A sojourn into merciless boredom

Once again we head for Ohio, and great potential misery.

In this first week of February, work took us to the pit of depression, Ohio. This time we were forced to reside in the state's capitol city, Columbus. This city has a certain charm to it, much like the bombed and shattered ruins of Sarajevo, or 1945's Warsaw. Desperate for any activity that would alleviate the tedium, I turned to the forums at Something Awful for suggestions.

And to my surprise, I received some great ideas. So JL and I headed downtown, and checked out various shops all along High Street, near the Ohio State campus. A coffee and long john made for a great lunch, and to whet our appetite for another suggestion: Schmidt's Sausage Haus.

Situated on Kussoth Street in the German Village area of Columbus, Schmidt's serves up homemade sausages, beer, and creme puffs. Sadly the beer was denied to us by our harsh taskmaster JC, something to do with not getting loaded an hour before work or something equally nonsensical.

The second day of exploration was mostly spent in the Book Loft, a veritable treasure house of literature. The old German house spans the block it sits on, and its 32 rooms are filled to the hilt with books. I could have spent all day there. Every room has its own CD player with a different artist. You progress through Sinatra, Welk, and into Enya, and wind up at B.B. King.

So perhaps Ohio is not completely bereft of entertainment, but it certainly helps to ask the natives before you prepare for a day out in the town.