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.

Last September Sunday

Happy Sunday!  It feels like a good day to update my blog after a much needed break.  I'll try to stay on track.

Happy Birthday to my youngest niece, who turns two years old today!

Starting a new chapter this week.  Going back to work for the bank after a year.  I've really missed it, although I'll miss my work mates here in Charleston equally.  But since I'm not moving, but will be working from home most of the time, I'll still be able to see every one.  Starting off though with a week in Jacksonville, Florida.  Nice place to spend a few days.

Ooh!  The new season of "Dexter" starts tonight.  It seems like just yesterday we witnessed Deb barging in on her brother butchering a bad guy.  Can't wait to see how the conversation goes....

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!!!

I just returned home from my visit with the family.  It was an action-packed trip.  Babysitting Jaylee, which consisted of countless hours of stacking and unstacking coasters and dancing to animatronic singing stuffed animals.  I also had dinner with two old schoolmates.  I won't mention how far we go back, but let's just say we all had single-digit ages when we met.  And I've eaten more food than I ever thought possible.

I hope everyone has had a festive holiday season.

Tomorrow I'm off to Europe, where I'll bring in the New Year.  I haven't even begun to pack, although I jsut located my passport.  Score.  Where's my elf when I need him?

Go Cocks

I'm happy to report that for the third consecutive year, South Carolina has defeated Clemson in football.

Last night's win marked the first threepeat in my lifetime, and only the second time the Gamecocks have reached 10 wins in a season.

Take that Clemson.  Bugger off, Dabo Swinney.  Now we just have to sit back and wait for the post-season bowl selections.

What a great rivalry, along with an ending to an up and down regular season.  Who knew back in August that we'd lose our starting quarterback and star running back, yet still see so much success.  I'm already excited about next year.

I'm Back

Hello, readers.  After a long summer hiatus, I'm finally back to my personal little blogosphere.  I've finally reached my 300th post, so I'll try to make it count.

I've been all over the place since my last post, from South America to Broadway, but for the most part it's been a nice relaxing summer at home.

Shortly after my trip to Sunset Beach, I headed down south for some fun in the sun.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of Central America.  Panama is my new favorite country, aside from la France.

August brought about work changes.  Familiar faces in new places.  I'm with a lot of my old BF buddies here in Charleston.  Miss my banking buddies heaps but I'm managing to keep in touch.

Labor Day was my annual pilgrimage to the U.S Open.  I had day session tickets for the first time, and caught some great matches.  Woz, Fed, and Serena.  I didn't stay around to watch Serena because I had to haul ass into the city to see Cirque du Soleil Zarkana.  It was quite a freakfest, and not to be missed.

This year's Broadway selection was not as eventful, but seriously, what could top getting Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes autographing my Playbill?  Certainly not Harry Potter singing.  Stick to wizardry.  I'm fairly certain that I was the only person obsessively checking the score for the South Carolina game on my iPhone in the theatre that night.

Yes, football season is finally here and it's been up and down.  The Cocks are doing OK, losing only one game so far, but our best player was knocked out for the season last week.  It's going to be a rough second half.  To make things even worse, Clemson is still undefeated.

I'm happy to report that "Dexter" and "The Walking Dead" are back, the latter premiering last night.  My Sunday nights are now complete.

Even more exciting, I just found out that there is a 5K Zombie run/obstacle course coming up early next year.  It looks like a blast, and several of us are going to make the road trip to the backwoods of Georgia.  Check it out at http://www.runforyourlives.com/.  Good family fun.

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.