We Made It

We made it grandma.

We made it.

An Election Day Experience in Virginia

When asked about 9/11, most Americans will be able to give you a vivid recollection about what they were doing when they found out the World Trade Center and Pentagon had been hit. Such tragedy will stay fixed in the American psyche for decades to come as it was a traumatizing event.

I'm realizing that today, November 4, 2008 is having the same pyschological effect on me as that gloomy day in United States history. The difference though, is that my recollection of today won't contain memories of a horrific display of terror, but of the truest illustration of the feeling of "hope."

My father wrote a great letter today to all of the members of my family. It made my eyes well up. He senses that "hope" too and feels "vindicated and affirmed of service proudly" given that more Americans than ever are exercising their right to vote ...

Well, Nov 4 was a day full of rain and wind. Mom and I hit the polls at Nansemond River Baptist Church on Highway 17 at 0530 before dawn's break properly attired in sailor foul weather gear. Fortunately, we got into the building at the end of a lengthy serpentine line that would make any football game queue look small.

The Obama-McCain contest clearly generated more voter participation than any other American political contests that I have seen in my life time. Voters arriving 15 minutes later found themselves outside in the downpour in a line stretching from the poll door to highway 17. There were more cars in the parking lot than on Sunday. The voting finally started at 0600. The voting crowd was in good spirits and very patient. No wonder, most of us were still half a sleep. Before you know it we were done and out the door by around 0730. All in all the anticipation of voting malfunctions as in images of Florida in 2000 did not happen.

Personally, I feel good. I believe this election is a singularly significant moment in American history to select a President and representatives to successfully lead us into the future while working to deliver us from the crises confronting this great nation.

This said, election comparisons are difficult to make, and imperfect at best, but this Presidential election is not unlike that of FDR in the early moments of the Great Depression. It has generated excitement not seen since the election of John Kennedy. It is even more noteworthy in that Barack Obama is the first minority individual ever to be a major candidate. If he is not elected his candidacy will still have been a remarkable accomplishment a scant 44 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

However, if the polls are right, Barack Obama will be the first minority President in our history. If this watershed event does happen the world will take note, and we Americans are likely to see an improvement in our global image if not our relationships with friends, allies, and much of the rest of world. The words in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution will take on greater significance in the perceptions of many around the globe. Just as important for us citizens will be the symbolic crossing of the often unspoken bar of race and inequality that has always lurked at various depths of American life.

Clearly, the Obama campaign has been acclaimed by many as nothing short of brilliant in ideas, strategic focus and discipline. Comments of many of his critics also echo agreement. John McCain's campaign efforts have taken a different, more strident approach and style, but they have been no less dedicated. In a few short hours all of us will know whether Obama, or McCain has been successful. Regardless of whom each American voted for, the fact that we can hold a free election even with its imperfections is a continuing testament to the American experiment begun over two hundred years ago. As a veteran who has been in harms way for this country it is also a vindication and affirmation of service proudly given.

After today the victor of this Presidential contest will be the heir apparent to the toughest job in the free world. And, with this new found responsibility comes the great expectations of citizens that our President lead, unify, and deliver. I wish him Godspeed, every success, and blessing.

Dad

Obama Will Win in November ...

... That is, if GoogleTrends is an accurate predictor. I thought I'd enter the terms "Obama" and "McCain" to see what the results would be. Maybe the results are so overwhelming because McCain supporters are older and don't turn to the Web for information on their election day hopeful?



Check out the full results here.

Soccer, Football, Joga Bonito.

Tomorrow is going to be a heavy soccer-focused day. I'm going to watch David Beckham play at RFK at noon, followed by the Euro final with a special someone at the Austrian Embassy. I like both Spain and Germany, so it should be a really good match. The fact that the Euro is being hosted in Austria makes this viewing party all the more exciting. I think I'll have to wear my German national team jersey to this one since all of the Austrians will be supporting the German squad.

I wonder if there will be schnitzel and pretzel bread? So excited!

The Bitter End ...

“The last thing on my 100-point checklist in getting ready for this trip was not to return that movie,” my father barked to my mother as he dropped the red Netflix envelope onto the settee.

Hour 10 of our four day family cruise and I think my old man’s gasket has shown symptoms of rupturing. “So dramatic,” I thought to myself … but then again, I guess that’s just par for the course whenever I have visited my folks the last 10 years. It’s not like they are going to kill each other, they always just sound like they are about to. You can tell there is a lot of love between them-- 40 years so far—But I digress …

It took us a little under six hours to sail --ahem, motor-- to our main destination for the Memorial Day weekend: the quaint, Eastern Shore town of Cape Charles.

It’s just my luck that after taking a multi-day course at the Annapolis Sailing School there was no wind for me to show off my new skills to my parents.

The wind was so light and directly on our nose each time we tacked, that even if you had a spinnaker and a massive Formula 1 wind tunnel fan you would probably still feel like you weren’t going anywhere. That’s sailing though, and if you don’t have any patience you quickly learn to develop some. Everything happens very slowly (sure, when you’re going 7 knots in your boat you later brag about how you were “hauling ass” across the bay) and there is nothing else you can do to make the boat go faster, short of dropping the sails and turning on the iron genoa (that’s the engine for you land lubbers).

It’s kind of weird that my father is such a tenured salt himself as he has to be one of the most impatient people I know. Nevertheless, put him out on the water in his vessel and he gets sorted out quickly, easing into an “island time” mentality, often taking his watch off and not putting it back on for days (something I picked up years ago from him and love to practice when out on the water.)
I hope our next leg of the journey provides more wind and the same sunshine we had today. Fingers crossed …

Oh, and if you are wondering what the title is all about, it’s a nautical term. Way back when (think 1600s, maybe even earlier), deck hands would shout to the captain “She’s at the bitter end!” when there was no more line to spare on a tied off cleat.

Tony Little Was Right: It's Technique!

I tend to eat "comfort food" over the winter, so all of my hard work of losing 32 lbs last year was completely ransacked by my pizza and ice cream habit. That's changing for good.

For the last five weeks I've been paying attention to what I eat, the amount I eat and the time I eat. Basically, I've made a lifestyle change that won't require a ridiculous diet or some type of shake. Diets don't work anyways ... not in the long run.

Coupling these eating habits with physical activity has proven itself not just manageable, but easy to follow for the rest of my life. Here are my results so far:



I've got about 7 more pounds to lose to reach my ideal weight. If my calculations are correct, I've been losing (on average) .45 lbs per day. Sports science nutritionists recommend you shoot for 2-3 lbs of weight loss per week, otherwise you run the risk of losing lean mass (muscle). So, I'm right on target with the amount I am losing.

Once I hit my ideal weight, I'll have to slightly increase my caloric intake so that I don't lose any more weight. Having 8% body fat was OK when I was cycling 400 -600 miles per week on my collegiate cycling team, but it totally isn't necessary for me any more. There have been numerous studies which show a healthier amount of body fat in men ranges between 12 - 18%. These studies indicate that cholesterol levels are ideal and heart health is optimized during this percentage.

I Mean, We Don't Know If We're the Best ...

Looking through my digital scrapbook, I came across this photo I took on a recent trip to Czech Republic.

Video Break: User Generated Video

My friend Jeff who is from SE VA sent this to me. My folks now live down where the rappers shot this. Visiting my folks has a whole new meaning.

Enjoy.

My 101 List is Getting Shorter

I'm now able to cross off several items on my 101 List.

#18 Own a home.

#31 Own a motorcycle.

#39 Go to an English pro soccer match.

#64 Go to Czech Republic

#71 Go to England.

Over the last several months I have been busy with Traveling (I went to Europe last month for a REAL vacation), designing (Home & Garden Television has nothing on my interior design skillz), playing soccer, getting lost on my motorcycle, playing uncle (my niece and nephew are so cute!) and of course working -- gotta do something to pay for all of this!

Next month I'm taking an advanced sailing course at the Annapolis Sailing School. After I complete the course I plan on buying my first yacht. Perhaps this one will do?

From Gainesville to Hollywood!

One of my best friends from college keeps showing up on my television. Check out some of DJ's acting in these clips. I'm so proud of him!!!

Blogged with Flock

The Twins Are Baptised!

Hey folks, since most of you reading this are family, follow this link to check out all of the baptism photos from this past weekend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/g8rmni/show/

The Newest Addition to the Family

My sister Carmen gave birth to twins today. Here are some photos of Bryce and Colby:

Above Photo: Uncle Ryan and Bryce.

Above Photo: Uncle Ryan holds Colby while Daddy Matt holds Bryce.

Another Christmas, Another Photo of A Christmas Tree

I spent some time today putting a few digital photo albums together as a supplement to a Christmas gift for my parents (if you must know I bought them one of these, and then filled it with tons of photos; some photos are really old and were recently digitized by yours truely).

Anyway, in my pursuit of finding "family friendly" portrait and landscape photos, I came across several snapshots from Christmas past ...

It seems that each year I always -- without fail -- take a photo of the family tree. The tree isn't anything special: Just your average 7-foot plastic Douglas Fir, adorned with Target Store ornaments and random Christmas-y knick knacks from the past 30+ years. Wow, some tree.

Two Items On My 101 List Can Be Crossed Off

I just realized that I am able to cross off two items on my "101 Life List."

Help me by saying "syanora" to: #50 Watch a professional sport from an executive box and #44 See an NFL game.

A couple of weeks ago I went with my girlfriend to see the Washington Redskins play against the Atlanta Falcons at FedEx Field. We watched the game from an executive suite -- catered with tons of beer, chips, dips, chilli dogs, cheese steaks, cookies and other fatty, but yummy, foods.

An E-Mail From My Mother

Written in her typical tangent thought trail, here is an e-mail from my mother about an entry I made on 9/11:

"I had the same thought yesterday about your calling me on that fateful day because I too had not had my tv on that morning. And you were right, it was the one time Dad had not left me his itinerary so I didn’t know his airline or flight #. I remember making frantic phone calls after you and I hung up to Alicia and Carmen. Alicia is like her Mom so at first she panicked and got tears in her voice. But Carmen remained cool and collected and said she would do some research because I did remember that Dad was connecting through Amsterdam (not Prague). She called me back about a ½ hour later and said there were two flights coming from Amsterdam, so he was probably on one of them. Later that afternoon, he called to say his plane had been turned around and returned to Amsterdam and when they all got off the plane, that’s when they were told the truth. That’s where he had to stay for the extra 5 days until he could get another plane home. I remember leaving you voice mails because the cell phone lines were down/overloaded and hoped you knew he was all right. Scary time I hope no one has to repeat. Have you watched any of the tv specials? Dad did watch the controversial ABC docu drama and thought it was pretty good in the sense it portrayed the amount of territorial egos, pc that ruled the day instead of putting the good of the country first, and the general bureaucracy that hinders real action and decisions from taking place. I didn’t watch it as I find reliving the horror too emotionally draining. I watched a CNN report that Christiane Amanpour did on how we got to where we are. She included the life and rise to power of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. She interviewed boyhood friends and others that worked with him and then distanced themselves from him as he became more and more extremist. She tied in how the Taliban was involved, and other interesting connections."

09.11.01

I spent most of my day with 9/11 on my mind.

Driving into work, I listened to the Howard Stern show on Sirius. Instead of treating today like any other day, Howard decided to rebroadcast the recordings of his show from five years ago on this day.

The show brought back vivid memories of where I was when the planes hit the Trade Center and the Pentagon.

It made me feel numb again.

I spent the whole day at my desk listening to the show while working -- six hours of archived recording.

Right now I am at home watching President Bush address the nation about today's meaning ... what we're still doing in Iraq ...

Every once in a while I feel like I did five years ago -- a temporary feeling of not feeling safe; scared.

It can all still happen again. I think that is what makes me scared the most.

A Smattering of Photos

Click on a photo to get a closer look.

Moonlight Blog Entry

Right now I am sitting on the deck of my parent's sailboat under a moon lit sky. So far the July Fourth weekend has been a hot familial one.

My sister Carmen and her husband Matt drove down from Jersey to spend the weekend with us. They are having twins.



My dad and I continue to butt our heads with one another ... over simple, meaningless crap ... I think this has a lot to do with our strong personalities -- not the best way to communicate between the two of us.

Sailing on the York River

Self Portrait at Sail
Originally uploaded by ryanmorrisc.

I went sailing this past weekend with my parents. I took this photo of myself on Father's Day.

Memorial Weekend Sail

I went sailing this weekend with my parents. I've been trying to take advantage of my free time and spend it with them. They aren't retired yet, but they soon will be. They aren't elderly either, but time flies and I want to spend as much time with them as I can.

My folks have an LCD television with built-in DVD player on their boat, so I was able to watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

It is revolting what the executives and Arthur Andersen did to the Enron employees. To sum it up, one employee had worked at Enron and was ready to retire with just over $300,000 in his retirement fund. A few months before the employee was going to retire, the company folded. He was left with a $1200 check.

Disgusting.

In a better light, I used the sailing trip to start reading a book that has been on my shelf for quite some time; Winning, by Jack Welch (you know, the guy that breathed new life into GE). So far it is pretty good.