Spring in My Step

Yay, it seems like we're getting some springlike weather. Odds are good that there'll be a massive blizzard sometime soon and we'll be screwed again, but I'll take good weather when I can get it. Spring, for me, also equals new shoes. I wish it was sandal season already, but I got some Pumas the other day so I'm very excited. They work well with my "do something athletic every day" promise for Lent. No, the "athletic activity" does not include dancing at Samy's.

In other news. . .the Herald News hasn't had much lately except for yet another chapter in the "stealing an unlikely DVD" saga: this time, it was Runaway Jury. What's next, "Hostage Situation erupts over shoplifting of D2: The Mighty Ducks?" I picked up a copy of the Joliet Junior College "Blazer" the other day to see if that would provide me with any good stories, but I realized after I got home that the issue was from last November. No word on why that was still in circulation. In Jeopardy news, the other day in the category of "Hairy": "This 'fishy' hairstyle is worn by David Spade in 'The Adventures of Joe Dirt.'" Question: "What is a mullet?"

Last Thursday we went to Samy's. I think maybe I should just cut and paste that sentence into every update these days. There was no JLH, but there was a long ass line. Luckily it wasn't too bad when we got there. Overall not too much excitement except that there was a new addition to Samy's, a balcony type thing with stairs over the hall to the women's restroom. Rumor had it that this was going to be some sort of "VIP" area, but I didn't really understand how they were going to fit all the VIP's on one little balcony, or why such a balcony would be a "step up" for VIP's. However, we solved that mystery on Saturday.

Friday I didn't really do anything except watch exciting programming such as "Man Vs. Beast 2." Final score: Beast 2.5, Man 1.5. However, the man vs. orangutan battle ended with man winning b/c the orangutan made an illegal move. My brother wondered how the orangutan would know what constituted an illegal move.

Saturday I had my day of fun with my 8 year old neighbor Maggie. We went out to lunch, did some shopping, and went to see "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." As has been evident to regular readers of this website, I have a high tolerance for crap, and thus I enjoyed this movie. It was cheesy, had bad pop music, and had a dance off on a game that was kind of like DDR but had people swinging on handrails and stuff. I need to find this game. Rating: three stars. Rating had it been Hillary Duff in the movie: zero stars. That girl scares me, though her music is surprisingly not bad. It's amazing what electronics can do.

Saturday night, after some coffee at Caribou (the Black Forest is awesome), Megan and I headed yet again to Samy's. We had to wait in line for a while and experienced typical Samy's line fun: people wondering why the hell they're waiting in line to go to a bar in Joliet, people using covert operations to get in the bar (or so it seems: people who were in line behind us were already inside when we got into the bar. hmmmm), people leaving the bar making wisecracks to the people in line, and people in line behind us who seemed as amused by various Samy's patrons as we were. We overheard someone saying, "I'm fixin' to get drunk tonight because the baby's at my aunt's." Personally, I'm "fixin'" to use the "fixin'" more. After we entered Samy's, we sat down to hear the music of the band for the evening, Cartoon Gypsy. The band was quite fun, they did a lot of alternative music that reminded me of high school (Bush, Everclear, etc.) and for some reason the lead singer sang one song (Megan, do you remember which one? I don't recall) in a Cookie Monster-like voice. The crowd drawn in by Cartoon Gypsy involved a whole lot of guys in plaid flannel shirts (I think the count was 6 or 7), a woman who felt the need to sing "Inside Out" by Eve 6 in my face as she walked by, a woman wearing a sports bra as a top, and a woman sporting jeans tucked into boots. I also saw a couple guys with their collars turned up. I guess the '80's really are back.

Post-Gypsy there was a DJ as usual. This DJ spun quite an eclectic mix of music, including, of all things, "Three Little Pigs" by Green Jelly. I don't know if anyone remembers this song, it was a heavy metal version of the Three Little Pigs that I think was popular when I was in junior high, because I recall going to the Illinois State Fair summer after 8th grade and seeing a carny dance to it as he operated our ride. Other songs included both songs that fall into the category of "Songs My Mom Loves Because She Doesn't Really Listen to the Lyrics," "Too Close" by Next and "Freak Me" by Silk. I requested "Welcome to the Jungle," but oddly he didn't have it. Even odder, the final song of the night was the song from "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." I repeat, the DJ spun quite an eclectic mix of music.

So back to the mystery of the balcony. On Saturday the DJ announced that some girls would be "inaugurating" Samy's newest addition. Obviously the balcony was going to be some kind of raised up dance floor, but not until some girls went up there did I realize there was an another addition to the balcony: poles. Yes, Samy's now offers pole dancing. I really don't know what else to say, except that I never thought I would regularly go to a bar that has pole dancing. Also amusing: there were guys on the poles by the end of the night.

Other recent adventures: not too much, went out with Shannon and Joe to Naperville on Tuesday for Fat Tuesday fun. We described the night as more of a "Slim Tuesday" since the only excitement was some gangsta rap and people in wigs at the Lantern. We got out of there pretty quick and went to Quigley's, where we met a guy who allegedly writes crosswords. Not much else new going on around here, hopefully the weekend will bring some good stories. Adios!