Failed already/Two reviews

Good morning, BEDA Day 2.

Review #1: O'Charley's

O'Charley's is a chain restaurant, but not one that I'd ever seen before moving to Urbana. My husband and I discovered it one day, and we ended up frequenting it. The rolls were phenomenal, the food was pretty darn good, and the prices were very reasonable. The only real problem was the service...there is something peculiar about the service in Champaign/Urbana, and by that I mean that across the board in this town, the service is terrible. O'Charley's was even worse. But, because of the aforementioned rolls and food and prices, we kept going there.

For some reason or another, we just kind of stopped. We hadn't been there in probably two years. I got a coupon in my email for their chicken tenders, so we decided to go last night.

Oh, O'Charley's, what have you done? Your prices went up but your quality went down. The rolls were still good, but not as. The chicken tenders, that used to be massive, tossed in a chipotle BBQ sauce that used to be amazing, were tiny, dry, scant, and the sauce was a definite 'meh.' And that is the last time I believe I will ever go there.

Review #2: A Song of Ice and Fire

I am just about finished with book 2 of George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire," A Clash of Kings. I LOVED Game of Thrones, and I mostly am liking this book. But seriously though...EVERYBODY DIES. It's getting a little old. One thing I like about reading, especially epic fantasy books like these, are the attachments I get to certain characters. At this point, there are frankly few characters left who I feel invested in, and I doubt that they'll all last the rest of the four, thousand-page books. I've heard that one of the big criticisms of these books is that he takes forever to actually have anything happen, and at first, I didn't mind. I like reading, I like devouring books like these that are well-written...but I'm starting to feel like I'm watching Passions. That's not fair, I suppose. But come on...

How To Earn A Crappy Sweatshirt

5ish years ago, before we moved to Illinois, Tjett completed his first Old Chicago World Beer Tour. For those of you unfamiliar with Old Chicago and its Beer Tour, basically, the goal is to drink 110 different beers. Along the way, you get chintzy little prizes: a deck of cards, a mini-compass, then later you get a T-shirt, a thermos, and a cooler.

The final, 110 beer prize, is your name on a little plaque on the 'Wall of Foam.' Also, you get a sweatshirt.

Tjett's sweatshirt was just amazing. Heavy, thick, plushy, soft...it was everything I ever wanted in a sweatshirt, but as I had stolen all of his other sweatshirts and fuzzy pants, he would not let me steal this one too. This one, I had to EARN.

Tonight I finished my first tour. Tjett finished his second. Oh, how I was looking forward to MY amazing sweatshirt. When our server brought it, it felt...thin. It was in a plastic bag so I didn't get to really examine it, but it just didn't feel as awesome as Tjett's old one.

I got home and tried it on. I am not a very big person. I had gotten a Medium, figuring that would give me ample room without swimming in it. Unfortunately, it was too short in the torso and too short in the sleeves. Mostly, it was like a slightly thicker long-sleeved T-shirt. I am SUPER disappointed. I'm going to call them tomorrow to see if I can't at least exchange for a Large. *sigh* I wish we had just finished our tours while we were in Iowa...

On a happier note, somebody stopped a Nickelback song that was playing while I was enjoying my 110th beer. Also, they do raffle drawings on Wednesdays and Tjett and I EACH won a free large pizza.