Learn how I check my snail mail once every two weeks.

Three Weeks Worth of Junkmail. I used to see this this volume in one day!

Read the rest of this entry »

Will the City of Raleigh’s efforts to revitalize Hillsborough Street have the same effect as their efforts on Fayetteville Street?  Below are some caveats I’m not convinced are addressed in the City Council’s plans.

I’m thrilled Raleigh is finally investing in the Hillsborough Street corridor.  Hillsborough St. is one of our city’s primary gateways and has been blighted far too long.  Equally important, NC State University is a $1.1 BILLION dollar institution, and one of the area’s largest employers.  The importance of NCSU is often overlooked by our town’s leaders.  I hope their plan succeeds marvelously, yet I remain unconvinced. Their plans fails to address what this layman sees (I profess I am not a city planner) as the real problems with Hillsborough Street – parking and zoning density. Read the rest of this entry »

Y’all [for my northern friends y'all is the perfect word and the contraction for "you all"] are amazing.  Thank you is the most important thing I can tell you.  Your outpouring of support overwhelms me, your friendship and love is priceless.  As I said last week, “I’m a lucky guy!”

I feel great for having had a testicle removed.  The loss of “Leftie” is not painful.  My pain comes from cutting through my groin.  They incised a roughly 4-inch wide by 8-inch deep section in the lower portion of my abdomen.  The pain is very manageable so long as I do not move too much.  I forgot how much connects to my abdomen — laughing hurt until last night and I cringe when I sneeze.

My stamina is fair.  I have indulged in my share of catnaps, and I’m slowly getting my feet back under me.  It’s amazing how much the anesthesia and narcotics worked on me (first experience with Percocet – good stuff).  I think I treated my visitors to some interesting conversations – sorry everyone if I said something that rubbed you wrong.

Regarding my diagnosis and prognosis, I received “the call” from my doctor on Thursday of last week and he confirmed I have stage 1 (hopefully entirely contained) seminomas testicular cancer.  The pathologist found five separate tumors roughly 3-5 millimeters in size each.  The good news is that “Leftie” did not die in vain.  My post-operative follow up appointment is tomorrow, and he will be sending me to a radiation oncologist.  I should be better than ever after a little glow in the dark time.

I would like to leave you with a lighter story.  My mother has been great, and I would be ready to canonize her if she had not spoiled my dog rotten.  If you know anything about my Mom, she will not confess her age and you never wish her happy birthday (we say happy “special day” instead).  For some reason though, she started calling herself Grandma around my puppy Bridget.  Now, I see a brown streak hurtle towards the kitchen anytime anyone goes near my pantry.  Hmmm…I guess spoiling is what Moms and Grandmas do best.

Thank you all again.  You’re the best.

Cheers,
Eric

Are you looking for some ideas on how to create a budget?  Check out my account below how I created my budget and what tools I use to make it stick.

Read the rest of this entry »

My mother suffered from breast cancer, and still experiences complications from cancer. You can imagine then that Kay Yow’s passing on Saturday impacted me in a very personal way. I imagine we all know someone that has suffered from cancer. NC State students are honoring Kay Yow by wearing pink today. Please consider taking a moment to reflect on all those who experience cancer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Snow Day! You know you’re in the south when your governor declares a state of emergency for snow. I’ve posted some pics in my Flickr feed here: Snow Day Raleigh 2009

In other news, on February 28th, the Hibernian (one of my favorite local joints) will be hosting a St. Baldrick’s Foundation “Shave-a-Thon” for juvenile cancer research. It should be a great time. What’s better than barbershop humor, beer (for the grownups of course, more on that later), and a great cause? Past participants include members of the Carolina Hurricanes. Check out the following video produced by 96 Rock: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m working on some more serious topics for the coming weeks. Here’s something a little more fun in the meantime:

Notice, the title says man-scaping, not metro-scaping.  Guys I promise you need to do these things.

Read the rest of this entry »

You’re probably familiar with Google Maps, and if so you’ve hopefully seen the companion product Google Earth. Both are fantastic, free resources, yet Google Earth is especially powerful because it allows you to evaluate a large number of sites — referred to as geocoding.  Commercial real estate agents use geocoding to evaluate sites from an aerial prospective, yet there’s a myriad of possible uses.  For example, if you’re organizing a party, you could export the invited guests from your email application as an excel or tab delimited file and then geocode the invitation list to determine a center meeting point. Read the rest of this entry »

Thinking about adopting a flexible work program? Consider the Bank of America account below.

In late August, I listened to a Bank of America employee’s presentation on the My Work program.  My Work is supposed to be about employee options, yet I couldn’t help but feel it was more about cost cutting and corporate policy.  My impression wasn’t from the program’s goals and objectives, but from the presentation and the way the program was presented. Please allow me to explain.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Rutherford followed through on rumors of a coaching change today by dismissing head coach Peter Laviolette and rehiring Paul Maurice.  The Hurricanes run in June of 2006 holds some very special memories for the City of Raleigh.  Thank you “Lavi” for helping bring the Stanley Cup to “Mayberry!”  We wish you all the best of luck, wherever your journeys take you.

Paul Maurice has some huge shoes to fill — best of luck on your second stay in Raleigh.

Cheers,
Eric

Read the rest of this entry »