The second presidential debate was held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday October 7. I have been looking forward to this event since I first heard about it nearly one year ago. At that time it was not clear who would be the candidates participating in the debate but I knew it would be a big moment for Nashville and for our country. At that time several contenders had put their name in the pot and begun their campaigns to win their parties nomination. One such person was Barack Obama, a little known senator to most of the country, but to anyone who had followed this leader from the speech he delivered at the democratic convention in 2004, read his books, listened to his podcasts, it was a proud moment when Mr. Obama announced ... read more

What can I say about Wichita....... The town is stuck in 1995. The only radio that they play here is country. Mostly from the days when Garth Brooks was king and Diamond Rio was what Rascal Flatts dreamed of becoming. Seriously it's like I've stepped back in High School. Even the classic rock station plays 50s and 60s. Commercials are all from local businesses, trying to sell carpet, or used cars. I guess there is some charm to all this but it makes me realize how far we've come in the past 13 years. This job is tough, I really don't have time to be writing but I needed to take my mind off of it for a while. It's a good client in that the people are easy to work with, it's quiet, we all ... read more

In the past 6 weeks I've been in Baltimore, Washington DC, San Francisco, Kentucky, Indiana, Phoenix, and Nashville. Yeah just like the at&t ads my life has been crazy. Which explains why I haven't had time to write. It's been an adventure if nothing else. I haven't really known if I'm coming or going, and often wake up in my hotel and wonder where I am. I'm currently in Jackson, TN, which I admit isn't nearly as exciting as some of the cities I've been to, but it's given me a little time to think. This is really the kick off of busy season, but I think it started back around Thanksgiving. This is about the time I wish I didn't travel and really miss nashville, but I'm pressing on (for the higher calling of my ... read more

Hello again, I'm going to try to keep this up. At least until I get off the road this Spring. As you can tell I made it home just fine. My plane landed on the 6th and I was back to work on the 12th. It's been full on ever since. I spent one week in Nashville but now in the midst of 10 weeks on the road, which will be followed by another 7 weeks on the road. I'll post when I can, mostly just to keep my sanity I'm not really concerned if people are reading it or not. I don't get much opportunity for pictures but if I did they would be the inside of hotel rooms which basically all look the same anyway. I had a great Thanksgiving. I tried to tell ... read more

We left Dunedin and headed for the Catlins. Which is the south eastern coast of the south island. It is mostly farmland, there are only a couple towns along the way. One consists of 350 people the other 32 people. It is also known as a haven for seals, sea lions, dolphins, and penguins. We saw all 4 of these creatures but the dolphin was asleep on the beach. The penguin was pretty special though. It was the yellow-eyed penguin which is the rarest in the world. We saw one in the middle of a petrified forest. We also ventured into a place called cathedral caverns, which due to the tides are only accessed for an hour each day but constantly changes so it was very lucky that the timing was right for us. It was ... read more

I left Queenstown around 8:00 in the morning. The bus only had 7 people on it. I expected a bigger crowd but it didn’t really matter. I’m just using it to get from point A to B, C, D, E, and F, and possibly G and then back to A. The bus ride was sort boring. No one was talking and seemed like everyone had too much fun the night before. Most everyone was asleep. I talked a little to a girl from Germany and took a very keen interest in German culture and asked a lot of questions. She didn’t seem as interested in American culture but didn’t mind answering my questions. We stopped a few times but not much. The scenery was unreal and I felt guilty for dosing off a few times because ... read more

We should probably try to learn proper grammer before we go though! Sorry about that. This country is amazing!! The absolute most beautiful place I could ever imagine. I sat up front next to the driver on the way down mostly to get a good view but also to keep the trip entertaining. I knew he had good taste in music as he had the radio on classic rock. The first song was Ramblin’ Man and then Like a Rolling Stone I could not have chosen more appropriate songs to begin this journey. The weather started out nice but then got really cloudy, windy, and cold. Then got really sunny and warm, then started to rain as we got to Queenstown and hasn’t quit. But the mountains create their own weather and it’s constantly changing so ... read more

I wrote this yesterday but didn’t have time to send it. I made it to Christ church today. I landed around 2:30 and was in my hostel by 3:00. I noticed the weather first thing. It is perfect. Right around 65 degrees. This came as a nice relief compared to the 80 + I experienced in Sydney. I also noticed how small Christchurch is. According to the driver of the shuttle it’s about 400,000 people making it the 3rd largest city in New Zealand. But it feels very small absolutely no high rises and really feels like a big village as opposed to an actual city. After locking my stuff under my bed I jumped out to go exploring. In the center of the town is the cathedral which gives the town it’s name. A very ... read more

I wrote this last night but didn't get it published before my time expired. I'm now in the Sydney airport. So I broke my camera. A sad day. That little camera and I had become pretty close friends over the past 3 months. It fell off a stand in front of the opera house as I was trying to take a picture of me in my kentucky shirt. I still have all the pictures but the camera is smashed. I'll try to get a new one in christchurch but not sure what I'll be able to find/afford. It was a nice day yesterday. I went exploring around the city and found east sydney which is a lot like east nashville. It has government supported houseing right next to million dollar highrises with a pretty abstract art ... read more

So I figured I could write my blog on word and then post it on the internet and save time. Today I went down to Manly Beach. It is known as a surfer’s paradise and to locals is better than Bondhi. You have to take a 30 min. ferry to get there. The ferry docks on one side of the island and the beach is on the other side. As I was walking there I noticed a giant penguin standing with a bunch of kids and a crowd around. Turns out there was a penguin conservation meeting going on for the penguins of Manly beach. The last penguin colony on New South Wales main land. The event was led by kids and focused on thing you can not do to help the penguins. Don’t take flash ... read more