My Super Busy (and Super Fun) Weekend

This weekend, by which I mean Friday-Monday, I am going to be SUPER busy having loads of fun on a variety of different projects. Here's a rundown: Friday: Fundraiser for Rep. Adams in LD-19 featuring former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. I am helping with volunteer coordination, registration, and whatever else needs to be done. Four CRs will also be there from ASU as my volunteers, so that should be good times! Saturday: Fly out of Phoenix at 9am and arrive in Tampa, FL around 4pm EST. Then, I'm going to try to catch the Red Sox-Rays game that night at 8:07 EST, though I might not be able to if I can't find any cheap tickets by start time. Either way, I'll check out the stadium! Sunday: I plan on going to the beach in the morning and checking out the Atlantic Ocean, since I've never actually been to the Atlantic before. (The two closest times were when I was in Washington, DC and in England/France, but I never actually got to go to the ocean. Then at 1:00pm EST, I have free tickets to see the Panthers and Buccaneers game, courtesy the radio station. The Buccaneers' stadium is pretty darn cool, nicknamed the "Crown Jewel of the NFL." My seats are right down by field level in front of the famous Pirate Ship in the north end zone. After the game, I am not sure what we'll be doing, but I do plan to try to explore some of Tampa!

The Pirate Ship

Info: (from www.raymodjames.com/stadium/stadium_facts.htm) "The same company that produces props for Walt Disney World created the mighty pirate ship that is permanently harbored in Buccaneer Cove. The pirate ship comes to life after the Buccaneers score a field goal or touchdown. Its loud cannons fire seven times to signal a touchdown and three to announce a field goal. The pirate ship is an authentic replica of an early 1800s pirate ship, arguably one of the most recognizable stadium features in the world. It is 103 feet long with huge 32x50 foot sails."

Monday: The flight back is at 4pm EST, so we have most of the day to explore the area and see what's around. We land back in Phoenix around 5:30pm MST having gained an additional three hours or so that we had lost when we flew out. The only downfall: the flight is nonstop, so I'm sure I'll get antsy being stuck on a plane for 4 hours. I guess it'll be great opportunity to catch up on some reading. I just got a new book called "Painting the Map Red" by Hugh Hewitt, and I need to finish "Legend," the second Event Group thriller. Tuesday: Back to work! Hopefully I'll have pics and recap of my trip up on the blog here by then, so definitely check it out!

Going to Florida

So, less than 24 hours after I was involved in a car accident which just took my week off to a soaring (sarcasm) start, I won a trip to Florida - airfare, two nights in the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in a room overlooking the bay, and tickets to Sunday's Carolina Panthers-Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game from AM 620 KTAR radio. For those of you (Max) who want more details, I was sitting at home getting ready for work when the phone rang. It was my dad, telling me I had about 2 minutes to call the radio station to claim a prize. I didn't know what prize, or even when I had signed up for a contest, but I called in anyway, verified who I was, and was put on the air with Gambo and Ash from the morning sports radio talk show. They told me I was the winner of the 2-Minute Drill contest, where they would call a name from those people who had signed up as AM 620 All-Stars, and if and when that person called within a few minutes of that announcement, they'd win a trip to any NFL stadium of their choice in the country playing this Sunday to go fly out and see the game! However, if the person couldn't make up their mind within 2 minutes (hence the Drill part), then the radio hosts would pick the game (probably a pretty crappy matchup in some cold, drizzly city) that the person would win. Fortunately, I was of enough sound mind to pick probably the best game going on this Sunday between the Panthers and Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida! So this weekend (fly out Saturday morning, fly back Monday afternoon) I will be lounging by the beach, catching the game (end zone near the Buccaneers' famed pirate ship, 8th row), and seeing Florida since I've never been there - all paid for except the rental car! And because there were 2 tickets, I'm taking my dad, since he was kind enough to let me know I needed to call the station, otherwise I'd have never known about it! I'll be certain to post pics when I get back for all my blog fans!