365 Days...

...until Taylor and I get married!

Pretty crazy/exciting/groovy, eh?

Yeah, when Taylor was in town over Halloween we went ahead and booked the Gillespie in downtown Louisville for the wedding on November 13, 2010. Also, we've created this website with lots of wedding info. Actually, Taylor deserves most of the credit...I just did a few things. But, anyway...here it is:

Wedding Site

It's all very exciting and it's pretty crazy to think that not only will Taylor be home a year from now, but also we'll be getting married! I'm very excited to have a date and a place set for the wedding and I'm looking forward to getting the other details out of the way so we can focus on celebrating with our family and friends.

So yeah, 2010 is going to be a big year!

Also, I had my grad school interview today and it went really well (at least I think it did). I had a solid answer for all of their questions and they seemed to respond well to the questions I asked them. I was kind of hoping that they would just tell me that I was in at the end of the interview...but no dice. I still have to wait like 2 more weeks, so I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Man, grad school (hopefully)...marriage...2010 is gonna be a wild ride! I better enjoy the rest of 2009 because 2010 is gonna be jam-packed!


Have a great weekend people!

Song of the Day: The Avett Brothers - January Wedding

Random Thoughts...

Some days I have tons to talk about and some days I have nothing. Today, I've got nothing. So here are a list of random things that have been going through my head/happening today.

* I'm starting to get pretty nervous about my grad school interview tomorrow. I don't usually get nervous about things like this because I'm usually easy going. However, I think my sense of nervousness comes from the importance of the situation. I want to get in to grad school...I want it badly. I want it more than I've wanted anything in a while. So, tomorrow at 11 a.m. it's show time. Wish me luck!

* Taylor is feeling pretty sick today. It sounds like she's coming down with a cold and I hope it's not anything more than that. Still, it sucks to be away when I know she's not feeling so hot. All in all we do a pretty darn good job at the whole long distance relationship thing...but that's not to say that it doesn't suck from time to time...because it does.

* I'm completely unsure as to what my weekend is going to consist of...which isn't bad. However, after three straight weekends of good times/travel...it's kinda depressing. I'm sure something will pop-up.

* My little step-brother got his license today. Remember how weird it was to drive on your own for the first time? It's super exciting and terrifying at the same time. The highway was horrifying and going in reverse seemed hard. It's kinda cool that it's all just second nature now.

* As you can see I added a groovy little twitter application to the blog. You're welcome.

* The Office, 30 Rock and Always Sunny are on tonight...which is good because the stupid CMAs kept me from Modern Family last night.

* I wish UofL would go ahead and play a basketball game. Tuesday can't get here soon enough.

* It's kinda cold and sunny today...this has to be the worst kind of weather. When I'm outside I need a coat...but as soon as I start walking or get in the car...the sun beams down on me and makes me sweat. I could really use some rain/colder temperatures.

* I'm going to shave tomorrow...it's a bummer.

* I think I'm all out of thoughts for now.

* Have a good Thursday.

Song of the Day: James Taylor - Sweet Baby James

Christmas Explosion...

That title is not meant to be sexual or violent.
So, I've decided that this year I'm going into super-ultra-wham-o Christmas mode. I realize that most of you are probably saying, "Brian, how is this different then any other year? You always go overboard during Christmas!"

Au contraire, Bon jour!

This year I'm making a list of all things Christmas and my goal is to have them all accomplished by December 25th. So far...here's my list:

* Decorate my apartment indoors and outdoors
* Watch the following Christmas movies: Elf, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Love Actually, White Christmas, It's A Wonderful Life, Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas Story, Christmas Carol
* Make a gingerbread house
* Make Christmas cookies
* Send out Christmas cards
* Create a new holiday cocktail
* Ring the Salvation Army bell
* Participate in the Angel Tree
* Speak only with Buddy the Elf quotes
* Make a new Christmix CD
* Go caroling
* Go to Bardstown Road Aglow
* Learn to play at least 4 Christmas songs on the guitar
* Eat a candy cane
* Send someone a fruit cake
* Make it snow
* Drink Egg-nog
* Write a letter to Santa
* Decorate the blog
* Decorate my cubicle at work
* Put a wreath on Francisco
* Spread Christmas Cheer to everyone I encounter.

As you can see, there are lots of things to accomplish. I'm not saying that all of those things are going to get done...but I'm gonna shoot for 80%. Now, not only do I want to encourage you guys to participate....I want you guys to send me some suggestions. If there is something Christmas related that I don't have listed, let me know and I'll add it to the list.

Now then, there are lots of things to get accomplished and only 44 days to complete them all...so I better get cracking now.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Song of the Day: Ella Fitzgerald - Sleigh Ride

Tuesday Tidbits...

Giggty Gig...

* I'm back from my trip to Charleston and as usual...it was fantastic. Taylor and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary (even though it's the on the 15th) by going to a cool restaurant out in the harbor, we went to one of her friend's wedding receptions and even took a stroll to the battery. It sucks to be away from her after seeing her so much over the past 3 weeks, but luckily Thanksgiving is right around the corner...so she'll be home soon.

* I have some disappointing news...No-Shave November is over for me. I urge those of you who are participating to carry on, but my journey will come to an end on Friday.

* Luckily, the reason for my shaving is pretty grand...I have an admission interview on Friday for grad school! This is kinda unexpected, but I assume it's better to get an interview then to not...right? Anyway, I'm excited and nervous...it should be interesting.

* My younger step-brother, Ryan, plays lacrosse and he had a tourney in Maryland over the weekend. Apparently, he must have played well because this was on an ESPN affiliate website today:

Blue Grass Bats junior goalie Ryan U’Sellis (St. Xavier, Ky.) made a ton of big stops throughout the second half. In addition to making a huge stop in overtime, U’Sellis ran out two different shots while down a man to regain possession for his team in overtime.

Pretty cool stuff. However, he's actually a senior...but at least they got the last name correct.

* The CrapBags lost again...we suck...I don't know how to fix it.

* Luckily, the Juwanna Men won 3-0 in their first week of action! Also, Steve Nash gave us 20 assists already for our game this week. I smell a dynasty.

* I listened to Christmas music while driving to and from Charleston...it was everything I thought it would be...and more. I have a big Christmas announcement later this week.

* Paste magazine is still rolling out the Best of the Decade Lists...Including Best: Producers, Books, Music Videos, Video games, Documentaries and Comedians. I love Paste.

* The Mad Men season finale on Sunday was amazing. It was easily the best episode of all time. I wish we didn't have to wait until August for the next season.

* I jammed my finger at basketball last night...it's swollen.

* I'm having Chili for dinner!

Have a great day!

Song of the Day: Spoon - Don't You Evah

Quick Five...

Heeeyyyy-oooooo!

Alright gang, I'm leaving for Charleston in about an hour...but I wanted to get on here and say a few things.

1.) I hate the Yankees. As if baseball isn't being ruined by their ridiculous pay roll...a DH went a head and won the friggin' MVP. I mean really? He only plays half game. But I guess if you play whole game you get a whole snow cone and if you play a half game you get a whole snow cone...So, I just wanna play half game. Nevertheless, Screw the Yankees!

2.) The Cards looked really good last night. Also, freshman Peyton Siva was #7 and #2 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. The kid has some bounce. Go Cards!


3.) Taylor and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary while I'm in Charleston! Boo-yah! 5 years is a long time...and I've enjoyed all of them. Love ya Lady!

4.) I won't be blogging again until Tuesday...but I will be Twittering. So you can follow me there.

5.) Merry Christmas!


Song of the Day: Willie Nelson - On The Road Again

Twitter...

For a really long time I told myself that Twitter was stupid. I honestly thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard of. I mean honestly, who cares what other people are doing and why should anyone care what you're doing? As it turns out...I care what other people are doing and I think Twitter is awesome.

That's why I'm telling you guys today...that I'm officially twittering. (I know the kids call it "tweeting" but that's really dumb. I'm not a "tweeter" I'm a "twitterer"). So yeah here is a link to my twitter page.

Boo-Yah

Now then, I'm aware that there are a lot of people out there who think Twitter is stupid. Well here are five reasons that I like twitter.

1.) It's basically like people watching without having to do much work. I can just click on this webpage and I get to learn how people are spending their days. Where are they eating? What music are they listening to? Are they watching the game? All of that stuff can be found out on Twitter. Don't act like you don't care.

2.) It is a source for good info. As twitter gets bigger and bigger, more and more people are using it...including musicians, bands, athletes, celebrities, newspapers, etc. For instance, I follow ESPN writer Pat Forde, so now instead of having to navigate all through ESPN's website to see if there is any new college b-ball info...I just go to twitter and he posts links to new stories and such. It's pretty cool.

3.) It allows you to talk to high profile people. Now, I'm not one for celebrity gossip...but often T-Will, Earl Clark, Chad Ochocinco, Shaq, etc. will take some time to interact with fans. You can send them a question and they'll answer it. Also, T-Will gives out autographed jerseys and Ochocinco is constantly giving things away to fans. In fact, a couple weeks ago after a big Bengals win Ochocinco posted that he was going to the movies, he then gave the name of the theater and the time of the movie he was going to see and then said he would buy tickets to the movie and popcorn and soft drinks for as many fans that could fit in the theatre. It's kinda lame, which is why I haven't asked any celebs any questions...but it's insanely cool at the same time.

4.) It's basically just like a bunch of status updates on Facebook. I don't know about you guys, but I love reading people's status updates on Facebook. However, Facebook insists on ruining things by having Farming games, personality quizzes and other stuff on there. Twitter cuts all that crap out and just let's you know what everyone is up to.

5.) T-Will, Stephen Colbert, Shaq, Steve Nash, Rainn Wilson, Jim Gaffigan and Myself all use it...what's not to like about that?


So yeah, feel free to follow me/read my updates/kindly stalk me from a far...because I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon big time.

Have a great day!

Song of the Day - Belle and Sebastian - Piazza, New York Catcher.

Tuesday Tidbits...

Boom Goes The Dynamite...

* The CrapBags are officially awful at fantasy football. Not only are we losing games, but also we're not even coming close. With 6 weeks left, we're only 2 games out of 1st place...but we're also in danger of earning exactly $0 for the first time since...ever. I blame Steve Kragthorpe.

* The good news in fantasy land is that I'm now part of a fantasy basketball league. We had a draft the other night and I picked up some stud players including, Lebron James, Steve Nash, T-Will, Baron Davis, Ben Gordon and Al Jefferson. So now not only do I need you guys to root for the CrapBags...but I also need you to root for...The Juwanna Men. I'll keep you updated on our season.

* Hey guess what? I get to go to Charleston again this weekend! Boo-yah! I won't be gone as long as I was last time, but it will give Taylor and I a chance to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Also, one of Taylor's friends is getting married this weekend...so that'll be fun too.

* I'm not sure if you guys have checked the date lately...but it's November. You know what that means? It means this:
Yup, it's now officially ok (in my book, at least) to start getting in the Christmas spirit. Crank up the Christmas songs, watch Elf, Home Alone and Christmas Vacation, and drink some egg-nog! For crying out loud...it's the most wonderful time of the year!

* I absolutely love when it gets dark early. I'm not sure why, but I just love it. Anyone else feel me on this?

* Here is a picture of Taylor and me dressed as Don and Betty Draper from Mad Men for Halloween:
Fancy! I kinda want to dress like that always....

* Former Louisville Stud and current Juwanna Man, Terrence Williams, was recently featured in the New York Times. It's a really great article about his past and how he's adjusting to the NBA lifestyle. I really do love that guy.

* For the record...I hate Florida's football team. Actually, I hate the entire SEC conference. Are you seriously going to tell me that a player is going to get caught gouging another player's eye out and then you're going to suspend him for 1 half of a game against Vandy? Give me a friggin' break. I'm pretty sick of college football...thank goodness b-ball is on the way.

* Last but not least today, Paste has issued their 50 best albums and 50 best films of the past decade. Overall, they're pretty solid lists. However, I'm a bit upset by the fact that My Morning Jacket was left off the list. I know I like them more than most...but to say they didn't make one of the best 50 albums of the past decade is unfair. Also, don't get me started on the whole Love Actually omission from the films list.

Alright gang, I'm off to my guitar lesson in a bit. I hope you all have a wonderful night.

Song of the Day: Arcade Fire - Intervention