What a bummer of a July 4th- at least from a weather standpoint. Nothing but on-and-off showers all day. Spent all day cleaning up the house and getting all the food, drinks and decorations ready for the party. Had HBO's "John Adams" playing in the background for much of day. What a great series. I watched it when it debuted a couple of years ago, but I had to see it again. It gives me so much appreciation for what the founding fathers went through to get us out from under Mother Britain's thumb. Took a lot of balls, I tell ya'.
Anyhow, the party turned out fine. Good friends, good food and grog. Plenty of laughs and kids running around... inside, rather than outside. Of course, we crossed our fingers that the weather wouldn't cancel the fireworks. Turns out, we were fortunate that the storm allowed a window of opportunity so that the organizers could fire them off at 9:40. Unfortunately, there was some sort of technical glitch that stopped the fireworks five minutes into the show. After several minutes of confusion, they resumed about 10-12 minutes later. The delay sort of put a damper on the mood and a kink in the flow, but aside from that I think the kids and parents enjoyed the show. Somehow, for the second year in a row, my daughter Grace passed out from exhaustion around 9 and couldn't rally in time to see the show, so I ended up having to record a few minutes, including the finale, on my phone. Not the same, by the way.
Oh, and I may have over-bought on the booze. What can I do with an extra case or 2 of beer? I'm sure I'll think of something. :-0
Well, back to the task of trying to find a job. I actually got a call from the Georgia Department of Labor the other day, saying they're reviewing my unemployment insurance claim. Wanted more details on my resignation in lieu of firing claim. I'm hoping they don't reject it so that I have to appeal. I think I should be able to win that, but it's just one more hoop I'd rather not have to jump through. As the 80's band "Asia" wrote... Only time will tell...
Friday, July 5, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Day of Independence
How does one waste an entire day on shopping for a July 4th party? Pretty easily, apparently. So, WE decided to have a few families over for the 4th to watch the fireworks over at Lenox Square... a small affair by our standards. We made up a list of food, drink and decorations and I went to it. Of course having a little extra time off put that ball entirely in my court, and I had my marching orders.
Stops included Tower liquor store, Sam's Club, Publix, Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Party City! Man was I pooped! Somehow, I managed to squeeze in watching a few minutes of the men's quarterfinals at Wimbeldon. Solid tennis. I'd really love to see Andy Murray take it all, but he's got his work cut out for him. Anyhow, at this point, I'm more worried about this train of storms barreling through Atlanta and the Southeast, which is poised to put a major damper on our festivities. Let's just hope that it's not a downpour during the Peachtree Road Race in the morning. At the very least, it will probably keep the temperature down during the race and make it more comfortable.
Oh well, I got plenty of wine and beer, so we'll be celebrating our great nation's birthday in style.
Watching all of this craziness going on in Egypt really puts a finer point on my appreciation for the Democracy that we celebrate here in the good ole' U.S. of A. We've only been doing it 'our way' for about 237 years and it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we've got it pretty darn good here. We've still got a ways to go before we can truly consider ourselves one of the greatest civilizations in history. We can get there if we just keep talking to each other, and more importantly, listening to each other.
Random, anyone?
Have a great Independence Day and God Bless America!
Stops included Tower liquor store, Sam's Club, Publix, Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Party City! Man was I pooped! Somehow, I managed to squeeze in watching a few minutes of the men's quarterfinals at Wimbeldon. Solid tennis. I'd really love to see Andy Murray take it all, but he's got his work cut out for him. Anyhow, at this point, I'm more worried about this train of storms barreling through Atlanta and the Southeast, which is poised to put a major damper on our festivities. Let's just hope that it's not a downpour during the Peachtree Road Race in the morning. At the very least, it will probably keep the temperature down during the race and make it more comfortable.
Oh well, I got plenty of wine and beer, so we'll be celebrating our great nation's birthday in style.
Watching all of this craziness going on in Egypt really puts a finer point on my appreciation for the Democracy that we celebrate here in the good ole' U.S. of A. We've only been doing it 'our way' for about 237 years and it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we've got it pretty darn good here. We've still got a ways to go before we can truly consider ourselves one of the greatest civilizations in history. We can get there if we just keep talking to each other, and more importantly, listening to each other.
Random, anyone?
Have a great Independence Day and God Bless America!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Reborn... Flip 2.0
Hello out there!
I'm not sure if I should begin my first blog posting with a question... but do I really have ENOUGH to say to actually have my own blog? I know a lot of people with blogs. I have friends who keep them and actually make money off of them. I was actually inspired to start this one when my relatives decided to keep track of their last six months in Malaysia. I thought to myself, "What a great way to keep track of those memories and share them with friends and relatives." It's like a travel diary, just less private. I guess you can still keep a written diary if it's really THAT private, right?
I think now is about as good a time as any to start this sort of thing. I'm at a very interesting and I believe positive juncture in my life. I'm in my early 40's and now have the chance to re-invent myself. A "Flip 2.0", if you will. I just finished up 13 years with a TV station in Atlanta, and after a couple of rough ratings books, I was kindly asked to leave. I call it a negotiated resignation, but I know I would have been shown the door within a couple weeks, just like the dozens or even hundreds of other co-workers I'd seen take the same walk over my time there.
I look at it this way, I've been working since I was 15 years old, so that's nearly 28 years. I will probably be working for another 25 years, so this is the perfect occasion to find something I'm passionate about and that fits my skill set, and prepare to work for the next 10, 15, 20, maybe even 25 years of my life. They say it truly isn't "work" if you love what you're doing, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to win THAT lottery. I'll get to more of that later. I don't want to talk your ear off... yet.
I'm not sure if I should begin my first blog posting with a question... but do I really have ENOUGH to say to actually have my own blog? I know a lot of people with blogs. I have friends who keep them and actually make money off of them. I was actually inspired to start this one when my relatives decided to keep track of their last six months in Malaysia. I thought to myself, "What a great way to keep track of those memories and share them with friends and relatives." It's like a travel diary, just less private. I guess you can still keep a written diary if it's really THAT private, right?
I think now is about as good a time as any to start this sort of thing. I'm at a very interesting and I believe positive juncture in my life. I'm in my early 40's and now have the chance to re-invent myself. A "Flip 2.0", if you will. I just finished up 13 years with a TV station in Atlanta, and after a couple of rough ratings books, I was kindly asked to leave. I call it a negotiated resignation, but I know I would have been shown the door within a couple weeks, just like the dozens or even hundreds of other co-workers I'd seen take the same walk over my time there.
I look at it this way, I've been working since I was 15 years old, so that's nearly 28 years. I will probably be working for another 25 years, so this is the perfect occasion to find something I'm passionate about and that fits my skill set, and prepare to work for the next 10, 15, 20, maybe even 25 years of my life. They say it truly isn't "work" if you love what you're doing, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to win THAT lottery. I'll get to more of that later. I don't want to talk your ear off... yet.
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