yesterday was Easter. First of all, I dont really like when Easter is this late. Seems like there are two or three Sundays of pseudo Easter Egg Hunts before Easter even gets here...but I also dont like when its early either. Easter should be the first or second weekend in April, right about the time of the first real warm open-your-windows-in-the-house-weekend. But i realize some monks somewhere came up with some algorithm based on the full moon and stuff so the date of Easter gets all jacked up occasionally...

.. Second, I grew up when Easter seemed to be a bigger deal than it is now... seems like there was this long buildup to it in Sunday School with the stories, lessons, etc. and that there was also Charlton Heston on TV at some time... not sure if this happens anymore. And while I certainly like the plastic eggs full of jelly beans, I am kinda limited in how much of that I can have. And it really isnt what I mentally think 0f Easter being about. And similar to Christmas, I know my kids are aware of the religious background of the day, but it is so pushed into the background, it hardly seems to register. Perhaps I need to make sure to project a stronger emphasis on the actual meaning of this, and ANY holidays and make sure that the secular side of the religious holidays, while fun, are not the sole reason of these days...

...because I kinda miss seeing all the Easter dresses and men in their new suits.. oh wait, that isnt the reason for Easter either... but I do kinda miss that too...

..maybe I should get up on Sundays and go to church? I know my son is quietly a religious person on some sorta level. The one book he has ALWAYS read in bed at night has been his "kids" bible, with illustrations. I have mentioned this before, I know. But I see a start contrast in him and his Sister in this regard. He is reading his Bible in bed... she is on her iPod Touch surfin the web... maybe I will get him down to Grandma's this summer for Sunday stuff... we shall see how it works out..



oh... and when we put out the pseudo Easter eggs, I put one on a paper plate and pushed it across some water. I though I-Man might jumpin after it...

weekend o rama

the weekend started off pretty sporty with some yard work... cutting grass, trimming back the "hedges" from the driveway that hang over the cars and blowing off the resulting brush/shrubs/leaves started us off... then we then went over to Greenville and hung out with some friends at a park and the kids played and did the usual kid-at-a-park stuff.... I dont remember these type of parks back in the day, but they are all the rage in this era... and some of the contraptions that are being built are not the old slide and swing set anymore...we then went to some sorta Thunder Yogurt type place that was actually pretty cool, in that you totally built your dessert, including how much of everything (at a price)

I think we have learned the hard way that racoons like cabbage... three cabbage plants sitting out beyond the back deck in front of the creek the other night went from being all leafy and huge to a pitiful short resemblence of a stalk. At first we thought perhaps I-Man had used the swingblade on them, but I didnt see the leaves or any other remnants around. And I-Man isnt that underhanded (yet) to have gotten rid of evidence. So since there has been a racoon sighting here recently, I googled "what likes cabbage?" and all sorts of references to racoons eating all of a gardens worth of cabbage came up... there are also references to a particular type of cabbage that is poisonous to racoons... hmmmm...

in the "well its obvious" class... i think it is oh so interesting to see on facebook, especially within the Frat groups, how entertwined the whole damn shoooting match is in a Six Degrees of Separation kinda feel. I have been fortunate to know several different "groupings" of people come thru the Frat and it surprises me to see people i dont expect to know each other (from different "eras") talk to each other and seemingly know each other from these "groupings"...

On a slightly related note, I have decided to attend National Convention this summer in Colorado Springs.. I am also pondering getting back into the game on a National Level at some point... probably not this year, but in two years...

...and the built this huge ramp to nowhere on I-385 that I drive by every day. It looks like they are getting ready to build a 4th Pyramid of Giza. Except they explained that it is supposed to allow heavy machines easy access to the project... since the ramp leads up to a bridge, I hope that bridge holds up...

OK.. I think I am pretty much aligned with his guy... I have spent to months tring to find a suitable swimsuit for my daughter because... while I certainly understand her sense of independence and individuality, I also want her to understand that if she wants to be treated with respect, she must respect herself as well.... it kinda goes along with this gig with my son, who seems to think it is ok to walk around the house without his shirt on. While certainly within your home in private, things are different, I also subscribe that it is a show of disrespect to the women in the house to be walking around with no shirt on... I never have liked that with guys who do that, be them fat and hairy or greek god built.... I just think it is a show of narcissism to do this.

Oh.. wait, but back to the original link/post... I just think that my daughter should not dress like she is going "to the club" when she is 10 years old and is not about to go to the club anytime soon...

I have been avoiding mentioning the Braves. The have gotten off to a slower than expected start, but not disastrous... several young players are sprinkled thruout the lineup... they will probably be fine... I think the will be going on the tentative docket for short day trip "staycations" this summer... although i think staycations mean you are actually at your home...

I spent last weekend in Athens at the Southeast District Convention. I came away rejuvenated and looking forward to implementing some long range strategic planning.... some of which ties into a project the new chapter Alumni chair is doing... Frat Alumni should go here if they wanna join the new Facebook Group Dedicated to the Kappa Beta Alumni...

lifted this from one of the sites i visit occasionally...

so... i had have of my bonus from work taken from me earlier this year.. 4 figures is what the government took out of my bonus... they take 20 percent every other week... i just had to pay another 4 figures to the government. For what? for them to give to people to who dont pay a dime??? .. can someone tell me how this is even REMOTELY fair? and I will have to get up in the morning and go work to keep paying more taxes... and dont give me that Obama crap about "the fortunate" either...

I am always a little sad after returning from big Frat conventions like SED or National Convention. I spend time there wishing that any of my "peers" were there with me. While I enjoy hanging with the "kids", I kinda start to feel like some sorta old hard up guy who has no life following around 20 year olds. But it is kinda boring just sitting in a hotel room for the entire weekend.... but I am also resigned to the fact that no friends from my "era" want to come with me... perhaps a recurring theme, it seems... I keep wondering as I am driving home from events whether or not I am totally out in left field at times. I am blessed from my Father in Law with tickets for the Darlington Race but I will be hard pressed to find anyone who wants to go with me... I think what confuses me is that I love going to this sorta stuff, but seemingly I am the only person. At the root of my issue at times is that I can always get one of the kids from Clemson to go if I say "FREE!!!" but I dont wanna always do that... plus, I really enjoy being able to have a similar frame of reference. I like being able to talk about my family with someone who kinda knows similar experiences. But it just seems like I spend a lot of time talking to myself at times these days... I guess people just think that the can just know what is up with me by just reading this... I suppose there is some truth in that... Addendum: now, I am not asking for some sorta pit part.. I just wonder why it seems so difficult now...

its kinda like an gut check when you have to go into your twins amazon list and remove stuff that they are now "too old" for... I look at stuff and remember when that was so cool for them... and now they would think that it is for a child. It is the way things keep churning forward, I suppose. One day it is suddenly them singing the words to Dora.."Backpack, Backpack!!!"... now it is being fascinated with The Amazing World of Gumball (yech) or Star Wars, The Clone Wars (actually kinda cool)

One of the things I like about receiving gifts from friends is what that triggers in the future.. for example, whenever I put on this jersey (and I do wear it often, even to this day) I am reminded of Erik and it makes me wonder "what is he doing right now"? or "where is he"? or "I really need to call him and see what is up with him and Pam"... It doesnt matter if it is this, or a soccer jersey from Marseille Olympique or an old frayed Gap Sweashirt hoody it always makes me think of the people who gave it to me. Not so much of the article of clothing, but of them. Which makes me smile...

OK... so I am getting ready to purchase tickets to the All Star Race in Charlotte. I used to be able to get a group of people to go with me but the past couple of years has seen me basically go by myself. Is there anyone reading this who might wanna go with me? If you have never attended a race, this is the one to go to as it is a series of short sprints (i.e, not a bunch or laps, but short segments) and I am even willing to go camp out if anyone is daring enough. We have done it before and had a blast hanging out by a fire chatting... let me know... Or if ya wanna just go for the race, thats cool to. While I have a lot of fun going by myself, I find that it is starting to get a tad saddening that I usually do a lot of this type of stuff by myself...

maybe, I should take a look in the mirror and wonder why that is, huh?

So another weekend comes and goes... I-Man's soccer team continues an upward trend with a 1-1 draw against a league team from Seneca... The weekend also saw Nana and Papa come to town for a day visit...

...Ryles and I-Man have some sorta thing about the creek in our backyard. As in, if the temperature goes above 40 degrees they wanna go play in it... While it is a convenient subsitute for the local pool, it is annoying when they put on swimsuits and ruin them sliding down the rocks. We managed to cut this off today by the water being too cold. But while Ryles was wary, I-Man tried it out...

...the visit from Nana and Papa would not be complete without lunch outside in the pleasant weather. I love where we live. Moderate climate (for the most part) with occasional change ups of extreme cold and hot to keep it interesting... no earthquakes to rattle the local Nuke reactor, tsunamis (none recently) to flood the living room or tornados to "Blooowww the house down" {made of brick, I might add} as a usual worry... Spring Comes early and Fall comes just in time... So we get to enjoy our caty cornered deck (see previously mentioned tsunami) a lot...


I have mentioned before that I have always felt it important for the twins to have quality time with their Grandparents. It was such a nice day out and Ryles and Nana hung out on the hammock by the creek.. at least befoe I-Man came along. But he then got sucked into the creek and got two sets of clothes wet. And these werent even bathing suits... I still see Ryles being the one of our two kids who never strays far from home (or us/family)

... mucho thanks to Papa for the new storm door. I did manage to help install it but I am still somewhat a novice to that sorta thing and it is his experience in being able to do that sorta stuff that makes me grateful. I wont bore you with a picture... it is tall, white and has a sliding glass window that lets air inside. You probably can visualize it...

Next weekend will see SED convention, Jessica @ a teacher sorority thingy and the twins visiting with family.. the it is Spring Break for them...

A year of Pawsitive Experience is winding down for the Frat...this is the 2010-2011 version... this has been a great year and the transition that I have seen over the past year should be complete by the end of next year. While the chapter will cycle back to mostly underclassmen, a positive foundation has been relaid by the outgoing seniors.

Not sure if this will be on the Ladies preference list for what they are lookin' for when sniffin' menfolk...

WOW... Myrtle Beach is Number #1?

so... last soccer season, I-Man was on a team that ended up winning the championship, routing several teams in the process with a team that was ...LOADED.. at least for 8 year olds. This season, he has found himself on a .. err... less experienced team. It suffered from a lack of scoring and while improving dramatically on the defensive end, they had all sorts of issues scoring and did not win a match in the Fall and had not won, despite playing better, this Spring. Saturday saw I-Man's team break thru with a win.. AT LAST. With a new tactic of basically pushing I-Man forward to cut off advances at midfield, and the addition of another offensive minded player, this match saw the team playing against another team similar in talent, and the constant offensive pressure produced a win 3-2 with I-Man scoring a goal as well....

Saturday then saw I-Man off to a birthday party at a Movie theater. A new twist, I thought, with the usual cake, and toys with a movie. I-Man saw Hop, which seems to be some sorta Easter movie of sorts with rabbits or something....

The Twins then went off to Grandma's while Jessica and I met up with some friends at Ruth's Chris. It was by far.. not even close... the BEST STEAK I HAVE EVER HAD... I was impressed. Totally... the steak, the potatoes au gratin.. the Manhatten.. even the apple-tart-a-la-mode-something-or-another were outstanding. Best meal probably I have ever paid for. Did I mention the steak? not even close. The.best.steak.ever. The only thing I might have called a dissapointment was the atmosphere. Not the company we had there with us, but the overall "ambiance" was lacking, if I have to be critical. Which I dont. But I will anyway. Cause I can. But it was fun chatting with friends. But isnt it interesting that even though you make all these plans to have an adult evening/dinner without the kids, all you end up talking about with your friends is your kids and their kids... funny how kids change everything. But I did get to take the classic "City Confidential", "48 Hours", "Dateline" photos...



Sunday saw me picking up the Ryles and I-Man, who had their usual great time with Grandma, Uncle Jerry ( and Bristol )... I still am always stunned at how quiet it is at her house, which is the same house I grew up in/at. I have mentioned it before, but it is soooo quiet there. Peaceful.... but I always think it is benefitial that they get to spend a few hours with the Grandparents, even if it is just hanging out watching TV, etc... much to be learned I feel with these types of interactions



after getting back home, we had dinner out on the back deck, grilling porkchops and sweet potatos, with strawberries, bread and My 102.5 on the radio for dinner. The grill keeps catchin' fire and I suppose I should clean the thing out to keep this from happening again...



... closed the weekend out with a chapter meeting. Also used Ryles metal detector and I think I found the time capsule some Colony and Alpha Class members buried waaaayyyy back in the day. I was about to put in exact coordinates (seven steps from fence pole, in line with tower and and middle light pole)

So.. Ikea then to Phillips Arena last Friday. I was pleasantly surprised by the NBA game. They have really improved the entertainment value, I feel with all sorts of stuff going on during the timeouts... and there were waaayyyy more Celtics fans at the game than Hawks fans. I think we are going to plans a Boys night out for next season and try to get courtside seats ( or something close ) for a game next year and get a several guys to go...

Today, I am heading to the ATL to see my Celtics play the Hawks. I am really looking forward to this as I have NEVER seen my Alltime Second Favorite team (behind the Braves) play live...