Are you ready to rock!?!?!
Greetings From Raleigh, NC
iPad-limited again, however this time I’m cranking the blog out via a Bluetooth keyboard so my only limitation this morning will be time.
It appears that it will be a brilliant sunrise this morning in Raleigh, however I’m without camera because I didn’t think that I’d have time to shoot and didn’t feel like dealing with the TSA and more gear than I’d already packed. I attempted to capture sunrise with my iPhone’s camera, but try as it might it just doesn’t do a good job of capturing low-light situations nor does it have the ability to pick up the deep red-orange of the moment.
See what I mean?
Smile, Your Getting Your Junk Checked Out
Well, it finally happened. For my trip yesterday I had to go through one of those millimeter-wave scan machines. For the most part it was uneventful. However, I was nervous for a second as I thought that the lump I have on my back was going to cause them to do further investigation. As I turned around after leaving the machine I saw a outline of a body and a yellow square on my upper back. Before I could go the TSA agent had to feel my back, I guess to investigate the yellow square. All was well however, and I was not detained in any way.
ITP-Paulie, Ford Focus Driver
My coworker Joe and I arrived in Raleigh, hopped into the shuttle bus for our car rental agency, and were once again issued a silver Ford Focus for our driving excursions. However unlike the Ford Focus I drove around Gainesville last week this one has some upgraded features like a much better temperature control system. This car has the strangest parking brake I’ve ever seen in a car, which is different from last week’s Ford Focus; this week’s parking break looks like a standard parking break, but when you pull on the handle it moves straight up instead of in a radial fashion.
Neither of these Ford Focuses (Foci?) will convince me to purchase one when the time comes for me to part ways with the Jackmobile (or vice-versa more likely) but it’s nice to get to play around with a new model every once in a while (see also: college girls. I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Yeesh, people have become so sensitive…)
Lily’s Pizza Didn’t Disappoint
Joe and I navigated our way to Lily’s Pizza, a consistently delicious, yet consistently slow-moving, Raleigh standard for me. There we met ITP-Readers Lisa and Randy and their kids. It’s always a great time for me to hang with my Raleigh gang and I wish that I were able to have extended my visit this time around to hang with them all over a weekend.
The pizza last night was great, but even better was finding out that our beer of choice last night, ironically Atlanta’s Sweetwater 420 because it was the best thing they had on tap, was Monday Night’s “Special” for $1.50/glass, hence $6.00/pitcher. Now that’s college-town pricing my friends — and I’m not even in a traditional college town!
A Message For ITP-Reader Betsy
Hope Reese is healing nicely. Top Chef returns on November 2nd (if my memory serves me correctly.) I guess that was really two messages but I’ve never been that great at math.
Okay, time for me to get myself put together for another day of career day activities. No stats today as even though I’m writing this using a keyboard with my iPad it’s a pain in the butt to cut-and-copy my stats section. Hmmm, perhaps I should attempt to make that a TextExpander snippet tonight.
Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]
You got my car. 🙂 That’s what I be driving these days and I seriously laughed out loud: I’ve written the phrase “Focuses (Foci?)” before too! Too funny. I have a 2011 though, not a 2012. From what I remember (sitting at my desk and not out in the parking lot at the moment, you see), I think my parking break is normal.
Yellow square on upper back? Yeah, you’re not a very good pack mule. That’s NOT where you carry.
Yeah, I miss the days of college-priced beers. 🙁 For the good stuff, not just Miller High Life.
Huh, I didn’t know you are driving a Focus now (I knew you had gotten a new car). Is yours silver? Are they all silver a la the days of Henry Ford when all Fords were black?
I love my Ford, they’ve really upped their game over the past few years. Even my old Escape had few problems after 10 years and 130,000 miles. We rented a Taurus last year, it was really, really nice…thought it was a much higher end car.
I rudely popped in on Betsy Sunday afternoon after Hotoberfest. Reese looks no worse for wear.
REI members: the 20% off coupon should be in your mailbox if you haven’t already received it. Sale starts Saturday!! Forerunner 310xt you will by mine!!
can you use someone else’s 20% off REI coupon? If you can, and I can still find it – anyone can have ours. I don’t see a trip to REI in my immediate future.
Yeah, I love me my Ford too – they’ve TOTALLY upped their game. And it’s fun to have the “bells and whistles” – the Sync and USB port and Sirius radio and stuffs like that. Plus, it really does drive nice. For the price and for being American-made (which was important to me on this purchase), it really is a great little car. And, nope. It’s red. Ha. Never imagined myself in a red car either. 🙂 I guess I’m just gonna have to drive over to your house one of these days so you can cook me dinner and see it. (HA! Like how I did that?)
“Smile, YOU’RE Getting Your Junk Checked Out.” 🙂
I’m blaming that on autocomplete/autocorrect. That, and terrible proofreading by the author. 😉
I got the whole body scan last time I flew out of ATL.. I also got it years ago flying out of Orlando which I think must have been a test site. I really don’t know what all the hubbub is about. If you don’t like the security, don’t fly.
My Garmin finally woke up the last time I used it, so a replacement isn’t needed. I can’t think of anything REI has I’m in need of- I think I have $7 dividend to burn before the end of the year, so I can go wild on some Honey Stingers!!
-FP
we both opt’d to do the full body scan the last time we flew – the line was shorter. I could care less – let ’em look.
We had a good time at Lilly’s last night, too. The boys are always excited to see Uncle Paulie and good pizza and beer topped things off nicely. Dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
And the leftover pizza was excellent at lunch today.
Hope you guys have good luck recruiting today. Let me know what time the career fair is over and I’ll phone the good people at Flying Saucer so they will have a table ready for you 😉
Top Chef!!!! Top Chef!!!! I will miss the All Star season but I’m looking forward to it.
Reese thanks you for asking after her. When Martha dropped by (not rudely and not Sunday–it was Saturday) she looked no worse than the state of my kitchen area (posing as my office currently) and myself. It reminded me that I should perhaps live my life in a manner in which, if someone should pop by, I don’t have to apologize profusely. Thanks for the drop-by, Martha. Next time, things might look a bit more organized….maybe. 🙂