Dr. Suess

Val and I at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fl. We had season passes and they expire in a few weeks so we decided to go one last time. It was not crowded at all, considering most have started school back up at this point. So, we did not have to wait in line and actually rode all the coasters in the front seats. It really made a huge difference sitting in front compared to the back of the coaster. It is a lot of fun, but I am not sure if we will get season passes again. We may try Disney at some point since I have never been there either.

Gator

The one that was finally harvested. 7'10"

Gators

Mike and Brandon have been gator hunting all week. No luck, though. I went with them last night and we saw a bunch of them. Basically you go out on the boat and drive up and down the river shining a flashlight around until you see their eyes glow. Then, if you can get close enough, you either spear them with what looks like a long pole and a knife at one end, or you use your fishing reel equipped-bow and arrow. Or, you can hang nasty rotton chicken from trees. The bait is wrapped around a wooden peg tied to a long string that is connected at the other end to an empty bottle with reflectors. When the gator takes the bait, you later come by to find the bottle floating around because the wooden peg is stuck in the gators digestive tract. Unfortunately I had to leave early because these shinanigans take place between 8pm and 6am. Here is one they caught about 30 minutes after I left. It was small so they let it go unharmed, back into the wild to grow old and become a nice pair of boots.

Mike holding the gator.

Bikes

Around Christmas 2010 we bought new bikes in hopes to get some exercise in and have some fun doing it. I got a Trek 6000 and Val got a Trek 3700. We rode quite a bit and rode on the Alafia River trails once or twice a month. They have pretty intense (for Florida) mountain biking. A couple of months ago our bikes were stolen from our apartment complex. They were locked on a bike rack within our secure garage about 100 ft from our security guard and on camera. The guy who stole them got caught and is getting multiple counts of felony secondary to this. There were seven bikes total stolen from our building alone. We went to go buy new bikes! I ended up getting the Trek Fuel EX8 and Val got the Trek 6000. These were pretty decent upgrades from our prior bikes. After dropping some dough on these, the police called and stated they found our bikes at a local pawn shop. Pawn shops are required to document the serial number of the bikes, which I reported to the police as stolen. When the police ran a search on the "pawn shop database," our bikes showed up on the list! So, this past week, we have had 4 bikes sitting in our apartment (we are not trusting the "secure" garage anymore). Already sold my old one and someone is interested in Val's. Our new bikes are awesome!!!

Trek 6000

My old bike

Trek 3700

Val's old bike

Trek 6000

Val's new bike

Trek Fuel EX8

My new bike

Engagement

Here is the evidence. We are planning April or May 2013 when I am on research and therefore will have more time off. At this point we are planning to have it in Key West. We are going down for vacation in September to look at some places. I will keep you all updated.

2011 Mustang GT

My new car. I bought it in January and absolutely love it. It is ridiculously fast. 412HP fast. It has the same performance as a new BMW M3 but less than half the cost. Plus, it is pretty luxury inside. All leather and I especially like the hands free radio, satellite, bluetooth telephone and iPod.

Long time no blogging

Well everyone, it has been a LOOONG time since I have updated this. But, better late than never. I am now in my third year of residency and have a little more time now than last year so here goes.

Here are two photos from my balcony tonight. I thought I would share a touch of Florida sunsets with all the folks back home. If you are jealous, you should visit. I have not had enough visitors (so far Kristen my first year, and my parents last year).

I am awaiting other visitors, please feel free to come by. We have a spare room and all are always welcome, preferably when I am not on call.

I will be trying to update this much more often this year with things we are doing, work, and getting ready for the wedding.

Keep in touch everyone!