All Growned Uppie...

It's amazing how much the travel industry (and technology for that matter) has changed since I was a little kid. I remember flights to Taiwan when I was younger and there were only 2 songs on the "in flight radio". (Rush, Rush, by Paula Abdul and Losing My Religion by REM). 16 hours of those 2 songs are enough to drive a deaf person crazy. Anyways, I flew out to Florida Sunday evening for work and I have to admit, that even with all the security measures, my travel experience has been quite pleasurable. Once I get my luggage from baggage claim, the Avis bus drops me right at my car without having to stop at the counter to talk to anyone. I was automatically "upgraded" to a Chevy Equinox (if you can consider that an upgrade). I suppose they were out of the "intermediate" class Pontiac G6 that I've become accustomed to. The nice thing about my rental this time is that it is equipped with XM radio, and I'm a big fan of any type of radio that offers a greater selection than the latest top 5 pop hits. Anyways, my point is that traveling for work gives me a feeling of maturity that I don't get from traveling for vacation. I remember talking to one of my friends who worked at a Red Lobster about business trips....

Friend: "I went on a business trip once..."

Me: "Really? Where to?"

Friend: "Albertson's... to buy milk.... we were out..."

So, now I'm in Jupiter, FL. If you are ever in Jupiter, you have to eat at the Food Shack. I went there right after work hoping to beat the crowds, and I still had to wait half an hour to get in.... not even for a table, just a seat at the bar. I'm not a fan of seafood, but this place makes everything taste awesome. Tonight I had a pork chop on some sort of salad. I'm not completely sure what was in it, but I think there was mango, chick peas, and parts of an apple. Oh yeah, bacon wrapped shrimp too. Magnificent. As if that weren't enough, I topped it off with a raspberry key lime pie topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries. Food Shack is one of those places that has a menu so big, you feel guilty for ordering the same thing on your second visit. But it's also one of those places where the first thing you order tastes so good, you have to have it again.

As I drive away from the Food Shack, I get to enjoy the musical stylings of Mose Allison on my fancy XM radio. Technology is amazing, isn't it? I get to chat with my wife and watch "The Batchelo.... I mean, we get to discuss the latest political news and social events via skype and a multitude of IM programs.

Welp, I'm off to bed now so I can be rested for a day of grown up work tomorrow...

Another Year Older

With each passing year, I feel more and more disconnected with my youth. These days, I rarely understand the music, the lingo, the fashion etc.... So with this passing birthday, I couldn't help but feel like I was becoming an old fogey. For the past few months, I had been noticing a new fad of shoes that the young ones have been wearing, called Heely's. If you haven't heard of these before, they are basically shoes with wheels on the bottom to allow you to skate at will. So my beautiful loving wife thought it suitable to buy me a pair for my birthday. She informed me that it was a long and arduous search... I can only imagine the phone calls....

Deb: Hi, do you have any Heely's in size 12?

Shoe store: I'm sorry ma'am, we don't carry children sizes that small...

Deb: Um.... no, I mean size 12 for adults....

Shoe store: (shocked) Uh.... (giggling) Um.... you may want to try the internet...

Deb: Yeah, thanks.


So for about an hour or two on my birthday, I felt like I was a kid again. Funny how kids make things look so easy. If you've ever gone to a Target after school hours, I'm sure you've seen them skating around as if the floor were made of ice and they were auditioning for the Olympic ice skating team. Anyways, trying to use Heely's is like trying to roller blade without using your toes. I soon discovered that I was not born with this natural talent. You would think that this would stop me from wearing these shoes in public. You would be wrong. So as we are walking back to our car from dinner, my left foot stays solidly planted while my right foot decides to slide as far as it can forward, leaving me to do the splits, falling into Debbie's arms as if she were my knight in shining armor. I scurry to my feet and flee the scene complaining to anyone within earshot, "They really need to fix that sidewalk... Someone could really get hurt there..."

So the moral of the story is... Conrad is not 12 years old anymore.