Old & Busted- NFL Draft. New Hotness- Life.

April 27, 2009 at 8:10 am (Blacksburg, Charlotte, Cooking, Depression, Football, Friends, Golf, Janice, Life, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Sports, Sunshine, Tailgating, Virginia Tech, Weather)
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For the last 15 years or so, NFL draft weekend was a big deal.  I’d stay in front of a TV for virtually the whole draft, taking breaks for meals and such with XM Radio tuned into the draft in my car.  I knew quite a bit about most of the players who would end up getting picked in the first two rounds, as well as a ton about VT players and those of the teams they had played the past few seasons.  But not this year.

This year, I didn’t even remember the draft was this weekend until late Saturday afternoon when I asked Jason about it on the golf course.  Even after that, I didn’t bother to watch any of it.  Just a few minutes ago this morning, I went to ESPN.com and looked at the results.  I recognized the name of maybe one of every ten players picked.  It appears only one Hokie was drafted.  Oh.  As a side note, this was also the weekend of the Virginia Tech spring game.  I had already lost interest in that a couple years ago, except for the tailgating aspect.  

On one hand, I could look at this as lack of interest in an activity I used to enjoy, which would be a sign of depression.  However, that would require me to accept ’sitting and watching a bunch of suits select players on TV for 6 straight hours, for two consecutive days’ as an activity, which is oxymoronic in nature.

In place of watching the draft and the spring game, I enjoyed a gorgeous weekend of weather, I went to the farmers’ market, I planted some vegetables in our garden with Janice, I bought a chest freezer for the garage, I played golf with Jason, I went shopping for some interview clothes for Janice, I watched some golf on TV, I installed a shelf in the garage, and I grilled some catfish.  That’s a substitution for the NFL draft that I would pick #1 overall any year!

I feel like this is a significant change in me, going from sitting and watching the world move on without me to participating in it in a fulfilling manner.  This, to me, is breaking out of the rut I had so often lamented being stuck in previously.  It’s why I left Blacksburg, it’s why I moved south, and it’s why I changed jobs.

It was a longer winter than I had anticipated, but it’s over now, and I couldn’t be happer!

This weekend is the Quail Hollow Championship, formerly the Wachovia Championship.  It’s Charlotte’s PGA Tour stop, and I’ve been going every year for about five years.  I have weekly passes again, and will be attending on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and possibly Sunday.  It’s one of the best weeks of the year for me.  Should be a great time as usual!  The weather looks solid.  Not sunny, but also not steady rain.

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Parents’ Weekend

January 19, 2009 at 8:38 am (Breakfast, Charlotte, Family, Football, Friends, Janice, Laney, Politics, Travel, Vacation, Weather)
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My parents came to visit Charlotte this weekend.  Other than my dad having a quick business trip  a year ago where he didn’t even escape his airport hotel, they’d never been here before.  This was their chance to come and visit me and my new home as well to get away from Tidewater for a few days.  Unfortunately, they happened to pick the coldest weekend in Charlotte in four years!

They arrived Friday around noon and got to do a little walking around Uptown and in South End while I finished the work day.  I put them up in the Westin, which is pretty much the nicest hotel in town.  It’s right across from the Convention Center which unfortunately was hosting the Spirit of Hope National Cheerleading Championship this weekend, so the hotel was packed with (presumably the richest) cheerleaders from across America.  Mom and Dad reported that they were predictably chatty and hyper, but otherwise well behaved.  We always had to stay at dumps when I traveled for something in High School, so I’m admittedly jealous that these kids got to stay in $200-$400/night rooms.

After I finished work, I picked up my parents and we went to Greek Isles for dinner.  This is a large, open place with traditional Greek fare, lively service, and great ambiance in South End.  A delicious meal was had by all.  We then went to my townhouse for them to see where I live and to visit with Laney, who had been in her crate all day.  We got some good pictures, but they are on Mom and Dad’s camera, so I’ll have to wait to post them.

After that, we went to Whisky River, which is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s bar in the Epicentre, a new Uptown Charlotte activity center.  Some of my friends were enjoying their Friday night there.  We all had a few drinks and watched people ride the mechanical bull, then my parents walked back to their hotel and I stayed for a while with my friends.

Saturday morning, Janice met me in Dilworth and we picked up my parents, who had led a failed expedition to find breakfast and were at the corner of Trade & Tryon, freezing and watching preparation for the MLK Parade.  We drove to Einstein Bros. Bagels for coffee and assorted breakfast items.  Then we headed up to Concord to take the Lowe’s Motor Speedway tour, which at $5 each was an incredible bargain!  We got to ride a lap around the track, pose in the Winner’s Circle, and drag down their new 4 lane drag strip.

 

Git r Done!

Git 'r Done!

After that, we stopped by the National Whitewater Center so I could show them the facility.  Dad used to do a lot of whitewater canoeing, so I thought he would appreciate one of the world’s finest facilities.  Unfortunately the water was shut off (probably due to the extreme cold), but they were still in awe at the place.

From there, we drove to Steele Creek and showed them Cory-Bret Lane, which is of significance to our family since my two younger brothers are named Cory and Bret, both spelled the same way as the sign.  Following that, we had a nice lunch at City Tavern in River Gate, which is where Janice and I had our first date back in August.

Our final ‘tourist’ destination was the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, which is on the other side of Lake Wylie.  While the cold kept us from enjoying much of the outdoor part, the indoor terrarium-like building was holding an incredible display of orchids from around the world.  It was truly amazing to see that these flowers of widely varying shapes, sizes, and colors were all of the same plant family.  The correlation between that and our melting pot country was not lost on me with Tuesday’s Obama inauguration dominating the news.

 

Fauna Occluding Flora

Fauna Occluding Flora

From there, we headed back to my townhouse, where Janice left to return to her place and my parents and I bailed on a plan to go to the new Brazilian Steakhouse due to lack of extreme hunger.  We instead ate at Brixx Pizza in Dilworth and called it a night.

Sunday morning, we went to Janice’s townhouse for a cup of coffee, then ate at the Waldhorn, a German place in Pineville with an enormous, meat-filled Sunday brunch spread.  Andy and Kevin met us there and much sausage and various other pork product was consumed.  After that, I took my parents back to their hotel, where they left to return home.  Having never seen the city and not knowing much about it, they were impressed by the city and all the places we took them.  Before getting in their car, my mom said tearily, “I’m finally satisfied that you’re happy here.”  How true!

I got Laney and drove down to Janice’s, where we watched the Cardinals and Steelers win their respective Conference Championship games en route to their clash in Super Bowl XLIII.  All in all a great weekend even as the bitter cold tried to put the kibosh on it!

Oh yeah, today I turn 33.  I worked out this morning and even got to work early (on a Monday!).  

For those of you looking for an update on the Circuit City fiasco, it’s still in progress. I’ll post something when I know more.

Edit: Holy crap, they are calling for 3-5 in of snow here tonight!  

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Hooray for the end of Daylight Saving Time!

November 3, 2008 at 8:25 am (Blacksburg, Charlotte, Clothing, Dog, Football, Friends, Happiness, Janice, Laney, Life, Lifestyle, Mornings, Moving, Travel, Weather, Weddings, Work)
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Before I joined the normal working world, I hated Eastern Standard Time.  I never woke up before dawn anyway, and I always wanted as much daylight as possible after work.  Nobody likes driving home from work in the dark.  Well, I still hate that part, but now I am thrilled that Daylight Saving Time is gone.

I wake up at 6am now.  Rather, I’ve been trying to.  It was almost impossible when it was 90 minutes before daybreak, though.  This morning was much, much easier.  And it was a beautiful 53 degrees outside when I took Laney for her morning constitutional!  It was overcast, so not much sunlight, but hey, still pretty good!  

It also really helps that I really like my job.  Here it is on a Monday morning in November, and I actually wasn’t dreading going to work!

 Janice and I had a good weekend, driving around to look at kids in their Halloween costumes, going on a hike at the Whitewater Center, watching football with my friends, taking Laney on numerous walks and runs, and enjoying some really nice meals.  Since Saturday was the 3 month mark since I moved to Charlotte, this seems like a good time to reflect on what’s happened since then:

  • I moved here from Bleaksburg
  • I started a new job which I still love
  • I met Janice and we’ve had a wonderful first 3 months
  • I furnished my townhouse almost from scratch without going into debt
  • I adopted Laney
  • I lost 5 lbs (without trying!)
  • I learned to wake up early and have started to find some discipline from within myself
  • I traveled to New Jersey to be in my brother’s wedding
  • I dress like an adult at work (including shaving!)
  • I re-launched dontfirealgroh.com to more good reviews
  • I started writing semi-professionally for a sports-comedy web site
  • I lost all bitterness toward life and my outlook is as positive as ever

I think that is a pretty good list, especially considering that it’s longer and more accomplished than a list from the past 7 years combined would have been!  The best part is that winter is coming up, and I have no dread or fear of it.  In Blacksburg, this would be the time where I would begin to resign myself to 6 months of dark, windy, bonechilling hell.  Not here, though.  Not only will the weather be warmer (usually by 10 degrees, sometimes 20 or more), but there are myriad activities to do.  Here’s to looking forward to the previously despised season!

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Wedding Weekend

October 13, 2008 at 10:27 am (Cooking, Football, Travel, Virginia Tech, Weather, Weddings)
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Janice and I spent this weekend in New Jersey for my brother’s wedding.  It’s the first time I’ve been up there since he and his new bride moved there a couple of years ago.  It’s a nice enough place, but there were reminders everywhere about why the north isn’t for me (even though the weather was warm and sunny).

After boarding Laney at her vet, we flew into Newark on Thursday night, got upgraded to an awesome Volvo rental car, and drove down to Point Pleasant, where we stayed at a Quality Inn with tiny rooms.  The doorknob ended up falling off of our bathroom door, locking me in twice and out once, but I was able to get it open from both sides using items from my pockets.

Friday around lunch, Janice’s mom drove to where we were staying and met us for a walk on the beach and lunch.  This was my first time meeting her, and she was very nice and easy to get along with.  And she brought some delicious cookies, which is always a bonus.

Friday afternoon and evening was the ‘rehearsal dinner’ (with the actual rehearsal being held the next morning due to some late participants).  My dad brought up his portable BBQ pit and 80 halves of chicken and we cooked them using the family Chick-a-que sauce.  As always, it was a big hit.  Even vegetarian Janice loved it!  As a side note, we tried some Quorn (which is a vegan chicken substitute) and found it to be amazingly similar to chicken and very tasty!

While Saturday morning was the rehearsal, which I did not need to attend, Saturday afternoon was the wedding itself, which was held in a really cool beachside church.  My Uncle Bob presided over the ceremony, and did a fine job.  I was an usher, and basically only had to hand out programs and walk a few ladies down the aisle.  My new sister-in-law is a wonderful girl, and I’m happy to welcome her to the family.

Following that was the reception, held at a boat museum.  The food and company were both good.  It was nice to catch up with family and friends I hadn’t seen in a while, as well as introduce them to Janice.  I even managed to not have one person ask me where my “wife” was!  I guess either the word got out, or it was obvious!  Either way, that worked out well.

Following the reception, which was shut down by the cops at 10:30 due to some wet blanket richie rich making a noise complaint, the younger among us went to a bar called Usedtobe’s until abotu 2AM.  We slept off the fun the next morning and flew back Sunday afternoon.  Let me offer some advice to people driving to the Newark airport:  Do NOT try to slip off the airport to get gas for your rental.  There is no way to find such a thing within a half hour drive of the airport.  You have to make about 50 “U-turn” exits on interstates.  It sucks.  Don’t even consider it.

All in all a great weekend!  And it was the last wedding of the year for me, which is nice.  I hope to have pictures up soon.  I hope to keep this week low key and maybe get my townhouse ready to host a VT football game party.

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Sunday, a fun day

September 29, 2008 at 7:59 am (Charlotte, Clothing, Dog, Football, Janice, Laney, Life, Lifestyle, Moving)
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Yesterday was a fun and important day, maybe the first day I actually felt settled here in Charlotte.  First, I finally got a washer and dryer.  I can’t emphasize enough how much more like home it feels to be able to do my laundry in my own townhouse.  Up until now I had been using Kevin’s and then Janice’s washer and dryer, usually doing one load per week and keeping most of my wardrobe benched out of convenience.  Now, I can wash all my clothes, my towels, etc.  It’s great!  I really never appreciated how much of a livability factor this would be.

Next, Janice and I went to Big Daddy’s Burger Bar near my place for lunch.  It was fun and very tasty.  We were pleased to find they have black bean burgers there (more for Janice’s sake than my own).  I’d been there once before, but I liked it even more this time.  The nicest thing is how you can completely custom-build your burger.

Next, we took Laney to Freedom Park since the weather was so beautiful.  She had a good time and got her usual smathering of compliments from passers-by.  She also barked at more than a few fellow canines.  I used to opportunity to try out my new digital camera, a Panasonic Lumix TZ5.  Janice snapped this great shot of Laney and me atop a rock:

 

Sean and Laney at Freedom Park

Sean and Laney at Freedom Park

 

After that, we came back and watched a little football, then went to Home Depot and Target to pick up some washer/dryer-related needs and a few other things.  Then Janice went home and I hooked up my new appliances and began washing all my stuff while hanging up a bunch of pictures.  My living room feels so much more lived-in now with a little decor.  All that I need in there now is a new TV.

So that was my Sunday.  It was hardly spectacular, but therein lies the greatness of it.  Just having “normal” days again is wonderful.  Enjoying them as much as I did yesterday is even better!

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Back to…trying to get things to normal

September 2, 2008 at 9:32 am (Charlotte, Football, Friends, Virginia Tech)
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Finally, the VT-ECU game weekend has come and gone.  While it was a unique opportunity to get some folks down to Charlotte and intermingle with the people down here, the timing for me personally was horrible, as I had just begun my lease the weekend before and was still in the process of moving in and buying things I needed.  I also have been dealing with work, new bank accounts, an automobile accident, health insurance changeover, divorce papers, and several other things.  Needless to say, it’s been a busy month.  I’m still not done with all of these things, but at least I can concentrate on them without the looming spectre of a game weekend with company visiting.  Time to get working on that list!

Oh yeah, “BeamerBall” strikes again.  Another choke that was pretty easy to see coming.  It’s getting pretty humorous.

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Occam’s Razor as an anti-perspirant

August 26, 2008 at 8:10 am (Football, Moving, Tailgating, Virginia Tech, Weather)
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Ever since I started taking a prescription medication in February, I’ve had an odd problem.  I sweat profusely in the morning.  For an hour or more.  It’s really only a problem because it’s uncomfortable, particularly in the summer.  So today I decided to try something new: I took a cold (well, cool) shower.  As ridiculously simple as that sounds, it worked!  I guess the warm water was bringing the blood up to my skin or something.  I am proud to report that this morning has me sweat free despite the 200000% humidity of the remains of Tropical Storm Fay.

I’ve got all my stuff in my townhouse now, save for a few clothes still at a friend’s place.  And now comes the unpacking and buying.  I’ve been really lazy about it so far, so I need to get my ass in gear as I only have a few days left until my company arrives for the VT/ECU football game this weekend.

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This weekend: The final part of the move

August 21, 2008 at 2:14 pm (Blacksburg, Boredom, Charlotte, Football, Moving, Virginia Tech)
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After living basically out of a suitcase the last three weeks, I depart tomorrow after work for Blacksburg, where I will spend part of the weekend packing my meager posessions into a truck and bidding adieu to my former hamlet.  Upon returning to Charlotte, I will move into my new townhouse, which is less than a mile from work in a great walking/biking community.  Small restaurants and a large park dot the landscape.  A dog will surely be acquired in the coming weeks or months.

As much as I have loved the past few weeks as my introduction to Charlotte and my new life, this weekend is the real passing of the torch.  I have but 5 days between moving in and my first houseguests, as the VT-ECU game is the following weekend here in town.  I doubt I’ll have much of anything for furniture by then, but I’ll have four walls and a ceiling, so that will have to do!  It may be weeks before there’s a dull moment, but that’s better than a decade of almost nothing but dull moments!

On a side note, I’ve already been to the ER and been in a minor accident in separate incidents this week.  At least I’ve been able to see my tax dollars at work!

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Tailgate menu

September 9, 2007 at 6:10 pm (Cooking, Football, Tailgating, Virginia Tech)
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This coming Saturday will be the first tailgate of the year that I’m going to cook for. The last two years, I’ve been using a smoker, a fryer, or a grill to cook for a fairly large group of people. We’ve done smoked standing rib roast of pork and beef, steaks, smoked boston butt (barbecue) with red, vinegar, and white sauces, smoked chicken, grilled chicken, fried chicken wings, smoked turkey, fried turkey, grilled pork chops, atomic buffalo turds, brunswick stew, chili, meatballs, and several other dishes. I’ve smoked salmon but only for myself and TGAW. I have not yet done lamb, venison, bison, or beef brisket, though I would like to.

Usually, what I cook is influenced by the game time. If it’s a night game, I have time to make something that takes longer, like brisket or boston butt. If it’s a noon game, I can only do something that takes a couple of hours or less. Saturday’s game against Ohio is at 1:30, so I have some time, but not forever. We have enough time to not make the grill necessary, it’s too warm still for stews and too nice out to need to use the fryer, so it’ll be the smoker probably. Any ideas? My instinct is lamb, but TGAW’s a wuss and probably won’t eat it. Plus I have other friends who are kind of picky.

I wish we had a good butcher around here.

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Road Trip!

September 7, 2007 at 9:32 am (Blacksburg, Charlotte, Creativity, Football, Friends, Travel, Virginia Tech)
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So, TGAW and I are heading down to the CLT (sounds pervy…perfect!) this afternoon. Friends down there are ‘hosting’ some of us Blacksburgers for the weekend due to Saturday’s VT-LSU game. I always have a great time down there. There’s something liberating about leaving town for a few days. I get hung up in the daily grind — not that I’m busy, I just sink into a tarpit of methodical mediocrity — and travel allows me to jump start my creative/exploring side a bit.

TGAW has to do some work while we’re down there, and then has to leave for a business trip not 24 hours after we get back home. I don’t know how she does it. Well, besides the cocaine.

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