Best golf game ever

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.

Giant's Ridge

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.

Buzz

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.

Good weekend

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.

Iron Man

It's here!

Iron Man, the movie.

On Friday evening, Laura and I saw the all digital version of 'Iron Man' at the AMC in Maple Grove. Let me get this out of the way - the picture was amazingly clear and crisp. No movie film jumps or skips that you might experience with traditional film material. If you have a chance to see it digitally, DO IT.

Onto the movie.

AWESOME.

For those of you that know me, you know I'm a big comic book fan. I've been a fan of Iron Man for a long time, know all about his history, the supporting characters, villains, storylines, etc.

The movie does a great job keeping true to the character of Tony Stark (Iron Man's not-so secret identity) as well as the characters that surround him. Not only that, but the storyline is believable - seriously! Let's face it, if you were captured and abused by terrorists, only to escape and develop some technologically advanced, fully loaded, kick ass suit of armor, you'd unload some seriously deserved payback too.

More than that, however, is the way Robert Downey Jr. captures Tony Stark's personality. It's not one of those superhero movies where you impatiently wait for the hero to put on his costume and do his (or her) thing. The scenes where Iron Man takes over are awesome - full of amazing effects and superhero stuff, but it's the character of Tony Stark that keeps it fun and engaging.

Even if you aren't a comic book fan, but enjoy a good action/fiction film and pure escapism, go see it. You'll like it. Really!

Human barometer

I am a human barometer.

Yep, when you have plans to picnic with the family, just give me a call and find out if I have a headache. If I do, you'd better bring an umbrella.

Today was one of those days at work where I felt great! Getting things done with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. "Hey, how the heck are ya?" was my chosen salutation for the day.

Then around 2:30 p.m. I felt the twinge. The tiny itty-bitty throb behind my left eyeball soon to be followed by my right eyeball. Soon to evolve during my drive home into larger throbs behind both eyes that extend to the base of my skull. Hmm, I noticed some whispy high-level clouds moving in and, hey, it is a little windier than it was over the lunch hour.

Now? I'm at home, just a little after 5:00 p.m., and I have it. The full-blown barometric pressure / weather front-induced headache. Just for sh*ts and giggles I went to my favorite weather website to see if I was correct. The image in the post tells the story - HEY, NICE WEATHER FRONTS! (The yellow star indicates my relative location. Neat, huh.)

So, you see, I have a gift. I am a human barometer. Thanks for the genetics, mom.

A hieve

Sometimes there are no words.

49

Yesterday I took the day off work and went golfing for the first time this season.

Yep, I went golfing.

In gale-force winds.

The sun came out and the temperature reached the high 60's. But, hey, who ordered the constant 30 mile per hour wind with gusts up to 40?

The course I played is a local 3-par, French Lake. 9 holes, no frills, no water, no sand, but a great little place to work on your short game (along with two holes that let you open up your driver a little bit).

Here's an example of how strong the wind was. 6th hole. 153 yards. Wind at my back. Took out my pitching wedge (typically hit 120-130 yards). Yeah, the ball landed a good 20 yards past the green. 170 yard pitching wedge?

Wind. Go figure.

During the warm-up on the driving range and even the nine holes, no whiffs. Topped a couple of balls, but overall a pretty good first round for me. Par is 29. I scored a 49.

I'll get better. And next time, keep the wind at home, whoever you are.

Facebooked

I've done it. I've done what so many others before me have done. I've taken the plunge. The point of no return. Life changed forevermore. Will you respect me in the morning?

I've joined Facebook.

I've persuaded some of my friends to join Facebook.

It's now a Facebook world.

"Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you." That's what it says on their website. Yeah, it's a social networking site so much better than MySpace. Clean design, nicely organized, simple (and FREE) to use, with a large number of customized applications available.

The downside? Spambots. You'll see messages posted by fake users promoting other applications or websites, which is extremely annoying to those wanting true feedback from a real person. But, really...so far...that's about it in terms of the downside.

I joined a couple of weeks ago and have already connected with people I haven't seen in years (even from high school). You can share photos, videos, public comments, private messages, and more. Like everything else in life, it is what you make it.

So if you have thought about it but weren't quite sure, go ahead and join. Don't be afraid. Then look me up and be my friend. Or just be my friend anyway. Whatever works.

URL: www.facebook.com

On a steel horse I ride

One week ago tonight, Laura and I saw Bon Jovi in concert with opening act, Daughtry. The tickets were a last-minute purchase and a surprise for Laura since she had always wanted to see Bon Jovi.

We had great seats two rows up from the floor and left of the stage. We were probably 20 rows back which was a nice mix of being able to see the band members clearly and the entire stage set-up with the various video screens.

Daughtry was impressive. The bass player rocked. Vocals were right on and powerful (what do you expect from an American Idol finalist).

Bon Jovi played for over two hours and showed everyone how a rock concert should be done. After all, they've been playing to audiences for 25 years, and they know how to entertain and put on a show that all kinds of fans can enjoy.

Please realize that I'm not a huge Bon Jovi fan. They've been in town more times than I can count (and I can count pretty high, really) and I've always passed at the opportunity to see them. After finally seeing them in concert I can honestly say that I would definitely see them again.

The concert was on a school night (Wednesday) and we didn't get home until after midnight. Call the press! Laura and John stayed up past 11:00 p.m.!!