For the most part, it's been all quiet on the Handfelt front of late. It's been a while since we posted anything (Katy is holding out for more money and Carmella is just plain difficult), so I figured I'd do a sort of a random cornucopia of Handfelt facts, tidbits and musings. After all, our readers demand pictures of food (those requests are second only to requests of 'no more shirtless pictures of Ben' ) to go along with all of the sorted details of our jet-setting lives. You say that there's a difference between jet-setting and falling asleep on the couch at 9:30pm on a weekend, exhausted from a wild Friday night (ahem, evening) of grocery shopping? Tomato/Tomahto.
Alright, here we go. Don't get your hopes up, as none of these ramblings fall under the traditional definition of 'entertaining' or 'worthwhile'.
-The Bulls-Celtics playoff series took a solid 3.5 years off my life. My goal of living til I'm 100, only to die in shark-filled waters may have to be adjusted slightly. What a series that was though. I soiled numerous pairs of underwear, so much so that I just took to wearing a diaper around the house. For effect, I also bought a rattle and a bum bum. Needless to say, I cried like a baby after Game 7. Such is life. I'm a fan of the Cubs, Bears and Arizona Cardinals. That kind of fandom steels you for disappointment like this.
-My new obsession is cool, old black & white photo booths. Not the dorky kind they have at the mall where it's one photo with a cheesy 'Cupid's Buddies!' border around it (although don't get me wrong, I think we have one of those around here somewhere), but the old school B&W strips of four. I found a
cool website that lists all of the photobooths by geographical area and even does write-ups and reviews on the various photobooths found at bars across the country.
In the picture above, the strip on the right was from Spring of 07' at
Schubas. The one on the left is from a couple of weeks ago at
Holiday Club, a bar we proceeded to use just for their photobooth and then leave immediately after Katy astutely noticed that it "smelled like throw up and Windex." That accounts for Katy plugging her nose in the first picture. Odd that even though these were taken two years apart, the poses are very similar. That's either uncanny or uncreative, although I'll also accept 'a miracle'.
-I was officially promoted at work about a month or so ago. I am officially a Senior Publicist (or as I call myself, "King Shit") and in these times of job uncertainty, I certainly don't take that for granted. My goal of creating a Daley-esque Chicago PR dynasty, minus the corruption, is well underway. I just have to master the Chicago accent without sounding like a fool. Not as easy it may sound, given my penchant for foolishness.
-Katy is getting pretty busy at her work as well. Her boss is getting ready for her maternity leave, so the onus is falling on Mrs. Handfelt. Though she'd never admit as much herself, she's really stepping up her game, kicking some ass and politely taking names. I'm extremely proud of her, and seeing how far she's come professionally over the past year is really quite impressive. She was also accepted into her grad program and is getting a bit nervous about going back into student mode. To help ease her nerves, I bought a keg of beer, which I keep in the living room at all times, just in case she gets the impromptu urge to do a keg stand. I also yell, 'Chug, chug, chug' every time she drinks water, which she doesn't seem to think is as funny as I do for some reason.
-We ate at
Tanoshii Sushi last Friday, which was the site of some of our New Year's Eve debauchery. This time things were kept in check and my Hefner blazer was kept in the closet. The food was awesome. I got the one of the Sushi Mike Special rolls - you tell him what you like, he makes it - called the Italian Roll (olive oil infused with spices is poured on top of the maki roll) along with the must-have appetizer, 'fish and chips', which is sushi grade fatty tuna mixed with avocado, onions, roe and lemon juice served on top of fried puff pastry chips, prepared table side. Chip and salsa, you've finally met your maker. Plus the place is BYOB, a trend that every city should investigate.
-Saw both
Tyson and
Wolverine sans the wife.
Tyson was pretty riveting, if admittedly one-sided, since it only tells the story from Iron Mike's perspective. Regardless, there's a lot to like here, and Tyson comes off as flawed to be sure, but surprisingly self-aware and intelligent. For the sake of a lame analogy, I give it a TKO. Not quite a knockout (they gloss over the substance abuse and rape charge), but worth your while, especially if you're considering a face tattoo like I am.
Wolverine was exactly what you'd expect. A testosterone-laden comic film that lacks the depth of
The Dark Knight and the wit of
Iron Man, but is a passable popcorn flick as long as you go in with your expectations in check. Combine those two movies ('Tyson vs. Wolverine') and
now you've got yourself a movie.
-We're still considering buying a car, although our allegiances have shifted and we are now considering some models that weren't in the running a few weeks ago. It will come down to the wire, and not to tip our hand, but it looks like the two finalists rhyme with Perrari and Shmamshmorgini. It's all about economy and practicality, and not "pulling tail" as most reputable car dealers would lead you to believe. Recommendations are welcome from our readers, although Hummer jokes are frowned upon.
-We walked down to Wrigleyville last weekend and bought a couple of new Cubs t-shirts. My pleas for matching tank tops fell on deaf ears. I give the new krausened Old Style a big thumbs up. Seriously, I know it's Old Style, but it's good. Good for you too, or so I'm told. We ate at
Lucky Sandwich Shop and apparently every single sandwich there is served with fries and coleslaw...
on the sandwich. While not terrible tasting, this seems to be wholly unnecessary and confusing to dim patrons such as myself.
-Lots of my esoteric ramblings can be read over at
Thunder Matt's Saloon. For sports fans, particularly Cubs fans, this site is a must read. Hmmm...maybe I wouldn't go as far as to say must, but should. How about could? Yeah, it's a could read. Does that make sense? Let's just put it this way: if you have the site saved to your favorites even though you've only visited it like once (that time I emailed everyone about it years ago), well there's no use in deleting it now is there? If you accidentally click on it when trying scroll down to Facebook, all the better.
-Speaking of Facebook, I've really slowed up on the updates (although I still check it every day) and I refuse to Twitter/Tweet. The details of this blog are mundane enough and it's only updated like once a week. I can't imagine that anyone would interested in the minutia of my daily existence. If anything, it would just expose me as a fraud and topple my well-crafted Pretentious Bastard persona. Nothing wrecks street cred like letting people know that you spent your Saturday night drinking sugar-free Margaritas, watching
Lost and constantly checking your fantasy baseball team on your blackberry. Whoops! I think I just Tweeted.
Pork dumplings, miso soup and 'fish and chips' at Tanoshii. Heard but not seen: 'Maggie May'-era Rod Stewart playing in the background.
"Wow, this PBR is really going down good. We should order another pitcher!"
