Sunset Beach

I'm finally back home after a whirlwind tour of the Southeastern United States.

My cousin and I left Savannah yesterday afternoon and made the drive up to my aunt and uncle's house in Sunset Beach, North Carolina.  Without going into the details, and to protect privacy, there was a lot going on with our family.  We did get to visit with our other two cousins, one of whom I haven't seen in decades.

The circumstances were a bit unusual, but it was still SO GOOD to see everyone.  It really made me realize how much you can miss those you grow up with.  Life always seems to get in the way, and everyone seems to go on there separate paths.  We've vowed to do a better job of getting together though, and I'm hopeful that we can all make that happen at least once a year.

Thanks for a great weekend to Trey, Dana, Alicia, Tres, and all their families.  I can't wait to see you all again soon.

Tomorrow I'm off the Philadelphia.  Back to reality.  Argh.

Savannah

After I quick day at work yesterday, I finally made the 2 and a half hour drove down to Savannah, Georgia.  I think it's been at least 10 years since I've been here, and I didn't really recognize a thing.  It's old and historic, but not really at all like Charleston, at least on the surface.

My cousin arrived around 4:30 pm, so I was able to take a quick nap.  Good thing, because it was full-on fun from there.  We had a blast catching up.  Around 6 pm, my sister and her family arrived at the hotel, and we walked to the Crystal Beer Palace for dinner.  It was really nice and homey.  A good selection of food and TONS of beer.  It was an especially nice reward after being so diligent with diet and exercise all week.

After dinner, we came back up to the room and dove into old photo albums.  That's always a great source of entertainment, if only for the ghosts of hairstyles past.

I also had fun playing with my grand-niece, which mainly consisting of chasing down the hotel hallway and riding up and down the elevator.  I know---I've turned into one of THOSE people.  Ha!

Next stop on the whistle-stop tour: Sunset Beach.

Mini-Break

It's finally here!  I'm leaving for Savannah at noon for a short weekend visit with my cousin from Seattle, sister, and her family, and then headed up to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to see one of my aunts.  We're going to have a blast.

I woke up at 4 am this morning ready to go.  The world is a very strange place that early in the morning, but I'm getting used to it lately.  I worked out, did some computer work, walked Jasper, and am now puttering around the house doing odd chores.  I'm also trying to get things in order because I have a quick turnaround.  After getting back home Sunday evening, I have to leave Monday afternoon for Philly.

Ok, I'm ready for work.  We have a kick-off call at 9am, after that I should be ready to hit the road.

Whew!

I am so relieved.  I had a pretty big meeting at work today.  I admit I was nervous, but after 2 hours, it was clear that my team was successful.  At least we made it past the first hurdle--a very demanding boss.  Now we just have to make it past our partners in the UK.

I also finally managed to finalize travel plans for next week.  2 cities with 2 other co-workers is not the easiest thing to coordinate, but by 8 pm we were all set.

So I only have a half day to survive tomorrow until I leave for Savannah, Georgia, at noon.  I can't wait.

Also, I have to give myself props for continuing to battle with Jillian Michaels every morning.  It certainly helped that I was awakened around 4 am this morning due to a thunderstorm.  My waistline is thankful though.

The Gap

It is Wednesday.

I have now officially survived half of a work week.  One more full day to go before my minibreak in Savannah.

I'm pretty proud of myself.  I woke up again early this morning and exercised with Jillian Michaels.  Maybe it's all in my head, but I feel great and see results.

To reward myself, I had a mini-shopping spree at The Gap this evening.  Nothing like fitting into a size 32 shorts to make a guy feel good.  I'm not aging without a fight, and refuse to go up a size.  Even if it means giving up my Wednesday night sundaes.

Tuesday

This day has been a blur.

I've been so busy with work, I've lost all touch with everything that is going on in the world.  That's a pretty weird feeling.  No news.  No celebrity entertaining.  No break to catch up with friends.

Around 3 pm this afternoon, my power went out.  Right smack dab in the middle of a conference call and WebEx.  That's not surprising though, since I spend around 8 hours a day on the phone.  So it was bound to happen sooner or later.  After dialing back in on my cell phone, power was restored a little over an hour later.

And that is my exciting life...

I did have dinner at Q'doba, which is pretty exciting for me.

Super Cocks

Yay!

South Carolina defeated UConn in Game 2 of the Super Regional last night.  Off to defend their title in the College World Series!

In a way, I almost hoped they'd lose, and then win again today obviously.  I am very wary of streaks, and would rather them lose a game in Columbia than later on in Omaha.  But they pulled off a pretty good streak last year and ended up taking the title, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The Devil

Jillian Michaels is the Devil.

Yes, I'm referring to the trainer from hell from "The Biggest Loser".  I decided this morning that it would be a super idea to try her "30 Day Shred" video which is offered On Demand.

Big mistake.  Huge.

I barely made it through the 30 minute routine without passing out or falling into the television.  The women is a freakin Nazi in spandex.

And that was only Level 1.

It was a good way to start the day though.  I was grocery shopping by 9 am, and all the pain inspired me to shop for really healthy food items.  For some reason, I was craving a tomato sandwich, and I DETEST tomatoes.  But I ended up having a turkey and tomato sandwich for lunch anyway, and it was awesome.

I think the Jillian Michaels-inspired endorphins are really messing with my body.

So I'm going to try and wake up early tomorrow (not a problem lately), and Shred It before work.  Beats dealing with the 90 degree heat in the park.

I'm in denial about the weekend being over so soon.  It was a really good one though and I feel like I made the most of every single moment.  That is a mind-set I should aspire to every day from here on out.

Next weekend is my getaway to Savannah and Sunset Beach with family.  I'm so excited.  I talked to my cousin from Seattle and my Aunt at the beach this evening, and everyone is ready for reunion time.  Just 4 and 1/2 work days to go...

Weekend Update

What a great Saturday!

The crappy part is that I woke up at 5:30 am.  On the bright side, I was able to pack in all sorts of fun and exciting activities.  Well honestly, maybe not too exciting, but I still made the most of the day.

As usual, I started out with a trip downtown to get my hairs cut.  I'm very happy to report that I was able to abstain from my usual chicken biscuits on the way home.  Chick-fil-a has probably issued an A.P.B. for me.

I managed to get in a nice run in the park before it became to hot, but just barely.  I think tomorrow I'm going to check out some of the work-outs on Comcast On-Demand.

I'm pretty pissed at the person responsible for the baseball scheduling this weekend.  Not only was there no Friday evening game, but I had to wait all day until 6 pm to see South Carolina open up the Super Regional series against UConn.  That's just cruel.  Fortunately, the Gamecocks prevailed with a 5-1 victory.

After a nice sushi dinner at Tokyo Bistro, I settled in for a night of at-home movie entertainment.  Don't laugh, but I watched "Letters to Juliet".  It wouldn't have been my first choice obviously, but the On-Demand options were rather limited.

What a sappy movie, although stories like that always make me think.  I'm pretty sure that I'm where I'm supposed to be in life, and I'm very happy with everything.  However, when looking back at all the critical decision points and choices, those made by me and those made for me, I just have to wonder...how many alternate paths and endings could my life possibly have.  It's really kind of fun to think about.

Just for a bit though.  No time to look back, only forward.

Friday!

Finally Friday!

It appears that I'm going to be doing more travel than I'm used to in the coming weeks.

Before I leave on my cruise, I'll spend a week in the Jacksonville office.  I found out yesterday.

Today I found out that I may have to pull a George Clooney and visit Philly, Minneapolis, and Toronto all in one week.

Silly me, I thought I gave up the road warrior lifestyle years ago.

Thursday

Almost Friday, and a payday on top of that!

I had the strangest dream last night.

I was back in high school, except that in this dream, my high school was located in a castle.  Very similar to Hogwart's from the Harry Potter films.

Of course the dream was too good to be true, because Mrs. Hanks, my 10th and 11th grade English teacher was in it.  Which is fitting since she was a total witch.

Apparently, I had missed a day of school, and she was trying to give me 0's on missed assignments because I had failed to make them up within the 3 day allotted period.  It was Day 4 and she was giving me grief.  What a bitch.

So what was potentially an awesome dream was totally ruined.  Seriously, how cool would it be to go to school in a castle?

Cheese

Who.

Moved.

My.

Fucking.

Cheese.

Anyone working in corporate America knows what I'm talking about.  This morning, between 9 and 10 am, my cheese was moved.  And I am not amused.  My job is beyond ridiculous, and if anyone knows of an opportunity where my talents could be better utilized, please contact me.  I'm honestly very hard-working and enthusiastic, I just have become disenchanted with the wasteful use of time, money, and resources that has invaded out corporate culture.

On a bright note, I had dinner with Saskia and Mark at LaPizzeria in Mount Pleasant.  Nothing like dinner out with friends to balance out the day and bring me down from the ledge.

Day 2

Day 2 of running in this sweltering heat.  So far, so good.  At least I'm surviving.  I've completely gone through an entire box of sugar-free popsicles though.  That's what they get for telling me they're only 15 calories.

It's official---South Carolina plays Connecticut this weekend.  No Clemson---yay!  I can't wait to get started, and hope the games are televised.

It's only Tuesday, but feels like Thursday.  Tomorrow night I'm dining with Saskia and Mark, so maybe that will put some pep in my step.  Pizza!

Weiner

Good grief.  That congressman from New York, Anthony Weiner, just admitted that it was indeed his weiner pictured on that Twitter post.  When are the public officials just going to learn to fess up when this stuff comes out.  Lying only makes it worse.  Who cares anyway?

In more serious news, I just received news that Teddy, my late grandmother's Pomeranian, passed away yesterday.  He was 14, blind, and still suffering from alopecia.  But he lived a very full life, most recently with my grandmother's former caregiver, Verneree.  Rest in peace, Teddy.

After a serious thunderstorm delay last night, South Carolina finished off Stetson today, and now advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament.  Their opponent, either Clemson or Connecticut, will be determined based on the results of this evening's game.

Other than that, the hardest day of the week is over.  19 more work days until vacation.  It's never too soon for a good countdown.

NCAA tourney

2 down and 1 to go. The Columbia Regional enters its final games. South Carolina has defeated their first 2 opponents, Georgia Southern and Stetson, and have advanced to the final game.  Georgia Southern has been eliminated, and N.C. State and Stetson now face off in an elimination game to determine who South Carolina will face next.  Good Luck Gamecocks!  One step closer to a repeat.  Unfortunately, it looks like they might have to deal with nasty Clemson in the Super Regional matchup.  Ugh.  Those buttholes will definitely be seeking revenge for us eliminating them from the College World Series last year.

I saw "X Men: First Class" yesterday afternoon.  It was excellent! Magneto is such a bad-ass.  If I were a mutant, I would totally want to be a villain and on his side.  They are just so much more interesting.  Is that wrong?

The French Open final begins in about 20 minutes.  I'm very relieved that Rafa does not have to face a streaking Serb.  Instead, he getting aged Swiss.

Sacre Bleu

Life just is not fair.

Aside from being one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, pretty boy Bradley Cooper has to go and show his other talents, as shown in the video below.



His French is pretty impressive. Great accent. Bastard. As if stunning good looks and millions of dollars were not enough to get men and women worldwide to drop trou, voila, the mutha is good with foreign tongue. Maybe we were doing our study abroads in France at the same time. He's not that much younger than moi...

Speaking of French, the French Open has really developed into quite the tournament this year. Thankfully, Rafa is through to the final. As I suspected, Roger was able to trip up Novak and put an end to the streak.

And yes, I've been predicting these exact semifinal matchups and results since Week 1. I am just that good.

So thanks, Roger. I'm sure Rafa would never admit it, but he must be breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that his chances are much better now. None of that bullcrap about wanting to beat the best to earn that title...

The Ladies final begins shortly. I'm very excited to see that little Italian-that-could power through and have the chance to defend her title.

Paris sure is looking good...

Reunion

I had the best evening.  One of my oldest friends, Fred, is visiting from Atlanta for the Spoleto Festival.  We used to hang out in Columbia and then while we both lived in Atlanta 15 years ago.  He's basically known me for half my life.  Scary.

I haven't seen him in nearly 5 years and we had a blast catching up and reminiscing about old times.  We had dinner at Jestine's Kitchen, and then a few beers at the rooftop bar on Vendue.


Hopefully, I'll be able to see him again before he leaves.  It really makes me realize how you can never replace old friends.  I think I'm going to have to make a trip back to the ATL very soon.

Happy Birthday, Ashley!

Today is my little sister's birthday.

I really can't believe she's already 26.  And has a baby.  And that I'm pushing 40.  It always circles back to me being old, of course.

It seems like just yesterday that she was coming home from the hospital as a fussy little bundle all wrapped up.  The walking.  And pestering my by going in my room when I was away.  The starting school.  Then going to Paris with me to celebrate her 16th birthday.

The years have really flown by.  Happy Birthday, Ashley!

Hurricane Season

Today marks the official beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season.

For those of use who reside on the East coast of the United States, it marks the beginning of six months of wondering whether or not this will be the year of the next big storm. 

I've lived in Charleston for over 7 years now.  So far I've been lucky.  There have been a few near misses, and several tropical depressions, but so far I've been lucky in that I haven't had to experience the impact and aftermath of a major hurricane.

With each passing year, they say we're overdue.  It's been over 20 years since Hurricane Hugo landed in Charleston, and although at the time I lived over and hour and a half inland, I still remember that day.  I was still in high school, and we were released from school early.  Fortunately, we were spared any major damage where I lived, but the coastal area were not so lucky.

I am thankful that while hurricanes such as Hugo, Andrew, and Katrina equal disaster and ruined lives, at least they do not come without some warning.  For me personally, the tornadoes which have been popping up recently all over the country scare me even more.  The unexpected blink of an eye aspect is terrifying.

Here's hoping that we all make it safely through November 30 with no major storms.  But if we are in fact faced with the threat, I hope that people act prudently and take the necessary precautions so that the damage is limited to things that can be replaced.