Hello friends. Today is January 16 and I hear winter is in full force for those of you in the northern climes. Two months have passed since my last post. I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years were far less chaotic for us than so many previous years. No parties to plan; no big dinners to attend; no Christmas decorations to put up and take down; and no work schedule to do it all around. Just golf, golf, and more golf!
Here is the South Course scorecard:
Here is the North Course scorecard:
(Almost all of my rounds are on the South Course. I usually only hit the North Course late in the day once every two weeks or so just to keep the short game fresh.)
One would think that playing so much golf there would be a decrease in my handicap but alas, such is not the case. I played 59 rounds in 2014, and with the exception of three rounds played when we were in PA the rest were split by the six months we were on the road. I believe the long layoff affected my game. My handicap index was 13.1 but has now ballooned to 19.5. Mainly due to the fact that my scores have been no where near what they were before we left. I was hoping 2015 would bring me better luck but so far 2015 has gotten off to a rocky start for the Karanzas household.
Actually 2014 ended badly when on Dec. 24, while playing golf, I broke my cell phone. A stupid mistake on my part: I rode with a fellow golfer and his cart has a different way to put the bag on the cart. He has a rear facing seat and this causes the bag to face the side of the cart. Plus he had no room under the dash where I would normally place my phone so I put it in the tee pocket of the bag. I totally forgot it was in there. I was playing hole number 3, a par 5 slight dogleg left with water all along the left side. Now I had been struggling with this hole for several rounds putting my second shot into the water repeatedly with my 5 wood or hybrid trying to get on the green in two. Today I decided to not go for the green in two and instead lay up to a comfortable yardage. This is a good plan if you don't hook your 5 iron into the water, which I did. I was beside myself for hitting such a shot and angrily swung the offending club against my bag probably making better contact with the bag than my ball.
A few holes later I wanted to check the time and pulled my phone out of the bag. I was aghast at what I saw. For a moment my mind could not comprehend what it was seeing. There was the phone but the screen looked white, like it had snow on it. This couldn't be! I was in Florida and there was no snow! What the heck was going on? Had the phone exploded? If so, why? Closer examination revealed the screen was shattered. From what? Well you guessed it- I made square contact with the Galaxy S3 screen with the 5 iron several holes earlier. Obliterated! The phone was destroyed apparently. Hold on, I see a sign of life; the little blue light is still flashing! Its alive! Its alive!
Alive it was. I hear the "meep meep" of my Roadrunner text notification. Then a little later the "Loony Tunes" ring tone of an incoming call. I just can't see anything because the screen is shattered. By the time I get home and get ready to go out to dinner there isn't much I can do about the phone at that point. I will have to wait until after Christmas Day to investigate my options. I ended up taking the phone to a place in the mall called IFix. I plop down $175 plus tax and the phone will be good as new the next day. Sure enough I was back in action. The phone worked great plus I had a small crack in the old screen anyway and now I had pristine new screen.
Fast forward to last week. We decided it was time to buy some living room furniture. After looking around at numerous furniture stores we decided on a set at Rooms To Go. A great deal including leather reclining sofa, love seat, three tables, two lamps, TV console, and even a 50" Sharp HDTV. A grand total of $3700.
All is good of course until the next day. At some point Doreen tells me something is wrong with the microwave. I take a look. Power is good, the timer works, the buttons work but nothing is humming and the turntable is not rotating. Okay great, now I have to buy a new microwave. After researching prices we head off to Best Buy for a new microwave. We buy the microwave and Doreen then wants to go to Lowe's to get new hardware for all the cabinet doors. While in Lowe's we look at different door pulls and compare prices. I attempt to take my cell phone from my pocket but can't seem to make the move smoothly and the phone falls from my hand to the cold, grey, concrete floor. It seemed to fall in slow motion. I saw the device twist and turn on its collision course with the stark and menacing surface. The phone seemed to contort itself to avoid the inevitable. I saw the upper left corner strike the concrete first and land screen down. For a brief moment, I am reluctant to retrieve the less than a month removed from repair Galaxy, from the abyss of grey for fear of the worst. I brush aside my fears and look at the screen. No cracks, good. Finger swipe; nothing. The Galaxy ignores the command of my index finger. The thumb has no better result. I remove the battery to restart the device. Once again nothing. My digits go undigitized. Off to the mall to see the IFix people.
The young fellow with the handlebar mustache greets me and I explain what has occurred. He diagnoses the Galaxy and states the digitizer had been damaged. What is the prognosis I query. He states it was a most unlucky event, one that does not occur too frequently. The screen will need replaced again. Perhaps the manager will give me a 10% discount because he feels badly for me. I decide I do not want his pity and lousy 10% discount. I will survive without a cell phone until the expiration of my Verizon contract on April 14, 2015. That is why I bought a house phone and a Magic Jack. If anyone would like to know my number please e-mail me or text Doreen.
We did attend a Penguins game here in Tampa. The Pens got thumped by the Lightning 4-3. The score wasn't close until late in the third period when the Penguins decided to show up.
We got a good view of the Lightning cheerleaders as did this little fellow:
There were plenty of Pen's fans in attendance.
I have to say this was one of the most expensive sporting events I have ever been to. Parking at the Amalie Arena was $25, tickets were $125 each, dinner in the Firestick restaurant was $37 per person for the buffet, and a 16 ounce can of domestic beer was $13!
We have tickets for a Bob Seger concert in February so I will do it differently then.
I hope everyone keeps warm through the winter. Stay safe.
