let the return to blogging begin

my new division has been trying to get me into algeria for about 2 weeks now. the embassy has my passport to give me a visa. when i call to check on the status, i get forwarded to a voicemail and get no response after having given him my name, phone number, AND e-mail address. i think they are copying it, and i'll be picked up as a badguy down the road.

anyways, there is a fair bit of stuff to catch up on, primarily pictures i've taken that i haven't had the time to upload. i'll start from the end... right now, i'm in a columbush hotel waiting to meet up with emma who's working in south ohio and has the weekend off. now back to the beginning.

i got back home mid-august and was able to go to the bristol race with some BTBz. due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to leave early but we were able to see the hooters pro cup race and the craftsmen truck series race. i love bristol and i love panoramic pictures so here are a few.

the outside of bristol from down the hill near the museum

from our seats... WOW!!

this is great, 1) because of that dude's hair, and 2) because ChumpAssFool, a huge Jr fan, got to be in the picture.

so, enough about bristol, i MIGHT post some pix of T's crazy hair later... on to florence. as i've stated before, the trip was pretty much useless, but i didn't mind visiting italy again on TheNP's dime. met some cool people, some of which you'll see below. we ate good, drank better, and even found some time to tour a bit. on to the pictures...

this is the south side of ponte vecchio, one of the bridges crossing the river arno

this is ponte vecchio. shops lines both sides of the bridge. i heard someone say that this is one of the few bridges hitler did not destroy when going through italy due to it's beauty and significance

this is one of the statues in la piazza della signora. these dudes HAD to be on steroids, look at their nads! (i'm so juvenile)

here is the duomo, an amazing cathedral and piazza near central florence, currently under renovation

here is TheNewGuy1 standing next to a nifty THREE-wheel scooter, two wheels being in the front for some reason

here is TheNewGuy2 straining for the last drop of wine. we drank a lot of good wine there, and often times, he and i would just get a bottle for ourselves.

look at this TINY hallway that one bar put seating into. little... yellow (well maybe not)... different!

for more pix of florence, you can check out the entire album (there is a not-so-great night pic of a girl wearing the SHORTEST skirt i've ever seen in public. hooked ya, didn't i?). well, this post is long with pix, so i'll go for now. more pix later from my trip with emma to NYC.

i know you missed me, but you can go now. i'll still be here in the morning.