Last weekend I traveled to see my friend at his home in Ocean City, NJ.  The drive wasn't awfully bad, even though the weather was rainy and cold.  I made the best of it, while sipping on my Starbucks hot chocolate.  I planned to stay the weekend. 

I ran the door bell, upon arriving and  was greeted by his 2 black labs...Ginger and Snap.  They licked my face lovingly for what seemed like an hour, but I could be exaggerating a little. My friend invited me to accompany him for a cup of tea in his kitchen.  We sat down and had a talk for awhile, when we here the dogs barking in the lawn.  We ran to out see what was the matter, when a neighboring dog began to pick a fight with Ginger.  Snap, being the more protective dog, began to attack the neighboring dog as well. 

 I quickly grabbed a rake to break up the fight.  I ran into the lawn and was bitten by the neighboring dog.  This meant a quick trip to the Emergency Room for some shots and a bunch of unnecessary wound care products .  I ended up with 3 stiches in my forearm. 

 The trip to the ER made my trip to see an old friend not so much fun.  I decided to leave a day early, so I could go home and tend to my wounds.  Such an unfortunate event ruined a potentially good weekend.

In many states, including mine cell phone use while driving is becoming illegal, which is a great idea.  Too many accidents occur due to negligence stemming from cell phone use.  The law enforcement officials around the country are eliminating cell phone use rapidly and effectively.  The fines and penalties are quite hefty, which definitely supports the cause.

Bluetooth headsets are becoming the norm on the highways now.  Every person you pass looks like he or she is talking to himself or herself. Cell phone accessories are becoming more of a necessity everyday, which has me wondering boundaries for cell phone ettiquette.  Is it alright to walk around talking to you someone on your bluetooth headset in the middle of a shopping mall.  I for one don't agree with this policy, because people will become much too antisocial.  I try to make it point to avoid using my phone in public, unless it is completely necessary. 

I feel like I am trapped in an antisocial society that is too wrapped up in it's own life to actually associate with everyone, but I'll save that for another post.  

I've recently been battling a bunch of personal problems, so to help me get over those problems I did a little shopping. I'm a huge fan of clothes. I find that the best therapy for anyone is to spend a little money on themselves. Getting a few new outfits can be one of the best ways to move past a bad patch in your life.

I went to my local mall to buy some new clothes. I spent around $300 on new wardrobe. It might have been a little more than I wanted to spend, but I got some really good deals on clearance. My favorite purchase was two baby phat coats that were on clearance. It's great to buy out of season clothing, because I get such good deals. It's a shame that I have to wait until Autumn and Winter to wear them.

I would generally go through my entire shopping venture, but it would take me around an hour to complete this blog post. All of the clothing that I purchased really helped me get over my problems and move on to better days.

I'm an avid traveler, who has been to nearly 100 countries of the world. The toughest thing I've come to deal with is the boredom on a long flight.  There is nothing more boring sitting through an 8 or 9 hour flight with nothing more to do than watch the in flight movie that I've already seen 5 times. Generally speaking, I will spend about 3 or 4 hours of a flight sleeping and try to amuse myself with the rest of the flight. 

If I travel with a companion, then the flight will be chocked full of useless banter and chatting.  Stories and reviews of our destination are shared along with recent news or gossip. This is the best way to find things to do during a long flight, but some of us aren't always fortunate to have a traveling friend with them.

When I'm on business trips, I will use the extra time to catch up on some work.  It's also great to read a scholarly journal or some other expert column in your industry. There is not use spending idle time doing nothing.

My last trick for keep sane on a long flight is to take a music player or a few magazines with me.  I will pack a few magazine subscriptions with reviews of my destination, so I'm brushed up on my local culture when I arrive.   

I'm hopelessly waiting for the weekend and it's only Tuesday.  The forecast for the weekend is looking pretty favorable.  There should be warm weather and lots of sunshine. The nice forecast and rough beginning of the week has encouraged me to start make plans for the weekend.  I have a few options seeing that it is Memorial Day weekend.  I'm contemplating taking Friday off and making it a 4 day weekend. I'm nearly positive I will be spending the weekend fishing and boating on a lake.  My biggest problem is where do I want to do these activities? 

I feel like doing a little traveling this weekend, so I'll probably head down to Smith Mountain Lake and enjoy the sites.  I generally head down the lake around 4 or 5 times during the year.  It helps me escape from band work weeks like the one I'm currently dealing with.  The lake is so serene and peaceful that I feel conflicted leaving, when my weekend is over. The drive home is pure torture.

My two dogs, Cecil and Congo are going to be trilled about heading to the lake.  They love playing in the water and laying on the dock.  Being labs they can't get enough of the water and outdoors.  It's a shame they're pent up inside of my apartment during the week. 

With my constant wanderings through the forests of the Northeastern US, I find it necessary to find a very good house cleaning service.  I'm a bit of a neat freak, but lack the time and ambition with all of my weekends spent in the mountains. 

When looking for a cleaning service, I generally require a list of references and examples of work.  I'm very particular about my home and the work being done in my home.  I want my house to be spotless if I'm paying top dollar for it.  I absolutely refuse to have a dirty home.

Unfortunately, I tend to track mud and dirt into my home from my hiking clothes.  I try to take most of my hiking stuff into the garage and dispose of the excess earth and other elements, before entering my home.  I'm not the best at remembering things of that nature, until I've walked through half of the rooms in my downstairs.  Undoubtebly if I still lived with my mother I would still be getting scorned forgetting to take my shoes off, before entering the kitchen.

My forgetfulness and my lack of time management skills make for a pretty much volatile situation for my house cleaning service . That is why I find it completely necessary to have the best of the best.  

I'm a huge believer in packing light, when hitting the trails.  I don't pack much of anything thing that I don't need; however I do sometimes pack something to keep me occupied on my solo trips.  It is essential to keeping your sanity among the creepy crawlies and the night time sounds. 

 I will bring a long a small mp3 player to play some music during the dusk of my trips.  It always seems to be soothing and enjoyable to listen to your favorite songs as the sun fades out.  There is nothing like the all-talented Jack Johnson playing as you sit around the campfire and enjoy a nice campfire dinner.

 One of my favorites is some literature. The best place to catch up on some reading is in the peace and quiet of nature.  Occasionally on a solo hike I will bring my favorite magazine subscriptions or book. Reading has been a favorite hobby of mine for a long time and it still continues to be my old standby activity.

Lastly, I will sometimes take my flute on the trail with me.  It's lightweight and fairly sturdy.  Tuning it is a great way to pass some time too.  I really enjoy playing my flute to the sounds of the wild night air.  

Normally I don't take my cellphone camping with me.  I refuse to be annoyed with phone calls, when I'm trying to get away from people for awhile.  My sister is due to deliver her baby sometime in the next week and if anything should happen I want to be around for it.  I'm hoping that she can hold off, until I'm back to civilization, but these things never seem to be too convenient. 

I've been searching for a new case for my cellphone.  Something that is durable and water resistant.  I don't want to take any chances with my new cellphone. Currently, I have a krussel case that does wonders for everyday use.  It's really lightweight, but offers superb protection from the daily elements.

I've heard great things about the Gopher cellphone cases, but think they are way too bulky for my needs.  I supposed I could just hiking with my bluetooth headset and keep my phone in my pack.  That seems to be the most feasible way to hike and get the important call I need.  

The warm weather has been creating a desire to do a bit of hiking. In the spirit of the spring time weather my friend Stevie and I headed out into the wilderness last weekend. We did a bit of hiking around the Appalachian Trail. We planned for a 5 mile hike on Saturday and the hike back on Sunday. We packed all of the gear and were off by early morning. We stopped and ate some breakfast at a small diner at the beginning of the trail.

The hike conditions were gorgeous and the trail had lots to offer. We made the 5 mile trek with no problems what so ever. We found a suitable places for camp and set up our tent. Stevie gathered some firewood and found a stream to fish in. We caught a few trout and prepared them for dinner.

Stevie was sitting by the campfire, when a coal few from it and caught his pants afire. He panicked at first, but remembered "Stop Drop and Roll." Luckily his pants weren't destroyed and he wasn't burned too badly. I have the deluxe first aid kit, which includes plenty of first aid burn care accessories. I patched Stevie up and we enjoyed the rest of our night.

The trek back the next day went smooth and we laughed about the little incident. I told Stevie he should invest in some flame retardant pants.