Today is part two of my comparison between the sports scenes in Louisville and St. Louis. There may or may not be a third part. We'll see. My entire point was to show the different scenes, and comparing the two will probably not be a long enough post, so it will probably be a paragraph tomorrow and not much else.
Anyway, St. Louis is another great city for sports, especially professional sports. The highlight of the professional sports scene in St. Louis is the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are why St. Louis is called "Baseball Heaven." The team can boast probably the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in baseball, and athletes from other cities often acknowledge this. And the Cardinals have rewarded their fans with a history of success. They are the second most successful team in the history of MLB in terms of World Championships, with 10 (trailing the Yankees 26). They are also the second most successful team in the National League, having appeared in 17 World Series (trailing the Dodgers' 18). They won the World Series in 2006, have appeared in the playoffs in 6 of the past 8 seasons, and are off to a torrid start in 2008 with a 13-9 record (soon to be 14-9). They are considered among the elite 4 or 5 franchises in baseball.
The St. Louis Blues have been a part of the National Hockey League since 1967. They appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in their first 3 seasons (losing all 3), and at one point held a streak of making the NHL playoffs for I believe 25 years which was the longest current streak in professional sports at the time. However, they have never won the Stanley Cup, and in the past 3 seasons they have been a bottom-feeder in the NHL. But it is hard to deny the fact that they add something exciting to the sports scene in St. Louis, and Blues fans are nearly as passionate as Cardinals fans.
NFL Football in St. Louis has had an on and off history. The Cardinals played in St. Louis until 1987 until they moved to Phoenis, but in 1995 the city acquired the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams came to St. Louis among much fanfare, and the people of St. Louis responded as true fans. They sold out every home game for years, and just as attendance was getting ready to slip, the Rams made an improbable run to the Super Bowl and became a dominant force in the league for a few years.
I remember in the year 2000, when the Rams won the Super Bowl, St. Louis was voted the best sports city in America. This is why: that year the Rams were Super Bowl champs, the Cardinals won the National League Central with Mark McGwire at the forefront of their roster, and the Blues won the President's Trophy as the team with the best record in the NHL.
However, professional sports are not the only sports that play a big role in St. Louis. The city claims the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois as "local" college teams. Every year the annual Busch Braggin' Rights basketball game between Missouri and Illinois takes place in St. Louis. I believe the Missouri/Illinois football game also takes place in St. Louis.
High school sports fans are very passionate in St. Louis, with several football rivalries taking top spots in the news annually. CBC/SLUH is one major game that used to be as big as Trinity/St. X in Louisville, but in recent years this game has left a large stadium and taken place at the individual schools. Every year after the high school football season is officially over, on Thanksgiving, Kirkwood and Webster play a rivalry football game.
However, the top high school sport in St. Louis is soccer. St. Louis annually has at least one team ranked in the top 5 high school teams nationally, and usually 2-3 ranked in the top 25. It is an odd year when at least one team does not take the top spot in the national rankings at some point. CBC, SLUH, DeSmet and Chaminade are top local soccer schools, with Vianney, Oakville, and Mehlville also taking top honors in any given year. St. Louis is considered the top high school soccer city in the nation, and is a hotspot for college recruiters.
I'll end this blog with another few small points to think about when considering St. Louis sports. St. Louis was the host of the 1904 Olympics, and an "Olympic Festival" to commemorate the coming of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The current WWE Champion, Randy Orton, hails from St. Louis, and the city is considered a top wrestling city in the nation, especially back in the 1960's. St. Louis was in the running to be the home of the 16th team in Major League Soccer, and will likely be considered at their next expansion. St. Louis hosted the 2005 NCAA Final Four, and will host the 2009 Women's Final Four.
This is a tough one...I will have to think about which city takes the prize.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Sports Scene (Part 1)
Today I will begin my three-part look at comparing the sports scenes in Louisville and St. Louis. Both cities claim to be great sports cities, both with self-imposed nicknames (St. Louis is "Baseball Heaven" and Louisville is "The Best College Sports Town In America"). I will begin today with Louisville.
Louisville's main claim to sporting superiority lies in its fanatical support of amateur sports. Louisvillians remain split in an ongoing civil war between University of Louisville and University of Kentucky supporters. This rivalry is heightened twice each year, with the annual football and basketball games. What makes this rivalry even more exciting is the fact that in both sports this
has historically been an evenly matched game in recent years (though U of L had the upper hand in football for several years, that streak was ended in dramatic fashion this year). All over the city are signs of this rivalry, with banners waving either U of L or UK flags in front yards, cars driving by with flags, or the custom license plates, marked either IAM4UL or IAM4UK. I could write an entire post on this rivalry, but I will just sum it up by saying that most national sources rank U of L vs. UK as the top non-conference rivalry in college basketball, and sometimes it only ranks below Duke/UNC as the top overall rivalry, and this hatred carries over to virtually every other sport. UK ranks among the elite college basketball programs of all time, right up there with Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA. U of L is generally considered a tier below (historically speaking) but still among the elite.
One cannot enter Louisville and leave again without hearing about high school sports. Just like the UL/UK rivalry, high school football and basketball are ways of life in Kentucky, with several major rivalries taking top honors in the city. A trifecta of schools annually dominate the high school football rankings; Trinity, St. X, and Male High School are perennial state champions in the top division of Kentucky football, with the Trinity/St. X football game annually threatening to fill up Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (where U of L plays football). More people show up for this annual high school football game than most Major League Baseball games. And Kentucky (like Indiana) being the basketball-crazed state it is, high school basketball gets as much local media coverage as many professional sports in major markets.
The market for professional sports is slim in Kentucky, but there are places to go to feed that craving. Most notably, Louisville is home to the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the
Louisville Bats. The Bats play ball downtown in the picturesque Slugger Field. This stadium is a gem in downtown Louisville, where many a Thursday night can be spent buying $1 beers and watching future stars make names for themselves. Of course, every other night of the week offers its own spectacle, including Ford Fantastic Fireworks and Jake the Diamond Dog. These are the things that I love about living in Louisville, and why I claim it is a city looking for an identity. It advertises itself as a big city (the 16th largest in America, according to some signs) but advertisements such as those for Bats Baseball ("the name of our game is "FUN) have that small-town feel I have always associated with Minor League Baseball, thanks to movies like Bull Durham.
The Louisville Fire are another "professional" team in Louisville...our local Arena Football squad. They play ball throughout the spring and summer in Broadbent Arena, and draw a decent crowd. If anyone has been to an arena football game, there is no denying the fun atmosphere, as it has an entirely different feel than any NFL or College Football Game. The Fire do well due to the fact that they market entirely to families, and make their atmosphere fitting for such a crowd.
These are not the only ways to get your fix of sports in Louisville. One of the great organizations in the state of Kentucky is the Greater Louisville Sports Commission. This is what I believe to be an underappreciated group of people who help bring big sporting events to the city. One of the notable recent developments credited to the Sports Commission is the five-year deal they inked to bring an Ironman Triathlon to Louisville. Not many cities can boast hosting an Ironman, and this event will have an annual impact on the World Ironman Championships, as qualifiers can come directly from the Louisville Ironman.
In the fall, Louisville will host the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Country Club. This is a MAJOR international event and will really put Louisville on the map in the sporting world. Golf fans from all over the world will come to Louisville to view this spectacle. This, along with the Kentucky Derby (of course I had to hit on that) will put the focus of the sporting world directly on this city.
I'm sure I could go on and on about the Louisville sports scene, but I don't want to make this too long. However, I will finish with a couple of other necessary points. I've already mentioned the running scene in Louisville, and called it among the best in the country, but it had to be mentioned in this article. Louisville is home of Ohio Valley Wrestling, which used to be a feeder to WWE, but is now an independent promotion. However, probably half of WWE's current roster at one point was wrestling in OVW. Louisville is set to host the 2008 AAA Baseball All-Star Game. And finally, Louisville is home to the Louisville Slugger plant, which at one point produced nearly every bat used in Major League Baseball, and is still the name associated with baseball bats nationwide.
I wonder if St. Louis sports can match up to this??
Louisville's main claim to sporting superiority lies in its fanatical support of amateur sports. Louisvillians remain split in an ongoing civil war between University of Louisville and University of Kentucky supporters. This rivalry is heightened twice each year, with the annual football and basketball games. What makes this rivalry even more exciting is the fact that in both sports this
has historically been an evenly matched game in recent years (though U of L had the upper hand in football for several years, that streak was ended in dramatic fashion this year). All over the city are signs of this rivalry, with banners waving either U of L or UK flags in front yards, cars driving by with flags, or the custom license plates, marked either IAM4UL or IAM4UK. I could write an entire post on this rivalry, but I will just sum it up by saying that most national sources rank U of L vs. UK as the top non-conference rivalry in college basketball, and sometimes it only ranks below Duke/UNC as the top overall rivalry, and this hatred carries over to virtually every other sport. UK ranks among the elite college basketball programs of all time, right up there with Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA. U of L is generally considered a tier below (historically speaking) but still among the elite.One cannot enter Louisville and leave again without hearing about high school sports. Just like the UL/UK rivalry, high school football and basketball are ways of life in Kentucky, with several major rivalries taking top honors in the city. A trifecta of schools annually dominate the high school football rankings; Trinity, St. X, and Male High School are perennial state champions in the top division of Kentucky football, with the Trinity/St. X football game annually threatening to fill up Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (where U of L plays football). More people show up for this annual high school football game than most Major League Baseball games. And Kentucky (like Indiana) being the basketball-crazed state it is, high school basketball gets as much local media coverage as many professional sports in major markets.
The market for professional sports is slim in Kentucky, but there are places to go to feed that craving. Most notably, Louisville is home to the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the
Louisville Bats. The Bats play ball downtown in the picturesque Slugger Field. This stadium is a gem in downtown Louisville, where many a Thursday night can be spent buying $1 beers and watching future stars make names for themselves. Of course, every other night of the week offers its own spectacle, including Ford Fantastic Fireworks and Jake the Diamond Dog. These are the things that I love about living in Louisville, and why I claim it is a city looking for an identity. It advertises itself as a big city (the 16th largest in America, according to some signs) but advertisements such as those for Bats Baseball ("the name of our game is "FUN) have that small-town feel I have always associated with Minor League Baseball, thanks to movies like Bull Durham.The Louisville Fire are another "professional" team in Louisville...our local Arena Football squad. They play ball throughout the spring and summer in Broadbent Arena, and draw a decent crowd. If anyone has been to an arena football game, there is no denying the fun atmosphere, as it has an entirely different feel than any NFL or College Football Game. The Fire do well due to the fact that they market entirely to families, and make their atmosphere fitting for such a crowd.
These are not the only ways to get your fix of sports in Louisville. One of the great organizations in the state of Kentucky is the Greater Louisville Sports Commission. This is what I believe to be an underappreciated group of people who help bring big sporting events to the city. One of the notable recent developments credited to the Sports Commission is the five-year deal they inked to bring an Ironman Triathlon to Louisville. Not many cities can boast hosting an Ironman, and this event will have an annual impact on the World Ironman Championships, as qualifiers can come directly from the Louisville Ironman.
In the fall, Louisville will host the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Country Club. This is a MAJOR international event and will really put Louisville on the map in the sporting world. Golf fans from all over the world will come to Louisville to view this spectacle. This, along with the Kentucky Derby (of course I had to hit on that) will put the focus of the sporting world directly on this city.
I'm sure I could go on and on about the Louisville sports scene, but I don't want to make this too long. However, I will finish with a couple of other necessary points. I've already mentioned the running scene in Louisville, and called it among the best in the country, but it had to be mentioned in this article. Louisville is home of Ohio Valley Wrestling, which used to be a feeder to WWE, but is now an independent promotion. However, probably half of WWE's current roster at one point was wrestling in OVW. Louisville is set to host the 2008 AAA Baseball All-Star Game. And finally, Louisville is home to the Louisville Slugger plant, which at one point produced nearly every bat used in Major League Baseball, and is still the name associated with baseball bats nationwide.
I wonder if St. Louis sports can match up to this??
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I WIN!!!
I've always been of the philosophy that Tuesday is the worst day of the work/school week. So many people claim Monday should hold this title, but here's my argument: You come to work Monday, and if you had a good weekend then you have a lot to talk about and the morning goes by quickly and before you know it afternoon is there. If you had a bad weekend, then chances are you're glad it's Monday and you want the weekend over. Wednesday is Hump Day and not at all bad, on Thursday you can almost taste the weekend (hopefully good) and of course, Friday is Friday. But Tuesdays suck. I wake up most Tuesdays and the first thought that goes through my head is, "Fuck, it's only Tuesday."What is the point of my story, you may ask? There is no point except to show just how one event can change your outlook on anything. I woke up this morning with that same curse going through my head. I struggled into work, and sat at my desk doing my best to pass time. However, in the back of my mind I knew this day had a silver lining. For over the weekend, I got a slip on my door. And on this slip was my key to becoming a big winner: a $500 Best Buy Gift Card was waiting for me in a FedEx Office, and today they delivered it to the office at my apartment. So at lunch, I went and picked it up, and behold: it was a "Great Day."
There are certain websites that make seemingly outrageous offers. "Click here to claim your free gift." "Want a new laptop? Just click here." And so on and so on. I don't know about all of these sites, but I found one that was legit. The Prize Center.
Through this site, you need to complete certain "offers" in order to claim your free gift. The gift I chose was this Best Buy gift card. Now before I started, I read all the fine print. Some of these sites make you complete all their offers, only to require you to refer other people to complete all the offers as well before they give you anything. This prize, however, required only 8 offers to be completed; 2 "Silver", 2 "Gold" and 4 "Platinum" offers. Each level of offers are composed of about 20-30 things you may need to do, such as subscribe to a magazine, get a free trial of something and only pay shipping, or subscribe to an online service.
What I did was look at each level (and they mostly consisted of the same lists of offers) and decide on eight that I could legitimately do without having to invest too much money. Then I signed up for the offers, usually for a trial period of 2 weeks or a month. Near the end of each month, I would cancel my offer and not pay another penny. Once you click on the offer on The Prize Center's site, it automatically goes into your account as a "Pending" offer. So in the end, just by looking I had about 20 pending offers. The Prize Center then contacts the company giving the offer to be sure you paid your due and fulfilled the obligations of the offer. Now I know personally I was worried so I kept a few of these offers past the free trial and paid for an extra month. My original plan was to spend about $50. In the end I probably spent probably about $150. Now that may sound bad, but remember I still got my $500 Best Buy Gift Card.
Here are the offers I completed (I don't have links to the sites, but I'll give some of the companies and an overview of the offer).
Netflix: 2 week trial for free, then fulfill a full month. This cost me $14 for the month. One thing about Netflix is I am still using it, but I only count the first month toward this because I am willingly paying for the service now.
Blockbuster Online: Month Trial for $9.99 I think. I stopped this after a month, but got many a free movie.
GreatFun: This is a site that gives you coupons for great deals at many main-stream restaurants and stores. I paid $3 for the first month and stayed on another month for $15, but never used it...but this could be a useful service.
Critics Choice Entertainment Club (I think that's the name)...paid $2 I think for the offer and gave it up after the trial because I didn't use it. Similar to Great Fun.
Ultimate Nutraceuticals: 12-in-one Vitamins. This is also called Klee Irwin's Health Products. This is the company that screwed me, as they got about $80 or more from me by being kind of shady and not canceling all my services when I asked. However I didn't feel like fighting since I was still profiting despite these assholes. But I wouldn't recommend this service at all...stay away.
VistaPrint: Possibly my favorite of the offers. 250 FREE business cards, you only pay like $8 S&H. And I made custom business cards that I use as a joke...but a damn funny joke. Also, no obligations for this one. I got my cards and I was done with them. Highly recommended.
EMusic: Another easy one. 99 cent month trial, and you can cancel online so you don't have to argue with some salesperson.
3 In 1 Credit Report: This is a subsidiary of FreeCreditReport.com (you know, the company with the commercial of the guy in a pirate suit.) This is a legit company. I had a problem giving out my Social Security Number but I checked into the site before I did any of that and they were legit. Paid like $3 I think for the first month, and the people were very nice when I canceled. No arguing and they told me I could use the site until my month trial was up all I wanted, no hassles at all. Recommended if you haven't gotten a credit report recently.
I also did a 9th offer that I can't remember just to be safe, as my Netflix offer never got approved (which is funny seeing that it's the only one I kept.)
So after all my offers were approved, I was told to click on a link that brought up an application form. I had about 2 weeks to get this form into the company through the mail. One problem I had here was they made you fill out a tax form, so I gave them my SSN, but I figured at this point it was worth the risk (I don't have much of an identity to steal anyway). So I send it in well before the deadline and then get a major scare...the envelope comes back to me in the mail, saying the address didn't exist. Problem? HELL NO!! I emailed them immediately telling them what happened, and within a day they emailed me back with a fax number. I sent them the fax (note this was after the deadline but I also sent a copy of the envelope with the early postmark on it). And they immediately approved it. You can keep track of all of this on their website. The approval was dated February 25, and it said to wait 6-8 weeks to get your gift. Well, about 7 weeks later....I WIN!!!
Friday, April 11, 2008
'Tis The Season
The road crews have been out all week, and I foresee them being out for the next three. Of course, you may say...It's Springtime. Well, that may be so, but that's not the reason road crews have begun the process of beautifying Louisville's roads, highways, and medians. It must be Derby Season!!Now don't get me wrong, this post is not meant to belittle the city. I think it's amazing that every year, on the first Saturday in May, the eyes of the world turn to this small little town that thinks it's a big city, all in anticipation of The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, The Kentucky Derby.
While I am not a big fan of hype, there's no arguing that this event is what put Louisville on the map. And the city embraces it like no other. For weeks each spring, the Kentucky Derby Festival livens up this city with a fervor rarely matched anywhere else. Derby Festival "officially" kicks off tomorrow night with Thunder Over Louisville. This is actually a one-day version of Fair St. Louis, for those familiar with that annual St. Louis treat. Thunder includes a day of insanity in downtown Louisville, complete with live music, and airshow, and of course, the obligatory immensely huge fireworks display. While I will take the backdrop in St. Louis with the Arch and the riverfront any day over any other city's fireworks, one cannot deny the absurdity of the Second Street Bridge being engulfed in smoke, and virtually disappearing. How many cities can boast that??
Along with Thunder, the Derby Festival boasts an aspect that I find fairly unique, the Chow Wagons, which are dispersed throughout the city and contain a hoard of artery-clogging, but
undeniably delectable deep-fried treats. A Pegasus pin gets you into these wagons free of charge, at which point you are free to fork over a load of money for the privilege of ingesting a Bloomin' Onion, Bloomin' Potato, a large turkey leg, or any number of uber-fattening goodies, including the "Official Pizza of the Kentucky Derby Festival" (and the entire state of Kentucky) Papa John's, or as I call it, "Louisville-style Pizza." Though I think my Papa John's rant is best saved for another post.In my humble opinion, the Kentucky Derby Festival begins in early March with the start of the Triple Crown of Running, a series of three races that regularly draw thousands of runners to the area. Within the running community, these are stepping stones to a fourth race, the KDF Mini Marathon. The Mini is another aspect of the Festival that I find quite enjoyable...though I have never run it. However, so many people get up for this race, including spectators, that I felt it necessary to make mention. It takes place every year the weekend before Derby.
And then, of course, there is Derby weekend. It begins on Friday (as most weekends do), with the Kentucky Oaks. This is a lesser-known race that draws a huge crowd, especially of Louisvillians. Many Louisvillians actually prefer to go to Churchill Downs for Oaks due to the more tame, yet still uniquely exciting, atmosphere. Oaks Day is actually a city holiday in Louisville, with many public offices closed, including the schools. The bars stay open until 6 AM on both Friday and Saturday, instead of the normal 4 AM. So that begs the question, why even close?
And finally, there is Derby itself. No two minutes in any sport can draw the attention that Derby does. Millions tune in around the world, and countless celebrities and travelers converge on Louisville to witness this event. While I have never personally been to Derby in my eight years in Louisville, I know that the atmosphere must be absolutely electric. I believe that traveling to Louisville on the first Saturday in May should be something most people should try at least once in their lives, as it is truly one of the unique events this country has to offer.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Apartment Living at its Finest
Today will be another stray from the topic of this blog, as I'm not going to be comparing anything here in Louisville to something in St. Louis, but I will be complaining about something here. And in the future I may complain about things in St. Louis.
I live in an apartment complex. It's a decent apartment, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and about 1100 square feet, for a decent price. So I am happy with where I'm living, but lately there have been serious problems. About 2 months ago I received a note on my door, "in order to ensure constant, regular water temperature" they would be doing work on my apartment. My first thought was that this would be great because I was annoyed with the water temperature fluctuating so badly.
So after about a week, I come home to discover 2 holes in my wall, for no apparent reason. Well, I let them be for a bit, and the next day the holes were plugged with insulation. However the next week, I found out why the holes were there in the first place. I came home to find two large copper pipes protruding from one hole to the other. Two days later, I came home to 5 more holes in the wall, and two plastic tubes hanging across my ceiling connecting 3 of the holes. Again, I was patient for the sake of progress.
Of course, that was over a month ago, and since those pipes and tubes have shown up, all I've received is the occasional message on my door saying, they are running "final tests" on everything. Since that day over a month ago, I've probably been off work during the week about 5 days. On NONE of those days, including today, have I seen any work being done on my building.
So last week I decided to email someone. At first I got no reply, but upon sending a second email, I got a very extensive reply from a woman who had just started a few weeks ago, explaining that she was sorry and the people they hired to do the job were way behind schedule, but they changed the contract giving them a deadline, and things would be done by this Friday. Ok, remember that date, Friday April 11. I find it hard to believe that it will be done by then...as ABSOLUTELY NO WORK has been done so far this week. They now have 3 days to get this shit done.
Anyway, I email her back, asking just what happens WHEN (not if) the work is not done by Friday. She just explained to me that the contractor would not be paid as much. Well, I'm certainly glad that by me having to live longer with these damn holes, the apartment complex is saving money.
Among the many other things covered in these emails, I requested some sort of compensation or the opportunity to get out of my lease early. Of course, she told me she had no power to do any of that, and kindly reminded me that I received a sizable discount in rent upon moving. Now, I'm not one to complain about discounts in rent, but I reminded her that I don't recall receiving that move-in discount in exchange for them putting holes in my wall. She cited me some Fair Housing bullshit (even though I believe Fair Housing Law applies to discrimination based on race, gender, etc...., similar to Equal Employment Opportunity). She said Fair Housing prohibits her from giving me any compensation or treating MY situation any different than any other.
However, and this is my favorite part, in a different email she completely contradicted this point. She reminded me of my rent discount, and said that since I was paying so little, she couldn't give me the same concessions she could give other people who paid a bit more. Yet she had just quoted fair housing saying she had to treat every situation the same. I plan on writing back an calling her out on that. I also plan to make her specifically cite the sections of the Fair Housing Act (which I have looked up and will read) that she is referring to. I plan to make her do quite a bit more work before I am through. Anyway, I'm going to attach copies of the emails for your pleasure, and I may post my continued correspondence.
To read the emails, click here
I live in an apartment complex. It's a decent apartment, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and about 1100 square feet, for a decent price. So I am happy with where I'm living, but lately there have been serious problems. About 2 months ago I received a note on my door, "in order to ensure constant, regular water temperature" they would be doing work on my apartment. My first thought was that this would be great because I was annoyed with the water temperature fluctuating so badly.
So after about a week, I come home to discover 2 holes in my wall, for no apparent reason. Well, I let them be for a bit, and the next day the holes were plugged with insulation. However the next week, I found out why the holes were there in the first place. I came home to find two large copper pipes protruding from one hole to the other. Two days later, I came home to 5 more holes in the wall, and two plastic tubes hanging across my ceiling connecting 3 of the holes. Again, I was patient for the sake of progress.
Of course, that was over a month ago, and since those pipes and tubes have shown up, all I've received is the occasional message on my door saying, they are running "final tests" on everything. Since that day over a month ago, I've probably been off work during the week about 5 days. On NONE of those days, including today, have I seen any work being done on my building.
So last week I decided to email someone. At first I got no reply, but upon sending a second email, I got a very extensive reply from a woman who had just started a few weeks ago, explaining that she was sorry and the people they hired to do the job were way behind schedule, but they changed the contract giving them a deadline, and things would be done by this Friday. Ok, remember that date, Friday April 11. I find it hard to believe that it will be done by then...as ABSOLUTELY NO WORK has been done so far this week. They now have 3 days to get this shit done.
Anyway, I email her back, asking just what happens WHEN (not if) the work is not done by Friday. She just explained to me that the contractor would not be paid as much. Well, I'm certainly glad that by me having to live longer with these damn holes, the apartment complex is saving money.
Among the many other things covered in these emails, I requested some sort of compensation or the opportunity to get out of my lease early. Of course, she told me she had no power to do any of that, and kindly reminded me that I received a sizable discount in rent upon moving. Now, I'm not one to complain about discounts in rent, but I reminded her that I don't recall receiving that move-in discount in exchange for them putting holes in my wall. She cited me some Fair Housing bullshit (even though I believe Fair Housing Law applies to discrimination based on race, gender, etc...., similar to Equal Employment Opportunity). She said Fair Housing prohibits her from giving me any compensation or treating MY situation any different than any other.
However, and this is my favorite part, in a different email she completely contradicted this point. She reminded me of my rent discount, and said that since I was paying so little, she couldn't give me the same concessions she could give other people who paid a bit more. Yet she had just quoted fair housing saying she had to treat every situation the same. I plan on writing back an calling her out on that. I also plan to make her specifically cite the sections of the Fair Housing Act (which I have looked up and will read) that she is referring to. I plan to make her do quite a bit more work before I am through. Anyway, I'm going to attach copies of the emails for your pleasure, and I may post my continued correspondence.
To read the emails, click here
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Trip
I think it's been so long since I last posted because of the shame I felt for myself after our ill-fated trip to Pennsylvania and Denny's Beer Barrel Pub. I don't even know how to begin to describe the scene at this place, but I'll do my best.
The weekend started out fairly well, but I think I should have realized things would go wrong very early on. Everyone got to my place in Louisville (from St. Louis) late Friday night, and the first ill omen happened pretty early on. After seemingly mastering Ninja Gaiden, I couldn't seem to beat the game that evening, and I gave up...bad idea.
The next bad omen came when we left roughly 90 minutes later than planned. While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just goes to show you that I should have noticed these signs for what they were. The trip to Pennsylvania was fairly pleasant, and I followed through on my promise to run at our gas stops. I ran about half a mile at the first stop, and Justin and I then ran a little more than that at the next stop. One thing I realized late in the morning, however, was that even though I had stopped eating over 12 hours before, I never really felt hungry like I was hoping.
Fortunately my stomach started rumbling about 60 miles from Clearfield, and when we pulled in to the restaurant, I began to experience the nerves normally reserved for the starting line at a race (I'm not exaggerating at all). I had been training for this day and it was finally here. So we ordered our burgers and waited.
When they came, my eyes went wide at the size of the burger, but I wasn't really surprised. To be honest, it really was just about how I pictured it...maybe just a bit bigger. But I was ready, and had my strategy all planned out: eat the meat first and then worry about everything else.
Well, about halfway through the meat, I started feeling the effects of the massive amount of beef. While it tasted great (seriously, it was and excellent burger) I quickly got sick of the taste of it. So after about half of the meat was gone, I began eating tomatoes and banana peppers, which helped me get through probably another quarter of the meat (or roughly 1/2 lb, to put it into context). Then I couldn't take any more meat, so I concentrated on the toppings and bun.
I ate all the tomatoes and banana peppers next, and that was actually quite easy. I really wish I could have eaten the rest of the meat I had left, but it still repulsed me, so I focused on the bun. And while the doubts had started to creep into my mind before this, the next part of my journey was what did me in.
They spread a ton of nasty, sour relish on that bottom bun, and I couldn't take it after all the meat and toppings I had already eaten. It was just too strong. So after eating about half of the lower bun, I put it down and focused on the top bun. At this point I still had probably 25 minutes left so in essence, it was still possible as I was past the halfway point. However, this bun was insane. It was like eating about 6 cooked pretzels, for how dense it was. Eating a bite of the bun was like eating an entire piece of bread, and it seemed to expand in my stomach. So I formulated a plan to roll up the bun and try to eat it in as few bites as possible...except rolled up, it was still the size of a grilled stuffed burrito from taco bell, except all bread and not delicious grilled, stuffed fillings. So I got about halfway through this, but even before I started that, I knew I was done.
I don't know why I kept at that top bun except that I wanted to see just how far I could get in an hour. Instead, with about 12 minutes left I surrendered, having eaten probably 3/4 or more of the meat, all the toppings except the relish, and probably the equivalent of half of the bun, so I probably finished about 3/4 of the entire thing. Our pal, El Nino did much better, finishing all but the top bun before throwing in the towel.
Now, I thought I would digest that thing quickly and be done with it, but somehow the worst was yet to come. When I stood up from the table after paying the bill (and unsuccessfully trying to drink a beer) I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and it felt like I might explode. As we walked out, the feeling only got worse. I could do nothing but wander the parking lot, walking back and forth to try to get this shit to digest quicker. But it didn't. I probably should have just tried to make myself vomit, but I was too arrogant for that, and instead got in the van after a short delay and we began the trip home. I would say the first four hours (no exaggeration, I promise) of the trip back I was in serious physical pain. Finally after about 6 hours I felt normal again, but definitely not hungry. That burger digested so slowly that I wasn't hungry until the next afternoon...I ate a small breakfast the next morning, but that was almost painful.
So even though it was a fun trip, I will always look back on it in anger at my failure. I really was disappointed that I didn't finish that burger. Who knows, maybe I'll try again. But one thing is for sure...I am not done with eating challenges, not by a long shot. I will not quit until I have my name on the wall of some restaurant for successfully completing their challenge.
The weekend started out fairly well, but I think I should have realized things would go wrong very early on. Everyone got to my place in Louisville (from St. Louis) late Friday night, and the first ill omen happened pretty early on. After seemingly mastering Ninja Gaiden, I couldn't seem to beat the game that evening, and I gave up...bad idea.
The next bad omen came when we left roughly 90 minutes later than planned. While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just goes to show you that I should have noticed these signs for what they were. The trip to Pennsylvania was fairly pleasant, and I followed through on my promise to run at our gas stops. I ran about half a mile at the first stop, and Justin and I then ran a little more than that at the next stop. One thing I realized late in the morning, however, was that even though I had stopped eating over 12 hours before, I never really felt hungry like I was hoping.
Fortunately my stomach started rumbling about 60 miles from Clearfield, and when we pulled in to the restaurant, I began to experience the nerves normally reserved for the starting line at a race (I'm not exaggerating at all). I had been training for this day and it was finally here. So we ordered our burgers and waited.
When they came, my eyes went wide at the size of the burger, but I wasn't really surprised. To be honest, it really was just about how I pictured it...maybe just a bit bigger. But I was ready, and had my strategy all planned out: eat the meat first and then worry about everything else.
Well, about halfway through the meat, I started feeling the effects of the massive amount of beef. While it tasted great (seriously, it was and excellent burger) I quickly got sick of the taste of it. So after about half of the meat was gone, I began eating tomatoes and banana peppers, which helped me get through probably another quarter of the meat (or roughly 1/2 lb, to put it into context). Then I couldn't take any more meat, so I concentrated on the toppings and bun.
I ate all the tomatoes and banana peppers next, and that was actually quite easy. I really wish I could have eaten the rest of the meat I had left, but it still repulsed me, so I focused on the bun. And while the doubts had started to creep into my mind before this, the next part of my journey was what did me in.
They spread a ton of nasty, sour relish on that bottom bun, and I couldn't take it after all the meat and toppings I had already eaten. It was just too strong. So after eating about half of the lower bun, I put it down and focused on the top bun. At this point I still had probably 25 minutes left so in essence, it was still possible as I was past the halfway point. However, this bun was insane. It was like eating about 6 cooked pretzels, for how dense it was. Eating a bite of the bun was like eating an entire piece of bread, and it seemed to expand in my stomach. So I formulated a plan to roll up the bun and try to eat it in as few bites as possible...except rolled up, it was still the size of a grilled stuffed burrito from taco bell, except all bread and not delicious grilled, stuffed fillings. So I got about halfway through this, but even before I started that, I knew I was done.
I don't know why I kept at that top bun except that I wanted to see just how far I could get in an hour. Instead, with about 12 minutes left I surrendered, having eaten probably 3/4 or more of the meat, all the toppings except the relish, and probably the equivalent of half of the bun, so I probably finished about 3/4 of the entire thing. Our pal, El Nino did much better, finishing all but the top bun before throwing in the towel.
Now, I thought I would digest that thing quickly and be done with it, but somehow the worst was yet to come. When I stood up from the table after paying the bill (and unsuccessfully trying to drink a beer) I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and it felt like I might explode. As we walked out, the feeling only got worse. I could do nothing but wander the parking lot, walking back and forth to try to get this shit to digest quicker. But it didn't. I probably should have just tried to make myself vomit, but I was too arrogant for that, and instead got in the van after a short delay and we began the trip home. I would say the first four hours (no exaggeration, I promise) of the trip back I was in serious physical pain. Finally after about 6 hours I felt normal again, but definitely not hungry. That burger digested so slowly that I wasn't hungry until the next afternoon...I ate a small breakfast the next morning, but that was almost painful.
So even though it was a fun trip, I will always look back on it in anger at my failure. I really was disappointed that I didn't finish that burger. Who knows, maybe I'll try again. But one thing is for sure...I am not done with eating challenges, not by a long shot. I will not quit until I have my name on the wall of some restaurant for successfully completing their challenge.
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