Interlude #5: 71st and Woodland

On my birthday, I did two awesome things.

First, I ran from zombies.

 

I technically did not survive. But I also didn't literally die as I did the event, so there you have it.

And because I did my first 5k in the afternoon, I figured I earned a bit of a treat later.

Not only that, but Steak 'n Shake on my birthday was also a good opportunity for ...

 

 

... the return of the Brett!

It's true. Brett is done with his program in Wisconsin. So he's back in Indy, and he moved in while I was running for my life.

I had earned a Frisco melt and fries.

And Brett earned a simple shooter.

 

Brett hungry!

 Our stop was pretty quick, as we were all a bit tired from our exertions for the day, so we took a moment for the traditional group shot.

Of course, Brett messed up the first one.

Also, this officially marks the end of Catch Caragher, unless he leaves Indy again before the Quest is complete.

Eventually, there will be an "Answers" post to that game as well. And some of the places I've hidden him will blow your mind.

Stop #48: North Meridian, Carmel (#224)

In late December, I decided to hit up yet another Steak 'n Shake.


In part because it was on my way to paying that pesky speeding ticket I earned on my way to completing Stops #40 and #41. And in part because, progress!

Also in part because I finally wanted to see what a Steak 'n Shake breakfast was like.


It's true! I've now had a Steak 'n Shake breakfast. But we'll get to that in a minute.

Jen joined me for this stop because she was free, and she too wanted breakfast.

Before making the stop, I invested in some new crayons, since Bloomington stole mine.


As you can see, they were exciting. And even more exciting once you opened the box to discover ...


... GelFX crayons AND Metallic crayons! And by Metallic crayons, I don't mean your standard gold, silver, and bronze. I mean those pictured above: Big Dip O' Ruby, Cyber Grape, Sheen Green, and Steel Blue (not in that order).

And how do they look?


... well, not super-different from normal crayons. Especially those GelFX once. Gel effects, my ass. Looks just like a regular blue crayon to me. The Metallic ones really did have a bit of a sparkle to them, so they were okay.

I also noticed that the placemats that weren't advertising the breakfast deals (namely, all-you-can-eat pancakes) were advertising special shakes for the then-upcoming Valentine's Day.

Oh Steak 'n Shake, you do know how to steal a girl's heart!

My husband only wishes I would express such love for him.

Thankfully, breakfast arrived before I could get much more physical with my placemat.


Breakfast, and a lot a lot A LOT of syrup.

So how is a Steak 'n Shake breakfast?

Well, the bacon is tasty.

The eggs are all right.

And the pancakes were delicious. Which surprised me -- I normally don't like pancakes, unless they're the Dadly Dude's blueberry pancakes made at a campground. If I liked pancakes, you'd be reading a blog about visiting all the IHOPs in Indiana, not Steak 'n Shakes.

But these pancakes (I should probably note, they did contain chocolate chips) were delicious. I could have eaten more.

Thanks, Steak 'n Shake, for that now-tempting All-You-Can-Eat pancake breakfast. Need I remind you I'm trying to lose weight?

Following our tasty, tasty breakfast, we asked Ron, a server passing by, to take our picture.


Which Ron did, then followed by professing HIS love for Steak 'n Shake, also. Ron really loves his Steak 'n Shake. If I were to find a true replacement for Brett to finish out this quest, by God, it should be someone with a passion like Ron's.

Unfortunately, I caught neither last name nor number, so my friends and acquaintances will just have to continue to suffer for my sake.

Stop #43: South East St, Indianapolis (#25)

Stop #43 took me to not-so-far-away, here in Indy, just after I went to a theater to see the new "Twilight" movie.

Before you scorn me for my tastes, or think horrible thoughts about me, or wish I was dead, in my defense:


THIS is why I went. THIS is why I've gone to see all of the movies, why I've read the books, why I cut myself when the world is just too much.

Okay, that last bit, I don't really do. Getting inside Bella's head is pain enough for a lifetime over.

And in case you're wondering about that bizarre belly button on my shirt, my "Twilight: Because I'm a masochist" shirt was actually made for the release of "Eclipse" last year, which is why I tried to fabric-paint on, well, an eclipse.


You might be thinking that you really don't want to hear my thoughts on this movie. You might be here for the Steak n' Shake of it all, or for the anagrams, or for the Catch Caragher. But today, I feel like talking about this movie. And, as Robbie Hart once said in a movie I love dearly, "Well I have a microphone, and you don't, so you will listen to every damn word I have to say!" Yeah, that's how this "review" is gonna go.

Of course, by microphone, I mean blog.

So how was "Breaking Dawn: Part 1"? I've got to say, in my opinion, it's been the best of the series so far. Now, don't mistake that for me saying that the movie is good. That logic would be similar to saying that Mussolini was a good guy 'cause he wasn't as horrible a dude as Stalin or Hitler. "Breaking Dawn Part 1" is no Hitler ("New Moon" for the shirtless shot of "RPatz") or Stalin ("Eclipse" for the OH GOD ALL OF IT), but that doesn't mean we should give it an Oscar, or a Nobel prize.

The first ... solid third? of the movie is basically the wedding you wish you weren't invited to, followed by the world's most lame honeymoon videos by that couple you wish didn't know you because OH GOD IS RPATZ REMOVING HIS SHIRT AGAIN MAKE IT STOP. KStew's walk down the aisle had to have been four miles long for all the long, meaningful, intense facial shots between her and RPATZ THANK GOD YOU'VE GOT A SHIRT ON THIS TIME. Thankfully, there wasn't too much dialogue in that chunk of the movie, meaning our stars should have been able to better focus on their actual acting skills.

Oh, wait. Nope, no side benefit of that, after all.

I also think something should be said for some inconsistency when it comes to this part of the series. Inconsistency as in, "Dear Bill Condon, Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!" Inconsistency as in, there were shots from that honeymoon that should only exist in your worst nightmare in which Edward was wandering around in the sunlight, yet failed to sparkle. Now, don't misunderstand me -- I do not prefer my vampires sparkly, and there's too much of the slow-mo sparkle-action in all the other movies as it is. But if you've established that vampires in your world sparkle in the sunlight, you can't abandon that trait just because it got boring. And Bill Condon, by agreeing to direct Stephanie Meyers' wet dream (seriously, the whole story started from a dream she had, so I'm going to make my assumptions from there because sometimes my mind is in the gutter and clearly sometimes hers is too), you are agreeing to adapt to the vampires in her world, irritating though they may be.

My final big complaint is the finesse with which wolf telepathy was conveyed. This movie takes what is basically my favorite part of any of the books -- the part where we abandon Bella and her vapid and pointless existence and go hang out with some characters who are actually interesting for a change -- and destroys it with a nearly incoherent mass of confusion that just sounds atrocious. After that, who wants to hang out with the wolf pack anymore? It's almost as painful as DEAR GOD RPATZ PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON.

So now that I've made clear that you maybe don't want to go see "Breaking Dawn Part 1" and, hell, maybe don't want to read "Twilight" in the first place, what might you want to do instead?*

Let me recommend some books that actually might have value! Or, at the very least, entertainment that doesn't make you want the main character to die!

1. The Pact, Jodi Picoult
I'm just tossing this in 'cause it's my favorite book from this author, but you can't go wrong with most of her stuff. Most of her stuff revolves around a court drama and a hidden piece of evidence or fact that changes everything at the last minute. This one, specifically, involves the suicide pact of two teenagers gone wrong, in which only one teenager actually dies, leaving the other to look like a suspect in her murder. A fun romp for any interested reader!

2. The Dark Half, Stephen King
Stephen King has some decent stuff out there, but The Dark Half has been my favorite, and was the book I managed to squeeze in two and a half times during a three-week trip to Australia and New Zealand back when I was in 7th grade. (Hey, in the days before e-readers, you had to make do with the total number of books you could actually fit in your suitcase, which was, in my case, two.) Plot centers on a writer who has written under both his real name (one genre) and a pseudonym (a completely different genre). When he tries to "kill off" the pseudonym and come clean to the public, the pseudonym decides it doesn't really want to be dead. Fun fact, apparently there was a sort of old-school computer game based on this book, too.

3. Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort-of History of the United States
Dave Barry cracks me up. He will probably crack you up, too. If he doesn't, it's because you have no soul. Slept Here is my favorite Barry book, as it's basically turning history on its head and I apparently find that amusing.

4. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
This book made me want to have Chuck Palahniuk's babies. From the same author that brought you Fight Club is this story about a girl who used to be super-pretty but who had her mouth shot off in an accident and now she travels around the country with a pair of people who are as f-ed up in head as she is to look at. Then again, she may also be as f-ed up in the head. There are three instances of plot twist in this book that made my jaw drop. My only regret with this book is that I can't go back and read it for the first time all over again, getting all those surprises fresh again.

*Read the fine print: I'm all in favor of reading at large, so if you read "Twilight" because the alternative is, well, not reading at all, then I appreciate the attempt. I just also hope that you do someday graduate to something else, even if it is only Harlequin Romance or something.

These are the things you could do instead of reading (or watching) "Twilight" if you are unlike me. Then again, if you are a masochist as well, "Twilight"! Have at it!

Speaking of acts of masochism, on this particular Quest Stop, I finally got around to trying the FritoBurger.


I know. It's scary to look at. Imagine how it felt to eat it.

And if you can't imagine it, enjoy this pseudo-film strip!





And of course, the aftermath:

I actually cut it in half so that Husband could "enjoy" it with me. He has a more varied ... palate ... than I do, meaning it might not actually be the worst thing in the world, and I wouldn't necessarily know it.

And he did imply it was not the worst thing in the world. However, I don't think either of us will be ordering it again.

Fortunately, I anticipated the above, and got real food too: my favorite standby and reward for being brave, a Guacamole Steakburger and french fries.

In the end, it turned out to be a pretty good day: "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1" followed by a Fritoburger.

Then again, let me remind you:


Though I think no one else suffered quite as much as I did, as only two of us went to see the movie, and only two of us (one of us being different from the former pair of two of us) actually tried the Frito Burger.

The rest escaped unscathed.

Stop #37: Fishers (#512)

Stop #37, just a couple days after Stop #36, was much closer than Terre Haute.


I met up with former roommie at the Steak 'n' Shake on Commercial Drive after she and I both got done with work one day.

It was also a great chance for our cars, Eva (pronounced EVE-ah, as in Wall-E) and Daisy St. Patience, to bond.


They've missed each other since we've stopped living together.

Molly and I, too, bonded a bit. It was the first chance I'd had to see her since my wedding. I finally returned the coffee grounds she had bought the week of my wedding and proceeded to leave inside Daisy. She told me about her upcoming trip to Europe.

And we ate. Oh, did we eat. Chicken fingers, fries, and onion rings for me, washed down with a Cherry Coke.

But for once, you don't get photos of my food. You get photos of Molly's food. Why?


Because Molly had the party foul of cheese-fries-and-Frisco-melts. :)

'Sokay, though, Molly still enjoyed it.

Not enjoyable, though?

I know a few posts ago I tried to scare you with a "Blair Witch Project" trailer, and last weekend I tried to scare myself with "Paranormal Activity 3" -- but this is by far the scariest thing I've seen this Halloween season.


Oh, Chilli Cheese Frito Steakburger, you've come to haunt my dreams, haven't you?

As frightening as it was, Molly and I both escaped the Steak 'n' Shake and survived, with no heart attacks and no reefer madness to speak of. And none to not speak of, either.

Stop #35: 38th Street (#33)

My bachelorette party, as I'm sure it's no surprise, resulted in some Steak 'n' Shake activity.

Yup. That's me, in full bachelorette party attire, getting excited about what I initially thought was the Steak 'n' Shake headquarters and later learned was actually the Testing Kitchen. Which I need to petition to get into because, seriously, how awesome would that be?

Of course, I did not get in that night. Come on. Bachelorette party. Who in their right mind would let me in?

Instead, I did what I've been wanting tod o for some time now: get drunk -- or, in reality, just a bit tipsy -- and go to the Steak 'n' Shake on 38th Street.

Of course, because it was the Steak 'n' Shake on 38th Street, and it was, as the sign above shows, 3 a.m., and as a result, I must have been lonely, huh?, Kyanne and I were a bit scared.

Emily, too, was frightened.

We'd all ridden the mechanical bull at Cadillac Ranch right after seeing another girl chip her tooth when she fell off the thing, and yet here we were, in the Steak 'n' Shake on 38th Street, scared and shakin' in our boots. Or heels, depending on what type of bachelorette party you think I was having.

So we tried to make it a quick stop. I got the Guacamole Steak Frank and fries, because on the night of your bachelorette party, it's like a requisite thing that everything must somehow come back to things of a phallic nature.

A typical bachelorette party.

Pictured: The giant penis (stuffed) that one bachelorette party brought to the bar.

Not pictured: The giant penis (balloon) that the other bachelorette party brought to the bar.

Also not pictured: My milkshake, which brings all the boys to the yard.

There, that's better.

Though my night was actually somewhat tame, in part because I'd asked Kyanne not to incorporate a lot of penises into my party.

Fortunately, Kyanne's the type of spectacular friend who knows when I don't mean exactly what I say. Because she presented me with the following card:

Which really only makes sense if you've read Hyperbole and a Half. Though, if you're reading my blog, you're on the Internet, and if you're on the Internet, you really kind of have to have heard of Hyperbole and a Half. Hell, half the time Allie is my inspiration. The other half of the time, she is simply hyperbole.

But I digress. The point is, a fantastic night of bachelorette party festivities culminated in a stop at Steak 'n' Shake that wasn't just any stop, but the stop that actually marks the halfway point of this quest.

As the sign says, "Oh-oh, we're halfway there. Oh-oh, livin' on a prayer."

And a Frisco Melt and cheese fries. Which might be why we need the prayer.

Stop #33: Southport & 37 (#584)

The day after the stops in Clarksville and Seymour, I had a meeting at Bath and Body Works for work. When it was over, coworker Jen and I decided to go to -- where else? -- Steak 'n' Shake.

And so my fellow "Social Media Diva" from our practice skits in the meeting and I made Stop #33 at the Steak 'n' Shake on Southport & 37.


We had a pretty fun time. I got the chicken tenders and fries.


And, apparently, three honey mustards.

Jen and I had fun talking about such things as "Glee," the kid who plays Kurt in "Glee," the girl who plays Rachel in "Glee," when "Glee" season 2 comes out on DVD, the "Glee" movie (which is out in 3-D), and many other things "Glee," and only "Glee." After all, we were the BBW "Social Media Divas" for the night.

No, no, that's not really true. As "Social Media Divas," we really didn't talk about "Glee" at all. We got super excited about lip gloss, 'cause we were going to make a YouTube video about proper use of cosemetics. Well, we apparently were going to do that, until our friend Julie tweeted about this awesome new fragrance, "Paris Amour," which sounded fantastic and we then had to go find, immediately, all while behaving in manners that, though dictated on our role-playing cards, scared off our fellow co-workers.

And as just me and Jen, we really didn't talk only about "Glee." We talked about other music, too, and things not related to music or BBW at all.

Like whether we thought Steak 'n' Shake was trying to avoid copyright violations or something with the following advertisements:

Butterfinger, clearly incorporated into the shake,
and using the Butterfinger slogan:
"Crispety, Crunchety, Peanut-buttery!"

Peanut Butter Cups, using Reese's colors
but not exactly claiming Reese's as the ingredient,
using what feels like a modified Butterfinger slogan:
"Creamy, Chocolatey, Peanut-buttery!"

Dessert discussion made us both really want dessert.

And so, for me, something I haven't had since before Lent:


The fudge brownie sundae! It's creamy, chocolatey, peanut-buttery goodness! Without the peanut-buttery part, anyway.

And Jen? Jen got the standard fudge sundae.


Sadly, she forgot to order it without nuts, which was exactly why she didn't order the fudge brownie sundae for herself.

On the upside, they're easier to pick around in sundae that doesn't stick them right inside the brownie.

I was having a grand ol' time when Fiancé texted to ask when I'd be home, and I realized it was something like 10 p.m. already. So Jen and I called it a night and headed back.