Aaron Sievers

Last weekend was busy around our house, E’s brother was over to help us build the bar. Gregg and I started things off by him making a list and us heading over to Menards; we had electric, plumbing, lumber, and misc. items such as screws and such to get. Besides pushing the cart around once in awhile I pretty much followed him around and watched the bill get larger as items dropped into the cart. We ordered 22 pieces of carsiding that we had to pickup outside in the warehouse where we found out later they only had about 24 pieces to pick through. Back inside to return the carsiding as most pieces left were junk. We headed home and got the frame to the sink put up and a hole cut in the wall when Gregg determined we had the wrong plumbing parts for our situation and had to move onto plan B in the morning.

So early Saturday morning we headed to a different Menards to exchange some items and buy new plumbing, electric, and of course carsiding. Finding the plumbing wasn’t too easy, I think we were on about plan E by the time we checked out. Pulling into the warehouse Gregg said “wouldn’t it be funny if they only had 22 pieces”. Well get ready to laugh because they had 28! Managed to find 13 good ones and then it was back inside to return the rest. We spent most of the afternoon trying to get the plumbing figured out leak free; my main job was holding the trouble light. I had to leave with E for a holiday party around supper time for a couple hours so we left Gregg alone to work where he got the main bar framed and most of the carsiding on.

The next morning we tried to get electric wiring down to an outlet which didn’t work out too well with the wire attached somewhere to a stud in the middle of the wall. We ran out of time on the weekend so the project isn’t completely done but it’s looking really nice and I can’t wait for it all to be done.

The movable bar in our basement came with the house but the plan was for it only to be temporary.

Elizabeth and I decided that our xmas present to each other could be building a permanent bar, I knew she really wanted it so I finally gave in. We requested to take the Vikings light we had in our last house along with the bar stools with us when we moved so that will save a little on the expenses. Turns out the new buyers were Packer fans so they didn’t want it anyway, considering the market at the time I had to sell to anyone I could…….even if they had bad taste.

E’s brother recently put a bar in at his house so I’ve been bothering him to come up with a plan. He sent me a hand drawn picture with an idea that I put into Google SketchUp.

The smaller piece is a sink if you can’t tell from the picture and the colors shown are not actual. Last night we went to Menards and ordered the countertop and also bought a small dorm fridge to go under the bar. Countertop should be here in 10-14 days so hopefully construction can start soon!

There’s lots of Eve’s to look forward to during the year……….Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, NFL Draft Eve and of course the night before Thanksgiving.

E and I are heading back to my hometown of Tripoli, Iowa to get together with family and friends for a long night of celebrating. I’d imagine the local pub (The Hub) will be packed tonight, but with a pool table and an internet jukebox why wouldn’t it be? I’m looking forward to seeing friends from Trip that I don’t get to hang out with much anymore, the stories from the past seem to get funnier as the night goes on.

I’d like to try and think of more to write about but my half day is just about over……so enjoy your turkey everyone, Sievers out.

No not the kind of hops that allow you to dunk over your friends, hops for making beer. On the news last night they discussed the shortage of hops due to poor crops, the increasing popularity of ethanol causing farmers to grow corn over hops, the weak dollar, and of course high demand. A 10% increase is expected in the price of beer and may even cause smaller breweries to shut their doors. I don’t like the direction this is going!

All Day Adrian Peterson sure had a day yesterday, 296 rushing yards to break the NFL record for most rushing yards in a game. The guy can flat out fly down the field. I still haven’t completely gotten over trading away Randy Moss but getting a player like Adrian sure makes games fun to watch.

Iowa vs. Minn this Saturday, I’m planning on making the trip down to Kinnick Stadium. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there so I’m pumped for the outstanding tailgating/game atmosphere and looking forward to watching Iowa roll the Gophers………..or at least I hope.

Nothing much to blog about lately but it’s been 10 days, it’s just time to suck it up and write something even if it is the most boring thing you’ve ever read. So Halloween is coming up which you can obviously tell I’m pumped for by the 3 pumpkins sitting by our front door. I still have to get those popcorn balls made before Wednesday, I’m sure everyone will swarm to our place after they hear we’ve got those going out. Either that or I’ll get egged, better just stick with #2 pencils.

Besides all the Halloween excitement, I got caught up in the Guitar Hero 3 release for the Nintendo Wii this weekend thanks to Chad & J. They signed up for the midnight release at gamestop so I caved and did the same. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into something I use 1 or 2 times and then never touch it again but from the buzz it sounds like it’s going to be a great time. So the next time you come over prepare to rock n roll all night…….

One W from the Hawkeyes or Vikings this weekend would be nice……..

The last month has been brutal being a Hawkeye/Viking fan but the last weekend keeps a guy goin. After Adrian Peterson ran for 3 tds and a boat load of yards Hagedorn wasn’t too happy.

And yes I went to the local Home Depot to see All Day Adrian Peterson tonight. Didn’t get lucky enough to get one of the 600 wristbands that was good for an autograph but I guess the line started around 3 pm. Nothin runs like a Peterson!

It’s playoff week for sand volleyball which wraps up my exercise for the year……unless I can get back to Tae-Bo every morning with Billy Blanks. We’re the #1 seed in playoffs but didn’t get the best match up thanks to some poor bracket setup. Oh well, as long as our ‘good’ team shows up tonight we should be fine.

It’s been a weather shock up here this week after Saturday’s 87 degrees. Besides watching Iowa Saturday I have plenty of ‘get ready for winter’ chores. Raking, mowing, and fertilizing to start things off. Then somehow I have to get a patio set, fire pit, and grill into a filled up garage. We do have a spare bedroom downstairs with nothing in it……it’s like hello. I doubt that will fly so I’ll have to get creative.

I also have to bring the pumps from the waterfall and plants from the pond inside so they don’t get ruined over the winter. Eventually I’ll need to install heat rings in the pond to make sure it doesn’t freeze over and kill the fish. It would be a heck of a lot easier to have a koi fish tournament this weekend, winner gets to take home a broken dresser! Second place gets a 17″ CRT monitor and everyone takes home a fish! Good luck, see ya Saturday.

I started my job knowing that I wasn’t going to have a cube right away because they were waiting on the cubes to arrive. This week I was able to move out of the office shared with 4 people into my own cube. I finally can stretch my legs out without kicking someone across from me!

I actually got one of the bigger cubes which is nice. I took this picture from my phone a minute ago, not the best pic but it works.

So tonight I went downtown Minneapolis for a work happy hour and parked in a parking ramp near Champps. After parking I noticed there was a sign that read there was no parking until 4:30 which was a half hour away. When I got back in the truck I turned the key and nothing, didn’t even try to turn over. So I called a tow truck and waited a few hours until they could make it down.

I thought it was going to be hard for the tow truck to get into the ramp so I had a coworker give me a jump. I made it as far as the ticket booth and when I stopped to pay the truck stalled. I got another jump and made it out of the ramp where again it stalled right before I got onto the interstate. Now the fun part……

The tow truck driver called and I tried to explain where I was.

“I’m on my way out of the ramp about to get on 394 and i’m stalled..” - Me

“Ok what road are you on?” - Driver

“About to get on 394..” - Me

“You can’t be on 394, what road. (I told him 394 again) You’ve gotta be on a road before that…What a cluster f#ck this is down here.” - Driver

So I finally explained his way into the ramp and back out, listening to him complain the entire way where yes he ended up on 394! Once he got to my truck he was the rudest old man I’ve ever dealt with. He asked if I had it in 2 wheel drive and not auto, I told him I’m pretty sure it was in auto. He rolled his eyes and got out the machine to jump start the truck. After he did that I got in my truck to roll up my window which had been left open and put it into 2 wheel drive. He walked over and told me to get outta there so we didn’t get hit. He then got in and made sure it was in 2 wheel. So to make a long story shorter he hauled the truck to the shop and left me fired up. I’m not sure if he was the owner or not but I’m going to be sure to let him know he won’t get any business from me again and that I blogged about it so everyone else who reads this isn’t gonna call you either!

So my guess is it’s the battery and/or alternator that went bad, but what do I know…….Frustrating!