t-day special

at this time last year, i was miles away from family in the warm caribbean sun, walking the streets of the colonial zone in the domincan republic's capital city of santo domingo. with banks of the ozama river knifing through the heart of the over populated city and the caribbean sea forming the southern border i was far from the cold fronts that were passing through the midwest and the great lakes region.  by this time, i was still not fully acclimated to the humid climate of the south and was craving just the slightest hint of wind burn on my lips and my mother's sweet potato casserole that was sure to warm my insides.

a walk remembered

upon returning home from work today i realized that while living in southwest florida next to the most beautiful beaches in the world, surrounded by more ethnic restaurants choices my hometown of cincinnati could dream about, and some of the best and most corropertive weather patterns for the fall season, i was not happy with where i have settled down.  though the perks are nice, what i truely missed was the option of walking outside a downtown apartment and being in the cultural center of a country. i miss the feeling of significance that a capital city brings whether it be the classical music

key west part two

day two through four:

figuring now much could top the night before i set out to see if this town had more to it than sodomy and liquor. i soon discovered there was a tremendous amount of character spread throughout the southernmost city. cuban restaurants chameleoned with art galleries along with coffee shops and souvenirs for every humor and drunken state. banners hung with pb directed feelings while shop keeps allowed their 1800's architecture speak for itself. the bartenders and above shop keeps

the naive key west

about eight weeks ago i was presented with an opportunity to coach a four day soccer camp at key west high school in key west, fl. being a mid-westerner without much beach exposure except for the rare visit since moving to fort myers, fl and the gulf shores ten months prior, i was what most would still consider a virgin or at the most, one with a freshly popped cherry. i quickly jumped on the chance to work in "the conch republic." "why not" i asked, the camp would cover everything; free housing, free food, free beer, free water sports, and most of all, free experiences. all i had to do was get myself down there.

memories to spark emotion

last night i was catching up on my list of blogs along with some reading from matador reading where i came across a movie called before sunrise, set entirely in vienna. (also check out the sequal before sunset which takes place nine years later in paris)  before the page was fully loaded i was redirecting myself to youtube checking to see if i could find the film in the youtubesque part 1 of ... segments format.  the ten part movie was found with no issue, and my evening was set. besides to romantic nature of meeting someone on a train, falling in love, and setting out to rendezvous months later,

and i'm back

so i know its been awhile and the only excuse i can conjure up is that i just have not made any time to post updates over the past few months. in order to remedy that i will give a condensed, bulleted, overview of my life;

*went to cincinnati, served in one of my best friend's wedding, visited wilmington, realized i made a very good decision about a year and a half ago, became an eskimo brother with a great friend (again) and...reunited with friends who i do not get to see very often

a mini viennese reunion

last week, one of my "old" friends, corrinne, from vienna was in town for the weekend after spending a week doing relief work in haiti. while using ft lauderdale as her main transportation hub, the greyhound as the carrier, and the chance to reunite with someone who lives at the extreme opposite side of the continental 48 as the motive, a mini viennese rendezvous was able to take place. this was not only a great way to touch base with the happenings of the past year, but also a way to reminisce in a way that only a fellow traveler can understand. we talked about the trip itself, how we

march

as my friend kristen made me realize, the beginning of each month brings a fresh start. i guess it is along the same lines of switching the year on a calendar and deriving a new resolution, but in this case we get the same opportunity twelve times a year. this idea made me think, much like kristen's new monthly to-do list, what do i hope to accomplish this month. so i made up a small semi-manageable list of personal conquests for me to fulfill over the course of 31 days.

first, it is florida so i want to enjoy to outdoors more

my visitors

this past weekend i was able to reconnect with a few unexpected faces in south beach, miami. so while you up north were fighting the cold and dodging the snow storms, i was once again sporting shorts, a tee, sunglasses, and sunscreen all while enjoying great latin and south american food. my good childhood friend stef came down from kentucky with two work friends to celebrate a birthday and she asked me to swing by for the weekend. after two nights of the miami party scene (it takes it's toll even when you are not actually "partying" to the south beach standard) and two

milford grads reunited

this past weekend our basketball programs at fgcu held a double header against belmont. this provided an opportunity for me to reconnect with a formed teammate of mine, brandon baker, from milford high school. he is currently a red shirted freshmen with the bruins and i was able to catch him in action as well as witness his career high of ten points. here is the bruin recap of the game featuring a photo and a better write up on the game than i will be able to give. also, notice the pale size of the north compared to the burnt redness of the south.