Beer Karma

It has been a fun couple of days. From drinking lots of beer to listening to a ton of music to getting a slight sun burn to drinking a lot more beer. I think that beer karma is catching up to me. The random acts of beer are beginning to pay off.

It started on the 4th of July and the beginning of the slow burn. The sun was pretty damn warm and I knew I would be getting pink by the end of the day- and not the good kind of pink. My face would absorb the rays and I would feel the heat by the time the sun went down. I knew that getting out of the shower the next day would be rough, drying off all the pink skin. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

The day started off on a good note. I bought the first round of beers for the gang. It would be a couple hours later that I would realize the guy gave me the wrong change back. At $5 a bottle, the cost was $25. I gave him $40 and found out he gave me $25 back. I noticed this when I went to get another round. Score one for the good guys!

I then managed to repeat one of the greatest feats in drinking circles everywhere. Another night of free beer! I got to the bar and put the 10 spot in front of me. A bottle of Lite magically appeared while the tenner stayed put. Bottle after bottle appeared but that ten never went away. Must have been a good special at the bar that I wasn't aware of. I was thinking it was maybe a 2 for 1, then a 5 for 1, then an 8 for 1 deal. Nope. Maybe I had the lucky bar stool? Possibly. All I know is I wasn't going to say a thing. Bartenders know what they are doing. Who am I to insult the person supplying my booze?

So when the noise of the karaoke got going, I knew I was leaving soon. That was when Hamilton and I parted ways. Me, content and cooled off with sudsy goodness in my belly, and another good time to put away.

I skipped on the Summerfest activities yesterday. Most of the main acts were jam bands and for the most part, jam bands don't do much for me. I find that they go on and on when the music doesn't appeal to me. Like they are trying to make it better by playing more when they should just wrap it up. I probably should have gone and checked them out to see if any of it interested me. At the least, I could have spotted some wookies and had a good laugh. Guess I got most of the musical exploring out of my system the day before.

Later today I will be heading down for more beer and music. Bobby Friss is the man to see during the day. Good music with a bit of humor tossed in. Rarely does he not put on a good show. Then again, all it takes is for them to play Deep Purple's Highway Star to make it a good show for me. I will probably check out Old Mil afterwards before deciding on what to catch on later tonight. It is a toss up between HELLYEAH and Chevelle. The Chevelle show was an ass kicker two years ago. Probably be a decision made on the fly.

Before I go today, I feel the need to dispense a bit of advice. Taking a shuttle from one of the many bars around the city is a good thing to do. You don't need to deal with the headache of finding a place to park or paying 20 bucks for a spot. You don't have the hassle of possible drunk driving after the show, or forgetting where the hell you parked. Best yet, you can drink on the bus.

The shuttle hits my bar last. It is typical for people to get off the bus and get another drink for the last 10 minute ride down to the lakefront. They have the 32 ounce beers available and many people come in buying them like it is the best deal on the planet. Their faces light up like Christmas morning.

What they don't realize is that they probably won't finish that beer by the time they get down there and they cannot carry it in. The other thing is how to drink that beer on a school bus. We all know how those things bounce around. If you try to take a drink just as the bus hits a bump, you will soon be wearing your brew all over your shirt. And because you have no idea when the next big bump will be hit, you are playing drinking roulette if you grab a sip while that bus is moving.

Do what I do. Drink as much as you can when the bus has stopped at a light. It is the only peaceful slug you will get so make the most of it. About the other thing you can do is take mental notes about the route the bus takes. You can notice where the bad road it and what is smooth. Any little thing that makes drinking easier makes it better.