Nerd Metal, Microbrews, and the New Apartment

Thanks to the networking benefits of Theta Tau, I've made some more friends in the area via the Theta Tau California Alumni Club. The weekend prior to this last, I met up with a few of the NorCalifornians and then proceeded on Adventures this last weekend.

Before I get ahead of myself however, I am now mostly settled into my new place. Yes, I know I was only in the previous room for 4 months, but... among other things, the commute was wearing me down. The 13 mile drive could take 90 minutes. Now, I live only about a mile and half away, and can (and do) walk to work. My next endeavor will be to speed up the trip by purchasing a bike.

Friday night, I attended a very fun concert at the gorgeous historic Fillmore in The City (that's what us locals call San Francisco) with Kit & Andrew: Sonic Arctica and Nightwish. Kit's sister calls it "Nerd Metal" because it's heavy metal that is, well, nerdy. It was my first concert since the fated Taste of Chaos Concert of 2007 in Detroit (knocked down by a crowd surfer, I lost my glasses and phone to the crowd - talk about Chaos! - but the Civic Center staff found my still-functioning phone and mailed it back to me). Anyway, this crowd was much less violent, but still very enthusiastic.



I do not understand Mosh Pits.

Sunday, I went with Andrew and his friend Matt went back up to The City for the San Francisco Brewer's Guild "Brews on the Bay" Event. The event was held upon the historic WWII Liberty ship, the Jeremiah O'Brien at Pier 45 with live music by the Raveups (*great* band). I rode Caltrain for the first time to get there and back since beer tastings + driving are not conducive to safety.


My two favorite beers were from the same brewery: Magnolia Brewery's "Cole Porter" and their "Weekapaug Gruit" (I'd never heard of a gruit before - it's a hop-less beer, and they seasoned it with sage and rosemary - very delicious). Magnolia has a very BIZARRE website.
The worst beer sounded like it was going be a bad beer: The 21st Amendment Brewery's "Hell or High Watermelon Wheat". I'm normally a big fan of "fruity" beers, but this one was, for lack of a better description, gross.

Oh, and if you haven't seen this website yet, you totally should.

Who Hits a Bear?

Not me, of course! I'll get to that story momentarily.

This past weekend, for Labor Day & the nearby birthdays of two of my three younger sisters, I flew home to Ohio to visit my family & friends. It was my first visit home since moving out here, and it was not without its always exciting challenges.

The San Jose Airport has free wifi! Other airports - take note.

I flew in to the Detroit Airport early Saturday morning. My dad, who usually transports me to and from these airport adventures, was in Connecticut visiting a sick relative, so instead, I was greeted by my mom & big brother Corey. We drove home to Toledo and no sooner did we open the car door, my dad called my mom's cell phone.

"I hit a bear. I can't believe I hit a bear!"

He was driving through Pennsylvania on his way back home when a black bear ran out in front of him. With a semi-truck right behind him, he could not exactly slam on the breaks, so he slowed down and braced for impact - which there was.


The beautiful 2-yr-old Chevy Cobalt could not stand the test of a 250-lb Pennsylvania Black Bear. Car is totaled! Bear, unfortunately had to be euthanized as he was badly injured, but not killed by the crash.

It did give us a chance to spend more time with sister Erin's fiance, however, as he volunteered to drive me, my mom, and Erin out to pick up my stranded dad. The poor guy!

That night, I relived my college days with my college friends. The next day, Joe and I drove out to Cleveland to visit his family and watch the Cleveland Air Show from the comfort of the Goodtime Cruise ship.

I also got the chance over the weekend to spend time with my ever-growing baby niece. At nearly 11 months, she is developed enough to be a danger to herself and small furry animals. The cats and ferrets, however, don't seem to mind the attention.

The only other adventure of the trip which I'll mention was a late plane causing a tight transfer between flights causing my lost luggage; however, United graciously had my luggage delivered the very next day to my house without incident.

It was a great weekend; one that reminded me both of why I wanted and wanted not to leave Ohio. If only I could take with me some of my beloved Ohioans :-)