That’s it people. Next time you see a post from me, it will be while I am on the road. The packers come tomorrow and I will be headed out Tuesday. The lab is sitting in a warehouse in Baton Rouge waiting to be picked up. I will stop over in Dallas for a few days before I head for Denver. Rumor has it that Kyllan and I will be taking engagement photos while I am in town.

Kim N. posted some new pictures to her flickr account. Of course it is still locked down, so if you don’t see anything, mouse over the photo by her screen name “Drewnick,” and click the add as contact link. Maybe she will add you as a contact too, and then you can see her pictures.

Ok… so most of you probably have no idea what I am talking about, but for anyone from Cleveland or Detroit, you may identify. My sister reminded me that today is Sweetest Day. Click on the link to learn more about it. Most say Hallmark invented it, but people in Cleveland treat it as a bona fide holiday. My sister was saying that she remembers in high school how you had the opportunity to buy a carnation to give to someone on the Friday before Sweetest Day. I failed to ask her if she bought any carnations 🙂

As William said, sorry we have been bad at posting lately. Work has been extremely busy, but we are going to try to do a better job of keeping up.

Kyllan was too down to post about Wake Forest’s loss to Clemson. In a rare nationally televised appearance, Wake allowed 24 points in the fourth quarter, blowing their 14 point lead and the chance to be 6-0 for the first time since 1944. Kyllan says it was fun while it lasted.

I spent the weekend studying, so I have nothing interesting to talk about. I did take a break to watch the Jaguars stomp the Jets 41-0!

…As usual, it’s late and I am still up. One of the benefits of staying up late is watching boring late night/ early morning news. No pundits, no perky talking heads and no media personalities telling me why their opinion is always right. Just a straight rundown on what happened that day. I was really caught of guard with breaking news that North Korea had successfully tested a nuclear weapon. Wow! That’s a little scary. It will be interesting to see what the response is like from the international community. (No, not the stern letters from the UN, but the actual response.)

This past weekend, I attended a Leadership conference and ropes course along with 15 other community leaders. We participated in several icebreakers, teambuilding exercises and high and low ropes elements. In some respects, I was excited about the trip and the opportunity to try some of the elements on the ropes course. However, once there and staring at the obstacles in front of me, let’s just say the excitement started to wither away. The first part of the morning, we stayed on the low elements, which required a lot of teamwork and trust. The afternoon consisted of the high ropes. Even though I have been on two ropes courses before in high school and graduate school, I was still a bit anxious about trying these again. The first element I tried was the climbing wall. I usually struggle with getting the right grip and making it to the top, but somehow I surprised myself and made it to the top much faster than I imagined I would (after a few small areas of hesitation). Once you make it to the top, you get to “fly” back to the ground on a zip line, which was fun! The final high element of the day was the “Leap of Faith” pole, which is a utility pole that is approximately 35 feet high. In my

opinion, the “Leap of Faith” pole is a misnomer because in my opinion, the hardest part is not leaping from the pole, but making it past the last few rungs at the top of the pole and pushing yourself on to the top and standing on top of a pole with a radius that can only accommodate about ¾ of each of your feet. For me, it was more the “Climb of Faith” than anything else. I watched 4 people go ahead of me before I built up the nerve to give it a try. I climb the first part with no problem, but when I got to the last two rungs where you push yourself up on top of the pole, it took a few attempts (and a few prayers) to balance myself and stand up on the pole. Then it took another few deep breaths to turn around a face the trapeze. Unfortunately, I missed the trapeze when I jumped, but I was safe and secure in the harness and was lowered to the ground. Even though I missed the trapeze, I was extremely proud that I overcame my fear and made it to the top of the pole. (I will try to get pictures and post them).

Ironically, my experience today is similar to what Wake Forest now faces as they enter the second half of the season. I am thrilled that they are 5-0 and first in the Atlantic conference (the ACC divided the conference into Atlantic and Coastal). However, those who know Wake well know that the picture can quickly change. They should be able to win 2 or 3 more with no problems, but 4 of the games should give them a pretty good battle. After cruising to the top pretty easily, hopefully they will be able to pull themselves up the last few rungs and stand proudly up on top.

GO DEACS!

Kyllan doesn’t want me to say this… She is afraid we may jinx it. Wake Forest is currently 4-0. Today the Deamon Decans play Liberty (who?) and very well be 5-0 by the end of the day. Wake Forest 5-0? In football? When was the last time that happened? Their schedule gets a little rougher after this weekend, so Kyllan will have to enjoy it while she can.

EDIT:Wake Forest is now 5-0!

…Today is the first football game Tulane will play in New Orleans since Katrina. Why aren’t we seeing all of the hype that the Saints got for thier first game back in New ORleans? I quess the Green Wave gets no love.

Today marks the return of the NFL to New Orleans. Monday Night Football will feature the New Orleans Saints versus the Atlanta Falcons; the first professional sports game played in the city since Katrina. The lab is about two blocks away from the Louisiana Superdome and by noon there were already thousands of people arriving for the 7:30 pm (central) game. I left the lab early so that I wouldn’t get stuck in the craziness. Of course the media is all over this. Don’t worry, they will forget about New Orleans and Katrina tomorrow… Yea, football! Anything to distract people from the fact that little to nothing is being done to bring the city back and less than half the population or businesses have returned. There is was more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street and the Superdome. That won’t be the story on MNF tonight, though.

The Jaguars might have lost yesterday, but if the two teams are looking at the same glass, the Jaguars have to see it as half full, while the colts see it half empty. The Jaguars dominated the game, but made a few costly mistakes. We’ll get them next time. That salary cap is slowly catching up with the Colts. Edgerrin James, was just the first casualty.

So, the new television season is upon us. What new shows are you guys excited about? Studio 60: Sunset Strip and Jericho seem to be getting the most hype. Kyllan was not impressed with the premier of Studio last night. I thought it was just okay. I probably check out Heroes and Friday Night Lights. Of course the best show on television, The Wire, has returned for a 4^th season. I’ll be watching NCIS tonight. Kyllan likes Grey’s Anatomy. They get points for having multiple positive black characters, one whose back story includes attending Tulane for medical school, but I still don’t care for it… Can you think of another show with more than one intelligent black character? (Currently on the air, so the Cosby Show doesn’t count.)