drafting with bottles (not drafts)

Hello friends. I'm currently on a self-declared 12ish hour break from thesisland. After I turned in that draft last week, I received a speedy response letting me know of its inadequacies. A little over an hour ago, I turned in a decent portion of draft version 1.5 (it'd be a lie to call it 2.0, since it's not really a new draft so much as a more complete version of the last draft). And now I'm not looking at that stuff or thinking about it until I wake up without the assistance of an alarm clock tomorrow morning. Instead, I get to write for fun in my blogs!... and probably clean my room, and put away laundry, and go for a run...

but first, beer-related things to write fun-ly about!

1. When you Google "thesis depression", the first result is this gem of a blog. I have read through quite a few entries, in chronological order. It's pretty stellar. I'd probably write a blog about writing my thesis, but why create a new venue when I can complain about my thesis in conjunction with beer reviews or my tendency to wander? I could, of course, take this to the next level and try writing in bars...

2. The last beer of my motivational mixed six pack was not a winner, at least not for me. Weyerbacher Simcoe IPA. I bought this in honor of my trip to Lake Simcoe a couple of years ago, and my possible familial ties that inspired said trip. (Look! Thesis, beer and travel all in one paragraph!) My ancestors came to the US via Canada, and lived in that area for a few generations before doing so. There is a provincial park on that lake called Sibbald Point-- my grandmother's maiden name is Sibbald, but she doubts we're actually related to those Sibbalds. Whatever, I reclaimed the family land and then a few years later bought a beer made with hops that share a name with the lake. And I didn't like the beer because of said hops. Just too sharp and bitter a flavor for me. Since there have been a few IPA's that I've enjoyed lately, I'm going to say this one just isn't the greatest. Go after it if you're into that, I guess.


Colleen the explorer reclaiming ancestral lands

3. I have barely left the house since I got home from school on Tuesday. I've been to Staples and to church. No bars, no liquor stores. And yet, I still managed to get another beer on my list that I was actually surprised wasn't already there. For this, I have my awesome older brother and sister-in-law to thank. They were in town for a wedding this weekend and brought with them some Miller Lite (the Earp standard issue-- totally already in the blog) and Beck's. I think it's interesting how poor of a rating it has on Beer Advocate. They recommend avoiding it. I suspect it's because they're super snobby and looking for crazy flavors and unique stuff. However, if you're going for something that's just plain old straight up beer, I think this is totally appropriate. While this is not my favorite style of beer (see-through), I thought this explained German Purity quite nicely-- it was very straightforward, clear, no weird tastes floating around, it tasted the same beginning to end and after. I appreciated this. And I appreciated big brother sharing this with me.

4. "What's going on here? You got a tattoo like him, and now you're drinking like him." -Kerin's commentary on my choice of Miller Lite when hanging out with them on Friday night... yes, I prefer beers that you can't see through, but I enjoy the occasional Earp Standard Issue, especially in the good company of my big brother and sister-in-law (:


Colleen: 311
Paul: 300