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About a week ago, me and my sister-in-law, Jill, went to CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) for lunch.  They are currently running a contest/promotion called “CPK says Thank You!” where you get these contest cards that can only be opened by the store manager the next time you come to CPK.  Last week, Jill and I each got one of these such cards.  There are various cash prizes involved, and things like free pizza, appetizers, 10% off your meal, etc.  It says “Every Card’s A Winner!” so hey, that’s something.

Well today, Jill texts me today that says we should go back to CPK and have the manager open our cards (and have lunch there)…so we go.  The manager comes over and opens my card first…and I’m not even kidding…I win $2500!!!!  How friggin’ cool is that?!?  I’ve never won anything in my life in these contests…so it’s very cool.  Jill’s card had 10% off her next meal there…sorry Jill.

So that was quite the nice surprise today!  Again, sorry for the delay in the Idol review…I hear it’s quite a doozy and as soon as Christy and I get home from the airport tonight, we’re gonna fire up the DVR and get at it.

I just downloaded the new Jack Johnson single, “If I Had Eyes”, which is a bit more electric than his usual stuff.  I like it, so the album is pre-ordered.  More news on that in February.

I took the job with IACT, and I could not be happier about it.  This company’s philosophy is 180 degrees different from the VCO.  Speaking of that, we’re getting together with some VCO folks tonight at Pub 261 as a little farewell for me.  I’m going to miss all these wonderful people, but those who are my close friends will still be my close friends no matter where I am.

Here’s something ironic…I have two fantasy football teams this year, one is a pay league (just $20) and one is a free league.  I’m in the playoffs in both leagues, but because of Brady’s tank-job on Sunday, I’m in the consolation game in my pay league, and in the finals of my free league for the same reason (my opponent had Brady).

I think we are just scratching the surface of what’s out there with regards to steroid use in baseball.  Several players have come forward confirming that they used substances like HGH and steroids during their careers since the Mitchell Report was released.  It will only continue.

Amy Lee’s voice is pretty awesome.  I’m in love with that song “My Immortal” right now.

Are dreams the incarnation of true desire or complete randomness (like this post)?

I’ve pretty much stopped playing LOTRO.  Guild Wars is now loaded up and I’m enjoying that.  You can solo that game for a while.

Peppermint Mocha CoffeeMate Creamer is nearly as good as sex.  You know what I’m talking about Pickerings!

Enough randomness!

It’s simple folks.  To have a ‘greatest hits’ album, the songs on said album must first be great.  The recently reacquired “Hall and Oates: Greatest Hits” album is such an album.

So as many of you know, I work in an Admissions capacity for an online college here in Birmingham.  I’ve been here for 13 months so far, and I really enjoy the people I work with and where I work.  We have organized happy hours from time to time, and we’ve done softball as a group, and many outings.  Well, for the last few months, as we’ve grown, I’ve been led to believe by many that I’m in line for a management position here.  I worked in management for Cingular Wireless for a few years, and so I’ve been holding out hope that when the next promotion comes (probably in December), I would be in line to get it.

There are several things that are leading me to think that this will happen, but there are a few things leading to think it might not happen right now, and so in an effort to get myself into a better position professionally, I recently sent my resume into another company for an inside sales management position.  It would be a similar job to what I did at Cingular, just not at a communications company.   My interview is tomorrow.

FYI - Do NOT see “Match Point” with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Scarlett Johannson.  Terrible movie.

Hey guess what…Thanksgiving is coming up.  Yay food!

I wanna go back again…please let me go back again…

Back from The Trip of a Lifetime!  Why am I putting an exclamation mark there?  I’m not excited about it.

I have to say, it is nice to sleep in my own bed again…but it is NOT nice to have to think too hard about dinner, and groceries, and all of what life is all about.  While on the trip, Christy and I met the most amazing people that have become our good friends from all of our adventuring together!  So a big shout-out goes to Hani & Katie, Denise and Luis, Joe & Amber, and Russ & Lindsay!!!  We miss you guys and can’t wait to travel again!

Work is good…we’re in a new office now, and I took yesterday to come in on my day off to set up my desk (which I’ve changed already), so that’s good.  It’s nice catching up with my work people…I do work with a bunch of great people so I’m lucky in that way…even if the work is a bid tedious at times.

My fantasy teams went undefeated while I was gone, as did Alabama, so on that front I’m totally happy!

Enough of this update…Bus 2 people!  Come my flowers!

We leave for ours in a little over 24 hours!!!!!

So between now and Sunday evening, I will probably incommunicado through the blog here, but I do plan on blogging a bit during the trip. There are a few days at sea where it will be nice to get out all my thoughts to the three of you that read this thing.

We’ve got a couple of nice bon voyage things planned. Firstly, there’s dinner at Rusty & Gina’s tonight, where we’re having Costa’s and opening up a few bottles of their Napa wine that they got on their most recent journey to wine country. Then tomorrow morning before our shuttle leaves for Atlanta, we’re having a bon voyage breakfast with Christy’s family at McDonald’s (they have the play area…it’s a must with a 2 year old).

Then it’ll be boarding our shuttle, arriving at Hartsfield International Airport, boarding our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, and away we go!

Thanks again to Abi at HeatEatReview for sitting down with us this week at onemattDOTcom for an interview. And hey Abi, if you’d like a reviewer for Imbibable.com, give me a shout…I’d love to write for you.

And as you can plainly see, I’ve gone Pink for October.  I apologize for getting this up a little late (okay 5 days late), but I’ve been a bit busy.

Don’t you love microwavable meals?  Do you wish there was a place you could go online that would help you distinguish between the good, the bad and the nasty when it comes to this type of cuisine?

Well look no further folks…have I got a place for you!

Okay, that was terribly clichéd but the words still ring true.  If you’ve ever been stuck staring through the glass in the frozen foods section of your favorite grocery store, then you know the bewilderment that comes from not knowing anything about the names staring back at you through the glass.  HeatEatReview.com is your one-stop shop for reviews of all sort of microwavable delicacies.  Abi Jones is the editor of HeatEatReview.com, and she joins us here at onemattDOTcom for an interview.

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