No More Beer

I don’t exactly remember the first time I ever had a beer.  I think it was at a Bears game with my Uncle’s Dan and John in the parking lot tailgating.  I maybe was all of twelve or thirteen.  I thought it tasted like pure gasoline and after two sips my Uncle Dan assured me, “Don’t worry you will develop a taste for it.”  I would come to learn later in life that he was right.

Being a teenager in the suburbs drinking alcohol is quite literally a rite of passage.  I flirted with drinking here and there while in high school but the heavy 12 ounce curls didn’t really start until the Moraine and Kmart years.  I’ve often said, it wasn’t a matter of if we were going to a party on a Friday or Saturday night, it was which one are we going to go attend.

Weather it was drinking Stroh’s cans in Dell’s basement or Busch Light Draft in the Kmart parking lot I soon found my Uncle was right, I no longer was drinking beer to be cool or fit in.  I was drinking it because I had acquired a taste. 

The plus to drinking was that alcohol lowered inhibitions.  I found I had more confidence and would definitely do things tipsy that I would not do sober.  When I got to DePaul a whole new world of bars and adventures opened up to me all thanks to alcohol.  And I mean this when I say it I don’t regret any of it.

My twenties are quite literally a blur of sprits induced haziness.  I played softball, after the games we drank.  Nothing going on tonight, let’s go on a pub crawl.  What it’s Tuesday and I have to be at work at eight in the morning, better only have a couple of Budweiser’s.  I had so many good times then and so many stories that start out with, I was hammered.

As I turned into my thirties of course I started to slow down my consumption but still kept the habit up on weekends.  I was the definition of a social drinker.  When I went out with my friends I would always knock back a couple.  But, the times where I was getting knock down, blacked out drunk were thankfully becoming rare. 

I still would do my 95^th street march with my friends and knock back as many Miller High Life’s as I could when out with the gang.  The side effect to all that beer was my gut was growing and soon I had a pretty substantial spare tire around my mid section.  Now, I don’t want to solely blame beer for it, I mean I still ate like shit and my exercise was minimal at best.  But, the beer intake certainly was not helping. 

I associated drinking with good times and won’t say anything bad about them.  I am not going to become one of these ex-beer drinkers that become a crusader for all the ills of alcohol.  But, now that it has nearly been six months without a sip of it, I must say I don’t miss it in the least.  As a matter of fact, I am repulsed by the idea of drinking a beer.

I started to go on my weight loss regimen in September.  At that point I was still drinking beer, hanging out at the Castle on Sundays watching football and knocking back a lot of High Life’s in the process.  As I started losing weight and eating better the more I drank beer the more it just wasn’t doing it for me anymore.  Then I started to think about why I still drank?

What was it about beer that had its grips on me?  I mean I was in no way abusing it or anything like that.  Sure, I liked it but I am not sure I loved it.  So, as the new year approached I said to myself, I am going to see how long I can go without consuming alcohol and beer in particular.  I wanted to see if I would miss it or not.  And as I said I simply don’t.

Now when I am around drunken imbeciles of which I played that part many times, I get repulsed.  I think to myself, did I used to act like that?  When I see a sloppy, slurring his words rummy, I get all the validation I need that I am perfectly good not drinking.  It is such a turn off to me now. Again, this is not a judgment.  If someone wants to drink it is their right and live and let live, I say.  I just don’t have the desire anymore.  At this point in time in my life I don’t miss it and don’t crave a beer.

Maybe, it is my whole training, getting in shape regimen that I am on.  Maybe eventually I will have a rough day and I will just want to drown my sorrows away in a drunken stupor like I used to, I will never say never.  But as of today in my current mind frame I really don’t want to drink anymore.  I think I am more addicted to Twizzlers and ice cream then beer anyways.  If I have to give up something for me at least , it is much easier to abstain from the occasional oat soda then a scoop from Premo’s or the Plush Horse.

The Beastie Boys

Adam Yauch otherwise known as his Beastie Boys moniker MCA passed away last week.  I have been a fan of the Boys for years now.  I know their later material in particular has not been great.  I will admit this but still I’ve always been a fan.  I don’t know what will happen with his passing but I cannot imagine how Ad Rock and Mike D can continue on without him.

Back when License to Ill came out I was at a crossroads.  I went to high school in the suburbs and while a whole other scene was happening in the alternative world sadly all that trickled down to the halls of Argo High was Poison and the latest Motley Crue tracks.  I like my share of bad hair band tunes but I was never really a huge fan.  How and why I got into white boy rap I am still not sure.

I think RUN DMC’s Raising Hell was the first rap cassette I owned.  And I played the shit out of it in my Firebird’s tape deck.  Instead of having a knee jerk reaction to it I gave it a whirl and I got taken in with its infectious grooves and killer rhymes.  I can still rock out to My Adidas or It’s Tricky.  Most of my friends and family did not support me in my musical taste at the time but I didn’t care.  I liked it and I knew it was good. 

So, I started to experiment with rap.  I was soon jamming to Public Enemy and Ice T.  Eventually License to Ill came out and I was instantly hooked.  Looking back it sounds so different to what the Boys would eventually morph into and become. Yet the seeds were still there of fusing rap with a more rock and roll sound. They were young early twenties kids and they wrote and rapped about what most kids that age were doing, chasing girls, drinking and going to parties.  Here were three Jewish kids from Brooklyn rapping with the best of them.  But, there was something in those sophomoric rhymes that struck a chord with me.

As I got older and moved onto college a whole slew of different bands and genres came into my realm.  But, I still had that soft spot for bands like the Beastie Boys.  In 1989 the Beastie’s got together with the Dust Brothers and crated Paul’s Boutique.  To think that record is twenty three years old blows my mind. 

At the time I will be honest the record came out and it was widely considered a flop and didn’t have much of an effect on the music scene. By that point I had moved on to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and bands of that ilk. It would take some time but history will show Paul’s Boutique was a huge stepping stone in the hip hop scene.  Everyone was expecting a repeat performance of License to Ill and why not.  The record sold a gazillion copies.  It would have been easy and safe for the band to just put out a record that sounded just like it.  But, they wanted to get away from their party boy images and go a little deeper.  And they did just that.

It took me years to finally get that record.  But once my eyes were opened to its greatness I would never look at the Beastie Boys the same again.  I really started to get back into Beastie’s music around the time Check Your Head was released.  I heard it and I was taken aback.  They had done something and created a sound that I am not sure had been heard up to that point.  They perfectly mixed their hip hop roots with an almost punk sound. You hear songs like Gratitude that is now twenty years old and it is as fresh as ever. 

I was sold and from that point on I was a fan.  When Ill Communication came out, that cinched the deal.  That disc was on a permanent rotation in my Corolla’s cd player and was played and played again at all the parties at the house of pain.  I hear Sure Shot or Sabotage and my mind flashes back to a party at the house and grabbing a beer from the keg sitting in the 1890’s model utility sink in the basement.  Like I said after that while I still dug their music it did slip a tad.  But, I was still and always was a fan.

So, when I heard of MCA’s passing last week, it definitely saddened me.  He went way too young and with his passing I felt yet another part of my youth had passed along with him.  I can associate so many good times to the Beastie Boys music that I cannot help but get nostalgic and have a cheesy grin cross my face when I think of them.  Even though I moved on to other bands and listened to many other records over the years The Beastie Boys will always have a special place in my heart.  So rest in peace Adam, you made this world a better place and you touched the lives of numerous white boys in the burbs and opened their minds to a new musical genre that eventual exploded and became mainstream.  You will without question be missed.    

3 Work Travel Stories

I travel for work from time to time. I am not complaining about it. It is just part of the job. Here are three quick stories I have from my work travels.

Eat more fiber

I had to go to Indy. It was my first trip there of many I have taken in my six years with my company. I wound up working late. They stuck me in a La Qunita on the out skirts in Indianapolis. I was tired so, I settled for the TGI Friday's across the street to grab a quick meal for dinner. I devoured a full slap and went back to my room for some R&R. Of course a half hour later I need to make a deposit. I thought I was okay but the La Quinta toilet had absolutely no flushing power and sure enough I backed it up. I debated whether to call and ask for the plunger or just leave the mess for the cleaning crew in the morning, but Catholic guilt got the better of me.

So, I call down and since it was so late the girl (who of course was rather attractive for an Indy girl) who was working the late shift at the desk was the only one there. Meaning, I would have to trek downstairs and pick up the plunger from her. I am telling you it is a walk of shame as you head back to your room with the hotel plunger in your hands.

You don’t have to turn on the red light

I have to go to Milwaukee for work. I am only staying one night. My usual hotel I pick was booked as were most of the nicer hotels in town for some reason. So, I am setup in a hotel a little off the beaten path. First issue was I got lost going there but that was my fault and Mapquest’s. A ten minute trip wound up taking an hour.

I at long last arrive at my destination. When I looked online the hotel looked nice. It even had some good reviews with a few negative sprinkled in but like I said I was desperate to find a vacancy. I notice a shady looking guy standing outside the entrance. I don’t give it too much thought, and check in. I then get in my room kill a little time and decide to go grab a bite. It had been like an hour and a half at this point. Sure enough as I leave shady guy is still there this time he is talking to a girl who is quite clearly a hooker.

Now my eyebrows get raised. It’s a tough economy and who am I to say anything. Live and let live and as long as they are not bothering me why should I care. But this was a drugged out, dead eyed looking, STD carrying street walker. I am not thrilled that quite obviously she is taking her clients back to the very hotel I am staying at and doing her business. But, what can I do other then go and grab a quick bite and put it out of my head.

I come back from dinner and shady guy is still there, this time with a different girl. So, now it occurs to me he is running some sort of hood brothel out of the hotel I am staying at. This is not a pleasant thought. The desk clerk who checked me in had to either be on his payroll or the dumbest person alive. This was all happening in plain sight and if I could notice it how could the clerk not?

I again put this out of my head and try to settle in for the night. I finally start falling asleep when I awake to the sounds of police sirens. I then hear some banging of doors and a ruckus in the hallway. I don’t know all that went down but as I looked out my window I saw a paddy wagon and one of the working girls being led there in cuffs. Needless to say I did not stay at that hotel again.

Past Bedtime

I had to visit a base near Lacrosse, Wisconsin. There is not much near the base and I had never been there so, I picked a Country Inn and Suites and crossed my fingers. I wound up having to stay at the base until like 8:00 and I wanted to get the job done so I just worked through dinner figuring I could eat once I was done. By the time I get to the hotel and check in and get myself ready to eat it is nineish. It was then I realized I am not in Chicago.

I went downstairs and asked what was open to grab a bite and I am not kidding when the clerk told me nothing was open within a twenty mile radius. The gas station was already closed for the night. Room service was not offered either. I asked if a pizza place would deliver and she told me not at this hour. So, I was directed to a vending machine. There I looked over the menu and went with a bag of Munchos, a package of Famous Amos and a water. It was probably better then the nearest pizza place anyway.

2012 Baseball Predictions

I will again submit my yearly embarrassment where I give my picks for the upcoming baseball season. Please hold all laughter until September.

AL East

1. New York

2. Boston

3. Toronto

4. Tampa Bay

5. Baltimore

The Yankees are still the class of the AL East. I love the pickup of Pineda to bolster the rotation. You know they will still score runs and while I think they are getting a little long in the tooth in some areas they still have enough to win it. The Red Sox collapse last year will go down in history. It’s a lot to try and come back from. I love the lineup if they can stay healthy. My issue is their pitching. Lester and Beckett need to have solid years or it will be another year of missed playoffs for the Carmine’s. I love a lot of what the Blue Jays are doing. I really think they may push Boston for the wild card. But they still may be a year away. I love the lineup and if the backend of that rotation rounds into forum, look out. The Rays went on an amazing run to grab the wild card last year. I still really like their pitching. That Moore kid looks like a stud. But, I wonder if they will score enough runs. They got a lot of breaks at the end to get in last year, I just don’t know if they do it again. The Orioles for years have floundered under the mismanagement of Andy MacPhail. I know they play in a tough division but they are still are a talent wasteland. It’s about the pitching and the O’s just don’t have enough to compete with the other heavyweights.

AL Central

1. Detroit

2. Cleveland

3. Kansas City

4. Chicago

5. Minnesota

Even without Victor Martinez the Tigers lineup is loaded. They will easily score enough, and with Verlander leading your staff you know they are solid there as well. In what should be a fairly mediocre division they are clearly at the head of it. The Indians shocked everyone last year and stayed in the race until September. They were probably playing above their heads a tad. Still there is some young talent here that is starting to round into forum. May be a year away still but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The Royals have been a doormat since the Reagan administration. At long last they are starting to harness some young talent. They are still thin at a lot of spots but I love the Hosmer, Moustakas, and Giaveotella trio of youngsters that may forum the best infield in the AL in a couple of years. For now they still have too many holes to compete for anything. The White Sox used the dreaded rebuild word this offseason. I think they may actually pitch ok but I wonder about the lineup and the backend of the bullpen. Also I don’t like the Ventura hiring. He may be great but it could also really backfire. The Twins have a couple of nice pieces but as a whole I really don’t like them. Mauer is not the same player for whatever reason and I will maintain when Karl Pavano is your opening day starter you have issues.

AL West

1. Anaheim

2. Texas

3. Oakland

4. Seattle

How can you not like what the Angles did in the off season? I mean they went out and laded the biggest fish in Pujos and then signed Wilson as well. I think in the long term both moves will bite them in the ass. But for 2012 they are stocked. They are going to be good if healthy. The Rangers are the two time defending American league champs. But, I worry about that choke job in October carrying over. They say it won’t but how can it not. They can still rake with any team out there but the pitching is a question. I know everyone is raving about Yu Darvish but everyone raved about Dice-K as well. The A’s are a curious team. Back in their Moneyball heyday they always had a pipeline of good young talent ready to come up and play. But really in the last couple of years who have they really produced? The well is running dry and they gave money to some guys who really don’t wow me. They need to move out of the brutal stadium which may be the worst in baseball. I thought the Mariners might surprise some people last year and was I wrong. They are still awhile away. They just don’t score enough runs to be competitive. I love King Felix but not much else on the roster to get excited about.

NL East

1. Philadelphia

2. Miami

3. Atlanta

4. Washington

5. New York

I know Howard and Utley are hurting and they have some holes to fill. But I still love the pitching and I know both those bats will come back. If they tread water long enough I still think the Phillies win the east. I know a lot of people are picking against them and I totally understand why. This could be like picking the Twins last year you pick them til they prove otherwise. But my gut tells me they have one more run in them. The Marlins could be amazing or could crash and burn. I personally think if the pitching can stay healthy they will be very good. Say what you want about Ozzie (and over the years I’ve said plenty) but he usually gets a lot out of his talent. If the Phillies falter at all they will be right there ready to pounce. The Braves completely choked last year. I just think it’s hard to come back from something like that. They still have talent and will still compete but I think Miami has passed them. The Nationals are coming. If Strasberg can stay healthy they have the makings of a very good pitching staff. I still think they are a year away however. I think they have the nucleolus to be pretty good but 2013 is there year not 12. The Mets are a mess. A lineup with more holes then Swiss cheese and a patched together pitching staff. I don’t see a lot of hope there.

NL Central

1. St. Louis

2. Cincinnati

3. Milwaukee

4. Chicago

5. Pittsburgh

6. Houston

All logic will tell you the Cardinals without Albert take a huge step back. Well I am not so sure. Okay you don’t replace that production how could you? However, there is still talent on this team and they can still pitch. Let’s not forget they get Wainright back and I like the Beltran signing. Division is not great so they could win 92 and grab it. I like a lot of what the Reds have done. Getting Latos was a great move. But, I will never pick a Dsuty Baker team. Sure he proved me wrong two years ago but sorry just can’t do it. The Brewers and that cheater Braun have some serious negative mojo working. They still have a good pitching staff and will still score some runs. But there is something about this team that just makes me think they will underperform, or maybe that is what I am just hoping for. At long last the Cubs have started to build the right way through the draft and by getting young. Yes, they have a long way to go but I do think our pitching staff will be good. We won’t score any runs but if you can pitch in this game that is half the battle. The Pirates last year for the first time in eons actually were good until they ran out of gas in August. Sadly, I think that team may have played above their heads. Sure, they have a couple of nice players but, when Eric Bedard is your opening day starter you have no addressed your biggest need and that is starting pitching. The Astros are a total and complete mess. They have a new owner so that is the good news. The roster however is in serious disrepair. I have been wrong plenty in the past but I don’t see how they don’t lose 100.

NL West

1. San Francisco

2. Arizona

3. Colorado

4. Los Angeles

5. San Diego

This is the toughest division to pick. You could throw the top three in a hat in my opinion. There is not much separating any of them. However, I will go with the Giants. It comes down to pitching and they have the best and deepest. They have improved the lineup and little and a whole year from Posey won’t hurt. I think they score enough to win a squeaker. The Diamondbacks came out of nowhere last year to win the west. I did not see that coming. But the young pitching came into forum and Upton starting hitting like the player he was touted to be. They will be right there again. Every year it seems like I over value the Rockies. I still love that lineup littered with home grown talent. However, that pitching staff leaves a lot to be desired and I just don’t see them being able to overtake the top two teams. The Dodgers could be interesting. I like the pitching staff and their everyday lineup has some thump. But the middle infield is a total void and I worry about the bullpen. It is good they are at long last out of the McCourt mess but still will have some work to do. The Padres are not a very sexy team and don’t have much talent. I like Maybin and Headley and they have a solid bullpen. But they lack the depth to be very competitive.

AL Playoffs

Wild Card Game

Boston over Texas

ALDS

Anaheim over Boston

Detroit over New York

ALCS

Anaheim over Detroit

NL Playoffs

Wild Card Game

Arizona over Miami

NLDS

Arizona over Philadelphia

San Francisco over St. Louis

NLCS

San Francisco over Arizona

World Series

Anaheim over San Francisco

80's Dance Music

I was talking with someone at work about how they went to an 80’s dance party over the weekend one day and how fun much fun they had. I am sure it was. Having gone to some parties in the 80’s and having shaken my moneymaker a time or two, here is my list for the best 80’s songs to dance to.

Situation, Yaz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdV-5ivltkc – You couldn’t go to a dance in the 80’s without this one being played. It has it all, the synthesized hooks and the drum machine vibe to make it a perfect song to bust a move to.

Blue Monday, New Order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82R23_lUMYI&feature=related – Again another staple for every dance I was at in the Wilkins gym back in the day.

Dancing with Myself, Billy Idol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG1NrQYXjLU – A not so subtle song about masturbation, I would hear this every time we went to Fields on 103^rd and Cicero for teen night. (Yes, I was lame.)

Billie Jean, Michael Jackson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y&ob=av3e- I know I am breaking some rule by including this one, but say what you want about the “king of pop” he did know how to write songs that would get you off your ass.

The Humpty Dance, The Digital Underground http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj9_yW8tZxs - There wasn’t a white boy in the suburbs in the 80’s that was into rap that didn’t know all the words to this one.

My Prerogative, Bobby Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDLZqe735k&ob=av2e I was known to “Travolta” on the dance floor to this one at a number of Kmart Xmas parties back in the day.

Whip It, Devo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw - This used to be my signature dance way back when. I retired it long ago, but I still love this song and band.

Bust a Move, Young MC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy4FXhkm6Nw - This barely makes it as it was released in 1989. But, again in the suburbs this was the rap we were exposed to. It wasn’t bad but man was it tame.

One Step Beyond, Madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-uyWAe0NhQ - This was Ska in its infancy. But I swear to you I played this video at work and it got me moving. I don’t know what it is about this song. Wasn’t all that popular but I really dig it.

Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmLerpRZKG0 – This is another 80’s prom special. If you went to a Queen of Peace mixer in 1986 you hard this song I guarantee it.