It certainly wasn’t the way we drew it up, but I wouldn’t change a goddamn thing.
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-moose
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Tracksuits and Tenderloins
THE ALLEY BETWEEN ATLAS AND THE BACK DOOR — I didn’t expect to have a big day, but Saturdays like these are meant to be savored.
ACT I
Friday’s big show wore me out, and I still had hours of grading in front of me to finish up the semester. I mentally told myself we wouldn’t be socializing on Saturday, but gracious weather and friendly neighbors got the better of me.
I stepped outside in the late afternoon to get some grilling in, as thunderstorms were slated in the forecast around 6. I threw a Smithfield pork tenderloin on direct heat, and I didn’t even get my first sear into the meat before neighbors Emily and Eric brought over some lawn chairs (and their ~14? month old dog Schenley) to hang out for a little bit. I sometimes see the three across my yard, as they rent an apartment with a rear-kitchen view into my backyard. The only thing stopping us from hanging out is a legal side street, which really just means looking both ways before saying “hello!” Continue reading
Wario’s Otherworld
I spent my routine Thursday off-day away from the computer — instead, crawling through a utopian futurescape with two pounds of meat in my stomach.
The thesis statement is this: My friend Kris invited me to try “Wario’s Beef and Pork” in Columbus, Ohio. She first heard about the restaurant in the Jordan, Jesse, Go! podcast — with it coming to the hosts’ attention due to an unintentionally funny crossover of Instagram sponsored content: Nintendo characters and fine meats — and sought out plans to visit on her own.
Life’s too short to spend your time wondering if the juxtaposition cheesesteak restaurant, evocative of an evil anti-plumber known for his caustic temper and atomic farts, is any good, so I couldn’t refuse the daytrip offer. Together, Kris, Jeremy, and I put about 10 hours on the road between Bloomington and Columbus to make it happen. We hit the road by 9 a.m. to endure hours of construction work along I-70 between Indiana and Ohio. Continue reading
Introducing: The Mailbag
A good conversation is nothing if you don’t engage the people you’re speaking with.
Today, I’m rolling out an experimental feature to the blog called the Moose Mailbag.
Before the weekend rolls around, I’ll give you kind folks a chance to toss a question my way. It can be about anything — your thoughts on something I recently wrote or posted, some constructive criticism, maybe even a brain-picking question or two. Just try and be civil about it, and your odds of an answer will be pretty good.
At the beginning of each week, I’ll dump out the Moose Mailbag — maybe on Monday — and start the week with some productive dialogue from all slices of life. The better input you give, the better read you’ll get.
Feel free to submit some questions or comments now.
Have a great weekend!
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-moose
It’s time to find my voice again.
Hi. I’m Moose.
That’s not my legal name, but it was the name my parents were planning on giving me up until the moment I was born.
Legend goes, this name “Moose” had been stuck in their minds for months, but they ultimately changed their approach after finally reaching the delivery room — having second thoughts on if such a name was going to give me issues later on in life.
After a panicked deliberation, they settled on the unoffensive, no-frills white-guy-du-jour name of July 1990:
“Jeff.”
Thirty-one years later, the very human-thing talking to you (me, Moose, “Jeff”) is having a bit of an identity crisis.
You see, the thing I’ve most always wanted to be in life, more than any name or title, is a writer. Continue reading
B-TOWN Moose 