I read my local hometown paper, The Statesboro Herald online and found out that my cousin's son (my 2nd cousin, right?) is a successful local race car driver.
A few days later there was an even better article--with video.
Congratulations to Ricky Jr, Ricky Sr, Karen and Paige!
Update: A bit more from Southland Magazine. Ricky races at Screven Motor Speedway.
I spent several extremely hot hours at the Brewhouse Cafe for a chance to join a large contingent of Spainards (my wife and son included) watching the UEFA Cup 2008. Spain defeated Germany in the final 1-0. Why does this deserve a post you ask? It was standing room only as you can see below...
Viva Espana!
A cross post from a Live Journal reply. We got a Wii about a month ago. Well actually Maria won it at school. See we'd already said we weren't going down the new game system road again. Anyway, since then we've played GH3 every night that AJ is home (time off for camp). Of course, I had to buy the flying V guitar for myself... It's a cool way to play with the kids.
So, yesterday morning we bought the Rock Band SE. With drums AND vocals it's the new family favorite and we've have all been playing it constantly. When we all get tired AJ just kicks it up a notch:
Guess it's back to the store for me to get a 4th RB guitar (GH3 doesn't play with RB) and probably a mike stand.
So this is addiction...
Maria and I are at Philips Arena. Chris Daughtry just ended. Bon Jovi's about to begin. Not a bad Thursday night if I do say so myself.
My family back home went to the Vidalia Onion Festival Air Show this weekend. See the rest of the photos here.
Went to Chastain Amphitheater last night to see the incomparable Mr Carlos Santana. It capped a very busy Saturday, more to come on that.
See the whole album here.
We're at Headliners in the Vista area of Columbia. Right now I'm really enjoying a band called Treadmill Trackstar. This quartet has (i) guitar and lead vocalist, (ii) thumping bass, (iii) drums, and (iv) a cellist. What? A cello? Yes, and this band sounds pretty good live.
Update: You can read this article for more information about the band.
Update 2: Photos!
Angelo Gianni………..Vocals/Guitars
Mike Mills…………… Bass
Tony Lee………………Drums
My photo of the cellist Heidi Carey did not come out. Sad!
Weather not withstanding, today has turned out pretty good. More details and photos to follow.
UPDATE:
So we slept in a bit this morning (wonder why?) and then made our way over to the music festival--about 20 steps from the front door of our hotel. The threat of rain did not keep the masses from showing up.
Bradd, me and Wayne offer those not here a toast.
Bradd, Wayne, Lee (covering up "CCCP" on Wayne's shirt) and Matt.
Bradd welcomes Mark!
We also made some new friends Dillon, Jess and Robin (through Wayne). I think Bradd is in every picture...
And also there are the more unusual pictures from the day...
Red helmet, visor and white jump suit? Bet it pays minimum wage.
That stone weighs over 300 pounds (from the Strongman competition).
The bagpipes made their return again this year.
So let me sum it up:
Well it's 12:30 in the morning and we're leaving Delaney's Speakeasy and stopping now at Delaney's Pub. A good start...
Update: We drank and talked and laughed until we were the last people in the whole place.
The fountain was already green at 2:30am in the morning.
FYI: All of these not-so-great photos were with my phone. I left my regular camera back in the room.
Well I must be getting older because it sure doesn't feel like a year since the last St. Patrick's weekend in Columbia. But it is! For those of you new to the site, or with failing memories, here's the day one and day two posts from last year.
This year should prove to be at least as good as last year. Lee, Wayne and I will be heading over that way this afternoon.
I tell you, there's just something great about the circus.
For the last several years my little family has had the privilege of seeing Barnum and Bailey at Philips Arena. Historically we have been guests of a friend and associate with tickets through his company. In fact, it was with my host Aric and his family that I saw the B&B circus for the very first time. This year we moved from an upper suite to seats--no joking-- third row, center ring.
I've always taken some photos of the show but this year they are, if I may humbly say so, better than ever. The total number of shots was over 250 but these represent the best. It creates a story line that really helps highlight the experience.
These are the acrobats from the circus.
 And these are the acrobats we took home after the show. |
| From Barnum and Ba... |
8:45pm on a Friday night. But this isn't any ordinary weekend. No, this is a Hailey birthday/Superbowl weekend extravaganza! Tonight I've already been to the K-1 cheerleader end-of-season party. Fuddruckers may never recover from the chaos that a couple of dozen little girls created.
And folks, that's the warmup.
I fully expect to be up with the sun to either cook or take Hailey a mega-breakfast. It's gonna be french toast or pancakes or waffles or some such. Mmm...
Later in the day will be a gymnastics-themed party with a gym filled with kids. Some of my "dad crew" will be there so it will probably be as great for me as it is for her!
Sunday... Oh, Sunday. Too much to deep-dive into so let's go bullet points:
Let me tell you a little story. It will ramble a bit but bear with me.
A couple of weeks ago I had let Maria know that I wanted my 40th birthday to just come and go. I expressed an interest in a nice dinner out for the 4 of us but no party or big deal. No need to rally the family for the cause. Maria encouraged me to at least take the day off. Nah, it'd be just another day at work in the life of "Papa Goose" (a story for another time).
About a week before my birthday, my life-long friend and suburban Atlanta neighbor Lee wrote to ask for help. On the Friday after my birthday he needed help to pick up a large grill and move it to his house. The email thread amongst his family discussing the details was lengthy. He was reaching out to us locals, like Joey and Wayne, for assistance. I'd just taken several days off over the Christmas and New Year's holiday and did not think it was a good plan to turn around and take the next Friday off too. Plus, I had a vendor coming for a lunch meeting that day. Anyway, as Wayne made a commitment to help, I said I could meet up after work that day.
So Thursday, my actual birthday, comes. I enjoyed a great breakfast and card from the family that morning. At the office I got a nice card signed by everyone in the department. At lunch, Maria came with me to Papi's in Midtown for our monthly Cuban lunch date. During the afternoon I took several birthday calls from my sister, mom and others. That night it turned out that Ash had to work but Maria, Hailey and I went our for a great seafood dinner. All told, it really was a low key, easy day. Nice.
Friday I am back to normal with Hailey and carpool in the morning and work. The vendor I'd been expecting shows up and we step out for a light lunch and to discuss our latest agreement. At around noon I get a call from Maria's principal. She tells me that Maria has fallen on the travertine floor and hurt her knee. It is not terribly bad, she goes on, but Maria needs to go the a local clinic to get checked out. She adds that they cannot take her (some kind of worker's comp issue) and that I need to come pick her up and take her. Can I be there in 30 minutes? Egads...
The vendor I am meeting with accepts the news and we work quickly to get our check and move out. The traffic back to the office is extra bad while I continue to take periodic phone calls from the school checking on my whereabouts. At the office I tell my boss the short of it and leave my desk as is with the intent to come back later after all is taken care of with Maria. The "beautification" (i.e. major construction) project on Peachtree takes a while to navigate. I mean it's Friday, right? Running terribly late I shoot up the highway exiting on the 6 lane that takes me to Maria's school. Guess what? It is down to 1 lane on my side (more construction--thanks Atlanta!) and it takes nearly another 30 minutes to go the last 2-3 miles. Suffice to say between the stress, traffic and worry I am fit to be tied.
I arrive at Maria's school and circumvent their efforts to keep cars out of the bus lane. A locked gate? Ha! A nice lady inquires as I walk into the school as to whether I will be parked there long. Nope, just here to pick up my injured wife who could not get to clinic by any of dozens of teachers and staff I see coming and going. Hold it together, Ashley...
I am met at the door and whisked quickly through the front office and into the clinic. Maria is there, as are many faculty and staff buzzing around like bees at the hive. She is sitting with her leg propped up and loosely bandaged. There is not even any ice on it. Maria tells me it's not as bad as she thought. She adds that these "three guys" looked at it and think it's probably going to be ok. What three guys? She points behind me to Lee, Joey and Wayne who have come into the clinic through a side door. Still stressed and edgy, not really processing it all well, I can only ask, "What are you all doing here??"
Dang, you got me!
L2R: Joey, Maria and Wayne
Maria shows me the camera.
Well it seems that Maria, my friends and the folks at her school had been in collusion behind my back--for weeks. They had taken great lengths to craft elaborate stories and plans all in an attempt to get me my for my 40th birthday. They even roped my boss into it.
Maria proceeds to tell me that I'm a hard person to get one over on. That urging to take Friday off? I wouldn't bite. The email thread about helping move a grill Friday afternoon? Nope. I've fallen and I can't get to the doctor? Well it took far too long for me to get there but I guess that was the ticket. I tell you what, they are some tricky, conniving, sneaky jokers... and I love them all.
There are cheers and hugs and handshakes and happy birthday wishes all around. I take some heat for taking so long to get there but all the stress and worry has washed away. But that ain't all!
Maria goes on to tell me that she has reserved a cabin at Elijah Clark State Park for the weekend. Lee, Joey and Wayne are all here because they have taken the day off, packed up and are ready to speed me away to the lakeside cabin mountains for a guy's weekend--right now. Outside she gives me a packed bag of clothes--bathroom stuff included--and a poker jar. Go and have fun she tells me, completely happy to have orchestrated a successful trip for me. I am the luckiest guy on the planet.
I will work on part 2 of the story soon. In the mean time, and especially for those of you who were in cahoots with all this, please feel encouraged to leave your own comments and perspective.
What a day today. The snow was awesome and it deserved to be captured and shared. I would love to take credit for the video and fun but all the props go to Maria.
The music, "Snow" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a bit loud when viewing the video. Enjoy!
Yesterday my wife sent my friends and me on a guys weekend getaway at Elijah Clark State Park for my birthday. More to come!
First, this is a quick test of blogging from my RSS feeds. Apologies in advance if it looks, well, ugh. Ash wrote on his blog about a fun, supreme time-waster web site called Flash Flash Revolution. Let's see if it came out below:
FlashFlashRevolution: Craze? You be the judge.via saveitlikecasillas.blogspot.com by Ashley Miller on Aug 08, 2007First of all, I would like to apologize that I will sound very "dorky" by writing this entry. That being said, here goes. This site is great for long-time DanceDanceRevolution gamers and anyone interested in giving their fingers a major workout. If you like the mixed, funky, techno music that is always pumpin' in DDR, you'll have a blast movin' your fingers to the trance-like beats. I have an XBOX and I had no idea that there was the 'crazy arcade hall game' available for the console. One of my friends brought the game to my cousin's house and after playing it I said, "I have to have it." I purchased DDR Ultramix 2 for the XBOX and played it avidly for about 2 months. It seemed just a phase. Almost 2 years later, my dad showed me this link to FlashFlashRevolution. This site rekindled the memories of the fun I used to have. So I play this when I am too tired to get up and dance, but still have the joy that comes with any music-based, beat-following, video game.
My, oh my, this is a winner of a time waster. I remember playing the CD version of this game with family and friends. Now it seems that the fun has moved on-line at their web site: You Don't Know Jack. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
Posts
All Comments
