You Bethca!

Before I begin, let me be up front about this: A fan of Sarah Palins, I am not. In fact, her presence on the ticket almost had me voting for the Big O in 2008. I couldn’t take the fact that I was about to lift someone to the VP spot who didn’t appear to have any type of grasp on foreign policy issues, or national economic issues, or . . . well, anything outside of “Pulpit Issues” (i.e. abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.). She seemed to be simply a women (which McCain thought was gold, given on all the disheartened Hillary voters) who had been elected based on a fiery and admittedly likable personality in a state that wasn’t exactly at the forefront of national importance. So my opinion can not be said to be unbiased.

With that said, I was utterly amazed by her decision to step down from the Governorship of the state of Alaska. Her argument is that all of the media attention, ethics investigations, and scandal-probes have become a distraction from her job as Governor (this argument was supported by Stanley Fish in an article for the New York Times yesterday). She also said that, basically, she wasn’t going to run for a second-term, everyone knew this, so why waste time being a lame-duck?

Well, how about because you ran for a four-year term as Governor? All this jazz about, “I just want to do the best I can as a public servant.” Well, the best you could do would involve actually serving for the entire term that the people of Alaska elected you to, I would think. No, instead, we are told that, just like a good point-guard would dish off to the more open teammate, it’s better for the people of Alaska if she dishes off to her Lt. Governor to finish her job for her.

I’m sorry, I just can’t buy it. I also don’t buy, though, the argument that her only motivation is to get more attention down in the 48 contiguous so that she can run in 2012. I think her motivation is not as much white, as in the house, but green (as illustrated in this interesting piece from The Daily Beast). If this is the more correct assessment, and I tend to think that it is, then maybe she’s much more brilliant then we’ve given her credit for; or, at the very least, more opportunistic then anyone imagined.

Marathon, Marathon, where for art thou, Marathon?

So, as stated previously, my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for the the couple of years (deadline: 2011) is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. That’s going to require some major training. Yesterday, I selected an advanced training program from Nike’s new redesigned Nike + portal. It’s a really well-designed site, and I look forward to this challenging new program. In the meantime, though, I need to select a marathon for the fall/winter to make my goal. Any suggestions?

4th of July: Rainforest Edition

So this 4th of July, the Heaton’sdecided to have our first annual party at our new house. Every year at our apartment in Indy, we’d have a huge party with everyone over because we had a perfect view of the downtown fireworks. This year, we opened up our home to all of Holly’s new intern class. We had cornhole set up, a slip-n-slide ready to unfurl, and tons of food for the grill. Unfortunately, mother nature wasn’t down with our plans, and decided to make the entire day pretty much a drizzly, blah mess. Fortunately, our house has plenty of room in the dining room, living room, and kitchen, and so everyone was still able to hang around and have a good time. Still, not quite the 4th we were hoping for.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• At some point this week, I WILL go and see The Hangover. I really want to see it, but also, I just want people to stop asking, “Have you seen The Hangover yet???”
• The Tigers bullpen is awful, and our bats are nearly comatose. Our starting pitching is the only thing keeping us in this. How we’re still in first place, I have no clue.
• I’m really enjoying my job, so this at least confirms in some respect that Law School was the correct decision to make.
• I’m actually almost halfway through The World is Flat by Friedman.
• Tonight is my last class session of the summer semester!!!!!!

That’s all for now. One love. Holla..

Fear of Posting Overload

Ok, so I have to admit right off the bat: I’ve been scarred to post this last week. Why? Simply put, after my last post, EVERYTHING happened. Literally, EVERYTHING happened. As events kept multiplying, I kept thinking about, “How massive would my post have to be to give adequate attention to EVERYTHING?” Well, finally, I’ve just decided to go for it. If I underplay something, then I’ll just have to live with that shame.

Wait, he’s NOT the father??

In case you haven’t heard (which would mean that you live in an Amish community that is located on an island in the middle of the Siberian Sea), Michael Jackson passed away last week. The news has not let a day go by without bringing up the King of Pop. Bill Simmons mentioned this on his podcast, and I agreed: I’m, frankly, shocked at the response to his death. I am in no way questioning this man’s musical talent and the gifts he gave to the world. I don’t even challenge that he’s as important to the world of art as many are claiming he was. What I”m simply perplexed by, however, is the number of people gushing over him now who, just a month, a year, even five to ten years ago, would have had nothing nice to say about him, simply talking about what a freak show his life had become. Simply put, it’s as if his death has allowed society to seemingly “forget” the last fifteen years, and simply dwell upon the good times, the “Thriller” days of Michael Jackson.

I have been very intrigued by the revelation that he is not that father of his three kids. Not just the fact that he never had sex with Debbie Rowe (which I never really seriously considered), but that he wasn’t even a sperm donor, or even remotely associated by DNA with these kids. I think it really sheds an even crazier light on the situation. Essentially, it means that he bought these three kids. That’s pretty wild.

PS – Why does Nancy Grace think we care so much about the “legal ramifications” of his will? Why does Nancy Grace still have a show? Have I mentioned I can’t stand Nancy Grace?

Jon & Kate + Heartache

Well, my bet on a pony turned out to be just slightly off. The Gosselins are indeed going their separate ways. I won’t belabor the subject, because at this point it’s been talked into the ground. I’ll simply say that it was hard to watch two people just flush out their raw emotions on camera like that. I was actually delighted to hear the next day that TLC was suspending production for a few months to let them “clear their heads” and try to “bring some healing” to the family. Maybe if they’d suspended production a year ago, this newest suspension wouldn’t be necessary; or maybe not. Sometimes, you just realize that what’s broke can’t be fixed.

In other celebrity death news

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays have all died in the last week. Those deaths, combined with Michael Jacksons’, really cast an eerie pall upon the week. Of those three, I’m saddest probably about Billy Mays. Mostly because he was so young. McMahon and Fawcett had the opportunities to live full lives. Billy was really just starting to ramp up his career. Plus, who didn’t want to buy OxiClean at 3:00 a.m. once Billy got done shouting at you?

On a side note, his commercials for ESPN.com that played on ESPN and allowed him to really ham up his “pitchman” persona were great.

No, seriously, stop using coal. We really mean it this time.

The House of Representatives recently passed the most comprehensive, far-reaching energy bill in the history of the U.S. Many on the right claim that, of course, it goes too far and that it will destroy the economy because it will make energy too expensive, and will price out American businesses going against unregulated industries in China and India. The Liberal left, while somewhat satisfied, has taken the President to task for not going far enough in pushing the environmental envelope.

First off, something that needs to be realized right away is that the Senate still has to approve this baby. Even with the Dems now holding a “super-majority” thanks to the election of Senator-Elect Stuart Smalley . . . I’m sorry, Al Franken, the majority is still going to have a problem with Blue Dog senators from coal-rich states (I’m looking at you, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc.). So the chances of this bill being watered down even more are fairly high.

Secondly, I find it funny when certain conservatives . . . ok, nearly ALL conservatives completely dog the environmental effort. They lambastAl Gore and anyone else who talks about global warming, which they feel is a complete fabrication of reality made up by bleeding-heart liberal scientists. They love to point to cooler days and the summer and make “witty” jokes like, “Boy, sure do hate this global warming.” Haha! See what they did, their? It was an ironic statement, because it’s actually a cooler day in June – Global Warming must be ludicrous, right?

The problem with this attitude is that it completely ignores and puts to te side ALL of the other realities of the environmentalists argument about energy conservation and alternative fuels that are not based on “speculative” science, but are based on numerical realities. These include:

1. Peak Oil – The fact that we do NOT have a limitless supply of oil available on the globe is inescapable
2. Dwindling Forrests – The fact that we are chopping down our rainforests at a ridiculous rate is not arguable
3. Overfishing – We have fished the worlds seafood supply to scarily low numbers

These are just a handful of environmentalist causes that can’t be argued because they’re based on simple facts. I realize the last two don’t really deal with energy, but they are part of my larger argument that certain parts of the “Green Movement” can’t be pushed away as conservatives would like to do. For them to do this, they would have to admit that they are only worried about today, or their children, and that they really couldn’t care about the next seven or eight generations after them. This is crazy to me.

I feel like maybe I should stop now, and just turn this into it’s own post at a later date. Making a mental note now.

Anniversary of the Birth of the Nation

On a note we can all agree on, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, U.S.A.! One of the greatest experiments in government ever to grace the earth. “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.” Who doesn’t love some Greenwood on this weekend? I could go on and on about how much, despite my love of travels and all of the other cultures I’ve seen, I love this country, but I will restrain myself. This post has already gotten out of hand length wise.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• So I mentioned last time that I am not really one for keeping up on the music scene. I do, however, have a love for podcasts. I listen to them wherever I go, whether walking, running, whatever, I’m always listening to podcasts. Here are my favorites, in no particular order. Try them out, see if you like them as well:
•  The B.S. Report with ESPN’s “The Sports Guy”, Bill Simmons – If you love sports and pop culture, you’ll love Simmons.
• Democracy Now! w/ Amy Goodman – Ok, so it’s a VERY left learning podcast, let me give that warning first. My thoughts, though, are that if you never hear both sides of an argument, how can you every truly argue it? If nothing else, it’s food for thought
• Common Sense and Hardcore History w/ Dan Carlin – These are two of my favorite podcasts. Common Sense is a show that focuses on a particular topic of the week, usually political or governmental, and proceeds to dissect it with, you guessed it, common sense analysis. It’s neither right nor left (though it leans libertarian). Hardcore History delves into a different historical topic or story each month, and provides amazing depth and background on many subjects that you may have not even known anything about. His series on the Carthaginian Wars in ancient Rome is my recommendation to get you started.
• John Eldridge and Ransomed Heart – This is usualyl around a 15-minute podcast, updated daily, that’s good for those looking for something to possibly punch up their daily time spent contemplated God.
• 1 Year Daily Audio Bible – Around thirty-five to forty minutes, simply a guy reading a chapter from three different books of the bible. At this time, it’s going through Kings, Acts, and Proverbs. Another good one for someone looking for a way to attack devotion from a fresh perspective.
• Real Time with Bill Maher – This is simply the audio for his HBO show. Once again, food for thought from various perspectives on current events is never a bad thing (caution: it is an HBO show, so language should be expected)
• The Adam Carolla Show – Because Carolla always has a comedian or someone else on who is hysterical, and they just shoot the breeze and make wise for about an hour (caution: this is another one that maybe isn’t for your toddler to listen along with you).
• Stuff You Missed in History Class from How Stuff Works.com – About a fifteen to twenty minute podcast that just simply provides a little information about a different historical subject once a day.

That’s all for now, kids. I’m exhausted. One love to you all.

Legend of the “Daywalker”

“Daywalker” is what all the vampires called Blade in Wesley Snipes beloved (is that a stretch . . . how about well liked?) trilogy about a half-human/half-vampire vampire hunter who could walk around in the day light. I use this as a reference point because, as of late, I feel much like a vampire. I can walk around in the daylight, but all of my energy and strength is used up in my nighttime activities. Now, you might be saying, “That a way Andy, party it up!” Alas . . . not those type of night time activities. No, these are of the “class until 8 and 9 pm” variety.

The light, however, is at the end of the tunnel. After a weekend spent cooped up in a lecture hall, discussing joint venture and Chinese business strategies, my International Competitive Strategy class is finally over. What does that mean? It means no more class on Monday nights. That’s one more night back in my arsenal! That just leaves T and TH night Sex Discrimination classes that should only last until a few weeks into July.  Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll have an ounce of relaxation and, dare I say, fun, before the Fall Semester starts back.

And Iran, Iran so far away . . .

In the last week, as Iran has seen itself plunge into a pattern of protest marches and riot police push-backs, many have speculated that this is the beginning of the end for the Ayatollahs. I mean, this looks just like the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, right? East Germany in 1989, as the wall fell? This is the beginning of the end, ain’t it?

It would be nice to know. Unfortunately, there is a a large degree of uncertainty and difference in the way these riots and protests should be viewed. First off, those revolutions were really about nationalistic pride going against continued dominance by foreign powers (in both of my examples, Russian interference to be exact). Here, though, there is no rally against another nation. This is purely an internal debate. As such, there is less international pressure than there were in the previous examples. In those situations, the world could say to Russia, “Listen to these people, you must respect their sovereignty”. Well, whose sovereignty is to be respected here? This is purely an Iranian issues. Some could argue it’s the sovereignty of the populace versus the religious elite, but to be fare, it was by every honest account the “populace” who put the religious elite in charge to begin with in 1979. In the end, I don’t see this being the birth of democracy that some are hoping for. But it is a start to something.

Onward to Boston

The plane tickets have been purchased. On July 24th, I will be heading to Boston for the 3rd Annual Cosa Nostra Summit. Last years was put on hold because of my travels to China and Kenya. This year, though, Patty, Patrick, Buckley, Match, and myself will be touring the mean streets of Boston, MA. Of course, there will be a trip to Fenway involved. There will be a ton of historical places to check out, museums to visit, and all around good times to be had. This is truly brotherhood as friendship of the highest calling.

Why can’t I just be in Cincinnati already?

We’re now getting close to one month in of the great Indy-Cinci experiment. It’s been ok so far, but now that Holly has officially started, it’s becoming a lot more apparent just how difficult this is going to be at times. It’s just a lot to juggle. I love this women, though, and I have no doubt we can make it work. I love our new house and our new neighborhood though, and frankly, this “bachelor” lifestyle that everyone keeps giving me the wink-and-the-gun about is getting old fairly quickly. I just want to mow my lawn and play fetch with my dogs already (mark it – that’s officially the point in my life when I turned 45).

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• Tigers are in first place, with a four game cushion over Minnesota. I have a good feeling about this season. Just looks like all the pieces could be there.
• Financial Tip – Schwab High Interest Checking accounts. Ditch your crappy bank and get yourself a No-Fee ATM card and a bank account that gives you interest. It’s how all the playa’s play.
• I feel more musically out of touch right now than I ever have in my life. I couldn’t BEGIN to tell you what artists or musicians are popular on the radio right now. (maybe THAT’s the statement where I officially turned 45).
• Jon and Kate had a “special announcement” tonight. Most bets are on divorce. I’m betting on a pony.

One love to you all. Holla atcha boy.

Guiness, My So-Called Life, and a Touch of Gray

I don’t want to say that 27 “hit me”. When I turned that ripe old age yesterday, I didn’t particularly feel “traumatized” by it. I’m ok with it. It’s not a scary age by any means. I would be lying to not admit, however, that it does have a different ring in my mind than all the ages before it. I don’t know really how to explain why it’s older . . . but it just is. It’s older. It sounds older.  For now, though, I’m good with it. I’m actually none-to-afraid of 30. As I explained to someone a few weeks ago, 30 gives a man credibility. For women it’s an age of dread, but for men, its almost an age of validation. So yes, I’m ok with 27.

 

A pint of Guiness . . . maybe two.

Last week, Holly and myself finally got the vacation that we have long been looking forward to. As a reward for Holly’s graduation, we went on a cruise that left out of London and went to Ireland. We spent two days at sea, a day in Dublin, and a day in Cork. We went to the Guiness Brewery, the Dublin Zoo, and Blarney Castle  (where yes, we did in fact kiss the Blarney Stone). It was a great trip in that we both got to see countries we’ve never seen before. More than that, though, it was a great trip because, after weeks of stress from the move, the house, Holly’s graduation, we finally got to truly and honestly relax. We made a pledge to not check our emails for the entire trip. It was truly freeing. We got to focus on only each other and the task of de-stressing. It was a beautiful thing, indeed. Ireland wasn’t too shabby either. Avoid Dublin, though, it’s just a city. Embrace the countryside. That’s the Ireland you’re paying for.

 

My So-Called Life

I phrase it like this for the following reasons. On Monday-Friday, I’m working from 8am to 5pm as a law clerk at a law firm here in downtown Indy. On Monday nights, I have an MBA class, “Int’l Competitive Strategies”, from 5:45 pm to 9:15 pm. That is not a typo. On Tuesday and Thursday nights, I’m in “Sex Discrimination” over at the law school from 5:30 pm to 7:45 pm. On Wednesday nights, there is bible study from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm. Did I mention that I live alone, as Holly has now officially moved to our house in Cincinnati. I’m living in my friends one-bedroom condo here downtown, since she moved to Chicago and hasn’t sold the place yet (though it could sell at any moment, at which point I would again need to relocate). My essential point is this – I have no life right now. I’m just a law school-MBA-law clerk machine, who doesn’t know the definition of fun.  December, you can’t arrive soon enough.

 

Jon and Kate + Annoying

So, I’ll admit – I’m a sucker for tabloid covers. Mags like Us, People, and Ok! will have me captivated in line at the grocery store. As we were getting ready to leave for Chicago (that’s where we flew out of to go to London), Holly and me caught some episodes of Jon and Kate + 8. I was mesmerized. Why would these people do this? Isn’t eight kids hard enough? Why would you want a film crew around all the time? And after twins, you went back for more??? I know I’m late to the game on this show, big time, but still.

All this to say, in the airport, Holly picked up the People magazine with Jon and Kate on the cover. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was excited, because I wanted to know! Is Kate really this big of a biatch? Is Jon really this much of a pansy? I needed to know, dammit! Well, People “confirmed” my beliefs that, yes, Kate is a batsh*t crazy, media hungry Harpie from the planet Estrogen. Feel free to enlighten me, though, if you think I’m totally wrong. Because really, I’m basing this opinion on no more than three episodes watched and two tabloid magazine articles. I’m open to being proven wrong.

 

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• The Tigers are holding into 1^st place in the AL Central. I really do think that they will still be there by the time October comes around. I’m just not impressed by the total package of any other team in the AL Central.
• Living alone when you’re married SUCKS.
• I’m pretty interested by the reaction from the different areas of the political spectrum to President Obama’s  Middle East tour. Conservatives (hard-righters, I mean) are saying that this is his time to finally open up about his true Muslim upbringing and intentions. Lefties say this is his chance to undo all the evils of W. in one swoop. I think reality will be a little bit more towards the middle.
• I finally started a new book! Does that mean that I’ve finished Einstein? Umm, no. But hey, I have gotten several chapters in to The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. It’s a great read so far, and I find that I’m “discovering” a lot more thoughts and ideas than I thought I would when I started the book.
• Lakers in seven.

That’s all for now kids. One love to you all. Holla.

Confessions of a New Home Owner

After weeks of anxiety, waiting, constant phone calls, and brief outbursts of restlessness, the day finally came yesterday when Holly and me closed on our new home! We got the final call at around Noon that everything was good to go for a 4:15 p.m. signing. Not only that, but we found out that instead of having to pay a decent bit at closing, that we were actually going to get some money back! So we drove over there, got to signing, and by about 5:00 p.m., Holly and myself were officially homeowners. Cincinnati, here we come!

But before that . . .

Of course, if it involves us, it couldn’t be that simple. As we were trying to make plans of how we were going to get moved over to Cincinnati tomorrow, we got a call from Holly’s mom that her Step-grandfather was being brought up to Indianapolis for an emergency triple-bypass scheduled for today. Wow. Well, what are you gonna do, life happens, and we weren’t going to dare have people, including her parents, trying to move us while that was going on. So, we’ve postponed the big move until tomorrow afternoon. If you’re reading this and are the prayin type, give a quick prayer for Don Heisler if you’re thinking about it. Triple-bypass aint no joke.

Countdown to the Emerald Isle

In just a few days, we’ll be headed up to Chicago to board a plane bound for London. From there, we will be boarding the Norwegian Jade, bound for Ireland. Our trip will consist of one night out to sea, one full day at sea, a day in Dublin, a day in Cork, another day at sea, and then a voyage into the port next Friday morning. I am completely stoked about this cruise. Especially now that we saved a little money on closing, we might be tempted to take an extra excursion when we are in Cork or Dublin. It’s gonna be terrific!

When we get back that Friday, we’ll head into London and stay there for the night. Holly’s never been to London, so I’m going to try and give her a quick and dirty day tour of the big stuff: Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Thymes, etc. We NEED a vacation, that’s for sure, and this week is going to be marvelous.

Notes at the Closing Bell:

• There are several movies that I want to see. Wolverine, Terminator:Salvation, Transformers 2, G.I. Joe. But I’m really looking forward to The Road, with Viggo Mortenson, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. I haven’t actually read the book, but just reading about the movies makes me want to read the book. Looks like I may have just added a new one to my summer reading list. And yes, I WILL read this summer, I’m determined.
• Got an A in my MBA class this past spring. That’s fun. Not as fun is what I’m expecting for my law grades. Ughh.
• Tigers are in first place right now. Let’s see how long that lasts.

That’s all for now. One love. Holla.

Stutter stepping into Cincinnati

So, our closing is supposed to be tomorrow. Now, you might be thinking, “Hmm, that’s off that he said supposed to be.” I say that because, as of right now, it looks like we may have to be pushing it back. There were some issues with the title and some old liens, so now we’re kinda waiting with baited breath to see if we’re actually going to close tomorrow or not. This wouldn’t be as scary if not for two things: 1) Our lease here at our apartment in Indy is up at the end of the month; and 2) We leave for our vacation on Friday, the 22nd of May. So we’re kinda playing with a limited time frame here. And yes, as always, this leads Andy to mucho stress eating. Thank you, Chick-fil-A and Snickers.

Paging Dr. Heaton, Dr. Bauser-Heaton

As of Saturday at approx 11:00 a.m., I am officially married to a double-doc. Dr. Holly Bauser-Heaton, M.D., Ph.D. It’s actually pretty crazy to think about. After all these years of having to say, “Yeah, my wife’s a student” or “Holly’s a med-student”, now I just get to simply say, “My wife’s a doctor.” It’s pretty cool, actually. I’m just so amazingly proud of her, I can’t really describe it. We had a party for her, and afterwards, we put her diploma into her nice, new frame. We were just kinda silent as we stared at it and it all sunk in that she really was done.  Hopefully soon, she’ll get to say, “My husband’s a lawyer” and not, “My husbands a bum.” I KID!  . . . .  sorta.

Vacation

As I mentioned, we are scheduled to leave for our vacation/Holly’s Graduation Celebration on May 22nd. We are driving to Chicago, which we will then fly out of to head into London, England. From there, we will depart for a five-day cruise going from London to Dublin, Ireland, to Cork, Ireland, and then back to London. It’s going to be amazing! I’ve never gone on a cruise before, and this is pretty different from the usual cruise to the Bahamas. We’re both stoked!

Classes – When will the hurting stop, Mommy?

Last Thursday was my last final of the spring, an eight-hour juggernaut called Income Tax. It was nice to be done . . . until I started my summer classes on Monday. I am taking “International Competitive Strategy” for the MBA program on Mondays, and “Sex Discrimination” on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the JD program. Yup, class three nights a week, along with my full time work here at the law firm. Someone shoot me, please. I also had the horrible revelation that I was not as close to being done with the MBA program as I thought I was. I now have to take ONE MORE class in the fall to complete my requirements. I’m signed up for “Venture Strategy” at this time. December really can’t get here soon enough.

Ramblings at the closing bell

• Pistons bounced out in the first round – no shocker there. Tiger’s are hanging tough on top in the AL Central but aren’t impressing me. Wings have to get past a tough Ducks team in Game 7. Lions . . . well, yeah.
• I’m so frickin sick of hearing about Miss California. I hope this latest round of news about her is the end. Perez Hilton set her up with a highly controversial question. Other people get asked about world hunger, and he’s gonna throw gay marriage at her? Hey, why not at the Miss Universe pageant, we just ask all the women about their stances on abortion, huh? It’s just a bit much.
• Ok, I’m gonna go on a little tangent here. My wife and I are HUGE fans of “The Biggest Loser”. I mean, we are pretty religiously devoted to it, and have been since we watched an entire season of it on New Year’s Day back in January. So we’ve followed this season devotedly. So, this past week was the final. Up until now, my preference for winning was 1) Mike; 2) Helen; 3) Tara. I never took to Tara just from the fact that she was always a winner, and started getting freaked out about having to win. I thought her winning it all would just be too much. I identified a lot with Mike, thought he showed alot of heart walking that Marathon, and that he had gotten alot of his emotional baggage out during the season. Helen I like just because I thought, he, this lady is older, I appreciate that she’s hung in there and is really looking good. FAST FORWARD to the finale. After all the contestants came out, Helen was asked, “What do you think your chances are?” She looked at the other two and said, “I think they are pretty good!” SERIOUSLY? You choose the finale to get cocky. She was way to confident, especially when both Mike and Tara looker great! I instantly hated her at that point. So what happens? Of course, she wins. But damn if Mike and Tara weren’t CLOSE. I think Mike was only three pounds away from beating her, and he had to have lost 210 lbs. He has such a harder road than her. Tara actually won me over as well, and I started to think that maybe her winning streak deserved final validation.
• All that to say, Helen, you suck. Mike, keep it up. Tara, you deserved it.

That’s all for now. One love. Holla.

Sleeping with “T.B. Mary”

Before anyone calls the CDC in this environment of swine flu, don’t be alarmed. For awhile, we were somewhat worried that after months of being back from Africa, that Holly was going to finally get tested and come up positive for T.B.  I told her that I was going to flip if I’d caught it from being in the same house with "T.B. Mary". I which point she told me that it was "Typhoid Mary" and that I was an idiot. We were worried because one of the guys on the trip just got tested a month ago, and came up positive. Long story short, Holly found out Friday that she’s clear for T.B.

This is going to be a quick, random, and dirty post. I just wanted a break from all things "law" for a second. Plus, I haven’t posted since right after Match day, and much has happened. Here goes the randomness:

The Homeowner’s life for us

Shortly after we found out we were moving to Cincinnati, Holly began the house hunt. After six years in graduate school and apartments, Holly decided that her reward for all that work and having the guts to move ot a new city was a house of her very own. A compelling argument that I couldn’t argue with, so we began the search full force. In two weeks, we came up with a stellar prospects, and a few days later, we had a winning bid accepted. So, on May 15th, we will officially close on our new home at 3901 Kilbourne Ave, Cinicinnati OH, 45209. I’m already salivating at that new homeowner tax incentive next year. Cha-ching!

Law School and the MBA – Almost There

In just a little over seven months, I will officially be done  with my JD/MBA. I have only one more MBA class to take this summer, and I’ll officially be done with that aspect of it. Then in the Fall, it’s twenty hours of law classes, and Im officially outta here. I’d be lying to say I was super stoked, because while I enjoy the propsect of no more nights and weekends slaving over readings I don’t care about, i’m not looking forward to hopping into this job market. Hopefully it will tidy itself up a little bit before I put my toes in come January 2010.

The Mini-Marathon

This weekend, Holly and me will be running the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon, the country’s largets half-marathon, and one of the oldest. It’s a huge tradition here in Indianapolis, and it’s going to be the longest distance Holly has ever run. She signed up for it after getting a little "inspiration" while attending my participation in the Chicago Marathon. Since then, she has slowly transformed herself from someone who despised running into, well, an actual runner! This past weekend, she clocked the longest run of her life at 10 miles. I’m so proud of her! I know she’s going to do great, and I have no doubt she’ll finish. As for myself, I’m setting a goal of 1:45:00. Which leads me to the next point -

NEW GOAL – Boston Marathon 2011.

Last year, I was motivated all year by the desire to run a marathon. I picked Chicago, and I acheived my goal. After it was done, I was not filled with any intense desire to run it again. And any lingering desire to run Chicago again was killed when they released the entry price for this year as $120! No thanks. As the year has gone on, though, I have been filled with this intense desire to really reach for something lofty. Then, I was thinking about it while training for the Mini, and it hit me – I need to really be pushed to a point that seems impossible. That point I realized was to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon. To do that, I would have to run a qualified marathon course in a time of 3:10:00. To understand how far I am from that, and thus how much work I have in front of me, my Chicago time was 4:42:19. So I have to shave nearly an hour and a half off of my Chicago time!!! So I’m giving myself two years, and with the goal being to qualify for the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Thus, there will be many marathons and half-marathons in my future.

Odds and Ends

• I created a Pandora channel that combines Styx and Rush. Some of the gems it has kicked out include Boston, the Cars, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. I don’t know what it delights me so much, but it does, Mr. Roboto.
• The Tigers are in first place – for now. Three game series with a middling Yankees team will be a test to see if we have the ability to get some distance frmo the pack or not.
• In approx. one and a half weeks, I will officially be married to a medical doctor. Pretty weird and wacky stuff.
• Cosa Nostra has chosen it’s Summit location for the summer of 2009. In July, Patty, Patrick, Buckley and myself will be heading to Boston. A series at Fenway against the Royals is in our future.
• Swine flu?!?!?! Really, SWINE FLU? Get the heck outta here. Just bring back Smallpox, like in the good ol’ days.
• There is nothing that goes on in anyone’s life that interesting enough to me that I need to be Twittered every twenty minutes about their awesome lunch or their sweet new kicks (is it ironic that I’m complaining on my blog about a mini-blog? Ehhh).

That’s all for now. More after finals! One love to you all.

PS – My Pandora channel just kicked out “Come Sail Away” It’s doesn’t get any better than that.

I’m at WKRP in Cincinnatiiiiiiiiii….

NEWS FLASH – Cincinnati, OH snags couple reeking of Awesomejuice.

After months of waiting, wondering, sometimes arguing, sometimes freaking out, the day has finally come and gone. On Thursday the 19th, Holly and myself found out that our future is bound the rolling hills of the “Queen City”, Cincinnati, OH. Sometime in June, Holly will move, and as of July 2009, she will officially be Dr. Holly Bauser-Heaton, MD, PhD, Internist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I will finish out my education here in Indianapolis, finishing my MBA this summer and my JD be December.

It’s hard to explain to non-med students just how difficult this decision was. There were so many layered and nuanced considerations that had to go into Holly’s decision of ranking Cincinnati first on her list back at the end of February. It was so very hard because she really was digging the idea of living in the South in Nashville. She really liked the program, the director, and of course, she new that I like the idea of being closer to my Bama peoples.

At the end of the day, however, we just didn’t think we could pass up this amazing opporutnity to advance her career. In the easiest way that I can illustrate it, check out the latest U.S. News and World Reports rankings of Children’s Hopsitals.  As you can see, Cincinnati was ranked #3 in the nation; Nashville was #23. 

I’m also really excited about Cincinnati – it has alot of my favorite things. First and most important, for th first time in my life, I will actually get to live in a city with Major League Baseball. That’s right, my summer’s will contain a lot of Great American Ballpark for at least the next six or seven years. Also, they have the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany, and they have a Hofbrauhaus. From a career standpoint, Cincinnati is actually probably a better target for me to establish myself and get a foothold into a larger, business oriented law-firm. Nashville would have me competing with Vanderbilt JD’s as well as the South’s best and brightest who want to live in “glitzy” Nashville. Because Cincinnati is a little less of a glamours destination, I’ll hopefully face a little less competition for a job once I’m out of here.

Now, nerves are starting to settle in just a little bit. There’s this feeling of, “Oh my God, we’re not going to be students much longer.” The stark reality of bills, loan payments, mortgages, all of these things have started to settle in. We have a great adventure ahead of us. I’m just buckling in an getting ready for the ride.

The crazy un-real reality of “Mad Men”

In celebration of her Match Day results, and with it being just that time of year to go traveling, Holly has gone with her sister and nephew out to her brother’s place in Orange County, CA. That has left me here to hold down the fort. Deciding that I needed one day of true relaxation, I decided to go to our local video store (non-chain, kinda shady video store crawling with locals – my kinda place) and pick up the first discs from Season One of AMC’s acclaimed “Mad Men” series. Honestly, its kind of a mind trip to watch it.  The things that were and weren’t acceptable are kind of shocking to the senses. Then you go a little farther to realize that, wow, this was only forty or so years ago. The character are extremely complex and layered, and its really just a very interesting show to watch. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out. I know you probably have already, because I’m always late to the party on these types of shows. Oh well.

On being a Working Man

For those of you who may have not gotten the memo, I’m now officially a working man. As of the first Wednesday of this month, I am a Law Clerk for the firm of Lee, Cossell, Koeuhn & Love, LLP. It’s a smaller, 15+ lawyer firm in downtown Indianapolis. They focus on plaintiff’s cases, including personal injury, worker’s comp, family law, and other strands of civil litigation. I’m working 20 hours a week, and so far, I’ve really enjoyed it. For those who aren’t quite clear on why I’m at this type of firm, knowing that I’m getting my MBA and planning to do Corporate Law, it’s pretty simple to explain. Jobs are hard to come by – plain as that. I have friends in the JD program with excellent resumes, one who actually won Moot Court, and they haven’t found jobs yet. The market for legal jobs is just ridiculously difficult. So, I’m working here, and then when I graduate, I’ll hopefully have the firm experience that will help me land a job that more appropriately lines up with the type of law that I actually want to practice. Either way, I am enjoying it so far, and its at least confirming for me that I do enjoy the practice of law, no matter what type of law it may be.

Some quick points and observations:

• Funniest post-political sketch: Will Forte, of SNL, doing Tim Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury two weeks ago. Just watch and laugh at how horrible our situation really is.
• Michigan won it’s first round game against Clemson after making the dance for the first time since the late 90’s. I’m as happy as a little girl.
• I’m not gonna lie – I feel bad for Obama getting slammed about his “Special Olympics” joke on the Tonight Show. Why? Because as “politically incorrect” as it is, it’s a joke that a ton of people across this country probably would have made. He was trying to be personable and create an atmosphere that him and Jay were just two guys talking. In trying to do that, he made a joke that probably all of his friends (and my friends) have made at some point when trying to describe a friend who struggles at a certain athletic attempt.
• A quick side point to this. Both Tim Shriver, President of the Special Olympics, and Sarah Palin, Media-lover. . . I mean Governor of Alaska and mom of a special needs child, have made the following point in trying to take on this situation, “And actually, these special athletes are probably better athletes than most of us Americans.” Sigh . . . no, no they are not. They aren’t. They are wonderful people and kids who aren’t letting their handicaps keep them from competing on the Atheltic fields, and that’s very admorable; they are not better atheletes than most of us. Once again, the equalization of America strikes again (We’re all the same, no one is better than anyone else, you kid is no smarter than my kid, even though your kid gets straight A’s and mine eats paste, blah blah blah).

One love to you all. Holla atcha boy.

“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth . . . “

This Wednesday, Holly’s rank list is due. For those who are unsure of exactly what on Earth that means, let me clarify it for you. In November, Holly went to a bunch of interviews at different Pediatric Hospitals around the country. At this time, she now must turn in a list ranking her preferences from top to bottom. At this exact same moment, these different pediatric residency programs are making their own “rank lists” of the various med students who have interviewed at their programs. Both the students and the schools then submit their lists to a central processing system, that then “matches” up students with programs according to the two lists.

For example: Say Student A ranks IU first. IU ranks Student A near the bottom on their list. They will most likely not match. Student A ranks U. of Chicago second on their list. Student A is ranked near the top of U. of Chicago’s list. Student A, despite ranking IU first, is heading to U. of Chicago.

With that said, despite the deadline being Wednesday, Holly went ahead and submitted her list today. The fear of something messing up and the system and getting stuck made Holly decide to go ahead and just do it. Before you ask, I will NOT be saying what she ranked. I will say that, as most of you know, it came down to a battle between Cincinnati, OH (Children Memorial at the University of Cincinnati), and Nashville, TN (Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University), with Riley’s Children’s Hospital (IU) as the wild-card third horse.

This was without a doubt the biggest, most far reaching decision we’ve had to make in our two and a half years of marriage. This decision will put us in a new city, and keep us in that new city for at least three years, if not six (depending on whether Holly goes on to do her cardiac fellowship there or not). It was just a gutwrenching decision, and having to make it left us both exhausted, as it has dominated all thought for many weeks now.

In the end, we said a simple five-minute prayer together, and then Holly submitted the list. On March 19th, I’ll reveal to the world (along with Holly) where the Heaton’s will be living together in 2010!

Other bits:

• Last weekend was College Night weekend. It warms my heart every single time. I dread the day when I’m too old and it would thus be lame to go out and do “Rooster”. It was, great as always, though, to see the side give it it’s best shot. Even though I’ve reached the point where I no longer really know any of the current side members, a Gold’s a Gold.
• The College Night weekend, though, would have been nothing without all of our amazing friends. I say “our”, because I truly feel like Holly has made my friends her as well at this point. Michael and Brandi, Reagan and Meg, Ashlee, JT, Drew, Andy and Mary Beth, Aaron and Martha, Mitchell, Caroline and Bake, Steph and Allen, Bianchi and Blake, Richie and Kathy (and baby!), Chris and KellyBo . . . the list goes on. I love you all, and there will always be a chunk of my heart in the Heart of Dixie.
• The Tiger’s first Spring training game is only two days away. There is nothing that beats the smell of a freshly cut diamond on a dewey Saturday morning. I can’t wait for the day when I’m heading out every weekend to coach my child’s little league team.
• So, I guess I should check out “Slumdog Millionaire”, huh? Seems to have peaked the eye of a good number of the Oscar voters. “Benjamin Button” . . . I think I’ll stay away.
• I miss the rains down in Africa. Not the mud, though. Just the rains And the Tusker.

One love to you all. Holla

Is this the “Change” you signed up for?

The past few days have been quite the trying times for the Obama Administration. It all started last week with his recommendation for the Treasury spot, Geithner, was bogged down by tax issues before ultimately being approved. Then, Daschle started to bob and weave about his own tax problems, revealing that he had failed to pay over $100,000 in taxes. The final whammy came when both Daschle and Nancy Killefer had to withdraw their nominations to administration spots because of tax issues.

Now is Obama to blame for their sins? No, he obviously did not know about these issues, and probably would not have nominated them in the first place if he had. The question, though, is why did he continue to defend them? Why did he continue to stand by them? For an administration that railed about “honesty”, “Integrity”, and a new style of politics for the last year and a half, didn’t these issues immediately undercut the entire administrations efforts.  Doesn’t this send the message that, “Well, ok, you don’t HAVE to follow the letter of the law as long as you have the right background to make a solid contribution to my efforts.”

This is not to say that no one makes mistakes, and I’m not even alleging that these might not have been “honest” tax mistakes. Lord knows that the Tax Code is immensely confusing. But it’s not as if these are problems or mistakes committed years ago by these nominees. These are immediate. They are current mistakes. If they though there might have even been a slight question or problem with their taxes, why didn’t they have someone double or triple check it?

On the flip side of all this, President Obama has now unveiled his plan for compensatory caps. $500,000 is the maximum that an executive will be allowed to make if their company has received a bailout from the government. The capitalist inside me cringes – but you know what, if your company “has” to have government bailout money, then it’s probably justified. I think, though, it will result in companies who didn’t need the money to survive (but probably would have taken it to possibly loosen their lending practices) from taking money like this in the future.  If companies like this stop taking money, lending practices will take that much longer to resume to normal. So . . . is this the best way to enact market corrections?

• We’re are only about a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring training. Baseball, return to my life! I need you! College basketball, NBA, and NHL aren’t getting the job done.
• Next week is College Night. Nothing is like it, and I’m completely ready for it.
• Just about three weeks to go till Holly turns in her rank list. ZOINKS!
• In the last few weeks, I’ve seen previews for both “Wolverine” and “G.I. Joe”. This summer will be scrumtrulescent at the theatres.

One love . . . Holla.