After almost a week off, tomorrow I will return to work. I can’t describe how ready I am to get back on campus. Although I completely understand it, as I have declared before, I dislike missing work for unplanned weather events.

However, I did my best to try and enjoy the time off I had over the last several days. Even though I was working from home a majority of the time, I did make provisions to take advantage of the fact that I was not in the office. Tonight I want to briefly share the top ten things I did during the Hurricane Matthew Shut Down.

10. Watched every Governor Nikki Haley press conference – Along with the rest of the state, I became a fan of interpreter Jason Hurdich.

9. Got out of the house and went to the movies with Sidney to watch “The Girl on the Train.” – Although I can’t recommend the movie, the popcorn I had at the Coastal Grand Mall Cinemas was some of the freshest I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

We enjoyed getting out of the house last night and going to “The Girl on the Train.”

8. Ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch and doughnuts for breakfast one day – Sure beat my usual half of a peanut butter sandwich.

7. Watched day time TV, including “Let’s Make A Deal.” – Turns out I am not missing much when I am at work.

6. Intensely followed the U.S. Presidential race – What a wash, absolutely nothing happened at all.

5. Worked out at three different gyms – If only the exercise I put in could compensate for the roughly 10,000,000 calories I ate over the past week.

Over the last several days I worked out at Planet Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and Sky Fitness.

4. Managed to petrify all of my relatives who feared that Hurricane Matthew would sweep me away – Hey, the national news made the hurricane look like it was Armageddon.

I had many family members texting me to make sure that I would survive Hurricane Matthew.

3. Celebrated my birthday – No better way to ring in your “dirty thirty” than in a state of emergency with no electricity.

On the day that Hurricane Matthew hit Myrtle Beach, I celebrated my birthday.

2. Experienced my first major hurricane – Pretty big deal for a west coast boy.

1. Grew a Hurricane Matthew beard – Well, my best excuse for a beard anyway.

It was the best I could do.

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So happy to return to work tomorrow. It is time to get back to normal. Hurricane Matthew, it has been real. Don’t Blink.