As a history major - I tend to look at everything and find trends, think about what historians will write about our time, and all kinds of fun things that drive Amy crazy. The other day while I was thinking about playing Super Mario 3 on my Wii, I thought about the definition of being social (”interactions between people”) and then thought that my son Evan’s generation will most likely view our generation as very unsocial. We wrote letters that took days to deliver, interacted with people very limitedly, played games by ourselves, and worked independently.

Our definition of communication has completely changed. When I thought about it, I went to college before cell phones were really popular. If you wanted to get in touch with someone it was by phone, email, or by the chance of meeting someone. No one had digital cameras so most of our college pictures are tucked away in a shoebox somewhere in one of our friend’s closets. We had the beginning of networked games, but our interaction there was limited to typing in “hi” or “Don’t go in the dungeon without me Ken!”.

Now - we have instant access to … [more]

For the first time in over 10 years - A, E, and I took a week and went on vacation. We usually take weekend trips to see family but have never taken anything longer than a weekend trip (vacation) together…until last week. We flew down to Florida to see some of my family and then off to Walt Disney World where we sent seven days at the for main parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios, and the Animal Kingdom). The trip was great except for the fact that I sprained my right big toe on day two and ended up seeing most of Disney in a wheel chair. (I would tell you how I sprained it, but you would never believe me.) I never realized how much you need your big toe for walking/balance.

I have to say - I had a whole new appreciation for Disney this time around and I am excited to go back. A big thanks to A’s aunt and father for everything

Hopefully next week after the 4th of July, things will settle down a bit so I can get back to regular blogging!

I just returned from a four day trip to FL to visit some family…and to play some golf - both which were enjoyable. I am not much of a warm weather person, but I did enjoy the break from the snow here in Chicago (the most we have seen here in ten years). I am hoping to now get caught up with work. I will note that having my iPhone with me on the trip was extremely key. Not only was I able to keep on top of most of my email, but it entertained Evan on the plane with the video iPod and photo browser capabilities without needing to open a laptop. On the golf front - I played extremely consistent and had a lot of great shots for not being out on the course since November. I feel like this is going to be the best golf year I have had in a long time if I can master my chipping! Watch out!

I am back from a few day vacation in Washington DC with my family. We had a nice time in a great city! My grandparents were with us and I had the pleasure of going to the World War II monument with my grandfather who fought over in Europe during WWII. It was quite touching and a nice way to spend the holidays. A special thanks to my sister and her husband for putting us up and putting up with us. She did a fabulous job at getting meaningful presents and also making us feel at home!

Now that I am back in IL - I have a number of things to take care of before the new year, but I will be back to a normal posting schedule in the next few days. I have been working on some really interesting projects and have some great tips to share in the next few posts.

Happy holidays!