Saturday, I got up and headed to Tiff's. I headed back to Jerry's after Tiff's and we bummed about the house most of the day. We meant to get up and get to Target to pick up his allergy meds, as well as out to Rosedale to get Brandy's birthday present, but didn't make it that far very early. As per usual, at the last possible minute, we picked the most important of events that needed to take place, and rushed about to get them done.

We hit up Kinko's to print out some documents. Then we went to an office store to get presentation supplies. The douche at Kinko's wouldn't even step out from behind the counter to help us look at theirs. Pssht. After that, we went to the cuuuuute Japanese store at Rosedale to get Brandy a birthday present. We got her little ghosts and smoking watermelons. :P On our way to Minneapolis for dinner, we realised we forgot our tickets to the Haunted Basement at the Soap Factory.

After an emergency stop in at Thad and Carmen's to print the tickets, we raced into Minneapolis. We found a good parking spot close to Ginger Hop and had just enough quarters to tide us over until Haunted Basement time. Dinner was...less than impressive. Food was served cold and lacking in flavor in my case, small portioned and tasting of peanut butter in Jerry's case, lacking in flavor in Spike's case, and generally "Meh" on most other people's parts. I think the drinks and appetizers won out. Service was good, but food was lacking. Total bummer!

Brandy and JD joined Jerry and I on our trek to the Soap Factory. Spike told us that they don't let you in if you are late, so we literally RAN to our cars, and raced like crazy people to the door. We found out that they most certainly DO allow lateness, otherwise nobody would get in! :P We had an exciting wait with Kari as our tour guide. She spoiled LOST for us a little. Bummer! We had a good time joking that we wouldn't make it out alive and that Kari would watch us on the TVs. Brandy, JD and I all bemoaned the fact that we agreed to go with Jerry, since all three of us hate scary things. :P

The basement was fun, on the whole. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't gone yet. I'm impressed with myself that I didn't "Say Uncle", which is their safe word. They would escort you out if you did. I made it to the end, clutching Jerry, Brandy and JD the whole way. :D After the basement, we stayed and hung out, watching the cameras in the basement for a while with Kari.

We left NE, heading downtown to meet up with everyone for Rock Band at Grumpy's. The guy running the night forgot the freakin' game! I couldn't believe it! He brought all of his RB gear, his XBox, and all of his sound equipment, but not the freakin' game. FTW. Once it got going, the night was pretty fun. Like karaoke, only with your RB guitar in tow. :) Tara was AMAZING--she kicked some serious ass on guitar and vocals in "You Oughta Know". She also owned all over the drums during some hard Chili Peppers songs.

At the end of the night, we headed back to Jerry's place. Watched some more LOST, drank a Dr. Pepper. The usual. :)

Sunday, Tiff allowed me the luxury of an extra hour of sleep. So great! After Tiff's, I headed to the grocery. I bought some baking supplies and fried rice supplies. Nate met me at my place, and we baked banana bread together. So great! I met Jerry over at Thad and Carmen's place for Sunday night fun. Carmen made this AMAZING Greek-inspired dish in the crockpot. Eggplant and other veggies, tofu, and sheep's cheese on top. Served over cous cous...delish! We headed back to my place for the night. :)

Monday, Jerry got up early and headed on in to work. I slept fairly late after he left...I really need to knock that business off. Get up when he gets up, seriously! I headed in to work at 3pm and made a decent chunk of change. Probably for the best, since I haven't really worked all week since. :(

Tuesday, I felt very domestic all day. I washed lots of laundry, dealt with some paperwork things that needed dealing with. Washed some dishes. Walked to the grocery and back. Baked some tasty bits. :D Jerry was coming over after work, and I had dinner ready for him. Chicken legs, sweet corn, corn bread, and banana bread for dessert. I rock! He worked on some worky bits and I watched Everything is Illuminated. Good stuff!

We headed to Suzi's and he kept right on working on his stuff there, too! Had a couple of beers with good friends. Good times! We stayed at my place, watched a bit of LOST. We are like two old people, I swear!

Wednesday, he headed out to work, and I slept in again. :P Cleaned house a bit more, baked pie crust bits for SPW. We had a great crowd! Nate and Erin, Chris and Abi, Peter, Dave, Crystal, Wifey, Aaron, Ryan...we had a lot of fun with the pie theme, too!

Thursday, I mostly bummed around the house. I stayed up far too late Wednesday night, playing Beatles Rock Band all by my lonesome. :P I got up and ready to head to work, even lugged all of my Halloween gear out to the Jeep, only to find out the bugger wouldn't start. :(

I called work to let them know I'd be late, and they said I could just not come in if I wanted. I really wanted to work, but not if I wasn't going to make any money. :( :( :( I opted to stay home and deal with the car situation. I'm sure the new GM is less than thrilled about my attitude toward the few shifts I have that I don't show up to. To be fair, she offered the night off AND the information that we were slow as all getout. Bah.

I called Jerry and he suggested calling Dave. Dave happened to have his car savvy friend in the car with him, so they came over to take a look at it for me. The mechanic suggested new spark plugs and a few minor parts that would cost less than $60. Dave offered to put them in for me today. I owe him a big one! He's so generous. :)

We went to Jerry's to have a shower and relax for a few before dinner. We headed to Thad and Carmen's to meet up before dinner. I need to learn that Jerry needs to eat--often! He was grumpy and nearly faint with hunger by the time we got to The Anchor. We had a 20 minute wait for a table. We used our time wisely and knew what we wanted to order right away. The food came out quickly, which was good. Everything was so tasty! It was also really nice to hang out with Thad and Carmen outside of the house. We were like normal couples last night! :P

The four of us headed back to Thad and Carmen's for drinks and chilling. I fell asleep on the couch, Carmen headed to bed, while Jerry and Thad played Borderlands. I'm glad they got game time in. I promised I'd get Carmen out of the house for a girly night so they can have a boy night soon. :)

Jerry and I went to his place, watched two episodes of LOST, and fell asleep. We are pretty far in Season 3. If any of you people DARE to spoil anything else, we'll write you out of the new season. SRSLY. Nate spoiled stuff for us, Kari spoiled stuff for us...bah.

A year ago today, I went to an awesome house party thrown by the lovely Amanda and her equally lovely roommate, Katie. It was called Party (with Jerry!)

According to Amanda's FB invite:

The date of this party has been specifically and meticulously picked for the attendance of Jerry. For those of you who were at the May BBQ, you may remember Jerry. Some of you (Paul?) flat-out fell in love with him. Some of you were amazed by his scooter (not a euphemism, he drives a scooter, also a euphemism), his crazy stories, or his quippy nature. Some of you may have missed him altogether. IT'S NOT TOO LATE. Jerry has given his word as a scholar and a gentleman that he will be at this party... SO YOU SHOULD BE THERE TOO!

There will be non-Jerry related entertainment in the form of drinks and other people. Bring a beverage or snack to share! Jerry will be providing prizes for those he deems worthy and/or likes the best.

Details:
WHAT: Party (With Jerry)
WHO: Katie, Amanda, everyone they know, and Jerry!
WHEN: Saturday, Oct 11, 8:00 until whenever.
WHERE: Chez Awesome, XXXX Colfax Ave S. Mpls.
WHY: Holy crap, why not?

Amanda writes the best invites. :)

I don't know that I ever wrote out the story of how Jerry and I "started". I've told this story a hundred times over, I'm sure. It's one of the best stories I know, and the best part is, it's true!

.....

I made a few comments on the invite page, as well as in my own journal about not being able to resist Jerry, that I would win all of the prizes, etc...I didn't even really know Jerry at that point. We met back in 2006 when Amanda was back for a week from Japan. She had a little get together at Psycho Suzi's in NE. I mentioned Jerry in the entry I wrote about the night. Our paths crossed again shortly after CVG08 at yet another Amanda function. Jerry, Brandy and JD all scooted to the party, and I did, too! The real turning point was the party in October. :)

I went to the party with the intention of drinking one of Jerry's gin drinks, holding a beer for the rest of the night, and excusing myself home at an early hour. At the time, I lived less than a block away from Amanda. Amanda knew that I loved gin, and told me that Jerry and I would be awesome friends because of it. She was so right!

Jerry showed up at the party and he looked good. I mean really good. ;) He made me one of his gin fizz drinks, and I hated it. :P It grossed me out that it was made with egg whites...srsly. I dumped it out when he wasn't looking, and was like "Mmm, tasty business!" when he was. After that drink, I grabbed a beer, but the party didn't end there.

We ended up crashing the neighbor's party with anney and drinking their crappy keg beer. We drank some of the beer that I brought over from my place. We drank the sake that Jerry brought in celebration of his new job. Before drinking the sake, we of course had to venture to my place to get sake cups. :) We returned to the party and talked with a "Japanese" accent (think O HARRO!) for about an hour and a half on Amanda's bed while totes tipsy. We drank Amanda's AMAZING apple sangria and ate the boozy fruit. At some point, I'm sure we drank more beer. We drank the first bottle of the Lambic that Jerry brought and then decided to sit outside so we could better hear each other.

It was super cold, so he gave me his sweatshirt. After a few minutes of sitting outside being cold and drunk, we decided to go to my place (less than a block away) and play Mario 3 on my Wii. We got SO MAD at Mario for "not being able to jump" properly. We agreed that it was Mario who was drunk, not us. :P

I woke up the next morning in my bed, laying next to Jerry. The only piece of clothing missing from our original costumes from the previous night was Jerry's shirt. It was like something out of a movie, where the heroine wakes up, her eyes flutter open and she gets her bearings. She's thinking to herself that she had a great time last night, but she's happy to be home. She remembers who she was with the night before, and when she rolls over in bed, there he is!

I shyly said good morning. He folded his arms up behind his head and said it back. We made tentative plans for hanging out again soon. :) He gave me a ride to work. So much for that "one drink and then hold a beer all night so I can get to work on time" plan. Whoops!

.....

Today marks one year since that party. A lot of things have happened in both of our lives. Friends have come and gone. SPW/SPS had its first successful season. The Happy Merry Christmakwanzaaka took place. I bought my 2009 scooter. CVG09 came and went. He put his house up on the market. I turned 27, he turned 28. My 2009 scooter officially died for the last time.

So many other wonderful things in there, too. Every day is a wonderful thing, my friends. Be good to each other. <3

Wednesday night was so super fun! People convened at Jerry's house for a night of game playing and drinks. Off the top of my head, it was Brian, Amanda and Chris, Brandy and JD, Wifey, Crystal, Carmen and Anna, Asian Dan, Erin, Spike, Nate...and that's about all I can come up with this second. I'm sure there were more of you, and I sincerely apologise to anyone I may have forgotten. :( Good times were had by all! The stragglers left around 1 or so. Quite a successful hangout at the Arden B Casa de Jerry. :)

Thursday, we got up and ambled about the house for a bit. Got on the road to Stillwater around 1 and arrived before 2. It's only a 20 mile drive from Arden Hills to StilH20! We walked up and down the main drag in an effort to kill a little time, and to find a suitable place for lunch. We ended up at a cute little restaurant with a retro arcade theme. Jerry played about five free games of pinball. He is (very rightly) convinced that his super power is to get free pinball wherever he goes. As soon as I touched the machine, it stopped giving him free games. He even got a quarter out of the return slot! Wacky. The place had great sandwiches, too. :)

It was finally close enough to 4pm so we could check in to our hotel. Cute little place! Of course, we got in the elevator with an older couple who had just checked in and was staying down the hall from us. Awkward conversation ensued. :P I've never gotten why it's considered weird or impolite to not make pointless conversation in situations like that...

We found our room--it was beautiful! It was really spacious, with super high ceilings. The bed was nice, but Jerry kept hitting himself on it. First, his head on the decorative carved headboard, and then his knee on the bed frame. Poor guy! We hung out in the room for a bit. Got some ice to keep our beer cold, then hit the road to see the sights.

For those of you who have never been to Stillwater, it's a touristy town. Nothing is open on a Thursday after 5pm. Probably rightly so, but it makes for a slow night for anyone who is there on a weeknight. :P We walked down by the river. Got some good shots of the water, birds and spiders. We tried in earnest to work off our late lunch so that we would be hungry for dinner later. The last place we checked out before heading back to the hotel for dinner was kind of on a lark. They advertised buy one get one free t-shirts. As we walked by, a really pretty dress caught my eye, so we stopped in. I ended up buying a couple of Kariza Wraps. They are super pretty and now I have two gorgeous dresses that fit well and I like the style. :D I wore one to dinner. :)

As we got ready for dinner, Jerry popped the cork on the champagne. It shot pretty far and ricocheted several times. I am always too scared to open champagne. :P We ended up taking the rest of the bottle with us to dinner, which was nice. Dinner was so fancy! We had the choice of an appetizer to share, soup or salad each, an entree each and dessert each. WAAAAAY too much food, if you ask me! We shared the artichoke dip and each had chicken noodle soup. He had fancy kebabs with steak, sausage and shrimp. I had a cream sauce pasta with smoked chicken. I could only eat about five bites of my meal by the time I was through with the first two courses. Dessert (Bailey's cheesecake for me, caramel apple pie for him) had to be boxed up. We couldn't eat another bite!

It was really nice to be there on a weekday. There was one other couple in the dining area when we arrived, and they left fairly early on in our meal. There were two dining rooms, as well as a patio outside. It was starting to cool off, so we opted for the inner dining room. It was nice to have a big table with lots of room to spread out. We had some lovely chats over dinner, and then sauntered back up to our room. On the way back up, Jerry wanted to stop by the scotch tasting event that was going on. The guy who was running it had chatted with Jerry earlier about scotches and liquors and whatnot. Jerry was totally right that we would be able to get a taste of a very fine scotch when the event was over. I didn't know thing one about it, other than it tasted better than I anticipated scotch would, and that it cleared my sinuses rather well. :)

We had a great night in Stillwater. We hung out in the room's hot tub for goodness only knows how many hours. I'm really wishing I had a hot tub in my room right about now. I don't think I would ever leave it in this kind of weather! :P Drank some Two Hearted...I spilled some Two Hearted on the bed and on Jerry. Whoops! I fell asleep while Jerry was watching crazy public access TV. All in all, a very successful trip...that was only half over!

Since Tuesday, so much has happened! I have no idea how I fit it all in...or how I'll be able to keep it up once the new job starts! ;)

Wednesday morning, got up and worked out with the Pantswife. Had another day with the new client...I doubt this will last much longer. I'm feeling too spread thin with time. :( I talked to some good peeps on the phone, which was nice. Met up with the Pantswife to take things to donate at Savers. She ended up locking her keys in her car (doh!) but luckily, she has AAA. I really need to get that!

I was talking on the phone with T-Mobile, trying to negotiate a new cell phone and/or plan, but the rep didn't know her head from a hole in the ground. I told her I'd call back at a later date. I should almost do that now. Back to Wednesday, the guy with the magic device was "totally fucking me with his eyes" according to Jess. I kinda noticed, but it was more like "You are creepy and staring at me--stop it."

After the lock out incident, I ran some errands. Got many tasty noms at the grocery, so that makes me happy. SPW was ok. I hate to say it, but I'm happy to see it coming to a close for the season. Things just aren't right in their new location. :( Fear not, for they will start back up in the fall! :)

Jerry totally brought me another mug! I <3 my mug collection! This one is a coconut. It's a different finish than they used to have, though. It's matte instead of shiny. I like it, though. :)

Thursday, I totally got to sleep in, which was a nice change of pace. I wish we had gotten up just a slight bit earlier, though, because Jerry's call totally got towed. Fucking street sweepers. >:( We had originally intended to have a Calhoun picnic, walk, and scoot, but the fates decided otherwise. We had our picnic on the front lawn of my apartment building, then I loaded him up on the back of the scooter and hit the Minneapolis Impound Lot.

Two hundred dollars later, we headed back to my place. Jerry didn't get as much done on his resume stuff as he should have, but I can't say I blame him. What a total bummer! We sat about the house for a bit, then he headed home to Arden B, and I followed shortly thereafter on the scooter. I found a really nice way to get where I need to go without having to deal with Lake Street. Yay!

We had a very relaxing evening of playing video games and watching shows until it was time to head to Mady's. I am so sad to say that I lived in CH for over 12 years and had NEVER been there! I always used to go bowling at the place in the Central Plaza. Can't remember the name...oh well. I can honestly say I'll be going back to Mady's again soon. Great fries, good atmosphere, and nice people working there. :) We had a very lovely scoot back to Arden B to turn in for the night.

Friday, I got up at the ass crack of dawn (9:30) and headed back to Minneapolis for some workings out. I didn't leave as early as I wanted to, so no time for breakfast. :( I won't be making that mistake again! We had a very tasty lunch of quesadillas left over from Monday. I still have the makings, and I really need to feed them to someone before the cheese goes bad. Any takers? :)

I mostly bummed about the house and caught up on internet stuff. Uploaded more pictures, but there are more new ones every day. It feels like such an overwhelming project sometimes! I'm uploading even MORE right now! :P Check out sbj_photos for a selection that I like!

I was going to meet up with Brandy and JD at Altered Esthetics, but I got there too early. Totally should have called before I left! I had to be at pixiecup's place at 9, so I headed home for some dinner and Wii. :)

It was a beautiful night out, so I walked to her place. I didn't think I'd be staying over night, so I didn't scoot. Next time, I totally will. :) I stayed up till at least 2, playing DS (thanks for the magic card, Jerry!), reading books, and writing letters. Many of you will be the lucky recipients of these letters. Watch your post boxes! :D

Saturday, got up around 9 or so. Loaded up my stuff, walked home, and got on the scooter. I looked for a post box the ENTIRE walk back to my place, as well as the drive to Tiff's. No dice. Why are post boxes so friggin' scarce these days?! >:( It wasn't a total disaster, however, because I ran into a postal worker downtown! She totally took my stack of letters and put them in her van. SO great!

Got my ASS handed to me by Jessica's FINE ASS personal trainer friend. He made the whole deal manageable. :P I'm looking forward to more cardio exercises. I think I've worked my way up to that. I could do most of it, so that felt good. I'm paying for it today though!

Post working out, we went to Noodles for some Japanese Pan Noodles. So tasty! We hit up Trader Joe's for some cheap wine and tasty noms. I got a new wine key, too! It's much nicer than my old one. :) Met up with Crystal, Bertine, Zach and Warr at the best spot in Minneapolis. I <3 my friends. :)

Got a little tipsy sitting at the lake, which was probably a bad idea. We dropped Crystal off, then stopped at our respective homes to get ready to go out for the girl's night! The Legion was DEAD, which was good and bad. I was pretty freakin' drunk (of which I am NOT proud--I'm actually rather embarrassed and disappointed in myself), so I'm glad there were few opportunities to do dumb shit. :/ It was good, though, because that means we got to sing. A LOT! I want to go again to sing! I'm sure my singing sucked SO HARD, but it was still fun. :)

Poor Jerry came to collect my drunk ass on his scooter. I'm so lucky to have had him taking care of me in my sorry state. I really felt like an ass this morning, but I'm glad he hasn't run away just yet. ;) I sincerely hope to eat more next time, so as not to be so godawful gone by the time I see him. *facepalm*

Sunday, got up and headed Downtown. I had glorious plans to work out, go to a Twins game, and get out to enjoy my day! Unfortunately, it was raining outside, I was sore as a mo-fo after the boxing class yesterday, and slightly hung over. I'm happy to report that much of the soreness and all of the hangover are gone. :)

Jerry and I bummed about the house. Made breakfast/lunch, and he watched me play video games while he wrestled with his website stuff. I got to try out Mario Galaxies and Elebits on the Wii. I'm not writing them off just yet, but they will definitely take some getting used to. He really likes watching me play, or having me watch him. I agree, that for the most part, video games are great group activities, even if only one person is playing. :)

That leaves us where we are now. Jerry left a bit ago on his scooter, to head to church and do his Sunday stuff. I'm doing a load of laundry, and walking my ass out the door in a few to meet Crystal at the grocery. It's BIG MAGICAL BURRITO night at SPS! Can't wait!