I originally wrote this as a guest post for My Sisters Blog. I’m publishing it here just in case you want to read it.

I’m just an average Joe. Well, that’s not entirely true. My name is Jeff. One sentence into this and I’m already lying to you. This bothers me.

I pride myself in being an honest man, so I’m not sure why I have already lapsed in talking to you. People have called me sincere, and even honest. One time, I even think I overheard a guy at the gas station saying that I was trustworthy. In fact, before that President Lincoln guy came around, I was known by honest Jeff.

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Sunday through Wednesday weren’t very eventful, they were just wonderfully sunny days where I had a great opportunity to enjoy the weather and be outside. Highlights include:

• Playing Frisbee with Tyler at least 3 hours each day. This tore up my hands, my feet, and made my arms and legs very sore.
• Going to the hot tub at least twice a day. We got into a nice schedule of hot tubbing it every morning and evening.

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We got up a little late and didn’t do much in the morning. In the afternoon we went to Clearwater Beach for Round 2 of beach hottie action. This time we were a little more prepared, and we had our swimsuits ready and we lathered up with some sun screen. We played some hardcore Frisbee on the beach and enjoyed the wonderful views.

When we got back from the beach, my parents told us that they needed to use the car for the night, so we would be on our own for the night. That sort of sucked, but it was also cool because I wasn’t stuck sober cabbing. Since we didn’t have a car, I decided to give the girl a call to see if she wanted to hang out. She said she was interested in going out, and that she wouldn’t mind picking us up. I didn’t want to have her pick us up at the condo, so I told her that she could meet us at the Conch Republic, our most favoritist place in the world!

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After writing the first half of my Day 9 journal, we went to Downtown St. Petersburg for the night. Friday night, downtown, should be pretty hopping, right?

Our first stop was Dan Marino’s restaurant. I had driven past the restaurant earlier in the week when we visited the Dali Museum, and I thought it sounded interesting. In addition to that, we heard from a waitress at old faithful (the Conch Republic) that it was a cool place. So, we went there for dinner.

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Greetings. I’m trying something new on you today, and I’m writing today’s diary entry in real time, rather than in retrospect. My reasoning for doing so is that apparently people are actually reading this, and I feel I am obligated to provide an update. So, here it is, bitches.

I woke up on my own power today for the first time in a while. I guess that means I’m finally adjusting to Frambo time (that’s the time of my parents, Franny and Jimbo). I didn’t have any trace of back pains or any other old man ailments. That made me feel good. I waited for Tyler to get up, and we decided to go for another run. This one wasn’t as bad as yesterday’s, but I did run into a hitch. On the way back after hitting the pier, Tyler started pointing out to the Gulf and yelling. So, I looked over to see what he was talking about and BAM, I stepped into some sort of hole in the beach. Sprained ankle city (well, let’s call it a “turned” ankle).

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Tyler and I got up today and went for a run along the beach. We decided to go the short route (2 miles total) and it went pretty well. Well, other than the fact that he left me in his dust and finished well ahead of me. This whole beach running experience has been quite humbling.

The McDonald’s site I’ve been working on was being demoed today at 1:00 PM central time, so I had to do some last minute updates before the meeting. That kept me inside for the bulk of the morning/early afternoon. Tyler got bored and went and laid out on the beach. I got done with my work and joined him out there. Ty had not been tanning before Florida, so he got pretty fried all over, even though he used sunscreen. He’ll be RED tomorrow. I only spent about an hour and a half out in the sun, and he spent about 3 hours out there.

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Today marks the half-way point in my sabbatical. It also marks the end of my time with Aunt Connie, and the arrival of an old friend, Tyler. I’m disappointed that Connie has to leave, but it’s also very cool that Tyler is able to enjoy a vacation outside of Minnesota. I haven’t had a chance to check out the “under 50” nightlife yet, so Tyler’s arrival should provide me that opportunity.

In the morning we take a walk along the beach. Connie and I brought our cameras along, so we were able to take some awesome pictures. I have a gallery posted that includes all of these pictures in their full glory, so I will spare you for the moment and just give you the link to the Beach Walk Photojournalism gallery.

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Today is cold but getting warmer. I decide to go running for the first time since Friday. This time, I decided to run to the North pier, which is 1.5 miles each way. Within about a half a mile, my lungs felt like they were on fire. Normally my lungs are in good shape, but I couldn’t breathe well today. Not sure if it’s the salt water or what. In addition to trouble breathing, I also had a runny nose for the entire run. I was so tired when I completed my run that it took an entire hour to recover.
I worked on the Digital Mantis website for a few hours in the afternoon, and then met up with Scott and Liz for happy hour. We were both happy to see each other, after being around parents for most of our respective trips. Liz told some good stories and we got a chance to talk for the first time in a while. I’m glad we were able to talk, because we don’t do it often enough. I know in the past we both felt awkward around each other, but I think that’s improved a lot lately. I’m glad it’s cool now, because it’s fun to hang out with her.

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Monday is just as cold as Sunday, so I decide to make it a work day. I worked all morning and into the afternoon. Took a call from my new boss at 5 PM and then went to dinner with my parents.

The Conch Republic is the name of the restaurant of choice. This was a pretty nice restaurant, and we had a very nice waitress. So nice, in fact, that my parents and aunt did all they could to get her to go home with me. I’m not sure whether they crossed the line between funny and uncomfortable, but I thought it was pretty funny. My Dad’s line was my favorite “I have two questions for you: are you married (no) and would you ever consider moving to Minnesota (no).” I’d say the waitress took the flattery quite well, however not well enough to render my parents successful in finding me a girl.

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Day 3 was really cold, rainy, boring, and “Internet-less”, so there’s no reason to write a diary.

It was cold on Sunday as well, so we decided to do something indoors. We settled upon attending the Salvador Dali museum, which is something I REALLY wanted to do. The museum was very cool, and I’m glad I attended. It was amazing to see some of the paintings and the explanations behind them. There were a few very large paintings that were brilliant in person.

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