My old DQ

So I was browsing my computer a few days ago and I just happened to stumble across an old Word file; It was my Dating Questionnaire Version 1.5! It's a blast to the past, because V1.5 was when I did not use the Likert Scale and instead used my (objective) opinion to grade the answers. It is also much shorter than the later versions.

No need to actually answer any of the questions, but I just wanted to show everyone how far the DQ has come over the years. This version was originally made in March of 2005.

With so many people in the greater Atlanta area, you would think it would be easier to find someone compatible. However, after a year of trial and error I’ve come to the conclusion that the best method for finding that someone is to simply have people take a dating questionnaire. Therefore, without further adieu I present my official Dating Questionnaire v1.5.0, a.k.a. “The PC Edition.”

1. Is it okay to not be PC?
2. Do you know what PC stands for?
3. Are you a vegetarian because you dislike meat or hate plants?
4. Would you rather stay in, order take-out and watch a DVD with a friend, or go out with that same friend to dinner and a movie?
5. I usually order ___________ at a bar.
6. If a guy is buying, I usually order ___________ at a bar.
7. How many blind dates have you been on? Did any of them work out? I didn’t think so.
8. Are you closer to your father or your mother?
9. Were you ever spanked as a child? If yes, was it more so by your father or your mother?
10. Which is worse… not being merciful or not being fair in judgment?
11. Would you consider yourself a procrastinator?
12. Coke vs. Pepsi vs. Dr. Pepper?
13. 8-ball vs. 9-ball pool?
14. Conservative vs. Liberal?
15. Bare fists fight: Han Solo vs. Indiana Jones?
16. House-sitting a puppy vs. a kitten?
17. Would you rather talk on the phone with someone or respond to his or her email?
18. Have you ever vacationed somewhere outside of North America? If so, where did you go and how did you get there?
19. If you get married, do you plan to keep your own last name?
20. If a man shouts at a tree in a forest, and there is no women around to hear him, is he still wrong?
21. Would you rather talk about the latest movies or the latest social issues?
22. Are you going to Heaven? If the answer is yes, please explain why.

Classic!

You'll notice that some of the questions made it to V3, but a majority of them were cut. Because lets face it... just because someone thinks Han Solo can beat Indiana Jones in a bare fists fight (which would never happen), does not mean I will ridicule her right before I break up with her in front of her parents. But I mean seriously... everyone knows that Han would just send out Chewie to fight for him, and that's NOT FAIR!

My DQV3

Finally, the long awaited Dating Questionnaire Version 3.0 has arrived, a.k.a "The We're Getting Closer Edition." It is still in Beta, so please report any bugs you stumble across. Once again the DQ uses the Likert Scale for grading. For those of you unfamiliar with the scale it works like this... you read a statement and give a number ranging from 1-5 based on how you feel about the statement.

1: Strongly Disagree
2. Disagree
3: Neutral (Neither agree nor disagree)
4: Agree
5: Strongly Agree

NEW TO THIS EDITION: If you feel so strongly of negatively about a statement that you really want to give a 0 or a 6... you are allowed to say 5+ or 1+. You will either gain an extra point if I agree with you or lose THREE points if we disagree. Use the + at your own risk!

At the end of the quiz, post a comment and write all your answers down. Example: 1,4,3,5,5... I will give you a numerical score and you can see how you compare with others who have taken the quiz. Seems simple enough, right?

The questions range from lighthearted to serious. Here we go!

1. I am a night owl.
2. I enjoy eating sushi.
3. I prefer having hair longer than my shoulders.
4. I listen to music while driving my car.
5. I enjoy watching movies in the theatre.
6. I have a good relationship with my parents.
7. On a Saturday night, I would prefer going out with friends.
8. It annoys me when people are constantly late.
9. I tend to censor my words to be politically correct.
10. I can easily have a two hour conversation with a friend about nothing.
11. Dinner at Chick-fil-A can be just as good as dinner at a nice restaurant.
12. I attend church, chapel, or synagogue on major religious holidays, if not more.
13. I have more friends of the opposite sex than I do of the same sex.
14. One of my pet peeves are people who have poor grammer grammar.
15. I plan on keeping my last name when or if I get married.
16. People that write on a blog or in a journal need a new hobby.
17. The reason homeless people cannot find a job is because they are lazier than the rest of us.
18. Receiving flowers on a first date is too cliche.
19. Ordering water at a restaurant is a sign of being frugal.
20. Dogs make better pets than cats.
21. Sometimes I am too naive and trusting.
22. On occasion, I call my friends just to say hello.
23. I am afraid to travel on airplanes.
24. I will reach over and unlock my date's door if he opened the door for me first.
25. Kissing someone else on the lips is cheating if you are in a relationship.
26. Video games are a waste of time.
27. Facebook and Myspace are a waste of time.
28. I vote in every election, State or Federal.
29. If I wake up at noon, I feel like I have wasted the entire day.
30. I tend to drive faster than the speed limit.
31. I have been known to hold a grudge for several months, if not years.
32. I drink only to excess.
33. Maintaining sexual purity until marriage is unrealistic for today's youth.
34. Senior citizens should be required to retake the driving exam for the safety of themselves and others.
35. Abortion should not be used as a form of birth control.
36. Global warming is a serious issue that is adversely affecting our generation.
37. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
38. People that live in the USA should learn to speak English.
39. Even if I do not agree with his actions, I still support the office of the Presidency.
40. Black people deserve reparations (money, tax breaks, etc) for slavery.
41. Volunteering your time to a cause you believe in is worthwhile.
42. It does not matter where you go, but rather who you go with.

Alright, well what are you waiting for... submit your answers in a comment and see your results soon!

My light for You

Some of you may have noticed two things about my Myspace profile as of late.

1. The "name" I have been using is: I am a light for You, and...
2. Bye bye Jellyfish, hello M&M's!

Okay, so the second isn't as important as the first, but I thought I would mention it anyways. If you cannot view my profile, it is because I currently have it set to private. If you have an account just request to be my friend and if I like you enough I'll accept!

I went to 7:22 last week and the over-arching theme of the message was this: How do you portray yourself to the outside world when you are surrounded by non-Christians?

The answer for a lot of people that evening was: How society says we should act, whether it means taking illegal drugs, saying GD this and GD that, or being mean to others for no particular reason other than to just be mean.

Personally I am guilty of falling into this trap... the trap of going to 7:22 on Tuesdays then to Club 722 on Fridays. The trap of keeping my mind pure of thought on Sundays and then thinking "daaaaaamn, that girl is fine" on Monday. Do I portray myself in a manner that is pleasing to Him or pleasing to my friends?

More often than not it is the latter. I am a Christian -- I need to act like it. Not because of any strict rules or regulations found in the Bible, but rather instead because I believe it will make me a better person throughout. It will show to my friends who I really am, and if I only know one thing in this world... I know that friends rub off on you. If I am honest and trustworthy and show the utmost degree of integrity, I believe my friends will do the same thing to an even greater degree over time.

The next time I am at a party where someone is smoking something illegal, I will excuse myself from the residence. The next time I catch myself swearing for no reason, I will apologize to those around me. With enough practice and accountability from my friends I believe I can accomplish this change of character goal. All I ask is that my friends help me. If you see me doing something that is out of line, call me out on it. Ask me what I am doing. Reference this blog if you must... anything to make me see the error of my ways.

Thanks in advance you guys (or a woman if you are one).

PS. Can I just say that when I started this blog I was going to go an entirely different direction -- I wanted to share a story about my new friend Catherine F., but she'll have to wait until tomorrow or the next day. Stay tuned!

My lost story

This blog goes out to my good friend Dana J. She has been bugging me for a week now to post about the "parking" incident... only thing was I couldn't remember what it was!

Thankfully I hung out with her tonight, and she reminded me ALL about it. So here goes, and I promise it won't be too long.

Last week, Dana and I decided to go to the Brickery for dinner because Mike was working, and we wanted him to be our server. We're both riding in my car, having an interesting conversation about life as we arrive at the restaurant.

A red SUV is right in front of us and pulls into the Brickery parking lot. We are following the SUV. It's going a bit too fast, because it zooms right past a parking space near the entrance to the restaurant. The parking space was slanted, so in order for the SUV to park there, it would have to back up, then pull in. See diagram below...

When Sasha (the name of my car) saw that there was no blinker on the stopped SUV... she took it upon herself to take the parking space before someone else did.

What does the SUV do? One would think it would move along it's merry way... but NOOOO, it decides to sit there and wait for us to "look" at them. Because as soon as that happens (about 45 seconds later), the SUV speeds off again.

I might have felt bad, but the fact of the matter is there was no blinker on the SUV to indicate that it wanted the parking space. What was he expecting me to do... back my car up just because he was driving too fast to see the parking space? As if!

When Dana and I went inside to the restaurant, the SUV driver actually comes up to me and says in a southern drawl:

I hope you enjoy your parking space.

My response?

You better believe I will. Next time try slowing down and using your blinker.

What did the guy say? He walked away as he should; and all was well in the world again. QQ. Thankfully our tires weren't slashed when we finished dinner. Woohoo! Are you happy now Ms. Dana?

My Loca Luna friend

Last weekend I was at Smith's Olde Bar hanging out with some friends when we were stumbled upon by a girl that had had too much to drink. (Wow, that first sentence is a doozy). Her name was Jamelynn, but we didn't find that out until later.

She was dancing in front of Jen M. and myself, but kept bumping into everyone around her. Jen and I were literally holding her up so she wouldn't fall over (which she had done twice already). Needless to say everyone around her was getting a kick out of how gone she was. Eventually, her phone rang and she left the room as Jen and I gave a sigh of relief.

Our group heads downstairs and we decide to go to Loca Luna to meet up with my friend Corey C. She was there with some friends and I hadn't seen her in over a year, so it was a no brainer. As we were walking out, we found Jamelynn sitting on a couch looking quite depressed and sad. Jen asked her what was wrong. Apparently, she had lived in Atlanta for 11 years, but none of her friends were answering or returning her phone calls, and she thought everyone hated her.

I felt really bad for her, and I have no idea why I said it... but before I completely thought things through I said: "Hey, well we're going to Loca Luna... you can make new friends, come with us!" Oops... she agreed and jumped up to walk with us.

I was thinking, "Crap... what have I gotten myself into. I just invited a girl I never met before to come hang out with us, oh and does anyone know where her car is?" After we arrive at Loca Luna I go get her a glass of water to help sober her up. When I get back to the table everyone was at, she had gone missing! Where do I find her, but at the bar ordering another drink. Let's just say we diluted it a "little bit" with water when her head was turned.

Eventually everyone left, and it was just me and Jamelynn... son of a nutcracker! I have no idea where her car is; I was thinking maybe I should just put her in a cab and me on my merry way. But who am I kidding, I've always had this good Samaritan gene in me, so I couldn't just walk away. Against my better judgement, I ask her to help direct me to her car so I can drop her off.

Amazingly, a mere 5 minutes later we find it! I really thought I was going to be driving around for an hour with this girl. Sheesh. I dropped her off and parked my car; drove her car a block away and told her to just crash in the seat until morning because she was SO not good to drive right then. I gave her my cell number and asked her to text me when she got home in the morning.

Sidenote before Jen comments: Yes, I know I don't do that every time, but since our last encounter at Mazzy's, I have made it a point to be more observant of situations. I guess a thanks is in order.

Anyhoo, she makes it home safely and I honestly expected never to hear from her again. But alas, she called me last night, told me she was back in Atlanta, and wanted my friends and I to come hang out with her. I thought, sure... why not, I was in the area, and she couldn't be as gone this time as she was last time.

Boy was I wrong. Granted she wasn't spouting off things about her ex-boyfriend and how she was DIFFERENT from her sister and anyone that said otherwise could go to you know where; it was clear she had been drinking for a good 6 hours straight. We didn't talk to her much, since I was with other people, but she turned out pretty normal after all of that.

Long story short, I now present to you a picture of the infamous Jamelynn from Loca Luna!

And now you know... the rest of the story.

My reasoning

I wanted to mention a few things in regards to the Peace Corps. Why I decided to partake down this path, the reactions I have received from others, and what I hope to accomplish when it's all over and done.

Why the Peace Corpse?
-- About 6 months ago, my friend Porter Searcy applied to the Peace Corps. At first I thought nothing of it, because of the intense pressure from my family to go to Business School for my graduate degree. Then Porter tells us his assignment is in Costa Rica, which is interesting because as I found out later, Costa Rica is one of the most industrialized nations the PC works with.

Fast forward a few weeks and I head over to Germany with Drew D. She tells me she is also considering joining the PC after she graduates college in two years. So that's two people I know who are going the PC route. When I get home I start doing some serious research about the organization.

I read all the requirements to apply. I browse over all the countries you can be assigned to and what positions are available. I read about the benefits, the dangers, and the history of the PC. I read EVERY SINGLE testimonial, story, and letter that was posted on the website. I read about all the wonderful experiences that volunteers have had, and also about all the hardships they face on a daily basis.

As Americans we have it pretty good. We have cell phones and cable TV. We have high-speed Internet access in our room. We have cars, and big SUV's, and sometimes multiple cars for each family. Kids sleep in their own rooms, with nice mattress pads and alarm clocks. We have electricity that runs all the time, and for that matter, we have running water. We have microwaves, and dishwashers, and laundry machines. We have access to every modern luxury possible in these times.

But America is an anomaly. Sure, there are other industrialized places in the world with the same or similar commodities, but there are also just as many places in the world that have but 1/100th of what America calls essential.

I want to experience a different lifestyle. I want to appreciate what I have in new light. I have spent 4 years taking Sociology classes... learning about other cultures, other ways of life. Now I want to experience what I have learned. Most people do not want to leave the comfort of their regular surroundings and get anxious when they do not have control over their life. As for me? I can't wait to try something new.

It will be tough, I know. If I am assigned to a location that only has an electric generator running 5 hours a day, sure it will take time to adjust, but that is exactly what I will do. Adjust. Adapt. Conform. I get to learn a new language, new customs, and new styles of dress. A new way of life... but it's only for 2 years. Just long enough to get a taste.

What are the reactions?
-- The first reaction I get is... "are you serious? WHY would you do that when you can find a perfectly good paying job with your education?" Why indeed? Maybe because I don't think that you need money in order to be happy in life. Sure, I grew up privileged, and I know I did not appreciate it at the time... but at the same time, if I grew up in a different lifestyle, under different circumstances, I think I would have had JUST as wonderful a childhood.

Some people understand where I am coming from, and have urged me to take control of my life and do whatever God calls me to do. This may be it... I have no idea. What I do know is that I have always wanted to do something with my Sociology degree, and this seems like the perfect opportunity.

What do I hope to accomplish?
-- Aside from the benefits such as learning a new language by immersion and full medical and dental coverage courtesy of the government... I hope to come back changed. In the shortest terms possible, I want to experience life. Why stay holed up in my house with air conditioning and electricity when I can go live in a foreign country with mosquitoes and a candle by my side at night?

I know it is hard to imagine, but I chose my major with careful thought several years ago. I would not have invested this much time into learning just about everything there is to know about society if I did not want to go out and use that knowledge. In the words of a returned PC volunteer... "Potential employers are looking for problem solvers. They're looking for leaders. They're looking for people who can work within different cultures. These are all things that I've gained as a Peace Corps volunteer. This is what I consider real life graduate school."

Real life graduate school combined with making a real change in someone else's life? Where do I sign?! I suppose all I can ask is that my friends and family support me in whatever I decide to do with my life. Sure, I will take your advice and opinions into account, but ultimately I will have to make the final decision of how I want to be remembered.

A letter from Porter Searcy, Peace Corps Volunteer (Costa Rica, 2006-2008):

Hello, everyone:

So much has gone on these first two weeks that I figured I should write another update. First of all, I am in downtown San Jose right now at an Internet cafe, so unfortunately it wouldn't let me put my pictures up on this semi public computer. Luckily, I will be able to use the computers in the peace corps office soon and I should have them up by next week. More to come about that in a second. Anyways, since my last update I have moved in with my host family and have started training. We are taking mainly Spanish classes and technical training classes which will last until mid-September. My first couple of weeks in Peace Corps have been good, but there is a lot to put up with right now during training with all the rules, etc. Oh well, its only three months and its really not that bad in the first place.

My host family is located in Los Mangos, a tiny town about an hour and a half south of San Jose. The family is made up of a husband and wife with no kids, and the couple is in their mid 40´s. This means that at night, I am a bit bored. It'd be nice to have kids to play with and since they do not have a TV in the living room, there really isn't that much to do. I probably will soon try to get into that whole ¨free reading¨ thing. Anyways, the town is in a very mountainous area and the mountains are so steep and covered with green trees and grasses. So basically, the views every day that I step out of the house are INCREDIBLE because Los Mangos is near the top of one of these mountains. To get to any sort of store or anything I need to walk straight uphill to the top at this Town called Vuelta de Jorco. Its about a 20 minute walk up some of the steepest roads I've ever seen, so it should keep me in shape.

The husband and wife don't speak any English at all so for the past few days I've been speaking only Spanish. I don't really get a chance to see the other volunteers very often because of was I was going to say before. After the first day of Spanish classes, I could see that my Spanish was a bit better than everyone else in the micro enterprise program. So they opened up an advanced class. I was put into this class along with 2 people from the Youth Development program. Their program was placed about an hour north of San Jose, the opposite direction of where MED was placed. So what we do is go to Spanish class only once a week and we meet in the Peace Corps Costa Rica headquarters. This is near many of the embassies in by far one of the more ritzy areas of town. The problem with this, is that this advanced class comes with about 3 times as much work and I also have to take a bus to San Jose alone and then another one from San Jose to the suburb that HQ is at. Its about 2 hours from where I live to the office. The extra work for me includes having to immediately start doing an analysis of a women's group in my area that has started a small business making jelly and then throughout the three months helping them to improve the business. I feel inundated right now, but I'll do little by little and get a lot done by the time I receive my real assignment. So, I just got out of this class and decided to take this new ¨freedom¨ away from the rest of the volunteers and walk around downtown for a bit before returning home. My Spanish is quickly getting back to where it used to be and I feel a lot better about where it will go from here. For maybe 80-90% of every day, I speak only Spanish. The English is only for when I see another PC volunteer.

So, as of right now, I'm moved in for the next three months, and the intense training has begun. Peace Corps has the best cultural and language training available in the world today I believe, and I think very quickly I will begin to integrate into the culture. As far as cultural differences, many women in the non urban areas still are housewives, including my host mother. She enjoys her life though, and is going to start teaching me how to cook some incredible food beginning this Saturday. Another cultural difference, is how the women dress here. Nearly every one of them is always dressed as if they are going to go out on a Friday night to a club. Its a bit of the machismo here that causes that, but its not anything too horrible (as shallow as that sounds, I know). Anyways, that's about all I have to say for now. I will be pretty much doing only training for the next three months, so I don't know how much more interesting information will come your way via emails, but when it does, I´ll let you know. Hopefully next week I´ll put the pictures up and write a quick email informing everyone of that so you all can see a glimpse of the things I see.

Anyways, all for now. I need to head out to catch a bus home soon, because its about 5pm, and after 5:30, San Jose becomes one of the most dangerous places in Costa Rica. Mainly with petty theft. But my money is in my sock, I wear my backpack on the front, and I stay aware of whats up. Hope all is well with everyone, and please send me a reply of what is going on with all of you. (just make sure its to portersearcy@gmail.com and not my ugamail address). Adios for now,


Sinceremente,

Porter

That is what I wish to experience. I could not have said it any better myself. Thank you Porter, and best of luck in Costa Rica.

My crossroads

I seem to be at a crossroads in my life right now.

I mailed out all 49 of my graduation announcements this afternoon. I originally ordered 50 thinking that would be plenty, but unfortunately I have many more relatives than I once thought. I do have one remaining announcement to give out, but only if I start dating someone in the next three and a half weeks. I hand-wrote all the addresses myself last night, and the announcements came out perfect. It feels nice to get things done.

But there's still so much to do. I need to keep bugging John B. and my professor Dr. Gallagher, to complete my Peace Corps recommendation letters, as well as finish the actual application. I still have to write 2 essays and complete my resume. Generally speaking, if I have had more education experience than relevant job experience, it's okay to focus on primarily on the education aspect, yes?

I also need to decide what type of job I want after I graduate. I talked to my Chick-fil-A contact down in Savannah, and told him I might be moving to the area and wondered if he had a job for me. He told me to give him a call a few days before I would be in Savannah, and we could talk shop. I think I will meet with him in August, see what he has to say... and if it's a good paying job, move to Savannah until May of next year, and if it's not something I want to do, I'll just stay in Atlanta.

Ultimately, the goal right now is to join the Peace Corps sometime next year; whether it is in May or September. If I stay in Atlanta, I will stay with my current roommate as long as I can, or I will find a new place with my good friend Jen M. somewhere ITP. If I sign a year lease with her, that means the earliest I can join the PC would be September of 2007.

Of course... if I find the love of my life before that time comes, I will stay in Atlanta. The PC only works for me right now because I am a) single, b) have no car/house payment, c) am finished with school, and d) not tied down to a specific job. If any of those factors change, so will my future plans.

Long story short... yes, my life is changing; much like it changed 3 years ago when I moved to Roswell. The difference is this time I am prepared. I have grown in maturity over the past several years, and I am confident I can handle anything life throws my way.

My hypocrisy

I am a hypocrite. I think we all are to an extent. It's what makes us human, although that's not a real excuse. I give you two examples to make my point.

Example #1: When I was in Chicago, Dana called me to say hello and find out how my trip was.

SIDENOTE: Sorry for the interruption, but can I just say that I love people who call you just to talk. Not because they want, or need something specific? Those are the type of friends I hold close and dear.

Back to the story. Dana calls, but I can't talk right then because I am with my family. I tell her I will call her back on Sunday after I arrive home in Atlanta. The next day, I completely forget to give her a call. I mean it slipped out of my mind 100%. Dana informs me of my oversight the following day with a jesting comment on Myspace:

someone forgot to call me last night when they got back to Atlanta. lol. how was chi-town?

Whoops. As soon as I read the message I immediately rectified my mistake and called Dana to tell her ALL about chi-town. Problem solved.

Fast forward a few days and switch the roles. Someone promised they would call me on July 4th and didn't. No worries, they could have forgotten, similar to my chi-town experience. I didn't let it bother me. A couple more days go by and this same person again promises that they will call me later in the evening. I still did not hear anything, only this time I decided to send a text message to remind them about our planned conversation.

The text message was responded to within 20 minutes! I called them right away, but no one answered. Then, no more than 5 minutes later, I received another text message. So this person knows that I am around, yet for some reason doesn't take 5 minutes out of their schedule to give me a call as we had agreed.

That is what gets me. It's one thing if you forget, but when you are made aware of the situation (and in this case a promise you made), yet still do nothing to make good on the promise, then that's what annoys me. It's just a pet peeve I guess.

My other pet peeve comes into play during the next example.

Example #2: Last month the College Crew decided go to Moondogs on a Thursday night. A few days before the planned event, a girl named Val offered myself, Mike, and John tickets to go see X3 opening night. I agreed to the offer because I figured we could do both Moondogs AND the movie without either one interfering.

I then find out that Greg and co. are going dollar bowling that night as well. Good news is they were going bowling at 7pm. Bad news is that after I joined them and before I realized it, the time was 11pm. The movie started in one hour! Hardly enough time to drive to Moondogs AND go to the movie.

I had a choice to make. Do I go with the original plans and leave Val with 3 empty seats, or do I try and convince everyone to come to the movie with me? There were several variables to take into account.

- Jessica Botvinick was dressed up to go dancing. (MD)
- Val already paid for the tickets. (X3)
- Val purchased the tickets BEFORE she asked us to join her. (MD)
- If we told Val no, she could have found others to go to the movie. (X3)
- Greg was going to see the movie with a friend the next day. (MD)
- Greg convinced his friend to come with us that evening. (X3)
- I got to sit next to Jess. (X3)
- Mike had to sit next to Val. (MD)

MD: 4
X3: 4

It was a tie! Ultimately though, we decided to go see the movie with a promise that I would take Jess to Moondogs the following week. Everything worked out in the end, no one was really upset.

Fast forward to today. The same person I was talking about above tells me a story. He/She was planning on see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 with a friend from work at midnight. His/Her friend had purchased the tickets a week prior, and they were both really excited about seeing the movie.

That evening however, this person decided to go see another movie with a different friend BEFORE the midnight showing of Pirates. It would have worked out, but the first movie did not end until 12:15am. This guy/girl calls up the friend from work and asks him if he can find someone else to go with him instead, because he/she really wants to go see this other movie instead.

I know that's kind of vague, but I don't feel like giving specifics at this point. Those of you who are close to me will know EXACTLY who I am talking about. The point being is that this person cancelled on the original plans for what they thought were better plans. That is not the kind of person I want to be, and definitely not the kind of person I want to associate with on a regular basis.

I say all that full well knowing that I have done something similar in the past. I am a hypocrite, but I'm okay with that. The difference is, I tried to make up for my mistake, while this other person (as far as I can tell) has not. Long story short, I think I have enough friends at the moment to have to deal with things like this. Do I really need another?

And on that note, I'm off to see the original Pirates movie with some founding CC members. Cheers!

My rained out Fourth

This past week has been hectic, but in the immortal words of Dave Matthews, "Life is short but sweet for certain." It started off in Chicago last weekend for my mother's graduation. She is now the proud recipient of her Masters degree in Education from Kaplan University.

We stayed in a hotel on Michigan Ave., which was quite nice. A sub-purpose of the trip was to check out my Mom's new condo she is building! It was two blocks from the Ave. and another three blocks from Navy Pier. It is still being constructed and won't be completed until early next year.

We did the typical touristy things and took an "Architecture Boat Tour" on the Chicago River. I learned all about the styles of various buildings along the river. It was uh... interesting? At least I got a little sun during the 90 minutes I had to sit there and listen to the tour guide babble.

After we finished the boat tour, I had a few hours to explore the city on my own. I walked all the way down Michigan Ave., and checked out all the stores. Eventually I found the Nike store, where I was HOPING to find some additional lens for the most awesome pair of sunglasses I own. Unfortunately, I was told you can only buy replacement lens online. Ah well.

The next day was the graduation. We took lots of pictures, but I won't bore you with them here. Instead, I'll move right to the good stuff. That evening we had dinner at a restaurant called The Capital Grille. Have you heard of it? They have one in Atlanta right next to Georgia State.

Anyhoo, the place was absolutely AMAZING! I ordered a Dry Aged Steak Au Poivre with a Courvoisier Cream Sauce. Check out the description of this bad boy:

Black peppercorns are crushed then rubbed onto one of our dry aged sirloins. We sear the steak to its juicy best, then serve it witha rich Courvoisier cognac cream and peppercorn sauce.

My brother goes to a culinary school and idolizes the executive chef at this restaurant, and when he found out that was where we were all going to dinner, he just about flipped out. In a good way!

We ordered a couple bottles of wine which went perfect with the steaks, and the service was superb. And for everyone who knows me, that's quite a compliment coming from myself.

It's the perfect place to take a date... but be prepared to drop at least 150$ for two people. No kidding. They had bottles of wine on the menu that were twelve hundred dollars. We stuck to the 60$ editions.

Chicago was fun, but for the past month I have been away from my friends for a really long time! So once again I was quite excited to see everyone again when I returned home.

The 4th of July white water rafting trip got cancelled due to someone shutting off the river on Tuesday. The College Crew decided to have a cookout instead! The plan was to have everyone over for dinner, then we were all going to head downtown to Lenox to watch the fireworks.

Dinner was a blast. Everyone showed up (except Trixie, since she's at boot camp), and we all had a great time eating hamburgers, hotdogs, brownies, potato salad, bockchoy salad, chips with cream cheese salsa (thanks Dana!), and my own personal teriyaki chicken shish-kabobs.

The train ride down to Lenox was awesome, because we had an ENTIRE Marta car to ourselves! Haha. We had a race while the train was moving, and then Amanda tried to figure out how fast she was running with the train moving as well. As soon as she started talking numbers I zoned out.

John was happy. Actually, everyone was until we got off the train. We started walking towards Lenox to meet Jen Moss and co., when we started to see lightning off in the distance. It wasn't raining yet, but we had a feeling a downpour was about to start.

We took a vote, and decided that we would rather not get wet while waiting for the fireworks to start, so we got back on Marta and headed to Steak and Shake. Personally, I wanted to stay and watch the fireworks, but a vote is a vote!

The girls were kind of sad, but Greg was happy because he had already gone swimming once earlier that day, and was in an anti-water mood... probably because he forgot that his nice digital camera was in his pants pocket when he jumped in the pool. Oops?

But then Amanda saved the night and conducted her own fireworks display for everyone at the station!

Heck yeah buddy! We made it to Steak and Shake no problem, and we ended up having a wonderful evening. Because after all, it's not WHERE you go, but rather WHO you go with. If you missed this CC gathering, never fear, we have one planned for August 6th! (My graduation). Invites coming soon...