Greetings from the East Coast!

Our trip to Kiawah Island is winding down, and I thought I'd get in a quick blog from the opposite coast. My parents and I were invited to join my brother and his family for a week of fun in South Carolina. And since I have no job, I jumped at the chance. We've been lounging around in a really nice house on the island. The days have been spent going to the beach, visiting an aquarium, touring a battleship, and venturing around downtown Charleston. Charleston is my favorite city. It's so historical, and I'm a nerd so I eat it up. The houses are amazing. If I were a millionaire, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. I'm thinking I might have to pack my bags and move out here. I've noticed a ton of law offices - maybe they're hiring!

I went for a bike ride around the island tonight and saw an alligator and about collided with a huge male deer! It was dark. I heard some rustling and couldn't see, so I slowed down. Then all of a sudden this massive deer (with antlers mind you) darts across the bike path not more than 5 feet in front of me. My heart jumped out of my body! I got off the bike path and onto the road and sang loudly all the way home so as not to startle anymore large animals. My adrenaline is still pumping and it's almost 2 hours later! I keep saying I almost died, but I don't really think the collision would've killed me! Ah well, what a way to end a great week.

Oh, and Jolee - there's a new bridge going out to Mount Pleasant and it's the neatest one I've ever seen! There's a picture of it on Wikipedia under the Charleston entry. You should check it out.

I'll post pics later.

Runyon Update

Not that you care, but I'm filling you in anyway. Today was my last Runyon hike before I head to Arkansas for my extra long visit. This is the 3rd time I've gone since my last post, and I'm happy to report that I'm well on my way to conquering it. Today, it only took me 26 minutes to get to the top with only one stop on the way up for about a minute and a half. After many knee struggles and trying out my myriad of braces, I finally figured out that a simple compression sleeve does the trick. Here's a tip...don't blow your knee out because, despite them supposedly fixing it, it's going to bug you for the rest of your life!

Oh, and it's a fun place for celebrity sightings. Today alone I saw Mike "the Miz" from one of the Real Worlds, the guy from Reno 911! that wears the shorty short shorts, and Famke Janssen, who you most likely know from the X-Men flicks.

Til next time....

Seriously?

Poll Shows Americans Cool to Michelle Obama

I just read on CNN that a recent poll shows 35% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Michelle Obama while only 17% have an unfavorable opinion of Cindy McCain. This just baffles me. No, it doesn't baffle me. It saddens me. I'm not one to throw around the lingering racism very often, but that's all I see here. She's a beautiful, educated, well-spoken black woman. Does that freak people out? Were they uncomfortable with the fist bump? All I can say is GROW UP!!

Happy Birthday, Derek!!

I was going to blog you birthday greetings, but Jolee beat me to it and she was so sweet and thoughtful. Dang her! Whatever, that's not how I roll, so here's my birthday tribute to you. And yes, it's in the form of poetry.

Today is the day you turn thirty-eight.
I know this because I am twenty-eight.
Unlike Jolee I know my age,
But we must forgive her for she is no sage.

We always got along growing up,
Mainly because we both liked to beat Jolee up.
Well, really you told me what to do,
And I would just blindly follow through.

We didn't really live together all that long.
What I remember about that time is not so strong.
I remember bits and pieces,
Though I don't remember if you like Reeses.

You would play your drums and bang all day,
And I would sneak in and play them when you were away.
I remember a certain someone calling at all hours of the night,
Then you started dating Shannon and everything was all right.

Though we don't get to see each other that much,
I like hanging out with you and such.
I love that we can talk about this, that, and the other,
And most of all, I'm honored to call you my big brother!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!


For the record, Jolee hates this picture because she's 7 months pregnant. I, however, love it and think it's cute. So it's gonna stay!