Finishing under the Golden Gate Bridge!

Finishing the Farallons Race!

The picture is amazing and looks like a beautiful day, right? The racing was long and cold. A 75 degree day in San Francisco evedently means you are going to be cold as shit while sailing through the fog once you are about a mile off shore. The Farallons are 26 miles out :-l the islands are amazing, raw & rugged. For a moment I felt like I was in National Geographic.

Kelly driving one of the Big Boys!

Getting ready for the race tomorrow :-)

We brought the SC50 over from the Richmond Yacht Club to the St.Francis Yact Club :-) Sailing across the San Francisco Bay next to Alcatraz and insight of the Golden Gate Bridge was AMAZING! I'm still in awe being here. Kelly drove the boat alomost half of the trip! How could you not love her! Waking up early to race tomorrow, I'll let you know how we do! Look up our half way point 26 miles offshore, the Farallon Islands. This should be a great race. I'm one of 12 crew on the boat.

My first week!

Resume', Resume', Resume' , the job hunt is on! I had some promising leads this week and it looks like the job hunt in San Francisco is not going to last too long. THANKFULLY! I got a crew job on a 50 foot ocean racer! Its a brand new campaign that will be racing in San Francisco Bay as well as a few big ocean races! Running the fordeck on this monster is going to be a blast! Stay tuned for pictures, this should be amazing! I'm off to enjoy this amazing weather! Disc Golf? Ultimate? Park Lounging? Bike Ride? Surfing? Paragliding? What to do??? So many options! I love this place!

Our Sunday stroll .......

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Took us to the bay today. I hope to be able to jump on a boat here in the next few weeks, the sailing looks amazing! I can't belive I'm here. I have a few job prospects n interviews this week, I hope it works out soon. I want to have the funds to start doing the things I love more often. Sailing. Paragliding, backpacking and maybe the random drive to wine country for the day.

Turning the page

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I have made the comitment! I have over the last few weeks rid myself of all of my possetions. No car, no furnature, no anything! Unfortunatly all the proceeds look like they are going to be consumed by attorneys fees. I did keep my iPhone and my backpack. The idea of owning your own bussiness is the American dream, right? Unfortunatly my attempt was a victim of bad timing. Between incredably high operating expences, road closures, a bad rent deal in an imerging area of town, $4 a gallon gas followed by the colapse of the economy ..... well, it seems I just couldn't make things work. The consumer behaviour was at best, very unpredictable and eventualy atrophy to a point I could not recover. I can't say that I regret trying, but the experience looks like it is going to be a very expensive life lesson. I must say that I did learn a lot and mabye one day I'll try to put another idea together, only on a much smaller scale. The restaurant bussiness is still a passion but it is also a lifestyle comitment that is consuming. I'm not afraid of the work, but the stresses that go along with it are enormous when things are not going well. The past few years have taken a toll on me and for the moment I glad I'm done. I think I will enjoy just being an employee for a while, a long while! Simplifying my life and focusing on what really matters has made me a happier person very quickly. Spending time with my faimly, my amazingly beautiful girlfriend and finding myself again doing the things I love has already brought me back to a calm I haven't had for a long while. Kelly is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. She has made me realize the person I once was and have always wanted to be. I find myself having a renewed apreciation for the most valuable thing a person has to offer, time. I must say that the last few weeks have been nice for the fact that I have only spent time with those closest to me, Kelly, my mom, Andy n Susan, Kellys faimly and my brother. Mike and I seem to be moving in the right direction with regard to mending our bruised relationship(i couldn't live and work with me either). Anyway, my plane leaves tomorrow and I'm very excited. I have a few job prospects lined up but nothing concrete yet and that makes me a little nervous but I will be in my favorite city in the world with the one that means the world to me. Even when starting over looks terifying, the oprotunity is one that may never happen again and I'm going to be happier for it. No regrets from my time in Chattanooga or starting my own bussiness, just a little bruise on my pride. Remember, do not be afraid to follow your dreams :-)

Steeple Chase

Cool photo taken about 1 foot from the ponys! No photoshop, just a high speed iPhone shot!

Steeple Chase

The Next Chapter

The past few years have been quite amazing. I was given the opprotunity to open and own my own bussiness. This was an amazing experience and one that I am glad is over for me. Travis Brady, Troy Sutton & myself opened Food Works on May 30th in 2006. The amount of work it takes to operate this 11,000 square foot monster is amazing! With as many as 140 employees we were able to feed 1000 people a day. The second year in bussiness was much more chalanging, the city of Chattanooga closed the road for 7 months and gave us only a three day notice to prepare. As you can imagine this was quite a chalanging adjustment as your average consumer is rather turned off by driving through a construction site just to go out to eat. I'm sure I'll continue to rant about my very expensive business venture that left me broke but for now I'll will continue on with the next chapter. This is my first blog post and it is happening the Monday after I introduced my beautiful girlfriend to my mother. Mom agrees, I'm way outa my league! We had a great time in Aiken, SouthCarolina @ Steeple Chase! This photo is with my iPhone and no photo shop! Cool huh?! I'm selling the few belongings I have left this weekend and moving to the west coast, for me, for her & that is where I've always wanted to be. I've got a few interviews lined up in the wine brokering bussiness but no job yet and that makes me a little nervous. Everything will work out, I'm sure. Imagine trying to post here a few times a week to document this life journey, so keep up, keep in touch & I look forward to seeing you soon!