Happy Birthday JR!!! What an old man...

The family minus Sarah went out for Mexican last night. Claire is getting ready for her new job in the heartland. She's doing Sales in the Healthcare field, and I think it is a good fit for her. She'll most of this year in training, and then go out into the field. She will get a good base salary plus commission, so I think she has the potential to make a lot. Good for her. Without risk, you have little chance for reward. I hope she'll enjoy it. With the travel, and meeting lots of people I think she will.

Sarah will be getting back on Sunday, but will probably wuss out of ANOTHER Peacthree race. Of the three that I've run she has had numbers for all three, but only ran one. She had Bronchitis the other two times. She is not feeling well again this time, but we shall see.

This will be our fourth Peachtree. Too bad Sarah and JR can't make it...

Ikea opened in Atlanta today in Atlantic Station. There were huge lines outside for the opening, and I believe Chrissy went. There are lots of "cheap furniture" shots on an AJC Ikea discussion board if you are interested. I know there are some Ikea fanatics out there. Perhaps I'll have to stop by.

Jarrett Jack went number 22 in the NBA draft, lower than he was hoping. I think he was going to stay in college if he wasn't in the top 20. I still wish he had stayed, and will be curious to see how our young team does this year.

Chrissy and I had a fun evening last night at Kent's new appartment. Carter came over too. We had some food, played a game of Settlers and watched a movie. It was a good night.

A couple of movies I have seen lately...

Philadelphia - I missed this one the first time, but it was pretty good. It is interesting to see how much society has changed perceptions on AIDS in 15 years. Tom Hanks is a great actor.

The Incredibles - I liked this one a lot. The runtime was long for an animated movie, but I enjoyed it. I liked how the whole family used their super powers together. It is great for a nice light, fluffy, feel good film.

I am currently reading The Rainmaker by John Grisham. I am going through all the books on our bookshelf that strike me. This is my first John Grisham - I never read them despite their popularity. Probably because I heard enough lawyer stuff from my dad.

Off to see Kent's new appartment. I haven't seen Kent or Carter in a while, so that should be good!

Seal last night exceeded my very low expecations. I think a concert at Chastain with nice weather will always make for a nice night. He put on a good show, and I recognized three or four of the songs. I didn't recognize the first 5 or so songs, but my chair was angled so I could see a guy dancing hysterically about 10 rows behind us. He knew all the lyrics, and was dancing really enthusiasticly. What made it particularly funny, is that asided from the dancing and lip syncing he looked like a normal guy. He didn't look like an over the top, artistic dancer.

Anyway - Chrissy and I met up with Ben (from work) and his friend at Little Azio's for dinner in Midtown across from the Vortex. It was Pride weekend, so we got to see the rainbow balloons and many gay couples. Chrissy said the two girls should sit together and the the two guys so we could fit in with the crowd. Little Azio's is great for a quick bite. The food was good like the regular Azio's, but you order at the counter and get your food quicker. Try the pasta Telefono with chicken if you get a chance. It is my spicy favorite.

It was good for Chrissy to meet Ben as they had both heard a bunch about each other. The offical purpose of the evening was to take our client and his wife to dinner. Apparently it was his birthday. I know Chrissy would be unhappy if I took her to even a fun business dinner for her birthday, but it didn't bother our client's wife. My client and his wife only knew one song all night, but I think they had a fun time.

Chastain - two thumbs up.

We went to the laser show at Stone Mountain last night with our friends Tom and Megan. For those who haven't been, it is the same show as last year. Chrissy and I also ran five miles around Stone Mountain this morning to get ready for the Peachtree. Only 9 days left! It is too bad that Sarah and JR are backing out...

We went back to Roswell tonight, to enjoy some time with the family. We are going down to Chastain tomorrow night to see Seal. That should be interesting...

So far it has been a busy but good weekend. After grabbing a quick dinner at Chrissy's new favorite, Quizno's, we met up with Randy and Lauren. They invited us up to their parents mountain cabin on Friday night, which is up in North GA. We were all four already going that way because we are doing a rafting trip on the Ocoee river in Tenn. The cabin was built in the 30s, and is rustic but homey. There are three bedrooms, and one bathroom. Lauren's parents were there, so we talked and then played a really long game of Settlers before bed.

Saturday was fun, but of the 50 young tech alumni there I only knew only 7 people counting Chrissy, Randy and Lauren. One person I knew from High School. This was my third time on the Ocoee, and it was pretty good. Our guide was 21, and from UT. He seemed pretty nice, and it was funny hearing about the river guide culture. All talking about which parties were happening where, who liked who, etc. If a guide fell out of his raft, he had to buy beer for the other guides. Funny. It was like being back in school.

We all had a good time, and I didn't even get burned due to some suncreen. I have a serious case of farmer's tan already. It was a good time, and we stopped at Cracker Barrell on the way back, which is always good. It's just hard choosing what to eat there.

All in all, a relaxing day. A good break from the busy week.

Chrissy and I went and saw a taping of the Blue Collar Comedy tour. If you have no idea what that is, think a redneck version of Saturday Night Live. They were doing tapings at the Alliance Theatre, with free tickets. It was taped in Athens last season, but we didn't hear about getting tickets. We just saw this Alliance opportunity in the AJC...

Also, I had lunch yesterday at a great place called Carver's Country Kitchen on Marietta St. It is maybe a mile past the King Plow Shopping Center on the left. A small little house like building with good eats. It is a meat and veggie kind of place. Sweat tea, good desserts and an eclectic crowd. Only open for lunch, fyi. In that area let me also recommend The Real Chow Baby, which is kind of like a Mongolian grill. It's about two blocks from Tacqueria del Sol. It is all you can eat, and you pick out a bunch of different meats and veggies, put it in a bowl with spices and sauces and cook it all together. Both of these places are good recommendations.

Other random note. We got GT vs Auburn tickets (at Auburn). That's pretty cool, and should be a great game. I'm pumped.

The funeral was good. It was generally a positive attitude, because my grandfather had several illnesses. He had told my mom right before heading to South America that he was "ready to go". I saw some family members I hadn't seen in 15 years (from Alaska), and saw some kids I had never seen.

One funny story, we were all at my grandad's house and the parents told the little kids how they used to play in the attic and thought there were monsters up there. They were talking about monsters, so I came up and scared them. They loved it, so I chased them all over the house. They ran into the living room and said, "The monster is coming!!!" My family asked, "Who is the monster?" And the kids said, "It is one of the daddies." I walked in and everyone laughed and looked at Chrissy. It was too much baby talk for her - one of my neighbors was asking when we were going to have a baby this week too. In the next five years, most likely, but not this year.

I am starting to get whatever Chrissy had, and Chrissy is getting better. I am trying Coldeaze, which is homeopathic. Everyone in her family hates homeopathic cures in general, but I think there are some with merits.

We sent out our South America pictures today, so if you haven't gotten them already, email me.

I got my haircut today, and the guy who has done my hair the past two times was gone. He apparently moved back to Atlanta. When I requested him last time I think he thought he was interested. He started rubbing my shoulders, and I realized he was probably gay. I had taken off my wedding ring to mow the lawn earlier that day, so I mentioned my wife at the next convienant point in conversation. I still would have gotten him to cut my hair again, as he does a good job, but if kept trying the shoulder rub I'd have to pass.

I wanted to run today, but didn't feel like it. It had rained briefly so the street was slick. Since I was also starting to feel a little sick I ended up passing. But I need to get ready for the Peachtree. It is only three weeks away!

Thanks for all the comments. I am surprised everyone is still reading despite my sporadic posting.

Last night I found out my mother's father passed away. So my mom's mother died right before Mother's day a few years ago, and now my mother's dad passes away right before Father's day. I don't think my mom even knows yet, because my parents and sisters are still in Peru. I am trying to track them down. I never really understood this grandfather, but neither did most of our family either.

It has been an introspective day. I went for a run by myself (Chrissy has a cold) which I rarely do, and went out and mowed the lawn after two weeks. The neighbors were glad to see it finally mowed after two weeks. They assumed we were on vacation, since our lawn is usually one of the better in the neighborhood.

I flipped on the Tech-Tennesse baseball game both last night, and I think I am a curse to Tech baseball in the playoffs. The winnner of Tech-Tennesse goes to Omaha for the World Series of NCAA baseball. Last year I went when Tech and UGA were paired in the same series, I went and watched live as Tech lost to UGA. Last night Chrissy's mom saw the game on TV and called to say Tech was winning in the 9th inning, so I flipped it on briefly. In the two minutes since she called and when I turned it on Tenn has scored a 2 run home run, and we lost 3-2. Today, I flipped on the game and it was tied 0-0. I watched less than half an inning and Tennesse scored 4 runs. So I am turning it off, and hoping for a comeback.

I think I am going to make plans with my living grandparents to have dinner with them this week...

So it looks like my project in Atlanta will only be another week. I wonder where I will be after that.

Things that I miss about Ecuador and Peru:

• The beautiful scenary - particularly the lush green mountains
• The interesting people you meet - both locals and their story, and the travelers. Most of the travellers who come to these two have been to a variety of places in the world. They have interesting jobs, and interesting stories.
• Having so much fruit. I could order a really cheap glass of fresh squeezed fruit juice at most any meal. It would cost about $1. I would often order several of them. Or the Pineapple (my favorite) that costs $4 in the US, was only $.50 in Ecuador. (Our host said I got ripped off at that price!)

Things I appreciate more about the US:

• Our stability - In Ecuador, the president in December threw out the entire Supreme court, despite their Constitution. In the few weeks before we came, he was thrown out and a new President was put in power.
• Our highway system - a short drive in the US is hours due to the lack of highways, ugh.
• The quality of our houses. Comparing the 90th percentile of rich people in the US and Ecuador, the US house is much nicer.

Anyway - it was a great trip. Also I got my Peachtree number today. Chrissy got a time chip for her fast time! She is in the 10,000s while I am in the 20,000s. Not bad.

I just got back from Peru and Ecuador. It was awesome!!! My single favorite day was Machu Picchu, but I liked Ecuador better overall. Of course it helps having an awesome local host. Our host was my sister's friend, who is apparently really rich. We had three free houses to stay in the cities we visited, and her family had a maid who did our laundry, a cook who cooked us every meal we stayed at their house, and a driver who literally drove us all over the country. (ie. Driving 8 hours to the capital to come pick us up.) It was crazy and awesome.

I did some crazy stuff too. In our jungle visit, I ate live ants, swung through the jungle on a vine like Tarzan, shot a blowgun, etc. We have some fun pictures. I think we are uploading some of them to Snapfish for printing, so I can send out an email to any of you that are interested in seeing them.

Chrissy caught a cold at the end of the trip, so she's a little sick now. But it was a great trip.

I read three books while on the trip (in order):
The Dark Half by Stephen King (thanks Kent - I'll return it now) - this was interesting. I like science fiction, but sometimes I don't enjoy the book because the story keeps getting more and more strange. Maybe I don't suspend my disbelief enough, but I think I just don't enjoy it as much when I can't even fathom it happening.

The Handmaid's Tale (a feminist science fiction book) - it was about a society where women are forced into being impregnated by men who can't have babies for the good of society. The book was interesting, but I was turned off by a quote on the back that said something like "this chilling tale is great, and something our society could very easily become". That's bad when a quote on the back makes me think less of a book.

Lastly, Memoirs of a Geisha (a book of Japan in the 1930-50) I am really fascinated by Japanese society, so I found this maybe the most interesting of the three. It tells the autobiography of a Geisha, but then in the afterward the author says he made it up. It was such a cool story, I was sorry it couldn't have been like he said. Regardless the insights into the society, the WWII effect, and modernization of Japan were interesting.