It Has Been A While, Hasn't It?

Hello,

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I have had good reason. My life once again has taken a turn for the busy. I, for the first time, feel like I was close to burnout last week. It has been an interesting point in my life (more on that in a later post) where everything looks like the status quo, but really there are lots of things that are different. I am stressed and the time I have seems to be spent on doing something that is either really not fulfilling or just unproductive. I like my me time, when I can do things that I like with it. Luckily I have gotten the chance to do some fun stuff and am definitely feeling batter about things now than I had in the past couple of weeks.

NYC
I recently had the chance visit Matt and Alyssa in New York. I had not had a chance to see them since their wedding in November 2006. It struck me as interesting that no matter how much time passes between times that we see each other Matt and I just pick up where ever we left off. The door opens and the banter begins. It was a really great trip.

On Saturday we went into the city and headed to the 14th St Apple store. Since beginning to work for them I like going into other store to see how we measure up. 14th was great, very large and a pretty cool place. I am a little jealous. It would be nice to able to hold some of the events that the NYC stores do, be we all do what we can I guess.

From there it was off to Chelsea Market. Being the foodie I am this was very exciting. the place is pretty posh, but there are some markets with ingredients that I have only seen on TV. There were all kinds of great produce, fish and imported products. About the only thing that surprised me was the lack of a butcher shop (though I hear it had recently closed). Also cool is that the market has offices for the Food Network (look at us being all suave), MLB and EMI. They also had a restaurant supply store that I am pretty sure I could get lost in for hours on end. IF I were to ever move to NYC I am sure that I would want to near Chelsea. Saturday wrapped up with some more walking and a really good burger.

Sunday was all about one thing...Baseball. Matt, Alyssa and I took the D train to the Brox and Yankee Stadium. There is something very special about this place. I mean, it is Yankee Stadium. There are some cool thing that are traditions at the stadium. Some of my favorites are the Field Crew doing the YMCA which raking the field and the Roll Call from the bleachers. The stadium overall is kinda a dump, but what can you expect from a place that is almost one hundred years old. Also I got to see Joba Chamberlain pitch, which was pretty cool. Of Course this was all happening in 100 degree heat, which is a little to hot to do anything.

Since my visit Matt and Alyssa have moved to the A-T-L. They are really excited about the move and I am really happy for them. I will need to plan a visit, hopefully sooner than 2010.

Ocean City

Over labor day weekend Dom, Elan Jordan, Brian, Country and I went to Dom's Place in Ocean City. This has become a semi annual trip. It is quite relaxing and just nice over all. This trip, of course had it's moments. Some of the highlights was the ridiculous night of Drunken Monopoly. Let me say this, it is never smart to play Drunken Monopoly with a real estate agent, a couple politicians and a "Communications Expert". I feel like this is a game that we will never forget... and hopefully never repeat.

There was also the moment of the trip. I am going to do my best to describe the scenario. Dom's place is on the bay, which affords those in residence the opportunity to enjoy the water. One of the many ways that people like to take in this relaxing experience is with a kayak trip on the water. It just so happens that Dom has a couple of these vessels in his garage, so throughout the weekend each one of us took turns heading out on the water. Below is the evidence of my personal outing on the water.

EPIC FAIL

Yes, that is right, I F*ing fell in the water.... I couldn't believe it. I would like to thank Brian for "helping" by taking the photo above. I have promised myself that the next time I go down to Dom's that I am going to conquer the kayak.

Of course we went out for Putt Putt, which is always great and meet up with Brooks for a night a Phillips Buffet. It is an Ocean City Tradition. Take a look at this Motley Crew.

Overall we had an absolute blast. I really enjoy these trips and I cannot wait for the next one.

So that is a small recap about what has been going on with me. I am going to try to write a little bit more in the near future. Time will tell if I am able to do that. Until next time.

What is your...

So, in my ever present need to fish for comments and satisfaction that people are actually reading this, I have decided to start posing questions to the audience. The are mostly going to start with "What is your..." Some examples:

• What is your favorite drink?
• What is your most embarrassing moment?
• What is your strangest experience with a power tool?

You get the point. So I am going to pose the question and you should leave a comment to answer.

Question 1 - What is your favorite vacation spot? (We are starting easy.)

I ask this question for a very important reason. I am looking to take a vacation sometime early next year. I am not sure when exactly, or where, but I am looking for some advice.

My current favorite vacation was the Cruise I took with a bunch of friends about three years ago. We were on Royal Caribbean and went to Cozumel and Costa Maya. It was amazing. the weather, the ship, the destinations, the food and the excursions. It was really all great.

So help me out and answer the question.

OC Recap; No not that OC

So I have returned from my venture down the shore with our version of the Rat Pack (I am Dean Martin) and I must say, it was a good time and well needed.

Here is the recap. Friday I grabbed Elan at the MARC and started down. We of course stop at one of the best places on the trip, SONIC. We just got Cherry-Limeades, but they were supper good. We chilled out on the patio on the bay with Dam and Bailey the rest of the night and headed to bed for an early morning.

Actually the morning started much earlier than I would have expected, as Dom woke me as he left to get groceries, it was 6:30am. WTF??? But I cannot complain, cause he proceeded to come back and make breakfast for all of us. Pancakes and bacon... not to bad. From there we headed to the beach.

As a small interlude I would like you all to know that I am a little bit pale and have already had pieces of skin removed from my body, just in case. It was a beautiful day and I had both an iPod and a good book. Off we went to the beach and clearly my SPF 45,000 did not do the job, cause from the neck to the waist I am burned to a crisp. Later that night we grilled out at the house. Again, Dom worked his culinary magic.

Next was Putt Putt, which is one of my favorite tins to do down the shore. When I was a kid I loved Putt Putt, but mom and the rest of the fam kinda hated it, so I was not the Putt Putt King that I knew I could be. Well, we ended up playing two different courses on Saturday night, through some nefarious methods, and amazingly i won both games. Under par and feeling proud. Watch our Tiger, I am on my way. Check us out at the Old Pro Course

We finished up the night with some Ice Cream from the place that Dom used to work and watch "This Film has Not Been Rated". The flick is really, really good and I would recommend it highly.
Sunday was pretty slow, we grabbed an amazing breakfast at the Bayside Grill and then headed back to the area. I once again knocked off quite a few podcast off the old iPod, but it was actually a really nice drive.

It is back to the workweek until the next big weekend. Yay Workweek.