Yesterday, Jon & the family were nice enough to call us for a visit and ask if we had errands to run. Originally, I just planned to walk to some nearby shops, but instead we took advantage of this opportunity. Fast forward to a trip to an Appliance Outlet to look at washer/dryers (we’ve been able to go 2 weeks without doing laundry and still have fresh undies, which either means we have a lot of underwear or we aren’t wearing any…you can decide). Then we realized we better take measurements of the stairwell, elevator and utility closet before purchasing a machine that might end up sitting out in the back parking lot where we would just stare at it from our living room window.

Next we tried to find a non-existent home store on the south side of town, and when that did not pan out we headed to Ikea instead. 4 hours later we left Ikea!!! FOUR hours! Mind you we did eat when we first arrived. Jon and Jeff LOVE, and I mean LOVE, the meatballs there. Since the coke sucks, we had beers instead. Have I mentioned I love Ikea? Then the journey through the endless halls of Ikea began.

We started by going against the flow of traffic. I do not recommend this technique. It is dangerous. We only made it through the kids section and part of the storage area, before we took the short cut to the start. Much safer. Hours later, we had selected a shoe storage bench, a duvet and cover for guests (hint, hint!), tupperware, oven mit, and who knows what else-it’s all foggy now. By the time we left, the guys were ready to kill somebody. Marcus had one meltdown and then promptly fell asleep. I had to sign and speak garbled French and English to the cashier to take off the bowls which somehow ended up being 5 euro/each instead of 1.50. We were all drained. And the scariest part is that since unpacking things today, I realize we still need stuff from Ikea!! AAAhhhhhh!!!

The goal for next time – borrow the car so Jon doesn’t have to be tortured again. Only take Jeff for heavy lifting and so there is room to pull down the backseat and I can finally buy my full length mirror, instead of dressing in our elevator:-) Have a list and stick to it! Then maybe we won’t need to spend 4 hours there. And some day we might finally be settled.

Anyways, we’ve (I’ve) moved out of the apartment in Amstelveen and am temporarily located in Belgium at Jon & CJ’s. I’ve got a room to myself, and only have to baby-sit Marcus for a couple days next week or the wk after. (I forget which.) It shouldn’t be too big of a deal, except I’ve never had to change diapers or feed the kid. Other than that, smooth sailing is expected. (Just kidding. I’m sure the pooping of diapers will send me into a panic. Good thing they’ve already hired their babysitter to cover during the day while I ‘work’, Jon is at work and CJ is in Singapore for work. Good thing they understand that ‘working from home’ isn’t (usually) a euphenism for ‘watching TV while co-worker’s 4500 miles away are productive.’

I move into the new place in the heart of Amsterdam August 3rd. Those of you that want the address (and that I haven’t emailed it to yet) can email us for it at your leisure. (This means that I may have forgotten people and emailing me reminds me that 1. people read this blog, and 2. I’m getting old and forgetting people.)

That should do it for now. If you’re thinking of us, we thank you, because we’re thinking of you. Hell, even if you’re not thinking of us, we’re still thinking about (and missing) all our friends back home, and are grateful for the love and support are friends and family have sent our way.

Ok, time for another late-night beer. I’ll get all the sleep I need when Staci comes back I get old the Rebels defeat the Empire CJ makes me take care of Marcus.

Like the Buckeyes, we traveled to a distant location for this game, though unlike the Buckeyes, it was a friendly field (Jon & CJ’s in Belgium.) Following the concert, we stayed with them. We awoke at the crack of 10A for Kegs & Eggs. Yup, Kegs & Eggs, and the beer wasn’t shitty Milwaukee’s Best or Bud Light. We started the morning with Jon making some bacon and eggs just like they do at the campus bars: cold and tasteless, while enjoying some Stellas. CJ didn’t, as she seemed it was important or necessary or something to remain sober for the sake of their 10mth old son, Marcus. (They’re coddling this kid. Hows he every going to make it if he doesn’t learn to do things for himself.)

After breakfast, there was more enjoying of Stellas, and some food prep. Jon made chili (real & vegetarian) and cornbread which were a hit, though I didn’t have any. (I don’t think they told me when it was served. They say I was drunk and just chose not to eat, but that doesn’t sound like me.)

After finishing the food prep and straightening up a little in preparation for the guests later that afternoon, some Beer Pong was in order. (Keep in mind it’s ~2:30P, Jon & I have only had some bacon & eggs and we’re drinking Stella Artois, which is 5.2% alcohol, and have been since ~10A.) After a couple of games that I let Jon win at since it was his house, we slowed things down a little (read: finished a fresh beer and held off on a new game for ~30min ) to wait for some guests to arrive. Jon’s friend Icaro was first. He decided to root for Michigan to be contrarian. (He also likes to suck at golf, because being good doesn’t suit him.) Upon his arrival, more Beer Pong was played.

To be honest, by the time the game rolled around, I had switched to Captain & Coke and my actual recollections of the game vary from “This is boring” (~3min in) to “When did we score?” (right before halftime) to “When did we score again? Michigan scored? When?” (mid-3rd quarter) to “Hey the Buckeyes won!” and not remembering anything else the rest of the night (end of the game.) In my head, the evening ended immediately after the final gun. According to Staci and everybody else but Jon (who was in the same shape I was in) the night didn’t end for another 2hrs+, and included more Beer Pong. I would try and refute this, but cell phone logs and pictures seem to concur their claims. I say the evidence is inconclusive and is still under investigation.

So there we have one recollection from the 2007 Ohio State/Michigan game. I had a good time, the Buckeyes won, and most importantly I had a good time. (Yes, I said that twice. It’s the most important.) GO BUCKS!

We arrived at the arena and grabbed some €2 Stellas (love cheap, good beer) and headed inside, thinking we were catching the end of the opening act. Wrong. We were catching the beginning of Silversun Pickups. Oops. Oh well, it was most likely their first song, so it wasn’t a huge issue. We found some seats in the upper level, drnak our beers and settled in for a good performance. Nothing spectacular visually, but then again, thats not what we were expecting anyways. This wasn’t that type of show. Basically we just wanted to hear them play some good music, and they didn’t disappoint.

A side note: Silversun Pickups’ bass player seemed to be having seizures throughout the set. Not really, but her awkward, no-rhythm “dancing” sure made it seem that way. Thank god she’s not paid to dance, and it didn’t seem to effect her playing, but it was a little hard not to laugh. Think Elaine Benes from Seinfeld, though no kicks or thumbs-up motions.

The Kaiser Chiefs were a tremendous surprise to me. I’d heard of a few of their songs on the radio from their two albums, but hadn’t really thought much of them either way. I liked a couple of the songs, but most of them I wouldn’t would give a passing thought to after hearing them.

The week before the show I started listening to their latest album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, and really liked it, but only a couple of songs really grabbed my attention. I never got around to listening to Unemployment (their first album), though. Too distracted with work projects. However, their live show changed all that. They came out and played with great energy, even though it was the last date of the European leg of their tour. The crowd was really into it, singing along and just having a good time. I kept being surprised when they would play songs that I knew from the radio, and I kept thinking, “They sing this?”

Final verdict: It was a good time for me and my whole family. I was really impressed with both bands, and the night was a lot of fun. A good way to start Ohio State/Michigan weekend.