Today. Is. AWESOME.

Without going into the details, today is awesome. Let's just say that a certain ex-boyfriend is now FINALLY out of my life for good. He. Was. Awful. I really can't stress that enough. I lost one too many friends/my sanity for a bit because I dated this shithead, but now I'm free! It only took 10 months after I broke up with him and moved out of his house (and a $200 "illegal parking" fine), but as of today, I'm done. Forever! Weeeeee!

St Pat's 2010. I miss this shenanigans.

And back to one of my previous posts, my friends are awesome. Coley spent a good part of the morning distracting/helping me not worry about today. And Kimbo spent my lunch hour doing the same. This morning SUCKED, but once I got an email that all I had to do was pay a $200 fine? BEST DAY EVER. I'm free of my past. This is great. I've had a few celebratory beers "with" Kimbo. (I say "with" because I'm actually alone and she spent a good hour and a half celebrating/drinking beers with me on the phone.) Again, I love my friends. I owe them a lot.

So I think I'm going to have a few more beers and head to bed. Today was a long/joyous 10 hour work day. Still, best day ever. :)

150 DAZE until St. Pats and 216 days until my lease is up.

I'm an awful spender.

I think I have some of the weirdest spending patterns. I used to go through phases where I would either save everything or spend like my money was never going to run out. Now I'm in this weird phase where I won't buy the simplest things (like a cutting board, a lamp or lawn furniture) so I can save the money. But then I'll go out and spend some retarded about of money on something stupid (like beer, home brewing equipment or beer supplies). I mean, I finally bought what Kimbo calls "a big girl phone", but I dropped it in Wal-Mart nearly a month ago and I broke the digitizer on it. Since it still works and it's only kind of a pain in the ass to use, I can't bring myself to buy a new screen and case for it. It's literally $30 to buy a new screen. But when I was grocery shopping today I bought the Sam Adams Harvest Collection. I just bought 12 more beers when I clearly have enough. WTF. What is wrong with me?

221 more days until my lease is up.

The great joys in life.

For me, the joys in life are simple. A sunny day, a beer in my hand, good music going  in the background. Ah, life. :) But over the past year, I've realized that one of my favorite things in life is being able to see just how much people care about each other. I love, love, love being able to see and experience this.

A quality photograph from the float trip.

I like to visit my friends (and sometimes surprise them) because of this. They all obviously mean a lot to me (or I wouldn't be driving nearly 4 hours to see them!).  But I also get to see just how much I mean to them. How? Well, after a float trip with the girls a month or so ago, shit got kind of out of hand pretty quickly. Long story made short, Coley was getting railed in the back of the head by a huge bitch while she was on the ground. We're talking like "she's going to go to the hospital" type beating over the head. I would easily go to the hospital to help this girl out. She's amazing. But what I found out was that I was the only one in the group of friends that was willing to do that for her. After the two of us recovered and figured out what the hell just happened, it was pretty clear who our friends really were. That's one of those times where you find out how much someone means to you. Another example is from a couple of nights ago with the same friend. :) Phi Kaps semi-formal: pitcher die with Coley, Chelsea and John Dough. (And in case you're wondering, pitcher die is a terrible idea.) Well, I stupidly made the statement that if Chelsea or John made it in my cup of Large Farva, I'd gladly chug it. And of course, John Dough made it on the next throw. I power stanced in a dress, and Coley held my dress down so no one would get a free show of my vagina (because hey, we're classy). I made it through almost all of the drink until I made it to the cheap vodka layer. I nearly vomited on Coley, but she just stood there and held my dress, waiting to get puked on. Now I don't know about you, but that's a fucking friend!

Holz, my dad and myself... and our evil cat.

But I also have the unique experience of planning my dad's surprise 50th birthday party (and now we're getting to the real reason for the post). A year ago, I didn't think I would have ever been planning this, being that my dad was battling very aggressive cancer. Now, 5 months of clean scans later, I am able to see the enormous outpouring of support that my parents have. For a little back story, my dad used to work at a telecommunications company downtown. When his doctor couldn't say that he would be back to work within 6 months, he was fired. So needless to say, money is a little tight around their house. My mom has been working her ass off to keep the house. (Not that I'm trying to tell a sad story, this is just how it is.) So, back to my original point... upon inviting all of his friends, I wasn't expecting what I got. Almost everyone who was invited has offered not only wonderful words of encouragement and excitement that his health is much better now, but they've offered to help in any way they can. People are offering to bring food to help out. One woman is designing a gourmet layered cake incorporating his favorite hobbies, flying fishing and hunting. And another woman is putting together (without my help) a fundraiser for my parents. I obviously can't tell anyone in my family about this, and it's making me want to burst. I just want to tell my mom that her friends are freaking amazing whenever I talk to her, but I'll have to keep my mouth shut for another week and a half. I know that this gathering of friends is going to mean so much to both of them, I can't wait to see both of their reactions.

Too much? Nah...

My cold stash, 4-6 deep.

 Sometimes I think I'm a little too into beer. I mean, check out my stash. It's getting a little out of control. I think at last count I had about 120 bottles in my apartment. People who don't know me very well might think I have a serious drinking problem after seeing that number. Trust me, I'm not. At most, I'll have 3 beers after work a couple times a week because, hey, apparently drinking beer moderately actually lengthens your lifespan!

Anyway, I love, love, love beer. (Quality, not quantity. Except when I'm in Rolla.) I get into a new beer style about every two months or so it seems like. My beer journey went somethin' like this: German Wheats, then schwarzbeirs, then dunkelweizens, then pale ales, then brown ales, then IPAs, then fruity beers, the stouts, then the occasional scotch ale, then Belgian ales and now sour beers. And I know what people might think after reading that last one, "WTF is a sour beer? Sounds disgusting!" Well, admittedly, sour beers aren't for everyone. I'd just like to say that most of them are actually quite tart and sweet and the 'sour' portion of the name comes from how it is fermented (I won't get into the nitty gritty, but it's through spontaneous fermentation in a barn in Belgium, no joke). If you would ever get a wild hair and want to try a commercial version, try a Lindeman's Lambic. Yeah, it's expensive, but it's worth it.

My storage stash.

To get to my point: I hope this all-consuming hobby can turn into a career. I listen to podcasts at work about brewing (without them I would fall asleep of boredom) and I have been accumulating a small library all about making better beer. I've learned so much since I've started just a few months ago. Once I get to the point where I can consistently make great beer, I look forward to entering competitions. Maybe I'll even go back to school and get a degree in Brewing Science, who knows. Either way, I'm pretty excited about the small possibility of having a future in the beer industry. Wish me luck!

Next brew day? Pale Ale / IPA double brew day with my dad and Pastor Rob. I'm teaching Rob to brew this Thursday. Should be awesome!

I have a like/hate relationship with this town.

I work in what I would call a "big-small" town. It's about 26,000 people, which is twice the size of Rolla (which isn't saying much). We have a Wal-Mart, two Walgreens and a race track. There are a few churches and a few 'mom and pop' resturants. The downtown square is undergoing a major rehab and is actually a fun place to go. So here's the real reasons why I have a like/hate relationship with this town.

1) I'm here. By myself.
I didn't think it was going to be a huge deal moving to a new town. I usually make friends pretty easily and try to get along with the people around me. I did it before in Kansas City, so no big deal, right? Well, I forgot that this was rural Illinois. A place where most everyone in the town grew up with everyone else and I don't know anybody. Sure, I hang out occasionally with my home brew club or some of the guys from work but not only are they in their 30s to 50s, but they just don't stack up to the amazing friends I've had over the past few years.

2) This job is boring.
When I was in school, no one ever told me that you could be paid to design ditches, the same ditches, over and over again, for 4 months. If they had, I would have run away screaming. So guess what I do at work? I design ditches. That's it. I almost like it because it's super easy but I hate it because it's super easy. The first assignment I got, my (awful) boss told me that engineering takes time, so don't rush it. I get that, but I'm not the kind of person that does things slow. I take an hour long test in 20 minutes and still get a good grade on it. So when I finished my first task "too quickly", he was really surprised and said, "Are you sure you did it all correctly?" And then made me redo it. I didn't change a thing, sat on my ass for about 2-3 hours and then gave it back to him. He reviewed it and told me how well I was learning. WTF. Since then, I've learned to space out my ditch designing. I'm really not the type of person to enjoy working at a leisurely pace. I love it when I'm on a deadline, I have to make it to a meeting, or have oh, I don't know, ANY responsibilities of any sort. I have none of that here. I guess I should be happy that I'm getting paid to do virtually nothing, but it feels kind of stupid.

3) I get paid.
I really quite like this aspect of being out of college and my job. Who wouldn't? It allows me to take my parents out to dinner/beer festivals/whatever, buy almost whatever beer/beer making equipment I want, buy a brand new car, live in a nice part of town, etc, etc. (Please don't take this like I'm bragging about the money I make.) I don't actually make a lot, but when you don't have kids/responsiblities/a spouse, it's hard to spend it on something worthwhile. Which brings me to my next point.

4) This place is CHEAP.
Rent and housing here is ridiculously inexepensive. For instance, you can buy a house in the historic district for around $100k. Something like that would cost anywhere from $500k upwards in the St. Louis area. In fact, a co-worker just sold his house (albeit run down) in the historic district for $15,000. I literally bought my car for more than that. WTF. Also, pints of beer at bars are $2.50 on FRIDAYS, and not during happy hour either. That's like Grotto prices. Although, the price of a six-pack of Schlafly Pale Ale is $10 at the liqour store. I might like Schlafly, but there is no way in hell I'm paying $10 for six of them. I'll wait until I get into St. Louis.

5) Traveling.
Because I don't spend a lot of money here, I have the amazing oppourtunity to travel the country. I probably wouldn't want to travel as much if I lived in St. Louis, but I can always go for an excuse to fly to Denver to visit breweries or KC to hit up the Flying Saucer!

6) Traveling.
Because I live in rural Illinois, I have to travel to get anything or see anyone of even remote importance to me. Let's say that I want to buy fresh ginger root for a beer I'll be brewing. Or I want to find some simple lab equipment for harvesting yeast. I can't get it here. I have to drive at least 30 miles to the nearest city or wait until I'm in St. Louis again.

7) My workplace
Beyond my glorious and highly regarded duties as a ditch designer, my workplace is strange. Which sounds weird, but let me explain. First off, you would actually have to try to get fired from this place. At first this sounds like a great thing, but it's a real motivation killer. For instance, the fat guy next to me told the Preseident of the company that he wasn't going to clean his desk(s) because he thought it was stupid. (Side story: his office looks like it could be on an episode of Hoarders. It has even spilled over into two of the offices across the hall.) Had that been said to any of my other bosses, well, it wouldn't have been pretty. Promotions are based on how you know the President of the company and not work performance too, so there's another motivation killer. Secondly, we have scheduled breaks at 9:30am and 2:30pm, a scheduled lunch from 12pm to 1pm and can only work from 8am to 5pm. Flex time is HIGHLY frowned upon. I've never worked anywhere that hasn't encouraged flex time. I'm sorry if I am more productive at 6am than I am at 5pm, I figured you would want me to work when I am most productive. No? Okay then... anyway, I have to nearly beg my boss to let me come into work early for an hour so I can leave an hour early on a Friday. And then when I do, I get shit about it all day from nearly everyone. It's not like I'm a doctor that is scheduled for open-heart surgery all day, I design ditches. The office will still keep chugging along if I come in early and leave early. GEEZ.


All in all, I think I would like this place a lot more if I wasn't in my 20s and single (because it's actually a nice, inexpensive, crime-free town) and if I wasn't designing ditches for a company run by the 'good old boys'. But for now, I think I'll stick to livin' cheap, making beer and having weekend adventures.

233 days until my lease is up.

Relaxing Weekend

After the past two weekends in Rolla, I needed a relaxing weekend to recuperate and let my bruises heal. I mean, hell, I got punched in the back of the head several times by a crazy woman while trying to stop her friend from beating one of my best friends over the head with her fat fist. So yeah, I needed a break.

Forest Park Balloon Glow

This past weekend was two great St. Louis events: the Forest Park Balloon Glow and Schlafly's HOP in the City. On Friday, Leah and I went to Forest Park with her sister and mom to see the balloons. And wow, were we unprepared. We just went to walk around and look at the hot air balloons. Clearly, what we should have done was pre-gamed at the park and then stayed all night. So Leah and I began plotting how we could "do it big" next year. You know, like, lawn chairs, dogs, coolers of beer, maybe a homebrew keg... well, we walked by a group of older couples who literally had THE WORKS. The were dressed nice, brought wine, chairs, tables, table clothes, table runners, (it keeps getting fancier) candlesticks in candelabras, flowers and a centerpiece. I literally stopped and applauded them. We are most definitely doing that next year, candelabras and all.

Saturday was a great day. It was the day of Schlafly's HOP in the City. It's an annual beer festival they put on every September where they bring out 40 of the beers they make (including a fest beer, more on that later) and serve them on tap. I brought my two beer drinkin' buddies, Mike and Myles with me as well as my mom and dad. Normally you wouldn't bring your parents to something like this, but ever since I brought them home my first bottles of homebrew, they've been really supportive in me trying/brewing as much beer as possible. Plus, the both of them needed to get out of the house and I was happy to help with that.

Myles, myself and Mike

Now, the fest beer was called Oud Bruin. If you know a small amount about Schlafly, you've probably noticed that they don't name their beers anything creative. A pale ale is called Pale Ale and so forth. The only one they didn't do that with is No. 15, their 15th anniversary beer. ANYWAY, Oud Bruin literally translates as 'old brown'. It's a Flanders-style, Belgian Ale that's been soured with tart cherries. And sour beers just so happen to be my new thing. I love, love, love them. I even went back for three tasters of this one. It was that good. Only problem? It was the fest beer, so I'll never be able to get it again. Sad times.

Pumpkin Beer: BREW DAY

Brewed a pumpkin beer for my dad's 50th birthday party coming up in a month. I used a recipe from homebrewtalk.com to base mine off of. As usual, things really didn't go as planned but I think it may turn out okay anyway.

Here's what I brewed:
8 lb 2-Row
1 lb Caramalt
1 lb Marris Otter
1 lb Torrified Wheat
1/2 lb Molasses

1 oz Northern Brewer
1oz Hallertaur

"Dash" of cinnamon at 5 minutes left in boil because I forgot to buy all the other spices before I started this. I'm dumb.

So I'm going to add the allspice, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in the secondary and see what happens. I kind of just fly by the seat of my pants when I'm brewing so I'm not really too worried about it. As Charlie Papazian would say, "Relax, don't worry. Have a homebrew!"

The yeasties just started up an hour ago. And now I'm realizing that I forgot to take an original gravity reading... oops. Guess I'll have another homebrew!