This isn’t going to be a great post, and I apologize in advance. It has been a super crazy 10 days or so, and my blogging (as well as my piano playing) has suffered. Such is the nature of the holidays. Especially with Phil and Helen in town. It is great having them, but it [...]
Even though Abby got married on Sunday, she is going to be having another wedding in Cyprus in September. That is where Neo’s family is from, and it would mean a lot to them to get a ceremony over there. I have always been opposed to the idea of going over there for a wedding, [...]
As long time readers of this blog will know (and I suspect that assuming there are “readers” is a stretch), a couple of years ago I took a trip to Europe, and had a really lovely time. But it wasn’t completely awesome, because I was there without Kelly, and so another trip was planned, and [...]
Rest assured, I have survived the kitchen fiasco. While it isn’t completely done, it is mostly done, and we are cooking in there again, and it is amazing. In other news: – I have started playing classical guitar, and I love it. – At the end of April I am going to California for four [...]
As promised, a year end letter. But as I have mentioned in the past, it is getting harder and harder to write these things. I did the “completely absurd” a couple of times, but you can really only go so far with those. And then I tried sort of a mix, and that kind of [...]
I posted this on a big aviation website that I read. I figured I’d repost it here. Some background – I am a type 1 diabetic, and to treat that condition, I wear an insulin pump, which is a little machine that is plugged into the side of me and literally keeps me alive. I [...]
Remember all that talk that I had going on about Regionals? Well the whole point of Regionals, really, was to qualify for Nationals, which I did halfway. So in a couple of weeks I will be heading out to the untamed wilds of Lincoln, Nebraska to be competing against that best beginners that are over [...]
So this weekend is it. The event of the Century. Actually, no. It is the event of the weekend. Regionals! All the way up in glorious Minneapolis. There will be fun! Festivities! Frivolities. Actually, likely not much of that. Probably a lot of roller skating. And some sitting around. Anyway, I guess I’m prepared. I [...]
I am on vacation right now in Lake Tahoe. Right now I have a couple of thoughts about it. One, the area is really pretty. Two, it is high up and it makes it really hard for me to breathe. I’ve been having a hard time for the last couple of days, which isn’t a [...]
Well how do you summarize a trip to Europe? I guess with words. And to start, I’m sure everyone is wondering what my favorite part was. And luckily, that is an easy question to answer. My absolute favorite thing that I did, and it really isn’t even close, was going to the Anderlecht soccer match. [...]
For the last full day in Europe, the plan was Gent. I was quite excited to visit another old European city, after Bruges had been such a success. Well let me tell you. I was SORELY disappointed. Why? Well the people of Gent have turned their city center into one giant construction mud pit. They [...]
As the trip winds down, I find myself very tired, and not very inspired to write detailed posts about what happened on such and such day. So I apologize for that. But it is hard to keep up the same level of excitement and enthusiasm for 8 days. At this point I’m kind of just [...]
So I wasn’t feeling very good, and spent a large amount of the day resting up for the big event of the trip. The Anderlecht – Bilboa soccer match. Front row seats! European cup competition! I was excited. And the game did not let down. In fact, I’m sorry to say this Paris and Brussels [...]
Due to disruptions in train services, I will not be travelling to Amsterdam this trip. I was really, really bummed out at first, but now I get to spend more time in Ghent and Bruges, and after doing some reading about those places, I think that they will make a most adequate backup plan. I [...]
The last day in Paris. Oh, by the way, sorry for the delay in getting this up, because technically now it is day 6. But when we got back last night I was feeling really sick. I think it was all of the different forms of transportation we took, each adding a little bit to [...]
Today was the second day in Paris. And oh what a day it was. The good news is that Frans was rehabilitated and back in the game. The bad news is that my feet are suffering pretty badly, but I told them that they had to suck it up and do their job anyway, because [...]
Today has been an up and down sort of day. So expect an up and down sort of update, mostly because I’m kinda tired and mentally fried. I apologize in advance, but hey, at least you are getting something. So it started off very early. So early that I was able to call Kelly and [...]
Today was quite the day. It started when I woke up at 7:30 in the morning and thought that it was still 4 in the morning. My sense of time is still a little thrown off, but it should be coming around to normal pretty shortly. It is 8:37 here right now, and that actually [...]
And so I made it. Here I am, sitting in Brussels, writing on my blog. It still doesn’t really seem real, and yet if I look out the window, or turn on the TV, it goes to show that sure enough, this is very much real. So I’m very tired, but I do want to [...]
Well it is just about the time. In about 45 minutes I’m going to hop on the Metrolink and head to the airport to begin this journey. And I am nervous, and scared, and excited all at the same time. Today so far has been pretty good. The lovely Ms. Kelly took me out to [...]