Day 135

So I am no longer going to the Final Four. I'm pretty bitter about it too. I have never been to a Final Four, its very close (Indianapolis is only a 3 hour drive from Chicago), and the tickets and hotel room would have been paid for. My boss had been working with a ticket broker and as we got closer, the tickets available weren't as good as he had hoped. He showed our clients where they would be and he said for $12,000 for 4 tickets, we should just pass and wait for the next big event. So we are out. Now I am supposed to get working on tickets to the Baseball All Star game in Pittsburgh this summer. Oh well. You want a Final Four prediction? I think LSU throttles UCLA, who are very lucky to be there. I think Florida has the size and athletes in the post to beat the very tough George Mason squad. I'll predict the final on Monday.

Nothing new on the house hunting front. Next Tuesday, we are scheduled to see 4 houses now. Two in Pepper Pike, One in Orangewood, and One in Solon. We are starting to look at houses that may need a little more work, but are cheaper. Just trying to keep our options open. I am starting to get a little frustrated, but I know the right house will become available at some point soon. I'm in no rush, as my boss still hasn't told me what my new role is for work, but I would like to get some sort of drop dead move date. Right now we are shooting for July 1st. Interesting tidbit my boss told me yesterday. There are two major people I deal with at Edward Don corporate. One really wants me to stay on in my current position and is very adamant that I should be able to do what I do from Cleveland. The other maintains he has to have a local rep in place so the arrangement wouldn't work. Should be an interesting power struggle. I don't know where I am on this. I love what I am currently doing, but if the arrangement doesn't work out the way my boss wants it to, it could get ugly. I have no clue what the new position would hold, what territory I will be covering (in the Midwest that is), etc.

I have to give my mom some serious props for helping in this house search. Since she has gotten back from California, she has been all over it. Sending us listings daily, checking out the houses we like, etc. She is really doing a great job as our eyes and ears in Cleveland. This is also good for her as an activity before golf season. Its a bit slow for her now being back home. She has done an amazing job of adjusting to life without my dad, as I think we all have, but its obviously the toughest on her. People tell me all the time how great she seems to be doing. I'm so proud of her and I don't know if I tell her that enough. She is as strong as they come. Think of all of the shit she has had to deal with in the last year and a half.

Speaking of Cleveland, Sunday night is the opening game of my favorite team in any sport, the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe travels here to Chicago to meet the World Champion White Sox. With my luck, I'll be in Cleveland for the 2nd and 3rd games of the series, so I won't get to go to either. I won't go to the opener Sunday night because if I see AJ Pierzynski getting his ring, I may puke all over myself. I expect a big year from the Tribe. Our young core of Sizemore, Peralta, Hafner, Martinez, Lee, and Sabathia are all one year closer to or in their primes. The problem is the White Sox look better on paper. But games are on on the diamond, not on paper. I think the Tribe wins 92 games and gets to the Wild Card. I'll be in Cleveland for the stretch run.

Song of the Day: "Higher" by Q-Tip

Day 134

Busy weekend here. We are trying to get ourselves as organized as we can be to put this place on the market. Last Wednesday we had the painters here re-painting our hallway and bedroom walls. On Friday we had the carpets in our two bedrooms steam cleaned. Yesterday Jessica came over and helped us go through our closets getting rid of all of the junk and clothes we no longer need. Its amazing the extra amount of space we have and how much bigger our closets looks. The maids come this week and right after they are here, we are going to take digital pictures of the condo and create the flyer which we will put up in the front window of our building. Our building is unique in this neighborhood - it is really the only condo building in a very sought after location in the city. Places in our building go off the market usually within 2 weeks of being put up. No need for us to use a realtor or put it up on MLS. We will probably put an add in the Chicago Reader and put it up on Craig's List online. Other than that, we will be fine. I know we are still a few months away, but I am very excited about the move and moving into the next chapter of my life.

I watched a ton of college hoops this weekend. Remember who told you that LSU would beat Duke last Thursday? As good of a call as that was, my Final Four of Boston College, Kansas, Connecticut, and Texas went 0-4. George Mason's miracle run to the Final Four is the reason the NCAA Tournament is the best event in sports. Yesterday's win over Connecticut has to be considered one of the top three upsets of all time. What a finish to the game and overtime. Unbelievable. I am going to the Final Four this weekend with clients and my boss and I bet George Mason will have the crowd behind them. Everyone loves the underdog. I am happy for my boy Dave as his Florida Gators have made it to Indianapolis and will be rooting for the Gators to win it all. I watched the Gators win over Georgetown Friday night with Dave at Joe's, the Gators alumni bar. A good time was had by all.

The wedding season is rapidly approaching. We had 11 weddings on tap between April and October, but one of them was called off. 10 is still a lot to deal with. Add in showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and traveling to the weddings, and its a lot of outings to go to and presents to give. Even though one of the weddings was called off, my inlaws and brother and law are coming in town for the weekend next weekend. Will be a crazy week for us as we go to Cleveland Tuesday for work and to look at houses. I am at a trade show all day Wednesday. I go to Iowa for a sales meeting on Friday and then everyone comes in town.

Leah and I started to make a list of things we want to do and places we need to go eat before we leave the city for good. Some are obvious (Joe's, Athenian Room, Manny's) and others are specialties - like I have to have a Merk's Cheddar spread burger on a Tuesday night at Mystic Celt and a cupcake from Dinkel's. We knocked one off of our list on Saturday night - P.J. Clarke's for the Mini-Burgers. That is the number one thing I will miss about this city itself - the Food. I can't imagine a city that has better places to eat than Chicago.

This weekend was the bris of my cousin Debbie's son Jordan. The middle name of their son is Benjamin and was named for my father. My brother and mom were at the bris and said that bith Russ and Debbie gave a great speech about how much dad meant to them and how they hope that their son can have the personality, sensibility, and kindness that dad had. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that. They are both class acts.

Song of the Day: "Speed Law" by Mos Def

Day 133

House hunting is a difficult thing to do, especially from another state. Leah and I are actively looking at houses online pretty much everyday and we have my mom checking into the houses we like. When Leah was in Cleveland a few weeks ago, she saw probably 5-6 houses, and of course, the one she really loved, was out of our price range. We are looking in the suburbs of Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Solon, and Orange. As of right now, we pretty much have seen all of the houses listed on MLS. I am figuring that the closer we get to April/May, the more houses will come on the market. My mom is monitoring the for sale by owner places as well. We found one online that we really liked and by the time we had my mom go see it, it was sold. It is frustrating, but the way I look at it is if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, and I don't want to settle as this is a major life decision here. Leah and I are from totally different backgrounds when it comes to homes. My parents moved into their house in 1973 and my mother still lives there. Leah was born in Chicago. Moved to Cleveland at age 1. Then to Indianapolis. Then to Minneapolis. Then to Orange County, CA. Then back to Chicago. She went to college and her parents moved to Baltimore. Then back to Orange County, before settling in Scottsdale where they have been for almost 4 years. We could move into a starter house like my cousin Debbie did, but I don't want to do that and then have to move when my kids start going to school. I would like to try and find a house that we can be in for the long haul. Whether its 15 years or 30 years. That is just me. The bottom line here is that I want to make sure the house we get is everything that Leah wants it to be. I am simple. Just give me a good tv watching area, a relatively new kitchen, and an office where I can work and I am good.

Tuesday was my niece Reese's first birthday. I have to send a special birthday shoutout to her. The picture at the top of the blog is her eating a facefull of cake at her party on Sunday. She is so adorable and looks more and more like Jace every day.

Big weekend of NCAA tournament regionals starts tonight. Still can't believe I'll be watching Bradley play Memphis. This was supposed to be a big night for me. Instead, nothing. I'll be watching though. The UCLA/Gonzaga game is the one to watch. You heard it here first: LSU will upset Duke tonight. Memphis will handle Bradley. Texas will pound West Virginia down low and escape with a victory. UCLA doesn't have a big man to handle JP Batista in the post and will lose to Gonzaga.

Song of the Day: "Ohio" By Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

Day 132

I have to admit something today. I am running out of things to say. Work is starting to get very hectic. I have so many things to do when it comes to settling the condo sale situation, trying to find a house in Cleveland, and finding my new role at work. I am not saying that I am done forever on this blog. By no means am I done. But the days of me updating this every day are over with. I think the best move is to update my blog two to three times a week. Basically when I have something to say important.

On today's agenda is getting my Sirius radio installed (finally) in my car, which I should be getting back in a few hours, getting the painters over here for an estimate of the touch up painting and fixing the cracked dry wall in our bedroom, and trying to stay warm. Bitter cold out there today.

Now that Kansas' basketball season is over - its time to concentrate on the Tribe. We are two weeks away from opening day. And yes, it is spring training and I still despise Casey Blake. I just did the Tribe ticket schedule for my group. Got me all excited about going to games this summer at the Jake - my sanctuary.

Song of the Day: "Let Me Clear My Throat" By DJ Kool

Day 131

Sorry for the delay in re-posting, but as you know from my last blog, between the NCAA tournament and work, I've been kind of busy. First off, lets start talking about the disappointment of yet another one of my sports teams - My Kansas Jayhawks. For the last two months, my Hawks have been playing unbelievably well. We came in on a roll, winning the Big 12 conference tournament and 16 of 17 games. Their 22-3 record in the last 25 games ranked with any of the top teams. The starting lineup features three Freshmen and two Sophomores. The 8 man rotation only had one Senior. I knew that inexperience could be a factor in our first round game with Bradley, but the we this team had played, the closeness of the team, and the emergence of the roles, I pegged us as a Final Four team. Fast forward to about 11 PM Friday night, and the season was over after a 77-73 stunning loss to another mid-major team. I thought we had learned our lesson last year when Bucknell shocked the college basketball world with their upset over KU. Now for the first time since the early 80's, Kansas has lost back to back first round games. Reading the articles online and the chat boards, you see the "we were so young, we had a better season than anyone expected, and we will be great next year" side. The pessimist in me thinks that this was a giant choke job, we reverted back to our old bad habits I watched back in November and December, Bill Self's offensive game plan was a mistake costing us dearly, and we missed a golden opportunity to get to a Final Four with a relatively easy draw ahead of us.

More than 24 hours have passed, and I can honestly say that I am ok with it. Was I beyond pissed off Friday night? Of course I was, but the bottom line and what I keep telling myself is, its just sports. Its my hobby and passion, but it isn't my life. My main concerns need not be whether or not KU basketball advances to the Final Four. I should be concerned with fixing up my condo for the impending sale, trying to find a house in Cleveland with limited time to go look, finding Leah a job in Cleveland, and finding out what my potential new role at work will be. Speaking of which, on Friday I had a lengthy conversation with my boss about my move. When I approached him about it a few weeks back, he told me he was going to do what he could to get me back and keep me in my same role, but he couldn't promise that the role wouldn't change. He had spoken with my big client here about the possibility of me commuting to keep me in this role, and the client wasn't thrilled about it. So where does this leave me? My boss told me that he is in the process of moving a few things around and creating this new position for me but he needed a little more time to get it done. He said the bad news was that I will have to leave my current position, but the good news is that he thinks this new role will give me more responsibility and will give me a better chance for growth than my current position, where I have just about maxed out. The bottom line was that I will stay with my company, which I love working for, and my new role will be expanded with no pay cut. I don't even care what the role is, I am just thrilled that my company likes me enough to create a new role for me and accommodate my move back to Cleveland.

A couple more personal notes. I received word from Leah's grandmother that this blog received mention in a Cleveland Jewish News article about Clevelanders and blogs. While I did discuss this with my cousin Jan who works at the CJN back in November, I never knew this was being published. After I read it online, I was cool with it. I just wanted to make sure that the address wasn't posted as this blog is for my close friends and family only. Here is the blurb from the article.

Chait's was a very public blog, but the blog begun by TD, a native Clevelander now living in Chicago, is very personal. His blog address was given only to close friends and family. TD created the blog to document the days following his father's death from throat cancer. TD's upbeat posts touch on various aspects of his life in Chicago n his job, wife, work and sports teams. But issues of grief and loss are never far from the surface: his father's death, his mother's bout with breast cancer, his grief-related homesickness.

Also, yesterday, my cousin Debbie gave birth to a beautiful, 8 pound baby boy named Jordan Benjamin Klein. I just want to give my warmest congratulations to both Debbie and her husband Russ, who I know will make great parents. Those who know Debbie are probably asking the same question as I did to my Aunt Nancy last night, How can Debbie give birth to an 8 pound baby when she weighs 8 pounds herself? Anyways, much love to the Klein and Libman families on their first grandchild.

Day 130

This is the best day of the year. My new years day. The day I look forward to the most. I absolutely love the NCAA Tournament. There is no better sporting event. None. These first two days on games starting at 11 and running through 11 is heaven for me. Working from home is the gem of all gems on days like today and tomorrow. I can remember watching the NCAA tournament pretty much all the way back to the Duke/Louisville national title game in 1986. Something about that game just drew me to the tournament. I remember the next year making a giant bracket with four pieces of 8 X 11 paper and writing in the winners and the scores after every game. I couldn't wait to watch the games on CBS. Back when I first started watching, the day time coverage was on ESPN only. We used to always leave for Florida for Spring Break on that Thursday, the first day of the tournament, and my brother and I would always stay up late to watch the games. There used to be an 11:30 pm EST nationally televised game on CBS, usually and 8/9 game.

Every year my love for the tournament grew. I kept up the tradition of filling out a giant bracket and bringing it with me everywhere. I still have them all somewhere. I stopped doing it a few years ago, especially with the advent of the internet. The tournament has since become a national phenomenon. Everyone fills out a bracket. I organize a pool every year. This year I had a record number of entries, 52. The winner will get $1040. Pretty nice for a $20 buy in. Its not just the pools that keep everyone interested, its the games themselves. Every single year there are a bevy of first round upsets, buzzer beaters, and great battles. Who can forget Vermont's win over Syracuse, Wisconsin-Milwaukee's magic run to the sweet 16, or the Bucknell upset of Kansas last year. That was just last year. These things happen every single year. The passion of the players and the fans of the college game is so exuberant. They should just shut down the NBA for the next 3 weeks. Nobody is paying attention. Nobody.

A few years ago, the NCAA tournament came to Cleveland for the first time. The city actually sold out all three sessions, which doesn't happen in all cities (See Detroit this year) and my dad was first in line for seats. He loved the tournament. I watched so many games with him over the years. Being a Cleveland State season ticket holder, he was able to get first crack at seats. He went to all six games, seeing a classic first round game where St. Bonaventure almost upset Kentucky and he just raved about the experience. When Matt was a sophomore at Syracuse, the first two rounds were at the Carrier Dome and dad and I drove up for them. It was just great. But the best time I ever had with my father in my life was our trip to the regionals in Anaheim three years ago. I spoke of at his funeral. Most people wouldn't want to spend three days with their father the way we did, but it was an experience that will stay with me forever. Three games, seeing KU beat both Duke and Arizona in incredible, drama filled games, eating greasy food and drinking with the man himself. This is just one of many reasons that the tournament is always special to me. The memories of my father.

So good luck to all who filled out a bracket. Watch a lot of hoops in the next 4 days and you will get why this is my favorite time of year. For the record, my final four includes Kansas, Connecticut, Texas, and Boston College.

Song of the Day: "One Shining Moment" by Teddy Pendergrass

Day 129

This will be short today as I am getting picked up for appointments in an hour. I got a lot of good work done yesterday out here. Met with the director of food and beverage for 10 Station casinos, the Wynn people, and the MGM buyers. That was the first time I had ever been at the Wynn and I will say this, it is very lavish in there. Its less than a year old and was completely packed for a Monday. Got back around 4 or so and went to go workout in in the Excalibur gym. Now the strange thing is that it was 55-60 degrees tops yesterday. The gym overlooks the pool and it was literally packed with people lying out. I was wearing long sleeves and pants yesterday and was cold. After I worked out I walked out by the pool to see if maybe it was ok in the sun, and it certainly wasn't bikini wearing weather, yet these college chicks didn't get that memo.

I took my clients out for Sushi last night in Caesars at Sushi Roku. Very good Sushi. I hit the tables for about an hour before I came back. -$100 later, I was done. The way I look at it is that I still have half the money I came out here with, so I have come out ahead. I am definitely ready to leave this city though. I have 7 meetings scheduled with three different reps and then I head out tonight at 6:15. I should be home by midnight or so. The good news is that there will be no traffic at that time of night.

Anyone else enjoying the World Baseball Classic as much I am (and you too Ags)? I wasn;t into it one bit because I didn't want any of my Indians getting hurt, but now that we are into the round where all of the good teams are playing each other, I think it is great. Tribe Catcher Victor Martinez crushed a Grand Slam last night for Venezuela against Puerto Rico. Got me so pumped for the Tribe season to start. Now if only the idiots at the Indians new TV network could finalize their deal with the cable companies and Directv, we will be ok. As of now, looks like I won't be able to see Tribe games starting on opening day.

Song of the day: "Leaving Las Vegas" by Sheryl Crow

Day 128

This town is nuts. Las Vegas. First off, every Nascar loving hillbilly was in town for the big race Sunday. My flight was packed with them, all in their Nascar gear and being extra-loud. Real annoying. I arrived here Saturday morning (9 am) and got in a cab for the Bellagio where I was staying for Saturday night only. I will say this - that is one nice place to stay. You can see why it is so expensive to stay there. The rooms are so nice, every amenity you can imagine is at your disposal, great restaurants, and centrally located. Those who know me know why I flew out so early in the morning Saturday - had to make sure I was in the sports book before the college hoops games started at 10 am local time. I checked in - they had my room ready for me that early which was nice - and headed straight down to the sports book. Some may not understand how someone can watch that much basketball in one place for a long period of time, but you know I can. Is it bad that I sat in a booth from 10 am to 5pm betting on and watching college hoops? Everything I needed was there - a waitress for drinks and food, six gigantic screens with different games going on simultaneously. You can't beat it. Fritzer and Rafal were both delayed and ended up getting there around 1 pm, right before tip off of the KU/Nebraska game. I got Fritzer in with me on KU -11.5 solely for interest purposes only. As we had a few drinks (I know, me afternoon drinking) and watched the game, a classic hoops gambling staple was happening to us. KU was comfortably ahead by 20 when they brought in the scrubs. The scrubs began to throw the ball away and Nebraska was hitting threes. Next thing you know, KU is only up 14 and I need them to win by 12. With 10 seconds left, instead of holding the ball, one of our guys blew a layup and Nebraska came down and shot a three - the crowd at the sports book (particularity me) screamed "nooooooo" as the shot went up, luckily, it missed and we covered. But that is what makes watching games at the sports book so much fun.

Fritzer and I went up to the room take take a nap while Rafal hit the tables before we went to dinner. We weren't all that hungry when we went and I didn't want to do such a big dinner before we were going out drinking, so we just grabbed a quick bite. I true degenerate style though, we had to make sure that we got in our last bet on the last college hoops game of the night - the Pacific/Long Beach State game. Around 10:45 we had to meet in front of Light, the club at the Bellagio, to get hooked up for our VIP technique. Nothing better than when there are like 50 some people waiting behind a velvet rope hoping to get in and we walk right up and get right in. When we got in at 11, it wasn;t all that crowded. By 12:30, the place was a zoo, and that is why you have to go VIP. They put us in a booth overlooking the dance floor, brought us two large magnums of Grey Goose and mixers, limes, lemons, and ice. It was total big dog style. To me, that is the only way to do it when you are there and completely worth the money. It was a great, great night. All I know is three guys polished off those two bottles, no wonder all three of us were zombies yesterday. Also, around 1 my boy Adam from KU met us out. I hadn't seen him in a while since he moved back to Columbus. When he showed I was in pretty bad shape, but it was good to spend a little little time with him.

I had another hotel sleeping incident. Fritzer was snoring so unbelievably loud. As hard as I tried to ignore it and pass out, I couldn't. As I did last year when I was out here with Kaitz and like I did with my dad on our NCAA Regional trip to Anaheim, I slept on the floor of the bathroom. So needless to say it wasn't a long or a good nights sleep. Both Fritzer and Rafal left yesterday morning and I had to switch over to the Excalibur for work. Luckily, I could get into my room by 11:15, so I literally spent the day yesterday in bed watching hoops. Yes, I did get lunch and dinner, but I was so tired that I fell asleep at halftime of the KU/Texas game and woke up and realized I had missed 8 minutes of the second half. The good news was that KU won and are Big 12 Champions. We are going into the NCAA tournament with great momentum, winning 15 of 16 games. We got a pretty decent draw as well. The best part is that I am going to the Final Four with clients this year, so if we can somehow get in, I will be there all expenses paid.

I am here working over the next two days, seeing the large Casino's and meeting with their buyers. There is so much solid business potential out here, so I am hoping to help rope in another big fish like we did with Caesars Palace.

Before I put this up, I have to give thanks to Fritzer and Rafal for a great time this weekend. One of the best nights I've ever had in Vegas and it was much needed for all of us, especially Rafal, who's wife Jules is pregnant and has hyperemisis, which is a sickness that during pregnancy cannot be controlled. Poor Jules cannot keep any food down and throws up every day. She needs iv's weekly and doctors can only do so much to limit it, but can't stop it. Many times with this illness, it lasts throughout the entire pregnancy. That is why I know Rafal needed a night in Vegas like this. He works 6 days a week and then comes home and takes care of Jules. He was overdue. The good news is that their baby is doing well and she is due in July.

Song of the Day: "Naughty Girl" by Beyonce - heard it at Light on Saturday night and it is a jam.

Day 127

What a nice day here in Chicago. Its about 50 degrees and sunny. I took Leah, Jessica, and my mother in law Stacey to the airport this morning for Ctown. Today my mom was taking them to see about 5 houses. I will keep you posted on if there is anything to Leah's liking. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. So its just me, my work, and Casey the dog today. I've got hoops on in the background again as well. I leave in the morning for my Vegas trip. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to my one day and night of fun there. Should be legit. Wish me luck - the sportsbook at the Bellagio has my name written all over it.

Props go out to my boys Gregg and Dave for the solid birthday dinner at Joe's last night. They really went all out. We shared two bone-in Filet's, Alaskan King Crab legs, stuffed mushrooms, tomato onion and blue cheese salad, three deserts, and wine. In vintage Gregg fashion, he also buried a Shrimp cocktail, fried asparagus, and jennie's potatoes by himself. Quite a display of eating. I still say that there is no better restaurant in this city than Joe's. This is my third time there in two months and there are so many things on the menu to eat that it is hard to choose. But you never leave hungry.

I also want to give a special mention to my Uncle Kenny. I have written in the past how good he has been to me and my brother in the past, but it bears repeating. I had a nice long chat with him last night and his perspective on things is so unique and refreshing. That is my man right there in Waite Hill.

I've got to be honest here...I don't have much today at all. Work is busy, i've got to pack still, get Casey's things ready for day care this weekend, clean up the condo, and watch Kansas/Oklahoma State at Ags' place at 6. So I am done for the day with the blog.

Song of the Day: "A Lonely Man" by The Chi-Lites

Day 126

Lets talk about how messed up this world is for a second. I saw on the news Tuesday night that Dana Reeve, the wife of paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve, passed away from Lung Cancer at the age of 44. She didn't smoke a single cigarette in her entire life. If life were fair, she would have aged gracefully into her old years, advocating for treatments for the paralysis that afflicted her husband and for more humanity in medicine. Sadly, that wasn't to be. She died only a short 15 months after her husband did. She left behind a 13 year old son, who is now parent-less at such a young age. What kind of world do we live in that would allow a woman like this, so loyal and such an unbelievably strong woman, to contract Lung Cancer when she didn't even smoke? I said it yesterday - what is god's plan on this one? This poor kid watched his paralyzed father die slowly the first 12 years of his life, and now loses his mother a mere 15 months later? The devil's advocate (I am quoting a wise man here) would say that god was reuniting Chris and Dana in the after life. The realist in me says they are both in there graves and there is nothing else.

On to happier topics - Yesterday was the start of the most underrated week of the year to me, college hoops conference tournament week. Games are on all day from 11 am through midnight. I am in hoops heaven. As I write this, I've got Syracuse/Connecticut on in the background and Syracuse's Gerry McNamarra hit a three pointer to force OT against the #1 team in the country. I will be continuing my basketball heavy schedule into the weekend, as I head for Las Vegas on Saturday. I have sales meetings, rep training, and client dinners in the Las Vegas market for Edward Don on Monday and Tuesday. I am heading there a day early and am meeting my boys Fritzer and Rafal for the night. It is Leah's final b-day present to me. We are staying at the Bellagio. Sunday I move over to the Excaliber for work purposes. When I get back we will be just a day away from the best sporting event there is, the NCAA Tournament.

There is something to be said about drinking good wine. Everytime I go out on business trips with my boss, we are drinking $150 plus bottles of red wine. I know very little about wine, but everytime he picks one, its great. We had a couple bottles of a 2000 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon that was great on Monday night. Tuesday night we were drinking Caymus. This guys knows his stuff. I was once one of those people who thought there was no difference between a $30 bottle and a $100 bottle. There is. In addition to the taste being much better, there is no headache the next day. This is yet another of the various regions why being rich doesn't suck.

Song of the Day: "Above the Rim" by Bell Biv Devoe

Day 125

It feels good to be back home. I spent most of yesterday in either a hotel business center or meetings at GFS. We took our client out for dinner at a great Restaurant in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan called Leo's. If you ever in the area and are looking for a place to eat - go there. Excellent seafood. Anyways, the client we took out brought his wife. They were good people and drank a lot of wine. I was driving home 3 hours, so I left the drinking to my boss and to them. We started talking about death and they mentioned how a member of their church and a good friend committed suicide. Eric, my client, must have said four different times "he was close to the lord." I obviously let it go and kept my mouth shut. The meal was a three hours and my boss Tim and I headed home. Tim asked me on the way home how I felt about Eric mentioning the lord so many times. I told him that it didn't bother me and if that is what makes him feel better by "being close to the lord," than I was fine with it. I would never mention anything about it to him and I always keep my beliefs to myself in business situations. Tim talked about how he was curious about my beliefs because he is a Christian, he believes that Christ is his savior, and he is a deeply rooted family man. I went into my whole routine, listing the horrible things that have happened in my life since he met me and why it has led me to the conclusion that there is no god. His response was what I expected. He said "if you don't believe there is something bigger in this universe than you and I in this car, then that is crazy. How do you think everything was created?" I played right into my hands of "what kind of god allows 9-11 to happen? Or Hurricane Katrina, or your uncle getting Leukemia and dying at age 52? " "There are reasons god has for everything" he said.

I knew we had to move into another direction so we started talking about my father and how much I loved him. He opened up to me as well about his relationship with his father. It was a very candid conversation and I could tell this talk went a long way with him. Later he told me he would do everything to get me to Cleveland without changing anything. He respects me and the work I do for him. So I think we are going to be just fine with my work. My take on the whole thing is that he was caught off guard when I talked to him about moving on the way up Monday. He had a few days to digest it and I believe he felt better about it. So now we can start a plan. We look at houses online all the time and Leah will be in Cleveland this weekend for Jessica's Cleveland shower. So my mom is taking Leah to see some houses on Friday. I cannot tell you all how excited I am for all of this. I am ready to have a house. I am ready for suburban life.

Tomorrow I am going to discuss different subjects, I promise. Like how does anyone believe on a god that would allow Dana Reeve to die of lung cancer when she never smoked, leaving their 13 year old boy with no parents and how much I love this week of college basketball.

Song of the day: "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West

Day 124

So here is what happened. Tim and I are driving on our way to our first meeting in Michigan and we started talking about my role and how far I have come in a short period of time. I took it upon myself at that time to talk about my situation and the move back to Cleveland. I told him how much I loved working at Prairie; that I think I have a great future here, and by no means did I want to leave this company. He said he completely understands my situation, but he has to look out for his organization and he couldn’t just snap his fingers and come up with an answer. He needed some time to think about what the best possible thing would be for Prairie with me. I told him that I would do whatever I had to to make this work. So he said he would think about it, he needed to talk to the owners of the company, and it could be a little while before he got his answer.

Within 2 hours, my boss received a call from the rep in charge of the Cleveland/Cincinnati/Kentucky area. She was quitting. Someone must be looking down on me. So we had our meeting which went well and then took the clients to dinner. After dinner, I came back and did a little work, when my boss called and said he wanted to go out for a drink. At this point, I am in no position to tell him no on anything, so I went. We had a couple bottles of good wine and talked. During one of our conversations, he shook me hand and said “you have my word – you will continue to work at Prairie, I just need to figure out in what capacity and territory.” So we are all good. As much as I didn’t want to go out for drinks with him last night, it was a wise move. So now I must wait to find out if my role will change. The tough part is over with. Don’t have much time as I am on the road, but wanted to update all of you.

Day 123

I look outside my window and I see snow. I always look for significance in things. Is there a meaning to this snow fall on the eve of what will be one of the most important conversations impacting my future? Tomorrow, I leave for Michigan on a two day business trip with my boss. On the drive up, I will be discussing my intentions to move back to Cleveland this summer. For those of you who didn't know this already, Leah and I are planning on moving, probably in June. It has been a long time coming and there are various reasons why. While I will miss this amazing city and all of the friends we have here, the quality of life in Cleveland is calling us. We will sell our condo for roughly what we will buy a 3200 square foot house for. The money we make can take us much farther. Its a great place to raise a family. Finally, the opportunity to be near family is very important to me. Before you start thinking that this is me driving this bus, it isn't. Leah is for this as much, if not more, than I am. She is officially at the end of her rope at work since they changed her role. The commute never gets any better, and the hope is soon that when we move, she may eventually stop working all together.

This is where my job comes in. I love working at Prairie. They take very good care of me, its a job where I definitely have growth, and is a family owned company that is a giant is the disposables industry. The territories for the sales reps (only about 20 or so) is done geographically, except for my level - the regional account managers. While in name it may sound that way, I oversee all non-Sysco distribution in the midwest and the Edward Don account on a national level. We just picked up a substantial amount of new business at GFS, which was all given to me. Their distribution centers are in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. While Edward Don is my first priority, GFS is now going to rival it. That is a big help in my sales pitch. I know how I am to handle this. Another thing working in my favor is that there are two other national guys on my level in similar situations. The Southwest regional lives in Kansas City and goes back and forth to Texas a few times a month where the majority of his business is. The director of sales lives in San Diego and travels all over the country. Don is headquartered in Chicago. The only time I really need to be there is on vendor Friday's, which is usually every two or three weeks. Everything we do is via email or telephone for the most part. If there are meetings to attend or customers to see, I can still do that on my trips into Chicago. Southwest tickets to Chicago are $100. With the amount of money we spend on entertaining clients, two trips to Chicago a month is nothing.

Another thing that works in my favor are my numbers. Last month, my boss and I met with the Edward Don people and he had me bring our numbers over the last 4 months. Compared to the the same time period the previous year, we were up 18% in cases and 20% in dollars. My Chicago distribution center led the way at an even higher clip on both. My boss had said to me that we were pretty stable across the board in our Sysco business and that these numbers were very impressive to him. So to sum up; my numbers are good, I am traveling nationally already, all of our reps work from home already and of most of our work is done via email or phone, my new piece of business is in Michigan and Ohio which I will be closer to, and I will be closer to my family. I can't imagine that he is going to say no, but please, keep your fingers crossed. I will report back tomorrow night with his answer. WISH ME LUCK!

Song of the Day: "I Wish" by R. Kelly

Day 122

Lets get it out of the way first. 30 is the new 20 baby! woooooooo! I have to start off by thanking Leah for the amazing words she wrote in my place yesterday. If anyone read that and didn't think I am incredibly lucky to have her in my life, then they need their head examined. I have read it only 5 times since I got home last night. It is beyond sweet. I've said ad nauseum on this blog how much I love her, so no need to rehash and make you all sick. But thank you so much my dear - you are truly the best.

Yesterday was interesting to say the least. I slept at MD's apartment and I didn't sleep well. I woke up several times throughout the night thinking about everything. All of the things I have on my plate - talking to my boss on Monday about moving, MD and the kids and their impending move, my mom, Leah and her job, all of the new responsibilities that I have been handed at work with this new large account, etc. Mostly though, I was thinking about my Dad. He was so much on my mind. Nobody was more creative and made a bigger deal of big birthdays, anniversaries, etc than dad. I kept thinking about how much I missed him yesterday morning. So I showered, shaved, and got dressed. I packed up my stuff and went in and gave MD a kiss on his head. I'm glad he was the one who I saw before I left for the trade show. I just needed to see some family at that point. He was half asleep and I have no idea if he even realized it, but it really meant a lot to me to see him on that day.

So I headed over to the Convention Center for the show. All day on my feet from 8-5 is really the way you want to spend your birthday. I said it the other day, the reality is that life doesn't stop for you on your birthday like it did when you were a kid. Do you think that Gordon Foodservice gave two shits that it was my 30th birthday? Of course not. On the good side of the day, I did meet all of the important contacts at GFS, so I at least got something out of it. Now for the bad side of it. For those of you who have never been to or worked at a trade show, it is absolute nightmare for the people working the booths. You are on your feet all day long with little to no break. I had no breaks because I was working the booth by myself (long story no need to bore you with it). The shows I work are Food shows where restaurant owners, bar owners, healthcare facility heads, and hotel managers walk around to fin new things to bring in. While disposables is one category, its mostly food, and fried food at that. You walk out smelling like you just spent 8 hours in a kitchen next to a fry cooker. You talk all day long pretty much non-stop about your product line. Let me tell you, as much as I like my job, this is the #1 thing in the industry that I hate. I have three more in consecutive weeks coming in April. When 5 PM EST hit, I packed up my booth and hit the road for a 4 hour drive home. Talk about your long day.

I spent the ride home literally on the phone for two and a half of the fours hours. I kept a list of messages I received or people I spoke to live yesterday - 35. I Much love to all of those who called or emailed me. I said this before, but as bad as my day was, what truly made it special was the amount of wishes from my friends. I am so lucky to have such a good group of people surrounding me. I have always known it, but seeing the love and support like that was an eye opening. So to all of you - MD, Ags, Max & Stacey, Jace, Mom, Jessica, Justin, Jaimo, Schneids, P, Gregg, Fritzer, Dave, Grandmom, Sheri, Aunt Jill, Beej, Jeremy & Amy, Scott, Lindsay, Rafal, Perl, Rebecca, Beth D, Jules, Kathy, Singer, Money, Gute, Sari, Forrest, Jen, Beth P, Brooke, Ally, Lauren, Uncle Kenny & Aunt Linda, Uncle Keith & Aunt Nancy, Debbie, Amy, Sean & Nancy, Jamie & Darren, Deena & Howie, and of course Leah - thanks for being a part of my birthday.

I am now "just your average 30 year old guy."

Song of the Day: "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind, and Fire

Day 121

March 2, 1976 was a wonderful day in history. On this day, in good ole Cleveland, Ohio my Todd Warren Dery was born. I believe on this day, I was a happier baby knowing that one day my path would cross with this wonderful individual.

I truly believe there was not a cuter child in this world. Those dimples, eyes, and smile could brighten a room. Still to this day, he does that for so many people. I have never met someone like him, making such an impact when meeting people. (Actually, I have. It was his father!) The apple did not fall far from the tree. I don't know many people who don't consider him a friend, but most consider him a great friend. I know he is the best friend I have ever had. I think I am in a close second with the "Deez."

Todd always tells me about his childhood. He says how athletic he was and how great he was with the ladies. As most of you know, he loves to tell stories. I think I have heard all of them by now and I still love hearing old ones; whether it is about family trips to Florida, OHS soccer games, Green and White, or the high school fraternity. (I refuse to write its real name!) We were just in Florida and I probably heard 3 times that I would not believe how great of an athlete he used to be and how he peaked around 12 or 13. Last summer he brought me to one of his favorite places, Robinhood. He proceeded to show me how he still had it in him to nail horseshoes or hit the ball in the trees. Whatever it was, he said it with so much emotion that it made me care and intrigued me to see more. That is another thing I love about him, his zest for life. He will always be youthful in my eyes; always holding on to the small piece of immaturity that makes him so much more fun!

A little more than 11 years ago, I was blessed with meeting this man. My life has changed dramatically since then. When I first met Todd, at a bar in Lawrence, KS I knew he was the one. He didn't, but that's ok. We spent countless nights together learning everything about each other. The best thing about Todd was that he always put me first. He considers my happiness and will do his best to accommodate my moods. A few examples; when I get hungry after not eating for awhile, I get jittery. He immediately knows it is no joke and we need to get food before the mood changes. He knows to keep his distance after my naps, and he knows when I need him to do something without saying it. I have finally found someone to share my ESP with. My mother has said from the beginning that she thanks him everyday for changing me into a "nicer" person. Hats off to him for that, my whole family thinks that was a big feat.

As most of you heard, I didn't cry at my engagement. Todd has never forgiven me for that, he reminds me of every time there is a finale of the Real World. My all time favorite memory was on the day of our wedding. It was the moment that we saw each other for the first time. He just gave me that look, put his hands over his mouth, and then wiped a tear from his eye. He always makes me feel that I am beautiful. Even when I don't wash my hair for two days. I cried on my wedding day, out of pure joy and happiness. For that, I think he will always be proud.

I have learned so much from him, he has definitely kept me on my toes. We have ventured all over the country, but we have never left it because he "is just not into it". We became proud parents of our dog, Casey. Let's give it up to him for becoming a dog person. I look forward to our journey together, wherever that may lead us. As long as we are together, it will all work out.

Todd has introduced me to his many WONDERFUL friends and family. I feel very lucky to be a part of his life to have met all of you out there. Todd is a special person who deserves only the best on his 30th birthday. I know he appreciates all of the love and support he gets from all of our family and friends. So, on this day I hope that all of you can give him the props that he truly deserves.

TD- I love you, happy birthday!

Song of the day, "At Last" by Etta James

Day 120

Last day of my 20's. How am I spending it? Well I got up at 5:20, showered, shaved, and drove 4 hours to Detroit to set up my trade show booth. My brother came over to the venue and helped me set up and we had lunch. It is always so good to see him. Reminds me of how sad it is that for all intents and purposes, we never will live in the same city. I hope that it happens one day, that would be great. I miss the kid everyday. After lunch, I went to Kinko's to do some work and create a sign for my booth (which my people forgot to put in my sample package). I was there for about an hour and then headed over to Lisa's house to see the kids. Talking to her for 30 minutes while waiting for Jace to come home from school was strange to say the least. But we got through it unscathed. Seeing Jace come off the school bus was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I just loved it. He ran off the bus and gave me a big hug. He looked great and so big. We had fun playing in the basement and I read him a couple of books. Reese is getting so big too. She is crawling around like a champ. I am back at Kinko's picking up my sign and doing more work. Just wanted to drop a little blog activity. Hanging with MD tonight and watching KU/Colorado.....See you in my 30's....

Song of the Day: "The End" by The Doors