The Love of a Lifetime

It's no secret that I've written in my blog here about my relationship struggles.  I've had plenty of crushes and simple relationships, but nothing that was ever serious.   My last relationship was a two-year affair with a girl in which I had never even held her hand.  It didn't feel like that relationship could ever go anywhere other than just being a friendship.  Why I let it go that far is beyond me.  Part of me knew that it wasn't going to work out.  But I kept holding on hope for a break through.  Finally, she was the one that ended it.  During my adult years, I've had a lot of soul searching and figuring out to do when it came to how I wanted to pursue a relationship. Part of me began to wonder if I'd be single my whole life.  Now that I am in my 30's, I was beginning to think that was becoming more of a distinct possibility.  However, things are looking up in the relationship department.

I began talking with this girl last fall through match.com.  She seemed like a really great person with a lot going on in her life.  The only problem was that we lived about an hour in a half away.  But that was a pretty minor convenience.  Our conversations early on started out small - with simple messages asking how each other's days were going.  Things slowly progressed and we gradually got to know each other better.  It was around Christmas time where we met for the first time.  We had a nice lunch date together and I knew that there was the potential for something special to develop.  We continued texting each other, visiting each other and we began to get closer.

One thing that complicates matters a little bit is our distance apart.  Soon after we first started talking to each other, she took another job even further away from where she lived.  Instead of an hour in a half, it became a four hour drive.  But I considered it only a minor inconvenience.  She is originally from near where I live, so I had thought that someday she'd like to move back up here, if things happened to work out.  She is a school teacher and so she's out for summer break.  That doesn't mean she has the entire summer to herself, though. So luckily, she's staying with her parents for the summer and that gives us an even better chance to be together and get to know each other all the more.  So far, it's been a glorious summer to remember.  

I feel like I'm on cloud nine.  I can honestly say I've never been a in relationship that has made me feel so good.  She is fun to be with, she makes me laugh, and I love to listen to what she has to say.  There's a definite spark there and I see big potential with this one.  It's not like the other relationships I've been in where I kept wondering if it would really ever work out.  I mean, our relationship is still pretty new and we still have things we need to learn about each other.  But we're off to a terrific start.  This really could be the love of my lifetime.  Even though I had a late start in having a true relationship, it's better than it's late than never at all.  I have strong feelings for this girl and I think that we could have a wonderful life together, if things continue on the path that they're going.

UPDATE: I am pleased to say the girlfriend in this blog posting is now my wife!!!  Going on 5 years.  :)

Demolition of Old Jamrich Hall

It finally happened.  After being in the planning process and in construction for several years, the new Jamrich Hall on Northern Michigan University's campus in Marquette slowly began to rise and as of this month, is nearly close to being finished.  At first a new building wasn't even in the picture as plans were in place to remodel the existing Jamrich Hall.  But eventually the university found that a new building would end up costing just as much as remodeling the existing building, and they'd actually be downsizing the amount of space they needed campus-wide by consolidating two buildings into one.  It makes sense and I completely understand why they went that route.  In today's public university funding shortfalls, colleges and universities across the country are looking at ways to save money.  And if they have less infrastructure to maintain, then it will provide for some cost savings for higher education institutions.  Despite all that, it was still sad for me to see the old Jamrich Hall on campus come crumbling down this week.

I have a lot of memories from that old building and not just those from when I attended college at NMU.  I think it all first started when I was a young kid in elementary school.  Each year Young Authors was held in that building.  For as long as I can remember, during each grade we created a story of our own, made it into a book, and presented it at Young Authors.  Then there was a gathering at the end of the day in the large lecture hall in Jamrich where an accomplished author would come and speak.  It wasn't just our school that attended, but schools from all across Marquette and Alger Counties.  So we got to meet other kids from different areas, too.  At the time, I can say that I hated the experience, especially when I had to be in a group where I knew none of the kids.  But looking back on it now, I think it was a pretty worth-while experience, and one that took place in the old Jamrich Hall.

Another memorable grade school experience from that building came when the Science Olympiad competitions were held on campus.  Now the majority of the time, the focus of that competition was in another building on campus.  But at the end of the competition during the awards ceremony, that took place in the old Jamrich Hall, once again in the large lecture all, room 102.   For our school and our Science Olympiad teams, we always excelled and often won first and second place, not just our junior high team, but our high school team as well.  Each competition it always seemed like we metaled in, so members of our school would always be up on stage when our school name was announced as winners for each event and eventually, for the entire competition.  When we'd either win first or second place as a team, it meant we moved on in the competition and competed at the state level.  The statewide competition for Science Olympiad was held at Michigan State University.  So the ramifications of winning the "local" competition were pretty big and exciting.  But I remember many awards ceremonies in that building and all of them were positive experiences.  Many times it was pure jubilation and glee after our school came away with many metals and trophies.

And now for my college experiences in old Jamrich Hall, where the bulk of my memories exist inside that building.  As a freshman, most of my classes took place away from Jamrich, as I was a computer networking major.  So at the time, I had a lot of classes in the science buildings.  But eventually as I changed my major from being computer-based to English, the bulk of my classes would end up taking place in Jamrich Hall. Let me just say this; all in all there wasn't anything structurally amazing about the building.  It was basically a big square box; the first floor having all of the large lecture halls and the upstairs holding the smaller, more intimate classrooms.  I thought it had a bit of a unique design, however.  Each corner of the building had an entryway.  Each of the four doorways leading to the upstairs were painted a different color: red, yellow, blue, and green.  If I had to guess, I'd say it was for if someone were to get lost, then they knew which entryway they came from.  The main floor had curved hallways, which the outer walls of the larger lecture halls were also shaped in such a way.  Other than that, it was your basic university lecture hall.  Lots of brick, cinder block, floor tile, ceiling tile, chalkboards, desks, tables, benches, you name it.  I don't think there was one semester where I didn't have a class in that building.  It may not have been an amazing building to look at or set foot in, but it's one where I have many memories being in.  And I guess that's why it makes it sad when it's coming down.

I experienced this one other time in my life, when a major instructional building faces the wrecking ball.  I can say that I was too little to really be too attached to that particular building but for many in our small community, it held so many spectacular memories.  It was the old high school building and when demolition day came, you can imagine it created quite a stir to see the limestone structure come crashing down.  That was nearly 25 years ago and the community has since moved on and embraced the new school building.  A famous quote came from that experience and I still remember it to this day.  "It's sad, but necessary;" someone commented regarding the demolition.  And in the case of old Jamrich Hall, it truly is sad, but necessary.  I have learned this week that one of the reasons why it became so costly to renovate the old building was due to its sinking foundation.  It would have taken a lot of money to address that situation.  So, as much as I would have liked to have seen the old building renovated and kept around for many more years to come, I think it's time to move forward.  A grand new building has risen on NMU's campus, one that will be around for many generations to come.  It will still hold the Jamrich name and will be embraced like every other building on campus.  Yet the memories I hold from old Jamrich Hall will never fade.  It will be the same for every other person who attended NMU and had classes in that building.  I will miss that old building and I regret not setting foot inside one last time.  However, life goes on. But memories never truly die.

Marquette's Bonanza Restaurant Closes

The Marquette area lost another long-time eatery when the Bonanza Steakhouse along US-41 West shut down its doors after 37 years in business.  The restaurant's closing has taken many by surprise, especially the sudden nature of the closure.  Bonanza has been open my entire life, and I remember many visits to the establishment.  Even during the most recent years, it seemed as if the restaurant always had a good crowd taking in their food.  The service from the staff was always top notch and the food was just as good.  And now, the restaurant becomes all but just a memory.

One of the first times I visited Bonanza was when I was just a little boy.  I believe my sister had a birthday party there because I remember her getting a cake with a sparkler for a candle, a staple for a Bonanza birthday celebration.  She had her friends there and she even received a goldfish for a birthday present.  I don't remember a whole lot more about the experience, but I can recall the fun atmosphere of that day, the attentiveness of the staff, and just the overall good time that we had.  There were a number of times afterwards that my family and I visited the restaurant; most recently in December for my mom's birthday meal.  I ordered the signature angus burger with the salad bar.  It certainly did not disappoint.  And to have my sisters, my parents, and I there will be a great memory to cherish of my last visit to the restaurant before it closed.

Always a highlight to the restaurant was the soft-serve ice cream you could dispense yourself in a small dish and eat up. I always made myself a hot caramel sundae during most visits there.  Over the years they added other desserts to the salad bar that were hard to turn down.  Muffins, lemon bars, pudding - you name it.  Next to the ice cream, they would be difficult to pass up.  It was so easy to over eat!  Another neat feature of this Bonanza restaurant was the large cheese block as part of the salad bar. You'd be able to scrape however much cheese you wanted out of the cheese block with a utensil.  I know when I was little, that was such a fun thing to do and I loved the taste of that cheese.  Unfortunately most recently, the health department told the restaurant staff to do away with the cheese block due to health and safety concerns.  So one small part of the restaurant had to change, and not by their choosing.  Still, it wasn't enough in my view to stop visiting the establishment.

Owner Mitch Lazeren cited a changing economy as one of the primary reasons for the closure.  Increased wages, higher tax rates throughout the years and ever increasing food costs also made the difficult decision a reality for Lazeren.  The closure announcement came out on Friday, January 24 and by the next day, the restaurant was already out of food and was shut down, even though it was supposed to be opened one more day longer.  And just like that, another long-time eatery in Marquette is all but just a memory.  I think if you asked a lot of people around Marquette and the surrounding communities which restaurant would be the next to close in the area, you'd get little if anyone to guess Bonanza.  It's why many in the community were shocked of the announcement and how some even days later are still surprised that it's closed.

It's easy for us to speculate and to ask ourselves why management could no longer make operating the restaurant a viable option for the community.  But we are not the ones having to manage the finances, the payroll, and the mortgages/property taxes.  Mitch and his team had an amazing run operating his Bonanza Steakhouse in this community, outliving other similar restaurants such as Ponderosa and Ranch Steak & Seafood that closed up long ago.  And you'd have to think that the building will not sit empty for long, sitting alongside the busy US-41 corridor in Marquette township.  Still, whatever goes in there next will never live down the memories that we all have of the Bonanza Steakhouse that sat in that building for so long.