The Halloween Weekend Post

This weekend marked Sarah’s long anticipated visit to the new apartment. I have been looking forward to having her down here for ages and finally on Friday I could stop counting down days. We had a great weekend, hanging out around the complex and the surrounding area. Got a late lunch at Mimi’s Café which lasted us a few meals and the obligatory trip/s to Target, as well as a Home Depot stop to get Sarah an apartment key that actually works.

Went to Halloween Horror Nights and the Nascar Grille on Saturday and hung out with Bruce and Dianna. Horror Nights is decidedly better when you aren’t alone for the record, and I enjoyed it much more this time around. Saw a lot of houses and a few I had missed the first time through (Texas Chainsaw was our favorite), as well as caught one of the later Bill and Ted shows; and met the carnival’s ringleader, Jack for a photo which was pretty freaky (the guy decided to mess with me over Sarah, which I was not anticipating). He was pretty intense and had a few people running away screaming (which was hilarious for those of us waiting in line. Speaking of lines…wow, the sheer amount of people that show up for the event is crazy, especially when you consider the wait times, cost of tickets and drinks.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to head downtown which was a big bummer for both of us, especially considering the effort that had gone into our costumes. But with that said we did have an awesome weekend hanging out at the new place. Got in a dinner date at BJ’s Brewhouse (my new favorite dinner spot) which was nice-and oh so filling. Very sad to see Sarah go, and the weekend felt cut short more so than most visits, but so glad she made it down and eagerly anticipating seeing her again already.

The Laboring Day Post

So I spent the majority of today and yesterday cleaning up the apartment and getting everything ready for my move. Now I know it’s a little in advance, but I figured I’d take advantage of the long weekend and get the majority of the wall scrubbing and touchups taken care of before it gets down to the wire. Boxed up all the non-essentials and took down all my canvases so I can Mr. Clean the walls. Magic eraser works pretty well, though it does leave your hands a little raw feeling if you don’t wash them right away. I’ve also been watching copious amounts of Scrubs episodes leaving the DVDs on ‘play all’ mode while I bustle about getting stuff sussed. Carpets look good, walls are cleaner than when I moved in, and a lot of stuff now stands tucked in the corner in a neat stack of boxes Arnold got me from the warehouse at work. I’ve been making the odd trips out here and there to enjoy the nice weather and to make sure I don’t turn into a hermit. Wandered around the mall, did some grocery shopping and hand lunch at the Bear Rock Cafe. Note to sandwich eaters- don’t eat at BearRock unless you like waiting a long time for underwhelming food and are not a fan of having money in your wallet.

The First of 2007 Post

First off happy New Year. I hope 2007 will be a good one for you. It’ll be an interesting year for me I’m sure. I plan on keeping up this living on my own thing for a while, and see if it keeps going in a positive direction. Stefan will be heading out on Wednesday to boot camp for his basic training (Army Reserves) which is a big deal for the family, especially considering the times. Its what he wants to do though and I’m happy he’s picked a defined career path and taken effort towards that goal. Best of luck brother.

Sarah was here last week for New Year’s which was awesome. It was her first time coming down and seeing my new place and the area I’m in. Took her on a tour of work one day so she could meet my coworkers and friends, but unfortunately spent a lot of the week working while she was forced to potter around the apartment (for which I feel bad). We had a great time despite my need to run off to work every day. We watched the recent season of Scrubs as well as a few other DVDs from the recent Christmas haul, had dinner out at some nice restaurants in the area, scoped out all the local shopping attractions and malls, and spend some quality time together. It was great having her here, and I got used to having her live in the apartment with me very quickly. It feels rather empty here at the moment to be honest (no offence Coolio). I’m sure I’ll be fine though, especially considering she’s going to be coming back at the end of February, and that my family will be visiting on various trips this month and next before that.

New Year’s was a lot of fun. Drove around a bit checking out different areas and eventually settled on Howl at the Moon, a piano bar on I-Drive. Their live show, with lots of audience interaction and foul humor made for an interesting night, and it was great to spend the countdown with my lady. As far as resolutions go I haven’t finalized anything yet, probably a little late at this point, but I plan on keeping up with my gym routine with Craig, starting my Maya (re)training and possibly writing that children’s book and screenplay I’ve been kicking about for a while.