BREAKING NEWS: Big Bird dies from bird flu

From the article it sounds like he was just visiting Thailand. First Mr. Rogers, now Big Bird. I just don't know what to think. See the full article here.

March Madness (please don't sue me NCAA)

It's about that time of year again. Those of you down with college hoops know what I'm talking about. March Madness is about to begin. This year I am gonna jump on the Gonzaga bandwagon. Adam Morrison is killing the competition averaging 29.3 points and one terrible moustache per game.
In years past I have rooted for whichever team(s) I draw in my office pool. I haven't really paid much attention to a single team since the university of Nevada Las Vegas broke my heart in the 90-91 season when they lost to Duke. Effin Dookies. I remember getting slightly excited by the Fab Five at U of Michigan, but these last couple years I haven't really gotten too interested in basketball (college or pro).
But I do like gambling, especially on sports. I'm not talking anything too serious like Rick Tocchet, just a couple of pools and maybe a bet or two on the Super Bowl. And maybe an occasional wager on the UFC. But that's it. I'm no Burckhardt. I do tend to get a little crazy during March Madness though. Usually filling out anywhere between three to seven brackets and at least getting into one pool where you draw teams. The bad thing about drawing teams is it's all luck. And it seems like every year I am rooting for University of Louisville (seriously, I've had them the last four years) to upset some team from my beloved Pacific Northwest.
This year let's try something different. Bragging rights only here. Anybody who wants in on the First Annual NOSE March Madness basketball pool, leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you for your picks. Winner is going to be receiving something AWESOME that is yet to be determined (just trust me on this). I realize we are a little early here but better to be safe than sorry. Anybody is allowed to enter, one entry per person. Who's up for this?

Mulgrew

If any of you out there haven't checked out www.jasonmulgrew.com now is the time to do so. We here at NOSE *heart* him very much. So much, that Erik and I both invited him to stop by Longview for some ice cold brewskis on his recent roadtrip from Seattle to Los Angeles. He didn't stop by because he is way cooler than either of us.
Anyways today he updated his blog and it's fantastic. You should check it out and if you like it, sign up for the monthly e-mail posts he will be sending out.
Also look for the post from February 17th were he gives yours truly a shout out (take that Emily), winning me a case of McMenamin's Ruby Ale (mmmmm, BEER) from Erik. And no I didn't invite him to stop by and watch me and my girlfriend have sex. Maybe some light fondeling, but sex was never part of the deal.

win an xbox 360

I said I would post more info on here about winning an Xbox 360 once I finally got the raffle I am putting together all situated. Well, I am expecting tickets to be available for sale this weekend, with the winners being drawn in late March. The money goes to benefit the Cowlitz Volleyball Club, which I coach for. There are tons of great prizes, so check out the site I made,
www.cowlitzvolleyball.com/raffle.htm, as it will be updated if I get more prizes donated to give away.

Also, for those of you already on Xbox Live, I found a calender of events that shows what games are played by tons of people each night. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/calendar/

And those of you not interested in Xbox, the raffle includes prizes like Mariners tickets and REI camping gear, so check it out.

Happy Birthday to Me (some things I hate)

Thanks to all for the many birthday wishes (both of them). And let me just tell you it was a rough weekend. It all started out Thursday (my b-day) when I got off work. I went home and drank a couple of Heinekens while I waited for Jeannine to come get me for dinner. We went to an Italian Steakhouse in town, Don Renato's. Verdict: Delicious. After dinner we decided to go home and have a quiet evening due to the exciting weekend we had planned.
On Friday I decided to take the day off. So I started drinking at about three in the afternoon. Grey Goose Vodka and Jones green apple soda together are delicious. Delicious and deadly. So I drank until about 6 when Jeannine and I went to meet the family for Chinese food. After a ton of General Tso's, Honey-Walnut Prawns, and various other entrees (and a couple of Tsing-tao's) we left the Golden Palace. We stopped briefly at my apartment to drop off my birthday loot. Next stop: BoPhal (bo paul) and Suriya's for a birthday/costume/housewarming party.
We arrived a little before everybody else finding Gus and Willie dressed up and drinking. Gus looked just like Marty McFly from the Back to the Future series. Willie was doing his best Burt Reynolds. BoPhal showed up shortly after and threw on his 1984 Michael Jackson Thriller ensemble. And decided to top it off with a mullet wig?
What the fuck? One thing I hate about costume parties is the people who show up not dressed up. And this party had many of them. I on the other hand was Cowlitz County Corrections February Inmate of the Month.
As soon as Jeannine and I showed up, the Grey Goose/Jones soda combo was in our cups. Add to that mix a vodka-Red Bull, a shot of Captain Morgan's, some beer and who knows what else and you have a very sick Nate. One other thing I hate is puking. And I did a bunch of it Friday night. And it was disgusting.
Here is Willie dressed up like Burt Reynolds. He found a great wig, leather jacket and Aviator shades at the Goodwill. It just wasn't complete so I drew a moustache on him with Jeannine eyeliner pencil. Voila, Burt Reynolds!
Saturday night was supposed to be strip-club night according to our original plans. I was so hungover that I really didn't feel like going but was gonna be a soldier and just get through the evening. My friends, Dez and Erica, came over to the house at about 7 on Saturday evening. Jeannine and I were already there and we waited about an hour to see if anybody else was gonna show up and join us in our adventure to Portland. After nobody (Willie) showed up we headed out on the road. None of us had eaten yet so we decided to stop in Portland for some grub. McMenamin's White Eagle, here we come! Little did we know there was a concert in session at the White Eagle and not a table to be found. After getting our refund of $6 each we headed out into Portland. McMenamin's Ringler's/the Crystal Ballroom was also packed sending us to choice number three, Rock Bottom brewery. What a great choice. We all enjoyed great food, delicious drinks and good company. Afterwards we were too full to do anything else. I hate making plans to go see some boobies and then not seeing boobies. We decided to head back to Longview and call it a night. And as soon as we hit I-5 north Jeannine and Dez were both out. We made it home in shortly under a hour and went to bed.
The other thing I hate is laundry. Which I spent my day yesterday doing in my still, slightly hung-over state.
One thing I love though is free Beer. Thanks Gus.