Live on location

I'm blogging to you from Memphis, TN right now. Sitting in my hotel room. Came up here for a training thing for work, so it should be an interesting week. Maybe some good blog fodder will come from it. Who knows! :)

Where's Mark been?

Hey! I think I mentioned in a recent post that things have been kinda crazy lately and that I would be filling you in soon. Well I guess soon is gonna right now.

About 3 weeks ago, one of my coworkers had the day off and we get a call from her saying she's leaving, can't give a two week notice, just has to pick her daughter up from school and is moving back to her parents' out of state. We have a pretty small staff at work, so we're kinda like family there anyway...so naturally we were concerned. Apparnently her boyfriend and she had gotten into an argument the night before (she found out he was cheating on her....again) and it turned physical. He ended up beating the crap out of her (again) and she was done.

We talked her into coming by the office that afternoon before leaving. So after she picked up her daughter, she came limping into the office with a black eye and all. She had some vacation time saved up so we talked her into taking her vacation to go to her parents and figure out what the best plan of action was. Of course we wanted her to stay, but we all knew the best thing for her and her daughter would be to go back to her parents' and her support system rather than staying up here and trying to make it on her own.

After her week off, she called to officially put in her two week notice so she could leave on a good note and move on. But...she still had to work out her final two weeks back here in SC so she had to come back. Obviously she wasn't going to move back into her (now ex-)boyfriend's house and getting a hotel for 2 weeks would have ended up costing her more than she would have made over those two weeks. So, since I live alone in a two bedroom house, I offered up my guest bedroom (her daughter was staying with her parents during this time). So...for the last 2 weeks, I've had a roommate here. Obviously she had a lot going on trying to take care of her final details up here and filing a police report against the scum bag and everything else, but we took the opportunity to go out and enjoy plenty too, lol.

All in all, it was a good time...she and I get along really well anyway so we had fun, but it was kinda a long and crazy 3 weeks dealing with the beating and all. She took pictures of all the bruising after it all showed up and she looked horrible. I mean covered in bruises! Of course, the ex filed some bogus report saying he told her he was tired of her being drunk all the time or something and she didn't take it well. He accused her of flipping out, locking him in the bedroom and beating him up, haha. We got a kick out of that considering she's all of 108 pounds standing about 5'6" and he's a big navy boy, haha. Oh, he also alleged that his roommate (a former navy boy) was a witness to this beating...as though between the two of them combined couldn't pull my coworker off of him, lol. I think he ended up withdrawing the report, or at least never pressed charges on it.

So yeah...that's been my last few weeks. Honestly...there are very very few people in the world I actively dislike. Almost no one I have such a distaste for that I really don't think I could even be in the same room with them. Or if I were out some where and ran into them I couldn't at least just ignore them and go about my business. But now there's definitely one person on that list in her ex bf. It's obviously a horrible thing that he beat her black and blue, broker her toe, everything else...I mean that's enough of a reason to hate the guy. But what's worse is he did all this while her 6 year old daughter was "asleep" upstairs and heard all this going on...I mean, that's the kinda of stuff that can scar a kid for life! Even more so...he had been cheating on her for a while, but was always around looking like the doting boyfriend through it all. He threw my coworker a birthday party last month and invited everyone from work over...trying to look all sweet, all the while he was messing around on the side. He basically pissed me off even more b/c he was acting like a nice guy trying to get me and everyone else to like him while he knew he was a dirtbag. If I had seen a dirtbag before, it'd be one thing...but to play us all like that? Ridiculous. Honestly...he's a little punk and if I do see him again, he'd better hope I'm not behind the wheel of a car...that's all I'm sayin!

Overheard at Taco Bell

Remember my obsession with Taco Bell? Well I was having lunch there today and I overheard a Rhodes Scholar at the table behind me. She was chatting with her boyfriend at a volume loud enough for pretty much the entire restaurant to hear. Here's a few highlights from her chat:

"See that sign that says '79 cents makes sense'? Shouldn't it say c-e-n-t-s instead of s-e-n-s-e? Isn't that what they meant?"

"Ooh, I saw a typo on the Closed Captioning the other day." (which, as we all know, is practically the MLA standard of writing) "Well, at least I think I did. The Korean woman was asking why she couldn't find (something) and they put the question mark outside of the quotation marks. I think I was always taught they go inside the quotes. But maybe that's wrong."

I think there were others, but that's all I could remember...and all I could stomach before my lunch was done. It's nice that she was kind enough to share her genius with the entire restaurant. I'm sure we all needed something to blog about today. Although I think I wondered more about the guy who was there with her. I mean, how could he really sit there and listen to that kind of high brow conversation day in and day out without going insane? I could only imagine what might come out of his mouth, haha.

Welcome to my life...

So I was hungry just now and went to the pantry to find nothing I really wanted to snack on. I had half a bag of chocolate chips in there leftover from...well who knows. Anyway, having no food I thought briefly "Oh, I'll just make some cookies...that could be tasty (in like 2 hours when I finally finished...and knowing me...they probably won't be all that tasty)."

So, I start reading the back of the bag to see what all I need to make cookies. Turns out, I didn't have about half of the ingredients, so I scrapped that idea.

Now I'm sitting on the sofa snacking on...half a bag of chocolate chips! haha

(Blogging) Vacation

Sorry I've been sorta MIA as of late. I have no good reason other than, well, I haven't really wanted to, haha. It's certainly not for a lack of blogging fodder. I've had quite a few blog-worthy events over the last few weeks, as well as a few old stories I still owe you from before. Maybe soon I'll be back on the ball.

I actually have a post saved that I started last week, but was feeling uninspired halfway through and quit, haha.

Anyway...it's quite late now and I've had a long, but productive Saturday. So now I'm gonna go pass out. :) See ya soon!!

(Oh yeah...TV is finally coming back on. Yay!!! Perhaps this will call for the the resurgence of "What's in Mark's DVR?" Well...maybe if I get all those other thousands of posts out of the way first.)

Bring it!

Sorry kids, I just needed to hear this song. And, well, it's my blog, so you get to hear it too!

I recommend turning it up and singing along really loudly...even if you're at work. That always helps me. Oh, and if you can manage to have it playing and sing along while you're in the shower, the water cascading down you adds a very dramatic effect.

Anyway, this has pretty much been my last year and a half or so. But I haven't lost all my fight yet...so bring it on!

Best friends...EVER!! (Only Mark!)

Oh geez...ready for another Only Mark story? This one's an instant classic for ya!

Yesterday evening I was getting ready to go meet a friend of mine down at the park for a run. It was about an hour before I had to meet him, so I planned to run some errands and was getting my stuff together. Then it came time to find my keys. I looked in all the usual places - the table by the door, kitchen counter, dining room table, dresser, even in the lock of my door in case I had left them hanging in the deadbolt - but they were no where to be found!

So I stopped myself for a moment and thought, when was the last time you saw your keys? I then realized that I hadn't actually left the house to drive anywhere since coming home from the horse race on Saturday (sad, I know, but I was resting/cleaning), so it's entirely possible they were where ever I left them after that. Then I suddenly remembered that they had been in the back seat of my friend's car, coming home from the horse race on Saturday. I rode back from the race with someone else and used the spare house key that another friend had to get back into my house, since we beat the friend with my keys home. Uh oh!

First I call the friend who may or may not have the keys, but get no answer so I send her a text that says

"Ahh! Possible crisis. Please call me ASAP!"

So then I call the friend I'm supposed to meet at the park and tell him that I'm just going to have to run around the neighborhood unless he wants to come pick me up. He offers to pick me up, so the run is back on. Meanwhile, the friend with the keys calls back and I tell her what's up. The conversation goes something like this:

Friend: Hey, what's up?
Me: I'm going to ask you a question and I REALLY hope the answer is no.
Friend:...okay?
Me: Are my keys in your backseat?
Friend: Oh...I hope that answer is no. Hold on, I'm pulling into my apartment complex now, I'll check.
Me: Okay. I think they were in the cup holder in the armrest in your back seat. I'm not 100% sure if I took them out of there or not.
Friend: Well, let's see...the arm rest is folded up and...yes, your keys are in it.

Yeah, apparently someone in the back seat had folded up the arm rest with my keys still in it, thus causing no one to notice them on Saturday. Why is this a big deal? I mean, why can't I just pop over to the friend's house to pick up the keys? Well...this particular friend is the one who lives in Greenville that I went to visit at the end of February. For all you non-South Carolinians out there, Greenville is about 100 miles from me. This is no quick trip across town. Now I'm stuck in my house, while the only set of keys to my car is 100 miles away. Outstanding!

Ordinarily I would have just told the friend to overnight the keys to me and I would have stayed holed up in the house for another day...but, I had a job interview scheduled this morning. And with Columbia having no real public transit, I thought showing up to a job interview in a cab would be a bit...well, ghetto, haha. I was racking my brain trying to think of anyone I knew who might be free to take me to the interview or had an extra car I could borrow, but was coming up empty. Thankfully, my friend is the best ever! This how the rest of the conversation went:

Friend: Okay, well do you have anywhere important you need to be tonight?
Me: No. I mean, I'm about to go running, but someone's picking me up for that. The problem is I have that interview at 11:00 tomorrow morning.
Friend: Alright, well I have a massage scheduled at 6:00, but I can hit the road after that.
Me: (purely being polite) Oh, well you don't have to drive all the way down here, I'm sure I can work something out.
Friend: No, no, no! I can come down tonight and give them to you. I've done stuff like this before. I understand!
Me: Seriously? You are the best friend ever. When you get here, I'm buying you dinner or something. Are you sure you don't mind?
Friend: Yeah, no, it's cool. Is it okay if I go to my massage first and then come down after that?
Me: Haha, yeah, I think that's okay.

See, I love it. Completely unprompted, without even hinting, my friend volunteers to spend her entire evening driving a total of 200 miles just to bring me my keys (well, and my CD case which was also left in her back seat, but she was going to mail that anyway, despite my protest).

But that's not the end...

My running friend shows up to take me to the park and asks about the status of my keys. I tell him that Greenville Friend is driving down that evening to drop them off and, without missing a beat, he says "Oh, she doesn't have to drive all the way down. After we run I'll take you up there and we can meet her halfway." Seriously?! I have the best friends in the whole world! What I love best about this is that, if I were ever to receive a call from a friend saying I had their keys or they needed my help or whatever, I would immediately be on the road no matter what time of day or night, no questions asked. So the fact that I have friends who are willing to do the same for me is so amazing and comforting!

But yeah...definitely an Only Mark instant classic. Not only did I leave my only car key in someone else's car, not only did those keys end up 100 miles away leaving me stranded in my house, but it took me 2 days to realize this, haha! Who Else But Mark?!

Birthday Fun!

Well, this has already been a fun week. I definitely have to put a post up about how I spent Tuesday evening and Wednesday. It was AMAZING!! (I'll give you a hint...I was doing this!)

My actual birthday was Thursday, and I really didn't do anything exciting then. To be honest, I was kinda in a grumpy mood for some reason, but oh well...I'm over that now. The real celebration will be happening today however.

In a few hours, I'll be heading out to the Carolina Cup. Conveniently, this event falls on my birthday week pretty much every year, so it is quickly becoming a tradition that my birthday is celebrated at it. Now, for those of you not in the South or familiar with horse races, you're probably thinking....

"Seriously Mark, that's how you're celebrating your 25th birthday? What?!"

To which I would reply that it really has little to do with the horses. To be quite honest, most people never even see the horses. The only time I ever see them is when I want to cross the track to get into the infield and wander through the rich people's tailgates, at which point you have to wait for the horses to finish their race before they let you cross. They actually kinda get in the way more than anything.
No, no, no! The Carolina Cup has about as much to do with horse racing as The Real World does with...well...the real world (seriously...does anyone still even watch that? I think I gave up after New Orleans...geez, I'm soo old!). The Cup is THE premier event marking the threshold of the spring social season here in South Carolina. Some of the elite socialites get all dressed up to go tailgate all day long. About 75,000 people descend upon the small town of Camden, SC, to sit in traffic, drink heavily, socialize, see and be seen. I guess it's kinda like the Southern version of Fashion Week?

"What's the appropriate attire to stand in a field drinking all day?" you ask?

Well, men should wear slacks (seersucker or other lightweight pants preferred), oxford shirts and bow ties (yes...I said BOW ties). Need help tying one? Try this. And ladies should find a nice little sun dress and matching big floppy hat. Proper attire dictates that men should wear bucks or other loafers and women should be in heels or sandals, however unless you're among the truly elite, a pair of Rainbows will suffice.

"What does one have at their tailgate for the Cup?" I hear you asking.

Well, alcohol is a necessity. Cold beers are always on hand (although, I personally hate beer, so refuse to drink it), but tradition dictates that mint juleps are the official cocktail. My tailgate this year will feature beer (my guests' insistence), sangria, and frozen daiquiris, among other things. A good spread of food, should also be on hand. I've seen people before with elaborate centerpieces for their tailgates (flower arrangements that had to cost $100+) and even saw a group one year who reserved an extra parking space just for the caterers they brought with them. They had the silver serving dishes set out and everything! While college students often arrive in buses, once you get a bit older, many people charter limos to take them there so they don't have to worry about having a DD. Yeah...you've not been to the South until you see wealthy white people in funny outfits tailgating in a field out of the trunk of a limo. :)

I'm pretty excited this year. I got a new pair of seersucker pants (I've never worn seersucker before) and even ordered a new bow tie for the occasion!! Several of my friends have come into town to join me, so we're going to have about 15 or 20 people tailgating with us!! Woo Hoo!! We have to leave my house at about 8am this morning to get a good parking spot (all the reserved spots sold out a month or two ago). We're hoping to get one near "College Park," which is where all the fraternities from across SC and even parts of NC and GA set up camp. They bring their huge tailgating tents, have kegs everywhere, and some even get live bands to come play. The weather this year is supposed to be a little bit cool for the sun dresses and all, and may even bring a bit a rain later in the day, but we should have a great time anyway!

Come on...you know you're jealous that YOU don't get to wear a bow tie!!

PS - One of my favorite Southern quotes came from a friend getting ready for Cup a few years ago. When she found out that you couldn't carry your beer bottles around with you she immediately and sincerely stated

"Well, I'm going to have to find a green cup then."
"Why does it have to be green?"
"Because my dress is green and I will NOT be seen walking around with a cup that doesn't match my dress!"

Haha...gotta love the South! We have our standards!

Old man!

Well, it's finally happened. I'm now closer to 30 than I am 20. I turn 25 today. Nothing particularly exciting is going on today. I may find myself a bottle of wine and drink a toast to myself later tonight, but otherwise, nothing big.

I did have a big fun day yesterday which I'll try to remember to share with you via blog post later tonight, but the real party is scheduled for Saturday. I'll have to post about that tonight too. I'm too tired to do it now, so I'll just have to leave you waiting with breath that is bated.

Yay for me!

It's 12:34 AM...

and right now I am:

• Watching my DVR.
• Eating junk food.
• Contemplating going to bed.
• Contemplating rearranging furniture in my bedroom.
• Digesting a big steak I had for dinner 3 hours ago.
• Enjoying wearing spring preppy clothes.
• Dreading my next run, which will begin in less than 7 hours.
• Chatting online.
• Blogging.
  

Still here!

Sorry folks...it's been a while since I've blogged! I don't feel quite so bad about it, though, because it looks like a lot of people have put blogging on hold for a bit, though. I've not really had the time to blog too much lately...okay, well that's not entirely true. I have had a lot going on, but I think the fact of the matter is that I've been kinda lazy and haven't really taken the time to blog. Plus, I just haven't had too many really funny stories to share with you, and I think we're all getting burnt out on my impromptu restaurant critiques (FYI - I received a $25 gift certificate from Ruby Tuesday to apologize this week) and my rants about my ill-working car (I spent yesterday afternoon having it serviced again), so I thought I'd refrain.

Right now, I'm actually in Atlanta (you know...where the playas play and we ride on them things like everyday) for a training retreat of sorts for work. While I'm here and kinda bored, I guess I'll take a brief moment to catch you all up on my last couple of weeks and give you some sneak previews of coming attractions. :)

I'm still training for the 10k...although I'm liking running less and less, haha. My knees still hurt when I run, and the general consensus that my IT band is just really tight and needs to be stretched. I've been even more over zealous than normal in stretching my thighs and even laid off the running a bit this week. It still doesn't seem to be helping me much, though. A friend of mine recommended one of these to me. After having few results from the stretching, I bought one last night to give it a shot. Basically, you lay on top of it with whatever part of your body you're trying to work out rolling over it. (I didn't describe that very well, but I'm too tired to care.) It works like a deep tissue massage does basically. So far, it hurts like there is no tomorrow. Seriously...I was basically lying on my living room floor last night wincing and screaming in pain, lol. But, I just take that to mean the muscle is really tense and will greatly benefit from the stretching. Lets hope it clears up soon, or I'll never be able to make it 6.2 miles. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to run a St. Patrick's Day 5k Saturday morning as part of our training, but I don't think I'm going to, haha!

Two weeks ago I went up to Greenville to help a friend celebrate her 25th birthday. I had a lot of fun...but that weekend deserves it's own post, so I'll save that one for later this week.

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I had a lot on my mind and that I'd fill you in later. I guess now would be later. Among other things, I'm in the process of looking for a new job right now. When I first mentioned it to you all, I was conflicted and wasn't saying anything b/c I wasn't sure what I was going to do at that point. The problem is, I do like my current job, but unfortunately, I work for a small company that has been affected by outside items and there essentially isn't enough money for it to make sense to keep me on. My boss hadn't brought it up to me, but i was looking at where I was and knew the company wasn't making enough money for me to really be able to grow to where I need to be anytime soon. I'm the only real employee, besides the owners, and it doesn't make sense to run a company where pretty much everything we bring in has to go right back out to us to pay our bills. Plus, I don't have any benefits, and wouldn't be getting any anytime soon...and Mark wants to go to the dentist again, seriously! haha I wasn't sure whether I should just try to tough it out for a little bit longer (this was never actually a real option though), try to get a part time job to get some more money coming in (just a short term fix to a long term problem) or look elsewhere. I did bring it up to my boss and recommended I look for a new job, but continue to do the same work for them on a contract basis. That way, I get to stay out of the day-to-day crap that I hate and, when they actually have money and need a job done, they can call me, otherwise, we don't have to worry about it. B/c of other aspects of my job, I was going to remain connected with them anyway, but this seems to work out best. She agreed that this was the best solution and I think she had been realizing that something needed to change too, but also didn't want to say anything. I've sent out some resumes and have already had a second interview with one company. I should have a 3rd interview next week, and I'm pretty sure that, I'll accept that position, so that's good. A nice quick job hunt. I'm ready to move on.

I'm sure more has happened in the last couple of weeks, but at the moment, I can't think of what. In coming attractions, though, I'll have a post about Greenville, some super secret spy shots of a new car (well...maybe not all that secret if I was able to get them, but whatever), the unveiling of the birthday plans, and my super awesome birthday present (it's not really a present, but I'm counting it as one). There...now that I've put it out there, I guess I'll have to actually write them, right? If I don't...berate me in the comments until I do!! :)

Alright...I'm going to bed! Good night!

T-minus 1 Month

(ALMOST)

In exactly 1 month from today, yours truly will be turning 25. 2-5, yikes!! That will officially make me closer to 30 than 20. Aaaacck!! For some reason 30 kinda scares me, lol. Okay, maybe more than kinda, the mere mention of turning 30 gets me upset now, although I doubt (hope) that it will have that much affect on me as the day actually approaches. But that's for another day, back to 25.

Yeah, 25, what? That's kinda old. I know many of you out there will say "Oh no, Mark...25? That's still your youth! I long to be 25 again!" Whatever! You wouldn't have wanted to hear that crap from someone older when you were 25 and I don't want to hear it know, so pfft! Of course, it doesn't help when my mom calls and says things like,

"You know, Mark, you're gonna be 25 soon. That's old! What are you going to do?"

Gee, thanks Mom! Always the encouraging word, haha.

To be honest, the sheer age of 25 itself doesn't scare me. In all honesty, I don't really think 25 is all that old. (I decided long ago that 26 is kind of my ideal age. Everything up to that point is just spent in preparation and everything after that point will just be building on the amazing foundations set up until then. I look forward to reaching that point...and stopping. Every birthday from then on will likely be a remake of the 26th, haha.) What concerns me more about becoming a 25 year old is the state I'm in currently. No, I don't mean physically...although I NEVER expected to be living in South Carolina at 25, that is a shock. But just in general...I don't feel like I'm where I should be at 25.

Looking back over the years, especially to my early college years, I looked to 25 as the point at which one should be fairly established and have a lot of stuff figured out. You should be more or less settled at this point. I mean, for my life, I knew that by this point I would have graduated college, have my "entry level" years of work behind me and really be beginning to enter the "adult" part of life, leaving the "young adult" part. Of course, as I said earlier, I think 26 is the epitome of all this, but at 25 you should have many ducks in a row to be well on your way to an amazing 26th year.

On the outside, I may look rather settled and grounded and matured or whatever, especially for a 24 year old, and truthfully, in many ways, I am. I mean, I do own a home, am not really reliant on my parents, have my own thing going for me, etc., but there are so many other things that definitely need to be in place before I truly have become settled.

**Side note---knowing me, I doubt I'll ever become truly settled, nor do I want to. I've always been one of those people who is constantly looking forward to the next big thing or next life stage or whatever. To ever actually be settled at a point in my life really gives me little to push for and look forward to moving on to...kinda takes my drive away, and I'm a very driven person. By saying "settled" I really am implying "settled for this stage of my life."**

Anyway, I'm not going to get into the deepness of what makes me unsettled on the blog. If you really want to know that, you'll have to IM me or something. And honestly, I expect significant progress on one such front in the next few weeks, but there are some basics that are certainly lacking. For instance, my love life has been...well...have you read about it on the blog at all? Yeah, so that sums that up. My last date was a psuedo-blind date (she had seen me at work, but I really had no recollection of her) set up by my previous gay manager at Job #2, which I hated (the job, not the manager) with a woman 8 years older than I was. During the date she referred to me as the "male version of her." While I get that she was simply commenting on the many similar views we shared, probably not the sexiest way it could have been put. Anyway, beyond that, there are some major roadblocks that I feel need to be cleared before I even actively pursue a love life.

Again though, while I'm not particularly looking forward to this big day next month, I suppose it's not the end of the world. But it had better be a busy year! I do have a lot riding on 26! haha I suppose I will be spending the next 394 working hard to get ready!! Yeah!! (I do have a big celebration planned, which is always good. I'm not going to bother posting about it now, but I'm sure in a couple weeks I'll write an entry on it.)

Currently, the main thing getting me through this is the knowledge that my car insurance rates will be dropping significantly in 29 days! hehe!

Kinda a crappy day

In stark contrast to my last post, Wednesday was overall kinda a crappy day. I wasn't feeling particularly great Wednesday morning, so I decided not to go into work. I probably could have pushed my way through physically, but mentally just wasn't really there for the day, so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I actually ended up staying in bed pretty much all day. I got up for a little bit in the afternoon to make some calls I needed for work, then grabbed my laptop and hopped back in bed.

I kinda napped and rested for a bit longer and then got online and was checking e-mail, etc. Finally, at like 10 or 10:30pm, I decided I needed to eat something, so I wandered off to the kitchen. Tuesday I thought I'd branch out from my norm and try making some chili to eat. True to my normal amazing culinary skills (please read the extreme sarcasm in that statement...I'm laying it on pretty thick here folks), the food didn't end up all that good. Actually, I managed to burn the chili and it was all stuck to the bottom of the pot. So, I had it soaking in the sink so I could clean it.

Well, before cooking I decided to try to clean up a bit and clean out that pot. When I dumped the chili-laden water into the sink and turn on the disposal. Instead of going down the drain, however, the other half of my sink started filling up. Yeah...my drain was clogged! I tried some Drain-O, but no dice. Great! Now at 11:00 at night, I'm going to have to put on clothes, head to Wal-Mart and buy plumbing tools. I was too hungry to do that at the moment, so I microwaved some food, moved to the sofa and started chatting with some friends online.

After chatting for a while, I notice my internet isn't working. For some reason, I'm still able to talk on AIM, but can't load a web page. I rebooted the computer and now I couldn't even sign online at all! Arggh! I tried plugging my computer directly into my wireless router...nothing. Tried plugging directly into the modem...nada. Tried everything I knew and still couldn't make it work. Soooo, then I called Time Warner to see what was wrong with my modem. Fortunately, I hate them so much and have had to call them with complaints/issues so many times before that I knew their number by heart. The lovely little automated recording told me that there were "outages in my area and service was expected to be restored in 90 minutes." Lovely...guess those conversations I was in the middle of are now over!

I decided it was a good time to head to the store and begin my plumbing oddessy. So now I'm driving up to the store and I get pulled over! Well, not entirely pulled over...it would be more honest to say I had a run-in with one of the laziest and dumbest cops around. As I was driving by doing about 45 mph or so, he pulls out of a parking lot behind me and follows me into the Wal-Mart parking lot. He never turns his lights on or anything, but just stops behind my car as I pull into my parking space. As I get out of the car, he rolls a window down and says something to the effect of "Hey fast car, you need to slow down out there on [street name]." I kinda looked at him and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. What's the speed limit out there?" To which he replied "It's 35." I said, "Oh, sorry. I didn't know" and walked into the store. haha First of all...that had to be the laziest cop in the world. I mean, who makes a traffic stop without even getting out of the car? I have a hunch that had I not been a decently dressed young white guy, he might have cared more about how I was driving. Secondly, that is a very very dumb move for a cop, and I know is rather against protocol. I mean, I don't care if you are in a well lit parking lot, no cop should ever just wait for someone to get out of the car. I could've gotten out with any kind of weapon or anything and taken him out if I had other charges pending or something. What a moron! Thirdly...the speed limit on that road was, as I suspected, 40 miles an hour (I made a point to check on the way home). I knew it was either 40 or 45 so was driving somewhere in that range, so I wasn't even speeding! Who knows what his plan was, but at least I didn't get a ticket...that would've just been the icing on the cake for the night.

I got what I needed and headed back home. When I got home, I heard a steady dripping sound coming from the kitchen so I thought...great, the Drain-O has helped some and it's slowly draining now. Instead, I walked into the kitchen and stepped in a big puddle and looked to the chili-laden water dripping out of my dishwasher! Yeah, gravity pulled the bulk of the water out from my sink, through the drain line and into the dishwasher, which had become so filled with water, it was beginning to leak out. Ugh!!! I went out to the shed, grabbed some old towels and began to mop up my floor. Once that was under control, I snaked the drain and was able to loosen the clog and it drained. Of course at that point I had to re-wash all the clean dishes I had sitting in the sink, run the dishwasher to drain it, and clean up the mess left by the standing water.

Now, thanks to sleeping all day, I'm up all night, unable to sleep...so Thursday's gonna be a long one too. Add this to the stuff that's been on my mind (as I mentioned in my previous post) and it's just been interesting this week. Ugh!!!

Unexpected Beautiful Day!

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been posting much, or at least not anything exciting, lately. I've kinda had a lot on my mind and haven't felt much like posting. Everything's good though, and I'll update you all on it hopefully over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll fill you in on my weekend I guess. Nothing particularly exciting, but it was a great weekend in my opinion. Friday night was a night spent in (as you probably noticed from my last couple of posts), but a relaxing one.

Saturday morning I woke up ridiculously early to go for a run. Remember that bridge run I'm training for? Well my running group does a run every Saturday morning...insane, I know. We meet at about 6:45 am or so, do some stretches and all, then start running just after 7...AM!!! Let me let you in on a little secret (which is painfully obvious to anyone who has ever met me)...Mark IS NOT a morning person! I'd rather stay up until 4 am doing stuff than getting up at 6 or 7 in the morning to get things accomplished any day of the week!

But yes, I was up at like 6:30 or so, grabbed a bagel and some orange juice, then drove down to the shop where we meet. We stretched and then started our run (well...to be fair, most of the people started the run, up to the loop we were going to...myself and a few other beginners drove to the loop. It seems their "warm up" running was almost two miles...then they started the run. That's a bit much for me at this stage in the game, haha.) I ended up running about 3 miles or so, and I was very pleased with that. I also ran into a couple people I knew, as there was going to be a 5k run there a bit later in the morning and I knew a few people setting up for that. After the run, I went back down to the shop, had some fruit and juice and all and we just kinda talked about what our running plan for the next week would be. At this point...I've already eaten breakfast twice and run 3 miles before 9am! Normally, I'm not even up by 9, so I was feeling pretty accomplished!

After the run, a friend of mine who runs with me joined me as we went out for breakfast. (yes, if you're counting, that would be the 3rd one of the day.) We went to a place (hmmm...apparently it's a national chain. Who knew? Still great!) up the road from me which is like THE official place to eat breakfast on my side of town. SOOOO good! There was like a 20 minute wait for a table when we got there (yea...it's that good) so we hung out for a bit and had an amazing breakfast! I had french toast with just the right amount of egg batter, good thick bacon and coffee. MMMM. Oh, I also ran into some other people I knew, so I got to catch up with them for a bit, which was nice. When we left there at about 11:30, we walked out to what was the most beautiful day!! Seriously...weather in the low 70's, blue skies, gorgeous!!!

When I got home, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to knock out some yard work I'd been avoiding, so I spent the afternoon finishing removing a piece of my fence, raking my driveway and the entire front yard, removing a couple stumps from out front and washing my car. Oh yeah, I also got to play with the new puppy my neighbor got the day before, haha. Apparently Saturday was the official day to go walk your pet/children/spouse/whatever! haha I guess the weather dragged everyone outside, but I actually got to meet and chat with several of my neighbors...which is nice, b/c I hardly get to see anyone around here...everyone seems to keep to themselves mostly. I guess that unexpected beautiful day in February just brought out the best in everyone.

Oh, I did get to meet this one old couple who have probably lived in my neighborhood for at least 30 years or so. They apparently have a little loop they like to walk around for exercise, but I thought it was really funny to see them. The old man was wearing like khaki pants and a button down shirt and the lady was in a dress and some of those old lady dress shoes. Anyway, not exactly what you'd expect to see someone out exercising in, but I guess it wasn't the most vigorous walk ever, so they were okay. I can't wait until I'm so old that I just stay dressed nice all the time. That way, I suppose you're always prepared for whatever happens! haha

Anyway, I came in Saturday night, had some dinner and did some touch up painting where I had to patch some cracks in the walls of my guest bedroom. All-in-all, a day of accomplishment. I was pleased. Sunday, I pretty much slept all day to recover, haha. It was a good weekend though and I could use a lot more like that!

Single much?

Whoa! I guess a lot of you folks out there are like me and didn't have Valentine's plans!! There was a huge spike in my blog hits yesterday! Yowza! (I stole that word from the hot girl I lived with one summer in Denver...also from whom I got my Nip/Tuck addiction, haha). Guess you all just spent the day of love at home alone reading blogs, haha. Seriously, though...thanks to those bloggers out there who have linked to me (some have even given me a parenthetical addendum to my link...sweet!). Also thanks to those bloggers who have befriended me and even chat with me despite their ever-so-busy lives!

As for me...pretty uneventful Valentine's day overall. Went to work, but didn't do much (I worked hard the beginning of this week and end of last week - hence the lack of posting - so I deserved it). Came home, continued trying to pull out fence posts (no injuries this time...but also no trips to Home Depot) until the sun went down, then went for a run. I actually ran 4 miles folks!!! What what??!! They were 4 very slow miles...my average was like a 10:37 mile or something ridiculous like that, but still...considering my previous best was only 2.5 miles and I felt sore for a couple days after that one, I am thrilled. Actually, I did a fartlek run (yes, it's pronounced like it sounds...hold back your giggling) tonight as part of some heart rate training. Oh yeah...I'm running in a 10K in April. A friend talked me into joining a training group for the run (although at the time, I thought the run was only a 5K, but oh well). I thought it'd be good to do it in the group b/c, although I could care less about the race, it figured it'd be good to have some structure to my runs, instead of just going for a jog when I felt like it. Plus a good place to meet new people, haha. Anyway, the group started last week, so I'll be running much more and with a much greater frequency now. Oh, and they like to do group runs early Saturday mornings...like I have to be there at 6:45 am --- and then run several miles!!!! Ugh! I knew there was something wrong with runners. Oh well...I'll let you know how that goes.

After my victory lap, (read - a lot of stretching and then passing out on my comfortable leather seats in the Maxima, haha) I decided I needed to reward myself with a good meal. After a quick shower and change of clothes, I headed out to this local bar that has the BEST hamburgers in the world!! Seriously, it's one of those places that doesn't advertise and doesn't even have a sign on the building, so a local has to take you there, but one of the times the President (as in...of the United States) was down in Columbia, they took him to eat there. Say what you want about our current commander in chief, but any place good enough for the leader of the free world has got to be decent. Anyway...I went there figuring no one would be there on Valentine's Day, so I could just pull myself up to the bar, get a burger and eat non-conspicuously...maybe even strike up a conversation with someone sitting around me. Apparently this place was like THE hangout for everyone who didn't have Valentine's day plans or something, though. Both bars in the place were full, so I ended up having to just grab a booth by myself and eat in a very conspicuous way...and not meet anyone new. Oh well...I got a big greasy burger, plate of fries and a margarita...soooo worth it. And you'll be happy to know, they didn't screw up my order at all (although, even if they had, I would've completely forgiven them for it b/c this place is too good to miss).

After dinner, I came home, relaxed on the couch, read some blogs, chatted with some bloggers and watched some Donny Deutsch (I'm a dork...I know) and took some Aleeve for the pain in my knee which seems to follow every run these days (I think I need new shoes). Tomorrow my bosses are out of town so it'll just be me in the office. I have a little bit of stuff to do, but I should knock it out pretty quickly and will start my weekend early! Yay!

Anyway...thanks for reading, don't know what caused the spike in hits, but hopefully you like the blog and will be back! Of course, with all these people reading, that may mean I need to post more frequently...and about more exciting topics. Hmmmm.....

Ugh...I was totally cruised...Jim McGreevey Style!

A couple weeks ago I decided to run down to Charleston to visit a friend. I haven't blogged about it yet and probably won't get around to it beyond this, so I'll give a brief run down now. Don't worry...I'll tell the part about getting cruised too...I know that's all you people care about anyway, freaks! :) You can just skip down there now if you want...it won't hurt my feelings, hahaha!

The weekend was a good time and a much needed escape for both me and my friend. It was kinda a last minute trip, so I didn't get in until really late on Friday night. Didn't do much then other than go to the friend's house, hang out for a bit and go to bed.

Saturday we slept in a bit, ran across town for some lunch and minor stalking. haha! Seriously, this is how random I am...especially when I get with this friend. We walk out of the restaurant and on the way to the car she says "Oh, while we're over here let's go do a little stalking," to which I replied very non-chalantly "Ok, sounds good." hahahaha This friend lived across the hall from me freshman year of college and we used to do all kinds of random crap like that...until she moved back to Charleston last May...grrr!! Anyway, I'd hardly call what we did stalking anyway...I'm a much more sophisticated stalker than that. We actually just rode by where her ex-bf worked to see if his new car was out there. After that, we rolled back into downtown and walked up and down King Street and did a bit of shopping. She took me down by the Market and we walked by her favorite wine bar. Fortunately for us, as we walked by I happened to notice that they opened at 4:00 and it was now 4:15...perfect time to start drinking!!!

We went in, grabbed a glass of wine, did some people watching (these girls came in and sat next to us that had all kinds of piercings...it was gross) and relaxed a bit. Later that night, we picked up a couple of her friends (sooo fun!!) and headed over to someone else's house who was having a wine party. We made an appearance there, had some wine, I had a sword fight in the living room with one of the friends (apparently the swords were decorative, but we used them as weapons) and rolled out. We headed back across town to a little bar on the beach to hear some 80's cover band that they all loved. I had about 3 more margaritas during this time and we had a really good time. The place didn't have a big crowd, but it was about 26 degrees that night, so I guess everyone was hibernating. I was screaming out Bon Jovi lyrics all night and lost my voice for a few days after that, but it was all good.

Slept in again Sunday morning, got some lunch, then drove across town to the BMW dealership to look at cars/possibly test drive them. Yeah...I've got her to become nearly as obsessed with them as I am and we'll both likely be purchasing them for our next cars. She'll probably be looking in the next 6 months or so, so we were justified in test driving, haha. Unfortunately, the dealership was closed on Sundays (I HATE it when dealerships close on Sundays). I just went home after that. It was a good weekend.

Okay...onto the CRUISING
Yeah, so I'm driving into Charleston on Friday, and, like I said, it was late at night. I get to the Charleston area at about 1:30 am and really had to go to the bathroom. My friend lives on the opposite side of town so I knew I had at least half an hour left to go and didn't know how many gas stations would still be open at that time of night, so I just pulled into a rest area right outside of town. When I pulled in, there was just one other car there and that belonged to a guy who was waiting outside for his girlfriend. I went into the rest area, did my business and walked back to the car.

As I'm walking back, this truck pulls up and parks in the spot right next to mine. I thought it was a little odd, but just figured he wanted to be closer to the sidewalk or something so I just ignored it. Got back into my car and cranked it up to get the heat running again and started looking around for the directions to my friends house. When I was looking around, I glanced out my passenger window and realized this guy was still sitting in his truck...staring at me...with his window down (it was 24 degrees at the time!)!! What's worse, when I glanced over there, he gave me one of those head nods to say "Sup?" or something. I just kinda gave him a funny look and went back to reading my directions. Mind you...I have pretty dark tinted windows on my car, so he had to be staring hard core to even realize I had looked in that direction. As I'm reading my directions, I'm very much aware that he is STILL sitting in his car...clearly not trying to get out and use the bathroom! When I'm done with my directions (it's been about a minute or two by now) the other couple backs out of their parking space down the row and I decide it's time to go (I'm not gonna be left alone with this guy!). I put the car in reverse look behind me out the passenger side again to back up. And again, he's still staring, still has the window down and gives me another head nod! Seriously buddy? What!? I just back out and start to drive off. Of course, I'm watching him in the rear view mirror as I leave to see what his next move is. Sure enough, he just puts the truck in reverse and leaves the rest area! Yeah...he was definitely just there trying to get all Jim McGreevey on me!

Okay, seriously now, people! Is this somehow okay in some people's minds? I mean of all the gay guys I know...I don't think any of them are the type of people who would go to a rest area looking for sex!? (Granted, I've never met Larry Craig or Bob Allen, but still.) I know I'd certainly never go there looking for a woman...and even if I accidentally found one there...I don't think I'd want to keep one that was willing to have rest area sex. To all my friendly gay readers (and maybe even the unfriendly gay readers, if you're out there), please let me know...is this acceptable in the gay underworld that I don't know about? haha I mean...of all the ways men have tried to pick me up...this is among the skeeziest. Granted...this guy did appear to be under 30 (although fat) and he didn't appear to be homeless...so it's definitely not the skeeziest pick-up I've ever had attempted on me(hahaha...someone remind me to blog about "Man-Fun Guy" and "Homeless Man" sometime...funny stories!) but still! I'm just glad he didn't pull up 3 minutes earlier when I was still standing at the urinal! There definitely would have been some of this action, haha!!

Cruised at a rest area outside of Charleston at 1:30 am...haha...Who else, but me?! Oh Lord!

10(ish) Random Facts about Mark

I've seen other bloggers do lists of this nature and I always find them fun. Sorta lets you know random information about the people you're reading about that might not regularly come up in blog posts or conversation. I'm saying 10 things b/c that sounds like a good goal, but I really have no idea how many I'll end up with, so don't hold me to that. It just depends on how random I really want to get. Enjoy!

1. I was a junior in high school before I ever saw it snowing and a senior before I saw it stuck to the ground. (To be fair, I know I did at least see it on the ground once when I was like two, but I don't remember that at all, so I don't count it).
2. Pretty much every night before bed I turn on the music channels my cable company gives me (yeah...I'm the one guy who uses those). I pretty much always turn it to the "Singers & Standards" channel and listen to the old Sinatra songs, Billie Holiday, Ella, Louie Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darrin, Vic Damone and others, as well as people covering their songs later--except when they play Johnny Mathis songs on here...I ALWAYS change it immediately. I can't stand him. Otherwise, the station helps me relax and unwind before bed.
3. I have rather varied music tastes, depending on the mood. In addition to the aforementioned standards, I like everything from early 90's love ballads (actually...I secretly LOVE these) to old school hip hop to the latest rap and even some country (especially from the 80's & 90's). Oh and I love old soul stuff too...like Aretha and Ray Charles, etc. Pretty much the only thing I can never get into is rock music (metal, emo, soft rock, pop rock, whatever...it just doesn't do it for me).
4. I really enjoy eating, but do not like cooking. There's probably only about 4 different dishes I make that don't start out in the freezer...and even those 4 don't require more than a few steps to prepare.
5. I'm not particularly a pet person, but I'll probably end up getting a small to mid-sized dog before too terribly long just to have some company. Especially if I don't get a girlfriend soon! :(
6. I have rather random sleep patterns. Some nights I can sleep like 3 hours and other nights I can be in bed for 14+ hours and I usually wake up feeling the same. Also, when I sleep I go straight into a very deep heavy sleep meaning I almost never remember dreams, I don't move AT ALL when I sleep, and have a very difficult time coming out of a sleep. When I was younger this used to drive my parents crazy...I even slept straight through a tornado that spun off a tropical storm which knocked a huge oak tree down less than 10 feet from my bedroom window. I woke up having no idea it even rained. It's possible that I have a form of narcolepsy which causes this, but it remains undiagnosed as I've not bothered to get a sleep test done.
7. I have a new mattress ordered. Maybe this will help alleviate #6 and let me sleep a little better.
8. I used to be a rather picky eater. Up until about 2 years ago I had a strict rule against eating anything that smelled bad. This included seafood and anything from the continent of Asia. I've expanded my horizons and actually quite enjoy fish now and will eat a bit of well prepared, high quality Chinese food (aka - no Chinese buffets!). Much other Asian cuisine is still off limits. I also don't like very spicy things.
   
9. I'm a car nut. When I was a kid, the only toys I ever wanted to play with were little Hot Wheels & Matchbox cars. I literally had hundreds of them and knew each and every one. Every time I'd get a dollar for something I'd save it until we went to Wal-Mart and I'd pick out a new car. They cost 73 cents plus 4 cents tax. I have no idea what I ever did with the remaining 23 cents. To this day, I am still obsessed with cars and love driving. When it's a bit warmer, I wash my car at least once a week (I've been slacking a bit lately) and the inside is always immaculate. I usually drive a minimum of 20,000 miles a year just around town and on random road trips. My favorite cars are BMW's and my next car will be one. You don't even want to hear my dream pimped out BMW...that's just stupid! :)
10. I was in the Boy Scouts from 1st grade until 12th (although I really didn't do anything with them for most of high school). I became an Eagle Scout when I was 18. I also was in the band for 6 years but quit before my senior year b/c it wasn't very fun to me...and I thought most of the people in it were weird and it was not the best for my social standing. I was student body Vice President my senior year instead.
11. I'm one of those people who, when he finds something he likes at a restaurant, will continue to order the same thing every time without ever wanting to try other dishes. For example...Crusted Chicken Romano at the Cheesecake Factory! MMMMMMMM
12. Although the Cheesecake factory is my favorite restaurant, I've never lived in a city for more than 2 months that actually had one. I've eaten at them in at least 7 or 8 different locations and the current one is more than 85 miles from my house. I've driven up there before just for dinner and then come straight home.
13. When I was a kid my family had a pop-up camper that we would go camping in all the time. On one of these trips when I was about 3 years old I woke my parents up in the middle of the night bawling because my sister kept stealing the sheets and kicking me in her sleep. I never had to share a bed with her on a family vacation since then.
14. On another camping trip when I was around the same age, I was sitting on a sea wall fishing into Tampa Bay. I cast my pole and fell head first into the bay (it was only about a 2 foot high wall and about 1-2 feet of water, don't worry). Before resurfacing to find my sister laughing at me (knowing her, she probably pushed me), I somehow managed to grab two small fish in my hands. That is my first memory (and my first fish!) I was the only one who caught anything on that trip.

Well, I think 14 is enough information for now. This was kinda fun though. Remind me and I'll do it again sometime. Or, someone could just send me one of those random questionnaires and I'll repost it on the blog. But let me catch up on all my current posts first! :)

Year in Review

I started writing a year in review post about two weeks ago. I got about half way through it and realized that I didn't want to write all that and you probably didn't want to read it all. It was kinda turning into a venting post about a lot of things that frankly I didn't want to rehash! haha Soooooo...I scrapped it and will now give you the very very abridged version. If you really care and want more details, you can always e-mail or IM me...I'll oblige you.

So here's the short version:

2007 SUCKED and I'm very glad it's over. I've decided I'll settle for no less than a MIND-BLOWING 2008.

Okay, so you might want a little more than that. I'll give you a brief rundown of why it sucked and, in the spirit of optimism, try to add a little anecdote to find something positive as a result. Here goes!

• Crappy part:I started out the year losing my old job. What a great way to kick off a new year filled with hope and promise! Keep in mind this came no less than 4 months after purchasing my first home! Nothing like new bills and no income to pay for them. Optimism: I actually kinda hated that job anyway. I hadn't been happy for about 8 months and was already planning my escape route for the coming months...just didn't see it all going down like that. Oh, and as for the house...good thing I had some common sense when I was shopping and actually bought something with a manageable monthly payment, rather than trying to stretch myself!
  
• Crappy part: I decided on a new career field I wanted to break into, but couldn't get hired in it for anything. Everyone loved me but said I was overqualified for the entry level position, but wouldn't hire me for anything else without experience having done the entry level position. Optimism: I had a lot of time to read and learn important stuff. It also forced me to think 'outside of the box' as far as my plans for my life. This thinking is setting me up for a whole new avenue.
• Crappy part: In an act of desperation, I took a part time retail job, previously referred to as job #2. It was pretty much a horrible place to work and I hated almost every day of it. And the crappy hours they made me work greatly stunted my social life, which was one of the last things keeping me sane through the rest of the turmoil. Optimism: My mortgage continued to be paid. Oh, and I did get a nice pair of designer jeans and a bottle of good smelling cologne for free from them (no...I didn't steal them!).
• Not so Crappy part: I began working part time for a small company doing a job that I was really excited about and was a great combination of all the things I was looking for in a job. Crappier part: Being small, the company couldn't afford me full time, or really even to pay a great wage part time, so I had to stay at job #2. Also...we've been through a lot of turmoil on that job just through circumstances that we (my bosses or I) couldn't really directly control. This means that a lot of the promises made to me at hiring and plans/goals we had for the company have yet to come to pass. Not really what I signed up for!
• Sorta-Crappy part: The small, independent company I started working for transitioned into a national company to help us out a bit. This has meant a lot more work for me moving things over (and that still continues) and a bit of instability/turmoil during the entire transition. Upside: The national model allows us the structure we need to get our company back going again and the tools to be more successful than ever. Also, it allows opportunity to do stuff on my own which sets me up to make a TON more money than ever before (even at the crappy old job) and some long term stability and happiness. This opportunity just requires more work than I ever anticipated and was probably one of the last things I would have thought I'd be doing at the beginning of the year, but...all that learning and out of the box thinking at the beginning of the year prepared me for this, even when I didn't know it was coming.

Those are the major highlights...add on top of that all the car issues (and here, and here, among other things...and the check engine light is STILL on!) I went through, having the air conditioner on my house checked out and over $1000 worth of repairs being done to it, and a few other not so minor frustrations. Oh, but at least I started running, and a blog!

Anyway, to sum it up, I started the year off with a major blow and spent the rest of the year desperately trying to get back on my feet. So far it hasn't happened and, from the outside, it looks like I ended my year in a much worse position than I started it. I know, however, that I'm actually in a better position now than ever before as far as how much potential and opportunity I'm sitting on...I just need it all to manifest! I've never been more excited for one year to end and another to begin in my life!

So here's to a MIND-BLOWING 2008!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I'm heading out of town Sunday afternoon for Christmas. Going up to the mountains with the fam again. Oh, and my aunt and uncle will be at their house across the road and apparently after Christmas another aunt and two of my cousins are coming up too, so it should be a big fun family Christmas! This is the fun side of the family (read: the side that drinks...heavily) so lots of fun will ensue! Hopefully there'll be good stories to share when I get back. I don't know exactly when I'll be coming back. Maybe on Friday or Saturday, it depends how much fun I'm having, haha. If you haven't guessed by now I don't like to plan myself too much when I'm out of town, but much rather prefer to play it by ear and see what hits me, lol.

It will definitely be nice and relaxing to go up there, and we might even get a bit of snow, which I certainly wouldn't get if I were in Florida, but I am going to miss going home. I mean, I know I was just down in Orlando last week, but other than my one friend who came over for dinner, I didn't really get to see anyone. I got an invite on MySpace tonight to the annual gathering my high school friends and I have every year since we left for college. We all go over to a friend's house and her mom makes us lots of food and we spend all night just catching up. Over the years, the group has grown as people have brought their boyfriends/girlfriends, then their spouses, and now this year for the first time, there should be a few people bringing their new babies! It's sorta like the family getting together once a year. I'm so sad I'm missing it! Guess I'm gonna have to phone this one in from the mountains and make my presence known! haha Going to the mountains also means I won't get to see anyone from my mom's side of the family, which kinda sucks. Oooh, that reminds me, today is my grandma's 86th birthday. Guess I've got a phone call to make! Anyway...I was never really given a whole lot of choice on the Christmas destination so I guess I'll just drive to the mountains and enjoy myself.

On the topic of good stories, I have like a million posts sitting inside me that I've been too lazy/busy to get out. Obviously it's not going to happen before I leave and I won't have internet up there, so I guess you'll just have to wait.

PS -- My check engine light came back on tonight. It actually came on during the drive back from FL but went off a day or two later so I didn't bother to do anything about it. If it's still on or back on when I get back in town, I guess I'll be making another appointment at the shop. Thanks to the holidays I suppose I will actually make it until next year before I'm back at the shop. If their track record proves anything, I'm willing to bet that my O2 sensor is bad again, but maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt and let the dealership diagnose the problem.

My life is so random!

I really had nothing planned for tonight and had actually planned to skip out of work a little earlier than I have lately, go home, put on something comfortable and veg out on the couch all night. But, this afternoon my cell phone started beeping that it had a low battery. The battery life had gotten really short lately...like after about an hour or hour and a half of talk time it was telling me it was dead...and the phone is only 6 or 7 months old! The low battery beeping was really getting on my nerves so I decided I had to go by the Verizon store after work to get it taken care of. Unfortunately, the Verizon store is across the street from the mall, which is exactly where I did not want to be on a Friday afternoon 3 days before Christmas. I ended up getting a new battery out of them and went ahead and upgraded my plan since I've been running out of minutes lately.

On my way home, I decided I needed to stop by the neighbor's house to pick up a dish I left there after the Christmas dinner. I was going to call first, but thought I'd just pop on in if someone's car was outside. Her car was there so I get out and knock on the door. She hollered something, but I couldn't hear so I just kinda hung out on the porch for a minute. After a minute or two, I see through the window sticking her head around the corner in a towel. haha! She invites me in and then goes to get dressed. She tells me that she was actually taking a bath and waiting for Hot Crazy Girl to come over. We pour ourselves some wine as we catch up a bit and she tells me she's kinda frustrated with HCG, as she had been waiting for her for about an hour and a half by now...told ya she's kinda flakey! Anyway, the neighbor tells me that she and HCG are going to pick up a guy she went to high school with who's now a chef down in Charleston and he was going to make dinner for them. She then invited me to tag along! Considering I had been excited about going home making some spaghetti (that's about as much cooking as I do), I definitely wasn't going to pass up the chance to have a chef make me dinner!

Since I hadn't yet been home from work yet, I ran around the corner to drop off some stuff and then went back to the neighbor's after a couple minutes. HCG arrived and we headed off to get the chef. We picked him up and went to the grocery store and followed him around as he bought whatever it is he needed. The three of us split the bill (figured it wouldn't be right to make the chef pay for it and cook!) and we went back to the neighbor's where we began the cooking. And of course by "we began the cooking" I mean me, the neighbor and HCG made ourselves some cocktails and went into the living room while the chef was in the kitchen cooking. The neighbor did go in to keep him company after a while, but since me and HCG didn't know him we just stayed in the living room chatting. He ended up making us shrimp and grits. It was actually really funny b/c since he's a chef, it was actually garnished and presented in a way you'd expect to see at a restaurant, but not necessarily on your dinner table. I'm not really a big grits fan, but it was a good meal. The grits didn't seem to have much flavor, but then again, grits rarely do...you mainly just taste cheese or butter or whatever you put in them anyway. It sure was a lot better than I could have/would have ever done! We stayed chatting and hanging out until 11 or 11:30.

Just so random...a quick, unannounced stop at a friend's turns into cocktails and a personal chef! I guess that's an Only Mark story if ever there was one! I have a fun life! lol