Saturday, April 9, 2016

NCAA Tournament Pool - Final Standings

NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL STANDINGS
Final Standings

I am sure that you are tired of waiting for the standings, so I will make my synopsis quick.  Congratulations to Villanova Wildcats on winning the 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament.  And congratulations go Glen Merchant, Hilary Kroesen and Day Yi for selecting the Wildcats.  Unfortunately for Hilary and Day, the rest of their bracket did not stand up well to the competition, so they did not win, place or show in the pool.

The winners of the pool, in order, are Glen Merchant, Greg Kummerlen, and Jonathan Wasserman.  The fact that Greg came in second has absolutely nothing to do with the free tab I received while watching the Elite 8 games at his sports bar (since there was no free tab, hint, hint!)

We have an unprecedented occurrence in the race for last place.  There was a tie between Phil Doherty 2 and Phil Doherty 4.  Since both entries are for the same person, I will not break the tie, but just give last place money back to Phil Doherty.

Glen, Greg, Wass and Phil, let me know your PayPal, or address to give you your winnings.

As always, please review the standings and double check my math, as I may have missed something, missed an upset, or just simply miscalculated.  I try to be accurate, but sometimes I do mess up.  I will listen and change things as necessary.

For more adventures from the Final Four – please check out the previous 5 entries at WeMakeItRain, for a detailed account of our trip to Houston.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR JOINING THE POOL.  I THOROUGHLY ENJOY THIS EVERY YEAR, AND I WILL CONTACT YOU ALL NEXT YEAR IF YOU WANT TO KEEP PLAYING.

Now, on to the standings.

1.         GLEN MERCHANT – 138

2.         GREG KUMMERLEN – 116

3.         JONATHAN WASSERMAN 2 – 112

4.         Kareem Montague – 111
5.         Measha Williams 2 – 110
6.         Colleen Hamilton 1 – 108
            Kevin McAlister – 108
            Allison Parker – 108
9.         Hilary Kroesen – 106
10.       Josh and Katie Zdrowak – 104
11.       Measha Williams – 102
12.       Martha Kroesen – 101
            Duncan Merchant – 101
14.       Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds – 100
            Anthony LaPira – 100
            Roxy Sheehan – 100
            Amy Zdrowak – 100
18.       Cory Mauro – 99
            Steven Usma 3 – 99
            Justin Yung – 99
21.       Kent Armstrong – 98
            Kim Bancsi – 98
            Eric Inge – 98
            Rich Samuels 2 – 98
25.       Rebecca Seelig – 97
26.       Alex King – 96
            Jane Reynolds – 96
            Steven Usma 1 – 96
29.       Keith Bornhorst – 95
            Karen Katz – 95
            Joshua Zdrowak – 95
32.       Carolyn Fowler – 94
            Mango Merchant – 94
            Day Yi – 94
35.       Debbie Nieman – 93
            Jonathan Wasserman 1 – 93
            Measha Williams 1 – 93
38.       George Walks 3 – 92
39.       Rich Samuels 1 – 91
            Measha Williams 3 – 91
            Kulwadee Yung – 91
42.       Bryan Apolinar – 90
            Lee Seelig – 90
44.       Phil Doherty 1 – 89
45.       Katie Kollmeyer – 88
            Kline Kroesen – 88
47.       Stephanie Aichele – 87
            Jacey Fowler II - 87
49.       Brent Bellinger – 86
            Pepe Sosa – 86
51.       Jacey Fowler I  - 85
            George Walks 2 – 85
            Hershey Zdrowak – 85
54.       Andrew Giannone – 84
            Colleen Hamilton 2 – 84
            Matt Hopps – 84
57.       Jen Armstrong – 83
58.       Ty Leatherman – 82
59.       Vic LaPira – 81
            Abigail Sosa – 81
            Jason Spuhler – 81
62.       Kyle Sheehan – 80
            Day Yi 1 – 80
64.       Matt Nieman – 79
65.       Steven Usma 2 – 78
66.       Chris Kroesen – 77
            Mac Kroesen – 77
68.       Jessica Koch – 75
            Emily Lawson - 75      
            Barkley Sosa – 75
            Cheryl Spuhler – 75
72.       Jason Murray – 74
73.       Phil Doherty 3 – 71

            Kingfish Parham – 71 – DEFENDING CHAMPION

75.       Charli Aichele – 70
            Steffan Alexander – 70
77.       Michael Litsey – 69
            Hannah Sosa – 69
            Katie Zdrowak – 69
80.       Kyle Henderson – 68
            Jeff Plamondon – 68
            Ashley Poer 1 – 68
83.       George Walks 1 – 66
84.       Jack Henderson – 64
            Traci Sheehan – 64
86.       Samantha Sheehan – 63
87.       Serena Davila – 61
            Ashley Poer 2 – 61
89.       Alvaro Gonzalez – 60
            Silas Nichols 1 – 60
91.       Silas Nichols 2 – 58
92.       George Walks 4 – 57
            Keith Zdrowak – 57

94.       PHIL DOHERTY 2 – 56
            PHIL DOHERTY 4 - 56

Friday, April 8, 2016

THE DEPARTURE

THE DEPARTURE
Day 5

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Long weekend, and although 2 of us are travelling out today and the other two are leaving tomorrow, we most certainly are not done.  Not after that freaking ending we just saw last night.  We are still talking about it.  (We apologize but for some reason the background of the second half of this post looks really weird on a desktop or laptop. It looks normal when viewed on a phone.  We are working on this).

06:00 – 09:00 – Construction on all of the townhouse complexes being built in EADO.  Just because we are on vacation on Tuesday doesn’t mean that everyone else is.  Of course, we didn’t notice it that much on Monday, but perhaps that is because we were up so much later on Tuesday.

09:12 – Sinickal heads out to Dunkin Donuts.  He is so happy it is the weekday again so he can easily find his morning coffee.

09:45 – Sinickal comes back from Dunkin’ Donuts noting that “Everybody is still abuzz” about the game.  Doug Christie (Corey) says, “Still?”    Sinickal, “What do you mean still?  It was less than 12 hours ago!”

10:52 – Sinickal is talking to Pam on the phone and notes that Syracuse women play in the championship tonight.  [Editor’s Note – they both went to Syracuse].  Pepster remarks that Doug Christie is wearing his Connecticut polo.

12:12 – As we get ready to leave, Sinickal asks Doug Christie what shirt is he actually wearing, Delta?  Doug Christie is flying Southwest.

12:40 – In the car and Buddy Hield is being interviewed on ESPN radio.  Pepster wonders out loud what else does Hield have to do to be acknowledged as the greatest Bahamian basketball player ever.  Doug Christie states that he is not the best Caribbean player ever.   Nobody disputes this – at all (Tim Duncan).  Pepster mentions, “What, are we going to say Ramon Rivas?  Although the two UMASS guards Carmelo Travieso and Edgar Padilla were really good.”  Sinickal says that he “can’t believe you are having this discussion with yourself.”  Tony calls Sinickal a liar; because of course we all believe Pepster had this conversation with himself.

12:57 – Back to Tailgates for their Mexican Wings luncheon. Pepster and Sinickal order actual wings and $2 tacos. 

12:59 – Daniel the bartender is working again.  He must have missed class, and/or his grandmother’s funeral.  He does tell us what happened to Miss Drunky and the others at the bar at the end of the night.  It did not go well for them.

13:01 – Up until this point in time we all though the man bun was the worst hairstyle on a man.  Not anymore.

13:08 – Tony orders the large Guinness, to start off slow.  Daniel says that he might as well get a pitcher, an idea about which Tony sounds enthusiastic.  Daniels says he actual cannot do that because “Texas law forbids serving pitchers to single people.”  Tony says, “That’s OK, I am married.”  He isn’t.

15:25 – While watching the Astros-Yankees game on Tailgates’ patio after finishing lunch, Allison finishes reading yesterday’s blog post as she sends a picture of Christian Laettner to Pepster, via Sinickal. 

15:28 – Pepster texts Allison, “You are dead to me.”

15:41 – Sinickal asks Pepster if he has heard a response from Allison.  Pepster says, “She can’t respond because she is dead”.  [Editor’s Note – She isn’t dead, just dead to Pepster.]

15:49 – Coming back to the outdoor patio from the restroom Pepster steps over a 5 foot cardboard cutout of a Bud Light that has fallen down across the doorway.

15:49:30 – Sinickal states that this “is exactly what we knew would happen”.

15:55 – Sinickal picks up the Bud Light cutout as he goes to the restroom.  It falls down about 30 seconds later.

15:59 – Heading to the car to take Pepster and Doug Christie to the airport and the UPS truck driving in the street emits a horrible burning clutch smell.  Tony says that “it smells like Houston”.

16:01 – Heading to Bush Airport.

16:41 – Drop off Pepster at Bush, now off to Hobby to drop off Doug Christie.

17:30 - Fight traffic to get from IAH to HOU and drop Doug Christie off. And then there were two.

17:37 – Pepster sees a kid (mid-twenties) sitting alone at a table in the airport bar with a Villanova jersey changing his own 8 ½” by 11” bandage over his ribcage.  Must have had a fun night.

18:01 – Pepster is wheels up to Lauderdale.

18:50 - Tony and Sinickal make the decision to try out midtown. We haven’t been over here yet this week.

19:10 - Arrive at Proof, a rooftop bar that looks like a good place to start. Unfortunately, it is closed on Tuesdays.  What is up with Houston?  We start walking, realizing that this isn’t so much a neighborhood, but a bunch of Starbuck’s locations located along high traffic boulevards.

19:10 – Doug Christie is wheels up to DC, back to a place where he will likely no longer be called “Dough Christie”.

19:25 - Arrive at Doghouse Tavern. Small storefront in a strip mall, but they serve beer! Upon entering, Tony thinks he sees same girl from Tailgate earlier. This really scares him.

19:59 - After a quick beer, we move to a place called Midtown Drinkery. Realize that the Women's NCAA Championship game is on. Syracuse already down 14 points to UConn and Sinickal will consider it a victory if the game ends now.

20:01 - The outdoor patio has Beer Pong set up using 5 gallon buckets and a volleyball. At least you don’t have to drink from the buckets

20:18 - We realize that Midtown is a nice area. We probably should have discovered it earlier during the tournament. We don’t believe it would have been significantly better since no teams are staying here, but it would have been different.

21:01 - Earlier when asked if he wanted a beer, Sinickal shouted “YES!”  The bartender is now demanding only enthusiastic orders from Sinickal.

21:06 - The television show Separation Anxiety is on! Again, with no sound. This may be the greatest show on television...we think.  Identical twins are the team today.

21:17 – Pepster is wheels down in Lauderdale.

21:59 - Try to go to a bar called Gaslamp that we heard a lot about. Unfortunately it is closed on Tuesdays. Of course, it is.  We head over to Little Woodrow's Midtown.

22:52 - There is a “debate” going on the other side of the bar between a girl that works at the bar (not working) and some random guy at the bar. He tells her his name is Clarence, and without pause she responds “His real name is Clarence? I bet Clarence parents have a real good marriage…” Well played.

23:00 - Same girl, now talking about another bartender that was late on Monday night because she was having her vajayjay lasered. “It’s third party information. The bar back told me that she told him, So it must be true.”

00:10 - Same girl, now drunk and unable to get a response to a text message, “I'm gonna fuckin’ take myself home.”


00:30 - Early flights tomorrow, so Tony and Sinickal are back at the townhouse.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

THE FINALS

THE FINALS
Day 4

Mon, April 4, 2016

WOW!!!  That is all we can say.  Although Houston continues to disappoint us, that final game sure did not.  Could not have asked for a better finish for sure, and we do not think we have to elaborate on this.  We are still amazed.

9:00 – Everyone is up.

9:01 – Sinickal makes a Dunkin Donut run to make up for the fact that it was blocked off on Sunday.  This is the longest Dunkinless Donut streak of his career.

10:02 – While watching some news and catching up on our collective work e-mails and calls (it is Monday after all), Sinickal brings up an engineering dispute in which he has been appointed the arbiter.  Pepster states the reasons must have been because he is so neutral and unopinionated.

11:48 – Ready to head out for some barbecue, and Sinickal notices that Doug Christie (Corey) is wearing a Brown University shirt.  As Doug Christie also did not attend Brown, Sinickal asks him which girl asked him to wear that.  Doug Christie tried to answer before Sinickal tells him that he could have worn the Brown shirt to the Syracuse – North Carolina game because as an Ivy League school they were not even in the Final Four.  Pepster reminds them that Brown is barely an Ivy League school.  Tony, remembering yesterday’s conversation about Doug Christie’s hatred of Providence, reminds Doug Christie that Brown is IN Providence.

11:59 – At Jackson’s Bar-B-Q near Minute Maid Stadium.  DELICIOUS!

12:44 – An employee, who has more fun at his job than anyone else has at their job, is walking around asking if anybody needs anything and thanking everyone for coming to Jacksons.  He says, “Just like Michael Jackson, if there is no you, there is no us”.

12:53 – On the walk to FanFest we walk on the campus of Minute Maid Park right next to the stadium.  You can see the entire field from the sidewalk outside of the left field part of the stadium, and you can tell baseball season has begun.  Field looks GREAT.

12:55 – Walk past the 5 7 Grill inside the stadium.  5 7 is so called because it is the numbers of Astros greats Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.  Sinickal asks if “The waitresses have to put the needles into your arm for you, or can you do it on your own?”

13:09 – We get to FanFest in the convention center, and there is so much construction that large swaths of the convention center and areas immediately adjacent are completely inaccessible.  This town has known about this event for about 5 years, including the fact that FanFest would be in the convention center.  Just horrific planning.

13:21 – Kenny “The Jet” Smith is playing pop-a-shot with fans.  Pepster believes we can walk right up to him because “He must remember Doug Christie from their days in North Carolina together.”

13:28 – Enter the LG exhibit because it looks interesting (it isn’t).  The greeter comes up and says, “Hi, my name is Gisele”.  Pepster asks her where Tom is.  She doesn’t miss a beat.  “He was acting up so I left his butt in Boston.”

13:39 – “GP are you with me”.  Yes, the Glove himself, Gary Payton is taking pictures with fans.

13:42 – Decide we want to exit FanFest and we see some foot traffic heading toward doors clearly marked with the standard exit sign.  As we approach the exit doors, a FanFest employee is telling everyone to turn around as that doorway, “Isn’t an exit”.  When Pepster points out the “Exit” sign, she is offended and tells us to follow her so she can show us something.  When she gets to where she wants to be, she points down the convention hall to a sign that says, “Exit”.  Sinickal tells her that the sign, “Looks exactly like the other one”.  She is absolutely dumbfounded.

14:01 – At a merchandise tent near Discovery Park, where the NCAA Final Four concert series was held, one of the employees is telling a potential customer that he has one game ball left, and it is “The ball they use during the game”.  Sinickal tells him, “Not if that customer buys it”.

14:14 – At Tejas Grill again to do a last sweep for merchandise.  [Editor’s Note – The merchandise shop from yesterday is right next to Tejas, accessible from inside the restaurant].  Same slow service as yesterday.  Houston really has no idea how to throw a big event.

14:24 – Doug Christie buys Miss North Carolina a souvenir. He was not gone long, so his 48 minute reconnaissance mission yesterday must have done some good.  [Editor’s Note – Most of us bought somebody a souvenir of some type – it wasn’t just Doug Christie.]

15:04 – The JW Marriott merchandise shop is closed.  The JW Marriott was the Syracuse hotel.

As an aside, Syracuse was the only team that stayed downtown.  The other 3 all stayed out near the Galleria – miles upon miles away.  To generate buzz, this event needs to be held in a city that is more compact.

15:08 – Back to the townhouse to recharge.  Our Uber driver Barry is nuts, probably certifiable.  Everything to this guy is funny, including Silas’s belief that Syracuse is going to win tonight.  Barry drops us off to the chant that only he is saying, “Let’s go Syracuse”.

17:21 – Doug Christie is wearing his North Carolina blue again.

17:30 – At a downtown establishment called Christian’s Tailgates.  How have we not seen this place before?  We definitely should not have missed it.

17:37 – While again lighting in on Doug Christie, Doug responds by attacking Sinickal for not wearing his Syracuse orange (he is wearing Cubs gear in support of Opening Day).  Sinickal responds, “I don’t want to root against you!”  Doug really should have re-thought his plan to bring that Carolina shirt.

17:40 – Sinickal asks Doug Christie, “When do you have to give that shirt back?  Do you have to wash it first?”

17:42 – Preparing to leave Tailgates to head to NRG Stadium when we see a 50 cents wings on Monday sign.  Since we have not eaten after Jackson’s Bar-B-Q, nor have we needed to, we think we will want something after the game.  See a manager to ask what time they close tonight and he says “2”, but walks away before we can ask if the wing special was all day or just happy hour.  The bartender comes by and we ask him about the wings.  The wing special is all day, but the kitchen closes 30 minutes before the restaurant does.  Since we now assume we can order food as late as 1:30, the bartender tells us that they don’t know what time they close, they usually close at 12 on Monday, this was the first time the employees heard that the restaurant was going to stay open until 2, and they hope it does not stay open that late because the bartenders and waitresses all go to college and have class in the morning.  When informed that they could go to class a little tired once in a while to make some money while the big event is in town, the bartender responds, “And I have to go to a wake tomorrow because my grandmother just died”.  That would ordinarily be a legitimate excuse to not have to stay late, but it wasn’t the excuse he tried to use initially.  Priorities I suppose.

17:54 – Board the light rail platform to purchase our ride tickets, and the machine is absolutely impossible to use.  A light rail employee has to help us, telling Tony his mistake was “pushing it [his credit card] too fast and that you have to give it to her slow.”  Sinickal tells the employee how un-user friendly their transportation machinery is and the guy is flabbergasted.  He doesn’t understand that two of us actually work in the transportation industry.

17:59 – Notice that the restaurant on the corner is called Moonshiners.  This is important because we thought the name of the restaurant was Southern Hospitality.  So, the entire rant against Southern Hospitality from yesterday was actually directed toward Moonshiners.  Apparently there is not a restaurant named Southern Hospitality in Houston.

18:49 – At NRG Stadium – milling around in the official “NCAA Tailgate”.  Lots to see, not a lot to do except to mentally prepare for the game.

19:11 – The female barker for the Coca-Cola exhibit which includes a mechanical bull, a photo backdrop that says “Final Four” and lots of music is encouraging people to come over by saying into the microphone , “Rock out with your Coke out!”

19:26 – While walking around we see a guy in what has to be a Duke t-shirt.  We say has to be because we only see the back which says, “Real Men Don’t Wear Powder Blue”.  Sinickal superimposes a picture of the back of that shirt with a newly taken picture of Doug Christie wearing “his” North Carolina polo.

19:39 – Tony notices that the girl – the one girl that was at Tailgates – just walked by us.  She was rather nondescript and only really noticeable because we were the only ones in Tailgates earlier.  Doug Christie not only fails to notice her, but fails to even understand what Tony is trying to say by repeating to Tony, “What girl?  From where?”  This frustrates Tony to the point where he throws his (empty) aluminum bottle of Bud on the ground and dents it.

19:43 – Doug Christie then gets mad at something Tony says and “mic drops” his (empty) aluminum bottle to the ground.  Nothing happens to the bottle.  Tony says “That is the difference between Providence and Newport.”

19:59 – Inside NRG Stadium, raring to go.

Radio silence during the game (or so we thought).

20:47 – Doug Christie is gone for what seems like an inordinately long time.  We think he ran into an old Carolina classmate that may have had an extra club level ticket. [He didn’t].

20:55 – Doug Christie returns proclaiming that he hadn’t been gone that long.  It was 8 minutes after we already thought he was gone too long.

20:55:30 – Sinickal tells Doug Christie that he values nothing that men value.

20:57 – Sinickal turns to Pepster and Tony and says about Doug Christie, “He had to go see about a girl”.  You gotta love a Good Will Hunting reference.

22:24 – Marcus Paige shot.  WOW!!!  We thought his previous play (missed layup, rebound which nobody knows how he got the ball, and ensuing basket) was amazing, but nothing like a double clutch virtually last second three.  (Free basketball in overtime perhaps?)

22:24 – Nearly everyone throws their free seat cushion into the air (and onto the sections below them).  This is the last time the NCAA gives out seat cushions ever again, we are certain.

22:25 – Sinickal notes that every time North Carolina plays a Final Four game in this part of the country something weird happens.  Both the 1982 Final Four (The Jordan shot and the Fred Brown pass to James Worthy) and the 1993 Final Four (The Chris Webber timeout) were played in the New Orleans Superdome.

22:28 – OH OUR GOD!!!!   Kris Jenkins!!!!  His shot was nowhere near as difficult as Marcus Paige’s, but much more important and will be remembered in basketball history.  ABSOLUTE PANDEMONIUM in the stands.

22:32 – Guy from down our row wearing a Roy Williams autographed North Carolina jersey comes over to Doug Christie and says simply, “What are we gonna do”. 

22:44 – One Shining Moment

22:48 – On the concourse to exit the stadium and we see a dolt wearing a Christian Laettner Duke jersey.  It takes Sinickal, Tony and Doug Christie to keep Pepster from knocking him down and stomping on his chest.  Pepster exclaims, “I still hate Christian Laettner!”.

23:37 – Get near the front of the Light Rail line (going south to go north once again), and the line seems to have stalled.  Tony yells to nobody in particular, “C’mon train, I am sober!”  Sinickal wants it noted that he – Sinickal – is not the angry one.  [Editor’s Note – It turns out the line stalled because of a train – vehicle collision].

23:47 – On train.

23:51 – At the next station which is where the trains turnaround.  We get to stay in our seats for the entire return ride.

23:12 – We find the video of the cheerleader that punches out the North Carolina mascot after Jenkins’s game-winning shot.  If you haven’t seen it, FIND IT.

00:31 – Tailgates is open – Kind of.  We immediately try to order wings only to find out the kitchen just closed (the place is closing at 1).  We debate whether to have one there before we go eat, or just go eat.  We stayed.  And boy are we glad we did.

00:42 (approximately) – Drunk girl at the end of the bar (who we later find out is the bar back’s cousin) orders two shots.  In all honestly, this was not important at the time which is why the time is approximate.  We only note it because of what later transpired.  After trying to determine if the shots were going to be bitter – they weren’t, they were made almost entirely from  Schnapps - she drinks both shots.

00:45 – She orders two more shots.

00:47 – Another customer asks our bartender (Daniel – the same guy from before the game) for something.  Drunk girl yells out “Ignore him!  Make My Shots!”

00:48 – She again drinks both shots.

00:48 – An older gentlemen named Colin is sitting next to Drunky.  He is known by the entire staff and is asked by someone about his wife or girlfriend.  He says, “I don’t care if it is her birthday; I’d rather go home, masturbate, and cry myself to sleep.

00:50 – Drunky orders two more shots.  Her 5th and 6th since we have been there.

00:55 – Waitress who just finished working asks Daniel for a Mango Margarita.  He just looks at his watch and shakes his head.  Nevertheless he makes her a margarita.

00:56 – Bar back, who is now off work, just says to nobody in particular, “I don’t know why they cut me off last night”.

00:58 – Preparing for tomorrow, Sinickal asks Daniel if we can have 50 cent wings tomorrow since the kitchen closed early on us today.  Daniels says that Tuesday is “Taco Tuesday”.  Pepster says, “Tacos are just Mexican Wings!”

01:03 – We see the Sports Center replay of Michael Jordan’s reaction to Jenkins’s shot.  Sinickal tries to take bets from the room that Jordan drafts him!

01:05 – Drunky declares to everybody, “I just need to walk home!”

[Editor’s Note – There is no way to properly convey how funny this half hour or so was observing these people in the bar, but we have to try.]

01:09 – OKRA, from Saturday, is open and has a kitchen. 

01:12 – OKRA’s kitchen is closed.

01:14 – Everybody we talk to say that the only food in practically the entire city is Whataburger or Katz’s Deli.  Since Katz’s deli is open 24/7 – we go there.

01:23 –Two of the four other people in OKRA are just distraught guys wearing North Carolina colors.  They bounce their discussion back-and-forth between (1) What a shot; I can’t believe he hit that.  That was amazing; and (2) We got jobbed.  The officiating was horrible.  One thing they do agree on, Houston was not the best place to host a Final Four.  They think we bond so they ask if they can share our Uber to Katz’s deli.  No way two other people can fit with us.

01:46 – Katz’s deli!  Although open 24/7, the bar closes at 2 (with all alcohol off tables at 2:15.  We order two beers before we sit down at our table to order.

01:49 – Sinickal orders celebratory (for the weekend) Jameson’s shots.  Doug Christie asks who on earth drinks Jameson’s shots at 2.  Sinickal answers, “People who can’t drink at 2:05!”

01:52 – The personification of Trumpsterfire walks into Katz’s.  He is wearing a “Make America Great Again” shirt, and he looks like he would wear a “Make America Great Again” shirt. Both arms are prosthetic.  She looks even more disheveled, apparently having lost her bra in a bet.

01:53 – Doug Christie sips his Jameson.

01:54 – Bartender refers to us as a “frat party”.  We are actually offended by this because none of us are from a frat, and we were not particularly boisterous.  I guess he doesn’t sell a lot of Jameson’s at the deli.

02:01 – Bartender loudly announces that the “Bar is closed” in several languages, to which our table responds to each announcement in same language.  He is even more flummoxed.

02:17 – While trying to get Doug Christie to understand the reasons we have been referring to him as “Doug Christie”, Sinickal quotes Allison’s response to Day 2 in which she says, “Part of me thinks [Doug Christie] needs a hug after all that.  But part of me wants to reach over and thump him on the forehead.”  Sinickal notes that this is important because “Allison doesn’t believe in violence”.  Pepster adds, “She doesn’t even believe in non-violence!”.

02:45 – Tony walks into the restroom and sees Trumpsterfire in the restroom.  Her pants were lowered down to her thighs and he was a couple of feet away from him.  Tony goes to exit and she says, “It’s OK.  Come on in”.  Tony exits.

02:50 – After the food is delivered, Doug Christie notes, “This is way better than Whataburger”.  Indeed.


03:24 – After Uber – we are home … and still amazed by the end of the game!!!

Monday, April 4, 2016

THE INTERREGNUM

THE INTERREGNUM
Day 3

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Play day is here.  This is the day in between the semi-finals and finals in which nothing specific is scheduled, but all teams’ fans are out either celebrating yesterday’s victory or trying to drown their sorrows.  Last year’s play day was a ton of fun, as it even found us at Banker’s Fieldhouse watching the Pacers host the Heat for Paul George’s return to action from injury.  We are ruling out going to the Thunder-Rockets game, but everything else is on the table.

08:03 – Pepster awakens.

08:52 – Corey awakens.

09:32 – Sinickal awakens.

09:48 – Tony awakens, doesn’t see Doug Christie (Corey), asks Sinickal, “Did you run him off?”

11:02 – After stirring, writing Day 2’s entry and showering, we all remember that it is Opening Day for baseball.  Sinickal asks Doug Christie, “Do you have a Mets jersey you want to wear?”

11:05 – Leave for brunch.

11:11-11:14 – Try to navigate part of Main Street looking for Dunkin Donuts as Sinickal has not had any coffee this entire trip – which in itself is a miracle.  There is some festival that has literally closed every street around the Dunkin Donuts.  We cannot get there.  We try to console Sinickal telling him that they will likely have coffee at the brunch place.

11:23 – We arrive at Rainbow Lodge to meet Pam and Whitney.  We are told that this is “the place” to go if there is an important date, prom, event, or anything. Beautiful looking establishment (lots of wood – it really looks like a lodge).  We hope the food lives up to the hype.

11:26 – Escorted to our table with a stranger already sitting down (not Pam or Whitney).  Turns out her name is Andrea, she is loud, brash and exactly our kind of person.  Pam and Whitney show up after introductions.

11:42 – Sinickal explains the Doug Christie situation to the ladies, with a little less emphasis on the “North Carolina” part of the shirt and more emphasis on the “powder blue” part of the story.  Andrea asks Dough Christie “if his woman’s shirt had darts”.

11:45 – Discussing our brunch entrees and everyone is discussing lunch items.  Sinickal asks if anyone was going to have brunch.  Tony asks, “They have brunch?”  Sinickal explains to him that brunch is on the left side of the menu.  When Tony replies, “I thought that was drinks”, Andrea immediately stated, “I will take the short ribs, shaken, not stirred!”

11:47 –An Earth, Wind and Fire song comes over the speakers, to which Pepster – as he is wont to do – explains to anyone listening that “This is the greatest band of all time and I will fight anyone that says otherwise”.  Sinickal says that Doug Christie’s favorite band is Milli Vanilli.  [Ed. Note – RIP Maurice White]

12:00 – We just remember a story from yesterday, so I will insert it here.  At Dean’s, some girl just clears some space at a really crowded bar so that she can dance and sing – loudly mind you – Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and notices Doug Christie – who has been frozen out from sitting on the chairs and couches so he remains standing – and tries to get him to dance with her.  Doug Christie refuses.

12:40 – Andrea, an alumna from Texas A & M, and Tony, an alumnus from the University of Texas, bond over their mutual hatred of the University of Oklahoma. Andrea says, in an attempt to dishonor and humiliate Oklahoma, “The only thing in Oklahoma is steers and queers. Wait – I like both of those things”.  Never mind.

12:54 – As we are finishing up with brunch, Andrea asks Pam and Whitney, “Where is the litterbox?”

13:00 – We leave the table and Pam takes us to the bar … TO LOOK AT THE BAR.  Apparently it was one piece of wood carved to look like a river with trout flowing through the middle of the bar.  Sinickal orders everyone a round of mimosas and makes Pam pay for it for assuming that all we would want to do is look at the bar.  (Not too much of a punishment, for brunch mimosas are only $2 apiece).

As an aside, the Rainbow Lodge served really, and I mean really, great brunch.  Since it has a hunting motif, the menu went along with the theme.  Instead of chicken and waffles, they served quail and praline waffles.  Instead of chicken fried steak, they served chicken friend venison.  All really delicious!!!  And much cheaper than we all thought going into it.  We all highly recommend it if you are in Houston.

13:08 – We take our mimosas outside to the deck, which has a few tables, but mostly is a deck next to a small babbling brook which is part of the Houston bayou system.  Tony knocks Sinickal’s entire mimosa off the ledge into the water.

13:32 – The party moves for a bit to Andrea’s.

13:33 – We walk in and her counter just has bowls upon bowls of Easter candy.  Andrea tells us that she doesn’t even eat most of the candy, but they were all on sale this week!

14:11 – Everybody’s Working for the Weekend comes on from Andrea’s playlist.  Somebody asks if it was a band, Pam and Pepster simultaneously state, “No, it’s Loverboy”.  Pepster then continues, “I mean, I have no idea who it was”.

14:12 – Loverboy conversation turns to the 1980’s movie Loverboy, starring Patrick Dempsey.  Pam wanders off into dreamland about “McDreamy/Steamy, whatever”.

14:17 – Pam just starts laughing out of nowhere.  Tells us that “she is still laughing at Tony spilling Sinickal’s mimosa."

14:20 – Pam starts talking about breast discomfort.  Sinickal retorts that he, “Has never found breasts discomfortable”.

14:29 – Pam and Whitney telling a story about Pam’s nephew opening a wine bottle.  It turns out the bottle was a twist-off, and we ask if he tried to use a wine key or a corkscrew.  While saying “No”, Whitney condescendingly mentions “Not far from that, though”.

14:54 – Pam tries to convince Andrea to join her gym so that Pam “wouldn’t be the oldest there”.

14:57 – This reminds Andrea of a recent story of attending church, and greeting the pastor in the reception line after services.  After exchanging pleasantries about the service, the pastor remarks that it was good to see her “silver hair” in church.  Andrea thought “It’s blonde Mother Fucker.”  We aren’t exactly sure if she just thought it, or may have actually said it.

15:07 – We end up discussing that Abby Wambach was arrested for DUI, and are amazed that rich, famous people don’t just Uber or hire a driver.  They can even just pay in “small, unmarked bills”.  We decide that everything in life should be paid in “small, unmarked bills”.  Pepster decides that this could be his fantasy football team name.  Sinickal relays a story from Sammy Davis, Jr. about a time when someone asked Sammy if he had change for a $20.  Sammy told that person “A twenty is change”.

15:23 – Pam returns to talking about breasts and breast discomfort.  Pam says she has discomfort because she has a shelf.  Tony  remarked that she “doesn’t have a shelf, she has a bookcase”.

15:36 – Doug Christie, from the Rhode Island islands, and Tony, from Providence, get into a heated discussion over Providence.  Doug Christie angers Tony by saying, “There is no reason to go to Providence”.  Tony asks Doug Christie, “Have you ever been stabbed?”  Doug Christie answers, “Only once, in Providence.”

15:41 – Andrea, who had been missing from the outdoor patio discussion for what seems like a long time, returns with pink shots for everyone.  When asked what they were, she responds, “I don’t know.  Just an AAA concoction.”  [Editor’s Note – AAA are her initials].

15:41:30 – Shots were delicious.

15:57 – Pam again returns the topic to her breasts.  You don’t normally hear the term “circumferential” in conversation.  We did.

15:58 – Pam tells us that she tried to weigh her breasts one time.

16:31 – After a trip back to the house to freshen up, we walk down to Discovery Park for concerts, activity and maybe some merchandise.  Run into the landlord on our walk and he tells us that it took him 1 ½ hours in line to get into Discovery Park.  Looks like we will not be going into Discovery Park.  Oh well, we can probably hear Flo-Rida and Pitbull from our wanderings downtown.

16:44 – By Minute Maid Stadium [Editor’s Note – the Astros ballpark], we see an establishment called Home Plate.  Feels like a good quick place for a refreshment before we continue our walk – even though we are mostly there. We hear the bartender yell “Last Call”, as a waitress tells us they are closing because they have a private party at 7.  We say, OK, we will just have one drink.  The waitress continues, “But we have to have everyone out of here by 5.”  Again, we say OK, no problem, and try to walk to the bar.  The waitress is more definitive this time.  “We are closed, you cannot have a drink”.  We leave, and begin to hope that the new restaurant that is under construction next door takes all of their business.

16:54 – Sinickal reminds us that he is angry about what just happened.

16:55 – Sinickal is now even angrier.

16:54 – We see the line to get into Discovery Park, and it snakes around about 7 city blocks.  We are definitely not going into Discovery Park tonight.

17:03 – We pop into a couple of the team hotels to look at the merchandise.  The merchandise place at the Four Seasons is horrible.

17:13 – Pop into Tejas Grill and Sports Bar.  We spy a merchandise store just down the interior hall.  Doug Christie goes to check it out.

17:41 – We pay our tab, Doug Christie has yet to return.

17:44 – We head into the merchandise store, and find Doug Christie.  (The store is not that big).  The lady working in the store tells us how much Doug Christie obviously adores Miss North Carolina (not her official title), as he has been texting her pictures of different items to possibly purchase for her.  Sinickal explains the entire situation to her and the lady responds, “He’s not getting any?”

17:47 – Another guy that works in the merchandise store mentions that Doug Christie, “Pays her rent too”.  [Editor’s Note – he doesn’t.  We think.]

18:02 – Given the logistical problems we have been experiencing with food, drink and merchandise lately – and by "we", we mean the City of Houston – Sinickal decides that his “Anger for Houston is rivaling his anger for [Doug Christie]”.

18:19 – Pop into Southern Hospitality for dinner.  It is first-come, first-served for tables, so we sit at an empty table that still needs to be bussed.  After waiting for a couple of minutes the waitress comes over, apologizes, and cleans the table.  She then tells us that “We are kinda busy, right now”.  Sinickal’s cynical response of “Yeah, kind of a big event going on around the city” falls on deaf ears as the waitress explains that they are out of “chips, tortillas, pork, some fish and 4 of their 10 draft beers”, and, that even if she rings in something else they might be out of that too.  We do not order.

18:25 – Enter Bovine and Barley for dinner.

18:26 – Still talking about Southern Hospitality (and Houston in general), “We don’t need to staff up for an event.  We are the 4th largest city in the country, why would we need to staff up?”  Yes, Sinickal is bitter.

20:46 – After heading home to charge our batteries and change clothes, we are back in Uber and heading to a previously unexplored (by us) part of downtown.  Have we mentioned that we love Uber?

20:51 – Enter Dirt Bar.  Decent crowd, good service, and definitely a unique atmosphere.  The evening is looking up.

20:57 – While in Dirt Bar, Sinickal does some research on MidTown.  Tony asks, “What did you find, Houston sucks?”

21:41 – Lady pushes up to the bar next to us to order a drink.  Apologizes to us (for no reason, really) for being “aggressive”.  Then she apologizes for using a three syllable word in the bar.  Tony drops the term “elocution” but nobody is fazed because he already used it yesterday.  Pepster thinks that since we are in Texas “elocution” should be pronounced “electrocution”.

21:49 – We see that Bartolo Colon enters the Mets game from the bullpen.  He is supposed to have dropped 30 pounds.  Sinickal believes that “It just dropped from his stomach to his ass”.  [Editor’s Note – for some strange reason this is the second consecutive year Bartolo Colon has made an entry during the Final Four.]

21:51 – Discussing the overall unattractiveness of Houston residents and Pepster states, “No wonder Houston rappers are so angry”.

22:03 – Head into the Reserve, continue the mocking of Doug Christie.  Sinickal asks Doug if he was going to “Let her buy you a beeper”.

22:12 – Tony goes through a sneezing fit.  “I think I am allergic to Houston”.

22:20 – Lawyered.

22:38 – We head into Lucky Strike, the bar portion.  Not too many people in here, but easy to get a beer and good service.

22:40 – After Sinickal, Pepster and Tony all order, bartender asks Doug Christie, “Do you want a beer or are you here to sightsee?”

22:46 – The DJ in Lucky Strike is Ms. XClusive.  Let’s just say that D’Angelo Russell [Matt Hopps] would have loved her spinning.

24:12 – Walking toward EADO, and we pass a family of about 8.  One of the mother’s in the group yells out, “Hey, are you guys coaches?”.   Sinickal and Pepster immediately reply, “Yes”.

23:18 – Enter Hearsay on the Green.

23:24 – After ordering a round, we all do a little toast.  Sinickal actually toasts Doug Christie.

23:30 – After Tony points out to Sinickal that he did in fact toast Doug Christie, Sinickal wants it noted that it was completely by accident!

00:02 – Back in EADO and we enter Neil’s Bahr.  A great bar name for nerds like us, especially with secondary and tertiary characters from The Simpsons painted on the outside wall.  We walk in and one television is dedicated to showing The Simpsons and a Duff Beer sign is on the wall.  They have comic book stands, Nintendo games on televisions and ping-pong.  Basically it was a college common room.  We love it.  After ordering a hot sausage from the grill outside, Pepster thinks this is one of his top 10 favorite bars in the country.

00:50 – Little Woodrow’s.  Doug Christie notes that it looks like a pretty good place.  We let him know that if he had arrived on Friday like a normal person he would have already known that.

01:22 – Head back to Lucky’s for our nightcap.  We see a large table of about 8 or 9 people.  Immediately we notice that something looks off as a girl who could only be a young Russian sex slave is hanging around with the rest of the guys who all look about 35.  After feeling sorry for her, we determine that one of the guy’s is her boyfriend and that she isn’t in any real danger.  Situation still looked weird.  [Editor's Note:  We don't actually think she was a young Russian sex slave, but things did look a little uncomfortable].

01:59 – Back at the townhouse for the night.