Football Season's Over. So, Now What Do I Do?

Amerks vs. the Abbottsford Heat.  Rochester lost 3-2 in overtime.  A very, very short overtime...  At least Moose was there.



Faceoff which was immediately followed by a fight.  



Geez Louise making Gertie nervous at the office.



She may be a cat; not a dog...



After a rough day at the office with all the cats and big dogs, she likes to steal my snuggie and curl up on the top of our couch.  Stop stealing my stuff...



So, this manure spreader at work is on its last legs.  It needs to be replaced and we have no money in the budget.  Any suggestions?  There's a lifetime supply of cookies on the line!

How Many Milestones Can You Cram Into a Week?

My start date at Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester was moved up a week. So, I've been very, very busy the last few days.  Let's start by giving everyone my new contact information:

Mike Kraus

Annual Giving Manager

Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester

585.223.1330 x244

MKraus@Lollypop.org

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus 

And now for the blog!

Rochester Americans (Amerks) vs. the Binghamton Senators.

Nice shot of the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial



This goal judge is probably the most stoic man in all of minor league hockey...



FIGHT!



WHO WANTS A T-SHIRT OR FRISBEE!!!  WHO DOESN'T!!!






It was the Moose's birthday on the 13th.



Takes a shot...



Then took a shot...



Lemoncello in East Rochester.  Pretty good sandwiches near our apartment where we met up with Sarah and Pete for lunch



If I said this was the craziest thing I saw while looking at open houses this past week I would be lying.  There was lots of great artwork in many homes.  There was one home that had more faux rocks, paneling, and other similar things on the walls than I knew existed.  If only I could have taken pics...



Megan fulfilled a V-Day tradition of mine, which is the February 15th candy buying spree.  If I have kids, they will be very confused when we celebrate x-mas on Dec. 26th, Easter Monday, and so on...



What?  You've never seen a Valentine fish in a tux before?  What means love to you?



My first car.  A 2008 Nissan Versa.  It seems my days of riding public transportation are over.  At least it's bright white and has bike tires...


That's it for now.  Let me know if you need a pet because I know where you find one...

The Cats of Minor League Hockey

This is Moxie the Desk Cat.  I've been volunteering at Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Rochester and Monroe County (http://www.lollypop.org/), which is a wonderful organization.  They have all kinds of animals out there from cats, dogs, goats, chickens, horses, snakes, turtles and I'm sure much, much more.  I have to say that I've never had pets at work before, but they are great co-workers.



DiBella's is a local sub shop chain (Friends and family: they have one in Ann Arbor, MI if you want to try).  Some really good stuff.  Megan and I went there for the first time last week after a young professionals get together downtown because so many people showed up that we weren't going to eat.  In Chicago, you're lucky if 15 people show up for a young professional event.  Here in Rochester, there were nearly 1,000.  It was pretty intense and we were wholly unprepared for that.  So, we had subs instead.



HOCKEY!!!!  HIT HIM!!!!  For Christmas, Megan got me a ticket package for the Rochester Americans (Amerks for short) (http://amerks.com).  They are a part of the American Hockey League (AHL) (they play the Grand Rapids Griffins on 1/26).  They are an affiliate of the Florida Panthers .



DEAL OF THE WEEK:  Two Zweigle Hot Dogs (Red Hots), Four Molson Canadians, Only $6.  



The Amerks played against the Lake Erie Monsters out of Cleveland.  



FIGHT!!!



He was alright, but it looked like they were selling a lot of hockey equipment at a yard sale.



Intermission entertainment!  It seemed that they put kids from the ages of 4-6 out there.  One kid was the best.  He would skate, stop hunched over, skate, fall, skate, stop hunched over, repeat.  It took him the whole intermission to get to the other side of the rink and then the coach carried him off the ice when the Zamboni was ready.



Not sure if this ended up being a goal...



This is R. Thunder.  You would think he's the main mascot, but he isn't.  You will see him next.  



This is the Moose, which is the main mascot of the Americans.  I guess they got him from a local radio station and somehow it became permanent.  I think their mascot should be something like George Washington with a black eye and a missing wooden tooth.  Just a thought...



Oh the Nutty Bavarian.  



"Don Stevens is the man of the hour (but not this hour)."  He's their play-by-play announcer.  So, I have no idea what this is about...



BEER GUY!!!  Famous in the Bell family.  So, the next time you see Megan you should ask her about the "Beer Guy Wedding."



The American Spirits with the Moose.  It seems they are looking for new cheerleaders and if you are interested, visit http://amerks.com/fan/spirit/.  



GENNY LIGHT!  The local brew of choice.  Interestingly enough, they don't seem to serve it at the War Memorial at Blue Cross Arena; they just advertise there...



THANKS MEGAN FOR A WONDERFUL DATE!  I'll see you there for game 2: against the Manitoba Moose (again the Moose is the Amerks mascot, which seems more Canadian)



More cold and snow recently.  It's been bitter, but not nearly as bitter as we've gotten use to in Chicago.  So, we took a walk to check out the snow and all at Linear Park (aka Channing H. Philbrick Park) in Penfield, NY









Ducks found something good to eat



My "National Geographic shot"


That's it from the hamlet of Rochester.  Not too much going on in the next week.  Just volunteering at Lollypop, Megan's going to New York for a conference this weekend, and job hunting. 

My Half-Hour Story...

It's Monday and that means three things 1) laundry day 2) shaving day 3) blog posting day. It has come to my attention that some of you don't think I write enough. I'll work on that...

Mike Nummerdor and I went to funny named bar on Fullerton the other night and tested out there assortment of fine $2 beers. America beer won my vote for taste and presentation.
The best thing about this bar was that it is a jazz club. There's no cover and there's cheap drinks. Oh yeah, we were the only customers as well. It's a great place to become a regular.
Here's the experimental jazz band.
Ronan, a fine Irishman, is going back to Ireland for x-mas. So, we went to this Polish bar on Division. I would tell you the name, but it has three of them. It's either 1) Monica's Lounge 2) Theresa's Place, or 3) Something in Polish. Either way, it was another great dive bar where a bar fight broke out among "the regulars." Good times!
This is all nice and sweet, but I don't trust that gnome for a second...
Heading home from work on the Damen Blue Line stop.
Another holiday display near Amanda Talmadge's apartment. They seem to be on speed or ex or something...
The evil Santa Clause.
This is Amanda's cat Niko (or Neeko, Neco, Nico, or something). Nice cat, but watch the claws.
Frances meets up with Mr. Carpet on the way to Goldie's on Lincoln. Man, that bar is way awesome. The beer and liquor is cheap, they let you bring in or have food delivered to the bar and provide you with menus, no douchebags, video games on a big screen, and a relaxed atmosphere.
Frances and Amanda on the way to the California Clipper to meet up with the rest of the gang.
Frances in her "Virgin Mary" pose.
Frances at the California Clipper.
Some honky tonk band at the Clipper.

I't should be a really good week. Tuesday, I'm not getting anything done at work because I have a breakfast meeting as soon as I get there, a departmental holiday party soon after, and then the company party at 5pm at some architecture firm in the West Loop. Wednesday will be much the same, but recovering from the hangover and getting ready for vacation. Then, I have the next week off. I'll be heading back home at some point and look to have a good time with my friends. Hope to see you all soon!

xoxo,

Mike