a picture is worth a thousand words

castle living 101

Well, it's official. I am moving, to Germany, to live in my castle. Hanstein Castle that is. It's located in Bornhagen (East Germany) ... and I think castle-living will suit me just fine.

going to kansas city, kansas city here i come ...

I just returned home from a five-day business trip to Kansas City ... exciting, I know. Actually, while it was no Savannah, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the city is. It is very clean, has a lot of historical architecture, is in the middle of a huge downtown revitalization, and is full of nice people. The city is home to several major corporations, including Hallmark/Crayola, Russell Stover, KC Masterpiece, Foldgers, Sprint, and Harley Davidson.

While the vast majority of my trip was spent inside a conference room, I did have a bit of time to check out some of the sights and sounds, including authentic Kansas City bbq. Because I am sure you are dying to know, yes, I did like it, but not as much as Texas-style.

While I was in town, the Giants also decided to visit. They also decided to kick the Royals' ass ... which was in part due to my attendance and seats just up from the first-base line so they could see my Giants shirt.

One morning, I went for an early-morning jog around the World War I Memorial and museum. It is extremely moving and beautiful.

However, it was so humid that morning and by 7am, I was sweating.

Across the street was Union Station, which was one of the most beautiful and ornate train stations I have seen. It even has a Harvey Girls diner, which reminded me of Judy Garland.

My hotel room had a view of the Kansas City skyline, which was striking at night. You can't tell from the picture, but the Marriott downtown had a light show every night. One night I stayd up for almost an hour watching it, which I regretted the next morning.

I didn't take pictures of the Hallmark building/tour, bbq joints, etc, but I will be going back in March and promise to be better then. Until then Kansas City ...

birthday highlights

It appears that as of Friday, June 13, 2008 ... my 30th birthday is officially over. Okay, well, except for a group trip to Vegas in July to celebrate with college friends en masse. Below are a few highlights of my various celebrations. Each were special and I can never thank any of the people who helped me celebrate enough. Words cannot express how thankful I am, but pictures might!

Birthday cake at work

Sierra Nevada Brewery

Rafting the American River

Red Velvet birthday cake

Roommates as Koreatown Karaoke Rockstars

Tahoe Hyatt firepits

Sunnyside - does life get any better?

thirty looks good from here

it actually happened.

i am now officially thirty something.

and i actually survived.