Doug and Carrie

Work has been going well for both of us and we’ve just been very busy lately.  I’m really enjoying my new job, and continuing to learn a lot. Our enterprise application, SearchFactz, is up for “Best Search Engine Ad Platform” at the SES Awards, and we’ll find out the outcome some time tomorrow.

Carrie is in the air right now headed to New York again for work.  She’ll be there until Saturday.  Then we’re both heading off to San Francisco on the 29th for the Jolley/Morton wedding.  We’re excited and looking forward to seeing Charles and Jenna.

The Olympics this past week have been a joy to watch (although the late broadcast had cut into my sleep). Carrie didn’t understand my excitement when they started, but I think she’s gained more appreciation for why I’m so into them.  I’ve been missing swimming lately because of the Olympics.

I’ve been a fan of Michael Phelps for a while now purely based in his amazing talent. But as I’ve been watching some of the interviews and specials about him and his family, I’ve learned that I can really identify with him on so many other levels. I really respect the guy and I’m truly happy that he’s been successful in his goals.

I might get to experience my first hurricane in a few days. Tropical Storm Fay is heading this way according to current weather models, and it may strengthen into a hurricane by then. Last night, the weather model’s center line went right over our place, but this morning it has shifted east.  Hopefully it’ll continue to move, so that Tampa Bay won’t get hit as hard.  The earlier it hits the gulf coast, the weaker it should be, so that also a good reason to hope it goes east. I’ll base my preparation on info I get from my co-workers tomorrow. I have a feeling I’ll not need to evacuate, but won’t hesitate if I find it’s really needed.

Here is a dynamic image that changes as new info is processed:

-d

After a few months of job searching, I finally have a job!!

I’ll be developing for SendTec in St. Petersburg, starting monday.  My daily commute will mostly include driving across the bay.

-d

I realize it has been a while since our last post. Things are going well here. Not a whole lot to discuss except that we did finally go to the real beach. We didn’t take any pictures but it was a lot of fun! Also, we went to Busch Gardens and rode some great roller coasters. No pictures of that either. BUT… following is a picture anthology of our time here when we did take pictures!

The journey to Tampa begins: First, we drove from KC to Arkansas to visit my grandmother. On day two and three of Tampa Move Road Trip ‘08, we drove through Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to Florida. Pictures from the 21 hour drive…

Somewhere in Mississippi

Oh no a crack! A piece of gravel and our windshield came to blows outside Birmingham, Alabama

Lovely, boring Alabama

Welcome home!

A moving day Where’s Waldo… the madness begins

I think this is the second bedroom

Our apartment from a nearby beach (not the real beach, just a little beach area off the road). Our apartment is technically on a small island– look for our apartment right above my head!

The sun is setting on our little island

Contemplating a new life in Tampa, FL

Historic Ybor City in Tampa (a.k.a. KC’s Westport)- a fun place to be on your day off

I think this was a statue of some historic founder of Ybor City

Nippet loves to people watch from our screened in porch

The little family

Nippet just licked my chin. Of course.

And then today, we found a little lizard in our apartment. We’re not in Kansas anymore!

I survived the Mother’s Day rampage! We did fairly well in our sales, however, it was difficult for me personally to step out of that “sales mode” and into a more managerial/support role on the selling floor. I have been given some tasks this week that will really step me out of my comfort zone so hopefully I will do them well.

We still have not loaded any recent pictures of our time here in Florida. But they are coming! The weather is great here. It rained today, but this is the first time it has rained since I’ve been back from NY. Nippet loves our screened in porch. He goes out there and just lays around and watches all of the people below– picking up their mail, getting into their cars, etc.

We miss everyone and hope to hear from you soon whether it is through this blog or other means. I hope for you moms out there that you had a fantastic Mother’s Day!

-C

Doug and I went to a salon today to do Mystic Tanning. We realized just how white we are down here and we decided that we needed to change that. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this process it’s basically where you go into a little room and this tanning mist sprays all over your body, then you turn and it sprays your backside. It’s an instant bronzer and then there is a chemical in the solution that makes the pigment in your skin darker so it does give you a tan in the end.

I must admit that I needed a lot of help in the booth. I could not figure out how to work it! Doug eventually had to help me. The whole time I was just worried that this would happen:

I am now back from my trip to New York and I am ready to settle in to our new apartment. Looking back on my photos, I realized that I did not really take any photos of my time in New York. I think I was just too busy to remember my camera. I did stay only a block away from the Ziegfield Theatre. While there, Baby Mama and Made of Honor premiered. As everyone asks who I have told this to, no, I did not see McDreamy… and I’m not quite sure who that is even…

I did see Gordon Ramsey in the lobby of my hotel though. I stayed at the London, which is the hotel that is home to his restaurant. It is all the rage right now. I could never get reservations there, unless I wanted to eat at midnight, so I had to settle for a seat barside– where I did enjoy myself and nursed at $13.00 Cape Cod one evening while people watching.

Today Doug and I went to Ybor City which, for those Kansas Citians who read this, is like Westport. One thing that I am still not used to here is the frequency and just sheer volume of strip clubs, I’m sorry, gentlemen’s clubs here. I guess growing up and living in the Midwest Bible Belt got me accustomed to certain things and seeing a strip club on every corner was not one of them. They all look very cheesy though, just like the strip clubs you’d find in Lawrence (you know the ones on the outskirts of town by Tee Pee Junction).

I will post pictures soon of the apartment and of things around town.

-C

I just got a “Hurricane Preparedness DVD” in the mail as part of a welcome kit from Bay News 9. Upon visiting their site, today’s headline is “FDOT: Major Bay area evacuation likely to be chaotic“.

Quite a major change from Kansas City, which has the easiest evacuation situation of any major city in the nation according to Wired (I wish I could find that article online).

-d

As the image above reads: Greetings from Florida!!!

We finished our trek from Kansas on April 15th and Carrie has been in New York this past week for orientation. There will be pictures once she gets back from the Big Apple.

So far, here are a few of the things I love about Florida:

• No state income tax
• No sales tax on food items

And things I don’t like about Florida:

• Auto insurance is through the roof
• Traffic (fewer cars on the road, yet it takes forever to get to where you need to go)

-d