Scary

"That monster's scary!" -- random patron at showing of "Jurassic Park" that my brother John went to when he was living in Virginia. (Editor's note: this has been a long-running Kelly family joke because, of course, the "monsters" in Jurassic Park are in fact dinosaurs.

HT to the wife for pointing me to this website:

http://www.blogthings.com/whatshouldyoubewhenyougrowupquiz/

Here is my result. Pretty right on I would say.

You Should Be a Manager

You're very organized, motivated, and methodical. Fair and objective, you can see all sides of a conflict. You are a good mediator. You are task oriented. You do well with deadlines and schedules. And while you can be a task master at times, you're good at managing people and listening to their input. You do best when you: - Must have attention to detail - Are in charge of people You would also be a good accountant or personal assistant.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

My Sister the Runner

We packed up the crew in the mini-van yesterday and headed over to Disney to greet my sister Terry after she finished running in the "Donald" -- Disney's version of a half-marathon.

Terry has been blogging about this goal often over the past few months. As her big brother, I can say I am extremely proud of her for sticking with it and reaching what seemed to be unreachable just weeks ago.

We spent the rest of Saturday at the Magic Kingdom with Terry, Rich, and their respective families. It was a great time, but we were totally exhausted by the time we returned home at around 11 pm. I really felt like a wuss for feeling that way, especially since Terry woke up at 3 am, ran 13.1 miles, and then hung out with us all day and night.

Way to go Terry!!!

Going Home

In the course of unpacking our household goods last week, we came across a few items from our old house that were inadvertently packed by our movers. Since I had a business trip already planned for Northern Virginia this week, I boxed up the stuff to make a personal delivery. That delivery happened late this afternoon.

As I entered South Riding via Loudoun County Parkway, I was greeted by the huge new Home Depot that is in the latter stages of construction across the parking lot from the Giant supermarket. The new Ruby Tuesday and Panera Bread were open for business. A red "drought emergency" sign in the median reminded residents of the very strict water restrictions currently in place.

I continued down the Parkway and turned right on Freedom Street. Even though I had traveled that exact route many times before, today was different. I felt like a familiar outsider (if that makes any sense.) Making the final right turn onto Crossfield Drive, I pulled up in front of the corner house. I parked in roughly the same place as I did that warm summer day in 2003 when I brought our new baby to his house for the first time. (Ditto in 2004 and 2006.)

Brown landscaping aside, our old house looked frozen in time...unchanged from the crisp Fall day when we drove away for the last time. The mailbox clasp was still loose, causing the door to fall open. The porch was empty, as was the back deck. The outdoor temperature sensor, which I mistakenly left behind, was still in place on the inside edge of the porch roof.

I grabbed the box from the back seat of my rental car and approached the front door. I had placed a note on top of the box just in case no one was home. I rang the doorbell (that was weird). After waiting a moment, I started back to the car. Just then the door opened. Someone else was answering my door!

It was the wife of the couple who bought our house. Her two children were with her, standing back from the door. I explained to her about the box. She thanked me for bringing it. I said "you're welcome" and that quickly I was on my way.

Just as when I saw people I used to work with, I had mixed feelings when I drove away. Even though we are very happy in our new home, I feel a little sad at what we left behind. So many great memories..such a great house and community.

Ultimately though, I left happy that we passed on the first house we bought together to a nice family who is really enjoying living there.

Destination Reached

OK, now this is a real test of how long you have been reading this space. Exactly one year ago, I posted my first blog entry. It was titled Destination: Florida and in it I spoke about our plans to try and move to Central Florida sometime in late 2007 (October/November was our target at the time.)

I didn't know much more than that at the time. My resume had not been updated or sent out anywhere, we hadn't narrowed down our target area to a city or even a county (we were actually thinking more about Orlando at the time), we didn't even know about our eventual builder or community.

How much has changed in the past 365 days. During a trip to South Florida in March, we found out about Maronda Homes by way of a billboard on I-95. In April, I made a contact at Harris Corporation and the job search took a dramatic turn for the positive. Two interviews and numerous emails/phone calls later, I received a formal job offer in July. We packed up and moved in September, and we are in the process of settling into our new house as I write this first post of 2008.

A huge amount of activity and change. But after much work, we are realizing our goal of living in Florida and being closer to family. That one huge benefit has made it all worth it.

On behalf of all of us, I wish you and yours a very Happy and prosperous 2008!