Life Updates of a Larger Magnitude

The last 10 days rule because: *My first real hash was a great time - even with a 7 mile run. And I didn't even embarass Shakes (though I was sorely tempted to). *I remembered how to play my fiddle. (The first 2 days back from England were a little rough.) *No traveling, but instead got to UNPACK my bags. *Had a gourmet meal at a mansion on the sea. *Reger and Carla got engaged! *Regan threw a kick ass party on Saturday night. (Still waiting for Monica's scandalous pictures.) *Sunday I got to decorate my nest and break bread with friends. *Monday my softball team *almost* didn't lose! Same for my beirut team. *This week I planned all my dinners and grocery shopped on Sunday, so I've had mostly balanced meals instead of Mac N Cheese every night. (Not saying I don't love mac n cheese. I still do!) *I went to a chiropractor who made things go *pop* and then felt a thousand times better. *I got to mentor some naive undergrads who think I actually know what I'm talk...

I haven't nearly begun to get through the 477 pictures that were taken on my camera during our trip to England last week, but here's a start... Julie's wedding was absolutely perfect. I promise to give details and events and all that good stuff in the next few days, but I'm swamped with work at the moment and can't do it justice. Stay tuned!

Off to London *shoooooooooooooom* (my plane noise) [back on the 17th] in the meantime, check out my adorable niece, Grace...

I remember being a teenager and hearing people talk about "reunions" - 5 year, 10 year, 30 year... thinking "man, those people are old!" and "Why would you ever want to go a reunion of people you don't hang out with anymore? Borrrrrrrr-inggggg." Granted, in my teenage years I was still surrounded by the same people I had hung out with my entire childhood, so I couldn't fathom the fact that you might lose touch with people due to anything other than willful negligence. At that time, my little cosmos had no worn seams which allowed people to be shoved out of it due to overcrowding. Now my cosmos is indeed a little worn around the seams, and (I hate to admit) maybe slightly overcrowded... So, when I received an invitation to a 10 year Congressional Page reunion, I jumped at the chance to once again gather in those amazing people to my inner circle. It was, by all accounts, a successful weekend. The D.C. weather cooperated most willingly to hono...

As you know, I rarely sit still. Last weekend was Julie's bachelorette party on LBI. It was a great time. I think the 100+ pictures on shutterfly tell the story well enough. The only thing they don't convey is how amazing the food was at both Daddy O's and Voodoo Steakhouse. A-MAZ-ING. Yesterday I received all the training materials necessary to get a NASM Personal Trainer Certification. So, since I obviously have so much spare time on my hands, that's my newest undertaking. Is it what I want to do with the rest of my life? That I can't be sure of. I do know that I've done the political job thing, the travel/military job thing, and now the desk job thing, and none of those really appeal to me. Figuring out that I don't want to sit at a desk all day really helps narrow down the job opportunities I think, so that's a good start. My current potential ambitions include (in order of attainment difficulty): Personal Trainer Teacher Coffee shop owner ...

This is getting out of hand. First, they arrest the people for putting up Lite-Brites to advertise a movie, now we're arresting people for leaving flour trails on the ground. Someone needs to tell our government to stop overreacting. Shit is going to happen. Don't ruin life for the rest of us... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20441775/ (I do believe the Boston Hash House Harriers are planning an "extra flour" run tonight though, and I plan on being there...)

This past weekend marked a rare occurrence of the disease known as "staying at home". After trying for months to fight it off, I finally succumbed, but only because I had to if I wanted to fulfill my triathlon dreams. Prominent among the debilitating symptoms for SAH were the inescapable urge to vacuum and bake things from scratch. I recovered enough Sunday morning to escape the house at 6:45 a.m. with Matt Shea in order to swim, bike, and run. I felt like I had shook off all vestiges my ailment, but upon return to the apartment, I had an almost instant relapse which led to napping and video games, followed by another bout of cooking and breaking bread with friends (or tacos at least). Absolutely awful. Good thing I think I can fight it off again for another 2 months... :) If you've never been, I highly recommend you go to Wilson Farms in Lexington MA. It's a glorious display of nature's beauty and man's organization. Triathlon Pics are posted on my Shutterfl...