Full of Surprises

Well the last few days have sure been full of surprises. On Thursday night, our Hokies surprised the heck outta me with an inspired performance against Clemson. Oh yeah, and the killer all maroon unis, that was a shock. Wish we would wear those more often.

Yesterday at work we had our annual “Fall Festival”. What that basically means is: at 3pm, the office turns into a screaming mad house of little kids dressed in their Halloween costumes. Not that I mind all that much, I like kids. But…when you have a ton of work to do, it gets a bit distracting. Stephanie then reminded me that I probably don’t work all that hard on Friday afternoons anyway. She is so wrong….

That brings us to today.

So we got ourselves up and started cleaning the area that was once a kitchen, only to find that it is, indeed, still a kitchen. Amazing what can happen when you clear the clutter. Since the weather is so nice today, we decided to grill out tonight (in just a few minutes, actually). Instead of our usual jaunt to Bi-Lo or Food Lion (both extremely unreliable for quality meat selections), we went the The Fresh Market. Robert had mentioned The Fresh Market as a good place to find…err…fresh grilling meat, so we decided to give it a try.

Two kids in a candy store could not have as much fun as we did in this place. The chops that we found look magnificent. We found about 2 bottles worth of fresh oregano for 96 cents. Seriously. I found a nice loaf of Ciabatta bread (one of my favs). An amazing place. If you have one near you, I would suggest giving it a try.

Back in Black(sburg)

Heading back up to Blacksburg this evening to watch the Hokies battle
Southern Miss. on Saturday night under the lights at Lane Stadium.  Always special when the Hokies play at night.  Even though this is not a conference game and the team seems in disarray, I expect things will be rockin’ tomorrow night.  It is amazing to hear 66K people produce the sound of 100K.  I’m also excited about the possibility of seeing Ike Whittaker get some snaps at QB.  I’ve never been a fan of Sean Glennon and, with our problems on the O-line, a dual-threat QB is just what we need.

The drive back should be just as exciting.  Steph and I are gonna hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway for part of the journey back to
Charlotte.  Looking forward to prime leaf-viewing conditions.

Dance your cares away…

…worry’s for another day.

Anyone that grew up in the early-mid 80’s will probably recognized those words as the opening lines of the Fraggle Rock theme music. Well good news people, a Fraggle Rock MOVIE is in the works! According to a CNN article, Frank Zappa’s son Ahmet is in talk to bring Wembley and the gang to the big screen.

So I know the movie will probably be a colossal letdown, but I’m excited nonetheless.

How do you….?

I was asked a very simple question this morning. A question that should have been easily answered without thought. No tricks. No calculator or web query needed to answer this one.

"Do you loop your belt from the left or the right?". Stephanie 1. Jason 0. Might as well ask me about the effect coefficient of restitution on long fly balls (in case you are wondering, the Physics Department at Harvard has conducted a study – Google it!).

So after I finally took the belt and put it on – starting on the right side as it turns out – I started thinking: How many simple, everyday things have become such habit that we couldn’t describe our tactics if asked?

• Do you shampoo first or last in the shower?
• If you use the "loop, swoop and pull" method for tying your shoes, which hand holds the loop?

Those are just 2 (3 counting the belt i guess). I’m sure there are more, but what are they?

That pesky freedom of press!

So I guess a lot of my Hokie brethren are upset at what they considered a vicious rant on national TV conducted by ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit. As a faithful, but honest, Hokie fan, my response to these folks would be to focus their anger on the lack of execution from our players, the overall lack of discipline on this team, and the stubborness of the coaching staff. Leave Herbie alone!

The guy was dead on right. It stung to hear those words, but it stung because it hit home. It hit home because…he was right. Even beyond that, it was obvious to me that Kirk’s soapbox moment was a sincere show of frustration and disappointment, not a holier-than-thou judgement. He even went as far to say, in an article in todays Roanoke Times (Roanoke Virginia) that Thursday’s sermon was “as emotional as I’ve ever been on the air.”

If only our coaches and players showed the same emotion and pride in the institution….

Herbstreit is the flagship of college football on ESPN. He has unmatched credibility. Does he boost up his Alma mater, Ohio State, sometimes? Sure he does. But I respect him for not trying to glaze it over. He loves his school. He played there. He should. But you know what? He’s pretty damn fond of Virginia Tech as well and he, like me, is getting tired of players that are focused on themselves and coaches that can’t correct the issue.

Thanks, Kirk, for saying what needed to be said.

Only Tuesday?

So it is really just Tuesday, eh? Wow. Feels like it has been a long week already. I’m certainly a person who loves to sleep and I haven’t gotten a lot of it in the past several days. Up til midnight/1am each night working is not meshing well with my laziness in the mornings. I’ve overslept the past 2 mornings. I’d drop a little coin in Vegas on me sleeping late again in the morning.

…Although…

Steph is finally home again, so perhaps she can save the day and make sure I roll outta bed as intended. While we are both happy to have each other around again after a few days of cross-city bacheloring, I think she’s just as happy (if not more) to be back at home base. I’ve seen the chaos she dealt with for the last several days, I don’t blame her.

So I’ve been amazed over the last week at how my daily food intake looks on paper. Wow, that sounds really weird when you say it that way, huh? Anyway, I’ve decided to get serious about not being such a fat boy. Along with developing a real workout plan (instead of my normal disoriented trips to the gym), I am charting the nutritional data on the meals that I consume in a day. Aside from the occasional pizza pies, I am actually each far less than I should. I’m generally about 800 calories shy and a good 20g shy on protein. My penchant for bread keeps me pretty close on carbs, but even my fat intake is lower than it should be. No wonder I can’t lose weight. My freakin’ body things I’m trying to starve it. However, i shouldn’t complain. For someone who loves to eat, this is great news. Now I just gotta figure out what the heck to eat. Life is tough.

How’s THAT for Timing?

On last Thursday night, my beloved Hokies didn’t just lose to Boston College, they looked awful doing it. Personal fouls, near fights, thuggery, dancing while losing. A million-dollar head coach with a 2 dollar “Who Moved My Cheese?” look on his face. You name it.

So if you are Virginia Tech or a Hokie fan, what could possibly ease the pain of being humiliated on national TV by Boston College?

Cue the Miami Hurricanes!

In case you missed it, things got sideways in the famed Orange Bowl on saturday night as “The U” took on Florida International. A bench clearing brawl broke out in which players were lifted off the ground and body-slammed in a way that would make Vince McMahon smile. Helmets were used as clubs. The scene was quite ugly.

Which brings us to the irony of timing. Sometimes, things can happen at just the right moment and transform a normally-mundane fact into a wealth of hilarity. Apparently the “U” and the Miami-Dade Police Department have joined forces to offer a – and this is totally legit by all accounts – Join-a-Team, Not-a-Gang Program. No wait, it gets better. Approx. 700 kids were in attendance at the game on Saturday.

I’ve said and done a few funny things in my day. That just writes itself though.

Thanks Miami!
- Hokie Fans Everywhere

Gone to the dogs

So, being the nice guy that I am, I decided to go up and stay with Steph last night while she dog-sat for one of her friends on the north side of town. Wow… Her friend has 4, yes 4, dogs in a townhouse. This little fact is bad enough. What makes it worse is the fact that they are some of the worst behaving animals I have ever met. No sign of obedience, unless of course you threaten them. Apparently these dogs lose their mind if you squirt them with water; therefore, our weapon of choice was a water bottle better reserved for your local hair stylist.

…I swear I’m not making any of this up.

I would take some time to discuss the smell that is 4 poorly trained dogs living in a small space, but:

1. I just ate breakfast, it was good, and I’d prefer to keep it with me.
2. I’m really not sure how to describe it

So it probably goes without saying that neither one of us got much sleep last night. Apparently these dogs are against the idea of being quite/still. Lovely.

Oh, and Steph still has 2 more days of watching these animals. She is already up to 12 “incidents” in the house.

..I’m still not making any of this up.

Whoa Nelly!

So, even at 8:30am, it is 33 degrees here in Charlotte this morning!! On October 14th? Geez, I thought I was getting away from that when I moved here. Oh well, supposed to get into the mid 60’s today so by lunch time, I’ll be singing the praises of weather in the Queen City again I’m sure.

All systems Go!

…and so it begins

First off, I’m not one to refer to myself in the third person, but I swear it cracks me up to call myself The Cookie. The nickname, of course, comes from my last name (Cook). It has stuck since some time late in elementary school, so what the heck, I’m gonna go with it!

So I’ve been here in Charlotte NC since February 2006, working at LendingTree as a Search Engine Marketing Manager. It is a great gig, lots of extremely smart people there and a great, innovative atmosphere.

That’s my day job. In the evenings and weekends I am a Husband-in-Training to a beautiful, smart, intelligent, funny woman who – despite all of those qualities – is still silly enough to want to marry me. No official plans yet, but as Churchill once said, “In God’s good time” – though he made it sound much cooler than I ever could.

So anyway, that is the 30,000 feet view of things. Nothing exciting to report on this night. Steph is dog-sitting on the other side of town and to make matters worse, she is VERY sick. She’ll be stopping by tomorrow and then we’ll go back to the house-o-dogs and have dinner. I’m even going to sleep over. Yeah, we are dorks. But, as i’m learning, love apparently will do that too you.