Where to begin?
It's been a whirlwind last couple of weeks, that's the only thing that's been certain as of late. I'm currently at my friend's folks place for Thanksgiving, a by-product of my job. This makes the third year in a row that I've been out to Horsham, Pa. (just outside of Philly) for Turkey Day.
Because I'm immersed in the world of collegiate wrestling, the season starts in November and runs through mid-March, culminating with the NCAA Championships this coming year in St. Louis, which is going to be a blast. I'm already prepping the liver for the basic debauchery that ensues in St. Louis when 20,000 wrestling fans are in the same place at the same time.
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased about all things right now, with some minor exceptions, but for the most part - I'm in a great spot right now with my life.
More behind the spoiler....
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
I recently closed on a house, last Friday actually, and I'm now a homeowner. It's a 2.5 story rowhome in downtown Lancaster, right next to the minor league baseball stadium in an improving part of town. Offered less than the price asked, no money down and it appraised for higher than I bought it for.
Worked with a wonderful buyer agent and loan officer and made everything affordable. I'm pretty stoked about it. I'll have some space, some ideas to work with to make the space more "me." I've been telling people that you know you're close to buying a house when you're watching more HGTV than you are ESPN, which for me, is exceedingly rare.
In the last two weeks, I've covered two matches in New Jersey, two matches up at Penn State, a Division III dual down in York, flown to Oregon, covered a match that my company hosted in Eugene, almost missed two flights, rented three cars and I'll be adding New York to my travel agenda this weekend - which is why I couldn't go home this weekend for Thanksgiving.
Being humble is something I'm not 100% adept at doing, but mainly because I don't have the outlet to share my successes with others, so I do tend to talk about myself a bit much. That's something I've been working on a lot since moving to Pennsylvania just over two years ago. It's been a life changing experience and I'm really loving the quaintness and slower pace of Lancaster in stark contrast to the fast-paced realm of my profession.
My hobby became my profession, so in that respect, you can't ask for anything more. Long hours are here, 60-70 hour weeks during the season, a lot of travel and a seemingly endless supply of projects that need to get done on a weekly basis - in that respect, my job isn't much different from everyone else's, so it's not like I'm trying to say blah blah blah, when in reality, that's how it's coming across.
Back to the topic, because I tend to get off subject when just ranting.
My co-worker and I did a drive across the Columbia River when we were heading to our return flight from Portland to Philly (via Las Vegas yes, via, not viva) and we could officially cross off Washington on our "states visited" list.
The only states I've not been to are: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
I looked at the map of my trip up to Troy, N.Y. for Friday and noticed it's not that far from the Vermont line. I'm going to drive into Vermont and check it out before I have to get back to the hotel and the reception for the Northeast Duals, an event put on by some very ambitious wrestling folk up in that area of New York.
If you get CSTV (College Sports Television Network), check out any repeats of the NWCA All-Star Classic - I've got a lot of face time in the background sitting matside with a big banner of my company in front of me. I'm always a sucker for TV time, despite the fact I wanted to be a sports broadcaster (and still possess that ultimate goal, but hell, I love what I do now).
Unrelated: Just saw a promo for "Coming to America" on Comedy Central GIVE IT UP FOR SEXUAL CHOCOLATE. DEM BOYS IS GOOD!
Oh, speaking of mind-numbing activities, this Turkey Day will forever be "The Guitar Hero Thanksgiving." Why? Me, Nate and his younger sister have been belting out the game pretty much all day long. Even the other sister and her beau got involved. Although, if I hear "Smoke on the Water" one more time, I might hit my head with the guitar.
Also of note, I bought another book and have dove headfirst into reading it. Last year, I bought "Cell" by Stephen King and found it a really good read. Oddly, it was at the same event I was coming from in Oregon this year (it was in Dallas last year) that I purchased Cell. Now, I've got "Next" by Michael Crichton. First 60 pages have been good so far, I think I'll end up finishing it quickly, given I have some free time, since I don't actually move into my house until next week.
Until whenever I get a break, take it easy people.
And of course, Happy Thanksgiving I've got a lot to be thankful for right now. A lot.
And just 'cause I say that doesn't mean there won't be...