Quick summary...and off to South Africa!

Mi Madres, Austin, Texas

Well well -- too long. Entirely too long. Some of my biggest fans -- about 3 of you -- complain about this on a consistent basis. I would promise to update the mighty blog more often. The problem is that my life is not nearly as interesting as it used to be. I wake up at 7:37 every morning, go to work in a cube, go to the gym, and then drink a glass of the cheapest red wine I can find while contemplating my takeover of the DC council. Okay, so it's not that boring...

Two weeks ago I was in sunny Seaside Florida for the civil bachelor party of the William T. Elias III Esquire from Gannon Tech University. This is a kid that prides himself on not only his good looks, but his smooth ways with the ladies. But in July of this year our dear friend Willie shall be taking his wedding nuptials, and soon thereafter will move to the suburbs to buy a house with a white picket fence and raise his kids (Andy and Ivey -- Willie the IV). I look forward to the celebration, but for now revel in the fact that I was yet again able to snag some of Chip Fox's garments during the trip. I previously confiscated a pair of 1999 Gannon Tech football shorts from said Fox. Looks like I'm the real fox. All in all, the trip was a blast, although entirely too short. I will put some pictures up as they come available.

In other news, I just finished up a big report at work. I worked like a dog last week to finish it up in time for the printers. You can see it here -- I was one of the writers for section 2 of the report. Fascinating, yes I know. Now that the report is finished, I've had a bit of spare time. So I'm back on the construction scene with Cliff -- he is rehabbing a house on the Hill that he will move into with his wife. This past weekend (and through Monday) we built a brick patio. It was a lot of fun. I find it quite gratifying to bulid things with your hands -- I'm considering the possibility of doing this on the side. In part as a hobby, in part so that I can become a millionaire by 35 and retire by 40, teaching economics and politics to high schoolers while coaching the 8th grade basketball team to city championships and raising my first born (Jack) and second born (yet to be named female). Note to the Stilwells: I've now put it out there on official Internet record, so you can't use the name Jack for your first born. Sorry, but that's the way it works.

In other news, I leave for South Africa on Saturday. Yes, this is indeed big news. Another adventure. Sarah is tagging along -- she has a way of weasling into my planned trips. No, actually we're both going to see good friend Adam Newcomer. Now talk about a guy that has some adventures/scams going on. This kid is doing his PhD at Carnegie Mellon, one of the finest institutions of our day, but is doing it from South Africa from Jan to July. I don't know how he pulled that off, but I want some of it. So I guess I'll live that dream for two weeks. We'll be touring Johannesburg, Mozambique, a bit of the Kingdom of Swaziland (where Adam assures me we will meet the King), Kruger National Park for a safari, and Cape Town. I will try to post some blogs, and will definitely put the pictures of me and the King up at some point.

One last bit: at the top of this entry there is a picture of the new sign at Mi Madres. Some of you might wonder the significance of this. Well first off, Mi Madres has the best breakfast tacos west of the Mississippi (mine are the best east of the Mississippi). This fine establishment is a mere two-minute walk from 2800 Lafayette, I walked there on many occasions with the boys. Sir George Rivas especially loved Mi Madres; in fact he once attended their breakfast hours for 14 days in a row. The documentary will be released shortly. To celebrate his passion for bean and cheese Mi Madres breakfast tacos, I honor him by IMing him a link to the Mi Madres sign. you can see that picture here. As my dedicated readers will know, I have not been in Austin since this time last year and between that time, Mi Madres has actually put up a new sign, which you can see at the top of the post. Sir George was kind enough to send the picture from his camera phone, and now I am displaying his artistry for all to see. Oh, and now the picture actually has it's own link -- so all should feel free to IM George the link on a daily basis. He does appreciate it.

Good day to all.