"Wooooo!" - Rick Flair at the Canes Game

For my third picture-containing post in a row, here's a shot from the 5th game of the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens playoff series. Tonight I went to the game with our company president and a local developer and had a great time. The game experience was infinitely better than the game Jeff and I went to a couple of years ago when there were only about 5,000 people in attendance. This time I'd say it was sold out and they were all Caniacs. In case you didn't know Carolina won 2-1 and now leads the best of 7 series 3-2. By the way, the seats were awesome! We were on the 8th row and my seat, as evidenced by the picture, was right in line with center ice. Overall it was a good learning experience too, seeing the interaction between our president and the developer.

Beautiful Day

Today was absolutely beautiful. It was perfectly sunny and in the high 60s. If you ask me, that's perfect weather. This morning I went for a run and to the driving range. Again my elbow started bothering me, but I don't think it affected my swing too much. This afternoon was spent enjoying the weather while reading on the porch and catching up on some much needed cleaning.

In an attempt to eat healthier I attemped to make hummus for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be pretty good. I made some toasted pita chips to go with it. Here's the recipe I used from Elise's food blog which I found through Google's RSS default choices. Hummus Recipe

Here are the pictures I promised (I know you were waiting anxiously) of my new Ikea cabinets I bought when I was home for Easter. For kitchen cabinets I think they fit in the living room/den very well. Unfortunately there is a gap around one of the doors but it's more noticable in the pictures than when actually looking at it. I may try adjusting it again but I haven't had much luck yet. They definitely provide much needed storage, and I'm considering entering my idea in the N&O "Living in Small Spaces" contest.

Noah's Ark Must Have Been Crowded

Yesterday the office was closed for a teambuilding trip to the NC Zoo. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day and it seemed like everyone had a good time. I hadn't been to any zoo in many years and it was a good experience. I remember going to the NC Zoo with my grandparents back in elementary school but all I remember from the trip is that my feet hurt. Luckily this time there was no feet hurtage. I definitely recommend checking out the zoo if you're looking for a weekend excursion.

I have posted the pics in a Facebook Gallery (you don't have to be a Facebook member to view them) but here are a few of my favorites:

"AHHH get off my face!"

Rainy Day

Well thanks to the much needed rain my softball game has been cancelled. I was looking forward to playing tonight but oh well. I really need to find a batting cage this weekend to get some hitting practice.

This morning on the way to work I was listening to NPR as I usually do to catch up on my news and heard a story about a non-profit, TerraPass that has partnered with Ford to set up a system similar to industrial emmissions trading for vehicles. Essentially, it's a way to buy pollution credits to compensate for the CO2 that your vehcile produces each year. Anyone can sign up, even if you don't have a Ford (I think it's a marketing ploy for Ford creating the partnership) and the credits aren't that expensive. For my 1995 4wd automatic Explorer it's $79.00/yr and that covers 20,000 pounds of CO2 and my Explorer supposedly emits 13,812 lbs of CO2. The money you pay for the credits goes to fund wind plants and a biomass recovery plant. Pretty cool stuff. I'm not sure if I'll sign up but I may give it a go. At least it'll compensate somewhat for driving an SUV.

To see how much you pollute you can input the year, make, and model of your vehicle and how much you drive annually. It asks for your e-mail to run the analysis but if you uncheck the box next to the address box it'll let you do the test without signing up for the listserv.

If you're interested in other green energy alternatives you can sign up for NC Green Power if you're in North Carolina. I haven't done this either but may in the near future. It only adds a couple of dollars to your electricity bill a month and you "get" your power from renewable sources. I'm pretty sure other states have similar programs as well if you're not in North Carolina.

Ok I'm done with my hippy post.

April Showers

Well it was 60 degrees but it was cloudy and rainy most of the day. Can't really complain about it though since we desparately need the rain.

Today was pretty normal, went to work, got a haircut, went to Zaxby's, paid some bills, and rode my bike. The bonus is that tomorrow is the last day of the week. I know what you're thinking, "but tomorrow is Thursday!" Yes you are correct, it's the last day of the week because Friday the office is closed and we're all going to the NC Zoo. Yes we're going to the zoo and we went to the state fair last fall. Thanks to the Fun Committee we're going as a "teambuilding" exercise. Usually it seems most people at work are pretty skeptical about such things but I think they're pretty cool. I guess I'm not jaded yet and hope I don't become jaded. If work becomes tedious then I'll know I'm doing the wrong thing. The positive is that most people seem excited about this trip (who wouldn't be happy about getting out of work for a day) and I get to practice some animal photography as well.

Tomorrow night is our 5th softball game vs. Hayes Barton Baptist at Buffaloe Road Athletic Park at 8:30 pm. My goal is to again hit the ball out of the infield and no errors. And my shoulders are sore, I need one of two things, either a massage or to stretch better. I have a feeling it's going to the latter.

Game recap

Tonight FPC beat St. James UMC 9-1 and we're now 3-1! I played first tonight and felt much more comfortable. I even threw a guy out at home after an errant throw from the second baseman. Overall I'm improving. I had three infield singles tonight. Still not making good contact (apparently batting practice didn't help) but I guess I can run fast enough to beat the throw to first. Luckily we finished the game before the storms came but now it's a fireworks show of lightening and thunder. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny, perfect weather!

In other news, I may be going to Baton Rouge all next week to volunteer with the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency in their scoring of this year's tax credit applications. Apparently they've received 247 apps and only have 7 staff members to score them. Usually HFAs receive probably 50-75 apps and they are generally a couple of hundred pages of documents. It was suggested by one of the Sr. PDOs to me and my boss that I go because I'm single and like to travel but my boss isn't convinced that it would be the best use of my time. I do have 2 community service days left and have received offers from co-workers to use their's. We'll see if I'm even allowed to go since I work for a syndicator (even though we don't do business in LA) and not an HFA. Should be an interesting trip if I do get to go.

The Positive Side

Thanks to Katie and Slickdeals for reminding me of this. It's Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's if you have one near you.

Tonight is softball game #4. We're playing St. James United Methodist at 8:30 pm at Buffaloe Road Park. Hopefully we won't get rained out and no errors on my part tonight.

A few bad apples

Looks like the Chapel Hill Apple Chill Festival has come to a violent end. For those of you not familiar with Apple Chill, it was an arts carnival held on a Sunday in April every year. The Town of Chapel Hill hosted the festival and blocked off both ends of Franklin Street to allow arts and craft booths to be set up along with performance stages. Over the past few years the crowds have grown larger and larger and this past weekend reaching approximately 30,000. Generally the crowds are well behaved but the past couple of years have included some bad apples (yes, I know, bad pun). I know of a couple of knifings and gun brandishing have occurred in prior years but this year had three shootings. What's up with that? Who feels the need to bring a gun to a street festival and in Chapel Hill to boot?

The common perception is that the problem crowd results from the motorcycle (crotch rocket) festival that originally started as people bringing their bikes to show off and eventually had to be integrated into the festival to control it. I'm not sure if the motorcyclists had anything to do with the shootings or not but a lot of people are blaming them as the bad element. Of course there are racial undertones in that supposedly a lot of the motorcyclists are Black. I definitely think the town has made a wise move in the interim to cancel the festival for next year. I'm not exactly sure how they would prevent such incidents from occuring again and if they legally could exclude certain groups, i.e. whomever is the offending group. The negative impact will be on the businesses along Franklin Street that already struggle against high rents and a lack of parking. The residents and students of Chapel Hill will also suffer because of a few idiots that don't consider others in their decisions. Unfortunately it looks like the cancellation will have spillover effects to the usually safe and peaceful Halloween gathering and I'll jump to conclusions to even future sporting event celebrations which are traditionally well behaved.

Sorry for the rant, here's the press release that somebody sent to the Planning listserv tonight. Edited to add: Here's an article about the incidents and the 235 police that were supposed to stop the violence.

"Mayor says town should stop hosting festival"- Chapel Hill News

Council Meeting Summary for April 24, 2006

CHAPEL HILL - The Chapel Hill Town Council met on Monday, April 24, and considered an agenda that included the following highlights. Council meetings are cablecast live on Time Warner Cable of Chapel Hill Channel
18 and are rebroadcast at 9 a.m. the morning after the meeting and periodically throughout the week. Generally, the meetings also are cablecast on Durham Cable Vision Channel 8 at 1 p.m. on the Friday following the Council meeting. The full agenda is available for review on the Web http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/agendas/2006/04/24/
or by contacting the Town Clerk's Office at 968-2743 or townclerk@townofchapelhill.org.

- An End to Apple Chill
The Council passed a resolution to end the street fair. The resolution stated that the fair has grown to attract crowds of more than 30,000, challenging the abilities of Town staff and outside resources to effectively manage the event. There were shootings on Franklin Street, and roads remained congested for about five hours after the fair's conclusion. The Council also requested a report on the social and financial impacts of Festifall and Halloween.

Fore!

This morning I went to church and we sang "I Danced in the Morning (Lord of the Dance)" which was great for the second week in a row, though I think Carrollton Pres had First Pres in singing enthusiasm. After church I hit up Pharaoh's for some great chicken salad and then headed home to change for golf.

Joel and I walked 9 at Cedar Grove Golf Course in Hillsborough. It was a surprisingly nice course for only charging $15. It was nice being able to put on good, non-bumpy greens for a change (not that it helped any). Overall, I think we're both improving and I was pleased with my performance even though I shot a 62. I wimped out after 9 holes due to my elbow which has been hurting when I exert force in certain directions since softball practice a couple of weeks ago. Luckily the pain is helped by some ibuprofen but I'm going to seek orthopedic doctor suggestions at work tomorrow. I guess those arm wrestling matches I have schedule for the week are cancelled :).

Tonight I continued the trend of smoking up the entire apartment when I cooked blackened mahi mahi for dinner. I also was inspired by Paula Dean and a great memory of a chocolate crepe bought from a street vendor in Paris during my 7th grade trip, so I attempted to make crepes for dessert for the first time. They turned out ok but the batter was too thick and I'm not sure if they'll ever live up to the memory. I'm going to have to try another recipe. Here's the recipe I used tonight, which I'm sure is good if you know what you're doing.

Here are some pics from Easter Sunday in Carrollton. This year they had a cross of flowers brought in by church members before the service in the front yard of the church which I thought was pretty cool.





Edited to add:
Last night I rented Good Night, and Good Luck and highly recommend it. It's not the best movie I've seen but it's pretty good and especially poignant given the current state of the nation's affairs.

and

I won the NC Lottery! I stopped at a gas station after leaving the golf course to get some pain killers for my elbow and decided to try out the new NC Lottery for the first time. I bought $5 worth of tickets, 1 $1 ticket and two $2 tickets. I won $5 from one of the $2 tickets and cashed it in and bought the same combination of tickets. I should have stopped when I made my money back because I ended up only winning a free $1 ticket. I guess once I play the free ticket that'll be it for me for awhile.

Mmm beefy

Friday night I initiated my new Lodge Pro Logic cast iron grill pan that I bought at the Lodge Outlet on the way back from my Easter trip home by grilling a steak and smoking up the entire apartment. Here's a picture of the steak, notice the grill marks :)



Yesterday I ran some errands and finished putting together my new cabinets I mentioned in a previous post. I'm pretty happy with them and they will provide much needed storage space, plus they look they should be in the space. I'll post pics when I clean up the apartment.

Today is church and some golf this afternoon with Joel at Cedar Grove Golf Course in Hillsborough.

Game recap

So that whole thing about my defense improving, yeah throw it out the window. Tonight we won 11-2 over Crossroads Green, we're now 2-1. I batted four times, reached base twice thanks to two fielder's choices, had a hard line to second, and a long fly out to left center. I'm glad I got on base but they weren't the best hits. The positive is that I made much better contact this game. Now onto the defense. I was assigned second base duties again and felt much more comfortable this game until there was a hard grounder in the gap between me and the first baseman which was definitely playable BUT I went to my right. Why I did that I have no idea. It would have been a good double play ball but I went the wrong way. Luckily the right fielder backed me up and it turned out that they didn't score that inning so it worked out ok. That was by far the most embarrassing play. On the positive side I caught a high infield fly, almost turned a double play (luckily I didn't smack the runner in the face as I threw to first), and had several put outs at first and second.

Overall I felt better about my performance except for my going the completly wrong way on that one play.

Ballin'

Tonight is my second softball game, I skipped on Tuesday to go to the ULI event. I'm hoping for at least one hit this time around and error free play. In case anyone in Raleigh is reading this and is bored tonight come on out and watch at 7:30 at Buffaloe Road Athletic Park.

Buffaloe Road Athletic Park

Being Swedish

You know those days that you just want to go home or see a friendly smiling face with outstreched arms? Me too, today was one of those days. I knew going into it that it was going to be busy, which is much better than not having stuff to do. I accomplished everything I sat out to do, but it just felt weird or something. I got an e-mail this afternoon at work that was discouraging and frustrating and I hope that my response helped clear things up. I try not to really post things about work too much but I'm starting to work towards closing my first few deals and am actually starting to get to the nitty gritty of the negotiations. It's difficult to know what can be concessed and what must be retained and fought for in our agreements. I'm definitely participating in experiential education right now, which is a good thing, I just don't like not knowing the answers. Though I know the answers will come in time, I hate not being able to make the customer happy and reflect poorly on the company and myself.

Now to being Swedish. I started putting together my new cabinets from Ikea tonight and I knew going into it that I'd find a way to mess something up. Yep it happened and I didn't even realize it until the end. I put the backer board on upside down and backwards. If I would have checked, I would have noticed that one side was brown and the other white and would not have put the white side on the back, DUH!!! There are also two holes along one edge of the backerboard and I couldn't figure out why they were there until I had nailed the entire thing down. My conclusion is that they are air release holes for the drawer that will be at the top of the cabinet. Smart me put them at the bottom where you'll actually see them and they won't be functional since the internal shelves will probably block the air. On the positive side I can put that cabinet behind the TV and since it has doors and won't really be used often it's ok that I screwed. Now I know for the next one. Maybe it's a good idea that I didn't buy a house to fix up and flip.

Enough of being a grouchbag. Here are a couple of pics I took for reference before I went to Ikea.

Yes that is real wood you can faintly see in the fireplace. It's waiting on a special occasion or some cold weather to light it up.




A pic with dimensions I added in Photoshop that amazed both my mom and dad.

Fun times

Last night I went to an Urban Land Institute Young Leaders Group event at the American Tobacco Complex in Durham. I was very impressed with what they've done, taking old tobacco warehouses and manufacturing buildings and rehabing them into useful offices, shops, and restaurants. We also had the opportunity to watch the Durham Bulls game from one of the skyboxes which was fun as well (there's something about minor league baseball that makes it great). I met several new people and caught up with some old friends and may even get some new business out of it all as a bonus. If you've never been to the complex and stadium I highly recommend it, especially on a game night when there are people out and about walking around and eating dinner before the game.

Sad times

Today at Wellesley a girl committed suicide and my sister, as the new president, had to address the campus regarding the death. I know she wasn't expecting to have to deal with something like that during her administration, especially not as one of her first official duties. Please keep the girl's family, campus, and my sister in your thoughts and prayers.

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

I like this hymn and we sung it this morning so here ya go.

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Refrain

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on.

Refrain

I danced on the sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.

Refrain

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.

Refrain

They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Refrain

- "Lord of the Dance" Sydney Carder

"Where Everyday is an Opening Day" (or something like that)

Today dad and I spent most of the beautiful day today in Atlanta. We started off at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field on the beautiful Georgia Tech campus to catch some of the football team's scrimmage in the stadium. Today was a busy day on the Flats as there was the scrimmage, a beesball game, a tennis tournament, and softball game all ocurring simultaneously and the crowds were great. I'd say there were several hundred people at the scrimmage. I've heard good things about next season and it looks like everyone has been improving so hopefully things will continue to look up.

After the practice we headed to Atlantic Station for lunch at the Fox Sports Grill which was better than I expected. The menu was diverse and the restaurant design was modern, the plethora of plasma TVs broadcasting all kinds of sports didn't hurt either though it definitely doesn't feel like a sports bar. Dad said he saw the seating capacity on the seating chart at the check in and it's 600 people, I can believe it as it's a huge restaurant. I'd recommend it.

After lunch we went to Ikea to fulfill our real mission of going to the city. I really don't know what people in Atlanta did before Ikea if they wanted home furnishings. The crowds never cease to amaze me and I've even been on a week day and it was packed. I ended up buying two base cabinets with double doors and a drawer on top. They're supposed to be for a kitchen but I think they'll look fine for my intended use, plus they'll provide some much needed storage space. While treking to a check out line I ran into Jake who was working so I didn't disturb him too much but it was good to see him. I'll post pics of the cabinets once I get them built if I don't screw up the assembly too much.

After Ikea and the madhouse that was the area of combined furniture pick up and returns/exchanges we went to The Varsity for some good ol' fashioned Atlanta grease. I even tried something new, I got a Varsity Orange not to be confused with a Frosted Orange, which turned out to be like Hi-C. It was good and I'd probably get again if for some reason the Diet Coke is out or I'm in the mood for a change. Of course, the best thing at The Varsity is the ice! It's great!

Being at home is nice, last night I went to eat with Mark and his sister and her husband and we couldn't walk through the restaurant without seeing many different groups of people we all knew. Knowing people and seeing them out and about is something I really miss living in Raleigh. I guess it comes with being in a bigger city and not knowing many people to begin with. I'm working on building a community through church and work but with people so spread out in Raleigh it's hard to have a good central core of people. I don't think I posted about this yet, but last Sunday, Mark's friend Emily and I went to church together and then had lunch. It's always good to make new friends, now the goal is to meet more.







Bad picture of the Wreck

Hail to the Chief

I made it home safely and it only took me about 45 mins to get from Spaghetti Junction to I-20. Traffic started backing up around the Peachtree St exit on 85S so I decided to do my usual connector traffic avoidance and exited at 10th/14th/17th Streets and headed through Atlantic Station and hit Northside for the backroads to I-20. Yet another positive reason that I went to Tech, I learned the surface streets in ATL!

If you're wondering to what the title of this post is referring it is in reference to my sister who, as I mentioned several posts ago, just won College Government President for next year at Wellesley. Here's a Q & A from the Wellesley paper with her about her write-in candidacy and what she plans to do with the position.

Wellesley News Q&A

Go the Opinions section and it should be to the right of the page. If it's not there check the archives.

Softballin'

Tonight was our first softball game, First Presbyterian (my church) vs. Hudson Memorial Presbyterian and we won 9-8. I was assigned second base duties which was a surprise given that I've never played second base in my life. I also batted 7th in the lineup. Today my defensive skills returned somewhat and I had a couple of force outs at first and a bad call at second where they guy really was out but the ump said I didn't touch the bag (argh). Hitting-wise I was 0-3, I popped up to the catcher my first at bat and then the next two at bats were long flys to center field. It kind of feels bad to be the second youngest player on the team and getting out played by guys 10, 20, and even 30 years older. I'm hoping that I get the in flow soon. Though I didn't have my best all around game the season looks promising.

It's that time of year

It's time for a transition but it's not going to happen. It's time for school to end and for me to move onto an internship. The anticipation has been building but the change will not come. I started my job on August 29, just about the time the fall semester starts but when mid-May rolls around in a month I will just keep working instead of school ending for the summer. I knew this time would come when the periodic flip of the calendar months wouldn't signal annual changes but I didn't know how to prepare. In a month work will continue on unchanged. I will wake up at 6, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, read the paper, watch the news, check blogs, pack my lunch, and head to work just like every other day.

Growing up is confusing but it happens to everyone and everyone learns how to deal with it. I guess I will still experience a change in a month, while I won't be leaving school for the year I will experience a transition. Maybe I'll have a party or something.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

On my way home work today I was listening to NPR as I usually do and heard a story on All Things Considered that made me glad that I don't have kids in school in Florida. "Fla. Bill Requires High-Schoolers to Declare a Major"

Jeb Bush recently proposed a plan to "improve" education by requiring high school freshmen to declare a major, essentially requiring them to select a career when they are only 14 or 15 years old. What's up with that? Shouldn't high school be a time for exploring educational options and trying new things? I know growing up that I went through many career paths on my way to where I am now. Like every young kid I wanted to be a professional baseball player, I quickly realized that wasn't going to happen :) Throughout school I really enjoyed science and thought about being a doctor or scientist for quite awhile even up until sophomore year at Tech. Being the nerd I am, I was in the acclerated math class in junior high and some of my friends called me barometer man because I'd always quote the barometric pressure from the morning's weather report because I thought I'd like to be a meteorologist. I went to a camp on Ossabaw Island off the coast of Georgia for a week because of my interest in marine biology. While I had a strong science interest I also greatly enjoyed history, government, and social studies. I longed to be on of the kids running around on the big map on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (I have the sound track featuring Rockapella on my Ipod now...yes I know, I'm a dork). I was speaker of the house in Georgia Studies during our mock legislature sessions in 8th grade. I even watched CSPAN for fun back then.

In high school, my interest in science and the social sciences continued but I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Most of my thoughts still led to medical school to be a doctor. I took anatomy and as many other science classes as possible, but at the same time I enjoyed my AP US History and government classes and did well on the AP tests. When it came down to the college decision everything was focused on science for the most part as I figured I would go to med school or pharmacy school. I was accepted to Mercer pharmacy school for their 5 year program but decided Tech was the way to go and I'm glad I chose the path I did. When I arrived at Tech as an undecided science major in the Fall of 1999 I was in for a great shock. I didn't know how to study. I thought I was a nerd, HA! I quickly felt overwhelmed by school and actually hated being in the city and basically confined to campus without a car. My freshman year I took general chemistry which I enjoyed and then in the spring I took inorganic chemistry which quickly turned me off the entire lab experience. I felt confined in the lab with its lack of windows and constant focus on one specific topic. Fall of my sophomore year brough on biology which I enjoyed but again realized I wasn't much for the lab. After my freshman year my GPA was in the tubes and at that time I didn't think I could pull it up as much as I did and as a result kind of put the med school thing out of mind. I was getting close to having to choose a major and sought out my other interests that had been spawned by Atlanta's lack of control in its growth. I chose Public Policy as a way to create my own major with the generous 15 hours of free electives which allowed me to take planning, real estate, and business classes that otherwise wouldn't have been possible in any other major. At the same time though I learned more about the government and how it really works, philosophy of politics and government, and just more about myself and how it takes all kinds of people for this world to function. Just because I was not an engineer at Tech didn't make me less worthy of being there. My interests changed as I experienced new educational opportunities.

Which brings me to my point after a long rant. As freshmen and even as seniors in high school most kids do not know what they want to be and even if they think they do, that may change. As part of the story the reporter interviewed two 16 year old students and one was heavily in favor of the idea since he's adament that he's going to be a doctor and wants to select a science major right now and the other is still undecided and wants options. What would be really interesting is to follow up with the two students to see what they ultimately end up doing in and after college. Ultimately by requiring a strict focus on a certain educational path so early, it appears that one's options will be limited in the future as a result of not experiencing a range of different classes. Futhermore, from an implementation standpoint, as the story points out, it will be nearly impossible for such a plan to succeed due to the basic core curriculum requirements already in place and that are not expected to change with the new plan.

As you can tell, if you made it this far, I'm not in favor of the plan. I'm interested in your thoughts? Listen to the story. From your experience, do you think you would have benefited from such a plan?

Watch it! Do it Do it

I know I've said it before but the best show on TV now is How I Met Your Mother. If you're a twenty-something, which you probably are if you're reading this, then you'd greatly enjoy it. At this point it may be better to start watching during the summer so you can see the entire story in order but even if you start now just ask and I'll fill you in. This is the only new primetime show I watch and if f you're only going to watch one new show this should be it, it's definitely DVR worthy.

Here's your invitation:

Where: Your couch or if you're really bored you can come watch and skip commercials with me.

Channel: CBS (yeah I know, who would have thought CBS would have good tv?)

When: Monday nights at 8:30

Be there or be square!

Fore!!!

In today's N&O Business section there is a great article, "Birdies, bogies and building business," discussing the tie between business and golf. At work several of us have been pushing for more golf (well I joined in the chorus) and it looks like it is starting to work. Before our annual conference in June we're going to have an outing with a group of developers that will be attending. Speaking of which I need to get back to practicing.

Now for something completely different. Last night I watched Walk the Line on On Demand and it was pretty good. I thought Reese Witherspoon was the best of the cast, I think she may have won an Oscar but not sure since I really don't pay attention to them. One random thing I thought about as I watched is that the autoharp is a weird instrument. I wonder what the thought process is behind deciding to learn the autoharp. My elementary school music teacher played one in class and I remember thinking it was kind of strange back then too. If there are any autoharp players out there reading this please fill me in.

Learnin'

In this week's conference news, I enjoyed the NCHC conference in Winston-Salem. Conference sessions are always a toss up if they're going to live up to their description. This time I'd say I learned a little but not as much as I'd hoped. The main reason for attending the events isn't really the learning opportunity but the networking that comes during breaks, meals, and cocktail/hopitality times. I met several people I'd talked to on the phone but hadn't met and as well as a lot of other people in the affordable housing/development industry. I actually met a 2002 Tech Architecture grad that now practices with a firm in Raleigh while she is in school at State working on her 5th year. As always it's good to meet other Tech people, especially if they're young. Our hotel room had an excellent view facing north towards the foothills and we could clearly see Pilot Mountain from our 7th floor room.

Last night after the scheduled events I went to dinner with two of my co-workers at The Old Fourth Street Filling Station and had a great evening. The restaurant, as the double entendre name suggestions, is a former gas station converted into a restaurant which as most of you know I really like as a concept. The night was beautiful so we ate outside and had a great variety of food. I didn't know one could fry grits but they do it and they're great. If you're ever in Winston-Salem I highly recommend it, especially if you're staying downtown since it's within walking distance of the hotels.

There are two downsides to the trip, the first is that I didn't have the opportunity to drive through the WFU campus. Second, it feels like Friday afternoon but i'ts not and I don't want to go to work tomorrow. Overall, I had a good time, met some people, and got to know my co-workers better.

In other news, my sister, Emily, won the race for College Government President at Wellesley last night!!! One of the reasons she returned to Wellesley this semester was to run for president but after a couple of weeks decided not to run. As the race heated up she began receiving e-mails from students requesting that she run as a write in because they weren't satisfied with the candidates so she took them up on the offer and threw her name in the hat. The results were announced at midnight and she won by 138 votes! She's going to be crazy busy next year but it'll be a great experience and should open doors to a lot of opportunity.

Recruiting

This afternoon I got my ears lowered at the Professional Barber Shop at Cameron Village. They do a great job and are good conversationalist. I think being able to make conversation (i.e. be an opinionated old man) is a required skill of being a barber. I talked to the barber, JD, about State bball and the coaching transition the entire haircut and learned stuff about Sendek's record and a State fan's perspective that isn't reported on the news. Anyway, it was a good time.

After the haircut I had time to kill before the GT Club event so I figured I'd go to the new library at Cameron Village and get a library card. I'm now officially a card carrying library patron. I didn't check anything out but I did read two magazines while there.

Here's proof of my library membership!


Tonight's big event was "Decision Night" at Rudino's Pizza in RTP for potential Tech freshmen. There was a good turnout of prospectives, parents, and alums. I hope we all convinced them to choose Tech over State. I had some good conversations with students and their parents and hopefully stuck up well for the PubP grads of the world. Luckily the 2005 HTS grad was also there to help out. Of course none of the high schoolers were interested in anything other than engineering but that's ok too. They all seemed to be struggling with their decision but all had great options. An aside, as I drove up to Rudinos I had flashes of Office Space in my mind. It was a restaurant all by itself in the middle of the huge office park. I'm really glad I don't work in a place like that.

Tomorrow I'm off for the next two days to Winston-Salem for the NCHC Conference to learn stuff and meet folks. I've never been to W-S so maybe we'll have time to drive by Wake to see the campus.

"One Shining Moment" One year ago...

Congrats to UF! Tonight's final brought on thoughts of last year's final and watching along with everyone else in Chapel Hill hearing cheers from around the town during the game and storming Franklin Street post victory. Here are bad crowd shots of last year's celebration.

Good things

• The Raleigh Greenway System
• Beautiful Spring afternoons
• Google Maps Pedometer which lets me know how far I ran/walked and how much I need to work on getting in shape. Today's route.

Fortune

I ordered Chinese food Friday night and my fortune cookie said "Someone is speaking well of you." If you were talking about me Friday night it better have been something good :)

Uptime

I know you all were getting tired of seeing the same post at the top of the page but that's how it goes sometimes. The cable guy came out today and transferred my cable and internet so I'm now reconnected to the world.

This week has been busy. The temp laborers did a pretty good job moving my big stuff on Tuesday afternoon and I'm glad I got the 17' Uhaul since it allowed us to get it all at once. The next three afternoons after work involved packing, cleaning, loading, unloading, and starting over. Thursday night I wrapped up everything except for taking out the trash and getting a few random things. I went to the apt on Friday during lunch and finished everything. I had a move out inspection Friday after work and passed with flying colors. The maintenance guy even liked my Ikea shelf that I installed as a mantel over the fireplace. He didn't know what Ikea is but he was impressed and said they were considering doing something similar in all of the units. I told him they could keep it since it was only $15 and I didn't want to fool with taking it down and leaving holes in the wall. My task this weekend and probably for the next week or so is to find a place for all of my stuff. Right now it's all piled up in the sunroom, living room, and kitchen. I have my bedroom the way I think I want it but the rest of the stuff is going to be a challenge.

Now onto things that didn't involve moving. On Wednesday, Johan (co-worker and '02 DCRP grad) and I went to UNC for one of the affordable housing classes at the planning school to review case study presentations. Johan actually wrote the case study for his MP and I went along to 1) Get out of the office 2) see the prof 3) pretend to be important :). We had a brown bag lunch session with 5 students that came to discuss affordable housing and career opportunities. The one thing that alarmed both us was that several of the students want to do development but claim to be afraid of the numbers. The numbers can be intimidating at first but it's not like we're doing calculus. It just takes awhile to get a feel for it, I just hope they haven't psyched themselves out already. After the lunch we went to class and heard two presentations and gave some pointers on what they could have improved. Overall both groups did a great job.

On Thursday my boss and I went to Charlotte to meet with the developers of a mill conversion project in Morganton using historic tax credits. I'm lucky that Chuck takes me along on for the meetings as they are a great learning opportunity. We also stopped at Bass Pro Shops in Concord on the way back.

Today was our second softball practice and there were only 3 of us (sound famililar?). Supposedly we have enough for a full team. I realized today that my skills have flip flopped from when I used to play baseball. I now can hit but my defense is terrible and it used to be the other way around. I guess I've just gotten lazy but I need to get down on the grounders. I need to find a batting cage that throws ground balls for some fielding practice. It didn't help that I was getting used to a new glove but I can't blame it on that too much. I'm hoping that next weekend will be better and I'll finally get in the swing of things. I guess that's why practice was invented. Our first game is on April 13 so not much longer to go before the two games/week kick in.

This coming week is going to be busy as well. We're interviewing interns and on Wednesday and Thursday most everyone will be at the 2006 North Carolina Housing Coalition Conference in Winston-Salem. The sessions sound good so hopefully I'll learn something new.

That's enough updating, I leave you now with some camera phone memories of the old apartment and the mess which is my new apartment.












New Apartment








One more for good measure, some flowers by the back entrance at work.