Hibernation

The first 13 days of December 2005 have re-enforced my long standing belief that Winter sucks big time! The only answer that I can come up with - besides moving to Tuscon, Arizona - is hibernation. If I could curl up around December 15th each year and snooze straight through to the middle of March, that would be sweet! Yeah, sure I would miss out on Christmas and all the loot it brings my way and New Year's too - like I don't drink enough already? But missing out on days when the high temperature is say, 29 degrees would be more than enough compensation for that. How many days until spring? Agghhhh!!!

Kristmas?

Living just outside of DC means that I am neatly informed about the goings ons in our wonderful Federal Governmental institutions - whether I want to be or not. This week I have learned there is quite a controversy brewing over whether the decorated, 80 foot tree on the lawn of the US Capitol is in fact a "Holiday Tree" or a "Christmas Tree". Officially, it has been a "Holiday Tree" for many years, but this year Dennis Hastert wants it to be called "The Capitol Christmas Tree" as it was BATPCBSS (Before All This Political Correct Bull Sh*t Started).

Frankly, I don't care what they call it, but it does seem that one of the long standing traditions of Christmas is a tree loaded with lights and decorations. You can call it whatever you want but we all know it is a Christmas tree. Actually calling it a Christmas Tree does seem to be a dangerous course of action in our litigious modern society. You know there is some moron out there who will sue the government if they call it a Christmas Tree because he does not celebrate Christmas and he is morally and religiously offended. So, calling it a Holiday Tree does seem to be the prudent and politically correct thing to do. Seems like there are probably a good 30 to 40 million US citizens who don't celebrate Christmas, one of them has got to be a lawyer.

While I certainly understand the implications of this important controversy I am more concerned that Congress tackles these types of debates instead of ACTUAL issues. Don't they have other things they should be doing besides analyzing the tree on their lawn? Stop staring out the window boys and girls, recess is over! No, don't go back to steroids in Baseball again. Who gives a rat's ass if Rafael Palmerio lied or took steroids or cross dresses on the 2nd Tuesday of each month! Why don't you examine why gasoline goes up 10 cents at a time but only comes down one cent at a time. Efficient market, my ass - that has "Collusion" written all over it! Or perhaps the daunting question of what happened with our pre-war intelligence on WMDs in Iraq. Did they make all that stuff up or was our intelligence just totally wrong? Again, it doesn't matter because either answer is unacceptable, just find out and fix it!

Don't even get me started on Hanukkah or is it Chanukah? Figure out how to spell it and then you can get back to me!

The Weather Channel

I can watch the Weather Channel for hours on end, especially if there is a hurricane or a blizzard or some other weather event going on. There is something exciting about knowing what the high temperature in Peoria, Illinois is going to be two days before the day after tomorrow. (That's for you Skillz!)

Boy do those people get excited about the weather. They even make their correspondents go outside when "extreme" weather hits to tell us what is going on. "Yup, it's raining and very windy as the hurricane approaches, back to you in the stuuuuuddddiooooo." I am amazed they haven't lost a few people this year with all the damn hurricanes we've had.

There is one guy on there that I worry about though, good old Jim Cantori. He is waaayyy too excited about the weather. Especially the prospect for bad weather. If there's a blizzard forming or a hurricane on the way - he is genuinely excited. He will always give you the worst case scenario - "Lots of people stand to lose power from this storm". It is like he is wishing bad things to happen to people. I think he may actually have a woody as he sits behind his weather desk. Then again, if I was sitting next to Sarah Libby, Jen Carfagno or Hillary Andrews I would too.

Music Pimpin'

Wow, it is amazing how the world of music has changed over the past dozen years or so. I heard a song on the radio today by Train - "Get To Me." It is really catchy and I am sure it gets a bunch of airplay, but the first time I heard this song it was in a cell phone commercial many, many months ago. Five years ago, this song would only have been in a commercial months or perhaps years after it was a big old radio hit. Not so anymore, this song was in a commercial and that finally got it airplay. This song is from 2003 but is just getting popular now.

Ten years ago, they wouldn't have used an actual hit song, they would have doctored it up a bit and used that for a commercial. The best example of that I can think of is Toby Keith's "Big Ol' Truck" was pimped into "I'm A Ford Truck Man" - sad but true. There are dozens of other songs suffered the same fate and their commercial alter egos are all just as forgettable.

Bands are just pimpin' themselves out all over the place these days for a shot at some dead presidents. How many bands does "One Tree Hill" pimp out in each episode? Seems like they pimp out a dozen songs in every damn episode. (OK, now you know I watch "One Tree Hill" like a pre-teen school girl.) It used to be taboo for a band to have a song used in a network TV show. They were considered sellouts for that kind of exposure. Now it can jump start someone's career.

Oddly enough, the first TV show I remember doing this was.........drum roll please...............Beverly Hills 90210! They were pimpin' the Bare Naked Ladies back in 1997, the Goo Goo Dolls in 1995 and good old Jamie Walters waaaayyyyy back in 1994. Like I always say - everything I learned, I learned by watching 90210!

"I just scored the most righteous job of the summer!"

Totally Obnoxious

Terrell Owens is the epitome of what is wrong with professional sports, business, music and society in general in this day and age. It's all about me, me, me - look how great I am. Screw you, let's talk some more about me - I am truly gifted.

I am totally impressed that The Eagles gave him the old heave-ho! This is an unprecedented move in the world of professional sports. It is good to see a team take a stand against obnoxious behavior for a change.

So T.O. has been a self absorbed jerk for like 10 years (why do you think the 49ers let him go?) but suddenly, today he has turned over a new leaf. Magically, now that he is no longer being paid, he is ready to be a team player.

The sad thing is that there are dozens of other players just like him in the NFL, NBA and MLB. Which is worse - Albert Pujols standing at home plate watching his homer leave the park or Joe Horn hiding a cell phone in the pad of the goal post to celebrate a TD catch? That is like asking which team is better The Tampa Bay Devil Rays or The Colorado Rockies? They both suck!!!

The Guvernator

Election day is right around the corner and the hot race in my little patch of the world is the Governor's race here in Virginia. Now I am not the least bit into politics, frankly I feel which party controls the Senate has very little impact on my day to day life. The Governor's race here in VA is supposedly a tight one. There are "Kaine" and "Kilgore" signs everywhere, "On Every Street" as Dire Straits would say. The funny thing is that neither candidate lists the party they represent on their signs or in their TV ads. It doesn't say "The Republican candidate for Governor" or "The Democratic candidate for Governor" anywhere in any media I have seen for either candidate. Are they that embarrassed about their political affiliation? Shouldn't these guys be excited that they are their party's choice for the highest office in our state? It doesn't seem to me that they are. Come on fellas, show us some sack!

The death penalty is supposedly the hot button issue of this race, but the issue that I think is interesting is the widening of I-66 inside the Capital Beltway. Kilgore is saying that he will get that done. I don't believe this promise for a second. I still remember Jim Gilmore's promise in 1997 to get rid of the car tax. People bought it and he became Governor and 8 years later I am still paying a car tax. It is easy to make false promises when you know you will not be the one who has to take responsibility when they are not fulfilled.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and......um......well.....you're not gonna fool me twice".

Conscience

Occasionally I wonder if I do in fact have a conscience. That little part of the brain that is supposed to tell you what is right and wrong, sometimes I wonder if mine still works. I have no problem telling a little white lie to get out of a sticky situation, spare a loved one's feelings or impress someone I hardly know. Yeah, I was an extra in The Man Without A Face. Well, actually my buddy Aaron couldn't get the day off from work that day, so I was ALMOST an extra in The Man Without a Face - minor detail. Then inevitably something will happen to reassure me that I indeed do have a working conscience.

I have been religiously walking every day to get some sort of regular exercise. Actually, I enjoy it - I don't enjoy running, but walking I like. I walk through my little corner of the world, which is basically suburbia. I do walk past one little stream and from time to time I encounter some kind of woodland creature on my walk. It is small and brown and furry but I can never get close enough to really tell if it is a groundhog or beaver or what. I have seen as many as two or three of these little guys out and about, so there must be a whole clan of them.

Well, today I was walking along and I saw one of my little buddies lying in the road. Dammit - he had been hit by a car. And even though I had nothing to do with it I just felt so bad that it happened. That was some other groundhog's brother or mother or husband or friend. An innocent life cut short simply because some human in a car was in a hurry. It just didn't seem right. The other groundhogs don't know what happened, they just know that daddy or mommy didn't come home from THEIR walk today.

Friend Whores

My boy Jazz has been writing all these blog entries about friendship - friggin' right, doggie! - and it got me thinking a little about how I manage my friendster account. I only have 7 friendster friends and one of them isn't even a person, it's a bar. Does that make me an alcoholic? No, that makes me a drunk - no meetings!

From time to time as I surf friendster I run across people who have like 681 friends on there, but that is a bogus number. 681 friends - come on, that person is a friend whore. They just add anyone and everyone as a friend. I am very happy that I am not a friend whore. You gotta be pretty tight with me to make it on my friend list on ye ole friendster site. It all goes back to that inner circle thing that Jazzy explained. If you are not in the "Circle of trust", you just don't rate as a friendster friend for me.

New Miserable Experience

Well, something happened to me today - technically it was yesterday as I am writing this at 3:15am - that had never happened to me in my 32 1/3 years on the planet. I was driving home on I66 this afternoon about 1:00pm and suddenly traffic slowed to a crawl - as it often does on I66. Then I hear the sirens and see the flashing blues and reds - there is a car accident up ahead, big surprise. Now 4 lanes of traffic have to squeeze down into one lane - good times!

So I am crawling along and everyone is merging and finally I am almost past the accident when suddenly a big old fire truck drives up and blocks all lanes of the highway. I am now the second car in line. I am thinking - no big deal, they are just turning it around so they can get closer to the accident. Nope, they park it and walk away and then I hear it. The unmistakable thumping of a helicopter closing in. Can this be? Oh shit, it is! It's a life flight and it is going to land on the highway.

I can honestly say that I have never before had to wait for a life flight to land on the highway I was driving on. I have seen them on occasion from the other side of the jersey barrier, but this bad boy was coming right to me. So they land and the EMS and paramedics do their thing and get someone, maybe more than one person - I really couldn't see - on the stretcher and onto the chopper and off it flies - 42 minutes later.

Hopefully, they got to the hospital in time to save a life. Certainly I was inconvenienced today, but it really was no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Still, I think to myself if I was 2 cars ahead of where I was, I would have been 40 minutes ahead the rest of the day. Life is a game of inches, for sure.

Well, once they gave us the thumbs up to be on our way we had an open highway. I was the second car in line, so I only had to pass one person and I had nothing but 4 lanes of white lines in front of me. When am I gonna get another chance like this, I thought to myself. An open highway, every police officer within 10 miles was behind me at the accident site - so I put the hammer down. I got the ghetto cruiser up to 103 mph! My exit was the first after the accident or maybe I could have gotten up a little more speed or maybe my car would have exploded. We will never know, I figure that was a once in a lifetime run. Seacrest out!

Reality TV

I have never been a fan of reality TV, which has made watching network TV rather difficult over the past several years. I am not going to watch people eat bugs or sing off key or make over their homes while their spouse is away. You couldn't PAY me to watch that crap.

But I have become a fan of the CelebReality TV on VH1. It all started last spring when the Surreal Life had Peter Brady - aka Chris Knight - on it. I have been into anything Brady since I was in junior high school. I even have a picture of me and Greg Brady - aka Barry Williams - on my mantle. One of my ex-es is in the pic too, but that doesn't make it any less cool.

So, Peter Brady got me hooked on the Surreal Life, my first venture into the world of reality TV. Then I started watching Hogan Knows Best, since it was on right after The Surreal Life. Now this fall there is My Fair Brady - with Peter, I mean Chris Knight, and his 22 year old model girlfriend, Adrianne Curry. He hasn't been on TV in like 20 years and he is still getting high quality tail - nice! Just marry her dudeman!

That show is followed directly Breaking Bonaduce. Have you seen this show? That guy needs some help, he is one messed up dude. That show is a total train wreck, but I can't turn it off. Actually, I did turn it off once, but I ended up turning it back on after like three minutes, cause I had to see what happened. The good news is, I haven't started tivoing the shows, at least not yet.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!!

Airplay

Just got back from another road trip, this time to New England for a business vacation - oxymoron or what! Picked a great week to be in the North Country, it was sunny and warm pretty much all week. Went to the beach, slept in my favorite hammock, picked a bushel of apples - that's a lot of friggin' apples - hung with the family, ate some lobster and Red Sox ice cream - no, not at the same time.

I have noticed that whenever I take a road trip there is always one song that I hear over and over and over and over while I am on the road. This trip it was that new song by Nickelback. I don't know the name of it, but you couldn't go five miles without hearing it on the radio. OK, I looked it up, it's called "Photograph" and it was definitely the song that dominated my travels over the past 8 or 9 days.

I remember in the spring of 2002 when I couldn't get away from Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun" on a trip to New York and December 2000 when Lifehouse's "Hanging By A Moment" dominated my trip North for the holidays.

As much as I am not a Nickelback fan I must admit that Photograph is now well entrenched in my brain and I will probably link it with this trip for years to come. There seem to be a lot of songs with this theme - reminiscing about the past - on the airwaves these days. It is super hip to remember how cool we all were in the 80s - wahooo!

Movie Line of the Day:

"Are you telling me you built a time machine.....out of a DeLorean?" - Back to the Future

Big Papi = MVP

There is no doubt in my mind that David Ortiz - Big Papi to his 10 million close friends in the Red Sox Nation - is the MVP of the American League this season. His numbers are wicked strong and the time is right for a DH to be MVP.

The thing that impresses me most about Big Papi's year is that of his 47 homeruns, 20 have given the Sox the lead or tied a game. That is huge, that is EXACTLY what it means to be the most valuable player. Another impressive stat is that David has 18 homeruns and 50 RBI in the 7th inning or later - that is what clutch hitting is all about people! Alex who?

Mary Kay Reps

Have you ever noticed that all Mary Kay sales reps are heinous trolls? I am not picking on Mary Kay associates per say, really all those independent, direct sales, beauty consultants seem to be cut from the same mold. Why would anyone take make-up advice from someone who resembles Mimi Bobek? I don't get it. Short, stalky women with bad hair, loud clothes and clown colored make-up would not be the first place I would turn for beauty advice. In fact, that would be the last place I would want to go. Unless of course I WANTED to look like a clown, that's a different story.

Walking the Dog

I am definitely too lazy to ever own a dog, or perhaps dogs are just too high maintenance for me. Either way, I do not see a day when I will own a dog. It is funny to me because supposedly people are the master and the dog is the subordinate but I see it as the other way around.

I live smack dab in the middle of suburbia, it is townhouses and condos as far as the eye can see out my window. So when I see folks walking their dog I just have to chuckle. It takes a lot of commitment to own a dog in the city or in the burbs, I will give people some credit for that.

I was out for a jog last night and saw a prime example. A gal was out with her dog, suddenly the dog stops to smell a bush and she had to stop and stand there until he was satisfied with the whole situation. Then he takes off running and she had to run just to keep up. Then he stops again and the "master" has to stand there and wait while the "subordinate" waters the street light.

The best part is when Mr. Dog decides it is time to "drop off the kids." Not only do they have to stand there and wait, but then they have to pick it up. You tell me who is the boss in that relationship? If you stand around while I poop and then you pick it up afterwards, there is no doubt in my mind, you are my bitch.

The Uncloudy Day

Went for a mid afternoon jog yesterday - yes, the beauty of being self employed is I can do stuff like that - and it was one of those rare days where there literally was not a cloud in the sky. It was mid afternoon, sunny and warm, probably close to 90 degrees - kinda warm for the end of September around here. No complaints from me - it felt like the middle of summer, it was great! I am definitely a summer person.

Music

Finally, we have had some decent rock n roll songs to listen to on the radio the last couple months, it has been a while. It seemed like it was all post grunge music there for the longest time. You couldn't make out the lyrics for all the guitar, drums and bass going on - please don't make me listen to another Creed, 3 Doors Down, Lifehouse or Nickelback song! I found myself gravitating towards Country music simply because I could make out the lyrics to the songs.

Thank you for The Click Five, Hot Hot Heat, Keane, Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard and Howie Day. I gotta plug my Maine-Man-Howie, it's about time he's gotten some actual airplay. Give em' hell, Howie!

Bow Ties

Why do people insist on wearing bow ties? They look so completely stupid. I can not take anyone who is wearing a bow tie seriously. Whatever they are saying, it seems that usually they are discussing politics, I can't hear what they say. They could be talking about Armageddon or giving me tomorrow's winning lottery numbers but I would simply dismiss what they say as bunk. It doesn't really matter what they are talking about, I always end up thinking one thing to myself: "This guy is never gonna get laid!"

Don't these people have mirrors? Or if they are on TV, like the guy I saw on MSNBC tonight wearing one, don't they have people to dress them? I'm not exactly Mr. GQ, but I do know one thing - anyone who wears a bow tie looks like a doofus. Now a Hawaiian shirt on the other hand, that is super cool!

I'm In Love

You heard me correct, I am in love - let me shout it from the rooftops! Her name is Lindsay Czarniak and she has no idea who I am. Lin, as I like to call her, does the sports report on NBC4 Washington, my local NBC affiliate. Anyway, she is smoking hot - money, money, playboy bunny - and she is so enthusiastic when she is reading the teleprompter. She can make the Nationals losing another game a wonderful thing! I think this girl actually enjoys her job, a rare treat in this day and age. Did I mention she is a smoking hottie, she could be telling me about women's ping pong and I would be glued to the screen. Lindsay, you had me from hello!

Summer 2005

Well, unfortunately summer 2005 is winding down, only a week or so until Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. The weather will still be pretty sweet here in DC for another month or so, but mentally it just isn't the same after Labor Day. It has been a great summer, I've done a lot of fun things, gone a lot of neat places and hung out with a lot of cool people.

Back in April I was hoping we would have good weather this summer and we have indeed - am I a master prognosticator or what! Last summer it seemed like it rained every freakin' weekend, but this summer has been totally different. It has been hot, but not too hot. I tend to like the heat anyway. I will take 96 sunny and humid over 27 with snow and wind any old day. Now if we could just make it so we don't have any snow this winter, that would be money! Come on Global Warming, do your thing!!!

Movie Line of the Day:

"The prognosticator of prognosticators" - Groundhog Day.

E-Harmony?

Have you seen those E-Harmony ads with the white haired, old man talking about the 29 dimensions of personality or love or something like that. Every time I see that I think two things too myself. 1) Who would take love advice from this creepy old guy, he has pedophile written all over him, and 2) Who has 29 elements to their personality? I think I have like 4 dimensions, maybe only 3. I can see someone having like 10 or 12 dimensions, but 29 - come on now, give me a break!


Movie Line of the Day:

"I know everyone always says sense of humor, but I really have to go with breast size" - So I Married An Axe Murderer.

Back to School

Well, it's August 5th and the back to school ads are in full swing. I am soooooo glad that I do not have to go back to school. I always dreaded when the calendar turned to August growing up, because I knew my summer was winding down. I still feel the same way today, even though school is no longer involved. We are over the hump now and there are only so many more days to soak up the rays - I gotta make them count!!!

I will say the Office Max back to school ad with the "Rubber Band Man" song is pretty damn catchy though. It woud be a blast riding around town on the back of a shopping cart handing out pencils and notebooks to all the kiddies. The best part would be seeing the dejected looks on their faces when they realize it's time to hits the books again. Yeah, I am a dick, I know.

Random Thought

When I was in vacation in Maine last month I went to the 40th Annual Yarmouth Clam festival. It was tons of fun, but the one thing I didn't understand was that there was no Al Cohol (Thanks, Brad Paisley) for sale inside the fest. Now I know that it was a family type of event, but you couldn't even buy a plastic cup full of Bud Light. (Not that I would pay money to drink Bud Light.)

The thing that irked me about this deal was that in Maine, you can go in any grocery store and buy liquor. I am not taking wine and beer, I am talking the good stuff - Captain, Smirnoff, Jack Daniels - because most big stores have liquor licenses up there. It just seemed odd that there was no Al Cohol at the fest but you could walk into Shop n Save 2 blocks away and buy a bottle of Jameson if you wanted to. We ended up doing the old hide it in your coffee mug thing, so it all worked out for us in the grand scheme of things.

Don't even get me started about New Hampshire, they have rest stops with liquor stores in them! "Come to New Hampshire and get liquored up while you drive" - good idea people!

Garden State

Just finished up watching the movie Garden State for the 2nd time. Good flick, I would watch it again. I usually like funny movies or those sappy teen romance movies but lately I have found myself gravitating towards movies like Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, Eternal Sunshine and Adaptation.

Traditionally, I look to movies to help me forget about my sad little life, give me a laugh, hope for a happy ending, that kind of thing. But lately I have been watching flicks like those mentioned and they make me feel like my life isn't so bad. I am pretty happy about where I am and where I am headed, so maybe that is why I can suddenly tolerate and even enjoy a movie like Adaptation or Eternal Sunshine.

Don't worry, I still have a place in my heart for Eurotrip.

July Update

Wow, July 05 is flying by. Spent a week in New England visiting friends and family and barely had time to sleep. Took my mom to the AA Allstar game in Portland, went to the 40th Annual Yarmouth Clam Festival, outlet shopping in Freeport, Big Bad Voodooo Daddy concert, wiffleball with my nephew Jordan. Saw Maine's "Premier" Jazz Funk Band - Sly Chi - they rocked the house! Ate lobster rolls, birthday cake, french fries, and 16 ounces of something called "Concrete"; it is frozen custard with pieces of candy swirled in - think Blizzard from DQ.

Had one day to relax and chill out in a hammock and catch some rays, wish I had 3 or 4 more days to do that. Maybe I can squeeze another trip North in August, do some hiking, mountain biking and spend more time in the hammock. Lying around doing nothing is really my specialty.

Too Busy To Post

Wow, I have been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to write about all the cool stuff I have done. Happy Hour - $2 Guinness!!!, Dinner in Old Town, Clarendon Ballroom, Ben n Jerry's, Eurotrip Live - long story there, Concert at Meriweather, Hiking in Shenandoah - I saw a black bear on the trail, supercool!

OK, I got to write about seeing a black bear, that was pretty cool. I have literally been going camping and hiking since I was born - thanks in part to mom n dad - and I have never come this close to a black bear before. I was out in Shenandoah hiking last Saturday, June 25th. I got in about 8 miles, not too bad considering how hot it was. On my way out I noticed a couple anthills that had been torn apart. I figured it was by something hungry looking for food. I actually remember thinking to myself - that looks like something a bear would do.

I was on the way back later in the day, about two miles from the car, and I come around the corner and in the trail about 100 feet ahead of me is a black bear. He or she sees me and immediately bolts into the woods off to my left. He is still between me and my car, so I have to keep walking to where he just was. I walk, slowly, cautiously and I look over to the left and there he is. Just sitting in the woods, looking at me, about 30 feet away. He is as curious as I am!

So I stand there watching him watching me for a minute or two. Finally, I remember to get out my camera - duh! By the time I turn it on and get it focused, he decides he has had enough and runs off into the woods. (Maybe I smell bad, I was a combination of sweat, suntan lotion and bugspray - very sexy!) I did manage to get a picture, but all I got was a big black blob behind a tree as he ran off. It is kind of like big foot. I know I saw a bear, but I don't have a lot of actual proof.

Pet Peeve

I thought I would share something that drives me crazy. People who are too lazy to walk their trash down to the damn dumpster. I live in a good size condo complex and I am amazed at the number of people who are too lazy to walk their trash down to the dumpster. Day in and day out, I see people in their cars driving the 50 yards down the hill to the dumpster. Hello, people - it's downhill!! They are always driving 5 miles an hour so their trash doesn't fall off their hood or trunk or wherever they placed it for the commute to the dumpster. Some people's kids! OK, I am going to find some pills and a bottle of Captain. I will be alright, don't worry about me!

EuroTrip

Has anyone seen the movie EuroTrip? It is a cheesy comedy about 4 high school grads who end up trouncing around Europe while one tries to track down his German penpal to tell her he loves her. It is cute and funny and has some great lines - "Here's a fun fact, you made out with your sister!" You need to have seen it to understand that one I think.

It has it's climax scene at the Vatican and as a result I have not seen it on TV since the Pope passed away. I can totally see why it is off the air, but I still miss it. "This is definitely where I parked my car."

I knew all about the white smoke and the bells many months ago, thanks to my many viewings of EuroTrip! "Now put your clothes back on, white boy."

The Weather

What a super nice weekend we just had. Sunny and mild, but not too warm. Spring has finally sprung for real in Greater DC, the trees are in bloom or are starting to leaf out. This time of year is nice - unless you have allergies of course - because it is warm but there really aren't any bugs or insects around to harrass you.

Played basketball with the boys (and girls) today also got in some tennis this evening. Got some sun and read the paper on my deck on Saturday and went for an afternoon jog too.

I hope this is a sign of things to come - having a nice weekend for a change. Seems like all spring, summer and fall last year it rained on the weekends. Don't need another year of that, thank you very much!

What did you do this weekend to enjoy the weather?

Outlet Shopping

Whenever I travel I tend to hunt down the outlet malls. I just love a good deal or maybe I just hate getting totally screwed at the mall. But there is something about a pair of Ralph Lauren pants for 20 bucks that I can't resist. (Who cares if they are orange! So I look like I just got out of prison, big deal!)

Visited the shops in Lodi, Ohio on my Road Trip last weekend and got all kinds of loot. Stuff for me, gifts for my mom for Mother's Day (Am I a good son or what!), some stuff for my brother - he has a lighthouse fetish. A good day of shopping was had by all!

Let's see, I also went to Amish Country and ate dinner and poked around in some shops. Who knew Ohio even had Amish Country - I didn't until last Friday!

Saw the new movie Fever Pitch on Friday night too. It was cute, it won't win any Oscars, but I like a cheeseball love story with a happy ending as much as the next guy. Plus, I am a Wicked Red Sox fan, so it helped me re-live the glory days of their Playoff, Pennant and World Series run of 2004. I love it when you call me Big Papi!

That is really the highlight of my trip, nothing overly exciting happened in my 4 days in Ohio. My brother actually put me to work on Saturday, raking the lawn and tidying up for spring - can you believe it! It was just nice to get outta DC for a few days.

Road Trip

Taking a long weekend to get in my first road trip of the season in, to visit my brother and his family out in Ohio. He lives just west of Cleveland. I always have a good time hanging out with my big brother and his family, but it is still a little weird to me that he wants to hang out with me, his baby brother. He is eight years older than me and growing up did not want anything to do with me. When he was 18 and I was 10 I just got in the way as far as he was concerned.

I still remember being in college, I was probably 19 or 20 at the time, and he was home for a visit and one morning he said that we should go to the beach. I was like what's the catch? You want to go to the beach with me on purpose? It blew my mind!!! Ever since then we have been buds though and we have had some good times. Many have involved the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol, strange but true!

He is the proud father of four boys ages 7 to 19, so going to visit is always a form of birth control for me. It is not as hectic as it used to be a few years back. When the kids were little younger, they were all battling constantly for attention and his house was a total madhouse all the time. Now it's just the 7 year old that drives me nuts from time to time.

Should be a fun weekend though, he always has an agenda planned, he never slows down, always on the go!

Hit or Miss

My buddies and I have started playing basketball on Sunday afternoons now that the weather is getting decent. We call ourselves the Rainbow Coalition since we've got a Latino, a black guy and three white guys.

The key is that none of us have any actual skill in playing basketball. Now don't get me wrong, we have our moments. I actually nailed 3 consecutive 3-point shots last Sunday when we played. That is the highlight of my basketball career to date.
We do play with a lot of enthusiam though, to make up for our lack of actual skills.

I did something to my foot on Sunday when we were playing but I don't know what. I didn't land on someone else after getting a rebound, no twisted ankle, but something is now out of whack. My foot swelled up on Monday and I couldn't even walk on it on Tuesday. A little better today, so I am on the mend. All week long, all I have heard is "What's wrong with you?" Needless to say, I don't think I will be playing basketball next Sunday.

It is amazing how hard it is to do stuff while standing on one foot - pour a glass of water, brush your teeth - all the little things we take for granted. Peace out, people!