http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave The adventures of a smalltown kid that somehow ended up a grown up in Chicago Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:16:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'm losing the battle of balance right now.  Work is completely overwhelming at times, which means the few moments I have in the evening are spent decompressing and reviewing the massive list of to-do's before the wedding.  It's not a good way to build up to a fun wedding day. Holy ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/09/22/urge-to-write-status-check-dwindling/ When listening and reading Kennedy's nomination acceptance speech at the 1960 Democrtic National Convention, it is actually somewhat freaky how relevant his words are today.  I think Obama could take the speech and swap "terrorist" for "communist" and "McCain" for "Nixon" and almost read it word for word. Well, except for ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/08/27/the-new-frontier-is-here-whether-we-seek-it-or-not/ Preparing for marriage is hard. There... I said it.  Step one, right? I'm not just talking about figuring out reception seating arrangements and hoping for clear skies for our outdoor ceremony.  I'm also talking about the actual preparation going on between me and my bride-to-be.  I struggle with treating her like some ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/07/30/hoping-for-fulfillment/ This whole wedding planning thing has gone a lot smoother than I think Sarah and I anticipated. Sarah has bought her dress, picked out bridesmaid dresses, booked the ceremony and reception sites (including food and drinks), ordered cakes, secured a DJ, and remained relatively calm and lighthearted about it ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/06/18/turns-out-we-did-have-enough-time-to-go-to-bed-bath-and-beyond/ I don't remember the first "truth about Obama" e-mail that was forwarded on to me, but the hate-filled crap still seems to be flying around the internet.  Almost daily I hear some type of reference to Obama linked to Islam, playing on the xenophobia of fearful Americans that equate Islam ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/06/12/no-i-will-not-forward-this-e-mail-to-everyone-i-know/ I'm glad that people are talking about the recent decision by Dunkin Donuts to pull an ad featuring Rachel Ray in a scarf that some random nut with a blog deemed too similar to a keffiyeh. This xenophobic hate mongerer wasted no time in linking the scarf, which apparently was a ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/06/02/im-a-bit-confused/ Work is crazy busy and Sarah and I are spending pretty much every possible second traveling and planning this shindig. Looks like it will probably be in late September or October. Everybody keeps saying that seems quick, but it seems about right to me. Plus, an outdoor ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/05/19/no-joke/ The first wedding I can remember was for my dad's cousin Ken and his wife Alice. I don't remember much except the big wooden pews. There are some great pictures of me (the ring bearer) and the flower girl and a few stories of the echoing effect produced ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/05/05/she-said-yes/ Getting out of the city for a long weekend is always a welcome treat, especially after the winter we just had. I don't know if I can remember a winter that has lasted so long or has been so consistently cold and I'd prefer it if the city could ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/04/25/a-weekend-of-contrast/ So, when people say to you, "oh, don't worry about that parking ticket... you have out-of-state plates so you're fine," what should your reply be? - a) Hey!  Great point!  I'll park wherever I want! - b) Hmm... are you sure?  Is that some type of weird law in Chicago? - c) Shut ... http://rmfo-blogs.com/dave/2008/04/10/lessons-learned-in-the-windy-city/