Archive for "Things to Do"
Making New Friends
Posted on May 24, 2019 by Ching under Things to Do.
I read an article on the New York Post recently that said the average American hasn’t made a new friend in five years. That seems so wild to me because I’m constantly meeting new people. Here’s the high level infographic that came with the article. All I can say is, these people need Zumba and pickleball in their lives!
Speaking of new friends, we got to celebrate Matt’s birthday with him and his family last month at Chicken N Pickle. Matt is one of my newest friends. I met him through a staff intramural ping pong tournament at the Y last year.
Since then we’ve played some ping pong, pickleball, and even poker together. When I first started getting into pickleball late last year, he told me about pickleball at West YMCA where he works. And then he played in a poker tournament with us a few weeks ago where he and Brian chopped first and second place.
Anyway, here’s a pic from Chicken N Pickle on Matt’s birthday.
I met Katie McKee, a local pickleball pro, that same night. I get so excited about meeting new people, I usually say “I made a new friend today!” Brian has this weird thing about friends vs. acquaintances. He would probably classify Katie as an acquaintance and he would be correct, I suppose if we get really technical about it. I my silly brain though acquaintances are just friends I haven’t had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with yet. I think everyone I meet is my friend. LOL.
Katie is so hilarious. We had just barely met and she tried to set me up not once — but twice — that same night. Michael (another friend I met through pickleball) and I were standing there waiting for our turn at the challenge courts when Katie came by and started signing Michael praises and telling me how great a guy he is and how he helped her move into her place and she wasn’t sure what was going on with us but Michael is a super sweet, great guy. I didn’t want to make it awkward for Michael so I just laughed it off and told her Michael and I just know each other through pickleball — basically nothing going on there.
When Brian came up a bit later, I made it a point to introduce him to Katie as “my husband” and she took my hand to look at my fingers because she didn’t think I was wearing a wedding ring and she was like, “Oh, it’s one of those silicone ones.” I guess that’s why she didn’t notice or so she says anyhow.
Later on, while Brian was still right there in our midst, we got to talking about Jack Oxler another pickleball pro who grew up in Wichita who now lives in Kansas City. She says he’s like a big brother to her and one of her best friends and I mentioned that I’d like to meet him next time he’s back in town. And she’s like, “Good because he needs a good girlfriend.” And I’m thinking, I think she’s trying to set me up again so I just go, “That’s great but I’m not trading my husband” and we all just laughed at the silliness of it. Anyway, I think she’s funny and would be fun to hang out with. I’ll still claim to have made a new friend that night.
Justin and Tina are two more new friends I made this year. I don’t care what Brian says. They met and played Uno with grandma for crying out loud. I think that makes them officially our friends. And, we spent a whole week with them in Costa Rica last month. And, I really like their house and their yard and I want to have move nights in their basement. For me, I consider people I enjoy spending time with my friends. Justin and Tina are, therefore, my friends.
Their dog Peg is apparently now my friend too. LOL.
Here are a few people I spend time with playing pickleball on a semi-regular basis (from left): Michael, Bill, Kathy, and Collin. I have a lot of fun playing with them. I consider them my friends.
We’re not even halfway through the year yet and I’ve already lost track of how many new friends I’ve made. If you’re someone who struggles to make friends, please find me. I’ll be your friend and I’ll introduce you to some people.
More on the topic of friends in our Facebook Live video below.
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Outings With Friends
Posted on May 19, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.
Less than a week after we returned from our Costa Rica trip where we spent a whole week with the Dills celebrating Jay’s birthday, Jay and Brian were hanging out again. I guess they just couldn’t spend enough time with one another.
They spent the morning at shooting guns Range 54 and then had lunch at the ICT Pop Up Park. Brian was super thoughtful and brought me Uno Mas to work.
It was funny because I was in the middle of a meeting at the time and couldn’t come out to meet him but he apparently could hear me from the elevator lobby so he just gave me food to one of my coworkers who delivered it to the conference room I was in. I didn’t realize I was so loud. Yikes!
My friend Tom was visiting from Topeka so later than night we went on an outing with some of my work friends. We went to “Night at the Fountains,” a Friday night food truck rally downtown for food and drinks and then went to throw axes at Blade & Timber in the Delano District.
Our group consisted of (from bottom left) Tom, Alex, Alex’ friend Kishan, Chris, and his fiance Zacch.
We were assigned to lane 5.
Here’s a pic of me learning to throw.
Here’s a better pic of Chris and Zacch.
Tom and Alex goofing around with Brian in the background.
Another group selfie.
Here’s Brian throwing.
Here’s Chris with his bullseye throw.
Here’s Tom with his bullseye.
Brian with his bullseye.
And me with me (barely).
The concept is a lot like darts but with an ax instead. They have several different games you can play. I took pics of the instructions.
First to 50
Cricket
Axes (last player standing wins)
Blade (you call the shots)
League Match
We played First to 50 first and that took forever. You can tell from the scores who the better ax throwers are.
Tom was pretty proud of himself for winning.
After our first game took forever, we didn’t think we would have time for another full game so we just decided to each take turns throwing until we ran out of time. The person with the highest score wins.
Guess who won again.
Another group selfie.
We actually managed to convince everyone to come over to the house for a night cap after Blade & Timber. It was a great idea until the next morning when I had to get up early to teach my classes.
I thought Tom would bail on me because we were all up late the night before but he was a trooper. He did both Aqua Zumba and Zumba.
After my Zumba class at the Andover YMCA, he and I met Brian at Redrock Canyon Grill at Bradley Fair for brunch. It was going to be Doo-Dah Diner, which now has a location close to our house, but Brian said the wait was ridiculous.
We had a very nice lunch at Redrock, though.
Here are some food pics.
After lunch, I had a waxing appointment that I needed to get to so Tom went with Brian back to the house get his stuff and went on to drive back to Topeka.
That was the weekend immediately after we got back from Costa Rica. Life is pretty crazy over here. Something’s always brewing.
Until next time. GNG.
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Beardbrand and Bats
Posted on April 15, 2019 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.
After Moonshine Grill, we walked over to Maggie Mae’s which calls itself the most iconic bar on Sixth Street. We were there with the OUUG conference group just the previous night but Brian had never been and I wanted him to be able to experience it. Plus, I found out about the Beardbrand customer appreciation party so I thought it would be a good way to get free drinks. I couldn’t believe I managed to talk four others into crashing the party with me. As always, Brian (who is a bit of a stick in the mud) was a very reluctant participant.
Lois and Michelle at the Beardbrand party at Maggie Mae’s.
They had these little mustache combs in a bowl for everyone to take so I took a few for my bearded friends in Wichita.
We could have stayed and drank for free all night but we had to be at the bridge by sunset to watch the bats, which Brian had never seen before, so we only had time for a drink. As we were leaving, they were rounding everyone up for a group photo. I really wanted to be in it but party pooper Brian wouldn’t let me. I guess he was still feeling really awkward about crashing the party. LOL.
We arrived at the bridge just as people were gathering both on land and in the water. They were in paddle boards, kayaks, paddle boats, and tour boats of all shapes and sizes — pretty much anything that floats.
I suppose the water is the perfect vantage point for viewing the bats as they emerge from their roost under the Congress Avenue bridge.
Our group decided to stay and watch from the bridge. It worked for me because Jackie and I watched them from the grassy area under the bridge the night before. She wanted to see the bats so I went with her and we both left the OUUG party at Maggie Mae’s early.
This is the spot where Jackie and I watched the bats.
It’s a very popular bat observation spot. However, as you can see, people watch the bats from the bridge and also from the river.
Here’s a short video the bats emerging from their roost. They are very small and difficult to see. I was actually quite surprised. I thought they’d be much larger.
Here’s a video of us viewing the bats from the bridge, which I think is actually much better because it’s easier to see the bats. However, I think watching them from a boat on the water would probably be best because you’d be even closer.
The bats start flying out of the bridge at sunset. The whole event takes several minutes and continues until dark. When Jackie and I left that first night, there were still many bats emerging but it had gotten quite dark and we could barely see them at that point and so we decided it was time to leave and head back to our hotel.
It’s really interesting to watch the bats. I can see why it’s a tourist attraction. The main thing to remember is not to touch the bats if you see them on the ground as the sign below says. I didn’t encounter any grounded bats on either night. That’s a good thing. I would have felt very bad for them.
Anyway, Brian and I decided to call it a night after the bats. He didn’t get in until almost three o’clock that morning due to flight delays. He was supposed to arrive shortly after ten and at the hotel by eleven o’clock. Luck was not on his side that night. He had a rough trip. We both turned in early to allow Brian to catch up on much-needed sleep. That’s all for now. GNG.
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Wine Tasting at Texas Reds and Whites
Posted on April 14, 2019 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.
I thought I would be able to catch the blog up over vacay but the wifi at the resort was super sketchy. They also limited our connection to two devices so, after connecting Brian’s phone and my phone, we couldn’t connect anymore devices. Sorry, grandma!
While toodling around in downtown Austin, Brian and I happened upon Texas Reds and Whites Tasting Room by the convention center.
Here are some pictures we took of the tasting room.
It was pretty quiet in there all afternoon. We met these two guys who were on a bachelor weekend with their friends. They were killing time before everyone was to meet up for their room escape activity. Before they left, the Asian guy on the left performed a cool card trick for us.
It’s funny how we are always making friends no matter where we are.
They had an extensive selection of wines you could drink by the glass. They had $10, $12, $15, and $18 a glass options.
These are all wines made by local Texas wineries.
There was a good but considerably smaller selection of wines available for the tasting. The cost is $20 and you could try three wines or five wines. Both options allow you to choose from the same list of wines. The key difference is that you get more wine in each glass if you only pick three of them to try.
We tried the following wines:
- Reds listed dry to sweet
- Lost Draw Tempranillo
- Messina Hof Malbec
- Thirsty Mule Sweet Red Merlot
- Lost Draw Picpoul Blanc
- Los Pinos Blanc du Bois
Whites listed dry to sweet
We hung out for a bit and even took a selfie with the lady who was helping us.
Oh, I also saw this sign they had which I thought was sound advice I had also had a glass of sangria (see pic of my sangria below). LOL.
Anyway, we were killing some time while waiting for the brewery next door to open so Brian could sample some beers as well. I would normally create a separate post but the brewery was neither serving food nor their own beer. They weren’t quite officially open yet. They’re targeting a May opening. So, in the meantime, they were only serving beer from other breweries which was kind of disappointing.
They also had some wine, cider, cold brew coffee, and a selection of other beverages. Nothing really appealed to me so I didn’t have any.
Since were already there, Brian enjoyed some beer.
I forget what he had but he seemed to like it.
Here’s a picture I took of the inside of the brewery. Eventually they will be fully open and serving food in addition to their own craft brews.
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Chicken N Pickle
Posted on February 25, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.
In case you didn’t know, Chicken N Pickle is officially open. Brian and I have been there a few times already. We were there for the lunch and learn event on Martin Luther King Day, during their soft open, for the Ditch the Date Valentines Day event, and again on Sunday morning for some pickleball. I’ve also been out there with Uncle Roy and his group for pickleball on a couple of Tuesdays.
Here are some pictures we got on our very first visit.
The indoor courts were ready but that was pretty much it.
They had a few food items you could buy for lunch but the main restaurant wasn’t open yet so the food selection was limited. It didn’t bother me too much, though. I was there to play pickleball mostly.
Brian and I were both off work that day for the Martin Luther King holiday so he took me to play pickleball at West YMCA first, where they play on Monday mornings starting at 9 AM. Then we went to Jay and Becca’s travel agency office to book our Costa Rica trip, since we were just down the street. After that we took my car to the dealership to get washed.
It was warm enough for the carwash to be running but, we found out the hard way, that it was actually still very cold. Chicken N Pickle is just down the street from the dealership so I talked Brian into walking over there for the lunch and learn while we were waiting for my car to be ready. I think Brian was cursing me under his breath the entire walk over. Anyway, despite the proximity, we ended up taking a Lyft car back to the dealership afterwards because neither of us wanted to deal with that cold wind again.
My next visit out there was for pickleball with Uncle Roy’s group. It worked out because we needed to pick up a TV mount at Best Buy so I went over there to play and then Brian took a Lyft ride over after taking care of our girls. Then we just went to Best Buy before heading home after pickleball.
I’m glad we went because Roy and Bonnie’s daughter Maddy who is an event coordinator at CNP was there and she told me about the soft open (read: free food).
Alex and I met up with Brian for lunch there the next day and had the opportunity to try several menu items.
I’m not sure what it is about free food but it’s always so tasty. Kidding aside, everything was truly very good.
We enjoyed everything we ate. In case you are wondering what all these are, here’s the menu card that we drew:
Here’s a picture of the vast dining room.
It is the perfect place for a party because they have so much space.
The following Tuesday, I was back again for pickleball with Roy’s crew. I took a picture of the card they had showing all of the upcoming events.
Then Brian and I were back again for “Ditch the Date” on Valentines Day. For $25 per person you got free food, two free drinks, and free pickleball from 6 PM to 9 PM. It was a pretty good deal!
Here’s a picture of us with Maddy.
When we arrived, we ran into one of the ladies who goes to my Zumba class (Diana Miller) and her husband. The four of us ended up hanging out for most of the evening on an accidental double date of sorts.
Here are some pictures of the beautiful exterior grounds, which are a far cry from the state they were in just a couple of weeks prior.
Another one of the Millers.
I also ran into some folks that we play pickleball with at the church that night. These are Debbie and Tiffany.
And, yes, Brian and I were nerds who wore matching outfits from head to toe.
It was such a fun night. Overall, I’m really pleased with CNP. I think it’s my new favorite place now. How can you go wrong with drinking and pickleball?
Brian and I like it so much that we actually went on location and did our Sunday morning FLIP + CHING video live from there.
If you haven’t tried CNP yet, I highly recommend it.
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