White Christmas?

We lost a lot of snow this past week and have just a few inches on the ground up here in Harbor. However, I'm holding judgement on the weather because it's currently snowing right now and we're supposed to get dumped on sometime soon. One year we came home from downstate and we had to basically swim to our garage.

Last night a few of us went to the Austins house to spend some time with them. I think it was uplifting to them and I was glad we did it. It's important that we remain apart of their lives because we were all close friends with Mike and I'd like to think he'd want us to remain in contact. We went to the bowling alley afterwards last night where I saw my name on the list of shame (as Danny calls it) or the successful finish of the Beer list plaque. Saw a bunch of classmates and other people last night, most of whom I haven't seen in quite awhile.

Another reason we need snow up here is because my friends are coming up on the 27th to board/ski and we need some fresh powder to hold our reputation as a good place to ski.

Well, I was just summoned to work out with Corey at some place he knows about here in Harbor, so I'm off in hopes of turning nothing into something. Have a brilliant Christmas!

Can Smell the Pacific...

Well, we made it official. Last night, Drew and I purchased our tickets for our trip out west this coming April. We are taking the trip during his spring break which runs from April 5th to April 13th. The plan is to leave Flint on Saturday morning early with a flight from Flint to Los Angeles, with a stop at Minneapolis. From there, we have a lot of decisions to make about what we want to do. We should be getting in Los Angeles in the middle of the day and have the rest of Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to kind of do what we want. There are many options that I've been pushing around in my head. We'd really like to get up to Portland and Seattle and visit a couple friends. Our friend Rob lives in Seattle and we'd like to get there to see him. Also, Drew's sister is going to school in Spokane and could probably meet us in Seattle or somewhere closer. We'd have to book it up the coast, but that is kind of what I wanted to do anyways.

Portland is somewhere that I really want to stop. My late friend Mike lived there and I really want to experience some of the same things he did. I was even thinking about visiting the bridge where he passed away... but I'm not sure if that will happen. San Francisco is another city that I hear is awesome and a must-stop, so that will most definitely happen. We may even be able to sneak away for a Giants game - with or without Barry playing. No matter what we choose, we have time to stop and check out different areas. We've got a bunch of leeway.

After we finagle our way up and down the western seaboard, we are to return to Los Angeles for a train trip back east. The train leaves Wednesday afternoon/evening and we should be getting into Chicago Friday night. We should be passing by the Grand Canyon, through Albuquerque and Kansas City and will go through a total of seven states. We didn't get a room because of the price and instead will be sleeping on train seats that recline. Hopefully we don't go too stir crazy, but I think it's not a matter of when, but where (hopefully close to the end). By getting back to Chicago and the Michigan area before the weekend, we allow ourselves some time to decompress and pout about how much we miss the west coast already.

I'm obviously elated about the prospects for this trip and have now taken it upon myself to move the priority in getting my camera fixed several slots up on the importance list. I will be missing a full week of class, but will get everything taken care of way ahead of time. And because we purchased the tickets so far in advance, we saved ourselves a bunch of money. The plane ticket and train ticket were around 140 dinero each. The most expensive cost we're looking at is the rental car plus gas which could be a pretty penny. All the more reason that we got some of the expenses out of the way early.

Here is a link that shows the route of our Amtrak train: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Horizontal_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081442673827&ssid=132

Here is some of the places I'd like to visit:

Portland, Oregon

Big Sur, California

Seattle, Washington

I Am Legend

Not a bad movie. Ending wasn't what I expected, but I wasn't really expecting anything either - does that make any sense? Will Smith was pretty stellar though. And I'm pretty sure that I hope our world never ends up like the movies that Will Smith star in (think Men in Black, Independence Day, and now I am Legend). If your looking to be scared, go see it. If you hate movies that make you jump, go see Alvin and the Chipmunks instead.

So I came home to different photos all of a sudden being showcased in my Slideshow - maybe they change once and awhile. Who knows? Now none of the early nine are there, but the rest are. I'm out of ideas and my body is telling me to put my mind to rest. A battle for another day.

I Give

I give up for the time being fighting with stupid internet programs. I may have to set up a whole different account to get more pictures in my slideshow, but if you want to see all the pictures I have proposed, you can click on the "Flickr" link below the slideshow to the right. I'm sure 9 pictures with me in them is way too many anyways - don't hate me for it. Sometimes you just can't escape.

New Layout

I'm expanding my knowledge when it comes to creativity on this page and it's starting to show. I now have pictures and links on the right side of the page. I'm wrestling with flickr and blogger at the same time in trying to upload and showcase more photos, but at the moment, I'm losing that battle. So for now, you get to cycle through a grand total of nine pictures. I'm going to eat some food and maybe magically when I get back, all my photos will be sideshowing.

I'm also tackling the idea of starting a webpage, but that might be a huge undertaking and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that. Maybe if I'm bored over Christmas break... maybe.

Inspirations

Some come. Some go. Some are engraved in my mind forever. Others come with a vengeance, only to drift away a few days later. They are sometimes people. Other times it's an idea, a concept. Some are larger than life, while others are humble, yet important. If you haven't figured out what I'm talking about (you could have just looked at the title too), I'm writing about the ideas, people, concepts, objects and just about anything else that can be rolled into an inspiration. What is an inspiration to me? It's who I am and what I want to become. Inspirations are deeply important to me and have become more so as I age. I'm going to discuss what some of my first inspirations were and what some of them are today.



Mitch Albom has always been a big inspiration. For a long time, he has epitomized what I have always dreamed about becoming - a journalist. He used to be strictly a sports guy working for the Detroit Free Press, but now has taken on larger endeavors such as writing top-selling books, hosting his own radio show and even making apperances on ESPN's Sunday morning Sports Reporter Show. I am a big fan of his writing style and of his books. Tuesday's with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day are his top-selling books and I look at each in the highest regard. Maybe I'm biased because I've enjoyed his writing for so long. The way his books, articles and demeanor affects others makes me want to pattern my career like his. He is a true inspiration to me.



J.K. Rowling is another inspiration. Her inspiration is more recent and is because of her successful Harry Potter series. The reason she's an inspiration to me (aside from the fact that she's a writer and I love her books) is because she really came out of nowhere. She was sitting in a cafe, just writing every day, trying to raise her child on book grants and she became an overnight success. She has done everything so modestly and graciously and this inspires me.



I'd say another general inspiration for me is sports. It's really provided me with a lot of direction even though much of it I didn't see until recently. In high school, sports provided me with a hobby and as I always said in high school, sports was my "anti-drug." I've never, ever, even for a second really lost my love for sports. It's always been there in my life and it's a comfort for me. Without sports and without the knowledge of sports, I'd probably be a lost individual. I can't see a day in the future when I will wake up and want to look at the stocks before the sports page in the newspaper.


Lastly, my parents have had a very large impact on my life - obviously. They are inspirations for me not only because they are my parents, but because they are strong individuals. They are dedicated, honest and fairly hard-working (haha). They have both had some very unique life experiences and many of these are engraved in my mind and have really shaped who I am today. They are model parents and should be credited with the difficult upbringing of yours truely, among other things. They have supported me everyday of my life and have encouraged me to follow my dreams - which I know can't be said about all parents. Their constant care and encouragement helps me everyday and I'm not sure where I would be without them.


There are several other important inspirations that I'd like to mention, but seeing as it's pushing 1 am and I've been up since 6, I'm going to call it a night and possibly continue this another day. In closing, I'd just like to say that as a baseball fan, I actually feel embarrassed because of the steroids report submitted today and hope that baseball gets all this nonsense cleared up so that America's favorite pastime can continue on in a more positive light. Let's leave all this behind when we enter the new year... please.

Nothing but Time

I find myself once again, starring at a big day of nothing. This seems to be happening much too often recently. This is the second straight day that they have refused my services at work. Ahh, the joys of working at a hospital which is currently trying to cut back on the budget. It'd be nice to find a steady job where I know that I'm actually working, instead of crossing my fingers everytime I call to see whether they have a room for me or not. Oh well. Hopefully I will get a few more shifts before I travel home next week.

I'm going to go on record right now and say that this is the earliest that I have ever had my Christmas shopping done - by far. I remember once year in high school, I was at Walmart at about 7:00 pm Christmas eve, shopping for just about everyone. I almost did it all in one day this year as well. So this is a virtual pat on the back for getting it done early. I even splurged this year and bought wrapping paper, instead of taking all the gifts home and using mom's. Wow.

Update on the west coast trip: we're getting closer to purchasing some tickets that will take us to the Pacific Ocean and back. I'm pretty excited and we've still got about 5 months until this actually takes place. I might have already said this in a previous post, but the plan is to fly from Michigan to one of those coastal California hotspots (San Fran, L.A.) and then do some aimless wandering up and down the coast, even going to Portland and Seattle. Then after we get sick of that (which I'm sure we won't), we'll be traveling by train back to Michigan or somewhere close. If we do it right and get the tickets now, this trip won't be nearly as bad as I once originally thought. Can't wait to see the other side of our country. I'm sure it's going to blow my mind. Just need to get a working camera in the meantime.

White Substance in Air

Well... winter is finally upon us. Today was officially the first day of really doing some work on my car before departing. Always nice spending that extra few minutes every morning removing mother nature's doing. Don't get me wrong though. I'm actually giddy with the sudden snow we have received within the past few days. Three weeks from this moment (or close to that), I'll be sliding down the slopes in Harbor at non-safe speeds. This is also my chance to extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to snowboard/ski for a few days up in Harbor a few days after Christmas. We already seem to have a pretty safe amount of "crazys" coming, so it should be some good, old-fashioned fun.

I'd also like to pat myself and Harry on the back for not even questioning ourselves on keeping the heat off so far this winter. Our last bill was our lowest yet and we're trying to best that one this month. I've lived all winter wrapped in a blanket before and look forward in doing so again this winter. Stubborn, maybe... cheap, probably... stupid, most likey.

Also would like to mention that as of today, I'm officially paying Western money again... I mean, I'm registered for classes next semester. Two communications classes and one journalism class. All this is geared towards another major - which would end up being journalism. We'll see how it goes this semester, but I'd like to think these classes are going to benefit me in the long run.

Watched Pursuit of Happyness tonight. Pretty good movie. Could see why Will Smith was up for an Academy Award. Can't wait for I am Legend.

Detroit Pride!

I've been meaning to write something for awhile, but have either been away or busy. I've started writing something and although I'm not sure it's going to turn into anything, it's a start. I've got a pretty good storyline and basis and it incorporates a lot of personal feelings from the past. We'll see where it goes.

Just like to say that I'm ecstatic about the Tigers trading for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. If I do recall, I predicted this in a blog a few weeks ago and although I didn't think the trade would be this large, it's blowing my mind right now. I'm pretty excited for the season to start and can't wait to see the Tigers at Comerica this year.

I'll try and write a more detailed post in the immediate future, but for now I'm going to sleep before my 6 am wake-up call tomorrow morning.