It's beginning to look a lot like ... COLD!

After weeks and weeks of warm when everywhere else has been frigid, it finally got cold here in C-Stat. It's MISERABLE! It didn't just get cold, it got cold and rainy. Yuck.
So I'm not going to lie, the reason I haven't posted anything lately is because I've fallen into a bit of a slump. I go to work, I come home, and I either park on the couch and watch whatever's on TV or I putz around the house and/or cook something while watching whatever's on TV. I wouldn't say I am particularly happy with this arrangement - but the past few weeks have been busy enough to keep me from being too miserable about it. But now that I have nowhere to be until Christmas ... I am lonely sitting around doing nothing all the time.

I'll do a quick rundown for anyone who's interested. What have I been up to lately?
• A few weeks ago, Matt and I took a road trip up to Oklahoma. Alyson and Nash and Lola were all coming into town too, so we got together and went out for drinks, and a watch party at Meg's for the OU/A&M football game, and another party with some other friends that are still in town. It was so much fun, and I miss them all so much!
• The week after that, I went on my first business trip! LAS VEGAS! I'd never been before, and I was only there for about three days, but it was FABULOUS! I wish I'd had more time to explore, but we had to work all day in our trade show booth. I need to plan another trip to go back, because I didn't get to see very many of the hotels! (I was staying in Circus Circus, and we only got to see Wynn, Bellagio, Caesar's Palace and Paris. Wynn was ridiculous - there was a Ferrari dealer inside the hotel!) Needless to say, very glad I had the opportunity to go.
• The NEXT week (see where this is going?) was Thanksgiving, and Matt and I headed to visit my grandparents, where we were having Thanksgiving with my family, and his parents were coming up to meet my family. After Thanksgiving "dinner," we headed down to Austin to see his family and also go to his cousin's wedding.

After all that ... this was all I wanted to do. (And I just took this cute pic of my kitty.)

Anyway, back to the main point - I'm finally back home for a while. Hooray! My sister came in to see me this weekend. (She is lonely too, now that she is living back at home and is in a long-distance relationship.) It gave me an excuse to find things to do, and I compiled a list of things to do now so that I don't sit around my house all the time. We went Christmas shopping (and regular shopping!) and had a good time. We went to go see the wind tunnel that Matt's been working on for the past, oh forever, which was pretty sweet (and now I know what Matt does for a living!). Hehe. Aaaaand now my house is a disaster, with dishes piled everywhere and trashes overflowing, and is generally gross, and it is NOT cool. But I am looking forward to this week now.

The Vista closed; Bingo now offered at Coach's Brewhouse

Coach's Brewhouse is now offering free games of bingo every Tuesday evening, starting Feb. 17.

Anyone age 18 or older can come win free money. There will be six $25 winners and two $50 winners, plus a jackpot game worth $500. For the jackpot game, only seven numbers will be called, and if no one wins, Coach's will up the ante $50 each subsequent week.

Previously, bingo was offered on Tuesday nights at Vista Sports Grill down the street from Coach's. On Friday, Feb. 6, the "Vista building" was closed down due to structural issues, according to the Vista's Web site. The restaurant and all offices within the building are closed for the time being while the building's structural problems are remedied. There is no set date for the building's reopening at this time.

Coach's will be offering bingo "just like the Vista used to, because the Vista shut down — unfortunately — with the building in disrepair," said Coach's manager Tom Houser. "It was a wildly successful night, and we could offer that for the people who enjoyed the Vista's bingo night."

Coach's Brewhouse is located at 110 W. Main St. Games will start at 10 p.m. and will be played every 20 minutes until about 12:45 a.m. Coach's also offers live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. For those that are 21 and up, Coach's offers $1.75 pints or $7 jugs for their handcrafted ales, and $9 buckets of domestic bottles.

Othello's Open-Mic Night

Open-mic night is back at Othello's after taking a few days off from comedy for the bad weather.

Students can come watch comedians perform, or even get the chance to perform themselves. Ten to 12 comedians usually perform in a night, and they each get 10 minutes of stage time, so there is great variety.

Othello's has been hosting open-mic night for two years. About eight comics, including OU graduate student James Nghiem, had previously been performing at the Loony Bin Comedy Club of Tulsa. They had gotten tired of the time restrictions imposed on them there, and wanted more time on stage. So, they found a new venue and pioneered an open-mic opportunity for everyone to get involved.

"I like that you have as much freedom as you want [at Othello's]," Nghiem said. "You can develop your own material, and the crowd is on my side. ... It's its own identity, its own culture, its own environment. It's a restaurant, it's a free-for-all."

Anyone is welcome to come and try their hand at comedy. Open-mic night begins at 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday night. If you would like to be a performer, show up at about 9 p.m. to sign up. Othello's is located on Campus Corner at 434 Buchanan St. There is no charge to get in.