caseyphillips.net

Well, our trip to Texas has come and gone. I have to say I really had a great time.

We left K.C. around 3 on Thursday with the intent of stopping in Wichita Falls, TX for the night. We didn't quite make it that far, stopping in Lawton, OK instead (about halfway point from OK city and Wichita Falls) at probably the worst motel I'd ever stayed in. It was a Days Inn, which are usually OK, but this one was old, dirty, packed with loud guests, and the air conditioner alternated from not working at all and rattling like a jackhammer. Plus they were out of king beds, so both of us sleeping on a double made it a little cramped. What's worse, we found out the next day when we left, if we had just stayed on the interstate a few minutes more, there was a Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn, Best Western, and La Quinta right down the road, and all looked much nicer than the shithole we stayed in.

We finally arrived in Sweetwater around 10:30 AM on friday, and we were exausted. We slept at my parents house for a few hours before finally getting around town and visiting with people. We decided to go to the Roscoe High School football game that evening to watch Tammy's brother Keith play. It was a great game, Roscoe slaughtered Winters, and we met up with family and friends we hadn't seen in a long time. For some it had been well over a year. At one point a boy came up to me selling raffle tickets, and I politely declined. As the boy walked away, my wife started calling him back, and it then occurred to me that it wasn't just any boy, but Benny's son, Zack. I could hardly recognize him, and he, until being reminded of who I was, didn't recognize me either. It's hard to believe it's been so long. I found Benny making his way to the stands, talking to each person along the way (sound familiar OT guys?) and we got to catch up a bit during the game. I especially had questions about a disturbing dream he blogged about not too long ago.

Saturday was the wedding, the very reason we came down to Texas. The ceremony was beautiful, and it was really great to see Tammy's family again. We have not seen any of her family since moving up here, and I know she has been missing them a great deal. Brenda (the sister who got married) was so very nervous, so out of character (she's usually the strong, proud type) that it got me a little choked up too. You could tell she was very, very happy. She had many concerns before the wedding (as I'm sure all brides-to-be do) that something or another would go wrong with the ceremony. Well, as it turns out, she had nothing to worry about. It was honestly one of the nicest wedding ceremonies I'd ever been too.

After the ceremony, we headed out to the Wagon Wheel Ranch for the dinner and dance. During the dinner, the mariachi (who also played during the ceremony) went around the room playing to different groups of people. These guys were good, too. I'm not much of a mariachi authority, and don't listen to much mariachi music, but I was impressed by these guys (and gal). The food was also great, although I was hoping for some good Mexican food, I wasn't complaining about the brisket they served.

The dance started a couple of hours after the dinner was finished, so we all headed out to buy beer and other goodies for the dance. The dance was a highlight of the evening, even though I didn't do much dancing. Our friends Benny, Mari, Isabelle and Tim showed up, and while the girls were interested mostly in the cumbias, the guys were more into the beer and conversation. We did dance a bit, and I usually like dancing at Mexican dances, but having not seen my friends in such a long time, I found myself wanting to chat more than anything (and drink beer).

After the dance, we headed off the Roscoe to see Benny and Mari's new place (new being relative, since they moved into it over a year ago). There we caught up a little more and drank a little more beer. Before we knew it, it was 3AM. Our original plans were to leave Sunday morning so we would have Monday to recover. This, obviously, changed our plans. So, we spent monday with my family messing around Sweetwater and talking. This gave me and Tammy the opportunity to get to know Andrea, my brother Steve's wife, alot better. They married a month before we moved to Kansas, so we had never really had a chance to get to know her. She's a lovely woman, and I can tell she's good for my brother. We're looking forward to a visit from them sometime soon.

We then headed back to Kansas early monday morning. The drive wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be, and only took around 10.5 hours, not the 12 hours mapquest estimates. Plus, with Tammy keeping me company, the drive went by relatively quickly. The longest seeming stretch was from Emporia, KS to Kansas City.

Now, it's back to our normal routine. It's hard to believe it will soon be a year since I left Texas. My, how time does fly. . .

This afternoon after I get off of work, Tammy and I are heading off to Texas (Sweetwater/Roscoe) for her sister's wedding. I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends, but I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to the drive. We'll probably stop in OK city on the way there (it's about the halfway point). On the way back, we're hoping to drive straight through, but may think otherwise after we're on the road (it's about a 12 hour drive from Sweetwater to KC).

Anyway, everyone have a great weekend, and if you're in the Sweetwater/Roscoe area, maybe I'll see ya there.

Well all, here is the pics I promised of the Weston Irish Fest. I just uploaded them, so it's nothing fancy, just directory browsing. Just click here and enjoy.

I lived in Texas for 99.9% of my life, and a great deal of that time was in a county with a much smaller population than what I live in now. During that time, I never got called for jury duty. Not once.

The reason I bring this up is this:

When Tammy and I moved up here, a friend of mine and his wife also moved here for the same job. This was in January of this year. Since that time all 4 of us have been called for jury duty. We had all lived in Texas our entire lives, and none of us had ever been called for jury duty. But, after 9 months in Kansas, we all get called. In fact, it was only about 3 months from when the first of us was called until the last of us was called. And of the 4 of us, mine was the only trial that wasn't canceled. I ended up not getting selected for the jury however, nevermind it took them almost 5 hours to not select me.

Now, I don't mind being called for jury, it is an important role we play (even though the trial I was called for was basically a rich guy suing another rich guy), but just wonder how 4 people, newly relocated, get called in such a short time frame. How do they make these selections? They claim it is random, but it sure doesn't seem random.

Well, as promised, Tammy and I attended the Weston Irish Fest, and I had a GREAT time. The beer was flowin', the music was awesome, and . . . did I mention there was BEER?

The festival was held in Weston, MO, a small town of about 1600 people about 10 miles northeast of here (also home of the McCormick distilling company), at O'Malley's pub and American Bowman restaurant. There were two stages set up, one outside and one down in a limestone cellar (this is where O'Malley's pub actually is) that had to be more than 100 years old. To me, even though it was dirty, crowded, and smelled like a storm cellar, the indoor stage was more enjoyable. It almost felt like I were in Ireland.






We had planned to go on saturday night which is the big night for the Irish fest, but both Tammy and I were feeling under the weather, so we went on sunday instead. There wasn't as much activity as saturday night would've had, so I'm a little upset we were unable to attend then, not because I didn't have enough fun tonight, but because if I had this much fun sunday night, I can just imagine how much fun I would've had saturday night. I love Irish music, and this was just fantastic. The three bands we saw were Jiggernaught, Brigid's Cross, and The Elders. When first moving here, I saw a video of The Elders on TV (they're a local K.C. band, but have members from Ireland) so I knew I wanted to see them, and they were outstanding. But suprisingly, the band I liked the most was Brigid's Cross, mainly because of the fiddler, who was OUTSTANDING. This guy was around 300 lbs, wearing a football jersey and what look like pajama bottoms, but played a fiddle like the devil himself. They even did a rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", but this was just showing off I think. This guy was amazing. Not only was their music great, but they played the crowd as well as he played that fiddle.

Jiggernaught was interesting because they featured a female piper, and their music was more of a celtic/rock/country hybrid, so electric guitar paired with bagpipes was kinda cool.

The Elders where the headliners really, and played on the larger outside stage. They attracted quite a large crowd, and were also kinda a rock/Irish hybrid, but more Irish than rock compared to Jiggernaught. One cool moment was when they announced the attendance of a couple that were born in Weston in 1900. That's 105 years for you math geniuses!

It was a nice change from the ordinary, and I plan on going again next year (if I'm still living here).

Anyway, I took some pics and will be posting them soon. I also plan on going to this pub more often, as they have live music every saturday, and well, I like beer.

Look for some pics soon.

Well, although we've had a couple of cool days already, today finally feels like fall is really here. It was only around 40 this morning when I woke up, and the forcast says it won't get over 55 today, and then down in the 30's tonight. Not only is my AC off, I may have to switch some heat on.

I know alot of you don't like the cooler weather, but I've always enjoyed fall and winter, ever since I was a kid. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's from associating it with the holidays when I was young, who knows. Tammy is dreading the coming winter, she keeps a blanket on the couch even in the summer to keep her warm, so winter really gets to her.

I may not have time to blog this weekend, Tammy and I are planning on possibly going to a local Irish festival, so I'll take this time to wish everyone a safe and fun Columbus day weekend. Slainte!

I remember Buster raving about how good the freshly made Krispy Kreme doughnuts were that he used to get while living in Houston. Well, I finally got a taste of what he was talking about. Tammy and I were doing a little shopping in KC this weekend and on the way home stopped by at a Krispy Kreme store (the kind with the window you can watch them fry the doughnuts through) to maybe get a doughnut and a drink. First thing when we walked in the woman behind the counter hands us two freshly made doughnuts as a free sample. Until then I don't think I've ever actually had a doughnut. Tammy, who as as rule, does not like doughnuts, had me buy a dozen of these things. These things melted in my mouth. Good thing there's not one closer to my house or else there'd be around 200 lbs more of me in no time. So, Buster, I finally understand the allure of Krispy Kreme and why you wanted to make a special trip there while in Houston with Hank and the other OT clowns. It's not just another doughnut.

On a side note, I'm going to make a concerted effort to blog much more frequently, as I've really slacked off on my already infrequent blogging. I'm shooting for at least 3 times a week.