:-)~~(-:

I love to tease....You should know this about me.

I've been on the phone quite a bit lately, writing a lot of emails, doing a lot of visiting, a lot of talking, holding hands, hugging, kissing...I have the awesome opportunity of getting to know, date, explore, and go exploring with a woman I am finding to be very special, incredible, inspiring, and someone I am having to keep up with. :-) I have been surprised by her in everything, and I totally love that, because it is so nice when expectations are completely blown away. So we've been busy. Her name is Susan.

I have also been busy looking for a house. It can be depressing though when you find a house that would quite nearly perfect, but not affordable. Not a new house mind you, but built in 1978, 1900 sq ft, 3BR, 2.5 baths, not renovated on the inside, cape cod, one car garage, but up against a nature preserve where Brandon and I could spend some time in the woods, kayaking, and more. $2500/month for a mortgage is just too much on one income. Nine years ago, they bought house for $127K. That should tell you a little about the market in this area. So no house for now. At least it isn't like California or Northern VA where 600 sq ft might go for $600K. :-)

Saturday I went to Richmond to see my friends up there. The ones that can actually be reached at times! Jeff and Melanie and fantastic people and friends. They have an adorable and so well behaved daughter Emma, with another on they way (CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!) They also have two rescued grey hounds and a cat. The grey hounds will literally love you to death as soon as you walk in the door. That is a fact. If you are ever starved for attention, that is the place you want to go. If you lay down, the dogs will spoon with you. Emma is so cute that she just smiles, asks you to do something for her, and you find that you do. It can't be helped, like a faerie casting some kind of control spell that is so powerful you even feel like you like whatever it is she has made you do.



Jeff and I went to an Indy race Saturday evening (IRL). It would be the first race either of us has ever been to. Free tickets of course. The cars are awesome, but the whole race thing was lost on us I think. Now if you're going to people watch, there is a lot to see and ponder on. We left about 50 laps into the race and according to the results, the next 200 were pretty much the same as the first three or so. Besides, we went to Curbside to catch up with some other friends and that was well worth it. Sunday morning we were up before six am to play a round of golf. Early is the best time to go because most of the wildlife is still out, it is still relatively cool, and no one else is out there to bother you. Always great conversation.


When I made it back to Va Beach, Susan and I with her son (five years old) went on a bike ride at the Dismal Swamp trail. I know it does not sound promising, but trust me, it is. The city essentially built a new road and turned the old on into a paved trail. Truthfully, that is about all the road was anyway. We road 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I was amazed that her son made it. That is a long ways for most of us, let alone a five year old. There are tons of butterflies on the trail. We saw a nutria (basically a large South American rat), but no snakes. The trail is covered with a canopy from the trees to it is pleasant even on hot days. We spent the evening watching some movies, doing a crossword, a sudoku, and the crypto quip. :-) It is so nice to share puzzles with someone!

My fourth of July was great! How about yours? We had coffee and did a crossword in the morning, went to a fantastic party about 2pm, watched fireworks on the beach, and did some drinking...enough to make me a bit sick after the fireworks :-(.

Thursday was the beginning of the Cool It series at the Chrysler Museum here. At 6pm they have a musician, singer, band play in the attrium with drinks and catered snacks. They leave the modern art exhibit open if you want to browse the art to the sound of great music. They have an amazing exhibit called Stardust and it is aptly named. I'll have some pictures of it before long because I'm going back with my camera. Stardust is a project where Jean-Christian Bourcart took pictures in movie theaters, but not of the big screen. He took pictures of the glass that the movie is projected through. The results are very cool.




Susan and I went to Busch Gardens Yesterday. Hands down, the Griffon is the most amazing coaster I have ever been on. Loch Ness monster has been my favorite since I first road on it when I was around seven. I never thought that would change, but I'm happy to report I was wrong. It really feels like you are flying on top of a Griffon, soaring through the air, swooping, diving, looping. The ride is so smooth. Exhilarating. I can't remember every having a better time at Busch Gardens either. It was hot, but the crowds were so sparse, lines were so short, and the company was the best ever. Seriously. No one has EVER pulled ME through the park before. She can really move, and that is fantastic. We mowed over meandering patrons everywhere we went, zipping betwixt strollers, stepping over small children, occasionally yelling "BEES, BEES everywhere, attacking, the agony, save yourselves" and the other patrons would scatter. :-) Apparently both of us are coaster junkies and the Griffon is our preferred hit so to speak.

Battle of the Sexes summer games is this afternoon with Meetin. It is going to be a blast!

~Mike
PS:
Trance/Dance music is like audible adrenaline to me. You won't hear this on the radio, especially in the US, which is a shame. There are some very talented musicians making incredible music out there. Below are the lyrics to a song I ran across recently on Joost. I have several songs from this artist, but some how I missed this one. If you want to check out Joost leave me a comment with your email and I'll see about sending you an invitation. Mostly I get this kind of music from emusic. I find it under Electronic then Trance. With Emusic, there is no DRM, and that is important to me.

"Just Be" by DJ Tiesto
You can travel the world
But you can't run away
From the person you are in your heart
You can be who you want to be
Make us believe in you
Keep all your light in the dark
If you're searchin for truth
You must look in the mirror
And make sense of what you can see
Just be
Just be

They say learning to love yourself
Is the first step
That you take when you want to be real
Flying on planes to exotic locations
Won't teach you
How you really feel
Face up to the fact
That you are who you are
Nothing can change that belief
Just be
Just be

'cause now I know
It's not so far
To where I go
The hardest part
Is inside me
I need
To just be
Just be

Just be
Just be
Just be

I was lost
And I'm still lost
But I feel so much better

'cause now I know
It's not so far
To were I go

JUST BE