Sticking Together

So last night I was planning on writing about the storms that happened Monday. Well I was going to, but then I thought about it. Even though there was a lot of bad things that came from that storm, more good came from it. You are probably wondering what I mean. Well, let me explain.

If you don't know me too well, my house in Trussville was hit by a tornado on January 23, 2012. My family and I were inside the house as it destroyed the house. Luckily, everybody(including our dogs) were all okay. After that day though, I have not been the same about bad weather especially anything dealing with tornados.

When I heard that bad storms with possible tornados were heading our way, it brought back bad memories. Good thing for me, I have someone that was there for me to comfort and let me know that everything will be okay. That person was my fiancé Whitney. She made sure to confirm that we would be able to make it through this. She stuck by my side, even when I started to cry about the memories from January 23.

As the night went on, the storm got worse and found out that a tornado was heading to the Homewood area. That's where I live!!! We made to get to our safety place before it came our. Once we was there, you can tell Whitney was not okay about the storm coming. Neither was I, but I had to so something. She made comforted me when I was down, so I had to do the same for her in this time of need. I grabbed for her hand and made sure to let her know that we was going to make it through this together. We are sticking through it together til the end.

After we knew that the storm was gone and had passed us, we looked at each other with tears in our eyes and busted out laughing. I also had the "Thunder Buddies" song from the movie Ted going on in my head(go to YouTube now to see what I'm talking about). We were so glad that we was okay, including our two little kitties. We got out of our safety place, looked at each other, and went in for a very long hug. Other than my family, I could not see myself going through that with anyone else besides Whitney. We were there for each other from beginning to end. These are the moments to let me know that I chose the right person to spend the rest of my life with. If we can battle Mother Nature's storms together, we can handle any other kind of storms that head our way.

Dude, You Got a Fat Tire!!

Throughout the year at John's City Diner, we have different beer dinners to showcase a certain brewery. Last night we had the people of New Belgium stop by and show off some of their brews. 

New Belgium is known very well for their Fat Tire Amber Ale and Snapshot Wheat beer. This was a special beer dinner because it's was the first OFFICIAL beer dinner done by them in the state of Alabama. We was very honored to something like that come to our restaurant.

It was a packed dinner and lots of fun to be there. Now I wasn't able to enjoy the eating of the food, but I was able to try some of the beers. I have to say that I was very impressed by what I tasted. It was also very fun to serve all the delicious food. Great time and loads of fun was had by everyone.

Now if you wasn't there last night, you really missed out on loads of fun. Don't worry though. There will be more beer dinners to come. Make sure to find out what the next beer dinner will be on the John's City Diner Facebook and Twitter pages.

Bartenders Are Not All Evil

With Friday morning being my off time from work, I was able to enjoy some time to relax at home. It was also a chance for me to try Black Market Bar and Grill again for lunch. I tried to go on Thursday, but it didn't work since they wasn't open yet. I have only been there once, but it was for a couple of beers. This time I wanted to get food.

It wasn't as busy as I thought it would be(which was good for me). I also saw that they had a lot of stuff that was comic book related, and I thought that was really cool. I went to the bar and had one of my favorite beers, Trim Tab IPA.

After drinking my beer for little while, I wanted to try their burgers. I always have a theory about a restaurant. If they can't do a good burger, it's not a good place for me. I looked on their menu and saw they had a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. I found my burger if choice.

When I saw the burger, I had some doubts about it, but once I bit into it, I was soooo happy. The bacon was a little crispier than what I usually like, but it was still a really good burger. I do believe that this will be a place I will come back for lunch, dinner, or a late night meal.

Taking A Chance

During the week, nines times out of ten, I'm usually working throughout the whole "lunch time" period. I work as a server at John's City Diner on the north side of Birmingham, so I am usually working during lunch. Thursday was a little different though. Why do you ask? Well business was slow, and I was able to leave work early. This a a rare occasion for me, and I was going to make the best of it. 

I decided to go to some places I usually don't have the chance to go or do stuff I usually don't do because of the time I get off from work. First place I went to was Black Market Grill for lunch. Everything was looking great since I wanted to get a burger and have a nice beer. There was one problem with this. I left work at 1p, and they didn't open until 3pm. I didn't know that until I got to the door, so that was a fail!! 

Instead of eating lunch, I decide to get myself a little treat. Where did I go for this? Pastry Arts, of course!!! Their baby bites are some of the best things ever created, and I could eat a whole dozen in one seating(And I have done that before). This time I decided to get six red velvet baby bites and six more for my fiancé(2 turtles, 2 caramel, and 2 strawberry margaritas). If you haven't been there before, you should try it one day.

With these wonderful creations from God in my possession, I need to have a nice drink. There is only place I could that I love to drink at. J Clyde, here I come!!! I have been going to J Clyde since I was 22yrs old. Every time I go in, I feel like I'm walking into Cheers(everyone knows my name). I tried out two new beers(all thanks to Amanda). I tried New Belgium's Gruet and Founder's Rubaeus(I would recommend both).

Usually on Thursday evenings(if I'm not working that is) Whitney and I go to the Piggly Wiggly in Homewood for their beer tasting. This night was no different except for one thing. Whitney had a great idea of going out to Genghis Grill for dinner. I love this place, so of course I was okay that idea.

If you haven't been there yet, you can go up to their "Build Your Own Bowl" bar and add as much stuff as your heart will enjoy. I usually do chicken, steak, sausage, and fried rice in my bowl. It was so delicious.

I must say that I am so happy that I was able to do some fun stuff. Friday will be just about the same way. Can't wait!!

It's Me!!!

Hello world!!! My name is Rafael, but everyone calls me Ralph.




















This is my first time in doing a blog, and I am very excited about this new journey I will be taking. Now here are just a few things about myself. I am born and raised from Birmingham, AL, but I have lived in different areas of Birmingham. I am a big fan of music, sports, wrestling, beer, and just anything that seems fun. I am engaged to a beautiful woman named Whitney. We have two little kitties, that we love so much. I like to say that I am into what happens around town but not as much I as want to.

Now you are probably wondering what will I talk about in my blog post. Here is the answer: ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!! I am not looking to be the next big thing because I do not see myself being more important than anyone else. My plan in this blog is just to let you into my life and see what I do around the city of Birmingham.

Well I think this was pretty good for my first blog. Many more will be coming your way. Thanks for stopping by, and hope to hear you all very soon.

Much Love,
Ralph