A Great 10 days-

It has been a fast, furious, & fun time here in Southern California. While it is truly beautiful here, I don't think I could ever live here... it just seems so far from the reality that I know as everyday life. The conference was truly excellent- I had such a great time and the networking opportunities that I had while there will help me out in my career.

This week I have worked all week meeting clients in most of Southern CA- from LA to San Diego. It has been rewarding to meet some of the clients in person that I have dealt with over the phone for a year or two. My business partner John Gorman from Phoenix traveled with me Monday & Tuesday- and then I was on my own for the rest of the week. It gave me a taste of what I may experience if I am given to go out in the field.

I think one of my favorite memories of the week was Wednesday night watching the sun set over the Pacific Coast while having dinner and a drink on the patio of the hotel De Coronado- it was breathtaking.

I really enjoyed my time at Palm Springs- it is now on my list for a week long getaway sometme soon.

I am just ready to be home for a few days- before heading to San Franciso on 4-17-05.

Rock Star Weekend-

Greetings from LA- I apologize for not posting sooner- but I was too busy living like a rock star- literally. There was so much going on this weekend- I don't know where to begin- I'll give some highlights.
*Helicopter Ride to Catalina Island
*Private concert by Gladys Knight
*Free top shelf liquor all weeekend
*Hummer limo rides
*Spa day (massage & facials)
*Private show by stand up comedian Kathy Griffin
*Rental of private night club
* Private show by Cirque de Solei
* Gifts of a 42" Plasma TV & a Movado Watch
*Relaxing by the pool
* Walking by the beach
* Making connections with new friends and old at Nationwide.

It really is true that this weekend was so "off the hook" that it is truly hard to put it all into words- I am still kind of in a shock pattern. I am very thankful that I was able to do so well last year and qualify for this conference. Here are some pictures to try show the weekend.

Surf City Here I come!

OK- thanks to the wonders of modern technology (and the computer repair dude I found at my local chinese take out joint)- I am sitting here at the airport terminal in Columbus and I am online and surfing the web- HOW COOL.

It just goes to figure- I could have slept in until like 7:30 AM - and with the dog gone I had not dog to walk- but my body was so excited to go that I just popped up at was wide awake at 5:30AM. Oh well- I enjoyed my time with The Today Show and perky Katie Couric!

I am so looking forward to feeling the warm waters of the Pacific ocean and hearing the quiet hush of the ocean winds-- to me there is nothing more relaxing than the ocean.

Look for picture updates from California this week.

Surf City Here I come!

One small step for mankind- one GIANT step for Andrew

Ok- Here I sit in Cup of Joe coffee short on N. High Street, logged into the internet via a wireless connection-- I know most of the world has been doing this for the past 2 years- but for me this a huge step. Needless to say this is how I will be able to keep you all up to date while I am on the road in coming months- nice huh????

Right now I am utterly exhausted and I have the entire afternoon and evening still ahead of me- God bless a good nights sleep for this evening.

OK- I need to keep running or else I will fall behind!

Pack Pack Pack!!!

Getting Ready-

I have felt like I am a state of getting prepared in so many ways of my life.
Obviously I am getting ready to leave on Wednesday AM for 10 days in Southern California. I am excited for the opportunity to travel and experience the great diversity that our nation offers. I can not wait to feel the waters of the Pacific Ocean at my feet once again.

I found out this week that I did not get the home office promotion at Nationwide. Truly I feel that it is a sign that this was not the right direction for my life. There is another GREAT opportunity that is going to be opening up in June. In preperation of that possible job, I have been asked to substitute for our wholesaler in the San Francisco Bay area - so what this mean is that I will be traveling to the Bay area for about 2-3 weeks in April/ May-- yes that is right after I get home from Los Angeles!

I am very excited to get the opportunity to travel and see San Francisco! Hopefully I can drop in to visit college Friend Paul in San Jose!

Things on the dating scene are taking a good course of events- of course- right when I said I don't want to date- go figure. Things are kind of on hold at this point until I get back from LA- we have talked about flying him out to San Francisco for a weekend while I am out there- how fun would that be!

OK- I am beat and have another big day tomorrow!

I will be posting - complete with pictures from LA this week!
Have a great day.

A step in the right direction-

Whew- what a week it has been- I don't even know where to being-
First off all I am so pumped to be heading off to Los Angeles and Southern California- I leave Wednesday morning the 22nd- I will be taking my newly refurbished laptop that now features wireless internet connectivity! So look for Blog updates- and pictures of the beaches of Southern California.

I am slowly coming to realize that the old phrase, "Where God closes a door, He opens a window" is true. I was not selected for the home office position that I had applied for. However, the same day I found that out- I was asked to cover for a wholesaler that is going on maternity leave next week. She covers San Francisco, CA-- so watch out CA Andrew is coming for several weeks in April and May. This also may lead into being considered another promotion that is opening up this summer- so keep your fingers crossed.

Dad & I will be hitting the Columbus Auto Show this weekend- so I will likely fall in love with several new models of wheels.

I hope everyone has a great St. Patricks Day!

A step in the right direction-

Whew- what a week it has been- I don't even know where to being-
First off all I am so pumped to be heading off to Los Angeles and Southern California- I leave Wednesday morning the 22nd- I will be taking my newly refurbished laptop that now features wireless internet connectivity! So look for Blog updates- and pictures of the beaches of Southern California.

I am slowly coming to realize that the old phrase, "Where God closes a door, He opens a window" is true. I was not selected for the home office position that I had applied for. However, the same day I found that out- I was asked to cover for a wholesaler that is going on maternity leave next week. She covers San Francisco, CA-- so watch out CA Andrew is coming for several weeks in April and May. This also may lead into being considered another promotion that is opening up this summer- so keep your fingers crossed.

Dad & I will be hitting the Columbus Auto Show this weekend- so I will likely fall in love with several new models of wheels.

I hope everyone has a great St. Patricks Day!

All types of Craziness-

I have escaped being caught by the police for the "hot" computer that I purchased on Friday- I must say compared to my failing hard drive on the laptop - that this thing is AMAZING. You will likely see more BLOG updates because I will be able to easily do them from home once again!!!

I also bought and IPOD Nano- this weekeend-- I am so addicted to it! I skipped church this morning to set up my Ipod-- I know the wrongness of all of that is too much to handle!!

Ok- so a quick weekend recap-- Friday night 3 hour band rehersal followed with martinis afterward... ask me in person about drinking Vodka in church (LOL).
Saturday I visited the parents, sister, and nephew Devan back in good ole Kenton- who knew taking a 2 year old to a grocery store would be such and adventure- YIKES!! My apologies to the Kroger company for any losses that our visit may have incurred!

Saturday night was date #3- for those of you that are counting---- I am getting closer to disclosing details to the world on the BLOG -- but am not there yet- so just wait you busy bodies!!! I know that is cruel.

Sunday- was IPOD addiction 101-- interrupted by the band concert and post party-- Darn tasty maritinis- YUM!!!

Now I am slightly buzzed and happy from watching Desperate Housewives and ready for bed-- I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend.

I hope to hear something about one of the jobs this week - so here's hoping!!

CRAZY

I did something that I would normally deem as crazy- I bought a reconditioned PC for $150 complete package. It is working so far- and I guess if I can get a few months good out of it- then I am none the worse.

I enjoyed a delicious pizza and a cocktail with some great new friends this evening - so all is good.

Goodnight everyone.

Crash-

First the movie then my PC hard drive--- Yup my laptop hard drive has crashe once again. This is not the first time that this has happened- so I had already backed up all my data and pictures.

It has been a very stressful and busy week- work has been very demanding and I am just ready to have this week over with. Without divulging a lot of the details- I have some really big decisions that I will be faced with in the next week or two.
I am just praying that the best doors will be opened for me and that I will be shown the right path for me to take.

It is only 12 days until I leave for the awards conference in Huntington Beach, CA- I am so excited. I really need to go shopping this weekend.

So that it the boring report from my end of the world--I Hope you are doing well.

It's hard out there for a pimp....

I wrote this post last night while watching the Oscars- I am in shock that the Pimp song beat Dolly Parton--- what is this world coming to??? Yikes.. anyways here is the rest of my entry as written:

A very busy and a very fun weekend-

Where to begin? OK- well how about Friday night - I had a date! Wohoo.
Even though I said I was going to give up dating for lent- I let this one
squeak in at the last minute- so what the hey. I am not going to give out
much detiails- I'll keep my audience in suspense.

I had a great time- and we are to have dinner tonite (Monday night).

Saturday was a crazy busy day-- I have 2 incredible opportunities that I am
applying for within Nationwide. They both have good and bad points and
there are things that I really like about each of them. I am really turning
this one over to God and praying that the right opportunity is the one that
I am choosen for.
Saturday night my friend Alan and I checked out the new Q bar and nightclub
in downtown Columbus-- it was really nice. We stayed out a little too late-
so I kind of slept through church today- oops!
The parents stopped by for dinner on their way home from Florida. It was
nice to hear about their many wild adventures in the South.
Well I've got to get the work week started-- take care.

An overdue update-

Hello BLOG world- I realized today that I had not posted a while.

First big news- I passed test # 7 out of 8 towards my CLU designation-- Hurray!
The bad news is I turned right around and registered for #8- Income Taxation- yeah sounds like a load of fun huh?? Wanna help me study???

I guess there is really nothing else exciting going on in my world right now.
It was a weekend of relaxing- hanging out with some friends. Finally saw Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire at the dollar theater.

For February the weather has been AWESOME - so Trevor and I have been taking advantage of this and getting in some extra long walks and park time. There seem to be a surplus in ducks at the pond in the park- but Trevor loves to chase them and frolik with them.

The parents are in Florida- so they are keeping themselves entertained for a little bit.

It seems that everyone near and around me is pregnant- so any women reading this blog- be careful and take extra precautions if you don't want a baby soon!

Gotta run- take care and keep in touch.

And the award goes to.....

ME!! This morning at our President's Day team meeting and breakfast I was presented with the Salesperson of the year award for 2005. It is complete with a big shiny trophy with my name engraved on it! I was very flattered and honor to receive such an honor.

It was cold cold cold cold cold - well you get the idea- this weekend.
My weekend was pretty boring and dull- I watched the Olympics quite a little bit.
I studied more that I care to admit for my insurance exam or Friday- right now I am in my "flip out" mode- when I feel totally unprepared and scared to take the test. I have until Thursday to reschedule if I don't feel comfortable. I do want to take the test and get it over with as soon as possible.

Other than that - nothing real big- I did a new blind hung for my living (many thanks go out to my Dad for that). I bought a new glass door bookcase for the living (I love how it looks).
All in all a very quiet and uneventful weekend.

Why I am so tired-

I usually don't pass these things along- but this one caught my attention- since I have been exhausted this week.


WHY AM I SO TIRED???

For a couple years I've been blaming it on lack of sleep, not enough
sunshine, too much pressure from my job, etc.

But now I found out the real reason:

I'm tired because I'm overworked.

Here's why:...The population of this country is 273 million.
140 million are retired.
That leaves 133 million to do the work.
There are 85 million in school.
Which leaves 48 million to do the work.
Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government.
Leaving 19 million to do the work.
2.8 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin
Laden.
Which leaves 16.2 million to do the work.

Take from that total the 14.8 million people who work for state and city
governments.

And that leaves 1.4 million to do the work.

At any given time there are 1! 88,000 people in hospitals.

Leaving 1,212,000 to do the work.

Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons.

That leaves just two people to do the work.

You and me.

And there you are sitting on your butt,, at your computer, reading jokes.

I am just so glad that it is Thursday. My friend Ray & I are going to to one of our favorite watering holes to play trivia and have a few drinks- I just hope that we do better than last week.

Have a great night all.

Happy Valentines Day-

A big Valentines hello to all my BLOG readers-
I have attached a picture a co-worker snapped of me at the office yesterday (cheese!) and then a picture of mom, dad, and nephew Devan at Saturday's dinner to celebrate the folks' 40th wedding anniversary. A nice time was had by all.

It has been a very very busy couple of days with work - lots of extra meetings downtown and here in Dublin.

Steelers / Transamerica

First of all- Go Steelers!!! What a great game- of course the fact that I was with good friends at a bar with dollar beers made it a little better! I found out that I have yet a 2nd Steelers connection- a good family friend (an older gentleman) grew up in Pittsburgh and knows the family that owns the team. Who knew? Sorry about your Seahawks Paul- I truly could care less about NFL football- but I like to root for the hometown kid, so to speak.

I also went to see Transamerica on Sunday after church. I may get some slack from this comment, but I enjoyed this movie so much more that Brokeback Mtn. I thought Felicity Huffman was AWESOME. It really made me think more about loving and appreciating who we are. There are so many of us in the world that try to change who we are, hide who we are, and otherwise dodge the truth. I walked away from the movie with a smile- I do reccomend.

Otherwise it was a quiet weekend. Winter returned with much colder temperatures and snow- so I returned to my hibernation mode.

Here's to another week.

Happy Weekend-

It's the weekend!!!! Hurray!
I am really excited to see the movie Transamerica this weekend- it looks really good. It is also Super Bowl weekend- I am really excited for Big Ben the quarterback from Pittsburgh.
I actually know his Mom and Dad from my days in Findlay. So I'm cheering for Pittsburgh- go Steelers.

Gotta run for now- Have a great weekend.

Your Life Is Boring When.......

You get exctited when you junk mail in your email in box....

Going to the gym is an exciting Friday night....

Balancing your checkbook is something you do on a daily basis....

You'd rather go to bed than go out to a bar....

When you're in a chat room and the only people instant messaging you are the advertising robots trying to sell herbal enhancements or internet porn....

OK- maybe my life isnt' that boring- but it has been very mellow right now-- which I guess is a good thing. Winter is supposed to be for hibernation right?

Put a Cork in it!!!! Literally.

The quiet life continues- which is a good thing for me. Went to dinner with friends Aaron & Ray at Don Pablos Friday night and had a wonderul Mango Margarita.. I do reccomend it. Saturday was a day of grocery shopping, errands, laundry, bill paying, etc.

The highlight of the weekend was wine bottling with my friend Helene and buddy Spencer. Helene had started a batch of wine (6 gallons or 30 bottles) back in the fall at a winery here in Columbus. Once the wine is ready you are able to host a wine bottling party at the winery. The three of us sanitized the bottles, filled them, corked them, and then made labels. During the process there was abundent wine sampling going one. It was great fun to be had by all.
I can't wait to tap into my bottle of Apricot Peach Chardonnay- yummy!
Afterwards Helene and I met buddy Laura at The Happy Greek in the Shorth North. The food was great- after Helene and I almost took out the hostess- ugh.

Laura stayed over Saturday night and we just lounged and read the paper with coffee before lunch and some shopping at Kohl's (great bargains- wohoo).

All else is quiet in Ohio- enjoy the pictures- OK this PC won't load the pictures.