Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend

This turned out to be quite a weekend that for unfortunate reasons, I will never forget. First off on Thursday morning, I get an unpleasant call from my mom that my grandma is not doing well and that "all the family should be gathered." We all knew what that meant. In the past, she's had her troubles, but always seemed to have pulled out of them even stronger. We all hoped this would be the case once again. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be this time. It's been a good 5 years since someone I've cared about this much has passed away, so I forgot what that empty feeling inside of me was like. This one was even tougher since I was actually sitting next to my grandma holding her hand when she decided to stop fighting. Can't say I've had that experience before. Definitely can say I hope to never have that experience again.

I've been having a hard time trying to process everything that's happened for several personal reasons. Part of me was grieving while part of me was very angry. Those that know me really shouldn't be surprised w/either reaction. I wasn't sure what to do.

I decided to follow through on my plans to head up to the Twin Cities to visit a couple friends of mine. I think it was the best time to ever do so. It really helped to get away from everything back home and just spend some time with people who genuinely care about you.

I headed up Saturday morning, arriving 5 1/2 hours later in Bloomington, MN - home to the Mall of America. My friends ended up inviting a few others over and had a small cookout at their new home they moved into in February. The food was awesome - beer can chicken on the grill. No need to explain more! We had 2 TV's set up in the family room in order to watch both the Brewers game and the NBA playoff game. It reminded me of college. I will absolutely have to do this w/my living room soon, no doubt.

On Sunday, my old roommate and I played golf at Troy Burne in Hudson, WI. The course was a Tom Lehman design and was one of the top 5 course layouts that I've had the pleasure of playing. The only problem was the greens were just airated, so putting was very troublesome. My buddy is a very good golfer, consistently shooting in the 70's, while I'm happy to break triple digits each time out. He pointed out to me that the last three rounds we've played together, I've hit the best shot of the day each time. First time was at Erin Hills where I hit a blind approach shot on a par-5 to with 4 inches from 175 yards out to birdie the hole. Yeah, this Erin Hills. The next round was a scramble when we were paired together. I ended up chipping in from a hill w/a downhill lie, no green to work with, and water behind the green in case I caught it too thin. Very difficult, but got lucky. Then yesterday, I had the two best shots of the day on the same hole no less. A 600 yard par-5, I ended up hitting a drive 350 yards straight center of the fairway. Yeah, it hit the cart path, but so what! Miss-hit my second & third shots, leaving me with about 75 yard left. Approach shot was blind, with an intimidating bunker looming in front. Could not see the pin at all. Pulled out the lob wedge, hit it perfectly, asking for it to go in the hole before it even landed. Obviously couldn't see it, but it was 2 inches from the cup. Life was good on that hole!

After the round of golf, we headed to the Metrodome to catch the last game ever there between the Brewers and Twins. It was the first & last game I've seen in person there. Let me say, thank God the Twins are getting a new stadium next year! That place made it seem like we were at a Double-A game. That place is just so outdated... it really made me appreciate the amenities of Miller Park. Especially since the Brewers don't get swept in Miller Park too often!

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