Well, believe it or not I am still alive! As always, sorry for taking forever and a day to post again. This past semester was a herculean exhibition in learning humility...It has been officially confirmed that I am NOT superman, and my limits are not to infinity. It was a little disappointing to discover, but now that we know we'll just have to accept it...oh well. What can you do??

I am totally pumped about my upcoming trip for the summer. I know that I mentioned traveling with my brothers and step-father this summer in earlier posts, but life always provides interesting twists, and my travel plans have changed.

I am actually going to Alaska in two weeks for 4 days of deep sea fishing, and I can hardly wait! Even better, I am getting to go with my father, and this will be our first official trip anywhere further than Ceres as just the two of us. I am really looking forward to spending some time with him and hanging out as guys. This trip is going to be a blast!

For the excursion we are going to Sitka, Alaska and we are using Kingfisher Charters. Salmon, Halibut, and Lingcod will be in full season so we should catch a boat load!

I'm already packing, so you know I am excited. Normally I wait until the last possible minute and jam random stuff in a bag on my way to the airport. (Okay, that may not be entirely true. I usually pack withing 4 hours of heading to the airport, and it's rare if I forget anything on my packing list, but you get my point...haha).

Anyway, I am grateful my Dad asked me to join him on this trip. I know we are going to make the most of it!

As we get closer to the trip I will post updates. Of course I will post photos after we get back.

Well, that's that! Thank you for stopping by to see what's going on with me. I wish you health and happiness. Feel free to post comments, or let me know what you think the next time I see you.

Cheers!

- NC

Wow! Another weekend of highs and lows. I guess that's why they call it life...our days are made of all of the stuff you have little or no control over that you still get to deal with. Well, I am still breathing and that's a good start. A new week begins tomorrow and I think it's going to be great!

Speaking of tomorrow, 9/18 is Evan's birthday. Yeah! I know it will be fun for him. You only turn two once you know....haha! He is getting so big and learning so many words. Of course he is only making one and two word sentences right now, but he knows a ton of words. After the mishap a couple of weeks ago, everything is back on track. His cut over his eye has healed and the stitches have been removed. Everything else is really cool.

This weekend Noel was able to have his first win of the season with Classics Elite. We won 5-1 over Boerne Soccer Club; sweetening the pot for me is the fact that it is a win on the road. CE Barcelona are now 1-1 on the season, and building momentum. I think this transistion the team has made to 6 v. 6 soccer with a goalie is going to be great for them in the short and long run. The boys are learning to play positions and how to trust one another. It has been an interesting learning curve, but I think they are all up to the challenge. We are adding dimensions to our game.

I was totally pumped about my own game on Sunday, but in the most anti-climatic moment I can remember for quite some time, we rained out on Sunday morning about 40 minutes before the match with barely a drizzle. I am not even sure that it was raining, and it definitely had not been raining the night before so I don't believe the fields were in jeapordy....I am frustrated! Oh well, I will just keep training and get ready to play next week. Hopefully the weather will give us a break. It seems a little silly to be so disapointed over having to reschedule a game, but I look forward to my games as an outlet for stress. I am defnintely going to the gym tomorrow.

Post more soon.

- NC.

Summer doldrums have replaced the fresh excitement of my travels. I am feeling a little like Conan Doyle described Sherlock Holmes in-between cases. While I am not quite ready to start doing drugs and lay on the couch all day scraping my violin aimlesslyl; I definitely feel a little hollowed out and like I am lacking purpose. I guess I should be grateful; life provides plenty of opportunities to be addicted to something and vices could always be worse than travel. I need to pull myself together and start planning another trip. In the meantime, I need to get my momentum back.

Here's a photo from this summer's trip.

Post more soon.

After surviving my National Lampoon's Eastern European Vacation I am ready for the next adventure to begin.

My plans for climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park later this month have been foiled by my step father getting grievously injured 2 months ago. He was playing softball at a church picnic and shattered his wrist by falling ackwardly while running to first base. I was really concerned to hear that he may not recover full use of his hand after surgery, but I am relieved to see that he is recovering very well and is making progress everyday.

Next summer we are supposed to climb Mt. Mckinnely, but that trip may also be in jeapordy if he is not completely recovered. To make this trip possible, I am supposed to come from Texas, and my older brother is coming from Canada...if it doesn't work out, I may have to do a trip with just my two brothers. I have been thinking about Costa Rica, Belize, or Brazil. We will have to see how that works out. I hope it does!

I was lucky enough to run into friends from my trip to Russia today. It was really good to see Adam and Jona! It reminded me of how much I enjoyed hanging out with them for a month on the trip. I hope we all keep in touch. Time will tell.

Post more soon.