I went to Atlanta this past weekend to hang out with Brendan and one of our friend/coworkers Adam Bair. Adam flew down from Maine, and I of course drove down from NC. We had a pretty good time hangin' out, playing pool, go-karting, and stuffing our faces. I can't wait to do it again. And maybe next time we'll bring our other halves with us...
We got a bunch of crab legs and whole crabs, and had some friends over to celebrate Amy's birthday. Good times were had by all.
This sort of thing isn't usually our cup of tea, but it was Chris' birthday, and we didn't want to let him down.
MeetAndCompete.com put together this bar crawl for something like 400 people. It wasn't bad. For 26 bucks they give you a t-shirt and drag you to five or six different bars, and they also supply you with pizza somewhere in the middle. The group we were with was very large, so we quickly realized that the best tactic was to head to the next bar before everyone else. That way we could get there, get our drinks, and grab a spot to sit, all before the place got slam-packed when the rest of the group showed up. We all had a pretty good time. I had fun pressuring all of Chris' shy friends into talking to girls. Those guys definitely seemed out of place. I may not get out to bars and whatnot all that often anymore, but I still know how to party when neccessary. Haha... Evidently the night was a little too much for some of them to handle. I won't name any names, but one of them batted all over the door of Amy's new car. It was just before we got back to Chris' place, so most of it got cleaned up immediately, but I get the pleasure of going back over it today and making sure it's spotless. Another one of his friends almost did the same in Kim's car, but I guess he just barely managed to hold it together. Kids these days...
Brendan and Edel came to visit for a long weekend recently. We kept it pretty low-key just hangin' around the house mostly, but I think we all had fun. We used to live about a block away from each other back in Maryland, but now there's about 400 miles between us, so we really miss these guys, and we can't wait to hang out again...
We had a really great Halloween this year.
Brendan and I were to supposed to go to Nashville last weekend to speak at the Ruby Hoedown. Unfortunately, life had other plans.
Just as I was about to head to airport, I received a frantic call from Brendan. He told me that Edel, his girlfriend, was at the hospital in critical condition after a bad car accident. He was so shaken up that he didn't know what to do. Edel was in Montgomery, AL and Brendan was in Atlanta, about three hours away. I told Brendan to get his ass in the car and get moving.
Pradeep, one of our coworkers, and a good friend of Brendan's, was in Austin for work but quickly dropped his plans and caught a flight to Montgomery. I knew immediately that I wanted to be there also to help out, but it took a bit of logistical planning to make it happen. Chris and Kim agreed to watch the boys for the weekend, so I ended up driving down the next day. The drive was about eight hours, so I didn't arrive until about 5pm. Amy had to work that day, but she caught an evening flight and showed up a few hours later.
It wasn't until the next morning that we were both able to see Edel. She was heavily sedated and breathing only by way of a ventilator. It was a bit surreal, as she didn't look like herself and I had to remind myself that it was Edel that I was looking at. She had several fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, a ruptured spleen, and a punctured lung.
We visited with her every chance we had over the next 24 hours. Her sedation level varied by time of day, and if you caught her while only mildly sedated, she would wiggle her feet and squeeze your hand when you spoke to her. Everyone was very excited, as this was an obvious sign of improvement.
Many people came to visit while we were there. Friends and family of both Brendan and Edel crowded the intensive care unit. In fact, on more than one occasion, the staff asked many of us to wait out in the hall and take turns visiting with her.
Amy and I had to leave early Sunday morning to get back to the boys, but Edel's condition continues to improve. As of this post, she's off the ventilator and should be moved out of the ICU within the next day or two.
I have many loves: my boys, my wife, my dogs, my mac, the internet, cars, gadgets, and most recently, my house.
