What a start!

Germany 4 - 2 Costa Rica

Some sick goals from Germany. For all those soccer haters out there who whine about 1-0 games, here's to you.

It's almost here!

Well, we're back from our travels and now I'm getting ready for what is going to be an excellent month. The World Cup starts on Friday and I'm am psyched. Every game will be carried live on either ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. I've got the DVR set, the beer is stocked, and I'm ready to roll. While I will of course be cheering on the USA, my favorite team, as anyone can tell you, are the ORANJE - the Dutch national team. Why? One word - Cruyff. Johan Cruyff was one of the greatest footballers of all time, the man who brought "Total Football" to the world. Towards the end of his career, after playing on some great Ajax teams, he came to the States and played for both the LA Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats. While with the Dips, he took part in many soccer clinics here in the DC area, and I got to meet him in the 5th grade. If I only knew then that I was in the presence of genius. Here's a clip of him in action.

Wij houden van Oranje!!!

Another view

We can also see US Cellular Field, home of the White Sox. 

Chicago Skyline

Here's our view from State Street Village. Pretty nice, eh? 

What a beautiful day

The wedding yesterday was absolutely beautiful - beautiful weather, beautiful location and of course a beautiful bride. I can't describe how wonderful it was to see 2 awesome people like Lesley and Jeremy join together. And the reception afterwards - wow! I won't get into too many details, but let's just say I wound up doing the running man and drunk text-messaging my friends (including the bride)! I think we got back to our hotel around 1:00 am.

This morning, Lesley's parents hosted a brunch at their house. It was good seeing everyone again before we all headed our separate ways (though we'll see everyone back in DC). We are now visiting the FW's sister, who's a doctoral student at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in downtown Chicago. We're staying in a guest suite in the coolest dorm I've ever seen - State Street Village.

Here's a link to see the pix - http://app.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/8890/

On the road

Well, we're back on the road. Evanston, Illinois for the wedding of 2 of my favorite people, Leslie and Jeremy.

We got back home from the beach Thursday night and discovered that part of our ceiling was starting to cave in due to the folks upstairs. The unit above ours was recently bought and the folks are doing major renovations - starting 1st thing every morning and continuing until almost 8:00 at night. Pretty annoying, but not as annoying as finding that they're leaking water through our ceiling! We contacted the management of our condo association and they're fixing it while we're here this weekend. We also found out that the folks upstairs don't have a permit to perform their renovations, and the city has ordered them to stop.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... We landed yesterday and Chicago Midway Airport and had a horrible time getting our rental car. We waited in line for almost 2 hours, with no explanation other than "it's busy". The FW was furious and proceeded to let the woman at the counter know it. I'm Mr. Conflict Avoidance, so I was very uncomfortable. And I made the mistake of trying to intervene. Whoops!! Guys, if you're lady is mad at someone other than you, let her roll with it. Seriously!! Otherwise, her wrath will turn on you! We eventually got our car (actually, they were out of cars and gave us and SUV instead) and drove through downtown Chicago rush hour traffic to beautiful Evanston. Really, this is a gorgeous part of the country. We went to the rehearsal dinner last night (Carmen's Pizza - nothing like Chicago pizza, boys and girls). Today the FW is out getting all prettied up for tonight's nuptials. I'll post pix and stories tomorrow.

C out!

New favorite game

Kaleb has a new favorite game he discovered on the beach, hunting for crabs.

Thanks Sarah!!

Today, we got a care package at the beach house from Sarah D. in Juneau, Alaska! Sarah rocks! Shot glasses, Bear Droppings (candy), fancy straws and smoked salmon!!! Awright!

Beach Post

Hi everyone (and by everyone, I mean ECAG!). We're on our 2nd full day at the beach, and it's been great. By great, I mean I haven't done a damn thing except eat, drink and sleep. The only drama so far is how the 2 dogs are getting along. We've brought our dog Kaleb and Barney and Katie have brought their dog Ty. Kaleb's 7 years old and Ty is a 1 year old puppy, but a really big puppy. He likes to play, alot. Kaleb, not so much, at least not with other dogs. After a few rough spots early on, they've reached a sort of detante. Ty comes up to Kaleb to play, Kaleb bears his fangs and chases Ty off, Ty thinks this is the game, and they round and round til one of them gets bored.

Of course, we're drinking lots of beer, rum and assorted other libations. Good times! I have to admit, I haven't actually seen the ocean yet, even though we're a block away. So sad, but I'll head over later this morning!

Beach Blogging

Tomorrow morning, and for the following week, I'll be blogging from the road. We're headed to Corolla, NC tomorrow for a week at the beach, then fly to Chicago next weekend for a wedding. Stay tuned.

Now, that was nice!

Tomorrow morning, the FW and I leave for our annual trip to Corolla, NC for a week at the beach. We share a huge beach house with a bunch of our close friends. Today, in preparation, I went and got my 1st pedicure! Yep, I got all metrosexual today.

For my birthday last December, the FW bought me a gift certificate to The Grooming Lounge, a men's salon downtown. It was for what's called "The Executive Foot Treatment", Eliminate the “agony of de-feet” with this exclusive foot treatment highlighted by a dip in warm paraffin wax. Now, my feet are okay for a man, especially for a man who's played soccer for 30+ years, but I've never, ever had a pedicure. Never even thought of getting one. Well, after today, I just may become addicted.

When I walked through the door of The Grooming Lounge, I knew it was the place for me. Leather chairs, plasma TVs, sports magazines, basically every guys fantasy (did I mention that all the women who work there are hotties?). As I sat waiting for my appointment, they brought me a beer in a frosted mug! Yeah!! For the pedicure, I was seated in a big leather chair with massage controls and a foot bath. I bore you with the details of the treatment, but it was awesome. My feet have never looked or felt better. Guys, if you live in the DC area, get yourself over to The Grooming Lounge ASAP!!

Another reason to love Arsenal!

My friend Erin just sent this to me:

A 10-year-old boy from Sunderland, England, was reportedly saved by his rugged Arsenal replica jersey. John Hough was climbing a fence when he slipped on a spike that pierced his chest, just missing his heart and lungs, but somehow failed to penetrate the shirt. Doctors apparently credit the sturdy fabric with helping to prevent the spike from doing more damage. Said the boy's mother, "The first thing he said when he came round from his operation was: 'Mam, I can't believe my Arsenal strip is ruined.' But it wasn't and it saved his life."

He's Staying!!!

Henry set for new deal after committing future to Arsenal
Thierry Henry will be staying at Arsenal Football Club.
There has been speculation about the striker’s future all season but on Friday morning he stated his intention to sign a new contract with the Club.
Arsenal.com will have much on this story later today.

Gore-Warner '08

Trust me.

I'm just gutted

Just got home from the Arsenal - Barcelona match at the pub. My boys lost, 2-1. Despite playing a man down for most of the game, they had a 1-0 lead with about 15 minutes left, then lost the plot. 2 goals for Barca in 4 minutes. Game, set, and match.

Regardless, I'm so proud of the Gunners. This has been a very difficult year for them, dealing with numerous injuries, the loss of their talismatic captain, and the speculation regarding the future of Thierry Henry. But they never gave up and were just a few minutes away from being crowned champions of Europe. Congratulations to Barca, and now we just have a few weeks until the World Cup.

This is it

It's like Christmas Eve for me, or the morning before my wedding. That's how nervous I am. What am I nervous about? Arsenal have finally made it to the Champions League Final, and play an awesome Barcelona for the chance to be crowned Kings of Europe. I'm leaving work early, headed over to the Lucky Bar on Connecticut Avenue to watch the match. Actually, I'm so nervous I just may go home and watch it by myself.

Let's go you Gunners!!!

WTF?

We're stuck in a war with no end in sight, gas is at an all time high, and what does our dear leader come on national TV to talk about? What issue is so important that he interupts his sleepy time? Immigration!!! Are you fucking kidding me?!??!?!?!? Well, at least he didn't blame 9-11 for illegal immigration.

Told you so

F.BI raids home of former CIA #3.

So, does anyone still think Porter Goss resigned because of policy differences?

I'm back

Hey folks, I'm back. I've been pretty busy for awhile, between work and settling in at our new place. And this past weekend I was at the wedding of one of my best friends (more on that later). What's been going on? I see that hardly anyone in the news has mentioned how CIA Director Porter Goss's resignation may be related to the Hookergate scandal I wrote about 2 Fridays ago. Do me a favor, Google Goss Hooker Scandal and see what comes up.

In other news, in an incredibly exciting last day of the season, Arsenal had to have a better result than their hated rivals Spurs to finish in 4th place and make next season's Champions League. They did it, in the last ever game at Highbury Stadium, home of The Arsn'l for 93 years, beating Wigan 4-2, behind a Thierry Henry hattrick and Spurs losing 2-1 at West Ham. A glorious day (though Spurs want their game replayed - it seems most of their team got sick the night before the game - boo hoo).

Colbert rips Bush

This is great.