In which a relate details of my new TV and describe my most recent weekend in Milwaukee

I just bought a new TV. It’s certainly a lot better than my 23-year-old 19″ one that needed a slap on the side to get rid of the static (plus it was missing its remote). It was also a pleasant surprise to find out that HDTV comes in fine over a pair of rabbit ears.

Does anyone want a 19″ TV?

I had an interesting weekend. It was another Milwaukee trip. I took Friday off and headed down on Thursday, picking up Saryn and Jasmine on the way. We made good time and crashed at Mark & Shanah’s. Hannah was very excited on Friday morning. I dropped Jasmine and Shanah off at the mall while Saryn, Hannah, and I visited Sam and Travis (and Liza, of course). Then we managed to get to IrishFest between 4 and 5 pm (free admission in the first hour on Friday!). Plenty of good food and I got to see Flook and Slainte Mhath live.

I left around 11pm. I got back to my car (parked at almost the exact same spot where this picture was taken) and the battery was dead. The battery was still the one that originally came with the car 7 years ago so I was planning on replacing it before winter, but not quite this soon… A nice couple had a pair of jumper cables and got me on the road. I parked it in front of Mark & Shanah’s house. As soon as I shut it off, there wasn’t even enough power to light the dome light.

The next morning started with about half a dozen nasty spider bites on my arms (not sure where they came from) and a two hour fight getting the battery out of my car (the Wooldrages need more tools or I need to carry more). On the bright side, Hannah now probably knows more about what’s under the hood of a car than most grown women than I know. Once I finished the installation, the new battery did the trick.

I got cleaned up and we headed off to Milwaukee’s Zoo a la Carte. Steve’s birthday was on Friday and his preferred celebration is hanging out at the Zoo and grazing from end to end. Besides the grandparents, Steve, Liza, Samantha, Hannah, Mark, Shanah, Hannah, Jasmine, JoAnn, Rob, Saryn, and myself joined him. It’s almost impossible for that large of a group to hang together in a crowd like that so we split up a lot. What did people do before cell phones?

Saryn and I made it back to Steve and Liza’s house. Steve got the privilege of introducing me to Mountain Dew Pitch Black. It’s better than you might think. In order, I prefer Mountain Dew (original), Pitch Black, Code Red, Live Wire, and Baja Blast. (What the hell were they thinking with Baja Blast?!)

On Sunday we headed out to Mayfair Mall. Hannah got to Build-A-Bear (the Cinderella bear, of course). I got my AirPort Express, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, and 3D Crazy 8s. Even more purchases were made in the bookstore and everyone seemed to leave happy.

Then it was off to the pumphouse Alterra Coffee Roasters to meet up with JoAnn. JoAnn, Saryn, and I hung out on the lakeshore for awhile. Then it was time to leave. Headed north, dropped off Jasmine, visited with my mom for a bit, and dropped off Saryn. Saryn is living with Joyce, Alex, Pat and Sarah (kind of). When we pulled up, Pat was rather agitated. It seems that Sarah had a sudden and unexpected knee problem. We helped her down to the car and Pat took her to the emergency room. I am not sure how she’s doing.

And then I slept.

Right now I should either be working on my consulting project or sleeping. I really don’t want to do either one. I want to avoid both of them so much that, well, I am actually updating this blog. But I think it’s time for me to actually get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. I’ll probably have something else to write about soon.

Until then…