November 26, 2008

Turkeypalooza IV


Drew and I needed to go grocery shopping after work for the world's greatest party: Turkeypalooza IV: No Fu(#!ng Around. To give you an idea of how awesome this party really is, here is what we acquired this evening:

44 lbs of Turkey
4 bags of stuffing
10 lbs of potatoes
1 box of bisquick
4 tubes of crescent rolls
4 packages of lil smokies
64 rolls
420 napkins
2 jars of pickles
12 egg

And that is just the first grocery run.

Now, for those of you who don't know, it's time I sit you down and tell you the story of Turkeypalooza. It all started many years ago in a land far, far away: Champaign. It was the last game of the football season, and Illinois was playing Northwestern on Thanksgiving Day in 2001 with a Big Ten Title on the line. As members of the Marching Illini, us beloved bandos were required to be in town for the game (and for those who know me, I would have been there anyway). Well, several of us got this great idea that we should cook dinner for our parents at the beloved 1004 W. Nevada, also known as the Trombone House. We acquired groceries, a turkey, and did all the things that our mothers and grandmothers had always done for Thanksgiving dinner.

I'll never forget Tedd, Jon Hakes, Susan, and myself working on things in the kitchen with our respective mothers standing in the doorway watching. They were all commenting to each other on our techniques and recipes, and how they wouldn't be caught dead doing it the way we were. I've never seen 5 mothers standing so desperate to get into a kitchen in my life. Remember, we're still in college so macaroni and cheese and cereal are pretty much the limits of our culinary ability, so their critiquing glares weren't exactly helping our already shaky nerves. Fortunately for us and our intestinal tracts, the dinner turned out to be a smashing success and everything went off smoothly.

So Tedd and I started thinking to ourselves - why don't we do this for our friends? And get loaded. And deep fry the turkey. Well, turn the clock forward to 2004 when we finally got the down to business and had Turkeypalooza I. No catchy title was necessary because we had a deep fryer and a keg. We had everything ready, except a plan. We started drinking at 10 am, and when everyone showed up at 3, we realized the only thing we managed to accomplish was get loaded. We were saved by some ladies who knew their way around the kitchen better than we did (not much had changed since college). But, most importantly, it was good. Really really good. So good, we needed another one: Turkeypalooza II: The Revenge. And then Turkeypalooza III: This Time We're Serious.

Which brings us to where we are today. It's Saturday, and it's going to be totally kick ass. No Fu(#!ng Around.

November 25, 2008

Thanksgiving Savings

Thanksgiving is about two things: Turkey and getting a head start on the holiday shopping season.

Am I the only one that things this is kind of a strange thing? It's a little disappointing to me that our society has become so commercialized that Thanksgiving is looked at as a jump on holiday shopping almost equally, if not more so, than the actually celebration of the holiday. Personally, I try to avoid the Black Friday sales as much as possible. Not because I don't like savings, but because the crowds are just too much. I've been able to get up at 4 am for a select number of things, and saving an additional 5% on gifts for people is not really one of them. Besides, I think the retailers are so desperate to have my money that they will be offering such deals almost all the way through the season.

November 12, 2008

Post for the sake of Posting



I'm forcing myself to get to this more on a weekly basis, so I'm taking this opportunity to share a few things with you, my many adoring and sexy fans:

1) This past Sunday at the Bears game was totally kickass.
2) We're getting a keg for tOSU this weekend. The Illibuck is ours to stay!
3) I love video games again.
4) JW and I just made some AMAZING chili. Bring it, Tedd. Your chili ain't got nothin!

Thank you, and good night.

November 09, 2008

Circuit City Not as Shitty as Previously Thought

For those of you have not been following the news or are just very immune to bad news, we're in a bit of a financial crisis right now. As a result, we're seeing many retailers struggling because no one has money to spend. One such casualty has been Circuit City; the Billy Baldwin to Best Buy's Alec. For our fellow Chicagoland readers, the Circuit City on North Ave. is one such store. To the frugal consumer, store closings mean SUPER SAVINGS!!!! I took advantage of this to acquire some new toys for the PS3, including the much heralded Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid. ( I had been very adamant against acquiring either because of the following unbeaten games currently owned: Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Call of Duty 3 (Wii), Assassin's Creed, and unlocking all of the characters from Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl. So I'm a lazy gamer, sue me.) Both games were 10% off, and Metal Gear was even more reduced. Jackpot Where am I going with this..... oh yeah.


After playing for just over 2 hours, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best fucking video game ever. THE END.

November 06, 2008

Obamarama

In case you've been living under a rock for the last 2 days, the Barack Obama won the election on Tuesday and is going to be the next President of the United States of America. There are a myriad of reasons why this means so much to so many people, but that is exactly why I think he will succeed as our President. The one serious thing that we have been lacking in our lives is the kind of leader who gets people excited in a positive way as opposed to a naming a sewerage treatment plant after you kind of way. The kind of leader who makes you want to go out and make a difference and get involved as a community organizer. The kind of leader who will, hopefully, get people to work together towards accomplishing goals. We are enduring very tough times right now, and there is no way we can expect to get through this with a red state/blue state point of view. Fortunately, I think we brought in just the right guy to bring us together and get us out of this turmoil.

This kind of enthusiasm was very evident on Tuesday night in Grant Park. For those of you who were there, you know what I'm talking about. Just the energy in the crowd and the excitement of what is to come could be felt everywhere from the smiles to hugs and high fives spreading throughout the masses. Sure, nothing has really changed yet, but I think we've made a good move in the right direction. Because before things can get better, you have to believe that they are going to get better. And that, my friends, is what hope is all about.