Happy Halloween!!

So, I have heard it from several people that I don't blog enough. Well, I don't. I'm working on it...


Tonight I went to my friend, Adrienne's Halloween bash. I must say it was lots of fun and there were great costumes. If you know me at all, then you know I'm not wild about costume parties. I just don't get it into it mostly because I'm not creative enough to come up with a clever costume. Once again, I came up with a lame one. In an effort to grab something last minute, my friend, Kirsten, and I headed to Party City to see what they had left. She bought horns. It turns out, horns are her trusty standby. She has more than one pair. I found a VERY nice 1st place ribbon.

I wanted to come up with this clever story when people asked "What did you win first place?" I even sent a text to someone I thought was clever enough but no response. So, I opted for the answer to that question would be "What do you THINK I won first place for?" That way, if someone had a clever answer, I could steal it the rest of the night.


Two noteworthy events occurred at the par-tay: First, our bossman came out! Everyone was shocked and I think he really enjoyed himself. Second, one of our co-workers showed up incognito. He walked in, got some food, and then walked out costumed head to toe. Then, he stood outside the house staring inside while we all made guesses as to who it might be. Once some of the girls chased him down and discovered his identity Mystery Machine style (those pesky kids), we all went on and on about how awesome that was....and rather creepy.

Words of Wisdom from my professor

So, I am sitting in class right now and my professor said something that I am STILL laughing about (outloud, I'll have you know). We are working on a new piece of software (well, new to us) for our class project. Apparently, this software is peculiar in the sense it is easy to delete work. His solution went a little something like this: "I realize this is a multicultural environment, but I'm a Christian...so, Jesus saves and so should you!" Man, this guy is great!!!

Weekend O' Fun

I just spent an awesome weekend with an old friend. My buddy from college, Joel Andrews, moved to DC a few weeks ago. Of course, I was excited to have him come visit. This time around we did the usual Colonial tour. Next time maybe my life will be more exciting and I will show him the high life of Beach life!?!?!

Anyways, first stop: a ferry ride. We drove "the country mile" to the James River and rode over to Jamestown. Joel made some new friends while we waited.

On the ride over, we got out of the car and checked out the sites.

Once in Jamestown, we did what every other tourist would do. We went straight to the Visitor's Center. (In fact, we visited every visitor's center we could find!) Joel found his way to Alabama's flag and I went straight to the beautiful Tennessee flag.






Following Colonial Parkway, we headed to Colonial Williamsburg while stopping to read all historic placards on the way. Joel was a little disappointed when we stopped at this Visitor's Center and I refused to rent colonial costumes. I think these guys made him jealous.

We did all the normal touristy stuff in W'burg until it started to rain. It put a little damper on our time.

A lady asked me when I was taking this picture if I wanted in also. My knee jerk reaction was "no thanks". I guess I am on sabbatical from picture posing due to the last 3 years. I sort of wish I had gotten in this one.

Last but not least, we made a stop at the College of William and Mary. I have always loved this campus and this was my first visit to the Wren Building.

After W'burg, we headed to Yorktown. Needless to say, we were pretty much out of steam at this point and the rain was a pouring.

That evening we joined my girlfriend, Adrienne, for everyone's first Doumar's experience. Doumar's is credited for inventing the waffle cone in 1905 at the St. Louis World's Fair. It's a great dive and I had to visit since it was on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives recently. The food is typical fast fare but the environment is fun. Our waiter was awesome and the waffle cone is delish! I guess you could say we had an educational weekend.

Joel, I will come North soon so you can show me around. Then, we will plan something a little more present day excitement for Va Beach trip round 2.

OBX Saturday PARTY

We spent all day Saturday in the sun. Morning time was at the beach

and afternoon we spent it at the house's pool.

Well, we didn't get in the pool, but we did get in the "cold" tub to cool off. It was nice not to have a rigid schedule. I don't do that often.

Late afternoon, some friends from Va Beach made a trip down for a nice dinner at the Sanderling.

Cake and presents followed at the beach house and some gaming. I won't mention that I was in absolute last place in Apples to Apples. My friend, Rob Socia, had no mercy on this birthday girl!

OBX Friday Fun

Our first night at the beach house was filled with lots of yummy food. Adrienne made chili and then we had funnel cakes and other fried confections while we waited on Pattee to find her way.

We also discovered our love for "Would you rather..." That game literally entertained us the entire weekend. Here's one for you:

Would you rather only eat from a liquid diet or only eat things burnt to a crisp? I was alone on the burnt option...

We also made a night trip to the beach to peek at what was in store for the next day.

OBX for 3-0

I know you are all DYING to know what I did to celebrate the third decade of my life. I had an awesome girls weekend and welcomed several ladies from different parts of my life to VA. Travelers arrived planes, trains, and automobiles style on Friday and we headed south to the Outer Banks, NC. Attendees were:

Sheila Tandoc is a friend that I made while at Liberty Tax Service. She is my personal helpdesk and loves taking pictures. You can always count on her to arrive camera in hand and depend on her to post ALL pictures.

Brittany Carpenter Jepson is one of the first friends I made in kindergarden. From there we attended North Lee, BJHS, BCHS, and Lee University together. To be honest, it's weird to go to graduate school without her!

Ali "Ali-san" Krizner is another friend I made at Liberty Tax Service. She was a fellow Southern Belle in this quasi southern state. Ali has played a role in my running and has become my recipe swapping buddy.

Adrienne Wilker is my newest buddy from General Dynamics and cheese companion. She "hosted" my birthday weekend organizing the girls and our fun. We had a great time experimenting with fried confections the weekend prior.

Patricia "Pattee" Williams is a former Starbucks barista. She is also my church buddy and Half Korean, half Greek, and full FUN friend.

Karin Kramer is a an old college buddy and former neighbor. She also lived here in Va Beach when I originally moved here. She is one Hip Conservative and I can always count on her to travel to DC for an inaugural event.

Chuckle, chuckle

I sat down with a young guy this morning and shared a little bit about my current situation. He said something that was both profound and funny:

"With patience and a fast bimmer, you are going to go far."

Thanks, Mike!