I’ve made it back from Berlin! Actually, I made it back Monday night but neglected to post about it until now. It’s been a long week already. Monday was my travel day. I woke up at 5:30 am in Berlin (which was actually 11:30 pm Sunday on the east coast of the United States), had a full day of travel that included three plane rides, and landed in Tallahassee at 7:15 pm. And I still wasn’t done because I had to report a lost bag before going home. I finally went to bed at 10:00 pm, completing my 22 1/2 hour day.

And there was no rest for the weary. I used all my vacation going to Berlin, so Tuesday morning I had to get up and go to work. Yuck! It was good to see my coworkers, but it took a lot of caffeine to make it through the day. Today I’m still experiencing the effects of jet lag. I have afternoon meetings today and tomorrow in which I have to look and sound intelligent, so please me praying for me.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be updating my blog (as well as various social media sites) with stories, photos, and videos from the trip. You’ll be able to see my photos and videos on Facebook if you’re my friend there. If not, you’ll be able to check out my photos on Flickr and my videos on YouTube.

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For whatever reason, these past few days have seen more than their fair share of high profile deaths. The latest was a man named Billy Mays, a famous product pitchman who you’ve heard yelling at you on TV to buy OxiClean, Orange Glo, and dozens of other products. He is also someone I love to impersonate. And even though McMahan, Farrah and MJ had more fame and a larger impact on popular culture, it was Mays’ death that startled me the strongest.

Last Friday night I tweeted:

First Ed McMahon. Then Farrah Fawcett. Now Michael Jackson. It’s been a rough week for the rich and famous. #rip

Minutes later, an old childhood friend of mine tweeted this in reply:

@jaledwith it always goes in threes

I remember my dad saying that when I was growing up. Apparently famous people tend to die in groups of three. The most infamous example I can think of occurred on November 22, 1963, they day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Both C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley died that same day. (This actually became the premise for the novel Between Heaven and Hell.) There are plenty of other examples, I’m sure.

So, after being reminded of this “fact” by my friend, I was left somewhat assured. The loss of these three was still sad, but at least it was all over.

I found out about Billy Mays’ death on Sunday afternoon while it was a trending topic on Twitter. This news caused a 404 error in my head. First, this shouldn’t have been allowed to happen according to the previously established death in threes rule. But second, and even more significant, I had just seen him on The Tonight Show earlier in the week. He had been on Tuesday night promoting his new TV show. It’s an incredibly eerie feeling to have seen someone doing just fine on one day and to hear of their death the next.