A break in radio silence...

Sorry about that. I get caught up in the bullshit sometimes.

The minutiae (fancy word) of daily life suck up my time and drain my vital forces like some kind of tiny gnat Draculas. But here I am, with the run-down, and I'll try very hard not to make it too boring.

So, let's see, what's been going on...

Week of 9/19: Chauntelle's parents went back to Florida. Stopped off at Atlanta to pick up Liz's mother, who will be staying with Chuck and Liz for a while. Chauntelle and I worked some, ate some, and slept. I probably bought gas and went to the toilet. I'm pretty sure I rerember eating some licorice during the week. I might have gone to the library at some point.

Oh, we found a good coffee place on The Parkway, which is probably one of the many new roads that Mom and Dad don't remember from their years of driving in Greenville because I'm pretty sure it wasn't here in 1981. But, good coffee. They roast their own beans, which means their coffee is about as fresh as you can get. Plus, when you drive by the shopping center where their store is located, you can smell that roasting coffee smell. Makes me think of driving down James White Parkway and smelling the JFG plant in downtown K-Town. (I always wondered why their coffee never tasted the way it smelled wafting up from the Old City.)

Last Saturday, we drove up to Oconee County took a hike down to the Chattooga River (which is where Deliverance was shot, although probably not on the stretch of river we saw). It was beautiful, and wild. The hile itself was fairly easy, but kinda long for us old folks. We rewarded ourselves with incredibly healthy food from Monterrey.

Sunday last, well, we did jack squat.

Monday, 9/26: Our new upstairs neighbors had a fight at 3AM, then immediately afterward started tossing bowling balls at one another. Apparently, someone broke something, because then they decided to vacuum. What fun! Chauntelle, brave little toaster, managed to rise groggily at her appointed hour and march on in to work. I, lazy bastard that I am, slept in a bit that morning to compensate, then worked late. That night, Chauntelle and I had takeout from a place called Royal Thai. I think I had a spicy basil tofu thing which was fairly kick-ass.

Tuesday, 9/27: Frankie's Fun Park. I destroyed Chauntelle in a vicious round of flood-lit mini-golf. She managed to balance the score (somewhat) by eking out a victory in our impromptu air-hockey tournament. Later, she bested me in the "ice-ball" competition (skee-ball, but with white balls), though she was of little help in my assault of the House of the Dead. Also, I think that was the day Tom Delay got indicted. Hee hee!

Wednesday, 9/28: I ate at a Monterrey restaurant for the second time in 5 days. I don't remember much else about the day except that later on, Boone and Matthew were out in the water and there were sharks and flashbacks and the freaky underground shaft with old mainframe terminal and the Irish or Scottish guy with the rifle. And tanktop girl, crawling around in the ductwork.

Thursday, 9/29: At work, got an email from a guy named Boaz (mucky muck in Belmont) asking me to call him immediately. I did so, and was informed that I will be spending 2 weeks at a battery plant in Lancaster, SC, beginning 10/3. Which was a surprise to everyone in Clemson, and to the area manager for Clemson, and to the area manager for Lancaster, since Belmont had apparently neglected to inform any of them first. So, I ended the day wondering if I was actually going to go to Lancaster after all. (Boaz also asked me was I ready yet to be a site manager, because they will be looking to fill some positions in Huntsville...and Dallas...and, oh yeah, JACKSON, TN...uh, no thanks.)

Friday, 9/30: Yep, I'm going to Lancaster. Everyone down the chain was finally informed that either they would no longer have me, or that they were about to get me. I worked hard, at lunch at Monterrey again, worked some more, then said goodbye to closest I've had to a stable work environment in 3 months. Took a shortcut home through Clemson that I'd only just found out about. Arrived at the apartment to find that our DSL modem had arrived and Chauntelle had already installed it. Cruised the mega super info mega highway for a while, then went with Chauntelle again to Frankie's, which we found was somewhat more crowded than on a Tuesday evening. Crushed and embarrassed Chauntelle again in a best-of-three air hockey nuclear mega-tournament. Then went out for late burgers at a place called Fatz (looking at the menu, I think I can make a guess at the origin of the restaurant's name).

Today, 10/1: Coffee again at the coffee place. Bought some fancy cheese at a fancy cheese store. Bought some fancy breakfast pastries at a fancy breakfast pastries store. Went to the library. Ate some falafel and hummus and gyro meat at Pita House. Acted moody and hard to get along with. Saw "Serenity" at movie theater other than the movie theater we like. Shopped at a Target other than the Target we like. Came home, started typing like an idiot, and now I'm getting close to stopping.

So, to sum up. We're very well. Also, we are very well fed. Our neighbors have been quieter, gas is going up, and I'll be working in Lancaster on Monday. When my two weeks are up there, I don't know where I'll be working, but I know that when I return home, it will be to Greenville. Not Dallas. Not Huntsville. Not Cleveland or Jackson, Tennessee.

(I think, or at least hope, that IDG will be able to accommodate my desire to remain in this area. The hard truth is, though, that I like Greenville a whole lot more than I like my job. I'm sorry, but it's true. Plus, Chauntelle is happy where she is, and I won't try to take that away from her. Not that I could.)