Happy new year and all that business.  This shall serve as the first official post of the year, so I should probably kind of ease into things with a brief, uninspired bit of drivel.  That way I will leave room for constant improvement during the upcoming year.  If all goes according to plan, this page should be a veritable entertainment mecca by July or so.

We started off the weekend on Friday with something of an impromptu gathering (for us anyway) down at the less-than-desirable spot known as the Granfalloon.  Ed and Kim (of edpaffjr.com fame) had roughly a bajillion friends and family in town for the upcoming Chiefs-Bengals game, and they all converged there to kick off their weekend.  I didn’t have my camera with me, but Ed’s family were snapping photos like a bunch of Chinese tourists so maybe he’ll put some pics up on his site.  As an added bonus, my almost-favorite-ex-waitress from the Brooksider had our section, so we got to catch up with her a bit.  We stayed out later than we should have, but had a great time meeting everybody and listening to their rather bizarre Bengals “chants”.  I was glad to be a Chiefs fan, I could never memorize all those little ditties.  I’m doing good to remember the words to the KC “nahhhhh-nah-na-na-na-nahhhhh” song.

Saturday we took it easy most of the day, resting up to make a run at actually ringing in the new year.  Gabe and I ran around a bit but mostly we kind of laid low.  We headed over to Todd’s around 6:00 for his New Year’s gala.  Despite our rather low estimate on the turnout (we were counting on Doni and I, and Susan if she was really bored) there was quite a crowd there.  I think there were about 20 people crammed in there at one point, and I am guessing 30-40 over the entire evening.  When the clock struck midnight though, it was just Doni and I, Todd, Susan, and the Scottens.  We all hung around and talked and partied for another 18 seconds or so, then headed home.

Sunday the football game took up the majority of the day.  We watched it down at the Brooksider, and somewhere around the mid-fourth quarter the Cincinnati gang stormed in and joined us.  They handled the crushing defeat rather well, apparently buoyed by the prospect of next weeks playoff game.  They seemed to have had a good time at the game though, despite less-than-hospitable treatment from what they termed “The biggest gathering of redneck crack-heads in central Missouri.”  (OK, that was my term… I think they used something like “sorta rude.”  Same difference.)  I was reminded of why I prefer to watch the games on television.  But then again, the Cincinnati gang had dined at Gates and labeled it “inedible swill” so I can’t really say much for their character either.

Monday I had lots of plans but none really came together.  I did make it out on a few computer-distress calls, but I watched little-to-no football, didn’t take Gabe exercising, and didn’t get to the store to buy all the “stuff” that I need.  (Headphones, a few XM radio accessories, and batteries in case you were wondering.)  Before we knew it, it was 5:00 and we had plans to meet Doni’s parents for dinner.  They took us and Ed and Kim to Hereford house, where I enjoyed a nice 20 oz t-bone.  We built a couple of websites for their trophy business so they were hooking us up for that.  Plus, it was Doni’s Dad’s birthday; But since he picked up the check I’m not sure we can count that as part of the deal.  Might have to go back tonight…

I have successfully completed 11 events in the “Twelve Trials of Christmas” series.  We have Doni’s work party early next month and then I’ll be done with the season until next year rolls around.  Of course it wasn’t really as bad as I built it up to be.  I took off last Friday to “prepare” for the flurry, so I had a nice little four day weekend out of the deal.  Gabe and I went and hung out at the “Bark Park” all afternoon.  The rest of the weekend was spent doing Christmas stuff.  That’s all you need to know.

New Year’s Eve is at Todd’s shack.  Consider this your invitation; be there.

Not too much to report in on, again.  I’ve got a lot of stuff I SHOULD report on, but not the time or inclination to do so.  Stuff is starting to back up on me;  I’ve got a bunch of Gabe pictures to post, and I need to set up some type of section to document the progress of “Project Ice Age.”  This project, for the uninformed or uninterested, is the creation of a frozen drink maker which is currently under construction by ChudZim Technologies LLC.  I must say, the project is coming along quite famously, and certainly bears sharing.  The progress thus far has been rather remarkable, considering launch date was mere weeks ago.  I find myself questioning whether more time is spent at ChudZim Tech or their “real” jobs.  I guess that’s not my business, just so the drink maker gets finished on time.

I think I forgot to report on the big date Doni and I went on in last weeks post?  We went to Capitol Grille to celebrate Doni’s birthday, which was on the sixth.  MAN that place is good.  A bit pricey, but I’m going to say worth it.  Granted, the tip alone was considerably more than my typical bill at the Brooksider, but I suppose you get what you pay for.  The service was quite a bit better too.  I noticed a distinct difference between the two places in that area:
Capitol Grille: “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Kenagy, would you like to hear about our specials?”
Brooksider: “Hope you guys wanted chicken nachos again, that’s what you’re getting.”
Again, I guess you get what you pay for.

Let’s see… Surely I did SOMETHING last weekend.  We went to a Christmas party Friday night, in a continuation of the never-ending onslaught of holiday events.  This one was at Susan W’s house though, so at least it was close to home.  We actually stayed pretty late (for us) so we must have been having a good time.  They were having their annual Christmas party down at the Brooksider Friday too, but I didn’t stay long at that one.  It was too crowded; veritably overflowing with riff-raff.  Free food will do that.

Saturday didn’t bring a whole lot of action.  I had to work all night, so I spent the day resting up in preparation.  We did take Gabe up to Petsmart and had his picture taken with Santa Claus.  Embarrassing, but true.  It was worth it just to see the look on Santa’s face though; kind of a “You have got to be kidding me, this ain’t in my contract” kind of expression.  But of course Gabe behaved just peachy, even when the little yippy dog ahead of him barked at him.

Sunday was similarly slow.  I worked on the stupid refrigerator for a few hours.  It’s been leaking water all over and warped up the kitchen floor.  $%&#@*.  Remarkably, I think I may have actually fixed it.  After that project, it was pretty much a day of football games and monitoring my Fantasy Football scores.  I lost.  Again.  It was not particularly notable that I lost, but who I lost to.  This is a perfect example of why I don’t gamble:  The guy I played has won 2 games all year, and averages a pathetic 50-some-odd points per week.  He’s so far in last place it ain’t even funny.  He didn’t even bother turning in a lineup for this week, so it defaulted him to some bunch of schmuck players.  But, since he was playing ME, the stars aligned and all these bench-warming schmucks got at least one touchdown, catapulting him to 103 points for the week.  I can’t stand it.  And other than posting some rather inflammatory remarks on the message board, there’s nothing I can do about it.  Sigh.  After watching that train-wreck develop, we went over to Susan W’s house again for dinner.  The Brooksider Gang is preparing for their annual Christmas Caroling event, and they were having their first practice session.  I am not singing with them, thank goodness, but I am filming them for a documentary.  Expect to see it at the Sundance Festival next year… I am predicting a hit.  This could well be the big hit movie that turns around Hollywood’s recent woes at the box office.

Not too much to report in on, again.  I’ve got a lot of stuff I SHOULD report on, but not the time or inclination to do so.  Stuff is starting to back up on me;  I’ve got a bunch of Gabe pictures to post, and I need to set up some type of section to document the progress of “Project Ice Age.”  This project, for the uninformed or uninterested, is the creation of a frozen drink maker which is currently under construction by ChudZim Technologies LLC.  I must say, the project is coming along quite famously, and certainly bears sharing.  The progress thus far has been rather remarkable, considering launch date was mere weeks ago.  I find myself questioning whether more time is spent at ChudZim Tech or their “real” jobs.  I guess that’s not my business, just so the drink maker gets finished on time.

I think I forgot to report on the big date Doni and I went on in last weeks post?  We went to Capitol Grille to celebrate Doni’s birthday, which was on the sixth.  MAN that place is good.  A bit pricey, but I’m going to say worth it.  Granted, the tip alone was considerably more than my typical bill at the Brooksider, but I suppose you get what you pay for.  The service was quite a bit better too.  I noticed a distinct difference between the two places in that area:
Capitol Grille: “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Kenagy, would you like to hear about our specials?”
Brooksider: “Hope you guys wanted chicken nachos again, that’s what you’re getting.”
Again, I guess you get what you pay for.

Let’s see… Surely I did SOMETHING last weekend.  We went to a Christmas party Friday night, in a continuation of the never-ending onslaught of holiday events.  This one was at Susan W’s house though, so at least it was close to home.  We actually stayed pretty late (for us) so we must have been having a good time.  They were having their annual Christmas party down at the Brooksider Friday too, but I didn’t stay long at that one.  It was too crowded; veritably overflowing with riff-raff.  Free food will do that.

Saturday didn’t bring a whole lot of action.  I had to work all night, so I spent the day resting up in preparation.  We did take Gabe up to Petsmart and had his picture taken with Santa Claus.  Embarrassing, but true.  It was worth it just to see the look on Santa’s face though; kind of a “You have got to be kidding me, this ain’t in my contract” kind of expression.  But of course Gabe behaved just peachy, even when the little yippy dog ahead of him barked at him.

Sunday was similarly slow.  I worked on the stupid refrigerator for a few hours.  It’s been leaking water all over and warped up the kitchen floor.  $%&#@*.  Remarkably, I think I may have actually fixed it.  After that project, it was pretty much a day of football games and monitoring my Fantasy Football scores.  I lost.  Again.  It was not particularly notable that I lost, but who I lost to.  This is a perfect example of why I don’t gamble:  The guy I played has won 2 games all year, and averages 50-some-odd points per week.  He’s so far in last place it ain’t even funny.  He didn’t even bother turning in a lineup for this week, so it defaulted him to some bunch of schmuck players.  But, since he was playing ME, the stars aligned and all these bench-warming schmucks got at least one touchdown, catapulting him to 103 points for the week.  I can’t stand it.  And other than posting some rather inflammatory remarks on the message board, there’s nothing I can do about it.  Sigh.  After watching that train-wreck develop, we went over to Susan W’s house again for dinner.  The Brooksider Gang is preparing for their annual Christmas Caroling event, and they were having their first practice session.  I am not singing with them, thank goodness, but I am filming them for a documentary.  Expect to see it at the Sundance Festival next year… I am predicting a hit.  This could well be the big hit movie that turns around Hollywood’s recent woes at the box office.

I’m sure everyone has been on the edge of their seat all week waiting for the results of Gabe’s big test, and the good news is that he passed easily, first time through.  He was one of only two dogs in the class to pass.  OK, there were only four dogs total, but that’s still a 50% fail rate.  His nemesis, the big standard poodle, failed.  Hee hee.  (That’s not very nice.)  So, Gabe is officially certified as a “Canine Good Citizen” now.  Here’s a list of stuff he had to do for the test: CGC Test Items.  I’d say he aced everything, although he was a bit sketchy on the “Accepting a friendly stranger” section.  Gabe knows no “strangers”; You get too close you’re gonna get jumped on.  But, he managed to contain himself long enough to get a “pass” score.

The remainder of the week, and subsequent weekend, are something of a blur.  Had a wedding Friday night so that killed that evening.  Saturday I don’t know exactly what happened… We had no plans, but ended up down at the Brooksider around 3:00.  We ran into Christie and Todd down there, and ended up going to the Cigar Box downtown for appetizers.  From there we still had a little bit of gas left so we all went to my neighbor’s house for a birthday party.  Nothing like bringing a few extra guests along to the neighborhood fiesta.  I’m not sure how late we stayed… about and hour too late I think.  That was a long day.

Sunday I hunkered down for a day of football.  Other than a trip to 75th Street Brewery to meet the Munkirs for lunch, I didn’t see the light of day.  (Munkirs bought too…. SCORE.)  I did disassemble my “webserver” and put it in a new case, so that ate up a few hours.  I was having this odd electrical problem with my server, see; every time I would plug something into it, it would shock the bejeebees out of me.  I have to think that was not a good thing for the PC, and I know it wasn’t good for me.  Quite painful, actually.  I’ve tried fixing it a few times, with no success, so I finally just gutted it and put everything in a new case.  Of course I don’t know if it’s fixed yet… I’m too scared to test it.  It gave me enough juice last time to make me a bit leery of ever touching it again.  So next time you’re over at my house and I ask you to grab hold of the PC in the basement, go ahead and give it a try, let me know how it goes.  If you can’t let go of it for like five minutes I’ll assume it’s not fixed.

Man that’s all I got.  Why do I update this thing on Monday anyway?  I’m entirely too spent to be thinking creatively.  Plus I was rather rudely awoken at the unholy hour of 4:30 to come to work this morning.  Oncall is definitely a young man’s game.