Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Trippin....

Have just over 60 days till we head for Anguilla and ST Maarten.
That will be my third trip away from home in the next 60 days..
Trip one is to Dallas to meet a friend and discuss some business.
Trip two will be to a conference in Las Vegas the week before we go to the island.
Yes, the week before. Will leave for Vegas on a Monday and return home on that Friday only to get on board that big silver bird and fly waaay southeast the next day to SXM!!!

Last year I was on vacation the week before our yearly conference in Vegas. This year I didn’t plan our trip in the spring like we usually do but rather for the first of November and low and behold…we moved the Vegas trip. Nice part is I will be sick of travel by the time I get back from the islands.

Part of the reason to visit the islands is for photo ops. I have daily shoots planned. Will have to see how things work out but I am hoping to spend hours a day shooting and moving about the island. If I can do what I plan we will still have the bulk of the day to relax on the beach and soak up lots of rays and rum. We might even get to spend a couple of hours getting wet one morning with a dive shop out of Grand Case.

I cant even begin to express my level of excitement about this trip. We will have a life long friend and his wife coming along with us this time too. It looks as if there will be a few other couples we know that will be on island at the same time and I am hoping we will find a way to rendezvous with them for at least a quick drink and how do you do.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Manscaping….its a dangerous thing!

Ok, I never thought I would blog about something like this but eh its almost 2010.

Yesterday I decided that the Austin Powers look was out for me….um, didn’t know how far out I was thiking!!! LOL

If you are following along and not getting what I mean I will explain it in 1980’s terms.

Chest hair on men seems to be a bit passé. I grow a mean crop of chest and belly hair so in my infinite wisdom I thought I would trim it a bit and see if less was more. Ummmm, well!! Lets just say I got a bit less than I wanted.

First I used the trimmer that is for my beard. One pass and it was clogged and frankly couldn’t even tell that I had trimmed anything…I think it takes like every 10th hair or something. Rob goes and gets out the big gun! The shears that his wife cuts his hair with. Hey I am a generally bright guy so I recognize that there are guards for each length of hair. I go with the shortest one. Fire up the weedwhacker 2009 and watch the dials on meter on the side of the house spin like they just got caught in a tornado. Lights flicker and then return to full brightness…. Rob starts at the waistline of gym shorts and takes one swipe straight up the belly and stops at pecks.... Looking at the tumbleweed that has formed at my feet I realize that the ole # 1 may have been a bit too short.

Not much I can do now but complete the sheering of this dark haired sheep that is standing before me in the mirror and then hope and pray that it will all grow back to a decent length over the next 60 days.

What the hell have I done to myself? What would have ever possessed me?? I did however find the great pumpkin that Charlie Brown has been waiting in the pumpkin patch for all of these years. It is below my chest and above my waistline but he isn’t orange…no he is a very stark white….run, run for your lives!!!!

The one positive in this miss adventure is the motivation that the over exposure of skin has caused. I started doing sit ups again last night…Holy cow only 74 more days till people will see me with no shirt on. If I don’t get the great pumpkin carved down a bit I may have to stay away from the beach as I don’t want to be mistaken for a beached marine mammal.

Tonight, second ab workout. I already know this will lead to sore muscles but I gotta do it just in case the camouflage for the great pumplin doesn’t grow back before we head to the islands…

So guys, if you are thinking about any kind of manscaping….pay a pro or look like your chest has mange..your choice but choose wisely!!!

Yes I am laughing at my foolish self here……

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Island fever – catch it!!

Things are clearing up here…have heard about my job and am safe until the next round of layoffs, when ever that will be. Have all room reservations made and double checked.
Have rental car booked for the ST Maarten part of the trip at least. Have a general itinerary of activities….ok a list of places on island I would like to visit. Have everything ready for passport renewal….just need to write the check and drop in the mail.

In quick review…I’s dotted and T’s crossed. We are 10 times more prepared for this trip than any one we have previously made. Now for the hardest part of the game….sit and wait. We have 86 days to sit and ponder on what more we can pack in and what we may want to take out.

This year for the first time we are getting a bunch of stuff to pre-pack. I know it sounds ridiculous but items that we know we will want or use and may not find or don’t feel like hunting down while there. A new small collapsible cooler, a small noise making machine for the room, several grocery bags as they no longer use plastic on island for groceries. A couple of book for the travel portion of our trip (there are book exchanges all over the island), our over the counter regiment of meds like allergy meds and benedryl. The benedryl saved me a trip to the hospital last time we were on island. We have collected a few other things too but I will spare you from enduring the entire list of what we already have gathered.

I got the fever….is going to be a long illness…. the remedy will only be applied by the first breath of air that fills my lungs upon arrival to the island.