Adam and Holly are Engaged

Some friends of mine got engaged this weekend (doesn't Adam look excited?!?!?!). It was Holly's birthday and everyone figures they said, "well, we might as well... it's been eight years." Hooray!! It's another wedding!!

Frozen GAYBC

For a history/explanation of the GAYBC click here.

We rode Bull Mountain yesterday in the freezing cold. We knew it was "freezing cold" because we rode through several frozen puddles near the summit and in the shade. (For another interesting story about biking in GA, see AJ's Blog about the Silver Comet Trail.)

We wanted to get an early start since it was Sunday and we wanted to get back for the family style Low Country Boil at Matt and Mr. Vit-One's place. So we were off at 9:00.... which turned into 9:45. That's OK though, because there's hardly any traffic on GA 400 on a Sunday morning. When we parked at the trailhead at 10:15 it was in the 30's or low 40's with some wind. I was a bit concerned since it was in the mid-upper 40's when we left Atlanta (I forgot about altitude and weather patterns and whatnot). I only had my half-finger gloves, but Ali and Drew had some extras (thank goodness for fleece). Before too long though, the fleece gloves were too hot and we stopped for some clothing removal.

It was a beautiful day for a ride. I think North Georgia is an underrated destination for outdoorsy stuff. The views were fantastic now that there are no leaves on the trees. Though the lack of leaves on the trees make for a lot more leaves on the ground which hide the odd obstacle from eyes, but not wheels. It's always an adventure when you are cruising downhill at a good clip and you find yourself in mid-air thinking, "Now why was it I thought this speed was appropriate?"

We were the only people on the trail, so there was nobody to annoy with our silly Mountain biker antics, like Ali and Mr. Vit-One's incessant bickering about yelling, "ON YOUR RIGHT!!!" when passing the guy with headphones. I think they could have been a bit more subtle, but that's definitely not either of their styles.

The Low County Boil was good too. We were pretty wiped out, but back home by 3:30, and eating by 6:00. My mom developed an allergy to shellfish at some point... I am in constant prayer that I never inherit that because the shrimp and crab were SO good.

It's the holidays

Time for the holiday spirit, but sadly still no gift for Julie. I'm beginning to think I will need a professional gift consultant to help me out. Only two weeks to go!

We spent Saturday doing holiday prep work. With the family holiday schedules not compatible, we are staying here in Atlanta. Perhaps we'll make some new friends and cook a turkey or something. Ran to Lowes for a tree and some trimming; put up said tree with a bit of hard work to drag it into the house; and then went to the work holiday party and saw (perhaps) the worst ventriloquist in the world.

All in all, not a bad Saturday.

Matt got Dru-Unk

Last night I played in an Emory Alumni game against current students. It was pretty fun, if a bit cold. Matt was supposed to come too, but he was out with B-school buddies in Decatur. He was too drunk to drive at 8:00 when we started, so he didn't make it out. The alums did pretty well for only having 8 players and not having played together. We outscored the young'uns pretty handily. They were definitely enthusiastic and ran a whole lot... just didn't have the throws and catches that come with old age muscle memory.

After the game we went and grabbed some kabobs... (I'll skip the mediocre kabob review) and went our merry ways. I figured Matt may need a designated driver wherever he was, so I called him up. Some random woman named Karen answered and demanded that I bring hot single men over to the bar: A definite sign that Matt would need not only a ride but also rescuing. Upon arrival at the brick store, I was met by a scene of total chaos (at one table). It was about 11:40 and the restaurant was mostly quiet, save for the table of seven making a scene and generally carrying on as we tend to do when the beer gets the better of us. Matt was delighted to see me as far as I could tell. His words were somewhat slurred, but I think he conveyed general happiness upon my arrival. I then had some pretty darned funny conversations with drunk people I don't know at all.

My new friend Carol is married, here's how I found out:
Carol: "We've been arguing about Martha!" (Matt's Girlfriend)
Me: "What have you been saying?"
Carol: "Matt is such a great guy!"
Me: "Oh, so you've been saying, 'come on Matt, she'll never know, let's just run to the car for a few minutes, she's cool, we will be fast,' or something to that effect?"
Carol: "Ha ha ha, I'm married, happily married, they have good beer here!"
Me: "Carol, you just dropped your wedding set under the bar. That was the fastest anyone's ever thrown their wedding rings at me."
Carol: "You're funny, you should meet my husband. I love Matt's friend Stu, he's over there at that table with the grey hair. I'm a big fan."
Me: "Yeah, that's a wig." Carol: "Oh MY GOD Really?"
Me: "No, not really, he's just older than you and I, and sometimes that happens to hair."
Carol: "I like you, you're funny."

Here's the second and last conversation I ever had with my new friend Carol:
Matt and Carol were talking near the table and had their backs to me. They must have been talking about marriage because she turned around and said....
Carol: "Don't be afraid of the whole....."
Me: "What?"
Carol: "Don't be afraid of the whole...."
Me: "I'm not afriad of the hole, I love the hole."
Carol: "No, the whole.... don't be afraid of the whole..."
Me: "Are you kidding, I love the hole, I think it's great, everyone should love it."
Matt: "Which hole? The regular hole?"
Carol: "We're starting a 365-day anniversary e-mail club!!"
NOTE: Clearly Carol had been drinking. But I must say, this is a new level of random. I like it.

... and the night continued like that for the whole fifteen minutes that I was at that restaurant. One of the waitresses also congratulated Matt on "the best fall I've ever seen in this place." Apparently, Matt was leaning back in his chair and CRASH, down he went, feet in the air, flat on his back. That happened before my arrival, sorry I missed it.

So, I parked Matt's car where it (hopefully) won't get towed, and drove his slurring, falling down ass home where he proceeded to dive into the bushes and fall down the stairs... kind of his signature move.

What to get for X-Mas.... X-Men??

I've told all my co-workers about the inmate who called up and called me a fuck-boy. They all laughed pretty hard. I'm now known as 'fuck boy.' What a flattering name.

Tuesdays are indictment days. That's when the Grand Jury meets and puts out a list of people they'd like to see behind bars. It's a day full of both anticipation (if you remember it's Tuesday) and/or dread (if your case is in front of the grand jury). Mostly, it's just Tuesday.

Some co-workers asked me what I'm getting for Julie this year... truth is, I have no idea. Jackie said to get jewels, but Craig said to get some Fry Boots (whatever those are?). I thought he said fried boots, to which I said, "Those would taste aweful."

I'm hoping someone can post in the comments what I should get for Julie becuase I am at a loss.

Help.

The Incident of the BONG

One funny little Thanksgiving anecdote I forgot: The BONG.

I went walking the dog with the mom and dad inlaws on Saturday morning. They live out in the country in Northern Virginia (which is like Virginia, but more Northern, you know? But for gosh sake, don't compare it to West Virginia, or all of Virginia will have a hissy fit). They also live on a dirt road near a lot of farm land. Very nice area, lovely little country church at the end of the road with a revolutionary war era cemetary.

Anyway, mom-in-law likes to take a plastic bag on the dog walks and pick up trash along their dirt road. There are usually the odd beer can and cracker wrapper tossed carelessly from the back of pick-ups as they speed down the winding gravel. Sometimes she finds some gems though. That particular Saturday she came up from the undergrowth with a green glass bong. As she was emerging from the tangled brush she exclaimed, "Oh look, a crack pipe!" That made me giggle and say, "not crack, exactly." Dad-in-law had a chuckle too for he may have seen a bong once in his life too. (I've only read about them in books of course. There was also that episode of The Facts of Life where Tutti hears about bongs from the college kids and brings some home for all the girls... Mrs. Garrett was pretty mad about that and they all learned a life lesson.) Anyway, I convinced mom-in-law to pretend she thought it was a vase and to give it to Julie as a present. I thought that would be spectacularly funny.

The thing about mom-in-law is that she is the classic "girl from Kansas." She's Mrs. Midwest Wife (though she is also a CFO of a government contracting company). So, she's all about the 'hints from Heloise" and the "How to keep your dried flowers looking fresh all year round" books. This made the bong incident so funny in my mind. Imagine the girl from Kansas with a bong in her hand... "look at this odd vase honey, what a clever little bud vase they have built into the side!" Maybe you have to know her to thing this would be funny, or maybe you have to have an off sense of humor like me.

So, she carried the "vase" home and put some plastic flowers in it. She even put a small sprig of flowers coming out the hole in the side. That was pretty funny. Julie's sister just thought it was an odd vase. Julie recognized it, but sadly she didn't seem to be as amused as I was. Overall, the whole thing was very funny in my mind, but of course, funny is in the eye of the beholder.

Even GAYBC'er

Mr. Vit-one got an Ice Purple Big Sur today..... he's making the GAYBC what it should be in our most fabulous dreams.

New Addition to the GAYBC

There is a new baby in the family. It's a beautiful purple addition to the GAYBC... and it's a twin! I got a great birthday present from Julie this week. It's a 2005 Gary Fisher 'Big Sur' mountain bike. It also happens to be the same bike that Ali bought just a little while ago. When the 2006 bikes came out, the price dropped on the 2005 s so we jumped on it and saved a few hundred bucks. I just got it yesterday, so I have yet to hit the trails. It's been a bit chilly too, but I'm braving the cold and heading out this weekend to break it in.

How the GAYBC got it's name: Originally there was a one-man bike club. It was Ali and Ali alone. Then, some of us started borrowing bikes and riding with Ali. Then, Nick was the first to buy a bike and start going on the rides. This was followed closely by Drew and Matt who each also bought a bike. It just so happens that they bought the exact same bike as Nick, so there were three matching bikes (of different sizes) in the club. This prompted the name GAYBC. Why? Well, it was a bike club, and it seemed a bit queer to have all matching bikes. Next, Ali got his new Big Sur (in "Ice Purple" the 2005 model color). But when Nick was in New Zealand he sold his matching bike. So, we were left with two matches and one odd ball. So, in order to keep the GAYBC alive, I was nearly obligated to get an Ice Purple Big Sur. So, now we have two sets of matching bikes. The next new bike on the list will be Nick as he has to replace the old one. He's seriously considering the Ice Purple Big Sur (it's quite a deal you know). So, as soon as he gets that we'll be three and two, GAYBC FOREVER!! :)

Criminals Calling, Do We Reach You?

I just got a call from jail.... here's what he said:

"You a fuck boy"

Is that bad?