FLIP + CHING

Closing Out May with Some Fun Events

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Ching under Events, Health.

May was a super miserable month for me. I was experiencing some really terrible abdominal cramps all month, starting with Parker’s wedding weekend. I didn’t let it cramp my style, though. Pun intended.

I played in the final Friday Night Fiesta of the month with Zach Young. Well, kinda sorta. I played in a couple of games until my back could no longer handle it. Thankfully, Heide Bartel was there fill for the rest of the games.

I ran the weekly InPickle Nation mini tournament at Tap on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, we had enough players signed up so I did not have to play in it.

Afterwards, I Brian and Chris at Nails and Beyond for some much needed self-care.

Then Brian and I went to Fong and Josh’s annual crawfish boil shindig. It was Brian’s first time attending.

I was supposed to go to O’Brien’s for Monica McGehee’s (on the right in the pic below) birthday celebration but I wasn’t feeling well (as I hadn’t been all month) and that was pretty much all the activity I could muster.

I spent all day Sunday vegging out. I was super “crampy” and maybe spent all of two hours upright. I think this was the weekend that we were supposed to have brunch at HomeGrown but I woke up just not feeling great and went back to bed. Brian was really looking forward to HomeGrown (it’s his favorite breakfast spot) and I felt bad for disappointing him.

Anyway, Brian got up me for breakfast later that morning, and I spent the rest of the day in our recliner with my heating pad. I don’t think I even showered at all that day. I wondered (besides calling it quits in the middle of FNF on Friday) if people could tell how very miserable I felt inside. I didn’t feel 100 percent all and was barely keeping it together.

Monday was Memorial Day and we met some friends (Susie and Grant Ternes and their three kids, and Keith Lietzke) at Hikari for dinner. It’s a sushi and ramen place in Haysville that our friend Keith constantly raves about. I’ll write a separate post on it later because I took a bunch of food pics.

I’ll also fill you all in about my ER trip last week which helped me figure out what has been making me miserable all month. I was down a significant amount of blood and was practically “walking dead” (I had 6.5 hemoglobin according to my ER labs). ER doc was amazed I even went to work that morning. He said if I were a man, I would have been bed-ridden. Nope. I was still walking around, doing stuff, and even “trying” to play pickleball. How I didn’t pass out at any of these places was beyond me. More on that next time though. Until then, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

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First Time at Mr. Wingz

Posted on June 10, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink.

One of Brian’s former T-Mobile coworkers opened a Mr. Wingz down the street from work so we went to check it out last month. I think they’re mostly a carry-out business because there aren’t many tables inside.

Your best bet will be to pre-order your food on their website so it will be ready for pick up when you arrive.

We decided to eat there when we went because we didn’t know we could order ahead. Now we do and that’s what I’ll do from now on.

The fries had excellent flavor and there were multiple wing sauces to choose from. We highly recommend checking this place out if you’ve never been.

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Team Activity at GROW Plant Bar

Posted on June 10, 2026 by Ching under Things to Do.

We recently had a team activity at GROW Plant Bar. We did the DIY plant bar as a group and it was so much fun. It’s been about a month now and I’m happy to report that my plants are still alive. Here are some pics from the event:

I brought mine to work the next day.

Here’s a picture of my plants today.

I am happy to report that both of the plants I chose are still alive and seem to be thriving, which I am glad about because if these died I would be really upset. They weren’t cheap to make.

GROW is a neat place and the atmosphere is super fun but, if you’re looking at potting some plants, this is most definitely not the way to go. There are way cheaper options. I had a great time bonding with the coworkers though, so there is that.

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Soft-Serve Margarita Flights – Say No More

Posted on June 9, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink.

I met up with the ladies at the West-side Emerson Biggins last month to try the soft-serve margarita flights and they did not disappoint. It was actually Janelle’s idea and I went along with it because I’m always down for a good time and trying new things. I invited Susie because she’s always down to try new things like me. Probably even more so.

I’m not sure I would do this all the time but it’s definitely a must in the summertime. The soft-serve is ultra-refreshing specially during a heatwave.

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Pickleball Birthdays are the BEST

Posted on June 1, 2026 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

I had missed Danae and Jeanette’s birthday bonanza because we had Banana Ball tickets. Thankfully, our friend Dawn organized a pickleball gathering in their honor and I was able to make that one.

Dawn, pictured below with Danae (left) and Jeanette (right), is the best at getting everyone together to celebrate birthdays. She’s so thoughtful.

As for me, I didn’t really have enough time get presents but I didn’t want to show up empty-handed so I bought a bucket of six beers, put a bow on it, and called it my contribution to the celebration.