And it begins….

Last night marked the beginning of the 2014/15 football season.  Really it was the first night of college football but the NFL starts for real next week.  It is a time of year that I look forward.  I am a football fan and can enjoy a game even when one of my teams are not involved.  One thing I am not though is a football fanatic.  I enjoy but do not obsess over the game.  I prefer to watch a game at home instead of in the stands.  I also like football season because I know autumn is right around the corner.  A cool fall day with a good game on the TV sounds pretty good right now.  I don't think the teams I pull for will be great this year and it is kind of nice to not go into a season with big expectations.  I will be disappointed when they lose but it will not linger very long.  I will be disappointed if my fantasy team has an off year.  Our annual draft if next week and I've already started preparing.  So from now until February there will be football on TV and that is a good thing for the casual fan like me.  I remember blogging the night of the super bowl and it is hard to believe that was seven months ago.  Time does fly by and I'm hoping this autumn will slow down a little and it can be enjoyed.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Monument Valley

I think most people have a bucket list of places they want to visit.  Hawaii and the Grand Canyon are probably common ones, but my must see place is a little different.  It is monument valley park in Utah.  For years I have been fascinated by the landscape in the park.  Of course I've only seen pictures and videos but every time I see one of those spires rising out of the red tinted desert I feel drawn there.  There is that famous scene in Forrest Gump when he decides to "just go running"  Years into his run they show him in the park on a long stretch of road with several of the monuments in the background.  This is the location in the movie where he decides to go home.  I can't remember if this is where interest in the park first started but it sure is a spectacular background for that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKmzmeU5-0

One of these years we will get out there to experience it in person.  While we are we can see a couple other amazing places.  Arches park is an incredible looking place full of many natural rock arches.  Also it is not far from the four corners monument where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico all come together.  It would be cool to be in four states at one time.  Each time I fly to San Francisco I come close to flying over this area but I look forward to the day that I can see it from ground level.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The Commute

Forty miles round trip.  Five days a week for twelve years.  That is my commute from home to work.  Partially on the interstate, partially on country roads, and partially on urban streets.  It is not a bad drive except for when there is an accident on the highway.  On a good day it will take me forty minutes from door to door.  The worst day was well over two hours.  Though my route hasn't changed much over the years the scenery sure has.  Charlotte is expanding outwards and much development has taken place over the years.  I've seen a lot of accidents over the years and have actually been involved in a few.  Three of the four accidents I've been involved in have occurred to or from my way to work.  One was a hit and run which is accompanied by a funny story that I will save for a later day.  When we moved to Charlotte we bought on the north side of town so my wife would be closer to school.  I gladly took on a longer commute to live in a nice neighborhood.  I have no complaints but it is amazing to think I spend about two hours of the eighteen or so that I am awake each day going to or from the office.  I could do it in my sleep but everyday is a new adventure so who knows what I will see tomorrow.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Mingling

This evening I attended a work function in honor of the corporate CFO being in town.  It is events like this that I both look forward to as well as despise.  It consists of an hour and a half of cocktails and finger foods with 100 other accounting and finance professionals.  Sounds like a party right?  Like I said I look forward to these because it does give me a chance to meet people I deal with usually over the phone as well as do some networking with senior leaders.  That is the good.  The bad is that these small talk sessions can be painfully awkward.  Not the small talk as I can talk to anyone about anything but the introductions.  We all wear name tags which helps but like any party small circles of people form and you have to find the way into one of these circles to be able to start mingling.  I usually try to find one person I know and have them bring me in.  The other tough part if when you can tell someone has had enough of talking with you and they look an opportunity to move to the next person.  Truthfully I am probably sick of talking to them as well but it means I need to go find someone else to chat up.  I wouldn't call to night a huge success but it wasn't a swing and miss either.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The Pond

I may have talked briefly about the pond in my back yard in a previous post.  I thought today I would talk about it in a little more in depth.  Though not technically my pond, I've long considered it part of my property.  It is really shared by all the residents who live around it and it is maintained by the homeowners association.  The nice thing about my pond compared to others in the neighborhood is that mine has no obvious public access.  So it really is a hidden treasure.  The pond at one time must have been stocked with fish as it is full of bluegill, bass, and carp.  Aside from the fish the pond has many turtles, frogs, and other aquatic life.  The copious amount of fish attracts many birds with my favorite being the great blue heron. Since the day we've moved in at least one heron shows up to try to catch a fish for a meal.  Herons are majestic birds and I can sit there for a long time watching them stalk their prey. Hawks are also often around and if they have no luck fishing they try to catch the song birds that hang out year round.  The pond is also the winter home three pairs of the ducks.  My favorite is the pair of hooded mergansers.  It is a happy day each winter when they show up as I know they have come from their summer house to winter with us.  They stay a few months and then at the first hint of warm weather they are off for another summer vacation.  I know it won't be long before we move to a new home but it will be very hard to give up my pond.  It is a special place.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Out-Buildings

No not out houses, but out buildings.  I recently wrote about my desire to have land of my own someday.  Of course that land would have to several out buildings.  By definition I would think an out building would be any structure not attached to the primarily home.  When I think of out buildings I think of run down barns or coops on farms that are used to store whatever needs storing. It is fun to drive through the country and see these structures and wonder what they looked like when they were new and what in world could be in them now.  As picker, metal detector, and collector I would love to explore in and around them.  I hope the land I buy someday will have some of these building for me to explore and restore as my vision of my land would have at least one out building that can be lived in.  A getaway or place for friends to stay.  Again maybe someday.

Until tomorrow,

Dave

Friday night lights

I had the opportunity to attend the first football game of the season at my daughter's schools last night.  I am a big football fan and always enjoy watching a game at any level.  We went to a few last year and sadly out team lost in blowout fashion each time.  Last night was different.  Though the level of competition was lower the team played great and had a commanding lead when we left in the third quarter.  The school has a small student base so having enough kids to field a competitive varsity team is an accomplishment in itself.  But I could tell by watching last night that the program has made real strides thanks to good coaching and a large investment in facilities.  I hope they have a successful season and continue to improve.  We will cheer for them whenever we can.  Another thing I took from the game last that is that football games really act at a big social for the fans.  Adults were catching up with their friends that they hadn't seen over the summer.  Kids were chasing each other up and down the hill.  It was a fun experience for everyone.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Land

In past blogs I've talked about wanting to be a collector of antiques and artifacts.  I have been thinking about that lately and instead of having material possessions I think I want to start accumulating land.  I'm not sure where or how much but I think it would be cool to have land in several different parts of the state.  The mountains or foothills are an obvious choice.  Just in case of a zombie apocalypse or some other form of unrest it would be nice to have a place to flee.  A place where I wouldn't have any neighbors and where I could keep my family safe.  A creek and a mountain top would be nice to have as well.  The beach is another option but the North Carolina beach is so overdeveloped and expensive that I really don't think that is an option.  One of my favorite parts of the state is the pee-dee region also called the sand hills.  Few live there and the terrain is mostly marsh and pine forests.  I'm not a hunter but I do like to fish so some place with a fishery would be a good choice for me.  I enjoy watching shows about survival and living off the land so if I ever decide I want to try it I would like to have a place of my own to go.  And when it is time to retire it would be nice to know that we have a place that we can build a nice house and have some real space to enjoy.  As always these are just hopeful ramblings as of right now I don't have the funds to become a land baron, but maybe someday.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Scrapping

I have a new hobby.  It is scrapping…no not scrap booking but the act of finding different types of metal and taking them to the junk yard for money.  The ultimate prize is copper and brass.  After my father-in-law passed I took some of both to the yard and got over a hundred dollars for my mother-in-law.  The scrap yard was the coolest place ever.  I had no idea they took all kinds of junk and actually paid you for it.  I saw everything from cars and BBQ grills to some guy scrapping the wheels off of a bicycle.  Since that day I have be obsessed with finding metal.  Being an accountant I don't deal with much but there is one easy source of metal that I can get my hands on.  Aluminum cans.  On my drive in to work this morning I must have passed 10 cans on the side of the road.  It got me thinking that on Saturday mornings I should drive around looking for cans.  I know I would probably spend $10 on gas to find $0.50 in aluminum but it would be a fun hunt.  If all else fails I can raid the recycle bin in the break room at work.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Ice Water Challenge

It has been fun watching friends, celebrities, and complete strangers take the ice water challenge.  The best part is knowing that with each bucket of water being poured over a head a donation is being made to and ALS related charity.  ALS is a horrific disease that kills slowly and painfully.  A co-worker and friend lost her fight to ALS to three years ago and I'm hopeful all this recent attention will get researchers refocused on finding a cure.  Have I taken the challenge? No, but my daughter did this afternoon.  I will gladly make a donation but have no interest in having a bucket of cold water poured on me.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The Big 100

This is my 100th blog post since it was launched on New Year's Day.  I initially said I would do a post every day this year but if that was the case I would be well over 200 posts at this point.  Life got in the way and I lost my motivation to do daily posts.  However my other resolution for this year is still in place….I still have not eaten a french fry.  I said in my post yesterday that my new motto is "make the most of everyday."  I'm not exactly sure what this means and I hope it will become clearer, but for the time being I think I will try to do something to improve the life of my family each day.  It may be little things or big things.  This is one I really think I can see through the rest of the year and really the rest of my life.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Summer

Today marks the last day of Summer 2014 for my family.  My daughter starts second grade tomorrow and it is back to the routine of early morning wake ups and early bed times.  Homework starts again and life becomes a little more structured.  Doesn't sound fun but in reality I think all of us are ready for this summer to be over.  It had many fun times but I think it will be remembered by the loss of two members of the family.  My father-in-law Bill passed in mid-June after a long and courageous fight with cancer.  Though he had been sick for several years his passing came quite suddenly. It was a difficult time leading up to and following his death but family members rallied and supported one another.  Life if far from normal since Bill passed but life carried on and we took our annual trip to Michigan.  It was a nice time though it went too quickly.  We came back to find the health of our fifteen year old greyhound, Gray had deteriorated.  We made the gut-wrenching decision to put him down.  Gray had been around since before I knew Susan.  He had been a fixture in our lives and he will be missed.  Life is precious and this summer reminder us of that.  Though it is still 2014 I feel a new year starts tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the new year ahead and making the most of every day.  I think that will be my motto for the upcoming year….make the most of every day.

Until tomorrow…...or next month,
Dave