Every little thing...is gonna be alright....right?

I don't like to blog about work, but sometimes it helps when I can vent. We are approaching our busiest time of the year. From about October to March, I feel like I don't know which end is up.

I currently manage a team of seven. My buddy manages another seven. Well, I lost one team member to law school earlier this month. Another team member will be transferring to another department on August 1st and I just found out today another team member may be moving out of state within the next month.

My buddy is losing two of his team members to transfers and another is interviewing for another position sometime in the near future.

And did I mention they wanted us to each have up to eight or nine person teams, each?! We'd have no problem with that, but there aren't any applicants!!

This is what freaks me out. A lot of the qualified people in other departments would have to take a cut in not only rank, but pay as well. And with the lower level, their opportunity for raises would be much smaller.

Here's hoping I don't lose my mind by October 1st.

But no matter what, I fully believe, every little thing...is going to be alright.

The Mayan's better be wrong...

One of my friend's decided not to cut his hair till the Vols lost a game. When I asked him about this, he told me he didn't plan on cutting his hair till 2013. I may or may not have snorted when he revealed this bit of information, but hey, you should think you can win every game, right?

While at breakfast this morning, I said I think the Vols could go undefeated till the Bama game. Then I went out of a limb and called for an undefeated season, a la 1998. My other buddy about choked on his eggs when I made that statement. He told me that if the Vols went undefeated (he's a Vols fan too) that he'll know the Mayan's were right and the world will end.

Which of course, would put the end of the world BEFORE the National Championship Game. Which would be on par for the Vols. Run the table and don't even have a chance to play for it all.

But all kidding aside, I just wonder how long my Fuzzy Bear friend can let his hair grow. I'm pretty sure he's on the verge of breaking office dress code already. But, he did tell me that if we're undefeated going into the 3rd weekend in October, I can braid cornrows into his hair. That would be most awesome!

Oh and I decided to finally spend a birthday in Vegas. Another reason the Mayan's better be wrong. Can you believe that I've never spent my actual birthday in Vegas? Shocking, just shocking.

USA...USA...USA...

Once every four years, I get extra patriotic. I love the Olympics, but the Summer Games are my favorite. The aquatic events have always been at the top of my list. Guess it was because I grew up around water.

This year, the US Olympic Swim Team is training at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Doesn't sound like much, but that just happens to be the aquatic center on the campus of my alma mater, the University of Tennessee.

They opened practice up to the public today. From 8:00AM - 9:00AM, the first 1200 could watch inside the AC. For those that couldn't get in, the outdoor pool was open from 8:00 - 10:00AM.

My friend Sharon had expressed interest in going, so I decided to meet her there. Neither of us were sure how many people would actually show up, we decided to try and meet on campus around 7:00 - 7:15AM. Knowing how long it takes me to actually "wake-up". I set my alarm for 5AM. I actually hear it around 5:15 and was up and moving before 6. I stopped at Starbucks before I hit campus, 6:30AM-ish.

By the time I got to the top of Volunteer Blvd, the line to get in was huge! Similar to what you would see outside of Best Buy, in preparation for Black Friday. Sharon got there a little after 7 and we hustled over to the tail end of the line. I wasn't sure if we'd make it inside, but after standing in the rain for over an hour, I need to see some Olympians!!

Once the line started moving, people were cutting in left and right. Sucks for those of us that had been waiting and even worse for all of the kids and swim clubs that were behind us. As we got closer to the door, I felt like a little kid waiting to see Santa.

The door was in sight, and they held a group of us at the top of the steps. I'm pretty sure they said "1170" were already inside. They counted us off and I think Sharon and I were #1185 & #1186.

It's not every day an Olympic team trains in your backyard. We made it in and started snapping photos. Since they didn't have their names on their caps, it was hard to tell, from a distance, who was who. The local media found Davis Tarwater and talked to him for a few minutes. I'm pretty sure Ryan Lochte ran past him from the warm up pool and jumped in the main one. Everyone in the stands stated cheering, but not a "Michael Phelps" type cheer.

After about 20 minutes, we left and headed to the outdoor pool. It was still raining, but there were people lined up all around. We climbed up to the balcony of the original AC and saw Brenden Hansen getting his work out in.

I made it to my office a little after 9AM and when I went to lunch at Pete's one of my co-workers made a motion through the window. She asked if I saw Michael Phelps. I thought she meant while I was on campus, but it turns out, Phelps and his family were walking down Union Ave. I don't pay attention to the people walking down the street. But if I had seen him, good chance I would have chased him down the street. He's an 8x Gold Medalist for crying out loud!!

All in all, it was a pretty hilarious day.

Now, it's go Gold or go home...Go Team USA!!

Where did the time go?

How is half of 2012 already over? The last 6 months have been filled with some pretty amazing things. Here's hoping the next 6 months bring even more craziness.