A few notes from the weekend

I had a pretty intense 48 hours this weekend. Just a couple of thoughts about those days and the week to come.

1) Kale does work pretty well in a peanut butter/banana smoothie.

2) Mom recommended someone who should cut my hair, a woman at the Hair Cuttery in South Elgin. She did a good job. But damn, she talked my ear off. Newsflash, when I'm leaning back in the leather chair, my eyes closed, and you're applying Tea Tree conditioner and massaging it into my scalp, do me a favor. Shut up and let me relax!

3) Nick's Pizza in Elgin. Great people, very friendly, very subpar pizza. the bottom crust needs to be crisp! If I can smell garlic in my car when the pizza was only inside it for 20 minutes and the smell is pungent three days later, it's a problem!

4) I had never heard of the card game euchre. Apparently, it's a big deal in the midwest. And one of my new friends, Neil, was hosting a tournament at his house in Elk Grove Village. I had no plans to go, but I did arrive late, and it was a pretty good experience. There were a few of us who had no idea what we were doing, so we sat at a triangular table in the kitchen and played for the sake of learning. After about 30 minutes, it started to make a little sense. I'm not sure I'm ready to formulate strategies, but I can handle the fundamentals of the game.

5) Speaking of which, I may have met someone at that tournament who may turn out to be very memorable. Then again, I've been through this sort of thing before. I don't want to expect disappointment, but I feel I have to beware of it.

6) I ran 5.6 miles in 46 minutes, which is about an 8:15 per mile pace. I've run six miles once or twice before but not at that fast of a pace. I hope I can maintain it for Sunday. Or maybe do even better.

7) Two amazing wins by the Rangers over Columbus and the Devils on Friday and Saturday. Bring on the playoffs! They really need to finish in the top 3 in the Metro Division to do some damage. If they finish with one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, they will play either Boston or Pittsburgh in the first round and they cannot afford to play either of those two teams.

8) Tableside guacamole: needs to be more widespread. It's so amazing!

9) I cannot wait for 50 degrees and up to arrive.

10) Five days till the Mets open the 2014 baseball season! Stay true to the orange and blue!