I've been on road trips before. Most of those times, I've been the passenger. That means that I've been very agreeable and let the driver listen to the music that he or she wants to listen to. This could hip hop, country, pop, indie, etc. I've put up with it for a long time.
Now I have to put up with it again.
Everybody on my team has their musical interests, and the two things that pretty much end up on the radio are hip hop and pop. I've heard "Super Bass" or "I Just Can't Get Enough" more times than I can count. I still have no freaking clue what they are saying in "RACKS ON RACKS ON RACKS." Yes, it's nice having XM radio in one of our vehicles, but why listen to the same 10 songs you would hear on the regular radio? This music is terrible. How many damn songs does Katy Perry have out right now?
Ugh.
On our drive down to Weston, Florida, last week, we had three guys in the Yukon (which is the vehicle with XM). We goe in 3ish hour shifts, and I started off driving, and then picked back up later. It was wonderful. I got to listen to AltNation, which is the greatest XM station ever. For my entire shift, I heard wonderful music. I was happy. I heard songs that I hadn't heard in years.
And when Michael drove, he would keep the station on AltNation. It was great. It was long overdue. For two-thirds of our drive, we were listening to good music.
Then Derek drove and we were listening to the same 10 songs that I've been listening to all summer.
When we're in headquarters, I like to get Pandora streaming on my computer when I'm doing work that warrants listening to music. So far, all of my tournament directors have been okay with us playing music. And my teammates don't argue with the music that I'm playing.
I honestly have two different Pandora stations: Third Eye Blind and The Strokes. It generally leads to good music 90 percent of the time.
But I still don't understand how many times I have to tell Pandora to stop playing Dave Matthews before it finally stops playing Dave Matthews.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day Off
On Wednesday, I was granted the whole day off from working. With the help we were getting from the other team, and the need for us to just relax, we all were granted a day off during the week. Mine so happened to be during the second round with Matt and Brittany.
Others told us about their days off before mine; Derek hung out with old friends (he went to school in the area), Scott and Denae went shopping, Michael and Melanie hung out at the pool. Those all sounded like fun-filled days. On my day off, we planned very little.
To begin my day, I decided to wake up at about 8:30. Why? SO I could still head over to the club house while they were still serving breakfast. After that, I came back to the apartment and played DS for about 3 hours. Then it was lunch time. Back to the clubhouse. Matt, Brittany and I finally got together and thought, "What the hell should we do?"
We decided to see a movie, The Hangover Part 2. Everything you hear is true: it's funny, but not as good as the first one. It essentially is the first one, but it takes place in Bangkok and there is a lot more male frontal nudity. Too much.
After that, I think we just hung out for a few hours before heading to Poblano's for dinner. Matt decided to order a margarita, so I decided to order a margarita. Then we came back home, and that was about it.
Honestly, it was nice having a day off, but I just didn't know what to do with it. We've been so busy everyday that that is what I have been accustomed to. It was just kind of boring having nothing planned.
Tomorrow we head to Hilton Head, S.C., and if we get the chance for a day off again, I totally want to get to the beach. I've never been to the Atlantic Ocean, but if I miss the chance next week, we'll still be heading to Florida in a few weeks...
Others told us about their days off before mine; Derek hung out with old friends (he went to school in the area), Scott and Denae went shopping, Michael and Melanie hung out at the pool. Those all sounded like fun-filled days. On my day off, we planned very little.
To begin my day, I decided to wake up at about 8:30. Why? SO I could still head over to the club house while they were still serving breakfast. After that, I came back to the apartment and played DS for about 3 hours. Then it was lunch time. Back to the clubhouse. Matt, Brittany and I finally got together and thought, "What the hell should we do?"
We decided to see a movie, The Hangover Part 2. Everything you hear is true: it's funny, but not as good as the first one. It essentially is the first one, but it takes place in Bangkok and there is a lot more male frontal nudity. Too much.
After that, I think we just hung out for a few hours before heading to Poblano's for dinner. Matt decided to order a margarita, so I decided to order a margarita. Then we came back home, and that was about it.
Honestly, it was nice having a day off, but I just didn't know what to do with it. We've been so busy everyday that that is what I have been accustomed to. It was just kind of boring having nothing planned.
Tomorrow we head to Hilton Head, S.C., and if we get the chance for a day off again, I totally want to get to the beach. I've never been to the Atlantic Ocean, but if I miss the chance next week, we'll still be heading to Florida in a few weeks...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Foooooooooooood
I should take this time that I have (and this great internet) to talk about something very important to me: food.
Last night, I had one of the finest meals all summer. At the club house, right before the staff starting putting things away (actually right as they were putting things away), we went down to the ball room and had dinner. A really good dinner.
My first plate consisted of Caesar salad, salmon, rice, and fired chicken. It was a full plate. My second plate consisted of Caesar salad, salmon, rice, and fried chicken. It was another full plater. I had cheesecake for dessert. Truly fantastic dinner. It was really that good, and it might have helped that I hadn't eaten lunch in 8 hours.
Today when my groups made the turn (that's fancy golf talk for finishing the first nine holes), I swung into the ballroom and made sandwiches. BIG sandwiches. Wheat bread, mustard, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, turkey, roast beef, mayo, wheat bread. Two big sandwiches. Delicious. It took me about three hole to eat them both. Then there was the brownie for dessert. And the Arnold Palmer that I mixed for myself.
I know I already mentioned Darryl's in last night's post, but let's not forget how wonderful Darryl's honey mustard sauce is. And beer is good, too.
A few nights ago, our entire staff here in Greensboro went to J. Butler's. It was also the first night where I finally ordered a steak on the company's dime. It was a pretty decent steak, an okay baked potato, good vegetables, and a roll. The night where my dad and I had steak and potatoes was much, much better. But steak. Yummy.
I really need to talk about the meals we had in Ringgold/Chattanooga. The first night, a committee member took us to a place called Taco Mamacita. I was very apprehensive about this place, based on the name alone. Then I saw their menu. I looked over it and immediately wanted to have a taco sampler platter. I ended up ordering the California Club Taco (and had one leftover from a team member) and the Loaded Gyro. Honestly, that was the best lamb I ever had. Yes, the best lamb I ever had was in a taco, at a place called Taco Mamacita, in Chattanooga.
The next night another committee member took us to a burger place called Urban Stack. I again wanted to have some sort of sampler, where they just made me a mini version of each hamburger that was on their menu.
I chose the Asian Q, which was a burger made from Kobe beef. It was good, but I thought it would be better. I wanted it to be spicier, and I think the meat was a little overcooked than what I really wanted. If I were to ever go back to Urban Stack, I would definitely order the Hercules.
We also have a running joke in our team about wanting to eat Mexican. There were honestly four or five days in a row we had Mexican. 1) Taco bar during training at HQ, 2) leftover tacos on clean-up day/day before traveling, 3) dinner after clean-up day/day before leaving, 4) Taco Mamacita first night for Ringgold, 5) lunch the next day at Mexican restaurant behind our hotel. Trust me, I love me some Mexican, but it might be a while before I find it appetizing.
Being in the southeast, I am totally looking forward to eating any and all food that is available. We're going to South Carolina next week, and I keep hearing that there will be a lot of good seafood. I might want some lobster pretty soon.
Last night, I had one of the finest meals all summer. At the club house, right before the staff starting putting things away (actually right as they were putting things away), we went down to the ball room and had dinner. A really good dinner.
My first plate consisted of Caesar salad, salmon, rice, and fired chicken. It was a full plate. My second plate consisted of Caesar salad, salmon, rice, and fried chicken. It was another full plater. I had cheesecake for dessert. Truly fantastic dinner. It was really that good, and it might have helped that I hadn't eaten lunch in 8 hours.
Today when my groups made the turn (that's fancy golf talk for finishing the first nine holes), I swung into the ballroom and made sandwiches. BIG sandwiches. Wheat bread, mustard, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, turkey, roast beef, mayo, wheat bread. Two big sandwiches. Delicious. It took me about three hole to eat them both. Then there was the brownie for dessert. And the Arnold Palmer that I mixed for myself.
I know I already mentioned Darryl's in last night's post, but let's not forget how wonderful Darryl's honey mustard sauce is. And beer is good, too.
A few nights ago, our entire staff here in Greensboro went to J. Butler's. It was also the first night where I finally ordered a steak on the company's dime. It was a pretty decent steak, an okay baked potato, good vegetables, and a roll. The night where my dad and I had steak and potatoes was much, much better. But steak. Yummy.
I really need to talk about the meals we had in Ringgold/Chattanooga. The first night, a committee member took us to a place called Taco Mamacita. I was very apprehensive about this place, based on the name alone. Then I saw their menu. I looked over it and immediately wanted to have a taco sampler platter. I ended up ordering the California Club Taco (and had one leftover from a team member) and the Loaded Gyro. Honestly, that was the best lamb I ever had. Yes, the best lamb I ever had was in a taco, at a place called Taco Mamacita, in Chattanooga.
The next night another committee member took us to a burger place called Urban Stack. I again wanted to have some sort of sampler, where they just made me a mini version of each hamburger that was on their menu.
I chose the Asian Q, which was a burger made from Kobe beef. It was good, but I thought it would be better. I wanted it to be spicier, and I think the meat was a little overcooked than what I really wanted. If I were to ever go back to Urban Stack, I would definitely order the Hercules.
We also have a running joke in our team about wanting to eat Mexican. There were honestly four or five days in a row we had Mexican. 1) Taco bar during training at HQ, 2) leftover tacos on clean-up day/day before traveling, 3) dinner after clean-up day/day before leaving, 4) Taco Mamacita first night for Ringgold, 5) lunch the next day at Mexican restaurant behind our hotel. Trust me, I love me some Mexican, but it might be a while before I find it appetizing.
Being in the southeast, I am totally looking forward to eating any and all food that is available. We're going to South Carolina next week, and I keep hearing that there will be a lot of good seafood. I might want some lobster pretty soon.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Busy Busy Busy
It's really hard to find the time to just do nothing. But I have managed my time quite well tonight. After I finished my dinner at about 8:30, I called home and Danny, which lasted about an hour total. Then I just started to sit around with my laptop. The internet connection is halfway decent in this apartment that is attached to the clubhouse.
But this is good. I get the chance to just sit and listen to my own music, catch up with Adam on facechat, and just waste some time like I used to just a few weeks ago before graduation.
Working 14 hour days doesn't bother me, but I sometimes wish I wasn't so tired at the end of it all to just have some Tim time and do what I want, even if for just an hour. Right now, I'm still pretty tired (I mean, it's like an hour past my new bedtime), but I don't have to be at headquarters until 10 in the morning, and I start following my groups at 11. So I'm still awake, just doing what I can do.
And what I really love to do when I'm online is check what my sister and my nephew have been up to. I look at the same cute pictures over and over, and see what videos she has posted. My newest favorite is from a week ago, when Oscar started crawling around. He starts off screeching, wiggles closer, then starts this wheezy-sounding breathing, but he has this adorable smile on his face when he reaches the camera.
It's a 16-second video, but I watch it about 10 times in a row. The first time I saw it was last week in our headquarters. I had the sound up on my computer, and my TD asked "What in the world are you doing, Tim?" I promptly showed off the video, and the "oohs" and "ahhs" filled the room. Oscar has that effect on people.
In our drive to Greensboro, I had some time to catch up on my video game playing, which really wasn't too much, because we were having such a good time in our truck. And driving through Tennessee was pretty cool, because we were following this winding road next to a river and I was just loving the sights.
I was also hoping to get back to Darryl's so I could have some of that magnificent honey mustard sauce again. I managed to convince some team members to go, and they will never regret letting me pick the place to eat. Some have said they even want to go back.
And another part of going to Darryl's was their large selection of nearly 30 draft beers. It's very liberating being able to enjoy a beer (or a beer sampler) after long days.
But the most liberating feeling I experience at the end of each day is finally untucking my shirt.
But this is good. I get the chance to just sit and listen to my own music, catch up with Adam on facechat, and just waste some time like I used to just a few weeks ago before graduation.
Working 14 hour days doesn't bother me, but I sometimes wish I wasn't so tired at the end of it all to just have some Tim time and do what I want, even if for just an hour. Right now, I'm still pretty tired (I mean, it's like an hour past my new bedtime), but I don't have to be at headquarters until 10 in the morning, and I start following my groups at 11. So I'm still awake, just doing what I can do.
And what I really love to do when I'm online is check what my sister and my nephew have been up to. I look at the same cute pictures over and over, and see what videos she has posted. My newest favorite is from a week ago, when Oscar started crawling around. He starts off screeching, wiggles closer, then starts this wheezy-sounding breathing, but he has this adorable smile on his face when he reaches the camera.
It's a 16-second video, but I watch it about 10 times in a row. The first time I saw it was last week in our headquarters. I had the sound up on my computer, and my TD asked "What in the world are you doing, Tim?" I promptly showed off the video, and the "oohs" and "ahhs" filled the room. Oscar has that effect on people.
In our drive to Greensboro, I had some time to catch up on my video game playing, which really wasn't too much, because we were having such a good time in our truck. And driving through Tennessee was pretty cool, because we were following this winding road next to a river and I was just loving the sights.
I was also hoping to get back to Darryl's so I could have some of that magnificent honey mustard sauce again. I managed to convince some team members to go, and they will never regret letting me pick the place to eat. Some have said they even want to go back.
And another part of going to Darryl's was their large selection of nearly 30 draft beers. It's very liberating being able to enjoy a beer (or a beer sampler) after long days.
But the most liberating feeling I experience at the end of each day is finally untucking my shirt.
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