It has been a full week since I’ve written anything, but it has been a busy week. On Thursday, I purchased my first full suit, which I will need for many upcoming weddings this summer. I once owned a suit jacket, but never the full suit with matching pants and all. Pret-taaaay, pretty, pretty spendy, as Larry David would say. It is currently being tailored. While I was buying the suit, the skies were darkening up and all radio stations were focused solely on the massive storm system moving into the area. In Minneapolis, it rained for about 7 minutes with some strong winds and then got sunny. But in other parts of the state, tornadoes wreaked havoc.

Over the course of the next day, I had a chance to re-do, for the third time, the Dick’s Garage website. I don’t know how Dad and Alex will handle the huge load of customers that are sure to visit Carpenter, SD after this website makes the rounds. This was my Father’s Day gift. Go pay the site a visit while I continue finishing it!

Friday after work, Lauren and I visited the LaPlant compound in Eden Prairie for the first time in half a year. The occasion was Terry LaPlant’s trip into town to visit his boys. Back in the DSU days, it was always a treat when Terry would come to town and buy everyone lots of beer and other goodies. Also there for the night was the LaPlants’ cousin Dan. Terry bought Chinese food as we all sat around watching the Twins game and drinking. Jason then played this particular video on Netflix a number of times over and over, featuring John Goodman as a country singer from the movie “True Stories.” I don’t know what the significance of it was, but that song is now running through my head.

Saturday night, Lauren and I headed over to St. Paul to the Berglund-Huseby Summer Solstice BBQ. It was an extremely rare party in that the male-to-female ratio was strongly in the females’ favor, something I hardly ever encounter. After some grilling and sitting around a bonfire, the party moved inside where I immediately passed out on the couch and slept for hours. When I finally woke up at 4:15, Lauren, Christian, and Jaime were still sitting up chatting. Lauren continuously yelled “we’re young and crazy, woooooooo!”

Sunday we visited the Poulters for Father’s Day. What was left of our authentic Glanzer steaks were thrown onto the flames and everyone merrily ate and chatted. Steve was tickled with the retro Dick’s Garage cap I gave him.

Lauren and I made a quick exit at 7 and headed downtown to the Fine Line Cafe for the comedy show I’d been highly anticipating for months, Zane Lamprey’s “Drinking Made Easy” tour. Lamprey is the host of the cult hit “Three Sheets,” which has aired on a lot of little-known channels like the defunct Mojo and Fine Living. The show was part comedy/part education as Zane traveled the globe, mingling with locals in various cities and sampling their drinking customs. The show was very well made and I always thought Zane Lamprey was one of TV’s hidden gems, one of the funniest people on any show. He and co-host Marc Ryan and tag-a-long drunk Steve McKenna are now filming a new US version of the show being produced by Mark Cuban that will air on HDNet this fall.

Lauren and I stood at the very front of the stage for the show. The highlights included Steve McKenna pouring six bottles of beer into a bucket and chugging it; Zane using a sword to uncork a bottle of champagne, which actually busted a light above stage sending shards of glass into the crowd; and a push-up contest between Zane and a guy from the crowd. Overall I thought it was $60 well-spent for our tickets. My only gripe was that way more people showed up than I expected—I didn’t think these guys were that big yet! I passed on a chance for a photo op afterwards.

Zane Lamprey Drinking Made Easy tour busa
Standing by the Drinking Made Easy tour bus.
Zane Lamprey and Pleepleus in Minneapolis at Fine Line Cafe
Zane Lamprey and Pleepleus the monkey on stage at the Fine Line.

This week is busy busy busy. Softball tonight, dinner with a friend of Lauren’s tomorrow, packing Wednesday, quick Kate Rosok 30th birthday celebration somewhere in between, and flying to Buffalo Thursday after work.