Tag Archives: madison

Be True To Your School

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I have a love affair with my alma mater.  For two years, I had the pleasure to attend the University of Wisconsin and be a badger.  As long as I have been a Wisconsinite (read: my entire life), I have always cheered for those in Cardinal Red and White.

Being a badger means a many things.  It means having the endurance to literally jump between the third and fourth quarter of a Wisconsin football game during “Jump Around.”  It means climbing up onto Abe Lincoln’s lap in celebration of graduation.  It means knowing all of the words to “Varsity,” “If You Want to Be a Badger,” and “On, Wisconsin.”  It means complaining about those taking the 80 up Bascom Hill, drinking pitchers of beer outside on the Terrace, and knowing who Tunnel Bob and Scanner Dan are.  Most importantly, it means always referring to the University of Minnesota as a safety school (Sorry Golden Gophers!) and always waiting for the end of the 5th Quarter.

No matter where life takes me, I will always proudly be a Badger.

Working at College Library during finals week. {Spring 2011}
At the Ask Listen Save suicide prevention walk. {Spring 2013}
Officially a Badger. {Spring 2010}
At the third annual Helen C. Houseparty at College Library. {Fall 2011}
Holding the famous Paul Bunyon Axe during Homecoming. {Fall 2011}
At the Chancellor’s Reception. {Fall 2010}
Celebrating Senior day at Memorial Union. {Spring 2012}

Weekend Wars

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I had a phenomenal weekend away to visit my friend Val and celebrate her birthday.  I took a day off on Friday, something of a rarity in my life, and drove down early to Madison to take in the city.

Val and I started a weekend of pampering with hour long full-body massages.  I won’t gush any more about how wonderful it was, but we both decided after that is going to be an annual tradition.  Don’t be surprised, however, if massages happen more often in our lives.  I forgot how wonderful and relaxing they can be!

After our massage, we went to a favorite wine bar on the west side, Eno Vino.  We each had a glass of delicious red wine and split two appetizers: the mushroom and sausage pizza and the beef tenderloin and salmon brushetta.  Highly recommend all we had!

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I had the Tinto Rey by Matchbook.  Absolutely smooth and wonderful, with tons of flavor.  Plus, the name reminded me of my favorite Matchbook Magazine!

After our early dinner, we went back to Val’s place to get ready for a nice night out.  We ended up grabbing a beer with friends at Paul’s Club, where we drank under the famed indoor tree.  After Paul’s we went to our traditional spot: The Old Fashioned.

Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of celebrating the bridal shower of my good friend Danielle.  It was absolutely amazing to get together with friends from college and reconnect.  I ran to Fromagination, my favorite cheese shop, to pick up her gift.  Thankfully, I got a parking spot right on the Square during the Dane County Farmer’s Market, a rarity for sure.

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One thing I am truly proud of, and can gush about for hours, is the success of the girls I graduated with.  Distinguished in our own rights, there were so many girls at our small table that were in graduate school, planning weddings of their own, already married, and even a mom!  I’m so lucky that the college culture I was a part of at Ripon College developed deep values within us all to be well educated, but most importantly, incredibly happy.

Driving in from Madison from Sun Prairie, I veered into one of my favorite areas: the Monroe Street neighborhood.  I parked next to Trader Joe’s and went into Strictly Discs to celebrate Record Store Day 2013.

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I had a cup of foamy beer, browsed around for twenty minutes or so, and came home with two new albums.  Don’t you worry, they’ve both been played on my dad’s old record player a few times already!

Val and I spent our Saturday night eating our favorite Mexican food from Los Gemelos, then enjoying a bottle of wine with Anjali.  It was nice to catch up between the three of us, and jam out to some old school rap.  Thank goodness there are no incriminating photos of myself dancing to “Brass Monkey,” there are already dozens of those from undergrad.

Sunday was perfect.  Val and I woke up early to head to the Alterra that just opened in Madison.  For those of you who haven’t been to an Alterra, head to Milwaukee or Madison and have some of the best coffee you will ever have.  I am such a fan of Alterra coffee and food.  But, the secret is this: their lemonade is delectable.  Far and away my favorite thing on the menu!

After grabbing breakfast and taking a quick stop at Gap, we headed down to the East Campus Mall area for the Ask Listen Save suicide prevention walk.  In its third year, it is already the highest fundraising suicide prevention walk on any college campus.  It made me truly proud of my alma mater and being a Badger.  It is one of the values I learned at UW: to love each other unconditionally, regardless of being best friends or a stranger.  The walk was amazing, and an opportunity to see the lakeshore as spring has finally begun to show itself in Wisconsin.

And, I can’t forget, the walk did give me an opportunity to see my best friend Bucky!

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I had a phenomenal weekend in my favorite city; the place that feels like home.  I’m so happy to have fantastic friends to visit as well as a city that welcomes me with open arms time and time again.

How was your weekend?  Did you see your college mascot wheeling around on a cart in the middle of campus, or was that just me?

Adult Swim

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Last Friday evening, I had the pleasure of heading to Adult Swim at the Madison Children’s Museum.  Although the museum doesn’t have a pool, they still kick the kids out for the adults to enjoy and are allowed to take over and play with all of the exhibits, as well as enjoy a beer or two as they are doing it.

This event’s theme was Steampunk.  While the group I was with wasn’t super interested in the theme, there were many attendees that were dressed up and fully participating in the costume contest, crafts, and entertainment.

The next Adult Swim, happening April 19, has the theme of “Flashback,” complete with Pong, a classic lounge band, and upcycled vinyl crafts.  You better believe I’ll be back in Madison that evening enjoying another Adult Swim!

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Here, you can see Val and me enjoying our beverages in between looking at the children’s artwork.

The museum offers food and drink throughout the night: pizza from Roman Candle and an array of beer.  For our event, Tall Boy PBR cans were $4 and bottles of craft beer, ranging from Capital Amber to Bell’s Two Hearted, were $5 and placed in plastic cups.

Considering the money was going to the Museum, none of my friends thought this was a high price at all.
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Best activity offered at the Madison Children’s Museum?  Definitely the human-sized hamster wheel!  Here, you can see both Matt and myself attempting to run as fast as we could in the wheel.  It is such a fun activity to try, but because the entrance is off of a bridge on the second floor of the building, I had a moment of vertigo as I kept thinking I was going to fall all the way down to the first floor.  Alas, you won’t.  But I will not hold it against you if you have the same feeling I did!

as3Of course recycling is big in Madison.  Of course inexpensive beer is big in Madison.  This is what happens when the two are combined.
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The phone booth was a hilarious stop on our adventure.  The “Philoso-phone” told of philosophical queries if you dialed any of the numbers.  Plus, it just looked awesome.

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My absolute favorite part of the museum was the mural next to the coat check area.  Done by Kevin Henkes, a local author and illustrator, it displays the amazing collaborative nature of Madison.  The city’s favorite local author gave his time and art to support the cause of the Madison Children’s Museum, which is wonderful.  It put a smile on this librarian’s face, and once I explained it was the same guy who created Owen, most of my friends were excited about the mural just as I was.

as6The night of fun ended after a round of beer at The Old Fashioned.  Really, where else would we all end up?  I am counting down the days, well, not really, until April 19.

Does your local children’s museum offer anything similar to Adult Swim?  If so, I would highly recommend going?  Or, if you’re a Madisonian (or transplant like me) I would recommend purchasing a ticket for April’s event!