Be Cool, Eat a Rita's... In North Carolina

Let me first just start by saying that iPhone weekend was exciting and long, but alot of fun. I cannot wait to get my own phone (Labor Dayish).

Mom and I were chatting this morning and were talking about the weekend this morning. My Cousin, Eric, Play lacrosse for Triangle Select Lacrosse in North Carolina and this weekend he played in the Tri State Tournament this past weekend. The family was up in Princeton, New Jersey. While I heard that Eric's team didn't play to well, I am still pulling for him to get a scholarship to UMBC. Fingers Crossed. Anyway, while there my Aunt told my mother that she purchased the rights to open up two Rita's Water Ice Franchises in North Carolina. This is very exciting news for many reasons.

First and foremost, as a kid who grew up in Philly, Rita's is the best of all summer treats. It is the best. As an expanding company, it is also great to see my Aunt making moves to continue to prosper on her hard work. Actually, this could be great for my whole family. My Aunt and Uncle want my Step-Father to move down to the NC and manage one or both of the stores. It would be very cool, but it does give me some apprehension, since my mom and step-father would be moving. I still have very strong ties to the Philly area. While I love in Baltimore, my heart is always in Philly and I will always be a Philadelphian.

But seriously, how cool would it be to have some Rita's right now.

Mom Found My Blog

It is a strange experience. My mother, who would openly agree that she is not the most tech savvy person, Not only found my blog, but commented on it. A while back I wrote about how she did the little nudge nudge, wink wink about grand kids. Mom found the Blog and decided this was the thing she wanted to comment on.

Mind you I have been showing her the blog for a while, but I guess she finally figured it out. This of course re affirms that I have a super hip Mom... how cool is that?

I <3 My Mom

2008 will be Great

So 2007 is coming to a close. It has been a big year with lots of ups and downs. There were lots of first in my life as well. I thought I would do a personal recap of some stuff. Here goes:

• Professionally - I got laid off, found a great new job (two actually), got promoted and feel like I am on a path for great things in the next year. I have been able to work with a fantastic group of people and am starting to share what I have done with other people as they begin their careers. I have joined the Project Management Institute (today actually), and will be scheduling my exam with my next paycheck, and will have my certification soon. Overall, it was a difficult start to my professional year, but it ended on a great high note. Lets hope this continues in 2008.
• Family - It was a pretty good year in my family as well. Like I said in a previous post I feel like I have come into my own as a member of my family (this is still a weird feeling). Also, things are looking up in terms of family health. Dad is still fighting, but the latest news was extremely positive (read no chemo). Mom is also doing well, as is Gram and the rest of the fam.
• Personal (Friends) - While I lost some people in my life through stubbornness and ridiculousness on both our parts, I have gained or reconnected with quite a few people whom I really value. I am constantly reminded that I have the greatest friends in the world. I want you all to know how much you all mean to me and how much I value our friendships. I have no doubt that good people will continue to enter my life and I can only hope that each one of you receive the same gift in 2008.
• Personal (Relationships) - A little rougher on this front over the course of the year. I think at 26 I am finally realizing that I have alot to offer someone and deserve someone in my life who I can share with, who I am happy with and who I can be myself with. Next year I am going to try to put myself out there a little more than I have in the past. I am not entirely sure how I am going to go about this, but I am no longer going to do things to prevent myself from being hurt, cause at the same time I am preventing myself from being happy.
• Personal Growth - There have been lots of time throughout my life where i have felt like I have grown up too fast, where lots of things have been dumped on my, but this year was different. I didn't grow up because of stuff happening to me. I grew up because I choose to. It is weird, and in many ways I tried to stay a kid, but it is happening. I am slowly bettering myself, the situations I am in and the communities which I am part of.

So overall, 2007 was pretty good. There are lots of loose ends that I hope will get tied up really soon, but I can be patient. Really, I liked 2007 and 2008 looks like it will be a fantastic year.

An Update... An Update... YAY an Update

Hello My friends,

It has been a while. With the holidays and lots of work I have not had a ton of time to gather my thoughts and update you on what is going on in my life. I have a second or two today so lets take a care of a little bit of house cleaning.

First, I have been able to cross off a couple of things from my 101 in 1001. One was a huge surprise. I was promoted to a Senior Consultant with my company. I was sitting at home on a Sunday when I got the news. The Eagles were playing and I was checking my email while watching the game. I saw the mail and i screamed a little. My sister was in earshot. The following scene then took place:

My Sis: What happened? Who Scored?
Me: I Did!!!

Like I said this was a little bit of a surprise. I have only been with my company for nine months, but I guess hard work paid off. If anyone is looking to join the dark side please let me know and send me your resume. Cross the promotion off my list.

Another item crossed off was making homemade pasta. I had $25 to spend at amazon and was debating what to get. I ended up with a nice little pasta machine. I made a test batch last week where I left the noodles a little to big. Last night I made another batch for the roomies and it was scrumptious. Turns out pasta is pretty easy to make, just a little time consuming. Another item crossed off the list.

On another note, the Holidays were pretty standard for me and the family, though we did some tradition bucking for the better. This was the first year that I really felt like an adult during holiday time. I am not sure what it was, but there was just something about this year that made me feel better about the whole thing. It may have had something to do with the conversations between myself, my 35ish year old cousin and my 65ish great aunt about her Wii and DS. That is right. I have a granny gamer in the family.

Outside of those things there is not a ton going on. I am working hard right now to get ahead of the game financially. It is not really fun, but it will pay off in the long run.

I am going to have a couple posts today. Stay tuned.

In the OC

So I am here with 7 of my brothers and good friends. It has been an interesting couple of days, a hard couple of days, and as much as I want to just relax and let everything go, I just can't. It is to hard. I guess it is time to figure out this stuff, and how I need to deal with it. It is just stacking and building. I am really glad that I am here with my friends, though I feel like I should be in two other places as well, each of them having their own reasons. I need to make sure that things get better, I believe they will, but this is going to be another hard time. I need to not make the mistakes that I made previously, rather face the issues that are at hand and turn them into opportunities. There will be good that comes from all of this, there needs to be.

Between the health issues of my father, the girl I want back more than anything, my friend in the hospital with his stomach in a container behind him, well lets just say there is quite a bit going on. This is on top of my soon to be roommate leaving the country, my mother needing an MRI for vertigo and me looking for an apartment. busy and stressful, and what I really need is... I am not sure what I really need.

My Dad is Proud of Me

I love my family, and I am a momma's boy through and through, but something happened this weekend. My father stopped me and said "I am really proud of you". Now, for you this may not be a big deal, but for me the was one of the greatest things I have ever been told.

My father, who I believe is the epitome of living live genuinely, is notably not what many people would consider a success. For example, he dropped out of high school in the 10th grade. Has been a mechanic for the City of Philadelphia, and the SEPTA all his live. He works hard, with long nights and mandated overtime when it snows. He goes to work each day, to a place that most of us would never consider an ideal working environment. He lives in a small row home in North Philadelphia, not a dangerous neighborhood, but not one you want to walk around in wearing an iPod, or at night (I guess that actually is dangerous). But my father has never made excuses and makes the best out of his situation.

He works hard, harder than I do, and performs beyond expectations, consistently wowing his peers with incredible innovation in his work. Outside of Mr. Paul, the name thrown around the shop to describe my father is MacGuiver. He keeps fire trucks and police cars on the road, and while that may not seem like a big deal, he, and I, find a great deal of pride in that. While no one would say he is living in the lap of luxury, he is somewhat comfortable. I find him to be incredible, and he said he was proud of me.

As cliche as it may be, I think my Dad is my hero. It is a constant that you have pride in your heroes. It is something special when your heroes have pride in you.