Uncle
Memphis, TN 4:52 PM I have been called an uncle for over 4 years, but I truly became an uncle today. My youngest niece is about to be 3 and I was on babysitting watch with her for about three hours. The nap time was easy. Trying to feed her spaghetti and ravioli’s ended up losing out to Lucky Charms, but it was not too difficult. Playing in the tent and reading books, I can do that. But my initiation into unclehood came two thirds into my shift. Her mom was getting her hair done and her dad was at work. When she said she had to go to the potty, I was OK with that. But when one turned into...
Read MoreBreakfast
Little Rock, AR 11:22 AM First off, Happy Valentine’s Day. I am not a big fan of the marketer’s holiday, but when you get the chance to tell your special person they are special, that can’t be so bad. I just got back to home base, TA’s, after having a 2 1/2 hour breakfast with my college writing professor. Dr. A was the professor I wanted my parents to meet at graduation. We worked on a piece over a few semesters that really helped me evolve as a person. It dealt with the loss of my friend to suicide during my first semester of college. It took me a long time to get...
Read MoreTalk
Little Rock, AR 10:21 AM I normally don’t get nervous for a talk, but coming back to my alma mater makes this one a little different. I know a former professor will be there. So will the daughter of one of my interviewees. And a few of my friends may also show up. My guess is familiar faces will make it more energizing. Now I rehearse a little and get ready. The pants are ironed, the collared shirt chosen, and the sweater is flattened. Go time is 12:15. I will arrive early and soak up some of the campus. Here we go…
Read MoreTalk 2
Little Rock, AR 11:40 PM What a surreal feeling it was, driving down University Ave. like I did every day for class. Turning left down the hill into campus, slowly going down the one way to the stop sign and a left to the Kappa Sigma house. They have now paved the former gravel parking lot that I had to rake as a pledge. I left a note with my pin # so the car would still be there when I got back. The front door was locked, so I headed to the student center with my laptop bag and organizer. The homecoming queen signs were in the same spot as they used to be, of course with different names. A...
Read MoreHook
Fayetteville, AR 10:45 PM Other than me pecking away at these keys, the house is asleep, that includes the cat and dog. This morning was bacon and pancakes and play time. I played blocks, a musical thing, and some Cinderella stuff. The adults watched a classic movie, the Big Lebowski. I love The Dude, man. This set the stage for a stop at the bowling alley. I shaved, showered, ate some incredible chicken and dumplings, and we were off. My bowling prowess has never been great. Well, I take that back. I won an event in one of the early grades, but once people started to grow bigger and stronger...
Read MoreBack
Little Rock, AR 9:05 AM (this is central time) Yesterday was as full as they come. My dad and I drove my car from Rochester, leaving a few minutes after the goal of 8 AM, to drive to the Buffalo airport. My 10:30 flight from Buffalo to Baltimore to Little Rock put me in Central time at 4:30 PM. From there, I lugged my bags to the Enterprise desk for my transportation for the 10 day jaunt, a white Pontiac G6. The little sportster has some pep in its step. I think a friend of mine in Rochester just got one. My good pack job allowed me to easily access the CD case I brought and I hit 440 with...
Read MorePig Sooey
Fayetteville, AR 1:29 AM The three hour drive to Fayetteville was uneventful. Previously, I had come here for a few parties and football games and the Pig Trail of hairpin turns thru the mountains has been replaced with a smoother 540. The G6 handled beautifully and I arrived at my old roommate, Dr. Shaver’s eye clinic, at around 1. He showed me around the place and I met most of his staff. It was cool to see him making it happen. He gave me an eye exam which said I still have crap vision, but that everything else seems to be OK. He also gave me some different contacts to try. He closed...
Read MoreTrip
South 12:19 AM The usual rigamarole of me and packing was back at it tonight. I’m out of town for 10 days. Heading down south to thaw out. I’m also going back to my alma mater for a talk. My guess is it will be strange going to my campus, parking at my fraternity house, and walking to the student center for the presentation. I can’t wait. It looks like I’ll be connecting with a former professor who taught me how to write. And I’ll be seeing a bunch of friends. Tomorrow are flights and it sounds like some cards in Little Rock. Then I drive 3 hours to Fayetteville...
Read MoreWhite Out
Upstate NY 1:22 PM Of all the cities, highways, and miles last night may have been the worst driving conditions I’ve ever seen. And when I say see, that is not correct. A white out is the term they use to describe it up here. Snow + Wind + No Visibility = Scary. That’s how it was driving from the lake to downtown. A 25 minute drive took 45 with speeds never reaching 40. I sat at least 7 cars down in the median. From downtown to a party in Spencerport, the same thing, 25 minutes took 45. Again, cars all over the place. The second leg was the worst. I had driven the road once before. There...
Read MoreiPod
Rochester/NYC 11:01 PM I think my first iPod experience was on the road, in the summer of ’04, just outside of Boston at my cousin Kelle’s house. Her husband Tod had one and was scrolling through all of his music. He explained what an iPod was and how much storage there was and how he could have all of his John Prine music at once. I didn’t truly grasp it until many months later. It was also my first John Prine experience as well. Tonight I am in possession of my first iPod. I don’t own it, I’ve borrowed it for my NYC trip tomorrow. I was able to build my own...
Read MoreKids
Rochester, NY I just got done watching another episode of 24. The show is nonstop, but the whole family bit doesn’t work for me. Anyway, my eyes are heavy. Pre 24 I was with some girlfriends from high school. The new house was amazing and it was packed full of energy. There were 9 kids there, with the oldest being in second grade. It was great to hear them laughing and watching them running. There was also screaming and crying, but I can tune that out pretty good. I always marvel at how many gears mothers must have. One friend has 4 kids, her sister has 3. And it is always go go go. One...
Read MoreChef
Rochester, NY 8:22 PM The weekend is almost to an end and I’ve been pretty mellow. Cards Friday, a few drinks last night, and nothing today. I got some work done, but mainly I watched golf and cooked. I was quite impressed with myself yesterday as I prepared what we deemed Lakeside Breaded Orange Roughy. It was a tasty dish based in a Dijon sauce, spruced up with some butter, soy, and Worcestershire sauces as well as garlic, Old Bay, Montreal Chicken, and Cavender’s. Mixing all of those ingredients together gave me a paste that I put on top of the salt and peppered fish. From there,...
Read MoreCards
Rochester, NY 2:22 PM Last weekend I found myself at the drive thru of McDonald’s at 3 AM. It was time to raid the $1 menu for the after hours party. Two of my friends had donated to the cause and I depleted the $20 with ease. Never in my memory have I ordered like I did that Saturday night: 8 double cheeseburgers, 3 four piece chicken nuggets, 1 mcchicken, 1 chicken fajita, and 3 large fries. I am not a fast food guy at all, but the fat and grease tasted good and fueled us until my eyes shut at 6:15 AM. Ouch. I don’t want to do either of those things this weekend. Last night was the...
Read MoreBooked
NYC 1:59 PM The snow has arrived and not left Rochester. A few inches over each of the past few days makes for beautiful scenery, crappy driving, and tons of dirty, slushy, and sloppy parking lots. As I drove yesterday, the snow was still hugging onto the bare trees and the white glaze looked amazing. A little girl got dropped off from her bus and immediately ran to play in the snow filled front yard with her mom looking on. I thought about how much I used to like playing in the snow. My days of street hockey and stupid tackle football on the frozen over street. I flashed to the future,...
Read MoreLibrary
4:19 PM Man, you gotta love the library. I just got home with the first season of Entourage on DVD, and a diverse CD grab bag of Kanye West, Van Morrison, Tim McGraw, John Scofield, and Bruce Springsteen. 3 weeks they let you have them. I also made a purchase unlike any I have made in recent memory, I paid 150% over the asking price. I bought the book Clear and Present Danger for my dad. It’s a hard cover and the asking price was an astonishing 10 cents. I guiltily gave them a quarter and called it even. Also just solidified my Arkansas/Memphis trip in February. I can’t wait to...
Read MorePowerball
West Virginia This shows that money is not always the answer to our problems. Although, I will say if I was given a lump sum of over $100 million, I wouldn’t complain. And I sure wouldn’t have screwed it up like this guy did. The road of life can giveth and the road of life can taketh. Waste
Read MoreMLK
11:47 AM Today, we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. For people of my generation, we don’t fully understand the fragmentation our society was under in the 60′s. I went and saw the movie Bobby a few weeks ago. It showed the killing of Bobby Kennedy. My generation has not had to deal with an intense struggle and then when leaders rise to the top, they are killed. I’m not sure how we’d react. I still can’t imagine the few years of MLK, JFK, and Bobby K all being killed. Scary. But today it is about Martin Luther King. His “I Have a Dream...
Read MoreSnow
Rochester, NY 2:12 PM It looks like I’ve gotten over the Cowboys debacle, although each time I see a field goal, I think what should have been. The first big snow of the year hit today. And from where I sit, indoors, it is beautiful. The white on the beach and on the trees make everything bright. My daily ritual of a late lunch in front of the TV turned into a longer session than planned. With it being a snow day, that meant grilled ham and cheese and chicken noodle soup. Comfort food for sure. On VH1 Classic, Pink Floyd: The Wall played. And I became entranced. It had been many years...
Read MoreRo-no
Seattle, WA 12:21 PM Last night, as I stared at the TV in disbelief at what had just happened in the Dallas – Seattle playoff game, I was transported back to a boy, when Joe Montana threw a game ending, season ending, NFC Championship winning touchdown to Dwight Clark. As soon as Everson Walls’ outstretched hand was not enough and that game was over, I ran upstairs to my room, shut the door, and balled my eyes out. Last night, at a sports bar with a fellow Cowboy fan who is as die hard as me, there was silence. Dallas had driven down for the winning score. A replay caused a fourth...
Read MoreOptions
Rochester, NY It’s been an interesting few days as I’ve spent time learning what it is like to work in a college career services office. In the future, I could see myself working on a college campus. All of the experiences I’ve had on the road would be a perfect fit for a career services job. You get to build relationships with young people and have an impact on their lives. As I sat in these meetings, I also learned that it will have to wait. I still have too much drive for the book and for passing on all of the advice I’ve been given. The book and talks are what...
Read MoreHappy New Year
The days keep churning and here we are in 2007. It is always strange when the year changes, but I’m looking forward to this one with an incredible amount of anticipation. I see a lot of the things I’ve been working on taking shape and coming to fruition. And it is energizing. After watching The Pursuit of Happyness a couple of days ago, the power of passion, persistence, and determination will propel us to do amazing things. Chris Gardner’s (Will Smith) story is powerful and it shows that if this man can overcome, battle, and fight to make his vision become reality, we can...
Read MoreVacation
3:36 PM This is one of those weeks where I need a vacation from my vacation. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t hit the road for a new city. I stayed in Rochester for all of the Christmas and New Year’s events. Friends came back home and I did my best to meet up with them. Sometimes that means late nights. I met newborn babies and met up with people coming back from Philly, Iowa, Charlotte, Martha’s Vineyard, and California. It’s been nothing short of 2 AM from Wednesday to today, and that includes back to back 4 AM’ers. As whipped as I am, I’m ready for the New...
Read MoreSudden
Florida 10:52 AM We received a shocking phone call yesterdays morning. They said my Uncle Ken had died the night before, on Christmas night. We were stunned. To our knowledge, he hadn’t been sick or anything. When they lived in Rochester, their family would be with ours for every Christmas and Thanksgiving meal. I’ve had a day and a night to allow this to soak in. The thought of it scares me. It can happen anytime. You can spend the entire day with family, celebrating and being joyful, and then bang, you are in another place. But as I’ve thought about it, that might be...
Read MoreHoliday Hangover
1:52 PM First off, I say Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoyed the holiday. A weekend of festivities has come and gone, leaving my brain fried and body worn out. My sister and brother in law stayed in Rochester this year. It was his first away from home, but I think we made him feel welcome. Our traditions continued with Christmas Eve beef stew, church, and gift exchange with one of my mom’s best friends. From there we stayed up way too late, but still got up for presents in the AM. It is always fun to see the looks on people’s faces when they open something you’ve gotten...
Read MoreThe Ultimate Gift
2:40 PM I just got done reading, The Ultimate Gift, by Jim Stovall. It’s a great story about life’s lessons. I enjoyed it enough that I’m passing it on. During the Christmas season, it is a good fit. It made me think about my life and where I’m going. When a book makes you reflect, analyze, and plan for the future, it’s a good book. Here are some of the chapter titles: The Gift of Work The Gift of Money The Gift of Friends The Gift of Learning The Gift of Problems The Gift of Family The Gift of Laughter The Gift of Dreams – my favorite The Gift of Giving The...
Read MoreBig Day
Phoenix, NYC, and ROC A lot has happened in the past 24 hours. On the materialistic side, I got my Christmas shopping done. On the real side, my people in Phoenix just welcomed a baby boy into the world. It sounds like son and mother are doing fine. On the book side, a big step has been made. Not THE step, but a big step. With a smile I say I have some help in the process. More to come on that.
Read MoreNightmare & Reality
Mall 9:49 AM I’m off to the mall to start my Christmas hopping. One of the nice things about writing is I can go opposite of the 9-5 for shopping. I’m hoping the crowds aren’t too awful this time of day. Still, bad visions… 1:25 PM I’ve gone soft. Back in my sales days, I could shop with stamina. Today, the combination of Christmas music, having to wear a coat inside, and constant price comparing wore me down. I likened it to a non-drinker who suddenly downs three drinks. They feel great, then loopy, then tired. At store #1 I was on a roll, loving the idea of...
Read MoreRelax
11:39 PM One of my dad’s friends passed this on to him, who passed it on to me. Life can get crazy during the holidays. Slow down and think about what truly is important. Enjoy. When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They...
Read MoreMore Movies
The Cinema, Rochester, NY 1:28 AM When winter hits, my movie watching skyrockets. In today’s (Wed) case, I made my first venture to, The Cinema, and what may be the longest continuously running movie theater in the United States, starting in 1914. You cannot beat $5 for a double feature. Or $2.50 for a large popcorn. Or $2 for a large drink (with .75 refills on both). In this case, my date and I started off with A Good Year, starring Russell Crowe. I was into the movie because it is about a well off business man, very well off, having to decide between money and things versus love and...
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