We leave tomorrow!!!

We leave for vacation tomorrow! Can you tell I am excited? I am feverishly trying to wrap everything up a work, yet can barely concentrate.
I failed to pack last night, so tonight will be fun/horrible. I have a tendency to freak out when I am packing for long trips. I don't want to leave anything I need behind (i.e. my brush and conditioner that I forgot on our honeymoon). I also don't want to pack too much or too little. And I never have the right clothes or anything to wear. Sean really enjoys packing with me!
Hopefully, since the weather will be COLD - it will be easier to pack. Long sleeves and long pants - nothing fancy.
I hope when we get back - I can figure out how to post pictures of our trip. Wish me luck skiing! I have been practicing my "pizza slice" move. I haven't skied since I was in high school - so a good 10 years has past since I slide down the icy slopes of NC. At least when I fall down in Jackson, there will be snow to catch me. The weather report said that it's suppose to snow the whole time we are out there. So not only will I get to see snow on the ground, but I will also get to see it actually fall from the sky. This Southern Girl isn't going to know what to do with herself. The locals will be able to pick me out as a tourist (or as Savannah calls them - cake eaters, which is probably means something terrible but I will have to plead ignorance on that one) immediately because I will be the one walking around all wide-eyed going "It's snowing!".

Flu shots

For the last several years, Ashley and I made certain we got flu shots before the season got into full swing. The process of getting them had been made easier by the fact that her old company had someone come into their office and administer the shots. This year, since she was no longer at that company, we didn't have that option available to us. That, of course, means we never got the shot. Then comes the worst flu epidemic in recent state history.

It hit me last Monday. I thought it was just allergies, so I took a Claritin and headed off to work. By that afternoon I knew it was something more. I made it through about 1 hour of work Tuesday morning before I threw in the towel and headed home. The remainder of the day was spent on the couch, with various forms of fever and sinus pressure. I thought I was going to die. I managed another two hours of work on Wednesday, and then made it until 3:30 on Thursday. By Friday I was pretty much recovered, feeling worlds away from what I was going through on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I will not be skipping out on my flu shot again.

Let the madness begin!

It's that wonderful time of year again...the NCAA Tournament. There is absolutely no other sporting event that can live up to the thrill and entertainment of the big dance. And to push it totally over the top, we add in the good ole bracket pools.

I've got two going this year, one at work and one with Ashley's architecture list serve. While the list serve pool is just for fun and bragging rights, the office pool has a small pot of gold waiting at the finish line for the winner. I went with a new strategy this year. I decided that since basically everyone in my office was going to be picking UNC to win it all, I had better go a different route. Therefore, I picked a Kansas, Tennessee, Memphis, UCLA final four, with Tennessee and the eventual champ Memphis in the final. This will probably mean I either get crushed, or pull away easily. Only time will tell.

On an unrelated note...we just found out a couple of days ago that Jimmy Buffett is finally coming back to the outdoor amphitheater here in Raleigh. Seeing him inside an arena the last few times just didn't seem right. But this June we'll be back out on the lawn with our blankets and lawn chairs, the way it's meant to be. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am. I'll be on the computer by 9:45.

Have a great Easter. The better half and I will be going to Greensboro for a group eat at her grandmother's on Sunday.

That's all for now.

ARS Airlines

As many of you know, ARS now owns a plane. It's a Cirrus SR-22 Generation 3. It's a fairly typical single prop 4 seater, but it has all the state-of-the-are bells and whistles, including its own parachute. Since I had only been in small private planes a couple of times in my life before this, I was a bit apprehensive about it the first couple of flights. Now that I've gotten used to the in's and out's of it, I have to say it is really the way to fly. The time savings we gain by using it are dramatic. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was able to fly to a small rural town in Alabama, do my work, fly back, and be back at the office by 5. That same trip would have required an overnight stay if I was flying commercial and driving. Our client's seem to think it is fairly impressive, so I don't mind bragging about it too much.

I'll still be getting to the vast majority of my jobs by driving in the Jeep, but for those few occasions a month were I need the plane, it is certainly hard to beat.

Here's a photo I took of it outside our hangar at RDU one morning.

Atlanta ... for work

I was in Atlanta for a business meeting yesterday. Though I didn't get to sight-see or shop, I did get to experience riding on the MARTA. I was rather impressed. I flew into the Airport and then immediatly hopped on my north bound train for Sandy Springs. I was fortunate that I never had to change trains (so I can't speak on the ease of this transition), but the leisure of not fighting traffic or getting lost in Atlanta was relaxing. I also tried to "blend in with the locals" by jamming on my IPod during my commute.
I know there are many spectics for the light-rail system in the Triangle (my lovely husband being one of them). But after experiencing what Atlanta had to offer, I feel like there may be a place for a light rail system in our own Urban/Suburban sprawl. Atlanta is the ultimate example of Southern sprawl and it seems to work for them. I will have to take a closer look at what the TTA proposal looked like. Also, I would be interested to know what the average Atlanta-ite thinks of their transportation system. Is it as convenient for someone who lives and works in the City as it was for an outsider? Would a light rail system effect me - good or bad - in my suburban home in Cary? Would I be able to use it to commute to my job in Morrisville? I hate my drive to and from work. It is extremely short milage-wise but it takes me FOREVER. If I could jam mindlessly on my IPod for those miles - it would probably make me a much more pleasant person.
It is something that I never put a lot of thought into, b/c it never came to a reality. But now I am curious.

Ski clothes are expensive!

Ashley was right about spending the difference on clothes. Both of us were ill-equipped to do any kind of outdoor activities in Wyoming (planned: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling), so we had to visit basically all of our local outfitters. Since low country North Carolina in March doesn't look much like winter, we were forced to deal with picking from the bottom of the barrel everywhere we went. Although this meant we were typically rewarded with "clearance" pricing, it still meant paying $200 for a $300 jacket that no one else wanted. We searched hard, got lucky in a couple stores, and came away with everything we needed. That being said, we spent almost exactly as much on the clothes as we spent on the tickets! Oh well. At least we will have all the ski stuff we need for the next several years.

We can't wait for this trip. It will be a much needed break from the real world, although I'm sure I'll be having to deal with emails and phone calls some of the time. It will be nice to actually see some snow as well. (No...that day I spent in 21" worth of the stuff in Detroit doesn't count...that was horrible).