I'm sitting on the steps of the South Carolina State House.

You gotta admit, even though the State House is home to some of the
biggest goofballs in our government, it is an architectural
masterpiece. The same architect designed both the SC State House and
the US Capitol Building - and there is proof in their similarities...
a magnificent towering dome, monolithic stone columns, etc. It is a
place to admire for it's detail and history.

But what I enjoy about coming here more than anything else is that it
is surrounded by an emaculate landscape, hustling traffic, and is at
the very center of everything that is Columbia. This city is growing
into one beautiful place, with tons of green space, new life and
opportunities.

I'm excited to call this home.

That's right. I get a vacation this year. In fact, three weeks worth. And as it stands right now, I'll be spending it at home twiddling my thumbs... waiting for some excitement to come my way.

This is unacceptable. I will not tolerate three weeks of freedom to go to waste, especially when there's so much of this world I haven't seen! So let's hear it. I want your travel suggestions - I want to go somewhere new and exciting! Where is your favorite place to visit?

Worked 20 of the last 24 hours. Store opening in 14 hours. Taking a power nap, then back for round two.

update: I realized after posting this that you guys probably had no idea what I was referring to. Let me fill you in.

I received a call from my district manager on Tuesday afternoon asking for my help in recovering one of our stores that was damaged in the historic Nashville flood. I agreed and was sent to Nashville the next morning. 

I fully expected to put in a lot of manual labor - and was more than willing to do so in order to help our friends in Tennessee. After putting in more than 45 hours of work in just three days, I must say that I was more than ready for the grand re-opening of the Nashville store. During my stay I was fortunate enough to meet and work with an amazing group of Tennesseans who displayed incredible resiliency as they teamed together to repair their city. It was truly an experience of a lifetime, yet one that I hope to never encounter again. 

Amazingly, the store opened one day sooner than planned and to that, I say: Excellent work my new Nashville friends. You should be proud of a job well done! I returned home on Sunday slightly sore, but unscathed. A small price to pay for helping restore at least some normality in Nashville.