40

So this is 40.

I honestly cannot believe I arrived here so quickly, but here I am, another birthday, another decade.

I keep telling anyone who will listen that it's not the number that bothers me, it's the speed in which the time has flown by.  And I honestly believe that.

It feels like just yesterday I was stressing out over university classes, just barely out of my family home and high school.

But honestly, if I really think about all that I've done and experienced in the past twenty years, and the people I've met, I realize that I've been incredibly blessed.  And busy.

Moving to Atlanta.  Australia.  Traveling Europe.  Making friends across the United States and worldwide.

So Happy Birthday to me.  I'm looking forward to the next 20 years.  And this time I promise to slow down and appreciate the ride!

It doesn't hurt that I'm going to NYC tomorrow for the Memorial Day weekend.  That'll take the sting out of anything...

Superman

So I went to see the latest "Star Trek" flick at the theatre today.

The movie was alright, but I have to admit I checked out mentally during the previews.

The object of my obsession is the upcoming Superman movie.  I'm all for this current trend of rebooting stale franchises and giving life to stories from my childhood.  The new generation deserves to benefit from the tales of Superman, Star Trek, and Star Wars as much as I did when I was young.  (No jokes about my birthday next week.  Please!)

What I don't understand is, if you're going to update a classic tale such as Superman, why not update EVERY FREAKING DETAIL?

Case in point:

Why does Superman still wear tights?  Isn't that just a dated throwback to the action heroes of the 60's?  Does it make him more aerodynamic in flight?  He's the man of steel, I hardly think the drag and resistance created by a nice MODERN pair of fitted khaki shorts (from the Gap of course) is going to significantly impact his flight speed.  He's faster than a speeding bullet and all.

And what's with that cape?  It's a bit showy if you ask me.  I cannot believe that Superman honestly thinks that added piece of uniform is going to intimidate his foes.  Unless he's going head to head with Liberace.

And if he's really concerned with aerodynamics, as addressed above, a piece of cloth flapping in the wind is hardly helping the cause.

On the other hand, I guess Halloween wouldn't be as much fun if kids and adults alike didn't have the opportunity to ditch their everyday couture and throw on the best skintight flammable polyester superhero attire Wal-Mart has to offer.

But it still makes me cringe, and not just because my days of being able to pull of a pair of tights are long gone...


 

Damned Kids

Once again, I spent the week in Denver for work.  It was a fairly uneventful week.  The weather was nice, at least there was no snow.  I continued to awake at odd hours of the night.  I just can't seem to adjust to time zone differences like I used to.

My flight home yesterday was a little disheartening.  First of all, Denver International Airport stinks.  TSA confiscated a jar of artichoke dip (don't ask) from my carry-on luggage.  I consider dip neither liquid nor gel, but I relinquished the jar without much of a fuss.  That's the reward I get for not checking luggage.

Once on my Delta flight to Atlanta, I found myself sandwiched in between two other gentlemen.

The young man seated next to the window seemed nice enough, although I questioned whether or not he was an unaccompanied minor.  Right before take-off he asked if I wanted the window up so that we could watch the plane become airborne.

I found this a bit odd, wondering if I should expect anything spectacular, such as a close call with the Rocky Mountains.  He said that just going from zero to 400 miles an hour was a huge feat.

Having taken countless flights in my lifetime, I chose not to seem jaded and merely entertained his whimsical request.  I should have known better, because it was all downhill from there.

In a span of five minutes, the conversation suddenly went from the spectacular take-off to him questioning my age.  After replying that I had a few weeks left in my 30's, he asked "How's your health?"

How's my health?  Seriously?  I'm still not sure if he was intentionally trying to make me feel geriatric, but I couldn't help but be a tiny bit offended by the subsequent line of questioning.  As I found out, he was a mere 24, and was very interested in what it feels like to get old.  It got much worse, but I've managed to block most of it out, in hopes of avoiding weeks of therapy.

Fucker.  How I restrained myself from jamming his tween skull against the against his window is nothing short of a miracle, but it surely is owed only to the known existence of air marshals.

Needless to say, once we landed in Atlanta, I hobbled my ancient ass to my connecting flight to Atlanta, and was home by 8 pm.  Just in time for bed.  Like a true oldie.

My final thoughts before passing out in bed were apologetic in nature, sending out positive thoughts of remorse to any of my elders who I might have ever offended with youthful arrogance.  It's true what they say, every dog indeed has his day.

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Feliz Cinco de Mayo everyone....

I hope everyone is celebrating with a cold margarita.  Remember to practice moderation - nothing worse than starting the week with a margarita hangover.

Saturday!!!!!

Well, the good news is that it's Saturday!

Other than that, I have nothing exciting to report.

I woke up early to go downtown for my bi-weekly haircut, only to find that they were closed to attend a funeral. Bah!

So now I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. I think I'll go to the Harris Teeter, and then pack for my trip to Denver tomorrow.

Exciting stuff!

I am actually excited to be going to the Dock Street Theatre tonight to see their production of "Anything Goes."  Even more excited that I won the tickets.  Now if only I could work on winning the lottery.

For non-Charlestonians, the Dock Street Theatre was the first building built in America to be used exclusively for theatrical performances. It's quite haunted.

 

Super Bowl

Today marks the greatest American holiday, non-religious and non-historical, that is...

Super Bowl Sunday!!!

Unfortunately, I couldn't give two shits about either of the teams playing.  Baltimore and San Francisco, just doesn't cut it.  If I do tune in, it'll either be for the commercials or the Beyonce halftime show.

Blah.

R.I.P. J.R.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my U.S. friends and family who celbrated the holiday this past Thursday.  Full speed ahead to Christmas!

Larry Hagman, the actor who portrayed J.R. Ewing on the classic television show "Dallas", passed away yesterday.  Another childhood icon gone.  It's really sad.  I know everyone worldwide remembers "Who Shot J.R.?"

Election Day

Tuesday was Election Day in America.  After what seems like years of negative campaigning and attacks by all political parties, it is finally over, and President Obama was elected for four more years of service.

Now can we please move on as a UNITED nation?

Football Saturday was satisfying.  The Gamecocks won their final conference game of the season, stomping Arkansas.  In other shocking news, top-ranked Alabama was upset by SEC newcomer Texas A&M.  And who said conference expansion was a good idea.  Slim chances of another SEC national championship now.

A big shout out to former coworker and friend, Kelly O.  Met up with her Thursday night for Happy Hour at the P.F. Chang's here in Mt. Pleasant.  The place has been open for over a year now, but that was my first visit.  Fun time, and always great catching up with her!

Tomorrow is yet another trip to Charlotte.  This is probably going to seem like a VERY long trip as there is major reorganization going on at the bank.  And that always mean chaos.  Hopefully it will all be for the greater good, but I'm taking extra Advil for the short-term headaches.

Walking Dead Shocker

OK, so Dexter was a bit bland last night, but The Walking Dead certainly did not disappoint!!!

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

I don't know how things can go from normal to chaos so quickly, but I guess to should really expect that during a zombie apocalypse.

Long story short, someone opened the gate, walkers got into the prison, and all hell broke loose.  I was sad to see T-Dog bite it, or I guess I should say get bitten.  I hope Carol managed to escape.

The biggest shock of the night was with Lori.  Of course she would have to go into labor in the middle of all the chaos.  And of course the birth could not go smoothly.  So it was up to Maggie and Carl to perform an impromptu Cesarean on the mom-to-be, who sacrificed her life for the baby.  she actually didn't really have a choice.  I mean, if the baby had died inside of her, it just would have turned into a zombie and eaten its way out.

As fate would have it, it was up to young Carl to put the final bullet in his mom's head in order to prevent her zombie resurrection.  Happy Mother's Day!

I'm surprised I was able to get to sleep after all of that drama.

I really should watch some more feel-good shows.  Maybe I'll watch "Little House on the Prairie" re-runs all week.

It's an ABBA Kind of Day

Happy Sunday!  After gaining an extra hour of sleep last night, I'm recharged and feeling happy and frisky.

Sooooo....I feel like a little ABBA!!!!!!

 

Happy Halloween

 

What a busy week.

Last Saturday, wind and rain from the effects of Hurricane Sandy made it a pretty uneventful day.  South Carolina ended up defeating Tennessee in Columbia, but the victory was overshadowed by the injury to Marcus Lattimore.  Poor guy.  Wishing him a very speedy recovery.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful here in South Carolina.  Jasper entered the pet costume contest at Towne Centre and won runner-up in his division!!!  He was so cute and very well behaved.  The competition seems to be biased towards small toy dogs, so I was very proud of the result.

It still amazes me how the events of Hurricane Sandy played out up north.  Simply devastating.  It's incredible that as far as we've come as a society, we are still so vulnerable when it comes to the wrath of Mother Nature.

Halloween was very subdued down here.  I did have one very tiny trick-or-treater.  That is a 100 percent increase over last year, but barely put a dent in my bucket of candy.  More for me to dispose of personally.

The remainder of the week was a blur of conference calls and work activities.  At least yesterday was a payday, which always seems to make it all worth it.

This morning I went to MUSC's opening of their new facility in here in Mount Pleasant.  Free flu shots!  Yay.  going to have lunch with Aaron and Ava in a few hours, then naptime on the couch.

If I don't speak to you all before then, please vote next Tuesday.  HArd to believe all the election hoopla will finally be over!!!!

Hurricane Sandy

After a long week in Charlotte, I finally returned home last night.

All in all, it was a good trip.  I had a great time connecting with colleagues, old and new, and ate more sushi in one week than I have in my entire lifetime.

I spent the majority of the week in the SouthPark office, but my boss and I ventured Uptown  Thursday morning, where we spent the rest of the week.  The Darton Group celebrated their fourth anniversary with a fantastic party Thursday evening!

I finally made it back to my new hotel, where I had the hugest room I've ever been given.  Dining room, shower big enough for 5 people, and a separate jacuzzi tub.  Too bad I was only there for a grand total of 7 hours.  The picture above is the view from my window.  Yep, that's the office.

I stopped by to see my parents on the way home, and stayed just long enough for a quick visit with my sister and niece.

Now home.  And what a rainy Saturday it is.  I just found out late this week that a hurricane is wreaking havoc on the East Coast of the United States.  We're getting rain all day, but the brunt of the storm will be felt up North.

So it looks like I'll have a good excuse to relax on the sofa, catching up on rest and football games.

Not a bad way to spend a day.

Off to Charlotte

It was a pretty dismal weekend for college football.

At least from my perspective.

And no, I don't want to talk about it.

It's Sunday, and I'm preparing to leave tomorrow morning for a week working in Charlotte, North Carolina.  It's been over a year since I've been there, so I'm pretty excited, although it's going to be an exhausting week.

I hope I can get to sleep tonight.  New episodes of "Dexter" and "The Walking Dead" will probably get me cranked up.

In keeping with the ghoulish October theme, I saw "Paranormal Activity 4" yesterday afternoon.  What a waste of time and money.  You have been warned.  That franchise has definitely jumped the shark.

Yesterday wasn't a total waste though.  After getting my biweekly haircut downtown, I had breakfast with Andrea and Raymond, two former coworkers.  It's been over a year since I saw the both of them, so it was great catching up.  Time really flies.  It's so weird reconnecting with people who you used to see on a daily basis.  Everyone's lives evolve in such different ways.

Until next time, have a great week everyone!!!!

L.S. Who?

Another Saturday in South Carolina, another end to a busy week at work, and another exciting day for college football.

The Gamecocks play L.S.U. in Baton Rouge tonight.  What a critical game.  If they can get over this hump and beat Florida next weekend, well....I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I really don't have anything very exciting to report this week.  Work was really busy and that was pretty much the focus of my life.  But progress is being made, so that's all I can ask for.  I just find it hard to believe that was already nearing mid-October.  This really is my favorite time of the year.  It's finally possible to go outside without getting drenched in sweat.  I guess this means it's time to start Christmas shopping.  Ugh.

Did anyone watch the Vice Presidential debates Thursday night?  I caught the beginning, but it quickly put me to sleep.  Staying up past 9:30  is a difficult task lately.  I guess I'm almost forty afterall.

Game On

What a great week this turned out to be.

My first week back at work for the bank was spent down in Jacksonville, and I had a great time.  Old friends and new, familiar work and new challenges, it's going to be a blast.

I returned home Friday, and spent yesterday afternoon in the park with my former office-mate Aaron and his 6 year old daughter.  Ava has become quite the accomplished roller skater!

The college football season is really heating up.  After Florida knocked fourth-ranked LSU, I was ready for the South Caroline/Georgia game last night.  And what a game it was!!!  The Cocks dominated, winning 31-7 and knocking off the fifth-ranked Bulldogs. 

N.C. State later knocked off #3 Florida State, which mean South Carolina will enter next week's game at LSU ranked #3.  This is going to be a tough stretch, but if the Gamecocks keep playing like they did last night, really good things are coming.

So tonight, it's Dexter time again.  Last week's episode did not disappoint, although it's a bit too early to quite figure out what the main focus of the season will be.  Aside from lots of killing.