Engaged to be MARRIED: Bethany and Mark edition

Stardate 65595.2

21:07 - Two of my bestest friends recently got engaged: Mark and Bethany.  I have been told through a 7 am phone call that strike teams, walks down memory lanes, and a sizable were ring were involved in what culminated in a romantic proposal under a bell tower with rose petals and candles. Not being in College Station, I cannot confirm the validity of all of this romantic behavior, but I trust what facebook tells me.  What I can confirm is that these two crazy kids are in love. I have seen them cross seas to be with each other. I have seen them campaign together, but I have never seen them quit each other. That says volumes about them. This engagement comes as no surprise to most of The Family/O'Bannon's Sub-committee. Many a time we have heard Mark foreseeing himself "marrying that girl." We are all happy that it finally has happen.

Now on a more shenanigan based note: no date has been set for the wedding. So I thought I would propose one: October 19th.  You do not always have to have a Saturday wedding. In fact, many people are fashionably opting to save money and do it on a non-traditional day, such as Friday or Sunday. Plus, October offers lovely weather and fun activities in College Station. With both of these in mind, we can have the wedding and party and be out before, lets say, midnight? Bonus: we would uncoincidentally be in town for the LSU game on the 20th. We can consider this proposal a win-win-win. We will Beat The Ever Living Hell Outta LSU's team, half-time, and tailgating with the whole wedding crew there. A 4th win in consideration would be celebrating their everlasting love, but that could happen any day picnic weather is around. Think about it this way: it may not be "traditional."However, it is Red-Ass, and didn't this all start from being Red-Ass?


Either way, I cannot wait to see both Bethany and Mark tie the knot and start becoming more and more like Lilly and Marshall. Almost as important, I can't wait to see a few of the groomsmen (and you know whom I speak of) try to be 'Barneys' for the wedding reception.

Valentine's Day 2012

Rob reheating dinner with a great bottle of  wine 

Stardate 65591.3


Being spurned by Chef Jose Andres and his reservation system, my Valentine went to great lengths and worked himself crazy on February 14th to earn my deepest regards. The restaurant Minibar wait-listed us for reservations. Not letting the 'system' get him down, my man went across town to three different Jose Andres' restaurants for lunch. Why lunch and why three places? He picked up three different restaurants' food to have dinner ready for me! He made good on his promise to treat me to Jose Andres' cooking, and he delivered! Not knowing what to expect, I arrived home to see Rob dressed in a tuxedo waiting to make me dinner. So I gussied up as well, and the penguin-esque Rob made me platefuls of delicious dishes. We had American Eats Tavern for the appetizers, Jaleo tapas for the main course, and my favorite Zaytinya dessert. It was one awesome and surprising Valentine's Day. If ever a person walked past mi casa in Southwest and asked, "is that Jose Andres' place?" The answer is yes but for one night only.

Now I wonder where he plans on taking me for my birthday....

Laser Tag and Dogfish Head Ale

Crazy outside snow! The most snow I saw in my life.

Stardate 65580.2

21:02 - Few things can be better than laser tag. True story! We road to the out skirts of the DC metro area to rent out a laser tag place in Maryland. We did not go to make kids cry but grown men and women from the internet. With my two top ten finishes, I would say: Mission Accomplished. With this much awesome about, we tried to top it, and we did.

Menu of beer. A whole menu of dedicated to beer.

A kingly beer

We went for a night cap/victory drink at Dogfish Head Ale House in Gaithersberg. This magical place houses the wonderful ales, lagers, and stouts of Dogfish Head Brewery. It is hard to find these brews on tap or in the store. They simply are on the endangered species list for D.C. Of the rarest of breeds is the Midas Touch beer. A part of the Ancient Ales line, the Midas Touch began 2,700 years ago. Collecting a vessel from the tomb of King Midas, the brew masters reverse engineered the recipe and now bring it to us humble beings. This crisp and flavorful beer danced on my tongue. The most prominent taste is the honey flavors. What can I say about this beer is that the Midas Touch Ale is the golden touch to the ending of a victorious evening. I would have accepted a gold medal, but I got better.

Plunkett the Segway

Stardate 65568

11:00 - On a cold winter's night, we rode around the city on a segway. My segway wasn't without a name. Plunkett was a noble motorized steed. Being my first time on a segway, I was scared to death of falling off. I almost immediately fell off the segway rolling up a hill.Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.  So I saddled up again and  managed to follow behind the rest of the gang.

We roamed down Pennsylvania Avenue down towards the Capitol Building. We made a small stop at the Canadian embassy. The embassy has a column of sound. You stand in the middle, make a small sound, and the acoustics amplify it. After those shenanigans, we glided by the Newseum to see a front page from every state in the US. We did circles around the Capitol pond and President Ulysses S. Grant memorial.

We finished our ride with a tour of the Occupy DC camp site. If anyone was looking for trouble, we'd accommodate them. But they left well enough alone. Besides, who can catch us on a segway? It was a tough, cold night to be outside - even tougher if you're stupidly camping on city concrete.