Macalester's the Besticle

Preview.

Last week I attended the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA) conference. On Friday night we watched the Scotsmen on the pitch against the Hamline Pipers. Afterwards, we visited the Groveland Tap. On Saturday we cheered on the Scots cross country teams at the MIAC championships. Then we went to the Pavlish pad where we had fun fun fun times. On Sunday we played frisbee golf at Acorn.

Beer and Kung-Fu

Here's a look at some of the beers I've drank recently.

Days ago villager Tim Pavlish, Jose, Marye, and I went to the Muddy Pig to enjoy their selection of beer.

-Rush River Lost Arrow Porter
-Young's Double Chocolate Stout (a sip of Jose's beer)
-HeBrew Genesis 10:10 (10 malts, 10 hops, craziness)
-Summit Oktoberfest

Yesterday, coworker John, Marye, and I went to Barley John's Brew Pub.

First Beer
-Dark Knight Returns (stored in a second usage bourbon barrel - yeah baby)

Sampler Quaffed While Ruminating an Angus Beef Burger
-Little Barley Bitter
-Stockyard IPA
-Oktoberfest
-Wild Brunette
-Old Eight Porter

This is good beer. Wow.

Then we joined Liz and Paul at the Walker Art Center where we watched the kung-fu movie My Young Auntie for free. Yes.

Ames Pilgrammage

On October 7 the Klinkers and the Knudsons traveled south to Ames, Iowa, for the Huskers-Cyclones football game at 7pm. It was a beautiful day for football: the high temperature reached eighty, the landscape was variegated and dry, harvest was nigh and so was a Big Red victory.

We checked into the hotel, joining the other Husker faithful who lit up the no vacancy signs in Ames and the surrounding communities. After applying our Huskers tattoos, we fueled up at La Fuente Mexican Restaurant. I walked away a bigger man.

This year was much different than years past:
-there were females present in our group
-conversation was not characterized by coarse indecent humor
-we did not consume copious amounts of beer and spirits
-I did not showcase my moves on the dance floor
-we did not initiate any fights (you have a nice face)
-Klinker did not poke a police officer in the belly
-we were not boisterous and disorderly
-we were not in danger of fighting several frat boys
-there was no homoerotic brinkmanship
-we were not hostile to people who hate freedom
-we did not unwittingly hitch a ride with drunken racists
-we were not extremely hungover

However, I did manage to publicly urinate and Klinker almost fought with the Huskers #1 Fan.

We parked the car and walked through the haze of a massive tailgate party to Jack Trice Stadium. RVs and old school buses dominated the scene. Many ISU fans were wearing golden shirts that said: "The Golden Rule: Beat Nebraska." Righteous, drunk, midwestern college girls walked around in jean skirts so short their piety showed when they bent over. Drunk, overweight fans attempted to take a short cut to the stadium by jumping over a small creek. Shoes were lost.

The 7pm game time led to superb attendance: 55,000+ spilling from the stands onto the grassy hillsides where we stood with many Big Red fans. Several fanatics decided face paint was not enough, the whole body must be painted... link a corn cob. Shuck the Cyclones. The 7pm game time also means people have had the chance to drink for several hours. Some drink more than others. One of those people was standing behind Klinker. The man was sloppy. Klinker asked him if he was okay, did he need a bucket. The man took umbrage. "What did you say! I'm feeling great. Don't you know who I am? I'm Nebraska's #1 fan. I love the Huskers. You don't know me." I took a picture of Nebraska's #1 Fan shortly after this incident.

He remained like this from early in the first quarter until the end of the game, sleeping it off on the hillside. This man will be in more pictures than he will ever know. People were laying down next to him, mocking his state of drunkeness. One guy even spooned with him. Nice. We also saw a fight by the port-a-pots. Apparently there was disagreement about who had to piss worse. Differences were reconciled and those bitches hugged it out.




Final score: Huskers 28 - Cyclones 14. The game was tense, a good victory. We celebrated briefly by eating a gyro and drinking a couple beers.

And now for the anticlimax...
The next morning we ate at the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. I saw an eight-year-old kid come back to his table with at least a dozen sausage links. That really made me laugh.

So there you have it, a vignette of our pilgrammage.















Until fall 2008.

New Web Site

I have great difficulty posting with regularity. The reason is simple: work is a little too busy and at home I become immersed in other pursuits. One of those pursuits involved the creation of a website: www.maryeandben.com. The site includes a photo gallery and a blog.

63 Mac Update

I talked to Kofi the other day.

Here's the word:

As you may have known, Kofi was contemplating a internal job offer in Toronto. But the Big Dirty will be staying in Chicago and switching from the Kellogg's account to the Coca-Cola account. In addition to the work at Leo Burnett, Kofi is taking two night classes a week at Northwestern University.

TCM Narrative

Kevin was up first. I joined him when the alarm woke me at 6am. I called Tim to make sure he was awake - buddy system. Tim and Paul met at our house shortly before 7am, the designated departure time. Marye drove us to the Metrodome, where the search for a shitter with a short line commenced. Paul and I were lucky enough to have closed our major business deals at home earlier. However, Kevin and Tim were still haggling for closure, which eventually came in the women's bathroom.

Then we successfully entered into the Wave 1 chute. Tim and I were not qualified to start in Wave 1 because we did not have a recent qualifying marathon or half-marathon time. So, I stole Kevin's number and made two color copies at Kinko's. Welcome to Wave 1.

Kevin was aiming for 2:50 and the remaining three of us were hoping for 2:59:59, which is 6:52 per mile pace. Kevin hammered out a good run, steady and then strong at the end. We (Tim, Paul, and I) crossed the first mile marker when my watch read 7:07, at which point Tim freaked out like a spooked gazelle because we were behind our desired 6:52 pace. That explains the 6:18 second mile. Thanksfully we hit 6:52 on the nuts for mile three. After that, we cruised and enjoyed the spectators. We (Tim and I) eased into a faster pace after rounding Nokomis and put together a string of quicker miles. At mile 20 Tim told me that he was going to relax the pace in anticipation of the approaching climb. I decided to continue the current pace because I was afraid my body would react to the slowed pace by voting for additional slowing of the pace, and so on. Of course, quadriceps fatigue made its presence known on Summit. I noticed that my left and right quads do not fatigue in a similar manner; because of my running form, there is asymmetrical fatigue, which amused me for a few minutes. When you are traveling at the speed of fatigue, time and distance dilate. Summit is a long stretch. As I ran by the cathedral I saw motivation ahead: Kurt Goetzke. Seriously. What a great ending. The Mac Alumni Team gathered in the finish area, exchanging congratulations. Tim was a hurting unit. Kevin was enjoying the final moments before his intestines turned into bowels of evil, prostrating him for the remainder of the day. The rest of us sat and dined.

Will any of us ever run another marathon? Yes. We plan on running with Jude in 2009.

The week following the marathon is known as fat week, and thusfar it has been a pleasure.

Feast/Feest

Here is a list of things I remember ingurgitating after the big run:

bananas
yogurt
granola bar
many pancakes
2 x (english muffin + cheddar cheese + sausage patty + egg)
sausage links
fruit salad
donuts and pastries
bean dip and chips
3 beers
1 coke
rootbeer float
pizza

My Splits

to the starting line 15.28
01 7:07.57
02 6:18.59
03 6:52.00
04 6:32.16
05 6:44.75
06 6:44.83
07 6:50.91
08 6:49.01
09 6:38.67
10 6:45.13
11 6:40.23
12 6:41.49
13 6:37.73
14 6:42.50
15 6:36.76
16 6:31.86
17 6:31.13
18 6:29.98
19 6:26.76
20 6:30.24
21 6:14.89
22 6:30.97
23 6:33.07
24 6:15.14
25 6:27.78
26 6:23.54
.2 1:21.88
finish 2:53:14

Marathon Splits for Splits People

TCM Times

Mac Alumni
Kevin 2:48:36
Ben 2:53:00
Tim 2:55:48
Paul 3:01:53

I think everyone was pleased with the effort and results.
I will provide in-depth analysis later.

Nederlands

Marye and I were in the Netherlands September 15-25.

I will be posting details about our trip.