The Embassy...

I was quite saddened to learn yesterday that the Embassy in Urbana is closing. While I was growing up in Urbana, my mother played on a softball team called the Bad Girls. Each Thursday night, after the games, the team went to the Embassy, and that was my first bar experience. I learned how to play darts there. I played a lot of pinball. I begged for quarters to play the jukebox. I ate my fair share of cheeseburgers, and probably your fair share as well. I knew the bartender, and he knew me, and everything was good.
I've probably gone there once since I graduated college, and I think it was because Ali and I had an idea to eat at as many restaurants as we could. Embassy was one. Still the same burgers...still the same dark ambiance.
It also had been a great local music venue for blues bands especially.
But I spent a lot of time there as a child. I probably ate more meals there than I had at McDonalds. Weird.
But it's closing at the end of this month. I wish them well, and say thanks for all of the good memories.

Also...especially for Glenn...

I have started watching Arrested Development.

It's flipping hilarious.

Tell people to stop telling me what I have to watch. Thanks.

How are you saving money?

So, as some of you know, we got hit at the station by a mandatory pay cut. Obviously, that's strongly preferred over losing a job, don't get me wrong. But at the same time, it just means that we really have to made some decisions on what we're spending on.

So, in the past 12 hours (I was up most of the night in a panic attack, to be honest), I've cut the following: Netflix, and HBO. I am down dramatically on Netflix, and will likely suspend it completely once the weather gets a little bit warmer, when I can ride my bike to the library on a regular basis. In all, that will save me about $30 a month once I get rid of Netflix. It's hard, but I suppose it's best. I'm also going to be eating a ton of hash browns ($2 a bag, which is 2 servings!) and pasta. It is what it is.

Luckily, I've saved up money for my Vegas trip next month...and I've got to save a little bit for Australia, obviously. But I will continue to try and find other ways to save when I can.

What else are you cutting? Feel free to leave anonymous comments if you like, but I'm curious as to what else people are taking out of their budgets right now.

Some photos, and other stuff...

Here are some recent (or not so recent) photos. Feel free to leave comments:


This is the final ceremony from the grilling of the meats. There were 20 meats eaten.
They are listed here:


This is a nice photo of my perspective from my seat at the Assembly Hall. Here, we're looking at warm ups before Michigan State. Note the various acoutrements.



Here is proof that Mike Tisdale (tizzy) can dunk. In a game, this would be a technical foul.





Other than that, I have no announcing to do this week. I do not know what to do with myself. Other than workout. And hang with Julia. And go to Leigh's this weekend. I'm willing to take any other suggestions please. Thank you!

Well, that'll do it....please drive home safely, and have a great night.

So basketball season is now over. My record this year was 14-3. I say that specifically to the people last year that blamed me for the team's bad home record. So I'm taking credit for this year. And I won't take any credit or blame next year. We're even.
Here is the interesting thing to me about the seniors. Not a one of them ever really said anything to me over the past two years. I don't think Calvin said a word, ever. Chester was always polite, and would nod his head. Trent came over and got some gum from time to time. And CJ was just CJ, always happy and goofy. They were all quite polite, but to be honest, pretty business oriented. They all had a lot to overcome to be players that could contribute on this level, and they acted like it. And good for them. Having had the seat I've had for the last two years, I will say that Chester is the hardest working player I've ever seen. I have to give him his due.

On to the personal stuff...
My remarkable mucus buildup, as the doctor called it, is ALMOST all gone. It's been disgusting, and frustrating. I haven't run in 3 weeks. That streak is ending today. I'm getting through two miles if it kills me. It very well could.
I'm going to post a couple pics on facebook today of my view at the games. I'll put em up here eventually.
Meeting up with Julia for lunch today...breaking my streak of not eating on campus for maybe 9 months?
Vegas is less than two months away. I'm eagerly anticipating it. I wish more people could come though.

Yeah.

Not so much, Mucinex. I see where you're going with that....but it's not panning out for me. My guys have unpacked their luggage in to the drawers of the hotel, and they're staying much longer than they should.

Which is a roundabout way of me saying this is the worst cold I've had in five years, easily. It's not awful, but it's thrown me around a bit.

Hey everybody....

Quick update on the vocal chords...

Next Thursday, they're doing a "video strobe" and videotaping them as I announce and read things, and seeing what I do incorrectly, and then maybe they'll try to fix it. Weird, eh?

But so far, they say it's just extremely raw. And I'm also sick to top it off.

I almost got in to a fight during volleyball last night with a guy who was being a d-bag.

And the basketball game was not fun.

When I'm feeling tired, and unmotivated....

(like in this pic)

I listen to Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle. This morning is one of those days.

Feb 9 update

I am indeed tired, and my throat is indeed pretty raw right now.
Outside of that, I don't have a ton of complaints. Everything else seems to be going well in my life. It's just a lot of it.
The Illinois (Half) Marathon is now two months away. I'm up to 8 miles in my training. So far, fingers crossed, I have no major injuries. Just some tweaks in the knees.
Julia is good.
The cats are good.
In fact, Bonita is sleeping here on my lap as I type.
I have two major trips coming up in the next 6 months. Vegas, April 30-May 4. And Australia, June 25-July 6th. I can't tell you how excited I am for both of them.
I'm also going to include my 25 things list from Facebook here. Feel free to read and critique.
Here are 25 things you may or may not have known about me, in no particular order:

1. When I was 5 years old, I was beaten up by three Special Olympians. As a result, I do not associate myself with that charity, no matter how valuable their work.
2. I often have full conversations with my cats. Stinky, apparently, is racist, but a huge sports fan. Bonita is a British snob.
3. I announce for three sports full time at the University of Illinois, but have a massive fear of public speaking.
4. When I was younger, I would force myself to throw up before I would allow myself to board a plane.
5. I also forced myself to throw up when my stepmother tried to make me eat green beans, which I despise. I was a very talented vomiter.
6. I am gluten intolerant, and often crave the weirdest things that I can't eat anymore, like a Willie Wonka candy bar, which I have only seen in Indiana...or a McDonald's Filet-o-Fish.
7. The first concert I went to was Farm Aid, the original, followed within one year by Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner.
8. I look like both my mother and my father, and people used to believe that they were brother and sister.
9. Every year, for the Super Bowl, my friends and I participate in "The Grilling of the Meats." We try to consume as many meat dishes as possible. This year we hit a new record of 22.
10. I've been lucky enough to interview several celebrities in my time in radio, but I still absolutely pee my pants when I walk by Michael Jordan. It's embarrassing.
11. I enjoy napping more than I enjoy sleeping at night.
12. I think the thing I like most about facebook is that it's given me the opportunity to learn more about my cousins, especially on the Zimmerman side. Because of the distance, and the age difference, I think I've been a bit segregated from them. But I'm happy to be catching up.
13. My doctor told me when I was ten that I would likely need a hip replacement by the time I was 50. So every time that I run, I try to remember that, and think about the fact that you never know how many more times you can do it.
14. As much as Ali will hate me saying this, I think I learned more about how to be a professional and how to handle yourself from Craig Tiley than anyone else I've ever met.
Although...
15. I still get mad at Craig for not taking me to the White House like he promised me after the team won the National Championship in 2003.
16. In the worst time of my life, I was surrounded by 3 women who I barely knew who kept me propped up and functioning. Every single one of these 25 things lists mentions how people wish their friends were closer. For me, it's these three people. Although we are still holding strong on planning CrackMonkey trips.
17. All my sports teams are named "CrackMonkeys." When Glenn and I were in college, we ate a lot of Cocoa Krispies. One time, they put this crazy looking monkey on the box. His name was Coco. He got in to mischief. Therefore, he became Coco the CrackMonkey. And so it was born.
18. I am the worst ironer in the world. I can not do it. At all. When we go on trips, I PAY Glenn to iron my clothes.
19. The only way to win at craps is pass, come, come. I only wish I had the money to play out the strategy.
20. If I had to pick 5 albums to listen to on a desert island, they would be these: Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique; Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville; A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory; Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; and either Ben Folds Five or Charlie Parker for the last one. Still haven't decided there.
21. I do not function at my best unless there is chaos surrounding me. I function fine normally, but when things get nutty, I love it.
22. When I was in college, Ted and I had names for all of the different kinds of poop we would leave in the toilet. The carpet bomber, the one-wiper, toothpaste poop, etc. We also had a Sega Genesis/TV set up in our bathroom. Glenn and I, on the other hand, each took a while to get to a point where we would poop in the dorm. The benefits of going to college in your home town, I guess. I'm lucky that I still have good people around me who like talking about poop.
23. My favorite number is 22. Oops.
24. I would like to move in the next five years. If I have my choice, I would pick these three cities, in this order: Portland, Madison, Seattle.
25. The management of trimming armpit hair is very important to me. I'm not saying full on shaving, but you know what? I think long body hair is disgusting. It makes me feel a lot better when my armpit hair isn't showing when my arms are resting at my side.

This is not me....

With thanks to Ed Whalen for the link.....