I'm on Break

Hey Friends,

I apologize for the recent silence. Since Saturday morning, I've been traveling and engaging in activities I deem worthy of doing on Spring Break.

Last weekend was a college reunion of sorts as Dave Winters and I traveled down to Lexington, KY to visit Mr. and Mrs. Doost. Unfortunatley, my plans to visit Erin Miller in western Kentucky fell through, but the silver lining in being home a couple days earlier than planned was that I was in town to help Nick "Mr. T" Tranbarger celebrate his 26th birthday.

After laying low at home for half a day, I made the relatively short jaunt down to the town of my birth to visit my grandparents and my middle brother Jarrod, as well as other extended family. Returning from Bloomington on Thursday afternoon, I once again met up with the Tranbarger clan to watch a free UFC card on TV. My high school chum Emily Reichart and her family were also present for the fights, a chili dinner, and plenty of fun with children two and under.

Today was a day for cinephilia. This afternoon I attended a 12:30 showing of the glorious Grindhouse double feature (which I give a combined four thumbs up), and this evening I will watch Babel at home with Susan.

My plans for tomorrow are thus far sparse and simplistic: laundry during the day, UFC 69 at night. In an interesting turn of events, my friends and I will not be ordering this particular UFC Pay-Per-View but opting to watch it a local watering hole instead. After making a few calls to inquire which establishments planned to carry it, it look like Nick and I will be completing our social hat trick for the week by heading to Hooters.

[Now what really makes this turn of events interesting to me is that this will be the first time I will have patronized a Hooters in my homestate. I've been to Hooters in Georgia (to see UFCs 58 and 59), North Carolina (UFC 60), and Kentucky (an afternoon pit stop for wings on the way to Dustin's last July), but never a local chapter.]

The last day of my break, Sunday, is of course Easter. This day will hold many reasons for celebration. First, there's the fact of Jesus Christ's resurrection...you know, that event that broke death's stranglehold over fallen humanity. Second, my immediate family shall partake of pizza from Union Jack's, which is a pricey yet scrumptuous delicacy. And, finally, Sunday morning marks the end of Lent and hence all my Lenten commitments to abstain from ice cream, chocolate, cookies, and various restaurant chains. I'm looking forward to having some ice cream most of all.

So that's what I've been up to. I hope Holy Week has been enjoyable for all of you as well.