Arizona: Eatin' Steaks, Drinkin' Scotch, and Stompin' Hippies - Part 2

Sunday
I woke up to my phone ringing to the beat of the pounding in my head. "We're going to Sedona, you should come." Sure, sounds like a great cure for a hangover - a two hour drive through winding mountain roads. I puked for good measure before leaving the hotel and slept off the worst of it on the drive.

Sedona is internationally recognized as the New Age capital of the world. What does that mean? A lot of fucking hippies with crystals and chakras and incense. My friend is apparently into that shit, because she got her Aura read. Needless to say, it was a challenging day. Other than the hippies, Sedona is pretty much just a tourist trap, not unlike the Dell's. One long strip of shops set with a gorgeous mountain backdrop. The girls were content shopping, I was content sitting outside looking at the mountains.

Dinner at Chipoltle. To make it more interesting I took the Mustang out for a spin and cranked Phoenix's equivalent of the Z. Bumpin.

Monday
Work 7-2, not too shabby. Some work back at the hotel accompanied by some Mad Men. No one was interested in dinner, so I flew solo. Ruth's Chris Steak House bugs the shit out of me. Ruth's Chris? What the hell does that mean. Honestly, I had never gone solely because of that retarded name. Any way, Macallan 12 yr and a filet mignon as thick as my hair. A fellow frequent flier was next to me at the bar watching the Packer game. When he heard that I pay for my own booze he offered to buy my next one, but I had a 6:00am flight, so I headed off to bed.

Tuesday
Write off for travel. Burger at Brasserie V. Good, but somewhat of a let down after 3 nights of fantastic steak.

Hey Phoenix - not too shabby. Thanks for the steak. I'd give it 4 out of 5.

Arizona: Eatin' Steaks, Drinkin' Scotch, and Stompin' Hippies - Part 1

Phoenix, like Las Vegas and Dubai, is a city that wasn't meant to be. I think it becomes easier to see when you fly in to PHX. The Grand Canyon is God's line in the sand from when he said, "Come on, live here, I dare ya". I worked most of the flight, but when I ran out of stuff to do, I popped in Mad Men. That may or may not have influenced a lot of my later behavior.

Wednesday

Phoenix is well laid out. Leaving the airport is really not that difficult, especially if you have some idea of where you're headed. It's also easy to see where you're going because there are few buildings taller than two stories. I had reservations at the Courtyard off Camelback, nothing to write home about, but a decent place with a pool. The group I was traveling with decided on Cheesecake Factory. I think the high altitude had affected my testicles because I ordered a salad and didn't get dessert. Don't worry friend, I made up for it later.

Thursday

Up at 3:45 (AM) and worked until 2:00 (PM). I had more work back at the hotel, but at 6 I met up with two of the guys I was traveling with and we went to Houston's for dinner. Steak (1) and Woodford Reserve on the rocks. Best steak I'd had in a long time. We walked to Cheesecake Factory for dessert and a Maker's Mark. Good night.

Friday

Fortunately, I only worked 6 to 2, much better. Dinner sucked. Aho Al's for Mexican - everyone kept going on about the Mexican. It tasted just like fucking Pedro's. I would have rather gone to Laredo's. What the hell - plus, no scotch or steak. Then a lovely evening with Don Draper and the boys.

Saturday

I had the weekend off, but I had pretty much resigned myself to sitting in my room all day and watching TV. At about 11, I felt pathetic and went down to get some coffee. One of the girls I started with was in the lobby doing work. We entertained the idea of going to Sedona, but had some work, so we put Sedona off.

After a short stint of working, we decided to hit the pool. We ran into a couple other people and I decided it would be a good idea to start drinking - don't worry, it was past noon. Trader Joe's was just around the corner, so we went. I got a personal sixer of AZ brews and the girls got wine. We spent the afternoon drinking in the pool. I learned that being resourceful is a very important trait for the business traveler. You can find almost everything you need for a delightful day of drinking in your hotel. I got a bottle opener from the front desk, ice bucket for my beer from the room, and a mini fridge to store leftovers (hah!).

I had finished my six pack when we learned of a group going to Morton's for dinner. I was very much into the idea of more steak after the terrible Mexican experience. I owned Morton's. Start with a beautiful 15 yr Laphroaig, neat, and a french onion soup followed by a Woodford Reserve Manhattan and a perfect 22oz NY strip for dinner. Best steak I'd had in a couple days. Coffee and an Old Fashioned for dessert at the bar with a friend. We A-Steaked at a trendy bar nearby with another Manhattan. At this point, I think I had spent $100 on booze for the day, I felt pretty good.

Back to the hotel for a midnight dip in the hot tub and some vodka drinks with the girls (who had not joined at the bar). After that, I thought it'd be a good idea to go to a bar and things got a little sloppy after that.

DPF - or - In case I ever get remarried...

So I received an email at about 6:55 today, subject line: "The ------ (j.patrick) Wedding".



It was a link to this. I appreciate that my coworkers recognize my exceptional taste and dancing abilities.

C-Bale, Remixed

I hope this hasn't already been posted... It's pretty catchy...



happy fridays.

Best Movies of the Year: The Definitive List

My only criterion for being considered a 2008 movie is if it got its first US theatrical release in 2008.

In order:

1. The Wrestler
2. Reprise
3. Man on Wire
4. Gomorra– A drama about the mafia's influence in modern day Italy
5. Encounters at the End of the World
6. Rachel Getting Married
7. Synecdoche, NY – overly ambitious but great nonetheless.
8. Role Models
9. Milk
10. The Visitor-The dude who played Scott Templeton on The Wire's follow-up to The Station Agent.
11. The Dark Knight- Lot of plot holes. Enough said.
12. Slumdog Millionaire- Cheezy and contrived third act dropped it a couple spots.
13. The Foot Fist Way- Made 3 years ago but just hit video this year.
14. Milk
15. Che - Forgot about this gem.
-Forgot about this gem.
Didn't see: Frost/Nixon, Appaloosa, Doubt, Let the Right One In, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, Tell No One

WHERE IS MY TV?!

Dear FCC:
I watch TV using a rooftop antenna and/or rabbit ears. On February 17th, I abruptly stopped receiving analog reception. One minute, I'm happily watching infomercials on Fox 47 then out of the blue, no more analog signal... what the fuck? What's going on here?

I have received absolutely no warning and now I can't watch TV. What the hell am I supposed to do to get my free network TV back?

I'M BUGGIN OUT

BAHHHHHH HALLOWEEEEEN AAAHAHARRGGHGHHHHH BOOOOOOOZZZZEEEEEEE.
Dance Party Friday + Halloween + Caption Contest = least coherent post ever.

Also, check out my office:

I really like it, I'm listening to Bob Marley right now.

I've always felt that I would be more productive if I had me standing over my shoulder:

Christie vs. Paul

I miss you Sam.

My Dream Job

I know it's old and most of you probably won't find it that funny. Just picture me doing running at you in your place of business, but yelling "football" or "get some". I can't help but lol.