1) I'm tired.  I worked out 1.5 times, then played in two softball games.

2) I'm grimy because of said activities.

3) NEW FREAKIN' XANGA!!!

Fin

Guess who got their e-mail asking about Xanga 2.0 site migration today? 

(It's me)

So, Xanga 2.0 seems to be imminent, and with that, I'm going to start going back through the last few months and sort out which posts I want to protect.  Based on all available information, the privacy rating of a post will be reflected on the new site, so I've starting protecting posts, and I'll continue with that for select future ones as well.  If you're a subscriber now, you're subscription will be moved to the new site as well.  If you aren't one and want to be, feel free to shoot me a message through here or whatever other means you might have of contacting me. 

I'm excited to see what the new possibilities will be.  I'm not a super creative person, but mo' options is mo' fun. 

Brandi and Jenn, you are the winners of a year Xanga subscription.  I'm not sure how they are going to get that to you, but it's there for the taking.  Download an archive of your old blog, so you can upload it to the new one just in case you don't get a migration email.

Duces

I've typed over 4300 words this set of off days.  That's a little over 12 pages (12 pt. font, 1 in. margins, double spaced).  That's crazy. 

...

The last thing that I'm going to write while I'm off has to do with this blog.  My original reason for starting this blog was the fact that some of my good friends were moving away from the area.  They also had Xanga blogs, so I figured blogging would be a good way to stay in touch with everyone.  Facebook wasn't all that big yet and was still only for college folk.  Skype was just a baby, and the iPhone hadn't even been invented yet.  The purpose of the blog was just to put my thoughts out there, to have a running commentary of things that were happening in my life. 

Throughout the years, that commentary has covered the full spectrum of emotions.  It has sometimes included people very close to me.  I'm sure there were instances were I communicated things through this blog involving those people that I didn't even communicate to them personally for whatever reason.  The bottom line is that a vast majority of posts in this blog have been my thoughts on canvas with very few filters or reservations.  I've always prided myself in being open to talking about anything, good or bad, and I wanted that same aspect to be true in my writing.  

However, Xanga has a feature that allows me to filter the people that view specific posts.  I can make them either private where only I can read them, protected where I can grant individual Xanga account users access, and public, which is self explanatory.  I still need to put more thought into it, but once the new Xanga arrives, which should be the beginning of next month, I am considering "protecting" my more...introspective...posts.  Those with Xanga accounts (not necessarily blogs) could have full access to everything while those who did not could only see the "Public" posts.  I've toyed with it in the past, usually when the content became too...personal...for those close to me. 

I typically don't like censoring myself, and I've felt for a long time that if you don't like what you read here, then don't read here.  With only half a dozen people checking in on this blog on a daily basis, I wouldn't exactly consider my blog a "public forum."  You have to already know I blog, which few people do, to even find this site, and that information isn't given out to very many people.  Most of those people who do know about it, I trust without reservation and have nothing to hide.

But...

I want to start doing more with this blog.  I want to start posting more pictures.  I want to start telling more stories and staying more on top of life events.  I want to invite more people to read it.  I want people to be encouraged or challenged or moved by things that I write.  I want to promote discussion and debate and analysis.  If Facebook is a the cheap social media suit that people see when they browse my page or see something in their Feed about me, I want Xanga to be my heart and soul that people can search through if they so choose.  I don't think Facebook was made to be what some people have made it, putting every picture imaginable in their feed or posting deeply sensitive issues out there for all to read with no context.  With Protected posting, I could still write everything I want/need to write, while limiting access to those I don't know as well who may visit from my Facebook page.

Like I said, I'm still a bit up in the air about it, but Xanga 2.0 is supposed to have even more Privacy features, and now that I'm paying to blog, it just makes sense to use them.

Xanga accounts, both now and when the new site is up, are free, so if you want to be a subscriber but don't blog, you can do that.  Just FYI

...

5000 words.  Many words.  Many more to come, but not yet.  Not Yet.

Going to California made me realize how much I love to travel.  New air, new people, new places...  We did a good bit a traveling while I was growing up, and my annual China trip during my college years kept my traveling appetite at bay.  Now that I've moved to Georgia, most of my traveling has been back to Texas.  Honestly, and let me think on it a minute, but I'm pretty sure this was my first big trip traveling alone to somewhere I'd never been without any particular reason for going other than just to go.  That in itself was freeing because that's the kind of person I am.  I like to go places.  I like to have fun.  I think my circumstances got me to where I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything, and when I did go somewhere, it was stressful and not fun.  I think being in those circumstances for so long made me think that maybe I was the kind of person who just liked to stay at home and not do anything fun or spontaneous.  The truth comes out though, and I'm thankful for that.

Seeing my aunt, Karen, and my cousins for the first time in a long time was cool, too.  I didn't see a ton of my aunt while I was there.  She was working that week, but both she and Karen were great hosts.  I felt "at home" there.  There was no tension.  There was no awkwardness.  Jumping on the trampoline with the kids or throwing the football with Houston or watching movies...  It all felt natural and easy and seamless, and that's how a vacation should feel.  Maybe I just haven't had a "vacation" in a while.  Even going back to Texas sometimes can feel ... not relaxing.  Most of that is on me though.  I feel like I have to see everyone and do everything in the very short time I'm there, and when that doesn't happen, I'm tired from activity and disappointed because my expectations weren't met.  I had no expectations for this trip, and I think that's what made it so peaceful.

...

A couple of interesting thoughts:

The first was just thinking about what it would be like to grow up in that environment.  I'm not even talking in a household with two moms.  I'm talking about the huge house, tree fort, fresh fruit, beautiful highway views, clear skies, beach house, concert tickets, Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Fransisco...  Growing up in small town America, just about everywhere I went was cool because it was bigger or taller or nicer than where I grew up.  I can't imagine what I would be like to grow up with everything they have.  It seems like going anywhere else (except maybe Hawaii) would be a letdown.  That quality of life is so high, I just can't imagine having to settle for less than that or the pressure, if any, involved in sustaining that. 

That kind of brought me to my second thought, which was more applicable to my situation.  That thought was, location makes a big difference in relation to income.  Yes, California is a much more expensive place to live.  I remember Anna's cousin, James, talking about rent payments in L.A.  Craziness.  But I'm talking more bigger picture here.  Example: real estate agent.  I know nothing about it other than that the agent gets a percent of the closing cost.  The simple fact is that it would be reasonable to think that a real estate agent in California will/could/should make more money than one in Central Texas.  Home values are higher; therefore, so would the percentage.  That applies for private or public jobs.  Bigger cities means bigger churches meaning more tithes resulting in higher pay for ministers. 

I wrestle with this because I want to finish my seminary degree.  I don't want to think that I did all that work studying, writing, and reading for nothing.  I've not researched the ability to finish online, and that's on me, but moving back to the Waco area has its benefits.  However, location affects income, and it also affects dating possibilities.  I know God has someone out there for me, and I want to meet her.  The cold hard fact is that there are more girls in the Metroplex than there are in Waco, and chances of finding that person seem to be better in a bigger city. 

Bottom line:  My aunt talked seriously about me getting a job in California, and while I'd never even considered that as a possibility, my eyes have been widened. 

...

Last thing couple things... 

1) The sermon the Sunday I was doing was really good for me.  I am in transition, and it's hard to "wait on the Lord."  It's hard to know what "the right move" is.  It's hard for me to live passionately, to be emotionally vulnerable, to invest heavily in anything when I know that change is right around the corner.  Even if I'm not certified until October, the fact remains that in 6 weeks or less, I could have my ticket out of Columbus.  I'm living, not waiting to see if things will change, but knowing that they soon will.

2) The trip was great, and especially after everyone left, I couldn't help but think about how much I wanted to share the experience with someone else.  I want someone to travel with, to work out with, to go to church with.  I want someone to cheer me on, to push me to go farther or faster or be stronger.  I want someone to share that crisp air and star-lit sky with.  And, for whatever reason, that drew me back to God.  God must have wanted a people to call His own.  He must have wanted a people He could share His love and His creation with.  Why else create us?  And that lead me to thinking about the fact that God wants to share in my life.  He wants to help me, to guide me.  He wants me to know that He cheers for me and is proud when I use what He's given me to glorify Him.  In my loneliness, it was strangely comforting knowing that I was sharing my experience with God. 

That's all folks.

I haven't seen my aunt, her partner, or my cousins in at least 5 years.  The last time I remember seeing them was a few years ago in Bowie at Thanksgiving, so gearing up to go to California was exciting for me.  Growing up, the only time I ever saw my aunt was at family events, and given my aunt's orientation, that was a little awkward for my parents.  When do you tell your children about that?  How do you explain it?  How do you interact with that person and those people she has incorporated into her life?  All these things are important when I was a kid, but they don't matter anymore.  I'm my own person.  I'm not my aunt's sister.  I'm an educated person who knows Jesus and tries to love other people.  I don't have any of the reservations that may have been thrust upon me when I was younger.  Long story short, my aunt and her family are my family and "familia es todo."

My trip started early.  I worked the night before and got home around 1:00 in the morning.  My flight left at 8:00, which meant I'd have to get there around 7:00, which meant I'd have to leave Columbus around 5:30.  I decided to take Groome, which was the first time I'd done that.  The American Airlines flights out of Columbus were cancelled due to the sequester, so it was up to Atlanta I went.  I had to leave the house for Groome around 4:45, and I hadn't packed yet, so I just decided to stay awake.  I cleaned, took a shower, did laundry, and had everything pretty much everything ready to go by the time I needed to leave.  I even had time to clean out some old boxes that have been sitting in my living room since I moved in last year.  It didn't take me long to remember why I'd left them alone for the last two or three months.  Memories I wasn't quite ready to handle yet.

The Groome thing was cool.  It's $67 round trip to ATL, which isn't bad.  I'd spend $30 in gas there and back, plus have to pay for parking.  I was willing to eat that cost and not have to drive for 2 hours with no sleep at 5 a.m.  Getting checked in and going through security, I remember why I'd scheduled my flights out of Columbus when I could.  Small airport, short wait, minimal security, no trams or trains or shuttles or long hallways to get you to the gate.  The flights weren't bad.  About 3.5 hours to Phoenix then 1.5 to San Luis Obispo.  I didn't really know much about the area, so everything was a "surprise."  When I stepped out of the plane, it was 70 degrees with a cool breeze sweeping in off the mountains, and I thought, "I could get used to this!"  I waited for a few minutes in bagged claim.  My aunt's partner, Karen,  was supposed to be picking me up, and while I knew I'd recognize her, I also knew I might not recognize my cousins.

...

Funny side note: There was this girl from Australia sitting across from me on the plane, and I heard her just chit chatting with the guy sitting next to her while we were in the air.  She was also waiting for her bag, and she just kinda came over and started talking to me.  She was just on a world tour type thing with no schedule or plans.  I told her what my plans were, and since I'd been to San Fransisco, I told her what I knew of the area.  She said she had a friend coming that "was supposed to be picking her up," but the way she said it made it seem like there was a chance he was going to be late or didn't remember or something.  Karen and the kids found me right about that time, so we did the whole meet and greet thing, so my attention went 100% to that.  The bags started rolling in shortly after, and mine was one of the first, so as I grabbed my bag, I said my farewell to the girl.  As I was talking to her, she looked mad, but she wasn't really looking at me as much as Karen.  I didn't really pay much attention to it as she was just a random girl from the plane, but introspect, I think she was kinda hoping I'd show her around.  Karen even mentioned it in the car.  I suppose the side note would be that I'm sure that casual conversation could have turned into who knows what had I not had other arrangements, been more astute, or had different moral convictions.

...

Houston and Emma were definitely older and taller, but I still recognized them.  We stopped at a little burger place called "Sylvester's Burgers" on the way to the house.  They had something on the menu with "Texas" in it, so I had to try it.  All in all, the drive was nice.  It was hilly, and most of the grasses looked dead, but there were signs for wineries everywhere.  We went by the clinic where my aunt works, which was cool.  They even had time to do my MRI while I was there.  I didn't expect they'd be able to fit in me that quickly, but I definitely didn't complain.  It was also cool to watch my aunt work and see what she does.  We looked at tons of x-rays and MRIs, she explained what she saw if there was anything out of the ordinary.  She had this dictation program, and after she would talked through her diagnosis, it would automatically update the patient's file and send it off to the primary physician.  Pretty sweet.  After we left there, we finally made it to the house, and it was just as nice and big as it looked on the Google Maps satellite photo

Hanging out with a couple of decently behaved "tweens" was kind of refreshing.  As much as ministering to youth was draining, it was rewarding, and I still miss it from time to time.  Houston is into Minecraft, and Emma is into One Direction.  I'd never heard of them before, but she and Karen left on Thursday to go watch them in concert in L.A.  My aunt also has a beach house in Cayucos, which is about a 40 minute drive to the coast. 

With the Porsche gassed up and Houston as my navigator, we headed West to the coast.  Changes in elevation are always magical to me.  Growing up in Central Texas, the steepest elevation change was either side of creek.  About halfway there, you could look out over the mountains and see nothing but clouds and fog.  It was pretty cool, so we got out, and I took a picture.  (Kinda hard to see.  The one I posted to Facebook is bigger.)  Houston was a little bewildered as to why I'd stop and take a picture of this, which I thought was funny.

We arrived in town about 20 minutes later, and ate at "Taco Temple."  I was on the coast, so I didn't mind splurging for some fresh fish.  They had "fish tacos" there, but when it came out, it was more like a taco salad.  Rather, it was a salad with two good sized pieces of fish on top and two tortillas on the bottom.  I'm not sure it was the quality of the food or the price of it, but I ate that entire place, salad and all.  A true Kodak moment.  Granny Dorothy would be proud.  We also went to this place called the "Brown Butter Cookie Company."  Super good.

The "beach house" was set up in a little cliff overlooking the ocean.  I can't really say much else about it.  Super cool, right on the ocean, beautiful view, and will definitely go back.

Friday:  It was a little hectic around the house because my aunt, Karen, and the kids were leaving to go to Hawaii.  They left around 3:00 p.m., and I had the house to myself.  I didn't fly all the way out to California to sit inside all day, so I decided to explore the little surrounds towns.  A preview for Elysium happened to air right before I turned the TV off, so I looked up movie times and the nearest theater.  A short 10 minute drive later, and I was there.

"Elysium" was good.  I'd give it a 8 out of 10.  Good action, cool concept, good actors, but the storytelling wasn't as in-depth as it should have been.  Worth watching anyway.

Saturday: Race Day (See Previous Post)

Sunday: I went to church I found online that had a decent website.  The others in the area looked like they hadn't been updated in years.  The church, come to find out, was in a bit of a transition stage.  They had been around for about 15 years and had changed venues quite a few times due to the high cost of real estate and few numbers.  The church where the service was that day was actually for sale and was in the process of being purchased by a congregation up the street, so part of the sermon had to do with that.  It was actually a very good sermon for me to hear given my current situation.  More on that later.

Being that I had exerted myself for 12 miles 18 hours earlier, I ate a quick bite at an "In N Out Burger," which I had never been to, and then headed to the house.  The season premiere of "Breaking Bad" was coming on, and AMC was playing some of the final episodes from last season.  I laughed at myself a little bit, but here I was in beautiful sunny California inside watching a TV show.  In my defense, I had taken advantage of the area and was exhausted, so I could justify the sedentary activity.  After the show was over, I did laundry, cleaned up a little bit, soaked in the hot tub for about an hour, then went to bed.

Monday: Flying back wasn't bad.  Only negative is that when flying East, you lose hours.  I left at noon from CA and arrived in GA at 10:30 p.m.  Again, paying Groome to drive late into the night was worth it.  Got to the apartment around 12:30 and went straight to bed, knowing that I had work that day. 

I'm back from California, and I bought some batteries (funny story to follow), so I guess I can properly update now...

...

This had been entirely too long in the make, but better late than never.  First off, here's a link to the race course.  As you can see, there were a lot of uphill portions to the race.  The map of the course and obstacles is below.

They actually had one obstacle right at the entrance to the race, which I thought was pretty cool.  I hadn't even checked in or registered my bag before I started getting muddy for the people above on the cargo net.

There were quite a few people with GoPro cams and other video equipment running the race.  I watched most of them on Youtube, but I didn't see anyone from my heat.  You can click HERE to see a list of the videos people made if you want to see some of the obstacles.

I'll be honest. When they said "Monterey," I think thinking the race would be on/near a beach, similar to the Tough Mudder in Tampa.  No sir.  When the parking area was up in the mountains near to a racetrack, I knew this was going to be very different than what I was expecting.  Here's the map of where we parked and the route to the event.  They shuttled us from the track to Toro County Park, which normally would have been about 15 minutes, but because they had some roads blocked off for the event, it took closer to 40. 

Like I said, part of the race went over the entrance gate, and from that point, there was only about 1.5 miles to go.  These folks were tired climbing through that rigging, and you could tell.  There's always a pretty big staging area where you can buy merchandise, warm up, buy food, get info on the race or future races, showers, port-a-pottys, etc.  This was no different, and I got there about an hour before my race started.  I originally thought I ran at noon, but when I downloaded my packet at my aunt's house, they had me for 1:30.  It would have been nice to run a little earlier, but the weather was not bad... low 70s and dry air.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a cloud in the sky the whole day.  I just found a shady spot under a tree to rest a bit. 

Blah, blah... Rest over, warmed up, got my number magic marked on my calves, got to the starting line, wait some more, then...Bang

So, the race starts, and I had no idea what I'd be facing.  Unlike the Tough Mudder, I did zero research on the technical aspects of this race.  I assumed, incorrectly, that it would be similar to what I'd done before.  However, my goals going in were to finish in under 4 hours (15 min/mile + 2 min x 30 obstacles) and not to walk.  I'd just run 5 miles a couple days before in 51 minutes, close to a 10 min/mile pace.  I figured, by the end of the race, I would probably average about 12 min, so I thought I'd be generous and overestimate to 15 min.

It's hard to see the scale, but if you look back at that GPS video of the course, the first 5 miles are all uphill.  At first, it was no big thing.  You start out in a little valley, and there were some ups and downs, but nothing too out of the ordinary.  Around mile 4, the course opened up slightly with a sign that read "One Mile Climb."  Having run mostly uphill with a few obstacles mixed in up to that point, I looked up ahead, saw a majority of the people mostly hiking rather than jogging, and decided there my goal not to walk was not attainable for me at this event.  As the race when on, I realized that even had I jogged up the hills, there were some downhill portions that were so steep, you literally had to slide down them.  Maybe if you had specifically trained to run long distances through hills, were the first to start, and were fast enough to stay ahead of everyone, then maybe you could have run/jogged the whole way.  For "regular" folks like me, we did our best to quickly hike the uphill and take advantage to the downhill.  But walking, and sometimes waiting, were unavoidable.  Sometimes the paths narrowed to where only one person could go through at a time.  Sometimes, the grade was too steep to jog down.  Sometimes, there was a line of people waiting to do the next obstacle.  Either way, I had to quickly adjustment my expectations for my performance.

I will say that the night before, I went out and bought a little arm band made for IDs or a small music player.  I also bought two packs of those Gatorade gummy-things, and I stuffed them all in there before the rest.  I started cramping up about 6 miles into the Tough Mudder, and I didn't want that to happen again.  To their credit, they worked.  I didn't cramp up once, and it was only climbing the highest walls that my muscles felt like they were going to give.  I think I had 12 total, so I ate two every couple of miles.  Who knows what would have happened had I not had those.

I tried to keep a lap time of my miles, but after the first 5 miles climbing uphill, I got tired.  I'm also pretty sure that the mile markers were off, which I heard some other racers complaining about.  Eventually, my main only goals were to not stop moving forward and to finish.  The t-shirt they gave us at the end said "I finished. Can you?" on the back.  When I got home people asked me "if I won."  I just told them that I finished, so yes, I won.  It really was that brutal, but I got this cool little medal at the finish line.

I don't have a before, but here's the after:  (Ha, it has "Medical" in the background!  I just noticed that.)

Anyway, that was pretty much it as far as the race itself goes.  At the end of it, I could barely walk because the bottoms of my feet hurt so bad.  It wasn't the mileage but the downhill portions that I think bruised my feet.  It took a couple of days for my feet not to hurt when I walked. 

...

It's hard for me to really make a judgement call on that because I realize venue has a lot to do with it.  Obviously, it's going to be harder to set up elaborate obstacles if you have to build/move/place them in windy mountain paths.  Vehicles have limited access, and I understand that.  The mud in California isn't going to be like the mud in Florida, which was actually a good thing.  I also understand that maybe the two events aren't as comparable as I thought.  Tough Mudder may be designed as more of an obstacle race than primarily an endurance race. 

Given those caveats, looking back, the Spartan Race was a tougher event, but maybe not a better event. For one, Tough Mudder parking was on-site.  When you finished, you could go home.  Here, some people waiting almost 2 hours waiting for buses to bring them back to their cars.  I was lucky, and only waited about 45 minutes.  I feel like the Tough Mudder had more actual obstacles, rather than just "run up this big hill, go down this ravine in [x] fashion."  There were some cool "spartan challenges," but too few and far between.  Tough Mudder had free parking and free bag check; Spartan race was $10 and $5.  Hydration/Electrolyte stations were about the same, but Spartan Race ran out of cups in one station I went to.  Tough Mudder had more vendors with free stuff after the race.  EAS Protein shakes, protein bars, etc.  I almost got full off of that stuff.  Spartan had the free beer ticket, but all the other food and drink was $$. 

Spartan did have some kids' events, which I thought was cool.  I don't have kids, but for spouses and/or significant others spectating, I thought that was a neat thing. 

...

Fitness has always been pretty big with me.  I like these races, and being able to travel a little bit is an added bonus.  One of my life goals this year was to sign up for 3 races/events, and I've done that.  I could see these events becoming a yearly thing for me, especially considering that I have family in two of the locations.  Granted, flying into Sarasota from Texas would be a different animal than driving there from Columbus, but where there's a will, there's a way.

That is the Spartan Race blog.  My other experiences in CA will come next.

is dead on keyboard.  using keyboard on the screen, clicking one letter at a time.  short blog. 

not sleeping. taking groome to atl at 5;15.  cleaning, washing, packing before.   

california here i come.  spartan race here i come. 

...

xangateam is slow on update info. 

ill post from my phone while there. easier

excited ;-p

I suppose I don't need to have any more reservation about blogging here anymore.  I had my contingency plans, but Xanga 2.0 is a reality.  When the "new" website will appear, when the old blog will be transferred to the "new" blog is unknown.  But, I'm excited for the move forward.

...

I've not been myself lately, or at least the "self" I want to be.  It seems like the past couple of work cycles, I've just been stumbling through and waiting for the off days to roll around.  When they come (and go), it's never long enough.  This past week was especially difficult.  We got a new Sergeant, and while I think she'll make a great sergeant one day, she is very particular about a lot of things.  Like anything, there's always a break-in period, and I think some of her "preferences" will change with time, but it's just been exhausting to get used to.  Talking to the rest of the squad, they're feeling it, too.  A couple of good things... 1) Sarge will be off next week, so we'll get a little breather. 2) I'm only working 3 days because I'm headed to CA, so there.

Back to the point, though.  I've not been myself because I've been more "myself" than usual.  I'm a very "grounded" person.  I'm an even keel, easy going, roll with the punches kind of guy.  The images that pop into my head are those blow-up baby toys with a sand bag in the bottom.  You can punch 'em, toss 'em, roll 'em, throw 'em, but they always stand right back up.  I am that toy.  I don't like change, I love stability, and I tend to find equilibrium very quickly when things are out of balance.  The only problem is that when time's up, when signs point to transition, when big changes need to be made, I tend to want to fight that, even if I know/want/need for those changes to be made. 

I waited months for the day when I could put my paperwork in to get certified as a Texas Peace Officer.  That "day" was almost a month ago, and I've yet to fill out anything.  Granted, there's been reasons for the delay.  First off, I've decided to run in another obstacle race, and this one is in October here in Georgia.  If I know I'm going to be here until then, my artificial "deadline" could be moved back.  That's a practical reason, but the other is more emotional.  I was able to help a couple through a tough time, and we all went to church last Sunday.  Not only that, but husband, who is in my squad, seems very interested in learning more about the Bible and the history of it.  It's hard to want to leave when you see spiritual growth happening.  Our squad workout group has grown from 3 to 4, and we will probably gain another 1 or 2 next week.  It's fun to see growth.  It's hard to leave that.  It's hard, especially when this is the first real "community" I feel like I've had.  It kinda sucks knowing that these are the last two months I'll get to be a part of that.

...

I had some type of coffee-type drink from Burger King yesterday.  I haven't really had coffee in a while, and it brought back some interesting memories.  I remember when I first came to Columbus, I was going to Starbucks what felt like every day.  Whether she was working or we were just going there together, I remember usually getting a drink for free or discounted.  "Partner number," "caramel," "decaff," "with protein," "low fat turkey bacon sandwich," "brownie..."   It's strange how those words and smells came back to me.  I could feel the cardboard cup carrier on my hands.  I remember the conversations about partners, friends, and managers...product promotions, tills, and QUASA audits.  They were positive thoughts, and I'm glad they came to me.

...

Shower then bed.  I'm supposed to work out with Craig and go golfing with Hightower.  I'm also supposed to go to court tomorrow, so I'm going to have to find a way out of that

Peace

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!

...

Also, I pledged for 3 year long accounts, and I have to gift two of them.  You know who you are.

I'm not really sure where to yet.

I'm trying to find a place where I can still use my username. 

If I can't, then I'm not sure what I'll do. 

...

I know most of you who read.  I'm off tomorrow, and I'll try to figure it out by then.  If I don't, I'll try to email you with an update. 

If you read, and I don't know you... Well, I guess thanks for following.  I don't know why you read, but I hope anything I've said over the last few years has encouraged, inspired, or challenged you in some way.