Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy 2013!

I spent the last days of 2012 in Yankton, South Dakota, Clinton, Iowa and Lansing, Iowa with my good buddy, Steve Sabo.

First stop: Yankton.  The drive was horrible.  It featured blizzards, almost ending up in the ditch and lack of sleep.  Luckily, the show made it completely worth it!  The crowds were so fun and welcoming.  Oh, and did I mention drunk?  Because, yeah, they were that, too.  At one point, we were egged on to do something called "Bubbles."  Neither Steve nor I had heard of this.  Well, I mean, I've heard of bubbles, but I never knew them to be a verb and something one does with alcohol.

Apparently, "bubbles" is when you drink an entire bottle of Rumple Minz until there is nothing left but bubbles.  Yes, you read that correctly: an entire bottle!  P.S. Rumple Minz is 100 proof!

Um, holy whoa!

Thinking that nobody would actually attempt this feat, Steve and I politely declined, only to be shown up by the owner who downed half a bottle!

South Dakota, I have a new respect for your drinking abilities.

Us post-show:

I didn't take too many pictures in Yankton (although I have a feeling if we stuck around longer, we would have captured quite a few people passed out with empty bottles of Rumple Minz in their hands), but I did enjoy this menu from a local Chinese restaurant.


I guess these coupons only apply to hard to please eaters.

After Yankton, we headed to Clinton, Iowa for another fun show.  As you can tell by this picture, these folks like to drink, too.


 After the show, Steve and I sang a duet of Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch." Yes, it was just as bad as it sounds.

Our back-up dancer. 

When I checked into the hotel in Clinton, I asked if there was a fitness center.

"No, but we have a bar."

Apparently, getting so drunk that you dry-heave and inadvertently do stomach crunched counts as exercise in Iowa.  My kind of place.

Then, at night, I got the hotel equivalent of ding dong ditched. At 2:30 am, someone pounded on my door and ran. I guess karma takes about 20 years, and I'm just now getting repaid for my middle school antics.

After Clinton, we headed to Lansing, Iowa.  And I promptly fell in love with the town.  It's situated right on the Mississippi River, and not only is the scenery beautiful, but the hotel is adorable!

Here are some shots from where I stayed:








The inn was a former photography studio (in the 1800's), so it was filled with old camera decor.

For New Year's Eve, we headed up to Boyd, Minnesota.  The show was sold-out, and I had a blast. 

My favorite part of the evening?  Seeing a guy, who was DJing after the show, wearing shorts.  Let me elaborate: it was -8 degrees!  Here's DJ No Pants (as he was nicknamed) demonstrating that he has WAY more guys than I ever will:




 Steve on stage.

Ringing in 2013 with my BFF, Bud Light.

 
New Year's lapdances? Didn't know that was customary, but from what I gather, it is in Minnesota.

The long drive home was long, and I broke one of my resolutions (to give up soda) before the day was even finished. But, I had so much fun on the trip, and there's always tomorrow to give up Diet Pepsi.

Happy 2013, everyone!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

This is so happening right now

This is so happening right now:
Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

2 10.5 ounce packages silken (soft) tofu
1 pre-made pie crust
1 16 ounce can pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a blender or food processor, process all ingredients, except for the pie crust, until smooth.

Pour into pre-made pie crust. Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Chill before serving, if desired.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Not happy about this

Channeling McKayla Maroney to express my feelings about having to wear cold weather gear.

Monday, November 12, 2012

My running story was featured in the Middle of the Pack blog. Check it out!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

New York and Newport News

After hanging on the beach in the Outer Banks, I took MegaBus up to visit my friend, Brent, in New York City.  I had never taken MegaBus before, and after one trip, I am sold.  Not only is it amazing to sleep through traffic, but not having to pull over to use the restroom is pretty top-notch, too.

Brent and I destroyed some slot machines (and by destroy, I mean, lost money on) at a casino, visited my old stomping grounds (NYU), figured out cheap ways to drink (flask on the street) and had some really great vegan food at a neighborhood diner in Brooklyn.

Some pictures from our adventures:






After (reluctantly) saying goodbye to Brent, I headed down to Newport News, Virginia for some shows at Cozzy's Comedy Club.  While I lived in Norfolk, Cozzy's was the club where I'd hang out.  So it was so great to catch up with old friends while I was there. I worked with the two hilarious guys: Tim Loulies and Adam Dodd.  And I even squeezed in some AUH-MAZING vegan pizza from Cogan's in Norfolk (that's fellow comic, Channing Tyner) about to dive in:





 On stage at Cozzy's (thank you to CB Wilkins and Todd Towler for creating):

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Telling jokes in the Outer Banks

On September 13, 2012, I headed down to the Comedy Club of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  Although I've done that drive many times (since I used to live in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia), I had forgotten how treacherous it can be.  I listened to my GPS (bad move number 1), and drove right thru the heart of Washington DC.  Right in the middle of rush hour.  I felt like I was in an endless traffic jam.  The only thing that made it remotely decent was this Harley guy's fierce head-bopping to dance remixes of Carly Rae Jepsen that he was blasting on his stereo.


I finally made it to the Outer Banks and got a chance to work with the very funny, Vince Martin.  We performed two shows: one at the Currituck Country Club, and one at the Ramada Inn.  During the day, I got a chance to explore the banks a bit, and park my butt on the beach. 










When you stay at the club, you say with the owners, Ed and Leslie.  They are always so kind and hospitable, and this year was no exception.  Here's Vince and me with Leslie:


Not only were the shows fun, but I'm counting this trip as a success because I didn't get chased out by a hurricane.  Unlike in the past.