(or the end of the nomad days)

On November 29, 2013, my parents, D, and I got into a Penske truck at 5 am and drove from Florida to North Carolina with everything we owned.  The drive was long and horrifically non-scenic.  So much so, that South of the Border was a real feast for the eyes.

But that was just the beginning.  Due to a "miscommunication" on my part (read:  not checking the hours of operation) it turned out that we had to unload the truck upon our arrival in NC.  Which was every bit as thrilling as it sounds.  Imagine, four exhausted adults (and one shivering chihuahua) trying to move 100+ boxes and tons of furniture in the dark (we plugged away until 9 pm) and cold (no joke, it was 32 degrees while we were doing all this).  Clearly, this made for a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend.

Once unpacked, we then had the thrill of putting things away.  Further complicating the process was the fact that I am crazy with the OCD.  As in "counting all the silverware to make sure we have complete sets" crazy.  As in "my clothes can only hang on white hangers" crazy.  As in I *might* have rearranged the linen closet three times to make sure everything was "just so."  D is a saint for even trying to put things away since I basically followed him rearranging everything he tried to do.

After about twelve days of unpacking (giving a whole new meaning to the twelve days of Christmas - this year, at least), I think we're just about settled in.  I think twelve days is somewhat of an accomplishment especially considering my parents last moved TEN years ago and still have several boxes in the garage that remain unpacked, a mystery in what they contain.

During our unpacking process I did make several observations:

1. We have way too much stuff generally.  We ended up in a 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom and almost tripled our square footage.  On paper, you'd imagine that we have a ton of extra space.  And you'd be wrong.  I cannot fathom how all this stuff fit in a 1 bedroom/1.5 bathroom for so long.
2. We have too many glasses.  We have something like 15-20 pint glasses.  In addition to our beer glasses, wine glasses, champagne flutes, margarita glasses, rocks glasses, and something like 30 coffee mugs.  I can't even begin to explain why two people need so much variety in their glassware.
   
3. We have way too many clothes.  No, really. We've both commandeered the extra bedroom closets to accommodate all of our clothing.  And while D's clothing is arguably acceptable (a variety of suits and button downs mixed in with casual and workout clothes), the bulk of my clothing is shamefully made up of workout gear.  Somehow, I've accumulated 25 pairs of running shorts.
4. And most shamefully of all - I apparently am a hotel toiletry sample hoarder.
   

Moral of the story?  We need no gifts for Christmas...or for any gift-giving occasion in the foreseeable future.



At least we were able to get our Christmas tree up...

(or this is the beginning of the end)

It's official.  I finished my MBA program courtesy of this past weekend's immersion in Chicago.  It was my first time in Chi-town and I had a blast!

Chicago, Illinois
June 13-16, 2013

Immersion weekends are beasts.  Little sleep, much learning, and even more cavorting make for a long weekend that's worth every moment of sleeplessness.

I arrived in Chicago early enough to catch Thursday afternoon's Cubs game with some classmates.  It was a great time (despite my lack of interest in baseball).  The rest of the weekend went by in a blur.  Some highlights:  Friday night's show at Second City; seeing my high school friend, Carianne; singing karaoke (very poorly); the Dynamics of Personal Leadership Values lecture; Millennium Park and Museum Campus; staying up all night Saturday night; and sleepily volunteering for Stop Hunger Now.

Though I'm happy to see most of my classmates in a month for graduation, I'm also sad because I know that once the program is over, we'll see each other much less.

...And now, to sleep...

Yesterday, 5/25, we got married in an intimate ten-person wedding in Barcelona, Spain.

Our ceremony took place at the Eglesia Santa Anna, we walked through the Gothic Quarter snapping photos with our guests (and some strangers), and ended with a rooftop dinner at the Duquesa de Cardona followed by dancing until 5 am.

We were surrounded by close friends and family, and enjoyed every second of it.  All in all, the perfect day to end an amazing trip!

A quick update on our trip so far...

Barcelona, Montserrat, Sitges, & Girona, Spain
May 17-27, 2013

Barcelona:  We arrived Saturday, May 18 and immediately headed over to Camp Nou.  I'm a huge FC Barcelona fan, so going on the stadium tour was a real treat.  There's also a small museum within the stadium which mostly serves to house the innumerable trophies the club has won.  That night was our first taste of tapas at Tapas24 - patatas bravas, small fried fish, and sangria.

Montserrat:  On Sunday, we headed an hour and a half out of town to Montserrat.  I had previously been to Montserrat when I studied in Barcelona during law school.  It was just as picturesque as I remember.  We spent the full day there, watching the traditional dancing and hiking to the various parts of the monastery.  Dinner was tapas again at a wonderful restaurant, Cerveceria Catalana (no website available).  We had patatas bravas (again), grilled asparagus, pulpo, and sangria.

Barri Gotic:  Monday it rained early on (a rarity) so we stayed close to our apartment and walked around the Gothic Quarter.  We went into the Cathedral (and several smaller churches) as well as walking along la Gamba de Mariscal.  It was a relaxing day ending in tapas (why yes, there is a pattern - tapas every night!).

Sitges:  On Tuesday, we took the train an hour south to Sitges.  Sitges is a relatively sleepy (during the day) beach town with a lovely church and great Mediterranean views.  We spent a few hours walking around.  Little did we know that Bacardi rum has its roots in Sitges - the Bacardi family came from Sitges and developed the idea for a rum distillery in the town.

Girona:  Wednesday took us the farthest away from Barcelona we would go - Girona.  A thoroughly medieval town, it looks more like an Italian town than your typical beach town in Spain.  The narrow alleys and bridges crossing the town's river have helped earn it the nickname "Venice of Spain." 

Gaudi's Barcelona:  Yesterday we headed out of the Gothic Quarter and explored Gaudi's impact on Barcelona in the guise of Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia.  I last visited the Sagrada Familia in 2004 - the nine intervening years have changed the cathedral significantly.  Last time, the interior was covered in scaffolding and no stained glass had been installed.  This time, the interior was all but completed - the size was impressive.  Words truly cannot do the Sagrada Familia justice.

We have just a few more days left -- excited to see what else is in store!

(or how I'll fit right in)

In less than two weeks, I leave for Spain!  We planned this trip as a graduation trip (even though it's happening before graduation).  We fly into Barcelona and will stay there for ten days (with some day trips planned).

Excited doesn't even begin to cover it.

(or trying to maximize our remaining time in Florida, part deux)

I must admit, sites like Groupon and LivingSocial give me reason to go places to which I would otherwise not think of going.  Enter Schnebly Winery.  I knew such a place existed.  In fact, I knew such a place existed about an hour away from me.  And I like wine to boot.  But I never had the occasion to make the trek down to Homestead and visit.  Until I bought a Groupon for the place.

Schnebly Winery, Homestead, Florida
March 16, 2013

Our visit included a tour of the distillery and grounds, as well as a tasting.  The tour guide (who is in the Schebly family) was...enthusiastic to say the very least.  The winery has an interesting history.  While I wouldn't redo the tour on a subsequent visit, it was interesting enough the first time around.

The wine tasting included six wines.  All wines are made from local fruits (think lychee, mango, passion fruit) and were tasty enough, though trending on the (very) sweet side.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any lychee wine due to a poor season for cropping.  We did walk away with a bottle of the guava wine.  The visit was a bit of a hike, but generally a nice way to spend a low-key Saturday afternoon.

(or how I really like seeing my friends)

One of the (few) problems with my friends is that we live very far apart.  As in, most of them live on the West Coast and here I am, on the East Coast.  We try to remedy the situation by visiting each other, and earlier this month I headed to San Francisco precisely to see Kelly and Jay (and celebrate Jay's birthday).

San Francisco, California
February 8-11, 2013

The focus of this trip was just hanging out.  Having been two San Fran two other times recently (and having hit the usual tourist-type spots on those trips), this trip was just about spending time together.  We went out for Jay's birthday on Saturday night, and did some light walking in the Presidio on Sunday.  Every time I see these guys, I realize how lucky I was to meet them over 10 years ago and how hard we've all worked to keep the friendships going - despite living so far apart.

(or trying to maximize our remaining time in Florida)

Ever since we decided to relocate out of Florida, I've been preoccupied with trying to see as much of the Sunshine State together as possible.  To that end, last year we visited the West Coast...of Florida.  Which is completely unlike the actual West Coast.

West Coast Weekend: St. Petersburg, Tampa/Ybor City, Bradenton, Sarasota, & Fort Myers, Florida
June 14-17, 2012

St. Petersburg:  Our main purpose in visiting St. Petersburg was to go to the Dali Museum.  I am a HUGE Dali fan, and had not visited the museum since its relocation in 2011.  We spent half a day viewing the collection including The Hallucinogenic Toreador and The Discovery of America By Christopher Columbus (two of my favorites).

Tampa/Ybor City:  Neither one of us had been to Tampa since taking the Florida Bar Exam.  Our afternoon in Tampa was spent visiting the University of Tampa (formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel built by Henry B. Plant)* and riding the trolley between Tampa and Ybor City.  It started to rain (no surprise) so we ducked into the Tampa Bay Brewing Company to watch the Euro 2012 games and have a snack.

Bradenton:  The sole reason for stopping in Bradenton was to get a stamp in my Passport to the National Parks at the De Soto National Memorial.  The Memorial is where Conquistador Hernando de Soto allegedly made landfall in May 1539.  The visit was short, but did include great views of Tampa Bay.

Sarasota:  We spent the most time in Sarasota, at the Ringling Museum.  The Museum is actually a complex that includes a Circus Museum, Bayfront Gardens, Museum of Art, and Ca' D'Zan.  Overall, I'd say the museums are worth the price of admission.

Fort Myers:  Our last stop on the West Coast was Fort Myers.  We visited the Edison & Ford Winter Estates which provided the opportunity to explore Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's winter estates.  Who knew that Edison and Ford were good friends who had neighboring winter estates?

I enjoyed our trip to the West Coast of Florida.  Prior to our trip, I had spent little time exploring the area and had not gone into any of the 

*Henry B. Plant and Henry M. Flagler famously had a big feud for the railroadization (new word!) of Florida.

(or how I'm really a twelve-year old)

This past weekend, my parents and I went to Disney!  Yes, I'm 31.  No, I don't have children.

The following statement may be controversial:  I enjoy hanging out with my parents.  They are seriously cool.  Like "I'm happy we're friends" cool.  This trip reinforced for me what a great time we have together.

We arrived Friday evening and headed right to Downtown Disney for dinner and drinks.  We enjoyed our time together mostly by teasing each other mercilessly.  That's how we show love in my family.

We spent all day Saturday at Hollywood Studios (which we still refer to as MGM).  It had been years since we went to MGM - I was literally twelve last time we were at MGM together.  Which meant neither my mother nor my father had experienced the Aerosmith roller coaster.  Now my mom is not one for roller coasters.  In fact, it surprised me she would even consider going on.  Which should have been my clue.  After standing in line for close to half an hour (and when we were within moments of getting on the ride itself), my mom changed her mind.  Loudly.  Basically, I used guilt to get her on the ride ("When will we ever be able to ride together again?").  And thus ensued an eardrum-shattering experience.  In addition to coaxing my mom onto the ride, we also did some of the shows (Indiana Jones) and newer rides (Toy Story).  All in all, we had a great time together.  Despite the fact that I *probably* should have outgrown this phase.