always double down on [eleven]

memorial day weekend found me attending the las vegas bachelor party of my future brother-in-law, along with 10 of his closest friends.

to say i had apprehension would be an understatement. las vegas is an insane city, and to walk it's streets with 9 people i didn't know at all had me little nervous.  were these guys gamblers? party-ers? crazy? or worse yet, lame or boring?  i had no idea what to expect, and wasn't thrilled about making that discovery while on the strip.

luckily my sister is marrying a great guy, with great friends.  upon meeting them it took a whopping 15 minutes before i could tell we would all get along.  an hour later it was like i was on vacation with my friends.  we lounged by the hotel pool, gambled in old vegas, ate an amazing buffet, golfed, and found a wonderful dive karaoke bar that kept us singing until 8am.

completely out of season, there's a quote from "it's a wonderful life," that says, "no man is a failure who has friends."  if that's true, then i came back from vegas a rich guy, as i now have nine new friends.

if not..

i'm down about $160.

[winters] extra innings

like most of the midwest, winter seemed to drag it's snow covered feet leaving this year.  it seemed most of the normal activities of april and may were put on hold due to the unseasonably cold weather. my blogging included.

thankfully the spring weather has returned, along with all the normal seasonal activities. so bring on the grilling, the vintage bike riding, the patio sitting, the ice cold beer drinking, the sun basking, the baseball watching, the blogging about pointless subjects and local activities.

play ball.

love on [shock]

last saturday was an amazing day for wichita.  our local college played in the ncaa final four game, something the city hasn't seen since 1965.  walking around town this weekend was almost unreal.  everyone was in such a great mood.  i've never seen our city so positive and full of pride.  nearly every single person could be found wearing black and yellow in support of wsu.  for the first time, at least in my opinion, the city was unified, in the same way college towns are, and it was a great feeling.

following the tournament,i absolutely loved how the team was described.  they were the underdogs, the cinderella's.  the team defying the odds and busting the brackets.  the team that came out of nowhere to surprise everyone.  even though they lost the game, i hope the team realizes what they did for the city. they gave us some much needed civic pride, and helped shed a wonderful and positive light on our town for the few days we were in the national spotlight.  for a brief moment, we had what all cities crave, uniqueness.

as a fan of this town, i'd like to think the attributes used to describe wsu's basketball team also define our city. we can defy the odds, we can do anything.  we have the ability to shock and surprise people. we do in fact have a wonderful community filled with talent. we have a lot to offer and can compete with larger cities. the pride gained these past few weeks gave our city all the wonderful side effects that happen when people love the community they're living in.

i hope that feeling sticks around for a bit because it looks really good on wichita.

i would do anything for [loaf]

 

if you've followed this blog for a a while, you are well aware i participate in the dark, underground, and highly elusive sport known as competitive meatloaf-ing...meatloaf club if you will.  the first rule of meatloaf club is you do not talk about meatloaf club, the second rule; you do not talk about meatloaf club!

that being said, i really have to tell you about this year!

over the past four years i've become somewhat of a grizzled veteran in the whole wichita underground meatloaf scene.  i laugh when i look back at how young and naive i was in 2010, a fresh loaf fighter right of of the kitchen with a traditional style loaf, never having tasted the oven baked goodness of a victory.  then came 2011, i was older, wiser...hungrier for a win, and i found myself starting to experiment with performance enhancing spices and ingredients.  it's still under investigation how much the "dill" had to do with it, but that "experimental" year found me taking home my first win, "peoples choice."  however the "top loaf" prize still escaped me.  i don't want to talk about 2012.  i had a big ego, i thought i was too good, i thought i no longer needed to train or prepare, i thought i could waltz in and win the hearts of the judges with the same loaf as 2011.  i was sorely mistaken, not only did i not win any prize, i had serious thoughts of throwing in the dish towel.

after a few months away from the game, my head cleared.  i had learned my lesson, and the utter defeat i had felt last year now only fueled my oven fires hotter.  the last 12 months were spent thinking, tasting, suggesting, reading, learning, training, and google-ing trying to find the perfect combination of flavors that would melt the hearts of the judges and public alike.  after a few recipes and one very excellent trial run, i had it, a brand new meatloaf never before seen at this competition...maybe even america. i, along with my trusty companion, my mom, had something new, something different, something america never new it always wanted; a blue cheese and peppercorn meatloaf.

the competition was grueling, forks flung, spatulas sparred and tongs tussled but i knew i had a chance.  why you ask, because i saw the look on the peoples face when i told them the sample i had just dished them was a blue cheese and peppercorn meatloaf.  their eyes sparkled and their mouths watered. one old man starting crying.  granted, i'm not sure if it was from my description or if he had his own things going on, but there was crying.  none the less it proved my theory had been correct.  over the course of the year, i  had noticed millions upon millions of menus across this country featured dishes covered with blue cheese. why? because people love it, they crave it. they want it on everything, but until today there had been one thing they had never had it on, meatloaf.  as i handed them the sample, it was easy to see, they realized their blue cheese ship had finally come in to meatloaf harbor.

the hours passed by and the plates slowly emptied and before i knew it the judges were ready to announce their decision.  the reading of the results were a bit of a blur, but in the end, out of 12 teams, mostly consisting of local restaurants, i came in third.  although it wasn't first place, i was very honored.  if that wasn't enough, when the people's votes were tallied, 2013 would also find me me reclaiming my title as "people's choice" which i was very thankful for as well.  as always, i couldn't have accomplished this without the support and help of my family and friends.  thank you all.

now, with the coveted "top loaf" prize well within striking distance, i want it even more.  i don't know exactly what it'll be but expect something new and exciting for 2014.

[cue rocky theme]

what is [architecture]?

last week i had the opportunity to do something i’ve wanted to do for a while, host a trivia night.

now this wasn’t your normal trivia night, one of my friends who is in charge of the aia emerging professionals, wanted to put together a trivia night for all the young architects in town.  as an added bonus we invited the local graphic designers to participate as well.  not only did this keep our group from “geeking” out the entire night over architecture, but it mixed in some new and interesting facts.

talking with everyone who attend, the night was a huge success.  a good time was had by all and several new friendships were made.  thinking most people who follow this blog are into architecture or design, i thought i’d share a few of the questions, and see if anyone new the answers.

- who said, "less is more"

-what famous los angeles building is featured in the last scene of "500 days of summer."

-how many pica in 1 inch

-what is the name given to carved, full length female figures used like columns in classical architecture.

-name the four colors in process printing.

-how many square feet are in one acre.

congratulations to the winning team picture above in the first annual archi-design-trivia night.