Do You...

...ever think about how much we have all changed? Physically, of course, but in all the other ways that are not so obvious, but maybe more important? I started pondering this for a few reasons...

I took a different posting with TCF, and am now working with some high school kids. Very nice high school kids, mind you, but they are that age, you know? Also, my "baby" sister is starting her senior year in a week, and I am shooting her grad pictures this weekend. Yikes.

And it got me to thinking, would I have acted this silly if I were still 18? Probably. Do I remember the feeling I had when I was starting my senior year? These thoughts got me to looking around for some funny pictures of me when I was younger.


Pulling unashamedly from the Class of 1997 reunion site, this is a little something for you all:

Junior High, field trip to Hayward, WI. I think there was a water park or something? And some kind of Wild West theme park, maybe. I really don't remember, but the picture says I had fun! Anyway, these are my friends...I'm in the back row with the red Chicago Bulls t-shirt on. Great haircut. Ugh. My sister-in-law Jess is right smack in the middle - you can barely see her head. Little did we know back then that friends = family!


And then moving forward, into the high school years...there was the obligatory senior year picture, which wasn't too bad. I have this nice ethereal glow that belies the true devil inside me. Just kidding. But don't I look angelic? Sheesh, for the sitting fee my mom shelled out, I should look like friggin' Angelina Jolie! But I digress. I wore bangs for a long time because I was so self-conscious about my forehead...plus, most of my friends wore bangs, and I had to have that curling iron for something! (To straighten, then softly curl the bangs...strange, but true.)



Finally, I really threw myself into things in high school. I think I may have gotten high a few times from spray-painting pep rally signs in my parents' garage (with the door closed...smart, huh?). Anyway, I was a cheerleader my senior year, and an avid fan of all things school-related, so of course, my senior year I got voted "most school spirit". I remember thinking that I was so cool, strutting around in my letter jacket. Alas, not true. Oh well!





So that's what I mused about, while I had some down time today. Three of my appointments cancelled on me today, so I really needed to find a distraction. A trip down memory lane will usually do the trick!!

Pub Crawlin'

The first official Northeast Minneapolis Pub Crawl commenced on Saturday, August 16th. With friend Joy and her hubby Phil (and about 20 other assorted friends & relatives), we conquered 8 bars in Northeast Minneapolis from 6pm - 2am. Dear. God. Every hour on the hour, we were at a different bar. Prizes were awarded, Mardi-Gras style beads showered upon unsuspecting locals, and just general craziness reigned.

Spring Street Tavern, stop #1. Five dollar pitchers of Premium went down real nice, along with a quick sandwich to get the body ready for the rest of the drinking that was to happen. Here's Erin, already a happy camper:

The Moose, stop #2. Across the street, where they were offering twenty-five cent taps all during the first quarter of the Vikings game. Big Buck Hunter was played, beer consumed, and a "buck teeth" portrait taken. Oh, and I won a ring pop - delicious.

The Vegas Lounge, stop #3. Here's where it got crazy. Allison, a coworker/friend of Joy's, found a 50th birthday party hat and decided to wear it. Well, the drunk crazies out on the patio thought it really was her birthday, and decided to give her lap dances. Now, if they had been remotely attractive, this may have been okay. But...well, see the photo. UGH. Poor Allison.

U Otter Stop Inn, stop #4. Fun times abounded. Karaoke, shots, and a lot of high-fiving. Todd rocked out some Ratt or some such thing, Joy & I gave out even more prizes (Erin won the U Otter Stop Inn undies!). We were all pretty loaded when we left this one - there was some stumbling behavior on the walk to...

The Bulldog, stop #5. Here I partook (partaked?) in a little shuffleboard. How much fun is this game!? Holy crap, and Allison & I won, which was even better. The rest of this bar is a bit fuzzy. I think I started looking for water around this time.

Whitey's, stop #6. We encountered a bachelorette party here, who promptly ate the candy necklace right off Scottie (who didn't protest), and more drinking commenced. The place was fairly empty, so we were as obnoxious as we wanted to be and no one really cared! Good times.

Keegan's, stop #7. Again, pretty empty, we made our presence known. Darts, Mrs. Pac-Man, and the arrival of Kokkinen all stand out in my mind. We lost a few after this bar...apparently they went back to a certain person's apartment for a make-out session (no names, you know who you are).

Nye's, stop #8. We ended the night at Nye's. Joy awarded the grand prizes to the best drinkers of the night...a huge 64 oz flask for the best guy drinker, and a "I Love Beer" t-shirt for the best girl. I poured myself into a cab at this point, but I understand those who stayed later also made a final stop...

At White Castle.

Creepy, The Update

So my neighbor Allie got home from her week-long cabin excursion. As we were chatting about her week and the fun she had with her family, she mentions that she called and talked to Tito (the creepy door-pounding psycho) on Wednesday. Our conversation went like this:

Allie: "Yeah, I talked to Tito at noon on Wednesday, and he was totally loaded. And apparently he stayed that way right on through Saturday. Who knows what the f*ck he got up to! But when I asked him about it, if he feels like he needs help, he insists he's fine and is going to quit drinking. Again. On his own. Yeah right." She's been down this road before, apparently.

Diane: "Not to throw fuel on the fire, and I debated on telling you this..."

Allie: "Oh sh*t."

Diane: "Yeah, Wednesday night he made a pass at me. Followed me into the house, kind of stood there blocking the entrance, until I got him to open up to let the cat out. And then he proceeded to pound on my door until like 1 in the morning. And he tried to get in the back door, I noticed the screen door shoved open the next morning when I left for work."

Allie: "I'm so sorry!"

Diane: "No, it's not your fault. But I wanted you to know that I was creeped out. And I told Tito that I was creeped out, the next morning when I saw him. He didn't seem to really get it; he seemed surprised when I told him. And although I didn't say this to him, I have to tell you, if it happens again, I'm going to call the cops."

Allie: "God, I'm so sorry. He gets like that, it's soooo not okay. I'm gonna ream his *ss when I see him. This is ridiculous; I've about had it with him. He needs to get something going in his life, not just stay here and work part-time and bother people and drink himself stupid."

So...we'll see what happens, if she asks him or tells him to move out, or what. For now, I'm not anxious to see him or talk to him, and I'm all about locking up tight when I'm home. I hate feeling like I can't even have my windows open downstairs during the day or evening, but safety first, right?

Creepy Experience

So I got home from Bar Bingo last night, and my neighbor's baby-daddy is hanging out on the patio. This is fairly normal experience, as he smokes and is not allowed to do so in the house. I've talked with Tito (real name Tim) off and on since he moved back in with my neighbor & their kid, just being friendly and what not. He's an interesting guy, had a lot of sh*t in his life, been to rehab a few times and whatnot. Anyway, normally a regular guy just trying to get his life together, I think.

Well, last night he was LOADED. Apparently, his baby-mama and baby are out of town at the family cabin, and he had the day off from his job at Caribou. So he drank. Alone. All day, as far as I could tell. Slurring words, not making much sense, etc. So I kind of gave up trying to chat with him, as it was late and he was trashed. I scooped up Pudder and went inside, bidding him good night. No sooner do I get inside then I turn around and he's coming inside...my house. And he shuts the door behind him and just kind of stands there, leaning up against the wall.

It was weird. I was suddenly very aware that I was alone with a super drunk guy, who is 6'4" and blocking the door. So I pick up my cell phone, all casual, and call Joy. "Hi Joy! Yep, I made it home from the bar. How's Lucy? Yeah, I'm going to let Pudder outside..." And I used this as a way to get Tito to open the door and get the f*ck out. So out we go again, and I let Puder roam around a bit. Then I gathered her back up, bid Tito good night again, and went inside. And quickly shut & locked the door, lest he think about coming in again.

Sure as sh*t, not 5 minutes later, I'm upstairs getting ready for bed and I hear the door handle downstairs rattling, then him knocking on the door. There is NO WAY I'm letting this guy in; I don't know what he wants, but I have an idea. NO WAY. So I don't do anything, thinking he'll stop. It's intermittent knocking and pounding for a while, then he stops. I hear him go inside his place, so I run downstairs and double check that all the doors and windows are shut and locked. Back upstairs I go, he returns to knock/pound some more. By now I'm texting Joy, like, "What do I do?"

Joy calls, we hold a whispered conversation, she reassures me I'll be fine, but if he keeps it up I should call the cops. I feel better.

Eventually the knocking stops, but I hear other noises. Sliding screen door opening, then steps. Where is he? On the balcony, the one off his son's bedroom that is 10 feet away from my bedroom window. CREEPY. But there's too much space; he can't climb in the window or anything. So I eventually fall asleep.

I get up this morning and go downstairs. The first thing I notice - the sliding screen on my own sliding glass door in back is ajar. Like someone tried to come in that way, only to find the glass door locked and the wood bar in place. I can only think Tito went around back and tried to get in that way. REALLY CREEPY.

Going out the door to work this morning, I was surprised to find Tito sitting on the patio. He'd just polished off a steak & egg breakfast - I asked how he was feeling, he said, "Surprisingly great!" I said, "So what was with you knocking on the door half the night last night?" Just put it out there, because dammit, he needs to know it isn't cool. He says, "I'm sorry about that - I don't know." I tell him it freaked me out, and he gets this surprised look on his face. He apologized again, and stated, "It won't happen again, ever, I promise." OK.

But I'm still keeping everything locked up tight. And I don't know if I should tell Allie (his baby mama) when she gets back from the cabin. I don't like being uncomfortable in my own home, and this totally creeped me out.

Thoughts??

Bingo, Bitches

So I've got a new thing. And it's surprising, because:

a) I don't like change.
b) It involves gambling.

My new thing: bar bingo. I often visit a nice little dive bar in NE Minneapolis (Spring Street Tavern!), along with good friends Joy & Phil. Well, as we visited, we realized that on Tuesdays, they play bar bingo. Joy and I were intrigued, so we went on a Tuesday (as opposed to our usual Wednesday) to see what it was all about.

Good times, that's what it is! You can sit and drink your cheap beer, BS with your friends, and play bingo, all at the same time!! Plus, Celebrity Family Feud is on, so if bingo is slow, you can watch that. It's cheap (only $1/game) and fun.

So then we started to go regularly, and found out that they play bar bingo at another nearby bar (The Vegas Lounge) on Mondays & Wednesdays, too! So this makes it even more available - for better or worse.

This week, I joined Joy & Phil on Wednesday for bar bingo. I arrived late as I was working late that night; upon arrival, I bought a card, and WON!! Crazy. Then, a few games later, I won AGAIN! All told, I think I won $58 that night, and I only played 4 or 5 games. Sweetness.

Now, those of you who know me know how I feel about gambling in general. After seeing how much money a certain person I know went through by hitting the casinos, I really struggled with anything resembling a game of chance. But I've started to think of it instead as a form of entertainment, one in which I spend a set amount, and when that's gone, I'm done. Similar to buying a movie ticket; I know what I'm going to spend ahead of time, and stick to it. Same goes with the bingo. And maybe that's where I differ from you-know-who; I stay within my limits. I have a figure in mind before going, and only bring that much cash with. I put boundaries up, and remain vigilant to those.

Anyway, it's a change in thinking, and action, for me, but I think it's good. No one issue is 100% good or bad; I've just seen gambling as such a bad thing overall that I didn't give it a chance to be a little bit good. And for $13/week in bingo cards, plus beer, I find myself spending less on coffee, books, & movies than usual. Is bingo actually saving me money? Perhaps.

On Wednesday, it certainly did!!