The Melting Pot

I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews about this restaurant.  I've heard it's not that good, I've heard it's amazing, blabbity blah blah.

 We went on a double date here with our good friends for the first time and we are fans. We made reservations for 8:30, but got there around 8:00 and were sat right away. We started with the featured Sam Adams Boston Lager fondue. You are given small cups of a variety of bread cubes, cauliflour, broccoli and apples for dipping. Our friends got the swiss fondue. The waiter actually prepares the cheese at your table (make sure you take note of this).  Our cheese was made with a half cup of Boston Lager, a few dashes of tabasco, bacon, and scallions. It was amazing. Simple to make, but sometimes it's the simple ingredients that make the best tasting dips. I mean, it's a bowl of cheese, how do you screw that up?  I guess you can though because our waiter accidently put a bit to much nutmeg in the Swiss fondue they ordered, but it was still good. I'm not a big fan of swiss as it is, so I stuck mainly to our pot of deliciousness.

After the fondue, you get a salad. I got a wedge salad, which delighted me. I love the crunchy part of the lettuce that you can eat like an apple, but that's beside the point. Wasn't the best salad I'd ever had, but obviously this is a fondue featured restaurant, not a salad bar. I also didn't realize that goronzola was a moldy green cheese that tastes like farts and smells like feet. If you are not a fan of farts and feet, stick with the cheddar.  Lucky for me, I have a fiance who enjoys the sour yet bold flavors of this abomination of cheese. It dissapeared off of my plate and into Ben's stomach before I could say 'hey, get your face off my plate'. Either way, you are kind of dumb if you go there just to get a salad. Seriously.

For the entree we got was called the Fondue Fusion which was strips of steasoned steak, bbq pork, shrimp, buffalo chicken, lobster tail and mushroom stuffed pasta (I don't like cooked mushrooms normally, but these were good). You also get new cups of vegetables with your meal.

Ben and I got the pot of broth for cooking, and our friends got the oil. I have always had a fear of raw meat, so I was pretty skeptical on the 'cook your own dish' scenerio, but you get the hang of it after a few minutes. In fact, when he set the plate down I had a secret panic attack and kind of felt like running away -- but the food was great. I loved the chicken and shrimp. You also get two different kinds of batter for your meats. It's fun to experiment, and you can't really mess anything up. Everything pretty much goes good with everything. If you're a worrier like me and can't even touch ground beef to make hamburgers in the summer, then just leave the food in longer. Better to be a little overdone then underdone right? Plus my worrying made my friends laugh, so everyone wins right?

They also give you 8 different sauces to work with. I loved the greek goddess sauce. I even ventured into my wild side and spooned a little bit of the bleu cheese sauce onto my steak. The greek goddess is a creamy dillweed/cucumber sauce that you can pretty much slab on anything. Well, I can anyway.

For our chocolate, we got the PB&J. Probably the best thing ever. Strawberries and bananas in a PB&J chocolate? (Homer drool).

Overall, the food was good, our waiter was very nice, and I had a great time. It's a bit pricy, but thankfully, we live too far away to go all the time;-) So basically, if you have no personality, no sense of humor and hate life, I would not suggest going, because it's a great time!  I would also highly advise against it if you are trying to watch your calorie intake because you pretty much take in a days worth in the hour you are sitting there.

So over the summer I ended up quitting the gym completely and took up hula hooping.  I lost 10 pounds in the duration of the time that I was hooping (probably a month and a half), and really loved it.  I got pretty good at it for the most part, but never got my nerve up enough to record myself doing it. I watch these videos on YouTube of these chicks who are amazing, and put me to shame.  Then our laptop broke and I couldn't watch the tutorials anymore to learn more tricks so I didn't spend as much time with it.


I ended up feeling empty after that and rejoined the gym. I figured if I was going to be hooping that I could skip out and try something new for awhile. I also got tired of being stalked by the same guy every morning, and I just got sick of the constant bickering from the same onslaught of people.  The stalker would try to be nonchalant about his stalking, but the attempts were just irritating.  There are timed dials all around the gym that work the ceiling fans above the different work out areas.  Stalker Steve (I have no idea what his real name was) would come over to the cardio equipment where I happened to be biking, and would turn the fans on above me as if they were going to cool him off on the opposite side of the gym where he was doing squat thrusts or whatever. This became a repeated occurrence. Finally one day, he came over and turned the dial on the fans (which were already on) and then made his move. He started talking to me and asking me why I left at 8:45 every morning. I told him I have a job. His response was something that made me think that he thought I was in high school. Even creepier considering Stalker Steve was probably in his 30's. Let's just say I was not overly nice about his annoying and pathetic advancements. This went on for about 3 days.  I was not nice to him. In fact, I will admit I was flat out rude, but come on. Get the hint already. I'm convinced that had he flat out asked me on a date and I told him that I was married, he would have asked me when he could pick me up for our date. It's even more annoying when guys hit on you that you're not interested in, but you're not wearing any make up on top of it, and sporting baggy sweats, a men's t-shirt with pit stains, and wal-mart shoes. Ok, now you KNOW they are just desperate. Gosh.


Maybe I was just being over cynical of them but I needed a break. I didn't want to work out after work because that's when all the high schools over take the place.  Did you ever notice how high school boys act at the gym? A majority of the time, when they aren't tickling each other, they are flexing in front of the mirror and giggling...I witnessed this a majority of the time when I did work out in the afternoon and it bothered me.


So I rejoined after that month and half or so. A lot changed in that time I was gone. Half the morning people quit or transferred gyms, so I didn't have to listen to that anymore, and Stalker Steve seemed to have nabbed himself a girlfriend who shows up in his car now and again and works out there.  He won't even look at me now and I couldn't happier.

Hair update

January 2010                                                                                                January 2012

Very Quick Updates

Hi Friends,

Just a quick update, as mentioned in my title...

I am getting married to my wonderful boyfriend of 4 years and 3 months on April 13, 2013. Planning a wedding is a lot more stress then I always imagined.

I have lost a total of 43 pounds. I was reading back through my blogs tonight when I first started and seeing how frustrated I was back then, makes me so proud to know that I stuck with it and am 8 pounds away from my original goal. On another note, I have extended my goal to 60 pounds, which will put me back at my highschool weight, which I will not disclose on this blog, ever...

Well, maybe when I actually reach the goal...very few people actually know the number.

My hair is also growing at an alarming rate thanks to the Biotin and B-12 vitamins I've been taking. This was also another one of my 'goals' in one of my old blogs I'm pretty sure was to let my hair grow out.

Anyways, more gym stories coming soon. Unfortunately, I have not had any encounters with Big Pat and Uncle B, but there are other real life characters to be born.

Nighty night.

The Downsides to Concerts

For anyone who knows me or anyone who has read my previous blogs, my boyfriend and I go to a lot of shows/concerts/music festivals. We are no strangers to the patchouli scented scene that is jam music.  I have attended the following shows:

The Monkees - Star Plaza Theatre, IN - 96'
Paul McCartney - The United Center, IL 99'
Warped Tour - Tweeter Center, IL - 01'
Warped Tour - Tweeter Center, IL - 03'
Summercamp Music Festival, IL -  04'
Particle - The Pearl Room, IL - 04'
Dave Matthews - Tweeter Center, IL - 04'
Particle - The Congress Theater - IL - 04'
Summercamp Music Fesitval, IL 05'
Dave Matthews - Alpine Music Theater, WI - 05'
Keller Williams - Canopy Club - 07'
Umphreys McGee - The Aragon, IL 08'
Rothbury Music Festival, MI - 08'
Disco Biscuits - Congress Theatre, IL - 09'
Keller Williams - Canopy Club - 09'
Umphreys McGee - Auditorium Theater, IL 09'
Phish - Alpine Valley Music Theater, WI - 09'
Phish (Festival 8) - Indio, CA - 09'
Keller Williams - The Canopy Club, IL - 10'
Phish - Alpine Valley Theater, WI -10'
Primus - Congress Theater, IL - 10'
Phish (Superball IX) - Watkins Glen, NY - 11'
String Cheese Incident - The Aragon, IL - 11'

Needless to say, I have been to quite a few shows.  Unfortunately the last show for Cheese was cut short, mainly because some asshole stole Ben's bank card at some point the night before and he didn't realize it until a half hour before we were supposed to leave for the concert. Naturally, that will instantly ruin your night, but also because we finally came to the realization of how ignorant the attendees are at these jam shows.

Firstly, The Aragon is a semi-huge venue in Chicago.  It can house a large amount of people easily, but apparently they never sell out of tickets and over stuff the venue for whatever reason with sweaty, smelly bodies, so Ben and I were literally backed into a wall for the 40 minute duration we made it through the show. I could not move. It's a good thing we didn't move too because had we moved, the asshole in front of us sporting a gigantic, bulging, backpack wouldn't have had any room to maneuver his giant asshole bag around in the crowd.  What are you carrying in that backpack? Your friends? A blanket? What gives? Why is it necessary that you bring a gigantic backpack into a sardine packed venue? It's like a wandering airbag that plows into innocent bystanders and knocks them down steps and into walls, and god forbid you should step into someone holding a dixie cup of beer that they just had to take out a second mortgage to purchase. Shame on you.

Secondly, it is a non-smoking venue. Have a little respect for the sea of people who don't smoke in the crowd, and don't blow your cigarette and weed smoke on us while your flailing around, punch dancing all of us.

Thirdly, If you have gigantic dreads, wear them down for the night. When you put your dreads in a ponytail, it creates a very deadly and large weapon of mass destruction that may have the same effect as the 'backpack guy' or even worse, possibly end up in the persons mouth trying to have a good time behind you. This also goes for girls will extremely long hair. There is no reason you have to put your ponytail up and then swing it around like Jan Brady. You don't pay property taxes on the tiny 1x1 space we all get, so knock the shit off. Nobody thinks you're cute accept all the drunk assholes blowing weed on people and punch dancing everyone. (Which reminds me, what is up with the fairy wings and tutus? You look retarded.)

Fourth, If you are going to throw glowsticks at a show (which I encourage), get the little, thin, glowsticks that you can make bracelets out of. Unfortunately, dumbasses will bring gigantic, thick glowsticks with hooks on them that rocket down and hurt people when they come down. Are you stupid? Why would you get these?  When you are in a store and you see gigantic glowsticks, that weigh approximately 2 pounds a peice, why the hell would you be like, 'Yeah, these will be a good idea, nobody really needs their eyes anyway." Seriously, have a little common sense. Assholes. OH, and don't even get me started on the Sky Lanterns. Do you understand how dangerous it is to bring those to a festival around all those dreadlocks? When you light them, you have to wait until they are ready to take off, but instead, without fail, some idiot will light it and try to throw it like a frisbee and it ends up falling back into the crowd.  These are at the outdoor festivals obviously, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to let one go in a venue.

Lastly, why do you drive from Georgia to Chicago and then stand outside with $20 bucks to get a ticket? I guess I respect the fact that you are a dedicated fan, but shit, you can't wait until they come around to your state? It's not my problem, but still. Wtf? It seems pretty stupid to travel 16 hours or so with $20 bucks?

Other than that, I love shows and I love music, but after being at so many, all this stuff has just really started to get to me. No more indoor venue shows, not for awhile at least.

Comcast Rant

Since I moved out on my own into the big old world, Comcast has been my cable provider. At first, they seemed ideal and the corny commercials seemed legitimate.  But then, they give you 6 months free of a promotional priced package, where I was paying around $80 a month, then shoots up to some ridiculously overpriced amount. Currently I am paying roughly $150 bucks a month for this. Ben and I have ONE box, NO DVR service, NO movie channels, basic HD channels, and "Xfinity" internet.  What in the HELL am I paying $150 bucks for?  I'm not asking to see a copy of my statement, because I've seen it. I GET what I am PAYING for but what I don't understand is how they can charge people $150 a month for cable and internet?


So yesterday, I get another $150 bill and that was about it for me. Not to mention, if you are one day late on your bill, they shut your service off and then charge you $5 bucks a device to turn all of your stuff back on. They shut me off last month because I was a day late, and 2 months before that they shut me off for being $.20 cents off on the bill. Twenty CENTS off.  When I called them to complain, they said, "Well the computer system shuts you off, not the reps."  And still, thereafter, charged me the reconnect fees.  Not to mention, that my internet connection is so unbelievably slow that more often than not, I have to restart my computer because it's working so hard to bring up a website that it just freezes. Two months this went on before I finally called Comcast (I put it off because most of the time when I talk to them I get nowhere so I just kept procrastinating) and the guy was completely confused when I asked him to run a health check on my system.  He kept mumbling weird things into the phone before finally putting me on hold for 20 minutes. I had actually set my phone down, turned it on speaker, and then forgot I was on hold, because I had time to watch almost a whole show before I realized that my phone was still on. He never came back, so I hung up. Useless.


Yesterday, I got online with a rep and asked them why I keep getting bills that were so outrageous. I also wanted some kind of compensation for the fact that I've had the slowest Internet on the planet. I figure if I'm going to get raped all this money, I can at least have a Internet connection that works faster than the speed of my hair growing.  The rep tells me that he cannot talk to me because I'm not an authorized user on the account.  Ben has called Comcast before and told them that I was, and although I've fought with Comcast numerous times, that was the first time I'd heard that one.  I have a feeling that after all my complaining to them, they've blacklisted me, but instead just told me that I'm not authorized to speak to anyone. I told him "Thanks for nothing as usual" and logged off. In a stint of rage, I completed the survey you are forced to take after chatting with an online rep and without even reading the questions, just vigorously clicked 'highly dissatisfied' until my finger hurt. Then in the comment section I went on a long rant (basically what I just typed here) but made sure to end my comment with 'Your service is terrible, Comcast is terrible and I hate you".


That'll show 'em.


The conclusion? I'm still stuck with a $150 bill and nothing is being done about my internet.


Moral of the story: Keep calling Comcast and complaining because it makes you feel better.

Weightloss

Well, I have lost 40 pounds total. After so long, I just started training myself to eat in portions, work out a couple days a week, and just cutting out unnessecary sugar and condiments, sticking to low fat foods and whole grains, limiting red meat and seriously cutting back on diet pop.  It has just become a routine.

I recently signed up to run my first Chicago Marathon 5K in September 2012, and hopefully will be doing others before that.  It's so far away, but I'm already nervous!  I can run 3 miles now, but it's still tough. I figure by then I will be able to do the whole thing, no problem.

It's always been a personal goal of mine and I finally sucked it up and paid the $25 registration fee to run.

Another one I want to run in is the 'Run for your Lives' race in Indianpolis in June. It's a 5k and obstacle course that you run through, all while being chased by Zombies. I can't imagine a funner way to run a race, and obviously it would give you more insentive to finish when you're running from something instead of for something I suppose.