How To End A TV Show

Tonight was the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. Not my favorite show but one I watched and enjoyed over its nine year run. Was the finale good? It was and did a nice job of tying up loose ends. It was good but it didn't wow me. Sadly most series finales disappoint. You invest years watching a show and you want satisfaction and closure from the last episode. I can think of some real stinkers over the years. Two that come to mind are Seinfeld and Lost. Both were horrible, actually shockingly bad. Thinking of good finales Breaking Bad comes to mind. It was really good but again no wow factor. The Office was another of my favorite shows that actually had a really good finale. Nope, not wow worthy. If I was a TV writer I would start thinking about the finale while writing the pilot. There has to be a good conclusion! Too bad so many classic shows gave up and disappointed their loyal viewers. Not sure if another favorite will end its run before the blog does but if so I will be here to critique it. Also I better start thinking about how to end the blog later this year.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Conscious Uncoupling

Really? Did Gweneth Paltrow really refer to her pending divorce as "Conscious Uncoupling?" In recent years I have found her more and more pretentious. It is a shame since she was a huge part of one of my favorite movies. What is that you ask? Shallow Hall. If you haven't seen you should try to catch it the next time it is on. Not only is Charlotte featured in the film, but it is a great movie. Back to Gwen. It is always sad when parents of young children break up. But she has this way of putting her issues at a higher level than the same issues faced by other "normal" couples. There is a laundry list of quotes attributed to her that illustrate this stuck up attitude. The one that really got me this week was when she said that being an actress mom is harder than being a regular working mother. I mean come on and get a clue. You know what you can afford that most normal working mothers can't? Help. Sure you may work late when working on a film but there is always someone who is paid very well there to care for your kids when you are shooting some lame movie. So take my advice Gweneth and think before you talk. It will really help how the ordinary people who make your career possible view you.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

Real Life

Sorry for the spotty updates over the last week. Real life has gotten in the way and to be honest I've fallen asleep several nights without thinking about posting a blog. I will play catch up this weekend and get back on track. Coming back from vacation is never easy and it just seemed the challenge was magnified this time. It was so nice to get away and forget work, school, and other things but coming home was really tough. Nothing major has happened but I thought I would recap some of the recent current events. The trip was great but way too short. I didn't win the billion dollar NCAA bracket challenge...nobody did. I'm still working on CrossFit and actually can't walk again this morning. My lost wallet was returned and I got a temporary debit card along with access to my bank accounts. Instead of a shirt malfunction I had a pants malfunction last night and blew out of seam on good work pants. The weather continues to be so blah but I think there hints of spring coming in the next week. That's about it.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The Good

I've talked about the bad part of our recent Disney World vacation so now the good. Everything else. It was a great trip from start to finish. The weather was great, the food was incredible, and time with family was wonderful. We are Disney people. We get it and you have to get it to truly have a magical experience with 50,000 of your closest friends. Crowds and Disney go hand in hand and we manage them well. We know when to go, when not to go, and how to get away from the masses when we need a break. Disney is a special place for us. It was one of the first vacations I took with my wife. My daughter has been there five times and she is only six. I wish I had been smart many years and bought into the Disney Vacation Club. It would guarantee us an annual visit to one of our favorite destinations. We're not sure of the next time we will get to Disney but half the fun of a trip there is the planning which starts the minute you get home.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

Thanks for your help!

As I mentioned yesterday I lost my wallet in Disney World last week. It has been found and is being mailed. I should have it later this week. The problem is before it was found I cancelled all of my credit and debit cards. I knew I could go to my bank this week and get a temporary debit card so I could access my accounts. Think again. My drivers license is with my wallet and my bank required a picture ID to get a temporary debit card. Now you would think since I work for the bank where my accounts are that my company issued ID badge with my picture on it would suffice. Guess again. Without my license I cannot get a dime out of my bank accounts. It is my fault for losing it but my bank was so indifferent and unhelpful. I was furious. I went back to my office and called customer service and got the same answer and attitude that I got at the branch. Great way to start the week. My wife gave me some cash to get me through until my wallet arrives but I am still so mad at the company that I love working for. Oh well...I guess I will be more careful with my wallet from now on.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

That was interesting

Sorry for missing a couple days of the blog but I will make those up before the end of the month. We just returned from our trip to Disney World and I will cover parts of it in upcoming blogs but today I will cover what went wrong. I am usually not one to leave things places or lose things. I did it twice on this trip. The first time was on the drive down. I left my work phone at the Holiday Express in Walterboro, SC. After a few minutes of panic I called the hotel and they found it in the room along with my wife's charger. They mailed to our resort in Orlando. Crisis averted and the one hiccup of the trip had come and gone pretty painlessly, right? Wrong. The big one was still to come. Friday night while in the Magic Kingdom I lost my wallet. I realized within a couple hours of doing and quickly cancelled my cards. I knew I had about a one hundred dollars in there but I was more concerned about my license and cards. I went to lost and found the next day and nothing had been turned in. I tried again later in the day and still nothing. I was bummed but didn't want it to ruin the last day of the trip. It didn't and we had a great last day. It was tough leaving Florida without it on Sunday. After we had been on the road for a couple hours I got a call from Disney with the news that it had been found. The cash was there too. Happy ending but I really need to get my act together.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

The curse of the shirt

Two Fridays in a row I have had shirt issues at work. First I was scheduled to meet with the CFO of the division of the bank that I work in. She's is my bosses boss. It was an early meeting and when I got to my desk I took off my coat and noticed a big pink streak across my clean white shirt. This was not good. I realized I must have wash something with it and it faded. I didn't have a choice but to go to the meeting and hope it wasn't noticeable. Well nobody said anything and for the rest of the day I wore my fleece jacket. Then this past Friday I had a meeting with the CEO of my division. So my bosses, bosses, boss. About 30 minutes before the meeting the top button of my shirt went flying. I asked several people if they had a sewing kit. Nobody did. So I went downstairs, bought one, sewed the button, back and got to the meeting on time. Hopefully the next time I meet with a senior leader I won't have any clothing malfunctions.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

The best character is?

This will be a short one but as Disney World approaches it got me thinking about which Disney character is the best. Mickey and Donald are legends. Ariel and Belle are big with a new generation. The characters from Frozen are instant classics. I am going to surprise you with my choice of my current favorite character. Its Doug the dog from Up. He is one cool canine. Is he better than Mickey...no. But that is the good thing about this question. Depending on the day you may get a different answer. Try me tomorrow.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Road Trip

We are preparing for our upcoming trip to Florida. We live about nine hours away from Orlando so we usually drive. I don't mind a nice drive especially when I am looking forward to getting to the destination. I am fortunate to have a family that does very well riding in the car. From the day she was born my daughter has been a great passenger. My wife too does well and is a great navigator. Road trips give me the rare opportunity to eat fast food and junk food. I have a passion for beef jerky that warrants its own blog one of these days but I know I will be consuming some on the upcoming trip. There is not much to see between here and Orlando. The most scenic thing we pass is Jacksonville harbor. Other than that it is road, trees, and swamps. We will probably leave Charlotte in the evening which requires us to stop somewhere for the night. That is always a risky venture since roadside hotels in non-metropolitan areas can been kinda gross. Let's hope for a safe and non-eventful trip. We need this vacation and can't wait to get it started.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

St. Patrick's Day

Another day another reason to drink. I have never been a big fan of St. Patrick's Day. Like New Years it is another excuse for rookies to come out and drink for the sake of drinking. Even in college I don't remember enjoying any of the festivities. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever had a green beer. Am I missing out on something by never hitting the overcrowded and overpriced bars to drink beer? Nah...I have beer at home. I'm sure in every town across the nation people are out tonight consuming way too much. People like to celebrate their supposed Irish heritage and I guess that is OK. Maybe one of these years I will actually go out and get one of those green beers but more than likely one will be it and I'll be anxious to get home. Now I'm in the mood for corned beef.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

One Billion Dollars...

When it was announced a month or so ago that Quicken Loans was going to pay $1 billion to a person who picks a perferct NCAA tournament bracket I though it was a joke. $1 billion is a whole lot of money. Then it was announced that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway was in on the action as well I knew it was real. Am I going to enter? Um...yeah. It is free and I can win $1 billion. I have had mixed experiences in these bracket contests. I either do really well or really bad. This year I am going use my head and my heart when making my picks. I am going to include my team, the Michigan Wolverines, and my father in law's team, UNC in my final four. Both would be semi-long shots to make it. I always choose my team and I want UNC to make it for Bill. He deserves some good. My other two picks are Florida and Arizona because they are the best teams in their regions. I will make a promise if I win the billion dollars. I promise to blog for two years instead of one. It is the least I can do.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

Kiss my ash

I mentioned earlier this week that I was going to rant about the power companies.  It doesn't have to do with the length of time that many customers suffered without power during the recent ice storm.  It has to do with coal ash and their handling of this known pollutant.  I'm am different from most.  I am a proponent of coal fired electricity plants.  Technology is now to the point that burning coal to generate electricity doesn't pollute the air as it once did.  And coal mining is a huge source of jobs for many parts of the country that would suffer without them.  My rant is about the handling of coal ash.  This is the residual coal that remains after it is burnt.  The typical handling of this ash is to put into a pond on the site of the power plant.  Now remember most coal fired plants are on major rivers due to the ease that coal can be transported on the water.  Putting this residue in a pond next to a river is not smart.  Even less smart if how careless the power companies are with this poison.  Recently in southern Virginia a metal pipe under an ash pond corroded and spilled tons of ash into a river.  It leaked for days.  They now say ash is at the bottom of this river for up to 60 miles downstream from where the spill occurred.  This is inexcusable.  Why didn't they have a better plan to dispose of the ash?  To top if all off is the fact that the leader of that company is demanding that customers foot the bill for the clean-up of ash ponds at other sites through increased rates.  Not cool sir.  Admit your mistake and clean up your own mess.  Blatant disregard for people, wildlife, and the environment in the communities where they have an obvious monopoly should be criminal.  Thanks for hearing me out.

Until tomorrow.
Dave

Can't keep them open

I been trying for the past 20 minutes to write a post with no luck.  I've tried several different topics but just can't focus.  Its due to a combination of things.  A long week, early morning work out, and a few beers.  I am beat.  Instead of writing junk I thought I would explain the situation and commit to putting out something really good tomorrow.  And with that I will say good night.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

16

This week marks the 16th anniversary of my move to Charlotte.  I remember it like yesterday the morning I left Delaware.  It was cold and rainy and nine hours later I was in sunny and warm Charlotte.    So much has happened to me since.  Jobs, friends,marriage, fatherhood, and just life in general.  It hasn't been dull.  I feel very fortunate that I made the right decision to move and picked the right place to move to.  I miss things about other places I have lived but Charlotte is the place for me.  I hope the next 16 years are as good as the last have been.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

I'm special

So at the end of my last CrossFit fundamentals class the coach pulled me aside and suggested I work with a personal trainer before joining group classes. That is a nice way of saying you are not good at this and you need to get better or you will be in the way. Did it hurt to be singled out? No, I really am bad. Am I hopeless? Not at all, I've seen real improvement just in three classes. The debilitating soreness has passed and I did a fair job in the last class. So I think I am going to stick with this for a while and see if I can continue to improve. I'll just have to live with the fact that I was different from the others and got put in the special class.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Where is it?

Where is Malaysian Airlines flight MH370? The plane left Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing but stopped communicating and fell off radars just a couple hours into the flight. There has been speculation of terrorism or catastrophic failure. Resources from several nations have searched the waters where they initially thought the plane lost contact. This evening word came that the plane changed course and flew for a while heading away from China. Who knows what happened but more than likely 239 people lost their lives. Very sad but the big question remains. Where is the plane? This is a big planet but with all of today's technology we have to be able to find it to figure out what went wrong and to bring some closure to the families of the victims. I would never make light of a tragedy like this but am I the only one that ever watched LOST? A large plane disappears in the tropics without a trace...kinda creepy right? Speaking of LOST what was up with that ending. Four years later and I am still mad...that show made zero sense. That finale left me saying...."Really?" I invested a lot of time in that show with no resolution. Anyway, let's hope they find the plane soon...I'm anxious to know what happened.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

When it rains....

Well fortunately it only rained here in Charlotte last Friday. Friends and family in the triad and triangle had extended periods of no power. In fact my in laws just got power back this afternoon after losing it on Friday. It could have been worse...at least it wasn't bitterly cold like it tends to be following big ice storms. In December 2002 while living in Raleigh we had a bad ice storm resulting in the loss of power for a couple days. The highlight of that experience was sleeping with a sweatshirt wrapped around my head. Mother Nature can't be stopped sometimes and you can't blame the power companies for the slow response. I think it take a lot of work to turn the lights back on for a quarter million people. They mobilize hundreds of workers and work 24/7. I hope some day the majority and not minority of power lines will be buried and not hanging out there exposed to the weather and underneath limbs. So the power companies react in force to a large scale outage but they have other issues. I blame the power companies for something that has been in the news lately. I will save that rant for later this week.

Until tomorrow

The Oscars

OK so I'm a little late with this one. The Academy Awards where a week ago and obviously all of the winners and losers have long since been announced. I didn't watch. I think the only nominated films I saw were Frozen and The Hunger Games. Neither of those were up for Best Picture. I am vowing to watch all of the films that were nominated for best picture and do my own vote. Last night I watch the first one. Texas Buyers Club. It is hard to say it was enjoyable considering the subject but it was an incredibly well directed and acted film. A little background. It takes place in the mid-80's when the AIDS epidemic was becoming just that...an epidemic. It tells the story of a hetero-sexual man who has AIDS and fights the system to find the optimal treatment for an incurable disease. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were excellent. As a child growing up during the 80's I remember AIDS as being so scary and this film reinforces just how scary it was. I recommend this movie and I'm anxious to see another nominee soon.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

The Game

Tonight the college basketball world has its eyes focused on Durham NC. The reason is the University of North Carolina vs Duke University game. They play at least twice a year and sometimes more due to match-ups in the ACC or NCAA tournaments. I don't care who wins tonight but I always enjoy hearing the different fan bases go back and forth before and after the game. In state rivalries are always a big deal but this one is different. Duke and UNC are always good. Other teams have good years and bad ones and I guess that is true for these two. However more times than not they are both in the top ten nationally and the game has big ramifications. I remember in March of 1998 when I was leaving Charlotte after a trip to find an apartment before my move. Every bar at the airport had huge crowds gathered around the TV's. On the screen was Duke vs North Carolina. That stuck with me and at least twice every year since even though I am not at the airport I know that scene is is repeating itself.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Reboot

I've followed many blogs over the years and eventually the writers all hit a wall. Some carry on and some throw in the towel. I am committed to doing 365 posts this year and though I have a bit of writers block I remain committed. Life continues to be good and relatively quiet. That is the way I like it but it doesn't make for great stories to share. Things don't stay quiet for long and with warmer weather arriving soon I know more adventures will soon occur. I have topics I want to cover but some of them deserve the writer, me, to be totally committed to telling the story right. I am confident that commitment will be back and I look forward to the next 9 plus months.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Is it over yet?

I know I've written about the weather a few times thus far but I have to do it again. We've been teased a couple times over he past month with a 70 degree day or two. On those days you want them to be here for good. Sadly this winter just won't end. Today was a great example. Cloudy, cold, and windy. And tonight it is pouring with the temperature hovering around freezing. Nothing better than taking the trash out in a cold rain. I am so looking forward to our Florida trip. Temps in the 70's and 80's will be so nice. And to go swimming will be a real treat. I know it may rain while we are down there but it won't be a cold rain like tonight. We are less than two weeks away and I hope the time goes by fast. For now I will suck it up and deal with it. Spring in Charlotte isn't far off.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

I've fallen and can't get up

I still can't walk. It is pitiful. How out of shape am I? I wonder how I am going to do another session tomorrow. I think I tried too hard to keep up last night instead of taking it easy since it was my first night. That is all I have for tonight. I hope I wake up tomorrow feeling a little better.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

CrossFit?

Torture is more like it. I am 3 hours removed from my first CrossFit introductory class and I can't move. My legs and shoulders are so sore. The sad thing is it wasn't even a real class. It was more about technique. Primarily how to squat. I was told I squat well for a big guy. That's nice but my thighs feel like jello. I can only imagine what I am going to feel like in the morning. I think I struggled partially because I have a touch of something. Or maybe it was because I haven't done anything physical in months. So am I going to go to the two remaining intro classes? Oh yeah. I want to be good at this. I am a long way from being good at it but I can tell if I dedicate to it and not give up I will be fit before I know it. Dreading the morning but have to keep moving forward.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The bug

There is something lurking around our house.  All three of us have some sort of bug or allergy or something.  I blame the weather.  It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and today the temperature has dropped almost 40 degrees.  It could also be the fact that the trees have started to bloom and the start of pollen season has begun.  Whatever it is it is no fun.  It seems like when one of us gets something we all eventually get it in varying degrees of severity.  This one is a bit different because we all got it at the exact same time.  Let's hope this is our bug for the spring and we get through it quickly.  We need to be rested and healthy for our Florida trip in a couple weeks.  Still waiting for the warm weather to be here for good….looks like we'll be waiting a while.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

CrossFit

In an effort to get in better shape I have signed up for an introductory CrossFit class. I want to see if this is something I can get in to. CrossFit has almost a cult-like following. You either love it or you don't do it. My understanding is there is not really a middle ground. My daughter's friend's parents own a very successful CrossFit gym near our house and that is where I am going to do my class. We have gotten to know the owners and they are incredibly fit but also very nice. I hope I like it and stick with it to support a locally owned small business. I've talked about my fondness for entrepreneurs. I'm not exactly sure what CrossFit is but I do know it is an intense combination of cardio and weight training. I received an e-mail from the gym today that included a waiver. It says very clear that there is a chance that you could over exert to the point of death. Um...I hope this is just something the lawyers made them include. I would hope that my body would say no more long before I near death from exercise. So I will report back on how it goes and if it is for me. Wish me luck.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

On the horizon

I've always thought it was important to have something to look forward to. It helps you navigate through tough times when you know there is some light at the end of the tunnel. That light can be different things to different people but a warm weather vacation after a cold winter is always a winner. This past week be booked a trip to Disney World in Orlando. We are 18 days away from leaving and I cannot wait. Not only is Disney World one of my favorite places but I am so looking forward to getting away with the family. We are Disney pros having visited many times over the year. This trip will be a little different as I think we are going to take our time and follow a plan of seeing what we want to see. Past trips have be a bit manic and though fun, Disney can be an exhausting place. I know as we getting closer I will write more and I hope to do a trip report once we return. I haven't touched on my passion for the Disney parks in the blog yet and this will be a good excuse to start writing about it. So the countdown has begun and that will help me get through a couple more weeks of work.

Until tomorrow,

Dave