Kim’s dad was in town for a few hours yesterday. After work we took him to Stroud’s for dinner and then dropped him off in Topeka later on. Stroud’s was awesome! Add that to my list of places to take people while in town. They are famous around here for their pan-fried chicken, which was amazing! They serve everything family style, so you order a few things and then they bring it all out in huge portions. I have so much leftover food I’m not sure I can finish it at lunch today.

I’ve been following the stories from Hurricane Katrina as close as I can. It’s such a sad story for so many people, including people close to Kim and I. Kim’s good friend Gabe has been living in New Orleans for awhile now. She and her boyfriend Brad live in a house fairly close to the water. Gabe also worked as a teacher in the French Quarter. Here’s an email she sent out recently:

Thank you ALL so much for calling and e-mailing. I can’t believe this is happening. Brad and I are safe and sound, we are currently at Brad’s parents in Piqua, Ohio. I have talked to some of you during this ordeal, but now my cell phone is not working (sometimes I can call out, but I cannot receive any calls, and I cannot call any New Orleans area codes.)

We boarded up the house on Saturday morning, packed up the car with important papers and stuff too important to leave, and got on the highway around 2:00pm heading towards Memphis. We got caught in about 30 minutes of slow traffic (never gridlocked) and then had fine traffic the whole way up to Memphis. We stayed Saturday night, and then Sunday morning was when the mayor of New Orleans got on CNN and issued a mandatory evacuation. At that point, we didn’t know what to do – should we just drive up to Ohio/Michigan, or should we just chill in Memphis? We had to take into consideration that we have a house that if it gets minimal damage, we need to get back right away to start insurance processes, and start clean up. And also, Brad’s work – at a chemical plant – will be needing mechanical engineers to start maintenance, etc………so we didn’t know what to do.

We decided to stay in Memphis one more night, Sunday night. We woke up on Monday morning, and at first, the damage to New Orleans was not THAT bad. It was bad, but we thought there was a possibility that our house could be ok. So we didn’t leave Memphis until about 6:00 Monday night, when we finally heard that no one was going home until at least Monday or so.

So we drove to Ali’s in Cincinnati last night, and now we are in Piqua. We are watching footage right now and it is just unbelievable. I am just sick…….people being rescued from the roof, thousands of people stuck in the super dome…..ugh. I am sure the house is gone, along with all our furniture, prints, appliances………..I know it is all just stuff but this is crazy. What about school? So many unanswered questions. For now, all I know is that we will be having a Labor Day weekend at home! Not so bad, when you think about it. I will keep you posted. Talk to you all soon!

It makes it all so much more real to hear a first hand account of it. Please keep Gabe, Brad and everyone else in your thoughts.

All this damage is actually causing problems for us, even though it’s on a much smaller scale. Our cruise on the rock boat was leaving and returning via New Orleans. The boat that they use has already been re-routed to Galveston, TX for the next couple of cruises. I was really hoping to go to New Orleans for the first time, but unfortunately it isn’t looking very likely at all.

Last night I attempted to play tennis once again. Phil and I were going to take the free lesson, but Todd told us it started at 7:30 when really it started at 7:00. Instead we played an exciting doubles match with Todd and Christie. I did much worse this time around than the last, maybe it’s time I just concentrate on hitting the ball instead of playing an actual game. That is if I have time to play again anytime soon.

From there I went with Todd and Christie over to Fred P Ott’s. I always tend to shy away from this place even though it is one of the closest and cheapest places on the plaza. I think my fear of the place has to do with it’s small size and very large crowds on a few instances. Last night it was empty and perfect for a nightcap, perhaps we’ll go back there again sometime soon.

The show on Friday night was a fun one. I taped the show, but had to do so without using my stand. Jack Johnson does not allow microphone stands at the shows, so I just clipped the mics to my shirt collar and hoped for the best. We’ll see how it turns out.

Saturday Mike and I took his brother to the Boulevard Brewery tour, a great way to start a Saturday! From there we went back to my place and started up some cornhole games with Christie. Kim finally got back from Cincy sometime that afternoon and Doni showed up later on with Gabe. Another fun night!

Sunday I worked on my computer while Kim continued her studying for a upcoming test. I removed linux and installed Windows XP on the server machine. I’m hoping that I can get everything running on there before the end of the week, although I’d also like to re-launch the site with a new design. I guess I could do that later though.

Later on in the day we took Dominique and Bianca out to Chuck E. Cheese’s for a couple of hours. I always remember that place being so much bigger than it actually is, or maybe it’s just the one that we went to that is small. We had a blast though, and the kids did as well!

Yesterday after work I met up with Todd, Christie and Chris Martin at the gym for a few games of tennis. I’d like to add that I cannot remember the last time I played tennis, if I ever really did. Overall, I could have been a lot worse. There is a free class next Monday that a group of us might attend. It was nice to mix it up and get a different workout though.

From there we had a few drinks at the gym bar and then headed over to Tomfooleries for some drinks and tunes from Gov’t Cheez, our favorite local cover band. Pretty nice night out if you ask me.

Tonight I’m actually heading to see Jack Johnson and others out at Starlight. We have quite the crew going, so I’m sure it will be fun. The lineup includes Mike and his brother along with Geoff. Perhaps we’ll have some good pre and post parties with other friends of ours.

Better get back to work so I can get out of here!

The ‘War on Drugs’ is pissing me off. No, I’m not a pothead, I just want my Claritin-D, which contains pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient for methamphetamine. I ran out of pills yesterday so I attempted to stop on my way to work and pick some up. I would have stopped at the Walgreen’s by our house, but the pharmacy doesn’t open until 8. So I decided that I’d stop somewhere close to work since it would be just after 8. I go to the grocery store right down the road and their pharmacy doesn’t open until 9.

Dammit, just give me the pills! I don’t care who sells them to me, I don’t want more than one box, and I actually just need one pill to get me through the day. But no, I have to settle on the generic Claritin (non decongestant) that is still on the shelves. What really amazed me is that these pills are only $5 for 10. To get 10 Claritin-D (or the generic brand) it has to cost me at least $10, maybe even more. So I have to pay double for one extra ingredient? Someone is just trying to make meth more expensive to buy.

While in the store I found out that the makers of these drugs are all finding ways to make their pills using another decongestant ingredient. I cannot wait until they figure out how to do this, I will finally be able to buy my over the counter pills over the counter. While they are at it could they please figure out how to build a 24 hour pharmacy somewhere between my apartment and my office?

My father thinks I live in a cave, I guess since I didn’t post this before. Bob Huggins is no longer the UC basketball coach. I’m sure this is huge news all over Cincinnati, both in the media and around the water cooler. A guy I work with did mention it to me yesterday and that was the first I had heard of it. I guess he listens to 700 WLW quite often while at work. He lived in Indiana and has family there still. Besides this one incident I haven’t heard anything about it, unless I go to cincinnati.com or some other similar site. I guess that’s why it slipped my mind and I didn’t make a post about it before. This is truly a sad day for UC and I cannot believe that it really happened. Apparently I’m not the only one either.

Awhile ago we filled out a survey about the gym, which said that a raffle would be held with those who participated and the winners would receive a free iPod. Well late yesterday I got an email congratulating me on being a winner of a free iPod. I can’t remember what version they were giving away, but regardless I now have another iPod and am faced with the same decision, should I keep it or sell it on eBay? We’ll have to see what shows up first…

I didn’t do much last night. I thought about going to another Citizen Cope show, but didn’t feel like making a late night drive back to KC. Instead I sat at my computer and tried to figure out Linux. This task has been going on forever and I still don’t know if I’m even close to getting it all figured out. If I get time the rest of the week, I might just wipe it out and install Windows once again. I know that I can get that up and running pretty quickly with everything I need.

We ran five miles this morning! It went alright, I was able to finish the whole thing without stopping (well besides when we had to wait for cars to pass). I’m gonna try to run again sometime this week, but Kim is leaving town and I often lack motivation. According to our training schedule we should get a six mile run in this Sunday, so that’s something to look forward to once Kim is back from Cincinnati. Maybe I will be able to finish this race…

Today I get to move my desk. I know it doesn’t sound like much fun, but I am getting my own little office! I think I mentioned before how we expanded our space in our building. Well our team is all moving to the new side, and we each get an office. I can’t wait!

My entry before the trip pretty much sums up what we did the whole time. After flying and getting settled in at our hotel we had dinner and then went to the show at Wise Fools. The Alternate Routes played first and were great. Their CD is just as good and I recommend picking it up if you are searching for some new tunes. Some other band played who I think was local to Chicago and then Greenstreet rocked the house. They were happy to see all of us back at their show and with so many new friends. From there we went back to the hotel and hotel bar for the rest of the night.

Saturday started off early with the continental breakfast. We then hung around the hotel room for awhile. The cool thing was that we had a perfect view of the Air & Water Show. After awhile we had ourselves a nice little pregame party and then before we knew it we were off to the venue for the festival. I saw a ton of the bands of the festival and enjoyed some of them. I walked in as The Southland were finishing their set. They sounded pretty good from what I heard while setting up my recording gear. It was good to see Stephen Kellogg again, and they put on a pretty nice show. I didn’t really care about most of the other bands besides Citizen Cope, who played well but didn’t really fit in that well. O.A.R.’s set was great! Lots of the newer songs were played which was great for me and my friends. The crowd was pretty weak until later in the night but even then I was expecting it to be bigger than it was. The venue was nice with a great view of the downtown area, but the lack of a “village” with different booths setup was pretty disappointing. I guess I was just expecting big things from the show and it ended up probably being worse than all the past festivals in Cleveland. The good news was that O.A.R.’s set and hanging with my friends was well worth the trip!

After the show I hung out with my email buddy Nasim and the guys from the band for awhile. I ended up going with them to a bar called Rockit where an after party was going on. There was a line outside to get in, but we were quickly escorted in and to a sort of private area of the bar. I met some cool people up there and had a couple of free drinks. From there I went back to the hotel to meet up with everyone for a repeat of the previous night.

Sunday we didn’t do too much. We had some Chipotle and then realized that we had some extra time. We then went over to my buddy Pat’s apartment and played cornhole on the roof there. The Air Show was going on again, so we also watched that while playing a few rounds. Then we all went out to the airport and went our separate ways. Kim picked me up at the airport along with Dominique and Bianca. Kim dropped Amy off earlier in the day and so she brought our brother and sister along with her to keep her entertained. We dropped them off and then headed home to relax for yet another exciting work week. Bad news to end this entry, I have to work all five days this week.

Work has been crazy once again. Margaret is out of the office either doing some training or vacationing, so that leaves Steve and I to do all of the testing. Luckily we have been able to pull in some help from other groups otherwise I could be here all night. One of our largest clients is not happy with our product right now and we need to fix it within the next couple of weeks. Lots of things to test, little time to do so. Especially with my half day tomorrow!

I have not started to pack so that will need to be done tonight. We also have to make a trip out to the airport to pick up Amy. She is coming into town to entertain Kim while I am in Chicago for Everfine. I’m sure they will find all kinds of things to keep busy.

This weekend should be great for me though. I get into Chicago toward the end of the afternoon. From there we are having dinner at Flat Top which I am really looking forward to. After that we’ll catch a show featuring Greensteet and a few others. Saturday of course is the festival, so we’ll likely spend a good chunk of the day right near the lake. Not sure what Sunday morning and afternoon have in store, but I’m sure I’ll come back with some stories. Wait, I still have another day before I leave, better get back to work…