Bullet points.

This could be short or could be long. I don’t know.

1)      Racism. I‘ve seen some discussion on the subject in KCL. All it takes is one human being who is different than another and BOOM you have potential for conflict. Education is the only way to solve racism.

2)      Straight A’s continue for Jovana, our exchange student. The kid should be an engineer. Unfortunately, they have no use for Engineers in her country. Engineers, Physicians and Lawyers are not well paid in Montenegro.

3)      Kelly has been pounded with snow these last couple of weeks. Friday and Saturday they are getting 15-26 inches of snow after having snow all week up in DC. Folks, we are from the beach where the snow never goes…It has officially freaked her out.

4)      Me? Oh I have completely lost my mind. I had two rentals come vacant at the end of January. One is rented already (Wonderful turn around and picked up 45 more bucks a month in rents.) The other? I should have it ready to show in the next two weeks. Those folks were not the cleanest humans on the planet. I will pick up an extra 45.00 bucks in rent there as well. Lots of work. Many long nights!!!

5)      Nurse Ratchet? Um, her mentor and old physician co-worker passed away suddenly about 2 weeks ago. He died of a massive heart attack. They worked together the day before he passed. She has cried everyday since. Not pretty. Actually, I have never seen her depressed. She is CRUSHED.

6)      My brother is working with one of the producers of Lady GaGa on some music tracks. They both went to Berklee together. Frankly, this is his big break. The downside? My brother is a monster in the studio. In fact, he has his own studio in his house. Killer. We are having a divorce party for him on the 8^th!!! It is official.

7)      My little sister? I love her. She is just back from a business trip to Atlantic City. She was excited. Me? You can keep Atlantic City. She has already fallen off the wagon on her running and diet.

      Hopefully, I can fix my golf cart tonight or tomorrow. I snapped a strut off jumping some dunes awhile back. Were we out of control? Yes. Was it fun? That cart should be outlawed.

9)      Superbowl? I see the Saints winning it unless Peyton Manning gets red hot.

10)  I miss you all very much. I still read you but have not logged on to comment or write. I think that status will be consistent for awhile.

Peace be with you,

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

Ronin called me in tears after her visit to the museum yesterday. They got on the DC metro and went to complete an extra credit assignment for their Western Civilization class. As an added bonus Kelly visited with her little Jewish friend Annie.

Both were emotionally destroyed after leaving some 3 hours later….

Many of us go into a museum and peer around for a little while until we get bored and leave. Uh, not this place. The sheer magnitude and terror that permeate the building are unforgettable. Minutes turn to hours as you devour the timeline and the events these people suffered.

How could someone do such a thing?

Where does the hate come from?

I don’t know… I do know that hate is alive and well in the 21st century.

For as long as human beings have differences there will be a small subset who can find fault with these differences.

Stay vigilant.

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

Frisco Beach on Cape Hatteras July 2009.

Perspective is a real eye opener. Sometimes, I take for granted the things we do and see.

We have a foreign exchange student from Montenegro. She is the youngest of three girls that have stayed with our family in some form or fashion. Saska is 31, Sanjice is 29 and Jovanna is 17.

They come from a very nice family. They personally know the Prime Minister and all that stuff…Anyhow…getting back to Jovanna.

Hmmm…She is very reserved and only opens up around our family. There is absolutely nothing athletic about her at all. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. There is no teaching her how to surf. Too dangerous. Can she sing? Um, nope. I am polite because I hear her singing when she is happy (Which is often). Ladies and gentlemen; she can’t sing. God bless her pointed little head, even teaching her how to ride a mountain bike hasn’t been easy.

She does speak several languages and can even translate that old Russian in Syrillic if you need it. She is a very applied student and makes straight A’s in all of her classes so far including her AP courses. I have told her that she needs to join some clubs to increase her base of friends at school. Meeting people and making the transition to friendship is difficult for her.

Our trips to The Outer banks and to DC have blown her away. Montenegro is small and they don’t usually take road trips like we do. College life here is very different than their college life.

At the end of the day she tells me all of the neat and unique experiences she has enjoyed with us and that she looks forward to all of the adventures yet to come.

Life is all about the experiences….

Kelly joins us this weekend. I am looking forward to it.

I hope that you and those you love have a wonderful Labor day weekend.

See you on the beach.

Peace,
Bobby

I use that term to describe someone who has gone crazy.

Mabel has “left the reservation” for instance. I don’t think I have ever seen Nurse Ratchet cry so much in the span of a month….

The good news? Kelly has acclimated to her new living arrangement. Her first classes begin today. We have already heard several stories of alcohol related incidents at school which have resulted in trips to the ER in one case…Kelly has always told us most everything that goes on in her life and college is no exception.

We have always been close and remain close. Now we spend lots of time sending absurd picture texts or short recordings to each other via text messages. She sent me one of a can of Ravioli for instance. I sent one of a concert in the park last night.

They have one diner on campus that is only open from 9pm till 4am for instance. That is crazy. Then of course the other stuff that makes you bite your tongue. Late nights rule college campuses across the country.

I *think* she comes home over Labor Day weekend. Hard to keep that kid away from the beach I swear.

The surf was up at the S turns this weekend but I didn’t go because I no longer have my surfin’ buddy to join me. Maybe next week? Who knows? In terms of watersports she is still my go to girl. I managed to spend time with my wife, sister and friends all day yesterday.

I sense the fall weather continues to creep into the picture. I imagine we will give up the beach stands by the time November rolls around.

Peace be with you,
Bobby

Got up this morning and before I left for work; I knocked on Kelly’s bedroom door. She was half asleep of course but I tiptoed in and gave her a hug and kiss goodbye as she was sleeping.

I will miss her terribly.

She is driving up to DC with Nurse Ratchet this afternoon in her own vehicle and I will join them later tonight as I have to work and bring our exchange student with me (she has school). All of us are spending the night in Great Falls VA before we drop her off at 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Kelly spent yesterday on the beach with her mother. You can tell my little girl is really going to miss us and REALLY going to miss living at the beach.

I tell her how proud and excited I am for her. There is an awkward vibe of course, she doesn’t really want to leave and we really don’t want to send her away yet this is what we must do until she gets educated and follows a career path.

I have spent my entire life and all of my energy preparing her to take care of herself.

I admire her work ethic. I love her determination. I respect her talent and look forward to the next phase of her life.

I suspect that if I call her and tell her that the water is flat and glassy back home or that the surf is up in Rodanthe she would find a way to make the trip. I have been known to (rarely) bail out of work on exceptional days for surfing or jetskiing.

These times will become few and far between as she grows up and makes her own life.

Maybe I’ll be a grandfather someday. All in due time.

I can say this without hesitation, we will always live near Kelly.

I don’t want to miss the next chapter of our lives.

So here is the rundown…Drop Kelly off tomorrow. Meet with clients, stay one more night in DC and then head home tomorrow for a funeral. Leave the funeral for a going away party and then I’ll be crashing miserably in my own bed Saturday night.

Sunday? I don’t know. I’ll see where the dust settles and figure it out from there…

The next chapter of our life awaits. The fork in the road is just ahead.

Peace be with you,

Bobby

Well…

Here we are 18 and some odd years later. I can’t believe the kid is leaving for college already. We make our way out tomorrow evening. I remember the day she was born and the nurse first put her in my arms.

I remember all the events in between. I know because I have been there all her life. Now we will be left with an empty bedroom until she returns for the holidays or occassional weekend.

Kelly leaves for college tomorrow and I am excited yet sad that she is going to be away from us. DC may not be that far away but in my mind it is too far.

I know I have been harping on this subject for awhile. I will probably harp on it for a long time to come.

She is my little girl and always will be.

I am ruined. My little buddy is going away.

We come back on Saturday just in time for a funeral and then a going away party for some lovely friends. UGH!!!!

You know what? I sense the fall is coming. Hurricane season makes it obvious. I don’t like the fall….I really don’t like winter.

Nurse Ratchet cries so much I don’t know what I’m going to do.

The ride home will be long and full of emotions.

This chapter of our lives is over. A new chapter begins.

This little space has and always will be about the love I have for my family and friends. My life and world revolve around my family.

Time for Kelly to make her mark on the world….

Life moves pretty quickly.

Enjoy each day.

Peace be with you,
Bobby

Nurse ratchet at one of our favorite Surfing spots last we call the boilermaker or boiler. This steamship wreck is off the coast of The Pea Island wildlife refuge. If you look closely you can see the stack of the Oriental on the right.

When you paddle out about 100 yards you can see the ship underneath you of the water is clear. On good days the visibility is about 15 feet or so which make it a pretty good snorkle event.

You can’t miss a 200 plus foot boat under that stack so if you are surfing it, steer clear…

It is sinking in more and more that my daughter Kelly is leaving for college on the 28th.

She is my go to girl whenever I need a laugh.  I am very proud of her and remain positive about her future. I recall her birth on feburary 14th 1991. We brought her home Feb 15th and she has lived with us ever since.

She officially leaves our home August 28th to embark on the journey of a lifetime. I know she will come home every so often.  I also know she will eventually have a life apart from us and the time we spend together will diminish as she begins her own path.

We have poured our heart and soul into that young lady. I know, I know… I sound like a broken record.

Looking back, I do not regret all the time I have spent with her.

Looking forward, I know that I am going to miss her very much.

If I had it to do all over again I would volunteer immediately.

Life moves pretty fast.

Enjoy the good times with all of your heart.

Peace be with you.

Bobby