Some days it's nice to be alone...

Well, here I sit- on my Uncle's pleasant back porch, by the pool, in the shade of the porch... in a nice comfortable wicker chair.  And man, is it nice to have some alone time.  It seems I've been going non-stop since I got here for school.  A regatta yesterday... what a great time- sailed aboard the 'Ambush' a 29 foot J boat... known in sailing circles as a particularly fast sailboat.  We didn't win, but we had a great time- Friday and Saturday night at Juana's- and now... the party has arrived.  More on this post later.

Well, the party arrived, and I wasn't really feeling the party.  I guess I'm kind of in a Melancholy state of mind today... maybe I'm just ready to get to Hawaii... or just ready to have my own place again.  I'm really thankful that my Uncle opened his home to me, but there is just nothing better than having my own place... there seems to be a continuous stream of family coming and going here, and today I'm just feeling like being sort of anti-social.  Regardless- this last week in school was a good one... surprisingly.  It's actually an interesting school at times, and this week we got into some of the actual stuff I'll be doing on a day-to-day basis.  I think I'll enjoy it.

Well- peace.

Do I really have to work tomorrow?

What a great weekend- Friday night, Dinner at McGuire's The Irish Pub in Destin... I actually attempted to eat a Shepherd's Pie... is it me, or does that sound like a very strange name for a dish?  One of my buddies, who flies an aircraft called the Warthog, bet me I couldn't do it... I bet him the same... we both got about halfway through, and called it quits.  Mutually agreeing the only gentlemanly way out was a draw... after that, and a few really good 'Belgian Summer' beers, (their equivalent to my all time favorite kind of beer, Hefeweizen), we headed down the road to 'Howl at the Moon'- which is probably one of my favorite kinds of bars... a dueling piano bar... what a riot.  The music was great, the company was great, good times had by all.  Saturday morning- to the beach... worked on the tan, Saturday night- to ANOTHER great restaurant- Mullhollo's Bistro 2-1-5... it's in Fort Walton- on the menu for me... an appetizer of Thai Egg Rolls with that awesome Thai sweet/hot sauce, then, a salad with some greek yogurt type dressing... tzatziki it was called.. an entree' of crushed Macadamia encrusted Red Snapper... with a sort of sweet mustard sauce... wow- followed by an apple dumpling and a cup of coffee... a bottle of pinot grigio was the drink for dinner.  What a great meal.  I love good food.  By the way, the name of that place is inspired by 'Thank You' in Hawaiian... quite fitting for me I thought.  I had no idea until I read it in the menu.

Anyway- Sunday was a chill at the house day- my Uncle and I played a game of Tiger Woods 2006 on the Xbox, followed by some guitar playing... 

And today- Diving the 'eastbay' channel at Destin, FL... lots of current, not much visibility, and about 3 blue crabs hanging out on the current scraped bottom.  (that reminds me I need to log that dive)  Followed by a dinner of my favorite blackened fish sandwich at Juana's... we all decided we needed to replenish after a hard day of diving... followed by more guitar playing tonight here at the house.  I realized that I have forgotten all the songs I used to know, because I haven't played the guitar in so long... I dusted off a few old favorites tonight though:

Eric Clapton:  See You in Heaven and Layla (unplugged version)

Tim McGraw:  It's your Love

The Refreshments: Mekong

heck- even tried some of my old commie friends the Dixie Chicks... 

Anyway- all-in-all, a great weekend.  Do I really have to go back to school tomorrow?  I realized I have a quiz tomorrow.  I'm dashing my hopes for honor grad on the rocks of a helluva good time this weekend.  If my classmates read this they would laaaaaugggghhhhh at that one.

Good night all- hope your labor day lacked labor.

Cheers-

Hal W.