Florida

It seems like Florida is the destination of choice for my family lately.

Sarah & Jon and their kids drove down to visit Jon's father for school vacation week last week (more like ten days). Highlights included petting zoos, long stretches of road, and Hayden leaving his appendix behind.

Dad & Ma flew down to St. Augustine today to visit with Aunt Aggie and the rest of the Lebanese branch of our family. Dad will return next Wednesday, and Ma will spend a few more days with her cousin Dimples.

When I was a kid we went twice:

1. We (my parents, Kevin, Sarah and I) flew down when Ma was pregnant with Jason, spent a week and then drove Isa's Hornet back.
2. Everyone but Dad flew down and back, with my Aunt Wendy when I was 13 and we went to Disney World for a day. I hated it, and the next day I was too sick for us to go back. I was at that age where the lines were too long and the rides didn't live up the wait.

Personally, as an adult I have no interest in ever going back on my own dime. I prefer a less humid climate. But I am glad the others are all enjoying their times visiting family and seeing the sights...

Customary

I'd spent so much time trying to decide whether to spend $10 each on some 12 oz "Life is Good" mugs, or $11.95 each for a few 16 oz classic Disney mugs (you know, the really old versions of the characters from the 40's) that I finally gave up and decided to create my own at eCustom. They were $10 each for 15 oz mugs (11 oz would have been $9 each, but I prefer a bigger mug), so I got two, and they arrived today, just over a week later. They are high-quality, have large handles, and best of all, are not made in China!

Day of Slack

I have today and tomorrow off, and beforehand I made a list of things I wanted to do and/or accomplish. Due to the rain and a general lack of motivation (it's called a day off for a reason!) as of 5:30 pm I have spent this first day in the following ways: planted in front of the televison and this screen; in my big chair reading (and dozing - I only got 5 hours of sleep last night); buying the next 3 Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures books that follow "A King's Trade" and POPGUN #1; downloading a free album by The Sorry Shop; drinking a lot of coffee; and eating some not-so-good Chinese food from a place that shall not be named to spare the "under new management" place any embarrassment.

11:30 pm update: More online time-killing; I cleaned off my art table; I watched my DVR'ed shows ("Around the Horn", "Whitney", "Survivor" and "Happy Endings"); had more coffee; ordered two custom 15 oz coffee mugs from eCustom; and did other miscellaneous Spring Cleaning. The clutter is steadily going away...

Reintegrate

Things I seem to have left on the side of the road since I found my new job back in late October:

• Working out - Sure, I hike when I can, and I average 10,000 steps (roughly 5 miles) each day at work, but I haven't lifted weights or done a single push-up since before Halloween...
• Drawing/Painting - I used to paint and draw constantly with all of my free time. And at the very least I would doodle and sketch at my computer table. I need to dust off my supplies and put them to use.
• Learning Guitar - I bought a Fender acoustic and took lessons for five months back in the winter of '09 (coincidentally right up the road from my job), but have barely touched it since. One of my resolutions is to learn 5 songs relatively well. I need to get that done.

iHappy Part Deux

I came home from work today and my new iPod Nano was under my steps.

I set it up around 10:30 pm and immediately added some songs and albums, including stuff by Katy Perry, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Train and Copeland. I also snagged Sarah Blacker's two albums, "Come What May" and "The Only Way Out Is..." .

I also added Mojave 3 and Vanessa Kafka from my cds.

Let the hands-free hikes begin!

iHappy

I just bought an iPod Nano 6 with 16GB of memory. My old iPod is on its last legs, and I think this new one will be the perfect accompaniment for all of my hikes, vacations, and days down at the lake. Also, I had it engraved with my e-mail address in case it gets lost and is found by a scrupulous person. I should have it by next week, and then I can fill it with music, both new and old!

...oh, and I just snagged Sarah Blacker's "Perfectly Imperfect" EP too, which I added to iTunes, along with Casey Sullivan's "For the Birds" , which I grabbed a few days ago.

Hail-O!

Last night around 1 am there was dime-seized hail falling on my roof and car, and hitting my apartment windows, as lightning and thunder joined in. It was ten minutes of really weird weather, after a torretinal cloudburst!