Jump to content

Spoosner

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    269
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Spoosner

  1. Typical intro, my wife is usually super smart, yada yada yada. This is long and there are some things I plan do differently, but the details of her thought process are what bottle my mind. My wife flew solo with our 5 month old for the first time Wednesday morning. Flight was out of DFW pretty early in the morning (had to leave house by 7:15 AM), so definitely had to do all packing prior to Wednesday. Also important to note, I have to leave the house at 7 AM for a work trip out of Love. The weekend before: I take son away from the house multiple times for way longer than necessary, and make subtle suggestions that she could use the alone time to start getting ready for the trip. She did seem to make some headway on some laundry she would need for the trip, but for the most part I came home to her either watching Netflix or napping on the couch. No big deal. She watches the kid all week and deserves to do whatever she wants with her small amount of down time. Sunday evening her Mom arrives to help watch little Spoos Monday and Tuesday. Monday arrives and I chat with wife about her plans for the day before I head to work. She "needs" to go shopping for a new pair of jeans, and then start packing. They left the house around Noon (as near as I could tell from various texts). I have to work a little late, so it's about 7:30 PM when get home...to an empty house. Apparently they just have one more stop at Container Store so she can buy some packing pouch things she "needs" to organize all of little Spoos' shit. They get back around 8:30 PM, bedtime activities ensue, and needless to say there is zero prep for the trip. She did get her jeans and travel pouch things, so perhaps that counts as progress? I have zero clue or interest in how or why that took 8+ hours. Tuesday - her Mom has to leave around Noon to drive back to Houston. Perhaps pack while you've got somebody to watch the little guy? Pshhh, don't be silly. She decides she needs a new suitcase because the ones we are have are either too big or too small. I come home Tuesday evening and see that packing progress is limited to a new empty suitcase laying open in the living room. We will both be out of town for a week and have a bunch to do, so we agree to just eat what's in the fridge and avoid making a mess. I eat some leftover chicken and veggies directly out of the throw away tupperware thing it's stored in. There is plenty for 2, so I offer to her, but she says she'll make something else. I throw away the container and remaining leftovers, leaving the fork I used as the only dirty item to clean. I decide the most helpful thing I can do is take care of the child and try to organize some of his stuff upstairs. It's about 7 PM at this point. I start binging all the stuff I know little Spoos needs, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, etc, down to the still empty suitcase. (Zero chance I'm wasting time picking out his clothes because she's showing him off to all her friends and undoubtedly has 2 perfect outfits a day already picked out in her mind). I check on her in the kitchen. She has 2 pots and a frying pan on the stove, and is chopping up all sorts of zucchini, tomatoes, basil, etc. that she "doesn't want to go to waste". I see one pot of boiling water... Me: What's the boiling water for? Her: I'm going to boil some peaches. Me: I've never seen her boil a peach in our 8 year relationship. Boil some peaches? Why? Her: So I can peel them. Me: Umm, are you making a cobbler? Her: No, just to eat. Me: Walks away before head explodes. It's 2 days later and I'm still so confused by this. 8:30 comes. Time for little Spoos' bath and bedtime. She takes him upstairs around 9 to put him down. I take status of the kitchen that we specifically talked about our aversion to get messy. Pots and pan (hand wash), paring and chef's knives (hand wash), veggie and peach massacred on 2 separate overflowing cutting boards, her plate, my fork, and then of course all the normal baby bottle/pump stuff from the day that has to be cleaned for the trip. My frustration meter steadily climbs as I tackle all this shit. I make detailed mental notes of all the stupid time wasting bullshit going on so that I can bring them up prior to her/our next trip so that they never happen again (HA!), but bitching about it now will only further delay me getting to bed for my early flight and full day of meetings. This is already long enough, but the real packing finally begins around 10 PM. I laugh when she says she hopes to be in bed by midnight so she can wake up at 6. I finally go upstairs at 1 AM and pack in 5 minutes for my week long trip that includes San Antonio, the weekend in NYC with them, and then back to San Antonio. Obviously I could've said sucks for you and gone to bed after I finished the dishes, but I'm not a dick and know she would've been up all night without my help. She climbs in bed around 1:30 I think. Little Spoos who has been sleeping through the night for multiple weeks decides he's hungry at 4 AM on this particular night. So we're both up at 6 going on 2-3 hours of sleep, but I will say she got out the door on time and did thank me for all my help. I called her exhausted from my hotel after work yesterday. She cheerfully says, "You don't sound like you're having as much fun as us." I simply replied that I was going to bed. Went to hotel bar, pondered life over a few scotches, and retired to the glorious peace and quiet of my hotel room. tl:dr Women can't prioritize/plan, and are oblivious to how it impacts others around them.
  2. You'll only get a taste, but it will be delicious. I'd do it.
  3. Dakota's has decent happy hour deals, but you've got to be in the mood for a dark steakhouse atmosphere. Corrientes 348 is actually a decent option as well. Happy Hour Menu. Nice open bar/restaurant and they have a patio, although I've never sat on it. Only issue I really have with it is it's usually pretty empty, so bring your own friends. Not sure how long it's going to hang on. And as mentioned above, Tortaco.
  4. Looking for the specifics on the Boulevardie deal brought me to this, which I figure is worth sharing for a few more oyster hh options: https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/craving-oysters-try-these-seven-half-shell-happy-hours-in-dfw-8185812
  5. The best meal we had was at Le Lapin Saute. We were there during winter so a very different (and cold) experience.
  6. Picked up 3 racks of baby backs from Costco yesterday. Planning to smoke them this weekend, and I must admit that I'm pretty much a n00b. I've watched the Franklin videos and some others. Seems easy enough, but I have some pretty basic questions. 1. When do you place/fill the water pan? I plan to start the fire, place the heat deflector, place and fill the water pan, place the grills, and then close and work on getting to correct temp. Any issues with that plan? 2. Is it important to keep the racks full size, or can I cut in half in order to fit them easier? I don't think this will be an issue after the small amount of trimming discussed in the Franklin video, but just in case. 3. Franklin does his spare ribs at 275, which seems higher than the 225 - 250 consensus. He also seems to do more of a 2-2 and doesn't put them back on "naked" after being in foil. Guess this isn't much of a question. My plan is to do the 3-2-1. 4. Nobody seems to care about the temperature of the ribs themselves as far as knowing when they're done. Just make sure they're progressing and feel nice when you think they're done? Any other first time pointers welcomed. I do plan to protect the ends with foil as suggested by solamonte73.
  7. Sadly had a last minute work trip come up. Anybody want a Purapecha reservation for 2 at 6 pm tomorrow, 7/12? I plan To call at 2 today to cancel if I don’t have a taker.
  8. I gave this to myself for Father's Day. Quality seems quite good, the wheels are real nice to have on the stand, and the orange is pretty much perfectly burnt (which was a pleasant surprise as I was expecting closer to Tennessee orange). I smoked some chicken wings on it for my first cook. Had to play with the vents a little, but I eventually got it to 225 and it stayed there for the 2 hours the chicken wings needed with zero attention. I had the lid open for a good bit while I got all the wings off and the temp climbed up to 400 or so. Nice lesson for future/longer cooks not to open unless needed and keep it short. Wings turned out super juicy and great. Grilled some burgers on it yesterday. Used same charcoal from the first cook with only a very small amount of new. I think I left the igniter in longer than it needed to be as the coals were all going real hot, but obviously that was no issue for cooking burgers. My only concern was getting it hot so soon (around 500 when I closed the lid while cooking), but I didn't notice any issue this morning with gaskets or anything. I really like the igniter port, and cleaning out the ash today was super easy with the tray that pulls out. That's the same tray that you'd remove and replace with the gas grill insert. I might buy the gas insert in the future, but the coals are so easy and fast that I think I'll enjoy using just those for a good while. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.
  9. Worth every penny, especially for the TSA as others have said. DUI when I was 19. Applied and approved for Global Entry and when I was 31. Obviously I disclosed it in my application, so perhaps thunderlounge was just saying to be honest and not omit anything. That was my last and only real offense, so I don't know where they draw the line. The first time I used it they pulled me aside (which I was told might happen), but after a quick conversation I went through and I've never had any sort of issue since. It is true that if you have a checked bag you might end up having to wait for that anyway, but that's not an issue if just carrying on and I'd rather walk around the baggage area than wait in line with the normals any day of the week. In some airports there are separate customs lines for GE as well. Lastly, you do not have to enter your known traveler # every time, and the only time you use the card is if you're driving back into the country. Global Entry is attached to your passport electronically. Go to kiosk and scan passport. You DO have to enter your known traveler # with each airline for TSA precheck. Assuming you have a login/profile with the airline (which you should), you can either proactively go in and add it to your profile or add it whenever you book your next flight. After that it's automatically attached to all your reservations. I did it almost 4 years ago (think I have to renew soon), so I don't remember how long the processing took.
  10. Thanks. Belmond is probably top of the list. Decent rate with Sapphire points. It seems like there are only a couple hotels in that area (Belmond and Hacienda de las Flores). Is that the part of town you definitely want to be in?
  11. Just booked for 6/29 - 7/3 with the wife. I know nothing about it. Lodging, food, and activity recs welcomed and appreciated.
  12. I'm at a Big 4 firm one step away from Partner. Hoping to make it in the next 3-5 years. At my firm, optional retirement for Partners is at 55, mandatory at 60. My understanding is the only reason to stay till 60 is more money (i.e. annual bonus). The retirement money is referred to as a pension. I don't know what would happen to pensions if there was a crazy collapse of the the firm (i.e. Enron/Arthur Anderson), but I really can't fathom that happening. You won't see me at the office after my 55th birthday. Golf, travel, going to football/baseball games with my son (who will have just turned 21), pick up some additional hobbies, etc. Hell, I could follow the Astros around the country for 9 months of the year and be happy as a clam. 55 sounds nice and early, until I remind myself that's 21 years away.
  13. Link to the complete bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/baseball/d1
  14. Really hope our guys show up against Sabathia. Obviously never fun to see our guys struggle at the plate, but for some reason it irks me more when it's against Sabathia (i.e. Game 3 of ALCS).
  15. Thanks for the look. We're out of town or else I'd take it. Luckily we're booked for July 12th.
  16. Seemed like Kemp did not get a good jump on that.
  17. CC watching those 2 pitches is infuriating. Should've had some runs for JV in the first.
  18. Tacodeli is awesome, aside from their closing at 3 and breakfast hours during the week.
  19. It's posts like these that make me loathe living in Dallas.
  20. I plan to mute and put the radio broadcast on when we play Boston.
  21. Good win. Can't say I felt the same about the ESPN game calling.
  22. Taco Joint and Tacos Y Mas are probably my top 2. Any not-so obvious favorites?
  23. Home Depot has this sale going today: Vision Kamado Professional Ceramic Charcoal Grill in Orange with Grill Cover for $599. I'm in the market and this seems like a good price. Is this the same one that some people are saying broke right away for them? Reviews are pretty solid.
  24. Spoosner

    Dallas | BBQ

    Odd. It shows up for me. Link to pic: https://i.imgur.com/o1wiRnf.jpg
×
×
  • Create New...