Fashion trends I cannot endorse

I work at a primarily undergraduate institution, which affords me great fashion ideas.  There are, however, some trends I cannot understand.

I have been seeing low-volume ankle-height, flat, tan leather oxfords, people.  And not ones with wing-tips or patterns.  No.  I am seeing shoes on 20 year olds that remind me precipitously of shoes I once sold, orthopedic shoes targeted at, shall we say, twilight women.

Shown below are the Frye shoes I've been seeing and, for comparison, the SAS - yes that's right, San Antonio Shoes - that I am familiar with.  If you can't tell the difference I won't tell you.

No.  Just, no.

(However if anyone wants to buy me these in 6.5, I would love you forever)

This is the funniest thing I've read all week.

Sardines.  A comic by my friend's twins.  Go read it.

This story is awesome. The hero of our story, Dennis LeRoy Anderson, owns a custom, motorized La-Z-boy, which in and of itself is awesome. Not only could he drive it around town (and, as will soon be pertinent, to the bar), but it has a stereo and cupholders built in. Genius. GENIUS! As any person in their right mind would do, he tooled this chair down to the bar one Monday evening and proceeded to get smashed. When Mr. Anderson decided that he had partied enough, he drove his La-Z-boy home. Except poor Mr. Anderson didn't make it home that night; because he was so drunk, he crashed his La-Z-boy into a parked car in the parking lot. Sadly, Mr. Anderson was then issued a DWI and to add insult to injury, his chair was confiscated. All for having the genius of getting wasted in his own, personalized, motorized recliner. Moral of the story: In Minnesota, motorized furniture, while completely awesome, is still considered a vehicle, so don't drive it drunk. Call a friend with a pickup to get a ride home so you can enjoy many more days of getting drunk in your personalized, motorized La-Z-boy.

With all the craziness going on in my life I set out in search of ways to relax and unwind:

• Not Always Right - The blog of customer stupidity for anyone who's ever had the, erm, joy of serving people for a living.
• STFU Parents - For the Facebooker who is tired of the TMI parents post about their offspring, including bowel movements, becoming a woman, and WTF this is.
• I need to install a skylight just so I can try this.
• What would really happen if zombies attacked.
• Toilet signs from around the world (the Legoland one is awesome).

And now I'm off to have some chicken noodle soup and ginger ale; I got attacked by a nasty flu and my eyes are starting to tire of the monitor :P

A Really Good Grill

I am sitting here trying to figure out why I am so relaxed and happy today (I even got a "What the HELL is with you and your perky perkiness, who is this woman and what have you done with my wife?" from LB this morning.)

I mean, this weekend was not all that great. Thursday was a normal work day, then I came home to an evening of weeding and raking and bagging and other general yardwork. Friday I relaxed, played some WoW, and did some laundry. Saturday I worked at the store for 7 hours in sandals that gave me blisters. Sunday I worked at the store some more. I got little to no sleep and was tired as hell all weekend. Not a super fab relaxing weekend, right? Or was it?

Friday night LB and I grilled some of our signature Super Stinky Burgers* and hung out by our fire pit with beer. Saturday night LB took me out for a birthday dinner, then we came home and watched fireworks. Sunday, LB's best friend came over and we grilled some brats, then hung out with beer again, playing fetch with Freki and shooting the shit. Hell I was tired all weekend not primarily because of work, but because I had so much fun sitting out next to the grill that I stayed up way too late.

I realized today that even though I worked like a dog on most of my vacation, I still had a great weekend. Sitting down with your people, having a beer (or three), chatting over a hot grill with good food can really change the day from something stressful to something fun and relaxing.

So here's to a good grill, because really, it can make all the difference between a good weekend and a crappy one. Well, that and beer.

*Grill a burger as usual. Place thick slices of onion on top of burger when nearly cooked. Slather on some minced garlic and jalapeno. Top with cheese, preferably muenster and pepper jack. Remove from grill when cheese is melty. Toast bun. Enjoy with or without condiments. Later on and well into the next day pop breath mints like they're candy, in between multiple tooth brushings.