Return of the New and Improved

Yeah, yeah, yeah…So I haven’t posted in a month. There are reasons for this, to be sure.
1) I really have been busy. I started my new job and all that goes along with it have taken up a lot of my time. Katie also has a new job, and that has kept the house busier as well (as she is VERY busy).
2) There’s been a substantial exodus of friends this summer (Paula, Adam and Tricia, Dr. Greg Plagens, PhD (big ups!!)) that are leaving Columbia for various new academic posts or future studies, and we’ve been trying to be social and spend as much time with those folks (and others) as possible.
3) My sister’s wedding. MUCH more to come on that later.
4) I just didn’t have it in me to post anything after my Africa post. I mean, it was such a life changing experience, how can I top that post?

Here’s my attempt:



Yes, dear readers, this is Blowie, the mascot for the Columbia Blowfish, named after Columbia’s own Hootie and the Blowfish. Since I am such a sports fan, as was previously discussed, it’s only appropriate that Blowie has the honor of ushering me back into the blogosphere.

This evening, Katie and I went to a Blowfish game (Blowfish vs. TeamUSA, a team of college all-stars), courtesy of the Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands. There was a laid-back, decent crowd and several of her co-workers in attendance. I met the new crew (several of which I know from my CIS-M days) and found myself enjoying the game much more than I was anticipating, though I had not a clue what was happening in general.

Katie and I hung out until about 9:30pm before we headed out. We left at the 7th inning, and the score was something like 9 – 0 in favor of TeamUSA. Oh yeah, Blowfish = Not Really that Good. But it was a good time. And whether you like Hootie and the Blowfish or not, they really do a heck of a lot to help out South Carolina.

Here’s a few more shots of the stadium and some random, slightly disturbing “Grease Monkey” sponsor mascot that was like ten feet tall. There was clearly a real person inside it, but there’s no visible air-holes, or eye-holes, or anything. Which leads me to believe it is, in fact, space-age technology.




TeamUSA at bat