One door closes, another opens

So this is the important work I do... On Friday I was asked to take pictures of the four people in the picture above. Yes, they are my bosses in one aspect or another. The current Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.... what an odd bunch of people. My only stipulation was if I got a Jaywalking ticket for standing in the road, THEY would have to pay for it. Some days are funnier then others at work....

Thanks to this and other days where I was a photographer, I'm actually considering taking a photography class, maybe once I move.

Friday and Saturday were nights of firsts for me. Friday night I had dinner at a friends house, he cooked. I can't remember a time that a guy has cooked for me.
Saturday Lynn came over in the afternoon, we did a little shopping had dinner and got ready for the night. Our friend Juliet was hosting a party at Chia's Bistro. It was a mixture of things including a Vodka model search and benefit for domestic violence. Luckily we were on the VIP list so we didn't have to pay the $15 cover. We met more friends there including Talsha and Cassandra with whom we later left to go to The O Lounge for a friend of a friends birthday party. Again we were VIP but we were late getting there so Cassandra had to work her magic to get us in. The O Lounge was 18+ so it was a bit odd. I haven't been in a 18+ club in a long time. Lynn and I didn't stay long before heading to Waikiki. Overall it was nice to be out on the town.

It has been a busy week or so since my last post. Mainly today the MA/COM club had a bake sale to raise money for t-shirts and the upcoming semester events we have planned. We raised nearly $250. I was even adventurous enough to make zucchini bread, banana bread, and peanut butter cookies. All for a good cause....

Tonight I took Alexis to the airport, she is headed to Ohio/Kentucky for a while. This actually marks the first time I have been alone in the apartment, every other time she is gone at the same time or she stays here. Kinda weird. I guess I will have to find some things to do...

So Flossie isn't headed our way... it was a bit windy outside tonight on the walk home, but not too bad. In fact we went to celebrate Flossies arrival at Gordon Beirsch on the Honolulu Harbor. Nothing happened we had some drinks and came home....

There is a still a slight chance Flossie might head this way, but it has downgraded to a category 1 hurricane and seems to be pulling apart because of the trade winds.

Safe

So if you have been flowing the news you may have seen that there is a hurricane headed towards our islands. It is scheduled to pass by the southern most tip of the US (south point of the Big Island) by 70 miles. As of now it doesn't look like it is going to hit us, but just to be ready we ran out for some supplies. Nothing to drastic, all things we will be able to use in the future, so here is the list...

- Vienna Sausage
- Corn Beef Hash
- Hormel no bean chili
- 24 case of water
- 2 diet cokes
- bottle of Sierra Mist
- grill
- charcoal
- Cheetos
- pringles
- bread
- pretzels
- TP
- beer
- pudding snack pack
- beef jerky
- easy cheese
- crackers
- animal crackers

The hurricane is supposed to pass by the islands in around 24 hours... just know we are ready, we know where the high ground is and we have a full tank of gas.

On a side note, the news just came on and there was a 5.3 earthquake in Hilo. Thankfully no tsunami warning....

This weekend was a lot of fun. My Hawaiian birthday celebration took place yesterday. Alexis had arranged for us and 10 of our other friends to go parasailing in the afternoon. One person backed out but since we had already paid for her, I was able to go up twice. We all had a blast, it is a cool feeling floating 300 feet above the ocean.

After parasailing, we came back here and Alexis made the group of us dinner before hitting the town. We got all dressed up and went to the Wounder lounge at the W Hotel, a place I had yet to go to. It was nice, but we didn't stay long. We headed into Waikiki for the rest of the evening... there were ups and downs but overall a great day!!

Here is a picture recap with brief explanations of my trip home over the past 10 days. I am really thankful I was able to see everyone and I miss you all, already.

I hosted Laura's Bachelorette party on Saturday July 21st in Madison. We started at Ginza of Tokyo for Dinner, then went to the Crowne Plaza for the party and out on the town. If only we had been a little quieter, maybe the security guard would have left us alone....





I went to a Brewers game with Dad on Sunday and they won. It was a great time at the ballpark, and Dad's first time taking a self portrait.







On Thursday Aunt Debbie brought Kyra over to see me. She was a doll and such a good little girl. We played for a while then she watched as Mom, Beth and I greened in Laura's centerpieces (mom did Laura's wedding flowers).







After the flowers were greened in, we went to dinner at Tumbleweed to celebrate my birthday. After dinner I met more friends at the Red Shed for drinks and darts. Capping the night off early with a trip to the Nitty Gritty for my birthday mug.






Rehearsal dinner for Laura and Ryan's wedding was really nice. We ate at a cute Irish place in Lake Mills. Mom and Bob bought me the super cute "island" dress I am wearing in the picture.





The Hoffman's Wedding Day was July 28, 2007 in Lake Mills with the reception in Watertown. It was a great day, everything went prefect, no problems. It was a great experience as the Maid of Honor, I even delivered a decent "short" speech at dinner.


I know there is a lot of things I left out like the days of shopping with mom, blazing trails in the woods, visiting with Granny and George, my birthday dinner with Grandma Marian, Mert, Mark and Dad, meeting Mark (Beth's Fiance) and much more.

I had a great time at home, Thanks everyone, especially mom and Bob for putting up with Laura and I most of the time I was home!