March: Friends, Family, and Zombies

The trees seemed to be reaching for them, the shadows curling their gnarled fingers toward them. There was something in these woods. If they could only get out. The heavy crunch of their feet on broken twigs and rocks as they ran through the steamy forest echoed in their heads, matching the pace of their quickening heart beats. Sweat rolled down his back, sending shivers through his body despite the heat. Then they heard it, the snarl and scratch that meant something was around the corner of the trail. They turned, not knowing exactly what they would see. As they rounded the corner, they were greeted by three freshly-made zombies. They had to pass them. There was no way around. As they tried to run through, they were snagged. The zombies were too fast, there were too many of them. They were done.

In March, Kim and I had the pleasure of running a Zombie Run 5k through the woods/swamps. We were not quite risking our lives, but we were risking our flags. We each had three flags that represented our lives.  Zombies were placed throughout the path with the sole purpose of stealing our flags. Sadly, neither of us made it the whole way without losing all of our flags. But, we did learn a bit about ourselves. I learned that alternating sprinting and running is pretty miserable, especially with a twisted ankle. Kim learned that in the case of a zombie apocalypse, maybe she should not run in front of me, since I may or may not accidentally push her toward them... 

As part of the Zombie Run, we were also supposed to have a color run in the afternoon. Unfortunately, pretty intense thunderstorms rolled in and the color run was canceled. So, looking like we just survived a zombie apocolypse, complete with caked on mud, sweat, and fake blood, Kim and I went to Panera and worked for the rest of the afternoon.

One might think that surviving a zombie apocalypse would be enough excitement for one month, but Kim and I were not quite satisfied. We were happy to have one of my best friends from high school, Graham, come and visit along with his friends. Being only an hour away from Disney and Universal has made Tampa a prime place to visit. While in town, Graham, friends, and I went to the beach and searched for seashells and sunrays. It is crazy how you can not see someone for the better part of a decade and then when you do meet up, it is as if no time has gone by. 

Not only were we visited by Graham and friends, but my Aunt Mabel and Uncle Ken and friends had their annual beach trip. Once a year, they drive down from Newfoundland, Canada to St. Petersburg, Florida. It was a great chance to catch up with family that I do not often get to see. We chatted family, politics (it was the day Marco Rubio suspended his presidential campaign). One day, we will definitely have to make the journey up to the mystical rock in the ocean.

February: The Show Goes On

The warm rays of sunlight caress his cheek through the glass of the car's window. The afternoon was beginning to fade into evening, but there was a certain palpable energy hidden within the calmness. They were returning to his house from a day of socializing with friends and watching a college lacrosse game. He was newly single and certainly not expecting to find a life-long romantic partnership in someone he had thought was firmly in the friendzone. But as the little Chevy Cobalt zipped through the streets of Tampa, their conversation turned toward the future and his best friend revealed that not only was she willing to date younger men, but that she would be excited to have kids one day, if it happened with the right man. Still unsure of whether this was heading where he though it might, he could not help but awkwardly stutter out "wait, am I the right man?" Could this be real? They were firmly just friends. Of course there had been attraction here and there, but it was never more than a fleeting thought because they wanted different things out of life. Right? But here they were, talking about a shared vision of the future, with all the reasons they could only be friends mute or nonexistent. "Yeah, you are." She wryly said, trying to pay attention to the road, with her heart hammering in her chest. "Well, then, let's just get married. I'm serious. Let's do it." And he was. In the briefest of conversations, his whole world had been flipped upside down. He knew that this woman was his soulmate, that she was not only his best friend, already, but that she was beautiful and brilliant, and now she wanted kids and was actually attracted to him too? Why, wait? "Things need to happen first, like dating, for example." she said. She was taken aback by his abrupt forwardness and earnestness. "Well, ok then! Let's date." And thus began a romance to rival the likes of Cleopatra & Mark Antony, Orpheus & Eurydice, Marie & Pierre Curie, Jack & Rose.


A little over a year later, Kim and I celebrated our first anniversary of dating on Valentines day. Kim surprised me with a day trip to Lettuce Lake Park, a local wildlife and nature reserve. We wandered around the boardwalks above the lake and swamps, trying to spot gators or turtles or birds. Mostly, we just talked and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Kim had also surprised me with a picnic lunch of Publix sandwiches (the food we ate on our first date). We sat and watched other young couples milling about the park, playing with frisbees, half-heartedly sneaking sips of wine from bottles donned in paper bags, or just laying down enjoying the warmth of the sun and each other's company.

Later that month, I trekked down to St. Pete beach to finish filming the independent movie I was starring in. The director, my costar, and I spent the early afternoon filming outside of a pizza restaurant that had agreed to let us film on their patio. That evening, we were set to film in the apartment of a friend of the costar. In between shoots, I found myself wandering down to the water and working on some of my coursework for the last semester of classes I would ever take. The final shoot took a while to set up in the apartment that overlooked the water and park where a Blues festival was beginning to pick up some energy. The sultry melodies echoed their way up to the upper balconies where we stood, waiting for the sun to set so we could film. Hours later, the film was finished, the festival had quieted, and the reflection of the moon was shimmering on the water below.

This post may be a bit short, but February is a short month, after all.

Gasparilla

The ocean glimmered, reflecting the faint pink hue of the new rays of dawn. The sun rose over the port of Tampa, greeting thick clouds of smoke and chaos. Shops and homes were burned to the ground or reduced to rubble. Bodies lined the street of innocent Tampa residents who sought to flea their homes as the call of "Pirates" echoed throughout the city in the pre-dawn hours. Still trolling through the streets, through the thinning smoke and the thick smell of blood and death were the pirates, the crew under the command of Jose Gaspar. Jose Gaspar, the man, the pirate, who invaded Tampa. Or, at least that is how the story goes.

Our friends, Kim and Will, in typical Gasparilla Garb.

Every year in late January, early February, the city of Tampa congregates along Bayshore to celebrate the historic--and yet entirely fictional--event of Gaspar's pirate invasion of the town. Early in the morning, all the boats of Tampa sail out into the bay and then sail back in for The Invasion. Supposedly (for I have never actually witnessed the invasion, it is much too early for my liking), there are reenactments of ship battles and fights between the shopkeepers and the pirates. The area president of Wells Fargo, for example, partook in The Invasion, taking over his own bank! That is how Gasparilla, Tampa's annual tradition that looks a bit like a pirate Mardi Gras, starts.

Dave and Hector enjoying post-gasparilla brunch

Elysia and Kristen at Cicio's Cali.

This year, we were blessed to have many friends visit us for Gasparilla. Kim's friends from home Aimee, and Elysia and Hector came down and stayed with her, while our newest couple friends Kristen and Dave stayed with me. The morning of Gasparilla, we all prepared ourselves, applying eyeliner, dawning pirate costumes of varying degrees of authenticity, and making pacts to make it to the parade this year! Kim's house is a short walk from Bayshore so we host a get-together for our friends there before the parade. Many friends (and some strangers) joined us in celebrating this year. At some point during the day, we made friends with the next-door neighbors who share a fence with Kim (think Wilson from Home Improvement). This young couple had two friends over who were dressed as if they were attending the Renaissance Festival. That said, the homeowners were super friendly offering to share dessert-drinks with some of us, and even gave me a meatball sub to eat because I mentioned that they smelled delectable!

A little before two, we meandered down to Bayshore to watch the parade. Floats filled with pirates, who are actually some of Tampa's most elite citizens, passed by as the crowds cheered and begged for beads. Some people even brought lacrosse sticks to maximize their bead-catching abilities. As the parade began to wind down, we trickled back toward Kim's house. I had one job: "Don't Lose Aimee." When we get to Kim's house, guess who isn't there? Aimee. We had become separated during the departing process and instead of leaving all together, Aimee was left to wander home with some new friends. Aimee arrived at Kim's a mere few minutes after we did, and I avoided the doghouse.

 The rest of the evening was spent playing games and chatting at Kim's as friends came and left. At some point in the night, Kim's cat "Kitty" ran away. A fact, we did not discover for a few days. That emotional rollecoaster of an extravaganza lasted for about a week, as the hunt for Kitty went on in vain. Until, one day, Kitty deciding she had had enough of the streets, longing for the lap of luxury she was used to, hunkered down in the cat trap we had set up on Kim's front porch (complete with Kitty's favorite blanket and calming cat pheromones).

Kim and Aimee at Cicio's post-Gasparilla.

Alas, all great things must come to an end, even Gasparilla. And all great things must have their appropriate endings. Every year, we have a post-Gasparilla brunch at Cicio's Cali in North Tampa. Their bowls are delicious, the live music is always outstanding, and it feels like it's healthy (or at least healthier than the alternatives).

All in all, this was a rather entertaining, yet tame Gasparilla. Previous years saw strangers attempting to crawl into Kim's car through her passenger window as we drove through the crowded streets, insisting we take them home. That is, until we started rolling the window up on them. Or friends locking themselves in the bathroom for multiple hours. Shenanigans. But, what can you expect for a holiday designed to celebrate the day a fake pirate supposedly took over your city?

January: A New Beginning

Moments before midnight December 31, 2015

It starts with a kiss, as do all great stories. Amid the bright booming fireworks and the joyous cheers and general cacophony, a boy and girl are locked in a deep embrace. The moment lingers as they share warmth and love, both feeling electrified with passion. Then, the moment passes, they pull apart and join in the celebration of the new year. 2016 would be quite an amazing year, especially if it started off like this. Little did we know that our kiss would mark the beginning of one of the best and busiest (and most challenging) years of our lives!

Some context. I am now a 25 year old doctoral candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I study teams in the workplace and how to make them better. I last used this blog as a way to chronicle my adventures during my undergraduate days, with my last update taking place right before I started my senior year of college at Washington and Lee University. It has been a little over four years since that last post, and I have had many adventures since then. Moving forward, I want to keep this blog as a way to reflect on my life as it is. A sort of diary. I have spent many hours lately fearing growing old and having never lived an extraordinary life. That is, until just the other day when a dear friend pointed out that our lives, in fact already are extraordinary. The opportunities and daily adventures we have, though riddled with challenges and mundane tasks, are still the stuff of dreams for many people. Part of my fears, too, are stemmed in my poor autobiographical memory. I have come to realize that my brain lets many of the events of my life just slip by, washing over it like a wave that retreats. This wave may make some lasting impressions or changes, it may have stand out among the millions of waves of experiences crashing over us every day, but generally, once it recedes back into the endless ocean of time, it's gone for me. Reading over my previous posts I noticed two things: 1. I was rather immature in both my writing and my perspective (but what is to be expected of a 20 year old). 2. I have only the vaguest memories of many of those posts. Some of the people and events mentioned are just shadows of a wave that passed by years ago. I now fear growing old and not being able to remember the extraordinary life that I am currently living, and thus, I have taken up this blog again.

Enjoying the Las Vegas strip before 2016 starts

We started our journey through this recent year at the very moment the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. My girlfriend, Kim, and I were in Las Vegas celebrating. My parents live out there now, and we had taken two weeks to visit them for the holidays. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to celebrate New Years in one of the three most iconic places to do so, we went to the strip. After hours of wandering around the strip, admiring the lights and the people and the food, we found ourselves buffeted to a viewing area for the fireworks outside the Bellagio. There we stood waiting eagerly for 2016 to begin. It was freezing, quite literally. Kim looked radiant in a very well fitting dress, but because the desert nights are unfathomably cold for a place that can reach 120 degrees during the day time in the summer, she had worn "the warmest coat in the world." This coat is my dad's, but is worn almost exclusively by my mom. It can keep you toasty in sub-zero weather. I was bundled up in a peacoat and blazer. That said, I was much colder than Kim, and both of our legs were freezing. Fortunately, the excitement of the moment, the almost tangible buzz of life around us kept us warm, or at least distracted until 2016.

Enjoying the beautiful scenery and homes in Palm Springs

A few days later, while still visiting my parents, we took a day trip to Palm Springs, California. We wandered around this aging town that served as a retreat for celebrities during the Golden Era of Hollywood. It had the occasional threads of life and new blood that ran through the city, but the magic of yesteryear was ubiquitous. We went through shops (where I picked up my favorite hat, a grey fedora-style hat that actually fits my oversized head), and neighborhoods, admiring the beautiful houses and backdrops.

Tasting some wine and cigars with the parents and Kim

We stopped for exquisite wine and cigars at Fame Tobacco & Wine, enjoying people (and dog) watching. We were surprised to find a film festival taking over the town during that week. We tried, in vain, to watch the celebrities walk the red carpet at the awards ceremony that night. We were able to find the location, and saw limos bringing some of Hollywood's rich and famous, but we had no patience or time to wait in the excruciatingly long lines that buffered us from the red carpet viewing area.

Brewery tour and tasting with Kim, the boys, and Bob at Cigar City Brewing Co. Tampa

Returning to Tampa, we hit the ground running. Classes started back up, my thesis was finishing up data collection, my role as a kickboxing instructor was officially starting, and filming for the short indie film I was in was also beginning. We were home for barely a few days when I was semi-surprised by some of my fraternity brothers who flew in from Virginia, Maryland, and California! We toured the Tampa History Museum, visited the Korean Family Spa: Shangri-la, and toured Cigar City Brewing. It had been a few years since Kim and I had been on Cigar City's tour. They had upgraded from their initial one room tour in which a small group of guests were able to taste green beer, and watch the brewers hand stir the vats of beer. Now, the tour took us into three different buildings, included a tasting of five different kinds of beers, and was led by a jovial man named Bob. He regaled us with tales of inter-brewery competitions and bets that resulted in beers like "Florida Man Loses Bet."

January ended with Tampa's greatest tradition: Gasparilla! That said, I feel like it deserves its own post. In the mean time, cheers to the daily adventure!