September Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 6 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

September 5th - Duvel glasses
September 12th - St. Arnold Oktoberfest glasses
September 19th - Lowenbrau Oktoberfest glasses
September 26th - Warsteiner Oktoberfest glasses

Additional Pint Nights for the month of September

September 11th - Sam Adams Ocotberfest glasses
September 13th - Paulaner Oktoberfest glasses
September 14th - Hofbrau Oktoberfest glasses
September 15th - Spaten Oktoberfest glasses

2006 Texas Chainring Massacre

On August 12, I participated in the 2006 Texas Chainring Massacre at Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX. This event was a 6-hour mountain bike race around a 9-mile loop in the Lost Pines area just south of Austin, TX.

So, on Thursday, August 10, after work, I packed up my gear, including my new lighting system which I'd never used before (which arrived the day prior) and my Specialized Epic with two flat tires (recurring theme here) and headed to my hometown. During my 3-hour'ish drive, I pondered the following risks...

• I hadn't gone mountain biking on trails in over a year
  
• This was my first endurance race and my second mountain bike race
  
• This was my first time riding at Rocky Hill Ranch
  
• The race wouldn't started until 5 pm, which made the temperature at the start about 100 degrees
  
• The race wouldn't officially end until 11 pm, which meant it would be the first time I would ride at night
  

A number of people have asked the following question: What prompted you to enter this race? My responses...

• Cool t-shirt design
  
• I've always wanted to ride Rocky Hill Ranch and if I didn't make it happen, it wouldn't
  
• Why not?
  

I arrived at the race location around 3:30 pm in the blazing heat. After checking in and purchasing a 1-day NORBA race license, I retired back to my car, set up my bike stand and chair, filled my CamelBak, changed into my sexy (yeah, right) race attire, ate, and chilled to some tunes on my nano.


The race started promptly at 5 pm with a LeMans start. What is that? Well, that's what I thought. Basically, when the gun went off at 5 pm, we had to run about 1/8 mile to get to our bikes. This being a 6-hour race, the purpose is to ride as many laps as you can for 6 hours. The race was scheduled to be run from 5 - 11 pm. As long as you started your last lap by 10:59:59 pm you could finish after 11 pm.

The race started incredibly hot. Hitting the first two climbs, my heart rate hit 182. In the first mile, I felt like puking twice. In the first 1 1/2 miles, I dismounted for hike-a-bike about four times. The trail conditions were dry, loose, and sandy. The trail was not too technical and had lots of relatively smooth piney sections where I could try and recover. Fortunately my downhilling wasn't too rusty and I was able to relax, feather the brakes, and hang on for dear life. I started my third lap after 8 pm with my lighting system on. Night riding was totally different...FYI. Depth perception was gone, I could not tell whether or not the trail was hard or soft, and I was forced to look ahead at various distances depending on speed. Exhilarating and scary at the same time. Luckily, having done two laps in the daylight, by this time, I was familiar with the course. I completed my third and final lap at 10:28:20 pm. I pulled in lap times (including rest/food/hydration breaks) of 1:26:21, 1:48:10, and 2:13:49. By contrast the fastest lap time was 0:39:46 (team men) and the top solo men's finisher pulled 6 laps at 10:59:59. I finished 26 out of 32 people in the solo men's division which means...I didn't finish last this time!!!

Despite the fact that in the middle of the second and after the last lap I managed to text message a few people and tell them how hellish the ride was, I had a great time. As soon as I completed lap 3, I told the finishing table I was DONE. From there I headed straight to the beer tap to have some Remember Alamo Golden Ale, aka Real Ale Fireman's #4 Blonde Ale. "God that's good. It's so good! Once it hits your lips, it's so good." After downing a few and relaxing, I changed, loaded up, and headed back to my folks house around midnight.

On the way back, I was text messaging a friend of mine who wanted to go out dancing, but I was just too beat. Something about racing for 5 1/2 hours made me tired. Not to mention I consumed approximately 188 ounces of fluids during the race without peeing once.

Anyway, I had a fantastic time and expect to be back to Smithville, TX for the 3rd annual...

August Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 6 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

August 1st - Spaten glasses
August 8th - Blue Moon glasses
August 15th - Young's glasses
August 22nd - Mix & Match glasses
August 29th - DeKoninck glasses

Out Of Order

to all concerned,

sorry. i have been engaged on a project from january until now (june 16). i am starting to roll off the engagement so my hours have become much more manageable. at the peak i was working up to 112 hours/week and supporting one project monday through friday and flying to charlotte, nc to support another project friday through sunday. needless to say, i lost touch with most, if not all of my friends...

hopefully...in the coming days and weeks, i can reconnect...

toshi

My Second Visit to Charlotte

On a recovery Sunday at 2 pm on March 26, I was pinged on IM by one of my practice directors. Due to an emergency at one of our current engagements they needed me in Charlotte for a few days (Monday - Wednesday). That being said, I booked a plane ticket and hotel and jumped on the 5:30 pm flight bound for Charlotte.

After landing, I got cleaned up and headed back to my old stomping ground, Morehead Street Tavern where I met up with Charlie and Chris to catch up over some dinner and drinks before heading into the client site the next morning.



Below is a photo of the client site (see blue arrow) from my hotel room.



On the day I was scheduled to leave, I ended up open-ending my return ticket and checking back into the Westin Charlotte. I should've known better but I only packed for four days. All I can say about that is hotel laundering service can be a wonderful thing. I ended up staying for the next nine days. Fortunately I did get to bip home for the weekend before heading back up on Sunday to stay until Wednesday. This time I actually did make my flight! I was really hoping to be able to go out the weekend I was in Charlotte, but we were up working until 4:30 am and 2:00 am on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Also, in the fifteen days I was here we pulled two all-nighters (well...one ended around 5:30 am, but the sun was up before I went to bed so that counts, dammit) along with other miscellaneous long days.

On Tuesday, my last night (this time) in Charlotte, Charlie, Chris, Cesar, and I started the evening around 7:45 pm. We had dinner at Tavern on the Tracks. From there we went to Attic Bar and Brick & Barrel before ending up at Phil's Deli.



The bartenders at Phil's are definitely attractive! Phil's was packed (considering a Tuesday night) and we closed it down leaving sometime just before 2:30 am. Scott and Drew joined us around midnight for more beers, cocktails, and shots.



I was hoping to stop by and say goodbye to Tracy at Morehead Street Tavern but we just didn't get to. Until next time, then...

April Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

April 4th - Belhaven glasses
April 11th - Anchor glasses
April 18th - Breckenridge 471 IPA glasses
April 25th - Maredsous glasses

20th Borden Uptown Run & Trolley Walk

On a beautiful, sunny 41-degree day in March, I competed in the 5-Mile Uptown Run. The day only reiterated that this is indeed the best run I have ever taken part in--better than the Dallas Turkey Trot, Keep Austin Weird 5K, Capitol 10K, and many, many others.

Live entertainment was provided by Lacy Jade, who sang one of the most amazing renditions of the National Anthem--no frills, no added crap, just pure, unadulterated and heartwarming.

After locating the beer tent, I wandered about until I bumped into some of my running girls.



The race started at 8:15 am. According to my Polar HRM, I finished in a PR 43:50 finishing with the following mile times: 8:32, 8:40, 9:22 (estimated), 9:22 (estimated), and finishing with a 7:52. How did I feel? I felt great for the first 500 yards or so, then I started to feel a bit nauseous. I had to take two water stops over the course of the event. In between miles 1 and 2, I did stop for about 15-20 seconds to chat with my friends Kristian and Quince, who were doing the 5K Trolley Walk.

After the race, I regrouped with the girls, stretched a bit, and then headed to the beer tent to enjoy some nice, cold cups of Michelob Ultra. I quickly snagged two full cups and camped out. Kristian and Quince showed up a few minutes later followed by Eric and Ivan. There was also a special guest appearance by Emylie and Zorah.



We headed down to the race course to watch the elite runners compete in the Minyard Invitational 8K road race for $10K.



I was dropped off at my car around 11:30 am. Realizing I was in absolutely no condition to drive, I walked back to the grounds to enjoy more beer and see who else I could bump into. I ran into Jim and his girlfriend, a competitor in the elite race. I met some of their friends and chatted the time away. At one point, Lacy Jade came over after finishing her set and enjoyed a beer with us.

Clearly some of the spectators had a bit more fun than I did...FYI...



Anyway, my friend Brandon came over and gave me a lift and we went to go get something to eat at Dream Café. Afterwards, he dropped me of at home so I could pass out in peace.

Again the day was absolutely fantastic. The weather, the music, the crowd, the beer, everything!!!

Looking forward to next year!!!

March Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

March 7th - Spaten Brau Bock glasses
March 14th - Murphy's glasses
March 21st - Unibroue glasses
March 28th - Mix & Match glasses

Therapy for the Soul

I arrived in Chicago, IL on Saturday, February 11 to attend a training class in Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003. Without going into any detail, Saturday night was not a very good night for me. I had to come to grips with the fact that some of my strongest friendships in the last few years are not so strong anymore and maybe it's time I cut ties--for my sake. For those of you that do know me, you also know how hard that will be for me...

Still troubled, on Sunday, February 12, I attended a concert by Lucy Kaplansky at Schubas Tavern. Schubas was built in 1903 and refurbished in 1988. I'd heard about Schubas and when I found out that I was coming to Chicago, I looked it up, and checked the concert calendar. Lucy Kaplansky was playing. Who? I'd never heard of her. After listening to a few snippets on iTunes, and liking what I'd heard, I bought a ticket for Sunday's show. The concert started around 9 pm and I drove from Downers Grove and arrived around ten minutes late.

The cozy venue was illuminated by about six spotlights and various candles with chairs in the front and SRO in the back.

From the moment I walked through the door, I fell in love with her voice. Lucy's voice had hints of Diana Jones, Suzanne Vega, and Nanci Griffith. She engaged the crowd, which was comprised of diehard fans, former schoolmates, former school teachers, and most importantly--me. Despite my former troubles from the previous day, all were wiped away the moment I stepped through those doors to hear "Guilty as Sin" (click on album below). After playing over 90 minutes, with humorous stories interjected, she came back for an encore ending with a heart-rendering song favored by her late promoter, Bob Feldman. I wish I could remember the title of that song...

Melissa, the bartender, and an extremely nice one at that, hooked me up with several pints of a local brew, Honkers Ale, from Goose Island Beer Company.

Needless to say, I had a great time at Schubas and I hope that Lucy will make an appearance in Dallas!

Indeed...therapy for the soul...

Tristan Prettyman @ Gypsy Tea Room

On Tuesday, February 7, Lora and I attended the Tristan Prettyman concert at the Gypsy Tea Room. This cozy venue hosts about 250 people and it was pretty tight at times. Tristan's show was opened by Ben Taylor and another artist. Ben Taylor was pretty good. I'd never heard him play before, but there were a few songs of his I really enjoyed. As it turns out, he is the son of the great James Taylor and he was accompanied by his sister, Sally and an extremely petite and cute bass guitarist with really cool hair. Ben came on around 9 pm and played for about an hour to a packed house.

Tristan came on stage just after 10 pm and was awesome right from the start. Wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, she arrived cute as hell with her hair in a knot.

Lora had an early conference call in the morning so we had to leave around 11:30 pm and I didn't get to hear my first song of Tristan's, "Simple As It Should Be", but I did get to hear my favorite, "Love Love Love".

Needless to say, I had a great time and I look forward to seeing Tristan play again.

February Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

February 7th - DeKoninck glasses
February 14th - Young's Chocolate glasses
February 21st - St. Arnold Spring Bock glasses
February 28th - Mix & Match glasses

They are having an additional pint night this month on Monday, February
13th - Stella Artois glasses

January Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

January 3rd - St. Arnold Stout glasses
January 10th - Dogfish Head glasses
January 17th - Guinness glasses
January 24th - New Belgium glasses
January 31st - Duvel glasses

Road to the Thunder Road Marathon

08/13 - I tried running 10 miles today with a friend of mine in Charlotte. It was a blazing hot day. Between that and my herniated disc, which I didn't know I had at the time, I barely made it. Walking was definitely involved. Everytime I started to run, I had to fight the urge to avoid passing out. It was excruciating...

09/09 - I tried running for the first time in just under a month, but I only made it 0.4 miles before the pain made me stop short...

09/10 - I tried running again, but I only made it 0.4 miles before the pain made me stop short...

10/04 - I found out from a doctor in Charlotte that I have a herniated disc in my neck.

11/22 - I went for a 45 minute run in the gym on a treadmill. This was the first time I'd run since 09/10. Having forgotten what it was like on a treadmill, I accidentally set the incline too high (6%) so I felt tired early and a bit out of breath, but after 30 minutes or so, everything started to settle in and I felt myself begin to open up. I actually felt pretty good. I limited my arm swing to avoid aggravating my herniated disc. My next trial would be the Turkey Trot on 11/24...

11/24 - I woke up around 7:30 am to get ready for my first real road test, the 2005 Turkey Trot in Dallas, in over three months. The race started off well, but then my shins really began to hurt about 0.5 miles into the event. I thought I might have to walk. Determined to not let that deter me, I kept pushing onward. I hit the 3 mile marker at 28:40.9 and I noticed that the pain in my shins subsided. I was starting to feel pretty good. There was some tingling in my left arm, but not too much. Again, I kept a limited arm swing to avoid aggravating the nerve. I completed mile 4 in 8:58.1 and was feeling pretty good; mile 5 came in at 8:43.0; miles 6 & 7 came in together at 17:44.8 (roughly 8:52/mile) as there were some inclines to deal with. The last mile was difficult towards the end but I ended with a strong 7:56.3 bringing me home with a total elapsed time of 1:12:03. Needless to say, out of breath, legs suffering from a long-awaited pounding, I was extremely pleased by my strong finish. Plus, it was nice bumping into some of my old running friends--Master Kim, Jill, Amy, Kristen, and Kristin.

11/28 - I went on a 3 miler on the treadmill at the gym today. It felt okay. I was still feeling sore from the Turkey Trot.

12/03 - I woke up around 6:45 am to a cold 28-degree cloudy morning in Charlotte. Why you ask? On Wednesday, 11/30, I signed up for the inaugural Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon. I used my performance at the Turkey Trot and days leading up to the deadline to decide if I was truly "ready." Loaded up with Gu, muscle relaxers, and Advil, I walked about six blocks in the cold to the start line. The pre-race setup was great--no lines for the bathrooms. When the race started, I made it two blocks before my calves started to hurt--bad sign. Anyway, I was determined to do yet another thing not recommended for beginning runners--change my race strategy. I decided to do a modified Galloway program of running for six minutes and walking for one. The first three miles I think I was passed by every single runner on the course. However, everything started warming up and starting at around mile three I started passing people. As a matter-of-fact, I continued passing people all the way up through the finish. Each mile through 14 I grew stronger and stronger. At the halfway point, which, coincidentally was near my favorite bar, Morehead St. Tavern, I had no doubt that I was going to finish. My time at the halfway point was just under 2 1/2 hours. Around mile 17 it definitely started to become more difficult, both physically and mentally. Around mile 24, near another favorite, Philospher's Stone Tavern, I temporarily stopped taking walk breaks because it was too painful to start back up running again. I did get another wind at mile 25 knowing that I just had to make it down the hill, turn right, and then turn left onto the finishing stretch.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I finished in 4:46:33. I finished 555 out of a field of 717 entrants. Clearly in the bottom half of all finishers, but I again beat my time expectation by at least 30 minutes--a tribute to my being an underachiever. I never hit "the wall". While physically totally unprepared save for spinning twice a week to keep my aerobic level up, I believe that mentally my game was on that day. I believe that running marathons is 99% mental and 1% mental.

The walk back to the Westin Charlotte was the toughest part of the marathon. It took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. And I was intent on going out later that afternoon and night...

Clearly overtraining was not an issue here. Today's marathon almost doubled my training mileage. Would I do this again? One of my goals has always been to be adequately prepared. And I would have done so had it not been for my herniated disc. I would have to rank this as one of more crazy and stupid things that I have ever done. I was clearly not physically ready for this event. I had also taken muscle relaxers the night before which left me dehydrated. Last year's training for the Dallas White Rock Marathon was pretty bad, but this eclipsed that amount of undertraining by...literally...miles. Of course, before the White Rock Marathon, I did make it to a party the night before...

Needless to say, I was in danger of breaking my streak of consecutive marathons. I had run at least one a year for the past four years. And now that streak is still alive and I have extended it to five! Until next year...

December Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

December 6th - Blue Moon glasses
December 13th - St. Arnold Christmas glasses
December 20th - Sam Smith glasses
December 27th - Mix & Match glasses

My Last Entry from Charlotte

I compose this, my last online entry, as I am sitting in my hotel room listening to "Lure of the Road" by Christene LeDoux over and over. In about 30 minutes, I will be headed to the airport to return back to Dallas to my home and friends.

My leaving here is bittersweet as I have made friends and connections here. It will be truly hard to not go to Morehead Street Tavern on Sunday and Wednesday nights, not to go to Philospher's Stone Tavern on Monday nights, not to walk the streets of Uptown from the Fourth Ward down to my hotel, not to drive through the Plaza/Midwood and Dilworth and South End areas, and so many other things.

Many of the people I have met here are great in so many ways and I feel like I have only begun to see that. I hope that we will continue to stay in touch.

The only consolation I have is that I will surely return here for another visit, if not for another project. Until next time...

Signing off...

toshi

"an I’ll be happy
I’ll be sad
on every highway
thru every town
maybe I’ll find love
maybe I’ll find me
an that’s life on... the road"

November Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

November 1st - Maredsous #10 glasses
November 8th - Stella Artois glasses
November 15th - Mix & Match glasses
November 22nd - St. Arnold Texas Wheat glasses
November 29th - Unibroue glasses

Leia's Visit to Charlotte

For those of you that don't know, my superfriend Leia came into Charlotte this past week for a client visit. What follows is a recap of the short week's events as I tried to share as much of my Uptown Charlotte experience as I could.

Day One
I picked up Leia at the fabulous Hampton Inn and we went back to my hotel at the Westin Charlotte to have some Ketel One & 7s in the lobby at Bar 10. We spoke about various personal, but extremely hilarious topics before heading to dinner at a neighborhood pub called Alexander Michael's in the Fourth Ward. There we ate and discussed our first "fight" as a "couple". Unbeknowst to me because we'd never dated or gone out, I apparently had some duties and responsibilities that I did not fufill during a mountain biking trip in Winter Park, CO. Hmmm...curfew? Go figure.



After that, we went over to Dixie's Tavern. Apparently this turned out to be a Steelers bar as evidenced by the tons of fans in black & gold watching and screaming at the screens around the bar showing the Steelers - Chargers Monday night game. Leia cut off the circulation in my wrist and I had to go back outside to the doorman to get my wristband cut off. The place was pretty full with more and more people streaming in as the night wore on. This being Leia's first night in Charlotte, we cut it a bit short and I dropped her off back at her hotel, which leads us to...

Day Two
Leia met me downstairs in the hotel lobby around 8:30 pm and we went to eat some casual, rustic Italian fare at Coco Osteria. I tried to talk her into joining me for a drink at Connolly's on Fifth, but like most girls, she turned me down so I walked her back to her hotel. Needless to say, I took her the long way and when we started doubling back, that wasn't a good idea on my part and we started "arguing". Laughter aside, she made it back okay in time for...

Day Three
Leia ditched me to have dinner with the client and a co-worker at Rí~Rá. I arrived at City Tavern just around the corner about 7:30 pm to join a roll-off party for three members of my project. I'd never been there before. We had a bartender named Jennifer and she was awesome as well as...well...see the photo below! Leia joined us with her co-workers and we hung out there amidst appetizers, drinks, and Irish Car Bomb shots.



Afterwards we headed off to Therapy, which is known for its Wednesday nights and great courtyard for people-watching. We got a great table outside and hung out there and enjoyed drinks and sight-seeing. At one point, I was nominated to introduce myself to another table (see results in the photo below).



Around midnight, the guys elected to change venues so we picked up and headed over to a pub called Connolly's on Fifth. Once there, we set up anchor and Leia and I separated from the rest of my group. I switched to water and Leia stayed with beer (HER choice!).



Finishing her beer we moved off to a corner to continue chatting. There Leia happened across a full glass of beer that someone had abandoned, which she adopted for our own--most definitely a poor choice of judgment. Continuing on unabated with a new glass of beer we had some of the best, most personal discussions I've ever had with someone else until we were kicked out around 2:30 am. After that we walked back to the Westin where we looked at some old photos before walking her back to her hotel around 3:30 am. Returning back to my room, realizing that I had not really eaten anything I enjoyed a MOJO BAR before "sleeping".

Aftermath
Waking up the next morning, I realized that I was going to be in trouble. Although I was not feeling too bad, I knew someone else would. And, sure enough, later that afternoon I received a text message. The following is an excerpt of that very message:

"Dont like you right now"

Needless to say, I cannot express how happy I was to have Leia come visit me even if it was for a short time and even if she will not speak to me for a while. :) I've definitely felt detached from everyone as I've been traveling since May. Add to that the fact that Pete & Jenn moved away, it's been a bit difficult for me personally. And it was good to have someone come visit me in my new "home".

Thanks Leia!!! ;)

A Farewell Fiesta for the Pete & Jenn

On Friday, September 7, my friends Kristian & Quince hosted a farewell party for Pete & Jenn, two awesome people! They, along with Max, Rocket, and Suby, headed for the rocky mountains of Colorado on Sunday. :(

I still remember meeting Jenn, Meredith, and Leia three years ago during a 12-mile Dallas FIT run. We were on the back side of White Rock Lake when Jenn asked me if I had any good stories. Following the end of the run and first introduction, she invited me to join her along with a host of friends, including Pete, Lynden, Meredith, Saul, Cathy, Elyse, and Brian, for breakfast at Cafe Brazil where Jenn inquired as to whether I was gay or straight. At this point, Leia was making excuses to not hang out with us. I'm sure that there was a tiny voice in her head warning her to stay away from me in particular. Whether or not that tiny voice is correct is yet to be determined.



Little did I know then what that would have turned into. Since then I have met some of the finest people I have ever known--we've run together, dined together, biked together, camped together, and, last but not least, partied together. I cannot say enough about what awesome people they are and about how they've impacted my life.

I look forward to many more adventures together, but, in the meantime, Pete & Jenn, you will truly be missed...

Love you guys,

toshi

First Person Cervical MRI Experience

On Thursday, September 29, I underwent a cervical MRI to help diagnose pain, numbness, and tingling in my left arm.



I left work a bit early to drive to the Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital in Charlotte, NC. Prior to entering the MRI examination room, I removed all metal objects and bling. As I entered the room there was a loud, intermittent, chirping noise. The radiology technician assured me that that was from hydraulic pumps circulating liquid nitrogen to keep the magnets cool. Somehow that was not very reassuring to me. He gave me earplugs and told me that I should try and keep from moving or swallowing, if at all possible unless the MRI is "quiet" for recalibration as it was now to which I replied, "You mean that this is quiet?"

As soon as I lay down on the table I experienced quite a bit of pain in my upper back and shoulder. I'm not sure how long the entire procedure took. There were about 3 - 5 sessions ranging from approximately three minutes to about ten minutes. While not claustrophobic, the pain I was experiencing due to my neck/back followed by the various loud noises caused my breathing to get a bit out of control at times. I had no problems with opening my eyes and seeing roof of the MRI chamber a mere inches from my face. However, I had to resort to playing mind games--99 bottles of beer and others to keep the pain in check (as best I could) and to keep what was left of my sanity. After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally pulled out. I don't think I could have taken much more. In a nutshell (and I mean that, literally), it sucked. I'm not even sure if it would've helped had I had a hot, female radiology technician performing the procedure. On the contrary I had a rather large fellow named Richard. Of course he was extremely nice and helpful.

Personally I think that the MRI exam goes like this...the actual procedure takes about 10-20 seconds. MRIs are truthfully highly unreliable machines. The actual banging you hear is the radiology tech pummeling the side of the MRI with a pipe wrench to get it to work properly.

October Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

October 4th - Blue Moon glasses
October 11th - Young's glasses
October 18th - Mix & Match glasses
October 25th - Bass glasses