Hello again!

Yeah, so I took an unscheduled break from blogging there.  Two weeks to be exact. That's a long time for me. I didn't intend to stop posting; it just kind of happened.

In fairness, I have been busy.  Here's a rundown on what I've been up to since my last post:

Giving up on dating. Again.
I signed up for online dating again at one point this summer, and I was quickly reminded of why I hated it. After a few dates, I finally reached my limits and quit again. I swear I'm not going back. If I try to, please just point me to Petfinder and tell me to get another cat. I've also asked out a guy (and again was basically ignored) and gave my phone number to a guy who didn't use it. So ... yeah.  I'm done.

Watching some miserable football.
I've watched the Iowa State Cyclones lose two football games. I was in attendance for the first loss -- to our intrastate rival.  I was working at the brewery during the second one, but got to see it on the big screen regardless. Both were brutal. I'm still a  Cyclone, but man, they're hard to love right now.

Watching/listening to some fantastic baseball.
The MLB postseason race is heating up and my Texas Rangers are right in it. In case you're unaware, they entered September a few games out of the lead for the division and last week claimed the lead.  I'm hoping they can hang on. I love October baseball ... even more when I care about a team that's involved. P.S. Check out Derek Holland's "Wild Thing"-inspired haircut. Too bad it hasn't helped his pitching. Sigh. He's been struggling.

Hitting up the theatre.
I saw "Dirty Dancing" at the Civic Center. I was curious about how the movie I've seen dozens of times would translate to stage. The conclusion: pretty well.  Sure, there were things they couldn't do, but it was still great. The two lead vocalists were incredible, and I liked some of the added scenes that gave peripheral characters some depth.

Drinking beer.
Duh. I do this on the regular. It's the main reason I'm not skinny and probably never will be. Last Saturday, I attended the Little Giant Beer Summit here in town. A few dozen smaller breweries in the state gathered to share their wares.  My favorites from the day -- Basil-Lime Wheat from Wing Nutt Brewery (which is hopefully opening soon); Pride of the Plains Rye Pale Ale from New American Brewing Company; and Main Squeeze Lemon Weiss from Lake Time Brewery.

Making beer.

A friend and I purchased a wort chiller!! This device helps us bring the boiling wort (water with malt and grains) down to yeast-steeping temperatures quickly. Before, we were using an ice bath, and the process just took too long. We were excited to use our new toy as we brewed up a new beer -- a pumpkin pie porter we've named Hocus Pocus Porter. We'll be bottling it this week, and hopefully it'll be ready to drink in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out.

So, yeah, I've been busy. It's not uncommon for me though, so it's not really a sufficient explanation for my absence. There's definitely more to it.  I don't know if I'll talk about it here or not.  But it's probably enough to say I just wasn't in a good place, and I decided to take a step back to try and get out of my own head and get back to who I am and want to be. I'm not there, but I'm on my way.

What have you been up to lately?