Delirium Tremens

This past Saturday, with the weather being beautiful, albeit a bit blustery, I finally had the chance to get back on my bike. I headed out for a good ride with a couple friends: Michael, a photographer friend, and Eric, an old dental school classmate who now lives in Davenport, IA. We headed out from downtown Iowa City with temps in the low 50's, which made for a chilly start to our ride, but ended up returning to temps in the high 60's and a warm sun, which made for perfect riding weather. We ended up covering a wide variety of terrain in one ride, from some 'urban' side-streets, to dung-filled pastures out in farmland near Sugar-Bottom Rec Area.

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Other than the scenery and fresh air enjoyed by all, perhaps the second-best part of the ride was the post-ride meal at The Atlas, a great local restaurant in Iowa City. But even better than the meal, was the post-ride beer. We all decided to try a brew that is new to Iowa called Delirium Tremens. When the server told us that this beer had been voted "The Best Beer in the World", it was pretty hard not to pique our curiousity. It hails from Melle, Belgium, where the owner had recently returned from. Plus, it is served in its own cool goblet. The beer did not disappoint, and for anyone out there that appreciates a good beer every now and then, especially after a hard ride, I would definitely recommend trying it.

Star Trek: "The Unofficial Review"

Friday afternoon Emily and I did something rare, and went to see a matinée of Star Trek at the local movie theater. Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards to head to Davenport and see it on the IMAX screen, but nonetheless we enjoyed ourselves more than we thought we would.

For those of you that know me well, growing up, I used to be a huge fan of Star Trek...not the original series however, but rather 'The Next Generation'. The height of the show was reached when I was in junior high, and looking back on it, it seemed like a great show to be brought up on compared to what some junior high kids now watch in their spare time.

That being said, once the series ended, and of course I grew older, my interest in Star Trek waned. Then came The Next Generation movies, which seemed to be really bad, and almost a bit 'cheezy'. Was this because this was what Star Trek had always been - 'cheezy' - or had I just grown out of that phase of my life?...perhaps an affirmative to both of these.

Which is why when I heard that a new movie was going to be coming out, I was both mildly intrigued, as well as subtely expecting disappointment. I had seen what had happened to Star Wars when George Lucas revisited the series some 30 years later; now laden with Industrial Light & Magic's CGI effects that were missing in the original trilogy, and was expecting that this movie would be more of the same.

Alas, this jumpstart of the original series by J.J. Abrams was suprisingly entertaining. One does not even have to be a 'Treky' to enjoy the movie. In fact, even the political columnists of late have been writing of the parallels found between Spock and Obama.

Not to say that this movie deserves a nomination for an Academy Award or anything, but if you're looking for an entertaining, mildly funny, fast-paced ride into the background of Star Trek, than this movie is definitely worth seeing. Hell, even Emily enjoyed it, and that's saying a lot!

Exhaustion revisited

It's 4:50am. I'm tired. No, let me rephrase that...exhausted. If there were a word more exhausting than exhausted I would be it. In fact, maybe the word is intoxicated. Yeah, that's how I feel, inebriated, only without the alcohol (if inebriation is possible without alcohol.) But anyways...you get the point. So tired, that as I'm typing I'm wondering if this makes sense and if I'm spelling things right. I'm at work, not really working, but rather sitting on my ass waiting for someone to ask me for help. I'm a "super-user" aka super loser for Epic, a new charting system that the great UIHC purchased for millions of dollars (even though we're in financial crisis). Totally sucks. Not only Epic, but working nights with nothing to do. So, here I sit, typing away, just looking for something to keep my mind from slipping into a catatonic state. The only thing this compares to is taking a patient to ultrasound after a big lunch...you don't get it unless you've done it yourself...trust me, you can't stay awake! And the problem with the whole situation is that I'll get home and be revved up from the lack of sleep so much so that I won't be able to sleep. (sounds impossible I know, but exhaustion has a nasty way of multiplying and perpetuating further sleeplessness.) And, I'm back again tonight. UGH. Will it never end?

Spring In San Diego

At the end of February (yes, we realize it's been more than a while since we've posted here), we had the opportunity to visit San Diego. The trip's main thrust was centered around attending the AO Meeting. Not only was this a welcomed trip for the obvious benefits of enjoying 70+ degree sunny days close to the Pacific Ocean, as apposed to 30-40 degree cloudy days in land-locked Iowa, but it was also an opportunity for Chris to see firsthand what some of the leaders around the world in implant esthetic dentistry have been developing.

The trip originally called for Chris to head out two days before Emily (she had to work), and then for Emily to join him for the remainder of the time in San Diego, with a subsequent escape to visit family in Phoenix, AZ. However, shortly after Chris' departure, Emily's grandmother Margaret, who had been in the hospital in Des Moines for a few weeks was transferred to UIHC, after having battled with colon issues for the past 4 months. Luckily for Margaret, Emily was able to play 'nurse' and watch over her care, which was nothing short of excellent. Margaret is now making a strong recovery post-surgery at a rehab center in Iowa City, and both of us have enjoyed being able to be there to spend time with her, aid in her overall recovery, and have some good laughs along the way.

Emily was able to eventually join Chris, and once in San Diego, we were able to enjoy the city together. We made a lucky find by making the historic Hotel St. James (now referred to as the Ramada Gaslamp Hotel) our homebase for our time in San Diego. While our room was small, it had a lot of history, and a great old-style elevator that was the first of its kind back in the day (i.e. early 1900’s). One of the best features of the hotel was the walk-out roof area that allowed for great views of the city and skyline at dusk.

It was amazing how quickly the temperature dropped in San Diego at dusk. During the day it would top off in the high 70’s, low 80’s, and by early evening it would be down in the high 50’s with a breeze that demanded wearing long sleeves.

The first full day we spent driving out to Coronado Island, a short drive from downtown San Diego. Here we spent a lazy day walking the beach, soaking up some rays, and watching the many navy helicopters and planes fly overhead. One of the best features of the beach on Coronado Island was the gold speckles that littered the sand. After getting a bit burned by the rays, we headed back to the town center of Coronado and enjoyed strolling through art galleries and enjoying a great burger, California style, at a place called Burger Lounge. If you have a chance to visit San Diego any time soon, you have to check this place out, they have the best burgers we’ve ever had. By day’s end we made our way to the historic Hotel del Coronado for a self-guided tour. This hotel dates back to the late 1880’s, and has a lot of stories to tell. Unfortunately, dazed and confused by the sun rays all day, we were too tired to hear them all, and decided to make our way back to San Diego for the evening.

The next day found us jaunting north to La Jolla and then back down to Old Town, San Diego. The drive up to La Jolla was beautiful. One minute you’d find yourself driving next to the ocean, smelling the mist off the beach, and the next minute you’d find yourself driving through one of the downtown areas of a coastal area. We basically spent the day strolling a beach park slightly south of La Jolla, just taking our time, with really no structure to the day…the perfect way to spend a day on vacation.

By late afternoon, we decided we’d had enough sand in between our toes, and decided to check out the Old Town area of San Diego, an area that Emily had heard from co-workers was really interesting. Let us make this clear…these same co-workers will never be invited to plan our future vacations, as Old Town was a major bust…basically a tourist trap ala Wisconsin Dells, minus the native moccasins. There was really nothing of note about Old Town; except for the museum of the first dental clinic in San Diego, which of course Chris found extremely interesting (and gave him decorative inspiration for his future practice...riiight). After grabbing some Mexican food for dinner under some colorful umbrellas, we decided to split and go for a walk around the Gaslamp district by our hotel, where most of civilization was.

The next morning we were headed out of San Diego and off to Phoenix to spend time with Chris’ side of the family. Both Chris’ aunt Sue and uncle Ray and his grandmother Mary (all on his mother’s side), as well as his grandparents Chester and Alexsandra from his father’s side reside in the Phoenix area. We figured with it only being a five hour drive away, it was a perfect time to go and visit family, so we did.

We were fortunate enough to have Sue and Ray put us up for our stint in Phoenix, and we really enjoyed laughing it up together, sharing stories, and going for a nice hike in the desert near their home. A good deal of our laughs took place the day before our departure when we got together with the whole family for some Mexican, even more margaritas, and a bubble-blowing session that allowed Ray to let out his "inner" canine, chasing bubbles much like the dogs (on all fours). Should we decide to relocate to the west coast after this next year, we hope that we can exchange visits with them (visits on their behalf in the summer to us, and we in return during the winter or early spring). You can’t help but love waking up to sunshine every morning.

Ending our trip in Arizona was a great way to complete our much needed "Spring Break", as it afforded us time to catch up with family that we don't get to see as often as we'd like. Chris' maternal grandma Mary is a model for what we hope to look like in our early 90's, should we be so lucky.

But warm weather and unlimited sun can't possibly last forever, right?...and so our trip came to an end, and a return to cooler, more dank forecasts.

"Song of the Day":

Facecrook-robber of my time

It's been awhile, a long while since you've heard from us. I'm sure at this point we probably have no one even checking this site. We don't blame you. Frankly we've had little time to think of it ourselves. And although I could use this forum to vent to everyone about how stressful our life has been lately, I'll spare you.

My post today is simply a random thought unrelated to the chaos that has recently controlled our lives. Today, I sat down at the computer to clean out my email and came across a large array of Facebook emails needing to be deleted. Facebook? Yes, facebook...the annoyingly impossible world of tracking where your friends and family are and what they could be doing at any given moment. And for some reason Facebook feels I need to be notified of all of this. Luckily I figured out long ago how to not get these "updates" sent to me. What do I care about what, where, how other people are living their lives and why do I need to be updated with this information as soon as it's posted?

So, this cleaning my email reminded me of another incredibly annoying feature that Facebook offers. Requests. Daily I am assaulted with requests for (and not limited to) chocolate, easter eggs, lucky clovers, smiles, love cocktails (whatever that is), maxine moments, lil green patch, prayer...and that is only the requests I received TODAY! Geez, who has the time for this shit? No offense "friends" but seriously! I can't keep up! Nor do I want to, it's too much of a headache and I'm too new to facebook to know what the hell it all means anyways.

I joined Facebook to chat with friends I don't see that often. I can look at pics and see what they're up to. I don't care how many invitations I get, how many friends I have or what people are requesting from me.

So, I'm hoping soon I'll find a way to delete the option to receive requests....any help out there?

A Romantic Valentine's Day

So Valentine's Day 2009 for us may not have put ol' St. Valentine to shame (unless your idea of a romantic evening for two consists of shampooing your condo's carpeting...no really...this is what we did)...but then again St. Valentine was in reality just an unknown martyr, so not really sure what this holiday is all about anyway. That is, unless your first name happens to be Tiffany, and your last name is Schoen...A congrats to both you and Nick on your engagement, we're really excited for you both!

As for us, we've just been taking care of "life-business" lately, (which if your first name is Bruce, and your last name is Dumser, means talking about getting pregnant), but for us means preparing for the next move in our lives, which as of right now is still undecided, but will either be in Gig Harbor, WA. (pretty exciting), or possibly staying in Iowa City (not as exciting).

Part of this transition process means trying to market our condo and our home for the past 5 years (minus our time Dallas) to sell. This seems to be a fairly challenging task to complete, possibly because condos such as ours are a bit overbuilt in the area (an understatement really), and also possibly due to the worst economy in extended memory. As a result we've decided to hire a realtor to help us out...thus the carpet cleaning and staging effects that come along with such an effort.

So, while we realize that we've pretty much neglected our once cool and eclectic blog, we want to assure everyone that we're still alive and kicking, and looking forward to some decisions being made very soon, and of which, we'll announce on this page. But for now, we're looking forward to an upcoming weekend in Chicago with our good friends Nate and Steph, and then heading to warmer pastures in San Diego at the AO Meeting, followed by Arizona for some much needed time away from work. We'll be sure to share our experience with everyone upon returning.

We hope everyone is doing well!

ala summer 2007, Oregon coast

"Song of the Day":

City Park Tree

"Song of the Day":

Mackenzie Gets Hitched

It may have taken me a month to write this post, but better late than not at all. Following Christmas in Chicago we trekked through fog so thick I thought we were driving in the middle of a cream puff to arrive in Galena, IL for my friend Mackenzie's wedding on December 27th. Now, a little background...

Mackenzie and I met on my unit, IPCU here in Iowa several years ago. We've shared many memories together including birthdays, parties, work, and our own respective weddings. Shortly after we moved to Texas, Mackenzie and her boyfriend at the time (Meryl), moved to Philadelphia. They met at the U as well while she worked in the surgical ICU. He was a neurosurgeon. I could say something witty about chemistry or how they "cared" for each other but I'll spare you the puns.

So, the wedding was held in an old Catholic church in downtown Galena and the reception was followed at the Desoto Hotel. You can tell from the pics how beautiful the place was so little needs to be said on that front. Likewise you can image how beautiful the wedding was...ok...I'll stop saying beautiful...well except to say that the bride was beautiful...that's a given. We had a wonderful time...except for our room.

(Side note: The room sucked. I don't know who designed the Desoto House website, or rather, who determined that the term "courtyard view" should be used in their advertising. What does "courtyard view" mean to you? To me it means overlooking some sort of courtyard, more than likely a green space outside. Right? Well, the courtyard is inside, is where the reception was held and where some asshole woke me up at 8am playing a damn piano!!! I wanted the "courtyard view" thinking it would be quiet! When choosing between a street view or a courtyard view you think you're choosing between traffic and a peaceful green space. How freaking deceiving! I restrained myself from commenting on the comment card figuring the housekeeper would just throw it out anyways. I feel sorry for any people who also chose the "courtyard view" and weren't there for the wedding. How would you like to be listening to "I like big butts and I cannot lie.." while you're trying to fall asleep?)

At 10pm when the reception ended, we joined some of the wedding party and went to a local burger joint and sang karaoke. This was probably my favorite part of the evening because Meryl and Mackenzie joined us and we had time to connect a little more personally that we didn't have at the wedding.

Here ends the summation of a winter weekend in Galena at a fabulous wedding. Enjoy the pics compliments of Chris.

"Song of the Day":

Accentuated Anatomy

In dental school it is often stressed how important anatomy is to the final outcome of a restoration. One might claim that the dental technician who fabricated these crowns took this advice to heart. I received this picture by way of a friend in Texas...where everything is indeed bigger, even with regard to dental anatomy :o)

"Song of The Day":

Cabin Fever!!!

You know that the state of affairs in your life isn't that great when in the past few days there has been a 50 degree weather swing to the milder side, and you still find yourself in +25 degree weather!

Thus, you may have noticed that January has been a fairly light month for posts, as compared to previous months on our blog...and this is for good reason...there really is nothing much to do when you're locked inside 24/7. While Dallas may not have been the outdoorsman's paradise, this long, albeit far from over midwest winter is killing us (we're starting to think literally, as we never feel like moving from the blankets after work).

At any rate, warmer weather seems to be headed in our direction, although not soon enough. Chris will be heading to Houston briefly for work later this week, and then late February will find Chris in San Diego for a meeting, followed by Emily joining him in Phoenix afterward to visit family, and hopefully a warm hike at Grand Canyon National Park.

We can't help but mention however that we await brighter days ahead given that Obama is as well poised a leader as we can imagine to hopefully reclaim this great country that has been pillaged and plundered during the past eight years.

At any rate, we figured we'd share a photo from an earlier visit to Lake Michigan that is better enjoyed in print than in person.

December gives way to September

Hard to believe, but it's already 2009 (in case you're still recovering from New Years Eve), and although 2008 seemed to fly by, the whole holiday season of 2008 seemed to go even faster than past holidays we could both recently recall. Maybe it did, or maybe we're just getting older.

In either case, the other night we were out to dinner to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, and we both remarked at how it seems as though December is beginning to collect too many events to celebrate in one month. By this, I think we mean there's only so many "special" moments that one can possibly celebrate with true zeal in such a short time span, without some of the celebration producing what some might call diminishing returns.

For us December starts with Chris' birthday, then there's the holiday get-togethers with friends and co-workers on both sides of our respective jobs, then the multiple family Christmas party get-togethers, then our wedding anniversary, and then the next day New Year's.

We highlight this not to sound unappreciative of cookies, rich food, and more cookies, but just to highlight that it seems like the other 11 months of the year get short-changed a bit by the big bully that is December. So under normal circumstances, we both would be excited by the idea of going out to a nice restaurant to celebrate something (say our anniversary for instance), but after all that is December, we both found ourselves wondering if we wouldn't be better off celebrating our wedding anniversary in a more appreciative and subdued month, say September, when we got engaged. It seems to us that September has really gotten the short end of the stick. No major holidays or events are celebrated on any scale in September, and unfortunately September is usually blamed for allowing fall to invade summer.

So maybe 2009 will be the first year in which we decide to steal from December, and give to September, I mean, just look at the other cool holidays that were celebrated this past September:

Sept. 1: Labor Day

Sept. 2: National Blueberry Popsicle Day

Sept. 3: Uncle Sam's Birthday (Uncle Sam's image was first used on this day in 1813) & Barkley the Dog's Birthday (Sesame Street Character)

Sept. 4: Newspaper Carrier Day

Sept. 5: National Cheese Pizza Day

Sept. 6: Read a Book Day

Sept. 7: National Grandparent's Day & Neither Rain nor Snow Day

Sept. 8: Internaional Literacy Day

Sept. 9: Teddy Bear Day

Sept. 10: TV Dinner Day (On this day, in 1954, Swanson sells it's first T.V. Dinner)

Sept. 11: 9/11

Sept. 12: National Chocolate Milk Shake Day

Sept. 13: Positive Thinking Day

Sept. 14: First Department Store Opens (Opened in 1848 by Alexander Stewart)

Sept. 15: Make A Hat Day

Sept. 16: National Working Parents Day

Sept. 17: National Apple Dumpling Day

Sept. 18: National Play-Doh Day

Sept. 19: POW/MIA Recognition Day & Talk Like a Pirate Day

Sept. 20:

Sept. 21: International Day of Peace

Sept. 22: Dear Diary Day

Sept. 23: Great American Pot Pie Day

Sept. 24: National Punctuation Day

Sept. 25: Chris proposes to Emily 2004

Sept. 26: Native American Day

Sept. 27: Crush A Can Day

Sept. 28: Good Neighbor Day

Sept. 29: Rosh Hashanah

Sept. 30: Safety Pin Invented

Just a thought...

"Song of the Day":

Merry Christmas!

We're spending Christmas in Chicago this year, and after a hair-raising drive back from Iowa City due to snow, wind, and more snow, we decided it would be more fun to play in the snow, rather than drive in it.

Hope all of you are doing well, have a Merry Christmas!

"Song of the day":

A Frozen Lake MacBride

Boneless Boob

This year Thanksgiving was fairly small in the Barwacz household. Emily was forced to work Thanksgiving day, and the friday that followed, so there really wasn't much for Chris to do. Chris' parents decided to make the trek out to Iowa City and keep Chris company while his woman slaved away, and of course help him cook a respectable Thanksgiving meal.

Chris, deciding that a full turkey sounded like too much effort, decided to buy a 4 lb. turkey breast from a local butcher and call it quits. Never before has so little effort been rewarded with such great taste. The boneless boob came pre-brined, seasoned, and nicely nipped & tucked in string (sexy...right?). About the hardest part of preparing this mini feast for Chris was pre-heating the oven, getting up to unwrap the meat, and then using the electric can opener to open the canned cranberry sauce.

Luckily for Chris, Emily had already made a pumpkin pie ala the "America's Test Kitchen" recipe, her family's world famous green salad (not really salad, more like green jello with lucky charms and other marshmellowy things in it), while Chris' parents contributed the staples such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, and other Thanksgiving-ish items.

The best part of the weekend was the chance to spend some time together, go for some hikes, take some photos, and of course to attempt to put up what remains of the ancient Barwacz X-mas tree. Who knew duck-tape could hold up so long, now if only the lights could follow.

Saturday was spend in Michellville and Des Moines visiting Emily's family and grandmother, respectively, for the Thanksgiving holiday, and driving through our first snowfall since leaving for Texas over a year and a half ago...oh how we wish we were back there now during this cold weather. And so goes the beginning of the holiday season here in Iowa!