It's not all good, but we still are

Not all Good.


Henry and Ann are such gracious hosts, and just after saying something like, "Prawns aren't my first choice, but I'll eat them", Henry says to Ann, "you know what the appetizer is?". Her reply, "Prawns."

Oye vay. So, I feel like an ass for a few minutes, but the moment passes quickly. Tim and I always have such a good time over at Henry and Ann's. The chicken marinated in wine sauce with garlic mashed potatoes, served with roasted potatoes and a warm Mediterranean salad, was superb. After Ann and I managed to get through 2 bottles of wine, it was time to go. It is really cute to watch them stand at the door and wave until we drive out of sight.

We stopped at Sam's to have a pint. It was a fairly quiet Saturday night, but we chatted with Sharon and Cath just the same. I was trying to plan Cath's surprise birthday party (planned for the following evening) with the bartenders when Cath wasn't near the bar; it was not a difficult task.

We returned home and decided to watch the DVD of Little Britain. We hadn't watched it just yet and were excited to see some of the new scenes or outtakes. At about 1:45am, I stepped out back for a cigarette. I heard some noises, the sound of voices coming up the front walkway. I assumed it was students, I was wrong. As I returned to the flat, Tim is setting his phone down and his attention is drawn to the window. We observe four guys ripping out signs and dragging around one of the benches from the porch. Confused, I attempt to open the window to say something to them, and before I can even open my mouth, a large rock is hurled at the house, busts through the window, and, because it is thrown with such force, hits the back wall of our flat. The shock of it all prevented us from seeing too many of the faces, but we are certain that it was four 18-20 year old males. The police arrived within 20 minutes, and took statements. Hopefully between the cameras and our statements, they will catch them.

I thought about it more the next day, as I'm hoovering up the tiny shards of glass, but we both could have been seriously injured. That 300 year old window broke into 1,000's of pieces and combined with the force of that rock, Tim or I or both of us could have been hurt quite badly. It is scary to think how quickly things can occur or how you'll react, but even more so, how fortunate we are to be unharmed.

Dexter

The trip to the states brought us in contact with many friends and family. Outside of the crazy at the Cabin (see Minnesota Summer) Tim and I had a barbeque at each of our parents place and got to hang out in our hometown bars visiting with some other friends.

Tim's parents are doing well - we caught up on how their jobs are going and their upcoming trip to the North Shore. Derek met us at their West St. Cloud home and Tim's dad drove us to DB's for drinks. A few Washington Apple's and a Bud Light or 3 later, we were laughing like old times.

We headed over to my dad's house on Monday. I invited all my siblings and their families over and fortunately they were able to make it. Todd and JoAnn arrived first - Gabby, Dylan, Stephan and Caroline in tow. The kids are getting so big! That is one part of living so far away for so long - I feel like I am missing the kids growing up. Lori and Cory arrived, Lexy and Jordon full of 'uncle Ryan, uncle Ryan, uncle Ryan' hugs--- they are precious little ones! Seth and Sonja arrived and Devon and Jaida, there wee ones, were particularly chatty! They had so much fun telling us about their day at Paul Bunyan Land, showing us the pictures and describing their favorite rides. They are so darn articulate for 3 and 5 year olds! Dion was being the good uncle and taking the two littlest ones out to see the new horses- Dad picked up 2 horses the previous weekend and now has a total fo 4 paints - a beautiful breed. His plans for buying property and moving south seem to be coming along, but not without a few snags.

That evening, Tim and I caught up with Kelly and Carol. We looked at wedding pictures, talked about families and indulged in a wee bit of gossip. Carol got a new dog - Dexter. The fact that she works with animals in need must surely provide such a work hazard. Here's a picture:

Vampires and more

Last Saturday, Cath invited Tim and I to attend the "Vampires Rock" concert/play at the Edinburgh Playhouse. Not sure what to expect, we dressed in dark, mostly blacks and browns, clothing. We guessed right. While most of the audience did have on similar attire, about a third had fangs, capes and face paint. What we didn't know until we arrived is that we had front row tickets!!

The show was quite loud and got off to a brilliant start with guitar riffs from Bon Jovi to Van Halen to Meatloaf. The plot - Baron von Rokkula is in search of a new wife; presumably, he's killed his first one. What the plot lacked -- it was a bit forced and weak at times -- the music made up for. We heard 80's classics like "I need a Hero", "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Shot through the Heart" and "Poison" (by Alice Cooper) and many other songs by Guns 'n Roses, Whitesnake, Queen, Meatloaf, Van Halen and more. The front row seats provided lots of sweat and (fake) blood to drip down on us, not to mention nearly being choked out by the thick stream of dry ice. It was definately something different and an entertaining 2 hours.

Speaking of vampires, last night we celebrated with Victoria, our friend, Gothic novel professor and everything 'dark' (like vampires and the occult) expert for her 50th birthday. I drove John, Mary and Tim out to their flat on Fair-a-Far drive and joined them and about 15 or so of their friends for a nice night of wine, snacks, whisky and inappropriate banter. It was fun to chat with Paul and Lorna about their friends art (which is currently on display at the Blue Moon Cafe) and why Edinburgh doesn't have more 'strippers' in the gay bars. Her friend Stephan from Minneapolis flew over and gay'd it up more than Tim and I could ever imagine.

Tonight: Cath is doing a special 'naughty quiz' - I hope to make it.

Minnesota Summer Trip

From the perspective of a Fly on the Wall

(albeit, a very intelligent, sarcastic and possibly gay fly)

It was apparently forgotten by the 2 Minnesota boys just how suffocating the sweltering summer heat can be. As they departed the airport, Minnesota was in the middle of the most days over-90-degrees-in-a-row streak; the air was thick and begged for a tempestuous turn. Ryan must really appreciate that Randy is picking him up--he's done it like 3 times now! Funny how Toby was at the airport as well, just back from the UK too. The air conditioned ride to Woodbury to drop him off found them exploring all the new building--much is unrecognizable to Ryan with the passing of a year! It wasn't too long until Ryan and Randy joined Cam and then Ann for a quick pre-Liffy cocktail. Like these guys need any pre-cocktails, ever.




The Liffy--the new 'hotspot' for St. Paul's loudest and friendliest drunks--was a hit. Many of RJ's and Tim's friends were sitting on the rooftop bar, staring into the blazing sun and trying to stay cool with icy Absolut cocktails and large pints of Harp. Despite some bar tab confusion, one bedraggled waitress and several tired customers, it was apparent that all were elated at the semi-raucous reunion.


Later, the group moved to the TownHouse for--as the conspicuously absent Stevie K calls it: Welfare Night--for $1 beers. Outside of massive fan nearly blowing me off--and not in a good way--the wall and completely drying out all the eyes of the everyone standing around the table, it was a fun night. Ann and RJ got to dance to the Black Eyed Peas "Shut up Shut up", Tim got to give hugs and catch up with Jamie, Melissa, Randy, Cori, Lisa, Ann, Cam and surprise, Trevor and Allison, who happened to show up. I may be a fly, but I'm REAL good with names. RJ called the time of death for this little reunion party at 12:30am and the troops went home--not before a trip to White Castle, however. Thursday found RJ heading to Savage to hang out with Jennifer and her cute kids. It was 97 blessed degrees, and even the hot guy sitting next to them couldn't take their minds off the heat. They sipped their water, talked about the life, the kids, Scotland and soaked up the sun. Then some little suburban brat shit in the pool--apparently a daily occurrence, and the party was over. Ahh, no harm, they were bound to get heat stroke if they stayed much longer. RJ was picked up by Melissa and they headed to Billy's, to a surprisingly empty patio. Maybe it was the 97 degrees, who knows. The patio did fill up--but I speculate it was because of either the cold beer, or the really hot waiter, Dan. Admittedly, he was beautiful before he took his sun glasses off, but after the glasses came off, more drinks were ordered. They were joined by Stevie K, Melissa's 'Husband', and it was cheers all around. It soon became time to head to the gay bar, and Melissa was home to pack for the weekend. Stevie K and RJ headed down to Trikkx, where they were able to quietly chat about Stevie K's new job. He's very excited and has some great opportunities for challenges and fun! Randy and Cam soon joined and the four of them were laughing like old times. Tim was absent on this warm evening--most assuredly he was having a great time with his little brother Ted in Omaha. RJ described his latest adventures in Amsterdam, they talked about jobs, life and many trivial items--hot dad at pool, hot bartender at Billy's, etc. Oh, these boys never change.


THE WEEKEND...

Friday morning--a half day for most people as they were heading up to Chetek for the weekend--brought RJ to Carolyn and Tim's to meet their new baby--Joshua. This child is the most friendly baby I have ever seen. At just about 9 months old, he crawled right up on RJ and wanted to be held the whole time. They moved out to the kiddie pool, sipped on some Coke Zero, and reminisced about the previous years, caught up on the last few months and spoke about the future. An hour in the baby pool was all RJ could spare, and he was off to Randy and Cam's for the weekend trip.

The drive went pretty fast. Tammy and Cam in one car, Randy, RJ and Melissa in the other, Jimmy John sandwiches in hand, they were off. They stopped in Chippewa Falls for a cocktail at Loopy's.


They were pleasantly surprised to find a very helpful, friendly and cute bartender. Cam asked, "Can I get a refill of my Coke?", the bartender replied, "I would LOVE to give you a free refill." I think the heat was getting to Melissa, as she heard something different that the other four people. Some erotic photo hunt and two or three beers, and it was back on the road.

The arrived at the cabin to find Ann, Nikki, Molly and Lisa sipping drinks in the three season porch. It was HOT. Very hot. What was nice about the lake though, is that there were other flies--deer flies--for me to hang out with. So many new friends I made! So, they may help in the telling of the next part of this story.

The cigarettes were lit, cocktails in hand, the friends were looking at pictures from Scotland when Kate, Girl Cori and Tim arrived. Some helped them get settled, some poured more drinks, and then most headed down to the water, the pontoon, to try to cool themselves.

It would take two trips to get the crew to the Narrows, but not before some cruising around the lake for each bunch. RJ played captain for a day and in shifts of two, the whole group make to to Sparky and Bunny's quaint little-but recently expanded--bar on the lake. Friday appetizers persuaded the crew back to the house, but not before a few rounds of "Shake a Day".


Upon the return--Stevie K, Chris, Amy and Kim had arrived. Ryan's silly friends took advantage of his inebriated state and convinced him to make the long trek from the dock to the patio naked--to beat Chris to the punch as first one naked. After asking the other flies, I'm pretty sure she never paid up on that either. Nevertheless, the weekend isn't even in hour six yet, and there was nudity. Good times. The appetizers were fabulous--wings that melted off the bone, won tons and more--and those hungry bastard people ate almost all of it, leaving very little for us poor, helpless and hungry flies. :(

Saturday morning brought Melissa, Cam and RJ to the store to buy some supplies--okay, beer and ice. Of course they had to stop at Gilligans on the way home for "refreshments". Several G&T's, Absolut Cranberries and Bloody Marys later--don't forget about the good tunes on the jukebox and LK, the friendly bartender, and they were "refreshed".


They returned to find the others playing games and also "refreshing". Cocktails were delivered in shifts to the swimmers and Party Island goers.

Jamie and Tim arrived--Tim's a bit worn out from the drive took a well deserved nap and Jamie suited up to join the freaks in the water.



Ah, the Party Island. Melissa dropped a hundo on this massive floating, and it was off to the shed to fill it up.

They spent the entirety of the day on the pontoon, fishing, swimming, taking in the sun, telling stories and having a fabulous time! Boy Corey and Dan showed up a little later. Another trip to the Narrows was made, in shifts of course. The loud and proud group took over the bar. There was Shake a Day, Karaoke on that tiny damn machine and a lot of grab Ass!! Which one of these boys is queer--some, most, all?

Hey fellow flies... what was one of your favorite moments?

"I don't even have to think about that one. The funniest moment for me was at the bar when Melissa fixed Randy's hair and he looked like Aunt Helen!""Watching Girl Cori's first time at Erotic Photo Hunt with Cam"

"Acapella David Allen Coe---ahh, they THINK they sound so good."

"Jamie getting pulled into the water and then Girl Cori being pushed in by Jamie."

"I give it up to Girl Cori and Tami and the fabulous paddle boat adventure!!! Who knew they were such the paddlers!!!"

"Seeing Chris on that hot, sultry Wednesday night with that peach tank top on that had sweaty wet marks on that beautiful skin that had a nice sweaty glow to it. Do you remember anything else about the weekend but her sweaty glow?"

"The skinny dipping in broad daylight by RJ and Chris with boats in the near distance from the pontoon." (see top picture)


"Chris hitting the log in the water on the way to the narrows."

"Chris being so fricken hot that she put ice cubes in each cup of her bathing suit top and her bikini bottoms just to cool down"

"Just seeing a great bunch of loving, generous people, laughing, talking, playing and just have a great time enjoying life and friendship."

Sunday: It's still hot, but don't ask about the AC, it arrives tomorrow. We cleaned, hopped into our air conditioned cars, and headed back to home.

Don't you just hate it when people have such a good time together!

The Fly

IQ Test

I was playing around with an IQ test that came across my email. (It's free if you want to try, takes 20 minutes or so)

I am not sure if I would publish the scores if I had done as well as I did, but I think I would have. that average person scores between 70 and 130. Sometimes seeing things like this allows me to feel (publicly, or outwardly) confident in myself where I might not have been as inclined before. I think people, (me, specifically) self ourselves short often.

I definitely wouldn't have picked 'math skills' as my strength, but perhaps it is. Or, perhaps it is the bias of the test too. Nevertheless, the test was a fun little lunchtime break.


My IQ score is 129.

"Ryan, your IQ score is significantly above average. Congratulations! You have a wide range of exceptional skills which are much stronger than those of the average population. You are also skilled at answering the types of questions that are asked in a classic IQ test. The test analyses your strengths and weaknesses based on your mathematical, linguistic, visual-spatial and logical skills. Even though you have high scores in all of those areas, we are able to analyse your results to discover the areas in which you have the strongest abilities.

You've got a very experiential way of learning and a strong mathematical mind. You're able to whittle even the most complex situation down to comprehensible component parts. In short, you have mastered the art and science of precision. That's what makes you a Precision Processor.

For you, life is a series of equations. Your brain is naturally predisposed to intense mathematical acuity, and your understanding of numerical problems is unparalleled. It's second nature for you to cut to the heart of an issue, so that you can discover quick solutions to problems while others get bogged down in unnecessary details. One precision processor that comes to mind is the Greek philosopher-mathematician, Pythagoras. Pythagoras had a mind for numbers and, as such, could come up with previously unknown theories like his method for calculating the sides of a right triangle (a2+b2=c2). You too, can use numbers to translate aspects of the world around you -- something that doesn't come easily to everyone. Your quick mathematical mind will allow you to communicate a variety of ideas to other people, so don't keep it to yourself."

Good to know!

July 4, 2005

Fourth of July Party was a huge hit! Celebrating the independence of your nation in the nation that we were fighting is interesting. This is this unspoken commentary that plays through my head, which is of course just silly, but as we sat and watched the fireworks, ohhs, awwws and applauded at our favorites, I just couldn't stop thinking about the people 229 years ago, and how they could probably not imagine this.

The day began like any other, there was class in the morning and a lunch prepared by Chef Henry.

Around 3:00pm the students were grouped according to their clan and the staff and faculty were added to the teams. The first event was held down in the butterfly garden behind the palace--Capture the Flag. Well, I'm 30 years old and I've never played this game before! But I loved it! It was good exercise and a fun strategy game. I must admit, the Campbells and the MacDonalds lost all both matches to the Bruces and the Wallaces, but all had fun (except for the burning neddles!)

After the flag fun with moved on to WaterBalloon/Sheet Volleyball! The object is to have 2 sets of 5 people on each side of net holding sheets, toss a water balloon back and forth without dropping the balloon or letting it break! What a silly game--but the laughs and splashes overflowed the court. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event! Campbells (my clan) came in second to the rowdy Bruces.

A quick game of all out water balloon fighting led to a calmer game of water balloon races. The conspiring Cambells, as they are sometimes known for, decided to ambush the other teams durint the race. We simply held our balloons and attacked as the other teams were actually trying to play. We are such terrible sports but we had it out for the Bruces!

Finally, before the BBQ, there were skits for each team to perform. Each team was given around 10 props and 7 randomly selected words. The four teams than had to present a skit to the rest of the house. There were plays, comedy and a bit of silly narration, but our clan decided on a newscast. As 'Ron Burgundy' and 'Ken Brockman', Tim and I read the news. Our clan's words: Michael Jackson, Quasimodo, Time Travel, Cockroaches, Big Brother, Handstand, Australia. I let you imagine how those words worked into three news stories.

The BBQ was prepared by students and we finished the night off with a fireworks display and campfire ghost stories--a great day/evening for all to remember.