Shippin' up to Boston

I am about to make a return to the banks of the River Charles. That dirty water is calling my name, beckoning me East. How can I refuse? Thursday I depart for Bean town, on my way to sights, sounds, beeahs, and cheeahs. I was there at the end of May (that is where I would have a link to a blog I wrote about that trip but since I didn't have a blog then, I'll reference my boy Shawn's post about the trip here) and I had an awesome time. I think everybody in the entire town knew that I had an AWESOME time. We will be attending a game at Fenway. It will be my 2nd game (2nd game at Fenway vs. the Mariners too) at the historic ball park which means until the game I've seen more concerts there then ballgames. The scouting report on 4th of July activities in Boston is pretty good, phenomenal actually. Plus my boy Addy (host of the weekend) has bunk beds. We are going to get so much more activities done. So there's that little story, now let's move on before I start quoting any more Will Ferrell.

This last weekend my roommate moved out of our apartment and into a brand spankin' new house. My massive muscles were of course needed in order to make the transition a smooth and enjoyable one. I was compensated with pizza and beer. I'd say it is some of the best tasting compensation I've received in my lifetime. Now my apartment has a lone recliner placed directly in front of the now non-HDTV. (Tangent: Only until one watches HDTV exclusively for an extended period does one realize that regular TV is not an option any longer. Same goes for DVR usage. I can't stand commercials anymore. I start watching baseball games 30 minutes after 1st pitch so I can fast forward through the commercials and still watch the end of the game right about when it's happening in real time. Needless to say an HDTV is next on the list of things to buy.) Now if I have anyone over, they are either going to sit on my lap or the floor. Hopefully the former. I could buy a couch, but I am putting that off until I move out of that shit hole in September. Breckenridge Apartments is not high on my list of 'Greatest Places to Live'. In a un-related story Breckenridge Apartments is very high on the 'Omaha's Most Overly Expensive Apartments with Very Little Square-footage and Terrible Tenant Satisfaction' list.

Here's a little interaction we had on Saturday while we were moving things into the U-Haul. A girl wanders in to our apartment and introduces herself. The dialogue is below. It doesn't factor in to why my apartment sucks. I just thought it was funny.

Random Girl: (enthusiastically) Hi!! I'm in a contest to see how many people I can meet. Can I meet you guys?
Me: (just as enthusiastic) Sure! Why not? I'm Dustin and this is Ryan.
Random Girl: I'm Holly. Are you guys moving out? That's too bad. How long have you lived here? Can I give you a high five? What's that scar on your shoulder from? Do you want to buy some magazines and help me get points that will win me a trip to Greece where I will learn another language and/or win lots of money?
Me: Yeah, let's do it. (Ryan turns her off and goes back to moving stuff)
Holly: Well here, take a look at which magazines you can subscribe to. (I begin looking) Where are you from? Minnesota? COOL! Why did you move here? Awesome! (Insert 20 more questions here that kept distracting me from what I was looking at.) So, how many subscriptions can I put you down for? Three, four, or five? And how many years? Two or three?
Me: Um, I was thinking only one, for one year. ESPN the Magazine.
Holly: Are you sure? I don't get as many points if you only do one. Okay then write down your name and address on this form. What's your last name? Oh that's a cool last name.
Me: Sure....
Holly: Well let's shake hands. (while shaking) There is a handling fee. Now I just need you to review this order form and write down your credit card information.
Me: $71 for a year?
Holly: Yeah you get weekly issues! It's only $1 an issue.
Me: I didn't think ESPN had weekly issues. I couldn't even read that many issues. I struggled reading it when I had the monthly issue subscription.
Holly: I'll come over and read it to you!
Me: That's okay. I think I just won't subscribe.
Holly: Okay let's just do one that is less expensive. How about Men's Fitness?
Me: Nah, I don't read that.
Holly: Okay well then let's donate a subscription. We can do a less expensive one and send it to a children's hospital. Which one do you want to do?
Me: What would a children's hospital need with Men's Fitness? They are all sick and probably can't read. I don't want to donate a subscription.
Holly: (realizing that I am not buying and looking at me like I just ran over her dog) Well what are you going to do then? C'mon, it's only $36. You said you wanted to help me go on my trip.
Me: That's alright. I think I'm going to pass.
Holly: (enthusiasm long gone, gathering her pad and pen) Well, thanks for wasting my time.
Me: You're welcome (she exits in silence and knocks on the next door 10 feet away....boom! right back into enthusiastic Holly).

Some may have turned her off right away, like my roommate did. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I like to let them sell me. Sometimes I like to give them false hope before smashing their dreams. I'll let you decide which this was. I want to be sold. I want you to tell me why it is the sweetest magazine subscription ever and why I should give a crap about your trip. I may just agree that it is the best deal on earth. But for $71 a year that magazine better be able to tell the future. Incidentally, unless she forgot to mention that fact, it couldn't.

PS I went to something called Limestone Days in Weeping Water, NE this weekend and witnessed Donkey Polo. Here's my description of Polo: rich guys riding on horses playing croquet. Here's my description of Donkey Polo: anyone who wants to, riding on a donkey, getting bucked off while trying to hit a big bouncy ball between two buckets at either end of a 20 by 40 foot pen. The donkeys don't take direction well. There are actually big farmer guys in the pen pushing the donkeys so they actually kind of move in the right direction. Good stuff.

Omaha and me

Well this is my first post on my first blog. It's a little weird. Who is going to read this? Only time will tell. Let me start off with a little background info on yours truly. I have just finished my 1st year in the working world as an engineer in Omaha. So far, it's been a crazy ride. I'm originally a Minnesota boy so I moved here knowing a grand total of 5 people. 3 of those 5 are my Uncle, cousin, and his wife. The other 2 are my roommate and his girlfriend, with whom I went to college. In just a short year's time, I've managed to spread my wings and meet all sorts of cool people, mostly through fellow co-workers. I feel like I've conquered the Omaha scene and feel a little more like a local. Let's break down the pros and cons of Omaha as I see them after a year's evaluation:

Pros
-I have a job that pays
-The winters are weak sauce compared to the Great White North
-I work with some good people
-I have climbed out of a moster credit card debt hole
-Husker games and CWS right in my backyard
-DMB played in my backyard also (that never would happen in B-town)
-The golf season is more than 1 month long

Cons
-My job isn't technically a Chemical Engineering job
-The summers are 1000% more humid compared to the Great White North
-No pro sports teams in the city (hello 4-5 hour drives to games, you seem familiar)
-No Twins baseball on TV (unless you spring for MLB extra innings on an impulse buy, oops?)
-No Wild hockey on TV
-My best friends don't live here
-8 hour drive to Bemidji or $400 flight that may circle Paul and Babe before going back to MSP.
-No real lakes or Star Island

Like anything in life, you have to take the good with the bad. So there it is. Just a single guy livin' the dream without a care in the world. Watch out Omaha, year 2 can only get better.