Cold front...grab your parka!!

Look out Arizona! Here's comes the cold front... (High temps in the 60's, lows in the 40's in the valley, snow shower possibilities in the high country). Yesterday was like a crisp fall day (abundant sunshine, cool wind, fresh air and people wearing jackets). Reminded me of leaf peeping time in New York State when I used to run along the Croton Reservoir with the changing, falling leaves and the air cold on the face and in the lungs. Cold... (a very different meaning depending on where you hail from). To residents in the Valley of the Sun it's temps under 60... (no snickering, you Midwesters and East Coasters). It's hard to explain, you have to feel it to believe it. There is no moisture in the air and I guess after a couple months of baking in the oven that is summer here, it feels cold in the 50's... I love it because its the feel of season change without the sleet and snow and gray skies and bare trees and leaf raking and even colder temps. After this snap of a few days, we'll be back to 80's during the day and very comfortable at night (with windows open and hot tub waiting).

Worked an ushering gig at Wells Fargo Arena last night but didn't usher anyone... I was given to the head of ASU to help reconcile product sales at the event, so I basically walked around the arena with the sales coordinator for 6 hours and made sure the numbers added up at the end and ASU got their "cut". It was a speaking engagement by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and we had over 6000 people there, not including security, ushers, staff and volunteers. While the speakers were speaking, the sales team went inside (they were selling books and DVD's) and didn't reopen til after the speeches so for about 2 hours I walked the arena and talked with my security peeps. Got some great ideas from one of friends about part time gigs to earn a little extra coin...(more on that after some research). Thanks to my lead guy for that assignment. Couldn't have asked for an easier time.

Outside gig tonight for "Joe Security" in Mesa at ASU Polytechnic... Have no idea what's going on, but I'm working for the same lead guy. So it'll be sweatshirt and jacket night (still can't say it's cold, though, without sounding like a wuss). Let's just say there'll be a chill in the air. Then after a well deserved day off on Friday (right!) it's ASU vs. California football game (Homecoming Game) followed by an ushering gig at Gammage Auditorium for Phantom of the Opera... (perfect play for Halloween Night, eh?). So I'll be toiling from 9:30am til around 10pm. Need to pile up some hours before I leave for Aruba at the end of next month... (after 8 weeks of boot camp at the warehouse job, lying on the beach will be more than welcome).

I am also getting back in touch with the the "daylight" crowd at E&A and will return to hosting some events if they still need me. I'll get in touch with the boss later and see if there's still room for me in the hosting arena... Skydiving is set for the weekend before I leave on vacation (I don't know if I get to call this a "vacation" because my lifestyle right now feels like one). Let's call this a "I'm living somewhere else for a week" thing. Jump out of a plane on Sunday, Jump back on a plane on Thursday, jump off Thursday night, jump on Friday morning, jump off Friday afternoon and lay on the beach with my cigar, feet in the water and watch the sun set... Now that will be a wonderful week. Add in the fact that 6 of my New York friends will be in Aruba at the same time and this "I'm living somewhere else this week" will be a blast and a half.

So after a week of intense recovery from the rigors of the night job (boot camp)...man, the older you get, the longer it takes to come back!, I am up early and trying to establish some kind of routine where I can take advantage of the weight loss and not gain back all the weight I worked off... Further details on that adventure will surface when my time management skills improve. I now am free to continue this saga (blogs) and will have more interesting fodder for you to read about instead of how long I worked, how hard it is and how I have no time to do anything else...(the exact reason I moved here in the first place--history was repeating itself and not in a good way). I hope you can "read" the relief and joy in my voice as I ramble on here... I apologize to my fans and loyal readers (those who don't just delete my ramblings) for the sparcity of blogs.
I'm back with all new adventures to come and always never at a loss for words...

It was one year ago...

That I packed up the Jeep (which is still running beautifully, by the way) and said goodbye to New Jersey and the East Coast and started the trek across these here United States to my present location in sunny Arizona... A lot has gone on in that year...(all chronicled for eternity in the blogger archives) and I can say without regret that I made the right move. As fall is in the air finally (still wonderfully warm and window open cool at night), I have survived my first summer in the desert with some lessons learned (see references to the "human cheeto") and knowing that surviving those months of extreme heat is worth every minute of the present fall/winter weather. The golf courses are finishing up with the overseeding program and I will be on them shortly...

I have left my job at the food service company... it was great working nights but the job became too demanding physically for this "not yet active " adult. The days (nights) were getting longer (worked til 5-5:30 am) every week and it got to the point where all I was doing was working and sleeping and all of you know THAT wasn't the plan when I came out here... (I did that in New Jersey, which is why I left in the first place). So I quit this week and will go back to security for now (enjoying the non-cheeto part of the schedule). There are still football games to secure and two bowl games at the end of the year (Insight Bowl on New Years Eve and Fiesta Bowl in January), The FBR Open returns in February, so there are plenty of gigs to keep me busy. And the substitute teaching thing should be up and running by the first of the Craig the other day, it was like surviving boot camp. I lost a total of 27 lbs. (I now weigh 190) and am probably in the best shape of my adult life, but I was constantly nicked up and sore. I also think the weight loss was too fast, too much, because I tire easily now and am still sore (getting older sure has its perks, don't it?). How come your mind doesn't age along with your body? I still think I can go full out in my head, but the body is about 2 blocks behind...

No worries, though, I'll be fine. Taking this time for fall cleaning (it's so great to be able to open the windows) and getting back to a normal sleep cycle. I'm looking forward to losing the vampire schedule and getting back together with my E&A peeps for some hikes and stuff. I have taken the bicycle out of mothballs and will begin to ride every morning... (I want to keep this "new" body and remain on good terms with the scale). But, in the meantime, I am enjoying the baseball playoffs (East Coast rules! Go Phillies and Yankees!). My Jets are playing like my Jets again... (the newness has worn off and the same old team is underneath) but the Giants are doing well (except against New Orleans) and they look to crush the Cardinals this week...(will be nice to watch Sunday Night and Monday Night football again).

Really looking forward to Aruba this year because not only will I see Bob and Toni Ann, but Cathy and Billy and John and Denise will also be there... (New York reunion). The last time we were all there together was a blast so it should be again... Looking forward to having my toes in the water, my ass in the sand, sunset in my eyes, and a Cuban cigar in my hand...

Staying put for now...

After all the research and visiting prospective apartment complexes, crunching numbers and rental agreements, I have decided to stay in Chandler at my current address... (not only women have the right to change their minds). It's more about the timing than anything else... My current lease is up on November 30 (I will be out of the country then, sunning my bod on the pristine beaches of Aruba), so I would have to leave on the 15th, move everything to the new place, do all the address change stuff, unpack, repack for vacation, and still be at work every day in a 2 week window. My current landlord will renew my lease at the same rate I'm paying now for 6-12 months, so I am going to sign on for a 6 month term and re-think the move in May of next year. That will give me more time to search for a place...(although the one I found in Tempe was pretty sweet). It will also give me some more time with the new job. My 90 day "break-in" period ends just before I go away and they haven't said yes or no about putting me on the payroll full time (although I'm still employed as of this writing). I still get paid from the staffing agency for now. So I am saving myself the hassle of moving just for moving's sake and saving some money in the meantime... (I will get in touch with my feminine side and redecorate my apartment for the next six months or is it my gay interior decorator side? Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

With that potential monkey off my back, I'm relaxing on my night/day off after two loooooong shifts on Sunday and Monday (12 hours each). Nothing is worse than taking a break at 3:30am knowing there are still orders to pull... Going home at dawn sucks because everyone is up and the roads (especially around Phoenix) are clogged with traffic. Plus it's hard to fall asleep when it's daylight already but thanks to the long hours that doesn't pose a problem...

I am back on the adventure trail Saturday with a double header... A hike at Pinnacle Peak at 9 in the morning and horseback riding and a bbq Saturday evening with the E&A crowd. Haven't seen those peeps in a while, so that should be fun... (depending on what time I get out of work Friday, I may just sleep at the hike sight because the weather at night has been cool. Although they are calling for close to 100 degrees again by the weekend). Got to dust off the cowboy hat for the horseback trail (Yee Hah!).

Editor's note: I wish to make a correction to my last blog. Natalie, my god daughter, will be seven(7) this year and not six as was wrongly reported...(bad Uncle!) God bless them, they do grow up so fast.

A special birthday wish...

I wanted to write a very special blog to some very special young ladies... My niece Veronica (Miss V) turned 10 years old this week and I wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday... (which I did when I called my sister's house on the BIG day). Ten years old, in fifth grade and a beautiful girl whom I love very much. I wish I could make it to your party, Miss V, but know I will be there in spirit. My two nieces are very special people in my life... (and I need to make some more trips to see them) as well as my sister and brother-in-law. Being in their home is like being in my own and that feeling is hard to come by. And I would be remiss if I didn't send BIG Happy Birthday wishes (early I know) to my other niece and god daughter Natalie... she is going to be six years old and is in first grade and is handling the pressure very well I'm sure. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY SPECIAL GIRLS!!!!! I wish I could be at your party too, Nat... Your Uncle Jimmy misses you guys.

Meanwhile, my foray in the work force is both a wonderful adventure and physically brutal... (just think about the hardest workout you ever had and do it for 10-11 hours a day five days a week). I would like to compare it to boot camp without the killing and the sergeant yelling in your face. Each day reveals just how badly out of shape I had let myself get, but each week that goes by reveals just how much a body can adapt to hard work... (and again, I'm liking what I'm seeing). But, I also realize that this particular job is not what I moved to Arizona for... (I could have beaten myself up like this in NJ!). It does impose on my leisure time big time, but I'm willing to continue to see if they offer me a position with the company... (at least until I go on vacation in December). I consider this my "tour of duty" (no offense to real soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice for us) and will continue my enlistment until further notice.

The weather is becoming more beautiful (if that's possible) every day with temps in the 80-90 range during the day and 60's at night... Now that's what I'm talkin' about! In fact, I have a sweatshirt in the car (what a wuss!) and have actually run the heat once on the way home from work...(it was after a shift in the cooler working in 40-45 degrees). It's a crazy thing how your body adapts to the weather out here. I can take 117 degrees without much trouble, but 50 makes me a shivering mess... (used to be the other way around). But you know what? I'll take the change because I love it here.

Okay, with not much else to report I am off to look at what I hope will be my new home in Tempe... (I am negotiating the best deal and then taking it back here and see if my present address will do better or match the deal). I'll let you know how it turns out...