New York, Chicago, Dallas, Vegas

I arrived home on Thursday after spending three weeks traveling for Tennis Channel. I can definitely see how traveling for work can get old after awhile; it's almost impossible to exercise and eat right when you are eating and drinking with clients and coworkers every night. That being said, getting out of the office and wandering around some new cities is a very positive experience.

NYC was about what I expected: a bigger, meaner, dirtier version of Chicago. Our tennis event was held at a facility called Tennisport in Long Island City that overlooks the NYC skyline. Tennisport is an old school tennis club where many of the world's best tennis players have played since 1970.


















































I setup my NYC trip so that I could stop in Chicago on the way out and the way back. It was great to see everyone, both family and friends. Keeping relationships with all these people is of high importance to me. The world isn't a very fun place to be in without friends.

My former scene in Chicago has morphed into some sort of "classic kid" collage filled with all of my good friends from throughout the years from first grade to college, an ex-girlfriend, my sister, and my cousin. It has gone way beyond George Castanza's worlds colliding in Seinfeld, way beyond the point of me having any control over the situation. Therefore, I embrace it with open arms.....from California.

My dad wears shades and reminds me of a secret service agent when he waits for me at the airport. I have to give him credit, he's lookin' good.


















































Davit has guled a rock he found onto the dashboard of his car. He says it looks like an eye that watches him while he drives. It pretty much looks like a normal rock to me.














































































































































And for those that are curious, yes, Scabbies still tucks his bed sheets into his bed so tight it almost cuts off his circulation. This is Scabbies in his element wearing a Kansas sweatshirt under a Pearl Jam poster living in Wrigleyville.




















The tour continued in the state of Texas. In Dallas I bought my first cowboy hat, went to my first rodeo, and ate texmex for the first time.































I also took a ride on a duck bus in Dallas. A company called Duck Rides buys a certain type of old World War 2 vehicle (of which only 1500 are still in existence), and they turn these vehicles into amphibious tour buses.

The funniest part of the tour was our driver. He explained that he used to have a corporate job, but he now drives around these duck buses and likes it that way. I must admit, he gave a pretty good tour, unfortuantely there were only two of us on the bus. The driver had a microphone hooked up to a sound system. He would drive by a golf course, wait until someone was about to tee-off, and then start quacking really loud into the mike. When we were out on the water, he let my co-worker and I take turns driving while he sat on the front of the boat and pretended to fish in a WW2 outfit. This guy definitely has something figured out; he's doing something right.






























































The journey contined to Las Vegas. A bomb went off one morning in the parking lot of the Luxor where we were staying and killed a guy. Apparently it was a mafia-related hit. People talked about it, but overall no one made that big of deal about it. Whatever.