Thanksgiving 2009.

Thanksgiving Day. Lots to report, but it's all hand-written in my journal for now. I'll get to that later...maybe. Seems like anything I say "I'll get to that later" about tends to be forgotten, but I've got lots of cool things written that I want to share with you here as soon as I can, so hey, I'll get to it later...

Anyway, I'm sitting here, bloated, full, glass of wine by my side, and typing. Thanksgiving was spent in a leisurely way today, with tv viewings of the Macy's Day Parade, football, a "Home Alone" marathon, and "Elf". Of course, not focusing on the tv portions too much, I also ran a little over two miles today and read a good chunk of my latest Stephen King book (what can I say, I'm a sucker for King, but you knew that).

Outside of the television, workout, reading, and relaxing, we took our annual Sykes Kid Christmas Pictures, which we've done since infant-hood, if I can use that as a word. These pictures have transformed over the years, from being easy when Carra was a baby to the tough years where Mom and Dad dressed us both in white turtle necks and managed to get good pics between our shouts of "get OFF me" and "don't TOUCH me" to the soccer jersey years to now when we wear what we want and model pose for the camera between shots (whew...outta breath...love long sentences). Of course, my sister and I are both glad to have the pictures taken every year, and it's a lot of fun looking back on them all and seeing how much we change between Christmases, and how much we've grown up since the tradition began. I know Mom and Dad love it too, and I have a feeling we'll keep taking them for a while. I'm definitely not complaining. They're cheesy, but they're the good kind of cheese.

After this "full" day, the REAL festivities began. Grandma was busy all day, and the rest of the family began to arrive around 5:30. There were 14 people and 3 dogs at dinner, and the FEAST began around 7. I can justifiably call it a FEAST because that's what it was. We had turkey (white and dark meat), rice, gravy, cranberries, dressing, turnip greens, creamed corn, crowder peas, rolls, olives, carrots, and my Grandma's pickles followed by PUMPKIN PIE that I'm going to go back and find more of in a minute for dessert. It was AMAZING (as always), and I'm dragging with a well-earned and deserved food hangover now. MAN, the gym will be nice tomorrow.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was definitely a success, and not overlooked like it tends to be by the Commercial-Christmas-Society we tend to live in. Yeah, Christmas movies were watched today, but we focused more on the MOMENT than a month from now, and it was great, and DANG, I know we've all got plenty to be thankful for. I would give you a list, but it's SO cliche...

Ahhhh, screw it! It's a cheesy time of year, and I'm a cheesy guy. To close out this blog, here's just a SAMPLE of the things I'm thankful for in 2009:

-The people I love. There are a lot of you, and you know who you are. Many of you will be mentioned again under this bullet, but the group of you gets the first spot.
-Amanda. You make me better. Thanks for your support through everything, your laugh, your smile, your kind heart, and your love. Couldn't be happier than I am when I'm with you.
-My parents. Thanks for taking me back after five years of college, and keeping me for a good chunk of time longer than I expected. Thanks for being fun, and for being cool with me as I "figure out the next step". Growing up has been interesting, but I continually appreciate the way you are there for me through everything.
-My sister. My favorite sibling. Thanks for being an inspiration to me in more ways than you know. Even though I'm the older brother, I look up to you in a lot of ways, and I'll always appreciate that. You are awesome, and I admire the way you live your life.
-I'm also thankful for my friends. Some of you I rarely see these days. We're in different states, cities, and places in our lives, but all of you have shaped me into who I am today.
-my 92 year old Grandma. SO thankful for her, and the rock that she is in my family. SHE COOKED OUR THANKSGIVING FEAST FOR US TONIGHT, AND SHE IS AMAZING! Her stories are great to hear, and they give hope during these hard times.
-Football. Haven't kept up with it as much this season because it's been a tough year for my Wolfpack and my Panthers, but I'll follow them 'til the end, and I'll be yelling at the TV come Saturday when we play UNC.
-Mayer. His music fits my life, and he's the man. Can't WAIT 'til he comes to Greensboro!
-Sticks and Stones. It's a great place to work in this "Figuring out the next step" phase of my life. I love the people I work with, and working there always has its fun moments. It'll be an experience I always remember, and something I'll look back on and say I enjoyed.
-The holidays. I love 'em. They bring us all together and the traditions are great.
-The future. Still don't know what I'm doing, but like I always say, I'm ready for what's next, so bring it on. School, career, LIFE.

And on that note, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and good night!
Drew.

I'm back again.

Gonna write.

Gonna write because it's getting late, and it's been "BATTLE STUDIES DAY" around the United States.

"Battle Studies Day?" You ask? Yes. November 17. The release date of the one and only JOHN MAYER's 4th studio album, and might I say that it is SICK. It grows on me every time I listen to it, and it's even better now that I actually have a hard copy.

I'll review the actual record later, but I've definitely celebrated its release RIGHT today. Woke up excited and listening to it, and went to Target to buy two hard copies. Gave one to Amanda, who needed an official version, and I'll probably give the other to my parents, who I think I might actually be bringing to a Mayer concert in Greensboro in March. More on this later...

Anyway, the last few days have been crazy hectic. Yeah, there's a lot to say, and yeah, I know I've been ignoring this blog like whoa the last month. I'm sorry, it happens. Mayer played a live show on tv tonight and I've stayed up enjoying a few brews and rockin' out to the music, so I wanted to write.

So much to catch up on since I've last been here. And believe it or not, there are a few long stories I need to tell, but the bottom line is that I could never be more thankful for Amanda, my family, my friends, and my close family friends than I am now. I've said this before, but it's amazing how much this can increase and change as life goes on and new and crazy events unravel. We were very lucky this past weekend to have something occur that could have been a lot worse than the results that showed up. I know this is vague, and I'll probably write about it later, but for now, I'm running with the feeling of thanks I have in my heart. My family is amazing, and I'm so grateful.

So many things are happening now too. 2009 is racing to the finish line and the holidays are FAST approaching. I'm still jobless when it comes to my career path, but it's ok, because I'm gunning for grad-school if I don't find anything in the next few months. I'm calm and ready for what's next.

The cool thing about this particular blog entry is that I'm just typing. It's all I've been doing this entire entry. I don't really know where I'm going with it now, but Thanksgiving is coming up, the Caldwell-Sumner was this past weekend, and basketball season is about to start. WOW. Lots going on, but as always, I've got an excited feeling in my heart. I'm loving life, as confusing and uncertain as it is right now, and I know that whatever happens next will be what needs to be.

Word to that, and good night.
DS.

Tenth Month.

October. October? OCTOBER!

Touche, 2009. Just when I thought you were slowin' things down a bit, you hit me in the face with the onset of the tenth month of the year. I should've known better.

So. Yeah. October. It's starting to FEEL like fall now, although the leaves haven't really started to change yet. It's too cold for the A/C but too warm for the heater to come on so the house is perfect during the day and it gets to that cold in an I don't wanna get out from under the blanket" kinda way at night, so I like it. It's also given me the chance to get on a green tea kick the last week or so. No sugar, hot water, green tea. Amanda and I have been all about it, and hey, it's good for the soul (and the immune system...watch out, Swine Flu!).

October really is a good month. I talked about September being the start of fall, and the feel-good atmosphere that brings with it, but October is when all of this really gets kicking. It means the fair, changing of the leaves, the heart of football season, and Halloween. It also brings the PLAYOFFS in baseball, which, once again, my Braves failed to make (Braves 2010! Woohoo!). It's a great month to get scared in a fun way, and to get wrapped up in that trick-or-treat hype you got as a kid.

Anyway, props to October. I know I'm kind of letting my fingers type without thinking tonight, but I'll take what I can get. It's been an interesting few weeks since I last wrote here. All good and great for the most part, but I took a slight step back in one aspect of my life I didn't want to have happen again. I'm still struggling to find a middle ground with it. I don't want to be controlled by it, but I also want to be strong enough to resist the pull of falling back to where I used to be. The line is too thin for me to stand on it sometimes, and gravity is always working against me. Just gotta stay strong.

But October, yeah. The theme of this blog. Tenth month of the year. Back to getting scared. Amanda and I have one haunted house down, and we want to hit up at least one more before Halloween. We went to "Spooky Woods" in High Point the other night, and it was great. Got stuck with a bunch of high school kids on the trail and laughed at their reactions as much as our own. The place is perfectly designed for the fun scare, starting with a Texas Chainsaw type of house and going through a corn maze and a castle with rooms set up to look like all of the scariest horror movies. I went about 7 years ago, and it's really improved since then. Definitely had several jumpy moments that turned into laughter pretty quickly. Can't wait to catch another one.

I'm super-tired now and about to crash, but some pretty cool things are coming up in the next few days. Amanda's got a GIG Friday night of all acoustic Beatles stuff which will be a lotta fun, and SATURDAY, we're heading up to DC to kick it with Ryan in the city for a couple of nights. Two shifts of work between now and then, and the weekend will BE here! Can't wait. Going to sleep with that thought.

Gnight.
D.

Musical Nostalgia.

"Wheel" with the windows down just took me back to this time six years ago. Freshman fall at NC State. Cool weather, late nights, and far enough into the semester to be comfortable with the place.

I was the same, but different. Eighteen, mop-topped, a little preppier, but still smiling a lot. NC State was in front of me rather than behind, and my biggest concerns involved getting football tickets and stocking the room with Easy Mac and Ramen.

"Heavier Things" was a constant that could be heard from my open room or the two 12 inch sub-woofers in my Explorer, and I could relate to the music more than ever now that I was on my own. I was learning lessons and making mistakes and decisions away from home, and the songs on the record picked me up or gave me advice when I needed it.

I can still remember playing "Clarity" for the first time on my laptop in Windows Media Player, before my iTunes days. It was real, and it hit me from the beginning. College was new and crazy, but the song helped me brush the worries away and enjoy that particular moment in my life, because at that time there's no way I could have known just how fast six years could fly by. Crazy, eh?

As much as I love the rest of Mayer's music, I'll always be a sucker for the nostalgia that "Heavier Things" brings me when I listen to it at night in the fall. It took me back again tonight, and still gave me the hope and comfort it did when I was a little younger and different, but had my heart in the right place, as I feel I do now...

With as fast as things move and as uncertain as things are these days, I'll take that as a good thing.

D.

OFF.

Today is my first day off in 9 days. I know I only work part time, but off days are still GREAT. Days where I'm scheduled for dinner shifts can seem like days off, but there's always the thought of work in the back of my mind, and with that they can still be tiring.

My goal was to get up today and get some things DONE. So far I've eaten cereal and had two cups of coffee. Not bad, right? Yeah, I know, nothing productive yet, but I'm gonna get on to some G.R.E. stuff in the next little bit. I'm setting a table and chair up in my sister's room for a temporary "study station" to leave up until after the test. I'm now OFFICIALLY registered to take it on Monday, October 5. This way I can have a few weeks to study for it, I'm motivated by the deadline, and I'll get my results back just in time to finish my application by November 1. Not too bad of a plan as long as I actually study a little.

As for work itself, it's been an interesting week. Nothing too crazy, but there was one instance that gave me a pretty good laugh. Since I've been working at Sticks, I've gotten to know or recognize the majority of our regulars. A lot of these people are really cool, regardless of how they tip. There are some that run your ass off and tip well, and others that trap you in good conversation and don't leave you shit, but you enjoy the time with them. Of course, like any server, I'm a big fan of the ones who treat you AND tip you like a friend instead of a pizza-slinger.

Anyway, the other day this one regular came in with his wife. The best way to describe him is with the word "grouse". He's a grouse. That's not necessarily a word, but it sounds right for this guy. I'll break it down even more for ya. If he were on Sesame Street, he'd be Oscar. If he was a dwarf, he'd be Grumpy. The guy never smiles, and he always wants his white wine glass chilled. I greeted him and his wife a few weeks ago when we had a busted A.C. and they immediately complained about the temperature. Of course, as the messenger of the news, I got the evil looks as if it was my fault we had a bad system, and the guy says "Welp, sorry," and walks out before his wife realized he was leaving (I'm not defending her here, she's almost as bad as he is, but I thought it was funny he left her behind).

Fast forward to a few days ago and the A.C. is fixed and the couple returned. I sat them, crossing my fingers they wouldn't sit in my section (which they didn't, whew), and of course they commented on the air (yeah, thanks, I noticed it was fixed too). They ordered drinks from me, which I passed on to their server. As the night progressed, their pizza appeared in the window, so I ran it out to them. Just like with any customer, I placed it down with a smile and told them to enjoy. Before I could finish putting it on the stand, the guy looks at me and says, "I've got a question for ya." Giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking he's going to be friendly for a change, I look at him and say, "What's that?" As his perma-frown increases, he asks, "Where did the pepperoni go?"

I feel my half-fake smile fade as I put my tail between my legs and stare this asshole down. "Uhhh, I don't know, sir. Did you order it with pepperoni?"

"Well, I THOUGHT I did," he says.

So I pick it up and say "I'll get it fixed," and as I turned away I stopped, fake-laughed, looked at him and said, "Psht, and I thought you were going to ask me a SERIOUS question...HAHA..."

Didn't deal with him the rest of the night, but felt pretty good about getting the last word in. Of course, I couldn't have done this if he had been my table, and probably shouldn't have anyway, but hey, sometimes you gotta walk away with what holds up as a LITTLE pride in your own mind. You can get away with a lot more than you think with people like that. I laughed about it, because it's hard for me to understand how anybody can be that unhappy all of the time, but what can you do? Ha, I brushed it off and smiled, because he'll be back regardless of little things like that...

Woohoo. Battle stories. Gotta love 'em. And the grumpy regulars. Smile, folks. You'll get less wrinkles.

Not much else to say right now, but it's gonna be a gym/dinner/movie date night tonight, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's also the third weekend of college football, and some good things are happening over the next few days. I still get excited about weekends, regardless of how much I have to work over them. People are happier, and friends are free when I get off work. So yeah, weekend time is gonna be nice.

Until then, I'll be around. Peace outside.
DS.

Double SHIFT.

Typing this one up between doubles at work.

Last night was CRAZY-busy in the pizza-slingin' world. It started off so slow you could hear the crickets, and then: BAM! BUSY. This is how it always happens. You think you're gonna get out of there at a decent hour for a weekend night, and then the customers remember that it's the weekend too, and decide they're gonna camp out over one extra beer for 30 more minutes. Of course, it's not all bad, because in being busy and staying later, you make more money. Simple economics: opportunity costs. Leave early = low money. Stay late = make more money. But then again, on weekends, time IS money. Never realized how true that was until I started waiting tables.

Another thing I realized while I was running around throwing pies last night was that, DAMN, I've gotten GOOD about balancing food and drinks and carrying multiple items. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a ways to go to catch up with a lot of people in the service idustry, but I'm getting better every day. Learning to use different parts of your upper body as third and fourth arms and hands gets pretty crazy, as weird as that sounds. And with a tray...WOW. It's like a pickup truck for food.

Anyway, work was crazy, but I made good money, or I made Beatles Rock Band if you wanna put it a different way. The non-collector's edition (you figure it out). I REALLY want this game, and the fact that Beatles music is being played non-stop on every station is making it even worse. Even VH1 is playing video game music videos of their songs! It's ridiculous, and I've gotta get it. I'm on the verge of getting some stuff done and driving to Best Buy just to stare at it. "Lead us not into temptation..." Ohhhhh, man...we'll see.

For now it's time to rest and maybe throw in a run at some point. I only got 5 hours of sleep last night, and I'm doing fine now, but the crash is sure to happen. A nap may be in order, but I'm going with it while I can.

Until then, there's plenty of early season football to watch,Cherry Lemon Sundrop to drink, and Jay-Z ft. John Mayer on YouTube...


Watch that one and you'll see that even HOV is impressed. What have I been trying to tell y'all for YEARS?!?

That's what I thought.

PEACE.
Drew.

Defy Gravity.

It's what I do.

Check out my new custom NikeID running shoes. Designed by me, for me.




Inspiration (if you couldn't figure it out):


I ran in 'em yesterday and kept staring down at them. I can FLY in these things! Gotta love new motivation to run...

Catch me if you can.
D.

PS: Today feels like a good blog day. #2 and counting so far...