2 Games, 2 Birthdays, a holiday, family all in One week

Holiday & Family

It was nice to be home for Thanksgiving. I got to spend time with both of my nieces, my sister and my mother. It was fairly uneventful. I went to the park & played a little ball with my niece. I  helped cook dinner (Mac & Cheese, Mashed potatoes). Mom made the Turkey & mixed Veggie. As you can see below my niece made the deserts and set the table.  My godson was in town and I got to spend some time with him. Nothing like family time.

Two birthday celebrations and a basketball game

I got to celebrate the birthdays of two people very close to me. We started off with a little singing for Sam. We followed that up with the basket ball game.  My step bad, Sam, B and I all went. An ATL win over the Clips surprised us all. After that me and the two birthday people went out to Harlem Knight Lounge. Had a few drinks (I  was the DD). We didn't make it to part three of the double celebration but went for part four (food) before calling it an early morning at 4a. 

Flacons Game & More

After having to come back to Albany for a few days I headed back to ATL for some more fun. A big game in the GA Dome against our only loss at that point and rival NO. I picked up my game mate up from the airport and checked into the hotel. She of course is a Saints fan. Anyway, we took the Marta to the game. The Dome rocked. We had awesome seats and came out with a big win. I was pumped. I can't say the same for Jodie. But the fun didn't stop at that after a late dinner B picked us up. We went out to a bar. We had some fun. I still don't know why Jodie didn't accept that dance offer when she knew she wanted to. Lost opportunity. We followed that up the next day with a late start to the day. We went to the World of Coke & got to see the setup for the SEC game for College Game Day. After dinner we headed to play some bowling. Took a little while after Apple Maps sent us on a goose chase for an alley and a little curb action. She did beat me both games but the bowling alley's balls sucked ( I still would have lost). We decided to end the trip with a little session at the shooting range compliments of B. Jodie is a mean clip holder shooter. B got one shot the zombie eye on his first shot. We are now officially mean zombie killing machines. Of course Jodie ended up getting checked at the airport and tested positive for gun residue. I guess it isn't the best idea to go to shot off a few rounds before going to the airport but all worked out and the weekend was a success. 

HBD big Bro

It doesn't get any easier each day. You learn to live with it. Each year my mom likes to release balloons in the air in memory of my brother. I am not sure what it does but having a tradition allows us to have a time to reflect on the life of my brother. I like to use this day to reflect on my life. I use it as a reminder of how blessed I am, how precious our time is, to remember to love those around us.

This is a video I made a last year. A lot of people have seen it but it stands true on my feelings.

Thank you everyone for your kind words & support.

Wedding Weekend

I don't even know where to begin with this post or even what angel to take. I'll just start with a  story I guess. The history of Juan and Lisette from my perspective.

We all  grew up in a small town. One that everyone pretty much knew everyone. A small town that all your lives are intertwined with each-others. You end up developing unique life long connections with each other. Even to the people you don't know as much. We enjoy each others accomplishments and feel each others sorrows long after we have left this town.

This is where Juan and Lisette's story begins. Growing up we all went to school together. I became friends with Lisette in 2nd grade or so and even though I knew Juan didn't really become friends with him until middle school. We played on the same sports teams and had class together. I remember in 8th grade Lisette was my best friend and Juan was my teammate & classmate. In the hallways Juan would mention how he found Lisette attractive. I am not sure I ever told her that just taking it as typical middle school guy talk. That summer I moved away to Atlanta.

Being great friends with Lisette we stayed in touch. I specifically remember the late September call I had with her. She excitedly told me about hanging out with Juan. She also mentioned her worry of Juan's "bad boy" persona (which is kind of funny thinking about it now). Over the next few weeks we talked a few more times. I could tell she was really growing to like him. She really felt Juan genuinely liked her. Before long they started dating. Years went by and still they stayed together.

After high-school Lisette moved down to Miami. The same place I was going to college. It was great. We got to hang out more and become close again. However this was a tough time for her relationship. Maybe one of the hardest times. Being young, in a new place and not together can make it tough for any couple even one that had been together a long time. Something amazing happened over those months Juan & Lisette's relationship went from being hard to becoming stronger. After that, that is when I knew they would grow old together. Juan would move down to Florida and Lisette would move to the Tampa area. The two continued to build their relationship while figuring out who they are as individuals. Something I know can often push people apart. Instead they leaned on each other and grew together. Years later here they are committing to each other. Only legally because they have long ago committed to each other.

They found something rare in today's world: True Love. Many people get married and say it but I see something different here. As said by one of the best men they are the action love not just the word or the feeling but they are the definition of love in action. As long as they continue that they will forever be. I just want to wish them the happiest of times in this next portion of this love journey.

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As far as the actual weekend event, I must say it was beautiful. It was a well needed break from all that has been going on with me lately. The first day ended up being a 24 hr day for me. After getting up & working I made the 5 hour drive down to Tampa. I met up with everyone at the Garcia house. That night was a ton of fun even though I was the DD. I don't really drink or party so it was perfect. It was guys night out and I will leave out the finer details of the evening. After ending up at McDs and ordering breakfast for the party goers we called it a night. I stayed at a hotel. The next day I hung out with Pickle, Title IV and Peter before we went to the dinner.

We had a mini fire but not serious more funny. The dinner was nice. I got to hang, eat good food, talk about food. Later in the evening we just hung out at the house and played Dominos and talk about nothing really. Some people headed to the Casino while the rest stayed behind and hit up the food truck to end the night.

The following morning ( the day of the wedding) a few of us decided to head to the beach before the wedding. I had gotten a room near the wedding venue. It was right on the beach so it worked out perfect. Peter, title IV and Pickle joined me being none of us were in the bridal party or had kids to worry about. It was a nice relaxing day. After spending time on the beach we headed to the room. We all showered and headed out to the wedding.

The wedding we real nice. Everything was well put together. It was an intimate wedding. A good amount of people. I really like that the bridal party was up on a stage it made it easier to take in the ceremony. The ceremony was very touching. Followed by a nice dinner and some hanging out.

After the wedding we headed over to a bar in the hotel next to mine. That fizzled out quick and we all parted ways. I left out a lot of specifics of each day but I am not trying to write a book here. I''ll leave that for stories over a drink.  Don't forget to check out a low quality video I put together with the pictures I had.

New Luxury Apartment

Here is a short video of my semi complete apartment. I am trying to still keep the minimalist idea going. I just want to add a few pieces of art, furnish the guest room (aka Alyssa's room), get a stand for living room, a night stand and washer/dryer set. This apartment has way more cabinet space then I will ever need (high quality problem) but the large kitchen is nice for cooking. The room sizes are perfect.  If I had to point out something I didn't like it would be that the living room could be a little bigger & no linen closets.

As mentioned in my previous post, I am within walking distance from work. The apartment complex is just over a year old & it is considered a luxury apartment here in Albany. No pool or gym on the property though. Look for a future post on Albany as a whole.

I didn't really clean the apartment before making the clips used in this video. I didn't originally intend to use them for this video but this is how I live.

*Floor plan in the beginning is the real floor plan of the apartment

1000 views

Thank you whoever is checking out my blog. Just reached over 1000 views. Lets get some dialogue going now & leave some comments. What would you like to see or discuss??

Halloween

I spent the day with my two nieces. We went to a pumpkin patch. Did the whole Hey-ride thing.

My niece Sky who is just 3 months old is so adorable. She doesn't really cry & loves to cuddle. Her older sister is a little Diva. She knows it to.

Later once we got home we carved out a pumpkin. It was nice. We baked the seeds after.

I know this is a boring proud uncle post but I love my two little ones.

I found her

But she is taken.... I guess I shall keep searching.

Bye Rochester NY

It was time to leave. My time in Rochester was nice but I was ready to get back to the south to be with my family. I will miss Rochester. Rochester was a good city to live in but at the end of the day it isn't about where you are but who you are with. I made a lot of good friends in Rochester I hope to stay in touch with throughout the years.

Rochester is much is a better city then the one I a live in now. I will miss the sports scene. The city is known for its minor league sports. It is great because you get to see good sports for a great price. The city is big enough to have everything you need but small enough not to worry about traffic. I will miss some of my favorite resturants: Dinosaurs BBQ, John's Tex Mex, Cheese Eddies, 3 Latinos. I will also miss Charlotte beach and occasionally the snow. I will miss having the seasons and the beautiful fall season in upstate NY.  Life will not be the same without Wegman's or the public market but I will just have to learn to live without them.

My last few weeks in Rochester I tried to hit up all my favorites. Ending with a gathering with most of my close  friends at Dinosaurs BBQ. My employees gave me a nice lunch one day and my college friends had a going away breakfast for me. The basketball in the morning and the kickball league was hard to let go of.

Rochester was also in a decent location if you didn't driving some. You could drive to several cities within a few hours (Pittsburgh, Buffo, Niagara , Cleveland, Toronto,  Syracuse,  NYC) and get to see major leagues sports, famous cities.

The single biggest thing I left behind is a person. Some one I haven't been without for nearly 8 years. Although our relationship as a couple came to an end over 2 years ago we still have remained close. We have been through a lot together we have always been able to count on each other. I am not sure what this will do to our relationship and that is scary. I am sure we will remaining close but it will be odd not being able to make a short trip and her being right there.

Rochester although you are not perfect you are a good city that I gave 4 good years to. I hope that we cross paths again in the future. Thank you for treating me well (although the state of New York didn't).

The end of the Experiment.

The experiment has come to an end. Living in a smaller place close to work, riding a bike, trying new food. Well it really hasn't come to an end because it has become a life style. The situation has changed though.

In late July I decided to take a job position at another store officially ending my living arrangements and my time in Rochester NY.  I took a position closer to Atlanta to be near mom & my pumpkin.

 The experience was nice. It made life simple in many aspects. I didn't have to worry as much about cleaning because I had the smaller space. I got to get more sleep because the commute to work was much simpler. The only downside was running into a lot of people from work and the smaller kitchen. Being farther from the main shopping areas wasn't so bad being the staples were close by.

To be honest I liked it so much I have kept to most of the same things at my new place. I live close to work ( I walk to work). I even decided to go without cable. I just have an antenna that gets three channels. I did however get a luxury apartment this time around so the downsizing didn't stick. I still have been trying not to just fill the place with stuff I don't really need. The extra space is nice to host guests (like my niece :) ). The larger kitchen has made it easier for my food experiments even though this kitchen it way to big for me. I do like the simple approach though it makes life easier.  I plan on trying to keep with it. I'll post a video of my new place soon.

Wedding

Last week my cousin got married. It was a beautiful wedding. I always love these events because most of my family comes. It is always like a family reunion. We get to see all the new babies (like 6 new ones the last year) & other family members we haven't seen in years.

My mom & Pumpkin came up. They stayed with me for a few days before we headed out to the wedding. I love that little girl so much. She already has me. She gets whatever she wants. She is a diva. Picking out her own outfits & shoe shopping. So smart for a 2 year old. I don't know why she is so mean to me but won't let me leave her sight. It is ok for now.

The wedding was real nice. The ceremony was simple. The reception was beautiful. Inside & outside. Cocktail hour, dinner, desert & everything was open bar plus the amount of choices for each was great. The bride look fantastic (my cousin). The grooms tux was nice.

Everything went fairly smooth. I got to spend time with all the new babies & my grandmother.

Summer on the Road

Since April I have ben on the road a bit. Some for work some for pleasure. This summer has been filled with a lot of things going on. Here is an update.

For work I have taken two road trips. I was in Erie PA to help transition a new store. I went for 3 days. Erie, Pa is like most of the rust belt. A struggling city. We stayed about 15 minutes from the store in a very popular shopping area. We did a littler site seeing while at the store.

Also for work I went to Geneva-On-The-Lake in Ohio. It is located between Cleveland & Erie PA. It is a summer destination. We went here for our Regional meeting. It was a beautiful place. One of the best sunsets I have ever seen. Other then work we also got to walk around a bit & played a friendly game of volleyball. Considering I traveled for work it was fun. I enjoy the other people I work with which helps. The store I manage won a few awards for our performance. I also got a gift card to go along with the award. I ended up giving that away to someone.

Both of of these trips included  night in Buffalo before heading out. I spent hung out with  Co-worker/friend before we hit the road for work. Traveling for work with a friend makes it much easier on those drives.

 






In addition to traveling for work I have been on the road for some fun. I took a trip to Atlanta to spend time with my godson and my little pumpkin. Of course I got to spend time with my mother. I didn't do much but hang out and relax. I spent most of my time spoiling my little pumpkin. I pretty much did whatever she wanted and bought her everything she wanted. That is what uncles are for.

I have also done a lot of local traveling and entertainment. It started with a visit from a Bermudian ;). I picked her up in Syracuse and we spent the weekend just relaxing and hanging out. I also spent time with some local friends. We went to the Seneca Park Zoo. It was the first time I went. It was fun hanging out with little G and his parents.

More recently I have been doing a ton of driving. My friend who just finished law school in the UK has come back to this side of the world to his home city of Toronto. We decided to meet up and continue or travels as we did in the UK. After picking him up in Niagara (after forcing him to walk over the Rainbow bridge) we headed to Buffalo. We met up with a college friend and my other friend. The same one from work & he also has a sister in UK/Nephew in UK I met up with and my Toronto friend met also. We went to Anchor Bar, home of the original wing. After checking in to our Buffalo hotel we spent the rest of the night on Chippewa (Street with a strip of bars). After having a few drinks and checking out a few bars we grabbed some pizza. Across the street a fight broke out & that ended our night so we walked back to our hotel.

The next day we went to the Niagara Fashion outlet in which Mr. Mark decided to pass over a great Polo deal (Polo Every thang). We crossed over the bridge into Canada and headed to Syyno's apartment in Burlington (another college friend). We hung out around that way before heading to Toronto for some fun.

We got a hotel downtown so we can party without having to worry about driving. We met up with our Toronto friend's friends at a nearby club for a little partying. Let me just leave it at this: 10/11 girls to 4 guys. Yeah, I won't speak about the happenings of that night. Only that the bartender sucked. Watered down drinks and bad service as this place. She would take her own tip out of our change or over charge us for drinks. The only down part of the night. We finished the night with a walk around the city and laughing the night away thanks to Syyno.

That ended that weekend. I dropped my to friends off in Toronto & Burlington. Since it was a Canadian holiday I ran into a bunch of traffic on my way home.

This weekend was followed by another Mark & Arnoldo World tour celebration style weekend. Some how this weekend came together to include: Regine (Brick City), Natasja (Roc), Mark (Toronto) and Me (Roc). These people haven't seen each other in years. After a missed bus, forgotten passport, a delayed bus & an unscheduled pick up in Buffalo we started the weekend.

First things first. My younger sister had her second baby Sky this same weekend. So Pumpkin2 has been born. Now I am going to have to get a second job between Pumpkin 1 & 2. O'well, back to the regular scheduled program (future post coming soon). 

I can't even put into words the events of the weekend. It was a little bit of sleeping some drinking, a ton of dancing, signing,  joking and YouTube watching. I haven't laughed so hard in years. Nothing about the weekend was serious. I manage to complete a book (The Pact) while drinking, designated driving, having a garbage plate (dumpster plate lol), Karaoke, Omelets, Curry Chicken, Go Kart racing, Dinosaurs BBQ, Spades, a lot of YouTube videos, a bloody toe, a few slaps of a sandal, a girl named Danielle, Ontario Beach, Abbotts Ice Cream, another missed bus, Canadian Currency jokes, watching tennis, more Spades. If that doesn't make any sense that is because it doesn't and I am sure I missed as least 10 things. Just take a look at the pictures.

 

Between these two weekends was the 4th of July. I had a BBQ with a few of my Rochester people on the 3rd. It was a nice relaxing night with some good food. On the forth we chilled at my place and went swimming. That was fun. I watched the fireworks on tv. The only other thing this summer is my kickball team. I am on two teams. Both teams are kind of bad but it is still really fun to play. I will blog about that at the end of the season.