World Cup
Germany 1:52 PM Man, what a bummer that was. I had my ham and cheese sandwich, salad, and yogurt all spread out on the TV tray. The channel was set to ESPN2 and the crowd was in a frenzy. My cell phone was off and the office phone was upstairs. I was ready to finally get engrossed in the World Cup. The US and the Czech’s entered the pitch and the first game for ole’ Team USA was off and running. Well, not 5 minutes in a 6’8 guy towered over us and headed one in. 1-0. Sloppy, non-attacking play by the US followed and I ended the game by going to back work once the score...
Read MoreAce
Rochester, NY My head is a bit foggy after a night of fun and even a little dancing from me. We had a great group of people and a let’s have fun energy last night. The usual spots on the weekend are mellow, and Tiki Bob’s is more of a club than I am used to, but I went in with an open mind. After a stop at the mall for a new pair of shoes, I was out for the night. Being 31 now, I wasn’t sure how I felt about being around the young kids, but it was great. I got our group on a list for cheap liquids and the two bands were good. Taint has a guy that could be my cousin as the...
Read More31
Rochester, NY 11:55 PM It’s the night before my 31st birthday. I think this is the first time in many years I’ve been with my family on my day. For many in a row I was in Charlotte. Then I was on the road for 29 and 30. I’ve never been so in the moment as I was on #29, just going where the gas pedal took me. That was my plan for 31, to be on the road somewhere. I am missing another friends wedding, this one in Arkansas. I should be somewhere down south right now. I expected to be more bummed about being here, but I am not. As an alternative I had talked with my friend Ted...
Read MoreGame 7
Raleigh. NC I am not a major hockey fan, but I hopped on the Buffalo Sabre bandwagon a few weeks ago. Tonight was Game 7 versus Carolina, the winner would get to the Stanley Cup Finals. I went to Tully’s, a sports bar in Henrietta to watch with my sister, her fiancée’ and a few of his friends. All the guys played college hockey and one of them is a major Buffalo guy. The packed bar echoed as Buffalo scored with 3 seconds left in the 2nd period to move ahead 2-1. We didn’t say it, but many of us were looking to Edmonton and the Cup. Yet, the 3rd started and not 2 minutes in, Carolina...
Read MoreShower
Monmouth Junction, NJ 11:25 PM Everyone loves a long weekend. I may not be working the standard 9 to 5, but I still find my mind is trained to think more during the week and then relax more once the weekend is here. I guess the 9 to 5 is ingrained in there. I just got back from an awesome time in Monmouth Junction, NJ. My sister is getting married in a couple of months and her fiancé is from NJ. On Saturday his family had a shower for her. The girls did the shower thing and the guys went golfing. Afterwards the groups got together for a barbeque. It felt great to be on the highway again....
Read MoreMemorial Day
Lake Ontraio, NY 10:22 PM It doesn’t get much better than a sunny 85 degree day. I was late in rounding folks up, but I had some people over the Memorial Day holiday. There were about ten of us who sat in the sun and walked the beach. Lake Ontario is still cold, so there was no swimming, but I did put my feet in as we walked. Chicken marinated and the horseshoes clanged as the day wore on. From there, it was feeding time. I manned the grill which was filled with lemon pepper chicken. We also had tossed and pasta salad. My shoulders and back have a slight burn. I had sun block on, but it...
Read MoreLunch
Rochester, NY 2:42 PM Warm weather is almost here. I ate lunch outside on the deck for the first time today. Lake Ontario lapped its beautiful song to me. The birds got reacquainted with human activity on the beach. Soon we will have 80 degrees. Shorts and sunburns will follow. A few rounds of golf here and there. Many friends coming over to sit and relax. A horseshoe tournament. A clam bake. A constantly fired up grill. I’m ready. But for now, I’ll keep working. Hockey is on tonight. I’ve never been a big NHL guy, but most of my friends are Buffalo Sabre fans. I’ve hopped on the...
Read MoreLockdown
Elmira, NY 11:55 PM It’s Saturday night and I am home, alone. It’s been many many weekend nights since I haven’t gone out and about. There is no desire tonight. My mind is filled with too many images and thoughts. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go, but I was the only way my mom was going to make it. As we pulled in and walked up the steps to the barbed wire fences, I was still unsure. Once we checked in with the guard and the iron bars mechanically shut with a thunderous boom, I knew there was no going back. I was now locked in a maximum security jail for the next...
Read MoreClean
Rochester, NY 3:25 PM It had been two years since I had sat in the reclining chair with the single, bright light staring down over me. The sounds of clean tools clanging about the metal table. The woman in the blue smock smiling and asking, “How have your teeth been?” The dentist office freaks a lot of people out. I’ve never needed any major work, so I look at it as a different kind of salon. I instantly melt in the chair once they start scraping and buzzing. I used to like the gas they’d give me. If I lived in a place for a while, I’d build a repore with the...
Read MoreMomma’s Day
Rochester, NY 12:39 PM The consulting work I’ve been doing is going well and keeping me very busy. It’s great how you can dedicate time and energy to something when you enjoy it and the people. That’s what business is all about, finding your niche and the right place to let you do what you do best. There may be a blog on this subject coming soon. My best friends in Charlotte are getting married this weekend in the Dominican Republic. I hate not being there, but I am where I am. It should be awesome. I had some friends get back from there a few weeks ago and they said it was...
Read MoreDance
WWW If you need a smile on your face or a break from work, cut and paste this link to see the Evolution of Dance. This guy is a dancing machine and looks just like the stars he is emulating. Enjoy the day. A
Read MoreWedding Weekend
Rochester, NY My summer of the wedding kicked off this weekend in Rochester. One of my friends from youth sports and high school married a cool girl yesterday. I was one of the groomsmen. It had been a while since I had a tux on and walked the aisle. What an honor it is to be asked to be in a wedding. It shows a bond that stays forever. Friday started with a round of golf with a few members of the HPT Tour at Greystone, a spectacular course outside of Rochester. My putter never made it out of the car and caused me some grief, but it was good to have a group together. From there it was home...
Read MoreGrounded
Macedon, NY Well, I learned a lesson about hang gliding. Mother Nature dictates what you do and when you do it. When I arrived at the flight park at around 4:15 PM, the air flags were whipping about. Inside the hanger, I met who I was told is the Michael Jordan of flying personal aircraft. He had his hands and face in the middle of the trike motor I had gone up in the first time. He was in town from Florida for the week helping fine tune things. Long story short, it was too windy to fly yesterday. I was bummed, but it was OK because I got to hang out and learn all about flying, FAA...
Read MoreBack to the air
Macedon, NY 2:55 PM I’m going back up, this time in a hang glider. From what I understand, we get towed up by the ultralite I rode on previously, and then float around. This will be different because there will be no noise of a propeller. It will also be different because we won’t have a propeller to rely on. At about 4:30 I’ll be flying the blue skies.
Read MoreGrass
Rochester, NY For those of you down south, the northeast takes much longer to warm up and for Mother Nature to bloom. I mowed the grass for the first time this year today. 70 and sunny cannot be beat. There is something about the smell of freshly cut grass. Bring on the summer.
Read MoreCrash 2
It turns out the kid was allegedly drinking. What is a high school senior doing out at 1:15 AM on a Tuesday night? I used to run around and do things I wasn’t supposed to, but on a Tuesday night I was home. The house he ran into had to be demolished. It was not safe structurally. The poor family was not allowed to go in and get their belongings. They had to stand outside and watch a big crane tear the house and all of their things inside it down. Awful. The neighborhood is coming together and raising money for the family. But no amount of money can replace pictures. Sad...
Read MoreCrash
My Street At about 1:15 AM last night I was getting ready for bed. I had just shut my CPU off and was about to go brush my teeth and wash my face when I heard a loud crash. My room is by the street and I hopped to the window, but didn’t see anything. It was loud enough that I went downstairs to make sure my car and those of my cousin and uncle next door were OK. They were. I didn’t see anything else and got ready for bed. At about 1:30 I shut off the lights and laid down. There was no sleep, only the sound of idling trucks, heavy trucks. I looked out my window again and this time saw...
Read MorePink
MTV I’m not a parent and don’t know anything about raising kids, especially girls, but recently I’ve been exposed to what seems to be a song with a good message. I am not a Top 40 guy, but when I eat lunch at home I usually sit in front of the TV. When it’s 2 AM and I can’t sleep, I sit in front of the TV. The cable box eventually sees what is on MTV Hits. Also, I’m old school in some of my technology. My Walkman, yes, that thing which plays tapes, is broken. I don’t have an MP3 player yet. When I work out, I plug into the Y’s radio system. The Hit List is scanned to. I’ve...
Read MoreFlight
Macedon, NY 12:02 AM When I was a little kid, I’d spread my arms as wide as they can go and run around. “I’m flying,” I’d scream. Sitting around a campfire or staying up all night talking about nothing can lead to this question, “If you could have one power, what would it be?” A lot of us would answer the ability to fly. Well today, I did it. I flew. Marty told me I had nothing to worry about it as we drove over the flight park. Then he told me I had to sign waivers. My mind raced, but I was not nervous. He had been up in the air thousands of times...
Read MoreFlying
Macedon. NY 11:58 AM I’m doing some consulting work for a company that provides interiors for cars that are being remodeled, typically to older classic cars. The owner is an expert hang glider and also owns a flight park. He’s taking me into the sky tonight! The weather here is upper 60′s and sunny. My first baseball game of the season arrives in 90 minutes, then dinner, flying, and then business meeting. I cannot wait to fly. http://www.fingerlakesaerosportpark.com Hopefully no accidents and I’ll be back with a report from the air.
Read MoreFriends
Rochester, NY 11:03 AM Happy Easter. I am still full from all of the spiral ham I wolfed down yesterday. Saturday was a marathon. I am in my friend Rob’s wedding in early May. We did his bachelor party on Saturday and it was a doozie. Golf was at noon, which I took second place. I had a chance to win, but a few errors cost me down the stretch. The Bird Man took the title. From there it was off to a great dinner at the Dinosaur BBQ. The nine of us then went to a local pub for a marathon of pool, darts, and drinks. It was fun to have his dad and brother along with us. At about 11:30 my...
Read More8th Grade
Webster, NY 4:28 PM It has been many years since I was in 8th grade. I wonder back to what I would’ve thought if there was some guy standing in front of us with a power point talking about how he quit his well paying job to travel the country to interview people so he could find out the right job for him. I think back to me and my long mullet cut and my unlaced Reebok high top sneakers. Would I have listened to someone telling me to match my talents and personality to my job? Would I have processed the idea that I was going to probably spend 84,000 hours of my life at work? I...
Read MoreDifference Maker
Dublin, Ireland 1:03 AM Many of the people I interviewed told me how their desire to make a difference spurred on their passions. After a Sunday full of family, friends, food and watching the Masters, I unwound by watching a movie I had never heard of. I don’t know why I picked it out at the library, but I did and I sat down to watch. I love movies, but am not enough of a film buff to know what Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Shumacher have done and what they haven’t, but when I imagine their films, my vision is of shoot ‘em up, how in the world did the hero not get shot pictures. That may...
Read MoreTwo Years
Rochester, NY 12:58 PM Two years is a long time. In a relationship, two years might be the timeframe where you have to start thinking about the question. In work, two years might mean a nice raise or promotion. In my case, I’ve been on the road for two years today. It’s my anniversary. It’s been a good day so far. I received some feedback from someone who wants my book proposal! I’ve been very focused on my writing and on what is next for me over the previous months. Today has caused me to slow down and retrack some of my steps. I smile as I think about all of the people I’ve met on...
Read MoreThat’s a wrap
Rochester, NY 4:05 PM It’s a bittersweet day. I just put the close on the rough draft of the book. Very exciting. It’s the two year anniversary of my last day of work. The time has flown by. My old roommate from Charlotte’s bachelor party is today. I should be there. I am not. I’m bummed. Final Four coming up…
Read MoreWindows
Rochester, NY 1:23 PM It’s nice to sit here and work with the windows open. First time this year. 70 degrees even. The birds are chirping and the waves are lapping. A truck beeps to let us know it is backing up. Spring has made its way North and I am glad to have it. My goal of being done by April 1 is looking good. Finish this chapter and then an Appendix, then good to go. It will be a bittersweet weekend victory. I should be on my way to Charlotte right now. Enjoy the weekend. Final Four time.
Read MoreRoundtable
Canandaigua, NY 10:22 PM Today I felt like a writer. In a rectangle, there we all were, close to 20 of us, focused in on the front of the room. On Alison, the author from Rochester who now lives in Brooklyn who now has a book on the shelf. The writer’s for the roundtable varied in ages, but I was near the youngest and the majority were my parents age and older. Alison, in her mid 30′s, with her short blonde hair and genuine smile, was in front, with her father. She fielded questions from us about her writing and writing in general. Each answer was off the cuff, but very well...
Read MoreName all the Animals
Canandaigua, NY 5:22 PM I just received a phone call that a space at a writers roundtable opened up for me. Earlier today they said it was full. Tomorrow a local author who has hit it big will be back in town for the weekend doing readings and book signings. Alison Smith and her book, Name all the Animals, was rated in the top 10 for books in 2004 by People Magazine. She is from Rochester and went to high school right down the street from me. A lot of big time magazines have reviewed her and I’ll be sitting at the table tomorrow afternoon. I am not sure if I even qualify for this...
Read MoreBeach
Rochester, NY 1:11 PM I just came back inside from my first walk on the beach of 2006. Over the course of the past few months I’d replaced the sounds, the smells, and the sights of the beach with other thoughts. Well, they’re back. Hearing the waves lap up on to the shore and watching the seagulls sitting in what has to be frigid water brings me back. Hearing the gulls call out in their annoying shrill, maybe saying, “This sucks. This ice water is killing me.” The wind rustled on the trees that still don’t have their leaves. A what seemed to be a little kid played on...
Read MoreBook Stuff
Rochester, NY 12:25 PM I have been a writing machine this week. Part One of the book is much improved and ready to go back to my editor friends. I should have Part Three ready for eyes other than mine before my weekend begins tonight. Part Two is just about ready. Wow, I guess this means my book is almost there. It is almost ready to be shared. Oh yeah, I guess I should talk about the book. I haven’t really delved into it much. Part One goes into detail about my life in Charlotte, my job in Charlotte, and what led up to me ultimately resigning from the perfect job to embark on the...
Read More