February 1st-3rd

Wednesday - Travel Day

Lexington > Roanoke > Blacksburg, VA

My laptop is dying a slow death.  Something I have known for a while now.  Not sure how many days it has left.  The slowness I can tolerate, but the screen turning a rose color is getting hard to deal with.  At first it was just the left side and it has proceeded to creep across the entire screen over the past few weeks.  For the most part I can only see things in black.  I just need it to last another week and I will have time to make the big purchase.  I have been using my iPad2 more and more…  but I find it frustrating to do things like blog posts on it.

This morning I had a 11:15a flight to Detroit.  Then sat there in the SkyClub for  2.5 hours.

Eventually got to Roanoke and got settled.

In the evening, I went to dinner with my friend Anthony.  We had a hard time finding a place so we ended up at a Chipotle which was fine with me.

Thursday – Game Day

Duke vs Virginia Tech

Howling winds last night.  And very chilly today.

At lunch we went to one of my new favorites here in Blacksburg – Cabo Fish Taco.  I always get the chicken fajitas and they are delish!

Game went well and headed back to hotel for a nap.  Early flight tomorrow and the airport is about 45 mins away.

Lexington, KY

Tennessee vs 1 Kentucky

Shocking, but true..  I slept until 8:30a!  Well, I was really awake around 5:30, but I kept making myself go back to sleep until 8:30.

Headed down to the gym and spent 30 mins on the treadmill.  If only I could do this everyday.

Worked on this and that and before I knew it, it was time to head next door to Rupp Arena.  That is one nice thing – the hotel is connected to the arena.  5 minutes and you are at work.

The negative…  this hotel is flooded with UK fans!  UK Basketball fans are quite possibly worse than Ohio State Football fans.  

The day was a complete blur.  Tomorrow is signing day for college football; so we had a TON of graphics for tie-ins to the big signing day show.  Plus, we had the #1 team in the country..  so it was a big show.

Before I knew it, the game was over.

Even though it was hectic, it was awesome.  I got to work with some of the peeps from the NHRA crew and they are always a pleasure to work with.  And I got to work on a Lyon truck with one of my all-time favorite engineers.  Couldn’t ask for more in a day at work!

As soon as I entered the hotel lobby, my mood changed.  A sea of blue.  Got on the elevator with a very drunk UK fan…  who proceeded to randomly scream lyrics to various songs.  Quite disturbing.

January 29th – 30th

Sunday – Game day

Georgia Tech vs 8 North Carolina

My first hoops game at UNC.  Have been here a bunch of times for Lacrosse.

Went to lunch with my friend John at Breadmen’s which apparently is a local legend.  It was pretty good.

After the game, I had dinner and drinks at hotel bar with my friend John and Jason.

Monday – Travel day

Raleigh > Lexington

Allegedly there was a decent breakfast place in the plaza next door – so I walked over there.  Nope, closed.  So back to hotel for a less than average breakfast 

Nothing much stood out on my travels today other than the lady next to me was rather specific with her order - asked for coffee and 2% milk.  Really?  You think this airplane has an entire Starbucks onboard?

Had dinner at Hyatt hotel bar – quite exciting stuff!

Worked on emails, the blog and headed to bed early.

January 27th - 28th

Friday - Travel Day

Columbus > Raleigh

Had to get up at the crack of dawn because as usual, I had not finished laundry or even begun packing.  Am leaving for 8 days.  Thankfully, my flight is not until 1:45.

Took a cab to the airport. Quite chatty fellow.  He remembered picking me up before so he decided to pry into my life.  A million and one questions.  I was vague.  I hate answering what I do for a living, so I come with unexciting ways of saying I am a graphic artist.

Thankfully my friend Melf was at my house eating his lunch.  So there was a spare car in the drive.  I kinda get freaked out when taking a cab with a large suitcase.  I am essentially telling the cab driver the house is gonna be empty for a while.

Am on US Air today.  They are experiencing numerous delays.  You should see my surprise face.

Got to my hotel in Raliegh, ordered some take out and got caught up on a few emails.  Struggled to stay up late.  Oh welll.

Saturday – Game Day

21 Virginia vs NC State

I did Viz today.  Which is usually a good thing.  Not today.

It’s complicated to explain, but due to security concerns, the machines are re-licensed on a regular basis.  Bottom line, my machine was expired and it took 4.5 hours to get a new one.  Not a fun day.

But I muddled through and was in bed by midnight.

January 22nd-23rd

Sunday – Game Day

Virginia Tech vs Virginia

So last night I didn’t even make it to Charlottesville.  After endless delays at Washington Dulles, I gave up, got a car and started driving.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make the entire drive – I was just too tired.  But I at least got about 45 minutes outside of the city.  Happened upon a brand new Hampton Inn and got a room.

Slept for about 6 hours and then got on the road again.

Due to numerous complications on site, I ended up buying the crew snacks on the way into town.  Then had plenty of time to set up the snack table while we were waiting for the truck to be ready.

Another very long day, but again, love my graphics team, so it’s worth it!

Monday – Travel Day

Early flight home.  Am having to take a lot of US Air flights which makes me very unhappy.

January 20th – 21st

Friday – Set Day

Columbus > Dayton

I left the house around 10:30a; allowing for plenty of time to make the 55 minute drive.  It snowed last night, so you never know what the roads are going to be like.  Well, it’s not so much the roads as it is the idiot drivers.

It is only in the teens today with subzero wind chills.  Therefore, it took the truck an hour to warm up enough to even turn it on.  A lot of the equipment is cranky when it’s that cold.  (kinda like the people)

The day went fine.  Nothing exciting.

In the evening, I decided to stay in.  It was too cold for me to venture out with the others.

I got some work done in my room and then ordered pizza.

Big night.

Saturday – Game Day

Xavier vs Dayton

Getting up at 7a on a Saturday is sleeping in.  To be honest, I couldn’t even wait that long to get up.  Habits.

Apparently there was freezing rain overnight so departure took longer than expected.  My car was covered in a thick sheet of ice.

The game went well.  Dayton won.

After the game I headed back to Columbus.  I picked up some take out and stopped at the house for an hour.

Then left for the airport.  Have to fly to Charlottesville, VA tonight.

Columbus

Nebraska vs Ohio State Women’s CBB

Today was my first Big Ten Network game since May.  The men’s and women’s hoops schedules just didn’t mesh well with mine this season.

It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces and work at home.

January 14 – 16th

Saturday – Travel Day

Columbus > Greenville, SC > Clemson, SC

Mom took me to the airport… flew to Detroit, had about 2 hours in the Skyclub.

Sat on runway waiting to be de-iced for over an hour.  Good times.  It’s almost as if the 20 degree temps in January (in Detroit) caught the ground crew by surprise!?

The drive to Clemson is around 45 minutes.  I stopped midway at a Publix and got a Boar’s Head sub to eat once I got to the hotel.

Arrived at hotel just after 10p.  Checked in, ate sub, and was asleep by 11.

Sunday – Game Day

6 Duke vs Clemson

Even though I had 8 hours of sleep, which is rare for me, I so did not want to get up this morning.  Very unlike me.

I stumbled to the lobby in my PJs in search of coffee.  Which I had difficulty finding.  Of course I was busted by one of my truck engineers.  I knew this would bring mocking later in the day.

Had lunch at Mellow Mushroom which is just a few blocks from the arena.  It took quite a while, but it was yummy!  I only ate half…  knowing full well that it was MORE than enough AND that I would be hungry later tonight.

Game was good.  For a while it looked like Clemson was actually going to defeat Duke…  but that didn’t end up happening.

After the game, I headed back to Greenville to a hotel by the airport.  Ate the rest of my lunch and then headed to bed.

Monday – Travel Day

Greenville, SC > Charlotte, NC > Columbus

Uneventful trip home.

Raleigh, NC

Sunday – Game Day

Maryland vs NC State

Got to the hotel sometime late last night - Was in a daze so I truly don’t remember time.

Headed to the arena- this is the first day of my new ACC College Basketball package so I am quite excited!

The day was long, but I love my graphics team so it was a good day!

After the game, I had a very late dinner at the hotel bar and hit the hay.

I am going home tomorrow and am quite excited!  It has ben a brutal stretch, but I have survived!  I will be there for about 5 days and my mom is coming to visit for a few of them.

January 6-7th

Friday – Travel/Work 

After a short night, I loaded up and headed to the Tampa airport for another flight on American (ugh).  Another sacrifice made so I could make it to work on time.

Made it to site a little early, so my friend Mike and I stopped at a coffee shop nearby for a bagel and coffee.

At lunch, we went to In-N-Out Burger to make Thomas happy.  It was of course delish!  But I so did not feel like working after eating that!

In the evening, I just ate dinner at the hotel.  We have another early morning tomorrow so I can’t afford to go out.

Saturday – Game Day

FCS Championship: Georgia Southern vs North Dakota St

Game was good.  Both teams had a really strong fan base show up which always makes it exciting.

Afterwards, I headed to the airport.  Gotta get to Raleigh tonight for my hoops game tomorrow.

December 31st-January 5th

Saturday – Tech Set Day

Got in late last night.  Made it to the hotel sometime after 1a. Ugh.  We are at the Coronado Springs – one of my least favorite "on property" hotels.  

Got settled and went to bed shortly after.

My call time was 1p today, but I headed over a little early, I know I have a ton of stuff to do today and tomorrow.

For the most part, today’s set day was just for us (graphics).  The rest of the crew worked for about 2 hours and then headed out.

The engineers were a pain in the butt to Jim and I – they wanted to get out since it’s New Year’s Eve.  This really pissed me off because one of them is a long time friend of mine.  Plus I was having machine issues and that was only putting me further behind.  And we were only scheduled to work until 6pm, so there was still plenty of time to go out.

I eventually got out of there and met up with some friends for dinner.  We had reservations at Capitol Grille – yummy!

Afterwards we went back to the hotel and sat at the bar to ring in the new year.  By midnight most of the rest of the crew had made it into town and had joined us.

I went back to my room around 12:15.  I don’t really like New Years Eve to begin with and God knows I am very behind on my sleep!

Sunday – Set Day

Early & long day.  Built hundreds of graphics.

Long walk around the hotel grounds in the evening.

Monday – Event Day

Under Armour All American Skills & Practice Sessions (High School Football)

The studio shows went well today.  Still so much to do and endless full screen graphics to build.

Another long walk around the hotel grounds in the evening.

Tuesday – Event Day

Under Armour All American Skills & Practice Sessions (High School Football)

Studio shows went even better today.

After I was finished, I helped strike for a while and then got in the car and headed to Tampa.  The first portion of this event is at Disney, the rest is in Tampa.

Got checked into the hotel, settled and headed to bed.

Wednesday – Set Day

Set day went well.  

For lunch I walked across the street with my friend Heather to Ferg’s.  It’s a sports bar with somewhat decent food.

In the evening I went to dinner with my director friend Jimmy and a bunch of the camera guys.  It was a sushi place, but I had hibachi, rice and sake.  

Once back at the hotel, we joined others in the lobby couches and had drinks well into the night.

Thursday – Game Day

Under Armour All American Game (High School Football)

Yes, football at a baseball stadium.  Not sure why.  Been this way for a few years now.  Always a technical challenge.

Game was good.

Afterwards I helped strike for a few hours and then headed back to the hotel for a brief nap.  Have an early flight in the morning.

December 29-30th

Thursday – Travel/Work

Ouch.  This stretch of work and travel might be the death of me.  This morning was rough.  I headed to the airport a touch earlier than I normally would because I am flying on American.  It  was the only way I could make it to work on time.

Got to Dallas a bit early so I was able to go to the hotel and check in.  That was nice because I was able to freshen up a bit before racing back downstairs to head to site.

Set day went well even though I was tired and a little cranky pants.

Didn’t do anything in the evening, went right to bed.

Friday – Game Day

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – Tulsa vs BYU

What was I thinking when I booked all these back to back games?

Today’s game went well, but I still can’t access anything on my external hard drive.  I think the Duet at the Notre Dame game killed it.  That really sucks because I have a ton of stuff archived on it.

After the game, I headed to the airport.  Going to Orlando tonight.

December 26-28th

Monday – Travel Day

Quick night in Ohio and then back out on the road again today.

Flew to South Bend on Monday evening – it has easily been 10 or more years since I have been there and I am pretty sure I drove last time.

Got to the hotel and was too tired to go out for dinner so ordered a pizza.

I realized once I got settled at the hotel, that I left my laptop power supply at my parents house.  So I will have to find a Radio Shack on my way to work in the morning.

Tuesday – Game Day

Pittsburgh vs Notre Dame

Found a Radio Shack and bought a new power supply.  The jerk there told me that "this isn't a rental business so don't plan on returning this when you find your other one".

My feet got completely soaked walking from the parking lot in the slush and snow.  No room for boots on this trip unfortunately.

Went to a yummy spot downtown for lunch with my friend Josh (he lives here).  Afterwards we went to an Urban Outfitters across the street so I could get dry socks.

Game went well. 

Wednesday – Travel/Work

Lamar vs Kentucky

All sorts of travel issues today.  Only on a couple hours sleep so I am in a mood!

Delays, cancellations, standby, re-routing, mechanicals, the list goes on and on.

Somehow, I actually made it to work and was only a little bit late.  My luggage did not make the trip however.

At dinner I went back to the airport to pick it up.  I didn’t really have a choice because I am driving to Cincinnati after the game tonight.  It was the only way I could make it to work on time tomorrow.

Yah!

Game was good and I got on the road ASAP.  Got to my hotel at the Cincy airport about 1a; getting up in 2 hours to start it all over again.

December 20-25th

Headed to the parents house for Christmas on the 20^th.  As usual, I got my window seat on the right side of the plane so I could have my moments of Zen on the final decent.

Something about the sight of Upper Captiva, Captiva, Sanibel and then Ft Myers Beach – brings a sense of calm over me.

The pics above are Upper Captiva.  I dream of a vacation there again.  Haven’t stayed there since 1996, but I will again one day.

Of course, I am sure it’s nothing like it was then.  No cell towers, no cars…  I guarantee there are at least cell towers by now.

ANYWAY… back to reality!

Christmas Eve day was spent on the boat.

Merry Christmas!

Santa brought us toys!

Christmas morning is exhausting!

Took a mid-afternoon flight back to Ohio.