My blog n'at

I need to smile more. Jesus I didn’t realize it until I saw this pic and this was the best one out of the series on my webcam I just shot.

I wonder how long I can grow a beard until I wake up and find that someone shaved it off? At least let me make some designs first.

What’s with that funky eye thing from my glasses? I need to get new glasses or contact. Probably depend if I play softball this year what I’ll get.

Dropping pounds. Not from some great miracle diet unless you count sleeping in 2hr spurts a diet. Let my kids sleep over for a couple weeks and you can be as dashing as myself. If anything it making me cranky. Yes, cranky.

I bought a couple books today. I hate reading but something compelled me when I listened to the author speak. I never impulse buy. I did today. Books will be posted when they get here.

Did you ever notice the people that bitch most about how they hate the high school drama on social media sites are always the ones causing it? Even funnier is when they drag fantasy land into the real world and spend all of their time offline talking about what happened online. Watch out I might blog about it. Err wait. And people wonder why TV soap operas are dying *sheesh*

You thought all those D&D kids from grade school were freaks. They’re the ones building the apps right now you can’t stop using. Suckers!

I’ve paid attention more to the debates recently not because I want answers but because I want to see who’s going to get choke-slammed by Newt next. He probably won’t win the nomination because people are still too sensitive but man he’d be a bad ass. At the end of the day though my vote in November will go to Stephen Colbert.

If the biggest drama in your young life is if you should have kids now or later,  my advice is to wait until you’re 30. You’re obviously not ready to handle the mindscrew they lay on you so enjoy your 20′s. Just wait until there are 2 of them.

Want or need? The most annoying thing old people, especially my mom, say to me is “Do you NEED it or do you WANT it?” when it comes to making purchases. I have a feeling this has the legs for a good post subject. One that I NEED and WANT.

Late today I got the great news that this big project I’ve been stressing over got the green light to launch days earlier than expected. To celebrate I’m going to be the celebrity judge at a wine competition tomorrow night. Wrap your noodle around that one. Little know fact, I like wine… Franzia, thanks to Griff.

I have a couple more brew kits coming my way and I just need to pick out the yeast. Be afraid.

Looking forward to hanging with various groups of friends I haven’t seen in almost 6months. There will be bowling, mexican food and tequila involved. This can’t end well.

cheers!

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When I wrote the “2012: realistic” post I wasnt sure what was going to happen next. I knew what I wanted to start doing but getting there was a mystery. Someone I follow on twitter said she was “streamlining life” and cleaning up her followers. While it may sound crazy, social media has become a key part of the daily life of people.

Organizing the mess
Over the MLK day 3-day weekend, and thanks to finally having a full night of sleep, the organizing bug crawled up our butts and we got to work. Monday I heard a faint cry for help coming from the basement. I went downstairs to find someone had put them self into a corner from falling boxes.

The day was spent with a solid 7 hours in the basement cleaning out junk that moved with us and damn did it feel refreshing. Granted I still have the stuff that Capt. Obvious left here when we moved in but now we have a floor! The Christmas and holiday decorations are in one section, summer and spring have a shelf and an area was reserved for things we still need to go through (mostly photos and things we were too lazy to sort when moving). I’ll still need at least 1 more solid day of it but we are SO close to being done.

The boxes we did go through furnish pictures that I haven’t seen before or forgot that we had. Plenty of wedding items I forgot about and some childhood memories that I didn’t even realize came with me. There’s still a whole shelf of those boxes I haven’t gone through yet and not sure if I should. No one wants to see me in 6th grade  That picture above was when we first moved in almost 2 years ago. The pile has doubled since with a couple holidays and birthdays under our belts plus there are boxes from 2007 in there.

The garbage men hate us. When they came this week we had a mountain of boxes and junk waiting for them. While the next load wont be as bad, it will be heavy. I have some cement and wood that need to find a home.

To finish off our day we upgraded Teaspoon’s room. He’s had a single bed for over a year but now we put the headboard on and raised it up a little bit. I’ve also started hanging framed sports photos in his room which once were in my room. Feels kinda cool seeing him appreciating the same things you did.

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Welcome to my hell and where I have been the last 2-3 weeks. Shortly after turning 1 my youngest spiraled into teething hell. You’d think I would have remembered what it was like with Teaspoon but obviously I blocked it out of my mind.

Those without children have already chimed in about giving the kid hard liquor or Tylenol to which I twitch and look at them funny. If there is even a picture of liquor around a kid you have some freaky freak calling youth services on your ass.

The picture is a few months old but shows perfectly how almost every waking hour has been. At first the teeth would come in slowly and them BOOM 8-10! Its like the kid was on some growth hormone and man was he pissed.

Thankfully he’s starting to chill out and after weeks of us averaging 2-4hrs of sleep a night we’re close to making it a full night.

We’re on the dawn of our next fight. He hates his crib and refuses to sleep in it. Someone get me the duct tape…

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The inaugural Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is now official! Logos and a webpage make things official right? To say I’m psyched for this is a bit of an understatement as I’ve been involved on one of the planning teams for a few months. To see this growing from a small idea to what it is now, is incredible!

Last night was a who’s who of craft beer in Pittsburgh at one of the major planning meetings.  You should see more info coming soon on the website and also details of the newly created Pittsburgh Craft Beer Alliance  (which has already said to be “like a drunkard Justice League”). The week will be April 20-28, 2012 and will feature Pittsburgh finest craft breweries and craft beer restaurants.

Pittsburgh has an incredible food and drink scene that we want the world (and all of yinz) to explore.

That’s all I can tell you for now. In the meantime click the links below to connect with PCBW and if you’re on twitter start following the #pcbw tag.

Website: http://pittsburghcraftbeerweek.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pghcraftbeerweek
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PGH_BeerWeek

cheers!

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I’ve written this about 4 times now so we’ll see how this will turn out. I realized in the previous drafts that I’ve lost my tolerance for stupidity and that I have a lot of built up anger towards people constantly telling me what they think I should do and that if I disagree its my views that are uneducated.

Its time to cut those people loose.

I took some time to myself (in between the kids fighting) to think about why I was always overwhelmed and exhausted. The answer turned out to be that I spread myself way too thin again and I need to stop. I have a problem saying “no” when asked to take something on and I need to start. I need to get organized if I want to get control of everything again. I don’t have time for SIDT like I wish I did. Making time to do more than working full time and being a dad is increasingly difficult so I need to write down what’s on my plate and refocus my energy. I also need to quit bringing my day job home with me.

I need to take a weekend away from the family and all the hectic things in my life and go figure out what I want to do.  Not a “where do I want to be in 5 years” but more of “what needs to be done personally and professionally.” My social media presence needs a new direction, my servers and sites need consolidated/reorganized and overall I need to make time for myself. Someone in this house  is working every day of the week so its very easy to feel overwhelmed.

2012 has started and i’m already feeling behind

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But not in July. I took a well deserved break from the interwebs and focused on work and my family.

August 2011
I sat down with Pitt Girl… err Jane Pitt… err Ginny and gave her a quick education on craft beer while we mocked each other for 2 hours at Bocktown. It appeared in her August column in Pittsburgh Magazine.

September 2011
I drank a box of Franzia. I provided, served the beer and attended Podcamp Pittsburgh 6 briefly and made the most out of the after party in true SIDT fashion which included tailgating the party. The Teaspoon Project took shape and also forced me to buy a new digital camera. Craft Pittsburgh had a nice spot of us in their latest issue. I had Dave’s Hot n Juicy in my mouth. Yes, I’m still giggling over it.

October 2011
I planned and executed the perfect homecoming concert with the help of 76F weather and Scott Blasey playing a standing room only show. Hockey season started which lead me to eating a $12.50 burger. The infamous (That means more than famous, Dusty) Jim Lokay said farewell and left Pittsburgh for Bawwwstun. Yinzer traffic hasnt been the same since and Beantown got classy. Kadhafi was finally held accountable for Doc Brown’s death while his people shoved many things up his ass. I really don’t understand my kids some days.

November 2011
I finally learned how to home brew. I’m proud to say that as I’m typing this that my stash is just about gone. Google Plus proved it’s absolutely insane.  My ongoing battle with a root canal started and still isn’t  finished.

December 2011
Chris Cornell played one of the best solo shows of any artist in the history of music. I fell in love with LuLu’s Noodles. Dealt with a very emotional day as I celebrated the 5th anniversary of my dad’s passing by cracking open my very first bottle of homebrew with him. I visited the Golden Corral for the first time and was left speechless. The kids took down Santa and O-man turned 1.

So there is 2011 in a nutshell. 2012 the world is supposed to end of the world so I’m debating if I should plan to do things or kick back and take it easy. Who am I kidding, I’ll be running between work and kids activities while bitching my basement still isn’t clean.

Stay thirsty my friends…

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One thing that I’m bad at is remembering the year. I kept thinking it was 2010 for some reason and have no idea why 2012 doesn’t seem far fetched. Maybe I have a thing against years with odd numbers? This past year was eventful personally but when it came to blogging it was kinda meh. Either way here’s a quick recap so my kids don’t have to sift through archives.

January 2011
Year started off great with the Winter Classic (even though Pens lost) and spending the first 2 weeks home with my new baby. I also decided that I would attempt to go a full year without drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors product. Not to be some elite prick but to see for myself how tough it would be. With the amount of picnics we attended and moments of weakness for going cheap I’m proud to say I’ve made it a full year and some days.

February 2011
Kept the busy pace with a quick trip to Baltimore to pick up the first of what would be many awards for a website I made. Even thought it was winter I was falling in love with the city. I will be going back soon. I also hit my mid 30′s while only suffering a minor “oh shit, I’m getting old” moment and Teaspoon got his first haircut while hitting the terrible 2.

March 2011
2 things happened, we got sick and I ate a lot of fish.

April 2011
My mom wanted to know why I didn’t invent Facebook, the internet or cure cancer. I had some views on the sale of Iron City which turned out to piss off a bunch of yinzers and Pittsburgh purists. Eh, it happens.

May 2011
Should I Drink That turned 5 years old on the 5th and we had a whirlwind bash in Boardman, Ohio as we took over the Big Tap In after party. We cracked open a 101 oz bottle of Double Arrogant Bastard that we have been sitting on for 4-5 years. It came with a padlock. Nuff said. I figured out how you can take a trip with Megabus to Erie (or Pittsburgh from there) and have a very low cost time. I celebrated national Craft Beer Week and if you haven’t heard me talk about it yet, am on the planning group for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week coming in 2012. This month also was record breaking numbers as we raised money for March of Dimes which helps preemies such as my boys.

June 2011
After many years of hard work I graduated cum laude from college. It was incredibly stressful when I threw work and the family into the mix but the support was fantastic! I’ll probably have my student loan bills paid off when Teaspoon is starting school.

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Last year I posted what it was like from the moment we found out about our next child up until his birth. Now I sit here a year later and wonder where the time has gone.

O is the exact opposite of Teaspoon. He’s very reserved, chilled out, and from what I can tell, is studying everyone. When he does unleash his fury though Teaspoon is usually the one taken out.

It’s been fun to watch the 2 boys interact. At first Teaspoon wanted nothing to do with him and now they play like best friends. O has started to walk, not far, but he can hold is own. Once he is completely mobile Teaspoon’s life will change dramatically as now his little brother will be able to keep up.

I look at O now and still can’t believe he was a preemie. He’s around 20lbs and is mastering the art of diving on you if you’re laying on the ground.

It was around Teaspoon’s first birthday that his personality really started to take shape so I can’t wait to see what this little guy has in store for us.

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Shortly after this picture Santa met his demise at the hands of Teaspoon attacking him like a spider monkey.

Hard to believe it but my youngest wasn’t even around this time last year. In fact Lushie would go into labor on the 26th and pop the little guy out 26 hours later.

Christmas tree is already packed full of presents for the monsters and around 6am my mother-in-law will be showing up with gifts from the out of towners. Monday we”re hosting brunch for my family and then comes a week of slacking before 24 hours of geeking out over hockey (4 games in 24 hours. LOVE IT!)

Being a dad has changed my life in ways that I never imagined. My life has become providing the best I can for my boys. I’ve started to appreciate the smaller things and cherish the time I get to spend with them. When I was 25 I used to mock people like me. Now, I snicker and tell that whipper snapper to get off my lawn.

I know the boys wont remember Christmas in too much detail but I will. Of course I’m going to be a camera whore and take as many pics as I can. I really don’t have pictures of Christmas as a kid (one lady in my office said she was sorry I don’t have any family, wtf ever that means) since we lost most when our basement flooded at the last place so I’m happy to make new ones.

I hope everyone is able to spend some time kicking back and visiting family, no matter how batshit crazy they may be. I’m thankful for my friends I have met and those I’ve only chatted with online. All of you have played a part in my life and I’m blessed to know such kickass people.

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Last night my father in law treated us to Golden Corral for dinner since he knew with the boys we needed something quick and if it was tasty that would be a bonus. After being stuck in the house all day doing work we just needed to get out for the night.

I have never been to a Golden Corral before. In fact, I’m not even one for buffet style places because I really don’t eat a lot in a sitting (I’m not fat, I’m cultivating mass) but it is fast and easy for the kids plus my good friend Jimmy swears by them. This night would prove to be a lesson in people watching.

If you’ve never been to a Golden Corral before its a buffet style dining establishment where  you can start with salads, go to chicken, steak, seafood/pasta and finish on deserts (for their online menu click here). Sounds pretty basic and kinda like a Ponderosa right? Hold on buccaroo it gets better.

1. the price – children under 3 eat free (score!) and our dinners were about $11 an adult.
2. the food – I never question my F.I.L. when it comes to food. The man has the same palate as me so if he says something is good, I listen. The quality of food was rating high with me. The fried chicken was juicy and crunchy, I asked for a medium rare steak and for one of the first times in a restaurant I actually got it the way I ordered it. Bourbon chicken was a dropkick to the mouth of spice. I never made it past those because I kept going back for steak but the Shrimp Alfredo looked amazing along with mac n cheese.
3. the service – the place was jammed with holiday shoppers and our servers were a level of politeness I rarely see. One kid was being a jag to his table but others we encountered were top notch.
4. the customers – Now there were a lot of normal folks eating but this is where you’re going to get your bang for the buck. You know that site People of WalMart? Well there should be one for here. I don’t know if it was the holiday season but as I was told online last night “you go there when you want to feel better about yourself”. Last night was a collection of 70′s Steelers shirts with matching tats, nascar jackets, missing teeth and some serious hardcore yinzers with 6 kids. Oh yeah and I saw a guy with a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket and hat. The highlight of the evening was the table next to us enjoying a family meal with a very “manly” aunt who didn’t wear underwear. We all had a show.

I had a fantastic time eating with my family and can see why friends of mine have raved about this place. Strap on the feedbag and go to town Johnny, this is a quality place I’m going back to!

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A package arrived for me today which I completely forgot about redeeming for online. I had to think for a second before I realized what was in the box.

Because of my “Klout” score I received a free copy of Stephen King’s “Bag of Bones”. I don’t read non-tech books and I don’t read books for pleasure. Never have and eh, I might someday. Since I got this free I may give it a shot so we’ll see. Now if I was as cool as The Girl Blogger I would have found a way to get a free flight but since I’m not, I got a book. (By the way she’s a 38 and I’m 57. I should get a RT plane and beer tour of the west coast since I’ve never been there)

Baby steps…

Klout has been a questionable service for awhile with social media diehards because there have been found ways to cheat the scoring system. Personally I’m honest with it and just roll with the ranking.  For the longest time no one knew what the algorithm was they were using and if you weren’t on twitter you were basically toast.

Since I do social media for a living spanning different subjects I try to stay on top of everything so I know what’s new and what to watch out for. (Have you heard of Path yet?)

Do these scores need to be taken seriously? Let me put it this way, they’re making a name for themselves and really takes no effort on your part to use it. I’ve already had inquiries because I have a high score when it comes to Craft Beer and people writing for publications that aren’t as social savvy use sites like this for stories… which means my name gets out more… which means I get gigs… see where I’m getting at?

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