I have an idea

I got from Maine yesterday. It was awesome. I've been thinking about how to describe this trip to you. So I will enact a retroactive log of my journey. Aside from this weekend (dad's in town as well as a quick visit to the Outer Banks to visit a buddy I haven't seen in awhile) I will write daily as if I'm still on vacation in order to provide a snapshot of each day. Today's entry will revolve around the night before leaving a.k.a. my buddy Justin's wedding as well as the drive up.

August 7-8:

One of my roomates from college, Justin, got married tonight. It was a fantastic celebration. The icing on the cake (pun intended) was when, immediately after the cutting of the cake, I asked the wedding planner what kind of cake it was. If you don't know me well, I have had an obsession with wedding cake since childhood. Upon asking what kind of cake it was, the planner cut a big piece of cake and set it in front of me. First piece of cake = delicious. Easy math. Nothing compliments wedding cake like Yuengling.

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Immediately after dancing a bunch and enjoying the diverse and sweet buffet, Todd and I headed for Springfield to pick up our other hikers. Then I fell asleep until IHOP in Philly at 8 am. A quick look at the map showed we would drive through NYC and up through Connecticut. Driving through Wincasset, ME around dinnertime we embarked on the first of my culinary goals for the trip: Lobster. Pictured is the famous Red's Shack Lobster roll. It is a hot dog bun with a whole pound of lobster on it served with hot butter. Whoooooa. Cross that off the bucket list. The night finished with our first campground in Camden, ME. This is going to be a good trip.

Whoa

2 posts in as many days. Crazy I know. I wanted to give an update. I went to a wedding this past weekend and it was my buddy Kevin's from college. What a party! Dancing was great, food was good, there was even cornhole. If you don't know what cornhole is, see wiki. I'm rapidly becoming a fan of outdoor weddings, particularly those out in the country. This one was at some big house out in Botetourt County. Gorgeous. It was fun because the groom's crew-of which I'm a proud member-are dudes from VT and the bride's crew is a group of girls from JMU. Good times.

This weekend makes wedding #4 of 8 this year. My roomate from college, Justin, is getting married. In the words of Will Ferrell, what an idiot! That will be crazy fun. After the wedding, I'm heading to Maine with some old friends. Hiking, kayaking, and lobster here I come! I'm pretty excited. I'm always up for leaving the city. I can't wait for trees, dirt and campfire smell.

Things that make me laugh part 2

I'll start with some funny videos. This first one you may have seen. I'm not sure what this guy is talking about, but that Ibex is mad. Next is an actual clip from Congress. This guy was actually elected to public office. Awesome. Maybe I'm a terrible person for laughing at this. Finally, this kid makes me laugh.

In other news, hockey season is over for me. My team did not make the playoffs, although I am pleased with the second half of our season. We lost the first 6 games of a 20 games season which is hard to come back from. I actually had a few fans this year which not only encourages me but challenges me to play better since I'm not the most graceful creature on skates. It is evident that I did not learn to skate at the same time I began to walk. So if you're reading this and came to one of my games, thank you.

I am still studying to retake my exam. My class is called an "upgrade" and meets at 6 am everyday so I am relearning how to wake up early. Not easy and not fun. I think hunting is the only thing I do well early in the morning. Maybe that's because you can sleep while hunting and nobody knows.

Things that make me laugh

Laugh with me...
http://willardhouse.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/hot-rod/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lHHQu4CIos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woobL2yAxD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32OC97aNqc

If you have good suggestions, let me know and I'll add a part 2.

It's Wedding Season!

Now I guess wedding season officially started when I went to Montana in March, but the summer rush has begun. After attending 7 weddings last year, it looks like I will maintain that trend again this year with 5 weddings left. Wedding Crashers makes me laugh. Often. A crude movie I understand, but when it comes to weddings I can't help but think about that movie and cackle.

I was in Blacksburg this past weekend to celebrate freedom as well as the marriage of my buddy David Robinson. Pictured here are old friends Hungate, Jones and Peter. Good times. Why am I squinting when the sun is behind me? Who knows why I make ridiculous faces all the time. Blacksburg was gorgeous. Mountains and blue sky as well as lush forests paint a great summer background. Also the high of 85 degrees as opposed to the 100+ highs here in the 757 sure helps.

It turns out I didn't do so well on my first big test. I will be spending the next 8 weeks restudying and trying to pass it. I hate sad news, but I thought you the reader should know. If you pay taxes, I apologize for lengthening an already exhaustively long process and making the bill for training me larger.

Too much

So this past week has been nuts. The first of my huge tests is tomorrow and I only feel moderately ready. My brain has never been so inundated by useless information. I have been working every day since last Saturday, most days for 10+ hours. Cramming, thinking, memorizing. One coworker compared our studying to how a poly-sci major studies. No offense to all you poly-sci's out there. I think it's an adequate comparison. 7.5 hours of writing and information regurgitation.

I took a break from studying on Sunday to play hockey. It was looking pretty bleak as we went down 4-1 to a vastly better team. We have a new guy on the team who has crazy moves and skates more gracefully than I can ever dream of. He decided to take over and start scoring. I even had a goal. Now I know what you're thinking, "Scott is super awesome at hockey. I'm lucky to know such a star." False. I've owned my skates for 11 years and they finally fell apart. Sole rotting, rivets breaking, etc. I was less stable than normal Sunday. I fell in front of the net, and as I was getting up, the puck hit my stick and went in. Boom. So late in the third period the score was tied, 4-4 and the other team threatening with the puck in our zone. I see a guy headed toward the net and so I step in front of him. Collision. He gets up in my face accusing me of an elbow. Too bad he hit my shoulder. He threatened retaliation. I laughed. Ensuing faceoff, I head to the corner to get the puck with 10 seconds left. All of a sudden I'm hit from behind. I get to my feet and see this idiot grinning. I see that the ref called him for boarding and he would have to sit in the box during the shootout, unable to contribute. We won the shootout 3-0. Last laugh goes to Scott.

I did pick the first squash of the year today. I'm pretty stoked. Ok one more story. You're a trooper if you're still reading this. So today I parked in a spot at work where you get towed if you park after 3 pm. So at 255 I went to move my car realizing I needed more time at work. So as I approach my car, a very large man on a big Harley pulls up and parks. At 255. I watch. I have no room to make fun of people for how they dress, but this dude was crazy. Shorts, ratty loafers w/ no socks, German bike helmet that was about 5 sizes too small, huge beard, you get the picture. So he walks up to a public trashcan and pulls out a tape measure. He starts measuring the trash can. Every dimension available. He finishes, gets back on his bike, and gets back on the interstate. It's moments like this that occur almost daily in the 757. Such a confusing place.

Evolution

The playoffs are over. The Flyers lost in game 6 in overtime. I'm proud of the Flyers and happy for Chicago. They played well the entire series and I am happy that I got to grow my fiercest beard yet. I even got to have some fun after the series was over. I have included some pictures.

It was a great series and I'm excited that hockey continues to gain in popularity. I hope ESPN picks up the NHL next year. That needs to happen. In other hockey news, my team and I have lost a few games in shootouts lately. We still get a point for going to a shootout, but we need wins.

Dad was in town 2 weeks ago for a golf weekend. He brought 2 of his golfing buddies down which gave me an excuse to test out some of the areas better courses. I am pleased with what I saw. I don't have any golfing friends here so I will not be playing on those courses again anytime soon, but it was fun.

I think this sums up the next few weeks of work. I have my first 8 hour exam next Thursday and the other one July 8. No doubt I will be spending more hours at work trying to cram everything there is about submarine engine rooms into my small head. I will have 2 breaks in studying. First, joining Dad and my sisters in the Outer Banks for a few days and Blacksburg for July 4th to celebrate my friend David's wedding.

One story before I leave you. I see some ridiculous things on the way to work. My school is in the south end of Newport News, which can be a tough part of town. So as I walk to work, I admit that I avoid some groups of people at the bus station. I shy away from awkward conversations. So I was doing just that last week, almost at the front gate, when I hear the following:

"Are you prepared for the snow?" I stop. It's June, it's 75 degrees at 7 am and I'm confused. I look as a 6'3" slender man with long hair anticipates my answer. I think for a second for a valid reason as to why he asked me that. I look at my feet. I'm wearing flip flops. Maybe he's making a joke. I point at my feet and say, "I guess not." I begin to walk away when I hear, "Wouldn't it be crazy if we got 4 feet of snow today?" Now I'm really confused. "I think that would be awesome." I do love snow. I continue to walk away hoping he's done. Nope. "The whole Commonwealth of Virginia would shut down if we got that much snow." I spent the rest of the day confused.

Excited

So I'm excited. I've had friends visit the past few weekends, the Flyers are in the Stanley Cup finals, my hockey team isn't in last place and I feel that I'm at least contributing. We had the "Battle for Last Place" last Thursday and we won 10-2. I guess that's an accomplishment, seeing as how I believe the other team decided to go drinkin before they arrived at the game. I don't think that that is the most effective pre-game activity. I hope you will join me in viewing your television Tonight (Saturday), 8 pm NBC. The Flyers square off against the Chicago Blackhawks in game 1 of the fight for Lord Stanley's Cup.

I'm also excited about the World Cup in June. I know what you're thinking, "There is no way Scott likes soccer." I remember being in Italy for a World Cup and how excited Italians were. It truly is a worldwide thing. And soccer is fun to watch. I just hate the diving. Diving is for sissies.

Work is going well, I can't believe I'm one month away from taking the first of my 8 hour boards. I have enjoyed school but I am looking forward to not reading all day. I haven't seen a plant since about a year ago.

In other news, Gabby just hit 15,000 miles! It was a big time doing that while driving to work at 630 am. I'm in the midst of the 15,000 mile overhaul which consists of replacing the wiper blades, air filters, and cabin air filter, lubricating the door hinges/latches, and a general inspection.

playoffs?

If you don't understand this post's title, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

The hockey playoffs have begun with Philly winning the first round. My annual playoff beard is in full swing and I hope to keep it through May as the Flyers pursue Lord Stanley's Cup. So up until last Sunday, my hockey team was 0-7. Terrible. As you may know, I'm not the most graceful on skates and scoring is a once-a-season type of event for me. Well, we won our first game last Sunday 6-2 and somehow the stars aligned and I had a hat trick. I was stoked. The game was at 10:00 pm on Sunday and I was so excited I couldn't wind down to sleep until 1 am. Totally worth it.

The garden is coming along well with Roma and Better Boy tomatoes, squash, green peppers, rosemary, basil, habanero and jalepeno peppers. I'll have pictures next week along with a good work story. I hope you are doing well.