Mornings Eleven

Dear Blog,

Don't worry, I'm still alive. I've let you become rather lonely as of late, but that doesn't mean that I have lost touch with the greater interweb of America; it just means that I have become pretty bored with the blogging thing. Sorry blogmosphere. I hope you can take consolation in the fact that I am merely following in the footsteps of such great blog abandoners as The Deuze. Can you? Will you? Let's hope so.

At any rate, I'll try to post again sometime but to be fair I make no promises. I hope you are well. Try not to forget the good times we had.

Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines in a place where we only say goodbye

I've been spending an alarming amount of time playing HL. I blame Stephen. And Valve.

Winter is finally here. It's about damn time.

As I type this post, Richard is on his way back from Chicago carrying a bottle of bourbon* that will soon be mine.

If anyone else wants to see Martin Sexton in April let me know, soon.

Casino blackjack is my new favorite thing. But only when I can turn $120 into $600. So basically just the one time.

Apparently my propane grill does not meet fire code. Boo, safety.

The YMCA gym is set aside for adult basketball every weekday from 12 - 2. Thanks, the Y!

* Only the greatest bourbon ever while simultaneously being the main ingredient in a drink commonly known as a pappnapple.

there are probably only 6 people who will appreciate this post

This morning I traded several Sugar Bowl predictions with a certain Brian Vnak...

Brian's Prediction:
ND: Mike Vath @ Red Death
LSU: Brian Vnak @ Red Death

My Prediction:
ND: Ken Dye
LSU: Brian's impression of Ken Dye

The crowds keep me coming back. Cheering.

Now Playing: Rilo Kiley

This has been an interesting week. There have been some goings-on at work that won't be divulged here. Perhaps later. Also, I had a 12-hour period of weakness during which I considered skipping the Notre Dame game this weekend. How foolish of me...

So sometime tonight I will pack up my car with all the necessary game-weekend equipment* and head to South Bend for the last time this fall.

I'm taking a brief lunch break and need to get back to work, so lastly I'll just note that my apartment has been adorned with some new stylings courtesy of mom and dad vath. Thanks to you both and get healthy soon, mom.

* beer, ticket

Your blog is bad and you should feel bad.

This has been a busy week indeed. I've somehow been able to manage work days less than eleven hours long despite the fact that things continue to get more hectic. There was a moment today (as I was walking out the door) when I felt a little bit guilty for not working harder/longer; fortunately cooking in my apartment to a glass of whiskey and music was enough to shake the feeling.

Tomorrow morning I'll be driving to Indianapolis with a coworker to try and provide a development prespective to a high-profile costumer that is struggling to optimize their internal systems and workflow.

Looking ahead, this weekend should be one of those nice, relaxing, away-game sort of weekends that I've grown to love this fall. Not to take anything away from football weekends, but there's something to be said for being able to sleep, sit, and use the bathroom as much as - and whenever - you want. Of course, next Wednesday I'll most likely be saying something like, "this weekend should be one of those high-impact, tailgating sort of weekends that I've grown to love this fall."

Lastly, I'm happy to announce that my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas plans are taking solid form. I'll be off for a week for Thanksgiving and slightly over two for Christmas (with slightly over one in BR). Thanksgiving will see the Vath boys reunited in Ann Arbor (fortunately for the three of us we'll also have Mary and Claire to keep us in line) while Christmas will see the entire Richard Vath family reunited in Baton Rouge.

Okay, enough for one evening. I'm off to watch Futurama. Ohhhh Zoidberg, you make me laugh.

Tailgater In The Dark

A lot has been going on since my last post. In the past I've had success with bullet-point-style-recaps, and I'm feeling as lucky tonight, so here goes:

• My dad and older brother were able to accompany me to the ND game against Stanford back in October. Great times were had by all, despite the fact that I split my time between family and NDBand alumni (as it was a reunion game of sorts). It sounds lame, but the weather could not have been better; campus just looks better on a gloriously sunny fall day.
  
• Work has been, well, work...But also particularly stressful as of late (though not much more time-intensive).
  
• In terms of the weather, this fall has been lame.
  
• Today I returned to Ann Arbor from the next-to-last home game of the season. It's been a great fall of spending most weekends in South Bend; I even considered skipping the last game, Björk-style, but then I realized that didn't make sense. In two weeks I'll return once more to finish the season in what is predicted to be the best outing yet*.
  
• Ellen and Will are engaged. I have been asked to play a Sufjan song in the wedding, which is incredibly flattering. Also, I'll probably brew some beer for the reception with Ellen's brother Dan.
  
• Stephen and Claire will be in Ann Arbor for Thanksgiving. Menu plans are already in the works; it will most likely be as glorious as some of the previous holiday spreads we've had in town.
  

At this point I need to get going so I can watch the Patriots/Colts game. More sooner as opposed to later. Hopefully.

* This prediction comes courteous of the manager of Hotel Spo.

Stunning

Just wanted to quickly post a picture of the chapel in which Neal and Alia were married this weekend. Behind the altar on the back wall of the chapel there is a large, 5 x 10 window that looks out to the peak of the mountain you see here. The peak, located in Big Sky, is about 11,500 ft; at the base we were somewhere in the 4000 ft range, I believe.