Friday, May 29, 2009

Goodbye Jay!

Today is the last day of the blog challenge and it's safe to report now that one more challenger is out of the race. That still leaves 5 of us in the contest, the process to choose the winner is still TBA.

I'm straying away from the normal lists today, I was running out of ideas anyway. Today I want to blog about something that I'm going to miss. Tonight is the last show that Jay Leno will be doing at 11:30pm, his run as "The Tonight Show" host will end after 17 seasons. I've only been an avid watcher for about the last 6-7 years, but the nights just won't be the same without him. For 4 of these years I was in Central time and watching him beginning at 10:30pm knowing that it would be over at 11:30pm usually left me refreshed for work in the mornings.

Moving back to Eastern time made watching him from 11:30pm-12:30am more difficult, if I could get through the first 30min I would be happy, unless I wanted to watch who he was interviewing. I always set the Sleep timer on my bedroom TV, but sometimes I just couldn't stay awake for what I wanted to see. He's had lots of regular guests over the years that I've enjoyed and some of his skits/comedy bits are memorable. Yes, he'll back on the air in the fall at 10pm, but I doubt it'll be same.

I remember 5 years ago when he made the announcement that he was going to be on the air another 10 years then Conan would be taking over. Just a couple weeks after that, he announced that his time had been reduced to 5 years because NBC was afraid that they'd lose Conan elsewhere if he had to wait 10 years for The Tonight Show job. Back then that seemed a long way off and not much to worry about, turning 3o also seemed a long way off too, but life goes on.

I've set my DVR tonight in case I'm not home at 11:30pm. Conan will be the primary guest tonight and it will be an official passing of the torch. At the very least, the teaser spots promoting Conan will finally end. I'll give him a chance, but it just won't be the same without Monday night "Headlines" or the Terry Bradshaw interviews. I'm not much of a Letterman fan, but I can always turn my late night TV watching towards Friends re-runs. Better yet, maybe I should actually go to bed at an earlier hour.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

I used to be a thespian

I do have to admit that my acting career was short lived, only a few plays in high school. I initially took an intro to drama class my Sophomore year of high school so that I could get over my fear of public speaking. Needless to say, it worked. I loved the whole experience and even got involved in building sets and being a student director over those three years.

Today's list . . . 5 roles that I had in high school plays (sadly, I probably have all the t-shirts from these plays at my apt).

1) Samuel Bester in "Up the Down Staircase" -- I think it was the role of an old English teacher. It was a bit part, I believe it was only 3 lines. This started the trend of future type of roles that I played in high school.

2) Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- I don't think I need to expand on this play or role, I believe everyone knows the story here. It was a big part, I was on stage just about the entire play, but I didn't have that many lines. Again, this was an old man's role that put me in that same type as the first play.

3) Mr. Curtis in "Onions in the Stew" -- For the third time, I was cast as an old man. This time it was as a plumber in a play about a family that bought a fixer-upper kind of house. The old man plumber was married to Mrs. Curtis who was the real plumber in their plumbing business. I think I had about three lines in this play, but I was type casted as the old man yet again. If there was anything good that came out of this, I got really good in two years of putting on stage makeup to look like an old man. I got compliments from my teacher and people in the audience about how great the make-up looked from the crowd. I don't know how to take that compliment, I've always paid attention to detail but I don't know if putting on old man make-up is how I wanted to be remembered.

4) Eddie in "Rough Night at the North Pole" -- This was the fall children's play that my school did and it was my senior year and I had gotten away from old man roles (or so I thought). Eddie was the world's tallest elf and also an apprentice elf. Looking back, I was Buddy the Elf; just thought of that. I got the non-old man role thanks to a new drama teacher. This was a comedy and I had a ton of fun being cheesy on stage. They taught me how to fall off a couch and also how to hit my head on a short doorway the dramatic way, but when showtime came I did the real thing; the realism should have won me an Oscar. I know what you're all thinking; yes, I had to wear tights since I played an elf.

5) Bartender in "Don't Rock the Boat" -- I played a non-speaking bartender on stage in this comedy for another class because I was the student director for my class's performance. I volunteered to be the director because I wasn't going to get the role I wanted and I didn't want to play the old man again. I had fun on stage in this one just because it was my last play in school. Plus, helping out the other class led me to hanging out with friends in that class and making new ones.

I enjoyed high school theater, but left my acting career there. There were a couple times in college I saw auditions but didn't do anything about them, I was busy doing other things.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Farmer Bill

This Top 5 list a day thing is starting to make my brain hurt. I'm kind of surprised that I've been able to come up with this much stuff to blog about and put it into a list format. No promises once the month is over and I win the Blog a Day in May Challenge.

Today's list . . . 5 things that I've learned trying to grow tomato plants on my patio.

1) It's been hard to get enough sunlight on them -- Lots of tall trees around, only small windows of sunlight available. Placing the plants in the right spots so they get as much as they can has been hard, they get moved often.

2) Not all plants grow at the same rate -- The grape tomato plant started smaller than the regular plant when I bought them, now it's the tallest. It's outgrown the stakes that I keep buying and I've had to rely on nails on the patio to tie string to and let the vine get support that way. The vine is really long.

3) Once the blossoms bloom, the tomatoes aren't quick to follow -- I've had blossoms to some degree for weeks. The blooms on the grape tomato plant open up but then they fall off. Not one single tomato has grown on that plant yet. The other plant had fruit form, but they are growing so slowly. I've counted 7 so far, but they have a lot of growing to do until they are ready to eat. They just don't appear to be getting bigger.

4) Knowing when and how much to water is challenging -- Supposedly, I haven't had to worry about this since there are holes in the bottom of the pots. I wonder if this, or the liquid fertilizer that I use, has anything to do with the blossoms falling off.

5) People think I get overly excited by growing these tomatoes -- Let's face it, I do. I've been wanting to do this for years and finally did it because Florida has a really long growing season. Maybe this is a precursor to what I'm going to be like as an old man; is there a huge garden in my future? I doubt it, I just really like tomatoes and thought that I could grow them cheaper than buying them in a grocery store.

I can't promise that I can share any tomatoes once they are ready to eat, at this point that moment in time seems too far in the future. If they start growing faster than I can eat them and you're in the Tally area, let me know if you'd want any.

Side note: After last week's donut list, I went to WCTV online and bought the Double Dollar Deal Gift Certificates for Donut Kingdom. This was $50 worth of donut gift certificates for $25; that's a good deal. The deal got better two days after I bought them ($50 worth for $15), but so what, I had already bought mine. I got them in the mail yesterday and was thrilled. Today, Adam tried to order them and was told that Donut Kingdom no longer accepts these certificates. I got the official email moments later telling me the same thing and how to get my money back. It wasn't a good day in my donut kingdom.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Wish there was more money in there.

Long day of work = short blog post.

Today's list . . . 5 random things I keep in my wallet. It's a front pocket wallet, so there's not a lot to choose from.

1) Southwest Rapid Rewards card -- I don't fly that much and Tally isn't a SW town, still have it if I need it.

2) Red Cross Card -- Got it after giving blood years ago, I keep it to remember my blood type, A+.

3) Rita's Cool Card -- I have a long way to go to earn that free treat.

4) Kroger Plus Card -- Tally isn't a Kroger town, but when I go to Nashville to visit the parents, I can get cheap gas.

5) Proof of a Tetanus shot -- In case I step on a rusty nail, I can whip out the card and show the EMT's; I'm good for 5.5 more years.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Lessons from the long weekend

Today isn't a part of the challenge, but I wanted to keep blogging on the weekdays.

Today's list. . . 5 things I learned this weekend.

1) Where all the Student Affairs people hang out -- not literally, but every placed I seemed to go this weekend had DSA people there. It was cool at first, then the running joke was "who are we going to see there?"

2) Cleaning a grill is nasty -- yeah, it's the same grill that I'm not allowed to use, but I've never cleaned it before. It was much needed but who knows when I'll ever use it again.

3) Fermintation Lounge is my new favorite spot -- I've never gone there and not enjoyed it. Seems like it draws a crowd that's not undergrads, that's why I like it.

4) There's another UT grad in town -- a small victory in this ACC town. Not saying this new fellow alum is going be my new BFF, but someone to watch UT football games would be nice.

5) Eating Mexican twice in one day isn't bad -- lots of options, always something to choose. Mexican food is really good.

Friday, May 22, 2009

When I grow up . . .

How many times did we all have to complete that phrase before high school graduation? It seems like it all started in Kindergarten, at least that's the first time that I could remember it. Over the years, the answers changed and I ended up where I am today. Even though I'm 30, at what age are you considered grown up?

Today's list is pretty straightforward . . . 5 jobs I wanted to have when I grew up.

1) TV Weather Man -- I don't know why, but this always fascinated me. The weather was interesting and at an early age, being on TV was the only thing that I thought I could do weather related. Once I learned what shyness was and how bad I had it at an early age, the thought of getting in front of a camera and talking terrified me. I don't know when I lost the desire to do this, but the interest in weather hasn't gone away.

2) Advertising -- I don't have a clue why I ever thought I wanted to do this, maybe it was my obsession with funny commercials. Maybe it was all the Full House episodes I watched growing up, the jingles that Jessie and Joey came up with (for fake products) were funny. To this day I'm the one at Super Bowl parties asking people to be quiet when the commercials start.

3) Meteorologist -- Note, this is not the same as a TV weather man. Back in 9th grade, I won a weather/meteorology event at a state science contest (nerd alert). To get ready for the event, our school sponsor for the group took a couple of us to the local National Weather Service Bureau in Nashville and they taught us all the basics. For a couple of years, I wanted to be one of those guys; it seemed like a really great job. It was all science and math related, and let's face it, those were my best subjects.

4) Robotics Engineer -- A trip to a science lab back in high school got me interested in this (another nerd alert). After talking to several teachers and guidance counselors in addition to taking aptitude tests, it seemed like Engineering was the right path for me. I was good at math and have always enjoyed taking things apart, putting them back together and building things. I even went to college and got the ole' Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. If you ever want to see it, it's framed at my apartment; that's all I've done with it since 2002.

Of course I fell into Student Affairs and love what I do; it's all because I was an involved undergrad and had great mentors. Most of you are thinking, wait that's only 4 things. I posed the question earlier about when do we really grow up. If I'm not done growing up and had to change career paths again, it would be to become a . . . .

5) Major League Baseball General Manager -- This will never happen, but I've been a fan of the game as long as I can remember. The only thing holding me back would be the lack of a love for statistics, too much this job is to analyze past player's performances and project futures. The transaction side of the sport - drafts, trades, and free agent signings - is the part that I find the most fascinating. Working with inflated egos isn't appealing either, but putting together my own team sounds like way too much fun. Playing Fantasy Baseball will have to fill this void for now.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

What my time in Tally has taught me.

I must admit, the theme that I have chosen for my blog this month is getting harder to maintain. Bear with me through the end of this contest and I'll start blogging about real life issues, such as my thoughts on American Idol.

Today's list . . . 5 things that I've learned since moving to Tallahassee.

1) I'm a kick-ass Scrabble player -- Admit it people, the guy with the Engineering degree seems to win at Scrabble a lot. It's all about the placement of the word and taking advantage of the double and triple word scores.

2) There is more tolerance for a UT grad here -- Being in ACC country, the SEC isn't really looked at the same as it is in other SEC areas. No one has given me any grief for the Tennessee stuff on my car, that's been really nice. I should do more with the local Alumni chapter though, it would help if more people my age were involved with it. The one time I went to an event, I felt very young and out of place.

3) Locals don't like the term "liquid sunshine" -- I thought it was a clever way of talking about the rain, but others quickly let me know that the term wasn't cool to use. Lesson learned, I have retired that phrase.

4) Playing the drums on Guitar Hero: World Tour -- I bought Guitar Hero a few years back, so I know I can play the guitar. I'd say it was back in January and February that I tried them for the first time. I don't own it, but Kelly does, so playing it at her place gave me some practice. I'm still a better guitar player than a drummer; I've been told that I go "in a zone" when I'm on guitar since I concentrate so much.

5) Doing a keg stand -- The only one that I've ever done in my life was at the joint anniversary party of mine and Patrick's respective 29th birthdays. I was cheated on the actual count, someone started the flow early and I didn't get credit for the first 2-3 seconds. At my age now, I doubt that I will ever do one again; it was a one time thing.

Sure I've learned some stuff while at work that will make me a better professional down the line, but who wants to read about that. Life lessons like the ones referenced above is what we all want to know.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Donut Kingdom is coming!

I'm going to have to give part of the credit for this blog topic to Adam G. He informed me yesterday that a Donut Kingdom is going in on Tennessee St, only two blocks from the Union. I drove past it on my way home and saw the sign, it was beautiful. Needless to say, the SAC staff will be making many trips there once it opens, or at least Adam and I will. Krispy Kreme will always be my favorite, but with a donut shop 2 blocks away, I will be a frequent customer.

In the spirit of my Top 5 lists and with this new business opening up close by today's list is . . . my 5 favorite Krispy Kreme's of all time.
1) Key Lime Pie -- I've only seen it and had it once (even referenced it in a previous post). It was really good, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Accoriding to internet research it was introduced as the flavor of the month in June 2003, no news on it since.

2) Chocolate Iced Custard Filled -- You can also call it a Boston Cream Pie, but I call dibs on it the next time it's in any assorted dozen anyone brings to the office.

3) Chocolate Iced Cake -- Not the glazed donut with chocolate icing, the cake donut with chocolate icing. Simple and delicious. Sprinkles and other decorations are optional, I'll eat it either way.

4) New York Cheesecake -- This is a pretty heavy donut, but I like it because I also like cheescake. It's the closest thing they have to a Key Lime donut, the filling's about the only thing different.

5) Cinnamon Apple Filled -- I'll eat anything that has cinnamon and apple in combination, donuts included.
Basically, the only kind of donut I don't like is anything that has coconut on it or in it. If you're a Dunkin Donut fan, be kind on the comments.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Looking back on the 10-year reunion

I've got to thank Kelly's new GA, Selby, for giving me the idea for this blog post. He posted yesterday about his future high school reunions which had me thinking about my 10 year reunion that I went to back in October 2007.

Since I know that I'm the oldest of the "Blog a Day in May" challengers, I think it's safe to say that I'm the only one that's been to an official high school reunion. To all of you that have yours coming up soon, I recommend going. It is fun, but it's far from reliving high school memories again. I like to reference high school reunions as a party that when you walk in you already know everyone's name but don't care to talk to most of them. It sounds harsh, but go to one and you'll see what I mean. It may also help to add that I graduated with 320 people, of which about 120-130 came to the reunion.

Today's list . . . 5 observations from my high school reunion.

1) Pick a bigger place -- My class pledged in the beginning that they wouldn't have our reunion at the country club in town, too many other classes already did that. So they went one town over to a semi-private golf course and rented out the restaurant/bar. It wasn't big enough and there were too many small rooms that split everyone up, it was cliquish all over again, plus the food was in a separate room and people had to go out on the front and back patios to fit. I have no doubt we were over fire code in the main room, it was crazy. I do give kudos to the bar, beer was a great way to get through the evening even though I had to pay for everything I drank on top of the fee I sent in weeks earlier to RSVP.

2) My twin brother should have gone too -- Too many of the conversations began the same way. "Where are you living these days? What do you do? How is your brother, why isn't he here?" It was like everyone rehearsed what to say, that or I had those questions tattooed on my forehead. I didn't mind too much answering those questions, but after some small talk with a few classmates I ran out of things to say. This whole "twin" thing applies to only me as far as my readers go, but if you had siblings close in age that everyone knew, you can expect a lot of the same questions.

3) The font on the nametags were too small -- We had the premade nametags with the old yearbook pictures on them, but the font couldn't be read beyond about 3 feet. It was too thin and small, the fancy script may have looked good on the computer screen but didn't translate too well in real life. Plus, for the select few names that I couldn't remember, a bigger font would have been appreciated. A lot of names came back instantly, but there were three that I had to read their nametags to jog my memory. Most people changed subtly over the years, but there were a few that I would have never recognized without the nametag.

4) The spouses can be fun to talk to -- Since I went to college in the same state as high school, I knew a couple of the spouses too; we had gone to college together. I felt that I had more current stuff to talk to some of them about. There were no fake exchange of pleasantries, I enjoyed talking to them, plus some of the ones I was introduced to that night were pretty cool. Overall, too many spouses and significant others were there and I would love to have a reunion with no spouses and significant others so it can be a true "class reunion."

5) Some people never change -- I'm glad I got out of my town and went elsewhere, college included. Some of the people that might not have gone to college stayed in town and it was pretty obvious that they still hang out with each other and act a lot of the same ways that they did back in high school. If that's ok with them, then it's ok with me, but I'm glad that I got out and did the things I've done and met the people that I have.

I enjoyed the experience, but I know why they only happen every 5-10 years. I have been in touch with many more people from high school since then, so that's been a good thing. I'll keep going back to my future reunions, I just hope they find a bigger space next time.

Monday, May 18, 2009

I'm no Bobby Flay. . .

I watch my fair share of the Food Network, who doesn't? While I don't posses their level of culinary ability (or talent), cooking is fun. It's more fun to have someone else do the cooking and only concentrate on the eating, but there are times that I roll up my sleeves and cook.

Today's list . . . the 5 things that I enjoy cooking. This list is in no particular order.

1) Beef/Chicken Enchiladas -- I've made the beef ones on several occasions and the chicken ones only once. The beef ones are easy to make and the beauty of it is that you can season to taste and not have to rely on the pre-made sauce to do it all for you. The chicken ones were a little harder to make because I bought the chicken raw and grilled it. It's tough to grill chicken and know when it's done, but it can be done. The chicken had to be shredded after it was grilled and that took some time compared to the beef simmering away in a skillet. Both turned out well and the best thing about it was that there were always leftovers.

2) Steaks/Pork Chops -- I love to grill steaks and pork chops, plus these are two kinds of meats that are ok to eat on the medium/medium rare side. The best thing that I found to season my meats with is the steak seasoning grinder from Oxford Falls, it's a local food company based out of Starkville, MS. The owner is hilarious, plus he has a full line of products that are delicious. I'd love to show everyone my mad grilling skills, but my apt complex won't let me use the one I have. I'm going to have to move or grill elsewhere before I can show off this skill.

3) Chili -- There's nothing better than a bowl of chili on a cold winter day. Those kind of days are few and far between in Florida, but I still made it once this year. Every time I make it, I add or change something in it just to see how it might turn out different. Regardless of how it turns out, I always eat all of it. I use a small crock pot when I make it, but I'm thinking about using a bigger pot next time and making twice what I normally make. This is a cold weather food in my book, but I'm willing to make it over the summer if anyone's interested.

4) Broccoli casserole -- Think broccoli and lots of cheese. The best I ever had growing up was a version that my aunt made, and to this day it's the only thing that she claims she can cook. Back in grad school I needed to bring a dish for an office function, so I got the recipe from her and it was a huge success. It's a big portion to make for one person, so the next office function that's more of a sit down meal will most likely be graced by this bit of heaven. Why is my version so good? The recipe calls for 8oz of Cheese Whiz, but it comes in a 12oz jar; I couldn't let it go to waste so I just use the whole thing. That extra cheese is wonderful.

5) Mini pigs in a blanket -- This may not sound so complicated, because it's not. The proof that they're as good as I think they are is that I've made them twice this year for parties and both times I have come home with an empty container. The response "Oh, I love these things" when people see what I brought is satisfaction enough to know that I made them well. Seriously people, it's not hard. All you need is a package of small link sausages and canned crescent rolls. If you can't tell, this will probably be my contribution to any and all tailgates, Super Bowl parties, and BYO finger food functions for years to come.

I'm a long way from being an Iron Chef, but I'm willing to expand my cooking skills. After seeing Guy Fieri over the weekend make Philly Cheese Steak egg rolls, I'm thinking that I need to try making those next. Plus, it's probably not a good idea to watch the Food Network when you're hungry.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Collectables

At the halfway point of the "Blog a Day in May" contest, I'm still going strong with ideas to blog about. I'm a little surprised, but that's been half the fun of the entire contest.

Today's list is pretty simple . . . "5 things that I have collected (for whatever reason) at some point in my life."

1) Baseball cards -- As far back as I can remember, baseball has always been my first love. The elementary school years were the peak of this obsession. If I had to guess, they're in the top of the closet of the room I sleep in when I go back to my parent's house (it's not my room, I didn't grow up in that house). I think this is one reason why I like to play Fantasy Baseball today.

2) Keychains -- I have no clue why I started collecting them, maybe because my brother did at one point in time too. I made a chain out of them and it was pretty long (maybe 10 ft), but I think his was longer since he started collecting them before me. I have no clue where they are now.

3) Golf balls with imprinted logos -- I think this began back in middle school, right around the time that I started playing golf. My grandmother lived on a golf course and there was a lake by the green on the hole she lived on. After retrieving the balls from the water (and never having to buy a golf ball until college) I always thought that the ones with the logos were cool, so I'd keep them. Most of these have probably been lost in the woods or other bodies of water at various golf courses over the years.
4) Four-leaf clovers -- Back in the elementary school days, the neighbors yard was a gold mine for these things. Every time you looked down, there one was. I don't think there was any special reason to saving them, but I did. I remember putting them in a set of children's encyclopedias in the "P" book under "Plants" since there was no entry for clovers. I know where the encyclopedias are now, but no idea if they are still in there. I'm going to have to look next time I go visit my parents.
5) 50 state quarters -- This would be the only thing on the list that I still look for today, it all started my sophomore year of college when they had been out for a few months. I don't go out of my way to find the ones I don't have, but I keep it in mind when I get change back from something. I don't have a book that I keep them in or one of those maps that hold them all. They go in a random little change purse that came with some luggage I got years ago, right now it's at my apartment on a bookshelf. True collectors want a set of "D" and "P" minted coins, I don't care about that. The only one I don't have is Colorado, so if you run across one I'd appreciate the missing piece to my collection.

I'd be interested to hear some of the things that my loyal readers have collected over the years(or still collect today).

Thursday, May 14, 2009

RA Memories

In a meeting the other day, a couple of us talked briefly about our days of being an RA. Granted, none of us were RA's at the same school, it had me thinking back on the 5 years (that's right, 5 years) that I spent in good ole' Reese Hall back at Tennessee. Only 4 of those were as an RA, I also lived there my Freshman year. The picture doesn't look like much, but I have many fond memories of my time there.Today's list is . . . The 5 things I miss about being an RA (in an all guys res hall)

1) My friends on the different staffs over the years -- I've kept in touch with many thanks to Facebook, but there are only about 5 that I've kept in close contact with over the years. We ate meals together, played intramurals together, had classes together and went to football games together. I like to say that it was like having 13 roommates every year, but we didn't have to share a bathroom.

2) Defending the honor of Gumby -- All of you are thinking "Gumby? The green cartoon?" Yep, that's him. Back in the 1970's, Reese Hall adopted Gumby as their mascot and it stuck. I think I have 7 t-shirts with Gumby on them. We even had a stuffed Gumby that we passed around from week to week at staff meetings that went to the person who did something that benefited the entire hall or went out of their way to help a fellow RA. I had it my fair share of time, it was an honor to guard him. "Guard him?" Yep, the other halls knew that he was our mascot and would try to steal him if they could. I think in my 4 years on staff, he only got stolen twice.

3) Staff meetings -- I enjoyed them because it was the only time the entire week that we all saw one another. There was always business to go over, but sharing funny moments throughout the week about our residents was always good for a laugh. Since it was a time that we all had on our schedule every week, it allowed us to play IM softball as a staff during softball season. It was awesome that we had a Hall Director that would let us do that for two years; he was also our second baseman.

4) Random road trips -- The one that I remember the most was a Friday night that a few of us had nothing to do. After some conversation, we ended up taking a trip to Cherokee, NC to visit the Casino on the Indian reservation. I remember it well, it was me, Erik P, and Greg K leaving Knoxville at like 9pm to make the 90 mile drive. We had to drive through Pigeon Forge, TN (tourist hell) to get to where we were going and we didn't know that there was a car show in town that night. Combine that with Erik P's car burning oil and all the people of the side of the road to watch the other cars were telling us that our car was smoking; I need to mention that we were moving at a snail's pace with the windows down. We could have had a conversation with the people in their lawn chairs if we wanted to, we were moving that slow. We got to the casino close to midnight. I won a little money, got little sleep and had to be on desk duty at 8am Saturday morning. I was tired on Saturday, but it was worth it.

5) My bathroom was cleaned for me every week -- Yeah, call me lazy; it was a skill that I didn't learn until grad school. I loved Laura and Ernestine who cleaned my bathrooms over the years. Heck, I loved our entire custodial, maintenance, and clerical staff; after working there for 4 years, I got to know them pretty well.

I had a great time being an RA, but I've enjoyed life after on-campus living so much more. I'm not one of those people who will go back to Reese Hall when I'm up there for a football game and tell the RA on duty at the desk that I used to be an RA there. Last time I was up there, I went in, looked around the lobby, used the lobby restroom and then left. That's all I needed to do to bring back old memories (I'm talking about looking around the lobby, not using the restroom).

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Keys to a great road trip

I vow not to make these lists on my blog not to be the type you see on Facebook. Those lists get on my nerves and I have yet to fill one out. I promise to make my lists more interesting and relevant. (Some of you may be thinking that my lists are beyond interesting and relevant, but I enjoy writing about this stuff and being reflective)

Today's list was a suggestion that I threw out yesterday at the SAC cookout as a possible future blog topic. After Adam asked me today why I didn't post it yesterday, it made me think that I have today's topic decided already. Julia made me think about this too after her post on the bad driver in her morning commute.

Today's topic . . . The 5 things that I hate to do on long road trips.

1) Make unnecessary stops -- When I get on the road, I'm usually on a mission. Depending on the length of the drive, multiple stops are necessary. I started packing a lunch when I have to make a long trip. Not only does it save money, but it saves time. In addition, when I do stop, I like to get food, a restroom break, and gas all at the same place. If I'm good on gas, then a rest stop is fine because the vending machines can satisfy the need for a snack.

2) Talking on the phone -- I've done my fair share of it on long road trips, but it's not the best way, in my opinion, to kill time on the road. I've refussed to get a car charger for my phone because I'm never on it long enough to drain the battery. I'll talk on the phone when I have to, but I prefer keeping my concentration on the road. Random side note, I listened in on a conference call back in November on a drive from Tallahassee to Nashville. I couldn't remember two things that was said all conversation long, plus I didn't really pay attention.

3) Admitting that it's my fault that someone honked at me or cut me off -- Much like the rest of you, it's always someone else's fault in my mind when some @$$hole on the road pisses me off. Colorful language has been known to make an appearance in my car when some idiot on the road does something stupid.

4) Take "short cuts" or "scenic routes" -- I know that the Interstate will get me just about anywhere that I need to go. Plus, it's harder to use cruise control on these short cuts and backroads. Granted, if your destination is some place a long way from an interstate (like . . . Starkville, MS) then back roads are just part of the game plan. What I might save in mileage, it's hard to imagine that I'll save in time.

5) Listening to "Books on tape" -- This bores me like no other. I can't handle the monotony of the narrator/storyteller. Granted, I don't have but two experiences with books on tape, but they were both horrible. Maybe I have some sort of ADD on the road, I just can't concentrate to one of those things. The one time that I was in the car for the duration of one of those was on the way to a conference my second year of grad school (and partially on the trip back). Luckily I was in the backseat and could hide my boredome somewhat for most of that trip. At least with music, the song changes every few minutes and keep things fresh (that's why I love my XM radio).

These might sound a little harsh, but I'm a pretty simple road warrior. Being patient, taking limited stops, having music on the radio, and staying on the main roads will keep me happy.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The SAC end of year BBQ

This will be a short blog entry today, internet access is limited today.

Here are the 5 best things aboutthe SAC cookout that we had at the Rez today.

1) I left the office about 11:50am and never went back to work.

2) The food! Kelly's dip, Dylan's chili, and the burgers Joe cooked were all amazing.

3) No one talked about work until we were wrapping up and getting ready to leave. That was about 3:30, so going that long was amazing without work talk.

4) HC and UP (me, Adam, Lori, and Dylan) beat DM and SOS (Joe, Abbie, Kelly, and Chris) in beach volleyball, 3 games to 2.

5) As we were packing up, Abbie accepted a job (10 month internship) with NC State doing athletic academic counseling. Congrats to Abbie, this is exactly what she wants to do.

It was a great day, I also got to polish my frisbee skills; it's been awhile.

Monday, May 11, 2009

As Seen on TV

So, after seeing some sort of infomercial this weekend, it gave me a blog idea. Five things that I've seen on TV that I've bought, been given as a gift or played with over the years. Keep in mind, I never called a 1-800 number or anything, most of this current stuff you can find in any store. Here goes the list:

1) Snuggie - I bought it at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Seriously, all of you know I own one. It's no big secret. It's not made to keep you warm on it's own, but if you're already in a sweatshirt, then it's wonderful.

Pros - Keeps me warm while watching TV in the winter and I still get to use my hands and move my arms around.

Cons - Many of you make fun of me for it, but I don't care, it's worth it.


2) OxyClean - Bought many times at Wal-Mart.I was a skeptic at first, but I had an uncle who swore by this stuff. So I bought it, and you know what, the stuff works pretty well.


Pros - It's best to spot treat stains in carpet and to get a good scrubbing of the kitchen sink.

Cons - I don't notice a big difference as a laundry booster, but I still use it anyway.



3) Sports Illustrated Tote/Gym Bag - Free gift with a subscription that my brother got me for Christmas a couple years ago.
This isn't the exact version, but it's the closest thing I could find. At first, I didn't know what to do with it, but then it hit me. I keep all my softball stuff in it, shoes, glove, ball, etc. .

Pros - When all my stuff is out of it during a game, it gives me a place to keep my keys and cell phone.

Cons - Put together pretty cheaply and after using it for two years, it's begun to tear in a couple places.



4) Rolling Ruler - Grandmother bought one each for me and my brother as a Birthday present, I have to guess that it was 15 years ago.

After seeing it on TV for a long time, it looked like it would be a lot of fun to play with and draw stuff. I don't have any idea if we told her we wanted it, but it was a nice surprise.

Pros - It was my first "As seen on TV" item, that was pretty cool. Plus the built in protractor to make the perfect angles and the holes in the ruler to make perfect circles was awesome.

Cons - The no-slip wheels were a bunch of crap. You'd think that they'd be some type of rubber material, but they were cheap plastic. The thing never rolled straight.


5) Whisper 2000 - My family inherited it (kind of) after my great uncle died, again probably 15 years ago.

It was fun to play with, it first was played with at a BBQ one summer with a bunch of aunts and uncles.

Pros - It really works, you can hear noises from far away. Talking at a normal voice from across the backyard was easy to hear.

Cons - Every noise was magnified, so it's not that great.

Hope you all enjoyed the 5 As Seen on TV items and what my thoughts on them all are. Consumer Reports has nothing on me, just don't make fun of my Snuggie.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Whatever happened to . . .

Sitting here thinking about what to blog today has been hard. No major ideas have run through my head, but then all of a sudden, it came to me. It's a little list that I want to call, "Whatever happened to?" Some of these things directly involve me and my life, others are just great mysteries of the universe.

What ever happened to . . .

1) My "Golf Digest" subscription? My dad ordered a year's worth for me for Christmas and I haven't gotten anything since the April issue; I should have June's issue in my hand by now.

2) "Choose Your Own Adventure" books? I'm sure that they still have them, maybe I'm just too old to be in the demographic that they market towards.

3) The days when MTV and VH1 showed music videos all day? All the mindless, reality shows on these channels do nothing for me. CMT's even fills their schedule with shows and movies.

4) My 20's? (I'm kidding, 30 isn't bad)

5) Key Lime Pie donuts from Krispy Kreme? I only remember them having it one time and I always hope that it will be there the next time I visit. Sadly, I haven't seen one in 6 years.

6) Dark Chocolate Peppermint ice cream at Coldstone? Again, I only remember having it once, it was the featured flavor onc month. I didn't see any need to add mixin's, it was good as is.

7) Wanting to play Frisbee golf a couple times a week? I guess that urge to play went away when I didn't live in the same city as a course for four years.

8) The old game show "Classic Concentration" staring Alex Trebek? As a kid, I thought the show was challenging enough to watch it and try to remember what was where and test my memory skills. I also admit that I thought the contestants were idiots when they couldn't remember simple matches.

9) All the other kids I rode the school bus with growing up in suburban Atlanta? Yes, I claim Tennessee as home, moved there in 6th grade and I know where most of those friends are. It's all the people I was friends with from K-5 that remain a mystery.

10) All the toys I owned as a kid? I'm sure that some broke and were thrown away. No doubt that some were donated to charity or sold at a garage sale, but where did they all go?

Again, these are just some things that cross my mind from time to time. Yet another list that makes me reflect back on my life (I think I've found the theme to all future blog posts).

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Best sporting events attended

I noticed a couple themes with my blog posts to date, they all have some type of list on them and are all reflective. Why stop now, it something good to keep rolling with. After posting this week about school spirit, it had me thinking more about the best sporting events that I've ever been to. So, you guessed it, today's entry will rank the top 5 sporting events I've seen in person and why in reverse order.

#5) October 5, 2002 - The 6 Overtime game vs. Arkansas, UT wins 41-38.
This was a long game to sit through and I believe is the second longest game in NCAA D-1 history. It was like watching a 5th and 6th quarter of football; it was long. Seeing that UT won, it was worth sitting through, but 2 OT's were enough. The next week, the game vs USC went into overtime and the only thing that that all my friends I was with could say was, "Oh no, not again!" That one only lasted 1 OT.

#4) June 8, 2007 - NCAA Baseball Super Regional game: Mississippi State vs. Clemson; Miss State advances to the College World Series.
I'm not a MSU grad, but this game was incredible; heck, the two game series was amazing. They set the attendance record for the largest crowd to see a Super Regional game. Looking back, the 12pm start time in early June (easily 95 degrees and humidity to match) was worth it. This was also the same year that Miss State came down and beat FSU when FSU hosted the Regionals (yeah, I had to throw that one in there).

#3) November 14, 1998 - The Phantom Fumble vs. Arkansas, UT wins 28-24
This was the key play to UT's National Title season (again, the story involves FSU somehow . . . something about a Fiesta Bowl). It was a rainy, somewhat cold game and UT was losing 21-3 early but came back to only trail by 24-22 when it looked like they ran out of gas. Arkansas was trying to run out the clock but their QB's foot was stepped on by one of his lineman after the snap, the QB tried to break the fall by using his hand that held the ball. As you can imagine, he fumbled the ball and UT recovered. UT ran the ball down the field to score the go ahead TD; what an awesome game.

#2) September 18, 2004 - Last second field goal - UT over Florida 30-28
UT was down most of the game, but when it was 28-21, UT scored a TD with 3 minutes to go in the game. Everything looked good . . . until UT missed the extra point. We all thought we were going to lose 28-27. UT was able to get the ball back with about a minute left, some say because of bad officiating/time keeping. UT's kicker had a 50 yarder with 6 seconds to go, needless to say, he made the kick and the place went wild (and extremely loud). This was also the single largest crowd in Neyland Stadium history, 109,061 fans.

#1) September 19, 1998 - The OT victory against Florida: UT wins 20-17.
Not only was this my first UT-Florida game, but the best game I ever went to. It was one of those games where if it weren't for the defense, we would have lost. Florida's offense looked unstoppable, but the Tennessee D kept them in it by forcing turnovers. In the first overtime, UT kicked a field goal and then Florida missed theirs that would have sent the game into another OT. I don't remember being able to hear the person next to me talk. I do remember seeing students and other fans jumping the fence and rushing the field. My only thought was, "I don't want to do that." Turns out, I had no choice; the crowd/mob pushed everyone in my section down onto the field. I'm glad I ended up on the field. On a side note, both goal posts were torn down that night (shocking) and I had a friend each that accompanied the goal posts to their final destinations. One set marched it across campus to the Physical Plant where one of the workers (and fellow goal post carrier) cut it up into pieces for everyone that carried it to have a souvenir. The other goal post marched it's way up and down the Strip (twice) until they decided to go throw it in the river.

As you can see, I love college sports (and the University of Florida losing).

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

9 months

It's 9 months to the day that I started my job here at Florida State University. The first thought that crosses my mind is ,"Has it really been that long?" Then, after thinking about all that I've been a part of and seen since I've been here, it's hard to believe that it's only been 9 months, seems longer.

To compare Tallahassee to Starkville, MS (where I lived for 4 years) wouldn't be fair because they don't compare when it comes to size and everything that goes with that (number of retail outlets, accessibility to the interstate, and number of people to hang out with my age). What's that Tallahassee friends? You think that Tally is only a college town and people in their mid-to-late 20's don't live here. . . B.S. I've lived in the smaller, rural town setting where the discrepancy is much worse. Tallahassee is great and I love the friends that I've made here, but I'd like to take a minute to list 10 things that I miss about Starkville and Mississippi State University.

#1) The people that I worked with, I worked under a great Union Director and I miss a great number of the other people in the building. (Namely: Raymond - I could trust him to talk about anything personally or professional. Dave - we shared the same opinions about a lot of stuff. Debi - we had weekly American Idol discussions and analysis.) I miss many others too, but the above are people I miss the most.

#2) Little Dooey's because it's some of the best BBQ that I can remember.

#3) Mughsots, they are the best burgers I've had. Plus, watching someone across the place trying to eat a "Mugshot" (a triple stacked burger, fully dressed and a side of fries) in 15 minutes or less so it would be free was very entertaining. I heard of people that did it, but I never witnessed it.

#4) CHEAPER RENT (and cheaper utilities, golf, groceries, etc.) - sorry that was more of a rant about Tallahassee.

#5) The softball teams that I played on, Crosspoint Church and the campus Intramural team (I was a founding member of "The Crockpots").

#6) Working with multiple, large scale concerts over the course of the year. It didn't matter if it was to help the SA, CAB, or MMP. I enjoyed doing the shows in the Cotton District, the Amphitheater and the Hump.

#7) Baseball games at Dudy Noble. To this day, the Super Regional win in 2007 over Clemson ranks near the top of any sporting event I've ever been to.

#8) Getting free MSU Ice Cream at a lot of different campus events. I also need to mention the State Fountain Bakery; fresh baked goods across the street from the Union (yummy).

#9) Being in the SEC. It's so easy to already have it ingrained in you to despise Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Learning to hate ACC rivals is going to take time, but the Florida thing is already there.

#10) The shrimp burrito from Mi Hacienda. No one even comes close to that bit of seafood heaven rolled up with grilled vegetable in a flour tortilla and smothered in queso dip.

I made the move from Starkville to Tallahassee for all the right reasons. I couldn't be happier being where I'm at and doing what I'm doing. Tallahassee may be a small town to a lot of you, but it reminds me a lot of Knoxville and I loved living there. A town this size may not have everything you want, but it has everything you need. Plus, the people here are great. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have a Blog.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

What I did, but should have done differently (part 2)

Yesterday's entry was fun yet didn't tell a lot about the trip, so today's entry will make up for that a little bit and also share some additional life lessons from New Orleans.

#4) We hadn't been in New Orleans more than about 30 min before hitting up Bourbon St. We parked, checked into the hotel, took a few minutes to get ready, then left as we were wasting precious time. It was just after midnight and with Jazz Fest going on the same weekend, you can imagine how crowded the streets were. After walking about three blocks, I threw out the suggestion, "If we're going to be walking around, we might as well have drinks in our hands."
* What I did -- We stopped in one of the next couple places we saw and got frozen drinks served out of a slushy machine.
* What I should have done -- I should have made that statement one block further down the road. One block further down was Pat O'Brian's, true home of the best Hurricanes. Instead of spending $8 on a real Hurricane, I had just bought a $8 slushy version. Not the same, but at least I got the real thing the next night.

#5) While Kelly and Meredith were at their concert Saturday night, Kinsley and I were on our own with no agenda. After finding a place to eat dinner and then relaxing in the hotel for an hour, I decided that I wanted to take a walk down to Harrah's casino so that's where Kinsley and I went. The lights and sounds of casinos are interesting to me, but I'm not much of a gambler.
* What I did -- I sat down and put $10 in a video poker machine and decided that I would play til the money ran out. Less than 5 minutes later I was out of money and decided that was the only reminder I needed on why I don't gamble.
* What I should have done -- After losing the money, I should have gone to find someone with management and let them know about the donation that I had just made to Harrah's. Granted, $10 isn't enough to pay part of the light bill, but I'm thinking that they could at least name one of the toilet paper holders in the men's room after me.

#6) On the drive down to New Orleans, Kelly played a mixed CD of Death Cab for Cutie music that Adam had made. Joking around, I told here in exchange for that I would listen to a mixed CD of songs made after a service trip I took to New Orleans back in college (spring 2001). The songs on my mixed CD were as random as random can be; I couldn't remember all that was on there. The very last song on the CD was "Rocky Top." It's always a favorite of mine, especially during football season.
* What I did -- I danced a little in my seat as it played and cheered along where I would have had I been at a football game in Knoxville all while telling the rest of the car why this was such a great version of the song. After 5+ hours in the car, the song woke me up and gave me the jolt I needed to finish the drive.
* What I should have done -- I should have sang at the top of my lungs and showed everyone what true school spirit is. As annoying as the song was to everyone else, it was sweet music to my ears.

To sum it up, the life lessons learned here are that good things come to those who wait, know the difference between throwing money away versus making a sound financial investment, and finally that there is no such thing as too much school spirit.
Just wanted to see if posting a blog entry from a text message would work. This isn't my post for the day, more to come later.

Monday, May 4, 2009

What I did, but should have done differently

Looking back on a recent trip to New Orleans and being the reflective person that I am, I'm going to let you know about three instances that took place and let you know how I would handle them if I had to do them all over again.

#1) Walking through the French Quarter working on drink #2, after only being in town a couple hours, a drunk group of friends come at us from the opposite direction. One really drunk guy looks right at me and says "I'm a smoker, my lungs are black!"
* What I did -- Replied, "You're fine" and kept walking.
* What I should have done -- I should have stopped to hug him and said, "I'm sorry" then kept walking.

#2) I made it a point to enjoy as many locally themed food items (and drinks) as I could, that's what I like to do in new cities. At lunch on the last day there, I ordered what is probably the most expensive lunch of my life. It was all shrimp and nothing but shrimp: fried shrimp, shrimp stuffed with crab meat, shrimp and okra gumbo, and shrimp au gratin.
* What I did -- Ate every bit of shrimp on the plate and felt a little miserable on the drive home
* What I should have done -- Finish the half of a Cajun stuffed potato that was left on the plate; why not, I payed for it. The discomfort on the drive home was worth it. (Meredith, Kelly and Kinsley would probably also add I should have skipped the donut outside Mobile and the Sonic Mozzarella Sticks in the last hour of the trip.)

#3) I had an errand to run on this trip, my friend Amanda asked me to pick her up a Hand Grenade Party Pack from the Tropical Isle Bar. I separated from the rest of the group to venture out on this errand knowing I would meet up with them in about 30 min. Walking down Bourbon Street in the middle of the afternoon alone is no big deal, but the bars and clubs don't care what time of day it is. There's this one club that had this scary guy outside yelling at anyone that would pass by, "Live sex acts, no cover." By far, I would rank this as the trashiest place on Bourbon.
* What I did -- I ignored the guy and kept walking
* What I should have done -- Nothing different, I made the right choice.

The lessons I learned in New Orleans are as followed: I need to be more compassionate towards strangers I meet, I need to learn to control cravings, and that avoiding creepy strip/live sex clubs are always the right choice.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Let the challenge begin . . .

So today's the first day of the "Blog a Day in May" challenge that will be won by yours truly. I always felt that I'm a better writer than speaker, spelling doesn't count, so there will be many interesting topics in the days that come. I could easily list the topics that I plan on writing about, but I want to keep my captive audience of 5-6 people coming back everyday wonder what's coming next.

Today's entry will center around graduations since today is the day we bid a formal farewell to the Higher Ed grads at FSU. The informal farewell will come when they actually leave the office, all of ours will be around a little longer so the tears of sadness to see them go will have to wait.

Looking back at my history of graduation, I don't think that we ever had a cheesy Kindergarten graduation or anything closely resembling a ceremony leaving elementary or middle school. High school graduation was fun, I remember most things other than the actual ceremony. There were speakers, but I don't remember a word they said. I do remember that night and the next couple of days were filled with parties and receptions thrown by various friends and their families. Needless to say, I ate well for a 3 day period.

I was able to talk my way out of "walking across stage" when I graduated from college with my Bachelors in exchange for agreeing to go through the formal ceremony two years later for my Masters degree. I instead was able to talk my parents and extended family into have a barbecue in Nashville. That was the first time in 5+ years where that many people in my family have been together in the same place for any reason. Family members who wouldn't have been able to make the trip to Knoxville were able to be at the cookout so it was a huge success.

The graduation that sticks out in my mind as the most memorable and humorous was for my Masters. It was an entertaining day to say the least. Not only were my parents and a couple aunts a little later getting into town, but I also believe that my brother's plane was delayed a little bit too. My program was having a special reception for graduates and families before the large university ceremony. My parents came late to this, which was fine, but the fun started with my two aunts having to go to the airport to pick up my brother. I told them how to get to the airport from the hotel, but little did I know there was major road construction between the two places (Funny moment #1). Oops, sorry about that.

Once they finally made it to the airport and picked up my brother, he was hungry and wanted food before getting to campus and if memory serves me right, the three of them got lost around the airport looking for food and not knowing how to get to campus. They had to call me as I got to the large university ceremony and I had to point them back in the right direction because I guess the signs pointing them back to Knoxville confused them (Funny moment #2).

Everything seemed to be going ok at that point in time. All of us from my program got checked in a realized that we had 30-45 minutes to kill before we had to do anything. In an attempt to find something to do, one of my cohort friends told us that her brother had a case of beer in his car in the parking lot. Problem solved, I don't think that I need to explain how we spent the next half hour (Funny moment #3).

We get back to the ceremony, it starts, we march in, sit down yada yada yada, etc, etc, etc . . . Much like high school, I know there was a speaker, but can't tell you the gender, message or anything relevant like that. All of us from my cohort were allowed to sit together so we all talked amongst ourselves the whole time trying to figure out who was going where to dinner afterwards and trying to find our families in the crowd. Since my brother (forgot to reiterate earlier that we're twins) arrived late, I was trying to point him out in the crowd to my cohort who wanted to see how much we didn't look like one another. My friends must have been tired (or maybe buzzing from the beer) they couldn't count up a certain number of rows and pick out the guy I was pointing to, so I took matters into my own hands. In the middle of the keynote address, I pulled out my cell phone and called my brother (this was before texting was the thing to do). He admitted that he thought he was seeing things when he saw me calling in the middle of my graduation, but he answered and I asked him to wave because so my friends could see him. He did with a little hesitation, my friends were happy (Funny moment #4).

When it was my college's turn to walk across the stage and shake the Dean's hand, I was hoping to do it without much fanfare. Sure enough, as my name was announced, I walked across stage and the only thing I heard was my brother yelling "Yeah Billy!" To my memory, I was the only one called out like that all night. I'm sure there were others, but I don't remember. According to my family, you could see me turn red with embarrassment from all the way up to where they were sitting (Funny moment #5).

The rest of the ceremony went off fine as did dinner with the family. After dinner, none of my cohort friends were doing anything other than hanging out with their families, so that became the plan for all of us too. It took about 2 minutes to decide that my brother and I should go get some beer and take it back to the hotel for all to enjoy. We got the beer and headed back to the hotel, but my brother didn't feel right walking in the front door with only beer in his hands. He asked me to go to the side stairwell door and let him in; if this doesn't bring back college memories for some of you, I don't know what will. Here we are, two 25 year old acting like we're sneaking beer into a hotel which is 100% legal to being with. (Funny moment #6).

Needless to say, that was a fun evening. To all the Higher Ed grads, good luck in the future and we will miss you.