (and they usually have elaborate moving drumset displays), but his fill-in was good, technically. Turns out TL holds all of the on-stage charisma. He got on the mic and addressed the crowd with his obnoxious banter, and that was the most reaction the band ever got from the crowd. The biggest laugh came when he said, “What’s up,Vagina Beach?!” Haha, get it? Virginia Beach/Vagina Beach? Yes, and although he is kind of douchey, he is not nearly as bad as Vince Neil. I have never seen anyone kill (in a bad way) awesome songs as VN did. "Shout at the Devil", my favorite, was unrecognizable and quite terrible. Surprisingly, we left early and I was disappointed. I wanted to witness the entire train wreck from start to finish, but we needed a ride out of there. In all, it was fun because we were in good company sans the sweaty meatheads with neck tattoos. Next stop was Red Rock Lounge to watch Jason’s band, and we were out of there after last call.

Saturday was really our day to recover. We ran some errands and had Christopher and Corbett over for drinks. Yesterday Chris and I rode our bikes again out to Chickahominy State Park and back, then went to the Ford’s Colony pool and went home. Now it’s time to start another week. I need a vacation.

Highlights and non-sequiturs

Last Tuesday Chris took his Nasa flight. I was a nervous wreck, but he landed safely. I got notice that I could see his plane flying over College Creek at around 12:30. This was great because that’s where I go sometimes to eat my lunch. Christopher and I got together and drove out there and sat in the car eating our lunches while the landscapers mowed and blew debris in the car. We saw a Cessna two or three times and a helicopter twice. I came to find out later on that Chris never even took off until after 2:00, so we were waving at strangers the whole time. Oh well. It wasn’t a total waste because we got to catch about 15 minutes of the Thomas Jefferson hour. Clay Jenkinson is a staple of my Tuesday lunch. His voice is very soothing.


This past weekend we took a five-hour drive to Charlotte to see Mike play with the Avett Brothers at the Bojangles Coliseum. It is always great to see Mike. We have a lot of fun reminiscing about Kendall. The most remarkable part of the trip was actual concert. I had never seen the Avett Brothers before, and I was thoroughly impressed with their performance. I’m a new fan.

We got to talking with Seth (an Avett Brother), and it turns out that his wife is from Williamsburg. We got on the topic of Pierce’s, which we all agreed was our fave in Williamsburg, and he mentioned that his favorite BBQ place in NC was Lexington Barbecue. Chris and I got the address to Lexington Barbecue and arrived at lunch time, only to find that they are closed on Sundays. We were disappointed, but didn’t give up completely. Our Garmin navigator told us about another place named John Wayne’s Barbecue, just minutes away. It looked really cool from the outside. We sat down for lunch and immediately fell in love. It was a true slice of Americana, straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The food was sloppy and not nearly as good as the barbecue I’m used to, but the trip was made worth it when a cute, unassuming late-teenaged girl was on her way out with her boyfriend. Apparently everyone knows everyone in Lexington. As the girl approached the front of the restaurant, she was stopped by the main waitress and was asked, “Megan! What are you wearing!?” The girl said, “It’s a dress”. The waitress said, “Everyone can see your butt.” In reality, it wasn’t that short. It was just gathered a few inches below her butt. But Megan was young. She could pull it off. The waitress demanded to know where she was going dressed like that. The girl responded, “To church. And I wore it out last night too.” The waitress rebutted with, “You went to church dressed in that dress?! You better go again!” The room erupted in giggles. Chris and I were in stitches, but I felt embarrassed for the poor girl. After she made her exit, the waitress went to a table and said to the man, “Can you believe that Megan went to church in that dress?” and the man said, “It must be a non-denominational church”.

Dad is coming on Thursday. I have this strange feeling like I need to clean my room and finish my homework. He’s going to be here for 5 whole days. I hope we have enough to do. We’re thinking about a day trip or a home renovation project. Either way I need to stock up on wine.