I like -

1) I LOVE the smell of salt in the air. I especially love the way salt collects on our skin while we play at the beach all day.

2) I like running.  I literally run wherever my little mind will take me and I rarely run the same path twice. I run for time and heart rate. Its all I have left now that my Soccer days are over as a player.

3) I am a tone freak. Heavy Strings, Tube amps and vintage guitars are a combination made in heaven. I have a sound that is as unique to my guitar playing as it is to the sound of my own voice. My guitars all bear the scars of this discovery process. I am all about Music.

4) Put me in the water. I love to surf, swim, scuba, snorkel…You name it. Swimming in a pool just doesn’t cut it.

5) Love, Love, Love hot sauces!!! D’elidas from Panama is hands down my absolute favorite but I have to import it from Panama myself!!!

6) I have all but quit drinking but I still love the taste of A few libations. My favorite beer is Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA.  I was once a big Rum drinker and have a sizable collection.  Save yourself some time and trouble and get you a bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 from Venezuela. 

7) Musicians, Artists and Athletes - I get on well with folks who have this sort of intellect.

My daughter - Um, the sun rises and sets on that young lady. it is so cool spend time with the new improved version of myself. Lately she has taken to crushing me in the pool and over the road. I only wish I could sing as well as she does and I’m a good singer. She is an absolutely lovely human being.

9) My wife - She is the go to person for anything that is fun in my life.  She loves adventure.  She is beautiful and absolutely brilliant. I have not met anyone like her before or since. I am a lucky man.

10) For some reason I am great with plants. I view it as a curse actually. While I love plants, I am stretched to my limit. Everywhere I go they seem to follow me.

Certainly this isn’t everything. If you choose to fill your life with love there will be many things about you that will find their way into your very soul.

May the Spirit of Christmas be upon each of you!

Peace,

Bobby

“If you resort to name calling in an argument you automatically lose” - Fijufic

I curse pretty much all the time unless I’m in a heated discussion or argument.  For the sake of this journal I also make sure I keep the lingo fairly clean. In 3d its another ball game. I NEVER curse while making an argument or point.

It has been wonderul having my daughter nearby. She is making me run with her this evening and I suspect she wants to go for about an hour.  That sounds like 6 or 7 miles. GRRRRR…Tomorrow isn’t much better as I think we are all going to swim laps for an hour or so.

I get the sneaky suspicion that my kid doesn’t want me to keel over anytime soon so we exercise together.  Pretty darn crafty that young lady. I think she is just keeping an eye on me.

We all went to dinner yesterday and then to see Avatar in IMAX 3d.  Wow! In terms of visual effects it was one of  the coolest movies I have ever seen.

Snow?  Ha, not us. Everywhere but here folks.  We are just under the snow line.

Christmas?  I’m ready.

Be careful for what you wish. I once lamented about being on the top 10 list  at Jayess for a few years. I eventually got on the list perpetually. The best way to get off that list is to have the website blow up. Now I can write in relative obscurity. This is a wonderful thing.

I look forward to 2010. I have several ventures all coming together at one time. I’m excited and nervous.  Here we go!!!

Peace be with you,

Bobby

Factoid - In my house, if you know which teams are playing on Monday night football, I’ll give you 5 bucks…This includes my wife, daughter and exchange student.

I rarely get hit but sometimes it happens.

I’m exhausted from the weekend. The Foundation raised almost 8 grand to give to the families who suffered with flooding during our last nor’easter.  Saturday was long and I didn’t get to bed until 3am…Literally a three ring circus!!

I attended 6 parties over the weekend.  At one party I played about 20 songs and everyone listened or sang along. *Whew* the drunks were out in full force!!

Anyhow, I am exhausted. 

May the spirit of the holiday be with you!

Peace,

Bobby

Hmmm,

Just sitting here thinking about life.

I got an email this morning and my sister tells me her Best friends brother in law (and passenger) died in a car wreck last night. These men were 20 and 21 years old.  Single car crash at a high rate of speed. All over the news of course…

God knows I have done my share of that stuff. I guess it wasn’t my time.

My other buddy texted me to let me know his son got into Cornell University. This is the same 17 year kid who wrecked his motorcycle and broke a wrist, knee and ruptured a testicle. We call Chris “Captain Blueball”. Guess it wasn’t his time.

I hit a jetty once when I was surfing. I was knocked out and broke my board. My friend pulled me to shore and I have no recollection of the incident till this very day other than blood all over the back of my head and my broken board.  Ever heard the phrase “Swim with a buddy”?  Trust me it makes sense. You would have never met me if I wasn’t saved by my buddy Bruce.

Looking back, I was upset about my board. I was too stupid to think I could have died. I never told my parents exactly what happened.  You just put this stuff out of your mind.

Every day we live, we run the risk of dying. I accept these risks as a part of life. I would rather live my life as a series of experiences.

We only get one chance.

Make today count. While you are at it, tell someone you love them.

Peace be with you,

Bobby

Today is absolutely gorgeous. Low 60’s at night and low 80’s during the day.  Water temps are still hovering around 74 degrees. Fall is coming in slowly!!! Hooray!

Sense of humor? Oh yes. I still have my whacked out sense of humor.

What have I been doing lately?  Well…You know those mortars you buy in South Carolina? I have taken to riding around on my golfcart, stopping and firing one off and moving on to the next location. They are beautiful I want to add but it scares the neighbors….Normally, I can fire off 3 or 4 rounds before someone complains.

My golf cart is now a mobile mortar launcher!!!

Four wheelin’ on the beach is something we do several times a week during the fall winter and spring.  We get absolutely retarded in that stupid golf cart. RETARDED!!!! Come to think of it I am retarded with everything I drive…

Lifting weights and running? Yes, I still am thank you for asking.  My speed on distance runs has betrayed me. Aww heck, my speed has betrayed me across the board who am I kidding?!

No more heart episodes. I’ll be happy to put that behind me forever if I can.

it is official. The Redskins absolutely stink. I am prepared for a long ugly season. All I can say is thank God it is soccer season around the rest of the world!!!! I mean who loses to the Lions? (Say REDSKINS!!!)

Put a hair gizzy or rubber band around your kitchen sink sprayer (Thus keeping it on) and aim it where someone would turn on the faucet. Get’s ‘em everytime!!! Love Love love that trick!!!! Works best at Thanksgiving or Christmas!! Getting your dad on a Sunday morning before church scores triple points.

Tell ‘em Fiju-Fic sent ya.

Peace be with you,

Bobby

My kid is back in town because her English Class was cancelled for today. I love it when Kelly is home.

We are going to practice some new songs tonight just for the sake of playing. I always look forward to these moments with my daughter and bandmates. 

We went to dinner yesterday evening and had us one heck of a time with our family and friends. Good lord Mabel went off on the Dish TV people last night when we had a thunderstorm. Secretly, she hates ALL providers be it cable or satellite.  Kelly recorded her and it was hysterical. I felt bad for the customer service associate who handled that call. Apparently, Nurse Ratchet is very serious about watching Gray’s Anatomy… I managed to do a little four wheelin’ on the beach with friends so my streak of never watching that show continues.

Flock of Seagulls concert tonight if it doesn’t get rained out. They were different then and I’m sure they are differerent now. I can play “Space Age Love Song” and “I Ran”. Cool tunes. Love the sound…

Tomorrow we work on the rentals all day and then Sunday we have to go to my cousin’s baptism. The good news?  She lives in Nags Head so maybe me and the kid can hit the water after lunch if the surf is up…we will need our wetsuits. BLAGH!!

Peace be with you,

Bobby

Go on, you know you want to make this a happening place. This is precisely the reason everyone is writing in this space.

While you may or may not know this, if you click on an ad it helps the bottom line of keepconnectedlive. I click on some of the stupiest ads I have ever seen everyday when I log into this place.

Why?

Like any business, it requires funds to operate. You know what? I click on these bloody ads in an effort to make sure Matty is successful. I absolutely want my friend to be successful. So do you.

Success brings more success. Ultimately, you make this a better place when you click an ad.

What made me think of this? Hmmm…

I just want to make sure our little place prospers.

Go on, click an ad. Pick the craziest one and roll your eyes. It may be insane but remember you are doing this for all of us.

Peace be with you,

Bobby

I saw them walk out on stage last night. I know exactly what they were thinking. The anticipation of the crowd and the performers was tremendous. Watching musicians live out the dream is incredible. Incubus rocked the house.

I have lived that dream but not on that large of a scale. The largest festival I have played had close to 2000 people and I will never forget it as long as I live. We had over 800 watch us on father’s day this year and for me it was tremendous. I still have the big Rock & Roll dreams and I am 45. The sheer power must be overwhelming.

Anyhow, I was just thinking about the state of anticipation many of us feel when an event inspires us.

It could be anything. Preaching to the masses. The first pitch of a baseball game. The first big wave of the day, A piano recital. The list is endless I am sure.

I try my very best to live in a state of anticipation. It helps me stay organized and this anticipation allows me to focus on the next task or event.

Look to the future.

Live in the moment.

Peace be with you,

Bobby

Frisco Beach on the Island of Cape Hatteras. Shot taken July 2009.

“Change my pitch up; Smack my bi*ch up!” - The Prodigy

Jovana went to her first and last volleyball tryout yesterday. She was simply stunned and amazed at how athletic our American girls really are. In Montenegro, Physical education for girls simply means go to the courtyard and socialize with your friends. I don’t think she wants any part of Field Hockey tryouts either….I recall asking the coaches to let her older sister on the basketball and soccer team when she was a student here.

In Montenegro, girls aren’t really allowed or encouraged to play sports. There are no league teams and no real organized women’s sports. I think they can run and swim and that pretty much sums it up.

Jovana thought nothing of this disparity until she came to this country. I know it made her mad that these opportunities are not available in Montenegro. So….I think her experiment with athletics is a disaster so far. I think we will encourage her to pursue art, academics and drama.

Frankly, she is surprised at the pace of our lives. We run races, swim, lift weights and exercise several times a week.

On a lighter note I know why Rasho sends all of his daughters here. Each of the older girls are now successful in business and have excellent jobs. Despite what you think, America is a place where equality is alive and well. You have to see it to believe it.

Welcome to the land of opportunity.

Oh, by the way. It is Shark week on the discovery channel.

*Chomp*

See you on the beach!!!

Cheers,
Bobby

Jovana, Sanja and Saska…They have all come through our home and we love them very much.

Wow,

Hatteras Island was really pretty this weekend. We stayed in Buxton, NC right by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Friday night we arrived late and made a bonfire by the beach and had a lot of nice conversation over some smores.

Saturday, we decided to head over to ramp #49 in Frisco ,NC which is a little town on Hatteras Island. At first I was disappointed that the water was calm. No surfing for anyone. Having said that; the breaks for a boogie board were absolutely perfect. The water was warm, the sun was hot and the air temperature was in the low 80’s. Folks, it doesn’t get any better than this…The water was gorgeous and very clear. I’m going to Frisco again.

Sunday we went to another town on Hatteras Island called Avon, NC. I believe it was ramp #38. I’ll give that beach a solid 3.8 out of 5 stars. The surf isn’t anything to write home about and the water was very active with several strong rip currents. The wildlife activity was tremendous with several bluefish runs just off the surf. Fish were jumping everywhere.

I am sore from all the water activity.

I know we go to the beach all the time. Each and every beach has a different vibe. Bad days are rare.

Why go at all?

“When I go to the beach, I feel like a little kid again” - Nurse Ratchet.

Peace be with you,

Bobby