Good news Wednesday.

My family has been going through some stressful, sad and really unfortunate times over the last few months. But tonight, I got some really great news from my parents and it just made my night.

In other good news, my friend Lenora is en route to Dallas right now. I am picking her up from the airport at 10:30 tonight (she’s delayed because of the crappy weather we had today). That is a little late for my liking, but the fact that she is coming to Dallas, even for just a little while, is more then enough to balance out the late pick up.

Yay for good news Wednesday!

The Dirty (Snowy) Jerz.

That’s right. I am back in NJ for a few days. I have a client event tomorrow and my rule of thumb this time of year is to fly in the day before the event in case their is inclement weather, such as their was today.

My 7am flight out of DFW was canceled, but the nice lady at American Airlines was able to get me on the next flight out at 9:35am. We even landed in Newark 30 minutes early…so take that Snowpocalypse 2011.

I spent some time in my company’s headquarters office in East Rutherford this afternoon, which brought back a lot of memories. I can’t believe I started here as an intern in 2004. How time flies when you are having fun. *Cough, right, cough.*

I am meeting up with my good friend John and his girlfriend Kate for dinner tonight (I hope we have Italian or Chinese!) and having breakfast with my uncle in the morning at a real NJ diner.

It’s time like these when I come up here, visit friends and family and then head back home that I miss it. That feeling usually goes away a few days later though, so don’t worry DFW, I have no plans to come back to the dirty Jerz.

Off to the Dirty Jerz.

Check ya later tumblr. I am off to my home state for a long weekend of wedding fun, family drama, catching up with old friends, my fave foods (anything Italian, bagels, eggrolls, etc.), Memorial Day celebrations and lots of reminiscing.

My (younger) cousin is getting married.

On Sunday! Do you know what that means?

I have a fairly small family. I have some estranged cousins and great aunts out there somewhere, but my immediate family is pretty tight-knit. And I like that. However, I only have three first cousins. Two of them, who are older, are married. One has a little boy. One of them is younger and she is getting married on Sunday.

And that leaves me as the only cousin who isn’t married. I am now the single (yet successful, independent and smart), black sheep cousin of the family. It might be time to finish that eHarmony profile I started a while back. Ugh…

It’s been a hell of a week.

I definitely could have handled this week with more composure, but the stress got to me. I snapped at a few people, freaked out about things I had no control over, worked too many hours and ate too much junk food.

But today, a big weight was lifted off my shoulders as things started to fall into place. I feel so much better. I am really looking forward to some dinner and drinks with my friend Lenora tonight, sleeping in tomorrow, dinner with the family to celebrate my mom and dad’s birthdays tomorrow night and a nice relaxing Sunday.

Cheers to a good weekend!

I grew up with cats. My family is, and will always be, cat people. I remember Emmitt as a tiny kitten. He used to sit next to or on top of the TV and actually watch the picture move. Today, my mom and dad had to put Emmitt to sleep. He had a good life…11 years. He is at peace now.

RIP Emmitt “Smith” Calabrese.

The next 30 days.

Today marks one month until I close on my condo. The countdown has officially begun!

The next 30 days are going to be crazy busy:

• August 19: Paul McCartney concert at Cowboys Stadium
• August 22-28: Trip to South Korea
• August 29: Cowboys pre-season game against the 49ers
• August 30: Family BBQ
• August 31: Day off from work to recover
• September 3: Happy hour with Jess (visiting from NC)
• September 7: Labor Day - work closed
• September 10-13: Trip to San Francisco
• September 15: Condo closing

Mentally exhausted.

It’s been a physically relaxing, but mentally exhausting weekend and it is now coming to a close. I wish I had just one more day off!

Friday I went to look at condos…for the millionth time. I found one that I REALLY like and made plans to go look at it again today. More on that later.

I spent the 4th with my family eating and drinking too much, lounging by the pool, setting off fireworks, getting caught by the cops and getting out of a ticket. Thank you, Officer Thompson of the Corinth PD.

On Sunday, I slept in and was lazy for most of the day. I celebrated my aunt’s birthday with my family in the afternoon. My baby cousin Brody is getting so big so fast!

Today, my aunt (real estate agent/broker) came down with my parents (dad - my real estate agent) and we went for a second look at the condo I like. Two bedroom, two and half bathrooms, new tile floors, granite countertops, cute patio and pool on-site - it really has everything I am looking for and only needs some cosmetic updates.

We went by the realtor’s office to find out more and ask questions about the property only to find out that he wasn’t in today and no one else in his office could answer our questions. I sat down and wrote out all the questions so my dad could contact him via e-mail and hopefully we can get some answers before I decide to make an offer.

Home ownership is so close. I can feel it. But this is the biggest decision of my life (so far!) and I want to make sure it is the right one. My aunt is very anti-condo because of the HOA fees and resale value, but if I want to stay in Dallas, it’s either buy a condo or keep renting. And when I think of how much I have thrown away into rent over the past three years, it makes me sick. My mind keeps swirling with questions and I want to be sure I am making the right decision.

Happy birthday to me.

Today I am 27 years old.

I am entirely too close to 30.

I hope this year brings more good times with family and friends.

And even more happiness.

Maybe 27 will bring me a man…

27 will the year I buy my first place.

Cheers to 27!

Perspective from my elders.

(Who would kill me if they knew I called them that.)

Just got home from a few too many drinks and dinner with my aunt (yes, the one who is always trying to set me up) and her friend Kathy.

I rarely go out during the week. Occasionally, I will grab drinks on a Thursday or a random day when I am meeting a friend from. The Chicago/Celtics game was on and now the Mavs/Spurs game is on, so the bars were packed and crazy.

Even though we were shouting over the fans and drunk people, sometimes it’s a good time going out with my family, our family friends, etc. People who are older than me. People who have experienced different things. People who can look at my life and say “I wish I was 26/27 again” or “You are so young” or “The right guy, a good guy, is out there.” It helps put things into perspective. I might get annoyed with my family for talking about my fun, exciting, glamorous job (which they don’t understand), the dating scene and my non-existent love life, but it’s nice to talk to people who have experienced life and hear what they have to say.

I still take their comments with a grain of salt, I have to, but there are always bits and pieces that sink in and have some meaning.