Cattle to Corn - 3/6/06

Pella, IA - After a 535-mile trip from Stillwater to Pella, IA (yes, it's the home of those famous Pella windows) on Sunday, we are now in the midst of our residency at Central College. The college is a very quaint place, with nice brick buildings, set amidst a small town which features its Dutch heritage. There is a big tower in the middle of town celebrating the tulip, as well as many windmills. I haven't had the time to take any pictures yet because today was pretty filled up with activities and load-in. Central College had brought in some high schools for workshops in the morning and Much Ado 90 minute in the afternoon. After that I hung out at the student center doing emails and trying to get all the scheduling done for Platteville, then dinner, then back to the Amerihost Inn on the edge of town.

My day off in Stillwater OK was pretty good, if I say so myself. The morning started off well, with breakfast downstairs at the Ranchers Club. This was their idea of a continental breakfast: a ham/mushroom quiche, bacon, hash browns, orange juice, and of course the usual fruit, yogurt, bagels, etc. But how a place like that can serve such a nice breakfast and have such weak coffee is beyond me. Then off to do the company laundry with Daniel. Usually I do not like doing the laundry on my day off, but it was the best opportunity to make sure the laundry was fresh for Pella. The earlier you do it, the better. The laundromat was a combination of a bar and laundry, with a big-screen TV, a pool table, and what appeared to be beer taps. They may have taken taken the taps down on Sat. morning, but I have a feeling that the name of the place - Suds and Duds - was something of a giveaway. We had to go out and get some decent coffee however, so we walked over to the Hideaway and loaded up. We found out when we got back that we weren't supposed to bring back drinks from outside, but by that time our laundry was about done so we folded and left. Then we walked over to Eskimo Joe's, which is supposedly the most famous bar in Stillwater. It was, however, too crowded to do what we wanted to do, which was eat lunch and watch the West Virginia-U-Cinncinati basketball game, so we walked across the street to some dive and sat there and watched the game. It was pretty clear from the outset that the bartender was unprepared to serve anyone anything beyond beer, but we tried. We order a pork sandwich, which came in hot dog buns. All the soda was warm, and we weren't drinking beer, so I settled for a bottle of water. At least we had a clear view of the game. As soon as the game was over, we left that place and headed back to the hotel. Daniel went to work out, and at 2:00 I went over to the baseball stadium for another dose of Cowboy baseball. The day was alternately sunny and overcast, but nothing beats a day at the ball park. As I was watching the game, Chris Seiler calls me up and ends up joining me at the ballpark. So we have a great day watching the Cowboys beat up on UCal-Northridge 8-2. Had it not been for two throwing errors by the Cowboy catcher to third base, the Cowboys would have shut out Northridge. The catcher made up for it, though, by hitting a two-run homer later on, a good long poke to the left-center wall. After the game, Chris, Daniel Tyler and I went back down to the Rancher's Club for the Oklahoma steak experience, and boy, it was quite the treat.

They served us in teams, with a lovely young lady as the head server. All the servers were students in the hospitality program, learning the craft of fine service dining. The first thing we get are warm napkins. Then the wine steward comes over to ask about our wine selection for the evening. This we left to Daniel, our troupe wine expert (he has serious connections in the Napa Valley :-) ). He picked an excellent Zinfandel, nice and robust and dry. We went in for appetizers: crawfish cakes, huge shrimp, and an antipasto. All were excellent. Salads next. Then we had a sorbet to clear the palate. The the main course, a 12-ounce Oklahoma strip steak, medium, with chipolte yams and grilled veggies. The steak was very tender, spiced ad grilled well. Dessert was one slice of french silk pie shared three ways. Each one of these items was brought by a different person, and the ensemble was wonderful entertainment. We talked and laughed for two-and-a-half hours, and dropped some serious cash in the end. But as a change of pace from dining hall food and fast food, it sure was worth it. After dinner, back upstairs to catch the upset of Duke by UNC, packing, and sleep. Pretty good day off. The evening's only bummer was that Tyler got sick during dinner. He got a pretty stiff headache, so bad he couldn't eat his steak (he ate it later on the way to Pella), and I gave him some aspirin to relieve his pain. I think his previous night of drinking had finally caught up to him. I understand eight Maker's Mark and Cokes will stay with you quite awhile.

But it seems as if my body is running down a bit, I think. All during the OK stay I felt my body being slightly sore and stiff. I worked out only once, but after the workout I felt tired. In fact, I've sort of had a fatigued feeling for some time now. I don't quite know what to do about it, exactly. I keep thinking maybe the old body has reached its limits, and I'm a little nervous that some of the weight is creeping back. So I've cut back a little on food and still have to find ways to work out. I'm thinking of walking to the campus tomorrow, about 1.25 miles I believe. It's not as if I've been that physically busy, but perhaps sitting in the van and traveling takes more out of me than I think it does. Who knows.

I also have to admit that I am trying to find ways to fight boredom. My last day off was very good, but I am beginning to feel boredom creeping in. At first I wasn't able to identify it as such; it was just an "off" feeling, almost like being slightly depressed. But then I realized I wasn't listening to my podcasts, having a hard time reading books, XM radio was the same day after day (as is the news), and getting-in-the-van-traveling-stopping-at-a-truck-stop-pissing-traveling-eating-lunch
-pissing-getting-to-the-motel-unpacking-sleeping-loading-in-doing-a-show(s)-
loading-out-getting-in-the-van....was also become just a tad old. Admitting I was bored was actually a good thing, because now I can figure out ways to fight it. And perhaps this is an occupational hazard of touring. I mean, you have to expect at some point that things will become routine and - well, boring. So I have to find something to break the boredom. I've heard there are some interesting water towers in Pella to climb. Maybe..... -TWL