Wisdom from Lesley

Wisdom from Lesley:
"I think that at the conclusion of the NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams should say, 'Thank you. Good night, America.' And then they should play a Shannon video."

I want to be in the middle of this photo

I'd do just about anything to be in the middle of this photo. Princes William and Harry look hot in their classic hats.

New home for Ruben's blog

Ruben's blog has moved to this location. I like his WordPress format better than LiveJournal. LiveJournal seems like it's for 14 year-old girls.

I'm looking forward to Ruben's birthday celebration on Saturday. As befits the guest of honor, it will be an all-Bay View affair. We're going to dinner at Palomino and then drinks at At Random. Palomino's food is so good, even though it's bad for you. I love their vegan sloppy joe sandwich with tater tots. I can't believe that Ruben has never been to At Random, a 1960s-1970s era cocktail lounge that does not serve beer. I first visited At Random my senior year of college in 1995. At Random's signature drink is the Tiki Love Bowl for Two, a fruity rum-based concoction that is delivered to your table lit on fire. The description of the Tiki in the menu says, "If you're not in love, you will be." Even though the Tiki is designed for two, I may have to order one for myself since I have no boyfriend and the way 2007 is going so far, it's likely I'll never find a man.

Shanice

Lately I have been enjoying rediscovering pop songs from when I was in high school. In about 1988 or so I started getting into alternative music pretty heavy, but I never lost my appreciation for good pop. One song I recently rediscovered and purchased on iTunes is "I Love Your Smile" by Shanice. This is a true gem from 1990 that includes the lyric, "I'm gonna put that new black mini on my charge anyway/Cause I love your smile." It's a fun song that I definitely recommend.

My mom is 60

My mom turned 60 on Friday. Yesterday we celebrated her milestone birthday and Mother's Day by going to dinner at Lake Park Bistro. It was a fun evening. Abby, my niece, didn't come to dinner because at 3 months she's not old enough to enjoy that kind of dinner!

Back door deliveries

Lesley and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo of me (the gay one) in front of this sign at Lixx on Downer.

Lesley in Milwaukee part 2

Lesley and I have t-shirts that go together. Hers says "FAN-" and mind says "TASTIC!" The point being, obviously, that if we ever wore them at the same time, we'd be "FAN-TASTIC!" Unfortunately our luck is such that Lesley wore "FAN-" the first time we met up and I had left "TASTIC!" at home. The second time we met I was wearing "TASTIC!" but Lesley had left "FAN-" at home. Such is our luck.

These photos taken at Lixx on Downer.

Fun with Lesley

Lesley visited Milwaukee recently. While she traveled to Milwaukee for numerous events with her grandparents, she was able to squeeze me in for two dinners. It's always so much fun to see her. Plus she gave me a CD with some fantastic songs, including two by Atlantic Star, "Operator" and "No Parking on the Dance Floor." Both are 80s dance classics that had been missing from my collection. Fortunately that omission has now been rectified, thanks to Lesley.

As we always do when we're together, we took numerous photos which are quite amusing to the two of us, but probably not to others.

We saw this rather odd Supercuts sign outside of Harry's and couldn't resist. Of course, both of us are coy about our own waxing histories.

Lesley's bat mitzvah

Unfortunately I did not know Lesley in 1987 when she had her bat mitzvah. Alas, I grew up in New Berlin, Wisconsin, where just about everyone was white and Christian. I didn't really meet Jewish people until I went to graduate school at Lehigh University, where more than a third of the students were Jewish. Fortunately, Lesley has a complete photo album documenting her bat mitzvah, the day that she became a woman. She recently showed me the album, and it was most interesting. In addition to many wonderful photos of Lesley, I also got to see Barbie and Dave H. circa 1987. I wish that I had known Lesley so I could have been at this fabulous party where there was good food, a caricature artist, and dancing to 80s music.

Next generation

Earlier this spring I met two high school friends for dinner at Harry's. Brad, Bonnie, and I all graduated from Eisenhower High School in New Berlin, WI in the early 90s. Brad and Bonnie both have young sons. Bonnie and her husband Bill have an 11 month old named Everett (top photo). Brad and his wife Anne have a 7 month old named Trevor (bottom photo). Both little boys are cute and fun to be with. Even though we're approaching our mid-30s, it can be difficult to believe that we're old enough and mature enough to handle parenting. Well, not me, but Brad, Anne, Bonnie, and Bill are all great parents. It doesn't seem like that long ago that Brad, Bonnie, and I tried unsuccessfully to remove a stop sign in western New Berlin. While that memory is still fresh in my mind, it was almost 17 years ago!

White Lion

TO: Dave and Brad

FROM: Steve

Heard on XM Radio Channel 8 this morning on my way to work: "When the Children Cry" by White Lion. This brought me back to 1988-1989, Eisenhower High School, and listening to this song on cassette tape with Pete Barry on Weatherstone Boulevard.

TO: Brad and Steve

FROM: Dave

Excellent song, as is "Little Fighter" by White Lion

I have subsequently purchased both songs on iTunes, and am glad that I did.