2008 Year in Review

What a year the past 12 months were… first the big stuff. Like many of you know, at the end of April, Jen and I got married in Fort Lauderdale. We had a great weekend, filled with family, friends, fun, and fantastic festivities, and are thankful that many of you were able to make the journey from near (Jen’s mom, blocks away) and far (Avi, Jeanie, Goldi, Seemi, and Meredith from CA; special mention to Jim Zechinati who came all the way from business in Austria!). It was a great weekend and we were so lucky to have all of you there. From Pier 66, it was off to Tahiti for 11 days – a night in Papeete, followed by 5 days each in Moorea and Bora Bora. For all the details, check the blog (link above – go to April/May posts), but in a few words or less, it was freaking unbelievable. Fantastic food, amazing views, some incredible scuba diving (Jen got certified), and just the time of our lives.

Well, after the honeymoon was over, we bought a house – and then the honeymoon was REALLY over!! OK, maybe not really, but a Tahitian overwater bungalow was slightly more romantic than paint brushes and faux fireplaces and ripping out 1970’s wood paneling. Still, we have our little slice – on a small canal up the south fork of the New River, 20 minutes by boat to downtown Fort Lauderdale, another 20 out to the Atlantic (in Fred’s boat of course, since we don’t actually have one). A 3/2, with PLENTY of opportunity for us to exercise our limited house renovation abilities. It’s going a bit slow, but thanks to a lot of help from Lukes’ Landscaping, the outside looks a heck of a lot better, and the inside is getting there. So that means we have plenty of room for all our friends here to crash late night and out of town guests to stay weekends.

So that’s been the majority of our 2008 – but not the whole thing, of course. Jen had a couple of showers, here and up in NJ. I had a couple of bachelor parties; in NJ it was roller hockey and Sambuca and plenty of fun, especially with Lehman’s cell phone. Great job by Jay and Erik putting it all together, and thanks to all you guys for turning Mom and Dad’s house into the Cherry Hill Beta Shady Palace Bulldog Cranberry Bog. While the shenanigans were going on, Jen had a mini-Bachelorette Party of her own, with some of the Sharpe gals and a Masseuse on the Loose (ask Jen). Part II of the Bachelor Party sent a motley crew down to Key West for a long weekend while Jen and the gals headed to NYC for the St. Patrick’s Bachelorette party. To top things off, Goldi combined his bachelor party in there too, so the adventure was doubled. Too many adventures to list here, but we weekend provided plenty of fun, memories, a little trouble with the Kon Tiki, and plenty of getting into trouble on Duval St. Oh yea, apologies to Caniz, McManus, Rogish, Pitts, Lefever, Daur, Martin, Legates, Freed, and Makovsky – passing out your cell phone numbers to spring breakers was my, er, Lehman’s best idea all year. Sunday ended up being quite a day as Ray, Cody, Pfeif and I made the most of our 8+ year reunion of the Irish Kevin’s millennium, and only Mark biting the bullet got us back to Broward County in one piece – thanks Mark!

April was wedding month, but not just for Jen and I. First, we journeyed down to Baja California Sur for Matt Facarazzo’s wedding. Matt and Kelly had a beautiful beachfront ceremony at Dreams in Cabo, and we had a great time being a part of their special weekend. It was a ton of fun, even if Kelly’s sister in law gave birth while Kelly’s brother Michael, the rest of the Weavers, and Jen’s family were toasting the new couple on the Sea of Cortez. The week after, I journeyed out to Orange County for Goldi and Seema’s wedding, where I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend (it’s not often you see Ray in traditional Indian dress) while Jen did the last minute wedding prep. Two weeks later, it was our turn!

Since then it’s been a lot of house stuff, but we have found time to have a little fun here and there (a lot of it’s on the blog). We got to head to the Shore for the 4th, getting to see plenty of friends, chowing down some White House, watching fireworks from the tiki bar, and hanging with PFC Caniz. We got to head to out to with the flotilla to Lake Boca for Kim’s birthday, to the G Love concert in Pompano for Jen’s birthday (even though Rafal and I were the only ones who knew any G Love), and got to take in a dozen or so lobsters during the first day of mini-season with Fred, then made it to work by 10am. We also headed down to Key West with Abbye, Brandon, and his cousins, and got to head out to a remote Key with no name on Erica and Randy’s boat, then have a Sunday Funday at the Rum Barrel and another long drive home, this time by Jen.

Labor Day weekend tried to get Jen to Key West for Sari’s bachelor party, but Tropical Storm Hanna relocated them to South Beach while I headed to the Gulf Coast for some Jim Morris and a butchered round of golf. The following weekend, Guido and I went to Cleveland to watch a Cowboys whupping of the Browns, preceded by a heck of a tailgate on Lake Erie. Somehow, we didn’t get booted out with a large Pac Man sign, and I didn’t go for a swim. The fall brought a lot of travel for work, as well as a couple weekend trips, first to Bimini, then to Tybee Beach, GA. Bimini with Fred and Doreen and Justin and Maura was a lot of fun, even for those of us who decided to drink a weekend’s worth of rum on Friday night. We got to spend a lot of time in Tybee with Carolyn and the rest of the Williams clan, even if the weather was decidedly un-beach like.

The end of October brought one thing – the Phillies run to being World Champions – “World F***ing Champions” in the words of Chase Utley. Five games – but six nights – at the Parrot resulted in one wild celebration (which resulted in one banged up cell phone) and I’m still annoying half of South Florida with my World Series stuff. We also had a PSU-OSU game thrown in with Game three there, even if Iowa screwed the master plan up a couple of weeks later (be thankful Florida fans, or else it’d be PSU-Oklahoma in a rematch from the ’86 Orange Bowl). November brought some more work travel for me, sandwiching a trip to Philly for a Friday night out with the guys and a great wedding Saturday for Corey and Eric. We hosted our very first holiday here, Thanksgiving, and Jen made an impressive turkey dinner for us, after the Shady Banks Turkey Bowl. We also had Sari’s wedding at the Ritz that weekend, which was a great time. And we hit the home stretch of 2008 getting ready to head to NJ for Christmas.

All in all, I’d say that was a pretty fantastic year. Here’s hoping 2009 is filled with plenty more great memories! And now, it’s time to send this, sign off, go to bed, and wait for the Autoresponses and Undeliverable to come back en masse.

Christmas is comin'...

It's the most wonderful time of the year... and also the most stress-inducing. Kinda hard to believe this is what the Magi expected their little journey to evolve into, huh? We do have the outside lights up, the tree is decorated, presents are bought (well, most of them), we're even mostly packed for our Christmas Eve trip to NJ. Still, it's been a little tough getting into the spirit of things this year - we're both working a lot, we're trying to get more done on the house (door casings and baseboards are our next adventure), and get everything done so that Christmas itself won't be too crazy. So, to try and get more in the mood, some non-traditional Christmas songs...

• The 12 Days Of Guido Christmas
• The best Christmas song ever
• ... and his second best one
• Jimmy's take...
• ... and Scott Kirby's
  

So toss in Buffett's Christmas Island cd, make a drink of holiday cheer, and embrace the holiday spirit as much as possible. Now, time for me to get to work, where there's definitely NOT a lot of Christmas spirit (we're moving our HQ to Phoenix and 100 of us are losing our jobs sometime between now and 2010).

Jimmy V and other Ramblings

A few other random tidbits

• First, it's the Jimmy V week on ESPN. The V Foundation, started by legendary coach and broadcaster Jim Valvano shortly before his death, raises money for cancer research. As a cancer survivor, and the descendant of three deceased grandparents with cancer, it's obviously something that hits close to home - and has hit close to home (or at home) with many family and friends. Jimmy V's battle against cancer was courageous, but the marks he made on the hardcourt will one day pale in comparison to the difference he's made, 15 years after his death, with the V Foundation. Find a quiet ten minutes in your day and take in his 1993 ESPY speech. It's never failed to put a lump in my throat or tear in my eye. RIP Jimmy V, your mind, heart, and soul are indeed living on forever.
• OJ... the Juice is definitely NOT loose anymore. Sad stuff. Although I don't buy this was for this crime alone - right or wrong, there was paybacks from 14 years ago. For all you guys who want to feel old, remember where you were when Simpson and Al Cowlings were rolling down the highway in the white Bronco. We were - surprise! - at Schultzy's house having a party. I'm not sure there would have been much of a social life at Eustace if we didn't have Chad's, Bulldog's, Medford Lakes, and the shore houses of Bitonti and Falese. Anyways...
• Speaking of idiot athletes, this is the funniest thing I've seen about that moron Plaxico (or anyone else) in quite a while. I hope Jay or some other Birds fan brings it to the Meadowlands this weekend; at the very least, I hope one of the Eagles has the cojones to take the BSG's suggestion: "I'm still disappointed that a receiver didn't honor Plaxico Burress last weekend by catching a touchdown, then pretending to shoot himself in the leg with the football and limping around."
• Shameless plug for a friend - check out Jeanie Callen Barat's new website - thefitnessjeanie.com. Good luck Jeanie!
• Political links - Joe Biden sounding Dubya-like, proving in politics stupid isn't exclusive to one party. Mike Ditka had an off-chance of affecting the 2008 Presidental race - how much is debatable, but still, interesting "what if". From Howard Stern, Sal in Harlem - had I gone to the early voting place by where I work (a predomindatly black neighborhood) and worn a shirt with "I'm voting for McCain because we're both Irish", it wouldn't have gone over very well, to say the least. Be happy your boy won, but don't ignorantly vote for someone because of race.
  
• More Phillies (get used to it) - Game 5 apparently paid off before it was even over. Mitch Williams, all is forgiven. Also, ESPN.com's "experts" are a bunch of morons. Not one picked the Phils to even MAKE the Series, much less dominate it - and this was done the day the playoffs started! And then there's this guy (in the hat), what the $%# ?!?!? And if you haven't seen Little Will firing up the crowd at the parade, it's pretty funny.
  
• I've heard of some angry divorced women before, but this is ridiculous. Actually, I'm surprised this didn't happen at CMU...
• For those of you who only drink bottled water...
  

November Update

What a busy month, so much for updating this more frequently. Plenty going on down here in South FL - and other places. A couple of big things in the five weeks that the Phillies have reigned as World Champions (World Ph*cking Champions!), so here's a quick recap what Jen and I have been up to:

• The job. As of today, my company officially merged with Allied Waste, which means the clock is ticking on my time at Republic. I don't worry as much as Jen does about this, since I'm on two fairly important projects now (I spent the first two full weeks of Nov out in Scottsdale, AZ for the merger - traveling can really be tiring). Still it's somewhat unsettling to have the full responsibilities of being a "grown up" and staring at yet another job change.
  
• Speaking of travel, we got to head to Philly for my cousin Corey's wedding - pictures here. It was a great weekend and wonderful wedding, even though we got there late because the bride's brother-in-law (uh, I guess that makes him my cousin in law) Mark took us the slowest way possible from Cherry Hill to Camden. Otherwise though, great ceremony, fun reception, some good food, and plenty of drinks. It is the Irish side of the family. Congrats Corey and Eric - and their adorable boy Cameron!
• Also that weekend, we had quite a Friday night in Philly. I arrived early, and after eventually making my way to Jeff's, he and I met up with Lehman, Caniz, and Rick for happy hour... you can probably guess how this went (click the wedding pics above and look at the first few for a glimpse). Poor Jen - she had an earlier flight and because of some work stuff, she had to take the later one - which of course got delayed because of the weather. So she didn't get there until 1am, so you can imagine the freak show she walked into. Oh yea, Martin is drinking again, I remember why we used to get in so much trouble down here. Great time fellas, it was nice to come home and not have to juggle a while bunch of conflicting plans and just head out for an old-fashioned night out at home. Good times.
  
• Thanksgiving in Florida... what another fun, tiring, eventful weekend. It was a weekend of firsts - first holiday in our new house, first "real" holiday being married, first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, first Shady Banks Turkey Bowl, first swim in the canal, first FL high school football game (Jen's HS is #2 in the nation). Heck, even first wedding for Sari. See below for all the details.
  
• The Turkey Bowl was a success - unless you were Trevor or Mike and had to nurse a weekend warrior injury on Friday. At one point (once the Opre brothers showed up) we had 13 guys out there. In the end, we took an OT W/tie, giving those guys the last two possessions to make up a 5-3 deficit. They did. Oh well. Jen hosted the ladies with Mimosas, and they got to cheerlead for some of the game, even being impressed with some of our "athletic ability". Obviously the gals haven't been around top-quality athletes in some time. Still, it was a TON of fun, and we're going to figure out how to have a monthly football game here. To top it off, the first swim from our dock took place after a few post-game beverages; I've been itching to hop in the canal but just haven't done so yet. Now that the ice is broken, I'll be in our "temporary pool" much more often. For the record, the water is brackish, almost freshwater, and warm, and the bottom is just coarse sand and not the Jersey Shore muck I'm used to.
  
• Dinner was at our house; Luke and Lyn got a last minute trip to Europe that left Thanksgiving night, so we scrambled a bit and pulled off one heck of a meal. Jen was QUITE the Betty Crocker in the kitchen; I was pretty darn impressed. We only had 7 of us for dinner, but it was quite a bit of fun. Mike was in charge of the turkey fryer, Grandpa brought the desserts (well, there were a bunch of desserts there from the Turkey Bowl), our friends Sam and Julie took care of some of the sides, but Jen was the hostess with the mostess. I took care of the "entertaining", limping around to fill everyone's drink. We had a great time, even Grandpa had plenty to eat and drink, and (as the pictures show) the Sambuca took quite a hit. A great first holiday in the Sharpe house!
  
• Saturday night we had Sari's wedding, preceded by Florida-FSU fiasc, er I mean, game. I was sporting the old school CMU #86, which vaguely resembles FSU's jerseys. It didn't help. They got spanked. As the game wound down, we got dressed, I pimped it out in the tux (black tie wedding), and we headed to the Ritz-Carlton. It was quite a place (an understatement) - the pics are at the end of the Thanksgiving link. Congrats to Sari and Michael and we'll see you guys out in LA one of these days soon! Oh yea, quick post-script, Fred and I got dressed in the tuxes on Sunday and had bloody marys (and a few other drinks) around Fort Lauderdale. I can't imagine what everyone was thinking (other than what the F is wrong with these fools in tuxes and flip flops), it's just too bad there was no 1pm Eagles game at the Parrot. Oh yea, and I helped Fred take his boat out too - even piloting it from his Dad's place to the ramp around the corner. It's not a big deal for most guys down here, but when you're in a tux, you've had a few drinks the day after a long Saturday night, and it's your 2nd or 3rd time behind the helm in about 5 years, you tend to worry about things such as ramming into something or sinking the damn thing. It was fun to be behind the wheel though - Jen and I definitely need a boat someday soon!
  

Phinally Champs!

I'm sure the three people who read this are tired of hearing me go on and 0n about the World Series. There's not much I can add to the extended coverage (ok, "extended" being last week on philly.com and some SportsCenter spots) although I am pissed that ESPN2 didn't get the parade on like they did for the Sawx in 2004. Then again, they might have had advance warning on Utley's sweet speech - tell 'em Chase! A few things before we hit the showers this morning:

• Haven't seen many teams play that cohesively in recent memory. Yea, they collectively stunk with runners in scoring position, and it's not like any particular Phillie picked up the team and put them on his back. The little guys did a little bit of everything to win the game, and that's what separates the champs from the good teams. Philly sports have for the most part been good teams in the last 25 years, but almost to a fault, they didn't have that contribution from the non-headliners when it mattered most.
  
• Cole Hamels might not be the most overpowering guy on a big league mound, but there's very few other guys I'd want out there when it mattered. And the kid is 24. It seems like he's been in the bigs for quite awhile, but this was only his third season.
• I've got too much Phillies stuff to upload, so just go over to the700level.com for pretty much everything I'd want to link to. Take a look at Harry the K...with accompanying video for sure, it's 12 minutes of what baseball should sound like.
  
• I missed the biggest party in Philly in God knows how many years, and yes, I was jealous. Work sucked that Friday... I should have been here instead.
• Work also sucked on Thursday because the Parrot became a zoo scene on Wednesday night. There were bottles of champagne being sprayed everywhere, the place was LOUD for the entire 9th inning, and shots were lined up everywhere. Guys (and gals) were going nuts, and the normal Parrot crew - John, Pat, John, Josh and Erin, a bunch of guys whose names I always forget, even Opre - went nuts together. Of course, I made it an interesting night by forgetting to sign off my tab, taking a cab halfway home then hopping out, and somehow ending up by Beach Place where an EMS guy gave me the once-over when he found me stumbling around in the grass. Whoops. Luckily Opre happened to pass by and was able to convince these guys he could give me a lift home. Probably celebrated a little too much, but hey, it was 25 years, whaddya expect? And I temp. lost my phone too - luckily some dude found it and got it back to me, although the screen is busted and the memory chip doesn't seem to have any of the pictures and videos I got.
• Finally, there's a great post somewhere on the700level.com that talks about who this championship was for. All those fans who have suffered as adults, the guys my age who were in 2nd grade when Tommy Gee skipped class to go to the parade and I mistakenly figured I'd have my chance to go soon, for my cousins who are in high school and at GMU and Temple who have only known sports frustration.... it's for everyone, and unless you have lived through it with the dedication and heartbreak similar to Philly sports fans, you won't understand. I hope someday soon my buddies from Cleveland get their day, 'cause it's a chill-inducing feeling that brings a goofy smile to my face every time I think about it. So for Dad and Jay, for my cousins and uncles and Johnny Santarpio, for the Eustace fellas, and Caniz and Freed and Lehman and Jeff, for the Parrot crew, and the many, many people (most of whom I know only by face or first name) that I've shared the ups and downs of Philly sports with (and yes, that includes Jen)... this one's for you. Enjoy it. We've earned it. And thank you to those 25 guys and Uncle Cholly for reaching the summit. You've earned a place in our sporting hearts forever.
  

Time to get to work. I'm sure I'll have my first political post tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, it's been all of 7 days and the World Champs - excuse me Chase, that's World Phucking Champions - are still making me smile.

Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel (sort of)

After a full day and change of anxiety, nerves, Selig-directed anger, and emotional blood-letting, it's on. I'm nowhere near the fever pitch of Monday night, but that'll change in the next hour. The thing that worries me the most - this is a sprint. The team that scores first in all likelyhood is going to win; since the Phils have an extra AB, they certainly have the edge there, but anything can happen in the cold at the Bank. If they start out slow - and these Phils can certainly start slowly before all those late-inning heroics - they don't have the time to make up runs over 9 innings tonight.

Soooo.... Same shorts and shirts from Monday night, same hat, sandels, and yes, even boxers. It's been 25 years... taking NO CHANCES here. The wife needs to get her butt home soon, so we can get there. And DAMN YOU BARACK OBAMA for pushing this back even further. Philly can't take this. My liver can't take this. *I* can't take this. Go Phils.

Why, God, Why?

If this doesn't cause you to at least pause and question the Almighty's apparent disdain for the sports fans of Philadelphia, then you have much stronger faith than I do. 10 outs away with a 1 run lead and Hamels cruising, and the Big Man decides to ratchet up the miserable weather. He even opened the door for Satan's Lapdog (aka Bud Selig) to decide to wildly interpret the set of rules governing baseball, and not call the game. Yes, winning the World Series like that would have been anticlimatic... still, I don't quite believe things have turned out like they did. This is agonizing. C'mon, God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, throw us a bone here. 25 years is long enough...

(P.S. While you're at it God, do something vile to that a-hole who stole the Sirius radio out of my Jeep last night.)

The Final Hour

I have a $100 ticket to Game 6 sitting in Tampa with my brother in law Matt that I hope I never see (the ticket, not Matt). I had a ridiculously difficult time concentrating today at work, the day dragged on forever. I just spent 20 minutes trying to pick out what to wear to a bar on a Monday night (dark camo shorts, Howard jersey over "Man or Machine" shirt of Krukker, blue Phils hat, and my Croc flip flops). I've got "The Rocky Story" blaring, and I've been randomly shouting at the TV every time they show something about the World Series. Every time I think about how tonight might go - check that, SHOULD go - I get chills. To all the Philly/Jersey guys, I wish I was there with you to enjoy this, but I'll do my best to bring a little bit of Broad St. to A1A. Come on guys - 27 more outs until you carve out your place in the annals of Philadelphia and the hearts of every sports fan from the Delaware Valley. Like Fred Shero said, "Win today, and we'll walk together forever".

LET'S GO PHILS!!!!
(photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/pompomflipflop/)

27 outs

What a weekend. I'm pretty much a permanent resident of the Parrot at this point, with Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday nights all being spent there. Jen and I did curtail it early tonight (left after 6), mostly because last night was soooo late there - of course, it was our 6th month anniversary too, so we left early for a romantic dinner (OK, early being 10pm and dinner being Primanti Bros while watching the end of the game at home). Combine the HUGE PSU win and a late-starting rain delayed World Series game, and it ended up being 3:30 before the cab finally dropped us off at home. The place was PACKED, with the PSU and Phillies games on every other TV and the PSU audio inside, and Phils outside. Needless to say it got a little crazy - OK got a lot crazy. Shots flowed, high 5's everywhere whenever something good happened (Devlin's TD, the game-ending INT, all of Ruiz's heroics...)

And now, we have less than 24 hours to wait for what could be the biggest moment in Philly sports history in the last 25 more years. Tomorrow night is going to be ridiculous. 27 more outs... 27 outs and it's all over. 27 outs...

Game 1

It wasn't the prettiest win, but that's OK. It was a win. A World Series win. We'll take it. Three batters in, Chase gave us a lead. Cole rode it the rest of the way. It wasn't perfectly pretty, but it's a W. A great night at the Parrot. Three more...

The Day is Upon Us

First pitch to J-Roll in 2 hours. I’m beyond amped for this game; it’s like pre-game at Gesling Stadium, only on a scale about 1,000,000 times more magnified (actually, a million might not be enough). Departing for the Parrot in 35 min; unfortunately my $100 tickets to the game fell through, although Barnebie’s cousin tried his best to hook me up. According to two different people at the Trop, tickets are going for face value or below. Ridiculous for Game 1, Tampa doesn’t deserve this. Still trying to decide if i can get out of work in time tomorrow to get there for game 2. Got my NLCS shirts courtesy of Dad and Jay ready to go, even sporting powder blue boxers to channel my inner Bob Walk. This is it…

LET'S GO PHILLIES!!!!

P.S. Joe Buck is a complete jerkoff - I hope he gets hit by a bus... no, this bus...

P.P.S. 1-0 good guys

And We're In!!!!!

Phillies 5. Dodgers 1. 2008 National League Champions.

Another dominant performance by their 24 year old stud ace. Another game where they won as a team. Another great defensive performance (Chase and Shane especially). No idea how I'm expected to go to bed tonight (unlike my wife, who slept through the *ENTIRE* game). You would have thought there was something else on TV tonight that was more important than Game 5.

Screw the Dodgers and their sushi-eating fans. Tickets were selling in the lower level at their stadium were on stubhub for less than face value today. Losers. Go kill yourselves with $18 Red Bull Martinis in your smoggy atmosphere. And while we're venting, I'm already sick of seeing the goddamn Joe Carter home run, so enough already Fox and ESPN. Seriously.

The next two weeks are going to be fun. If you can't get on board with a team like this, then you don't appreciate what team sports is all about. (or you're a New York fan) This can only get better if Tampa closes it out and I'm a drive (a long drive, but a drive) away from 4 games. I sense a mid-week flu coming on. The biggest thing I noticed - the on-field celebration was not too crazy. These guys mean business. They want more. Four more.

And we want it too. See you next week in St. Pete.

If You Think I Look Bad, You Ought to See How I Feel

A trip to Bimini sounds soooooo nice. Fred eased down the throttle as we approached the small and westernmost of the Bahamas, I couldn't help but think that that it's pretty amazing to live 50 miles/90 minutes from the northwest corner of the islands of the Caribbean. The small twinkling lights came into focus, and as the island's contour came into focus under a bright 3/4 moon, the smell of a beach firepit mixed with the salty sea air personified everything a Buffett ballad is supposed to represent. We docked up right behind the condo Fred got - our place was pretty sweet, Bimini Sands, on South Bimini, with a balcony overlooking the beach and sunset and a boat dock right out the back door and across the path.

Turns out that intoxicating arrival may have felt so good because it *was* as good as I felt all weekend. Goombay smashes on the ride over definitely got the ball rolling, and Crazy 8's Island Style put me over the edge. After traveling cross country twice for work already this month and landing from Vegas at midnight the night before, my body did not adjust well to an overabundance of rum. So I spent most of Saturday (and a good deal of Sunday) under the weather. My travel companions - Jen, Fred & Doreen, and Fred's friend's Justin and Maura - gave me the requisite amount of shit for being a wreck on Saturday morning; some redemption was had when I had a fever that was as high as 102 and lasted until Monday night. (see? I wasn't just a wuss all weekend) And despite battling fevers and Irish flus, I did all the fun stuff both Saturday and Sunday:

• skin diving for lobster (can only snorkel in the Bahamas, so while Fred & Co. got 8 keepers, the best I did was snag a toddler of a bug that they threw back)
• Snorkeling wrecks - an old barge, some reefs, and an upside-down Curtiss C-46 airplane that was pretty damn cool
• Fish - luckily we caught enough lobster to survive because fishing didn't go so well
  

So in hindsight, Bimini is a great place, just don't try and squeeze in all your fun on Friday night. The pictures do a better job showing the weekend then I can do typing it up, so without further ado...

Our Pics (with a broken camera none the less):
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=tsharpe2&P=&AID=5582517&T=1
Doreen's Pics:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=11kbvjee.46yazg4m&x=0&y=-ehngom&localeid=en_US

NLCS Gambling

From ESPN.com's Jayson Stark: The Marlins have been around for 16 seasons. They've won six postseason series. The Phillies have been in existence for slightly longer than that -- like 110 years longer. But they've won only five postseason series. In the history of the franchise.

So this is what it comes down to for us Phillies fans, and the generations of fans before us - my wife has been "rooting" for her Marlins for half her life, and she's already seen more wins then me and the three Thomas Sharpes that came before me.


Time to hit the blackjack tables, and the sports book. How to bet (*if* to bet) the NLCS is driving me crazy. Part of me thinks push all in on the Phils, which just means I don't know the concept of "all your eggs in one basket". Part of me thinks to bet on the Dodgers, which would soften any blow or lose me some money, and I'd feel like a douche. So maybe (probably) the best move is to avoid the sports book altogether. Regardless, after one night of sleeping, and another of stuffing myself at one of the best steak places I've ever eaten at, it's time to hit the casino for a bit and get us some money for Bimini.

UPDATE: Planet Hollywood sucks. There's only one redeeming thing about the gaming at this place. The only decent game I could find here was a $10 single deck blackjack game, which on the surface seems pretty good except for 6-5 payouts for a Cannon and a face card. It took me less than 15 minutes to fork over my 80% loss limit (including a $25 match play that got sucked up by this Asian's blackjack) and walk meekly to the slot machine; luckily I hit for 800 nickels on the Wild West slot, recouping some of the losses. And the sports book was closed, which means, by default, I went the "no bet" route. Too bad we're going to be eating sand crabs and jellyfish in bimini unless Fred and I come up with some lobster. And I guess my new tattoo didn't work much tonight, either... So much for the luck of the Irish.

Also, after reading the rest of that Stark article above, I completely agree with him. Baseball fans across the country have/had this "poor them" thing for the Cubs and Red Sox fans, but it's exponentially more than what it would be for the franchise that has LOST THE MOST GAMES IN ORGANIZED SPORTS HISTORY. And won ONE World Series. I don't feel bad for them at all; if anything, Cubs fans should be rooting for the Phils, in a kindered spirit kind of way. As for the Sox fans... well, you and your Nation have worn out your welcome pretty much everywhere south of Foxwoods, so any goodwill from "1918" has long disappated. It's our time.

The Two Stooges

I love my wife dearly, but put her and Stacy (one of her best friends and bridesmaids) together and dumb stuff happens. Just in the two hours this morning, they've managed to:

• Lock Stacy's keys in her trunk
• Park right next to a "No Parking" sign
• Fail to figure out who was taller in the 15 years they've known each other
  
• Take an abbreviated bike ride to the liquor store that is 5 miles away (they got as far as the end of the driveway before realizing neither one had long enough legs to ride my bike; in retrospect, this might have been a good thing, cause God only knows what could have happened in that 10 mile round trip)

And this is all before 11am. Now we're heading to the FSU-Miami game, and then to a concert in West Palm, so it's not like things are going to be getting any calmer. Now I just gotta go find the camera since words don't usually do their antics justice... :)

UPDATE: The FSU game ended up being a complete rainout but at least the won. The girls had fun but we missed the concert afterwards.

1601 Construction Updates (Go Phils)

Between travelling for work and recent social trips, it’s been a tiring month of September so far – and October isn’t going to offer many reprieves, with visitors the next two weekends and my work trip to Vegas. Doing home improvements has taken a back seat for most of the month to the daily grind, so with a full weekend off of any real obligations, it was time to get to work. Of course, we started it out at Dolphins Stadium, watching the Phils lose, but both Friday and Saturday nights ended up being (relatively) tame nights. Early Saturday morning, I was digging up a couple of irrigation lines so that a new driveway could be poured; I was glad I got up early enough since 7 guys in several trucks rolled through Shady Banks around 7:30am and began digging up the yard next to the existing driveway as soon as they got there. 3 hours later, it was expanded 10 feet to the right and completely asphalted over, and we had ourselves a new driveway.
While the driveway was getting knocked out, Richie and a couple of guys from his Lukes’ Landscaping crew came over and knocked out a new fence. The old lousy chain link one and all it’s accompanying vegetation got ripped out; in its place (and where no fence was on the south side) is a nice wood 6 footer with gates in the middle. The north side is now ready for Mike to do some AutoCAD planning to see how we can make this place look a bit like the tropical paradise Jen and I pictured when we took the plunge.
To add to the fun, Schaen’s been over, doing mud work to the ceiling of the Florida room and the 2nd bathroom. By the end of the month, both of those rooms should be sanded, painted, and redecorated, and pretty much ready to go (Jen wants new tile in the Florida room, but the stuff we have in there now is serviceable, if not beautiful, so it’s not going anywhere anytime soon). And we’re adding two new exterior doors, in the FL room and office, to go with the impact windows we should be getting in early October. The only other thing to get done then will be a slider door where the windows are in the Florida room, but that might be pushed out to sometime in 2009 for fiscal reasons.

BIG W today for the 2008 NL East Champs Phillies. They're set to take the Brewers down, one game already done, two to go, and we can only hope the Dodgers and Cubbies push each other to the brink. I know, I know... a Philly fan can never get ahead of himself. Still, things are aligning much better this year then they did last year (although the lack of offense is still concerning). This afternoon, though, Cole Hamels threw an utter gem, no runs and only two singles over 8 innings, with 9 K's. Lidge gave a little life to Milwaukee before (finally) slamming the door. It's hard to believe, but Hamels is only 24 and is the youngest player on their roster. This is going to be a fun October.

The OC

Got to experience the not-so-glamorous side of Orange County this week – apparently, Consolidated Waste Services’ HQ isn’t Laguna Beach. A week of installs and good meals gave the sense that everyday California isn’t much different from many other places around the country and day to day suburbia is alive and kicking from coast to coast. Nothing crazy, got to see Goldi and Seema last night and Jen’s friend Sari and her fiancée Michael on Wednesday. My coworker who went out with us both nights probably won’t ever want to hear wedding talk again – Goldi got married two weeks before us, and Sari ties the knot in November, so wedding and newlywed talk was rampant. God, that sounds old. The highlight of the trip, other than seeing friends, was unquestionably lunch at In-N-Out Burger. Since Avi introduced to this oasis nearly 10 years ago in San Diego, it’s a must-have for any trip out west. I’m actually disappointed I flew out so early on Friday, thus not being able to bag a couple for the trip back home for dinner (oh yes, that’s been done before, on the redeye to boot). For those who haven’t had it and are flying west of the Rockies, Google yourself one of their locations, then find out all the stuff that’s not on the menu (since the menu only has Single, Double, Fries, Soda, and Shake on it). Do it, don’t think about the caloric intake, and enjoy one hell of a meal. You can thank me by bringing me back a Double Double (or Triple Triple) Animal Style.

Part II
The trip also confirmed that my family and friends have it right when they leave within a stone’s throw from the coast – any coast, apparently. The Lefevers lived within stumbling distance from the beach in Santa Monica for awhile until heading back east, and Avi and Jeanie are somewhat proximal to the Pacific Beach area of San Diego, one of my favorite destinations. Makes you wonder what those in Eufaulu, OK (just passed at 30,000 ft) think when they get their first taste of salt air and mother ocean – and why they head back to middle America. I suppose my incomprehension means I’m just meant to be near the sea.

Got to watch USC take one to the chin from Oregon State, in Mark Sanchez’s stomping ground no less – the same Oregon State team that the boys from State College thrashed 45-3 in Happy Valley a few weeks ago. Another good sports weekend looms – Phils, Brewers, and the Choke Artists Formerly Known as the Mets fighting for two playoff spots this final weekend, with the Phils a game up on both. PSU on national TV Saturday night against ranked Illinois. Dallas on national TV at 4pm on Sunday, looking for their 764th victory in the last 10 years against the Redskins (remember when this actually used to be a competitive rivalry?). Even the Beagles have a national game Sunday night, in what is going to amount to a crazy Sunday for lots of people in the Delaware Valley.

P.S. Speaking of Jersey, this was the license plate I saw parked down the street from Sari's house - I don't know why the hell I didn't steal it...

And NFL 2008 Begins...

Does it get any better than the last two weeks? Seriously... first, I got to head to Cleveland for the Cowboys-Browns fiasco (if you're a cleveland fan). Ray and Tammy were great hosts for Guido and I, despite our Pac Man sign. Pre-Sunday, we actually were somewhat calm (all things considered), I even got to spend a few hours cleaning out the damn luxery van that has become a mobile tailgating Browns helmet (complete with a tap out the back, kudos to the Ardires). Of course, knowing Ray, Mark, and I, Sunday pretty much blew our semi-responsibleness out of the water (and to be honest, we weren't all that responsible the first two nights; Colby made Mark pull a Mr. Mom all Saturday when he showed up at 3am early Saturday morning) Sunday however was pretty much perfect. First, the Browns fans can tailgate, and they have possibly the best location in America, on a pier on Lake Erie (we were on the middle one, about 50 yards from the point). I'm actually surprised I didn't end up in the water, either by choice or by a drunken Cleveland fan. Dad is never allowed here, he'll be doing backflips off the van, Thornton Mellon style. The game itself was a surgical operation by the Cowboys; it was never close after the coin flip, thanks to an efficient offense, a swarming defense, and butterfingers galore by the Cleveland WRs, particularly Braylon Edwards. Note to Philly fans: don't believe the comparisons to the Dog Pound. I walked around with a TO jersey pretty much unimpeded all game. Two Browns fans threw some popcorn at some point (good job by them using the right props), but apparently they missed Physics in high school, since they wasted most of their $5 bucket hitting other Browns fans with wind-blown Orville Redenbauchers. A good verbal dismissal had other Browns fans offering their cell phones for me to call security on their fellow fans. This would NEVER happen in Philly, even if they were throwing grenades from 10 rows back and taking out families. Rest good, Eagles fans - you're still the soccer hooligans of North America, and it's not even close. Oh yea... and instead of going home after the 4pm game, we hit downtown Cleveland, then somehow made our way to the local bar by Ray's house. I don't know what time we got home, but I do know that Ray waking me up at 4:30 am for my flight home was one of the 10 most "please just let me sleep" moments of my life. I don't know how I made the flight, I just know that those flights (yea, a layover in ATL) suuuuuuucked. I felt "ok" sometime Wednesday afternoon.

Next, the Iggles come to Dallas for a MNF tilt. The only buzzkill about this is that I can't be at the Parrot starting some shit with the Eagles fans (believe it or not, this will be the first fall i've missed a cowboys - eagles game since i moved down) but I'll prob show up next week for the steelers-eagles game with TO on my back, to make up for lost time. Anyways, got to see the game at a place called Sneakers in Jacksonville Beach (b/c of work) and, ain't the world a small place, the guy I was sitting next to at the bar was a Eustace grad, class of '88. Obviously the cream rises to the top of the bar scene. It was a hell of an entertaining game, the best I've seen in quite a long time. Donovan, work on Handoffs 101 in Lehigh next year, and hey rookie WR - get ACROSS the goal line before you decide to do your best Leon Lett. (yea, I'm scared that the 'Boys passed on DeSean TWICE, and he's got two 100 yard games already)

Penn State is rolling through their early season schedule. I know... Syracuse, Temple, etc... but they look good. I'm not saying they are BCS Championship bound, but they have a team here, and after USC undressed the Ohio State Bills on prime time, the Big Ten is theirs for the taking. Just don't poop the bed JoePa, and try and keep enough guys out of jail to finish the season. Bring on the Buckeyes, the Badgers, and those embarrassing Wolverines.

Don't look now, but the Phils are bringing back the '07 magic. A half game back for all you ****sucking Mets fans, and tied with the Brew Crew for the wild card (Note: since I don't actually know a Brewers fan, I can't badmouth them; plus they have racing sausage, so we can tolerate them for now, on the off chance the Mets don't smoke the late season pole again). Since the 'Boys are on Autopilot now and this MNF summit is resolved, I can concentrate on the Phils and their run to October, especially since they will be in FL next weekend. Damn, and I said I was going to behave that weekend too.

Being that I am traveling this week and next, I need to get to bed or to work so I can actually pull off my training class tomorrow. It's nice to go to bed with a W like that dancing in your head though. Nice game Iggles fans - I'm trying to work a ticket to the last game of the year from Lefever, so bring your snowballs Christmas weekend, I'll be the a-hole in the blue 81 jersey smelling like spiced rum and apple cider. Hopefully, wearing the "Phils '08 WS Champs" hat...

Jen's Birthday and My Radio Debut

What a busy weekend, followed by an equally busy week, and it's only Tuesday. G Love highlights - coming soon. Too late right now, but check out the photo links at the right.

My Internet Radio debut - Dad's college roommate Leo Haggerty has a radio show during the week from 8pm to midnight, and I get to do a weekly spot as "Chef T.J.", talking tailgate cooking and NFL football. Yes, I realize that I have zero journalism experience other than this blog (and some last minute advice from Cucc) nor do I have any formal chef training. Hopefully years of watching Mom, Grandmom, and Johnny cook and my own tailgate experiences will produce some great bits and useful recipes. Check out the show (and my first two - Old Bay Shrimp and Scallops, and Sausage and Peppers) at http://www.slrnsportsnews.com/

Other random stuff

• Pat and Kevin compete every year in the Pan Mass Challenge to raise money for cancer, and every year Pat's brother Tommy makes the news up there in Boston with his megaphone. This year was no different, as he led off the story. Love the hat and "wig" Tom.
• The Phillies Bunnies made another YouTube spot (go to the 1:15 mark)
• Glad the Mets are starting their late season collapse early this year. Go Phils.

The Storm(s)

Jesus Christ I need to stay the hell away from Key West. Seriously. We took a little trip down-island with Opre and his two cousins to see Jen's friends from UF Law school, and, well, it was pretty much like any other weekend down there. I don't know what happened to our camera (lost at Irish Kevin's on Friday night) but luckily Abbye got plenty of pictures of this motley crew. Unfortunately we lost our camera the first night so we don't have any and now we have to use the old, half broken one. We tore up Duval St. two nights in a row, hitting, among other places, Irish Kevin's and the Lazy Gecko the first night (this wasn't really a female nurse, girls!) and Schooners and Captain Tony's the second. Luckily, we did more than just bar hop (although it seems drinking was still involved at every step). Saturday we got to head out to the remote beach that's not unlike the Sandbar (and a lot unlike the Dredge) on Randy and Erica's boat (the "Reel Conch"). It was a pretty cool trip, something 98% of Key West tourists never get to see - Dad would love it. After sitting around in the water and making a few cocktails for the afternoon, we headed back in (and took the requisite jump in the canal) and headed back to the condo for sunset (and a beautiful sunset it was).

Sunday FunDay started out with breakfast at Camille's, with the special of the day, Lobster Omelet (I got the to-die-for French Toast and happily raided everyone else's omelet leftovers). Then it was Bloody Mary time at one of my favorite Key West places, The Rum Barrel. Jodi makes a mean Bloody Mary (thanks to Mark Ardire for turning me onto this at the bachelor party) and I had two (or three) while whupping Opre's butt in Golden Tee. Surprisingly, after about 40 hours of drinking, sleeping, and eating, we weren't quite done yet, and the "quick stop" didn't even end when Jodi (in the Favorite Bartender Pantheon, up there with Mitch, Greg, and Joey Eyes) had to clock out. Luckily for us she joined us on the other side of the bar for even more (plus some Rocky music and Mummers). The loooooong journey back began with a nice dinner that was partially missed by a couple of us, and a drunken car ride home, except for Jen the Responsible Wife (wow!). Needless to say I owe her big time for getting all of us home in one piece, even if it was well past midnight. Until next time, Cayo Hueso, I'll be back once I recover... and I am sure I won't have learned my lesson.

P.S. The Key West storm was way worse than the Tropical Annoyance that was Fay. All's we got was a lot of wind and rain.
P.P.S. Just to show you we can't even make it a week, Lisa's Housewarming Party was Key West in miniature, except Sunday was a lot less stressful for both of us, although not nearly as productive as we should.

The Calm Before the Storm

What better way to start a cosmically significant date in history then heading down A1A to the end of Highway 1 - Key West, estimated departure time 3pm. Scott Kirby playing at the Hog's Breath. Lobster season officially beginning with Lobsterfest. Jodi serving rum drinks for breakfast at The Rum Barrel. Sitting at Schooner's listening to Michael McCloud and watching Frank Everheart. All kinds of other misbehavior. It's going to be a good weekend... and Monday is gonna suck.

And randomly: my high school backup OLB is running for PA State Representative. The look of abject terror on Wally's face when he came in for a down as a sophmore (my senior year) was a sight i'll never forget, but he turned into a decent player and apparently a pretty damn good lawyer. Vote for Wally!

More House Construction

What a weekend for the house ... LOTS of work. The LR went from a livable area to a recreation of the E.T. house with all the plastic I had up, and went from a plastered drywall to sanded, primed, painted, and ready to be a real living room, FINALLY!! (not to mention it's a major upgrade from the wood paneling and fireplace). It looks a ton better in here with the majority of the room painted, even though we still have baseboards, crown, etc... to do. The interior door casing got the ax too, which was pretty easy since the termites did most of the work.

At the very least we can finally clean out the stuff in the Florida room so we can hit the ceiling in there next and get this living area livable. And now that the major work is done in the main areas, hopefully we'll see the terrazzo restoration we got done. We also went through all 2,100 wedding pictures and somehow narrowed it down to 220-something. House construction pictures here.

Sunday, Julie called to "stop by" tonight, and 3+ hours, a bunch of beers, and a bottle (or two) of wine later, Jen and her have now gotten Jen onto Facebook and harassed everyone on the internet. Julie knocked Zoe in the head coming inside, Jen took a fall on the (refinished!) terrazzo but saved her drink, and I got to witness this in the newly painted living room watching the Phils on ESPN (the Flyin' Hawaiian coming up big). It's been entertaining to say the least, but after working all day painting, ripping out the interior casings (that had been termite food prior to us getting it tented), and just making the place livable, it was nice to relax on a Sunday night with some shrimp, scallops, lobster, wine, and Phils baseball.

Now back to the grind of the real world - at least now we have the semblance of a livable abode!

Ia Ora Te Natura - It's Lobster Season

UA PAU TE MAITAI NO TE FENUA
RE ZAI NOA RA TE ORA O TE MITIE

"Bounty of the land is exhausted
But there's still abundance on the sea"

So goes the end of Jimmy's "One Particular Harbour", a nod to Cook's Bay in Moorea - listen to this clip from the end of the song, and you can hear the soprano voices in the background with those Tahitian lyrics. With that in mind, Fred and I hit the open water in search of spiny lobster as the mini-season for lobster began at 12:01am Wednesday morning. ("Mini-season" is a 2 day event that preludes the official commercial lobster season that starts next weekend) It's a lot easier to rise for the 5am wakeup call when there's diving and crustaceans involved, even if it means heading out before sunrise while passing shipping containers on their way into Port Everglades.

The water off the first of Ft. Lauderdale/Dania Beach's 3 reefs was packed with vessels and divers, so after floating behind the boat (Doreen's cousin Jeff drove) and running into divers left and right, we headed a little further south towards Hollywood and ended up with a nice spot without a boat for a mile in each direction. It was my first experience diving for lobster, and it was quite a rush. It takes some patience and a good eye to locate them in the underwater terrain, but once you get used to spotting them, the fun begins. You "tickle" them out of their hole with a stick, then pounce on them with a net as they shoot away from you. I got the hang of it quickly, Fred was an old pro and was digging into the coral outcroppings to get the real stubborn ones. I had to abandon the fight when my oxygen tank hit 50 PSIs (a full tank is ~3000, so there were only a couple minutes of air left) but floated to make sure Fred was OK and was able to get those last few. Plus, he had the catch bag, so if anything happened to him, I needed enough air to go down and get the bag (I mean, help him out)...

In the end, 14 of those suckers put up a good fight but lost the war, and only 1 got away (plus one more female that we didn't notice until back at the dock and let go; luckily we didn't get stopped on the way in b/c that's a pretty substantial fine). Fred and I had a great time and we'll eat good over the next couple of day. And I made it to work by 10:15, which assuredly was not nearly as much fun as diving for lobster. Full pictures here.

Random Links and stuff

Back to the quick hitters - will try and post stuff here instead of emails.

• As if there's a need for another reason to be a Flyers fan... (NSFW)
• The Last Lecture CMU professor passed away last weekend...
• The Spectrum is shutting down, what a shame, Flyers games at the CoreStates/FU/Wachovia Center (while great) just don't have the same atmosphere as those at the Spectrum (nor do Pearl Jam concerts on the Flyers bench). How the Daigneault goal didn't make the list is beyond me...
• Man, you can't even try and be responsible while getting a load on these days...
• Great story about a SEAL who made the ultimate sacrifice...
• Biggest jerk tourists? Not the Americans, but... go figure... THE FRENCH!! F them...
• I'm famous... ok maybe not...
• Don't let old women with poor eyesight loose near the tiki bar!!
• A brothel on wheels, right down on South Beach. Go figure
• And finally, this could be the illegitimate son of any number of people I know.
  

The Phitans

MLB All Star game week has come and gone, thankfully. Chase Utley’s performance wasn’t exactly stellar in Yankee Stadium but at least America got to hear how every Philly fan feels about the bottom-feeders that are New York sports fans. Whatever, he didn’t know his mic was on for introductions, and I’d bet plenty of Red Sox fans feel the same way after Papelbon got booed as well. My enemy’s enemy is my friend, or something like that (even if RSN is becoming the sports version of that friend of a friend that no one really likes). Besides, they might be shipping us their malcontent LF, which would be an interesting mix, to say the least. (I know, I spend way too much time on the700level.com)

At least those neanderthals cheered for John Hamilton and his comeback storybook season. And *had* Utley played the entire game, maybe he could have avoided the disaster of a night that Dan Uggla had – 3 E4’s, 3 K’s, and a GIDP after replacing the 2008 MVP. Me and my “Hit It To Uggla” sign were at Dolphins Stadium on the following Friday night. And finally, a big Chase Utley F You to Billy Wagner, the turncoat Mets reliever who shouldn’t have even been AT the game, much less IN the damn thing, for blowing the lead and costing the Phils home field advantage in the Series this year. Since the AL team will have Games 6 and 7 (again) this year, I’m now a big Tampa Rays fan. Now, if we could only get Selig to schedule a 162 game season against the Braves and their batting practice pitchers.

Making Up For Lost Time

I never realized how little free time I really had (or how much free time I waste) until I tried to do this blog thing a couple times a week. Man, what a pain in the rear... We’ve been working so much on the house at night I haven’t been able to do much typing, let alone get some pics and all up here. Will try and keep
the blogs shorter and more frequent

It’s more than a little appropriate that we now live in Shady Banks. Those of you from the Hoboken days will remember the apartment on Washington St. that Ninja, Rogish and I shared as the “Shady Apartment”, and the 90 Grand place as the “Shady Palace”, so it’s only fitting that Jen and I now live in Shady Banks. The “Shady Shack” does have a ring to it…

Thanks to some super work by Mom and Dad and the Facarazzos last weekend though, it might not have the Shack moniker much longer. We had a backbreaking Saturday that started at 8am and didn’t end until well after the sun went down; the heat, humidity, and lingering effects of the Phillies-Marlins game probably didn’t help matters. It was as productive a day as we’ve had with the house yet though – all three bedrooms are now pretty much set up, the kitchen has most of the stuff put away, and outside is much more organized thanks to the shelves we got from the Heinemann’s getting put together. Jen and I also traveled out to get a fridge, dishwasher, and oven/stove from some guy off of craigslist, so now we’ll actually have a fridge that will keep things cold (and at some point, a real dishwasher). Thanks to Fred, Dad got to get a fully operational powerwasher, and spent a good deal of Sunday afternoon making things clean in the backyard. To end the weekend, we finally got a chance to shove off from our dock, Fred and Doreen took the Sharpes out for their first sunset cruise from the casa.

This weekend was no different - work work work and some play thrown in. Our terrazzo floors were refinshed this week, and although they are still a little hazy, the difference in color was pretty dramatic and as they get mopped up. Since doing the floors required us to move all the stuff the 'rents has just set up, we spent a good deal of the weekend moving that stuff back into place. Friday night was Home Depot, dinner, and sleeping on a mattress in the living room - half of the Frank the Tank pretty good little day. Saturday night turned into the *other* half - after another day of cleaning up, and some great work by James the electrician and his plumber, to get our dishwasher, disposal, ceiling fans, light switches, etc... Jen headed out to a little waterfront place for Catie's birthday dinner, and I was going to drive over and meet them there after finishing up a little more housework. Those plans quickly changed when Fred's boat pulled up with some rum-soaked revelers wanting to join Catie's party. It was a quick cruise to Rendezvous, and we had a good time - and also found out that Cheryl and rum do not play well together. The party continued back at the new place - despite being a mess, we were able to set the Wii up and play golf, tennis, bowling, etc... Cheryl and rum AND tennis definitely DON'T mix!! This of course made for quite a slow Sunday today, but as the weekend winds down we're ready to hit this coming week with plenty more to do - finish the clean up from this weekend's construction, sand down the LR wall, and choose what windows to put in this place.

So much for quick posts... (pictures coming)

Birthday Bash in Lake Boca, and Wii Got a New Distraction

Mark this as weekend #3 that we didn't get a full weekend to work on the house; but I guess you shouldn't feel too bad as we spent most of Saturday on Kim and Jim's boat in Lake Boca celebrating Kim's birthday. (for all you non-Floridians, it's just through the Boca inlet from the Atlantic, it's a couple of feet deep where you can anchor up and hop out). Full pictures here.

Like usual when the gals get together down here, it was quite a day. Even though we probably should have been home working on the house, at 10:30 we hopped on the highway and headed north. Two boats ended up leaving Pompano beach heading for Boca, and eventually there were 5 (or 6 maybe) boats anchored up together for a day on/in the water. Kim's birthday present was this ridiculously large floating "hot tub" type thing that floated behind the boat, and corralled like 8 people at a time. It was even a great place to pass out, as a tired Kelly found out.

Unfortunately the rain clouds started to mass to the west, and even though Captain Jim was ready to weather out the storm for his wife's birthday, the anchor was pulled and Steel Towing and the rest the flotilla eventually headed back south to the relative safety of a Garden Islands harbour. We see some switched college allegiances, some "start-em-early!' parenting, several pool tossings (including the B-day girl), Kelly falling asleep again, and the party continuing despite some rain - gotta love the water-resistant camera. Thanks to Kevin and Belle (oops, wrong wife) for letting the loonies use their pool for the PM version of the party, and to Kim and Jim for having us on the boat!

Sunday brought us some much needed help from the Facarazzo family - both Jen's parents, her grandfather, aunt, uncle, Besty, and cousin all came over to help out. The biggest accomplishment? Setting up the Nintendo Wii, which is going to end up being our biggest barrier to accomplishing our house renovations. If you haven't tried this thing yet, find yourself a middle schooler with one and check it out for a couple of hours. It's definite entertainment, and from the little we have played, it can be somewhat of a workout too (well at least the boxing game breaks a sweat). However, I absolutely suck at Guitar Here (Mike has it) proving that no matter how good I think I am at video sporting games (something Jason and Casey both probably are laughing at) I am still a musical idiot even in a virtual world. Luckily, my wife is even worse than I am at the Wii Sports games, I've beaten her every time (save the first game when I didn't know how to play) in tennis so far. And, in true Sharpe form, she has already tossed the controller and pouted after the game. Our kids are going to be the worst sports EVER...

Independence Day at the Poynte

So we’re off for our first trip since the honeymoon, and as much as I love the Jersey Shore, it might not be entirely the same as Bora Bora. On the bright side, things don’t cost an arm and a leg in Somers Point like they do in French Polynesia, unless you want to count Spirit Airlines, who charges $5-15 to reserve a seat ahead of time (even a middle seat) and $3 for a freaking Sprite. Needless to say, my dissatisfaction with their company continues. Of course I have a price point at which I will fly them regardless of their lousy customer service, but for every $24 round trip like we got for Jay and Trace’s wedding, there’s the 11 hours a flight was delayed from Ft. Myers to ACY years ago (landing on a Monday morning at 5am then having to drive back to Hoboken, THEN go to work) or their refusal to change our tickets last January when I mistakenly booked them on the Monday morning (rather than Tuesday morning) of my Grandmother’s memorial service. So keep sending me $1 fares for Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I’ll continue to use your airline only when it’s convenient AND cost effective. OK… Back to the shore…

The one thing Jen and I have noticed is that time spent “back home” is busy, to say the least. It is almost always a great time and as action packed a travel weekend as you can get, but man do we feel exhausted by the end of the weekend. It’s the unfortunate side effect of having quite a few people who like to spend time with us when we make it home, and for that we feel very lucky… just makes for a tiring Monday morning! I’m sure staying up until the crack of dawn on Friday night didn’t help, nor did the game of Crazy 8’s that had Caniz informing the tiki bar that his wife did indeed wear the pants in this relationship. Mixed in with all of the debauchery was some good time spent watching fireworks, fixing the hot tub, taking a boat ride (and having the inevitable breakdown, just a couple hundred yards from our house), some great eating courtesy of Mom (and white house hoagies from Rogish) and getting to see a whole bunch of family and friends. The highlight of the weekend though (if you can call it that) was Dad flipping the waverunner back in the marshes, then having to get towed in by Dave and Jimmy. A Tom Sharpe waverunner or boat incident is almost an assured event over a Poynte holiday weekend; luckily this didn’t happen when little Jackson Rogish was on board (Alison already nearly had a heart attack letting her boy out there). As dusk settled and the Tall Cedar came back with a Sharpe waverunner in tow (again), the I-95 A-hole song was replaced with Pat Franklin’s song (trying to keep it clean for the kids).

Sunday Recovery Day left us all pretty tired, but we did get to go to AC for Mom's birthday before we left. Lehman drove us to the Philly airport; quick side note, there was NO traffic on the ride up. None. We didn't even slow down at the EZPass lane on the Expressway toll. It was crazy, for a Sunday late afternoon holiday weekend. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for all or part of the weekend, and apologies to those we kept up too late or woke up in the middle of the night. It was really good to see everyone, and even if my body might not be back to 100% until Wednesday, it was certainly worth it.

UPDATE: I'm too lazy and buzy to actually link words to individual pictures, so here's the link to the weekend pictures. Enjoy...

UPDATE2: This is what soldiers look like when they are resting... thanks to lehman...

Movin' to 1601

This will be a collaborative post throughout the entire weekend of our continued rehab of the house and moving in on Saturday. The roof trusses have been supported; our friend Kevin had a crew of guys who busted their butt and got it done in a day, so the roof is ready to go. We also finished removing the fake fireplace and the rest of the wood paneling, the living room wall is completely clear.

Thursday night we got a lot of painting done; we had someone start painting earlier in the week, but he wasn't getting the job done real well, so we (well, T.J. - Jen hates to paint!) took over the job. As of Friday morning, we have bedrooms 1 and 2 painted fully (a sandy tan), bedroom 3 needs one more coat ("mauvey tan" according to Jen), the office/spare room is done, and there's a coat on the south walls in the living room and dining room, plus the entire hall (a greyish/blue, although it is tough to see). Jen got the rest of the old drapes down, and removed grates that the paranoid old lady had put on every door - it looks much better without the grates on there.

Of course... just as things were looking good at 1601, the condo goes haywire. We got home at 11 Thursday night, and flushed the toilet... and it clogs. Unfortunately this time, plunging the toilet didn't clear the clog - it pushed sewage water into BOTH bathtubs. Letting it sit and hoping it would clear itself overnight didn't do the trick, either. So we have two bathrooms that smell like a sewer treatment plant and a plumber coming over this morning. Hopefully this is NOT a sign of how things are going to go this weekend.

UPDATE: The move was successful if not exhausting. I forgot how much crap I had, not to mention all of Jen's stuff. we got 90% of it on the Lukes' Landscaping box truck. Mike and I loaded about half the stuff from the condo and got a helping hand from one of the guys he works with. Poor Dave ended up being late to a BBQ and it was his birthday to boot, but he made the process soooo much easier. We got everything packed and there with only two minor mishaps: first, I wasn't paying attention and was moving a box that was light and had pillows on top, and mistakenly thought it would have nothing breakable in it. Whoops - these oversized wine/martini glasses I bought Jen for us to decorate after the wedding are now in the recycle bin. Second, despite a good showing by Mike and I fitting everything in there as efficiently as possible, there was one soft cooler that didn't have anything supporting it and was pretty much going to fall over as soon as we hit the gas. Since we couldn't get back to it, I tried chest-passing a few blankets back there to keep it up. Bad move, at least when there's a bed frame sticking out, and its metal corner digs into your forearm. Blood everywhere, for the next 30 minutes, and soon to be a permanent scar as a reminder how unfun it is to move.

So our crew got everything moved in, in the one main trip, plus a second trip to get a grill from Lyn's and a kitchen table from Julie, and a third trip on Sunday by Jen and I to get the last few things from the condo and from our storage. It's a little tight in here now, but we'll get it organized over the next couple of weeks. Lyn got us some stuff from Costco, Jen scooted out after the main load was emptied on Saturday to hit a baby shower, and Opre and I went to get the grill/table, while Luke stayed behind and had a landscape crew come through and pretty much nuke the bushes and wood deck in the front of the house. It looks soooo much better cleared out in the front than it did with all the bushes. Corrine and Schaen stopped by, and John and Cheryl FINALLY made it over after saying they'd be there in the morning. We were able to make some semblance of the living room so that we could at least relax a bit, waiting for Jen to get home from a never-ending Cuban baby shower that was still going after 5 hours. By that time I was pretty much beat, so after some grilling and champagne with them, it was bedtime - our first night in the new house! Thanks to everyone who helped!!

House Construction (Destruction?)

Well we're in, so now the fun starts! We got a full day in on Sunday and a pretty good night in on Tuesday, although we're exhausted right now. We also have someone in there painting and got our friend Kevin to get some guys up there and do some repairs in the attic, so things are moving along. On Sunday, despite some torrential rain, we started taking down some of the tacky 70's wood paneling. It brightened the room up right away, as the wood and fireplace duet made the room feel smaller - although removing some of the 30 year old curtains probably helped too. Zoe was not a lot of help.

On Tuesday, T.J. cleaned up outside and kept removing the the wood paneling, while Jen took on the faux fireplace. Whomever put the darn thing in there really did a job - the fake brick facade concealed a mountain of cinderblocks, with some quickcrete in the openings for good measure. So Jen got to work (and has the blisters to show for it) getting through about 2/3rds of the concrete monstrosity before T.J. finished it off. Of course, we didn't have much of a plan for disposal, so while some of the debris made it back to our condo's dumpster, there's still a heap of concrete (and a layer of dust) laying on the floor. Can't wait for tomorrow... It looks a lot more open than it did before, with the fireplace and the wood paneling having both been scrapped.