Can't say we had this in mind when we decided to move back to South Carolina.

Several inches of snow hit the beach last night/early this morning. The city was forced to cancel the Bi-Lo Marathon, angering Northerners who don't understand how we can't deal with a few inches once a decade. (Let's see how effective their cities are when they get hit with a tropical storm or hurricane. But whatever.)

As promised, here are a couple of pics from Week Five's qualifiers.

We had a camera snafu. By that, I mean I left mine at home. Thanks to Tavern patron Joell Welsh, though, we got a couple shots sent to home base here. Now, you guys get the joy of some images.

Frank -- known for his fantastic job doing Boys II Men -- walked in to Tavern for the first time and left with a spot in the finals.

Away we go...

***

Excuse me for being a bit late on this.

But hey, better late than never, right?

Week Four of the contest went well. Had seven solid competitors, including Liz, who left Tavern with an invite to the March 24th finals (and some house cash to boot). Remember, on that date, we'll be giving away $1,100 in cash and prizes. Should be a packed house.

And remember, if you're trying to get qualified, come on out Wednesday. We'll be in full force.

Here's a few pics of Week Four.

*** 

I thought about letting Andre Bauer's comments go. But then the national media jumped on the bandwagon.

Three weeks of the $1,100 karaoke contest qualifiers down. Seven more to go.

Last week, we had six pretty strong contestants, with Shane -- doing his version of Edwin McCain's "I'll Be," earning a trip to the finals and getting the $25 weekly prize.

Tonight, we'll get our fourth contestant for the March 24th finals. If you'd like to join, make sure you're at Tavern in the Forest (4999 Carolina Forest Blvd.) by 9:15 to sign up.

As for last week, here's a few shots.

***

Quick link for the local music peeps.

Last week week, I did a story on the Open Mike scene in Myrtle. It's definitely a glass-half empty/full scenario.

For someone whose involved with the night life and trying to make something work, I can certainly understand the plight of keeping people coming out to your show.

Check it out; let me know what you think.

***

Week two of the karaoke contest at Tavern featured a few less people than the first week, but we still had a good bunch.

In addition to our regular crowd, we had six people trying to qualify for the March 24th finals. Our winner, Karen, took home the $25 weekly prize and was entered for the $1,100 finals.

***

Karen getting into her song... 

A buddy of mine here at the beach acted absolutely stunned last night when he heard Lane Kiffin was leaving Tennessee after only 14 months to take the gig at USC.

"Can you believe that?" he asked me.

Well, yeah.

Dude got offered his dream job at the only place he's had better than mild success.

In the midst of taking some time off from this space, I've picked up a weekly karaoke show at Tavern in the Forest. Courtesy of my mass texting and Facebooking, chances are you already knew that.

But what you might have missed was our first week of competition for the $1,100 contest. Every Wednesday for 10 weeks, we'll qualify people for the March 24th finals. There, the winner will take home $750 (second place gets $250; third $100 house cash to Tavern).

It's been a while since I posted -- more than a month to be exact.

It's been a busy few weeks. Orlando, Fla., a couple of All-Star football games, the Beach Ball Classic, an ugly sweater party, plenty of bowl games and, of course, Christmas and New Years.

I hope this first post of 2010 finds all of you in good spirits and good karma.

And because it's important to not rush back too quickly into that first day of work post-holidays, I've compiled a few things that might just make the day go a little smoother (READ: Unproductive).