Birthday Dethday

I had a good 29th birthday. We spent the morning at the Shedd with Mike and Lauralye who were in town on a little vacation. For the first time ever the otters were sleeping and not playing. This saddened me.

Then I made my first bUICk practice of the season. Soccer had conflicted. I felt worn out but in good shape which caught me by surprise.

At night we went to Crossroads and met up with a bunch of people. Cass surprised me with cupcakes which were awesome. Sooz may have one upped her with T-Rex shaped rice krispie treats.

Thanks to everyone who came out. You are all great.

Two birthday presents worth noting:

From Mike:

From Cass:
More info on Twilight Turtle here for any parents out there or people who know awesome 29 year-olds.

I'm not sure which is my favorite present. I use both more often than you might think.

Beyond Lucky

This is the story of our Saturday.

Cass was woken up by a phone call and she immediately got me up. Charlie and Fielder were staying with her parents and we were going to pick them up after our home inspection. Cass's Dad was calling to tell us that Fielder had slipped her collar and taken off. They were unable to find her.

We raced to get dressed then raced to the car. I drove like a complete jerk driver or a polite Chicago cab to get to Plainfield as fast as possible. Cass called to get details and find out what we needed to do. It turns out Cass's parents had been calling since late last night. Fielder had run off at 10:30pm Friday night. It was now 8:30am Saturday.

We got there and of course went almost immediately to the paths and trails surrounding Cass's parents' house. There were no signs of her. Her tracks are usually pretty distinctive because of her short legs. In the tall snow it is almost like someone kicked a path for others to walk. There were no signs of her tracks going into the woods or across the various tiny lakes surrounding them. This was good because these woods are inhabited by coyotes.

As we were searching Cass's Mom was calling the local police and shelters to get a report out. At this point we realized that our best hope was that she was taken in by someone and that they would call. Cass and her Dad raced to get fliers made up and then raced back with them so we could post them everywhere.

I went east of their house and began tacking fliers up on stop signs and light poles. It was now about 10:00am and I was mentally preparing myself for the eventuality that we would not find her.

I stopped and dropped off fliers at the gas station, 7-eleven, and Nabby's on 59. While at Nabby's I received a phone call from the Animal Care Center of Plainfield. Someone had just brought in a dog that could be her. Cass had been there with a flier maybe 15 minutes earlier. Everyone remembered because of how hysterical she was.

I do not know Plainfield well enough to figure out where this person was calling from. Later I would realize I was all of two minutes away. She said that Cass was on the other line so I told her to switch over and talk to Cass. I raced back to her parents' home in case Cass was there so we could go together. Cass called me while turning into the drive to her parents' house, the same drive Fielder had disappeared on.

Cass's first sentence was "Cal, theycalaidajfkfffffffwwaaallllsifey!" I knew what she meant so I tried to calm her down and told her to get there safe first and call immediately to let me know if it was indeed Fielder. I had to repeat these instructions a couple times to make sure she understood exactly what was needed.

I got back to the house and told everyone and we waited. I hugged Charlie tightly while staring at my phone. Cass called a couple minutes later and I could make out "It's her!" through the heavy tears and joy.

Julia raced me over to the ACC. I sped inside and asked Pat (a family friend who had also been alerted) where she was: Exam Room #3. I knocked and swung open the door. Then I wrapped Cass and Fielder up in a big hug.

It turns out when Cass got there that the place was crowded with people (this was still true when I got there and I was lucky to pick Pat out quickly). Saturday is adoption day at this facility. Cass instinctively was able to pick out a large black man standing in the waiting room crowd as the person who saved Fielder. His name was Bernard.

Cass was crying a bit but managed to ask Bernard what color the dog was. He first said "White." Cass managed to control her panic and show Bernard a picture on her phone. He said that it was in fact Fielder. Cass began crying and hugged Bernard very tightly.

They were allowed into a waiting room (Exam Room #3) to wait. Cass was not allowed to see Fielder immediately as she was very cold and they were trying to warm her and check her for frostbite and hypothermia. Cass finally was allowed to look into the treatment area and see our little Fielder shivering under a heat lamp.

Cass waited in the waiting room and hugged Bernard who was kind enough to wait with her. Cass got part of the story at this time (we would find out more later). Bernard had pulled Fielder from the water. One of the lakes near the house had aeraters to partially melt the ice. Fielder was walking near the shoreline on this lake when the ice gave way and she fell in. Bernard saw this and ran out to save her. In this process he was knee deep in this water and Fielder nipped him on the hand.

Most of you know Fielder's abusive past and her general fear of people. I can only imagine the shock of being submerged in near frozen water and being grabbed by a large black man terrified her. We learned later though that once she was wrapped in a towel she calmed down completely.

Fielder was brought in to Cass who hugged her so tightly. Bernard filled out his info and left before I arrived. Everyone in the waiting room gave him a round of applause as he walked out of the building.

I arrived and we waited as they filled out paperwork. Cass's father came over from hanging up fliers. Her mom was calling everyone to let them know she was found and ok.

Cass and I finally drove her back to the house. Later we received a call from a man who saw our flier at the Jewel. Five people were out last night trying to catch her but she was able to scurry away. We thanked him for his effort and told him that she was found and well.

All told she spent nearly 12 hours outside in below freezing weather. She has no signs of frostbite or hypothermia. She is tougher than we ever gave her credit for. There is little doubt in my mind however that she would not have survived falling into the lake and that Bernard saved her life.

Cass and I stopped by his house later to thank him again and get the full story. We bought him a gift certificate to a restaurant and Cass wrote him a letter of thanks. We got the full story at this time. Bernard had just stepped out onto his patio for a smoke when he saw her come down and begin walking along the ice. He assumed it was a fisherman's dog (off of these series of lakes is the Plainfield Bass and Gill Club) because she had no tags. He may have just let her be if she had not fallen through the ice but once she did he raced down to get her. I don't know if he would've been able to catch her had she not fallen through.

We realize how fortunate we are that she was able to survive and that we were able to find her. We love her so much.

Mystery Team

Well it's not a lack of important news to report that has lead me to not post frequently as of late. Quite the opposite. I'll try to get caught up.

Last Thursday we went to the premiere of Mystery Team at the Music Box Theatre. Thanks to all who chose to join us. We had a great time.

The movie is funny. It's not innovative or dynamic. It's actually predictable in terms of plotting and the like but the jokes are good and the acting is good. I would recommend seeing the movie when it comes out on DVD May 11.

Three members of the team were there and they stuck around after to ask questions. The questions from the audience fell into one of two categories: people trying to be funny and failing or people asking informative questions but were boring as hell. The Derrick Comedy people were funny and cordial. They seemed like decent enough people and they were genuinely excited to be there.

"Sometimes I wish you hadn't beat that cancer. I really do."

Dat dere rasslin show

Top five wrestlers that still make me enjoy wrestling:
5. Evan Bourne
4. Edge
3. Chris Jericho
2. Rey Mysterio
1. CM Punk

The only reason Bret Hart isn't on here is because he's not wrestling. It is still mind boggling that I am seeing him on WWE TV again.

So far away.

Cass and I booked our honeymoon to the place we wanted at the resort we wanted. We will be spending a week in St. Lucia this July and we are so excited.

The island looks awesome and we finally found a flight to get us there in one day. For the longest everything we found had us staying a night in Miami or someplace equally not exciting. The only bummer is that we have to fly Delta and I sort of feel bad about that since Eugene Mirman.

Jungle zipline tours and snorkeling will happen. We found the resort we wanted at a good price for all inclusive and sprang for a room with an ocean view. That ocean is going to get the s**t viewed out of it.

Sick Day

Ooops I grabbed the wrong pic from the website.

I'm home sick today and not feeling so great. I did want to jump on here and post that YYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

The only productive thing I did today is come up with new nicknames for my dogs: Charles in Charge and the Fresh Princess.

Football

The next time someone (American) tells me soccer is boring because nothing happens I am going to remember this. Holy cow. 11 minutes of actual gameplay in a 2 hour 54 minute broadcast? That is insane.

Current Addiction: Clash of Heroes

The current thing that occupies too much of my time according to Cass is Clash of Heroes for the DS. Her mom got me this game for Christmas and it is awesome. I'd rank it among my top five favorite games ever for the DS. So everyone if I know you and you own a DS buy this game so I can fight you on the DS instead of fighting you with my DS. A special note for some who may not know this I like to assault people with my DS.

Where would I rank it? Funny I should ask, me.

5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
4. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
3. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
2. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
1. The World Ends With You

Too late?

When I was 16 I wanted a job. Not because of some innate ethic or boredom. I wanted money and like most Americans who don't live in coal mining towns real jobs are hard to come by when you're 12.

I got a job at American TV & Appliance in the warehouse. I was really excited about this job for a few reasons. Importantly it wasn't fast food or food service at all, something I wanted to avoid and to this day have never done. It also afforded a great opportunity as the reason I wanted a job in the first place would now be cheaper with an employee discount.

I wanted a TV for my room. More specifically I wanted a TV and VCR for my room. My parents would not buy one for me so I would have to obtain it on my own. Prior to turning 16 that would have meant saving up an entire summer's worth of lawnmowing money, which admittedly was a bit too much to ask at the time. This job meant affording these things after only about a month of work.

I bought these things right away, I believe with my second paycheck I received from American. I of course set them up immediately and got excited that night. The other nice thing was that American closed at 9pm so I would usually get home around 10. This was important.

The reason I wanted a TV in my room, not the only reason but the reason, was because I wanted to watch Conan while I went to sleep. I would often fall asleep with the show on and because I didn't want to miss it at all I recorded it every night with my VCR. I would watch what I missed the next morning while getting ready for school.

My senior year of high school I had current events. Our professor was pretty laid back and let the class pretty much be a free for all of ideas and conversation. My main contribution to this class was to bring in any political discussion/skit/anything from Conan and play it for the class. It wasn't something I did every day or even every week, but often enough that anyone who took that class with me probably remembers me for that specifically.

Years later I'm 25 and living in Chicago when Conan announces he is doing a week of shows at the Chicago Theater. I get excited until it's announced that the tickets will be free in a random drawing of entrants. I honestly had planned to buy tickets for every night. I entered my email and told everyone I knew to do the same. In the end I got one pair of tickets. Marty and I got to sit and watch in amazement as a man drove off Marina Towers, Dave Chappelle had a funny interview, Conan played the blues, Norm couldn't make a basket, and Common performed to close it out. It was a blast that I'll never forget.

Now I'm 28 and Conan gets his chance on The Tonight Show. I hadn't watched an actual episode of The Tonight Show since Johnny left. This was exciting for me. I DVR'd the first week of shows and watched them. Conan, true to his word, kept his unique style of humor in the move West.

Admittedly over the years his style had been honed a bit into something probably more suited to the palette of a wider audience. His early shows/years were filled with nonsensical humor and pacing that were so oddball it was wondered if he could find an audience soon enough to not be cancelled. His last years at Late Night were filled more regularly with poking fun at celebrities, but it still often had a bizarre slant or offbeat timing. Also there were still gems that would not be found on any other show, for example Conan visiting the baseball recreation society, a clip Conan himself has identified as probably the best thing he has ever done.

I have not been religiously following the Tonight Show. I probably caught a handful of episodes over the last seven months. I've probably caught part of the show once a month or so. My life has changed at this point where I really won't be around often or am busy even late at night. I don't DVR the show regularly because I would not be able to keep up and old episodes would sit unwatched until my memory was filled. All that being said I still think Conan is the finest talk show host on television.

This whole Leno/Conan business at NBC is troubling in part because the message seems to be that the network believes in Leno more greatly than they believe in Conan. They know their market and numbers so they would know best but honestly I can tell you that if someone asked me right now that I could either pay to watch Conan or watch Leno for free I would choose Conan every time.

Conan will be fine, at NBC or somewhere else. I know this and so does everyone else. As I sit and write about this I just miss the nights when I would drift asleep hoping for an appearance by Pimpbot 5000, when it seemed like the show was made just for me and that's all that mattered.

Needing this today

Five things that have made me happy today:

1. Fielder's pokey paws waking me up.
2. Cass's PJ pants
3. Strawberry/banana Kefir
4. News that Gas is ready to play

5.

I'm choking on my own rage here. (2009)

The above quote is in honer of the Simpsons 20th Anniversary.

GOOD

Movie: Where the Wild Things Are
A delightful movie that really hit where it was aiming: this is how it feels to be a kid. Out of control of you own emotions and trapped in your own world. Max creates a beautiful escape. The animatronic/CGI Wild Things looked amazing.
Runner-Up: Up
*special note: I didn't see a ton of movies I wanted to: Hurt Locker, Fantastic Mr. Fox, A Serious Man, The Informant, Inglorious Basterds, Big Fan, Up In the Air so this pick could easily change.

Television: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
This past/current season may be the best the show has ever done. Last season they almost seemed to go too big with things, closing with a musical finale that was well done but didn't feel in the spirit of the show. This season they returned to a more grounded focus (although they had some broad episodes like The Gang Wrestles for the Troops) on the five main characters. Frank got more insane; DeVito will do anything I think.
Runner-Up: Better Off Ted

Music: Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Peppy dance beats, good singing, very very catchy.
Runner-Up: The Thermals - Now We Can See

Athlete: Albert Pujols
.334/.427.628. That's Pujols's career line. Those are his average numbers. If he plays ten more years at this rate he could hit 800 homeruns. Of course we'll see a decline at the end because people don't hit more homeruns after they turn 32 than before right?
Runner-Up: Prince Fielder (yay)

BAD

Movie: The Orphan
Silly plot, bad acting, boring pacing, and you know what terrible lighting too.
Runner-Up: Obsessed

TV: Jersey Shore
This is not one of those "They are so terrible it's interesting" things. They are not interesting at all. Stop giving bad people TV shows.
Runner-Up: The Jay Leno Show (I swear if this schedule redo goes through Conan should just walk.)

Music: The Boxmasters - Modbilly
See here.

Runner-Up: Chris Brown the human being

Athlete: Tiger Woods
Although I will admit that it amuses how everyone is saying how this mistake(s) is going to cost him so much money. He has a billion dollars. Even if his endorsements stop right now and she takes half he still has 500 million dollars. I want you to comprehend how many lifetimes you and I would have to work to make that much money.

Runner-Up: Donte Stallworth

The Dog in Winter

Now that it's snowing outside it is really time to address a matter of concern. For whatever reason as soon as it gets cold outside a greater number of people decide that it is acceptable to not pick up their dog poop and leave it on the sidewalk. I would like to stress two things:

1) It is not acceptable.
2) These people suck.

Owning a dog means accepting responsibilities. The owner has responsibilities to the dog of course to care for it and ensure that it does not die. However equally important are the responsibilities that the dog owner has to everyone else in society. There are only two of these:
1) Ensure that your dog does not harm others.
2) Clean up after it.

This is the social contract we have created for dog owners. It is the only two things you have to do in order to be allowed to own a dog and keep it in the city. These two simple things are requirements and failure to complete these means you are abandoning the privilege of owning an animal and are not a decent human being.

You will see it more and more as the winter sets in. I am not sure why the cold weather triggers this in some people. There are others that don't clean up after their dogs year round. They are still prigs but at least they're consistent.

++++++++++++++++++++

We need someone to dogsit for us next Friday (Dec. 18). If you are available to come over to our apartment and make sure they don't bark while you rifle through our things then please let us know. There may be something in it for you.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell
What I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
I saw my reflection in a window I didn't know
My own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
Wastin´away
On the streets of Philadelphia

I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia

Ain't no angel gonna greet me
Its just you and I my friend
My clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
Just to slip the skin

The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia

Packers win. I'm thankful for all of you.

Is it worse to be racist at night?

Here's all the other stuff to get caught up.

+++++++++++++++++++

My car is finally done. It didn't actually die but the brake lines did go out and the estimate to fix it was over $300. We decided it wasn't worth it because this might be the start of a snowball and we'd rather spend money on a new car.

+++++++++++++++++++

"She was a good boat but I'm a lousy captain."

+++++++++++++++++++

We played softball for the first time in months last Thursday subbing for Woody's team. I had a great night in the field making the last catch running backwards to catch up to a home run ball with runners on and our team only up by two. I also got a d-bag on the other team to lose it by squaring up to bunt after he lead off with two balls no where near the plate. I can't believe some people take that seriously. This guy was pitching to the 12 foot ceiling with backspin so I in no way feel obligated to be polite to him. None of this matters anyway because Cass is the real superstar. She crushed a home run to dead center over the fielder's heads.

+++++++++++++++++++

"That's my girlfriend."

+++++++++++++++++++

Fielder is doing great. Everyone loves her the second they meet her. She is getting courageous, approaching dogs bigger than most humans without a second of hesitation. She still has her moments of fear but that won't stop her from say leaping off of our kitchen counter when someone who's name starts with Cass is trying to wash her feet.

+++++++++++++++++++

"Being cute doesn't mean there are no rules it just means there are less rules."

+++++++++++++++++++

The Fire lost in the Eastern Conference Final. Again. It was a great year and as I said I think the team that started the season was completely different. That team would have won that game I think. We had a great time this year and are very proud of the team. The best game was still the one that we ended up being the one we had extra tickets for, and therefore tons of friends in the stands. We probably will not do season tickets again as we have to start tightening the belt.

+++++++++++++++++++

"That is a card on any field in the world. Except this one."

+++++++++++++++++++

It's Always Sunny is still the best show on TV.

Hall of Winona...wait that's not right.

So Cass and I decided before leaving for Milwaukee that we would bring our ultimate gear with us and see how we felt on Sunday morning. If we were awake and ready we would make the trip. We were awake and DTB.

We rolled in around 9:30. We had left Milwaukee at 6:00 so we made pretty good time getting there. We got our cleats on grabbed our bags and walked towards our field. The team mostly had their backs to us but when we were within a field someone on the sideline spotted us and the whole team turned, spotted us, and cheered. It was the kind of welcome that I needed and that Cass deserves.

We showed up to find our team losing in a testy game against some Gnarwhal players. Our arrival awakened the beast spirits within each of our teammates souls and we rallied for a two point victory. The next game was against some school in Nebraska which featured a player who my best guess would put at 6'8". Featured in this case would mean he touched the disc on every other throw and we really couldn't do anything to contain him. We ended up losing by two. Our final game was against UW-LaCrosse, a fun group of players we had met and played two years prior. It was a fiery, emotional game for myself (knowing it would be our last of the day/tournament) and we managed to dig deep and pull out a two point victory. Haha pull out.

That previous paragraph doesn't matter. The results of the games didn't decide the weekend for us. Cass and I had a great time and got the emotional boost we needed from the weekend. We didn't regret waking up and making the trip for one second.

The only downside was that I didn't get a chance to see Nate. He was playing open at the main fields and by the time I rolled past I wasn't able to find him (if he was still there).

My eleventh Hallowinona was still awesome and they seem to get better every year. We didn't win this year but I felt more fulfilled at the end of the day on Sunday than I had the previous year. A big thank you to all my teammates.

And Cass made brownies.

Here's my dog sleeping on her back.

It's just a really cute picture.

So this past weekend was Halloween. For the past ten years for me that has meant the Hallowinona ultimate tournament in Winona, MN. That's right. My ultimate career is in the double digits at this point. I've been doing this longer than I've been having sex. Keep in mind that most guys wouldn't be able to last for ten years.

On Tuesday night last week (four days before the tournament) I got a call from my friend David. His father had passed away. I have known David since we were in first grade together and I've known his family for at least that long.

His dad was a genuinely funny guy. He was the kind of person who let you know where you stood and you could tell what mood he was in from across the room. He'll be missed by so many and I hope David and his family are able to remember the joy of his life.

The funeral was on Saturday in Milwaukee. Cass and I decided immediately we would be going. It was good to see so many friends I hadn't seen in forever, and the parlor was packed with people who came to remember Jerry.

A quick story that I probably should have told at the funeral: my dad always got along with Jerry. They would be sure to be chatting and laughing any time they were together. I remember the first time my dad and Jerry met. We drove over to David's house to pick him up for a Brewer game and to stay the night on a weekend. My dad asked Jerry "What time should I bring him home?" Jerry answered "When he's 18 and has a job."

It was great to be there for my friend. Cass and I stayed in Milwaukee on Saturday night and we missed out on Hallowinona this year. Or did we?

Folks

Getting caught up:

Our parents weekend in Door County went smoothly. Much more smoothly than we hoped even. Not that we expected fisticuffs although that may have been entertaining.

We played golf and I played just well enough to give the appearance of competence when necessary. We saw a play, played games, ate a chipper and goulash, and had fun. Both our folks are generally good people and they got along well.

Cass did great and there was actually more baby talk than wedding talk. That was a curveball. Oh, and here's proof that Cass is more beloved than anyone else:

Die with our boots on.

The US Men's National Team clinched a World Cup berth this past weekend with a 3-2 win in Honduras. I, like most Americans, was not able to watch the game due to some asinine broadcasting rules/decisions. Regardless this is great news for a US team on the rise.

The US team turned heads this year by beating Spain in the Confederations Cup Semifinals. This marked the most important victory by the US team in many years. They did it with solid defense and quality shots from their scorers when they needed it.

Unfortunately it didn't mark the turnaround for the team from mediocre to world elite. They still have problems almost every game putting together a sustained attack and stopping world class offense. They look lost at times and really caught a few lucky breaks along the way to South Africa.

All that being said I am very happy and proud of this team. They have a lot of work and really need to settle in on doing their jobs every time in order to advance out of pool play. I believe in them and will be rooting the whole way.

The USMNT have come a long way. It used to be that no matter what we did we wouldn't be able to hang with the world's best. Now if we play our best game we can beat teams that aren't. There are still teams we could never beat on their best day, but forcing everyone else to bring their "A" game is a step in the right direction.

+++++++++++++++++++++

The Chicago Fire are close to wrapping up their season as well. Cass and I had a blast as season ticket holders this year and are considering our options for next year. There are a few things we'd do different like not sit in the supporters section and skip the Beckham game (if he comes back) but overall we enjoyed getting to go to as many games as we did.

The team is in trouble for the playoffs though. They are very thin on the back line due to injuries to some critical members, primarily Tim Ward who is the new favorite player of Cass and I due to his quality hustle and overall play this past year, as well as the loss of Bakary Soumare to France due to him not wanting to be here. Up front our attack has looked weak as well since the loss of Thorrington and Blanco is playing hurt. Getting McBride back is a big boost but hopefully we can get a few of these guys back in form for the postseason run. Otherwise it could be an early exit.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Arsenal is sitting at fifth in the standings but they have played one fewer game than everyone ahead of them. Most impressively they have scored more goals than any one else in the league. The closest team is Liverpool who is two goals behind with an extra game played.

Arsenal is scoring 3.4 goals per game right now and don't look to be slowing down. They aren't scared to just pour everything at teams and have found the back of the net like no other. Their defensive line is weak but unless teams have goal scorers they aren't going to be able to compete. It's fine to concede two goals if you go out and score six.

Between Fabregas, Vermaelen, Van P, Arshavin teams will have trouble finding stoppers for all of Arsenal's weapons, and that's to say nothing of when the team is healthy and they have Walcott, Bendtner, Gallas, and Rosicky too.

The one thing that sucks is the team's only real enforcer is Nasri and he's been hurt. Regardless if you have spots behind the net at an Arsenal game this year be ready to stand up and cheer.

The more things change...

the worse they get.

A little backstory: those of you who went to UIC probably recognize the image. Busy Burger was a cheap burger joint on Taylor Street. It actually still is but we'll get to that. Everything in there was done on the cheap. The prices were low, the soda was unrecognizable (I don't mean that as a shot at say Mello Yello, I mean I literally have no idea what brand of soda they were serving), it was a little dirty, and they didn't even take credit cards. But most importantly the burgers were awesome. They were thick, juicy and cheap. It may have been all the grease still on the fryer adding flavor but those were delicious burgers.

Rewind to earlier this summer. At some point driving down Taylor Street I looked over and noticed that Busy Burger had done some remodeling. Some serious remodeling. It didn't look like a relic from an era that never really existed, it looked like a college burger shack. "Oh well" I shrugged.

Back to this past weekend. Cass and I had meant to grill burgers to stay in with Fielder but it was raining pretty hard. Since we were both in the mood for a burger and I hadn't had it in a while I suggested we call Busy Burger. I checked online and saw that they delivered. I don't know that they did this before but I know they didn't have their menu online before and I realized that their prices had increased. "Just more updating" I guessed.

We placed our order and it came and I was immediately disappointed. I mean immediately because when I went down to get the order at the door I reached in and grabbed a fry. Instead of the crispy fries I was used to I found soggy skinny mockeries. I was irritated but I wasn't going to let it spoil my night. "No biggie" I accepted.

We toasted the fries in the toaster to crisp them up a bit. As we were waiting we got our meals ready and I noticed that the burgers looked a lot more thin than they used to be. Now instead of a thick juicy patty there were thin ones. I was worried by this point but I held off judgment until I took a bite. "Things have gone horribly wrong" I realized.

The burgers now are thin, charred on the outside and dry on the inside. It is a cheap piece of meat. It was always a cheap piece of meat but it used to be delicious and now it is not, and it cost less before.

We didn't let it ruin our night and to be honest at the time I wasn't all that upset but we just got a new dog and were riding an emotional high at the time. Those burgers were a real buzzkill.

I don't know if they changed owners or what but everything is different now, and not for the better. We won't be going back. We can't go back.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

An update on Fielder: I pet her for the first time yesterday. She is bonding really well with Cass and seems more spooked by men so we think the mill was run mostly by men. She is still nervous but is calming down to an outrageous degree. The first night she slipped down between the couch and the wall and I had to pick her up out of there. She was so freaked she ran and jumped off of the opposite edge of the couch and landed in the Charlie's water bowl (about a four foot gap). Earlier today Cass was driving her to the vet. Fielder was in the passenger seat. A cop car pulled up next to her at a red light and the cops pointed and were making cute faces. Fielder then decided to try to jump through the windshield (or up on the dash, it doesn't really matter), which she smacked into and fell directly to the floor of the car.

When I got home from working out she was curled up on Cass's lap (today is the first time she has done this). Apparently she had been sleeping on the chair nearby, wrapped up in one of my sweatshirts. Then she looked and seemingly asked to be picked up so Cass did so and Fielder fell asleep immediately. I came in and she woke up but was still very relaxed so I tried petting her and she let me. She was a little startled at first but calmed down and fell asleep while I was scratching her head.

We are very excited by the progress.

What we did today while not finding out we were pregnant.

We have a new member of the Nienow-Hatzfeld family. We proudly present to you Fielder (Princess Fielder Nienow; pictured above with King Charles). She is a 15 lb adorable Shih-Tzu mix.

She comes to us from a puppy mill (via a Rescue Agency) where she was used to breed. She is incredibly timid and scared because the world around her is so new. She is 5 years-old but was in a puppy mill up until a month ago. As a result she is shy and reluctant to let anyone touch her. Seeing how frightened she gets makes me want to punch everyone who has ever worked at a puppy mill in the teeth.

The next few days/weeks/months are going to require a lot of patience and caring in order to establish the trust/love that has been missing her whole life. We can already tell that she will be a very loving dog when she gets the chance.

Thanks to those who gave us kick-ass references.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

So my Facebook status update read "So there's going to be a new member of the Nienow-Hatzfeld family." Responses:

Dude. Dude! DUDE. -Florida
WHAT DOES THAT MEANNN? -Kichler
Details, man. Details! -Majetich
Please say you're getting a pet monkey:) -Simo
Wow congratulations! I just hope this isn't a trick and its not like a plant or a pet monkey. -Matt Flynn
dudes, answer your phones goddamn! -Suz

I honestly didn't know our phones were off but that was hilarious when I turned my phone on. And screw you Matt. You'd be just as excited as I would be if I got a pet monkey.