Where in the world is Brian Diego?

Well I've made it through three days of work so far and it's gone better than I expected. I guess when you have low expectations then there's always room for improvement, but really it hasn't been too bad. Everyone is really nice and helpful. I have an awesome mentor named Yolanda that is guiding me through everything and showing me the ropes. I highly doubt that if I ever have to mentor someone like she's doing that I'll do as good a job. CAHEC has flex time and for this quarter I've chosen to work from 8 to 4:30 which so far has been good so we'll see if I can keep that schedule once I start actually having work to do. Two more days this week and then a three day weekend which should be nice because the weather is supposed to be perfect and it's also opening weekend for football (specifically Tech vs. Auburn).

I'm going to copy Sarah again and make my own Google Map Guest Map. Check it out and scroll and zoom in on where you are and sign my map. I want to see some faces all over the place, well being realistic it'll probably just be people in Atlanta and in NC but that's all good because the people that are there are friends.

Please proceed...

Life: Phase II begins today. Today at 8:30 my life as I have known it for almost 25 years will end and I'll be entering the world of adults or as I say grown ups. Interesting times.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock...

It's like the night before the first day of school; I have no idea what to expect. If you're a nerd like me and want to know how long it is before I start work click here

I'm a nerd like Brian!

"Go long! Real long!" - Kid in an old Nerf Turbo Football commercial

Well work starts tomorrow and definitely will be interesting. I hope I actually remember what I'm supposed to know from school. I'm most intrigued/nervous about the office personality and culture. That's always the hardest thing to get used to, but from what I've seen it's a collaborative environment and everyone is generally laid back.

Today I'm going to Elon for lunch at the grandparents' with Emily and her roommmate Georgia Leigh.

This weekend I accomplished, well not much, but read Kim King's Tales from the Georgia Tech Sideline by Kim King with Jack Wilkinson. It was a pretty good and quick read about the history of Georgia Tech football from the 'Young Left Handers' perspective as a former quarterback and then color commentator. While it was a good read, I think it would have been better as an audio book narrated by Kim King as it was written in a converstational style. Unfortunately Kim King passed away from cancer last October.





Continuing my football entertainment in preparation for the opening weekend of college football and Tech vs. Auburn game next weekend, I watched Friday Night Lights. Whenever I watch a movie or show about high school football I have a tinge of regret that I didn't play. In junior high the coaches wanted me to start playing as I was a big kid, still am, but I was really into soccer so I told them no. In high school I was in the band and really enjoyed playing drums for four years and I'm glad I did it. I think I just miss the team aspect, maybe I can find some adult leagues like Sarah has in Houston. They sound like a good chance for exercise and having some fun too.

Friday, Last Friday

This morning I celebrated or I guess I should say enjoyed my last free Friday morning for the foreseeable future (ugh) by going to mountain biking at the Beaver Dam part of Falls Lake Recreation Area. I rode the 2.6 mile Outer Loop and realized, that even though I've been trying to run, I am out of shape and have lost some bike skill. Having not been on my bike all summer it took me a few minutes to regain my trail balance but after that I was fine and didn't fall off a cliff into the lake or crash so that was good. It was a perfect morning for riding, low humidity, about 65-70 degrees, and Carolina blue skies. I had the entire park to myself which is always awesome. The only downside to being the first person down the trail in the morning is breaking the spider webs, but that's a small price to pay for a chance to get in the woods.



I don't know what the rest of the day will bring but hopefully my insurance will get updated and I'll be able to get a new car tag. I think I'll get an AT plate because the money goes to a good cause, the AT Conservancy, and it looks cooler than the very old, standard NC "First in Flight" tag.



Also, from now on when commenting you'll have to do the security word thing but hopefully that won't keep you from commenting. I enabled that setting because I got a couple of comment spam e-mails the other day and that's annoying.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Naps are good. I took a two hour nap this afternoon on the couch it and felt really good. Last night I didn't sleep well for some reason, even though I usually sleep pretty well even if it is my first night in a new place. I know it took me at least an hour to fall asleep after staring at the ceiling and walls. This morning I woke up at 6 and my legs were telling me they wanted to do something so I didn't fight and ended up going for a 1.5 mile run down Six Forks when it was humid and warm before it became humid and rediculously hot. 1.5 miles seems to be me my distance now in the little bit I've been running since I started again a couple of weeks ago. I really need to start to push myself and need to find a loop trail instead of a there and back type of run. There's a City of Raleigh park around Lake Shelley which isn't far away so I am going to check out their greenways and trails. They also have canoe rentals and free fishing rod rentals for anyone that wants to come hang out in Raleigh with me (hint hint).

This morning I also went to Target at North Hills which is a really cool redevelopment of a shopping mall into an upscale New Urbanist shopping center similar to Atlantic Station but on a much smaller scale. After spending too much money at Target, I proceeded to Harris Tetter where I spent too much money as well. I had a good Frontega Chicken sandwich from Panera for lunch then tackled the kitchen and tried to figure out where everything should go. All I have left now is the pots, pans, small appliances, and cooking utensils so that shouldn't take too long. I could have finished it earlier but I decided to take the aforementioned nap.

Speaking of the nap, I was woken by a "cop knock" at my door. Luckily it wasn't a cop but the maintenance man saying that the apartment below mine has a leaky ceiling. Apparently I didn't tighten the water hoses to my washer well enough yesterday and it's been dripping since then. I'm going to get on that renter's insurance asap tomorrow.

What does the rest of the day bring? Who knows, it's too hot to go outside but I did buy a new Spalding Infusion basketball (built in pump) this morning so I may shoot some hoops tonight. What I really need to do is finish unpacking that will likely be the course of action for this evening.

As always, hijacked wireless, although providing an intermitent connection at best, is pretty cool as well as basic cable which provides some background noise while unpacking. Finally I leave you with a mission. If you choose to accept it let me know. Here it is...come visit.

Edited to add, I just looked up the Frontega Sandwich on the Panera website to put a link and dang that's not a very healthy sandwich. I'll have to start rethinking that choice and find something better.

Movin' on up to the east side

I'm moved in! Well all my stuff is in, but I'm definitely not settled yet. I highly recommend getting temporary helpers to help move, makes things go a lot quicker and isn't too expensive. Also, the invention of wireless internet is pretty nice when your neighbors don't know how to secure their networks.

I like to move it. I like to move it move it

Those are the illustrious words of Reel to Reel in the song "I like to Move It." Unfortunately I don't like to move it move it when it when it is furniture. Today is the day and hopefully the oppressive humidity will burn off soon so it won't be too bad today. We have two guys from a temp agency coming to help so it should go quickly...hopefully.

I know I've said it before but I'll say it again. Come visit and sleep on my sleeper sofa!

Edited to say, Time-Warner isn't coming until Tuesday so I'll have only sporadic internet access until then.

Going to Carolina in the Explorer

That doesn't quite have the same lyrical ring to it as Mr. Taylor's version but it'll do. Today's the day. We're leaving bright and early at 7 AM assuming I get everything done at home that I want to get done, i.e. leaving my room in a semi-presentable state. I'm planning on signing my lease this afternoon and we're moving in tomorrow. After that you should come visit. Ok back to the cleaning and packing.

One more day

One more day until I leave Carrollton for Raleigh and there is a lot to do. Just gotta take a deep breath and dive right in. That goes for getting the cleaning and packing done as well as actually moving to a new place and starting a new life.

Breath with me...

Slowly inhale
Hold it for a few seconds
Slowly exhale
Repeat

Me! Me! Me! Me!

I'm watching MTV and the Sweet Sixteen show and these kids are rediculous spoiled brats. Treating their parents like dirt when they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on birthday parties. It's not just the kids treating the parents like dirt that's absurb, it's also that they are spending that much money on a birthday party and the kids only seem to appreciate it post party...if at all.

That's all I'm going to say about that because, although I really hope I don't and I don't think I'll spoil my kids too much, I may do something rediculous at some point. Just know, if I do, please come find me and slap some sense into me!

On a more serious note, everyone has fears and one of my big one's is the fear that I won't be a good parent and have my kids turn out to be "good kids." That, along with the desire to be a good husband are two things I worry about sometimes.

(Disclaimer: Last season two girls had a joint party and used it as a benefit for some charity).

Autumnal Dreams

Looking back at some pictures tonight made me ready for fall. Bring on the warm days, cool nights, and the clear blue October skies.

Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff

Hi, I'm Brian and I'm a packrat. I said it, I am a packrat, but I'm in recovery. Thanks to watching TLC and their clean out shows and Emily's advice I've realized that if I haven't used it in a long time it's ok to get rid of something. If I want to keep something for sentimental value, then keep part of it or one or two of the items instead of ten. The last two days I've cleaned out drawers and two closets in my bedroom. I've thrown away old magazines, boat brochures from the 1994 ATL Boat Show, and notes, assignments, and tests from high school. It feels good to get that stuff cleaned out because it's needed to be done for a long time. In the process I've gained new storage space and more importantly found some photos and other memorabilia I've been looking for for awhile. I'll have to pack them and then finally get around to putting them in albums after I get settled in Raleigh. While I like taking pictures with real film, storage and viewing is far superior with digital.

Another intersting facet of this move is trying to determine what I want to take to make my apartment my new home. Throughout college I've done a little personalization but have generally kept my dorm or apartment pretty generic to save on moving stuff (which I already have too much of anyway), but now that I may be in the same place for longer than 10 months I'll have to make it mine. If you have any suggestions let me know.

"I'm moving on"

Moving is a big task. I'm not talking about moving to college for 9 months per year. I'm talking about becoming an adult and moving out on one's own. I have so much stuff that needs to be organized and stored or thrown away that the task is quickly becoming overwhelming. Of course my procrastination tendencies have reared their ugly head this summer so I'm just now trying to attack this mountain of stuff. What is going to make the trip to Raleigh? What should be thrown away? What should be stored? What should be left in its place in my room? Wow! And only three days left to make those decisions.

In other news...

Mark and I went to the Maple Street Diner for lunch today for some good meat and three.

My Explorer is in the shop at Richard Haney Ford getting a new idle control error (weird part name) that should hopefully stop the stalling problem that fortunately hasn't lead to me getting rear ended. My ABS light will also hopefully finally go off with the replacement of the rear speed sensor. I also think the electronically contolled 4wd Hi will work after the sensor is replaced. They also replaced a couple of light bulbs and properly adjusted my fog lamps so they won't blind other drivers, which will be good when it's foggy out. Finally, they may tackle the suspension and figure out why it's sitting about an inch lower in the back on the drivers side than the passenger side. I'm hoping that the suspension can just be adjusted and doesn't end up to be an expensive fix, but with most vehcile repairs it will probably be expensive.

Mom and I went to Pearl's for dinner and I had some excellent pesto and asiago cream linguini with grilled chicken. Mmm mmm good. I thought about taking a picture of it to renew my camera phone food series but I started eating it before I thought about it and didn't want to stop eating because it was pretty good. To see and taste it you'll just have to take a trip to Carrollton.

My New Crib

After signing on to my job yesterday morning I drove around North Raleigh for about four hours in search of an apartment. I quickly realized that the economy must be improving in Raleigh because out of probably eight places I visited only one had one bedrooms available in the next couple of weeks. Luckily the apartment complex is relatively new (1995) and has big units with fireplaces (which you all know I like). I went back to Raleigh this morning to do some more looking and didn't see anything that was comparable in size, quality, and location so I went with the one I saw Friday. I ended up with the Britania 808 sf, one bedroom at Cambridge Apartments on Six Forks Road that was a pretty good deal on a per square foot basis (yes I'm a real estate nerd). I drove one optional route to work and it took about five minutes today, but I think it'll be about ten minutes on a weekday. I'm glad I'll have a short commute.

North Raleigh is a pretty suburban area without a really defining center, but there is a cool redevelopment about a mile south of the apartments that we studied in one my real estate classes at Kenan-Flagler. I think once I get my feet wet and start meeting people that Raleigh will feel like home. I just hope it doesn't take as long as it did at Tech and in Chapel Hill.

All that said, PLEASE COME VISIT!

"Financial hardship in your life is coming to an end. Enjoy!" - A Fortune Cookie

That was a fortune I got last fall when I ordered some Chinese delivery to Mill Creek E4.

As you may have guessed or probably already know, I have a job offer in Raleigh with Community Affordable Housing Equity Corporation (also known as CAHEC, pronounced kay heck) for a Project Development Officer position. CAHEC is a nonprofit, low income housing tax credit syndicator that also does some work with historic and new market tax credits. Basically, CAHEC is the middle man/manager between developers seeking equity for deals and companies (usually banks) wanting to purchase tax credits to reduce their tax liability.

I didn't think I'd end up back in the Triangle after grad school, but I'm looking forward to the job and I think it will be an excellent opportunity to learn and gain experience that will help me progress toward my goal of becoming a developer.

If you want to know what I'll be doing here's the job description. PDO Description

Tomorrow morning I have a meeting in Raleigh to sign the paperwork to make it official and then I'll officially have my first job. Then I'll be driving around trying to find a place to live.

I'm almost officially grown up; kind of scary but exciting at the same time. On to new friends, a new church, and a new city.

I'm a snob

While in Elon the last week and a half I have realized that I have become a grocery store/food snob. I have grown accustomed to the very good selection of products available at both Publix and Harris Teeter. Up here in Burlington/Elon they only have Food Lion and Lowe's and they seem to lack the same selection that I'm used to. I guess the selection is good though because I cooked this for dinner tonight and was able to get everything I needed and the salmon was good.

TV

I very much dislike soap operas. I've been at my grandparents' for a week and half now and from 12:30-3 or so the main TV is on soap operas. Why not watch something educational or more entertaining such as FoodTV, the Travel Channel, or the History Channel. I guess the shows I watch on MTV are just as bad or worse as soap operas as far as non-thought provocking content goes, but at least I turn the tv on a channel other than CBS all day.

Enough of my rant, it's not really that bad, I'm just tired of soap operas and I'm bored.

Summer Fun

Went to the Carolina Brewery with Susanna tonight for a celebratory dinner celebrating getting a job offer (pending background check). Following dinner we headed to get some excellent, organic ice cream at Maple View Farm outside of Carrboro. Mmm mmm good ice cream while sitting on the porch in rocking chairs overlooking their corn fields.

If you want a really good time follow these steps on a summer evening:

1) Acquire Phish's Farmhousealbum
2) Get a vehicle and roll the windows down and open your sunroof if you have one
3) Play Farmhouse in the vehicle
4) Drive on a winding country road
5) Smile because you're enjoying the music and freedom of a summer night

A Quotation

Today while reading the Greensboro News & Record I saw a neat quote by Mark Twain in the final article in a series about a couple that has canoed down the Mississippi River all summer. Article Series

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain

Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings died today of lung cancer after only finding out about it four months ago. It's a sad day in journalism. I always watch ABC news and I remember during the coverage following Sept 11 and the nonstop broadcasting you could hear his Canadian accent come out as he grew tired. He had an excellent way of communicating with the people and will be missed.

ABC News Story about Peter Jennings

Animal Farm

After reading two business books I decided to return to my quest to reading literature. As the first step back in I read Animal Farmby George Orwell. While I didn't read it in school, I clearly remember that there was always a practice question during Quiz Bowl tournaments about the book. It's an interesting and quick read that is still relevant today. I won't give away the plot but I give it two thumbs up.

Update

My granddad's surgery turned out to be successful and he came home the same day. The past couple of days he's been recovering and improves daily. Hopefully he'll continually keep getting stronger. Thanks to those who asked about him and threw up some prayers.

In other news, I had another interview with CAHEC in Raleigh on Wednesday afternoon. I think it went well and the job sounds interesting. Although I'm not getting my hopes up yet.

Wednesday night The Chalmers and I went to the Burlington Indians rookie league game against the Pulaski Blue Jays. Due to some pathetic baserunning the Indians lost 6-4. The highlight of the game, as I described at the Mud Pies, was getting to sit in the sky box seats that Joel won. Below are a couple of camera phone pics from the game.

This morning I went to Food Lion and bought some OJ and milk at 6:30. At 8 Susanna, who was on her way to Hickory and Kingsport, TN for a wedding, stopped by and we had an enjoyable breakfast and catching up time at Panera.

That's all folks.