A Palmy Christmas

A few years ago I promised Kathi a Christmas with palm trees and the beach. This year I paid out on that promise. We arrived in Jacksonville on the 24th at about 11:00pm because of a one hour delay in Chicago. I was pretty pleased with the one hour delay though because flying through Chicago during winter can ground you for a few days if you hit the wrong storm and I did not want to even consider the possibility of spending Christmas trapped at an airport in the Midwest. We got to my mom and Gregg's house just in time for Christkind to pay Kathi a visit and have had a very relaxing first two days here in Florida which have been thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to everyone from our previous destinations for taking care of us so well and as I keep on mentioning I will eventually get photos up here from all of our stops.

Warmer Weather

Today we are back in Missouri but are leaving for Florida and warmer weather this afternoon. Up until last night we had been in Nebraska for several days and had the chance to catch up a bit with lots of family and friends. I am going to take a step backwards today though and post a few pictures from when we were in Kansas City last week so I can start getting back on schedule with sharing some photos on here. The first shot is of Ilkan dancing for us while he was watching his Sesame Street video.
The next picture is of the Ozdemir family at a barbecue restaurant called Jack Stack Barbecue which we ate at to help satisfy one of the many cravings I had for this trip. And finally we have my buddy Dustin with his little guy Corbin (and Denise in the background). Dustin and I were best friends from 6th grade on and the last time I saw Corbin was at a point when all he could do was sleep and poop so it was pretty neat getting to see a much larger version of him this time around.More to come on everything at a later time.......

The Ville

Well we are up in Nebraska now. Yesterday we bought Kathi a few baseball things and today we plan on teaching her how to use them. In the meantime we were in Maryville and the surrounding Northwest Missouri area for a few days. The place got hit pretty hard by an ice storm about a week ago and a large percentage of the trees were destroyed (I believe the place was even declared a national disaster area). This meant that there still wasn't much in the way of electricity but Richard did a good job of taking care of us and we had a really nice time. Kathi is doing a better job with the stories at the moment but I will do my best to catch up later. I am enjoying the avoidance of computers too much to stay on here any longer today, but I will post one barren Missouri picture for your enjoyment. This was looking out of our hotel room on Sunday morning. It was about -15c outside. Peter and Magda were correct, it does sound cold there. More exciting pictures to come later.

Quick KC Update

If you have checked Kathi's blog then you know that we arrived safe and a little about what we've been doing. I have taken a few pictures but haven't uploaded anything yet so you will have to wait a few more days for that. So far we have just hung out in Kansas City where we have visited Nichole, Kaan, Ilkan, Dustin, Denise, Corbin, Wherry, John, Sickel, Brittney, her roommate, and even my dad for one evening (he lives in another city but drove down here on Thursday to be present when we arrived at the airport). While we have been here we have already had the chance to eat Taco Bell, Papa John's (twice), Jack Stack Barbecue, Kornet Pizza (twice, yum yum), and Cheesecake Factory so I hope you Austrians are still able to recognize us when we come home ;-). Just kidding, we'll be fine. This morning we head off to Maryville with Kevin to visit Richard for a few days and to check out the disaster area that once was the town (I guess the ice storm messed the place up pretty well as there are a bunch of trees in the city and a lot of them are now laying on the ground next to the power lines they took with them on the way down). At some point in time during this trip I will start getting some pictures that I have been taking up on here too.

Out Of Here

It was odd leaving work tonight knowing that I wouldn't be back in the office for almost a month. Oddly nice that is. Tomorrow morning we head to the airport to catch a direct flight to the U.S. Next stop Missouri. Posts will be a bit more scattered from here on out, but I will do my best to get some stuff up here over the next few weeks so you can keep up-to-date with what's going on. Take care.

Xanga #2

- - - Monday, 16 May 2005, 12:51 AM - - -

Captain's Log,

The summer is long and boring. There has not been a wind in weeks and the ship just sits and rocks with the waves making no movement in any real direction. The crew has left, I am here alone. Will I ever escape from this endless abyss? I think yes. A new member of the crew will arrive later in the summer and I am confident the ship will set sail once again. I think I will point it in a southward direction and check out some sites I have not seen yet. Until then I must stay and captain my boat no matter what the circumstances, that is what a good captain does, that and the Macarena:

When I dance they call me macarena
And the girls they say that I'm buena
They all want me, they can't have me
So they all come and dance beside me
ehhhhhhhhh, MACARENA
OLE!!!

Later Players,

COOL MATT

Explanation: Ok this one is a bit more on the weird side but work with me here. Basically I was commenting oh how boring Maryville was in the summer when most of the college students were gone, but I was looking forward to July when Kathi would come from Austria to start her internship at the Hangar. The southward direction thing was about our trip to South America which was nothing more then a crazy idea at the time (a crazy good idea), and no the Macarena was not still popular in Missouri in 2005, but I wanted to be a good captain and that's what good captains do. Two days out, later players from Cool Captain Matt.

Go Bearcats

I woke up this morning to see that Northwest won their semifinal while I was sleeping and will be returning to Alabama again this year to play for the national championship so congratulations to them. In their game last night they beat Grand Valley State who were the winners of 40 straight and the team that took down the Bearcats in the championship the past two years so I am sure the win was extremely gratifying for all the players and coaches. I am excited that we will be in Missouri next weekend and able to watch the final on television.I will also note that one of the articles I read this morning said that towards the end of the game last night with Northwest already in a sure position to win that the Grand Valley coach went out to the Northwest huddle and told them he would be running out the clock so everyone could relax a bit and avoid any chance of injury. With the game being Grand Valley's last of the year this was only really beneficial to Northwest so I found this to be an extremely classy act, especially by the coach of a team who had not lost since 2004. So again congratulations to Northwest and also to Grand Valley for their DII record winning streak and for running what appears to be a very classy operation.

Taco-Walmart

I am a Taco-Walmart. That is I am open 24/7 for the business of eating tacos. The addiction started when I was a baby and would go to El Bees in Waterloo with my Great Grandpa and Grandma Witt where I would lick bean dip off of flour tortilla chips. From there it stretched on to enchiladas and finally to Taco Bell where the addiction became final. Now I have passed it on to my wife who requests tacos for dinner before I even get a chance to make the suggestion myself. Luckily for us this craving will be fed in full during our upcoming trip to the states where I have many a restaurant already chosen where we can indulge. I look forward to eating at these places with some of you and finally showing Kathi some of my favorite restaurants which I stupidly neglected when she was doing her internship in the states two years ago. The start is only a few days away now. I wish you all a pleasant and tacofull weekend.

2nd Amendment

This was not a post I planned to make but in light of recent events that have hit closer to home then others similar (and even more so for some of you) here it goes. Instead of going to your local gun dealer and applying for a handgun permit today (like I am sure many people are) I urge you to instead consider writing a letter to your Congressman about addressing the issue of gun control. I realize that the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights gives every American the "right to bear arms" but at some point it's important to recognize when things are out of date and that slight changes could increase the quality of life for everyone. There are crazy people all over the world and there is a well defined reason why these things happen at a higher rate in America then in other countries. I know that any change will never fully illuminate tragedies like the one that took place in Omaha yesterday but I believe that we can all agree that any drop in the rates of such cases would be welcomed warmly. Also, I admit that I am a gun owner myself so these statements might sound hypocritical coming from me, but at this point in time I would willing give up all of my weapons without even a care about being financial reimbursed (you hunters can keep yours, at least the nonmilitary style ones). I think a big problem with America today is that everyone thinks that they have things set up PERFECTLY already. To me it is the greatest country in the world but I see many things that we can change to make it an even greater place, which is a welcome feeling since it is always nice to have things (goals) to work towards. Anyways those are my thoughts on the issue and this is my blog so I thought it would be an appropriate place to share them, and I look forward to seeing the Supreme Court's thoughts on the issue next year. I will do my best to make the next post less political, and with a happier theme.

Mountain Chucks

Due to the more time spent outside walking that comes along with city life my normal Chucks were deemed unusable during the winter months starting two years ago. Luckily for me I noticed a new design of Chuck Taylor's while browsing around a shoe store in the mountains last year that went high past the ankles and were filled with some nice warm insulation. The purchase was put off though because the price was a bit steep and the need not so great. Then at an end of the season sale last spring I stumbled across the same shoes for 50% off and Kathi and I ended up both walking out of the store with a pair in hand. Now I am prepared for Chuck wearing in any season and any weather, though to be honest I don't wear them nearly as much as I did in college life when they never left my feet. Yep, that's my exciting post for the day. It's hard to come up with good posts (and stay focused at work) when vacation is but a stone's throw away.

Beerenpunsch

Yes I realize the picture is not of Beerenpunsch but I couldn't find a proper photograph and half of my readers have never even heard of the stuff so just work with me here. During the holiday season on this side there are punsch stands all over the place selling different warm, alcohol included drinks. Last year I discovered the joy of Glühwein but this year I have been leaning more towards Beerenpunsch, or Berrypunch. The reason I bring this up, and the good news for you Americans, is that Kathi and I have been quite successful at making it on our own at home over the past week so if any of you are interested in trying some out we can brew some up when we are visiting during our upcoming vacation. All you need to do is make the request and take us to a store when we are in your city so we can get the proper supplies. Let us know who's interested (make sure to note that this is an alcohol included drink). We are very exciting to be seeing you all soon.