Sunday, April 2
No games today, and we are in for the traditional play day. We will have some more guest appearances, have some food and drink, and we hope a lot of laughs. Let's see what happened....
7:30 - Pepster arises.
8:18 - Kevin comes downstairs.
8:41 - Tony come downstairs.
8:44 - Starbucks is on the way thanks to Kevin.
8:49 - Sinickal comes donwstairs.
9:03 - Sinickal calls Allison to wish her Happy Anniversary, gets her voicemail.
9:15 - Watch XXX as we mentally prepare for this brunch.
9:25 - Talking about a scene in which drug lords are fighting, Kevin says, "I know you want to kill us because of our profitability stream!"
9:27 - Anticipating having to say, "Sorry we are late for brunch. We were watching XXX and riffing on it pretty good. [Ed. Note - we didn't have to say that.]
9:47 - "Ever get punched in the face for talking too much?" Despite what you might think, this was not said to us, but said by Xander Cage!
10:03 - After sending a pretty funny dad joke on the siblings group text, Pepster's sister Brittany asks, "Will this make it into your blog itinerary?" Pepster responds, "Maybe." The final answer - No it won't, but the fact you asked will!!!
10:14 - Kevin is talking to his wife. Sinickal yells out, "Susie - you can tell me Happy Anniversary!" She responds, "Happy Anniversary Allison!"
10:43 - The Southwestern Central coaching staff is ready for brunch!
10:46 - Waiting on Lyft for brunch at Bosscat. Honda Civic pulls up. Sinickal immediately orders another rideshare.
11:00 - Arrive at Bosscat Kitchen! Pam and Whitney are waiting for us. This place LOVES its bourbon selection. Check out this private dining room:
11:15 - Kevin's gourment cocktail, The Wake Up Call, arrives. It is made with Tito's vodka, black coffee liquer and irish cream. Whitney asks, "Is that like a Black Russian?" Kevin, "Yes, but lighter." Pepster chimes in, "In the Caucausus they just call it a 'Russian'!"
11:20 - About Whitney's t-shirt, "I think they used the wrong action verb!"
11:22 - Sinickal's ten-minute tangential Galleria Mall story.
11:27 - First mention of Galleria Mall in the story.
11:28 - First carafe ordered.
11:33 - Andrea - Pepster's friend from college arrives!!!!
12:21 - Guy leaves the private room pictured above, which was right in front of our table, to go to the restroom. He was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Fred Sanford on it and the words, "You Big Dummy." Pepster tells him, "Solid shirt!" Sinickal then says to him, "I was going to say that!"
12:40 - Andrea learns the story of Southwestern Central!
13:02 - Andrea is hired as the Southwestern Central team psychologist! After Sinickal explains what is expected of the position, Andrea remarks, "At least I will have future job security!"
13:07 - Something about the manager and a romper makes Tony a wee bit uncomfortable!
13:12 - Leaving Bosscat! Great brunch. Planning our next stop, Pam and Whitney state that they are "curtzying out!" Andrea has to go as well. Always great to see friends when travelling.
13:26 - Say our goodbyes, and Andrea asks where we are going because she could take us. She has her "Mom Car!"
13:28 - Starts the car, and The Fly channel on SiriusXM immediately pops up! We compliment her and she says, "I have to teach my son about good music!"
13:31 - 13:39 - Andrea tells us that all of her son's friends are afraid of her. Sinickal says, "All boys are afraid of moms - except in porn!" The conversation that ensues spreads to everything that a son should learn before going to college . When we arrive at Little Woodrow's we all fall out of the "Mom Car" still laughing.
13:40 - So, we go back to Little Woodrow's in midtown (there seem to be about 40 Little Woodrow's around Houston), primarily because Sinickal thinks he left his card there Friday night. We could have called to see if they had his card, but Sinickal says, "Gotta drink somewhere."
13:45 - Bartender finds Sinickal's card, after thumbing through about 40! The crazy thing is at Little Woodrow's they run your card to hold open the tab, and return it!!!
13:54 - Discussion turns to the movie Bachelor Party when Pepster asks, "How was this NOT Tom Cruise's first Academy Award nomination?" Without missing a beat Sinickal responds, "Because it was not Tom Cruise!"
13:55-14:15 - Watching the pre-game for the women's championship. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Redacted to protect the innocent.)
14:05 - Elle Duncan from ESPN putting on a pre-game SHOW!
14:13 - So, Little Woodrow's does not serve food. They have a food truck parked out front - which is where Sinickal ordered his cheesesteak from Friday evening - and a guy that walks around with a tray full of wrapped tamales for sale from Pepe's Tamales. Yes, my reach is that strong. His shirt says, "If you want be happy - Pepe's Tamales". This is not a typo.
14:21 - Kevin returns, hears the last sentence of a conversation with the remaining three of us just doubled over laughing, and says, "I've been gone 4 minutes!"
14:27 - We ordered our first couple of rounds of drinks from the bar before migrating to a table. Our new waitress walks by. Silas brings her into our soccer discussion. He queries, "Do you like English Premier League soccer?" Her response, "That is a lot of words for 9 in the morning!"
14:32 - Kevin is talking about a strip club outside of Waco at which he and his wife had a - let's say interesting - experience one time. Club was named "Buddy's BYOB." Tony exclaims, "That's a farm!" [Ed. Note - Tony was correct.] Kevin texts his wife to confirm the name of the place. She responds immediately with, "It's is Sunny's BYOB!" No questions asked. Kevin notes that SHE wants the story to be accurate.
14:45 - Kim Mulkey - LSU's coach - shows up on court looking like Joe Exotic.
14:52 - Waitress tells us her name is Christina. Sinickal asks her if it is the traditional Ukranian spelling or Russian. She doesn't know how to respond.
14:53 - Tip-off!!! This bar has become PACKED!
15:00 - Mike, Kevin's friend that lives in Houston, arrives.
15:07 - Someone remarks that Kim Mulkey will use a loss to Iowa as an excuse to recruit 12 5'7" white girls.
15:47 - We are pretty sure we found Jimmy Hoffa. Tried to get a picture but couldn't.
16:08 - Woman wearing a denim jacket with a UCONN 1999 championship patch on the back. Tony says, "That patch is old enough to drink."
16:10 - Prediction that if LSU blows this lead Kim Mulkey might say at the presser that black women don't have the mental fortitude to hold a lead.
16:11 - We notice that a whole lot of white people rooting for white women!
16:13 - Ke$ha comes on over the sound system and it made me remember a story from last night's dinner at Mai's. Sinickal was telling a story that started, "I wake up in the morning" and Pepster immediately says, "Feelin' like P Diddy." Pam decides that she is going to sing that song for the rest of the evening. After the third time she starts - and every subsequent time - Pepster apologizes to the group.
16:16 - Shannon, Kevin's sister-in-law arrives.
16:48 - "If Kim Mulkey starts to cry, does her face melt?"
16:52 - While looking at Mulkey, Kevin says "That Tiger King/Tales from the Crypt" crossover is going to be awesome.
17:07 - We see Kemba Walker with Lady Gaga (or at least a reasonable facsimile!)
17:26 - Sinickal and Pepe get Tony in the door with some LSU fans!
17:30 - We explain Southwestern Central to these two women. They love it and immediately inquire how long we keep up the charade. We tell her that we always ultimately tell people because, "If you got got, it's no good if you don't know you got got!"
17:41 - Women say they are going to start their own school for next year!
17:45 - Same women decide they are going to start telling people that they graduated from Southwestern Central! Stick 'em Scorpions!
17:49 - Sinickal: "I have so much beer and water in me that I am peeing as a hobby!"
17:54 - Mike leaves.
18:12 - Sinickal goes to pay his tab and there are 3 cucumber peaches on the tab! He has them removed.
18:26 - The ladies that loved our Southwestern Central story say to us as we leave, "We hope you win next year!"
18:27 - As Pepster and Sinickal are in the bathroom on the way to exit Little Woodrow's, a guy in the stall just yells out, "This feels good!" We leave!
18:28 - Literally. We leave Little Woodrow's.
18:33 - Enter Guy-Kaku for Japanese barbecue!
18:40 - When looking over the buffet-stye menu, Shannon remarks, "Where are we, in Kissimmee, Florida?"
18:54 - Waitress refers to Tony as "Sir." Pepster tells her she doens't have to be so formal. She asks what she should call us. Tony says, "Asshole." Pepster says, "Well, I am called that about three times a day - just at home!" [Ed. Note - he isn't!] She immediately asks, "Are we roommates?"
19:02 - Sinickal gets into a discussion chastising Kevin about his phone choice because Sinickal only believes in iPhones. Turns into a big discussion regarding Samsungs and iPhones. Kevin says, "I really want to argue with you, but I don't care!"
19:05 - Discussion about Kevin's wife for a bit when Shannon exclaims, "You are talking about her like she's not my sister!"
Lots of time just cooking and eating. For those that are unfamiliar with Japanese barbecue, you pick from a number of items (in our case 37) some pre-cooked, like spring rolls and gyoza, some sides, mushrooms, edamame, white rice, and lots of versions of seasoned meats. They just keep bringing little plates of different items to cook anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes each.
20:21 - Shannon starts talking about Neils Bahr, which we actually love and which she is surprised that we know, and pulls out tickets from a concert on Saturday featuring The Dan Band. This immediately starts a conversation about the two main movies in which they appear, Old School and The Hangover. We find out for the first time that Tony has never seen either. Pepster calls him a Communist.
20:24 - Sinickal says, "We don't have to cook it just 'cause we have it." Tony responds, "Yes we do. These animals died for our sins!"
20:56 - Conversation about Shannon's suitcase. She reminds us we are not talking about her baggage.
21:09 - Enter Coaches' Pub.
21:11 - Pepster tells the bartender that he can't drink anymore. So he has a Lone Star. He turns to Bulleit later.
21:12 - Shannon orders a Jameson. They are out. She orders a Bushmills. They are out. "How 'bout a Tully?" "Out of that too." "Just give me a whiskey!"
21:13 - Sign in the bathroom says, "Least drunk doesn't mean sober!"
22:01 - Six older guys just start singing Love Potion #9. The song is not playing on the jukebox.
22:11 - Clown wearing a Texas Rangers polo going up and down the bar complaining about "Classless Angel Reese!" Sinickal and Pepster immediately shut him down. He slinks back to the other side of the bar as we gloss him "Walker".
So, to set the scene, there are 3, and only 3, sets of people in this bar. We are one set, the older guys singing random songs is a second. The third, which includes Walker, and about 6 other people that all either work at the pub, or are dating those that work there. This becomes important later.
22:13 - Sinickal swears he is going to leave this tourney and turn to bulimia.
22:39 - Guy at the end of the bar just said, "Tumor, it's not a tumor" loud enough for everyone to hear. Pepster tells the group, "He actually said that 21 years ago and it just echoed in the bar right now!"
22:47 - Somebody mentions the word Catholicism in a conversation between Kevin and Shannon. Pepster, Sinickal, and Tony all immediately turn. Shannon, noticing us, says, "It's a metaphor!" Tony asks, "what's a metaphor?" Shannon: "Wouldn't you like to know?"
22:47:30 - Pepster says that there are a whole lot of Facebook shareholders that would like to know what is a Meta for!
23:18 - We decide we have to leave because Tony has an early work call in the morning. We decide to just order 1 more while paying the tab. Tony orders a Guinness!
23:38 - So, the jukebox has played a couple of different Disney songs, and one of the ones from Hamilton all in a row. Pepster and Sinickal attempt to take control through their TouchTunes apps, but it is an AMI machine. Too much effort to download the app and sign up the account to our cards, so we just try to bear it. Next song is I Just Can't Wait to be King. Kevin has to go to the bathroom, or so we thought. He walks up to the AMI machine, and UNPLUGS IT!!!!
23:38:12 - Girl who played the song, follows Kevin back to us just livid that he unplugged her song. She was from the group of employees. Only person from that group that follows her up, is Walker. [Ed. Note - Upon later conversation with a really huge dude that worked there, he told us he was concerned at first, but then saw how calm we all were that he realized he didn't have to intervene.
23:39 - She tells Kevin that she was going to pay our tab and we could go. We tell her thank you for the offer, but we could pay our own tab and preferred to stay. We figure out she is an actual manager of the place - but off duty and drinking this night.
23:41 - Kevin apologizes.
23:43 - She offers to buy Sinickal and Tony a shot. They say, "Fireball. What are you having?" She says, "Vodka. I can't drink Fireball - I have to drive home!"
23:46 - Hakuna Matata comes on the plugged-back-in and rebooted AMI machine. Tony immediately says, "Who has a monkey?" We don't actually know what Kim Mulkey would answer.
23:49 - Sinickal just asks them to please put on something good, like Earth, Wind & Fire. Walker says, "Earth, Wind & Fire is fine. I like them." Pepster stands up, tells him not to ever call EW&F "fine" ever again, as they are the greatest band of all time! Walker slinks back to his bar stool.
00:20 - Backstreet Boys come on. We start a discussion of the best boy bands of all time. Pepster initially says "New Edition." Then, changes his mind as it is probably really the Beatles. Sinickal first agrees, but then says, "Or Kriss Kross!"
00:31 - On the way home.
So, the most important part of the whole Coaches' Pub jukebox incident is that nobody, and we mean nobody, came to support the manager try to get us to leave. And, her group consisted of employees and employee-adjacent people. So that means, without actually doing anything except unplugging a jukebox, we immediately exerted control over a bar that none of us have ever set foot inside before. But seriously, this was so funny. Even some of the regulars understood exactly what happened for what it was, and were outwardly happy that the manager was stopped from playing constant Disney songs.
00:38 - Kevin tells us that after he unplugged the jukebox, Shannon asked him, "What the fuck did you do?"
00:41 - Tony goes upstairs to go to sleep. Pepster says, "Peace up A-Town!" Sinickal says, he is from Queens, it should be "Q-Town." Kevin asks Sinickal, "Why do you think that was something you needed to correct?"
00:42 - Pepster ask if Sinickal felt Tony has lost a bit of himself since he moved from Brooklyn to Queens.
00:43 - Some brief tv to unwind, and then back to bed.
