[(23-21), (21-17)], [(21-18), (21-11)]

Today was the beginning of the Hopper-Horne volleyball era. We met those guys at Friendswood Park at 700, and we were well underway soon after some warm-ups...

We played them well the first game. We were even able to force them past 21. The next was also tight, but not as close. They took the first match. The next game was pretty much the same as the last. It may have been the competitive atmosphere tonight, but Jason was EN FUEGO. He was hand-setting bee-yoo-tee-fully to me; these sets were right on the money. We both dug well off of serves too. I was able to put away most of those awesome sets from Jason; I think I know exactly how to spike it just right now. We aren't exactly sure what happened in the final game, but they smoked us, haha. Despite the ownage on their part, Jason and I were pumped after the second match. We completely surpassed our expectations, and we look forward to playing against these guys and others soon...

The guys said that the courts are usually packed at night, but since school has resumed very few have shown up. They said the weekends are usually a good night to find other people to play...

Jason and I are gonna take a day off tomorrow, mainly due to the fact that gas prices jumped 60 cents from the time we went to work this morning to the drive back home.

Speaking of spiking gas prices...
The idea of solar arrays on the moon microwaving energy down to us isn't such a bad one now, is it? HA. I do believe the civil space program has a clear purpose this and the next decade.

I am going to sit in on the sim tomorrow. It's a short sim(0800-1400), but it's a biggie: they're simming the installation of the next piece of the station(the next truss segment). That, of course, puts some ka-razy torques and moments on the ISS body, which is exactly what my group is concerned with...don't worry, I will fully explain my job and group's purpose next post :)

-H

The Final Dress Rehearsal

As planned, Jason and I went out to the Friendswood sand courts this afternoon around 5. They weren't as gorgeous as the League City courts, but these were still nice. There were three of them, and they were all ours. We practiced for about 2 hours; we warmed up, worked on serving, then tried bum/set/spike drills. The last drill is what really makes you better:

Facing the back line, Jason would "serve" the ball from the net to me, where I waiting at an angle from the server about 5 feet from the back line. I'd bump it back to him in a controlled angle, he'd either get under it or bump-set it towards the net with loft, and then I'd go in for the spike or dink. We are still trying to get the perfect set. That's when the ball is about 3 feet above the net just as I jump to hit it. We switched out every 3 tries. We got it about 2 or 3 times; the other hundred tries were somewhat off. Either way, though, we got better.

As we were about to leave, two guys came up to the courts with their own ball; they looked like they knew how to play. Sure enough, they began the same drills we did(I learned from the guys at League City), and they looked good doing them. They asked if we wanted to play, but we were already worn out; however, we are gonna play them tomorrow around that time(7pm-ish). I think we'll put up a good fight, but these guys looked really sharp on the court. They were pretty cool, though, from what I ascertained in the short conversation with them. At the very least, they'll be able to teach us alot and show us what we're doing wrong. Besides, you ONLY get better by playing people better than you are(no matter the sport). I'm looking forward to tomorrow...it should be fun.

Sox are down by 2 right now to the D-rays, who seem to be resurgent all of a sudden...

Andy Roddick is down a set now to some dude from Luxemburg...what's up with that?

-H

Grrrr

Ok, I consider myself a people person. I try to be nice and convivial to anyone I meet. Sometimes, though, I just wanna strangle some people. Today was theh last straw; it was quite possibly the most frustrating day of my entire life...no joke. I was pushed to my limits, and at the end I was being quite rude to all of those involved. No no, I cannot divulge the details of this occurence...yet. Due to the highly classified nature of the information contained within this event, I must remain silent until at least the weekend. I'm sorry, but if I said anymore, it would be too much. Believe me; you will hear this entire story(it may be entertaining come this weekend) by at least Sunday...just stay tuned.

Poker night tonight...I did slightly worse than last week. I ended up with only $2, which is 75 cents less than last time. I had quite an auspicious start to the night, winning the first 3 hands, but my chips slowly dissipated after that.

Sox won big; Clement is SO our ace now. The Yanks are winning as we speak...let's hope Ichiro and the Mariners can turn the tides before the night is over.

-H

Blendin' In

I have finally hit one of those milestones in life. One of those times when you know you have grown up, when you realize that you aren't a kid anymore, and when you recognize that you are a highly capable individual. It happened around 445 cst today...

I bought my very first blender. That's right, ladies and gents; I am officially a blender of fruits and juices. Granted, I have used blenders before(most recently during summer school), but they have never been MY blenders. Now I can resume making the wonderful strawberry-banana smoothies I became so addicted to this summer. It is a glorious time, indeed.

Jason and I practiced again today. Somehow, some way, we were exponentially better than yesterday. I have no earthly idea what it was. He and I can bump-set like crazy now, and we can do it with much better accuracy. Tuesday we go to the sand courts, and we're gonna work with the net. I'm gonna send an email out on the co-op server tomorrow, setting Thursday as the day anyone can come out to play some 2 v 2 beach volleyball against me and Jason. Bring it on...

One more thing. Richard has finally won over the girl he's been eyeing for almost a year. She's kinda on the large side, but she's got alot of personality. She's very needy though, as she wont do anything without Richard being right there. She does anything he wants, however, when they ARE together; she cools him down, plays music for him, or in more intimate settings, she heats him up. I haven't met her personally, but I have seen some pics. Yes, like most babes, she looks INCREDIBLE with her top down. Well here, just look at the pic. WARNING, scrolling all the way down will show the picture. If you are underage, a Yankees fan, or just get queezy at the site of such pictures, please leave this website now...



Down...














Down....












Just a little bit more...










Allllmost there.............

Is she SMOKIN or what?!

-H

Weekend #1

We went to see The Brothers Grimm last night at the Cinemark down Nasa Rd. 1. I had been interested in this movie ever since I heard about it last winter. It didn't blow my sox off or anything, but I liked some parts of it, which were all the times when references to the old Grimm Fairy Tales were made. I distinctly remember reading those as a child, and seeing this flick piqued my interest in them once again. I found this website that has ALL of the GVT on it. Yeh, I didn't know there were around 200 of those; jeez, that's alot of fairy tales.

my favorite radio station down here is 94.5 The Buzz; whenever I am not listening to a cd of mine, I have my radio tuned to The Buzz and nothing else. Twice a year, 94.5 sponsors this awesome day of concerts called Buzzfest. Everytime they have an awesome lineup. This year, the highlights include Nickelback, Seether, Cold, and Audioslave, and it will take place in Minute Maid Park. Yeh yeh I know. All my siblings are saying right now, "Wow, Henry has really crappy music taste." I get that alot, so don't feel bad for saying/thinking it, haha. Anyways, tickets went on sale this morning at 1000 cst. I woke up at 1030(I meant to wake up at 1000, but my alarm didn't seem to work), and I immediately went to the computer. ALL of the Pit tickets were sold, which left only the stadium seats. Talk about PISSED. Normally, that wouldn't be too bad, but considering that the main stage will be ALL THE WAY into center field, it wouldn't really be that much fun being almost 300 feet away from the stage. Therefore, I have opted out of the concert this year. They do give away tickets on 94.5 all the time, so I'll listen and wait for my chance. Otherwise, there's always next year :(

I assisted Jason in his kayak shopping today. Those two-seaters are HUGE! Jason seems to think he's gonna order his kayak online, so he can get free shipping. I can't wait for that baby to get in. We are SO taking that thing into the Bay...

I bought a pull-up bar today, and I installed it this afternoon . It's pretty sweet. I have always wanted one, and it is a good way to start and end my day: push-ups and pull-ups. Speaking of excercise equipment, sometime very soon(as in, weeks) I'm going to get a workout bench. Not one of those ultra-mega-too-many-gadget benches. Just a simple bench that has a leg hook, standard support bench, and an incline. One would really help with my workouts, which shall resume next week :)

I was able to chill by the pool for a few hours today as well. It's nice having one of those nearby...

Jason and I began our road to volleyball dominance today. We basically threw the ball around in the parking lot here. I'd serve to him, he'd bump it back to me, then I'd set it to him, and he'd serve back to me. We did that for about half an hour. My bump and bump-set have improved DRASTICALLY since this summer. My serve still needs work, but we'll practice some more. Jason and I are gonna go to the Friendswood courts(the free ones) middle of this week and work some more. Jason has caught on quickly, and he can handle the ball really well. Another advantage is that he is very tall, so we should be able to do some damage on the courts. I contacted the League City volleyball league guy, and he said that all the spots for this upcoming season have been filled :(. No fear, though. Jason and I plan on practicing more during the weeks, getting the co-ops together to form a co-op league, and playing competitively more often with them. There are GCVA tournaments pretty much every weekend through November, so we will have a chance to see what we can do. Anyone can enter the tourneys, so that's a plus for us. The last few tournaments are actually at the League City sportsplex(the one I have talked about), so that should be fun. Stay tuned...you'll be hearing more about the Horne-Hopper volleyball tandem for sure...

speaking of that, AVP is on the Outdoor Life Network tomorrow...

out of pure frustration, I am not going to talk about the Sox right now. Needless to say, I am not happy...

-H

I Have Not Forgotten...

No no, I'm not dead. I am very much the opposite. Like I said, we just got our high-speed cable internet yesterday. True, I've technically "had" internet since I got here; we kind of stole some bandwidth from a guy somewhere near us that didn't properly secure his wireless network. That method wasn't very reliable, however. Now we have our own network set up, and yes, it is very much secure.

Wondering what's been going on with me? Here's a blow-by-blow of how the last week has gone:

Friday(august 19th): I made the long drive down here to Houston. It took 8 hours, but it honestly did not feel like it. Mal made me this mp3 cd, which made the trip seem more like 4 hours. I was moved in and settle that night. My room is much better than last spring; the sink is actually IN the room, I have a much larger closet, and my bathroom is connected INSIDE my room, so I don't have to walk out of my room to use the restroom...now THAT'S comfort, haha. The rest of the apartment looks exactly like our last, only it's flipped, haha. It took a little getting used to, but I think we're ok now. Here are some pics of my room...

My lovely room. Notice my baseball corner in the back; everything is ready to support my team at a moment's notice, haha.

The sink is IN my room. How COOL is that? The bathroom can be seen in the background.

Yes, she's down right now, but she will be up soon....very soon.

Saturday: I got a call from Walker, a new co-op here from Mississippi State. He invited me to an Astros game with him and his Dad; I readily accepted. It was 97 degrees outside that day, but Minute Maid Park has a retractable roof, making the gametime temp around 69 degrees. It was great...........
I noticed something while at that game. I am not a big Astros fan, let alone National League fan, but then it dawned on me: World Series......Astros vs Red Sox.....holy crap! I'm not saying we'll make it that far, or even get into the playoffs, but just think about it. The World Series HERE! If that scenario played out, I'd make sure I got 2 tickets, even if I had to pay an arm, leg, or soul to get them. The Astros still are not my team, but I am DEFINITELY rooting for them to get that Wild Card spot. GO 'STROS!

Sunday: I was a complete bum. I sat out by the pool, got a few rays, and rearranged things here and there in the apartment. I also had to iron clothes for work, and I attempted to get to bed at a decent hour( I wasn't very successful).

Monday: First day of work. I went to 600 Gemini to get badged, which was so much easier now that I am a returning co-op. It was great to see my old group: Eric, Colin, Al, Frank, Elizabeth, Pam, Macresia, and Jude. Sadly, this summer several of my mentors moved on to other things beside the civil space program. They are doing well from what I hear; I just wished I could have said goodbye....Then I met my new manager; of course, he wasn't really new to me, as he was the guy that interviewed me for this job. Best of all, Bryan(my new manager) is in the same room as Trey. Trey refused to look at me when I walked in, haha. He's upset I didn't come back to one of his groups. He wont even call me by name now; he just calls me "co-op", haha. Everyone in my new group is awesome. I will go into much detail about this new group in a later post, but just know that this is actually rocket science; what I am doing is exactly what you think of when you hear the word NASA, spaceflight, or rocket science. It's a blast(get it?). I'll talk more about all that later, though, so you have something to look forward to......

when I went to see my old group, I ran into Eric first. What did he say right as he saw me? I quote, "Hey Henry, what are you doing tonight? Nothing? Good. Poker night is back. My place at 8:00. I'll see you there."....and that was it. No "Hey man, how are ya?" or "how was your summer?" or "what's up? glad to see ya back?" It was funny. I think he knew I was coming.

So I went to play poker with the boys while we watched Monday Night Football, chowed down on pizza and snacks, and drank all kinds of beverages. I knew the basics of poker going into that game, but the guys really helped me get the hang of it. I am completely hooked now. Sure, I put in 10 bucks and left with $2.75, but I'll get better. We play every Monday night. I'll win the money back :)

Eric also told me about his Labor Day Bash next Saturday at his place. TONS of people are going to be there, and I am planning on joining them. It's gonna be awesome. The first full weekend of football + backyard grilling + a huge crowd = FUN for all. I can't wait!

Tuesday: Day two of work. Again, it was great fun. I ran into Eric again that morning. During poker the night before, I mentioned to him(knowing that he was from Dallas and a huge Cowboys/Stars/Rangers/Mavericks fan) that the Avalanche were coming into Dallas to play the Stars on October 8th. He seemed interested but didn't say anything at the time. This morning he said, "Why dont we plan on going to that Avs game in October?" So the wheels have been put into motion for my semi-annual trip to Dallas, haha. I am SO excited. My Avs will be back on the ice, and I'll get to see them near the beginning of the season.

Also, I'm going to see the Avs play in Nashville over Christmas break AND during the spring semester when we have a 3-day weekend in the spring. I'm also going to see Wayne Gretzky coach the Coyotes against Nasvhille in April. Can you tell I'm excited about hockey's return?

I told Colin(my fellow Sox fan in my old group) my idea for the playoffs in October. I suggested that all of us(Red Sox nation here in Houston) take turns hosting a Sox Party every game of the playoffs(in which the Sox play, of course). He loved the idea, so we're gonna try doing that come October. That should be fun.

Tuesday night, I went to the League City sportsplex(about 8 miles away) to watch the volleyball league play. This complex is NICE. There are 6 regulation beach courts, all with great sand, new nets, and plenty of lighting. I stayed for about 2 hours. It was unbelievable. I found the league's website, and I discovered that a new league starts late next week. I'm not sure how many spots are left open, but Jason and I are definitely interested. We're gonna practice some over the next few days, and if we think we can get some damage done on other teams, we'll sign up. It's $120 a team, so we're not gonna join unless we think we can play at a decent level.

Wednesday(today): The Yankees just allowed 9 runs in one inning, and the Sox are up 3-0; today is definitely a good one.

It's about time to put the clothes in the dryer, so I guess I'll stop here tonight.

Until next time,
-H

Houston Bound

Well folks, tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for Space City, USA(Houston, for the uninformed). I've been packing the last few days, and I will load everything into the jeep tonight, making my departure tomorrow more expeditious. The internet/cable guy can't come to our place until Tuesday, so I'll have to rough it over the weekend, haha. Scattered showers is the forecast, but there might be some sunshine here and there; I may try to head out to the pool. One thing I am definitely doing: going to the the League City Sportsplex to see where I sign up for the beach volleyball league :)

And with what, I am gone. Next time you hear from me, I'll be back on the job, ensuring that thing orbiting the earth stays that way.

-Henry

What the...

An ENORMOUS tent was erected today on the center grounds...really bizarre. I'll try to provide photographical reconnaissance tomorrow.

-The H

Oh Brother, Where Dart Thou?

It's only logical that, while I am home, I should practice my dart throwing. I have a feeling Richard and I will soon clash in an instant classic dart match for the ages(dont ask me how I "feel" it. It's like the force...you just know). With that said, I have thrown a bajillion darts since returning from Paris. Every night(that I am home) I throw for at least 2 hours while I stay up until it's early. I figured I should provide evidence of these occurrences...

Look at the focus...
Look at the form...
Look at how freakin close the dart is to the camera!

I am bringing my dart board to Houston again, but you can be rest assured that it WILL go up this time.

I noticed one of my trophies on my shelf today, one from days long gone. I looked at it, and I could not help but smile. Why? Take a look...

Okay, honestly. Does this really surprise anyone that I played for this team?

Speakin of the Sox, Schiller blew a two-run lead tonight in Comerica park in Detroit. The Yanks won as well, so they gained a game. Damnit.

-H

Ramblings...

So yeah, I've kind of procrastinated the past few days...

Unless you've been living under a really really large rock, you know that Discovery landed safely early this week. This was the most nervous moment for all involved with the shuttle program, but the it went off without a hitch. Hell, besides the shuttle being a falling brick when it enters the atmosphere, they landed it in the dark no less. Truly impressive. Hopefully it wont be too long before the shuttles are flying again. The foam problem is annoying, but I believe we will never truly be able to eliminate all foam loss. I think the focus should be on making sure that the foam doesn't hit the orbiter, not eliminating all foam loss....but that's just me.

Being able to hang out with Trevor this week has been fun. We've gone out and done something every night since Monday. Thursday was really fun; a TON of people were at Michelle's to hang out. There were more than 10 there, so I think that constitutes a "party." At this "party," I commandeered Kendall's straw hat that he wears ALL the time. I liked it so much, I wore it the rest of the night. Using my camera phone, Trevor got a pic of me with the hat on, so if I ever get another usb cable, I'll try to post the pic on here. Kendall says the hats can be purchased at Academy Sports; I may just have to pic one up before I leave next week.

My Sox jersey came in yesterday! It's just like the jersey I received in the mail a few weeks ago, but that one was too large. I downsized to a medium, and it fits like a glove. For those of you who dont know, it's the alternate home jersey the Sox wear during home games on Sunday. It's red, which I think is pretty sharp. Now I can root my Sox on with style.

I have begun a huge musical downloading campaign. It's really weird, as I am not usually a big music guy. I don't know what it is, but I just started wanting all these artists and their cds. I have about 20 artists listed, and each one of them has at least 2 cds in their repertoire. This will take time...

There is another long term goal I have set today as well. I want to own EVERY dvd based off of a comic book movie ever made. I know, it seems impossible, but I think it can be done. Again, this is a long term goal, but hopefully it will be met before summer '06. I already have 33 movies listed :)

Heard some great news on the Family Vacation front today...next summer the family is going to relax in the Isle of Palms off the coast of South Carolina!! Helllllllll yeah! I'm pretty excited, but the only thing that I am cautiously pessimistic about is the fact that I will be working that summer in Houston. Off days will be hard to come by then, but mom says we're shooting for an August date, so everything may work out just perfectly.

well, i'm finished downloading, and the Sox just won. I swear, we are unbeatable at home this year. Five games in the AL east lead, 13 straight wins at Fenway, and we just clinched the season series against the team with the best record in the bigs. HOO-YAH!

-H

Ok, I promise...this is the last time

i think this is a record or something, as i have either come in late or stayed up with everyone at trevor's until very late for the past 5 straight days. When I say late, I am talking 5:00-sunrise. It's crazy. However, due to the crazy nature of it all, I am too tired to update fully tonight. I have nothing to do(seriously, NOTHING) tomorrow, so I should, by all logic, update completely then. I have tons of cd burning to do; I have created a list of 17 artists and/or cds to burn, so that will keep me busy for most of tomorrow, I'm sure. Good thing we have high-speed over at the center.

until tomorrow,

-H

Update time....later tonight

lots to talk about tonight....shuttles, work, pool parties, and video recording...

stay tuned later this evening!

I'm off to town,

-H

OK, let's try this one more time...

today was supposed to be action-filled, but not much of it came to fruition. Rain cancelled our volleyball match, so Trevor and I resorted to old-school gaming on my trusty Super Nintendo. We really will never see a better system than that one. If you don't agree with me, just shoot me an email or IM or something. I could go off on it on here, but I'd prefer to not to increase my geekdom on here any further...

First oppurtunity for Discovery to land tomorrow morning will be at 0407 hours. Another all-nighter? You bet...

Scroll down to see one of Richard's comments in a previous post. He has challenged me, albeit from Virginia, to up my game of darts....so that's what I plan on doing tonight: darts, darts, darts. Be prepared, Richard! I watched the World Series of Darts on the tele today, so I know what it takes, haha...

trevor had new speakers installed in his car today, so we got pa-lenty of time to browse Best Buy. Trevor and I are contemplating what equipment we will need for the apartment next spring :)

I go to take the jeep in for brake work tomorrow...yay.

well, Conan is on,

g'night!

-H

Waived Off

The landing has been pushed to Tuesday(0407 hours) due to low cloud cover that developed at KSC. Guess that means staying up all night again tonight...

-H

Waiting

well it's currently 01:37 hours, and I am not asleep. True, I am usually up at this hour anyways, but today is a little different. Space shuttle Discovery is set to begin reentry with a deorbit burn in about 1 hour's time. Mission Control Houston has given the "GO" to begin the reentry procedure, as all possible landing sites are showing favorable weather. I might be able to stay up until then, but if I cannot, I do have my alarms set. I think my dad and/or mom will be waking up as well. It's pretty cool that they are interested and support the things that I am involved in...

today was a fun day. I woke up and went to church with my rents...always a good thing. Then we ate lunch with James Proctor, an old friend from Grenada. Simply put, James is awesome. He and I have had so many misadventures, it's ridiculous. A short list of some of the things he and I created/experienced/thought of...

-the hit single, "Green CD Cases"
-the Fantasy Channel web site
-the Spice Preachers of the Episcopal Church
-the Trudy scale of accidents(ranging from 1.0 to 5.0)

These and other items came up in our conversations this afternoon; it was a good time...

Afterword, I went to James' studio, where his band was putting the finishing touches to the songs on their first album. No word yet on the album title, but the genre is heavy death metal...well there you go.

After the studio, I went to Trevor's. I stayed there until midnight. His mom cooked a roast beef meal followed by chocolate chip cookies; you just HAVE to love Mrs. Joyce. Trevor and I watched the dvd extras to Team America: World Police...HILARIOUS! We then watched the Summer of Seinfeld, as well as several episodes of Family Guy. Some of our friends came over after that; this group include Jordan, Michelle, and Kane. We sat in the living room, talking for about 2 hours. Afterwards, we proceeded to the same thing, but we did it outside in the driveway. Fun fun...

I did find out that Michelle(I technically JUST met her this evening) is from Fairfax. Small world, aint it?

My infectious attitude towards volleyball has caught on. We plan to play today at Liberty Park. I may just video tape the match, and I will take stills from it later. Interesting technique, so we'll see how that turns out.

well, I am going to throw some darts to pass the time until 3:40 am...

Hopefully I will be bringing you all good news about the landing later today...

-H

Wonka Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight

I went to see Charlie & the Chocolate Factory tonight with my parents. I really didn't have any expectations going into the movie, although I had seen the original before watching this remake. With that being said, I loved this movie. I am a long time fan of Tim Burton; Batman is what originally got me hooked. Then there was Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, and Big Fish, just to name a few. Chocolate Factory was a vintage Tim Burton movie: wacky characters, creative environments, demented humor, and of course, great music, which was done by Danny Elfman. I think whenever Tim Burton is involved with a movie, Danny should do the music. It's analagous to Spielberg and John Williams, for they ALWAYS work in tandem.

I saw some interesting things before the movie...

-a poster for X-Men 3, which gave a solid date for the relase: 5/26/06...SWEET!
-a poster for Saw II...should they really make a sequel to this?!? Not sure, but I loved the first, so chances are I'll see the second...
-a trailer for King Kong again...words cannot describe the breathtaking experience that movie is sure to provide

so yeh, I'm at The Center now...haha, that makes me sound like I'm in the local asylum. I don't have much planned for the next few weeks, other than doing more of what I did in Paris(which was very close to nothing, if you are just joining this blog). The dogs are great, the cat is braver, and the weather is still hot...ahh, good times.

I am not really looking forward to the long, winding drive to Houston on the 19th, but I do have something to look forward to in that trip. Before I left Paris, Mal made me a cd just for my Canton-to-Houston trip. It's an mp3 cd, so it has 3.2 gajillion songs on it. I promised I'd wait and hear the songs for the first time on that drive, so the trip will have an upside to it. The cd has what is quite possibly every genre of music on it...no, i haven't looked at the tracks; the titles of each folder are on the cd.

well, it's almost time for the late late edition of Baseball Tonight...not that I'm looking forward to watching how the Red Sox lost the game because of a throwing error...

g'night
-H

Gridiron Volleyball

As you probably know by now, volleyball has become my newest sports passion over the past 6 months. I am not quite sure what got me into it, but I'm glad I have. With that being said, Travis and I have tried to play volleyball at the Memorial Park swimming pool every day the past week. This isn't your grandfather's volleyball either; this is two on two to 21, best of 3 sets. It's fast, it's hard, and the sand does fly. We were able to document some of the more intense moments...

Travis watches as I perform a jump serve...that's right: JUMP serve.

Lee and I battle for a ball at the net...

Travis performing an incredible bump.

Mal also knew how to get some air...and spike the ball like a pro.

She even sacrificed her body to get to the ball.

Well, my stay in Paris has unfortunately come to an end. This past month has been an absolute blast, and it has definitely helped me in a big way. I have been able to relax everyday, not even think about work, and even get a decent tan started. The Stutzman's were EXTREMELY generous, letting me stay in there house and partake in some of their culinary products. They will see a surprise on their kitchen table tomorrow when the return from work :).

Travis is here...so I am gonna jet. Night.

-H

Pictures

Like I promised, I have posted the pictures from our Tampa trip in my Tampa Post. Check them out. I apologize for some of the pics, for I have not cropped some of them. Also, if you have a dial-up connection( mom and dad :) ), just give the page some time to load. There are quite a few pictures. Enjoy!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of our volleyball escapades the past few days.

-Henry

It's true...I really do update

well i haven't updated in awhile, so I guess I should bring everyone up to speed...

okay, so last monday, we headed for Tampa. The plan was to meet Trevor and company, ride some coasters, and see a Red Sox game. We drove all day, ending up at Marcie's in Atlanta for the night.

Tuesday rolled around, and we were on the road up and early at 6am. Now Tuesday was a highly historical day, as the space shuttle returned to flight after more than 2.5 years. Mal was thoughtful enough to suggest stopping at a hotel down the road so we could watch it. She was even able to capture the tension of the moment with her camera...

We continued on after the launch, landing in Tampa around 2:30. The hotel room wasn't ready, so we all went out to eat. It was the first time Mal and Amber met, as well as the Acy parents meeting Mal. A good time was had by all.

After dinner, still no luck with the room. Mal and I decided to take things into our own hands, offering to go pick up the tickets to the game while everyone moved into the room when it was ready. If we had waited on the room before heading down to Tropicana Field, we may not have gotten good seats. Trevor and Amber tagged along, and despite some erratic driving on my part, we made it to Tropicana field in plenty of time to buy what I believe to be the best seats I have ever had at a baseball game(yes, better than the ones I have been to at Fenway). I'll let some of the pictures describe the eventful evening...

Trevor and I were stunned by a 30 ft. tall Manny Ramirez on the Jumbotron

The view of the action from our seats...

Matt Clement got hit hard with a line drive midway through the game. It was a very scary sight...
So scary I couldn't bear to watch.

But the game continued...Mal and I regained our composure and focus.

We were down a few runs in the latter innings, which meant only one thing: rally cap time.
Thanks to 9th and 10th inning heroics by Damon, the Sox gained the lead. Schiller came in to close it out.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, took a dip in the pool, and got some rest. A long day awaited us on Wednesday...

Busch Gardens. Home of 2 of the top 25 steel coasters in the world, according to coasterfanatics.com. Talk about exciting. We got to the park before it opened, getting a jump start on the rest of the crowd. The gates opened, and we headed to Sheikra, Busch Gardens' newest attraction. Head over to the roller coaster database to learn more about it. Not the tallest or fastest coaster I have ever ridden, but it was quite a thrill. Why? The 90 degree drop at the beginning is quite breathtaking. Needless to say, with the crowd being so small at the outset of the day, we rode Sheikra TWICE.

Trevor and I are amused by the clever park map.

Next came Montu, quite possibly the BEST inverted coaster I have ever experienced. Again, the rcdb has all the info about it. I mean, an upside-down cobra roll on an inverted coaster!?! Are you kidding me?! We rode the front, and I can understand why it is in the top 25.

We did find that Mal has Egyptian ancestry...

Then came Kumba. Excellent steel coaster. Read all about it here.

On to Gwazi we went. It was a "dueling" wooden coaster, but due to the lack of either a) mediocrity or b) stupidity in design, the dueling aspect was never fully realized. Still, an excellent wooden coaster it was.

Besides riding the coasters that day, we also ate, played some arcade games, and the usual batch of carnival-style games. I vowed that I'd win a prize for Mal, but I soon found out that was easier said than done. Here I attempted the dreaded ring-around-bottle throw.

Oh I got close.....VERY close to winning.

I even resorted to trying "The Claw" game. Same result: FAILURE.

Around 4, we left the park to clean up a bit and eat a sit-down dinner. The park is open until 10 during July, and during this time they lower the lights, turn up the ambiet noise, and have bands playing all around the park. We returned to ride Montu amidst twilight. It was breathtaking.

We rode another coaster, the Python, but due to it's kiddie-like design and short length, I'd prefer not to mention it any further, haha.

We returned to the hotel for the night.

Every roller coaster/theme park has a sister water park, and Busch Gardens was no different. The water park, Adventure Island, was included in our two-day passes. We went around 1pm to experience the water at the hottest part of the day. There were TONS of people there, which slowed the lines somewhat, but after a short thunderstorm, the crowd decreased by about half. We rode the slides, the raft slides, and other rides. Not a particular noteable water park, but fun nonetheless. We also made time for goofy pictures and action shots, but since we were using a disposable underwater camera, we're still waiting on them to develop.

Mal and I left early early Friday morning. We bid adieu to Trevor and Amber, and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta around 2:30, but since we were coming from the opposite direction and there was no exit for our turnoff from the South, we had to navigate the mean streets of Atlanta for a few hours. We got to Marcie's around 4:30, and we took a nap for an hour and a half. We went to pick up our tickets when we woke, the drove back to Marcie's. We changed into our ballgame attire, then walked to the game. We were less than 1.5 miles from Turner Field, so there was no need to drive.

The game was great. Mal got some awesome seats right in the middle of left field home run territory. We had a spectacular view of the game:

You wouldn't wanna make these two angry...

In an attempt to blend in, disappear, I joined the crowd with the Tomahawk chant.

Who knew Johnny Bravo was a Braves fan?

As you can tell, Mal and I completely hate each other's company.

We got to bed around midnight, only to wake up and leave by 5am. Mal had to be back in Paris for a wedding, so we made sure we had enough of a time cushion. Let me tell you, THAT was some tough driving. Never again do I want to get 5 hours sleep and drive....EVER. We returned to Paris in plenty of time for Mal to make the wedding.

All in all, the trip was great. Fast coasters, great weather, a Red Sox win...it just doesn't get much better than that.

Since we have returned, I have just been chillin, as you'd expect. Lately, however, Travis and I have been in the volleyball mood. We have gone up to the city pool to play the past few days. Our combined powers make for an unstoppable force. We only dropped 2 sets all day today. We got some great pics of all of us playing today, so I'll be sure to post them once I have them.

Until next time...

-H