october 20

@ 8p | 2 cents...

We went to a Halloween party hosted by one of my co-workers last night... below are some of the photos...

@ 2p | 2 cents...

Hey, nice of me to not update here in over two weeks... We spent the last week in Florida and before that, I just didn't have a lot to report on... so here's a catch-up of our trip.

Thursday, Oct 10
We made the 8 hour trip to Florida just in time to relax for an hour before going to our respective bachelor/ette parties for Mike and Jenny Lynn's wedding. The girls (all 22 of us) went out to dinner at Shell's on St. Pete beach and then went out dancing at a local bar. I was the only one there that didn't know anyone else (except Jenny Lynn, of course). Thankfully, all the girls were nice and I seemed to fit right in by the end of the night.

Friday, Oct 11
We spent most of the day at Ft. DeSoto beach at a BBQ party for Mike and Jenny. Eric took lots of pictures of the beach and birds and we enjoyed walking in the warm water of the Gulf. For dinner, we found a great restaurant we had never been to before, Skidder's. Their pizza made us vow to return on our next visit. The rest of the night was spent on the beach talking and meeting up with other Eckerd folk visiting for the wedding.

Saturday, Oct 12
The weather was nice, so we got up early and decided to play a little tennis before heading off to the 1pm wedding downtown. All the courts were full when we arrived, but an older couple offered to play doubles with us. Much to our dismay, we got our butts kicked by people twice our age, but it was a good workout nonetheless: 6-0, 6-2.

The ceremony was beautiful and long (Catholic) and we took lots of photos which will be posted as part of our Florida vacation pics. After leaving the church, we had 3 hours to kill before the reception started, so we went home and watched the OK/TX and GA/TN football games.

Although we were the last table to be called for the buffet dinner, we had a good time at the reception. We each had a few drinks and danced for a few hours, then called it a night around midnight.

Sunday, Oct 13
Ahhh, well, we went to Sunken Gardens this afternoon and it was not worth the price of admission or the 20-odd mosquito/red ant bites I acquired there. The jury is still out on just how I managed to get 18 bites on my right leg, 6 on my left and 4 on my arms. All I can say is that they still itch. STILL.

Gram treated us to an early dinner at Snapper's on St. Pete beach. Eric enjoyed his spicy pork satay while I chowed on my wasabi crusted seared tuna.

Monday, Oct 14
Today was our open/plan nothing day, so we went rollerblading at Ft. DeSoto and spent some time relaxing in the warm Gulf water. There were seagulls and pelicans diving for fish just feet away from us. Absolute relaxation.

After our showers, we got a late lunch at the Sandbar and then I convinced Eric to play shuffleboard with me. On our way to the courts, we spotted no fewer than 20 ibis just milling around on the seawall by our building. I ran back to get the camera and Eric got pretty close for a few shots before the birds started to look nervous. I beat him handily again and I think he's convinced I sneak off to practice somewhere in Athens. :)

We ended the evening with a romantic dinner at Bertoni's in downtown St. Pete with a half bottle of champagne and a shared dish of red wine/ meat sauce fettucini with porcini mushrooms. yum.

Tuesday, Oct 15
We were on the road by 8am this morning for a Port Authority Tour in Tampa at 9:30am. The sky could have been a little clearer, but Eric still got a few money shots of downtown Tampa and Channelside from the tour boat.

From there we drove to Ybor City and relaxed with a beer sampler and some sandwiches from Barley Hoppers. At this point, it began to rain like a monsoon outside, so after a break, we dashed to the car and made one last stop at the Wine Warehouse before starting our drive home. After crossing the Howard Franklin bridge, the sky opened up and I found myself driving about 40mph and not being able to see anything but the tailights of the cars ahead of me. We got off the highway in downtown St. Pete and shared a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone to unwind.

Wednesday, Oct 16
Eric gave his talk at Eckerd this afternoon on grad school preparation and his current results for his latest paper. We stuck around for a few hours afterward to talk with one of our professors, then bought some ice cream for dinner and relaxed.

Overall, the trip was fun and we enjoyed spending time in such a sunny and beautiful place and visiting with gram. Each visit just makes us want to return sooner the next time. I'll try and have all the photos posted by next week. Now, I bring you the Friday Five...

1. How many TVs do you have in your home? 3: one 32" and two 19"
2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week? Too much, probably... I'd say about 2-3 hours a day including news and our shows.
3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children? In general, no.
4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you're heartbroken? Missing TV shows isn't that drastic for me, but I will plan on staying home on Sunday nights to watch Alias.
5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like? I would spread out all the shows airing on Thursday and Sunday nights throughout the week, so I could watch Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Alias and Will & Grace and CSI. Oh, and lots of West Wing repeats so I could catch up on all I missed while I was watching Felicity instead.

october 1

@ 10a | 2 cents...

This or That Tuesday: on wheels

1. Front or rear wheel drive? Front wheel drive.
2. Car or truck or van? 3-door coupe.
3. Fancy or utilitarian? Fancy - power everything, spoiler & sunroof.
4. Power or manual windows/locks? Power.
5. Small econobox or giant luxo cruiser? Small & sporty.
6. Factory or aftermarket radio? Factory radio, but added 10 disc CD changer in the trunk.
7. Lease or buy? Buy.
8. Perform own maintenance or farm it out? Dealership.
9. Hi-test brand name or cheap-o fuel? 87 octane.
10. Run-it-till-the-wheels-fall-off or a new one every two years? As long as it runs and doesn't cost too much to maintain, keep it.