Monday Monday 7.8.2008

Monday Monday,

As of a week ago last Saturday, we have a roommate living with us in South Carolina. Scotty Lacombe moved in with us and is now taking up the space that once was my gaming room. We've decided that the financial reward of having a roommate offsets the inability to have a room totally dedicated to being a Geek.

Happy Fourth of July! We celebrated our nation's independence by going out and enjoying America's Game. Scotty, Dusty, Maggie, and I all went to the Bank of America Skyshow at Knights Stadium. The game started at 7 with fireworks afterward, but the day's festivities actually began around 3:00PM as we showed up with a trunk full of Tailgating goodies! The game featured our own Charlotte Knights (AAA Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) taking on the Durham Bulls (AAA Affiliate of Tampa Bay Rays). Charlotte squeaked out a victory in the bottom of the ninth, so it made for a happy crowd.

On the subject of American Independence, one of the more rewarding things that I have done over the past month or two has been reading the John Adams novel by David McCullough and watching the Seven Part Tom Hanks directed HBO Mini Series based on the novel. I found the story historically enlightening and intriguing. Aside from being our second President, John Adams also played a huge role in the decision of our country to unite in rebellion and revolution against the British Monarchy. Along with telling the story of America's revolution and the founding fathers, the novel also brought to life one of the most romantic and interesting relationships of the period. Keeping in mind that the rights of women were barely more than those of slaves, the brilliant story of Abigail Adams and her husband John put a very humane twist on the country's founding. If you can't stomach reading a 700 page book, I recommend the mini-series as one of your most enjoyable American History Lessons.

On the subject of politics, when will this election ever truly get underway? Obama announced that he will give his convention speech in Mile High Stadium in front of approximately 75,000 people. I'm not sure that the super bowl could bring that many fans. Either way, I've decided that I am surprisingly liberal for this upcoming election. It would have been much harder to win my vote if we weren't coming off the heels of the George Bush era. The other problem is I don't like John McCain and I do like Barack Obama. Why can't we have an election where I like both candidates?

I'm going to see the Brad Paisley and Jewel concert in a few weeks at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte. I haven't been to a concert since I saw Billy Joel about a year ago, so this should be a good time. If the charlotte weather doesn't break than going to outdoor concert will be a very nice evening out!

On a completely separate note, I am making my return to the traveling world today. After spending about 1 month working from home, I am heading straight back to Annapolis, MD to work on NAVY ERP. Seeing that the month of June was primarily spent at home, the next few months will feature such exciting trips as California, New York City, Michigan, and of course house number 2 in Pennsylvania.

Hope Everyone Has A Great Week!

Ryan