Week in Review

Tuesday: 5chwartz and I braved the rain to attend the sold out preview performance of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a raucous homage to all things white trash. With a cast full of CCM grads, it centers on an agorophobic housewife, her philandering husband and his stripper girlfriend. The performances were spot on, the set was amazing & the cast recieved a standing ovation at the end of the night. This is likely going to be one of the most talked about shows in Cincinnati this year. Get your tickets while you can; the original run is sold out. ETC has extended the run for two weeks after Fringe Fest.

Thursday: I now understand how guys feel trying to shop at Victoria's Secret. Shopping for a gift for Jennifer's baby shower, I felt completely out of place in Babies R Us. Even though I was armed with a registry and a map, I still had no idea where or what anything was. For those of you who know me well, this little shopping excursion should give you some idea of just how much she means to me.

Saturday: Went with a group of friends to the Funny Bone at Newport on the Levee courtesy of Zipscene.

Goodbye Matt

Although I've never been a supporter of the war, I do support all the brave men and women in the armed forces, particularly those serving in Iraq. With that in mind, I went down to Great American Ball Park yesterday for the Celebration Service for Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin, who was captured just a few months before we moved down here. After nearly four years of searching, his remains were found late last month and he returned home on Sat. I was out on Rt 32 on Friday and yellow ribbons were everywhere in Newtown along the route from Lunken Airport to the viewing site. At the service I thought I wouldn't cry since I didn't know him personally- that went out the window when they started showing pictures of him on the scoreboard and I could make out his parents in the front row.

Back to Hip-Hop...maaaaaybe not

I should have known something was up when I walked in the room. And really I did, when I saw there were about 15 people and it was only the second week of the spring sessions. The room should have been packed. The regular instructor doesn't teach in the spring or summer. So who's the new instructor? Well, today's hip-hop class was taught by a 60ish white guy with a beard and a do rag. He knew what he was doing and did some ok things but it just didn't pop & flow like Danielle's class. I think I'll be sticking with Zumba until the fall sessions start up.

N/E Ohio- The List

Being up in Youngstown last weekend made me realize there are some things I miss about the area. These things being:

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Cleveland Plain Dealer
3. Lake Erie
4. Scheetz
5. Cleveland Public Theater
6. Giant Eagle
7. The Warren Panera with the cool fountain
8. Beachwood Place
9. Kent Trumbull Theater (love you, Dan!)
10. Coventry
11. Parade the Circle
12. Little Italy, in particular Corbo's bakery
13. Amish buggies
14. Oakland Center for the Arts
15. Cedar Lee Theater
16. Handel's Chocolate Malt w/caramel

Note that most of the things I miss are in or near Cleveland.
I once had a boss who described 5chw4r7z and I as Clevelanders living in Youngstown. I think that says it all.

Reds Opening Day

I celebrated Reds opening day the same way everybody else did-by taking a day off! I met two girlfriends at Game Day for breakfast & met these fellows too, who had been drinking steadily since about 6 am. At $5 per beer, I figured they were well on their way to spending at least $150.

I also ran into Dan Carroll at the ballpark, so yeah, it's a picture of another Fox 19 personality.

Next, we hit Fountain Square for our spots to watch the parade.

And you can't have a parade in Cincinnati without a giant, pink pig!

No pictures of Matt Maupin's parents; I was too busy applauding them.

Questions to ponder on language

I've noticed a disturbing trend lately, particularly from the media. When did we go back to gender-specific language, for example councilMAN, chairMAN, policeMAN.

I'm not saying that everything needs to have a corresponding word including woman. What I'd rather return to is non-gender-specific wording such as chair, council representative, police officer, etc.
With women still earning only .76 for every dollar a man earns, making a lifetime earnings loss adding up to between $700,000 and $2 million, can we really afford to regress?

The week in review- backwards

SATURDAY - SUNDAY

The general public emerged from their cocoons Sunday, but we did it first thing Sat. First up, tromping through Piatt Park with 5chw4r7z and Jackie, measuring snowfall amounts and snowdrifts.

We thought the world really was coming to an end when we got to First Watch and found it closed. But we had a great breakfast at Ingredients, which was open. And we watched the wonderful city workers truck the snow out of downtown before lunch at Margarita's. They decorate all the tables differently-this one is my favorite.

The Japanese work ethic was evident Sat. This place was one of only three open in the food court.

FRIDAY

We had plans to dine with friends for Break the Chain/Go Independent Week. I mentioned this might not be a good idea during a blizzard but 5chw4r7z was having none of it. He was going if he had to take a dogsled to get there. The decision was made for him when Chalk called to say they were closing early. Papa John's doesn't really get it when you're in the mood for a good dinner.

MONDAY

My favorite coffee place in Columbus is gone, gone, GONE! I had a taste for something cold, chocolately and blended and figured we'd stop at the Coffee Table in Short North. For the longest time 5chw4r7z and I called it Coffee Time. When we finally realized our mistake, we just kept calling it Coffee Time because we liked that name better. Making it back to Cincinnati in time, we went to Kitty's on Court Street. My cold, chocolately, whatever-you-call-it was almost as good as what I would have gotten in Columbus. My only complaint-no soy milk at Kitty's.

SUNDAY

Pick up 5chw4r7z in Canton and head to IHOP for breakfast before visiting some of my family. That breakfast was the perfect antidote to an extremely late night in downtown Cleveland.

SATURDAY

Why was I in Cleveland, you say? For Elicia's bachelorette party, of course! Those nice people at the Wyndham overbooked the hotel, but put us up at the Sheraton & picked up the tab! Bonus points: the Sheraton had a free shuttle so no one had to drive. I'll spare you the sordid details; suffice it to say we had a good time.