February 8th-9th

WEDNESDAY - TRAVEL DAY

Columbus > Miami

So I booked a morning flight so I could spend the afternoon at the pool soaking up some much needed rays.

Woke up to "white death 2012".  It's a joke amongst my friends.  When it snows in Columbus, the news media tends to go a little overboard.  We havent really had snow this winter, so they were itchin' for a snow storm.  This one happened to hit at rush hour, so it was gold!

I gave myself about 50 minutes to get to the airport, instead of my usual 13 minutes.  It was indeed rush hour and for whatever reason, when it rains or snows, people flip out and forget how to drive.

Sure enough, 670E was all backed up, so I made a game time decision and switched lanes to 70E and planned on hitting 71N and then picking up 670E on the other side of downtown.  It's a few extra miles, but I figured it was worth it.  It was a little backed up, but that's normal.  

I got to the airport around 65 minutes prior to departure.  I'm golden.  I spent 15 minutes looking for a spot in the parking garage.  WTF?  Since I was running out of time and needed to check a bag, I decided to exit the garage and valet.

I have this swiper card for the airport.  My parking gets direct billed to my credit card.  This way I never have to worry about losing the ticket OR wait in line to pay.  The payment is automatic and the receipt is emailed.  

ANYWAY when I was leaving the garage to head to valet, as I pulled into the "AVI" exit lane, I quickly realize that my antilock brakes have locked and I am skidding towards the gate.  It was one of those slow motion moments, didnt even have time to verbalize the curse words I was thinking.  In my left hand was the card and I was holding it up and the gate wasnt moving and I wasnt stopping and then out of no where, just as the gate was centimeters from my windshield, it went up.  Thank you Jesus!!  Breaking that gate would of definitely caused me to miss my flight.

So I race around to the valet.  I am looking at about 9 minutes until Delta stops accepting luggage.  The valet dude comes running over - "How are you ma'am?"  "Well I would be a lot better if I didnt just spend 15 minutes looking for a spot in the garage.  There arent any!"  "Well ma'am did you know that the green lot has lots of spots and is much cheaper than valet"  "I don't have time.  I park in the garage or I valet."  "Well, when are you getting back?"  "Monday"  

"Wow, that's gonna cost a lot to valet, are you sure you don't want to try the green lot?"  "I dont have time!"

He would not stop talking OR get out of my way.  I practically had to push him aside so I could gather my stuff.  And breaking news mr. valet...  if you continue to encourage people to park in the green lot, you arent going to have a job for very long!

I ran to the Delta counter and got my back checked in the nick of time!

Boarded and of course we were delayed because we needed to de-ice.

I fell asleep before take off.

I woke up on the "initial decent" - looked at my watch and realized we were going to be late.  By like at least 20 minutes.  Considering I had a 41 minute connection time, I was screwed.

Typical...  the gate agent had issues driving the jet bridge and we waited an eternity to deplane.

I had to go 24 gates, which considering Atlanta; was not bad.  I didnt have to change concourses.  If I had, there wasnt a chance in hell.  But still, it's a haul.  I had about 11 minutes before the flight closed.  But sometimes you will get that surly gate agent who closes the flight early - so I didnt want to take a chance.  So I got my "OJ on".

I made it ....  I was close to a heart attack by the time I sat down.

Then I started to worry about my luggage.  So I decided to track it on my handy dandy Delta ap.  This is when I realized, I no longer had my bag tag claim ticket.  It must of gotten lost in the hustle and bustle of going thru security.

Oh serenity now! If this bag doesnt make it, I will NEVER see it again.  Considering I am going to MIA, which is the worst airport in the world.

And yes, I know better.  You NEVER fly into MIA...  you ALWAYS go to Ft Lauderdale, but I made a rookie move and went with MIA.

As we were making our approach, I realized that the afternoon of sunshine at the pool wasnt happening.  The skies were completely overcast and hazy.  There was not a chance in hell the sun was going to break thru.

Nicole is cranky.

Made my way to baggage claim, with low expecations.

Holy crap it was there!!

YAH!!!

Do you believe in miracles?!

Then I made the 1.5 mile walk to the "MIA MOVER" train that takes you to the new rental car facility.  By the time you walk that far and then take that train, it's pretty much where the cars use to be.  You have basically travelled to Cuba.

There were Mustang convertibles...  I passed.  There was no need.  I was in a terrible mood about the weather at this point.

Another "positive" of MIA is the fact that you are underground and the surrounded by cement structures as you are leaving..  so your GPS can't find a satellite.  So I just picked a road and of course it ended up being wrong.  The 7 mile drive to the hotel took 40 mins.  God I love Miami!

Since there was no rush to check in to the lovely Holiday Inn Coral Gables, I stopped at a deli near the hotel.  It was just as yum as I remembered!

Stopped at Publix for some other essentials and then checked in.

Used my "I have a prescription that needs to be refrigerated, so would it be possible to get a room with a fridge?"  

If you ask for a fridge, there is usually a $15 charge (sometimes more).  But when it's a medical necessity, they have to oblige and do so for free.  And thanks to privacy laws, they can't ask for proof.  If they dont have one, or dont want to cooperate, they can tell you they will store it in their fridge, that's when I tell them I will just keep it in my cooler bag and keep adding ice.

So I scored a room with a fridge and a microwave (even though I didnt need that).

Perfect for the other half of my samich, the hummus I bought at Publix AND the bottle of wine.

I spent the next few hours catching up on email and such.

I planned on eating the rest of my samich for dinner but my friend Josh ended up texting me.  So I went out with him for dinner.  We went to Sports Grill.  It was like a local version of a Buffalo Wild Wings.  It was good and a nice walk.

Came back, worked on booking some travel for upcoming events and then read my new book until a little after midnight.

FRIDAY - GAME DAY

Virginia Tech vs Miami

It's easiest to just walk to the arena.  However, it was drizzling.  We still did it though.  

The day was pretty uneventful.  

For dinner, we walked in the rain to Titanic Brewery.

I had been there before.  It's your average bar food.

Game went well and was QUICK!  It was just under 1 hour 40 minutes.

February 4th-6th

Saturday – Travel Day

Columbus > Raleigh

Afternoon flight thru ATL; still so strange to be travelling on a Saturday and not working.  Not sure if I will ever get accustomed to that.

Got into Durham around 8p and had my free chicken quesadilla for dinner.  This particular Hilton is awesome because they don’t have a concierge lounge, so every day Gold & Diamond members get a free appetizer.  The chicken quesadilla at this bar could be the best ever.  Seriously.

Went to bed after I ate…  feel like I am getting sick.

Sunday – Game Day

Miami vs Duke

Woke up not feeling my best.  Not sure if it’s a sinus infection, allergies, flu?

Day went ok.  Had lunch at my favorite place about a mile from campus.  Of course I can not remember the name of it right now for anything.

My friend Susie is having a Super Bowl party tonight, but I am not up to going.  I am still feeling like crap. Sucks because a ton of my freelance friends will be there.  But I have an early flight in the morning and have to work tomorrow.

Watched the halftime show at the bar; eating my free quesadilla and then went to bed.

Monday – Travel/Work

Raleigh > Columbus

Wisconsin vs Ohio State Women’s CBB

Feeling ok.  Not the best, but ok.  I think I am just run down.

Made it back to Columbus in plenty of time for crew call at Ohio State.

Again nice to work at home with my Columbus peeps.

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.