You demanded; I listened. I'm back.

"What do you suggest, Number One?"

"I think it's time for a new post from J-Shizzle in G-Vegas, Captain."

Has anyone seen that new Dish Network commercial for Turbo HD television? Does anyone lse think it starts almost exactly like a razor commercial? (Think Mach III Turbo) Both are manly and exciting and... cutting edge. Get it?

We finally filled the open technician position on our team. His name is Ron, and I can tell already that we're going to get along splendidly. (especially in politics and faith matters)

We were out running a call at a fire station (PC was running a screensaver that appeared to be a blue screen of death and a reboot, LOL) so we decided to stop at Pizza Slut/Taco Bell. Ron said it best when he told me he only ate what the restaurant used to be, like it used to be only a Pizza Hut. This particular one used to be a Taco Bell. Nuff said.

Another home improvement: We found a kitchen cart at Home Depot for 60% off. It's the only thing I've purchased that I haven't returned.

We painted another wall last weekend. It's our Accent wall. Fancy, huh?

Yeah, it only took like 30 minutes. It would have been faster if we would have bought the 2nd quart to begin with. (And we spent the same amount as if we would have bought the full gallon, but what would we do with the rest..?)
I won a fancy award at work! It was for being nice to people or some crap. It took me by surprise, since it was presented during a regional phone conference. Go Josh!

How much are YOU paying for gas? Read'm and weap, suckers.

Obligatory shiny car picture after a full detail inside and out...

Oh, here's the swing that Erin and I have been drooling over for the last couple months. It was always the only one that was NOT on sale.

After checking on it week after week, we found it on sale. But sold out. Boooo.

We decided we coudn't pass up a new patio set for $75. Sure, it'll fit in the car! I think.

Well, they kind of fit. It took a couple return trips, but with Erin in the trunk, we got everything home. (You should have seen her sitting in the middle of the parking lot, on one of our new chairs)

We decided to try the "new" Ruby Tuesday. In case you didn't hear, Ruby Tuesday changed into this fancier, pricier, awkwarder Casual Dining place.

See? The menu is cooler.

Interior was definitely neat. It was quieter than it used to be...and designier.

The food was incredible, though! It was not expensive by any means, but it was definitely more premium.
The only part we didn't like, was the new "silent service" policy, where the waitress doesn't speak unless spoken to. It kinda creaped us out when she would just stand there and wait for a few moments. Anywho, check em out.

Everything else is going pretty well. We're continuing to repaint the rooms in the house...and continuing to put off mowing the lawn. Erin just started her class and we've been keeping busy with church and music. The weather has been really nice (90 for us is pretty darn comfy) but we'll start seeing some cool weather from the storm on the coast. (we're pretty safe from hurricanes up in the mountains!). Well, that's all I have for now! I'm going to go read Erin's blog now! mmmmmmmmmbubbye.

Official End to The Summer

Well, as far as I see it, the summer is over for me. Once the DCI finals week is over, life goes back to normal. Old habits die hard I guess. Well, congrats to Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps! They took 1st place last night, for the first time ever (without a tie). I saw their show, Spartacus, for the first time on Thursday night and was completely blown away. Definitely my favorite show ever. Also, big props to our own Carolina Crown, for their highest placement ever (4th). Link to the scores.

Speaking of Thursday night, I camped out in the local movie theater here to watch 5 hours of drum corps. Definitely a great experience (coulda been louder). 15 corps for $18. Pretty sweet deal.

On Tuesday, the Statesmen took a bus trip to Asheville. We were going to join the chorus up there for a joint rehearsal/workshop. The scenery on the trip was awesome. We had the unfortunate experience of watching the driver in the car in front of us go into a seizure and crash into some parked cars and a light pole....other than that, nothing really crazy going on.

There were about 80 guys there altogether, and we did some great stuff. One of the songs we worked on is one my quartet is working on. Go figure!

Here's a pic of Erin enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was outside trying to kill myself running in the heat. It wouldn't have been so bad if I weren't running on the new blacktop....I found miles of new roads in a new subdivision next to ours. A runner's paradise!
For dinner on Friday, Erin and I tried a new fish place in Simpsonville.

Look at the cool fish tank! There are some sharks with frickin' laser beams.

They gave us free hushpuppies.....yum!

...and a mystery bowl of ice. We never did figure out what it was. Erin hypothesized it was for possible shrimp or something. maybe?

The tables had gold compasses inside. Cool!

I had the Talapia...pretty good. The lady promised to bring me malt vinegar, but she didn't. I can never trust anything she says again!! Oh, and the food was okay. Nothing special...I'd rather have Long Johns for much much much much cheaper.

Erin and I joined the Chancel choir over at Mauldin UMC. There she is in the back.

Here's the sanctuary! I even arranged permission to rehearse here on Sunday afternoons. Something I have about rehearsing in large spaces. Thinking back to drum corps, I remember being on top of the world playing alone in big college stadiums, late at night. All alone. Just me and the buzz of the lights. Wow. *back to reality* Moving on!
Did anyone else enjoy the Olympic opening ceremonies? They were awesome! I've never seen so many simultaneous fireworks in me life. Erin and I always enjoy watching the summer Olympics. Most of the time, I have little interest in sports, but when they add the rings to the screen...I'm all like..."Ooooh! Look at the curling! Aaaaah look at the volleyball!"

Speaking of athleticism...it was time for a new pair of running shoes. These are awesome! Of course, I'm a New Balance junkie. I don't know why, but they're the only kind I like.

One last chance to sniff the empty box and get more of the new shoe smell. snnnnnnnnniiiifffffffffff ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
We finally painted our kitchen this weekend. Here's a before picture. Borrrring.

Tada! We're really happy with how it turned out.

The bakers rack is going to go, and in it's place, we got a nice wooden kitchen cart to go there.

One last shot. Nice, huh? Now, we have TWO colorful rooms!

One of our meals for last week was hot ham and cheese sandwiches. We were very happy with how these turned out. Just thought I'd share some of our delicious cooking with you. If you come out to visit, we'll cook for you, too. Otherwise, we will just eat it ourselves.

Not much else going on right now...work is still hard, the weather is still hot and sunny (though we have had a good amount of rain lately), the fire ants still insist on camping in my yard. Sam is doing well. He's not doing much, but still doing well at what he does. Have a great week!

New poll: Guilty (Music) Pleasures

Popular music is very dynamic...it is constantly going in and out of style. Good music, though, will always be good music! I was thinking to myself, "Self, what albums have I enjoyed for the longest?" I still regularly enjoy Blues Traveler: Four, Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet, Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream, etc. (Enjoying my entire collection of albums has become much easier since I converted them all to electronic form and organized them on my 'puter...I highly recommend it!) What albums have you bought in the distant past, but still regularly enjoy? Please let me know by leaving a comment!

I blinked and missed July...

Well, I must have missed the entire month of July, because it completely passed by me. I think I remember some bright exlosions in the sky and some presents that Erin unwrapped. I do remember what we did last weekend though! Ashley flew out to visit us (because she's a famous young jet pilot and all of that). We had a great time! It's been a few months since I've been around midwest folk (outside of work, that is). Here's Ash in "downtown" Simpsonville.

One of the first meals we had with Ash was my favorite Chinese place: Dragon Den. MMMMM! Their credit card machine was broken, which left me sad. Soooooo I went and made a free debit withdrawall from Walgreen's so that we could have it!


On Sunday, Erin and I went to Charlotte for some excitement. We had no problems finding our way downtown. We didn't find any excitement there. We were in Char-town there to see NightBeat, a big drum corps show nearby. I was super dissapointed that there were no Buffalo Wild Wings in the area :( I have been craving some B-Dubs!! We had some free time to take a liesurely walk around downtown.

Here's the excitement! It is fun to remember when I was on this field competing 9 years ago. Here are the Cavaliers performing Samurai. What a great show!

I was especially excited to see Pioneer perform, since that was the corps I marched with. They did a great job! They are not after any medals this year, but for a young group of kids, I think the show arrangement was great and the new horns sound gorgeous. I have some strong opinions on the corps' direction, but out of respect, I'll hold it down for now.

For Erin's bday, we went to Arizona Steakhouse. It was great! Since smoking is still a state requirement, it was a little hazy, but not too bad.

It was so fancy, even the fancy ketchup came in fancy metal cups. Fancy!

Erin got the ribs, I got a big cheeseburger. Man oh man were they good, and not terribly expensive, either. Even with three people, we kept it around $30.

While we were in Charlotte, Erin and I went to Northlake Mall. it was huge!

For dinner, I scarfed down some Sbarro's "pizza by the slice". It had been a while, but I looooove Sbarro.
Erin, Ashley, and I spent Saturday evening down in Simpsonville. They have free music under the clocktower every weekend.

The band was great, and overall, I'd say we got out money's worth!

I hadn't mowed in almost a month (not because I didn't need to, but because things and stuff and weather would always get in the way). Finally, I made some time after work to do it. The lawn is beautiful! Thick and green! I dscovered a few or 5 or 6 new fire ant mounds, but they were pretty small, so I should be able to knock 'em out. Can you believe that since I have been down here, I've only used a gallon and half of gas to mow a half acre? Woohoo!


We also went to see The Dark Knight. Overall, it was pretty good, but I didn't like it as much as Batman Begins. I especially didn't care for the new Gotham City, which was based upon Chicago. It made the story more believable, but I miss the dark, Gothic, epic city from the last movie. It felt too...too...normal.


Everything else is going well. Erin is still working at the bank until the end of the summer and she starts her new teaching job next month. In the afternoons, she is going to build her studio back up and teach and accompany as a regular job. That will give her more flexible hours and more time at home, which is good for everyone!


If you'd like to come visit sunny South Carolina, please let us know. We'd love to have you and I'm itching for find reasons to take some time off. That's all I have for now. Seacrest out!