Friday, September 28, 2012

Tom, Tatyana, Two Brothers, & Park St




I slept well and was happy to get up and get moving at what's become my new normal wake up time of 540am. Downstairs I quickly whipped out calisthenics: sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups. It was cloudy overhead. I went to the PC with coffee near 608am after first delivering coffee and waking Mindy. According to the forecast, the sky was expected to clear as the day progressed and the weekend was setting up to be really nice, at least if you like fall weather. Expecting highs in the low 70s with partly sunny skies with overnight lows around 50.

I did meditation and a stretch then readied for a run. It was cool enough that I needed my light jacket. I ran the full 4.1 miles in a comparable hurry and my legs weren't feeling that sore either, though still a little tired. Mindy was about ready to leave when I got back to the house, but the dog and I headed out the door with the dog before she left. She passed us as she departed for work.

Mindy apologized for not making me a lunch because she thought that I might work from home. Nope. I planned to head into the office but wasn't too worried about not having any veggies packed. I enjoyed a couple eggs then headed off to the shower. Bella and I headed out to the bus stop at our usual time of 810am. Chrissy was there with Makayla. By bus stop time, the sky was already clearing out. If things went smoothly at the office I thought I might fly home at lunch and mow the lawn.

I left for the office at 840am arriving just ahead of 9am. Took me a few minutes to get settled but once I was, it was full speed ahead. I knocked several tasks off my to-do list ahead of 12 noon. Felt good. At 1235pm I left the office and headed home determined to make a huge dent in my weekly lawn duties. Immediately in the door I changed into my running clothes then headed out to get on my tractor. Took me no more than 50 minutes to do both tractor and push mowing. I didn't really have time to whack, edge or blow, but thought I might take care of that on Saturday. As it was, I felt good about getting the basic mowing completed. Before heading back to the office I paid a couple bills online.

Got back to the office around 2pm. It was a fairly quiet afternoon with no big surprises or hot escalations. I was very much looking forward to the weekend. Somewhere near 4pm an issue cropped that had been hanging around for more than a week. I was more than a frustrated that it reared its ugly head again right at the end of the day, but sometimes that's just how it is. I did all I could do to get it back on track. Mindy phoned around 430pm to remind me about our birthday dinner date with Tom C. and his family. Said the reservation was for 6pm. He was supposed to meet us at our place and ride with us. At the time I was iffy whether or not I'd be out of work in time to make the reservation.

I got things wrapped up as much as I could from my office and headed out around 510pm. I did some more coordination from my work phone on the drive home. Nephew Joe was over when I arrived home. The kids, however, had already left with Jimaken. I kidded Joe about not forgetting his back pack that we've had in our hall closet since our ski outing the last week of January ( 9 months). Joe checked out my SketchUp basement drawings. Seemed to be impressed with the design and detail.

Tom showed up just after 540pm. We needed to bolt for the restaurant. Joe was still at the house when the three of us headed out. Mindy asked that he pull the door closed on his way out. Traffic was heavy and slow through downtown. It was rush hour, so pretty much to be expected. We were headed to Giuseppe's Ritrovo, directly across the street from Capital University. We parked on a residential side street. We were late, arriving at 615pm, or 15 minutes late. Tom's family was already there and enjoying a glass of wine. I'd met Tom's youngest sister and her husband before, as well as one of his nieces. All three of his sisters were there along with two of their husbands, his mother, and both nieces. They had three place settings saved for us. We quickly got situated and greeted everyone.

Tatyana was our server. According to Tom, she's of Russian descent. While Mindy poured over the wine menu, I asked Tatyana about their beer selection. She was quick to point out that they're more of a wine place as if I were a lesser begin for asking as much. I could only chuckle at her perceived arrogance. Really? I asked what beers they might any way. She handed me a beer list. I quickly decided on the Two Brothers Resistance IPA in bottle. Tom followed suite ordering beer, but wasn't sure. I suggested he do the Dog Fish Head brown ale. Mindy settled on a blend.

Tatyana was a busy server. Little wonder, the place was well attended. The staff brought us bread and appetizers - bruschetta. Most in the dinner party ordered their popular spaghetti and meatballs. I opted for something different, deciding to try the smoked chicken ravioli. Tom's sister, Kathy, I think, sat directly across from Mindy. She was really interesting, engaging and funny. She and Mindy chatted all through dinner. Mindy also chatted with Tom's twin nieces, Casey & Olivia, both of whom attend Mt Caramel nursing school. They are two very attractive young woman.

I enjoyed a 2nd Two Brother IPA with my smoked chicken ravioli. The ravioli was good - different. No complaints whatsoever. Mindy seemed to enjoy the spaghetti and meatballs too. We'll almost certainly make a return. The dinner party was in celebration of Tom's 50th birthday. The restaurant brought out a cake once our dinner dishes were cleared. Of course we sang the happy birthday song to Tom. His family bestowed gifts upon him next. He got few Lowes gift cards and clothes from his mother. His youngest sister and her husband gifted Tom a new Samsung Galaxy III smartphone. Wow! That was nice!

Tatyana split the check between the various groups. Mindy & I were on our own check. I'm guessing it was 815pm or so as we upped to depart. We thanked Tom's family for having us as part of the celebration then headed for out car. Tom was leaving with us. After discussing our options, we decided to head to the Park St Tavern. I took I-71N at the 70/71 split. Ended up not being able to get off until the 11th avenue exit. Hadn't been up that way in years! Exiting on 11th avenue afforded us the opportunity to go by the OHIO state fair entrance as well as the boarded up Sugar Shack from days gone by. We then took High St all the way in the Arena district where we parked in the North Market lot.

I suggested we stop for one beer at Barley's Ale house #1. All agreed. In Barley's, there wasn't much of a crowd at all. Surprised me. Even still, it was tough getting a servers attention. While Mindy and Tom chatted, I walked to a girl behind the bar and asked what color clothes I was wearing. She looked at me funny until I asked if they were indeed black. She agreed. Oh good, cause I thought I might be invisible! After a second or two she got the joke and quickly suggested that we migrate to the other side of the bar for quicker service. We politely complied. We waited again for , hmm, 5 minutes but still no service. Sorry, but we're out of here! There are too many cool bars in the area to wait like that.

We headed just up the road to our planned destination, the Park St Tavern. A band was just setting up as we entered through the front door. There couldn't have been anymore than 15 people in the entire bar. As hoped, Kayla was behind the bar and served us. Mindy & I both ordered Bodhi's. Tom ordered a bottle something or other. Kayla shared that we had prime seating, implying that they would be packed before long. Boy, was she ever correct. Probably within the next hour the place was packed to the walls, just as it was two weeks prior when we met nephew Joe there. Mindy stopped drinking after one beer. I enjoyed two more Bodhi's. Mindy made several female friends in and around the bar. Tom commented that he wished he could pick-up chicks as easy as Mindy. :) The live music was jazz, though what we saw of them left a bit to be desired. Still had fun though. Mindy was ready to bolt I'm thinking around 1030p.

We headed back to our place with Mindy convincing Tom to hang out, have a beer. We saw a crowd gathered at the O'Connell's. We walked down to their place with beers in hand. We hung with the neighbors for a couple hours. Mindy slipped quietly away for home at some point. Had to be around 1230am. Tom and I hung there for another 20 minutes or so. Tom didn't bother coming inside. He headed for home. Inside I was shocked to find that it was 1am. Where had the night gone?

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