VACATION!

I'm off to The Big Easy -- New Orleans! Look for adventures from the Bayou throughout the week... and have an outstanding Memorial Day Weekend!

LATER...

I'm in the Big Easy! I got here this afternoon and have already tourned the French Quarter. Good times. I remember the hurricane stands; I forgot the 'adult entertainment'. Jay Phillips and I enjoyed an afternoon stroll -- well, me a stroll; him a limp -- and are now anxiously awaiting the rest of the Seattle crew who's due to arrive tonight! We ended up finding one of those fortune machines... with Michael Jackson! OK, maybe it was Natasha, but she sure had an uncanny resemblance to The Gloved One. Yes, the city is quiet and still not "normal" as one woman described it today (which begged the question, 'tell me what's abnormal then'.). The city is still reeling from Katrina -- we'll see more, I'm sure, in the coming days. In the meantime, I'm already enjoying New Orleans and it's friendly liquor policies!

More adventures to come -- maybe even tonight!

My Birthday Weekend -- In Review

I'm writing today as an older man. That's right... I'm 33! I celebrated by birthday yesterday -- with an adventure that started at Union Station in D.C. (see yesterday's entry), included a train to Baltimore, a hike around the University of Baltimore, a cab to Hunt Valley, MD, a meeting with McCormick, dinner with Jack, Kris & Reed Spaulding, and a late night train back to New York City. It was definitely what I'd call a NE corridor day!

That said, I wanted to provide some visuals around my awesome weekend in the Nation's Capital other than the foreshadowing below.

A Williams Weekend
As mentioned, I trained to Washington, D.C. on Thursday for a client meeting in Bethesda, MD. Shawn and his awesome-in-every-way wife Donna, opened their home to me for the weekend and I got to be a Williams for a few days. It was an awesome weekend. Shawn and Donna have created a beautiful home together. Donna is pregnant with their first son -- Vincent Anthony Williams -- and they couldn't be more pleased and proud. What a birthday gift to have spent time with them.

MORE, Shawn is my birthday buddy! He and I share May 22 as our birthday and we've had a number of tag-team celebrations over the years -- though he always seems to make it about me!

Shawn and Donna hosted a Thai dinner with MBA Classmates Liz Rogers (below, with Shawn) and Nicole Bosch (at right, with Dave Fleischer) and we got to spend the evening catching up and not having to at all. Liz and Dave brought their new puppy Pippen, but that wasn't the only 'new' things in their lives... Liz is with child! Yes! In the family way! Has a bun in the proverbial oven! CONGRATULATIONS LIZ & DAVE!!

It was the first time I've seen either of them since their May 2004 wedding in the Caribbean, so it was awesome to get the full scoop on the rest of their trip, the tragedy, and the past two years of their lives. Nicole is doing well also -- she's working at AOL and enjoying being in the city and closer to friends. SO great to see my old friends. Nicole also baked us a birthday cake and we enjoyed the traditional blowing-out ceremony. Everyone needs the birthday song sung on their special day... it was awesome to have mine so done with such close friends 3,000 miles away from where I would have thought it would never happen. Brilliant altogether.

On Saturday, Shawn, Donna and I drove downtown and spent the day enjoying our Nation's Capital and the Washington D.C. Mall. We spent most of our time at the National Museum of American History checking out a number of exhibits, including the 200-year-old Star-Spangled Banner that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what we now know as our National Anthem (though did you know that the song already existed? He just wrote new lyrics! He'd be in jail today, let's not kid ourselves.), a temporary exhibit about the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, a tribute to our 43 American Presidents (a GLORIOUS burden), and an exhibit about Americans at War -- demonstrating the price of freedom.

It was such a beautiful day, we also enjoyed lounging in the shadow of the Washington Monument and the National World War II Memorial that just opened in the past year or so. The Mall's a pretty fantastic place to be altogether -- and feels heavy and siginficant. It sure makes a person all patriotic.

On Sunday, we had yet another slow morning (LOVE THAT!), then got to go watch Matthew and Rachel's baseball and softball games. What struck me about the games was just how awesome it is to watch baseball at is truest form -- when played by kids. However, I was also incredibly frustrated knowing some of the skill level was completely lacking! They're 10!! Or 12!! I had to keep telling myself!! Matthew played 2nd base and struck out and reached on a Fielder's Choice while we were there. Rachel is a SuperStar fast-pitch pitcher and her team nearly upset the Goliath of their league. They were up 2-1 in the bottom of the 6th with two outs and her second baseman dropped an easy pop-up that allowed the other team to score two runs and win 3-2. I secretly wanted to punch that little girl in the neck. I think the coach did too... he stomped his feet and snapped his hat to the ground. So emotionally involved we get! I will say this... it was brilliant and fun to be there, particularly knowing that these are Shawn's step-kids and his world. I could coach; I could do it and might consider something here in New York. We shall see.

I spent Sunday night with Jeremy Hendon -- he treated me to a birthday margarita at some Mexican joint in Dupont Circle. Good people-watching altogether! I was also introduced to Maggie-Moo's Ice Creamery. We watched 'War of the Worlds', crashed, and ending up catching up until 2AM on all things "Life". In as infrequenly as I see Jerome, it always seems like no time at all. For those of you who don't know Jeremy, he's a friend of mine from 2nd grade at Island City Elementary School. We became friends again in High School and have been since. I look forward to sharing a coast with Jerm and reconnecting even more frequently now!

And, as you now know, I ventured from D.C. to Baltimore on Monday for a meeting with my friend Jack Spaulding at McCormick. We chatted work and life and jobs and futures and Baltimore and more. His wife Kris and son Reed then joined us for dinner at Red Robin in Towson -- their stunning community north of Baltimore proper. Alas, Red the Robin was not there, but we did enjoy a birthday sundae -- though everyone thought it was Reed's big day. Definitely OK by me!

So, as I texted Jesse last night, 'la journee de la naissance, c'est finit". The birthday has ended. I will remember it as one in which I spent a lot of time with trains, good friends, and with the Red Robin birthday cheer.

I am 33. All is as it should be.

Perfect People Watching!

I'm hanging out at Union Station here in Washington D.C., this morning. It'd be perfect people watching, save my face is buried in my laptop as I try to work remotely to get a whole checklist of To Dos done. Ah, the life of the business traveler. I'll be sure to provide an update of the awesome weekend I was just able to experience, along with photos once I'm back to NYC and have the opportunity to charge my camera battery (charger is arriving this week!).

In the meantime, have an awesome day... I will for sure... I'm 33 today!!! HOLY SCHNIKEYS!

The Nation's Capital!

Greetings from Washington, D.C.! I'm in the Nation's Capital for the weekend after an adventure yesterday getting down here, an awesome 2+ hour meeting with a client, and a night catching up with my dear friend from Business School, Shawn Williams.

The Trek
I caught the 10:35 Regional train to D.C. from NYC yesterday -- with a estimated arrival time in D.C. of 1:42PM. We got in at about 2:15 as, wouldn't you guess it, we had engine failure just outside of Baltimore! I trekked through the D.C. subway system and arrived for my 3PM meeting at 2:52PM. Perfect!

This is after lugging through the hot and humit NYC subway in the morning -- and soaking through my shirt entirely! The summer is going to be rough on me, I can tell already! Eye-yah!

The Weekend
So, I'm staying with Shawn & Donna Williams in their beautiful Rockville, MD home just outside of D.C. We had domestic duties last night, picking up Rachel from softball practice, shopping for goodies and showing her how to pick out avacadoes, tomatoes and limes, and then having Matthew be in charge of making guacamole -- even though he claimed to hate it. Given that the Williams clan tends to leave the house by 6:30, lights were out by 10PM last night -- I couldn't have been more thankful! And it was quiet... oh so quiet. Brilliant!

Tonight, we are having some BSchool classmates over who I haven't seen in years -- Liz & Dave Rogers and Nicole Bosch. Should be a great time and reconnection! We're going to watch Rachel's softball game tomorrow and I am spending Sunday night with my best friend growing up, Jeremy Hendon. He also lives out here and I haven't seen him in probably 3+ years also.

It'll be a great weekend and I'm excited to provide updates here soon... though I'm still just giddy to get to have the chance to see old friends again, so I might not want the time to pass so quickly.

Bons weekends, mes amis!

Is This My Own Mission:Impossible?

I caught my first NYC movie last night... Mission:Impossible III. Just like XXX oh so long ago with friend Matt Allen, it was actually *exactly* what I needed last night. Something so totally consuming that I forgot about the world around me. It was actually comical walking out of the theater and having to think about which direction I needed to walk to get to my car... OH, that's right! I'm in New York and I don't have a car!!

Guess Who's Back?!?!

Sorry for the blog lapse, faithful reader! I've been remiss in getting online and updating my adventures. Mostly because there have been somewhat few adventures in total, but all the more reason to either make some up or go out and have some, yes?

Let's see... where did we leave off... OH YES! Friend John had been drinking. Of course...

The last few days have been nothing short of a whirlwind, that's for sure. I spent a lot of time packing up my house -- and my life -- in Seattle though did have time to take advantage of an incredible discovery for which all credit goes to Stacey Dozono: Szechuan Bean Flower.

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During the two weeks I was in Seattle, I ended up enjoying Szechuan Bean Flower FIVE times. That's right! FIVE times! Trust me on this one -- it's the best Kung Pao Chicken EVER. Serious.


Virgin Go: with Sally and the Staceys
Time #2: with Jesse & Steph
Time #3: with Jesse and John Paulson
Time #4: with Jesse & Steph and John & Amy
Time #5: with Jesse & Steph, the Staceys, Wendy, Erin, Matt & Jemena, Danelle, and Sally

You may find this a wacky entry, but I'm telling you, it's THAT good. Feel free to contact any of the folks above and they will affirm and confirm. That said, Here's to you, Szechuan Bean Flower!

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As for the rest of the weekend, I spent a lot of time running errands and packing up the house. John, Amy, Jesse, and Steph came over for a low-key night on Friday as Saturday was the women's Regional Tournament. We played Mario Party 7 -- the computer won the first match; John whopped up in the second.

On Saturday, I traded in my SuperPower of Deduction for that of Efficiency and spent the day running errands, packing, organizing and cleaning. I moved the majority of my stuff into Heidi's garage to empty my home and prepare it for a tenant. I know that that process was good for me transitionally as I purposefully packed my world and wrapped it up such that I can focus on this one in New York. While busy and stressful and productive, it was also so key and I'm already feeling that burden lift from my shoulders.

Having slept four hours Friday night and two Saturday night, I crashed on the plane Sunday from take-off to landing. I got home, lugged my 85.6# bag up the stairs, unpacked, and CRASHED again. I was out by 10:30 and slept until my alarm at 7AM. And did the same thing last night. Crazy. And awesome.

I'm excited to be back to be honest and really feel like I'm ready to get life started here. Just in time to head to Washington D.C. this weekend (Thursday-Sunday), Baltimore (Monday), back to New York (Tuesday-Wednesday), then New Orleans on Thursday through the end of the month. So maybe, I'm not ready to settle quite yet, but I'm excited nonetheless!

So, look for more blog entries soon! I hope you're well, faithful reader!

Haiku Challenged!

John says I can't count
And that a Haiku is off.
I agree -- John's DRUNK!

I finally had a bit of time at home tonight -- if you count the hour before volleyball practice! It's been a crazy week for sure, but I have my plan in head. It's merely awaiting execution.

It was awesome to get on the court tonight again -- after not having played ball since late March. It's sad that we've only gotten to play in a handful of tournaments this year as it's really a great team and great group of guys. I'll be honored to take the court with them in New Orleans... in TWO WEEKS!

S is also for Sally's BBQ!

We had a small get-together last night at Sally's house as a way to enjoy what was supposed to be a 70-degree day here in Seattle. Turns out, it wasn't so warm, but the time was more fun than even expected. Lots of folks were able to come by, and it was awesome to see good friends -- especially as I'm nearing a much more real 'Point of No Return' in this transition to New York. The BYOGrill turned into a smorgasbord of meat with Sally -- naturally -- taking care of everyone at the party. Being camera happy, I snapped a number of photos, but not as many as I should have!



Left: Jesse Paulson, Steph Hinkle, Steph Paulson and I enjoying the deck
Right: Blog "Owners" John Weaver and Amy McKenna.

I'm not sure if you can tell in my writing this morning, but I'm feeling mellow from an interrupted night of sleep and the reality that three days is not enough even in light of already having had 12 behind me. Crazy concept altogether. I had an interesting conversation with my colleague Casey Selleck yesterday around the concept of renting my home. My response -- more because I need to believe it myself -- was that one simply has to accept the reality that you may never live there again, may never again own those material possessions, and just have to let them go. Lord, help me!

Back to the night... it finished with an hour of Sally and I on the deck enjoying the dying fire. It felt like one of those nights where it was 2AM and the party was over and you're stuck between that place of sleeping standing up or acting on something so that you'll get it done. In this case, the something I needed to act upon was getting off my duff and getting home to crash. Sadly, it was only 11PM! I love that!

S is for Stacey

Ode to StaceyDozono
Stacey wants some ink;
She demands her name in print.
She likes the word, "poop".

Numb

A trip to the dentist yesterday to have fillings replaced left me numb. I don't mean numb just in the mouth -- but numb all over my face! My forehead was numb! My neck was numb! Numb! Numb! Numb! And the experience has, yes, you guessed it, inspired a Haiku:

Numb Haiku
I can't feel my face;
The drugs have taken over.
Punch me in the neck!

Of course, as the numbness wore off, I was left with a sore jaw from having it jacked open for an hour such that I had a hard time trying to fit my Red Robin Guacamole Bacon Burger in! However, having learned the art of compression -- and being hungry -- I ate. Trust me. I ate. Jesse, Steph, John, Matt and I met for dinner last night and worked against the JWI Volleyball Tournament Action Plan. Good times were had by all, of course. Better times were had by Red the Robin who stopped by our table!

After dinner, I met up with Nicole Cauble and Tim Beck at The Reservoir Tavern -- our favorite local haunt. We were subsequently joined by a number of folks after volleyball league as there's nothing more thirst-quenching nor satisfying than an ice cold pint (or pitcher!) with friends. Of course, this specifically means that Stacey Terry joined us for yet another Boys v. Girls Shuffleboard Challenge. I won't tell you who won, but CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT! We always play two out of three and it's always Nicole v. Tim and Stacey v. Todd. And, it's always the guys leaving The Rez with the win! While Nicole netted a 10-point turn to steal game 1 from the guys, it was Tim and Todd who dominated the rest of the night, winning 21-13 and 21-8 (scores are estimates only).

Relative to the concept of "Numb", I'm starting to feel that way relative to my home here in Seattle. That is, it clicked the other day that I need to give up my townhouse here as an investment, not hold on to it as my home. It'll still be an odd transition, but one that's happening in four days! Four Days.

Wow... that's NUMBING.

Just Like Old Times

Yesterday was a Monday of Old Times. I don't know why, but I've craved normalcy since I've been in Seattle for the past week and yesterday was one of those days -- I'm thankful.

Of course it was a normal work day, but I also got to enjoy lunch at the Nickerson Street Saloon with companions of old, Blanca and Jill. And, as usual, it was Jill v. Todd saying witty things about one another in an attempt to get Blanca to take a side. Which she never does... and didn't. That Blanca -- so level-headed is she! Unfortunately, Justin wasn't able to go; had he, it would have been the old AR crew at it again... this time with three of the four working for DRIVEpm!

It was then off to a Mariners game at Safeco Field with Tim, Matt and Charles (shown right). Granted, we were several adult beverages in, but Charles summed up the night the best: "I don't mean to be a sap here guys, but I really miss this." I do too, Charles. I certainly do too. It was great to have our M's foursome together again -- not so much for the M's sake (and yes, they needed the four tickets sold that we had!), but for ours. So much has happened in our respective lives since we went to our last game together. So much hurt and pain and joy and life. The best part was that stuff didn't need to come up -- yeah, some did, of course -- but we were friends and there and things were good and right.

AND, referring back to a previous blog... I also got to really experience the differences in baseball from Seattle to New York. This was first highlighted in the fact that we enjoyed the Pyramid Beer Garden before the game. It was evidenced in the Kid Valley burger I enjoyed and the shrimp cocktail the folks next to me were eating, and the fans hollering for the recipient of the Tampa Bay homerun ball throw it back... and not boo the pitcher. It was fun to have that perspective fresh on my mind at a new and beautiful stadium... even inasmuch as the team stinks. THAT said, however, we were in Row 1 -- right on the field (click through to see the view from our seats. Can you spy John & Amy?!). Matt brought his glove to the game -- I told him to pick it up since he was going home first -- and a Richie Sexson foul ball lined our way and actually went off of Matt's glove. OK, so I was wearing it at the time, but come on! It was hit HARD and I did have to reach out and try to snag it without falling onto the field! It would have been something had I managed to rope it in though! Instead of the heckles or pat on the back from the lady behind me, it would have been cheers and maybe even an ESPN highlight. A boy can only dream!

The Circle of Honesty -- The Table of Truth

I had an awesome wind-down evening last night with John & Amy. The best part of the night was probably from 6:15-9PM... that being THE ENTIRE TIME!

Amy LOVED the Table of Truth! John? Not so much...

The entire night turned out to be a DC-Bomb -- deep conversations about all things. Amy particularly enjoyed the Table of Truth as we were all SPEAKIN' IT! Topics included those crazy Swedes, relationships, documentaries, responsiblities, life, love and rock-n-roll. OK, so maybe not the latter, but we did enjoy the Beth Orton song that came on. Our agenda included the Apple Blossom Festival, Carl Lewis, the Week in Preview, the Wednesday BBQ, NYC planning and more.

The night finished with the Bar of Lies at Ben & Jerry's. I lied and told John he was tall. He, in turn, said I had a head chock-full of hair. Amy is a bastion of truth and couldn't lie like us guys. She merely giggled and ate her waffle cone.

So, all in all a great weekend altogether! I got quite a bit of work done on the house Sunday and chatted quite a bit with the neighbors while working outside. Speaking of which... I found out that one of my townhomies refinanced recently... the new assessment demonstrates ~15% appreciation in just one year! WOO HOO!

I Just Don't Do Tequila Well...

Happy Sunday from Seattle! Given that it is in fact Sunday, this means that I lived through Saturday night! Wasn't sure there for a while, but an awesome breakfast later and I'm good to go!

We celebrated Stacey and Amadore's Engagement last night with a party at Laura & Moses' home. Jesse, Steph and I started off with a Mexican dinner in honor of having missed Cinco de Mayo on the fifth, but we celebrated with true spirit at the restaurant... and into the night. It was a great group altogether and though I am just getting to know Stacey & Amadore of late, it was awesome to be a part of their night as we share nearly every mutual friend -- Jesse & Steph Paulson, the Lundquists, the Staceys, Sally, the Causeys, Wendy, the Chaddocks, and more. A great night altogether. Given that I felt my dinner margarita buzz disappating throughout the night, I was adding a little punch to the margaritas at the party and before long, was OFF MY ROCKER! Wowsers. I wasn't the only one however, and thankfully didn't have to be a victim of Jesse's Physical Stage. We all live pretty close to one another in the Northgate/Lichton Springs neck of the woods so I got a ride home from the Staceys and walked to the Paulsons to pick up my car this morning. Healthy -- and helpful -- walk!

I met Mark & Chantelle in Ballard for breakfast this morning at Vera's -- and enjoyed a Local Celebrity sighting: Tom Douglas, who was having brunch with his daughter. Good to see Tom out and about in Ballard. After breakfast and an awesome time catching up, we ventured to the Ballard Street Market to check out farm-fresh foods (eggs, meats, fruits & vegetables), arts and crafts (jewelry, handmade soaps), and walk off our heavy meals. They picked up some fresh cow cheeses and apples and I snagged an incredible tulip bouquet for Sally and the BBQ she's hosting on Wednesday.

I stopped by Hal's place and caught her as she was leaving for the airport; I caught up with Michele Little in NYC; I cleaned up the house in hopes to show it today to an interested party. I'm now thinking a nap sounds great, but I do have a lot to get done relative to packing up my world here! Wish me luck!

Week In Review, Part 2

It's been a busy week here in Seattle such that I haven't had time to update my adventures. Yes, this is the Manhattan 2006 blog, but advetures are where we make them and I'm having them on the West Coast also!

After Sunday's Tub Incident, I went to work Monday morning with a nasty nose and a full calendar. The DRIVE staff was in town from our various satellite offices (New York, Cleveland, Dallas, San Francisco) for all-hands meetings and training, not to mention spending time with our new boss and SrVP, Kirk. Monday evening ended with dinner at Anthony's on Pier 66. An outstanding dinner made even better by the fact that I got to go down early with colleague Jason Runge and enjoy the sun and a couple of drinks overlooking the Puget Sound. I'm a big fan of Jason -- have even authored a couple of Haiku for him -- and it was nice to have some time to chat work, life, NYC, etc. Thanks JR!

Tuesday was another full day of meetings, save an afternoon DRIVE adventure planned by colleagues Liberty and Angy. Instead of just heading to GameWorks for the afternoon (a prize for having hit our GP targets in Oct-05), they hired a professional scavenger hunt organization that took us on adventures throughout downtown Seattle. As you can imagine, this was PERFECT for out of town folks, but awesome for those from here, too! We've talked about this before, but really, how many of us are tourists where we live? Very few! It was perfect altogether and an awesome team-building event. Not only did I learn all about the Great Seattle Fire, count the shishes on the kabobs on the Pioneer Building facade, find out Seattle has a gravity-powered clock, and discover the five public works of art visible from Harbor Steps, but I also got to spend two hours coordinating a team of nine on a mission with various tasks requiring speed, efficiency, multi-tasking, and time management. It was a 10 altogether! The evening finished with a finale at GameWorks where my team won! Team Matlock came in first place of the three DRIVE teams and became honorary SuperScavengers and Master BS-ers. Brilliant! The after-party included countless adult beverages, car races, and Dance Dance Revolution.

Wednesday held more of the same at work -- meetings, meetings, meetings -- my favorite being led by Lib and I in the style of a wedding whereby we discussed the relationship of Atlas Solutions and DRIVE. The Sales team (clockwise from bottom-left in photo: Dave Bird, Daniela Fenili, Liberty Carras, moi, Rich Rutheford, Gary Savoy, Ian Mirmelstein) had a team dinner at Flying Fish both to have more time as a group and to ring in Daniela's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIELA! Great food altogether; lots of adult beverages all around; lots of great photos; lots of interesting food! All good times!

Wednesday night marked the end of most folks being in town as many took off early Thursday morning to return to their respective home bases. However, it marked another day in the Seattle office and in the beautiful Northwest. It was my first night "free" of sorts, so Justin gave me a ride home and he & Gloria hung out for a while and enjoyed an adult beverage and catching up. As you can imagine, I crashed HARD.

Friday turned out to be a short day in the office as I started the morning at the dentist. (TANGENT: For those of you who don't know me so well, I've learned to love the dentist. Yes, I love that feeling of perfectly clean teeth, but also secretly love that dentists are not stingy on compliments when it comes to my teeth! I hereby publicly thank my parents for their financial contribution to my smile. These bones have come a long way from their early years! Thanks Mom & Dad!), included our all-sales staff call, lunch with Jesse and JW, a couple hours in the office and the official DRIVEpm Cinco de Mayo Party! That's right -- Miguel the Parrot Pinata made his short-lived debut and delivered Twix, M&Ms and Cerveca to all of the good little boys and girls at DRIVE and Atlas Publisher. More good times (and adult beverages!) had by all!

Instead of a Friday night continuing in the vein of fiesta, guacamole and Corona, I instead joined the Paulsons on a hiking adventure -- Rattlesnake Ridge. Not even an hour drive outside of Seattle and Steph, Jesse, and I ended the evening perched atop what seemed like a ledge to the world: a 360 degree vantage of the Snoqualmie Valley and Rattlesnake Lake. It was the best way possible to finish a busy week, to spend some quality time with people I haven't had a chance to -- and have wanted to -- and to completely remind me of what it means to live in the Northwest. And if you must know, we finished the night with Chinese food. :o)

So now it's a fairly quiet Saturday. I've been in and out of the house, but mostly trying to get stuff wrapped up here so that I can officially move to New York and start a life there. It's been an interesting week relative to my thoughts around where I live and who I am and what my future holds. I'm not going to lie and say that the trip has been peachy keen on the emotional front. The fact is, you can't go back because we are all moving forward and have different tales to tell and experiences to have. I KNOW this to be true, but I've always struggled with letting go and living life as it comes. I get comfortable; I get settled; I get secure. And I know it's good for me to "snap to" as I like to say. It's important that I do because I know it's an area in which I struggle in life. And yes, it sounds all fine and dandy writing this now, but tell it to my heart which occasionally aches.

So, all that said, this next seven day span will be busy. I need to be focused on the task(s) at hand and not let the fact that I have seven days stop me from doing what I need to do. It should be a great week however:

Monday: Mariners Game with Charles, Tim and Matt
Tuesday: JWI Board Meeting with Jesse, John and Matt
Wednesday: BBQ at Sally's with the gang
Thursday: Volleyball practice to gear up for Regionals/Nationals
Friday: TBD
Saturday: Regional Volleyball Tournament
Sunday: NYC bound at 8AM!

Enjoy the adventures you are having!

Bath Burn? Is there such a thing?

Perhaps too much of a good thing *is* bad for you.

I've been home for a weekend how and have officially reinstated Spa Sundays. Having gotten a little carried away, I may have taken the hottest bath of my lifetime last night to the point that my skin was actually burnt -- as if I had a fresh sunburn. To finish off the bath, I dunked my face and used a wash cloth to scrub...

...and proceeded to scrub a layer of skin from my nose!