Strapping on the feedbag.

Under No Management: We've had a a few local restaurants close down. The first was the closest Jack In the Box which I was kind of shocked closed. I figured if it would close it would have been 2 years ago during all of the construction going on. It made it nearly impossible to get there, once that was done I figured it would be okay. Nope, it was all boarded up.

Next, one we lost was Lenny's Sub Shop. I didn't go there a whole lot, but I did like their version of the philly cheesesteak, as they had this really good spicy relish they put on it. This place actually lasted longer than I thought it would, because it was never busy there.

Finally, Andrea's Pizza closed. This one hurts the most. It was a local mom and pop place and when I did get a pizza it was usually theirs. They had such an awesome thick crust pizza that was just a little sweet. Definitely not the cardboard variety. It was really good pizza at a decent price. Plus, I hate to see little local shops like this close to the chains.

Christmas eating: A little Christmas info. Here is what my step-mom made for three people:

1. a nearly 12lb turkey
2. mashed potatoes
3. stuffing
4. gravy
5. green beans
6. carrots (did I mention this was for three people?)
   
7. creamed peas
8. 2(!) Jello Salads - which I don't usually eat. Nor did I this time.
9. plus for dessert, also for three people. Cheesecake with strawberry sauce
10. Bread Pudding
11. Pumpkin Pie

There was so much food, my step mom bought some containers just for me to take leftovers home. Plus, I took a whole pumpkin pie.

Milling About

Saturday, my friend Jake had his annual party at his house. Jake is the guy who runs the comic book shop I go to, and we get along great. It is one of the few parties that I am guaranteed to get wasted at, as Jake and his girlfriend are kind enough to let me sleep over. Anyways, pretty much the who point of this post was watching this one guy hit on this one girl, and the crap he was saying.

He was saying stuff like this:
"That movie had some of the best cinematography I have ever seen."
"My favorite composer is doing the score of that movie."
"I like that scarf on you, it makes you look like an aviator."

I just wanted to jump up and tell him, "Dude, you are so full of sh*t!" I didn't though. I held my tongue. I was pretty proud of myself. A few years ago I probably would have ripped him.

Other highlights:
A dude picking up an acoustic guitar and doing a very neat version of Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again". I thought it was funny.
Talking to a kid who used to play college football at Utah State. He quit fairly early, because even at rinky-dink Utah State it was "no longer a game. It was a career."

The absolute lowlight was when I finally left Sunday morning. Apparently it was the day of the White Rock Lake marathon. I drove around for 45 minutes before I finally found a way out, and escaped. I tried north first, and then west. I knew east would be no good as that was the direction of White Rock Lake. I finally got headed south, and kept going south, while constantly looking to the west, and seeing I was still hemmed in. I finally made it to a highway and got home. It was not a fun drive. A fun night though.