I am the lucky one. Anyone who knows my girlfriend Annie knows that I am out of my league. It is always fun when I meet people that have just met Annie and they can’t stop talking about how incredible she is. Whether it is her work on tour leading them through the destinations and sights of Europe, or it is a cocktail party with a new group of acquaintances, she captures people with her winning smile and sincere interest in their story.
Never before have I had as much fun watching an “Annie Fitzsimmons Fan Club” in action than last night. Annie recently lead a tour of Switzerland for a group of 24. This group came from all over the America, but a large contingent was from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. When they returned from the tour two weeks ago, they were all on the same flight and I had the chance to meet this group. Apparently they all already knew who I was as I had come up at some point in the conversation while they toured Europe. As we all waited for our bags, one by one, the young and the old, came over to me to rave about Annie and how wonderful she made their trip. They talked about how she knew so much about each stop on their tour and had wonderful local knowledge that just made the trip one of the best they’d ever been on.
Knowing Annie, I always assumed this was the sentiments that her passengers (pax) had for her, but here it was in real life.
Then, I found out, as if there was ever any doubt, just how much this group loved Annie. A few days after the tour, the phone calls started. “We all want to get together for dinner, you have to come!” As the planning progressed, it turned into a dinner party with 5 of Annie’s pax, 4 of their friends, and Annie and I. Two of her passengers drove 5 HOURS from Arkansas to be at this dinner and see Annie again!
We all got together at a little cafe in the middle of no where South of Fort Worth for an evening of fun and friendship, great food and a lot of wine. Stories were told about the train journeys in the Alps, the passengers that we not as friendly or fun, and promises were made that we would all have to get together again for another reunion soon.
Annie was the star and I was the lucky guy that got be there with her and watch her shine.Tweet

It is possible that I may have gone a little over board.
I might have spent a little bit too much time on this project.
Maybe it is just in my nature that if I start something, I have to be the best at it.
But whatever the case, check out my skillfully crafted pumpkin.
Happy Halloween.
Pumpkin Carver: Andy Ellwood
Inspiration for perfection: Annie FitzsimmonsTweet

I am sitting in the Boise, Idaho airport right now (which has free WiFi – how great is that!) and in look back over the past week of travel it is all kind of a blur. I left Dallas to go to Salt Lake City for a couple of days to do some work in the RunPolitics home office. Salt Lake City has a great walkable downtown, but a severe lack of Starbucks locations due to the Mormon church not having an appreciation of the joys of caffeine:

“We know that cola drinks contain the drug caffeine. We know caffeine is not wholesome nor prudent for the use of our bodies. It is only sound judgment to conclude that cola drinks and any others that contain caffeine or other harmful ingredients should not be used.” LDS Info

From SLC I took a round about trip to Reno. Reno is a one hour flight from SLC. Southwest Airlines only has one direct flight on that route each day, so I took a one hour flight from SLC to Las Vegas and then another one hour flight from LAs Vegas to Reno creating an equilateral triangle of flights.
For three days I attended the Conservative Leadership Conference and represented RunPolitics to those in attendance. Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, Dick Armey, and Alan Keyes were some of the speakers. There were a lot of Libertarians in attendance and the speaker’s messages were tailored accordingly.
I was suppose to fly back to SLC through Las Vegas again this afternoon, but then I saw that the Cowboys/Patriots game was going to be on while I was in the air, and that just wasn’t going to work (esp. since I watched the Cowboys’ amazing Monday night comback on ESPN gamecast and had no idea how amazing it was until I called my brother back in Texas, where they actually appreciate competitive sports and not just the Olympics) So I caught the earlier flight from Reno to SLC, but this time it took me to Boise. But I will be on the ground in time to grab a beer and plop myself in front of a TV and cheer on my hometown team.
Traveling leads to so many great stories and such a great understanding of how huge and diverse the world is. I am very fortunate to have grown up traveling and knowing how to travel is a great skill to have. There are so many idiots at hotels, in airports, and on planes it amazes me. I saw a guy argue with a TSA representative in the security line that his watch didn’t need to come off and that it didn’t have a bomb in it. She quickly yelled “Male Assist, double code blue” and ushered him into the glass cubicle where he was greeted by two very large and none too happy TSA men that keep him there for another twenty minutes. When he ran past me to make his flight I couldn’t help but laughing out loud. Just take off the watch!
For some more incredible stories about the amazing people you meet when traveling, check my girlfriend Annie Fitzsimmons blog. She is a magnet for incredible stories and Good People.
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Annie and I love Barnes and Noble. We are almost becoming regulars. There is a guy that we have decided to call “Scott” that we see at our Barnes and Noble every single time we’re there. “Scott” drives a 1993 two door Honda civic and lives in Richardson and manages a small IT team at a local corporation where he’s worked for 11 years, but he really loves books about Russia and anything there, or at least that is the story that we’ve made up about him. Annie and I have a routine. We walk in together, split up to find out reading of choice, and reunite in the cafe (which serves Starbucks coffee) at the corner table by the window. I usually bring three books from the business section and a magazine that has an article that caught my eye. Annie usually has five or six magazines and a travel book about one of her favorite destinations (and there are quite a few, so I never know which one it is going to be.) Most of the time after about the third paragraph I realize that my reading experience will be aided by caffeine. When I get back with some variety of coffee I tend to be more successful at putting on my ‘thinking cap.’ After Annie has finished her magazines and I’ve jotted some notes on a napkin, we put our books back and head out. We don’t buy anything usually, except my coffee. But we leave with a little more insight into our world and an excitement that there is a lot more to learn next time we go to Barnes and Noble to shop lift knowledge.Tweet

ONCE – While in Scottsdale for Memorial Day with Annie and her family I went and saw “Once.” Annie’s older brother lives in Hollywood and is a great source for all sorts of tidbits and news on how things really work in the industry and what is really going on in the land of glitz and glamour. Greg was in town for the weekend and insisted that we all go see this movie. He had already seen it twice and was so pumped about it that he offered to buy tickets for us all to go on Sunday afternoon. We got to the theatre with plenty of time for all eight of us (we roll with quite a posse when everyone is in town) to get seated on the same row. All I knew about the movie before it got started was what Annie’s younger brother Timmy had told me, “An Irish musical that has done really well at the festivals and Greg likes it.” The key phrase in there for me is “Greg liked it.” That means two things to me when coming from Timmy: Timmy is going to like it and I am not going to get it.
“Once” tells the story of two individuals from two different places in life that are unified by the music that they make together. Their harmonies heal the wounds of past relationships. It is an amazing story that I actually now consider to be incredible and really got me pumped about the fact that I saw a movie that most of the world hasn’t heard much about it. I didn’t just find it to be good; I found it to be great. But to be honest, that is the conclusion that I came to four days later. While watching the movie I leaned over to Annie and said, “What is the point? Is there going to be a plot injected into the ramblings of this story anytime soon?” Walking out to the car I could see the ecstasy on Timmy’s face, Greg have been right again! Another amazing movie uncovered by our Hollywood insider. In the car I looked at Annie and told her that it was fun to spend time with her family, but what was the point of that movie? Fast forward four days. I bought the soundtrack. I didn’t buy the soundtrack for fact that I liked the movie. I bought the soundtrack because the music had been haunting me. While watching the movie it was not apparent to me that the music was as great as I know believe it to be, it was just part of the movie. After downloading the music from iTunes I immediately began listening through the songs and in the most vivid pictures in my imagination I saw each scene from the movie. A couple days after that, I couldn’t think without having the music as the soundtrack for my every waking thought. As I am typing this I am singing the second song from the album. But, that being said, I give a whole hearted two thumbs up to “Once” and agree with Timmy that Greg was right. (editing by anniefitzsimmons)Tweet

This is an actual phone call that took place last night between me and my girlfriend:

Andy: Hello
Annie: Hey baby, are you still at the party?
Andy: Yeah, it is pretty cool. How was dinner?
Annie: It was good, it is so great to see Meghan again. What are you doing?
Andy: Getting a hand massage
Annie: What? Where?
Andy: In the closet
Annie: At the party?
Andy: Um, yeah.
Annie: And who may I ask is giving you a hand massage at the party?
Andy: Jessica. She says that I have big hands.
Annie: Excuse me?

This is the stuff that sitcoms are made of. I was in the closet at a party getting a hand massage by Jessica. But a little context will bring light to why this is not so shady. I was at an open house party at the W Dallas Residences. The party was sponsored by Luxus home furnishings and by the W’s hotel spa Bliss. Jessica worked for Bliss and she and Lilly were giving hand massages at as a party favor in the rather large closet off the master bed room. But, to Annie, and to the other four people in the closet with me, the party favor was the potentially scandalous phone call.Tweet