Run Megan Run!!!!

Ok- a quick post before I hit the road for the day- Yesteday was so much fun- I cheered Megan on as she ran the Chicago Marathon-- her husband Matt and her in-laws had a riot traveling all over town. Even Laura in Ohio was in on the event calling us and text messaging us with updates from the web.

I am very pleased to annouce that I also found Elvis Presley-- he was running the marathon!!!

Enjoy the pictures.

Run Megan Run!!!!

Ok- a quick post before I hit the road for the day- Yesteday was so much fun- I cheered Megan on as she ran the Chicago Marathon-- her husband Matt and her in-laws had a riot traveling all over town. Even Laura in Ohio was in on the event calling us and text messaging us with updates from the web.

I am very pleased to annouce that I also found Elvis Presley-- he was running the marathon!!!

Enjoy the pictures.

A weekend at home-

I enjoyed a great weekend with a good friend of mine, Clinton, up from Raliegh, NC. We had such a great time just hanging out and catching up. We pretty much were homebodies for the most part. We did do our fair share of shopping and such downtown- I love the Bloomingdales home store- what a neat place. We also checked out Luxe Home at Merchandise Mart- that was pretty cool. I am very proud to have made my very own apple butter in the crock pot- take that Martha Stewart!!! Yesterday we tackled the open houses of Rogers Park- trying to see what I can or can not afford. I am still experiencing sticker shock- the more I look at property in Chicago the more I am thinking that my place here looks pretty good-- even though I am renting. I am hoping to figure it all out by February.

I did do lots of decorating this weeekend and hung some more pictures and such.. I am pretty happy with how my living room loos.. so I decided to post a few pictures and show it off to my blog buddies.

Weekend Fun with the girls...

Hello everyone- so I have not been good at keeping my blog up to date- Oh well..
I had the most delightful weekend- Megan & I loaded up Nicole (my big old Ford) and headed to Michigan for a weekend of
fall goodness with our good friend Laura from Ohio. We had a wonderful time. We purchased pumpkins, indian corn, picked apples, drank margaritas, went to a drive in movie theater, stayed at a cheesy cheap motel, had breakfast at Bob Evans (gotta love Bob), and then Megan and I went to 2 vineyards and went wine tasting- it was spectacular fun. I really did not picutre Michgan being quite as scenic, but it was lovely. The weather was picture perfect and the company of friends was even better!!!!! Here are some snapshots from our weekend. If anyone in Chicago needs apples (fresh picked) let me know-- I am oversupplied.

An update- finally

Here, There, and Pretty much everywhere—

Hello again my BLOGGETTE’S- how are you? Have you missed me? I have kinda missed myself to be real honest. What a whirlwind of a month- you may be wondering; just where all has he been? Let’s see- Sioux Falls, SD; Kenton, OH; Chicago, IL; Fargo, ND; Bismark, ND; and Minneapolis, MN (I count MN because I spent so much time waiting on a NW Airlines connection that it kinda felt like I had a good visit.

I did make a trip back to the homeland (aka OHIO) to see the family, celebrate Mom’s birthday, see the nephews, and of course go to the Hardin County Fair. I must clearly state that I love the fair—but it is the biggest hillbilly fest of the year. I ate carnival junk food, won a cheap prize stuffed animal playing skeeball, watched a truck pull, observed a pie contest (my sister came in First)- go Miriam, and remembered how go it is to visit home- but how glad I was to get back to my reality in Chicago.

Things are looking a little more quiet out here for the next month or so- only a trip to Central Illinois (Peoria, Bloomington, and Quincy) then a week in Scottsdale, AZ and then a week in San Francisco in November—followed by the holidays—ho ho ho ho!

I was really moved by the 5 year anniversary of the 9-11-01 attacks on the USA. It amazes me that it has been 5 years- and as I look back I can’t believe how much I have evolved and grown as a person during those five years. Some things remain a constant- family and friends- I remember how important it was for the parents to make sure I was OK on 9-11; same is true today. On 9-11 one of my bestest friends Laura and I hung ok- had some bbq- and took a leisurely walk at sunset to just escape the media and horror of what all had happened. Today Laura is still one of my pillars of strength and I called her just yesterday as almost every piece of technology I posses was breaking to vent. I am very grateful for family and friends.


I hope that the past 5 years has been good to all of you- and remember to tell those you love how dear they are to you every day.

For those Chicago friends (Dawn, Missy, Meg, Kurtsy) lets get together soon—I miss you all.

And boeing boy- get your butt up here- we need to paint the town red!


Take care..

Good things must come to an end...

It is sad- the end of another summer . Of course I am most saddened that I can no longer wear the ever so fashionable white pants since it is past Labor Day (that is the least of my concerns). This year it seems particularly of note as I have been in my new home for 3 full months, and what a crazy 3 months it has been. I told my friend Helene when she came to visit that I was going to have a "Summer of Fun" and just focus on enjoying all that summer had to offer- and so now that is past and I need to have a "Fall of Focus"----OK I admit that sounds cheesy enough for a politician. In all seriousness I need to focus on establishing routines, friends, and a sense of community in my new home. It is also time to really dig the heels in deep and start showing my stuff on the career side- this summer was all about discovering who my best customers would be- I now have a better idea of who those folks are and I need to focus on bringing in the bucks!

On the weekend report - I was pleased to host a fabulous Labor Day cookout- I had approximately 15 friends over and we ran out of liquor two times- I think that is that sign of a good party right?? I think it took 4 trash bags to collect all the bottles the next morning- thank goodness no neighbors have complained as of yet!

I am presently in Minneapolis on my way to the exotic Fargo, ND-- WOHOO-- that is 3-- count 'em 3 new states for Andrew in two weeks- SD, MN, and ND-- that is a new record I think. I leave for a fun family visit to Ohio on Thursday to take in the exotic Hardin County Fair, spoil my nephews, and celebrate Mom's birthday!! Should be lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching up

Another fast and fun weekend- I had fun entertaining my good friend Greg from Austin, TX- he really helped me alot with hanging some picutres. We then hit several galleries and shops in around Lakeview (aka boystown) with no luck on home decor- I am proud to say that I officially started my Christmas shopping--- mark that one down in the record books.

If you ever had any old furniture you want to give away- try Craigslist.com-- I had a sleeper sofa that just didn't work out here in my new place in Chicago & the charities would not pick it up since it was so heavy. I put an ad on the web and had 25 people call in less than 12 hours- and it is now GONE--

I think there can not be anymore dirty laundry anywhere in the world- because I ran the washing maching until it couldn't run any more!

I am behind on posting some pictures- here are some snapshots from when I went to the opening ceremonies for the Gay Games-

Have a great week all

Bad Blogger

I will post to my blog more often.
I will post to my blog more often.
I will post to my blog more often.
I will post to my blog more often.

Ok, you get the idea-- I have been really bad at keeping up with the correspondences lately. The good side of it is that I have been enjoying my new job, enjoying my new city, making friends, and overall having the time of my life. For the first time in a really long time I really feel like all the pieces of my life are fitting. It feels that I am in the right place that I need to be and I am enjoying.

I am thankful for the great friends that I already have here in Chicago and enjoy meeting many new and wonderful people every day!

I am having a Labor Day cookout on Sunday September 3 - so for all you Chicagoland readers - please feel free to come!!

By the way- I fought the BMV and won-- after a two month ordeal and getting my name and reputation cleared from the state of Louisiana (mind you I have never been to Louisiana-- if I ever have a reputation there I want some beads to show for it- OK???).... and some blood sweat but mostly tears- I have my Illinois drivers license--- praise the LORD!!!

Take care.

On the road again-

It has been a busy busy couple of weeks. Last week I put over 1200 miles on my car as I traveled throughout Iowa and Illinois- and I put over 220 miles on the car today in IL again. I knew this job would require some travel & by golly I wasn't wrong. It is an adjustment to be spending so much time behind the wheel, but I am coping. I need to develop better skills of taking notes while talking on the wireless headset and driving-- it can be tricky at times. I have realize that every single Fairfield Inn in the entire USA is exactly the same- so if you need any travel advice and plan to stay at a Fairfield Inn - please give me a call.

The parents came up to Chicago for the weekend, it was their first visit since helping me move in. I put on my tourist hat for the weekend and we did the town up right; Navy Pier, an architechtural boat tour, the ferris wheel, millenium park, shopping on Michigan Ave, Sunday brunch at the Walnut Room in the famous Marshall Fields store on state street. It was fun.

I also succcessfully put together my new desk from Ikea and got the home office officially set up. I think I will really like having my office out of the main living area.

Well- off to the gym- I hope you are all well.

Back to reality????

The heat has broken here - thank goodness!! It was a brutal heat wave here in Chicago- there were numerous heat related deaths. I am very lucky to have a good central air conditioning unit. The stress on your body as you go in and out of the heat is almost brutal tough. On top of all that I was fighting a summer cold all week- so heat exhaustion with clogged sinus cavaties is not a good thing.

I am back to the full swing of work- I guess that is a good thing- it was just an incredibly busy week to say the very least-- it all kinda seems like a blur to me. Next week is my Iowa week- followed by Central IL-- fun fun fun.

I guess I am not 100% adjusted to this new schedule and work load- I need to learn how to better balance work and life better.

There is so much going on this weekend in Chicago- festivals, the beach, and of course what we all love-- Laundry!

Gotta run for now- take care

Back in Chicago

Sorry for the lapse with no BLOGGING- It has been crazy- I was away from Chicago for 10 days. First of all I went to Lake Erie with the family- including my cousin Niki and her husband Jason. It was such a fun memory filled weekend. Trust me do not take an almost 3 year old miniature golfing- whew! He was so cute trying to hit the ball into the hole- then he just gave up and walked it down and put in the the hole- we all clapped and life was good once again.

Then I headed to Columbus and to a week long sales meeting- I had hoped for more free time to go and visit friends around Columbus and even enjoy staying at Easton, which is one of Columbus, Ohio's premier shopping district--- but the boss man had other plans- we were on the go from sun up to sun down- and when I finally got back to the room- I was so tired I just went to bed.

I spent yesterday with my nephews and parents before driving to Chicago-
So now back to work- YAY- I promise to try to keep this more up to date.
Here are some fun family pictures.

It's been a heat wave-

Good gravy it has been HOT HOT HOT! Since I do have air conditioning I do not think that is an excuse for not posting more often.

The Gay Games have been in Chicago and that has been a lot of fun. My friends Alan and Leigh performed in the band for the opening ceremonies and landed Megan and I free tickets. Our seats were practically on top of the scoreboard, but hey they were free! It was quite the spectable to see (streaker and all), but at 4 hours it was too much to handle. I have some really cool pictures I was going to post but I left my memory card at home (I am posting from Ohio).

Last weekend I also had tons of business to do- I hosted a skybox on the 18th green at the John Deere Golf classic and then Sunday I hosted a Cubs games by renting one of those rooftops close by- it was great - but my God it was so freaking hot- whew.

Work has also been going 120% lately- I need a freaking get away- but that is not in sight.

Currently I am up at Lakeside, Ohio with the family. It was fun to spend lots of time with my 3 year old nephew Devan tonite - what a cutie.

I will post more thoughts later.

Trevor at the Beach-

OK- First a public service announce-
DO NOT TAKE YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA TO THE BEACH!!!
I took my camera to a repair shop today and they said that sand is deadly to digital cameras. Thankfully the guy was able to use a micro-sweeper and get enough of the sand out to get it back in working order- at least for now. So don't say you have not been warned!

Now- as promised pictures of Trevor at the beach- and also of him and my neigbor dog Aja (pronounce Asia) playing on my deck.

Finally is my nephew Devan celebrating the fourth of July.

I'm loving it-

I am aboslutely loving everything about my new home, career, and life in Chicago. I keep having to almost pinch myself that everthing is really happening and I am not dreaming.

It was a good all around weekend. Friday buddy Kurt & I went to see Superman- it was a good movie- kinda cheesy and predictable- but was well entertained.. I decided to call it a night early and just went home after the movie and crashed.

Saturday was all about my first BBQ- so I spend the day cleaning and cooking and getting the place ready for guests. It was a very informal BBQ and I am still in shock of how my liquor my guests consumed in such a short period of time. I do have lots of Miller Lite left if anyone cares to stop by and have a drink. I find it funny that in Columbus everyone drank Bud Light but this town seems to be a Miller Lite town. After the bbq a few of us headed to Halstead street to get into even more trouble-- we hade fun- but all stumbled home drunk, that God for cabs.

Today was very nice- I scoped out a local United Methodist Church- they start services at 11am- God bless them that I could sleep in and still make services. I then did some paperwork and household stuff before hitting the gym. After the gym it was so nice out I decided to take Trevor to the dog beach-- he loved it. He was so cute doing his little doggy paddle. I took lots of pictures and was getting ready to download them - but now my camera is acting up- I hope it is something small that can be fixed easily and inexpensively.

Overall things are going really well- here in Chicago. I just realized this evening that I have been single for almost a year- not quite sure how I feel about that -- I mean any shot at a rebound is over -- and I think that I would like some companionship- It is just tricky since I have just moved to a new town and I need to meet friends too and don't want a relatioship to monopolize all my attention. I am very thankful for my friends and all that has happened to me in the past year--

So- with all that being said if I can get my camera fixed- I will post dog beach pictures tomorrow.

Happy 4th-

Wow- what a crazy busy and fun weekend. My good friend Helene came up Thursday - Sunday AM and we did the city up right. I had never visited Millenium Park- and it was amazing. I had heard read great things about the park and heard about the huge metallic lima bean-- everything was amazing. We also browsed the Taste of Chicago- we also hit the dance clubs and did our fair share of flirting with 23 year olds (yes I said 23)-- it was fun fun and more fun.
So after dropping Helene off at the airport Sunday AM I drove back to Ohio to see the family. It was great to get to see my 5 week old nephew Dillon & my almost 3 year old nephew Devan. I love my nephews very much and spoil them relentlessly. I must say however after all the craziness of the weekend it did feel good to get back to Chicago. It is quickly becoming home and a great place to be. Oh- I almost forgot had a wonderful brunch of coffee and biscuits with good friend Laura--- can't forget my Ferguson fix!

I passed with PRIDE-

I passed the exam- I am now a CLU and I get another free trip to San Francisco in November- hurray! I can take three more tests for an additional certification- but at this point I am not sure that I really want more letters behind my name on my business card- now I have MBA, CLU. What an alphabet.

I also celebrated the Pride weekend- perhaps a little too much.. I am hungover and sunburned.. it was not a pretty Monday at all- of course the fact that I had to be up at 4:30am to leave for Davenport, Iowa didn't really help the matter one bit. With God as my witness (an my blog readers too)- I never want to drink that much vodka ever again- yikes. Megan made these fabulous screwdrivers that went down very very easy and the parade just kept getting more and more fun. If you want more "stories" of the weekend- you will have to call me personally- I can devulge all my secrets on the world wide web (GASP).

I am starting to feel more in a groove with work- things are flowing very nice. The work at home routine is getting much more comfortable- I still need to spend some time organizing the house and the office- but that will come in good time- for now my philosophy has been to see as many people as I can and try to network in business as much as I can- in this business it is all about networking and making contacts. In the wholesaling world keeping a full calendar is the hardest task at times and right now that is not an issue for me- so I am considering myself lucky and figure a dry spell for appointments will come sooner or later and then I can organize the office.

I just talked to Helene and she is coming up to chicago Thursday- we are going to have such a fun time together. I only wish that she could have brought here dog Austin so that Trevor would have had a playmate on the beach.

Off to relax for the evening- catch you later.

A quickie-

Hello all- I have not forgotten about you- I have just been BUSY BUSY BUSY.

If you believe in prayer (which I do) or good Karma or postive energy flow- then please send me some tomorrow- it is my final exam of my CLU professional designation- it is on Fundamentals of Income Taxation- needles to say I have been spending too much time the last couple of weeks concentrating on that evil subject and not truly having fun. I will be so happy to not have to drive around and listen to those audio review CDs-

This weekend is Pride in Chicago- Megan and I are doing the Run with Pride on Saturday AM and then I am invited to a party on Sunday to watch the parade- how fun is that?

Next week is the excited trip to exotic and beautiful Iowa (Dubuque, Davenport, Des Moines, and Cedar Rapids- wohoo!!!!) Can't wait baby- bring it on.

Off to work-

I have confessed-

Last night I took a break from the boxes and from studying for my exam next Friday to see MADONNA!!!!! The United Center was a rocking- the show was incredible-- I went alone but made quick friends with the gay couple next to us- we danced the entire show- my feet were so sore and I had no voice left - but the concert was well worth all the hype and the hefty ticket price!!!

If you can get the chance to see the show- DO IT!! Paul did you guys go out in San Jose?

Yesterday was quite the day- I have a 3 hour planning session with the boss- then 3 appointments, followed by a happy hour, followed by Madonna- yikes!

On top of all that I am now in contract for my condo in OH- YAHOOO--- and I got an incredible offer- which is amazing considering how flat the market is in Ohio right now and there are 14 other units for sale in my complex-- I guess my excellent decorating taste paid off!

I have a very busy Thursday and Friday - I have to do 3 group meeting and present to about 100 brokers- so I will be a busy busy boy!

I wanted to say hello to you all and let you know I am OK and having a GREAT time in Chicago-

TGIF

I have been here for a week, and what a week it has been. The move was rough and bumpy at times-- kind of like and expressway with potholes... but I have made it OK. I am adjusting nicely to working from home and enjoying the commute to my dining with a pot of coffee in hand each morning- it is also nice to spend more time with the dog-- although I was one the phone with a client yesterday and the UPS man came with package, when the doorbell rang it was like Trevor decided to bark up a storm (as always) and the broker was like "what's going on??"

The week has been full of lots of office work, phone calls, a couple of really good meetings and yes UNPACKING- I really feel incredible momentum in the job... from my intial impression of the territory I think this is going to be a great job- I have already getting lots of support and good feedback.

I am really scared about 1 thing- my multi purpose device-- the company bought me a printer, fax, scanner, copier-- You mean it doesn't make toast??? What good is this thing--- and then my Blackberry device just scares me- it is very complicated-- I need to dedicate some time to watch the interactive CD-Rom that came with it--- and now I am planning to go to Best Buy and purchase a GPS system??? Am I insane??? It is so much technology so fast-- I am on overload of new buttons to push-- Yikes!

I am excited because my new neighborhood is having a street festival this weekend- lots of music, artists, dancers, and the like-- I plan to scope it out. I also want to take a Yoga class at my new gym- which is right around the corner (gotta love that)--

I just realized I went car-free for over 24 hours - WOW -- what a great feeling-

Have a great weekend- and please email me at brackenridge43228@hotmail.com with the links to you blogs!!!! I need to keep track of my friends!

Also I do not want to post my new address of phone numbers on here- so if you need them, please email me.

Wow- is this for real??

Reality is settling in- and I can't really believe that this is all happening. It is kind of unreal and yet at the same time very very fun!

I wished Mom & Dad goodbye this morning. It was great to have their love, support, and physical assistance in the move. I think my Mom should have a how-to cleaning show on HGTV-- she scrubbed this pas until she had nothing left to scrub! I still have some boxes (ok many many boxes) to unpack... but I will get those unpacked in good time.

I am really enjoying the new neighborhood-- it is so dog friendly- Trevor has already made many new friends. I am enjoying taking him on walks and exploring the neighborhood.

Also- if you have a blog or friendster site or myspace site- please email the hyperlink to your site- as I lost all my bookmarked favorites in the transition- and I miss reading about all of my friends life and times..

OK - I am tired and ready for a hot shower.