I really do think there is something to be said about fate. I moved to Myrtle Beach at the end of April 2014 to take a job at Coastal Carolina University. The big relocation was 90% about the professional opportunity and 10% about the weather. Not knowing how long I would be in the area, I never thought once that I would find love and meet the person who I would spend the rest of my life with.

May 16, 2014. Two years ago on this date I met Sidney for the first time at the pool of my apartment complex. Shortly thereafter we went on our first date. After that, well, the rest is history.

This is Sidney and I on our first date almost two years ago.

Despite the disorienting hot temperatures of that Friday afternoon and the slight buzz I was enjoying as I tried to keep up with the heat, I knew Sidney was special. What I didn’t know was that an invisible countdown ticker was immediately activated in our hearts. The number was 756.

This was Sidney and I on our one year anniversary in Savannah.

Yes, 756, the number of days separating us from that first meeting at the pool to our eventual wedding date on June 11. As the time has ticked away, our love has grown. When that countdown reads multiple zeroes just 26 days from now, we will have made the ultimate promise to each other, a promise that first started developing that great afternoon two years ago.

Today marks the THIRD May 16 we have spent together. We are off now on our anniversary dinner.

Although we are excited to start counting wedding anniversaries, today’s two year anniversary of being together will do just fine. Sidney, thanks for being my puzzle piece. And God, thanks for our sweet fate. Don’t Blink.

Oh my, where did the month go?! On April 11, I wrote a blog post commenting on the fact that our wedding day was only two months out. Excuse me for the cliché, but that seemed just like yesterday. Today is May 11 and Sidney and I are now only one month away from saying “I do” inside St. Andrew Catholic Church here in Myrtle Beach.

Let me put it this way: the next time the 11th of the month falls, we will be getting married. Crazy!!

Sidney posted this sweet message to Facebook this morning.

Reflecting on this final one month countdown has made me put it in a certain perspective. To me, it is almost as if from now until the wedding date we will be on a pre-honeymoon.

A honeymoon is a time for a new couple to celebrate, go on adventures, and feel really good about themselves. Minus the blue waters of Mexico at our adults-only all-inclusive resort, I feel the next 30 days will pack a lot of the same joyful feelings that our real honeymoon will and that our “engagement honeymoon” did.

We are now just a month away from the big date.

Our long engagement is now at its final month. For the past several weeks I have already felt giddy with excitement. Now that we have passed this major threshold, I expect this feeling to be even more magnified. How can it not? Over the coming weeks we will make final wedding arrangements, Sidney will have her bridal shower, we will meet with the priest who will marry us, my family will come to town, wedding week activities will take place, and the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner will be held.

So yes, it will definitely be a pre-honeymoon, right? Well, I don’t know what Sidney would say to that.

I am sensitive to the fact that while my excitement level goes up, Sid’s stress level will most likely rise as well. As I mentioned at the two month mark, Sidney and her mom have worked tirelessly on this wedding. I can imagine that even with all the fun things going on, they will be very much focused on the big day, pre-honeymoon be damned.

Perhaps my role in this will be to contain my excitement to some extent and help out as much as possible. With that said, I am also tasking myself with the responsibility of making sure that Sid enjoys this special time as well. I need to maintain a balance where I am not overflowing with obnoxious joy but also doing what I can to keep Sidney loose and relaxed.

The month countdown is here! What an incredibly major time in our lives. We will take each day one at a time and enjoy the ride. We are blessed. Don’t Blink.

My memory is interesting. By the age of three, I had memorized the names and order of the United States Presidents. Throughout my childhood, my parents would marvel at details I could remember from years prior. Presently, people ask me to recall how a certain event was arranged or what was served at a specific dinner because they know I am usually spot on.

But then there was the day a few months ago when my debit card pin number vanished from my mind as I was trying to make a purchase. Or the recent unfortunate incident when I got to the gym in the morning and couldn’t for the life of me recall my locker combination. Or just this past weekend when Sidney asked me the name of an instructor and I drew a complete blank.

Needless to say, my memory is sometimes very good and sometimes very bad. I would still say though that for the most part I have an above average memory. However, there is one area where my memory consistently fails me (or perhaps I fail it).

Besides my own personal cell numbers over the years, I haven’t memorized the cell number of someone else since 2004. Why 2004? That was the year I received my first cell phone. Up until that point I would dial the cell numbers of my mom and my best friend in high school from our landline frequently. I still remember those two numbers by heart and I still call my mom using hers (as opposed to pulling up her name and pressing “send”).

Since then, I haven’t logged cell phone numbers inside my brain. Why would I, right? We have contact lists programmed into our phones for a reason.

But perhaps I shouldn’t just blame the lack of 10-digit strings of numbers in my brain on technology. While the person’s name substitutes for the actual number most of the time, we all get glimpses of the physical number every now and then, especially if we are close to an actual person. For example, whenever we open up a contact in our phone their number is displayed. Also, from time to time we all have people ask us for the phone number of the people we are close to. If we don’t just share the contact via our iPhones, this causes us to actually look at and recite/write down the number.

I suppose that if my memory really was worth a darn like I said above, I probably should have memorized the numbers of my brother, sister, dad, and fiancé by now. It is a sad reality that out of these four people, the closest I get to remembering their numbers off the top of my head is the first six digits (area code plus first three numbers) of two of them.

Recently, Sidney asked me if I could take time and memorize her number. She explained that it was more for emergency purposes than anything. By writing this blog post, I know for a fact that I will have it memorized by the time this night is over. Perhaps I will try and cement the digits of some of the other people on the list as well.

Do you remember cell phone numbers? Maybe you are like me and consider it an outdated practice. Maybe you have a little more pride and employ an operator in your head. Whatever your opinion, I think I can admit that Sidney does have a very valid point. There will be situations where we won’t always be able to rely on our personal phones to recall numbers. Don’t Blink.

From time to time over the past couple years, I had seen this idea pitched in magazines and newspapers. I thought it was silly and waved it off as far-fetched. However, after seeing the idea featured more just in the last week, including an in-depth article on it yesterday, I thought I would weigh in.

Pushed by the research of experts, some companies are starting to consider “nap rooms” for their offices. In the middle of the day, employees could enter these nap rooms and take a snooze before returning to work. In my opinion, it is a ridiculous idea.

I know the idea of retreating to a comfy nap room in the middle of the day after a night of little sleep and a Monday morning of stress sounds nice. I know research shows that rested minds work best. But just the perception of sleeping at work turns me off.

I believe that if we have nap rooms at the workplace, we might as well have cartoons on the office TV and Batman wallpaper lining the conference room. Kids who go to preschool take naps in the middle of the day. Those who work for a living and consider themselves professionals do not. To me, adults taking naps at the workplace seems incredibly immature.

We all have days at the office where we feel tired. We might close our eyes for a split second and think how nice it would be to fall asleep for a few minutes. But hopefully at that point we snap out of it and overcome our fatigue. Part of being a professional is showing discipline. Naturally our bodies become tired but that is no reason to hold nap time at the office. We owe it to ourselves and our employers to focus and get things done.

The major selling point of the nap room idea is supposedly it will increase work productivity. I would have to argue this. When waking up from a nap, many of us feel cranky and hungry. Could you imagine how these feelings could possibly be even more intense in the office? If waking up on your own couch at home on the weekend doesn’t satisfy you, waking up in an office setting with four hours of work ahead efinitely won’t either.

I feel the nap room idea is a way for us to not take responsibility for our actions. If we find ourselves consistently tired at work, shouldn’t we make adjustments off the clock? Such as going to bed earlier, perhaps? I know there are many people out there who have babies or have extenuating circumstances that deprives them of sleep. However, a large number of people who cite fatigue issues at work do so because of their own lifestyle choices.

Look, I can’t argue with the fact that some of the most innovative and successful companies are starting to introduce nap rooms. I know empires such as Google and the Huffington Post now have them. But I think this idea has “FAD” written all over it. I love it that companies are introducing gyms and relaxed dress codes to make employees healthier and happier. However, I draw the line at nap rooms. Nothing is worse than “sleeping on the job.” Don’t Blink.

With John Kasich dropping out of the 2016 presidential race today, there is now a likely Republican nominee for President of the United States.

Okay, let me catch my breath.

It was an insane primary season for the Republican Party. It was just this past August when 16 candidates declared themselves as a viable choice for the nomination, all with high optimism and strong opinions. From that point on, it was an absolute slugfest. The storylines, the debates, the interviews, and the social media all made this high stakes competition an absolute spectacle. It was better than must-see-TV, it was a real life drama centered on the right to run for the most powerful position on the planet. Of course, there was no shortage of twists and turns.

I admit it, I couldn’t keep my eye off it. I watched a lot of CNN, followed all the candidates on Twitter, and even started reading political blogs such as FiveThirtyEight. The race was just so gripping, so intense, so personal. The craziest part? It just seemed to get better and better.

The reality show elements definitely added a lot of juice to this one. You had eliminations, you had drama, you had manipulation, and, most importantly, you had characters.

It is an understatement to say that no character stood out more than Donald J. Trump. Heck, just look at this blog. It takes a lot for me to write once about a person, let alone FOUR times. However, during the primary season I wrote about how I thought he was intelligent, how I thought he was fascinating, how I thought he was a poor sport, and how I thought he had doomed his campaign. Say what you want about those first three topics, one thing is clear about the fourth one: I was dead wrong.

What this man did was pretty spectacular.

But so were a lot of other people. Trump was discredited before he even entered the race and was written off numerous times during it. Love him or hate him, Trump has defined the meaning of resiliency and showed us what it looks like to be a competitor.

To be completely honest, I am a little exhausted from the primary season. It wasn’t for the faint of heart. We are now staring directly at the undoubtedly most bitter and outrageous presidential election we most likely will ever see. That is why I said above that I need to catch my breath. As someone who isn’t that interested in politics, I have definitely gotten my fill over the last several months. Now it looks like I need to prepare myself for something that will be even more extreme.

Donald Trump vs. Hilary Clinton is going to be brutal. We are looking at six months of pure mania. I am excited to see them debate each other and I am interested to see their revised social media strategies but I don’t know if I am ready for the day-to-day grind. But I guess it is one of those things where it doesn’t matter if you are ready or not, it is going to come regardless.

I am not a Democrat nor Republican so I will monitor this race without a dog in the fight. However, I know I will be drawn in and will most likely have a preference come November. Pace yourself, it is going to be a long, bumpy, and CRAZY ride. Don’t Blink.