Jeff's bachelor party was in Austin in January, the second time I've been to Austin for a bachelor party. However, this time we stayed on Rainey Street (where we were closer to 6th Street for Chris's bachelor party). The entire weekend was pretty much what I expected: lots of bars, lots of drinking. When we arrived at our AirBNB apartment, we literally just walked across the street to a line of bars and started drinking, playing bags, ring toss, etc.
One of the highlights of this trip was finding quite possibly the best BBQ places in Texas: Ironworks BBQ. On the first day, I didn't know what to get, so I got a sampler of brisket and beef ribs. The brisket is comparable to Rudy's, but man, those beef ribs were the best I've ever had. We would end up going back the next day (them a 3rd time on Saturday; I tried to go Sunday before I left but they were closed). If you're ever around Rainey Street in Austin, do yourself a favor and go to Ironworks and grab the 3-rib deal. The mac 'n cheese was also phenomenal.
Everyday in Austin was drinking at the bars. I consumed over 20 beers on Thursday alone, so on Friday I felt the need to switch to something other than beers, finding myself drinking Rainey Street Mules instead. I proceeded to get very hammered that night, where we ended up on 6th Street eventually...a 10-minute walk from where we were staying. Come Saturday, I was hurting and barely drank anything, even when we were at the strip club for over 4 hours. I was glad to be going home on Sunday, because my liver and stomach just couldn't take anymore. But alas, another great bachelor party for one of my oldest friendships.
Jeff and Ashley's Wedding in Tempe:
Jeff and Ashley got married the weekend of February 18th. I drove up on Friday for the rehearsal and drinks at Dos Gringos. I ended up crashing the entire weekend at Jeff's house, and in exchange for his humble hospitality, on Saturday morning I helped him move all of his wedding booze out of his backroom and into the kitchen for easier pickup by truck. Some 20 bottles, cases of Kiltlifter, and High Life, so I was definitely getting a workout in.
Jeff and Ashley would later get married at the Eisendrath estate, where it ended up raining on their wedding day, but fortunately the tent situation was decent and it only rained during the ceremony. We'd end up dancing away the rest of the night and eventually making it out to Gilligan's in Old Town Scottsdale. The only thing I couldn't remember from that night is how I ended up with a huge gash down the center of my left hand's palm... Anyway, congrats to Jeff and Ashley! I'm really happy for them and was honored to be a part of their wedding party.
I've been trying to keep track of my wedding participation numbers, and I believe this was the 21st I've attended, 8th I've been in...so far. Two more to come at the end of March and another in early April.
IBM Bowling Championships!
I haven't talked much about bowling this season, as it's been a rough year for me. My average ended up about 17 pins lower than I have been the past several years. I attributed a lot of my bad season to arm fatigue. The Raytheon basketball season, playing golf once a week, it was starting to take a toll on my body. Nonetheless, despite how bad I was bowling this year, we found ourselves in the Championship rolloff at the end of the season, which was just last Thursday!
As far as the rolloff goes, 4 teams compete and whoever has the highest total (scratch + handicaps) across the entire 3-game series at the end of the night, wins the championship! In addition, there are prizes to whoever bowls the best handicap series for the night. My teammate Chris ended up with a 614 scratch series and with his handicap, was the highest of the night. Yours truly rolled a 607 series and took the 2nd highest handicap series. With both of us bowling well, we were able to take the championship by about 30 pins and walk away with our 5th title in the last 8 years or so! Woohoo!
While I'll miss bowling, I'm looking forward to the offseason and giving myself a little bit of rest...but not really, because up around the corner is...
IBM Golf League!
While the IBM Golf League has been around a while, it wasn't until last year that I really started getting into golf. The league will be held Wednesdays starting next week and 20 teams of 2 are signed up. We'll tee off every week around 3:30 on Wednesdays for 9 holes at Randolph golf course here in Tucson. It's match play, but as a newbie, I still have a little to learn about the league rules and system. Fortunately for me, there is a handicap, which I'll surely need! :) I'm looking forward to another league, which will end around June.
So life is going well for me! Lots of activities, friends, the usual business. I know I haven't been blogging as much lately, but I will continue to try and keep it up about once a month. Until next time!
