Sean, Ed, and I played in a golf tournament this evening at Island Lake Golf Center in Shoreview, MN. Our buddy, Jay, was the coordinator - it was his company's tournament, Medical Concepts Development (MCD).
Island Lake Golf Center is a nice 3-par course (par is 28) and we played a scramble format. Our group won by shooting one under - we shot a 27 - amid strong wind and minor drizzle.
We won super cheesy trophies!
Sweet.
Our friend, and former colleague, Jodie, is leaving Minnesota to pursue a career opportunity on the east coast. Being from Pennsylvania, it was always part of her plan to eventually move back east to be closer to friends and family, however that plan moved up on the timeline quicker than she ever imagined when she recently accepted a position with General Electric (GE).
Jodie made a huge impact while working at Achieve. She had new marketing ideas on a daily, if not hourly, basis, and was not afraid of taking on new challenges. Her enthusiasm was contagious and her personal stories hilarious.
It was Jodie's idea to bring all of our advertising and promotional efforts in-house. Our team of Jodie, Erin, Jaime, Mark (our fearless leader), and I developed concepts and materials rivaling (and surpassing) those we had hired agencies to do. The portfolio of our work was the largest the company had ever seen.
The decision to bring everything in-house had a profound impact on me and my career. It opened my mind to new possibilities, pushed me to learn new skills, and really unlocked my passion for creativity and bringing ideas to life. Every completed project increased my confidence. It really changed my life!
For that, Jodie, a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU! We had the best team ever.
Jodie has started a new blog The Davis's - The Next Chapter to help keep us all connected with her and her husband, Andy. I'm really looking forward to seeing where their journey takes them!
When I left for work this morning, regular unleaded was going for 3.85 a gallon. When I came home, regular unleaded was feeling a little deprived so it jumped to 4.09 a gallon.
Are you kidding me?
During the summer of 1987 I had a summer job delivering pizzas. After a long night driving all over the northern metro area, I stopped to fill up my tank. The price was .99 a gallon. For some reason I was musing about the future (yeah, I know, friggin' pepperoni), thinking "Boy, wouldn't it suck if gas was, like, $3.00 a gallon?" Then I tried to do the math, which I'm sure wasn't even close to being accurate at 2:00 a.m., but I knew it would be a lot.
Yeah.
Today I filled 'er up (had about a 1/5 of a tank left).
My pizza money flowed into my gas tank.
Today Jay, Sean, Ed and I had a 6:00 p.m. tee time at Cedarholm golf course. A very nice three par course we've played often. Today, however, was different.
Maybe it was the impending storm clouds on the horizon. Maybe it was the cloud to cloud lightning flashing overhead. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was the tornado sirens in the distance.
Whatever it was, I golfed my best game ever.
I shot a 36. Par is 27. Pure bogey golf, baby!
The photo above is courtesy of the Kare11 website, but we saw this exact same cloud pass overhead as we finished the round, with tornado sirens blaring.
Sean, Jay, and I tee'd off the first hole at 6:00 p.m. as we heard tornado sirens in the distance and were poured upon by the time we reached the green. Luckily there was a shelter between the first and second holes, so we waited out the rain for about 10 minutes. As you might imagine, the rain slowed the greens a bit, but they dried up quickly and ran pretty well.
Ed was running late and joined us on the fourth hole. On the way to the course, he had heard on the radio that Plymouth was using snow plows to clear the highway of the large amount of hail from the storm. Plymouth is only a few miles south of where I live.
The skies cleared, the sun shone, and the humidity was high. The gnats swarmed above our heads as we played through.
Then the second round of storms came through. The sun disappeared. The wind whipped up. The tornado sirens blared.
We had one hole left and were determined to see it through. The course sounded the horn indicating everyone was to suspend play due to weather.
Nah.
We had to finish, and we did. That's when we saw the cloud pictured above pass over us.
For the first time ever, I tied Sean. And Jay beat me by only two strokes.
What was the difference (besides the weather)? My drives were good and my chipping and putting were much improved. I picked up a chipping tip while up north last weekend and it has really helped.
Then we all went to Ol' Mexico and had food and beer.
Just an awesome Saturday evening.
I love summer holidays. They are a time to get out, play, and enjoy the weather. My buddy, Jay, and I did exactly that over the Memorial Day weekend.
On Friday morning, we drove up to Giant's Ridge in Biwabik, Minnesota to play golf at The Legend and The Quarry.
Our tee time at The Legend was 2:00 p.m. Friday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Jay and I both started really well by launching great drives and shooting par to bogey holes. To illustrate, pictured below is the third hole, 454 yards from the whites, major dogleg left, we both launched our drives well past the giant's foot sand trap. Just awesome.
The front nine went pretty well, but the back nine beat us up a bit. Especially me. I think I lost a ball on every hole on the back nine - good thing I stocked up!
Afterwards, we went back to our villa and enjoyed watching the Twins game and each devouring a Poor Gary's sub. Pure heaven!
The next morning we had a tee time at The Quarry at 9:00 a.m. Surprisingly, it wasn't as chilly as we thought it would be and ended up being another beautiful day. Neither of us golfed particularly well, but I know I enjoyed every minute of it. We both made a few nice drives, some killer putts, but overall not our best games by far. Both courses are incredibly huge, much larger than any course you'll find in the Twin Cities area, and it can beat you up.
Golf can make a couple of guys hungry (and thirsty), so Jay and I drove to the town of Gilbert and enjoyed some dinner and a few drinks.
After dinner, Jay and I spent some time on the lake behind the villa getting their boat ready for the summer and cruised the lake.
Took the plunge.
Decided that I would do a buzz cut for the summer. I told Laura what I was planning. She commented, "I like hair", but she didn't really stand against it. She's cool like that.
So I did it.
Today.
About eight hours ago.
And I'm diggin' it.
This past weekend I had a little bit of religion, a little bit of friends, a little bit of family, and a little bit of golf.
My parents flew in for a quick weekend to visit and stayed with my sister and baby Sarah. Unfortunately it was a packed weekend for me and I only had half the day on Saturday to spend with them, but it was time well spent. I cannot believe how big Sarah is getting!
This little chick is mobile!
And chatty!
The following day, Sunday, was the baptism of my Godson, Rowan. His parents, Jeff and Jill, invited close friends and family to share in Rowan's big day. He was pretty calm and collected, already not sweating the details, and sailed through the service without incident.
After the baptism and service, we all enjoyed a nice lunch and spent some time with the little man of the hour, Rowan.
Later that afternoon and into the evening, I was lucky enough to golf 18 holes with a group of friends. Overall, a pretty good Sunday, I'd say.
