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.