Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. - Titus 2:11

Am I worth $1.99?

I just bought myself on Itunes. How cool is that? Actually I downloaded the newest version of Itunes and I bought the John Mayer "No Such Thing" video which I happen to be in several times. So if you want to see me, you too can pay $1.99 to Apple and Mr. Mayer.

In other news, journals are a good thing. Yes blogs are nice but real, paper journals are good for thinking to oneself.

End of the year

The work place is an interesting place this time of year. Thus far I've been given a really nice ornament from our attorney in DC and the office has received several food items ranging from a popcorn tin, to a cookie tin, to gift baskets, and a ginormous box of citrus fruit. The topper yesterday was when our department received a personalized 3 lbs Hershey bar from one of our developers. That's one big honkin' bar of chocolate. Here's a pic from the Hershey's website of a similar big honkin' bar of chocolate.



In other news, Jib Jab has an end of the year flash animation about 2005 that's pretty good. Check it out here:

Steak and Shake

Does my milkshake bring all the girls to the yard?


You taste like a milkshake. Your frozen malts send
a delicious thrill across the tongue. Your
sweetness and innocence are bared for the world
to suck up with a straw... and you love it,
baby.


How do you taste?
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Filling the fridge

Who wants real estate for Christmas? Me and Lucy Van Pelt that's who.

I went to Kroger tonight after work and after about a minute in the store I had a weird experience. I thought to myself, "Self (I didn't really say self) just get a few things because it's almost the end of the semester and time to go home for Christmas." I then came back down to reality and remembered that I'm not in school anymore and have to work the entire month and won't get to spend two or three weeks at home with family and friends being lazy. I like my job but definitely a shot of reality.

Deck the halls with boughs of horry

Tonight was the annual office holiday party. I was dreading the event tonight since the weather is terrible (36 degrees and raining) and I haven't been feeling well all day but it turned out to be a good time. The party was at Café Tiramisu, an Italian restaurant in a strip mall on Falls of the Neuse. I've never really understood the principle behind good/fancy restaurants in a strip mall but I guess that's what happens when there really isn't a good downtown area and regardless the food was good. When I walked in I was greeted by two co-workers who presented me with drink tickets and a door prize game similar to white elephant gift game. I ended up with a $20 gift card to Home Depot which should come in handy buying Christmas presents! Dinner started with lobster bisque, followed by salad, then my main course which was pork loin chop stuffed with prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella and fontina; lightly breaded and panfried. Finally dinner concluded with tiramisu which I'd never had but it was really good. I'm now sitting on my couch writing this and an entirely too full stomach. The evening was a lot of fun and I only got asked where my date was twice. Unfortunately nobody did the Elaine dance.

A Walk in the Woods

It's time! I haven't been excited about a new movie in a long time, actually I can't remember really being excited about a movie. This coming Friday The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobeis released! As many of you know, I've never really been a reader of fiction, but in fourth grade I was told to stop doing book reports about nonfiction books and the teacher suggested the Chronicles of Narnia. The series were the first fiction books that I remember ever really liking. I reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this weekend for the first time since then and it was still great. I guess I now know how you LOTR fans felt when those movies were released. Another intersting aspect that I had no clue about in fourth grade was the theological perspective. I read the book this time with that in mind and it presented a new perspective. I'm going to have to keep readng the series now instead of waiting until the other movies come out because I don't really rmember many of the details and want to know what happens. Now I just need to find somebody to go with to see the movie on Friday night.

ATL Georgia, what do we do for ya

Going to Atlanta today to represent the company at Progressive Redevelopment's Annual Event. After that I'm going to the Pie Bar a cool new pizza restaurant on Monroe in an old bank. It's supposed to be cool but the reviews I've read have given the service very negative reviews, oh well, it'll be worth seeing the cool building. I'll be at home the rest of the weekend taking care of mom since she's been sick this week and am flying back Sunday afternoon.

Things that make you go hmm

You are Girly Jake

You enjoy all the things that guys normall don't.
Chick flicks, talking about your problems,
clothing, color combinations, cooking, etc.
Sometimes you think that this will help you
with the ladies, but then reality sinks in and
you realize that it just distances you from the
guys, and makes the girls think you're
Gaaayyyyyy!

You can go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87347281@N00/ to
see a better pic.


What kind of Jake are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

IT'S GAMEDAY!!!

It's that time of year. Everyone has stuffed their guts on Thanksgiving and trashed talked before, during, and after the big meal. Tech vs. U(sic)GA at 8:00 pm on ABC (if you're not in this big blue area on the map). I'm pumped, it'll be my first game in ATL this year and getting to see friends makes it even better. It's all about "Clean, Old Fashioned Hate".

The Technique's annual To Hell With Georgia edition

Turkey Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your's.

Home again home again jiggity jig

Got home at 3:30 AM and it is nice to have a few days off from work and see everyone.

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
For no matter how far away you roam -
When you long for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home!

I met a man who lives in Tennessee, and he was headin’ for
Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie;
From Pennsylvania folks are travelin’ down to Dixie’s sunny shore;
From Atlantic to Pacific -
Gee, the traffic is terrific!

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam -
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home

I met a man who lives in Tennessee and he was headin’ for
Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie;
From Pennsylvania folks are travelin’ down to Dixie’s sunny shore;
From Atlantic to Pacific -
Gee, the traffic is terrific!

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam -
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home!
For the holidays - you can't beat home, sweet home!
- "Home for the Holidays" The Carpenters

All the Jolly Good Fellows

Today started off not that great, see previous post about the leaf blower and then I got a terrible haircut at my normal barbershop in Carrboro (not my normal barber though). It's way too short, but the good thing about hair is that it'll grow back. So after this morning I met Katie and Joel at Mill Creek where we both have siblings living so we figured we could park there for the day's festivities. We walked up the hill to Franklin Street and then ate some great pizza at Pepper's. After that we walked by New East so I could see it's new off white and historically accurate paint job and then through Tar Heel Town on the way to the game. We found pretty good seats that had some sun to take a little of the chill out of the air and had a great time. As is usually expected in a rivalry game there was quite a bit of extracurricular activity and many penalties. Carolina ended up winning 24-21 and it looked like Duke would pull it out until a last minute INT. After the game we headed to the new Rams Head parking deck/gym/dinning hall/arcade/restaurant/green building for dinner. After dinner it was to the NCAA 3rd round womens soccer game between UNC and Pepperdine. UNC won 6-0 and completely manhandled Pepperdine. It was amazing watching UNC's mad skills. Another after, after the game we headed back to Mill Creek and departed after a beautiful and fun day of Carolina sports. I arrived back at my apartment during halftime of the Tech vs. Miami game and was surprised to see that we were still in it against the #3 team in the country. Despite our best efforts to give the win away on special teams our defensive stepped up big time and the offensive did well too and we WON!!!! AND AT MIAMI!!!! Oh man that was great. If this post isn't that well written and is disjointed it's because I'm writing it about ten minutes after the win and am still excited. We definitely needed this win after the most tumultous week in Tech sports history. Chan defintely deserves his contract extension and hopefully we can keep Tenuta.

Oh yeaher!

Edited to add this article about three of our important defensive players that suffered losses to family members this week.
Wilkinson Plays in Memory of Mother

Pre game




Post victory


Pre soccer game

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Who uses a gas powered leaf blower at 6 AM on a Saturday when it's below freezing outside? I'll tell you who, the guy blowing leaves at the office condos across the street from my apartment. Ugh.

Find yourself

Google has done it again. Today when using Google Maps at work I saw a link that proclaimed that Google Maps and Local are now available for cell phones. I had to check it out and it's pretty cool. It's easy to find stuff using it like a phone book, it has driving directions, and the best part is that you can get the satellite photos too. What's even more astonishing is that it's not really any slower than using the online version. Check it out, do it do it.

Google Maps and Local for Cell Phones

"...And the weather's perfect No tellin' what I might catch today..." - Brad Paisley

Today I went fishing on Falls Lake north of Raleigh with my boss. He picked me up around 8 and we were on the water by 8:30 and fished until about 4. Yes folks, that's almost 8 hours of fishing. The weather today was beautiful; however, the fishing left something to be desired. I think most of the fishing issues have to do with the lake being so far below full pool, probably at least 7-10' which means according to the news that Raleigh only has 74 days of water supply remaining. Anyway, I caught the first fish of the day on a chartreuse spinner bait on my new bait casting rod and real I bought yesterday. My fish was about 15" and was a decent sized bass though nothing really to write home about (though I am writing about it here). Chuck caught the second fish of the day on a small crankbait. And that was it for the catching. Chuck had a decent sized largemouth attack his spinnerbait about 2' from the boat and that about startled him into the water, unfortunately the fish wasn't hooked well and got off. All it was a lot of fun, especially getting to fish in a real bass boat for the first time. Here are some camera phone and digital camera pics from today.

The boat ramp, notice how low the water level is. Chuck said usually the water is up to the third pontoon from the parking lot.








My fish


Chuck examining his fish

Saturday night ponderings from my couch

There it is. A black metal box trimmed in brass sitting in the wall. The consistent blue and orange triangles hiss against the cementaceous logs. An energy emenates from the rectanglur orifice sending into the beige room heat, light, and a sense of something else. Something else that takes you to another place, remembering experiences past. Something else that provides sustenance. And something else that entices thoughts of longing and desire. A communal element, fire should be shared. Its utilitarian nature no longer necessary it has been harnessed for pleasure and aesthetics.

I guess my attempt at something profound or even poetic, if it can be called that, is my way of saying that having a fireplace makes me want to have someone to share and enjoy it with.

Solving the puzzle

Thinking through a problem and then working it out is a pretty good feeling. Last night at work I had to work on a investment schedule for a potential investor in some historic tax credits but the preliminary model didn't match what I had to output so I had to trace another monster spreadsheet (probably at least 50 tabs) and figure out how the numbers were calculating to make them work with my numbers. Not really all that impressive but after an hour and a half of working on it it felt good to figure out what I needed to do and got it to work. Now I'll find out if it's right today.

In other news, Sunday was the one year anniversary of me having my Explorer and I've put a little over 18,000 miles on in it. How did I put so many miles on it in a year? The first trip driving it back from Indianpolis to Chapel Hill, round trip to Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl, many many trips between Carrollton and the Triangle, a couple of trips to the Outer Banks, and just regular driving around. This past year was definitely a record for driving. I just wish I could roll the Tan Van over 200k miles before it gets sold, whenver that happens. It only lacks about 1,500 miles.

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

This morning I ventured to the grand opening of REI at North Hills. I arrived around 8:30 for the doors opening at 10. Why did I arrive so early? Because they were giving away water bottles with gift cards ranging from $5-$100 in them for the first 200 people plus Panera bagels. When I got there the line was already probably 50 people deep, but that was all good. Once the doors opened I got my water bottle and a $10 gift card. Can't complain about free food. What I'm kicking myself about now is that I was in line behind a cute college age girl that was there by herself. Why I didn't talk to her I have no idea. I kept trying to think of things to say but couldn't think of anything other than the lame, "So you go camping often?" or "Do you shop at REI much?" I guess I should have just introduced myself, oh well.

After wondering around the crowded, two story REI I went to the flea market at the State Fairgrounds in search of a desk and book cases. I didn't find anything this trip but I'll definitely go back.

Tonight I decided to be adventuresome in my dinner preparation. During my trip to Ft. Lauderdale at one of the receptions we had seafood and chicken paella so I decided that I can make it and went for it. I used chicken instead of the seafood and the traditional rabbit. It was definitely good and I'll be eating it for the next couple of days but I'm not sure if it's worth making for just myself. It took almost 2 hrs to make, which is why it's a communal dish in Spain. I also need a bigger pan. I went to Crate & Barrel this afternoon in search of a pan and a box grater. I ended up only getting a box gratter because they didn't really have much of a large skillet selection and what they did have was expensive. I also realized that Saturday afternoon is the time to go for people watching. There were probably 5 to 10 future brides setting up registries and flitting from section to section inputing what they wanted into the electronic registry. Another interesting thing were some of the reactions I got. I did notice that I was one of the only guys in the store and I guess I stuck out more because I was alone. When I checked out the lady asked if my grater was a gift and I said no so then she asked what I was making and she gave me a couple of tips about paella. It was kind of neat for her to be interested in that I was actually cooking for myself. Trying to make new stuff is a good excuse to get a new kitchen gadget just like when building something you can get new tools. When I get married I will definitely be involved in selecting the kitchen gadetry and accoutrements.



Overall a pretty good day made even better by free money, beautiful weather, and good food.

Downtown

Today I went on my first site visit for work. We went to "bustling" downtown Weldon, NC where we are providing equity for two downtown buildings for affordable housing. It's a neat adaptive reuse of two large underutilized buildings in town that otherwise wouldn't have had the buildings rehabed. Thanks to the low income housing tax credit and historic rehabilitation tax credits the buildings will see a new life and probably 15 families will have great places to live. Greg and I took the back roads and it was an absolutely beautiful day and the leaves are finally changing colors, the red, orange, and yellow leaves popped from the clear blue fall sky. Below are a few pics I took of the buildings.

Smell my feet

It's Halloween but no trick or treaters paid a visit to 204. I guess I'll pile my candy in the giant bowl tomorrow along with everyone else's. Good thing I never go in the front door or up to the front desk so I don't have to walk by the candy despository.

In other news, I went to get a haircut today at the Professional Barbershop at Cameron Village and it cost $17 + tip = $20. That's the most I've ever paid for a haircut and I don't know if I'll do it again. Yeah they did a good job and even used the straight razor on my neck but so does the Friendly Barbershop in Carrboro and that only costs $12 + tip = $15. Is it worth my time and gas to drive over there? Probably not but I think I'll go back like I have if there's a reason I'm heading over there on a weekend. Otherwise it's good to know there's a normal barbershop I can use in Raleigh plus it's in a neat mall redevelopment near downtown.

Who am I?

So the girls of Pio-Nono (friends from Tech) finally made their "Which Pio-Nono Resident Are You" quiz. I know 3 out of the 4 roommates and apparently I'm the fourth that I don't know.


Mocks making cake for diabetics
and forgetful but well intentioned.

You're a Katie!!!

full sized pic at
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg591h/katiequiz.jpg


Which Girl of Pio-Nono Are You?
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Cutting up on a Friday night

Here is my attempt at carving a GT pumpkin. It's not too bad for a first shot, but definitely not as good as the guy's who made the pattern. GT Pumpkin Patterns

Who am I?

Saw this on Jenn's blog.


Bambi


Which DISNEY character are you most like?
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The yellow one's the sun!

This morning while reading the N&O I saw an ad for everyone's favorite comedian Brian Regan. He's coming to Meymandi Hall in Raleigh on November 20 for his "Take Luck" Tour. Who wants to go? Tickets are kind of expensive ($35.50) but I think it'll be fun plus Meymandi is a cool place.

Tickets

Facebook

Here's an interesting article from today's News and Observer about everyone's favorite online connection/random play service.

Making Facebook Friends

Hello Autumn

It finally seems like it's going to be Fall a.k.a. my favorite season. Nothing beats a cool, sunny October Saturday and it looks like this weekend will be another one. In honor of the season here's a bad camera phone pic of my gas fireplace which I got to work yesterday. It's definitely not as nice as a wood burning fireplace but it's better than nothing.



In other news, one of today's Google Quotes of the Day is pretty funny and is attributed to the former president Gerald R. Ford.

"Things are more like they are now than they have ever been."
- Gerald R. Ford

"I'm writing you to catch you up on all the places I've been" - John Mayer "3x5"

Where have I been? Friday afternoon after work I took off for a weekend of fishing and camping in Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. I intended to camp for two nights at Carolina Beach State Park, but I arrived at the park around 7:15 and the gate closed at 7 so I ended up getting a hotel room for the night and thanks to AAA saved 10%. Saturday morning I woke up bright and early at 5:30 and ate the free breakfast at the hotel with the other fishermen. If you didn't know, the fall is the best time for fishing on the NC coast, so there were fisherpeople all over the place making me jealous of their boats. After a bowl of Cherrios I headed to the Kure Beach Fishing Pier. I grew up going pier fishing with my grandparents and cousins at a pier on Emerald Isle so it was nice to get back on the planks after a long absence. I arrived at the pier around 6:30 or so and found that I was late. As I've read and soon realized, the north side of the pier is the place to be and due to my late arrival I was relegated to the south side. While not a bad place to be, I did notice that more fish were being caught on the north side of the pier. I fished until about 11:30 and caught one small Pin Fish which are bait stealers and one Pompano that was slightly bigger than my hand and those are good eating though I gave it to a family that was fishing next to me.

Sunrise on Kure Beach Pier




The Pin Fish


The Pompano


After my jaunt on the pier I picked up some lunch at a local place called Hardee's and then headed to the state park to secure a campsite for the evening. I found a suitable site and set up my tent and then headed out for some exploration. I ventured to the end of the pensinsula to Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area. Ft. Fisher was a Confederate Civil War fort built at the mouth of the Cape Fear River to protect Wilmington. It was the site of the "largest naval and land-sea battle fought in any war up to that time." After two battles it finally secumbed to 56 hips and 3,000 troops in 1865. While I was down there I saw a couple of kayak fishermen and decided I'd rather have a kayak than a canoe even though I've never been kayaking. It seems like a great way to fish being right there on the water plus it's human powered instead of gas/diesel powered and thus is cheaper, quieter, and doesn't directly pollute as much. After visiting the site of the fort I scoped out a fishing spot on a jetty and had a great time watching the waves crash and pelicans scoop up small minnows. Unfortunately I didn't catch anything but still had fun. Following a couple of hours on the jetty I was getting hungry and went to the gourmet store known as Food Lion to figure out what I wanted for dinner. I ended up buying some flounder since I didn't have too much luck fishing. I ended up frying the filets and never had done that before and it was actually good. I also avoided burning the park down with my hot skillet of oil sitting on my Whisperlite stove. I definitely recommend Carolina Beach State Park but make sure you have long pants and long sleeved shirts to ward off the mosquitos. Luckily I had my Columbia fishing shirt and awesome North Face convertible pants/shorts which I think may be my favorite article of clothing I own.

















This morning I woke up at 5:30 again to get packed and get in some early morning fishing. The weather on Saturday was perfect, in the low 80s with a steady breeze to knock down the heat and humidity. Sunday morning brought a cool front and a shift in the wind from the SE to the NE and was noticibly cooler but it's finally fall-like! Unfortunately it was low tide this morning and I didn't catch anything again but it was fishing and thus was fun. I also got to stalk a big bird that looked like it was searching out some food as well. I was surprised how close it let me get to it but I guess it realized I wasn't too much of a threat as I walked in step with it down the beach. I also saw two sail boats get seemingly stuck in the boat channel from the park's marina and that makes sense given that from the high tide mark it looked like the river was 3' lower than high tide and with a big sail boat keel that probably doesn't make for a good combination. Also of interest was a Coast Guard boat that was stationed at the park that went out on a call and flew down the river being pushed by twin 250 hp Honday 4 stroke outboards. Upon it's return I realized that it had a huge machine gun mounted on the bow. When I say huge I mean at least 4-5' of machine gun, it was serious firepower. I left the park about 8:00 and headed back to Raleigh to pick Emily up at RDU after her fall break trip home and now here I am on the couch writing this.





Overall it was an excellent weekend. In high school I went camping with Scouts at least once a month and sometimes two or three weekends a month. After high school that's been reduced to two or three times a year. Now that I have a job and no homework (!!!) on the weekends I think I'm going to try to get back in that mode of camping or at least getting in the woods at least once a month. Now back to work on Monday.

Also, if you haven't seen, The Facebook now has photo galleries. I'll be posting pictures there until I figure out a better option (i.e. paying for webhosting) since the new Blogger photo upload interface is cumbersome and slow when uploading multiple pictures.

"Just country boys and girls gettin' down on the farm" aka The Wondeful World of Gourds

One of the perks of my job is that we get to do fun stuff thanks to the Fun Committee. This afternoon we went to the NC State Fair for a few hours. I had a Philly Cheese Steak, some fries, and funnel cake. Yeah that's a lot of food. Here are a few pictures of price winning vegetables and gourds, yes I said gourds, giant pumpkins.


Big Honkin' Pumpkins


First place hanbaneros


Prize winning turban squash


Watermelons that are almost 300 pounds


An old Allis-Chalmers tractor in the antique tractor exhibit


An International Harvester tractor in the antique tractor exhibit