Twelve Years and Still Going Strong

By brian September 11, 2007Family, Travel

I really don’t know how it all started. I guess we figured that because we were celebrating our first anniversary, we should take a trip.

So we packed up and went to Wilmington, Del., so Maria could indulge herself in some of the DuPont houses in that area. Almost 11 years later, we’re still hitting the road every year by ourselves to celebrate the milestone. The only difference is now Bridget gets a vacation of her own at Granny’s house.

I remember that first trip for a couple of things. First off, I liked the houses a lot more than I thought I would. Secondly, some restaurant near our hotel in Wilmington had an amazing Buffalo chicken breast sandwich that pretty much changed my life.

We took our trip a little early this year and, while the food didn’t move me this time around, we had our usual fantastic time.

In a new tradition, Maria got to pick this year’s destination so we took the trip a little earlier than usual and visited New York to watch the U.S. Open.

America!

By brian September 10, 2007America, Music, TV

Rarely do things converge in such a fantastic way as they have today. First off, we have the Britney Spears trainwreck on the MTV Video Music Awards. But since the…

My Lifeline

By brian September 8, 2007TV

A number of years ago, a friend of ours spoke about how he kept up with changes in pop culture through his subscription to Entertainment Weekly. Since Maria and I…

ITEOTWAWKI: Leaving New York

By brian September 7, 2007ITEOTWAWKI, Music, REM

I really didn't know what to write about today. I haven't blogged all week because it's just been an insane week. We spent the weekend in New York for an…

Mountains to Climb

By brian September 2, 2007Columns, Making an Idiot Out of Myself

When I started pledging a fraternity during my freshman year of college, the older guys in the house did all kinds of things to scare the other pledges and me.

They told us about all kinds of horrible things that would happen to us. They really scared a few guys.

I pretty much took it all in stride and gained the respect of the older guys – who never followed through on any of their threats because it was all a game – with one great decision.

I called their bluff.

I learned all of this growing up with four older brothers. Sometimes, it’s easier to be made fun of for not doing something well than it is to be made fun of for not even trying at all.

That lesson echoed in my head the other day at a special picnic we had at work. There were lots of activities, including a climbing wall.

When I first saw the wall, I decided I wouldn’t even go near it. We had the same kind of wall at a similar event a few years ago, and I tried it then.