Sleep tight

It's been a melancholy sort of day. I got up this morning and my very first waking thought was of you. It actually surprised me a little. It's been quite a while since that's happened to me. I suppose it's only appropriate that as the day ends my last thought is also of of you. It's been exactly two years today and sometimes I still don't want to admit you're gone.

As I write this I am listening to "Come Back To Sorrento" playing in the background. You would have been pleased with the way Rocco sung it at your funeral. I know it was one of your favorites. Listening to it now I can't help but cry a little. They are tears of sadness because I miss you so much but oddly enough they're also tears of happiness, because I miss you so much. Thanks again for everything. Good night dad.

Love always,
Tom

Happy New Year!

After spending last night (and much of the morning) at an authentic tango club in Buenos Aires, here I am relaxing with my friends in their back yard.

They taught me a common motion they use along with the phrase "¿que haces fierita?" It supposedly is sort of an equivalent to "what up?" But with these guys you can never be certain. It's possible, but then again I could be saying something I would not care for my mother to hear.

No soup for you!

So with the recent onset of cold weather a "young" man's fancy turns to thoughts of soup. And in so doing I have a conversation with my friend and teammate - Tiffanier. She tells me that she's never had a bowl of real homemade soup. I find this a bit hard to believe but then Nina announces she's not sure she's ever had any either. So I'm thinking, what is this world coming to and what kind of a friend would I be if I allowed this sad state of affairs to continue.

So I decide to do my part to make the world a little warmer and kinder place. And the timing happens to be pretty good too. I have a few close friends coming by the house tomorrow night for a pot luck dinner and I figure I can make enough soup for everyone.

Right after I took this picture, in order to prove to my skeptical friends that I did in fact make this soup from scratch, I had to strain the broth. Then I am trying to hold a huge pot in one hand and pour enough soup for an army through a strainer I was holding in the other.

After pouring the boiling hot broth over my hand I throw the pot and race to the bathroom to pour cold water on my hand. There was broth, pans and utensils flying everywhere and blanketing the kitchen. I lost at least half the broth (and still there should be plenty for everyone) and scalded a couple of fingers on my right hand pretty good. For the past hour or so I have been finishing the soup and cleaning the kitchen while swapping out cans of cold soda in my burned right hand. A job I thought would be done by my bedtime (about 10:30pm) has taken up a whole lot more time than I anticipated. I think those recipe websites need to revise their "preparation time" estimates!

The burned fingers don't look too bad but on the other hand (actually on the same hand) it hurts like crazy. I am hoping it swells up and turns a terrible blue and purple color by tomorrow so I don't appear to be such a sissy boy crying about a burn that you can't see. Anyway right now a couple of bucks for a can of Progresso doesn't seem like such a bad deal!

Buyers and Sellers

Anyone who knows me also knows how much I love kids. So last night was a real treat for me. Tiffanie (our buyer's agent) and I took come clients out to dinner last night. They are a group of people that Tiffanie has been in regular contact with and are in various stages in the process of buying a home.

The point is that I had such a good time with both the parents and kids that it actually made me a little sad. I know that seems a bit odd but you see since Tiffanie joined our team I have been "relegated" to working with our clients that are selling their homes. And although I enjoy what I do, working with buyers is very different. When you work with buyers you spend so much time together that you really get to connect with each other. You get to know the entire family and there's an opportunity for a real bond there. There were 16 of us there last night and although I didn't get to spend equal time with each and everyone (I gravitated toward the kids a bit), I did get to spend enough time with each of them to realize what I was missing.

This group of people all work together and have referred each other to us. They were so interconnected that I wanted to get them all together so I could thank them for the confidence they have shown in Tiffanie and our team. I knew it would be a great time but what I must say did surprise me a bit was to see how much each of them truly respected and cared for one another. It was almost like spending time with one big family. I had so much fun that it made me sad.

P.S. Thanks for coming Phillipe, Pedro, Nalaia and Gabby - and I hope you feel better soon Pedro!

Birthday

Today was my birthday and after having dinner with some friends last night I headed to Austin this morning. I was able to hang out with my friends David and Traci. David gave me a great birthday present the moment I arrived. He and Traci are having a baby. And although they apparently are NOT considering the wonderful names of Thomas or Thomasina, I am still happy to be an "uncle" again!

Later today we went golfing at the Barton Creek Canyons course and the deer were out in numbers. They were totally unfazed by my golf. And seemed to have a natural instinct to place themselves stright in the path of my line to the green. It was uncanny how relaxed they were knowing this was likely the safest place on the golf course.

I have a question ???

Is there any way to know who a person is that posts a comment on a blog?

Come on, it can't be that they have total anonymity, can it? It hardly seems fair.

Does dancing make you smarter?

A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one's mind can ward off Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. Almost no physical activity studied seems to offer any protection against dementia, except for frequent dancing.

This paper by Richard Powers muses about why this might be so. It concludes that intelligence is maintained and improved by activities which require split-second rapid-fire decision making, as opposed to rote memory, or just working on your physical technique.

So last night I went to see these two dance. Andrei and Natale Paramonov were pretty incredible and inspiring. I'd go to see her er...... I mean them again even if it didn't make me any smarter. Great to watch just for the fun of it. What do you think?

Reward Day

Friday was a "reward" day in our office. The team got there bright and early as ususal but about 9:30pm we loaded up and played hookie. The girls had no idea where were were going. Our first stop was at a salon for pedicures all around. It's pretty easy to tell who's who from the above picture. But in case you're not sure, here's another picture to help you out:

From here we went to a Korean Restaurant called the Treehouse. A friend of mine's parents just bought it and we had a Korean feast. I can't remember all of the different foods we had but it was delicious and I highly recommend it. Ask the owner to make you his famous "Korean pizza!"

After lunch we went bowling. Of course I was the perfect gentleman and let both girls beat me. Then we were going to see a movie but they wanted to head back to the office to finish up some loose ends at the office. Don't you love that attitude? I do. In fact, it's that kind of commitment and work ethic that earned these ladies a "reward day" in the first place.

I am so fortunate to have found these two outstanding women. They are great to work with and also terrific friends.

Shhhh - don't tell anyone but I'm reading!

I have a hypothetical question for you? Let's suppose you set a goal of reading 25 books this year. In the course of the year you "read" 20 books and listen to 5 more on your ipod. Your friend asks you if you accomplished your goal. You must answer either yes or no.

What is your answer and why?

Of course I don't know how much sense it makes to ask for input on this when less than five people even know this is here?

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Remember my friend Tiffanie? She's the gal that took me to the airport last week. Well the night before I left, I had cut into this watermelon that was without a doubt the sweetest, most delicious watermelon I had ever tasted. So I decided to put some of it into a container to give to her in the morning. It was to be a small token of my appreciation.

Well I put it in my refrigerator and forgot to give it to her Sunday morning. By the time I returned home the watermelon had fermented. But anyway, it's the thought that counts right? And just in case you don't believe me, here's a picture in which you can clearly see that the watermelon had spoiled.

Now some of you might be thinking; "hmnn that watermelon doesn't look spoiled." You might also wonder if the air on the plane was dry and conjecture that I hadn't eaten for quite a while by the time I got home. This might lead you to conclude that a succulent watermelon would be too hard to resist once I got back. You might even speculate that I thought, "what the hey, she doesn't even know I was planning on giving her this sweetest watermelon I had ever tasted." Well I see where you're going with this and I swear it's NOT TRUE!

I did not selfishly eat it all by myself. Look at the picture! This watermelon is clearly rancid and the picture doesn't lie! I rest my face ... er, case.

It's a helpless feeling

It's been a bit of a strange day. Throughout the day I couldn't help but often think about what happened seven years ago today. Mostly I feel fortunate to have been born in a place where we have so much freedom and opportunity. But another part of me feels sad that so many people in the world will never have the same experience. It's a helpless feeling. I don't feel like a victim and I certainly don't feel like an aggressor. I just feel sad that there are so many ignorant and frustrated people throughout the world that don't know how to channel their good intentions in a healthy productive direction. Strange day.

Peace Chic (Captain of AA Flight #77 - Pentagon).

Compelled to answer

I feel compelled to reply to a couple of comments that viewers have posted in this blog. I am referring specifically to the two comments in response to the entry "Premature Arrival."

To Raj - Thank you for your kind words. It's nice to know there are those out there that appreciate my sincere and honest attempt to accurately portray some of my very poignant recent personal experiences on my trip to Steamboat Springs. The kindness and support of strangers continues to move and inspire me. It's so reassuring to know that not everyone is a spoiled whiny baby that can't just kick back and let things go without getting all bent out of shape.

To Tiffanie - I am sorry if you're offended. As I tried to explain to you one on one, it's proper blogging etiquette to round up. I wish we could have handled this on a more personal level and I am a little disappointed that you have chosen such a public forum to air your displeasure.

Therefore I will repeat myself once again. Although you only dropped me off about 7 hours and 45 minutes early, it was reasonable to round up to 8 hours. Furthermore with regard to your claim that I exaggerated the time in order to make this blog "interesting;" I can only say that if you think there is anything about this site that could be classified as interesting ... well let's just say you probably have more important things to be concerned about than this blog. I hope you will accept my heartfelt apologies if I have offended you in any way. It certainly was not my intention.

The Fabulous Fourteenth Hole (Alternate)

Hopefully you'll understand how difficult it would have been to choose between these two pictures of such an incredible hole.

The Fabulous Fourteenth Hole

This hole was undoubtedly my favorite at Catamount Country Club. I was a little torn between two outstanding photos of this hole and ultimately could not choose between the two.

You might think this is an indication of a commitment problem however let me assure you that is not the case. As you can see it's pretty near impossible to pick. Therefore I see no alternative but to post the pictures both with and without the pole.

This is so confusing!

So I have been putting this together now for a couple of hours and I just realized why none of it is making sense to me. In the drafting (or setup) page, it feels like up is down and right is left, black is white, tall is short, etc. Did you know you're supposed to read these blogs from the bottom up?!? I had no idea. At least chronologically that's how it seems to work. So in other words I am creating this from the top down and yet it's designed to be read from the bottom up. Are you as confused as I am?

I still don't understand how the pictures are supposed to fit in. Is it better to see the picture then read about it or vice-versa? It's all very "Alice in Wonderland" if you ask me. I'm not sure how long this blogging exercise will last. If I didn't feel a need to share my Ansel Adams-like talent with my friends I probably would have gone for the early-out option and would be a retired blogger already.

Breath-taking view

Today David took me to play at one of the most prestigious golf courses in the state of Colorado. It's called Catamount and I must admit nearly every hole is postcard worthy. The course is very challenging and I was quite preoccupied trying to keep my score in double digits. Nevertheless I did manage to snap a few incredible pictures. This is my favorite. In spite of the fact that the view is slightly obstructed by the shoulder of my friend, if you look in the upper right hand corner of the picture you'll agree the scenery is spectacular!

Steamboat Springs

One might argue that my writing skills are lacking, but I think you'll agree that I do have a knack for "photojournalism." Although pictures are supposed be worth a thousand words, I subscribe to the less is more theory and strive to make my pictures worth about 6 words.


Arriving by air in Colorado I was able to snap some wonderful rapid fire shots of our approach and was left with the enviable dilemma of trying to narrow it down to just one perfect picture to capture the majesty of our touchdown. I believe this photo pretty much says it best. See the sunlight shimmering on the wing at the far right of the picture and don't miss the lush green landscaping just off the edge of the runway (top of photo)!

Premature Arrival

Lisa-Marie is driving from Dallas to NYC with some girls from Russia and blogging about it. Well I am headed to Steamboat Springs by myself to meet a friend of mine. I realize on the surface my trip doesn't appear to be as interesting. Of course I am travelling by plane alone and she is travelling by car over some very interesting and scenic parts of the country with several beautiful Russian young ladies. But I'll do my best to share some notable highlights.

My first picture on my first blog!

I arrived at the terminal a little early. As you can see there isn't another soul in sight. Perhaps you think this means I worry too much and can be a bit anal. Well the real reason I am all alone at the one of the busiest airports in the world is that I imposed on my friend Tiffanie for a ride. And she wanted to take me early so she could shower and make herself all pretty for church after dropping me off. Seeing that I would have a hard time arguing about her priorities and not wanting to say anything to get on "His" bad side, I made no objection and had about eight hours to kill before my flight left Sunday morning.

It's my first time, really it is.

Okay so I'll admit I have no idea what I am doing here. I will tell you that about 7 or 8 years ago I was visiting my friend Ricardo in Argentina. Ricardo worked for Microsoft at the time and encouraged me to start blogging to assist my real estate business. I didn't know what he meant by that then and I still don't know.

However, since then I have at least heard about blogging. In fact even more to the point my friend Lisa-Marie just sent me a link to a blog she's started. Well Lisa-Marie is about the one person I consider even more technologically challenged than I am. So now I have been embarrassed into writing a blog just so I can keep my claim as only the number 2 mostly technologically inept person I know.