I am back from Arizona, and while I should be in the office right now I am awaiting the landscaper to fix our sprinkler problem. Last time I sent in this work request, the guy didn't have his facts right so I made sure to be here today. I'm damn glad this is covered under warranty, because the side of our yard looks like ass. I think it is starting to mold. Really. At least it should be resolved soon.

Amazing time had by all in Arizona this past weekend. It was great having the opportunity to hang with Eric prior to his nuptials, and his buds from San Diego are a trip. If we weren't cursing out cab drivers during the weekend, we were most likely laughing our asses off. E's cousin from Minnesota joined us as well. Now while we all wanted to enjoy Eric's bachelor party, I was also focused on the game. What an amazing experience it was to be out in Tempe and see thousands of Georgia fans. At one point I was on the balcony of a bar looking down into the streets and watching as Georgia people walked by, chanted "UGA" and barked. I thought to myself, "This is being a part of something larger." Which I love, and being able to see a great game in the hot as hell dry heat was an experience I won't soon forget.

So back to work this week as we welcome Bama and ESPN to town. College Gameday will be broadcasting live from Athens in the morning and then people will have all day to party it up for the big game at 7:45pm. There are good and bad things which come with such a late kick off. The atmosphere for night games is usually outstanding. You have people who've been watching football all day in anticipation for the game, but you also have people who have been drinking all day. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the drinking ... but I do have a problem when people feel that gives them the freedom to treat stadium workers or other fans like crap. There really is no place for that, so hopefully we will walk away without incident this weekend. But I'm not betting on it.

To add to the atmosphere, the team has called for another Black Out. Last year's game vs. Auburn was great to watch on TV, but I can only imagine what it was like to see it in person. This year will be different as fans know the team will come out in black jerseys. So yes, some of the hype is already out there. But who knows ... maybe it'll be a little different this year.

Next weekend we finally have off, as the football team gets a weekend of rest. We need to take advantage of it though, as we are booked solid for the next several weekends. Throw in some football games with guests at the house along with Marian's wedding, and we'll be running around crazy. I am looking forward to Christmas already. I need a few days to reenergize. Sad to say, so early into the fall, but very true.

Off to deal with the lawn situation. Oh, we added some new photos under the photo link. Mainly from the party we had for the SC game, but there are some other fun ones too. Go Dogs!

I should be sleeping.

I mean, I REALLY should be sleeping. My alarm is set for 3:30am so I have enough time to shower, dress and hit the road to the Atlanta airport. For those of you who don't understand Atlanta ... the mornings are typically a cluster F. My flight happens to be at 7:30am. You can't just show up at 6:30 and expect everything to go swimmingly. You just can't. So in order for me to get there, park and have enough time to really feel like I might actually make my flight, my goal was to show up around 6am. That includes parking. Athens is about one hour and 20 minutes from the airport ... without traffic. Atlanta's biggest downfall is its traffic problem. Even ten years later, when I swore I'd never live in Atlanta, I still dread driving through it. This honestly doesn't make my job any easier, as I am in Atlanta several times during the month. Such is life. Maybe I'll just stay up until 3, shower, hit the road and sleep on the plane.

Where am I going? I am headed to Phoenix, AZ. I have never stepped foot in the state of Arizona, so needless to say I am excited about this trip. My good friend Eric Hampton is getting married October 4 in San Diego, CA. Courtney and I cannot make the wedding. Eric happens to be a UGA football fan, so when Georgia set its schedule to play Arizona State in Tempe, E made the great call to have this weekend as his bachelor party. So instead of making the wedding ... which honestly, I'd rather go to San Diego ... I am heading to Tempe to celebrate the remaining few weeks of E's bachelorhood. And hopefully another Georgia win.

So no, I haven't yet sold jaylowe.com. I just haven't found reason enough to let go of something I've enjoyed over the years. I probably have 4 readers at this point, two of them being my parents, but that is fine with me. I still have the ability to do this ... write something up at 12:15am on an early Friday morning.

Erich and Jill were able to visit us for the CMU game earlier this month. It was great having them down here, and I hope they enjoyed Athens. I felt horrible, because Jill never really experienced Athens. They got in late Friday, Saturday was spent doing the football thing and they had to leave around noon Sunday. It was a quick trip for them, so next time we'll have to show Jill the ropes. I can easily say there will be a next time for numerous reasons, but the main two reasons being that we are not going ANYWHERE anytime soon and ARGUS still needs to regroup for an Athens show.

This past weekend was the South Caroline game. Before I tell you about the great party, let me first start by saying South Carolina is not and never will be Carolina. Can't happen. That is reserved for the men and women in light blue, located in Chapel Hill. South Carolina is not and will also never be USC. I'm from the South and even I know USC is Southern Cal. So there you have it, they are South Carolina forever. End of story. Mark it down. Suck it up.

So this past weekend enabled us to throw our first house party. With the South Carolina game and several other big time games on the tube, we hosted a handful of Courtney's family and friends. I've yet to post photos on our Picasa page, but I will do so when I return from Arizona. We all had a great time. This is the third year in a row Courtney and I have picked a weekend and made it our Fried Chicken Football Festival. The fried chicken is my specialty. Even though I missed the entire first quarter of the game, I loved being in the kitchen frying up some chicken and listening to all the "noise" of our friends and family. It really made me enjoy this house. I do miss our Ohio house, but entertaining makes you soon forget.

Speaking of Courtney, I don't know how she does it. She wakes up at 4:30 every morning. She is out the door by 5:30 or 5:45. She always kisses me goodbye, and I usually mumble some words of safety on the road and then collapse back asleep. I just don't understand how she does it day in and day out. I realize now why she is so tired during the evenings. I had a chance to stop by Loganville High School on Wednesday. I completed some visits and had some down time, so I figured I'd surprise her. I was actually shocked at how much I enjoyed being on a high school campus ... meeting Courtney's teacher friends ... and even meetings some of her students. She is such a sweet and caring person, but you try to turn some work in late and she flips a switch. It was great for me to witness all of this, as I don't have the opportunity normally.

Well, I'm off to entertain myself for the next three hours. I might as well just stay up. Pray for me. HA!