and then there was the beach.

what better way is there to spend a weekend than to go to the beach? very few, friends. the fullest time spent, energy exerted, and sun rays soaked in. very cool. of course, it wears you out more than a weekend maybe should, but it sure is worth that sacrifice. the scenario for me was as follows: hang out with drew for an hour friday dinnertime. good way to start. then continue on to charleston that night and stay at KOA in a tent, accompanied by james and tim. get up at 8 and get to dunkin donuts before getting out for some morning surfing. once at the shore, it's on. surf, eat, play bocce, and maybe a little sunburn, but only a little.

we surfed sunday as well, and left the beach in the late afternoon. and it was a sweet trip, great to be with a couple guys, just able to have fun away from the hometown, you know? of course we were three of the four who will traverse the country en route to california next week, so that will be plenty of time for such fun and distance. that will get interesting, you can be sure.

until then, i am home working some more, just to get my fill before some big time off.

my sunday with a big red ball

sunday afternoon is the time. the time that passes slowly, allowing plans or no plans. that makes it a unique time, and i love it. for me, this sunday was freedom. get home from church, take a long nap, eat sunday dinner, take another nap (cant you tell saturday night was 4 hours of sleep?), and now be awake enough to live and breathe.



i decided to have a little photo shoot. by myself. this called for the timer on my camera, so that was just the thing i'd do. it was the big red ball shoot, and it was a smashing success. i guess you could say i am a bit of a dork for doing this, but i had fun with it nevertheless. you say whatever you'd like.
sunday is also a day that i have a chance to call people that i have not been able to at all during the week, so i got to do that as well. and run. i always do that, kind of because i have to, but it can feel good sometimes too. oh well, all of this was my sunday; it was a good sabbath, gracias a Dios.




















That's right: spread the love.. do it!

michael and me

michael kendall came to asheville this weekend, and he stayed with me. and it was good.

saturday, in the late afternoon, we made our way up to the blue ridge parkway, and 18 miles later we happened upon craggy gardens. no actually, we planned to end up there, no coincidence. when we arrived, we decided on finding somewhere off the beaten path if we could. the beaten path is never too cool if others are treading it all the while. so we set foot on rock and slope and such, searching for the winning spot, and constantly coming up short. nevertheless, we had the clock on our side, since the sun is out until 9pm or so these days, so we kept our heads about us and kept pushing onward. sure sounds epic, but it was not. it was just a relaxing day on the beautiful parkway.

we found it. our spot. and it is our spot. about 25 feet above the road, but only 15 feet off it. pretty close, but tucked beyond bushes and on a rock, it was a great find. this was our place to chill, and we chilled. yes. quality rommate time is never taken for granted. not by this guy!

if you'd care to see some some photos, more than what you see here, flickr is always the place to be! be there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7432704@N02/

The Lake

This is the Lake Lure to which i referred. This last one looks kind of like "Survivor" or something.

the week-end off

i had the weekend off, meaning it was imperative that i go somewhere... no not really, but i wanted to do it. and i did it. i left for a couple days. first i went to graduation on friday night and it was over 2 hours long! do i need to say more? but i did see many peoples that i have not seen in quite awhile, and that was good i think.
anyway, me and about 15 guys went to lake lure, a lake an hour or more away. the purpose was for a bachelor's party for a friend of mine, and it was a really fun time of chilling on the dock and swimming and such. really peaceful and relaxing. and a good way to spend that week-end off :)

maybe the roommate will stay with me this weekend. if he knows what's good for him...

a bear and a bird of prey

so i worked each of the last two mornings, and each of these mornings i saw members of the animal kingdom that i am not used to seeing in the "wild." yesterday i was in a bunker, fixing a washout, and altogether engrossed in what i was doing. needless to say.

back turned, rake in hand, horns honking, people shouting... as i said, a man thouroughly focused. it turns out, i at least had someone beside me, and his back was not turned. he happened to mention, "holy ****, there is a car behind us."
"i beg your pardon."
"there's a bear behind us!"
"oh," says i. "a bear." i guess that makes a little more sense, huh? so that's what all those horns were about. i didn't quite realize that at the time, but i remember now. i think it meant, "there's a massive mammal at your back and you may want to get up to your cart instead of standing where you are currently standing, since the bear is about twice your size." that's how i interpret it.
if i had my camera, there would be some photos on this post, and i could have had it, but i did not. it was a really big bear. btw. :) and the story stops there. he did not attack me, and i don't have torn flesh riddling my body, after a narrow escape from the predator's clutches. nothing so heroic, disappointingly.
well, i brought the camera this morning, just in case. the bear, however, was a no-show. of course, i wouldn't have been so lucky. but after work, i was standing outside the shop, soaking in a few morning sun rays, soon to depart for home to get ready for church. i saw a bird i am not so used to seeing, perched on a half-tree, one of those dead, leafless poles. it was about thirty feet away, and i stood watching it for at least five minutes. at this point, i thought to myself: "maybe i should get my camera, since that bird seems ready to stay where he is all morning." i wish i could say what bird it was, because is was a beautiful one. gold, black, brown, and altogether regal. hawk? that is my guess, but perhaps even eagle. i am no aviary specialist. i just don't know.
so i follow through with my idea, and i go grab my camera from the car, only to return to... what else? an empty tree.
it could not have happened any other way, that is just the story of my life. i was shut down, out-thunk by a bird! but so it is. at least i saw it, but now consecutive days of failed sharing. words only. no pictures.
stay posted, because i am going to catch some SWEET shots of the dragon on the 6th green tomorrow morning!!

work. tennis. stuff.

so the days go by, one after another, gradually filling up the month of may, until it can hold no more days. then we are tossed into the month of june, but we don't have any say in the matter, do we?
no, it's okay. i am not really feeling as depressed as that sounds, or even at all really. i am just fine, thank you. i worked my 8th straight day today, so that is a little tiresome, but you do what you gotta do i guess.
my freetime has actually been spent in large part on the tennis court. up until yesterday, i had played five days out of six, and monday's play lasted 3 hours in the 8o-something sun. it's really fun though, so i am glad to have something to commit to in a way. that is healthy for me. and speaking of commitment - or i guess we should call it non-commitment - i have yet to run since i have been on summer break. and i am supposed to be a college athlete. so much for that one. better get on that.