Christmas Carol Countdown.

Christmas music has been everywhere since the day after Halloween. Of course, out of respect to Turkey Day, I refuse to really listen to it until after Thanksgiving, but by then, it's on until Christmas Day.

Different Christmas tunes have been important to my family and me throughout my life, and like most music, certain ones play more important roles at different times. Here's a list of some I've always been into as well as some I've started to appreciate in more recent years:

1. Charlie Brown Christmas. Can't beat it. Most of it's instrumental, but it's so classic and mellow that it's the perfect background music to the end of the night. It's quiet enough that it's not overpowering to the room, but obvious enough that it takes me to the famous Linus speech whenever I hear it. I used to play it in my boombox when I was a kid and fall asleep to it during the holiday season. My favorite way to listen to this one is when the presents have been opened and the only lights on in the house are the lights on the Christmas tree.


2. O Holy Night. This one gets me the most of all of the spiritual Christmas carols. The crescendo of the song gives me chills as the music rises and the lyrics hit the line "fall on your knees/and hear the angels' voices!". I love every version of this song, from the traditional styles to the newer versions from Josh Groban and Christina Aguilera. Aaron Neville also DOMINATES the song in a Motown way with his adaptation of the song. Love it.


3. Jingle Bell Rock--the Bobby Helms version. This one will ALWAYS remind me of Christmas morning at Grandma and Grandaddy's house in Gastonia, NC. Grandaddy had a tape that was ENTIRELY made up of this song on one side, and he'd take pride in playing it every year. The cool thing is that, suckers for tradition that we are, we STILL play that tape over and over on Christmas morning every year. I'll always think of him getting the tape started, and I love that we play it in his honor even today. I'm ready to hear it again in a few weeks...


4. Blue Christmas--Elvis. Love this one, because it's bittersweet and it's catchy. I was never the biggest Elvis fan, but hey, he's the King, and I definitely learned to appreciate him more after visiting Graceland this year. His voice is great in the song, and the background vocals really take it away. Sheryl Crow has a nifty cover of the song too. I don't WANT a Blue Christmas, but I'll blast the song every year.


5. A Wonderful Christmas Time--Paul McCartney. Annoying, but it's PAUL! I mean, come on, it's catchy, right? It's one of those songs that sort of makes me cringe, but I can't change it at the same time. My eleventh grade English teacher HATED it, so what'd I do? Burned him a 12-track CD. The track list? 1-12: A Wonderful Christmas Time by Paul McCartney. Come on, y'all! He was a BEATLE! I'll keep rockin' it.


6. Happy Xmas (War is Over)--John Lennon. Great song. Political. Powerful. Love the chorus of kids singing along and the pure PEACE that it stresses. It gets me every time, and balances out Paul's Christmas song. I rock this one too. The Fray has a mean cover of it as well.


7. A Neighborly Christmas--Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. My newest favorite. I had the pleasure of serving a Summer Staff Session with Drew and Ellie Holcomb in 2008. They're great people, and as musically talented as they are nice. Drew carries a Sinatra-esque vibe on this record, while Ellie's voice has an old-school, raspy feel that puts a modern twist on classic music. Every song is fun on the album, but their version of "Baby it's Cold Outside" REALLY stands out. Check out the album on iTunes and watch their video for the song HERE. Also, be sure to grab their other albums as well!



8. A Very Special Christmas (1&2). These two collections are my all-time favorites, because they REALLY take me back to my childhood, and they're probably the ones we listen to as a family the most even today. From the Pointer Sisters' version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" to Aretha Franklin's "O Christmas Tree" that always made my sister and I laugh, the two collections include the best variety of classic and modern Christmas songs out there. Can't forget Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis", Madonna's "Santa Baby" (that my sis and I used to fall to the ground for because she was the bad guy in "Dick Tracy" the movie), or Bruce Springsteen's repetitive "Merry Christmas, Baby". Great collections.


Of course, I'm leaving out countless other great Christmas tunes, but these are some of the best. I'm sure you're familiar with most of 'em, but if you're not, check 'em out, turn on the tree lights, pour some egg nog, and ENJOY!

Merry Christmas,
Drew.

Productivity Cycle.

Yesterday was a productive day. You wanna know how a productive day for a 24-year-old college grad who works part time at a restaurant and is still trying to figure out the next step of his life goes? Since I had the day off, here's a quick outline:

9:17 a.m. Alarm goes off, I hit snooze. I never set my alarms on 0's or 5's, but usually 3's or 7's. My snooze lasts 9 minutes, so I often wake up on 5's or 1's, which means I usually hit the button twice for 18 minutes of extra broken sleep.

9:35(ish) a.m. Woke up. Fell outta bed. No comb across my head. Dragged into the kitchen with our dog, Maia, at my heels to pour a bowl of cereal and my first cup of black coffee of the day. She always follows me because she knows I'll drop a piece into her bowl. Here's how it goes: I pull the cereal out of the cabinet, grab a bowl, pour it, toss a piece in her bowl (clink!), pour the coffee, pour the milk, nuke the coffee if it's cold, and walk into the living room to turn on the tv. Most of the time it's Sportscenter, but if it's mid-week and it's early enough, I catch the music videos on VH1 (gotta watch 'em when you can to avoid the ridiculous "Celebreality" they're always brainwashing our youth with...).

10:07 a.m. Facebook. Tryjm.com. Twitter. Johnmayer.yuku.com. In that order. It's embarrassing, but I do it. I'm sure you do too...

11:00 a.m. Gym time. This is early for me. Mad thanks to Harley Pasternak for the 5-Factor Workout. Been using it for two years and I still love it. Yesterday was back and bicep day, which is always crucial. Also ran for a bit to the tunes of "Battle Studies" and others. The chorus of "Assassin" into the guitar solo is killer for when it's time to push it.

12:30ish. Back home. Protein shake (because I GOTS to get SWOLE!). Shower. PB Sandwich, and let the errands BEGIN.

1:15 p.m. Drove Mom to pick up her car. Some douche keyed it a few weeks ago, and now the paint is FIXED.

1:45ish. Men's Wearhouse. Tux fitting for my buddy Luke's wedding. It was quick, and I'm gonna look like a pimp. Can't wait.

2:15ish. Four Season's Mall. My mission: New Shoes. Went into each show place at least once to find the best deal. Ended up with some red and white Air Max 90's and a smile. Could have and SHOULD have knocked out some Christmas shopping, but I'm waiting to save that card for the maximum stress effect which should kick in in about two and a half weeks.

3:30. Back home. Room cleaning time. Picked up piles of laundry and made it so my carpet is visible. It's blue, like my eyes.

4:20ish. Snack break. Stephen King novel. Waiting for my girlfriend to get out of class.

4:45 p.m. Amanda gets out of class and comes over. We kick it for a bit.

6:30 p.m. Amanda and I roll to UNCG for a class discussion she needs to attend for an assignment. I'm not in school, but I like going to these because I feel like a student again. They're fun when they don't matter for a grade. Nice to stimulate the brain again. Grad school might not be so bad after all...(remind me I said this if I ever complain about it down the road.)

8:00 DINNER! At home, with the rents and Amanda. Turkey Sausage Soup. Spicy, healthy, and delicious. Mmmmm.

9:30 p.m. Back to Amanda's so she can get some work done. This is the time of year I definitely do NOT miss from my school days.

1:00 a.m. Back home again.

1:16 a.m. Goodnight text to Amanda, lights out, DONE SON!

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9:17 a.m. Alarm. Snooze twice.

9:35 a.m. Repeat breakfast routine. Get ready for work. Annnnnnnnd here we go again...

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SO, kids, that's how a productive day typically goes for someone in my position. That is BALLER for a day off. Didn't sleep in, worked out early, and got some stuff DONE! The real test comes now in keeping my shoes white and my room clean. Oh, and finding a job or going to school for the sake of a future CAREER. But hey, one step at a time, right?

Until then, I'm gunnin' for grad school apps and Christmas. Woohoo!

DS.

Journal Stories.

It's Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend and I'm sitting in the living room looking at the Christmas tree. It's fully decorated and equipped with bright LED lights for the first time this year. They give off a nice blue glow instead of the pinkish glow the old ones did, and they use 88% less energy than the others, which is nice. Underneath the tree is still barren, but that'll change soon enough.

Amanda's sitting here doing homework, getting geared up for the end of the semester, and I've got Sunday Night Football playing in the background on the tv. While it's still technically November, the surf is heading out to sea for the tidal wave of good cheer and love that Christmas will bring in a few weeks (quite an analogy, eh? Glad ya liked it).

That being said, I've given you a list of things that I'm thankful for, and of course, I could have written a lot more, but instead, I want to share with you an abbreviated version of some of the stories my Grandma told us the other night. They're always great to listen to, and I wrote them down in my journal to save them somewhere concrete.

I'm not going to elaborate on these stories right now. What I'm going to do is type out the EXACT entry from my journal from the night before Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that it was late, I'd had a glass of wine or two, and I was tired. I didn't feel like writing, but I had to get it on paper, because it felt good and made me happy. My parents and sis were in the room, and some movie was on TV, but I scribbled away for a few minutes. Here we go:

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11/25/09

In Gastonia. Grandma just went to bed, but we're here for Thanksgiving & she told us lots of cool stories tonight. She and Granddaddy have (had) been to ALL seven continents. They've basically set foot on every major land mass in the world. So cool! She talked about how they crossed paths with Patton's son, & how he called Grandaddy "Doc," and told him to call him "George." Also, they went to Russia, lost their luggage, and she had to get a peasant's outfit in a "dollar" store in Leningrad. She also talked about how she had one of the most spiritual experiences of her life on a boat to Antarctica with the Chaplin & Dr. while a major storm was going on around them. We're talkin' waves above their boat.

It was so cool hearing her stories. Grandma could seriously have a "Forest Gump"-type movie made about her. 92. 4'10". Strong. Definitely wanna be as strong as her when I grow up.

And speaking of that, I wonder how she sees me & the cousins. She obviously saw her kids grow up, but we're the next generation. Does she see us as her little grand kids or young adults? Both, I'm pretty sure. It's interesting to watch the perspectives and think about their differences.

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So there you have it. A short concrete version of what I heard the other night. I know it's more of a teaser, and I could totally elaborate (which I might later...I really DO come back when I say "I'll do it later" sometimes), but for now I wanna keep it raw, like the cursive in my journal.

Hope you enjoyed it, and while there's one more day of November, I also hope that you get excited for Christmas as the spirit starts stirring in the coming weeks. Goodnight for now.

D.

Thanksgiving 2009.

Thanksgiving Day. Lots to report, but it's all hand-written in my journal for now. I'll get to that later...maybe. Seems like anything I say "I'll get to that later" about tends to be forgotten, but I've got lots of cool things written that I want to share with you here as soon as I can, so hey, I'll get to it later...

Anyway, I'm sitting here, bloated, full, glass of wine by my side, and typing. Thanksgiving was spent in a leisurely way today, with tv viewings of the Macy's Day Parade, football, a "Home Alone" marathon, and "Elf". Of course, not focusing on the tv portions too much, I also ran a little over two miles today and read a good chunk of my latest Stephen King book (what can I say, I'm a sucker for King, but you knew that).

Outside of the television, workout, reading, and relaxing, we took our annual Sykes Kid Christmas Pictures, which we've done since infant-hood, if I can use that as a word. These pictures have transformed over the years, from being easy when Carra was a baby to the tough years where Mom and Dad dressed us both in white turtle necks and managed to get good pics between our shouts of "get OFF me" and "don't TOUCH me" to the soccer jersey years to now when we wear what we want and model pose for the camera between shots (whew...outta breath...love long sentences). Of course, my sister and I are both glad to have the pictures taken every year, and it's a lot of fun looking back on them all and seeing how much we change between Christmases, and how much we've grown up since the tradition began. I know Mom and Dad love it too, and I have a feeling we'll keep taking them for a while. I'm definitely not complaining. They're cheesy, but they're the good kind of cheese.

After this "full" day, the REAL festivities began. Grandma was busy all day, and the rest of the family began to arrive around 5:30. There were 14 people and 3 dogs at dinner, and the FEAST began around 7. I can justifiably call it a FEAST because that's what it was. We had turkey (white and dark meat), rice, gravy, cranberries, dressing, turnip greens, creamed corn, crowder peas, rolls, olives, carrots, and my Grandma's pickles followed by PUMPKIN PIE that I'm going to go back and find more of in a minute for dessert. It was AMAZING (as always), and I'm dragging with a well-earned and deserved food hangover now. MAN, the gym will be nice tomorrow.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was definitely a success, and not overlooked like it tends to be by the Commercial-Christmas-Society we tend to live in. Yeah, Christmas movies were watched today, but we focused more on the MOMENT than a month from now, and it was great, and DANG, I know we've all got plenty to be thankful for. I would give you a list, but it's SO cliche...

Ahhhh, screw it! It's a cheesy time of year, and I'm a cheesy guy. To close out this blog, here's just a SAMPLE of the things I'm thankful for in 2009:

-The people I love. There are a lot of you, and you know who you are. Many of you will be mentioned again under this bullet, but the group of you gets the first spot.
-Amanda. You make me better. Thanks for your support through everything, your laugh, your smile, your kind heart, and your love. Couldn't be happier than I am when I'm with you.
-My parents. Thanks for taking me back after five years of college, and keeping me for a good chunk of time longer than I expected. Thanks for being fun, and for being cool with me as I "figure out the next step". Growing up has been interesting, but I continually appreciate the way you are there for me through everything.
-My sister. My favorite sibling. Thanks for being an inspiration to me in more ways than you know. Even though I'm the older brother, I look up to you in a lot of ways, and I'll always appreciate that. You are awesome, and I admire the way you live your life.
-I'm also thankful for my friends. Some of you I rarely see these days. We're in different states, cities, and places in our lives, but all of you have shaped me into who I am today.
-my 92 year old Grandma. SO thankful for her, and the rock that she is in my family. SHE COOKED OUR THANKSGIVING FEAST FOR US TONIGHT, AND SHE IS AMAZING! Her stories are great to hear, and they give hope during these hard times.
-Football. Haven't kept up with it as much this season because it's been a tough year for my Wolfpack and my Panthers, but I'll follow them 'til the end, and I'll be yelling at the TV come Saturday when we play UNC.
-Mayer. His music fits my life, and he's the man. Can't WAIT 'til he comes to Greensboro!
-Sticks and Stones. It's a great place to work in this "Figuring out the next step" phase of my life. I love the people I work with, and working there always has its fun moments. It'll be an experience I always remember, and something I'll look back on and say I enjoyed.
-The holidays. I love 'em. They bring us all together and the traditions are great.
-The future. Still don't know what I'm doing, but like I always say, I'm ready for what's next, so bring it on. School, career, LIFE.

And on that note, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and good night!
Drew.

I'm back again.

Gonna write.

Gonna write because it's getting late, and it's been "BATTLE STUDIES DAY" around the United States.

"Battle Studies Day?" You ask? Yes. November 17. The release date of the one and only JOHN MAYER's 4th studio album, and might I say that it is SICK. It grows on me every time I listen to it, and it's even better now that I actually have a hard copy.

I'll review the actual record later, but I've definitely celebrated its release RIGHT today. Woke up excited and listening to it, and went to Target to buy two hard copies. Gave one to Amanda, who needed an official version, and I'll probably give the other to my parents, who I think I might actually be bringing to a Mayer concert in Greensboro in March. More on this later...

Anyway, the last few days have been crazy hectic. Yeah, there's a lot to say, and yeah, I know I've been ignoring this blog like whoa the last month. I'm sorry, it happens. Mayer played a live show on tv tonight and I've stayed up enjoying a few brews and rockin' out to the music, so I wanted to write.

So much to catch up on since I've last been here. And believe it or not, there are a few long stories I need to tell, but the bottom line is that I could never be more thankful for Amanda, my family, my friends, and my close family friends than I am now. I've said this before, but it's amazing how much this can increase and change as life goes on and new and crazy events unravel. We were very lucky this past weekend to have something occur that could have been a lot worse than the results that showed up. I know this is vague, and I'll probably write about it later, but for now, I'm running with the feeling of thanks I have in my heart. My family is amazing, and I'm so grateful.

So many things are happening now too. 2009 is racing to the finish line and the holidays are FAST approaching. I'm still jobless when it comes to my career path, but it's ok, because I'm gunning for grad-school if I don't find anything in the next few months. I'm calm and ready for what's next.

The cool thing about this particular blog entry is that I'm just typing. It's all I've been doing this entire entry. I don't really know where I'm going with it now, but Thanksgiving is coming up, the Caldwell-Sumner was this past weekend, and basketball season is about to start. WOW. Lots going on, but as always, I've got an excited feeling in my heart. I'm loving life, as confusing and uncertain as it is right now, and I know that whatever happens next will be what needs to be.

Word to that, and good night.
DS.

Tenth Month.

October. October? OCTOBER!

Touche, 2009. Just when I thought you were slowin' things down a bit, you hit me in the face with the onset of the tenth month of the year. I should've known better.

So. Yeah. October. It's starting to FEEL like fall now, although the leaves haven't really started to change yet. It's too cold for the A/C but too warm for the heater to come on so the house is perfect during the day and it gets to that cold in an I don't wanna get out from under the blanket" kinda way at night, so I like it. It's also given me the chance to get on a green tea kick the last week or so. No sugar, hot water, green tea. Amanda and I have been all about it, and hey, it's good for the soul (and the immune system...watch out, Swine Flu!).

October really is a good month. I talked about September being the start of fall, and the feel-good atmosphere that brings with it, but October is when all of this really gets kicking. It means the fair, changing of the leaves, the heart of football season, and Halloween. It also brings the PLAYOFFS in baseball, which, once again, my Braves failed to make (Braves 2010! Woohoo!). It's a great month to get scared in a fun way, and to get wrapped up in that trick-or-treat hype you got as a kid.

Anyway, props to October. I know I'm kind of letting my fingers type without thinking tonight, but I'll take what I can get. It's been an interesting few weeks since I last wrote here. All good and great for the most part, but I took a slight step back in one aspect of my life I didn't want to have happen again. I'm still struggling to find a middle ground with it. I don't want to be controlled by it, but I also want to be strong enough to resist the pull of falling back to where I used to be. The line is too thin for me to stand on it sometimes, and gravity is always working against me. Just gotta stay strong.

But October, yeah. The theme of this blog. Tenth month of the year. Back to getting scared. Amanda and I have one haunted house down, and we want to hit up at least one more before Halloween. We went to "Spooky Woods" in High Point the other night, and it was great. Got stuck with a bunch of high school kids on the trail and laughed at their reactions as much as our own. The place is perfectly designed for the fun scare, starting with a Texas Chainsaw type of house and going through a corn maze and a castle with rooms set up to look like all of the scariest horror movies. I went about 7 years ago, and it's really improved since then. Definitely had several jumpy moments that turned into laughter pretty quickly. Can't wait to catch another one.

I'm super-tired now and about to crash, but some pretty cool things are coming up in the next few days. Amanda's got a GIG Friday night of all acoustic Beatles stuff which will be a lotta fun, and SATURDAY, we're heading up to DC to kick it with Ryan in the city for a couple of nights. Two shifts of work between now and then, and the weekend will BE here! Can't wait. Going to sleep with that thought.

Gnight.
D.

Musical Nostalgia.

"Wheel" with the windows down just took me back to this time six years ago. Freshman fall at NC State. Cool weather, late nights, and far enough into the semester to be comfortable with the place.

I was the same, but different. Eighteen, mop-topped, a little preppier, but still smiling a lot. NC State was in front of me rather than behind, and my biggest concerns involved getting football tickets and stocking the room with Easy Mac and Ramen.

"Heavier Things" was a constant that could be heard from my open room or the two 12 inch sub-woofers in my Explorer, and I could relate to the music more than ever now that I was on my own. I was learning lessons and making mistakes and decisions away from home, and the songs on the record picked me up or gave me advice when I needed it.

I can still remember playing "Clarity" for the first time on my laptop in Windows Media Player, before my iTunes days. It was real, and it hit me from the beginning. College was new and crazy, but the song helped me brush the worries away and enjoy that particular moment in my life, because at that time there's no way I could have known just how fast six years could fly by. Crazy, eh?

As much as I love the rest of Mayer's music, I'll always be a sucker for the nostalgia that "Heavier Things" brings me when I listen to it at night in the fall. It took me back again tonight, and still gave me the hope and comfort it did when I was a little younger and different, but had my heart in the right place, as I feel I do now...

With as fast as things move and as uncertain as things are these days, I'll take that as a good thing.

D.

OFF.

Today is my first day off in 9 days. I know I only work part time, but off days are still GREAT. Days where I'm scheduled for dinner shifts can seem like days off, but there's always the thought of work in the back of my mind, and with that they can still be tiring.

My goal was to get up today and get some things DONE. So far I've eaten cereal and had two cups of coffee. Not bad, right? Yeah, I know, nothing productive yet, but I'm gonna get on to some G.R.E. stuff in the next little bit. I'm setting a table and chair up in my sister's room for a temporary "study station" to leave up until after the test. I'm now OFFICIALLY registered to take it on Monday, October 5. This way I can have a few weeks to study for it, I'm motivated by the deadline, and I'll get my results back just in time to finish my application by November 1. Not too bad of a plan as long as I actually study a little.

As for work itself, it's been an interesting week. Nothing too crazy, but there was one instance that gave me a pretty good laugh. Since I've been working at Sticks, I've gotten to know or recognize the majority of our regulars. A lot of these people are really cool, regardless of how they tip. There are some that run your ass off and tip well, and others that trap you in good conversation and don't leave you shit, but you enjoy the time with them. Of course, like any server, I'm a big fan of the ones who treat you AND tip you like a friend instead of a pizza-slinger.

Anyway, the other day this one regular came in with his wife. The best way to describe him is with the word "grouse". He's a grouse. That's not necessarily a word, but it sounds right for this guy. I'll break it down even more for ya. If he were on Sesame Street, he'd be Oscar. If he was a dwarf, he'd be Grumpy. The guy never smiles, and he always wants his white wine glass chilled. I greeted him and his wife a few weeks ago when we had a busted A.C. and they immediately complained about the temperature. Of course, as the messenger of the news, I got the evil looks as if it was my fault we had a bad system, and the guy says "Welp, sorry," and walks out before his wife realized he was leaving (I'm not defending her here, she's almost as bad as he is, but I thought it was funny he left her behind).

Fast forward to a few days ago and the A.C. is fixed and the couple returned. I sat them, crossing my fingers they wouldn't sit in my section (which they didn't, whew), and of course they commented on the air (yeah, thanks, I noticed it was fixed too). They ordered drinks from me, which I passed on to their server. As the night progressed, their pizza appeared in the window, so I ran it out to them. Just like with any customer, I placed it down with a smile and told them to enjoy. Before I could finish putting it on the stand, the guy looks at me and says, "I've got a question for ya." Giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking he's going to be friendly for a change, I look at him and say, "What's that?" As his perma-frown increases, he asks, "Where did the pepperoni go?"

I feel my half-fake smile fade as I put my tail between my legs and stare this asshole down. "Uhhh, I don't know, sir. Did you order it with pepperoni?"

"Well, I THOUGHT I did," he says.

So I pick it up and say "I'll get it fixed," and as I turned away I stopped, fake-laughed, looked at him and said, "Psht, and I thought you were going to ask me a SERIOUS question...HAHA..."

Didn't deal with him the rest of the night, but felt pretty good about getting the last word in. Of course, I couldn't have done this if he had been my table, and probably shouldn't have anyway, but hey, sometimes you gotta walk away with what holds up as a LITTLE pride in your own mind. You can get away with a lot more than you think with people like that. I laughed about it, because it's hard for me to understand how anybody can be that unhappy all of the time, but what can you do? Ha, I brushed it off and smiled, because he'll be back regardless of little things like that...

Woohoo. Battle stories. Gotta love 'em. And the grumpy regulars. Smile, folks. You'll get less wrinkles.

Not much else to say right now, but it's gonna be a gym/dinner/movie date night tonight, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's also the third weekend of college football, and some good things are happening over the next few days. I still get excited about weekends, regardless of how much I have to work over them. People are happier, and friends are free when I get off work. So yeah, weekend time is gonna be nice.

Until then, I'll be around. Peace outside.
DS.

Double SHIFT.

Typing this one up between doubles at work.

Last night was CRAZY-busy in the pizza-slingin' world. It started off so slow you could hear the crickets, and then: BAM! BUSY. This is how it always happens. You think you're gonna get out of there at a decent hour for a weekend night, and then the customers remember that it's the weekend too, and decide they're gonna camp out over one extra beer for 30 more minutes. Of course, it's not all bad, because in being busy and staying later, you make more money. Simple economics: opportunity costs. Leave early = low money. Stay late = make more money. But then again, on weekends, time IS money. Never realized how true that was until I started waiting tables.

Another thing I realized while I was running around throwing pies last night was that, DAMN, I've gotten GOOD about balancing food and drinks and carrying multiple items. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a ways to go to catch up with a lot of people in the service idustry, but I'm getting better every day. Learning to use different parts of your upper body as third and fourth arms and hands gets pretty crazy, as weird as that sounds. And with a tray...WOW. It's like a pickup truck for food.

Anyway, work was crazy, but I made good money, or I made Beatles Rock Band if you wanna put it a different way. The non-collector's edition (you figure it out). I REALLY want this game, and the fact that Beatles music is being played non-stop on every station is making it even worse. Even VH1 is playing video game music videos of their songs! It's ridiculous, and I've gotta get it. I'm on the verge of getting some stuff done and driving to Best Buy just to stare at it. "Lead us not into temptation..." Ohhhhh, man...we'll see.

For now it's time to rest and maybe throw in a run at some point. I only got 5 hours of sleep last night, and I'm doing fine now, but the crash is sure to happen. A nap may be in order, but I'm going with it while I can.

Until then, there's plenty of early season football to watch,Cherry Lemon Sundrop to drink, and Jay-Z ft. John Mayer on YouTube...


Watch that one and you'll see that even HOV is impressed. What have I been trying to tell y'all for YEARS?!?

That's what I thought.

PEACE.
Drew.

Defy Gravity.

It's what I do.

Check out my new custom NikeID running shoes. Designed by me, for me.




Inspiration (if you couldn't figure it out):


I ran in 'em yesterday and kept staring down at them. I can FLY in these things! Gotta love new motivation to run...

Catch me if you can.
D.

PS: Today feels like a good blog day. #2 and counting so far...

One year, Labor Day, and sunsets...

Today was a catch-up day from a great weekend away at the BEACH. Caught up on the gym, caught up on sleep, caught up on healthy foods again. The only easy part was the sleep...whew.

Anyway, the weekend was AMAZING. Celebrated ONE YEAR with Amanda down at Ocean Isle over the last few days, and straight-up bummed it at the beach. One year. It still amazes me how much we've done and experienced over the last 12 months, and how fast it's all flown by. One thing I'm sure of, though, is that I'm looking forward to making even MORE great memories as we venture into this new year together, and whatever the future holds for us.

Our actual anniversary was Friday the fourth (which is actually the first birthday of this blog too...hmmm...HAPPY late BLOGDAY, blog!). We got to the beach the night before and had the luxury of sleeping in until the late hour of 9:30ish (the sun was pretty bright, but hey, no complaints). The day went fast, but we made it to the lower point of Ocean Isle to catch the sunset, and when I say sunset, I mean SUNSET. You could see it falling as we walked down the open beach, and the weather was perfect. There were wisps of blue and purple and orange in the air, and as the sun continued to go down, it melted into dozens of different shades of red and yellow. Once we got to the point, we stood at the channel between the ocean and the Inter Coastal Waterway and in the golden reflection of the sun. Now, I'm trying to give you the best description I can of this sunset, because I don't have pictures yet. I'll post them when I get them, and they're beautiful, but they still won't do justice to what we saw that evening. Imagine the entire color spectrum glaring against the contrast of the dark clouds. Remember the abbreviation from physics? ROYGBIV. They were all there, and it was brilliant. The waves were crashing and fighting each other in and out of the channel, and the sun turned the beach orange as it began to hide behind the trees on the horizon. It began to fade to red towards the end, and then it was gone, leaving us with an orange sky straight from the tip of God's paintbrush to our eyes. WOW. And then we got a giant full moon to light up the waterway. Crucial.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying our time together. We biked Sunset on Saturday and discovered Bird Island, a lagoon behind a jetty at the lower point of the beach. Here we made a few friends and talked for a bit, which we always seem to do on our trips. People feel our vibe, and we feel theirs. It's cool. It was a beautiful day, and really the last of the sun we saw until Sunday night. Other than biking, we bummed around the place a lot, which was nice because we don't get the opportunity too often. Watched movies, popped popcorn, and cooked in the kitchen. We saved money from this, had some great meals, and spent time TOGETHER, which is the main reason we were there. It was great.

Besides enjoying our celebration, I got fired up to start doing some serious things in the next few weeks now that we're back. As much as it hurts to say it, Labor Day Weekend is kind of the unofficial end of summertime. Now that summer is unofficially over, I'm ready to get rolling with some positive changes in career status. The economy still sucks, as it has since I started this blog a year ago, but there are other possibilities. I'm going to look harder for jobs, but grad school is also more in the picture now. Don't know for sure if I'd go, but let me say that I bought a G.R.E. study book today, and I'll be signing up for the test in the very near future. Who knows what could happen with this in the coming months. All I know is that, as always, I'm excited.

Outta hear for now, but I'll be back soon. Goodnight.

Drew

October in August.

It's 65 degrees outside right now. 65 DEGREES! How cool is THAT? Pun intended, of course...

It's been a crazy-weathered day today, and it really feels like Fall, so I'm getting excited for the coming months and everything they'll bring. Football starts this weekend (Thursday night for my Wolfpack), and even though it's still early, the Halloween stores are starting to open.

Don't get me wrong, I love summer, and I'm not counting summer out yet. There are still officially 21 days of summer LEFT, and I know it'll get hot before it's over again, so I CAN'T count it out yet, but the onset of autumn is always nice. The days get shorter, the weather gets cooler, and the holidays are in sight. It's also a time for change, not only with the leaves and the temperature, but also with schedules and LIFE. I'll always coincide the start of fall with the start of school, and now that I'm not a student, it gives me the excitement I need in order to change my own surroundings and really focus on finding a job or taking necessary tests in order to go BACK to school. Oh, and some dude named John Mayer is releasing a new record soon too.

Speaking of the changes coming up in the next few months, I'm afraid to say that my car situation may be a part of this. My trusty ol' Jetta has been flaking on me since the start of summer. It's gotten a lot of mileage added to it in these hot months, and it's seen a lot of cool places, but it's slowing down. A lot has already been done for it between trips, but it recently got damaged in a hit and run, and now the clutch is starting to stick so bad that the gears do not change properly. It's a bummer, because the dents caused by the hit and run are already going to cost a third of what the car is worth when it's in good shape. Throw in the cost of repairs to the clutch and it could be all she wrote, but we'll see. Just like I grew attached to my Explorer, I've grown attached to this one, but the next few days and weeks will decide whether or not I'll be driving something else in the near future.

Of course, with all of the changes that fall will bring, I've got a handful of constants that I'm looking forward to hanging on to and seeing what the future holds. As often as I say it, I still can't believe how fast time moves, and I can't believe that I'm days away from being in a great situation for a whole year now. If you'd asked me about this a year ago, I never would have known I could've been as happy as I am right now. It's pretty crazy, and I love it...

So right now, I'm optimistic about the coming changes as well as watching things get better in something that is already great. Some big dates and events are coming up, and I'm looking forward to every one of them.

Until then, I'm gonna enjoy this weather, and I'm gonna say my goodbyes to summer...

D.

Blogs before bed #5.

Wednesday night, but I don't wanna count the previous few days out of the picture yet.

Made it to Raleigh under the radar twice this weekend. Went down Friday to watch Amanda's dad play drums with Greensboro rocker Evan Olsen, then made it back Sunday night to watch O.A.R. rock it out at Regency Park Amphitheater in Cary. Breezed through and didn't tell anybody I was coming because I'll be back again next weekend!

Friday night was a good time. Amanda and I left the 'boro when she got off work and booked it to the Village Draft House for some good eats before the show. We started off with their fried pickle chips, and it was all downhill in a good way from there. Once we got out of there, we made it to Napper Tandy's where we met up with her dad as they were getting set to play. As we walked around the pub, I ran into a bunch of old State friends who by CHANCE were there to celebrate a going-away party. It was CRAZY random, but cool, because I hadn't seen these folks in over a year really, since graduation. What was even cooler was that several of them seemed to "know" Amanda through the pictures we've posted on Facebook. They were all happy for us, and it was great running into them.

As for the tunes, Evan Olsen is always a good show. He plays several different cover songs every time he hits the stage, and ranges from Prince to Beatles to 90s rock to singing rap. Stan (Amanda's dad) held the beat down while the crowd (including Amanda and me) danced the night away. Towards the end of the show, Amanda and I ran BACK to the Draft House to grab a set of to go fried pickles for her mom. We made it back just in time to munch away, and her mom LOVED them. Next it was time to hit the road home, but we definitely enjoyed our first evening in Raleigh for the weekend.

Saturday flew by with a trip to the gym and a busy night at work, and then it was time for SUNDAY, or, O.A.R. DAY! I'd been looking forward to the concert since I last saw them on Mayercraft, and I was really hype to take Amanda for the first time (of course, still MORE hype to get her to Mayer eventually...).

We started the day at good ol' IHOP here in town (Mmm, pancakes) and left for Raleigh in the mid-afternoon. Once we made it there, we decided to take a little walk around NC State.

Ever have that feeling like you belong somewhere, but you've kinda moved on in life? That's how it was to walk around NC State again. I've been to Raleigh several times since I graduated, but I haven't actually been on campus since May of last year when I was finishing school. It felt like I'd just been there while we wandered through the Brickyard and out to the Court of the Carolinas. I took Amanda into the buildings and through some of my classrooms, and it was really cool having two different aspects and periods of my life come together like that. We sat on one of the benches I used to frequent when I'd cram-read before class and looked at the area, and it felt RIGHT. I definitely enjoyed giving her the tour and letting her see what I saw for nearly five years. It was surreal, but in a good way.

After this, we headed to the venue but stopped at Lake Johnson for a few minutes. We stood out on the big plank bridge and stared at the water for a bit, just relaxing and taking everything in. Then it was time to head to the show, which was GREAT. OAR hit the stage with a bang, and we made our way to second-row standing room, so we were super close. The crowd was pretty crazy, but the concert was a lotta fun, and I'm glad Amanda got to seem them rock it out (although she is STILL coming down from McCartney last week...I would be too...).

Anyway, we got outta there and grabbed Snoopy's before coming home, but it was definitely a nice weekend to cap out an AMAZING summer. I know I haven't written much about it, but hey, it's why I've been away from this thing so often the last few months...

As for this week, it's already flown by. It's basically Thursday now, and Ryan is coming to town this weekend, so there will be lots of reunions. Definitely gonna be a good time...

Feel like I'm rambling now though, and I'm kinda delirious, so I'm callin' it a night for now. I'll be in touch.

D.

Blogs before bed #4.

1:28 a.m. Interesting night.

I'm eating a leftover cold blueberry/rasberry pancake that I made with Amanda last night at midnight. There's nothing like midnight pancakes. The idea popped in our heads a few nights ago, and it was a nice little snack last night. The down side was that we learned the hard way how hot my stove gets and burned a few of them to the point of crispiness, but it all worked out. I did have to take the smoke detector off the ceiling to prevent it from going off though. Safety first, right?

Anyway, the cakes were (and still are) money, and it settled our craving for the time being. I'm telling you, we get weird cravings from time to time. Well, not necessarily WEIRD, but SIMILAR. These cravings usually come in the form of breakfast of some kind, like eggs during random hours of the day and night. Or bacon. Popcorn is also a pretty common non-breakfast craving we'll get into. We've definitely knocked out our fair-share of Orville Redenbacker over the last several months. Mmmm, latenight food. Sherbert is a good one too.

Today was long but short. Slept in a bit after staying up pretty late last night and made it to lunch at Sticks with Amanda before she had to go to work. Got home after that and got slapped in the face with the idea that I had stayed up pretty late last night, so I napped until about 6, only to wake up and go BACK to Sticks for work in our new 7:00 shift time. Made a whopping...hang on a sec, gotta count...ok...a whopping $30 at dinner, and ate our sandwich special when I got off. So to sum it up, today was: two meals at Sticks, three hours of work, and 30 bucks in my pocket. The plus of this equation was lunch.

Caught up with Plumlee for a bit after everything, though, which was good because he'd been working at camp all summer. Always good catching up with friends.

Blarrrrgh, but now I'm running outta things to say. I'm bummed that I'm this far into this thing and I don't have a single witty analogy for you. What's up with that?

Couple of things to look forward to in the near future though:
-O.A.R. on Sunday: Can't wait for my 7th show, AND to see them in Cary again, WITH Amanda. Also very psyched to see Daniel and Sara, my Mayer friends from the NC Coast!
-RD rolling to NC: That's right. Ryan is coming to visit next weekend. My brotha. Haven't seen him in over a year, so it'll be cool catching up with ANOTHER friend.
-Labor Day Weekend: Long weekend, with more meaning in it than I've ever had before. Very happy and excited about this.

Until then though, sleeeeeeeeeeeep well. I just let this one sit after an hour-long phone convo, so it's now 2:37. Definitely a "Blog before bed" tonight. Time to hit the pillow.

D.

Blogs before bed #3.

Tragedy struck today when I was offered a ticket to see Paul McCartney and couldn't take it.

That's terrible, right? It was a last minute deal, but I could've made it if I could've found someone to cover my shift tomorrow night. I would've set my alarm, chugged some coffee, and hit 85 south blasting "Why Georgia" and gunning it for Atlanta to get there in time for the show. I like that spontaneity.

Coulda. Woulda. Can't. Dang it.

Still set to get several concert calls throughout the evening though, so again, it'll be nice to HEAR him live even if I'm not there. Although how baller would it have been to be able to dance with my lady to the music of the Beatles BY one of the Beatles? Very baller, if you're still looking for an answer. This concert is like her Mayer. After it goes down, we'll both owe each other tickets to our favorite artists' shows. It'll happen eventually.

Also, I managed to misplace my car key today. Notice I say "key" in the singular instead of "keys", since I drive a Volkswagen. I've got one of those little switchblade keys that seem REALLY cool, but actually REALLY suck, because they fall apart, they don't attach to key chains, and they cost $250 to replace. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Don't get me wrong, I like switching it open and closed as much as the next person, but it's smaller than my cell phone and falls out of my pocket all of the time. Tomorrow morning is going to be spent tearing my room apart to find it. Can't wait.

Outside of the Paul and keys dilemma, tonight was a chill little night spent catching up with old friends. I went out to Fat Dog's after work to hang out with people I've known since high school, including one friend I've known since kindergarten and another who has just gotten engaged. It was nice hearing about where everybody is these days, because we're all on different pages, but we're all still growing up. Wherever we may be as individuals, we're still down to have a good time as a group. Gotta love that kinda friendship.

Anyway, I'm kinda ramblin' now. Nothing spectacular to reflect on tonight, but it was good. Pillow time for ME. Until next time though, goodnight moon, goodnight sky, goodnight ADB, and goodnight Friday.

Drew.

Blogs before bed #2.

Ok folks, even though the title says "#2", this is the first OFFICIAL entry in the "Blogs before bed" series. It's ten 'til 2 a.m., and the real question is, are YOU as excited as I am? You should be.

Today flew. That's right. Flew. Soared in after kickin' it late last night until I woke up around 10 this morning. The sleep before that was one of those where I was so tired I felt like my body had a vacuum cleaner built around it trying to take me into dreamland. You ever get so tired that it hurts to lift your head or your eyes, but kind of hurts to shut them and rest at the same time? Not too fun, eh?

Anyway, woke up to the same alarm clock I've had since I was nine. It's that classic digital clock/radio with the red numbers and the fake wood panels on the sides. Pretty much 76% of people my age have or have had it, but I can't get rid of it. I tried using a different one my freshman year of college, but it was too bright and it came equipped with nature sounds that just didn't sound natural. Needless to say, it didn't work out, but oh well, that's life sometimes. Anyway, my old trusty red digits finally got me outta bed after slapping the snooze button three times and gaining a nice 27 extra minutes of sleep (thanks to my nine minute snooze increments). Even thinking about the sound of that alarm makes me cringe right now, but it's the only thing that can get me outta bed. Kinda like my own personal fake electronic rooster.

Got outta bed and went to work at Sticks. It was a pretty typical Thursday, so I had a couple of tables and pretty much hung out and drank sweet tea the rest of the time. Gotta be careful with that though. There are lots of delicious, empty calories in sweet tea, so I only fill the bottom of the glass when I drink it. Of course, I do this throughout the day, so it adds up, but I still feel better about it. Whatever works, right?

Finished the shift channel surfing and came across some semi-old-school Mayer on Palladia. Watched him jam out with Buddy Guy and played it on surround sound in the restaurant. It was nice.

After this I rolled over to walk the dogs with Amanda and hit the gym, only to go BACK out for Mexican food and completely negate the experience. It was delicious and worth it. Next we helped her mom with an errand and got into a discussion with her about different trends of collectibles that people have gotten into over the years, and it sparked a memory of a slightly embarrassing business venture I got into as a 12-13 year old kid.

It was back in the day when I was BARELY too old to enjoy action figures and stuffed animals, but JUST old enough to appreciate the value of a buck. It was also 1997-98, when Beanie Babies and Star Wars figures hit the planet by storm. Some kind of light bulb went off in my head then, and I thought of a GENIUS plan to collect as many of these items as I could without unwrapping them or cutting off the tags so that I could resell them one day at a much higher price. Pretty smart for a tweener, right? The only problem was that every soccer mom and flea market merchant in the country had the same idea. Damnit. Sad thing is that I still have boxes full of these things in my closet, waiting to be resold for [less] than I paid for them ten years ago, although DING (light bulb as I'm writing), they COULD add up to a pretty sweet plane ticket if I can find some buyers. Hmmm...

Speaking of the nineties, we also watched a movie called "The Whackness" tonight, which was pretty cool and has a title that is VERY quotable for whack situations, such as how the economy is these days (WHACK), and how Michael Vick thinks he's gonna get signed by a new team (WHACK). Anyway, check it out if you get a chance, because it takes place in '94, so it's got a killer soundtrack...

Moving on, it's not officially FRIDAY, and I've got work at 6 tonight followed by a weekend with no girlfriend (WHACK). SHE gets to go to ATL and see SIR Paul McCartney in concert live at Piedmont Park. Pretttttty cool I must say. Not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss her, but she promised me a concert call or two, so I'll at LEAST get to hear him rock it out.

As far as Greensboro is concerned, some old friends are in town, and of course, the Beaver Boys are always ready to kick it...(don't ask).

So for now, goodnight, ladies and gents. Or good morning. Either way. And have a STELLAR weekend.

I'll be in touch...
DS.

Blogs before bed #1. [Sort of]

Ok, ok, it's the middle of the day, and the title is misleading, but it's catchy, right?

I was riding back from a little evening trip to Charlotte with Amanda yesterday, and she told me that I need to get back into writing blogs again. (I promise I'm not whipped, because I agree. Well, not much at least...) I've kept my distance from this thing over the summer for various reasons, but mainly because it's easy to get distracted in these laid back months. I know she likes to read them, and I'm pretty sure you guys do too (at least the few of you that check this out from time to time).

Back to the title. In order to get more into writing again, I want to start a "Blogs before bed" series. I'm not going to change my entire blog, but from time to time I'm going to start writing out my thoughts and experiences from the day or week right before I go to bed. Believe it or not, that's a really good reflection time for me. Something about being really tired gets me thinking deep thoughts. Anybody feel me there? Maybe it's just me, but hey, I'm running with it.

Anyway, yesterday was a fun little day involving a fun little adventure down to Charlotte for the mall and some dinner. We actually got there around 7:30, so we only had an hour and a half to walk around before it closed. No worries though, because we're spontaneous enough to take what we can get and enjoy the moment.

And speaking of enjoying the moment, we hit up Cheesecake Factory right after the mall closed for QUITE a delicious and classy meal. I got my usual stuffed chicken tortillas (which can never be bad outside of the fullness you feel after eating them), and Amanda got some dankilicous jumbalaya. We capped it off with a little lemon rasberry cheesecake and some coffee to spark our energy and guide us home. Mmm, mmm, bihatches.

The way back was smooth but muggy because it had rained that evening and the windows were cracked. She didn't have any cd's handy, so we cruised home browsing the airwaves, which actually turned out to be pretty fun since neither one of us really listens to the radio anymore. Outside of the usual chart toppers like Katy Perry and the horrible, terrible, ghastly Nickelback (which was avoided at all costs), we caught several Beatles songs and classic rock tunes.

While station surfing, we also came across every Lifetime-watching woman's favorite radio host, Delilah. Oh yes, that soothing voice that seems to calm every nerve for every occasion. After listening to her for a bit, I thought, "what would Delilah sound like if she got really pissed off?" Can you picture it? Think about her getting mad at her kids and speaking in that voice of hers. "Ralphie, pick up your damn blocks and clean your room. I'm tired of always picking up after you." (Read that with her voice in your head, and notice there aren't any exclamation points...). And could you see her getting mad at an ignorant caller? "Sir, that question truly offends me. Have a good night, and please go [expletive beeped out] yourself."

Believe me, it's a much funnier thought if you HEAR it than if you read it, but ah well. It'd be a genius stand-up joke, right? Thought so.

As for stand-up itself, if you get the chance, go see Adam Sandler's new movie, "Funny People". It's hilarious and REAL, and gives you a great look into the world of stand-up comedy and how it's done. While most of it is funny in that classic Sandler/Seth Rogen way, it turns around and hits your heart several times by the end. Seeing it will surprise you in how dramatic it actually gets, and the coolest part of it is that it's really about a second chance. Those of you that know me know I'm all ABOUT this idea and what you can do with it...

Still workin' on that one.

But anyway, I'm signing outta here for now. I've run my mouth and typed enough keys for today, but I'm psyched about my new series and hype to be back narrating my life for your reading pleasure. I've missed this...

Drew.

"Times are hard..."

"Times are hard."

Seems like that's all you hear these days, huh? I mean, if I had a DIME for everytime I've heard that since I graduated a year ago, I wouldn't even NEED a job. I'd be good to go.

But anyway, just because times are HARD doesn't mean you can't have FUN in the meantime, am I right? OK, a lotta people are getting laid off. OK, I don't have a salary or insurance as a waiter. OK, the economy is continually getting it's ass kicked. That's whatever. Times change, they go up and down, it's a rollercoaster, and so many other cliches from the book (whatever book that may be).

Go out and have FUN. Embrace your situation, don't sulk. I've tried that, and it sucks. It's easy to get down on yourself these days. But there's really nothing that can be done about it. Ride it out, and when it's better, you'll be fine. You're PROBABLY fine now. I know I'M fine now. Writing it out definitely helps, but think how well you'll have it when things get better! If you're doing OK now, imagine how you'll be when you're riding high!

I've been lucky enough to spend most of the last week and a half with my family and my girlfriend at the beach. The time I've spent down here has allowed me to catch up with myself and to BREATHE again. It really is tough to remember how to BREATHE sometimes. Frontier in CO has reminded me of this the last two years, but not going back this year, the beach has done it.

Jobs will come back out in the future. I have a feeling it will be sooner rather than later, even though that seems like forever from now for those of us who aren't part of a real company or covered with insurance. But in the meantime, smile with what you've got. If you've got a good family, realize it. If you've got a great girl/boy/companion/spouse/friend/whatever, be thankful. I'm lucky on the family/girlfriend aspect of things now, and I couldn't be happier. The rest will come down the road, but until then, I'm gonna keep kickin' it.

It's definitely easy to get down, but when "Times are hard", take those effin' lemons and make some friggin' LEMONADE...because it's summertime now, and who DOESN'T like lemonade in the summer?

Drew

Sprinting in the Streetlights.

Had another "good to be here" moment earlier. (No worries. I have these all the time, but some stand out more than others.) I think they're starting to string together because there's some kind of unspoken correlation between summertime and feeling good about life.

Tonight's moment happened while I was walking Amanda's dogs with her, and we walked under a bright streetlight. The lighting was almost indigo, and the mica grains in the street sparkled as we passed the illuminated area. Walking through, I had almost a flashback to being a kid and SPRINTING at night. I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS felt faster at night than during the day. I know it had to be an illusion in my head, but the combination of artificial lighting and the purple/blue tint it creates makes things look like they're moving faster than they really are. I remember looking down at my legs as a kid while I'd run under these lights and they'd be a blur of color with red Chucks blaring at the ends. Felt like the Flash in those days.

Anyway, nothing like a little nostalgia on a summer night, eh? Hope your summers are treating you well so far, and if you get a chance, sprint under a streetlight sometime this week.

D.

Lucky Man.

Just had one of those "dang, I'm glad to be here" moments in my car. Weird when they happen, right? It's 2:11 in the morning and it finally stopped raining and it's cool out. The stoplights and streetlights were reflecting green and red in the puddles on the way home, and things feel RIGHT. I like it.

I watched the movie "Henry Poole is Here" tonight with Amanda, and it was AMAZING. Without giving anything away, it's basically about finding the faith that things will work out and embracing LIFE and all of its ups and downs. It's also about a SECOND CHANCE, which those of you who know me KNOW that things like that are important to me. Definitely check the movie out if you get a chance.

Also, watching it really did remind me that I AM lucky with my life right now. Bad weather and crazy work experiences should never bring me down. Nope. I have a job, I've got a great girl, and I'm thankful for the support of my family and friends. Things feel GOOD.

The little "moment" I mentioned above happened on my way home from dropping Amanda off at her house. I blasted "Lucky Man" by the Verve in the car, and saying goodnight to her with the combination of cool air and good music woke me up and sent me straight here to write.

Others on the road may have thought I was crazy, or that I shouldn't have been driving, but no one was really around to witness me feeling this way. My hand was out the window and I was letting it flow up and down in the wind. My favorite part of this is always when I let my fingers bend up enough to catch the breeze and send it shooting up my arm, causing it to rise like an airplane. It's just as fun when I bend them back down and send it crashing until it gets caught again, as if the wind is actually water. Love that feeling.

Time to write again.

The last two weeks have been a WHIRLWIND! We're talkin' marathon with no water, no breaks, no rest, no relief, give it all up until the end type of race here, and it's been interesting.

It all started with my birthday back on Cinco de Mayo, or "Cinco de Drupac," as it's been called the last three years. Since then I've gone through emotions ranging from all-out fun and happiness during the celebrations to the opposite with the loss of a loved one, and back AGAIN to celebrate her life with those around me.

The loved one I'm talking about is my grandma, Jamie Sykes. She passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's a little after midnight on the 13. While we knew that her time was coming, it was still a tough experience, but we got to say our goodbyes (or "see you laters" as I like to call them) before she moved on. I know now that she is at peace and in a much better state than she was in her final months. There's a bittersweet relief that comes with that, because on one hand I already miss her like crazy, but on the other, she's not suffering anymore. I don't think there's any real way to describe how that feels in words, but it's something we'll all eventually go through. Whenever this happens, the best thing you can really do is look at the glass half full, raise it, and be thankful for the time you had together, because in the end, that's all that matters. I'll always hold on to the memories I have with her.

I've been constantly on the go through all of this, and it hasn't caught up with me yet. I decided that the way I cope with this kind of thing is to get out of the house and to DO things with the people I love. I kind of called myself out about this when I realized I did it during the loss of my two grandfathers as well. It's not that I don't want to be around, it's just that I feel like going out and having a good time helps take away the down side of it all. I guess everybody has their own way of dealing with these kinds of things.

It's looking like I'm going to keep running through the week ahead as well, but in a good way. I've got three days of work before I hit the road to head to Louisville, Kentucky for the largest Beatles festival in the US: Abbey Road on the River. I'm looking forward to being Amanda's groupie when she takes the stage, and I think it'll be a great experience overall. Kind of like a mini-Mayercraft perhaps, with lots of fun people, music, and good times. This will LITERALLY be here before I know it, so if any catching up is gonna happen, it's gotta take place over the next day or two. If it doesn't go down, I'll just keep going and let the exhaustion nip at my heels for a little longer. I have a feeling it'll be worth it.

The weeks ahead will definitely be full of good vibes, because summer is pretty much here, and everyone is feeling happy. The trees are green, the sun is shining, and everybody wants to dance. I like it, and I'm looking forward to whatever happens in the next month.

For now, though, I want to make a little blomise. That's right, a blomise. I just made it up. If you haven't figured it out, it's my version of a "blog promise." Catchy, right? My BLOMISE is to write more. I love it, I hope you love it, and I've gotten away from it for a while. It's time to get back into the game, so here I come. I've missed you guys.

So until next time, keep it half full, keep dancing, keep running, and enjoy the kickoff of SUMMERTIME.

Drew

Writer's Block.

I'm strugglin' with the bloggage, guys. I think Mayercraft resurrected the slacker in me. What can ya do?

Things are good here. The weather is nice. Spring is on a roll. My b'day is in 13 days. Summer is coming. The job is strizzle. I'm in the process of applying for others. Woohoo.

This is definitely that time of year where I would save up absences and bounce out of class early because of the nice weather. Too bad you can't do that with work. If you're still in school, cherish those unexcused absences while you still can.

And speaking of school: UNCG may have my name on it for some follow-up education. We'll see. I've got some time to figure it out.

That's it for now. Time for a cold one and some chill action. Baseball game tomorrow night.

D.

I know, I know.

...I owe you Mayercraft pics and stories. I know.

You'll get them soon, I promise. I'm still sort of coming down from it all, trying to get back into the routine and soak up the good times while they're fresh.

Coming home was bittersweet, but the last few days have been a blast. I'll tell you one thing: there's nothing like getting to the airport after a long and amazing trip while being extremely tired but walking up the terminal and seeing a certain someone that makes you weak in the legs to the point where you're flying and you somehow find the energy to hurry up and get to them so you can EMBRACE.

That might not make sense, but DAMN...it does to me, and it's good.

I'm rambling though. It's true. It's late, and I'm tired, and really only good things are going through my mind right now. I mean, spring is in the AIR. Yeah, it's gonna get colder this week, but PSHT. Today was MONEY warm, and everybody's feeling it. Today also marked ONE week 'til my sister's b'day and ONE month 'til mine. Cool, right?

Oh, and today was OPENING DAY for Major League Baseball. This is a great thing because even though my Braves have struggled as of late (and I'm sure many of your teams have had their own troubles too...), the good thing about Opening Day is that it's a FRESH START. Braves in 2009? Probably not. But hey, as of TODAY, it's possible, and sometimes, that's all you need...(a boy can hope, right?)

Anyway, my bracket is screwed, I'm on an O.A.R. binge, the weather is warm, time is flying, and as of tonight, the Braves are undefeated in 2009. Two out of those four are good things, and one of them really isn't that bad, so I'll TAKE it.

Goodnight people.
Drew

Mayercraft First Report.

Epic. That's all she wrote. Plus Internet cost too much. Oh, but more later. You know it.

Love,
Drew

T-minus 6 hours and counting.

Well, it's here. MAYERCRAFT!

I'm leaving the house around 6 hours from right now, at 5:45 in the morning to hit up the airport and catch my flight to LA. SO HYPE RIGHT NOW! I've still got a good bit of packing to do, but I'm so excited that I'm not too worried about it.

Don't have time to write much now, but I wanted to give you the heads up and let you know that I'll be posting several "mini-blogs" (NOT Twitters) from my Ipod while I'm on the ship. I won't have a computer, so they'll be short and to the point, but get ready!

ALMOST time for sun and music!

Ahoy, yo!
Drew.

Slow motion Monday.

Monday night and I'm writing to write.

Had a BALLER weekend full of work, basketball, live music, and latenight biscuit action (mmm, country ham. mmm, biscuits). I've been catching up with myself since then, but in a good way. Finally made it back to the gym this morning and whooped my own ass for a while. It was fun.

Work was dead today, but enjoyable. I've got a feeling things are really gonna pick up once we get the patio out and people start coming out of their winter holes for a little sunlight. Once we get the outdoor seating (and liquor), the yuppies and hippies alike will flock to the place like geese flying south for the winter, and things will be MONEY (pun intended). Just gotta make it through a few more slow weeks before that happens.

Speaking of making it through periods of TIME, I've only got TWO more shifts of work between now and MAYERCRAFT. I can't believe it's already here, but I'm crazy excited. I've been going through things I want to do during the day in Cabo, and I'm trying to decide between snorkeling or an ATV desert "excursion". Too many choices, but I definitely wanna do more than sit on the beach all day...not that that would be bad...hmmm...

Anyway, this time three days from now I'll be on the BOAT getting ready for a lil red carpet treatment and waiting to set sail. Hypeness is in the AIR.

Between now and then, though, work, work, gym, gym, and lots of quality time with a certain Koala, and THAT is something to look forward to on it's own...

Drew.

Twitter-ish Saturday.

The last day of winter brought me 13/16 wins in the first round of the NCAA tourney. The first day of spring brought me only 10/16. Thanks a lot, ACC. Wait to show up to play in March. Ah well, it happens. Still feeling pretty good about my bracket overall.

Speaking of the last day of winter and the first day of spring, hard to believe that's already here! It's basically the end of March, and as usual, New Year's feels like yesterday. We're flying into warm weather and sunny skies, and I LIKE it, but I wouldn't mind having it slow down a little on the way...

Warm weather though. Gotta love it. I guess I'll be feeling that soon. MAYERCRAFT is only 5 days away! Still feel like I've got a LOT to do between now and then, but it's really only a few more shifts of work and I'm THERE. Can't wait to hear some quality music with the backdrop of the ocean...

Work time now, but It's been a good weekend so far. Definitely looking forward to tonight for some live music out on the town and more basketball.

Enjoy the rest of your day,
Drew.

Synchronicity.

Been thinking about employment a lot lately. It's always a fun topic, especially in these times. I'm in no rush to dive into a career (although I obviously want a "real" job in the coming months). I just want to be able to support myself. It has nothing to do with pride, or the fact that I'm living at home. I'm happy with my situation, and I'm thankful for it every day. More than anything, I'm just ready to be able to support myself to the point where I can be out on my own. It really is that time, but with the way things are today, it won't be easy.

I wouldn't say I've been stressing about it necessarily, but it's been in the back of my mind the last few weeks, and especially since I officially finished my resume. Did a lot of thinking about it yesterday too, and I realized that I really am happy with 99% of my life right now. I love the job I DO have now, I love my family and my friends, and I'm with a great girl. That's all I need, honestly, but what I WANT is that last percent. I'm GREEDY for it, and I can SEE it, but I can't reach it yet.

As I brought this whole idea up to a special person in my car, my odometer was right at this reading:


It says "141414" if you can't read it (you know I had to get a pic...). We actually drove around to get it there, but once I talked it out, she put the number and my problems together and said, "See, everything lines up." And it does. I know simple signs like that sound cheesy, but they're cool in their own way.

Things line up around us all the time, and we don't always see it happening, or feel like going through the motions we need to go through to get there, but we DO. I think one of the best feelings in the world is when something lines up for you and catches you so off guard that you don't really see it until you're well down that road and enjoying it. I've had a lot of experience with this over the last few months, and I'm thankful for that every day.

Bottom line is, don't stop moving forward to where you trying to go, but don't miss out on other things on the way. I'll find a job in my career path. I'm a determined guy. Some of you know just HOW determined I can get more than others, and I like to think of that a a good thing. But it's whatever. Things line up. And I like it.

Drew

PS: Carra, things will line up. It's a pain in the ass, but give it time. Love, Your Brother.

March Madness.

Sunday night and MARCH MADNESS IS HERE!

The brackets are out and I'm ready to start making my picks. Don't have time to go into too much detail now, but I'll list a few things before I move on.
-UNDERDOG PICK: VCU. Why? Because my sister goes there and she's a baller at graphic design.
-SLEEPER PICK: FLORIDA STATE. Why? Because Toney Douglas is unreal and they just upset the number one team in the nation. They also wear baller black jerseys.
-FIRST ACC TEAM OUT: CLEMSON. Why? Because they peak in early January every season.
-TEAM THAT GOT SHAFTED FROM THE TOURNEY: AUBURN. Why? War Eagle.
-TEAM MOST LIKELY TO BLOW A HUGE LEAD: ARIZONA STATE: Why? Because Herb Sendak is coach.
-MY NATIONAL CHAMPION: UNC. Why? As much as I hate to say it, Hansbrough isn't going to graduate without one. I don't see it happening. Of course, this definitely depends on the health of Ty Lawson as well, because Bobby Frasor can't make a free throw to save his life.

I'll get back to this again later. Until then, do your research and feel free to pick teams based on their mascots...I've seen that work.

Drew.

ACC Semis.

Watchin' ACC Basketball and drinking a CLSD now. Couldn't stay away from the computer now that I'm back and in the mood for useless typing and writing.

Florida State is playing UNC right now, and I don't think I've ever cheered as hard for the 'Noles as I am right now. It's really not a normal thing, but they're wearing some BALLER black jerseys, and it's been so long that they've done anything in the ACC that I wanna see them succeed. Plus, they're playing Carolina, who gets the red carpet treatment any time they're on the court. (I'm not jaded, I promise. I'm just a State fan.)

These games are always fun to watch, but the downside is that they show the same commercials over and OVER again. Just saw an ad for Red Lobster for the fourth time and I decided that the only good food item they offer is their Cheddar Biscuit, and those are free. Everything else is real average.

Also, Geico, ease up with the advertising. Your only good campaign is the Gecko. The cavemen: LAME. The Money I could be saving by switching to Geico: DRONING. Seriously though, I would totally hang out with that little gecko.

Anyway, I love this time of year. In February we got love in the air, and now that it's March, it's all BASKETBALL. Can't wait to fill out my bracket on Sunday.

For now, Go 'Noles, Go Duke, and watch this if you're bored:



D-pac.

Dodge's in March.

Haven't written in a while. Haven't felt like it. Sometimes I wanna write, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have things to say, sometimes I have nothing to say and I write it anyway. I've got a lot to say today, but I'm not gonna say much...yet.

One thing I'm gonna throw out there is an endorsement for the best/nastiest fried chicken in the world from a little place called "Dodge's" in North Myrtle Beach. You get six wings and two jo-jos (or potato wedges to the uneducated) with a roll and a drink for 5 bucks. "Is it good?" you ask me. Of course. And better yet, it's in a gas station. Nothing says good chicken like fried chicken that's sold with the scent of gasoline in the background. And are you ready for the real kicker?

It's open 24 hours. Oh yeah. So if you want to wake up with a grease hangover, go in after midnight. And if you don't feel like chicken, I definitely recommend the egg rolls or pizza sticks. Mmmmm, mmmm good.




Plenty more to say later and pictures to post from an amazing week with an amazing girl. I'll get to it eventually. For now, here's a preview:




And if you make it down to the area, go to "Dodge's". Don't believe me? Ask my friends.

Drew

clar-i-ty (n): the clearness of thought or style; lucidity.

Sometimes all I've gotta do is listen to this song, and my day turns around.

"And I will pay no mind, won't be worried 'bout no rainy weather..."

E.G.B.A.R.
Drew.

Brain freeze.

Today has been BEAUTIFUL. It was so beautiful, in fact, that I ran OUTSIDE instead of going to the gym. Here's the cool thing about running outside when it's still technically winter: you feel like a champion. I'm telling you, I was to running as John Mayer is to the guitar this afternoon, because it felt like spring. Everybody knows how it is when you run outdoors in the winter. You struggle and you get that coppery blood taste in the back of your throat. Today was like running in the summertime when the sun is out, but cool to the point where there's a constant fan on your face. I liked it.

Speaking of cold, though, I had a painful little experience during an instance of brain freeze yesterday. I got a smoothie after the gym and chugged it a little too fast (couldn't help it, it tasted good). I was driving, and it happened: brain freeze. It's like getting the breath knocked out of you but in your head. You feel like your cranial piece is stuck between two falling rocks while getting drilled at the same time. Not fun, right? As it happened I realized I was holding my head with a crazy-looking grimace on my face, so I started to laugh by myself, and I wondered what other people would have thought if they'd seen me at that moment. It made me laugh harder, and then my brain thawed, so I was happy again. Woohoo.

Gotta love brain freeze, am I right? I rank it up there with lemon juice in papercuts and getting punched in the throat. Throw 'em in a hat and draw one! Maybe not...

Anyway, it's Thursday evening already and I'm chugging along to the weekend which will be full of work as well as my dad's b'day. Hopefully it'll be a good one money-wise, because a week from TODAY I'm headin' down to good ole Cherry Grove with Ms. ADB. Can't WAIT, and I've only got five shifts of work and a resume to get through between now and then. Not bad, right?

New "Office" tonight. And State/Wake. And "Earl". And four weeks 'til Mayercraft. (Yes!).

Peace outside.
Drew

P.S. Remember kids, Freezo the dog says, "Don't drink frozen beverages too fast."

Gastonia.

My grandma is awesome.

I had a few days off so I rolled down to Gastonia today to see and hang out with her. One thing that's great about coming to see her is that it's always relaxing, and when you leave, it's another one of the ways you can hit "reset" on the feeling tired area of your metaphorical personal Nintendo. Hanging out with her is also a great way to hear classic family stories and good advice on important things, like life.

I got to her house around 2 today, and we immediately ventured out to pick up my cousins Chandler and Chase to take them to the dentist. It was great getting to see them for a while, because even though it doesn't happen too often, we're a close family, and I love kickin' it with the cousins.

After this, we got home around 4:15 and sat to talk for a while. We caught up on everything from work to family to what I'm doing the next few weeks, and as I yakked away, I started to realize how tired I was. It used to be that when I was in school, my exhaustion would hit me whenever I'd come home. Now that I'm done and living it home, it hits me when I come to Gastonia. I told her I was going to go lay down for a bit, and she figured she'd do the same. I set my alarm to allow me to sleep for an hour which turned out to be the right thing do to, because I was out as SOON as I hit the pillow. Once it went off, I came back down the hall to find her just as asleep as I was.

She got up a few minutes later and finished making dinner. One major plus of coming to visit her is that the food is ALWAYS amazing. Tonight she cooked her lemon chicken with brown rice and homegrown turnip greens (sorry to make you jealous, Carra), and it was ridiculously good. Along with dinner, she told stories of my grandfather, which is something else I always enjoy.

Since the weather's been crazy-cold lately, it reminded her of the year they got engaged. She talked about this, and how after he proposed, he would come visit her in Chapel Hill as often as he could, because he was living in Winston-Salem at the time. She said that the weather that year was crazy, and that "it seemed like it snowed every Wednesday that March." My grandfather would usually visit on the weekends, and she said that after one major snowstorm she called the bus station to see if they were running trips. They told her they weren't due to the weather, so she figured he wouldn't show that particular weekend. However, my grandfather was a determined and good guy, so even though she didn't expect it, sure enough, he drove himself and showed up at her door for his usual visit. I thought that was pretty cool of him, and it's definitely something I'd like to live up to.

She also talked about the economy, and how even though things are bad now, they'll go up again eventually. Now, obviously this is something we hear a lot, but hearing it from her is that much more credible, because she's been through this situation several times in her almost 92 years. Even though times are hard today, I believe her, and you should to, so breathe a sigh of relief folks. Things will get better.

Anyway, after a helping and a half of amazingness on a plate, we went to the living room and watched a little TV together. Grandma made the good point that there's either nothing on or several things on you want to see at once, and I quickly agreed. Tonight was a channel-surf night until nine when "Heroes" came on, but in the meantime we enjoyed good conversation until she went to bed.

I'm looking forward to sleeping in here tomorrow (she stressed that I sleep as late as I want--what a good host, huh?), and then grabbing lunch with her before I hit the road home in the afternoon, knowing that this is something I definitely want to do again soon.

So for now, goodnight everybody, and sweet dreams.
Drew

Laughter = Coffee.

Woke up relatively early so I could get a good start to the day. Ate my cereal and drank my two cups of coffee (one black) to get my metabolism going for the gym trip I'm about to make.

And then I saw this, and realized that a good laugh that needs to be shared is even BETTER than coffee for waking up in the morning. Check it out:


This could possibly be the most entertaning Mayer cover I've ever seen. He reminds me of Fez from "That 70's Show", and I'm LOVING how much he gets into it. The best of it comes at the end, so if you don't feel like watching the whole video, go to the solo at 2:25 and watch from there...

Hope this started your week off on as much of a high note as mine. Gym time now, Gastonia for the night later.

Drew

Back to the King.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm a huge Stephen King nerd. After a short hiatus from his books (I'm still coming down from my "Dark Tower" high), I've decided to go back and read some more.

Finished "Pet Sematary" tonight, and it was amazing. I was skeptical at first because it started off kind of slow, but as I read, I realized that it was only King developing his characters so that you the reader would grow attached to each one. In doing this, he draws you in and makes you feel like you're a part of the book and the growing problems of each person as things start to fall apart. You also see the characters as they go from normal and happy to completely insane. He takes the best intentions and love of the main character and stirs it up with a twist of evil so tragic that you're left feeling sorry for him and stunned by the plot in the end of the book. Genius.

He's completely taken the ancient Greek tragedy style and thrown it into modern times. To summarize without character names, Father meets an old wise man who shows him a place where things can be brought back to life. Of course, when the things come back, they're not the same, so he's warned not to do it. The little Son dies, leaving the family completely broken, but the Father remembers the burial place. He tries to put things back together, but in doing so, everything else crumbles, and his best intentions leave him worse off than before. Again, genius.

Anyway, if you're looking for a quick read, definitely check it out. I'm stoked to rent the old crappy movie version now, just to see how different it is and if it does any justice to the book.

Next up for me is "Everything's Eventual", a collection of King's short stories. Definitely excited to switch from the novel format and see what he's got up his sleeve...

DS.