New Year's Resolution...or Not?

For my 2010 New Year's Resolution I am thinking about a fairly simple one, yet one that sounds somewhat selfish without explanation - to be more self centered when it comes to protecting my time than I have been in the past.
We will always have obligations that are important for sure, but they work two ways; therefore, beginning January 1, 2010, my time is priority number one. Certainly I will share some of it with others, however I expect them to do the same and that includes leaving their own comfort zones once in a while just as we often leave ours.
So, beginning this New Year's, I am officially on the me train. It has plenty of room for anyone willing to reach out and grab their own ticket!

Christmas is Coming - Right?

Here we are in Virginia, getting ready for Christmas and some tripping around the Carolinas. Surf City first, then back to Virginia for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then on to SC for New Years in Boiling Springs.
Shopping is done and hopefully shipping will be done soon as well. It's been a tough time for me, selecting gifts for people without breaking the bank and for Pat who did all the wrapping - she's a real Vanilla Ice. We got the gifts selected but I think the bank got broken. Time to replenish I guess.
Nothing else much going on - it's raining here and cold but not icy thank goodness. Soon it's off to a Christmas party/lunch combination - should be fun. We'll talk later - this season seems to be filled with things to think and write about.....least of all, a particular Grinch who tried to steal one little girl's Christmas - Bah, Humbug asshole.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho it's off to work I go!

What am I thinking? heading to DC to meet with DHS and at rush hour at that. I must be crazy since I am sort of retired. We will see how long this goes on. I never thought I would actually get any work out of my newly formed company. Humph!

Rain is a pain!

It's been raining for several days both at Topsail Island and in VA. Seems we're finally beginning to see some hints of Winter - ugh!
We had a great time at the beach this past Friday - Wednesday. The weather was nice until Tuesday - nice enough to have an outside seafood boil and invite the neighbors. Good thing we have a very big pot since we probably cooked 40 pounds of stuff that night and every bit got gone except about one pound of shrimp which was turned into shrimp salad the next day.
We're back in VA for a while but already planning our next ride South so here's hoping the weather cooperates.

Bored in Virginia

It's boring around here these days. Patti is in SC, I am in VA, can't go to NC due to classes I have to teach. The next two weeks are pretty much filled with things to do and appointments to keep so we'll be sticking around here for a while longer.
So, today I am being my boring self with nothing special to mention....maybe the weekend will hold some ideas.

What's a retiree to do?

Well, actually that's a partial retiree since school and Q Systems are still alive and kicking. Anyway, I know what I am going to do Wednesday - go to Surf City NC for a week. We picked apples this weekend and now Patti is busy making apple sauce. Looks good too but where will we put all of it?
Staying busy without spending money or eating is proving to be a challenge both to my imagination and energy. One can only ride a bike for so long. Oh well, it's a good problem to have I suppose so I will live with it.

Blog Not Lately

But we've been busy. Spent lots of time in Surf City, returned to VA while Pat went to SC for a family visit. Back in VA - Internet was down, phones are noisy, etc. Teaching class tonight at Andrews AFB and then back to NC by myself for a while. Here's hoping for good weather for the rest of the week.

We're not at Surf City!

Had to come back to VA for a while to teach a class, attend a lunch, teach another class. It's raining today and was a bust anyway since we spent almost 6 hours driving to a German Deli (or two), getting some picnic stuff, having the picnic, and coming back home. Soon, it's back to Topsail but for now, boredom on a rainy Saturday in Virginia.

BlogOMania

What a week.  Lynn, Mark, and Sara are here and it’s been fun.  We’re doing all sorts of things,  none especially remarkable but all entertaining.  Mark got a new laptop and is geeking the days away or perhaps I should say “Blue Grassing on the Web”.  We’re cruising on the Belle of Topsail tomorrow evening so hopefully the weather will  cooperate.   So far, it’s been mixed with pretty good amounts of sun, interspersed with a little rain and wind but not too bad. After next week, I am afraid that my time here will become very limited for a while.  Too bad but maybe I can figure something out.  J and B are coming mid September but I doubt I’ll be here since there’s work to be done in the DC/VA areas once again.

Later,

Brad

 

Rainy Day Departure!

It’s raining like crazy here in Surf City North Carolina and naturally, we’re leaving sometime this morning for Virginia. I suspect this weather has settled in for a while, maybe two days or so. It’s after 9 AM and nobody but me is stirring so that means a late, very late getaway. It doesn’t matter since the garbage man hasn’t picked up the trash and I don’t want to leave until I can return the container to under the house. Hopefully, the guy will be coming down our side of the street soon. Surf City is fast becoming Trash City based on all the overflowing containers lining the streets. The town went to one vs. two day per week garbage pickup, without requiring larger rental houses to add containers, so we’re starting to see the result – trash all over the place and probably a growing rat population. Something has to give – I’ve suggested fines against homeowners who don’t provide sufficient containers and who fail to return them to the house after pickup day. Nobody in the town government seems willing to do anything to resolve the problem. Maybe I should offer my help. I could ask the state health department for assistance or perhaps get some beneficial publicity from the regional news media. We’ll see! In the meantime, the Ocean is there and looking a bit bleak right now since it’s raining so hard. We’ll be back soon.