2015 Race Schedule

Here is what I have planned for 2015. It begins quickly in Orlando with a big one. These are my goals but the schedule may change (adding or altering) due to travel/work and my health. I haven't added in some of the various shorter races that I always enjoy running and supporting. Once I know those dates I will update my schedule.

I appreciate everyone's support of RUN EUGENE RUN. Please share my link with others and always look back here for updates and news regarding my success. Always success......never failures.

2015 RACE SCHEDULE

10 January   Disney 1/2 Marathon - Orlando Florida SIGNED UP

11 January   Disney Marathon - Orlando Florida SIGNED UP

25 January   Rock n Roll Marathon - New Orleans LA SIGNED UP

15 March     Newport News One Marathon - Newport News VA

21 March     Shamrock 8K - VA Beach VA SIGNED UP

22 March     Shamrock Marathon - VA Beach VA SIGNED UP

11 April        Swamp Stomp 1/2 Marathon - Chesapeake VA

12 April        Rock n Roll Marathon - Raleigh NC

18 April        Flying Pirate 5K - OBX NC SIGNED UP

19 April        Flying Pirate 1/2 Marathon - OBX NC SIGNED UP

25 April        Rock n Roll Marathon - Nashville TN

3 May           Kalamazoo Marathon - Kalamazoo MI

31 May         Rock n Roll Marathon - San Diego CA

6 Sept           Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon - VA Beach VA

3 Oct            Wineglass 5K - Corning NY

4 Oct            Wineglass Marathon - Corning NY

18 Oct          Rock n Roll Marathon - Denver CO

31 Oct          Wicked 10K - VA Beach VA

7 Nov           Rock n Roll Marathon - Savannah GA

14 Nov         Anthem Marathon - Richmond VA

6 Dec           Rock n Roll Maration - San Antonio TX

If anyone knows any races that I should consider please send the information and link to me. Thanks again for all the encouragement!

Eugene Thompson

RUN EUGENE RUN

ET This I Believe

There are some days that......

You know, there are some days that I wake up and just wonder, "What in the world am I doing?" What am I going to do today is really a pretty silly question. Because I already know the answer, I just haven't acknowledged it fully yet. Because I am going to be doing work. Work on something. Work at the office on projects, business development, invoices, hey maybe even design something....what a novel idea for an architect.

But I might wake up and work on the yard, or maybe the house chores or should I say repairs? 

Or maybe I just might answer my question with a nice run in the morning. Can I say that is work? Well it is a WORK-out!

Seldom do I get up and answer myself "What in the world am I doing?" by responding with, I think I will take a vacation! Not sure I know how to VACATE. You can ask my kids.....every time we took a vacation it really was a process of work.....because it always became an adventure. Not entirely sure ADVENTURE = VACATION. But they we usually fun. I think?

"What in the world am I doing?" Certainly could refer to my state of mind. And yes before you say it.....that is a scary place. I completely agree. I wonder about myself sometimes. At 47 years old, there are times I ask myself about my future. What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? How do I want to live? Should I come or should I go? (Yes I did just insert song lyrics) What do I want to make of myself? Or have I already made it? Now just live it? What does "live it" mean? Am I too old? 

I told you that was a scary place.

How about "What in the world am I doing?" with my business. In the last few years all of our businesses have been on a roller coaster. Which consequently put our lives on the same coaster. Things are good right now and the work is flowing in. We are expanding with new members on the team. We are expanding our borders by adding more space and hopefully creating a really unique fun place to work. The roller coaster may return and all I can do is enjoy these big moments and share them with others and then when things turn tight again.....because they probably will.....we will enjoy the small moments and celebrate them like they are big. Relativity is a powerful perspective.

I am not really sure I know the answer to my question but every morning I wake up and ask it. I ponder it each day as I sip on my coffee brought to me by my loving wife in bed. I take time writing silly thoughts about my life, some times they are serious but not often. I get up and go to my office....if I want, which I usually do want. I can go in early....my boss doesn't give me any bonuses for going in early. I can go in late....my bosses doesn't gripe at me too much about this either. That is nice of him. Really, for the most part I chose my schedule.

Really for the most part.....I choose my life. We really all do to some degree. So we shouldn't complain. And I certainly cannot complain. I have it pretty good. The dreams that I have chased are right here. Maybe not as big as in my dreams but not bad either.

So...."What in the world am I doing?".......today.....I am just going to live it. Gotta Keep Chasing The Dream.

Never forget my friends.

ET this I believe 

Eugene Thompson

New Traditions

Traditions make family events enjoyable and memorable. Some may be more habits than traditions but it usually boils down to "this is what we have always done". And thats perfectly okay. Over the last several weeks we have been telling stories about what the kids used to do, what mom always does, what the kids did to each other and of course what Dad did, said, bought, told us, or even what he used to sing. Yes, it is the common understanding that Dad is a bit goofy at times, some times.....most of the time.

I have shared some of our traditions in the past blog posts so this year I am going to share a few more that we have recently started. The reason we started new ones? Well the kids are pretty much grown up now and we don't have them all upstairs waiting for Santa.  They come over later in the day or cannot come home for the holidays at all so we needed to adjust what we have always planned.  Basically a method for me to keep things lively and crazy in the house.

Some thing with the Tree:
You have probably already seen some of our posts about the tree experiments. Most certainly Dad must have gone crazy.  Yep pretty much.  This is only the second year we have done anything special with the tree but it most certainly has started something. After only one year, everyone was expecting me to do something. I guess they know me pretty well. It started out last year as a sort of confession that I was really bummed out.  One son and his wife couldn't come home for the second year in a row making it three out of four kids.  And then another son was in a foreign country and wasn't going to make it home either. Batting .500 wasn't acceptable.....but understandable. Our daughter had gone through a rough patch which we are so very blessed and thankful that all has gone well for her this year. Christmas 2011 was just turning out a bit topsy turvey......what better way than to reflect this in our tree. Our Christmas was going to be a bit upside down so therefore so was our tree. Nobody else knew my plan other than me. We have always gone out and cut our tree down and of course we need a large tree.  When my daughter was asking me about a certain tree while we were walking around the farm trying to pick one, I told her it didn't really matter this year.  Why? Because we are doing something different with the tree.  What are we doing with the tree? Don't worry you will see. Why doesn't it matter? What are you doing? What are your plans?  On and on the questions kept coming like a three year old persistent in getting answers to questions that she wouldn't understand even if I told her. She was three.....17. So finally to keep the blabbing from continuing I told her.  I am hanging the tree upside down! No you aren't! MOM! Dad says he is hanging the tree upside down! Oh goodness, you are so gullible was her mother's response. Boy were they ever surprised.

This year we decided to keep a theme and connect the tree, the star and the stocking pins all together. Although the plan was still for only 2 of the kids and their spouses (or soon to be spouses) would make it home for Christmas all of them were going to make it home the second week of January for our daughter's wedding.  We would just postpone Christmas.....well nobody is  patient in our family so it meant two Christmases. And since we were getting everyone home from all over the world (well sort of....Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Colorado Springs and Bolivia) it must mean the only way we could possibly achieve this is by teleporter......you know....like on Star Trek.  Beam me up Scotty!
We will have a portal in our living room that is sucking up the tree.....and another with the tree returning.  Therefore two trees....one in the ceiling (right side up this year) and another coming up out of the floor with a ring of blue lights and clouds (representing smoke...I guess.) Actually the top of the same tree (yes I cut it) is coming up next to where the bottom (yes I hung it) is disappearing into the ceiling. So there you have it.  Everyone is already guessing what next year will bring......we will just have to wait and see.  This will get challenging!

Christmas Eve Pajamas:
Last year the girls ran out and bought some PJs to wear for the night before and we watched the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". One of our favorites. This wasn't ever planned before just happened......they even had to run out and grab some flannel pajamas on the eve.  Oh and guess what? There were any left in the stores at 8PM on Christmas eve for DAD.....so what did he get to wear........here you go.  No telling what they will buy me this year. I even wore the same outfit in my Surf n Santa 10 Miler this year. A little more planning this year. Last year was spontaneous. Make cookies for Santa (me), Watch the movie, Wear the PJs and just be silly. Oh yeah, we will read the "Night Before Christmas" too.  I always tried to do that when the kids were little but it never quite kicked in. Maybe now I am just preparing for grandkids.....did I just say grandkids....ahhhhh.

Whatever your traditions are, just be sure to have fun and enjoy yourselves.  It isn't about the money, it isn't about the gifts, it isn't about the giant meal.  It is about family and friends and enjoying the time we have here together.  Merry Christmas my friends.  Have a great and fantastic holiday.

etthisibelieve

Christmas Tree Cutting Tradition

One of our Christmas tree traditions has been to cut down a real tree out at Bright's Christmas Tree Farm. As long as we have been able, we started getting real Christmas Trees.  I grew up with an artificial one which was okay but for some reason we began getting real ones with the kids. The first tree in my duplex in Stillwater Oklahoma in 1988 while I was still at OSU was a construction paper tree taped to the wall for my son to draw the ornaments on.  Okay so he was too young to do too much drawing but still it was the thought.

The second tree was in 1989 when we had first moved to Pennsylvania right after we had all arrived back from traveling through Europe. We had both boys at ages 3 and 11 months. We were dirt poor, no money from our travels and I had just began work in Allentown Pennsylvania.  We got a Charlie Brown Christmas tree which I think still costs us like $15 and made a yellow construction paper star glued to a toilet paper cardboard roll that we stuck on top of the tree.  We still have that star. Ornaments were few but we did have a paper chain and some popcorn on a string.  The popcorn kept falling off the string. We lived in a walk up row home near downtown so I could walk to work. My wife and I can still remember so vividly that year as we woke up especially early to make sure we saw their little faces when they came down to see all their presents. We waited forever and ever. We finally had to wake them up because WE couldn't wait any longer. (I think that was the last time we had to wait on them to wake up.) As a matter of fact, there were so many presents given by so many of our family that the kids had to take breaks in the middle because they got tired of opening them. (after all... presents for little kids are so easy to buy and so inexpensive....it isn't that way anymore!)

There were many other trees after that.  If you have read my blog for long you will remember "The Christmas Tree" story.  If not, here are the links to the three part story.
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree ..... Continued
The Christmas Tree ..... Finale

Once we moved down here to Virginia Beach we found it difficult to locate a tree farm to cut down our own tree.  After all we do live at the beach! We did like everyone else and went to the lumber yard or at one of those "pop up" Christmas Tree places that seem to spring up on every vacant lot available.

However there was one year that we were not able to buy a tree because there were not any available....that is by the time that we finally went out to look for one.  That was in 1999, the year of the Y2K.  I had quit my job and started my architecture firm IONIC DEZIGN STUDIOS the September before.  My wife had stayed home with the kids. We were dirt poor.....there is a common reoccurring theme here isn't there? We had refinanced the house to do some home improvements but with my little unplanned adventure taking place we used that money to keep the creditors at bay. Not sure those improvements have ever been accomplished....completely at least. The projects hadn't kicked in yet and the one and only project we had didn't pay the retainer until one week before Christmas. We had four kids, the oldest 13 and the youngest was 5. Christmas looked pretty slim that year before we received the retainer and my wife and I kept telling ourselves "It is the thought that counts" and "Presents don't make Christmas".......yeah right.

The check came in and we made it stretch by purchasing used bikes at the pawn shops and other miscellaneous things were bought to fill up under the tree.....tree.....tree.....what tree? There were no trees that we could find! We cannot have Christmas without a tree. What were we going to do? I had to think...be creative to come up with a solution. At church we had made some cardboard skits for the teenagers and had purchased large 4 x 8 sheets to use.  There were a few left that had not been used.  With their permission, we swiped up the sheets and went back home to construct a tree. I cut the cardboard into the outline shape of a Christmas tree and then cut a single notch in the bottom so they could slide together.  It formed a sort of "pop up" brown Christmas tree.  Lights were strung on the edges were the corrugated was exposed and ornaments were thumbtacked to the panels WHERE EVER you wanted! Presents stacked up in between each wedge of the tree.  It was great. I have got to find some pictures of that tree someplace!

After that we found Bright's Farm out past Pungo near the NC border. Every year since, we have headed out to the farm and cut down our own tree.  We can walk through the rows of trees and find which one we like the best and cut it down ourselves.  They always offer to cut it for us but that would never do.....We have to cut it ourselves and drag it back to the car.  We do let them help tie it to the top of the car. After all I wouldn't want to lose it on the way back.....that would be something that would probably happen to us! It is always on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, not the Friday....The Bright's always go shopping on Black Friday.....so there it is.....our Christmas Tree Cutting Tradition.

As the years have gone by, the kids have been either away at school or .....just plain away. There are fewer and fewer of them to help pick out the tree. There were times when we brought friends of the kids as well. It is an adventure! Like all things we seem to do. Last year we went with our oldest son and his wife to pick out their first tree. That was fun.  This year it is only my wife and I.  The tree doesn't always get put up right away.....that takes a bit more effort.  The best thing about getting back home with the tree is MOM MAKES THE WAFFLES! Another great tradition!

Have a great holiday season my friends and enjoy your tree hunting adventures!
ET This I Believe.

The Circle of Life

Well, we first heard about the circle of life from the famous Disney Lion King movie.  Our family, with all the young kids at the time, watched it over and over........and over and over. It seems that many times we reminisce about a past experience with our now grown children and use a quote from one Disney movie or another to recall the moment.

However the discussion of the circle of life never really entered into the discussions. The words of the song appear like this:

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking step into the sun
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
Some say, eat or be eaten
Some say, live and let live
But, all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give

In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap by faith
It's the band of hope
Till, we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The circle of life

Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rollin' high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps the great and small on the endless round

This week begins another transition in our lives. Not sure I have grasped the total reality of everything that will take place. It has come the time for my mother to move in with us.  She is calling it an extended visit. The Circle of Life. For now we are letting her call it a visit but she needs someone to watch over her now she is at the age of 80. There is nothing wrong with growing old...we all do it. When we get older we begin to forget things, we have more illness, we have more medicines, we cannot get around quite like we used to.  Nothing wrong with that....it is better than the alternative.

As a teenager, my grandmother (my mom's mom) came to live with us in Oklahoma for many years. Teenage boys are not the most energetic individuals about sensitivity. I had older siblings growing up and by the time I was in elementary school, most of them had grown up and moved away.  I had the house to myself. My mother and father worked in their tax business and I often times found myself home alone. Pretty typical for right after school. During the tax season, my parents often worked late in the evenings and I was home alone then as well.  It was either that or stay up at the office with them....no thanks.

So when my grandmother came to live with us, my territory was invaded. It actually wasn't that dramatic.  I just had the rule of the house and now I had someone to chat with instead of being alone.  I wish I had taken the opportunity to write some of her stories down. It would have been great (now) to recount her life growing up.  She was the only grand parent I ever got to meet so it was special.  Looking back I can say that the only thing that really irritated me about her was when she took over the remote control.  Television was her life....isn't that so true about older folks.....the television is their connection to everything. She had to watch Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons. Those were not the favorite shows of a teenage boy. And back then we only had one TV. Isn't it strange that years later I marry a girl whose favorite shows growing up were just those!

My grandmother went up to my aunt and uncle's home in St. Louis for the remainder of her days and unfortunately I never got to see her again.  I never even made it to her funeral. A very sad accounting now that I think about it.  I missed out on a lot.

As a father, we have gone through the mass Exodus of all our four kids.  Okay, again a bit more dramatic than actually occurred.  It just happened.  My wife and I had our children pretty young and they just grew up. I can honestly say that I wasn't really sure that I was ready for that.  It has probably affected me far more than my wife. One by one each left for college or for the mission field and then marriage and now making their home. Currently two are married, one lives near us in Norfolk and the other in Colorado.  One is just finishing up a mission work in South America and will soon be headed back to Texas to finish up school.  I expect a wedding announcement soon.....I probably shouldn't say that on here....oops. And finally our daughter just announced her wedding plans for January.  Basically all of them no longer live in our home. It was always our intent to have them grow up and send them out of the nest.....what would be the alternative?

We are actually very proud of them all.  It is exciting to see them begin their lives and careers......and I am sure families soon too.  Don't call me grandpa yet.....however I believe that my grandpa name has already been coined as "PAPA T". A spin off of MR. T and COACH T from the younger days. At 46 my wife and I had found ourselves as empty nesters. As first, tragic.  After we got used to it...okay, after I got used to it.....later.....it was kind of nice. We could go anywhere at anytime....nobody to report to...except for MAVRICK.

As a son, now yesterday I spent the day home from work preparing my daughter's old room for my mother.  It is painted a bright cheerful turquoise.  I cleaned the room, made adjustments for the lighting and heat, and prepared the bathroom for her needs. This will be a transition for us but I think it will be very nice. Different but nice. There will need to be time for all of us to make adjustments....even the dogs....they need to learn how to get along and share their bones.

Later this weekend, we will get her a cell phone, set up her computer with Facebook and an email account (she is baulking a bit at me on this one but I think it will be good. We need to keep her mind busy and active.  TV will not be her only outlet. She can connect with friends and family from all over.  It wont be that complicated....she is a smart lady, just hasn't had the need to use it in awhile) We will be making a few repairs around the house, many of the things we were wanting to do anyway.  I just need to get them accomplished now.

I am excited, and happy....my mommy is here. After all the years of her watching over me and taking care of all my needs, I get to help her.....It is The Circle of Life.  I don't intend on wasting these moments.  This will be a great Christmas! Take care my friends.

My Wife Just Left Me............Home Alone

Okay you guys are just sick. I know you were quickly clicking on the link just to find out the juicy scoop on my love life.  Well sorry to disappoint you on that front...love life fully intact.  My wife headed back to Oklahoma today to pick up my mother and bring her back here to Virginia. What a wife! To fly back (during the every impending Hurricane Sandy pounding at our ocean front), helping her mother-in-law pack up and few things (including two poodles named blackie and paws) and drive all the way back from Oklahoma (roughly 20-21 hours) to Virginia Beach.

So.....no juicy gossip but just home alone a few days with MAVRICK. Looks like the two of us dawgs will be living the bachelor life while my wife is away! Throwing parties, eating junk food, staying up all night playing video games.....what a great time!

Okay, so it has been a whopping ......4 1/2 hours since she flew out and I guess I am already lonely. Eating alone isn't so fun.  MAVRICK just stares and twists his head to the side when I talk to him giving me that look of, "What are you talking about Dad?." The bed is just too big by myself, (even if MAVRICK is lying in half of it....how can such a small dog stretch out across a bed so much?). You know I can't really watch all the recorded shows while she is gone either because we watch them together all the time, (unless I fall asleep early......Law and Order, CSI, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest,  Covert Affairs...you get the idea.)

Oh...I didn't even think about my MOM IS COMING TO VISIT.  I have got to clean the house before they get back....kitchen needs to be immaculate, floors all scrubbed, everything dusted, bathrooms spotless, lawn mowed and not to mention that I need to get her room all ready.

Oh Man! There goes the party time.....sorry guys....I need to get off here and get to cleaning, scrubbing, washing, wiping, scraping, dusting and organizing. No time to chat.....Got to get to work.  Talk to you later my friends!

PS......I think my picture just changed from this:

from this

to this

Snow ...... In Virginia Beach?

Christian with all the ladies

It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.  Last night we got a bit of the flurries late and it stuck around until this morning. Since we have moved down here 18 years ago from Pennsylvania we have had a handful of snow falls.  Most of the time it is just like last night with about 1/2 inch or so.  It is pretty and then disappears quickly.

When it snowed in PA, we had to also get out there and shovel the snow on the sidewalks and clear the paths.  The first time it snowed right after we moved down here I ran out immediately and shoveled the sidewalk and drive.  I was the only one doing it.  It felt awesome. Of course, I had all the heavy gear we used in Allentown so I made quick work of the light fluffy stuff. Then I realized why nobody else was bothering to shovel their sidewalks........sun came out and in 15 minuets is was GONE! Bummer! All that work for naught.

Preparing for the snow battle

We have had other snows that were more significant and found out that the area isn't really prepared for heavy snow....everything shuts down.  As a matter of fact I believe one year the schools shut down just for the THREAT of snow......DEFCON SNOW ALERT......Crazy.....it didn't snow at all....lol. lol.

I don't miss going out in the snow myself anymore, but it is fun to watch the kids play in it.  Here are a few crazy snow pictures from days gone by.

Sneaking up for the attack

Wondering what in the world this stuff is......just a pup!

On the attack....no sneaking!

Running away from Christian

run and hide.....fashionable in my sweater!

They got Christian!

Hurricane Irene

Irene on 8/25/2011 headed our way

OK, here it comes, Hurricane Irene. Yep it is right on track to hit us straight on here in Virginia Beach. We have been preparing for this for the last week, buying groceries, getting gas, filling up water jugs, stock piling on food, putting all the lawn projectiles furniture away. It gets just a bit crazy when a hurricane comes upon us as we have just a bit too much time to prepare.

You see, I grew up in Oklahoma, you know the land of tornadoes....."Hey, look up in the sky (no! its not Superman) it's a twister...JUMP IN THE DITCH."  5 minutes warning and then its over 5 minutes later.  The sky is beautiful and peaceful after a tornado....perfect weather to clean up the mass of debris that is left in its wake.  Hurricanes give too much warning!

So today I had planned on a few things to do around the house BUT......Cannot mow the yard, cannot weed the gardens, cannot edge the lawn, cannot cut the hedges, cannot paint the house, sorry Mavrick...cannot walk the dog....good luck going potty in the category 2 - 100 mile an hour wind and rain! Ok so truthfully I might get only one or two of those things done.....if I'm lucky! or unlucky depends on one's perception)

We do know what will happen within few hours....NO POWER!
(you won’t believe this but just now in the middle of writing this blog post the power went out here at the house…the very second I wrote no power!) so that means no television, no computer, no lights, no waffles this morning!!!!! Ahhhh should have woke up 15 min earlier! At least I got my coffee. Oh yeah, we can read in a book….no lights and the storm makes it dark outside….Oh yeah, we can play board games….really?!....Oh yeah, I made the stupid comment that I wasn’t going to move the big heavy patio grill inside the garage and if the power went out I would go out and cook in the rain!!!! Little did I know it would go out in the first few hours of the storm…AHHHHH.

Okay, get out the candles, get the flashlights ready to use, get the buckets of water for the toilet….ahhh I forgot to take my shower last night so I could shave…after all I need to be clean and smart looking when the rescue teams come for us while we are on the roof top surrounded by flood waters! I bet I am going to look like Tom Hanks in Castaway when they rescue him off of the deserted island. He did clean up pretty good afterwards.

Speaking of cleaning up…..guess what we will get to do once this storm has passed? Yep, pick up all the down branches, cut all the broken limbs, pick up all the debris left in the yard from the neighbor’s house that flew off, go look around the neighborhood for all of the stuff that flew off of our house, reinstall/replace the vinyl siding that was ripped down, put all the patio furniture back out in the yard.  Labor Day weekend in next week….guess I will still be laboring thru that holiday!

Just relax…..stay calm….everything should be fine. We still have plenty of Poptarts and Vienna sausages. Consider the candles romantic. Consider the power outages as a way to get back to nature.  Consider this a forced vacation, an opportunity to have a little peace and quiet as well as a much needed rest. Consider ourselves lucky!

Seriously my friends….stay safe. Count everything a blessing.  You never know how much you have until you don’t have it anymore.  My prayers go out to all those who are being hit much worse than we are.  May God Bless.


Power went out in the middle of writing this blog and then came back on for a few minutes with enough time to post this.  This will be a record of our existence should anyone find us trapped inside of our boarded up dwelling and huddled around a neverending monopoly board eating cold vienna sausages from a can and singing church songs.

Traveling Pet Peeves

We are currently on a trip to Lubbock Texas.  Of course there are no direct flights from Norfolk to Lubbock....unless you want to pay an arm and a leg.....So the first half of this journey we will account for the pet peeves that always seem to pop up during our travel trips.

Smashed to Bits
What makes you grumpy when you’re traveling? Plain and simple, being smashed into a tiny space on a plane for 8 hours. It makes me excruciatingly aware of what my dog must have gone through being squished into a small cage for 12 hours when we run out the door for work. I am not a dog.

Hotel Noise
Doors slam at 2 a.m. The clock radio next door goes off at 4 a.m. with no one in the room. Beavis & Butthead have a drunken brawl in the hallway. Pop cans tumble down out of the machine like high-mountain landslides. The elevator pings. Just so happen we booked the motel with an all-star highschool girls softball team...yippee. Also, I think somebody has some sort of BIRD with them here in this motel....either that or we have a small rain forest just outside our door! Peace and quiet are the true unattainable luxuries in modern travel, and 5-star hotels are no better than Motel 6.

Grumpy Service
General grumpiness. I now expect the ticket agent, the flight attendant and the cab driver to be unfriendly. This should not be an expectation of travel. It’s a rare flight attendant who genuinely smiles and cares about whether I have peanuts or not. Or how about the people at the gate check in that says to me (without even a frown or oh, I am sorry) we don't have a seat for you yet?  What do you mean you don't have a seat for me yet? I bought my tickets 6 weeks ago.  You are confirmed but we don't have a seat for you yet? So what exactly does CONFIRMED mean? Sir we don't have a seat for you yet?  Yeah I heard that part....I see that the 14 flight attendants and pilots over here have a seat assignment, they aren't even servicing the flight! Sir, please step to one side while I help the people behind you.  Hey what about me....they shouldn't have a seat either if I don't....why don't you just anounce over the loud speakers that you don't have any more seats YET? Because you overbooked! Sir please settle down or I will have to tazzer you. Hey, when do the seats BECOME available.....can you find more inside that little computer you are hiding behind....come on, you aren't even looking at anything! You are probably playing on facebook!  ZZZZZaaappppp!

Buddy, Can You Spare a Bose?
Believe me, I get it. Portable music players are ubiquitous — you can’t walk 20 feet in an airport without seeing ear buds dangling from ears both young and old. Don’t get me wrong: I have gone through a few iPods. What I don’t love is hearing the song selections — invariably dominated by a pounding, drilling, headache-inducing bass — of the person sitting next to me on a plane. Just because you have your music turned way up to drown out the engine noise doesn’t mean you are in a sound bubble. Here’s a request from the two dozen people surrounding you in coach: If you can’t survive a two-hour flight without cruising your playlists at sound-barrier-busting decibels, invest in some noise-canceling headphones. I will even chip in a donation — or at the very least stop sending you dirty looks.

Human Stampede
My biggest travel pet peeve is when people plow over one another to get either on or off a plane, bus, boat, etc. Come on, don't you know the unwritten rule of airplane etiquette? If you are in a row behind someone, wait for them to get off first.....lady in landing in Memphis.....next time I am going to run YOU over....but still smile in Christian love and say....OOPS.  Also....all you that have too much crap to store overhead....please step aside so I can get to my seat....PLEASE!

Human Megaphones
By far, a loud talker who thinks it is completely appropriate to discuss every detail of his/her (fill in the blank) with the whole cabin. Almost as a rule, such loud talker always comes with a voice so grating to the ear that you are not spared even if the chatter is in a language you don’t understand. The only thing that tops the above? When a loud talker meets another. Yes I am in air right now. Yes, there is a pair of loud talkers two rows in front of me. Thank Microsoft for the noise-cancelling headphones I picked up right before getting on the road!
 Exploding Bladder
Surely one of the most frustrating aspects of travel is the inability to find a restroom when you really need one.  Worse in a car....shouldnt have had the second cup of coffee.  Oh yeah, flight is late, connecting flight is located in the next county and I have 16 minutes to run like OJ Simpson to get there in time......no time for potty break....dont need to actually.....until I finally sit down comfortably in my compact life vest inflating not really reclining seat located in the middle of two former linemen for the Florida State Seminoles....yeah....excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.  I think he is going to EAT me!

Overhead Bin Poaching
On the plane they wobble with their oversize carry-on. Spying an open bin at row 6, they wedge it in (coincidentally smashing my computer) and then traipse on back to row 75, pleased with themselves for saving $50 in baggage fees and outsmarting late boarders who actually are seated in row 6. The flight attendants do nothing — they don't want to be the police.

Recliners at 30,000 Feet
Flying coach is bad enough, but it's worse when the passenger in the seat in front of you decides to recline her seat back. It makes it nearly impossible to work on my laptop, enjoybeverage or watch a movie on a portable DVD player. Why shouldn’t we all make sure our fellow travelers are as comfortable as possible? As the announcement says, just keep your seat in the upright position — at all times. Didnt happen to me this time but to the guy sitting next to me....I thought they were going to get into a fight as he punched the back of the seat in front of him protesting his dissatisfaction.

Security Lollygaggers
People who can’t quickly and efficiently navigate airport security, they have a million things, they should have checked their suitcase, they don’t take their laptop out of their bag, they don’t remove their shoes, their belt, their coat, remove the change from their pockets, they are carrying a bottle of water … Come on, these are fairly simple rules, people. I actually felt a bit bad for Mira (retired mayor) and Roger her husband as they struggled through security.  Yep they were on our flight.  Poor Roger went back through that security 15 times before they finally had to pat him down.....Wasnt upset with him as much as the security...after 3 times....do you think, you could of helped him to one side rather than making us all watch this sceen over and over again like GroundHog Day?

Predictability
My greatest travel peeve? When things go right. I hate it when a trip unfolds exactly as the itinerary describes … then it is rinsed of adventure, washed of discovery, the wrinkles of danger and serendipity are ironed away. It’s like breakfast two weeks ago or that hotel room last month where nothing happened — impossible to remember. What makes a trip transcendental is when things go wrong, when we get lost, when we are challenged. One thing I know of travel is that we feel most alive when we can imagine our own demise. Then travel becomes sublime. Fortunately, our lives always become an adventure!