Landed in Lisboa, Portugal at 8:20am (3:20am EST). Didn’t really sleep much on the plane due to crappy seats and slight turbulence. After leaving the plane, we took a bus to the main terminal to get our bags. Walked behind an American couple on the way to the customs officer thinking that my wife hadn’t put any deodorant on only to discover that it was the couple in front of us. I made the comment to Annie that it was starting to smell like Portugal as she has told me so many times at home. After getting our passports stamped, we headed to pick up our baggage. Once again, we were hit with another unpleasant scent. This time, it was the smell of urine! Apparently people pee in the airport we thought! Fortunately, our bags were some of the first to arrive on the conveyor belt. Next step: rent our car! We walked past the area where people are waiting for clients, loved ones, etc. No one waiting for us, though. How sad. Waited in line at the car rental kiosk for almost 45 minutes. Only one woman working on a busy Monday morning. We finally got to her and rented our automatica Opel Corsa!

I step in and realize that it’s not completely an automatic. It works like American sports cars where you can shift gears even though it’s an automatic. It also doesn’t have a “Park” position so that threw me off for a minute or two. Next we were on the road. I handled my first European roundabout pretty well. The Garmin put us on our trip to Annie’s grandparents’ house to meet up with her parents and grandfather in the town of Bom Vento (“Good Wind”).

After we unloaded, Annie, her parents and I headed to Foz Do Arelho. There we ate at a little café where I had my first pistal nata which is a little custard tart. Annie and I shared a lemon torta and a galao (coffee with milk and then steamed). Foz Do Arelho is a small beach town typically full of tourists in the summer months. After our treat, we parked in front of a hotel and took photos of the beach. Having never been to the West coast, this was my first experience at a beach with cliffs and mountains. We drove on to a small commercial town called Caldas da Rainha and stopped in a Portuguese grocery store called E.Leclerc which was like a small version of Wal Mart. You could buy everything from a laptop to fresh octopus! After our shopping experience, we bought gas from the same store. I forgot that they measure gas in liters and not gallons. One liter of gas is about $5, so filling up the car cost about $70! And we complain about how much gas costs in the States!

We drove back to Annie’s grandparents’ house and had dinner. We fell asleep not long after. More exploring tomorrow!

Big Decision

If you were to ask me how I've been doing lately, my response would probably be, "I've seen better days." I'm currently unemployed, one of my friends from high school passed away, and my cat, Ally, is sick. The latter is the subject of today's blog post.

I took Ally in to the Vet yesterday after she seemed to be feeling ill. For the past several days, she has not been eating well. After her blood was drawn, I was told that she has kidney disease. They needed to get a urine sample to figure out how bad her kidneys were. Last night, the Vet called and told me that some of her levels were highly elevated. Her recommendation was to keep Ally there for two days on IV fluids as she was dehydrated, and that a Vet would call me tomorrow with more information about Ally.

This morning went by and no call. I finally went to the Vet to visit Ally later this afternoon. After spending about half an hour in a room petting Ally, the Vet came in to talk to me. She is the woman who has been treating our pets for years. She told me more about Ally's condition, and that she basically has severe kidney disease. She told me that one option would be to take her home and administer a subcutaneous IV once or more a day. The problem with this option is the cost of the IV's as well as the phosphorous medication she needs. I was also told that we would not be able to leave her alone for a weekend. She is now a "high maintenance" cat. The other option is the worse case scenario of putting her down. As I have been told, kidney disease is incurable. Her kidneys will eventually fail.

I never thought, even a week ago, that I would be considering whether or not to put Ally down. She seemed so healthy, and there was no indication that something was wrong with her. So much has changed in such a short amount of time, and that's one of the hardest things. Ally is the first pet that I have technically owned. I have never personally had to put a pet down before. This is undoubtedly the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life. God be with me!

What Really Grinds My Gears

So Annie and I have been watching The Biggest Loser pretty much since the beginning of this season, and there has been one thing that has been bothering me. It actually took me several weeks before I first noticed it. One of the contestant’s names is Tara. Her trainer through the whole season has been Jillian Michaels, and she pronounces her name different that anyone else on the show. So I’m wondering . . . how the Hell do you pronounce her name? Has Jillian been saying her name the wrong way the while time?

Why does this grind my gears? I’m not sure. I guess I just don’t like discrepancies. If anyone knows the answer, please enlighten me!

What Grinds My Gears

As the Super Bowl nears, I am reminded of an old and well documented phenomenon in sports known as "the bandwagon." I have noticed this phenomenon lately in the Hampton Roads area. Those who know me know that I have been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan since birth. I admit that I am a fan by family and not by geography. My father grew up 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, so my family and I have grown to root for Pittsburgh teams.

Obviously, Williamsburg is a long way from Pittsburgh. Most of the people around here are Redskins fans with a few Carolina Panthers fans. I see a lot of Cowboys flags and car banners, too. So what's the issue? In the last few years, I have seen more Steelers paraphernalia. Car stickers, flags, clothing, and what-have-you. So why is this? I have a few theories.

My first thought is the bandwagon phenomenon. I have definitely seen an increase in Steelers fans since they won Super Bowl XL. Maybe the increase is because more people became fans after they won the Super Bowl. To disprove this theory, I have not seen more fans for other teams that have won Super Bowls since. Not many Colts fans and no more Pats fans than there were before.

Another possibility is Mike Tomlin. He graduated from Denbigh High School and then from W&M where he played as a wide receiver. In each edition of the Daily Press this week, there's an article about him. Though this is only his second season as the Steelers head coach, he has received a lot of medi attention in the area since. However, can one man really inspire people to start cheering for a team?

This theory was actually brought to me by a co-worker's client's mother. My co-worker told me that they have talked about her being a fan (my co-worker became a fan about a year ago because her ex-bf was a fan and says she still cheers for them because she says they are still fun to watch). The mom said that as the steel mills have closed in Pittsburgh, the families have moved into the Hampton Roads area. I think this probably makes the most sense. A few years ago when Steelers games weren't broadcast locally, my parents and I would go to a bar where there a large group of Steelers fans already there.

My last theory is a psychological one. I'm sure there is a name for this phenomenon but I don't feel like looking through my old psych. texts. I have found that when you are really interested in something, you are more likely to notice it. For example, there was a time where I really wanted a VW Passat. I would see them everywhere! I relaized there weren't actually more Passats on the road. I was just more observant of them because I really liked them. So if that is true, then it would make sense that it appears that there are more Steelers fans in the area.

People become fans for many different. Maybe they or a family member went to a particular university. Or someone has lived in a city or close to a city that had a professional sports team. Regardless of the reason, people are proud to show their support for their favorite team. And some people choose to become of a fan because their team is "the best" or "most popular" at the time. So is this why there are more Steelers fans in Hampton Roads? I don't know. I'll tell you in a few years when they aren't as successful as they have been this year.

Almost there . . .

Holy crap! Almost a whole year since my last post. Clearly I've been too busy to blog since then, but I managed to find a few minutes today. I'm getting married in less than a month. Yeah . . . it's happening! What's left to do? Groomsmen gifts, the consultation with the DJ, picking up tuxes, bachelor party, etc. And that's just what I have to do. Annie and I will be working on putting our slideshow together for the rehearsal dinner and then tidying up all the loose ends.

All in all, I'm feeling really good about the way things are going. I have to expect that some things will not go according to plan, and that things will happen that are out of our control. That's just how things go sometimes. My goal is to stay as centered as possible. Things will happen as they were meant to happen. Just have to remind myself that sometimes.

For anyone reading this that is coming to our wedding, we're really looking forward to seeing you! And for anyone else, we'll be waiting for you response cards!

They have a 7' 7" center? Size matters not!

This is a clip from the UNC vs. UNC-Asheville game from last night. First of all, notice Kenny George for UNC-A as he comes out onto the floor. He's the 7' 7" guy, you can't miss him! Tyler's dunk is just sick! That's why they call him Psycho T! Enjoy!

Adios, 2007

I know that it has been quite a while since I posted anything but I figured I would create a new post when something exciting happened. And then something exciting DID happen, and I became overwhelmed with life. What I want to do is basically just sum up this past year for me.

The most exciting news is that I am finally engaged! To a woman! A real woman! I know that some people were starting to wonder about me and when I would finally settle down (mostly, my parents). It took me a little longer than I had expected, but it was worth the wait and worth being picky! For those of you who don't know, I am engaged to a wonderful, amazing woman that I met in 2006. People typically like to ask this question: How did you know that she was the one? My answer is too complicated to type here but to put it simply, she lets me be me and loves me all the more for it. Okay, that wasn't very simple. Right from the beginning, I felt comfortable being myself around her. She did not make me feel self-conscious. We are both dorks, and it's even worse when we're together. But that's okay. If that answer doesn't work for some, I can look into her eyes and know that this is the persont that I want to spend the rest of my life with. The wedding planning is under way. It's taking place here in Williamsburg in early Fall. The details are a little fuzzy at this point, but we're working them out. Needless to say, I'm happier than I have ever been!

The other big news of 2007 for me was buying my first house (well, half of a duplex but it looks like a house). I began my search for a new domicile back in March or so. I learned a lot from the experience, mostly that homes in Williamsburg are friggin' expensive! My search moved towards Newport News which is where we are currently living. It's a straight shot to and from work for me which is a plus. Unfortunately, Annie has a further commute to and from work. I have been living there for a little over 7 months now, and I still love it as much as I did when I closed. I'm finally becoming an adult!

This new year promises to be an exciting and interesting for me as roles will change. I look forward to being a husband and to having a wife. As I type those words, it still seems hard for me to believe it! I'm getting married! To quote Louis Skolnick from Revenge of the Nerds, "This is going to be a great year!"